tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-88504344965224124922024-02-23T18:02:01.455-08:00The Cine FileA discussion of classic and contemporary film with Andrew Schenkerandrew schenkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03827165807994115459noreply@blogger.comBlogger387125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8850434496522412492.post-44781904013223816792013-03-30T05:12:00.001-07:002013-03-30T05:13:47.530-07:00New Directors/New Films and Other "New" Stuff<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh872un519iH1tMrpr08zOzIggUkAjXNbulGZfVryc2NEfKtl31-NsVk-UU2ZpGyARBgosLxyV3_yiCZuG3aHecPyimhzQgPdzUqBzKpxhcUDRYxtfIqellJENoNQ64llj5piPhPKFgSegB/s1600/spring+breakers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="109" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh872un519iH1tMrpr08zOzIggUkAjXNbulGZfVryc2NEfKtl31-NsVk-UU2ZpGyARBgosLxyV3_yiCZuG3aHecPyimhzQgPdzUqBzKpxhcUDRYxtfIqellJENoNQ64llj5piPhPKFgSegB/s200/spring+breakers.jpg" width="200" /></a>As these posts have become less and less frequent, the number of links becomes more and more unwieldy - for which all due apologies. This latest round-up contains a diverse lot of work, ranging from my coverage of New Directors/New Films (and the smaller First Time Fest) to a critical essay on the films of Sally Potter to reviews of such hot new movies as <i>Spring Breakers</i>. It's all below. Enjoy!<br />
<br />
Reviews<br />
<a href="http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/spring-breakers/6863">Spring Breakers</a> (Slant) <br />
<a href="http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/21-and-over/6839">21 and Over</a> (Slant) <br />
<a href="http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/mollys-theory-of-relativity/6825">Molly's Theory of Relativity</a> (Slant)<br />
<a href="http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/the-silence/6846">The Silence</a> (Slant) <br />
<a href="http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/everybody-has-a-plan/6876">Everybody Has a Plan</a> (Slant)<br />
<a href="http://www.villagevoice.com/2013-03-20/film/dorfman-in-love-another-passable-rom-com/">Dorfman in Love</a> (Village Voice)<br />
<a href="http://www.villagevoice.com/2013-02-27/film/future-weather/">Future Weather</a> (Village Voice)<br />
<a href="http://www.villagevoice.com/2013-03-06/film/girl-rising-hope-against-a-backdrop-of-misery/">Girl Rising</a> (Village Voice) <br />
<a href="http://www.villagevoice.com/2013-02-20/film/northeast-s-anonymous-souls-wander-an-anonymous-city/">Northeast</a> (Village Voice)<br />
<a href="http://www.timeout.com/us/film/if-i-were-you-movie-review">If I Were You</a> (Time Out New York)<br />
<br />
Festival Coverage<br />
<a href="http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/feature/new-directors-new-films-2013/347">New Directors/New Films Intro</a> (Slant)<br />
<a href="http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/the-act-of-killing/6880">The Act of Killing</a> (ND/NF) (Slant)<br />
<a href="http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/rengaine/6887">Rengaine</a> (ND/NF) (Slant)<br />
<a href="http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/the-shine-of-day/6889">The Shine of the Day</a> (ND/NF) (Slant)<br />
<a href="http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/towheads/6891">Towheads</a> (ND/NF) (Slant)<br />
<a href="http://www.indiewire.com/article/how-do-you-celebrate-first-time-filmmakers-first-time-fest-has-the-answer">First Time Fest</a> (Indiewire) <br />
<br />
Other Work<br />
<a href="http://www.indiewire.com/article/critics-notebook-why-ginger-and-rosa-is-sally-potters-best-film">Why "Ginger and Rosa" is Sally Potter's Best Film</a> (Indiewire) <br />
<a href="http://www.indianexpress.com/news/lincoln-obama-and-a-house-divided/1074968/0/">Lincoln, Obama and a House Divided</a> (Indian Express)<br />
<a href="http://t.co/D8agDAhfM7">Profile of Mynette Louie</a> (Variety)<br />
<a href="http://www.cineaste.com/">Review of J. Hoberman's <i>Film After Film</i></a> (Cineaste - print only)
<p></p>andrew schenkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03827165807994115459noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8850434496522412492.post-67939992290207188482013-02-18T04:33:00.003-08:002013-02-18T05:48:49.880-08:00New (and Not So New) Stuff<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKrG0Fl-egOu7Szh2_KPr2CS5k0VXjUrZp1rrkoEKhmvzD0bdAcqE4UfGCYmm-LvS8kocVEnkSzIW8gbocaUWCx9RgQ9LE6fESaFIdkPa3xvbuAB9ACb_-NPHIGTOW1VdfzrxK7PvoA6dS/s1600/Life-Of-Pi-01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="72" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKrG0Fl-egOu7Szh2_KPr2CS5k0VXjUrZp1rrkoEKhmvzD0bdAcqE4UfGCYmm-LvS8kocVEnkSzIW8gbocaUWCx9RgQ9LE6fESaFIdkPa3xvbuAB9ACb_-NPHIGTOW1VdfzrxK7PvoA6dS/s200/Life-Of-Pi-01.jpg" width="200" /></a>It's been a very long time since my last set of linkthroughs, so without (too much) further ado, here's a set of links to my work from the last... however long it's been since my previous post. I got to tackle an awards contender and reconsider a pair of classics for Little White Lies and to take on a variety of films of disparate quality for a variety of other publications. <br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.littlewhitelies.co.uk/theatrical-reviews/life-of-pi-22738">Life of Pi</a> (Little White Lies)<br />
<a href="http://www.littlewhitelies.co.uk/theatrical-reviews/the-earrings-of-madame-de-23183">The Earrings of Madame De...</a> (Little White Lies) <br />
<a href="http://www.littlewhitelies.co.uk/theatrical-reviews/whatever-happened-to-baby-jane-22728">Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?</a> (Little White Lies)<br />
<a href="http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/a-glimpse-inside-the-mind-of-charles-swan-iii/6766">A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III</a> (Slant)<br />
<a href="http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/broken-city/6779">Broken City</a> (Slant)<br />
<a href="http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/the-taste-of-money/6786">The Taste of Money</a> (Slant)<br />
<a href="http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/girls-against-boys/6792">Girls Against Boys</a> (Slant)<br />
<a href="http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/my-best-enemy/6762">My Best Enemy</a> (Slant)<br />
<a href="http://www.villagevoice.com/2013-01-23/film/supporting-characters-film-review/">Supporting Characters</a> (Village Voice) <br />
<a href="http://www.villagevoice.com/2013-01-23/film/the-pirogue/">The Pirogue</a> (Village Voice)<br />
<a href="http://www.villagevoice.com/2013-01-09/film/$ellebrity-film-review/full/">High Tech, Low Life</a> (Village Voice) <br />
<a href="http://www.villagevoice.com/2013-01-09/film/$ellebrity-film-review/full/">$ellebrity</a> (Village Voice)<br />
<a href="http://www.indiewire.com/article/out-this-week-from-joe-strummer-to-hobbits-5-reviews-of-new-releases#let%20fury">Let Fury Have the Hour</a> (Indiewire)<br />
<a href="http://www.timeout.com/us/film/stolen-seas">Stolen Seas</a> (Time Out New York)
<p></p>andrew schenkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03827165807994115459noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8850434496522412492.post-855876757899474862012-12-20T03:27:00.004-08:002012-12-20T03:31:41.652-08:00Wrapping 2012<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGzzuXKKpyNglh8-Pc7sPHAFx1wCoRImv6KQ-qBV5gf3nnB5fKSfIktyfcLSRkBqAZil7qiDfPX5Kd6bs0FZmX-ujA6Md-mmqTrVEPPhfMfquYx1wnxcavVZHHCABqQaa_aQqyeC1bsOjg/s1600/The+Turin+Horse+5.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="115" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGzzuXKKpyNglh8-Pc7sPHAFx1wCoRImv6KQ-qBV5gf3nnB5fKSfIktyfcLSRkBqAZil7qiDfPX5Kd6bs0FZmX-ujA6Md-mmqTrVEPPhfMfquYx1wnxcavVZHHCABqQaa_aQqyeC1bsOjg/s200/The+Turin+Horse+5.jpeg" width="200" /></a></div>
As 2012 (the calendar year) nears its close, 2012 the film year has long since finished - at least for critics expected to file their year-end lists and ballots well in advance of December 31. The result is that my own contributions to several best-ofs have been already been published. I once again participated in Slant Magazine's collective top 25, although due to the increasing number of participants, my only contribution (writing-wise) to the piece was my capsule of <i>Almayer's Folly</i> (number 22 on the list). I also contributed to the <a href="http://www.indiewire.com/survey/indiewire-2012-year-end-critics-poll/">Indiewire</a>, <a href="http://www.villagevoice.com/filmpoll/">Village Voice</a> and <a href="http://www.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/sight-sound-magazine/polls-surveys/top-11-films-2012">Sight & Sound</a> polls, although the individual ballots for the last of these three have not yet been posted online. Below are links to my year-end contributions plus my complete top ten and honorable mentions:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/feature/the-25-best-films-of-2012/342">Slant Magazine's 25 Best Films of 2012</a><br />
<a href="http://www.villagevoice.com/filmpoll/view/critics/Andrew+Schenker/2012/">My ballot for the Village Voice Film Poll</a><br />
<a href="http://www.indiewire.com/survey/indiewire-2012-year-end-critics-poll/best-film/andrew-schenker">My ballot for the Indiewire Film Poll</a><br />
<br />
Best Films of 2012:<br />
<br />
1. The Turin Horse<br />
2. Oslo, August 31<br />
3. This Is Not a Film<br />
4. Holy Motors<br />
5. Attenberg<br />
6. Moonrise Kingdom<br />
7. Vamps<br />
8. Almayer's Folly<br />
9. Girl Walk//All Day<br />
10. The Pruitt-Igoe Myth<br />
<br />
Honorable Mentions:<br />
<br />
Las Acacias<br />
Barbara<br />
The Color Wheel<br />
The Day He Arrives <br />
The Deep Blue Sea<br />
