We All Are Captains...

...in the exciting world of film criticism, but some are more so, thanks to the weight of institutional authority. Such is the case with one of the most embarrassing movie reviews I've ever read, David DeWitt's inane take on Oliver Laxe's You All Are Captains for the New York Times, which, among its other sins, seems not to understand the work in question one jot.

I can say this because I've actually seen the film - which plays for one week at New York's invaluable Anthology Film Archives - and contributed my own modest take for Slant Magazine, one of five reviews I published this week.

New Releases
You All Are Captains (Slant)
Being Elmo (Slant)
Oranges and Sunshine (Slant)
Cargo (Village Voice)
Elevate (Time Out New York)

New York Film Festival Addendum

Although my previous post seemed to announce an end to my New York Film Festival coverage, a pair of last minute assignments for The L Magazine means I get to weigh in on two more items, Alexander Payne's surprisingly decent The Descendants and the dreadful silent film pastiche The Artist.

The Descendants (The L Magazine)
The Artist (The L Magazine)

Wrapping NYFF

As this year's New York Film Festival nears its close, my last batch of reviews has been posted. While not covering any masterpieces such as The Turin Horse (see previous entry), this set of pieces spotlights at least one very worthwhile film.

New York Film Festival
Sleeping Sickness (Slant)
Once Upon a Time in Anatolia (Slant)
Footnote (Slant)

New Releases
The Way (Slant)

New York Film Festival and More

This year's New York Film Festival kicks off tomorrow, opening with a screening of Roman Polanski's Carnage. While the latest offering from the Chinatown director is not among those films I covered in my first set of reviews, several of the fest's finest entries are, most notably Béla Tarr's latest masterpiece, The Turin Horse. Also, as usual, I wrote the introduction for Slant Magazine's comprehensive coverage of the event.

New York Film Festival
Introduction (Slant)
The Turin Horse (Slant)
The Loneliest Planet (Slant)
Le Havre (The L Magazine)

New Releases
Benda Bilili! (Slant)
Surrogate Valentine (Slant)

Busy-with-New-York-Film-Festival Linkthrough

As I've been attending as many press screenings as possible for the upcoming New York Film Festival, I will have to keep this introduction short. So let's just get to the goods (by which I mean the links.) Look for NYFF coverage soon.

First Run Films:
Toast (Slant)
White Wash (Slant)
A Bird of the Air (Slant)
There Was Once... (Slant)
Journey from Zanskar (Village Voice)

DVDs:
Les Cousins (Slant)

All in a Week's Work

Five new film reviews this week, though, despite the occasional pleasures offered up by a few of the movies (most notably, Tom Tykwer's 3), none is really worth seeking out. Twas ever thus...

In other, non-film related, doings, I contributed my first ever music piece, a review of the Mekons' solid new offering.

Film
3 (Slant)
Berlin 36 (Slant)
Prince of Swine (Slant)
Jane's Journey (Time Out New York)
One Fall (Time Out New York)

Music
The Mekons: Ancient and Modern (Slant)

It's Martial Arts Mania!

Or so it would seem from my selection of reviews this week which includes two titles featuring Chinese-style hand-to-hand combat. While Shaolin's monks practice something called "martial Zen", the stars of My Kingdom are "opera warriors" fighting onstage amidst ornate costumes and makeup, making the latter film the (marginally) more appealing of the two.

Shaolin (Slant)
My Kingdom (Slant)
Tanner Hall (Slant)
Inside Out (Time Out New York)