November 2008
Criterion's great leap forward.
By Alison Willmore on 11/25/2008
Filed under: WatchyThe Criterion Collection has made the jump into streaming video with their new Online Cinematheque, and they've provided an adorably low-tech video to explain their new high-techiness here. Basically, 19 of the films in their library are now up for week-long streaming rentals for $5, the cost of which you can apply toward buying the DVD in their store, should you feel the burning need to then own a physical copy -- and they're working on releasing more. Among the films you can rent on demand at the moment: "Clean, Shaven"; "The Spirit of the Beehive"; "Sweetie"; and "General Idi... MORE »
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"I'm going to Bollywood!"
By Alison Willmore on 11/25/2008
Filed under: Coming attractionsPaul Schrader, who actually has a movie coming out this year -- "Adam Resurrected," whose circus/Holocaust combo dooms it to "The Day the Clown Cried" associations -- is going with the latest trend and heading to Bollywood. "I've been getting indie movies made for 20 years," he told the Hollywood Reporter. "But I take a good look around and what I see is a barren, barren place -- in terms of the financial community, in terms of audiences, in terms of distribution. It's cold out there." But it's warm and friendly in Mumbai! "Extreme City," his project, will apparently be... MORE »
In the works: Opposite George Clooney.
By Alison Willmore on 11/24/2008
Filed under: In the worksWho's starring opposite George Clooney in Jason Reitman's new film "Up in the Air," about a man in pursuit of his millionth frequent flier mile? Variety says Vera Farmiga will play "will play a businesswoman who develops a romantic relationship with Clooney's character through meetings in airports and hotels around the country." [Variety] The Hollywood Reporter claims Anna Kendrick, the policy debating femme fatale from "Rocket Science," "has nabbed the coveted female lead." [Hollywood Reporter] Presumably Kendrick, who's still playing a convincing high schooler, won't be vying for Clooney's romantic affections.... MORE »
Adam Elliot's claymation "Mary and Max" will open Sundance.
By Alison Willmore on 11/19/2008
Filed under: FestivalsTwo years ago Sundance opened with a Brett Morgen's animated doc "Chicago 10," and it's just been announced that the upcoming iteration of the festival (only 57 days to go!) will kick off with more animation -- "Mary and Max," a claymation drama, is the feature debut of Australian director Adam Elliot, who's otherwise known for a spectacular set of claymation shorts that includes "Harvey Crumpet," which won the 2003 Best Animated Short Oscar. My favorite is "Brother," from his "Family Trilogy" -- while it lasts, you can find it here on YouTube. "Mary and Max" is voiced by Toni... MORE »
The short list.
By Alison Willmore on 11/18/2008
Filed under: AwardsThe collection of 15 docs on the Oscar shortlist unveiled yesterday look, all things considered, pretty good to me. Traditionally the award that's caused the most hue and cry, with outrageous omissions and disqualifications, arcane rules and seemingly random (or at least radically out of touch) selections, the Best Documentary Feature prize could actually come down to a group of films that 1) are good and 2) more than a handful of people have at least heard of and had the opportunity to see. "Man on Wire," the most acclaimed documentary of the year, is probably also a favorite to... MORE »
"What if I went on tour this time?"
By Alison Willmore on 11/17/2008
Filed under: WatchyWhen folks begin wrapping up the year that was 2008, the most exciting (if still way up in the air, from a business perspective) trend has to be the rise of free streaming features online, whether they be "theatrical" premieres, a la Wayne Wang's "The Princess of Nebraska," Hulu's ad-supported library of older titles, or limited runs like "No End in Sight," which streamed in its entirely on YouTube until the presidential election. The latest in the latter category is Michael Tully's 2007 documentary "Silver Jew," which for this week only can be seen in its entirety on Pitchfork. The... MORE »
Critic wrangle: "A Christmas Tale."
By Alison Willmore on 11/14/2008
Filed under: Critic wrangleArnaud Desplechin's haute holiday tale "A Christmas Tale" is probably my favorite film of the year, barring a few yet-unseen stragglers like "Benjamin Button," and from the reviews it'll probably make plenty of critic top ten lists. Therefore Armond White at the New York Press dutifully dislikes it, though despite the requisite snipe at the hipster hoards, he can't summon much heat, sighing that the film is "the latest pretext for director Arnaud Desplechin to wax ironic," but allowing that "A Christmas Tale isn't repugnant, just regressive."... MORE »
Critic wrangle: "Slumdog Millionaire."
By Alison Willmore on 11/12/2008
Filed under: Critic wrangleHalf grimy portrait of Mumbai poverty, half fable by way of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire," Danny Boyle's new film "Slumdog Millionaire" was a hit at Toronto, where it won the Audience Award, and is a solid candidate for a sleeper hit in the new "Juno" sense of the term, given that the film's from an established director and cost a reported $15 million (cheap!). Will it sleeper its way to an Oscar nomination? It's certainly edgily feel-good; as Manohla Dargis at the New York Times puts it, "this proves to be one of the most upbeat stories about... MORE »
All thumbs™.