The Five-Year Engagement<br />
Keep the Lights On<br />
Looper<br />
Take This Waltz<br />
Tears of Gaza<br />
<br />
Another Five:<br />
<br />
Booker's Place: A Mississippi Story<br />
Domain <br />
How to Survive a Plague<br />
Silver Linings Playbook<br />
This Must Be the Place
<p></p>
andrew schenkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03827165807994115459noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8850434496522412492.post-54427269194996644322012-12-13T07:51:00.002-08:002012-12-17T16:26:28.948-08:00Take Me to the Promised Land: On This Season's Political Cinema<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio-iLtoL6OWE7CwbQKngo_FiHZtCTNvuDheTGB72zUz5_zZKVlvXs1D_o3sN0kIhrsKjdX6hoTA6uN5TFQCAkLxqe2Obt5zjOej9K-tmkV_N_zBtG8inR7IeLvlCz3fhZqNYYa_4olHZ_c/s1600/promised+land.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio-iLtoL6OWE7CwbQKngo_FiHZtCTNvuDheTGB72zUz5_zZKVlvXs1D_o3sN0kIhrsKjdX6hoTA6uN5TFQCAkLxqe2Obt5zjOej9K-tmkV_N_zBtG8inR7IeLvlCz3fhZqNYYa_4olHZ_c/s200/promised+land.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
From <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1024648/"><i>Argo</i></a> to <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0443272/?ref_=fn_al_tt_2"><i>Lincoln</i></a> to <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1790885/"><i>Zero Dark Thirty</i></a>, this season’s biggest Oscar contenders are all explicitly political films that, whether set in the distant or very recent past, aim to speak to the contemporary moment. Although the attitudes towards American history and its bearing on the present on display in these movies range from the cartoony to the intentionally ambiguous, all three films are problematic in their embrace (in partial or whole) of some of the less felicitous aspects of Obama-iste politics. Instead, it’s another year-end film, more modest in its ambitions and less spectacular in its payoff, that represents the satisfying political narrative unachieved by the more vaunted trio.<br />
<br />
While a solid, engaging, attractively lensed piece of cinema, Gus Van Sant’s hydrofracking drama, <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2091473/"><i>Promised Land</i></a> never hits the heights of the other films, offering neither the cross-cut thrills of <i>Argo</i>, the intelligent observation of behind-the-scenes political process of <i>Lincoln</i> or the stunning concluding set-piece of <i>Zero Dark Thirty</i>. What it gives us instead is a balanced look at the false dichotomy between job creation and environmental protection that shows its protagonist moving from one side of the issue to the other as he talks with the townspeople who will be affected by his company’s decision to frack their hamlet for natural gas. If the conversion feels somewhat inevitable - especially knowing that the film is made by good old liberals - it’s still an honest look at political understanding as a process of weighing the benefits of both sides of an equation before reaching the decision that the film’s creators (Van Sant and stars/screenwriters Matt Damon and John Krasinski) have seemingly foreordained.<br />
<br />
Damon stars as Steve Butler, a salesman for a natural gas company that heads out with co-worker Sue Thomason (Frances McDormand) to an economically depressed Pennsylvania town in order to sell it on the merits of gas extraction. While many townspeople welcome this potential economic boon, Butler is immediately confronted at his first town meeting by a local teacher, Frank Yates (Hal Holbrook), who proceeds to harangue him with the dirty facts about hydrofracking. As presented by Van Sant, Butler seems a decent enough man (even those in the town who oppose his project call him a “nice guy”) who honestly believes he’s doing the struggling berg a service. On the other side of the fence is a charismatic environmentalist, Dustin Noble (Krasinski), who begins distributing pictures of fracking-induced devastation, visiting local classrooms, and generally turning sentiment against the project.<br />
<br />
While it ultimately takes a revelation about the corporate skullduggery of his company to fully alienate Butler from his former position, the path has been paved by his conversations with the locals and their citing of irrefutable evidence as to the dangers of fracking. Van Sant doesn’t push the film’s conclusions into more complex political territory (i.e. posing other solutions, such as green jobs), but by treating the generally overlooked people most affected by top-down decision making as not only viable individuals but as people whose voices need to be heard, whose complex needs must be balanced, the movie allows for the honest possibility of democratic triumph over corporate interest - at least in this one isolated instance.<br />
<br />
Alas, for all the film’s flag waving, true expressions of democracy are wholly wanting in Ben Affleck’s <a href="http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/argo/6609"><i>Argo</i></a>. Set during the Iranian revolution in 1979, the film, after dispensing with its almost perfunctory stabs at historical balance, becomes a rah-rah tale of C.I.A. heroism and Muslim duplicity, as Affleck’s agency stalwart, Tony Mendez, leads a daring rescue of American diplomats from the newly minted Islamic Republic. Adding to the film’s irresponsibility are its obvious present day parallels, as contemporary sentiment for war with Iran, a sentiment the film’s choice of historical incident and blinkered perspective on that incident encourages, continues unabated in both the United States and Israel.<br />
<br />
Far more complicated are the two other major political films of the season, both, like <i>Argo</i>, centered on true-life events. Steven Spielberg’s Tony Kushner-penned <i>Lincoln</i> details the 16th president’s efforts to get the 13th amendment (the one prohibiting slavery) through the House of Representatives. While geeking out on behind-the-scenes wheeling and dealing, the filmmakers present a view of the political process as a corrupt game of give-and-take in which bribes and sought-after appointments are the necessary instruments required to secure much-needed votes. But for Spielberg and Kushner, the American political system is one that ultimately works despite, or even because of, this corruption. What’s remarkable about <i>Lincoln</i> is not that it acknowledges the imperfections of the system, but just how uncynical it is about this acknowledgement.<br />
<br />
Read with an eye on the current political situation, which seems inevitable given the set-up of a charismatic president devoted to compromise, the film becomes a tad dicier. Yes, it’s easy to applaud Lincoln (and abolitionist congressman Thaddeus Stevens) for effecting the outlawing of slavery, especially as no one today, excepting racist fanatics, could possibly be against the 13th amendment. But while compromise may have worked for Lincoln - he achieved a great victory for human rights at the price of a few bribes - Obama’s willingness to play ball with conservatives over Social Security and Medicare cuts in order to avoid going over the so-called “fiscal cliff” is quite another story.<br />
<br />
More problematic is Kathryn Bigelow’s Oscar front-runner <i>Zero Dark Thirty</i>, precisely because its tale of one C.I.A. agent’s decades-long hunt for Osama bin Laden is so scrupulously objective and anti-heroic and because it’s supposedly based on true-facts delivered straight from government agencies to Bigelow and screenwriter Mark Boal. Recently Glenn Greenwald stirred up a good deal of controversy with <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/dec/10/zero-dark-thirty-torture-awards">an article in the <i>Guardian</i></a> in which, without having seen the film, he condemned it for “glorify[ing]” torture. While Greenwald’s unfortunate decision to forgo the viewing of the movie before writing about it leads him to mischaracterize the film as a heroic, pro-C.I.A. piece of propaganda and invalidates much of his argument, part of what he says remains wholly valid. While the film’s torture scenes make “enhanced interrogation” look like no fun for anyone involved, the movie does indeed confirm that torture yields useful results, in this case intel essential to the finding of bin Laden. Greenwald argues that this claim is inaccurate, that torture did not lead to the discovery of the whereabouts of the 9/11 mastermind, but either way, the film’s decision to unambiguously confirm the efficacy of torture, even if it can’t be said to glorify it, stands as far too much of an endorsement of the practice.<br />
<br />
Because the film hides under cover of its objectivity, it’s difficult to pin it down to a single political position - and that is undoubtedly the point. But a film based on real events does not simply portray what happened, it presents it in a certain way through deliberate choices on the director’s, screenwriter’s and actors’ parts. Furthermore, when dealing with charged political events, the lack of a definitive viewpoint must itself be considered a viewpoint. Thus, while detailing the final raid on bin Laden’s hideout, Bigelow stages a thrilling set-piece that, while it avoids triumphalism and is careful to show the collateral damage inflicted by U.S. forces, nonetheless has us rooting for the Navy SEALS that carry out this illegal assassination. Bigelow even takes a few scenes to humanize these soldiers, showing them hanging out before the operation, the better to forge viewer identification. This may be as close as we’ll get to seeing how the killing of bin Laden actually happened, but it’s still a fictionalized take presented from a specific point of view. That this point of view confirms the dominant narrative of the war on terror makes <i>Zero Dark Thirty</i> a troubling movie indeed.
