It's hard not to feel trepidations once our most successful film auteur has become designated to head the world's most beloved film festival. In a rare convergence of schedules (this open invitation has been outstanding for some years), Steven Spielberg has been nominated to preside over the 66th Cannes Festival. “My admiration for the steadfast mission of the Festival to champion the ... more >
Archives for February 2013
ARCHIVES
Under the turban, plenty of opinions on film | IRAN
Axis of evil state weighs in on Oscar winners
Ann Hornaday, eat your heart out. Iran's islamic republic can fight with the best of them when it comes to voicing opinions on movies. The "Argo" win this weekend has unleashed a torrent of film criticism from the Iranian capital. Maybe we should all pay more attention to this. Or should we? Yesterday Iranian media described the handing of the Best Film Oscar to Ben Affleck for “Argo” as ... more >
Unstoppable ARGO crowned bestest at Academy Awards
Ben Affleck's film gets well-deserved nod
I never get my prediction for Best Movie right. This year, I did. Sure, you will claim that “Argo” was a shoo-in, what with the trail of fire it’s been leaving behind it these past few months (unstoppable, that movie's been lately), and you’re right. “Argo” is where the money’s at. Although shot in Turkey, the Ben Affleck-directed political thriller takes place in Tehran, Iran, right in the ... more >
Sam Neave
Everything you've wanted to know about the art of filmmaking
Even Sam Neave is quick to admit that the material of “Almost in love,” his latest romantic dramedy, is shared by countless films that have come to disenchant him with their overdone depictions of the afflictions of yuppiehood. And yet, ten years later Neave returns to the universe of urban sophisticates his debut “Cry Funny Happy” depicted in 2003 intent on exploring the depths of the ... more >
Five Broken Cameras | OSCARS
Palestinian documentary highlights all-too familiar theme
All told, no other conflict has been committed to film more than the Israelo-Palestinian one. This glut of images characterizes "5 broken cameras," a documentaries-within-the-documentary produced over a period of five years by a Palestinian amateur which may yet earn the best nod a filmmaker could hope for this weekend at the Academy Awards. The son of a peasant--a gardener and farmer--Emad ... more >
DOWN FOR THE COUNT | Death by Quentin Tarantino
Paying homage to the dead
The work of Quentin Tarantino could be said to fall into categories: firearms and explosion/fire. That’s what this new infographic (see below) created by Vanity Fair seems to tell us, anyway, in its surveying the number of dead and the cause of death throughout Tarantino's opus. According to this graphic there are relatively few deaths in his first three feature films and people are killed ... more >