Amy Berg Interview for West of Memphis
What was your first involvement with the film and the story? I came in very late. I came in after Peter [Jackson] and Fran [Walsh] had presented all of this new evidence to the judge. Well, they didn’t even get to present it, it was denied immediately. And then had to regroup and decide how to get … Read more
Amer Review
Opening with the propulsive beats of a soundtrack culled from the very best of seventies Italian explotation, and a split screen montage that challenges the viewer to piece together the images on offer, Amer confidently announces itself early on as an art film steeped in a variety of cinematic traditions. Whilst the film has gained … Read more
Harakiri Review
Early seventeenth century Japan (the beginning of the Edo period) and the Tokugawa Shogunate now rule the country, bringing a period of relative peace to the previously war torn country. Masterless samurai struggle to stay alive and with no wars to fight or retainers to pay them, they turn to everyday jobs or worse, they … Read more
Matthias Schoenaerts, Jacques Audiard & Thomas Bidegain Interviews for Rust and Bone
How would you characterise Rust and Bone? Jacques Audiard It’s a melodrama. We call it ‘Melo-trash’… It’s a love story. What about Matthias Schoenaerts stood out and led to him being cast? Jacques Audiard The part we wrote was tougher than what it is on screen now. A closed character. More like an animal somehow. … Read more
Traci Lords Interview for Excision
Were you familiar with Richard Bates Jr.’s short film before you starred in the feature and what did you initially think of it and the idea? My agent sent me the script and short film. I was intrigued. And after several meetings and a screen test…the role was mine . Was there one thing in … Read more
Excision Review
18-year-old Pauline (AnnaLynne McCord) is a very disturbed teenager, even more so than the average teenager. She even quips at one point though, “I don’t know of a teenager who doesn’t profile as a socio-path…”. Pauline is exactly the kind of child her mother, played with pointed prudishness by Traci Lords, doesn’t want. When presented with this problem child, … 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
The BBFC Are Using Flawed Research to Reaffirm Their Policies Regarding ‘Potential Harm’
Contrary to a common error that many seem to make, the BBFC stands for ‘British Board of Film Classification’ and not the ‘British Board of Film Censors’ (this was its name until 1984). Though, as a film fan growing up in the UK I always associated the board with censorship. Tracking down films to watch I was always struck by … Read more
In the House Review
Based on The Boy in the Back Row by Spanish playwright Juan Mayorga, Francois Ozon’s latest is something of a return to form for the former enfant terrible and a deliciously witty story about storytelling. Weary literature teacher Germain (Fabrice Luchini) finds a diamond in the rough in Claude (Ernst Umhauer), who shows real flair … 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
West of Memphis Review
An appalling and heinous crime occurred in 1993 in West Memphis, Arkansas. Three eight year-old boys were murdered and their bodies left in a creek bed, naked and hog-tied. The murder shook the local residents and the police force, everyone unable to comprehend how this happened and who could have done such a thing. Influenced … Read more
Eran Riklis Interview for Zaytoun
There’s a balance in the film between entertainment and politics. And possibly more serious subjects that you might usually expect in ‘entertainment’ films. I think that’s at the core of my filmmaking in general. I really think that once you’ve decided that you want to tackle these kind of issues – especially in the Middle … 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
Reality Review
Taking its name from the descriptor for a particular type of television programme, the name itself was already something of a misnomer before director Matteo Garrone got his hands on it, Reality tells the tale of a working class Neapolitan fishmonger who sees a chance for stardom and throws himself into making it happen. Opening … 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
Rodney Ascher and Tim Kirk Interview for Room 237
Why The Shining? Obviously Kubrick had an obsessive attention to detail, is that the main thing? Rodney Ascher There’s a couple of things. It started with The Shining, it started when Tim sent me an online analysis that was super deep about The Shining. Mind blowing ideas about Zodiac and government conspiracies and Kubrick’s personal … Read more
Celeste and Jesse Forever Review
Recognisable leads plucked from successful U.S. Television series? Check. Female lead who spends the majority of the film suffering humiliation all in order to ‘grow’? Check. Female lead acting in an entirely clueless way about things that she would almost certainly easily comprehend? Check. Gay best friend who appears to have no life beyond the female lead? Check. Marriage scene … 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
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