I’d imagine every one of us, despite our individual life situations, however privileged or difficult they may be, wouldn’t have too much trouble coming up with a pretty long list of people and circumstances for which to be grateful, during the upcoming week traditionally reserved for the expression of thanks as well as throughout the entirety of the year.
Even in our brave new world, where gratitude and humility and generosity of spirit often seem to be in short supply, at the mercy of greed, abuse of power, disregard for the rule of law, and megalomaniac self-interest cynically masquerading as an aggressive strain of nationalist, populist passion, there are good, everyday reasons to look around and take stock of blessings in one’s immediate surroundings.
And speaking specifically as one who has the privilege and opportunity to occasionally write about matters concerning the movies, and even a (very...
Even in our brave new world, where gratitude and humility and generosity of spirit often seem to be in short supply, at the mercy of greed, abuse of power, disregard for the rule of law, and megalomaniac self-interest cynically masquerading as an aggressive strain of nationalist, populist passion, there are good, everyday reasons to look around and take stock of blessings in one’s immediate surroundings.
And speaking specifically as one who has the privilege and opportunity to occasionally write about matters concerning the movies, and even a (very...
- 11/23/2017
- by Dennis Cozzalio
- Trailers from Hell
When you think of Quentin Tarantino, classic films like “Reservoir Dogs,” “Pulp Fiction,” and “Django Unchained” certainly come to mind. But what about the critically reviled “Saturday Night Live” sketch adaptation “It’s Pat”? Or the Michael Bay Alcatraz action movie “The Rock”? Tarantino’s fingerprints have been all over the movies ever since his breakout debut in 1992, and some of his projects are way more bizarre than others.
Read More:Quentin Tarantino Wants Brad Pitt and Jennifer Lawrence For New Movie, And They Shouldn’t Resist
The director is currently getting together his ninth feature, which will be his penultimate effort behind the camera if his retirement talks are to be believed. Sources say Tarantino is putting together a drama involving the Manson family murders and that he’s eyeing Brad Pitt and Jennifer Lawrence to star. As the filmmakers looks to the future for his next project, we...
Read More:Quentin Tarantino Wants Brad Pitt and Jennifer Lawrence For New Movie, And They Shouldn’t Resist
The director is currently getting together his ninth feature, which will be his penultimate effort behind the camera if his retirement talks are to be believed. Sources say Tarantino is putting together a drama involving the Manson family murders and that he’s eyeing Brad Pitt and Jennifer Lawrence to star. As the filmmakers looks to the future for his next project, we...
- 8/22/2017
- by Zack Sharf
- Indiewire
Thanksgiving. After the past year of tumult, anger and divisiveness we’ve experienced in this country and around the world, to say nothing of the past couple of weeks, the concepts of thankfulness and appreciation may seem somewhat more distant and difficult to access than they might otherwise normally be. At any rate, Thanksgiving Day itself seems of late to be more about gorging on gigantic meals and, more distressingly, rampant consumerism, as Black Friday ever threatens to overtake the spirit of the day, and even the day itself—how many more seasons before it officially becomes Black Thursday? Yet here we are, a few days before that very American occasion inspired by the desire to show our gratitude for our many blessings. So in the hope of reclaiming some of the original intent of our national holiday, I’d like to send out some brief thoughts on a few...
- 11/20/2016
- by Dennis Cozzalio
- Trailers from Hell
When it comes to the discussion of Brian De Palma's collected oeuvre, Raising Cain is often met with indifference or seen as a well-intended failure when compared to his early filmography. Scream Factory's new, definitive Collector’s Edition Blu-ray release will no doubt change that conversation, mostly thanks to De Palma's preferred cut included on the second disc, a passionate fan-made edit that shifts the narrative perspective and overall tone into a completely different beast.
After the failure of adapting The Bonfire of the Vanities, the theatrical cut of Raising Cain was a noble return to what De Palma does best: cinematically manipulating the audience like voyeuristic puppets, much like he did with Body Double. In “Changing Cain: Brian De Palma's Cult Classic Restored,” one of the features included on the Blu-ray’s second disc, film critic Jim Emerson discusses how the opening shot of a...
After the failure of adapting The Bonfire of the Vanities, the theatrical cut of Raising Cain was a noble return to what De Palma does best: cinematically manipulating the audience like voyeuristic puppets, much like he did with Body Double. In “Changing Cain: Brian De Palma's Cult Classic Restored,” one of the features included on the Blu-ray’s second disc, film critic Jim Emerson discusses how the opening shot of a...
- 9/13/2016
- by Sean McClannahan
- DailyDead
This podcast focuses on Criterion’s Eclipse Series of DVDs. Hosts David Blakeslee and Trevor Berrett give an overview of each box and offer their perspectives on the unique treasures they find inside. In this episode, David and Trevor conclude their two-part discussion of Eclipse Series 39: Early Fassbinder.
About the films:
From the very beginning of his incandescent career, the New German Cinema enfant terrible Rainer Werner Fassbinder refused to play by the rules. His politically charged, experimental first films, made at an astonishingly rapid rate between 1969 and 1970, were influenced by the work of the Antiteater, an avant-garde stage troupe that he had helped found in Munich. Collected here are five of those fascinating and confrontational works. Whether a self- conscious meditation on American crime movies, a scathing indictment of xenophobia in contemporary Germany, or an off-the-wall look at the dysfunctional relationships on film sets, each is a startling...
About the films:
From the very beginning of his incandescent career, the New German Cinema enfant terrible Rainer Werner Fassbinder refused to play by the rules. His politically charged, experimental first films, made at an astonishingly rapid rate between 1969 and 1970, were influenced by the work of the Antiteater, an avant-garde stage troupe that he had helped found in Munich. Collected here are five of those fascinating and confrontational works. Whether a self- conscious meditation on American crime movies, a scathing indictment of xenophobia in contemporary Germany, or an off-the-wall look at the dysfunctional relationships on film sets, each is a startling...
- 6/30/2015
- by David Blakeslee
- CriterionCast
First and Final Frames from Jacob T. Swinney on Vimeo.
The first shot of any movie is arguably its most important. While many films are lazy about it and go with a standard establishing shot, the real masters know how to make that first moment count. Jim Emerson did a whole blog series looking just at opening shots.
But then of course equally important is how a film ends, or how it closes itself off to us. Much research has been done on this, and David Bordwell explains that we’ve even been conditioned by the movies to know that something is about to end.
What’s remarkable then is to see how those two moments contrast. Often they’re symmetrical. Others are specifically asymmetrical; they show where the character starts and where they’ve ended up. How a movie starts and ends can tell you all you need to know about it.