andrew schenkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03827165807994115459noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8850434496522412492.post-53685401694272108182012-12-07T05:23:00.003-08:002012-12-07T13:14:04.994-08:00December Links Galore<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQkorT9-Wt9nhDAZ9kz0FddeRyfSyEYGiyHKRar-rzOlKJPQEmN1nQ6Wf2uUZBBtTXcciHF1OEJeO37c4inAsBTyd_c8_7dfsbaU3Tan3WGLk2VJOinLF40iT5u3ZbQa5AuYGCRkn41-BZ/s1600/hitchcock.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="109" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQkorT9-Wt9nhDAZ9kz0FddeRyfSyEYGiyHKRar-rzOlKJPQEmN1nQ6Wf2uUZBBtTXcciHF1OEJeO37c4inAsBTyd_c8_7dfsbaU3Tan3WGLk2VJOinLF40iT5u3ZbQa5AuYGCRkn41-BZ/s200/hitchcock.jpg" width="200" /></a>No, I haven't been idle, just busy catching up with the major films from 2012 in advance of my participation in several year-end lists and surveys which should be posted soon. In the meantime, my regular reviewing has continued unabated as the below series of links reveals.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/hitchcock/6690">Hitchcock</a> (Slant)<br />
<a href="http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/dragon/6698">Dragon</a> (Slant)<br />
<a href="http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/only-the-young/6719">Only the Young</a> (Slant)<br />
<a href="http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/waiting-for-lightning/6717">Waiting for Lightning</a> (Slant) <br />
<a href="http://www.villagevoice.com/2012-12-05/film/off-white-lies-film-review/">Off-White Lies</a> (Village Voice)<br />
<a href="http://www.timeout.com/us/film/gottfried-helnwein-and-the-dreaming-child#.UKzV13A9hro.twitter">Gottfried Helnwein and the Dreaming Child</a> (Time Out New York)<br />
<a href="http://www.timeout.com/us/film/wagner-me">Wagner and Me</a> (Time Out New York)<br />
<a href="http://www.indiewire.com/article/out-this-week-9-reviews-of-new-indie-releases-from-cheerful-weather-at-the-wedding-to-waiting-for-lightning#man%20who">The Man Who Shook the Hand of Vicente Fernandez</a> (Indiewire) <br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118062630">10 Screenwriters to Watch: Profile of Bill Dubuque</a> (Variety)<br />
<a href="http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118062635">10 Screenwriters to Watch: Profile of Ken Scott</a> (Variety)
<p></p>andrew schenkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03827165807994115459noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8850434496522412492.post-44484725404840151992012-11-18T05:42:00.001-08:002012-11-18T05:42:20.664-08:00Awards Season Mishmash<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpG4kZUegywsY3WR36AN8JA7BO8vLNFksafJf_fn7yN6EaEl8E4S3WX3Sn7_VpKKCKOUeDrKGEWG6NOT-qYOz2lIKopAPy6tBWEdU326CFIVE6wlx8sqepS4Scc-dbCy6rqK-BRyCPeYHt/s1600/annakarenina2012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="109" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpG4kZUegywsY3WR36AN8JA7BO8vLNFksafJf_fn7yN6EaEl8E4S3WX3Sn7_VpKKCKOUeDrKGEWG6NOT-qYOz2lIKopAPy6tBWEdU326CFIVE6wlx8sqepS4Scc-dbCy6rqK-BRyCPeYHt/s200/annakarenina2012.jpg" width="200" /></a>Awards season is now underway and with it the onslaught of overwrought Oscar-bait - some of which isn't half bad. Among the contenders, I consider Joe Wright's semi-successful take on Tolstoy's <i>Anna Karenina</i>. Also of note among the below links, a profile of Variety's annual Power of Comedy benefit event.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/anna-karenina/6674">Anna Karenina</a> (Slant)<br />
<a href="http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/barrymore/6681">Barrymore</a> (Slant)<br />
<a href="http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/a-royal-affair/6667">A Royal Affair</a> (Slant)<br />
<a href="http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/a-royal-affair/6667">Burn</a> (Village Voice)<br />
<a href="http://www.villagevoice.com/2012-11-14/film/first-winter-film-review/">First Winter</a> (Village Voice)<br />
<a href="http://www.villagevoice.com/2012-11-14/film/turning/">Turning</a> (Village Voice)<br />
<a href="http://www.timeout.com/us/film/la-rafle#.UKLQFDThFYI.twitter">La Rafle</a> (Time Out New York)<br />
<a href="http://www.indiewire.com/article/out-this-week-from-28-hotel-rooms-to-starlet-10-reviews-of-new-releases#28%20hotel%20rooms">28 Hotel Rooms</a> (Indiewire)<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118062111">Comedy Impact Report 2012: The Power of Comedy</a> (Variety)
<p></p>andrew schenkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03827165807994115459noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8850434496522412492.post-28905356823700167722012-11-11T08:16:00.001-08:002012-11-12T14:44:05.056-08:00Slant Magazine's Best Films of the 1990s<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4DdRSxw4Vqv-TjcnYgsxIB5X5ayuOrCMxflaLCInjFE-EuEE0UkHWJV2G4AkH5lFG6wawOGKSKS_PRXCT5dJyM393_5fXSnWRWKXBbwZ79PxkoWLF4Y8vvNsq8MEWzPAAAK1t7g10wRhU/s1600/central+park.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="70" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4DdRSxw4Vqv-TjcnYgsxIB5X5ayuOrCMxflaLCInjFE-EuEE0UkHWJV2G4AkH5lFG6wawOGKSKS_PRXCT5dJyM393_5fXSnWRWKXBbwZ79PxkoWLF4Y8vvNsq8MEWzPAAAK1t7g10wRhU/s200/central+park.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
I am delighted to have participated in Slant Magazine's feature on the <a href="http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/feature/the-100-best-films-of-the-1990s/334">top 100 films of the 1990s </a>which has now gone live. I contributed blurbs for films number 81, 73, 60, 48, 37, 29 and 12 in addition to voting in the selection process.<br />
<br />
My personal list of the top 100 films of that decade, which I submitted for consideration in the poll, is below:<br />
<br />
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<span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;">1. Central
Park</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;">2. A Brighter
Summer Day</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;">3. Goodbye
South, Goodbye</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;">4. Center
Stage (Actress)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;">5. Satantango</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;">6. Public
Housing</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;">7. Jungle
Fever</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;">8. Safe</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;">9. The Mirror</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;">10. The River</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;">11. To Sleep
with Anger</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;">12. Naked</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;">13. Through
the Olive Trees</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;">14. The Puppetmaster</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;">15. Vive
L’Amour</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;">16. Beloved</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;">17. Bitter
Moon</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;">18. Eyes Wide
Shut</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;">19. Cold Water</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;">20. The
Straight Story</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;">21. White
Hunter, Black Heart</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;">22. Abraham’s
Valley</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;">23. Rosetta</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;">24. Secret
Defense</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;">25. Those Who
Love Me Can Take the Train</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;">26. Rebels of
the Neon God</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;">27. The Power
of Kangwon Province</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;">28. Mother and
Son</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;">29. A Moment
of Innocence</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;">30. In the
Heat of the Sun</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;">31. Life, and
Nothing More</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;">32. American
Dream</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;">33. A
Confucian Confusion</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;">34. The Last
