Last week, I saw Greg Mottola‘s Adventureland, which I’d definitely recommend. Last week, I also read Charles Portis‘s The Dog of the South, which also comes highly recommended. It’s a strange bit of serendipity, then, that in this comprehensive AV Club interview with Mottola, he had this to say in passing: In fact, I’ve optioned … Continue reading
Category Archives: Film
Me @ Volume 1- A Quick Technical Note for the Weekend
- Afternoon Bites: Stephen Fry, Geoff Dyer on criticism, the Month of Letters challenge, and more
- The Week In Reviews: Jay-Z at Carnegie Hall, the journalism of Charles Dickens, Edward St Aubyn’s prose, and more
- Afternoon Bites: Hanksy Speaks! Chabon on comics! Straub on Walhberg! and more.
- Coming Soon to a Lower East Side Near You*
April 9, 2009, Author: , Leave a comment
Tags:: Charles Portis, Greg Mottola
in which greg mottola and charles portis are referenced
Categories: Books, FilmTags:: Charles Portis, Greg Mottola
March 3, 2009, Author: , Leave a comment
Tags:: David Simon, journalism, The Wire
in which david simon returns to journalism
Categories: Culture, FilmTags:: David Simon, journalism, The Wire
Via Alan Sepinwall: This piece from The Wire co-creator David Simon on his efforts to learn more about an underreported police shooting in Baltimore is well worth a read. Half-truths, obfuscations and apparent deceit — these are the wages of a world in which newspapers, their staffs eviscerated, no longer battle at the frontiers of … Continue reading
February 25, 2009, Author: , Leave a comment
Tags:: Books, Michael Hemmingson, Raymond Carver
notes on narrative versions
Categories: Books, FilmTags:: Books, Michael Hemmingson, Raymond Carver
Earlier this week, I wrote about alternate versions of narrative works — novels and films, to be more specific. Michael Hemmingson posted a response regarding the Raymond Carver question: The unedited carver book, BEGINNERS, will be out in october in the UK from Jonathan Cape. In August, the Library of America will publish a 900 … Continue reading
February 24, 2009, Author: , Leave a comment
Tags:: Idiocracy, media, publishing, Wall-E
notes on beloved films + shambolic futures
Categories: Books, Film, Live, People, Politics, Rocket Fuel, SXSW2008, Thursday, UncategorizedTags:: Idiocracy, media, publishing, Wall-E
Saw Idiocracy last week. I find myself thinking it would make a fine double bill with WALL-E: each depicts a future in which aspects of modern culture have spun out of control, leading to mammoth piles of garbage, an unholy fusion of big business with government, and an agriculturally barren landscape. One’s a cult classic, … Continue reading
November 8, 2008, Author: , Leave a comment
critical writing links for 11.09.08
Categories: Books, FilmJonathan Lethem on Roberto Bolaño’s 2666. [Hat tip to Anna on this one.] Ryland Walker Knight on Arnaud Desplechin.
Well worth reading: David Edelstein and Alan Sepinwall pay tribute to Paul Newman. Man, I need to watch Nobody’s Fool again…
August 15, 2008, Author: , Leave a comment
Tags:: BAM, Elliott Gould
in which I talk Elliott Gould
Categories: Film, MeTags:: BAM, Elliott Gould
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.
August 13, 2008, Author: , Leave a comment
Tags:: cultural criticism, film reviews, Jody Rosen, Manohla Dargis, Tropic Thunder
in which critics address the same cultural phenomenon from very different angles
Categories: criticism, FilmTags:: cultural criticism, film reviews, Jody Rosen, Manohla Dargis, Tropic Thunder
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 … Continue reading
July 30, 2008, Author: , Leave a comment
Tags:: richard ayoade, vampire weekend
the secret dean learner / beggars group connection: exposed
Categories: Film, MusicTags:: richard ayoade, vampire weekend
Alternately: in which Richard Ayoade directs a Vampire Weekend video.
July 26, 2008, Author: , Leave a comment
Tags:: christopher orr, the dark knight
‘the dark knight’ postscript
Categories: criticism, FilmTags:: christopher orr, the dark knight
I should also say that, having cited him below, Christopher Orr’s take on the film is pretty close to my own.
July 26, 2008, Author: , Leave a comment
Tags:: christopher nolan, christopher orr, criticism, david edelstein, films, keith uhlich, Reviews, the dark knight
moviegoing, critical responses, and responses to criticism
Categories: criticism, Culture, FilmTags:: christopher nolan, christopher orr, criticism, david edelstein, films, keith uhlich, Reviews, the dark knight
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 … Continue reading
…for the Tribeca Film Festival’s site. Said review is right…here.
July 10, 2008, Author: , Leave a comment
five weeks later, I actually have my thoughts on ‘the fall’ in order, and they include a dirty projectors reference
Categories: Film, MusicSo 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 … Continue reading
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.