The first shot of any movie is arguably its most important. While many films are lazy about it and go with a standard establishing shot, the real masters know how to make that first moment count. Jim Emerson did a whole blog series looking just at opening shots.
But then of course equally important is how a film ends, or how it closes itself off to us. Much research has been done on this, and David Bordwell explains that we’ve even been conditioned by the movies to know that something is about to end.
What’s remarkable then is to see how those two moments contrast. Often they’re symmetrical. Others are specifically asymmetrical; they show where the character starts and where they’ve ended up. How a movie starts and ends can tell you all you need to know about it.
- 3/18/2015
- by Brian Welk
- SoundOnSight
If Christopher Nolan is not the most popular, talented, influential or even interesting director working today, then he is certainly the most important.
The release of a Christopher Nolan movie, even one that “underperforms” at the box office like this week’s Interstellar, is by far the most fervently talked about work of art for several news cycles. Even in the face of constant barrages of Taylor Swift headlines, Nolan’s work is intensely debated and scrutinized in a way no other filmmaker receives for even one film, let alone all of them.
In fact, the wild, ranting, nitpick-y plot hole posts that were previously confined to IMDb message boards have this week migrated to real entertainment news sites. This one found 21 things that didn’t make sense about Interstellar, this one made objections to the science and plot on the whole, and this one found only 13. For whatever reason,...
The release of a Christopher Nolan movie, even one that “underperforms” at the box office like this week’s Interstellar, is by far the most fervently talked about work of art for several news cycles. Even in the face of constant barrages of Taylor Swift headlines, Nolan’s work is intensely debated and scrutinized in a way no other filmmaker receives for even one film, let alone all of them.
In fact, the wild, ranting, nitpick-y plot hole posts that were previously confined to IMDb message boards have this week migrated to real entertainment news sites. This one found 21 things that didn’t make sense about Interstellar, this one made objections to the science and plot on the whole, and this one found only 13. For whatever reason,...
- 11/13/2014
- by Brian Welk
- SoundOnSight
Entertainment Geekly is a weekly column that examines pop culture through a geek lens and simultaneously examines contemporary geek culture through a pop lens. So many lenses!
Should we start with the music videos? Does anyone in college or younger understand why music videos were important? There was a significant portion of the ’90s spent agonizing over how cinema would be forever altered by the onrushing influx of young-turk hotshot music-video auteurs, and the quick-cut glitter-grit really-just-too-much style they brought along.
Now it’s 2014 and music videos are dead, unless you’re a bygone spiffy-clean tween star nakedly straddling a spheroid metaphor.
Should we start with the music videos? Does anyone in college or younger understand why music videos were important? There was a significant portion of the ’90s spent agonizing over how cinema would be forever altered by the onrushing influx of young-turk hotshot music-video auteurs, and the quick-cut glitter-grit really-just-too-much style they brought along.
Now it’s 2014 and music videos are dead, unless you’re a bygone spiffy-clean tween star nakedly straddling a spheroid metaphor.
- 4/10/2014
- by Darren Franich
- EW.com - PopWatch
Thank you. Forty-six years ago on April 3, 1967, I became the film critic for the Chicago Sun-Times. Some of you have read my reviews and columns and even written to me since that time. Others were introduced to my film criticism through the television show, my books, the website, the film festival, or the Ebert Club and newsletter. However you came to know me, I'm glad you did and thank you for being the best readers any film critic could ask for.
Typically, I write over 200 reviews a year for the Sun-Times that are carried by Universal Press Syndicate in some 200 newspapers. Last year, I wrote the most of my career, including 306 movie reviews, a blog post or two a week, and assorted other articles. I must slow down now, which is why I'm taking what I like to call "a leave of presence."
What in the world is a leave of presence?...
Typically, I write over 200 reviews a year for the Sun-Times that are carried by Universal Press Syndicate in some 200 newspapers. Last year, I wrote the most of my career, including 306 movie reviews, a blog post or two a week, and assorted other articles. I must slow down now, which is why I'm taking what I like to call "a leave of presence."
What in the world is a leave of presence?...
- 6/5/2013
- by Roger Ebert
- blogs.suntimes.com/ebert
The final review of Pulitzer Prize-winning film critic Roger Ebert, who died Thursday at age 70, was published on his web site Sunday. The film is "To the Wonder," directed by Terrence Malick. Magnolia Pictures plans a limited release beginning next week for the film. The romance stars Ben Affleck, Olga Kurylenko, Rachel McAdams and Javier Bardem. Also read: Hollywood Directors Remember 'Legend' Roger Ebert Jim Emerson, who edits Ebert's web site, tweeted a link to the review on Sunday using Ebert's account. Here's the final paragraph: "There will be many who find "To...
- 4/7/2013
- by Todd Cunningham
- The Wrap
Roger Ebert’s passing yesterday marked the end of one of the most influential, entertaining, and versatile voices in American criticism. (Though, technically speaking, he has a couple more reviews coming up, according to his longtime collaborator, editor, and friend Jim Emerson.) In honor of Roger Ebert’s immense, diverse body of work, here are fifteen great quotes and passages from his writing — from pans to effusive praise to touching blog posts and even recipes. These aren’t necessarily his most definitive reviews or passages, and yet each one evokes exactly what he did so well in every bit of writing, no matter how banal, grand, or universal the subject. (And make sure to also read David Edelstein’s eloquent eulogy to Ebert.)Do the Right Thing review, June 30, 1989"Of course it is confused. Of course it wavers between middle-class values and street values. Of course it is not sure...
- 4/5/2013
- by Bilge Ebiri
- Vulture
Thank you. Forty-six years ago on April 3, 1967, I became the film critic for the Chicago Sun-Times. Some of you have read my reviews and columns and even written to me since that time. Others were introduced to my film criticism through the television show, my books, the website, the film festival, or the Ebert Club and newsletter. However you came to know me, I'm glad you did and thank you for being the best readers any film critic could ask for.
Typically, I write over 200 reviews a year for the Sun-Times that are carried by Universal Press Syndicate in some 200 newspapers. Last year, I wrote the most of my career, including 306 movie reviews, a blog post or two a week, and assorted other articles. I must slow down now, which is why I'm taking what I like to call "a leave of presence."
What in the world is a leave of presence?...
Typically, I write over 200 reviews a year for the Sun-Times that are carried by Universal Press Syndicate in some 200 newspapers. Last year, I wrote the most of my career, including 306 movie reviews, a blog post or two a week, and assorted other articles. I must slow down now, which is why I'm taking what I like to call "a leave of presence."
What in the world is a leave of presence?...