Bolshevik</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;">35. Lessons of
Darkness</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;">36. Maborosi</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;">37. Dead Man</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;">38. Husbands
and Wives</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;">39. Twin
Peaks: Fire Walk with Me</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;">40. Drifting
Clouds</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;">41. Close-Up</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;">42. From the
East</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;">43. Clean,
Shaven</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;">44. The
Decalogue</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;">45. Late
August, Early September</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;">46. Hoop
Dreams</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;">47. Lovers on
the Bridge</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;">48. Hard
Boiled</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;">49. The Hole</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;">50. The Player</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;">51. My Own
Private Idaho</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;">52. Eternity
and a Day</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;">53. Good Men,
Good Women</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;">54. Zoo</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="tab-stops: 189.0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;">55. Secrets and Lies<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="tab-stops: 189.0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;">56. The Last Days of Disco</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="tab-stops: 189.0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;">57. Histoire(s) du Cin</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">é</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;">ma</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="tab-stops: 189.0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;">58. The Crying Game</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="tab-stops: 189.0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;">59. Fallen Angels</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="tab-stops: 189.0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;">60. Ladybird, Ladybird</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="tab-stops: 189.0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;">61. Crash</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="tab-stops: 189.0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;">62. All the Vermeers in New York</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="tab-stops: 189.0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;">63.The Long Day Closes</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="tab-stops: 189.0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;">64. Mother</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="tab-stops: 189.0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;">65. Xiao Wu (Pickpocket)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="tab-stops: 189.0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;">66. Princess Mononoke</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="tab-stops: 189.0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;">67. Totally F****d Up</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="tab-stops: 189.0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;">68. Breaking the Waves</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="tab-stops: 189.0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;">69. Voyage to the Beginning of the World</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="tab-stops: 189.0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;">70. Before Sunrise</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="tab-stops: 189.0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;">71. Short Cuts</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="tab-stops: 189.0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;">72. Blue (Jarman)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="tab-stops: 189.0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;">73. Underground</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="tab-stops: 189.0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;">74. Faust</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="tab-stops: 189.0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;">75. I Can’t Sleep</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="tab-stops: 189.0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;">76. Get on the Bus</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="tab-stops: 189.0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;">77. Wild Reeds</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="tab-stops: 189.0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;">78. Matinee</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="tab-stops: center 3.25in;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;">79. The Bridges of Madison County<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="tab-stops: center 3.25in;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;">80. La Haine</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="tab-stops: center 3.25in;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;">81. Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="tab-stops: center 3.25in;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;">82. Life is Sweet</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="tab-stops: center 3.25in;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;">83. Rock Hudson’s Home Movies</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="tab-stops: center 3.25in;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;">84. Days of Being Wild</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="tab-stops: center 3.25in;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;">85. High School II</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="tab-stops: center 3.25in;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;">86. La Promesse</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="tab-stops: center 3.25in;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;">87. Sling Blade</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="tab-stops: center 3.25in;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;">88. Mahjong</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="tab-stops: center 3.25in;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;">89. eXistenZ</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="tab-stops: center 3.25in;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;">90. Calendar</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="tab-stops: center 3.25in;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;">91. The Dreamlife of Angels</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="tab-stops: center 3.25in;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;">92. Clueless</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="tab-stops: center 3.25in;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;">93. Tribulation 99: Alien Anomalies Under America</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="tab-stops: center 3.25in;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;">94. Charisma</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="tab-stops: center 3.25in;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;">95. Career Girls</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="tab-stops: center 3.25in;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;">96. The Glass Shield</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="tab-stops: center 3.25in;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;">97. Irma Vep</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="tab-stops: center 3.25in;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;">98. Flowers of Shanghai</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="tab-stops: center 3.25in;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;">99. Careful</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="tab-stops: center 3.25in;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;">100. Gremlins 2: The New Batch</span></div>
