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By Matt, on March 22nd, 2012%
Though we are still a few months away from the start of the summer blockbuster season, the scuttlebutt is that The Hunger Games, opening this weekend, is expected to do huge business (and by huge, I mean upwards of $100 million). Based on the 2008 Suzanne Collins book of the same name, this property is the hottest . . . → Read More: The Probability Games
By Matt, on March 5th, 2012%
Last year, the Center for Election Science wrote up a quick blog post on the Oscars to motivate a discussion of voting reform. Since 2009, the Oscars have used Instant Runoff Voting (IRV) to decide the winner of the prestigious Best Picture award, but there is growing backlash against this voting system because of a number . . . → Read More: And the Award for Best Voting System Goes to…
By Matt, on September 28th, 2011%
This weekend, mathematics played a supporting role to Brad Pitt in one of fall’s first critical darlings, Moneyball. Based on the Michael Lewis book of the same name, the film profiles the Oakland A’s during their 2002 bid for World Series glory. What allegedly separates their story from the story of other teams during that . . . → Read More: Moneyball
By Matt, on June 9th, 2011%
For many of us, summer is thought of as the time between Memorial Day and Labor Day. For folks of a younger generation, though, trendier bookends are provided by two MTV Award shows: The Movie Awards at the beginning of the summer, and the Video Music Awards at the end. Continuing this noble tradition, . . . → Read More: MTV/Oscar Showdown
By Matt, on April 25th, 2011%
…and boinking. This, perhaps, is what I would’ve named the independent film Rites of Love and Math in order to diffuse some of the pomp.
For those of you who have not heard, Rites of Love and Math is an independent film starring a mathematician, and is inspired by the 1966 Japanese short film Yukoku (which . . . → Read More: Rites of Love and Math…
By Matt, on January 5th, 2011%
I would like to offer my somewhat reserved congratulations to the helmers of the upcoming film project titled The Secret Number, whose Kickstarter project ended today having exceeded its fundraising goal of $10,000 (I’ll also point out that this isn’t the first time Kickstarter has made an appearance on this blog). The film, a senior thesis . . . → Read More: Watch Out for The Secret Number
By Matt, on November 8th, 2010%
A couple of weeks ago, the Washington Post ran an op-ed written by G. V. Ramanathan, emeritus Professor in mathematics, statistics, and computer science, entitled “How much math do we really need?” As the title suggests, Ramanathan uses his space in the paper to argue against the grain of conventional wisdom when it comes to mathematics . . . → Read More: A Sufficient Mathematical Background
By Matt, on September 22nd, 2010%
When I first started this blog, there were a handful of movies that seemed natural to discuss. Good Will Hunting was my first foray into this group, and was followed by Pi, and later Stand and Deliver. While I have discussed other movies in between, these three are in a class of their own due to . . . → Read More: A Beautiful Mind
By Matt, on September 8th, 2010%
Late last month, Slate ran an interesting article analyzing the performance of 3D movies over the past six years. Titled “Is 3-D Dead in the Water?“, the article investigated the success of a 3D film by looking at several films released in 3D and graphing the ratio of their opening weekend revenue from 3D screenings to . . . → Read More: 3Dead?
By Matt, on September 1st, 2010%
More than three weeks after its opening, Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World appears to be limping towards the end of its theatrical run. For whatever reason (some blame marketing, others blame Michael Cera exhaustion, for others the fault lies with a crowded weekend of opening releases) this action comedy with a video game aesthetic . . . → Read More: Scott Pilgrim Vs. Gravity
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