- 4/3/2013
- by Roger Ebert
- blogs.suntimes.com/ebert
The Shining
Written by Diane Johnson and Stanley Kubrick based on the novel The Shining by Stephen King
Directed by Stanley Kubrick
USA 1980 imdb
Quebec’s only documentary film festival, Rencontres internationales du documentaire de Montréal – Ridm, starts Wednesday, November 7th. One of the most highly anticipated docs is Room 237, a film about the obsessive deep analysis of Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 horror film, The Shining. Theories explored in the documentary range from the plausible (The Overlook Hotel was built on an Indian burial ground and the ghosts are manifestations of the dead Indians need for revenge on the White culture that killed them) to the implausible (the film is a Holocaust metaphor) to – well, that’s a stretch (the film is a meditation on the myth of the Minotaur and the Labyrinth) to – wait What? (the film is Kubrick’s coded confession that he faked the Apollo Moon landing...
Written by Diane Johnson and Stanley Kubrick based on the novel The Shining by Stephen King
Directed by Stanley Kubrick
USA 1980 imdb
Quebec’s only documentary film festival, Rencontres internationales du documentaire de Montréal – Ridm, starts Wednesday, November 7th. One of the most highly anticipated docs is Room 237, a film about the obsessive deep analysis of Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 horror film, The Shining. Theories explored in the documentary range from the plausible (The Overlook Hotel was built on an Indian burial ground and the ghosts are manifestations of the dead Indians need for revenge on the White culture that killed them) to the implausible (the film is a Holocaust metaphor) to – well, that’s a stretch (the film is a meditation on the myth of the Minotaur and the Labyrinth) to – wait What? (the film is Kubrick’s coded confession that he faked the Apollo Moon landing...
- 11/1/2012
- by Michael Ryan
- SoundOnSight
You may have seen recently that Joss Whedon “endorsed“ Mitt Romney for President saying, “You know, like a lot of liberal Americans, I was excited when Barack Obama took office four years ago. But it’s a very different world now. And Mitt Romney is a very different candidate. One with the vision and determination to cut through business-as-usual politics and finally put this country back on the path to the zombie apocalypse.”
Joss Whedon is absolutely right to invoke zombies in a political discussion, because zombies are the most political of monsters. Or to put it another way, Zombie films are the most political of all horror films.
…
…
…
Wait. What?
Let me explain.
Roger Ebert, in his review of Zombieland, wrote about Zombies:
Vampires make a certain amount of sense to me, but zombies not so much. What’s their purpose? Why do they always look so bad? Can...
Joss Whedon is absolutely right to invoke zombies in a political discussion, because zombies are the most political of monsters. Or to put it another way, Zombie films are the most political of all horror films.
…
…
…
Wait. What?
Let me explain.
Roger Ebert, in his review of Zombieland, wrote about Zombies:
Vampires make a certain amount of sense to me, but zombies not so much. What’s their purpose? Why do they always look so bad? Can...
- 10/30/2012
- by Michael Ryan
- SoundOnSight
A musing on the absence of animation from the Sight and Sound poll and a shameless attempt to shed light on a neglected gem from the genre.
The Sight and Sound poll is out and the dust has settled. A nun has sent Orson Welles plummeting from the top spot and a new film reigns supreme (Vertigo, not Sister Act). Almost everything that could be said has been said (Fall of Kane! Rise of Hitch! No Michael Bay?) but the poll was just as notable for it’s omissions as it was for the Top Ten.
Alongside the sharp pang I felt just above the left kidney when seeing the lack of Woody Allen in the top 50, another notable presence missing was that of animation. Just as Jim Emerson has noted the lack of funny in the list at his Scanners blog and Nick Goundry has used this very site...
The Sight and Sound poll is out and the dust has settled. A nun has sent Orson Welles plummeting from the top spot and a new film reigns supreme (Vertigo, not Sister Act). Almost everything that could be said has been said (Fall of Kane! Rise of Hitch! No Michael Bay?) but the poll was just as notable for it’s omissions as it was for the Top Ten.
Alongside the sharp pang I felt just above the left kidney when seeing the lack of Woody Allen in the top 50, another notable presence missing was that of animation. Just as Jim Emerson has noted the lack of funny in the list at his Scanners blog and Nick Goundry has used this very site...
- 8/9/2012
- by Billy Langsworthy
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
News.
A new-ish film journal has grabbed our attention. Interiors is a unique online monthly publication that hones in on a different film each issue, and focuses on the architecture in a particular scene and its expressive qualities. For example, the elevator in Drive, the apartment from Contempt, and in their timely latest edition, which dropped over the weekend, the bank in The Dark Knight. Be sure to give their work a look. They're also in the business of making nifty art prints. With this new Nisimazine Special focusing on the East of the West Competition of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, the official publication of Nisi Masa presents its third edition of the Special Series, a complementary addition to their Film Journalism Workshops for young critics. Peter Greenaway told The Hollywood Reporter that he plans to make a film about Sergei Eisenstein titled Eisenstein in Guanajuato that would...
A new-ish film journal has grabbed our attention. Interiors is a unique online monthly publication that hones in on a different film each issue, and focuses on the architecture in a particular scene and its expressive qualities. For example, the elevator in Drive, the apartment from Contempt, and in their timely latest edition, which dropped over the weekend, the bank in The Dark Knight. Be sure to give their work a look. They're also in the business of making nifty art prints. With this new Nisimazine Special focusing on the East of the West Competition of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, the official publication of Nisi Masa presents its third edition of the Special Series, a complementary addition to their Film Journalism Workshops for young critics. Peter Greenaway told The Hollywood Reporter that he plans to make a film about Sergei Eisenstein titled Eisenstein in Guanajuato that would...
- 7/18/2012
- MUBI
The video on this page was an undercover project, I learn, at Ebertfest 2012. Most of my Far-Flung Correspondents and Demanders were there in person, and those who couldn't be contributed their voices via audio files. The idea originated with Kevin B. Lee, who did the audiotaping and editing. It was the inspiration of Michael Mirasol to use the foreign languages of those who spoke one. The video essay is the first in a series about critics by Kevin B. Lee, who is editor of the Press Play video essays at Indiewire.com--which he and Matt Zoller Seitz have built into the best video essay source on the web. Kevin was a special correspondent for our TV show, "Ebert Presents at the Movies." He had the idea of beginning with my list of the Greatest Films of All Time for the 1982 Sight & Sound poll. This was rather inspired, because that first list is my "purest,...
- 5/23/2012
- by Roger Ebert
- blogs.suntimes.com/ebert
The Avengers Initiative
Wired the physics of the Hulk's jump
Monkey See suggests some other team-up films that should follow The Avengers. Love the ending. Hee!
Guardian have you heard this ridiculously whiny Samuel L Jackson story? He's incensed that Ao Scott gave The Avengers a thumbs down. I like Ao Scott. The New York Times critic was at my screening and patiently waited in line. NY 1's Neil Rosen thought himself way too important to wait and just walked to the front. How do you like them apples?