<p></p>
andrew schenkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03827165807994115459noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8850434496522412492.post-10183210735853684492012-11-02T06:58:00.002-07:002012-11-02T06:58:55.998-07:00Not Quite in Time for Halloween...<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk1eRcOTj89V2lnvE9_Ll84oXwA3ODU6fPOc_P8-VhOL1zSZkjO0_a3TKeXGdUPv3IWdyOufyci4eBI5DGLr9AyMmv2M_Axz7oj0asd-k0f0i5qz3VGGCCtb9Ln474gKzq4UPzy5Z0_RoH/s1600/vamps.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="109" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk1eRcOTj89V2lnvE9_Ll84oXwA3ODU6fPOc_P8-VhOL1zSZkjO0_a3TKeXGdUPv3IWdyOufyci4eBI5DGLr9AyMmv2M_Axz7oj0asd-k0f0i5qz3VGGCCtb9Ln474gKzq4UPzy5Z0_RoH/s200/vamps.jpg" width="200" /></a>...there's <i>Vamps</i>, Amy Heckerling's excellent new film reuniting the director with <i>Clueless</i> star Alicia Silverstone. While the characters are vampires, the true horror in the movie is the sense of being out of place in time, a feeling that Heckerling communicates with humor, inventiveness and pathos.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/vamps/6652">Vamps</a> (Slant)<br />
<a href="http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/the-details/6650">The Details</a> (Slant)<br />
<a href="http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/dinotasia/6636">Dinotasia</a> (Slant)<br />
<a href="http://www.villagevoice.com/2012-10-24/film/long-shot-the-kevin-laue-story/">Long Shot</a> (Village Voice)<br />
<a href="http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/dinotasia/6636">The Understudy</a> (Village Voice)<br />
<a href="http://www.timeout.com/us/film/a-mans-story">A Man's Story</a> (Time Out New York)<br />
<a href="http://www.indiewire.com/article/out-this-week-10-reviews-of-new-releases-from-cloud-atlas-to-tony-bennett#orchestra">Orchestra of Exiles</a> (Indiewire)
<p></p>andrew schenkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03827165807994115459noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8850434496522412492.post-34814643080655560602012-10-19T05:43:00.000-07:002012-10-19T05:43:10.449-07:00Argo and More<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijCzEq8K7X50GKjcmeZKnfU85_JgamRPYyW8np_MIbEGwmSGydnQQhNB39Ya5x4mugqFSKMsV9U1lPUgAGiJDkvNbwLOx09I1Yc5oQDgdp23mUf21UROe_xjE0H6by_zOAPClQl7Yq9JEE/s1600/argo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="109" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijCzEq8K7X50GKjcmeZKnfU85_JgamRPYyW8np_MIbEGwmSGydnQQhNB39Ya5x4mugqFSKMsV9U1lPUgAGiJDkvNbwLOx09I1Yc5oQDgdp23mUf21UROe_xjE0H6by_zOAPClQl7Yq9JEE/s200/argo.jpg" width="200" /></a>Of potential interest in my latest batch of reviews, articles, etc. are my take on Ben Affleck's <i>Argo: or How Not to Make a Political/Historical Movie in 2012</i> and, oddly, a think piece on <i>Looper</i> and time-travel for the Mumbai-based English-language newspaper, <i>The Indian Express</i>.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/argo/6609">Argo</a> (Slant)<br />
<a href="http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/all-together/6617">All Together</a> (Slant)<br />
<a href="http://www.villagevoice.com/2012-10-10/film/hotel-noir-film-review/">Hotel Noir</a> (Village Voice)<br />
<a href="http://www.indiewire.com/article/out-this-week-from-brooklyn-castle-to-tai-chi-6-reviews-of-new-releases#brooklyn%20castle">Brooklyn Castle</a> (Indiewire)<br />
<a href="http://www.timeout.com/us/film/the-flat#.UH3X21MMzHs.twitter">The Flat</a> (Time Out New York)<br />
<br />
<a href="http://m.indianexpress.com/news/past-masters/1015981/">Past Masters</a> (article) (The Indian Express)
<p></p>andrew schenkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03827165807994115459noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8850434496522412492.post-56409072614967180702012-10-11T06:52:00.001-07:002012-10-11T06:52:39.951-07:00Wrapping NYFF<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhShR0FP2ClgCCsrEODu7cY9NeXY5rzMprSFh39TJXFrtbZFGpI7AQaoXlDSElY2UkNI7Fgo5dAAB_JrxZGKpIY8BljAxbXLdBkUkWEfPCzz1Fm_lNINciGla8uZKWYcrU1HpvUCi_OJMT-/s1600/ginger+and+rosa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="109" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhShR0FP2ClgCCsrEODu7cY9NeXY5rzMprSFh39TJXFrtbZFGpI7AQaoXlDSElY2UkNI7Fgo5dAAB_JrxZGKpIY8BljAxbXLdBkUkWEfPCzz1Fm_lNINciGla8uZKWYcrU1HpvUCi_OJMT-/s200/ginger+and+rosa.jpg" width="200" /></a>This year's New York Film Festival is all but over and my final two reviews have been posted, both at Slant Magazine. Especially recommended is Sally Potter's <i>Ginger and Rosa</i>, a '60s set period piece done right.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/ginger-and-rosa/6596">Ginger and Rosa</a> (Slant)<br />
<a href="http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/our-children/6592">Our Children</a> (Slant)
<p></p>andrew schenkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03827165807994115459noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8850434496522412492.post-75144754527460361142012-10-05T04:25:00.002-07:002012-10-05T04:25:42.118-07:00The Good Stuff<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9jLbfN2j8J9C77nxC1gu1WfE_ufasCoZQmU9PSaWMv71WpQErz-Si6uNQw5q7Kwh_9Knfiz3Pmn6P3n90KoKmR7Mg_DivY50eQRu4Htb1oOtHVZV6S5Q-SzVpGT1PusoZn0XkG5qpk5mp/s1600/Looper-006.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="120" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9jLbfN2j8J9C77nxC1gu1WfE_ufasCoZQmU9PSaWMv71WpQErz-Si6uNQw5q7Kwh_9Knfiz3Pmn6P3n90KoKmR7Mg_DivY50eQRu4Htb1oOtHVZV6S5Q-SzVpGT1PusoZn0XkG5qpk5mp/s200/Looper-006.jpg" width="200" /></a>Amidst endless New York Film Festival screenings, I managed to review a few first-run titles along the way. The good news is that they're all very much worth seeing, whether it's Rian Johnson's scarily accomplished time-travel drama <i>Looper</i>, Eugene Jarecki's scathing takedown of the war on drugs <i>The House I Live In</i> or the delightfully tongue-in-cheek Anna Kendrick <i>Glee-</i>style vehicle, <i>Pitch Perfect</i>.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.villagevoice.com/2012-09-26/film/looper-makes-time-travel-thrilling-again/">Looper</a> (Village Voice)<br />
<a href="http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/the-house-i-live-in/6564">The House I Live In</a> (Slant)<br />
<a href="http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/pitch-perfect/6548">Pitch Perfect</a> (Slant)
<p></p>andrew schenkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03827165807994115459noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8850434496522412492.post-3587852188498571982012-10-04T17:55:00.001-07:002012-10-04T17:55:46.753-07:00New York Film Festival: Part Two<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVI_EUvmzBcxng-tcfH39RU9Hv72GJMnmUO803dk21RHIaqDo826igfb_87VQqbw1UwO7Y4qahLufD-tlelgiT3abtrbTBarsL4LeeeGJymmr4eHooLiDVU237S_dcfq_A7weAQxT5C8gw/s1600/fillthevoid.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="109" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVI_EUvmzBcxng-tcfH39RU9Hv72GJMnmUO803dk21RHIaqDo826igfb_87VQqbw1UwO7Y4qahLufD-tlelgiT3abtrbTBarsL4LeeeGJymmr4eHooLiDVU237S_dcfq_A7weAQxT5C8gw/s200/fillthevoid.jpg" width="200" /></a>With the New York Film Festival now well underway, Slant's coverage continues. My latest contributions cover a pair of films highly divergent in quality, one fiction and one documentary.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/fill-the-void/6578">Fill the Void</a> (Slant)<br />
<a href="http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/first-cousin-once-removed/6583">First Cousin Once Removed</a> (Slant)
<p></p>andrew schenkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03827165807994115459noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8850434496522412492.post-66141844225679169952012-09-23T15:32:00.000-07:002012-09-23T15:33:38.369-07:00New York Film Festival: Part One<div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9aJBGSuCzCV9_Ea-Vy9uAu03phnoKmlTEUZa_Hxa214WNa46aeBtOQxis9TULcFWRN3d8kvxp1ppIWjUDAFD4PV1zW_nfU8BLld23t7z4vAe87fYgz3FGer9PYl4Lx5nYbubnL-AlHGxD/s1600/youaintseennothinyet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="109" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9aJBGSuCzCV9_Ea-Vy9uAu03phnoKmlTEUZa_Hxa214WNa46aeBtOQxis9TULcFWRN3d8kvxp1ppIWjUDAFD4PV1zW_nfU8BLld23t7z4vAe87fYgz3FGer9PYl4Lx5nYbubnL-AlHGxD/s200/youaintseennothinyet.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<div>
