Ever notice that every blockbuster movie has the same fundamental pieces? A hero, a journey, some conflicts to muck it all up, a reward, and the hero returning home and everybody applauding his or...

Millsburg, Arkansas Mental EvaluationIf Karl's life were a series of books, it would be bookended by his stay at the local mental hospital. The film opens there, and it ends there. When it opens, i...

Focus on KarlIf Sling Blade were a novel, it would be written in first person from Karl's perspective, and Billy Bob Thornton's typewriter would have a broken "m" key from all of Karl's mumbling.Th...

Drama, Independent FilmAs a drama, Sling Blade is all over the place. It's dramatic, sure, but it has elements of dark comedy, Southern Gothic, and even Western. Roger Ebert said in his review, "If...

Blade RunnerUnless we're talking about a horror movie, it's not often that a title refers to a sharp tool that's used to carve someone's head into two bloody lumps—but Sling Blade isn't your aver...

The ending to Sling Blade is shocking in how not shocking it is. Unless you slept through the first half hour, you're expecting Karl to kill someone over the course of the movie. Along the way, in...

RHere are a few words we'd use to describe Sling Blade: understated, quiet, brooding, and a little salty, like a basket of French-fried potaters. Haven't you ever wondered what those potatoes are t...