The 2020 Census is upon us, and its results will determine how much representation each district will get in the House of Representatives. But for decades there have been various attempts to cheat the system in a trick called gerrymandering, wherein voting districts are redrawn to effectively divide certain blocs and thus reduce their collective representative power in Congress. “Slay the ... more >
NEWS
INTERVIEW: Barak Goodman and Chris Durrance of “Slay the Dragon”
Pushing back on gerrymandering in Wisconsin, Colorado and Michigan and across the rest of the nation
(April 3, 2020; runtime: 101 min.)
Covid-19 claims the life of Paris-based Iranian documentary filmmaker
Kioumars Derambakhsh, the Iranian director, documentary maker and still photographer, died in Paris of COVID 19, on March 31st. During his long career, his many interests and wide culture caused him to direct a number of documentaries on a range of subjects, (including a thirteen-episode series on the drawings of Eugène Flandin, famed French 19th-century traveler to Iran, or ancient Armenian ... more >
PREVIEW: Boring down on US-China relations with “Better Angels”
Beyond misperceptions, a mutual understanding?
On January 29th, 1979, President Jimmy Carter and Chinese Deputy Premier Deng Xiaoping signed historic accords, reversing years of U.S. opposition to China. But now, on the forty-year anniversary of this normalization, the U.S. and China are at the threshold of what many fear is a new cold war. “Better Angels,” a documentary directed by two-time Academy Award winner Malcolm Clarke, explores the ... more >
INTERVIEW : Eddie Muller, Czar of Noir
Its most committed afficionado lays bare the cinema of the disenchanted
These are tough times for movie lovers. Theaters across the country are closed, many libraries shuttered and people are staying home. However, there is still a way to enjoy watching films. In fact, it may give people a chance to see the more classic cinema that they’ve otherwise been ignoring. The Turner Classics Network (TCM) runs films 24/7 and perhaps the highlight of their line-up is the ... more >
A FILM CRITIC TESTIFIES: My favorite Phillip Marlowe cinematic incarnations
Private detective lore throughout the cinematic arts
The one and only Phillip Marlowe. Created by Raymond Chandler, he is perhaps the best-known of all private eyes. Almost everyone knows his name. A good private detective thriller can be cinematic gold and if Phillip Marlowe is your guide through the mystery, all the better. Marlowe is a tough-talking, hard-living, private eye who dives headfirst into the underbelly of his cases and always gets ... more >
OPINION: the Cannes Festival’s strange pas-de-deux
Will the coronavirus claim the Cannes Festival as its next victim? Nobody knows.
Canceled, not canceled. And now--maybe--merely postponed? The Cannes Festival, in a PR pas-de-deux that has sowed confusion and let on few key details, has issued a press release last night. In its usual imperfect English (but their heart was in it), the Cannes communiqué went : "Today, we have made the following decision : The Festival de Cannes cannot be held on the scheduled dates, from May 12 ... more >
ACTOR Max Von Sydow leaves us, he was 90
A number of movie goers will surely identify with me when I say that, Swedish actor Max Von Sydow, who died on March 8th at the age ninety, has been part of my committed film-lover’s life for as far back as I can remember. His tall-as-a-tree lean—-later gnarled--body, his long face more and more gloomy as the years went by, were part of innumerable experiences, from the most esoteric Ingmar ... more >