Slant Magazine's coverage of the <a href="http://www.filmlinc.com/nyff2012/">50th annual New York Film Festival</a> has gone live and with it my first two reviews from the fest, taking on a pair of French pictures, the more significant of which is <i>You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet</i>, the latest from Alain Resnais. As always, I also contributed the introduction to the feature.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<a href="http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/feature/the-50th-new-york-film-festival/327">Introduction</a> (Slant)</div>
<div>
<a href="http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/camille-rewinds/6523">Camille Rewinds</a> (Slant)</div>
<div>
<a href="http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/you-aint-seen-nothin-yet/6543">You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet</a> (Slant)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
andrew schenkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03827165807994115459noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8850434496522412492.post-21223853830762315752012-09-20T04:53:00.000-07:002012-09-20T04:53:13.808-07:00Documentary Fortnight<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVHh7GnS-FJZSB8K_kcKnZGhmEMYFAYB-KJ9tK3Cg6Itw7RR13-NEgHy4e5radDLp7j_jzDfAR8UbO0n3oCuwKkB3PR9fJvBoHgGpzgn7Hr1Lco1Mkfc9-AqJU1DpX_-lSeexW4vJKS5ke/s1600/theycallit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVHh7GnS-FJZSB8K_kcKnZGhmEMYFAYB-KJ9tK3Cg6Itw7RR13-NEgHy4e5radDLp7j_jzDfAR8UbO0n3oCuwKkB3PR9fJvBoHgGpzgn7Hr1Lco1Mkfc9-AqJU1DpX_-lSeexW4vJKS5ke/s200/theycallit.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
While my reviews from the last two weeks didn't exclusively cover documentaries, the majority of them did. Of special interest is <i>Tears of Gaza</i>, Vibeke Løkkeberg's uncompromising look at the aftermath of Israel's Operation Cast Lead offensive. Also of note, my take on Woody Allen's latest, <i>To Rome with Love</i>.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/tears-of-gaza/6509">Tears of Gaza</a> (Slant)<br />
<a href="http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/hellbound/6514">Hellbound?</a> (Slant)<br />
<a href="http://www.littlewhitelies.co.uk/theatrical-reviews/to-rome-with-love-21845">To Rome with Love</a> (Little White Lies)<br />
<a href="http://www.villagevoice.com/2012-09-12/film/liberal-arts-film-review/">Liberal Arts</a> (Village Voice)<br />
<a href="http://www.timeout.com/us/film/the-other-dream-team">The Other Dream Team</a> (Time Out New York)<br />
<a href="http://www.timeout.com/us/film/snowmans-land">Snowman's Land</a> (Time Out New York)<br />
<a href="http://www.timeout.com/us/film/step-up-to-the-plate">Step Up to the Plate</a> (Time Out New York)<br />
<a href="http://www.timeout.com/us/film/they-call-it-myanmar">They Call it Myanmar</a> (Time Out New York)
<p></p>andrew schenkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03827165807994115459noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8850434496522412492.post-1495803400578785742012-09-05T13:39:00.001-07:002012-09-06T07:30:37.992-07:00Reviews by Twos<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhELeBSoF0DH2RGUauaufU2SjSn3GTbOWp5YMnY7-n1ztmMMXMY5fFY9UXw1a50oul0c8RiDVcKXo4I0wrhx4Bje0ALZ4p65CcIg7SdUnx6vXmn6vFKc_ndfgpMw17pu2Bj5fWQxZBA-mcH/s1600/foragoodtimecall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="109" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhELeBSoF0DH2RGUauaufU2SjSn3GTbOWp5YMnY7-n1ztmMMXMY5fFY9UXw1a50oul0c8RiDVcKXo4I0wrhx4Bje0ALZ4p65CcIg7SdUnx6vXmn6vFKc_ndfgpMw17pu2Bj5fWQxZBA-mcH/s200/foragoodtimecall.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
My latest batch of reviews divides off nicely into pairs. Two films about thirtysomething women losing their boyfriends/husbands and jobs/social roles who are forced to rethink their life for Slant and two gory horror pictures for the Village Voice. Of greater note, though, is Tsui Hark's latest, <i>The Flying Swords of Dragon Gate</i>, in which the Hong Kong filmmaker tries his hand at 3-D IMAX filmmaking.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/hello-i-must-be-going/6495">Hello, I Must Be Going</a> (Slant)<br />
<a href="http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/the-flying-swords-of-dragon-gate/6478">The Flying Swords of Dragon Gate</a> (Slant)<br />
<a href="http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/for-a-good-time-call/6475">For a Good Time, Call...</a> (Slant)<br />
<a href="http://www.littlewhitelies.co.uk/theatrical-reviews/the-three-stooges-21576">The Three Stooges</a> (Little White Lies)<br />
<a href="http://www.villagevoice.com/2012-09-05/film/serving-up-richard-film-review/">Serving Up Richard</a> (Village Voice)<br />
<a href="http://www.villagevoice.com/2012-09-05/film/rec-3-genesis-film-review/">[Rec] 3: Genesis</a> (Village Voice)<br />
<a href="http://www.indiewire.com/article/out-this-week-7-reviews-of-new-indie-releases_call#good">The Good Doctor</a> (Indiewire)<br />
<a href="http://www.timeout.com/us/film/beauty-is-embarrassing">Beauty is Embarrassing</a> (Time Out New York)
<p></p>andrew schenkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03827165807994115459noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8850434496522412492.post-34792296081380671762012-08-23T11:57:00.000-07:002012-08-23T11:57:46.844-07:00Compliance, Premium Rush and More<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8_B-5qz2DRXHKOj8zDHJwNWbF_HX7qYrf3qODHhBjpsTleZcLRwtyZc4u_luvLL6evzhgD9GOZz6WELj2_QMHaY1KQzZVfdWDFwdRijb49bEea9BCyI1ZedrQqzR0jkNdoSxiWQ15YRSU/s1600/premiumrush.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="109" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8_B-5qz2DRXHKOj8zDHJwNWbF_HX7qYrf3qODHhBjpsTleZcLRwtyZc4u_luvLL6evzhgD9GOZz6WELj2_QMHaY1KQzZVfdWDFwdRijb49bEea9BCyI1ZedrQqzR0jkNdoSxiWQ15YRSU/s200/premiumrush.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
I was as surprised as anyone to see the outpouring of critical acclaim for Craig Zobel's <i>Compliance</i>, a film that apparently divided critics and audiences during its run on the festival circuit, but met with near universal accolades upon its recent theatrical release. I found this to be especially disheartening as Zobel's film is one that really rankles, a work full of unjustified sadism, couched in a dishonestly presented framework. I also felt that too many critics were too willing to take the movie at its word, arguing that it successfully implicates the viewer's (inevitably) passive observation. As I wrote (via e-mail) to a colleague:<br />
<br />
The thing everyone says is that Zobel "implicates" the viewer. This is only half true. He would certainly like to implicate the viewer but he doesn't really know how. He gives us no choice but to watch passively what goes on, so, yeah, in that sense we're implicated, but he also lets us off the hook (not in the sense that we're not subjected to much unpleasantness though) by placing us in a superior position to everyone on screen. It's a bad faith manipulation that makes nonsense of any constructive purpose Zobel might imagine he's attempting.
<br />
<br />
So, yeah, I didn't like the movie for reasons stated above - and below in my review. But, in other, better news, there's also <i>Premium Rush</i>. Also, I tried my hand at another music review.<br />
<br />
Film<br />
<a href="http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/premium-rush/6470">Premium Rush</a> (Slant)<br />
<a href="http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/compliance/6445">Compliance</a> (Slant)<br />
<a href="http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/why-stop-now/6453">Why Stop Now</a> (Slant)<br />
<a href="http://www.indiewire.com/article/out-this-week-7-capsule-reviews-of-new-indie-releases#Somewhere">Somewhere Between</a> (Indiewire)<br />
<br />
Music<br />
<a href="http://www.inreviewonline.com/inreview/current_music/Entries/2012/8/22_Henry_Threadgill_&_Zooid_(2012)_1.html">Henry Threadgill & Zooid: Tomorrow Sunny/The Revelry, Spp</a> (In Review Online)