Scanners Jim Emerson sounds off on this same controversy (the Jackson vs Scott thing not Rosen's apples!)
Not Relation
Empire Joseph Gordon-Levitt may headline a remake of Little Shop of Horrors (1986). Uh, good luck finding another Ellen Greene.
Coming Soon Sharlto Copley (District 9) is lining up a lot of movies. He next stars in Old Grave then Old Boy (the...
Wired the physics of the Hulk's jump
Monkey See suggests some other team-up films that should follow The Avengers. Love the ending. Hee!
Guardian have you heard this ridiculously whiny Samuel L Jackson story? He's incensed that Ao Scott gave The Avengers a thumbs down. I like Ao Scott. The New York Times critic was at my screening and patiently waited in line. NY 1's Neil Rosen thought himself way too important to wait and just walked to the front. How do you like them apples?
Scanners Jim Emerson sounds off on this same controversy (the Jackson vs Scott thing not Rosen's apples!)
Not Relation
Empire Joseph Gordon-Levitt may headline a remake of Little Shop of Horrors (1986). Uh, good luck finding another Ellen Greene.
Coming Soon Sharlto Copley (District 9) is lining up a lot of movies. He next stars in Old Grave then Old Boy (the...
- 5/4/2012
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
Detention
Directed by: Joseph Kahn
Cast: Josh Hutcherson, Shanley Caswell, Dane Cook
Running Time: 1 hr 29 mins
Rating: R
Release Date: April 13, 2012 (Chicago)
Plot: After a horror movie-inspired serial killer slashes someone on their campus, a group of suspect high school seniors (Hutcherson, Caswell) are put into detention during prom night.
Who’S It For?: Detention is the new Sermon on the Mount/Gettysburg Address/Kanye West twitter feed for the high schooler frustrated by everyone’s desire to label or be labeled, or to wear the coolest clothes without any sense of honest expression. To say this is for the “outsider” is too general; this is for the social outsider who doesn’t care about fitting in. As for those who made it out of high school, there is still much to enjoy with Detention as well. If you like highly involving unique film experiences that push their cinematic bounds,...
Directed by: Joseph Kahn
Cast: Josh Hutcherson, Shanley Caswell, Dane Cook
Running Time: 1 hr 29 mins
Rating: R
Release Date: April 13, 2012 (Chicago)
Plot: After a horror movie-inspired serial killer slashes someone on their campus, a group of suspect high school seniors (Hutcherson, Caswell) are put into detention during prom night.
Who’S It For?: Detention is the new Sermon on the Mount/Gettysburg Address/Kanye West twitter feed for the high schooler frustrated by everyone’s desire to label or be labeled, or to wear the coolest clothes without any sense of honest expression. To say this is for the “outsider” is too general; this is for the social outsider who doesn’t care about fitting in. As for those who made it out of high school, there is still much to enjoy with Detention as well. If you like highly involving unique film experiences that push their cinematic bounds,...
- 4/13/2012
- by Nick Allen
- The Scorecard Review
Stunning and deeply saddening news: "The San Francisco Film Society regrets to announce that Executive Director Bingham Ray passed away on January 23 while attending the 2012 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah." He'd taken over the position after Graham Leggat passed away in August. Further into today's statement:
Ray came to the San Francisco Film Society from New York City, where he recently served as the first run programming consultant to the Film Society of Lincoln Center, executive consultant to the digital distribution company SnagFilms and adjunct professor at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts.
Ray cofounded October Films in 1991 and served as its copresident until its sale to USA Networks in 1999. October was one of the foremost independent film companies of the 1990s, winning two Oscars and garnering 13 Oscar nominations and top prizes at the Cannes Film Festival on three occasions. Some of October Films' credits include the internationally acclaimed Secrets & Lies,...
Ray came to the San Francisco Film Society from New York City, where he recently served as the first run programming consultant to the Film Society of Lincoln Center, executive consultant to the digital distribution company SnagFilms and adjunct professor at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts.
Ray cofounded October Films in 1991 and served as its copresident until its sale to USA Networks in 1999. October was one of the foremost independent film companies of the 1990s, winning two Oscars and garnering 13 Oscar nominations and top prizes at the Cannes Film Festival on three occasions. Some of October Films' credits include the internationally acclaimed Secrets & Lies,...
- 1/25/2012
- MUBI
The new Film Quarterly is out and, of the four pieces online, the standout for me is Caetlin Benson-Allott's: "Since Marey's motion studies at the end of the 19th century, film has been a tool for providing visible evidence, a record of things seen. The development of digital imaging technology over the past twenty years has transformed that original empirical function. Advancements in CGI enable convincing depictions of things impossible to see in everyday life: dinosaurs, hobbits, viruses. It has become necessary to speak of 'hypervisibility' to describe the way movies can realistically render such previously hard-to-envision phenomena. Steven Soderbergh's Contagion tries to contest this prevailing logic by insisting on the limits of visibility."
Also: Editor Rob White talks with Göran Hugo Olsson about The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975, Joshua Clover on Contagion, Justin Lin's Fast Five and Rupert Wyatt's Rise of the Planet of the Apes...
Also: Editor Rob White talks with Göran Hugo Olsson about The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975, Joshua Clover on Contagion, Justin Lin's Fast Five and Rupert Wyatt's Rise of the Planet of the Apes...
- 1/7/2012
- MUBI
Scott Weinberg has tallied the votes from 20 Movies.com contributors and come up with a top 20. #1: Nicolas Winding Refn's Drive.
"Refn's pulp fantasia — with the iconic Ryan Gosling sporting a cheesy scorpion jacket, a toothpick and a lack of dialogue unrivaled since Clint Eastwood's spaghetti westerns — reminded me just how much I love movies," writes Sean Burns. "Refn's boldly artificial flourishes, graphic violence and swoony romanticism conjured an alternate universe I adored basking in, over and over. Throw in Albert Brooks as the villain, and I don't want to admit how many times I went back to see it again."
Also in the Philadelphia Weekly, Matt Prigge, whose #2 is Kenneth Lonergan's Margaret, on his #1, House of Tolerance: "Like Margaret, Bertrand Bonello's dreamy look at a tony, turn-of-the-century Parisian brothel was initially hated, with some at Cannes calling it the fest's worst. It fared better at Toronto,...
"Refn's pulp fantasia — with the iconic Ryan Gosling sporting a cheesy scorpion jacket, a toothpick and a lack of dialogue unrivaled since Clint Eastwood's spaghetti westerns — reminded me just how much I love movies," writes Sean Burns. "Refn's boldly artificial flourishes, graphic violence and swoony romanticism conjured an alternate universe I adored basking in, over and over. Throw in Albert Brooks as the villain, and I don't want to admit how many times I went back to see it again."
