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Tag Archives: cinema
Screening Log: The Man Who Laughs
I’d heard of The Man Who Laughs many times, starting with my one and only film history class, but never had an opportunity to watch it. What a film! Made at the tail end of the silent film era (the … Continue reading
Movies Everywhere, Nothing to Watch
[photo by jazzlawyer] I love going to the movies as much now as when I was a kid. For me, as wound up in childhood memories as it is, the big screen experience can’t be duplicated at home for any … Continue reading
Screening Log: Chocolat (2000)
I avoided this one as long as I could courtesy of my instinctive aversion to hype, but Chocolat turned out to be a much better film than I expected. Juliette Binoche is (as always) radiant, and Johnny Depp– a potentially … Continue reading
Screening Log: Die Hard (1988)
Despite being a fan of many of Bruce Willis’ performance, I’d never seen any of his Die Hard movies until watching this “DVD-TV” production of the first in the series– a film released the year I graduated from high school! … Continue reading
Screening Log: Chopper (2000)
Eric Bana stars as Chopper, a renowned Australian criminal I’d never heard of before. Chopper is by turns charming and brutal, but Bana’s performance gives the character a depth that sets Chopper apart from others in the same vein. Chopper … Continue reading
Screening Log: The Painted Veil (2006)
I’m not sure why this film disappeared without a trace… Edward Norton and Naomi Watts give Oscar-caliber performances of tremendous subtlety. Most of the action in this movie happens beneath the surface– Watts’ ennui leading to a more unwise-than-usual affair, … Continue reading
Robert Philen’s Favorite Books and Films – 2007
Thanks to a reference by Reginald Shepherd I discovered Robert Philen’s blog. Why is his name so familiar to me? Anyway, a lot of fun reading to be had there (before I go on, a nod toward his entertaining and … Continue reading
Screening Log: Zodiac
One Line Review: Watch it for the acting, but don’t expect a lot of narrative satisfaction. Lineage: All the President’s Men meets Law and Order and a serial killer of the realistic (aka decidedly not Hannibal Lecter) variety. Zodiac has … Continue reading
Screening Log: Idiocracy
One Line Review: I wasn’t expecting much and that’s pretty much what I got. Don’t bother unless you get high first. Real high. Lineage: King of the Hill (the cartoon) + Sleeper + the worst of Mad TV There are … Continue reading
Screening Log: 3:10 to Yuma
One line review: it ain’t Unforgiven but it’s good. Rent it. Lineage: In an experiment, the scientific spirits of Unforgiven and High Noon clone the original 3:10 to Yuma. Russell Crowe just annoys me for some reason. He’s really a … Continue reading
Viewing Log: Juno (2007)
The opening credits animation sequence is freakin’ cool. Ellen Page (who really impressed me last year in Hard Candy) is phenomenal in this role. The single real flaw in the movie is that the first 10 minutes or so of … Continue reading
Youth Without Youth
With a plot summary like this (and Tim Roth), how can I resist? The film opens in Bucharest in 1938, where Dominic Matei (Tim Roth), a linguistics professor in his 70s, is planning to take his own life for reasons … Continue reading
Not Hiding Illness
At least, not being able to speak, I am spared the need to explain why every film is “overlooked,” or why I wrote Beyond the Valley of the Dolls. I already think Roger Ebert is unfairly dismissed by cinema snobs– … Continue reading
Hard Candy (2006)
Written by: Brian Nelson Directed by: David Slade Starring: Ellen Page, Patrick Wilson, Sandra Oh* After three weeks of Instant Messenger chatting, 14 year old Hayley (Ellen Page) agrees to meet 32 year old Jeff (Patrick Wilson) face-to-face for the … Continue reading
Tagged cinema, film, review, Screening Log
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The Ice Harvest (2005)
Written by: Richard Russo and Robert Benton Directed by: Harold Ramis Starring: John Cusack, Billy Bob Thornton, Connie Nielsen, Oliver Platt, Mike Starr, Randy Quaid I’m not sure how I’d define the genre of “dark comedy” other than with the … Continue reading
Tagged cinema, film, review, Screening Log
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Clerks II (2006)
Written by: Kevin Smith Directed by: Kevin Smith Starring: Brian O’Halloran, Jeff Anderson, Rosario Dawson, Jason Mewes, Kevin Smith In Clerks II, Randal has once again left a cigarette burning in a Quick Stop trash can, this time resulting in … Continue reading
Tagged cinema, film, review, Screening Log
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The King (2005)
Written by: Milo Addica and James Marsh Directed by: James Marsh Starring: William Hurt, Gael Garcia Bernal, Paul Dano, Pell James Elvis (Gael Garcia Bernal) has just completed a tour overseas in the Navy and sets out to locate his … Continue reading
Tagged cinema, film, review, Screening Log
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Casino Royale (2006)
Written by: Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, Paul Haggis Directed by: Martin Campbell Starring: Daniel Craig, Eva Green, Mads Mikkelsen, Judi Dench, Giancarlo Giannini, Sebastian Foucan I have to admit that I loved this new vision of 007– the character and … Continue reading
Tagged cinema, film, review, Screening Log
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Why Dana Stevens Shouldn’t Try to Be Anthony Lane
http://www.slate.com/id/2145157/
Freedomland
Julianne Moore plays Brenda, who walks through a low-income housing development in a daze, her hands badly cut and bleeding, to the hospital. She’s almost incoherent, possibly stoned, but she tells Detective Lorenzo Council (Samuel L. Jackson) that she was … Continue reading
Tagged cinema, film, review, Screening Log
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