Crime Scene #6: ‘Time and Tide’ – A Hong Kong Elegy
“‘Time and Tide’ seems to gaze both forward and backwards at once, its breaking down of editing structure creating a strange discombobulating effect.”
Don’t Expect Roses: Growth, Transformation and Illusion in Tony Blair’s Britain
“The ghosts of the divisive past that New Labour set out to consign to history’s trash heap reared their heads, presaging a politics that would cast off the Blairite technocratic order.”
Weird Worlds: The Short Films of Ari Aster
“Aster’s short films are at present the best representation of his eclectic taste and elastic interests.”
Crime Scene #2: ‘Collateral,’ Cars and Computers
“In Mann’s world, the car and the computer seem to join forces to anonymize and obliterate the cost of human life outside of that space, enveloped in the fragmented, disintegrated aesthetic of early digital cinematography itself.”
I Love You, Man: Celebrating ‘Superbad’ and Its Embrace of Male Friendship
“‘Superbad’ has stood the test of time, and will continue to do so, because there are so few movies that tackle male friendships in such a brutally honest manner, with care and attention, and without falling back on sarcasm once all is said and done.”
Collecting Movies with Raymond Rea
Raymond Rea Interview: Greg Carlson and the filmmaker/educator discuss movie collecting.
The Only Thing Real: Meaning and Maturity in Post-9/11 Cinema
“9/11 was a psychic wound that fostered a new relation to the world, and those who grew up in its aftermath struggled to digest its lessons; some fell back onto intransigence, while others internalized the damage.”
Death Is Not the End: Self-Destruction in the Films of David Cronenberg
“Perhaps David Cronenberg is owed another kind of reputation: that of a humanist filmmaker who observes and questions, who understands our pain and sorrow as well as our ambitions both intellectual and libidinous.”
The Volume: The Final Stage
“The old silver screens have reached their limit, and even 4K will become passé. Perhaps it’s time for Hollywood and theater chains to up the ante by investing in venues and screens similar to the Volume.”
Recovery, Survival and Extinction: Abel Ferrara’s Exile Cycle
“Few artists have dreamt more boldly and defiantly in their exile than Ferrara; he has faced up to the dark towers of commerce and coercion, the systemic violence that is rationalized and sanctioned to peak efficiency by the prevailing conditions.”
Soundtracks of Cinema: ‘Shrek’
‘Shrek’ Soundtrack: A Vague Visages guide for every featured song in Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson’s 2001 movie.
Soundtracks of Cinema: ‘Cleaner’
‘Cleaner’ Soundtrack: A Vague Visages guide for every featured song in Renny Harlin’s 2007 movie.
The World Is Cold: Fallen Idols and False Prophets in Post-Crash America
“The year 2012 was the first in which cinema could adequately assess the material and psychological toll of the crash. The box office tells its own story: audiences were looking for saviors…”
He’s Not Even from ‘Round Here: ‘Hot Fuzz’ at 15
“‘Hot Fuzz’ has remained a key part of the zeitgeist thanks to its specificity, but also because the movie celebrates doing the right thing, working together and being a good person above all else.”
A Macabre Tale of Culpability and Self-Recrimination: Vishal Bhardwaj’s ‘Maqbool’
“‘Maqbool’ leaves the audience with that extraordinary feeling only a few Hindi films have the ability to achieve – it’s both profoundly satisfying and artistically existential.”
The Art of the Score: Spike Lee’s ‘Inside Man’
The Art of the Score #2: Blake Howard on Spike Lee’s ‘Inside Man’
Angela Schanelec’s Films and Me
“Angela Schanelec makes films that achieve nothing less than the rendering of the human soul on screen.”
Cold Pizza on Desolation Row
“When depression hits, it’s just there. With ‘Crimson Gold,’ Panahi demonstrates this concept while informing viewers about the nuances of Hussein’s life.”
Hey, Don’t Write Yourself Off Yet: ‘Orange County’ At 20
“‘Orange County’ is inarguably a product of its time, but the movie is also timeless in its exploration of how writing requires us to look inward as well as outward — and be just as merciless in the process.”
OVID News: Kiyoshi Kurosawa, ‘Bright Future’ and the Pulse of Jellyfish Gangs
OVID News: Kiyoshi Kurosawa, ‘Bright Future’ and the Pulse of Jellyfish Gangs