Also in the Philadelphia Weekly, Matt Prigge, whose #2 is Kenneth Lonergan's Margaret, on his #1, House of Tolerance: "Like Margaret, Bertrand Bonello's dreamy look at a tony, turn-of-the-century Parisian brothel was initially hated, with some at Cannes calling it the fest's worst. It fared better at Toronto,...
- 12/29/2011
- MUBI
Slant's is, of course, the big list to appear since the last Briefing. From Nick Schager's introduction to the countdown of their collective top 25: "The auteurs had it in 2011, which delivered such a feast of fantastic domestic and international cinema that it's difficult to remember a year in which it was harder to compile a consensus Top 25. Nonetheless, best-of-year rankings wait for no critic, and our list is practically overflowing with films by young and old masters at the apex of their games, be it Terrence Malick's sumptuous spiritual odyssey The Tree of Life, Edward Yang's long-unreleased 1991 classic A Brighter Summer Day, or Abbas Kiarostami's formalist masterwork Certified Copy." Which lands at #1. At the House Next Door, you can scan the titles that came in between #26 and #50 as well as the individual ballots by Schager, Ed Gonzalez, Andrew Schenker, Jaime N Christley, Bill Weber, Jesse Cataldo,...
- 12/16/2011
- MUBI
"Martin Scorsese's Hugo begins with a vertiginous descent that only gains speed as it follows a train and barrels into the station that will be its main setting," writes Phil Coldiron in Slant. "Leaving the tracks, it continues on its path through the concourse, moving past digital extras, the first of many ghostly presences, before seamlessly entering the realm of the real — that is, the soundstage. The worlds of Lumière (the train: the document of reality) and Méliès (the impossible camera: the spectacle of fantasy) come together, the latter used as a tool to try to restore the long-lost thrill of the former. This is the first moment of Scorsese's career that could accurately be described as Cameronian; it's also the first appearance of Hugo's exceptionally personal cinematic gambit."
"Like nearly all of Scorsese's films, Hugo can be taken as personal allegory," agrees Adam Cook. "It can also...
"Like nearly all of Scorsese's films, Hugo can be taken as personal allegory," agrees Adam Cook. "It can also...
- 11/25/2011
- MUBI
It’s Tuesday! That means it’s time for another Home Invasion post. Home Invasion is a list of DVD & Blu-Ray releases for the week. All descriptions are from Amazon.com unless otherwise noted. We have included buttons for you to order that product which not only makes it easy on you but also helps us pay the bills around here.
Batman: Year One (Blu-ray/DVD Combo + Digital Copy)
Batman: Year One is an animated adaptation of the four issue story arc Batman: Year One. The premiere was at Comic-Con on July 22 and the official release date is October 18, 2011. The film was directed by Lauren Montgomery and Sam Liu. It is the 12th film released under the DC Universe Animated Original Movies banner. (from Wikipedia.org)
Buy the Blu-Ray/DVD Combo + Digital Copy @ Amazon.com Beware
Shady Grove has many dark secrets among them is the sadistic legend of Shane,...
Batman: Year One (Blu-ray/DVD Combo + Digital Copy)
Batman: Year One is an animated adaptation of the four issue story arc Batman: Year One. The premiere was at Comic-Con on July 22 and the official release date is October 18, 2011. The film was directed by Lauren Montgomery and Sam Liu. It is the 12th film released under the DC Universe Animated Original Movies banner. (from Wikipedia.org)
Buy the Blu-Ray/DVD Combo + Digital Copy @ Amazon.com Beware
Shady Grove has many dark secrets among them is the sadistic legend of Shane,...
- 10/18/2011
- by Andy Triefenbach
- Destroy the Brain
"The Skin I Live In is Almodóvar's most formally complex, bravura film since All About My Mother (1999)," argues Amy Taubin in Artforum. "It effortlessly synthesizes the mad-scientist horror flick; a contemporary resetting of a nineteenth-century grand opera narrative (motored by the desire for revenge and filled with dark family secrets); and the most perverse strain of the Hollywood 'Woman's Picture,' where the heroines are wrongly imprisoned in insane asylums or hospitals and treated as sadistically as lab rats. That it is a disturbing film goes without saying, but its affect is strikingly narcotic throughout, its moments of anguish tempered by the Carnivalesque…. The Skin I Live In is an exhilarating treatise on identity in which the self transcends the fragile, sullied flesh, and, as always in Almodóvar, the law of desire trumps sexual difference."
Karina Longworth in the Voice: "A postmodern homage to Hitchcock that raises the Master of...
Karina Longworth in the Voice: "A postmodern homage to Hitchcock that raises the Master of...
- 10/15/2011
- MUBI
Dispatches are beginning to come in from this year's Vancouver International Film Festival, which opened on Thursday and runs through October 14. I'll be collecting notes and links here.
"I wasn't sure how much I was going to be able to take of Markus Schleinzer's Michael, at first, given that it begins as the Jeanne Dielman of Austrian kidnapper-pedophile movies," writes Jim Emerson. Fortunately, once the opening title appears on the screen it gets better…. Oddly, just before I came to Vancouver I watched the documentary, Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho, which detailed how the director labored to transfer the audiences ambivalent sympathies for the shower-slaughtered Marion Crane to the mother-hen-pecked son and motel manager Norman Bates, who finds himself in the position of having to clean up after his mother's mess. There's none of that in Michael — not a bit of audience-implicating suspense that he might slip up and get caught,...
"I wasn't sure how much I was going to be able to take of Markus Schleinzer's Michael, at first, given that it begins as the Jeanne Dielman of Austrian kidnapper-pedophile movies," writes Jim Emerson. Fortunately, once the opening title appears on the screen it gets better…. Oddly, just before I came to Vancouver I watched the documentary, Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho, which detailed how the director labored to transfer the audiences ambivalent sympathies for the shower-slaughtered Marion Crane to the mother-hen-pecked son and motel manager Norman Bates, who finds himself in the position of having to clean up after his mother's mess. There's none of that in Michael — not a bit of audience-implicating suspense that he might slip up and get caught,...
- 10/3/2011
- MUBI
Mention October to some and revolution and Eisenstein will spring to mind. To others, it'll be the journal of art criticism and theory (whose latest issue, as it happens, concentrates on film and video). But for many more, it'll be "the arrival of coolth and crispidy after months oppressive heat and intrusive sunshine… the downward spiral of maple leaves from the tree tops, the wind in the willows, the shadow over Innsmouth, the silence of the lambs, the howling in the woods, I love every damned thing about this glorious but all-too-short season!" exclaims Richard Harland Smith at Movie Morlocks. And of course, what he especially loves are "all the shades of Halloween, from the ticky-tack gee-gaws on the shelves at Cvs and Rite Aid to the widespread enjoyment of classical music (Camille Saint-Saëns's Danse Macabre, Johann Sebastian Bach's Toccata and Fugue), literature (Henry James's The Turn of the Screw,...
