Saturday, February 25, 2012

Act of Idiocy

In many ways, this week's most significant movie release is the Navy SEALs propaganda piece, Act of Valor since, while utterly dispensible - indeed, inept - as cinema, it crystalizes so many of the myths that surround the conventional narrative of U.S. military action and the war on terror. Needless to say, my review has not met with approval from all quarters.


New Releases

Profiles
Sophia Lin (Variety)

Book Reviews
American Film and Society Since 1945 (Cineaste - print only)

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Film Comment Selects and More

It's that time of year in which The Film Society at Lincoln Center offers up New York City's most underrated and, arguably best, annual program, Film Comment Selects. While I only covered two films from the fest this year - and neither can count as an unqualified success - there are plenty of other fine entries in the series very much worth checking out.

Film Comment Selects
I Wish (The House Next Door)
Whores' Glory (The House Next Door)

Theatrical Releases
Return (Slant)
Michael (Slant)
Putin's Kiss (Slant)
Undefeated (The L Magazine)

Thursday, February 2, 2012

Chronicle of a Fortnight's Work

Josh Trank's Chronicle, the latest supernatural faux found footage feature, highlights (so to speak) the films I've covered in the last two weeks, although it's my review of the wind-power "exposé" Windfall that's apparently proved the most controversial.

Chronicle (Slant)
Declaration of War (Slant)
Splinters (Time Out New York)
Windfall (Time Out New York)