Category

Film

• Film, Me

  in which I talk Elliott Gould

  08.15.08 | Permalink | Comment?

  My recap of a recent Elliott Gould Q & A at BAM is now up at the Tribeca Film Festival’s site, for what it’s worth.

• Film, criticism

  in which critics address the same cultural phenomenon from very different angles

  08.13.08 | Permalink | Comment?

  Reading Manohla Dargis’s review of Tropic Thunder today, I found myself getting thematic echoes of the work of another acclaimed New York-based critic. The topic came in the review’s last paragraph, focusing on the character played by Tom Cruise:
  What’s most notable about the film’s use of blackface is how much softer it is compared with [...]

• Film, Music

  the secret dean learner / beggars group connection: exposed

  07.30.08 | Permalink | Comment?

  Alternately: in which Richard Ayoade directs a Vampire Weekend video.

• Film, criticism

  ‘the dark knight’ postscript

  07.26.08 | Permalink | Comment?

  I should also say that, having cited him below, Christopher Orr’s take on the film is pretty close to my own.

• Culture, Film, criticism

  moviegoing, critical responses, and responses to criticism

  07.26.08 | Permalink | Comment?

  So I went to see The Dark Knight yesterday after work. Did I like it? That I did, though at times it seemed like a strange fusion of The Wire and The Long Halloween — but that’s not necessarily a bad thing in my book. It Batman Begins factored in an homage to the character’s [...]

• Books, Film, Me

  I reviewed ‘Gonzo’…

  07.10.08 | Permalink | Comment?

  …for the Tribeca Film Festival’s site. Said review is right…here.

• Film, Music

  five weeks later, I actually have my thoughts on ‘the fall’ in order, and they include a dirty projectors reference

  07.10.08 | Permalink | Comment?

  So a while back, Molly recommended The Fall. I set out to see it, and did, but haven’t been able to quite explain what my feelings are on the film. As of a few days ago, I think I finally figured out why, and it’s weirdly connected with the most recent Dirty Projectors album. (At [...]

• Film, Music

  monday morning links

  07.07.08 | Permalink | 2 Comments

  One: The AV Club on heat-wave cinema. Given the weather in NYC lately, I can relate.
  Two: Pitchfork chats with the founders of Sub Pop.
  Three: Warren Ellis on the shape of the internet circa: now.

• Books, Film

  in which films and books do not, perhaps, quite overlap as much as one might expect that they would

  07.06.08 | Permalink | Comment?

  So I’m a pretty big admirer of The Wire — just got done watching its fourth season on DVD last night, and I have the fifth on pre-order already — and as such will more than likely be watching its creators’ adaptation of Evan Wright’s Generation Kill at some point as well.
  I’ve been meaning to [...]

• Film, Music, NYC

  friday night; links

  06.27.08 | Permalink | 1 Comment

  One: Molly Templeton on this week’s Frightened Rabbit/Oxford Collapse show in Portland. In a similar vein, Pitchfork on the Collapse’s terrific “The Birthday Wars”.
  Two: David Edelstein on Wall-E. Interesting choice of the word “conservative” in there — I think I know what he’s referring to, but I don’t know if that would be the word [...]

• Film, Music, NYC

  mid-tuesday links

  06.03.08 | Permalink | Comment?

  One: In the coming months, I will be attending many weddings. Therefore, I’m grateful for Achewood for providing a guide to etiquette there. (Potentially not safe for work.)
  Two: Mike McGonigal on Spiritualized’s latest.
  Three: Jessica Suarez on Sex and the City. (And, to spark some debate: Timothy Noah on the same, as it pertains to the [...]

• Film

  some links pertaining to the film ‘chameleon street’

  05.29.08 | Permalink | 1 Comment

  Last week, I watched Chameleon Street for the first time. It’s a disconcerting and at times elating film, one featuring one of the most compelling antiheroes I’ve seen in a while, and managing to deftly touch on major issues (race, class, etc.). What’s equally impressive is director Wendell B. Harris, Jr.’s ability to establish a [...]

• Film

  05.27.08 | Permalink | Comment?

  I watched Michael Clayton last night. When I finished, I walked to my computer to check the news and learned that its producer and co-star, Sydney Pollack, had passed away. The man was a fine director and an excellent actor (I remember his scenes, more than anything else, in Eyes Wide Shut); David Edelstein has [...]

• Film

  in lieu of saying anything about the film ‘reprise’…

  05.24.08 | Permalink | Comment?

  …I’m going to link to David Edelstein’s review of the same, and follow with a “what he said”.

• Film, Music

  music + film links: monday night

  05.19.08 | Permalink | Comment?

  One: Robert Christgau on Ken Braun of the Sterns label, with a particular focus on last year’s amazing Tabu Ley Rochereau compilation The Voice of Lightness.
  Two: Daphne Carr on the No Fun Fest.
  Three: Jessica Suarez interviews Islands on their new Arm’s Way. I’ll have some lengthier thoughts on the record in question on this space [...]

the scowl