- 10/1/2011
- MUBI
I've only just now caught up with David Jenkins's interview with Charlie Kaufman for Time Out London in which Jenkins has "asked him about some of the dos, don'ts and more don'ts of his very personalized trade." That alone makes it a must-read, of course, but Kaufman also talks a bit about the project he's working on now, Frank or Francis, noting that "the scope of it and the world it inhabits is very, very large. In the broadest possible sense, it's about online film criticism, but as usual, the world that I'm writing about is not necessarily the world that I'm writing about. It's just a place to set it. There's a lot in there about the internet and anger: cultural, societal and individual anger. And isolation in this particular age we live in. And competition: it's about the idea of people in this world wanting to be seen.
- 9/30/2011
- MUBI
There's been a lot of good criticism about action movies lately. Matthias Stork and Jim Emerson's "Chaos Cinema" and "In the Cut" video essays have got people asking the question: what makes a good action movie? I've just seen the answer; it's a French thriller called "Sleepless Night." Without being didactic in any way, it is action movie as criticism of action movies, leading by example in an era of incoherent films with stale aesthetics. After a long day at Fantastic Fest, a midnight screening of "Sleepless Night" woke me up more effectively than any cup of coffee I've ever had in my life. Hours later, I was still riding the high. So the movie's not only great, the title's accurate too.
Exposition is kept to a minimum; action defines character. Impressions are made, then upended by new revelations, onion-peeling style. We open on a daring daytime heist. Two men,...
Exposition is kept to a minimum; action defines character. Impressions are made, then upended by new revelations, onion-peeling style. We open on a daring daytime heist. Two men,...
- 9/26/2011
- by Matt Singer
- ifc.com
Here’s the third and final part of Jim Emerson‘s video editing masterclass, In the Cut which he has titled, I Left My Heart in My Throat in San Francisco. In this video, Jim uses William Friedkin’s “The French Connection” (1971), Peter Yates’ “Bullitt” (1968) and Don Siegel’s “The Lineup” (1958) to clearly show how editing and using motion works for the viewer while watching a movie.
If you’ve missed the first and second part of the series, you can catch up here for The Dark Knight and here for Salt. If you’re a budding filmmaker or just want to find out more about how cutting a movie all comes together. Jim uses easy to follow was of explaining things which suits me just fine!
Click play and enjoy and once again, thank you Jim for bringing us all this series.
If you’ve missed the first and second part of the series, you can catch up here for The Dark Knight and here for Salt. If you’re a budding filmmaker or just want to find out more about how cutting a movie all comes together. Jim uses easy to follow was of explaining things which suits me just fine!
Click play and enjoy and once again, thank you Jim for bringing us all this series.
- 9/25/2011
- by David Sztypuljak
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
The /Filmcast: After Dark is a recording of what happens right after The /Filmcast is over, when the kids have gone to bed and the guys feel free to speak whatever is on their minds. In other words, it’s the leftover and disorganized ramblings, mindfarts, and brain diarrhea from The /Filmcast, all in one convenient audio file. In this episode, David Chen [1], Devindra Hardawar [2], and Adam Quigley [3] discuss whether or not the action from The Dark Knight actually makes sense and debate whether/how our history of racist cartoons should be released. Special guest Tasha Robinson joins us from Av Club. [4] Click here to watch Jim Emerson's Dark Knight dissection [5] and also be sure to check out Joseph Kahn's response. [6] You can always e-mail us at slashfilmcast(At)gmail(Dot)com, or call and leave a voicemail at 781-583-1993. We'll be back on Slashfilm's live page...
- 9/24/2011
- by David Chen
- Slash Film
In the wake of the discovery of a previously unpublished manuscript by James M Cain (Hard Case Crime will be releasing The Cocktail Waitress next fall), William Marling reviews David Madden and Kristopher Mecholsky's James M Cain: Hard-Boiled Mythmaker for the Los Angeles Review of Books: "[F]ilms such as Slightly Scarlet (Allan Dawn, 1956) and Interlude (Douglas Sirk, 1958) have received little attention, and after reading this book's account of their subversive sexuality and innovative techniques (these were among the first Technicolor 'noir' films), you may want to track them down…. The 'movies' chapter concludes with an overview of 'neo-noir,' including Bob Rafelson's Postman, Lawrence Kasdan's Body Heat, and Roman Polanski's Chinatown. The impact of Cain on such films is both obvious and frustratingly difficult to articulate." William Preston Robertson gave it a go, though, in the Guardian in 2001. More on Cain in the New York Times.
"There...
"There...
- 9/21/2011
- MUBI
If you missed part one of the in-depth analysis series, then you need to click here to have a little watch. The first one focused on The Dark Knight and why much of the editing and camera-work in one of the chase sequences really isn’t actually that great, even though the movie has brought in over $1bn.
In part two of Jim Emerson‘s video series, ‘In the Cut’, we get to look at another chase sequence in the Philip Noyce directed movie, Salt which starred Angelina Jolie, Liev Schreiber and Chiwetel Ejiofor and how this sequence is filmed and edited so much better than that of The Dark Knight.
I’ll let the video play here but would love to hear what you think of it. If you’ve missed part one, click here to view and keep your eyes peeled for the third and final part which I’ll post on Friday.
In part two of Jim Emerson‘s video series, ‘In the Cut’, we get to look at another chase sequence in the Philip Noyce directed movie, Salt which starred Angelina Jolie, Liev Schreiber and Chiwetel Ejiofor and how this sequence is filmed and edited so much better than that of The Dark Knight.
I’ll let the video play here but would love to hear what you think of it. If you’ve missed part one, click here to view and keep your eyes peeled for the third and final part which I’ll post on Friday.
- 9/20/2011
- by David Sztypuljak
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
What is Movie News After Dark? It’s a nightly movie news and tidbit (that word makes it giggle) column that is back in full swing this week. A special thanks to Cole Abaius for picking up the reigns last week while usual author Neil Miller was locked away in a 3×3 ft. cell in preparation for Fantastic Fest. No, there was not a reason for it. And yes, he has emerged ready for a bare-knuckle boxing match (or two). But first, the news… We begin tonight with a shot of Christian Bale and Terrence Malick walking through the crowds of the Austin City Limits music festival this past weekend here in Austin, TX. It caused quite a commotion with the crowds, many of whom were there to see acts like Bright Eyes, Stevie Wonder and Kanye West. As a surprise, they got T. Malick in that silly hat. Over at Badass Digest, Devin Faraci...
