Oscar Predictions and the Winners as They’re Announced
I’ve never particularly liked the Oscars and I rarely care too much who wins but I’ve always found them oddly compelling. As someone who reads a lot of film sites, magazines and listens to a lot of film podcasts the Oscars are also impossible to avoid and every year the volume of coverage seems to … Read more
Sunday Reads: 24th February 2013
Charlie Sheen Is Winning With Inside the Mind of Charles Swan II Whilst I think the way in which Karina Longworth has her cake and eats it with this piece – dismissing those that have written about Sheen whilst falling into similar traps herself – there is some really fascinating detail in this piece at … Read more
Sunday Reads: 3rd February 2013
Stray penises and politicos David Simon takes a look at a recent unseemly journalistic trend. Louise Brooks And Me Anne Billson blogs about ‘The Girl with the Black Helmet’. Ludivine Sagnier: ‘I got frightened and shut down’ An interview with the wonderful French actress on the occasion of the UK release of Love Crime. My Empire of … Read more
Sunday Reads: 30th December 2012
Marilyn, The Master and Melancholia Kim Morgan ties together three subjects that might at first seem very different. Made in America Todd VanDerWerff on the final episode of The Sopranos. ‘Unfilmable’ stories like Life of Pi can make perfect cinema Tim Robey on adaptations of supposedly unfilmable books. Awards and Advocacy. How Should We Choose “The Best”? Nathaniel Rogers on … Read more
Top Ten Films of 2012
1. Margaret (extended cut) I queued up outside the Odeon on Panton Street for the UK ‘première’ of Kenneth Lonergan’s Margaret in 2011 and as this beautiful but scarred film unfolded in front of me I slowly fell head of heels for it. If you followed me on Twitter towards the end of 2011 you may have become somewhat bored with the name … Read more
Sunday Reads: 16th December 2012
With Bill Murray, Just Take the Trip An interview at The New York Times with the great Bill Murray. Playboy Interview with Quentin Tarantino. Last month was the one month when film fans could legitimately argue that they bought Playboy for the articles. I certainly did. This interview was one of the reasons. Q: What do Skyfall, The … Read more
Sunday Reads: 9th December 2012
Interview: Parker Posey A recent interview with “Queen of the Indies” Parker Posey. Just how inaccurate were the hacking scenes in Skyfall? Spoiler: Very. How Should Critics Review Child Actors? An interesting point well made by Matt Singer. This is certainly something that I think about when writing a review, but I think it’s important to also remember … Read more
Sunday Reads: 25th November 2012
The Flash vs. Gurdjieff by Alejandro Jodorowsky A new translation of a piece originally published in the Spanish science-fiction magazine Nueva Dimensión in 1968. Why Louie is the next stage in the evolution of the TV sitcom Todd VanDerWerff assesses the current state of quality scripted television in America and discusses what differences Louie could make. … Read more
Films Not Freebies
If you followed me on Twitter during the 2012 London Film Festival launch you may have seen me complaining/ranting about the obsession with pastries that some film critics appeared to have. It is perhaps a silly and rather insubstantial thing to get annoyed by but it really stuck in my craw because it felt to me that … Read more
Sunday Reads: 11th November 2012
Mickey Mouse – Jedi knight? I never thought I’d say this, but bring it on David Mitchell weighs in on the recent purchase of Lucasfilm by Disney. The last of Louise Glenn Kenny on Louise Brook’s final film. Spooktacular Halloween Case File #27: Book Of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 Nathan Rabin tackles the much maligned sequel to The Blair … Read more
Sunday Reads: 4th November 2012
Roger Deakins on using the ARRI ALEXA on Skyfall William A. Wellman: A Dossier A 187-page monograph edited by David Phelps and Gina Telaroli. Why One of My Favorite Movies of the Year Was a Huge Flop In Its Home Country Matt Singer on why Sleepless Night may have benefited from being lost in translation. A New … Read more
Room 237 and Film Criticism
There are two comments that film critics/academics will often hear from non-film critics/academics when discussing a theory they have relating to a specific film. These are, “I think you’re probably just reading too much into it” and “I don’t think that’s what they were actually thinking about when they made it”. It seems quite likely … Read more
Sunday Reads: 28th October 2012
3D FilmSchool 101: Just How And Why Fox Have Converted I, Robot From 2D To 3D Brendon Connelly reports on the conversion of I, Robot to 3D and goes into detail regarding the considerations made during any 2D to 3D conversion. The Frankenweenie Cell Phone War Another sad story about the inability of adults to act like … Read more
Sunday Reads: 6th October 2012
How Digital Is Changing the Nature of Movies Manohla Dargis and A. O. Scott discuss the move from film to digital. Cadre of film buffs helps Netflix viewers sort through the clutter Why does Netflix categorise films in such a bizarre way? Who comes up with those categories? This article has the answers. Beyond The Matrix: The … Read more
Sunday Reads: 9th September 2012
David Lynch Interview at Pitchfork David Lynch discusses the sound in Eraserhead. Comedians using their fans for co-ordinated, safety-in-numbers bullying Twitter Goes to the Movies How Hollywood is using Twitter as a vital part of its marketing approach for films such as Ted. Beyond praise 5: Still more supplements that really tell you something Kristin Thompson reviews the … Read more
Buy Damsels in Distress and Do the Sambola!
Damsels in Distress in out today on DVD in the UK and I can highly recommend picking yourself up a copy. I first saw the film when it played as the surprise screening at the London Film Festival and I fell head over heels for it, practically skipping out of the cinema and down the street. The film is something of an acquired taste but if it … Read more
Charles Bukowski 1920-1994
One of America’s greatest writers. Born 92 years ago today. so you want to be a writer by Charles Bukowski if it doesn’t come bursting out of you in spite of everything, don’t do it. unless it comes unasked out of your heart and your mind and your mouth and your gut, don’t do it. … Read more
Ten of the Greatest Films Ever Made
I could have added ‘…according to me’ to that rather vague headline. At the bottom of this post is a list of what I consider to be ten of the greatest films ever made. The list is (obviously) by no means definitive and roughly ten seconds after I sent the list to friend and colleague Adam Lowes … Read more
Sunday Reads: 5th August 2012
The Man Who Hacked Hollywood The surprisingly fascinating account of the story behind the hacked email accounts of a large number of celebrities. A letter from Tim League on the idea of “texting friendly” movie theaters Texting in movie theatres is wrong. Just wrong. This should be obvious, but if you need further convincing Tim League (of Drafthouse fame) offers an … Read more
Errol Morris’ Team Spirit
Errol Morris’ has made a one minute TV commercial for ESPN focusing on sports fans supporting their teams from beyond the grave and it’s really rather brilliant. Also embedded below that is the eight minute ‘mini-documentary’ version that has just been released online. Filled with fascinating stories and a lot of pathos, Morris manages to … Read more
