Mark T Conard

Fifteen philosophers representuing different schools of thought answer the question what is Woody Allen trying to say in his films? And why should anyone care? Focusing on different works and varied aspects of Allen's multifaceted output, these essays explore the philosophical undertones of Anne Hall, Crimes and Misdemeanors, Manhattan, A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy and reminds us that just because the universe is meaningless and life is pointless is no reason to commit suicide.

Robbie Reid has looked after his older brother, Owen, since they were kids-and he'd do anything for him. But lately Owen has been claiming to have occult visions, and he's started doing weird things, like calling coin tosses and pool shots with 100% accuracy. When Owen impossibly saves a kid from being run over by a car, witnesses label him "The Prophet," and he becomes an instant internet folk hero. As he tries to sort out what's wrong with Owen, Robbie spots a pair of cult fanatics skulking around and trails them to one of their clandestine ceremonies. When the zealots catch Robbie spying on their secret rites, they drag him out of their temple and nearly kill him. As he recovers from the altercation, Robbie meets famed tech CEO Byron Smith Eiger. Eiger wants to help Owen develop his special abilities, supposedly out of scientific interest. But Robbie quickly learns that the researchers at the lab have a dark secret that Eiger's hirelings will do anything to protect. And it's a secret that will destroy Owen unless Robbie acts fast. Caught between religious diehards and corporate thugs, Robbie puts his life on the line to rescue his brother, expose the murderous cult, and stop the release of a new technology that will kill millions with the push of a button.

One night, helping out a friend, Jake Micallef does a little breaking-and-entering and stumbles upon a plot to assassinate his estranged brother, who just happens to be the Mayor of New York City. As Jake wrestles with that bombshell, another one walks straight into his life: Marcie Yates. Marcie eerily resembles Jake's old girlfriend, the woman who helped his brother tear his world apart. Jake desperately latches onto Marcie, hoping she can fix his shattered life, and allow him to let go of all that hate and forgive his brother. But when thugs kidnap Marcie to keep Jake from interfering in the assassination plot, he has no choice but to track down the conspirators, only to discover he's fallen right into their trap. In the end, Jake must risk everything to save Marcie and stop the bullet headed for his brother.

Actor Paul Wilkinson is in a world of hurt. The cops are sure he murdered his new girlfriend's abusive ex, and a vicious drug dealer is after him for a batch of stolen narcotics. Paul sees a chance to escape the heat when he's offered the bizarre role of an eccentric billionaire's long-lost friend. He accepts the part and takes on a new identity, allowing him to hide in plain sight while he searches for the missing drugs and the real killer. When the trail leads Paul to where he least expects-back to himself-he must risk losing his identity, his freedom, and even his life to end the drama he's been unwittingly cast in. Praise for Mark T. Conard: "Dark as Night is a funny, violent, and damn near perfect noir. If you like your heroes flawed, your villains amoral, and your body count high, you might well think that Mark T. Conard has been reading your mind. A fantastic debut." -Tod Goldberg, author of Living Dead Girl "If you crossed Anthony Bourdain's Bone in the Throat with Abel Ferrara's Bad Lieutenant and threw in a little bit of Carl Hiaasen for good measure you might get something like Mark T. Conard's funny and brutal Dark as Night. He's one to watch." -Scott Phillips, author of The Walkaway

Morris White escaped the crime and working-class roots in the Philly projects by learning to cook. He's got great taste and impeccable kitchen skills, and now he's a Sous Chef at a first-rate Philadelphia French bistro. The stove burners aren't the only thing that's on fire in Morris's life, since his affair with Vicky Ward has just heated up. She's the manager at the bistro and comes from money and a privileged background. Together, they're dreaming of opening their own restaurant, where she'll run the front-of-the-house business and he'll run the kitchen. But their dream gets sidetracked when Morris takes in his half-brother, Vince Kammer, who's just been released from prison. Vince did time for a jewelry store robbery that went sideways, and the local mob boss who bankrolled the crime, Johnny "Stacks" Staccardo, is insisting that Vince pull another job to make up for the loss of the jewels he never received. Johnny Stacks has his gangster wannabe henchmen, Lenny and Mo, riding Vince pretty hard, and to make matters worse, Dick Franks, the corrupt cop who originally investigated the jewelry store heist, has gotten wind that Vince is out of the can. Franks believes Vince has the missing diamonds, and there's not much that Franks won't do to get his hands on those stones. When Morris discovers Vince's predicament, he has to summon the inner tough guy from his youth (and dig up a gun he had hidden away), to keep Vince from doing anything stupid. Caught between the gangsters, the vicious Dick Franks, and Vince's own desire for revenge, Morris risks losing his new love, his dreams, even his life in order to save Vince from himself. Praise for DARK AS NIGHT: "Dark as Night is a funny, violent, and damn near perfect noir. If you like your heroes flawed, your villains amoral, and your body count high, you might well think that Mark T. Conard has been reading your mind. A fantastic debut." -Tod Goldberg, author of Living Dead Girl "If you crossed Anthony Bourdain's Bone in the Throat with Abel Ferrara's Bad Lieutenant and threw in a little bit of Carl Hiaasen for good measure you might get something like Mark T. Conard's funny and brutal Dark as Night. He's one to watch." -Scott Phillips, author of The Walkaway

Many critics agree that Joel and Ethan Coen are one of the most visionary and idiosyncratic filmmaking teams of the last three decades. Combining thoughtful eccentricity, wry humor, irony, and often brutal violence, the Coen brothers have crafted a style of filmmaking that pays tribute to classic American movie genres yet maintains a distinctly postmodern feel. Since arriving on the film scene, the Coens have amassed an impressive body of work that has garnered them critical acclaim and a devoted cult following. From Raising Arizona and Fargo to O Brother, Where Art Thou? and No Country for Old Men, the Coens have left an unmistakable imprint on Hollywood. The Philosophy of the Coen Brothers investigates philosophical themes in the works of these master filmmakers and also uses their movies as vehicles to explore fundamental concepts of philosophy. The contributing authors discuss concepts such as justice, the problem of interpretation, existential role-playing, the philosophy of comedy, the uncertainty principle, and the coldness of modernity. The Philosophy of the Coen Brothers is not just for die-hard Lebowski Fest attendees, but for anyone who enjoys big ideas on the big screen.

Film noir--a cycle of American films from the 1940s and '50s--is characterized not only by a constant opposition of light and shadow and a disruptive compositional balance of frames and scenes, but also by dark, foreboding characters and plots and an overriding sense of alienation and moral ambiguity. Noir films reflect the sense of loss, fragmentation, and nihilism at the heart of the human condition in the twentieth century. Although the classic film noir period ended in the late 1950s, its impact on more films has been profound. While typically not black and white, these new films incorporate the noir sensibility of alienation, pessimism, moral ambivalence, and disorientation. This sensibility is obvious in films such as Blade Runner, Reservoir Dogs, Chinatown, and Memento. Until now, little scholarly attention has been paid to the unique philosophical conventions of the widely popular neo-noir genre. In The Philosophy of Neo-Noir, editor Mark T. Conard and other contributors explore the philosophical foundations of neo-noir, using the films to discuss and explain traditional philosophical ideas as well. The themes and topics covered include justice and moral corruption; problems of memory and identity; human nature, space, time, and subjectivity; crime and punishment; pain and redemption; and spiritual transcendence. Conard argues that neo-noir films have benefited as censorship has relaxed, giving current filmmakers a rich noir tradition from which to draw.