- 9/20/2011
- by Neil Miller
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
Not long ago, rogerebert.com editor and Scanners blogger Jim Emerson began a series on entries on continuity and editing in action and chase sequences; the first was a takedown on the Batmobile / Joker tunnel showdown in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight. Emerson narrates clips from the film, even offering his own edits, in order to prove that Nolan violates cinematic rules and makes for a confusing viewing experience. You can read his piece here.
Now, Torque / Detention director Joseph Kahn (who, need I remind you, Ricky D interviewed earlier this year) has offered a similarly thorough rebuttal on his blog, As Seen On TV. Kahn posits that Emerson’s sense of continuity is archaic and limited, and that Nolan’s work is “methodical,” though he does allow some minor infractions. His endearingly foul-mouthed, but knowledgeable, response is here.
Now, Torque / Detention director Joseph Kahn (who, need I remind you, Ricky D interviewed earlier this year) has offered a similarly thorough rebuttal on his blog, As Seen On TV. Kahn posits that Emerson’s sense of continuity is archaic and limited, and that Nolan’s work is “methodical,” though he does allow some minor infractions. His endearingly foul-mouthed, but knowledgeable, response is here.
- 9/16/2011
- by Simon Howell
- SoundOnSight
Jim Emerson, a film critic for Indiewire, has debuted a new regular video feature at their Press Play blog called In the Cut where he deconstructs cinematic action sequences to examine their flaws and virtues. For his debut episode Emerson has chosen to take an in-depth look at a crucial scene from the 2008 Bat-blockbuster The Dark Knight. You can check out the 20-minute video here below.
Emerson narrates the video, which presents the major second-act action sequence from the Christopher Nolan-directed film, but broken down, carefully analyzed, and illustrated with relevant quotes from creative personnel involved with the film and from other experienced sources [...]...
Emerson narrates the video, which presents the major second-act action sequence from the Christopher Nolan-directed film, but broken down, carefully analyzed, and illustrated with relevant quotes from creative personnel involved with the film and from other experienced sources [...]...
- 9/16/2011
- by BAADASSSSS!
- Geeks of Doom
Welcome to The Morning Read. By far, the most entertaining thing going on out there this morning is Joseph Kahn versus Jim Emerson on the subject of "The Dark Knight." Here we are, three years down the road from the release of the movie, and look at the passion this one sequence seems to inspire. Kahn, of course, is the director of "Torque," as well as the upcoming "Detention," which has been playing the festival circuit, and he's got a commercial and video resume a mile long. He's got an active Twitter presence, and he's fairly blunt about his work and...
- 9/16/2011
- Hitfix
Everyone here at HeyUGuys has a skill. Mine (I think!?) is bringing people together, networking, general managing of the site and doing the odd bit of news. One thing I very much struggle with is writing reviews. I can go into a cinema and say I like a movie or don’t like a movie but this is very much my own personal preference, just as it is for anyone else who goes off to their local multiplex. Analysing a movie however as to why it’s good or bad I find much more difficult which is why I struggle to write reviews. Other people on HeyUGuys are fantastic at writing them which is why we have such a wonderful team. This post will show you the sort of things they are looking for when they review a movie and why some things in a sequence will work, and some won’t.
- 9/15/2011
- by David Sztypuljak
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
In a detailed, 20-minute video, Chicago Sun-Times blogger Jim Emerson dissects the convoy chase scene in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight. The evaluation is heavy on film theory and his explanations of editing technique, but those who are curious enough about film theory (or Tdk) may appreciate what others might easily consider nitpicking.
Emerson makes a case for absolute action sequence coherence, arguing that these “lapses in visual logic” are part of The Dark Knight’s shortcomings. But you could easily argue that your mind makes sense of what is happening, regardless of shifts in perspective or trajectory, just like you’re able to read and understand a word that is misspelled.
Ultimately, I doubt your enjoyment of Nolan’s second Batman film will be reversed, but that’s not the point. It’s about looking under the hood, so to speak, of a beloved action sequence and examining...
Emerson makes a case for absolute action sequence coherence, arguing that these “lapses in visual logic” are part of The Dark Knight’s shortcomings. But you could easily argue that your mind makes sense of what is happening, regardless of shifts in perspective or trajectory, just like you’re able to read and understand a word that is misspelled.
Ultimately, I doubt your enjoyment of Nolan’s second Batman film will be reversed, but that’s not the point. It’s about looking under the hood, so to speak, of a beloved action sequence and examining...
- 9/14/2011
- by Jeff Leins
- newsinfilm.com
You may remember the videos from a few weeks back that proposed a theory of "chaos cinema", picking apart the way modern action films are constructed and arguing that their quick cuts, impressionistic action and shaky camera rendering them viscerally powerful but emotionally meaningless. Whether or not you agreed with the argument they were fascinating, incredibly thoughtful videos to watch, and now the same site that posted that one, Press Play, has taken the conversation further. In this 20-minute video, film critic Jim Emerson dissects the famous car chase action scene from The Dark Knight, in which The Joker interrupts a police convoy carrying Harvey Dent and causes a whole lot of mayhem on an underground highway near the Chicago River. He's not arguing that it's a bad sequence, exactly, but proves clearly that individual choices by Christopher Nolan and the editor Lee Smith break with all established filmmaking logic.
- 9/14/2011
- cinemablend.com
Most people love Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight." In fact, the film is the ninth highest-rated on IMDb and Nolan is one of the most sought-after helmers in Hollywood. But after watching a video by Jim Emerson, who breaks down one of the biggest "Dark Knight" action sequences, it's clear that Nolan has room for improvement. Emerson makes it very clear that "The Dark Knight" is a very enjoyable film, but points out the countless mistakes and lack of continuity that each scene contains. He says that since the sequence is fast-paced, most people won't notice all the errors. But critics noticed, which is why he slowed down the action to see what exactly they were complaining about and why they believe Nolan has yet to master shooting action. Check out the video below and let us know if you agree with Emerson that the scene is mess. Video:...
- 9/14/2011
- WorstPreviews.com
We seem to be moving past the craze of people reveling in their newfound ability to reedit movies on their home computers by making entertaining but superficial ten minute compilations into an exciting new world of video-based film criticism. indieWIRE's Press Play blog is clearly the early vanguard. We previously shared their piece by Matthias Stork examining the use of "chaos cinema" techniques in modern action movies; this afternoon I'm sitting here absolutely enthralled by the first two installments of a three part series by Jim Emerson that delves even deeper into the state of Hollywood action cinema.