By Alison Willmore on 11/11/2008
Filed under: Critic watchRogerEbert.com has switched over from the usual four star rating system to a mix of stars and thumbs, which makes for an interesting repurposing of the two digit approval system over which the critic got into a tiff with Disney. The thumbs, which have been sort of replaced by "See It/Skip It/Rent It" on the new incarnation of "At the Movies," weren't going to see air time with Bens Lyons and Mankiewicz -- Ebert and the late Gene Siskel's family share ownership of the trademark -- so I suppose it's good to see them making an appearance somewhere. Still, it... MORE »
The week on IFC.com: The artificial cult movie, playing yourself and Bruce Campbell.
By Alison Willmore on 11/07/2008
Filed under: The week on IFC.comWhat's been happening on the rest of IFC.com: + List: Pass the Kool-Aid - Five Flicks That Aspired To Cult Status - Can a film like "Repo! The Genetic Opera" aim at and achieve cult status intentionally? Matt Singer examines five examples would indicate that becoming a cult film is something that has to be earned. + Bruce Campbell on "My Name is Bruce" - The B-movie icon famous for playing Ash in the "Evil Dead" movies gives Jean-Claude Van Damme a run for his money by starring as and directing himself in his new meta-comedy. + On DVD: "Billy... MORE »
Critic wrangle: "JCVD."
By Alison Willmore on 11/07/2008
Filed under: Critic wrangleGenius? Overrated? Jean-Claude Van Damme plays "himself" in Mabrouk El Mechri's meta-drama "JCVD," caught in a bank robbery gone wrong in a trip back to Brussels to recuperate. It's a film I enjoyed the hell out of, though general critical word is mixed, or perhaps just more bemused. At New York, David Edelstein calls it "the most amazing piece of acting I've ever seen by a martial artist. But the film itself doesn't rise above the level of a good try." Scott Tobias at the Onion AV Club sums the film up as "a canny piece of autobiography that looks... MORE »
Critic wrangle: "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas."
By Alison Willmore on 11/07/2008
Filed under: Critic wrangleAmong a certain group of critics, the mere mention of Roberto Benigni's Holocaust... dramedy?... "Life is Beautiful" is enough to provoke hours of enraging ranting. It's doubtful that Mark Herman's "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas" will endure in theaters or memory long enough to be worth such a reaction, but there's still plenty of outrage to go around. An adaptation of John Boyne's child POV novel about Bruno, whose Nazi-commander father is transferred by "the Fury", family is tow, to "Out-With," where "farmers" wearing "striped pajamas" mill around behind a fence, among them a young boy Bruno befriends, "The... MORE »
Zombie metaphors -- still good!
By Alison Willmore on 11/04/2008
The still from George A. Romero's new movie that's up at USA Today is a completely uninspiring glimpse of a zombie extra with blood on her face and matted hair. But in the accompanying article, Romero makes the new film, which IMDb has labeled as "Island of the Dead" though USA Today maintains it's untitled, sound like "Survivor: Zombie Edition": "It's about tribalism... There are two factions. It's the idea that even when faced with a crisis, tribal concerns about power control people's motives." Romero also continues to affirm that the animated undead are the perfect gore-smeared slate on which... MORE »
Hitchcock blondes.
By Alison Willmore on 11/04/2008
The new issue of Bright Lights Film Journal is up online here, and the centerpiece is a particularly nice article from John Calendo on the remoteness of Hitchcock's blondes and why the Vanity Fair recreations for that photo shoot early this year missed the mark: The numb starey Janet, the icy Tippi (in both The Birds and particularly Marnie, where she is not only an automaton and compulsive thief but sexually frigid as well), the sleekly distant Eva Marie Saint in North by Northwest (available but so fashionably uninvolved) added the right note of blank-eyed post-atomic existentialism -- and this... MORE »
In the works: David Lynch's new web series.
By Alison Willmore on 11/04/2008
Filed under: In the works
In the works: David Lynch has signed with digital media company On Networks to make a new web series! Unfortunately, it'll be based on his book "Catching the Big Fish: Meditation, Consciousness and Creativity," so it's best to be ready for more transcendental meditation rantings than strange narratives. Lynch has offered up online videos before on the members only section of his website, including his animated series "Dumbland," the first two episodes of which can also be found for free at Atom Films here and here. [Wired] Gore Verbinski is also looking to the web -- he's going to produce... MORE »
"When have we ever had the chance to vote for the 'most liberal' of anything?"
By Alison Willmore on 11/03/2008
Filed under: In quotesA tour around the interview circuit: "Personally, the opportunity to vote for someone like Barack Obama will be one of the greatest things I will have done in my life. The Republicans aren't kidding when they say he's the 'most liberal' senator in the Senate. When have we ever had the chance to vote for the 'most liberal' of anything?" --Michael Moore gets out the vote, at Time. "It's always the same story. Everyone will be gathered in the house, and after 1 hour and 10 minutes, someone will say, 'Actually, I'm gay,' and the mother will say, 'By the... MORE »
Jean Claude Van Damme's trying times.
By Alison Willmore on 11/03/2008
Filed under: RumorsAs avowed fans of "JCVD," we've been trying to get an interview with Jean-Claude Van Damme for ages now, only to have him cancel without much notice. Today's NY Post purports to have the reason behind this: JEAN-Claude Van Damme is canceling promotional appearances for his new flick, "JCVD," over a puppy. The "Muscles From Brussels" recently adopted seven dogs from Bangkok and one of them is in a coma, a source said. Van Damme will stay in Thailand "to see this dog through this very trying time," the insider said. "JCVD" is a fictional biopic about an action star... MORE »
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