<p></p>andrew schenkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03827165807994115459noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8850434496522412492.post-35953228775244325922012-08-10T07:03:00.000-07:002012-08-10T07:07:13.301-07:00Diary of Two Weeks at the Cinema<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD11ElOm3hVztiloxqIvtHENAYd-gE3L_DyKzBJhAH_6NSq1OiYGfCZRe3wIL7F3i9vtn8v9OqgStUDQzV2ITm1JXWKsRcSeMfBrJGnUflaKAw6vPBDyhW7nHy1KFQD6zG83USQd2c1lkl/s1600/diaryofawimpykiddogdays.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="109" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD11ElOm3hVztiloxqIvtHENAYd-gE3L_DyKzBJhAH_6NSq1OiYGfCZRe3wIL7F3i9vtn8v9OqgStUDQzV2ITm1JXWKsRcSeMfBrJGnUflaKAw6vPBDyhW7nHy1KFQD6zG83USQd2c1lkl/s200/diaryofawimpykiddogdays.jpg" width="200" /></a>The tween-oriented franchise <i>Diary of a Wimpy Kid</i> unveiled its latest hotly anticipated entry and I was on hand to report. But there was more to the last cinematic fortnight than <i>Dog Days</i>. Of special interest is the low-key doc <i>Drought, </i>a portrait of a communal Mexican village and the parched landscape and arid conditions that define its existence.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<a href="http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/diary-of-a-wimpy-kid-dog-days/6428">Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days</a> (Slant)</div>
<div>
<a href="http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/the-babymakers/6417">The Babymakers</a> (Slant)</div>
<div>
<a href="http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/dreams-of-a-life/6420">Dreams of a Life</a> (Slant)</div>
<a href="http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/drought/6434">Drought</a> (Slant)<br />
<div>
<a href="http://www.villagevoice.com/2012-08-08/film/it-is-no-dream-the-life-of-theodor-herzl/">It is No Dream: The Life of Theodor Herzl</a> (Village Voice)</div>
<div>
<a href="http://www.timeout.com/us/film/supercapitalist">Supercapitalist</a> (Time Out New York)</div>
<div>
<a href="http://www.indiewire.com/article/out-this-week-a-dozen-reviews-of-new-indie-releases-celeste-and-jesse-forever-craisglist-joe-rec3-genesis-babymakers#Trumped">You've Been Trumped</a> (Indiewire)</div>
<p></p>andrew schenkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03827165807994115459noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8850434496522412492.post-73900916472606745532012-07-27T07:13:00.000-07:002012-07-27T07:17:59.301-07:00Antonioni, Stiller/Vaughn/Hill/Ayoade and Rising Stars of the Comedy World<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiOD5hT00VpHtwGlJqkaoUo6CN9UMQdsL4co6RpZvo4aAFaknVimhrWvDeakoumDnlHm4hyphenhyphen1OOra275_UNka56mH_FYVp6MmB4rxntc_ohCpuvR9xvAReJJ7EcaRC23ucO-WeDEDiXyrIH/s1600/red-desert2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="115" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiOD5hT00VpHtwGlJqkaoUo6CN9UMQdsL4co6RpZvo4aAFaknVimhrWvDeakoumDnlHm4hyphenhyphen1OOra275_UNka56mH_FYVp6MmB4rxntc_ohCpuvR9xvAReJJ7EcaRC23ucO-WeDEDiXyrIH/s320/red-desert2.jpg" width="320" /></a>My published writing for this week represents a rather a diverse set of work, so, for a change, the following links don't lead exclusively to snarky reviews of subpar new releases. Not to worry, there's plenty of that, too, (and I save some special venom for the new Ben Stiller/Vince Vaughn/Jonah Hill/Richard Ayoade sci-fi/comedy <i>The Watch), </i>but there's also my consideration of Michelangelo Antonioni's 1964 masterpiece <i>Red Desert</i> and profiles of two up-and-coming comedians which I contributed to Variety's "10 comics to watch" feature.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Film reviews</div>
<div>
<a href="http://www.littlewhitelies.co.uk/theatrical-reviews/red-desert-21270">Red Desert</a> (Little White Lies)</div>
<div>
<a href="http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/the-watch/6415">The Watch</a> (Slant)</div>
<div>
<a href="http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/ai-weiwei-never-sorry/6402">Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry</a> (Slant)</div>
<div>
<a href="http://www.timeout.com/us/film/big-boys-gone-bananas">Big Boys Gone Bananas*</a> (Time Out New York)</div>
<div>
<a href="http://www.indiewire.com/article/out-this-week-9-reviews-of-indie-releases#Deranged">Deranged</a> (Indiewire)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Comedian profiles:</div>
<div>
<a href="http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118056716">Kurt Braunohler</a> (Variety)</div>
<div>
<a href="http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118056723">Rory Scovel</a> (Variety)</div>
<p></p>andrew schenkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03827165807994115459noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8850434496522412492.post-1263247574197759702012-07-14T05:39:00.000-07:002012-07-14T05:39:03.961-07:00The July Longlist<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEkK3V-lU3CkEw_OGdOi4CcQmz6vnJWWcAHBn4ssYhyphenhyphenb9vTTkjNWAbP7rDucZZCzk_PKWF9vN0qC04i4cYgzAlFdMx-fAKQlqqhNwoHMWF2uELs3yPXOiEJL4AcHW14FLaEGMJBUrpqfb1/s1600/trishna.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="109" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEkK3V-lU3CkEw_OGdOi4CcQmz6vnJWWcAHBn4ssYhyphenhyphenb9vTTkjNWAbP7rDucZZCzk_PKWF9vN0qC04i4cYgzAlFdMx-fAKQlqqhNwoHMWF2uELs3yPXOiEJL4AcHW14FLaEGMJBUrpqfb1/s200/trishna.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
It's been awhile, so let's get right into it. Here are my reviews from the last two weeks: <br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/trishna/6203">Trishna</a> (Slant - originally posted during 2012 Tribeca Film Festival)<br />
<a href="http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/union-square/6382">Union Square</a> (Slant)<br />
<a href="http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/the-do-deca-pentathlon/6370">The Do-Deca-Pentathlon</a> (Slant)<br />
<a href="http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/crazy-eyes/6369">Crazy Eyes</a> (Slant)<br />
<a href="http://www.villagevoice.com/2012-07-11/film/ponies_nick_sandow/">Ponies</a> (Village Voice)<br />
<a href="http://www.villagevoice.com/2012-07-04/film/starry-starry-night/">Starry Starry Night</a> (Village Voice)<br />
<a href="http://www.timeout.com/us/film/grassroots">Grassroots</a> (Time Out New York)<br />
<a href="http://www.indiewire.com/article/out-this-week-12-reviews-of-new-indie-releases#family%20portrait">Family Portrait in Black and White</a> (Indiewire)
<p></p>andrew schenkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03827165807994115459noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8850434496522412492.post-71218544093293832702012-06-26T05:52:00.000-07:002012-06-26T05:52:16.233-07:00Seeking a Film for the Middle of the Year<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfGStKyXC3vkRDheg0qHbrDrU5i69W3mwXj43tHGQYjhj1U0CwzTZOd0AXkbfcNMJU2EojnCi-5JU6uU3sgTjVwpUR5_XRR6XFzYSH8htXM0oheKIlduEfJRr_m0zoUI1lTw5acJuDB-j-/s1600/seekingafriendfortheendoftheworld.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="109" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfGStKyXC3vkRDheg0qHbrDrU5i69W3mwXj43tHGQYjhj1U0CwzTZOd0AXkbfcNMJU2EojnCi-5JU6uU3sgTjVwpUR5_XRR6XFzYSH8htXM0oheKIlduEfJRr_m0zoUI1lTw5acJuDB-j-/s200/seekingafriendfortheendoftheworld.jpg" width="200" /></a>Summer traditionally means blockbuster film season. While neither of the wide-release films I reviewed recently quite qualify for blockbuster status, these movies (the end-of-the-world rom-com <i>Seeking a Friend for the End of the World</i> and the self-discovery weepie <i>People Like Us)</i> should have you searching for better cinematic fare.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/seeking-a-friend-for-the-end-of-the-world/6350">Seeking a Friend for the End of the World</a> (Slant)<br />
<a href="http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/people-like-us/6359">People Like Us</a> (Slant)<br />
<a href="http://www.villagevoice.com/2012-06-20/film/ordinary-miracles-Photo-League-film-review/">Ordinary Miracles</a> (Village Voice)
<p></p>andrew schenkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03827165807994115459noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8850434496522412492.post-51143135902484898372012-06-12T05:01:00.000-07:002012-06-12T05:01:09.749-07:00A Fresh Set of Reviews<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8_i5CaTqHbeRz-oPnu4mSlTFrBOso5Khq9OWnuQ1NoYVso4eH1gQ8f5tt4W6xMelZ8uZSidRnLB8FVQtaYV3gjJfGW2YMGOLQ6JsUD3QPj8NBBG11oxRTqvELgr6z3xZ4xrI1fisCbnEU/s1600/tahrir.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8_i5CaTqHbeRz-oPnu4mSlTFrBOso5Khq9OWnuQ1NoYVso4eH1gQ8f5tt4W6xMelZ8uZSidRnLB8FVQtaYV3gjJfGW2YMGOLQ6JsUD3QPj8NBBG11oxRTqvELgr6z3xZ4xrI1fisCbnEU/s200/tahrir.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