Part one is a twenty minute critique of a single chase scene from 2008's "The Dark Knight" by Christopher Nolan. I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that Emerson's piece is a flat-out evisceration. It starts with a quote from "Dark Knight" editor Lee Smith saying that "action...has to be...
Part one is a twenty minute critique of a single chase scene from 2008's "The Dark Knight" by Christopher Nolan. I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that Emerson's piece is a flat-out evisceration. It starts with a quote from "Dark Knight" editor Lee Smith saying that "action...has to be...
- 9/13/2011
- by Matt Singer
- ifc.com
Since its release, many film fans and casual movie-goers have claimed The Dark Knight to be one of the best films of the last decade, and several of them would even count it among the best films of all-time. While I'll concede Chris Nolan's sequel is one of the best superhero movies ever put on film, counting it among the best films throughout cinema's short but impressive history may be a bit over zealous. Other minds have also taken it upon themselves to point out that The Dark Knight isn't perfect, and critic Jim Emerson takes it to the next level as he carefully breaks down the big chase sequence in the middle of the film. Here's Jim Emerson's analysis of the big chase sequence in The Dark Knight, from Vimeo: This analysis is part of Press Play's new installment called In the Cut which "will zero in...
- 9/13/2011
- by Ethan Anderton
- firstshowing.net
Over at indieWIRE, Jim Emerson has put together this fascinating dissection of The Dark Knight's impressive chase sequence. While I didn't notice any major faults with what was in my opinion a thrilling piece of movie making, this video is not kind to fan favorite Christopher Nolan's critically acclaimed movie. This essay takes a long, hard look at roughly the first half of the big car and truck chase sequence from Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight," set on the lower level streets by the Chicago River. It stops, starts, reverses, repeats, slows down... taking the sequence apart (and putting it back together) shot by shot. The idea is to look at it the way an editor would--but also as a moviegoer does. We notice lapses in visual logic whether our brains register them consciously or not. I found this sequence utterly baffling the first time I saw it,...
- 9/13/2011
- ComicBookMovie.com
As you know if you're paying attention (there will be a quiz) I've been offline for 72 hours. Gasp! So if some of the following links are Gasp 72 hours old, you will forgive. For the record I highly recommend spending 72 hours in a cabin in the woods without internet, tv or cel phones (provided there are no serial killers nearby). Highly relaxing!
Let's catch up with pieces/stories you (by which I mean "I") might have missed!
The Film Doctor on Contagion and the "die-off" scenario.
Go Fug Yourself succinct funny snappy boring Brangelina
Blog Stage will Broadway actress Mary Farber be a new SNL cast member?
Towleroad the continuing antics of James Franco. This time painted pink for Woooo mag.
My New Plaid Pants Kate Winslet... and Elizabeth Taylor
Natasha Vc remember a time via Pauline Kael when Nicolas Cage was sorta wonderful. I saw Moonstruck again recently and it was just ♥♥♥♥... well that's amore!
Let's catch up with pieces/stories you (by which I mean "I") might have missed!
The Film Doctor on Contagion and the "die-off" scenario.
Go Fug Yourself succinct funny snappy boring Brangelina
Blog Stage will Broadway actress Mary Farber be a new SNL cast member?
Towleroad the continuing antics of James Franco. This time painted pink for Woooo mag.
My New Plaid Pants Kate Winslet... and Elizabeth Taylor
Natasha Vc remember a time via Pauline Kael when Nicolas Cage was sorta wonderful. I saw Moonstruck again recently and it was just ♥♥♥♥... well that's amore!
- 9/13/2011
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
I loved Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight, I watched it again recently for the first time in awhile and I was once again blown away by it's awesomeness! For me it's hard to find anything wrong with this film, I know there are mistakes, but I just don't really see them because of how entertainingly amazing the film is. There are some people out there though that like to pick apart movies and find something to tear apart. This is exactly what critic Jim Emerson has done in a feature on Indiewire called In The Cut. In it he breaks down the action scenes shot by shot showing us what the filmmaker did right and wrong. He did this with the chase sequence from The Dark Knight, which is in my mind one of the coolest chase sequences in film. That being said he does bring up some very good points in his analysis,...
- 9/13/2011
- by Venkman
- GeekTyrant
Some fans consider negative comments about The Dark Knight totally blasphemous. Christopher Nolan's 2008 mega-blockbuster has reached the kind of untouchable status where it's not only considered by many to be the best superhero movie of all time, some even consider it one of the best movies of all time. I think it definitely warrants mention in the superhero argument but, personally, don't think it even comes close to the second column. Neither does critic Jim Emerson, apparently, who has just debuted a new feature on Indiewire called In The Cut where he breaks down action scenes shot by shot trying to figure out what the filmmaker did right and wrong. His first deconstruction is the chase sequence in The Dark Knight where Harvey Dent is transferred between jails. According to Emerson, "We notice lapses in visual logic whether our brains register them consciously or not. I found this sequence...
- 9/13/2011
- by Germain Lussier
- Slash Film
I'm not sure there's any film that inspires more undying fan loyalty than The Dark Knight, so to be featuring a profound criticism of the film is probably just asking for trouble. I'm a fan myself, but I'm always curious to hear conflicting opinions and was very interested by this video made by critic Jim Emerson that breaks down a chase scene from the film. In his own words: “We notice lapses in visual logic whether our brains register them consciously or not. I found this...
- 9/13/2011
- by Paul Tassi
- JoBlo.com
We already brought you one side of the Michael Bay debate here at IFC.com this week with Travis McClain's piece "Why Michael Bay should be taken seriously." Now, via Jim Emerson's Scanners blog, the other side, courtesy an impressively concise yet comprehensive account of Michael Bay's filmography by College Humor.
Funny. But allow me to play devil's advocate to this piece of devil's advocacy for a minute. The auteur theory teaches us to examine a director's larger filmography for consistent themes and motifs. And what does this video show if not a consistency of ideas (well maybe "ideas" is the wrong word, more like "things") across all of Michael Bay's movies: a fetishization of technology, a sort of unstoppable kineticism, and lots of girls in short shorts. Like it or not, Michael Bay is a director with a clear authorial signature. He shows you the dark...
Funny. But allow me to play devil's advocate to this piece of devil's advocacy for a minute. The auteur theory teaches us to examine a director's larger filmography for consistent themes and motifs. And what does this video show if not a consistency of ideas (well maybe "ideas" is the wrong word, more like "things") across all of Michael Bay's movies: a fetishization of technology, a sort of unstoppable kineticism, and lots of girls in short shorts. Like it or not, Michael Bay is a director with a clear authorial signature. He shows you the dark...
- 6/30/2011
- by Matt Singer
- ifc.com
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