From the self-absorption of a romantically-obsessed 29-year old woman to the post-fame life of '70s singer Paul Williams to the world-historical events of the Arab Spring, the films in my latest set of reviews cover a wide range of territory. They also - per the norm - vary rather considerably in quality, from the pretty good to the not so very hot at all.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.thelmagazine.com/newyork/the-arab-spring-and-what-comes-next/Content?oid=2236821">Tahrir: Liberation Square</a> (The L Magazine)<br />
<a href="http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/lola-versus/6325">Lola Versus</a> (Slant)<br />
<a href="http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/peace-love-and-misunderstanding/6328">Peace, Love, & Misunderstanding</a> (Slant)<br />
<a href="http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/paul-williams-still-alive/6327">Paul Williams Still Alive</a> (Slant)<br />
<a href="http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/the-kite/6339">The Kite</a> (Slant)
<p></p>andrew schenkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03827165807994115459noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8850434496522412492.post-36838311881702513832012-05-31T04:56:00.000-07:002012-05-31T06:28:03.211-07:00Massive Catch-up Time<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhnFNhbKkXJnDq_g6DtUDbcEhaDWrf-IyVCyK-sn3kJFGSMWgJ4D8o1_ol_mknekMj1yl_YueTEHF5xSoAsTFw9R1LhPNWLXlozGCMdaOO_Mt9s5NXogIV_MHTKKbPVM190b7VS55u9g-R/s1600/moonrise.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="109" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhnFNhbKkXJnDq_g6DtUDbcEhaDWrf-IyVCyK-sn3kJFGSMWgJ4D8o1_ol_mknekMj1yl_YueTEHF5xSoAsTFw9R1LhPNWLXlozGCMdaOO_Mt9s5NXogIV_MHTKKbPVM190b7VS55u9g-R/s200/moonrise.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
Well, it's been a couple of weeks since my last post, which means there are a ton of reviews to link here. Happily, I'm able to report that at least two of them are quite excellent, Wes Anderson's latest, <i>Moonrise Kingdom</i>, and the new near-masterpiece from Japanese master Sion Sono, <i>Himizu</i>. Unfortunately the latter is only opening in the U.K. at this time, but hopefully it will get a stateside release sooner rather than later. Also, of interest is my take on the Andy Garcia vehicle, <i>For Greater Glory</i>, with my objections to the film's implicit embrace of Catholicism seeming to have provoked a tad bit of controversy. Enjoy!<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.littlewhitelies.co.uk/theatrical-reviews/himizu-20645">Himizu</a> (Little White Lies)<br />
<a href="http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/moonrise-kingdom/6295">Moonrise Kingdom</a> (Slant)<br />
<a href="http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/mighty-fine/6298">Mighty Fine</a> (Slant)<br />
<a href="http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/for-greater-glory/6309">For Greater Glory</a> (Slant)<br />
<a href="http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/6-month-rule/6308">6 Month Rule</a> (Slant)<br />
<a href="http://www.villagevoice.com/2012-05-30/film/wish-me-away-film-review/">Wish Me Away</a> (Village Voice)<br />
<a href="http://www.villagevoice.com/2012-05-30/film/high-school-film-review/">High School</a> (Village Voice)<br />
<a href="http://www.villagevoice.com/2012-05-30/film/one-day-on-earth/">One Day on Earth </a>(Village Voice)<br />
<a href="http://www.timeout.com/us/film/pink-ribbons-inc">Pink Ribbons, Inc.</a> (Time Out New York)<br />
<a href="http://www.timeout.com/us/film/u-n-me">U.N. Me</a> (Time Out New York)<br />
<a href="http://www.timeout.com/us/film/crooked-arrows">Crooked Arrows</a> (Time Out New York)andrew schenkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03827165807994115459noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8850434496522412492.post-31052011655577665872012-05-17T05:20:00.000-07:002012-05-17T05:23:04.307-07:00What to Expect When You're in Dell City, Texas<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDSbqgLFg5YeuVlB0bB7muzZ8A39gTWjwVcxLydSP5bvaBcS0AZi9SUw7ocnfYR5EVxrXf1Y3tEOr6DRl03_INp31749zB-bB9rIUw18eLkkt_B7XsHFxvuFWbgsaBBBixfWp1MAHoXlGi/s1600/whattoexpectwhenyoureexpecting.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="109" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDSbqgLFg5YeuVlB0bB7muzZ8A39gTWjwVcxLydSP5bvaBcS0AZi9SUw7ocnfYR5EVxrXf1Y3tEOr6DRl03_INp31749zB-bB9rIUw18eLkkt_B7XsHFxvuFWbgsaBBBixfWp1MAHoXlGi/s200/whattoexpectwhenyoureexpecting.jpg" width="200" /></a>My two reviews this week cover a pair of very different films: a terrible, regressive mainstream blockbuster and an intriguing under-the-radar documentary. Such is the world of New York first-run movie programming that there's room for all types of offerings.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/what-to-expect-when-youre-expecting/6292">What to Expect When You're Expecting</a> (Slant)<br />
<a href="http://www.villagevoice.com/2012-05-16/film/tales-from-dell-city-texas-film-review/">Tales from Dell City, Texas </a>(Village Voice)
<p></p>andrew schenkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03827165807994115459noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8850434496522412492.post-74347303918065387652012-05-10T03:22:00.001-07:002012-05-10T03:30:24.704-07:00Four New Films of Varying Quality<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4P1_gT4bzxemc9CBsAYeVdSug2tRgg5Yo7EDl-9uK2ERp5p8S1SaJlQ7c3mbQiYDfvcwNRuDdTXrrVfCqu-zhlFCPvfDvl54jN2-BATSLJ7ycprZ3v6K4XW-pczinhzrD4eLVt2rT6wjj/s1600/bagofhammers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="109" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4P1_gT4bzxemc9CBsAYeVdSug2tRgg5Yo7EDl-9uK2ERp5p8S1SaJlQ7c3mbQiYDfvcwNRuDdTXrrVfCqu-zhlFCPvfDvl54jN2-BATSLJ7ycprZ3v6K4XW-pczinhzrD4eLVt2rT6wjj/s200/bagofhammers.jpg" width="200" /></a>It brings me no pleasure to report that the last four films I reviewed ranged in quality from poor to terrible. The worst of the lot, though, was undoubtedly the latest Kate Hudson vehicle, the regressive Nicholas Sparks-style weepie, <i>A Little Bit of Heaven</i>.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/a-bag-of-hammers/6267">A Bag of Hammers</a> (Slant)<br />
<a href="http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/small-beautifully-moving-parts/6279">Small, Beautifully Moving Parts</a> (Slant)<br />
<a href="http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/a-little-bit-of-heaven/6261">A Little Bit of Heaven</a> (Slant)<br />
<a href="http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/last-call-at-the-oasis/6254">Last Call at the Oasis</a> (Slant)
<p></p>andrew schenkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03827165807994115459noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8850434496522412492.post-18822737246876012502012-04-25T07:46:00.000-07:002012-06-04T05:30:44.563-07:00The Six-Film EngagementThis week I reviewed a sextet of films of which the standouts are the documentary <i>Booker's Place</i> and, by far the most high-profile of the lot and the film which gives this post its (somewhat strained) title, <i>The Five-Year Engagement</i>. It seems that I'm in the minority in digging this one, with most of the critical hatred seeming to center on the film's formulaic nature. The thing about genre, though, is that it <i>is </i>formulaic. It's a question of tweaking the formula and using the genre's dictates intelligently, tasks ably handled by Nicholas Stoller's fine rom-com.<br />
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_1291866509"><br /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/the-five-year-engagement/6236">The Five-Year Engagement</a> (Slant)<br />
<a href="http://www.villagevoice.com/2012-04-25/film/dolphin-boy-film-review/">Dolphin Boy</a> (Village Voice)<br />
<a href="http://www.villagevoice.com/2012-04-25/film/inventing-our-life-the-kibbutz-experiment-film-review/">Inventing Our Life: The Kibbutz Experiment</a> (Village Voice)<br />
<a href="http://www.timeout.com/us/film/payback-1">Payback</a> (Time Out New York)<br />
<a href="http://www.timeout.com/us/film/bookers-place-a-mississippi-story">Booker's Place</a> (Time Out New York)<br />
<a href="http://www.timeout.com/us/film/96-minutes">96 Minutes</a> (Time Out New York)andrew schenkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03827165807994115459noreply@blogger.com0