Shorts, 2/14.

By David Hudson on 02/14/2009

In "A Matter of Life and Death: The Brain Revealed by the Mind of Michael Powell," Diane Broadbent Friedman argues that the film "is a complex neurological study of a psychologically normal man who believes that a heavenly tribunal has sentenced him to death." That quote comes from Glenn Kenny, who claims the book "isn't just an absolute must for any Archers fan. I believe it should prove illuminating for science wonks who insist that popular entertainments always get the technical stuff wrong - here's an exception that may prove the rule."

"There are good movies and bad movies and interesting movies and boring movies and funny movies and campy movies and then, there is 'Mission to Moscow.' It's the sui-est generis-est damn thing you will ever see. Three days after viewing it, the Siren still feels as though somebody rewired her brain."

Ellen Kuras, whose "The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)" is nominated for an Oscar, writes about the evolution of filmmaking technology at All these wonderful things.

"There was a period in British culture - roughly the mid-60s to the late 70s - when making a movie on the cheap, getting it shown in cinemas and turning a profit was actually possible." Will Hodgkinson tells the story of Amicus studios, whose specialty was portmanteau horror and whose founders, "a socially inept scriptwriter called Milton Subotsky and a fast-talking hustler called Max J Rosenberg... even convinced Hollywood boy wonder William Friedkin to shoot an adaptation of Harold Pinter's 'The Birthday Party.'"

Also in the Guardian: John Dunning with Jeff Keen, a "true British original"; Phil Daoust talks with Claude Lelouch; Emma Brockes, with Clint Eastwood.

In Japan, "romantic dramas about dying teenagers are about as common as convenience stores," writes Mark Schilling in the Japan Times. "The two films under review this week, Michael Arias's 'Heaven's Door' and Daisuke Yamaoka's 'Lost Girl,' try variations on this formula, with widely varying success." Also, a review of "Jasper Sharp's excellent, exhaustive study 'Behind the Pink Curtain: The Complete History of Japanese Sex Cinema.'"

For the Los Angeles Times, Michael Ordoña reports on a study that looks into whether romantic comedies are "causing destructive behavior found in real relationships, or [are] reflecting it, or both." Also, Rachel Abramowitz on the chick flick: "A sure sign that the genre has embedded itself deep into the consumer psyche is that these types of movies are becoming critic-proof."

Thom Ryan at Film of the Year on Chuck Jones's "Duck Amuck" and Luis G Berlanga's "Bienvenido Mister Marshall": "The most prominent similarity is that both movies make us aware of an offscreen agent directly affecting what we see and hear on the screen. The technique is used differently in each picture, but has the same effect of disrupting our typically passive viewing experience by revealing the artifice of cinema."

"Why does Jason continue his miserable existence, when his memoirs would command a seven-figure advance, easy?" asks Roger Ebert, reviewing the new "Friday the 13th" for the Chicago Sun-Times. More from Ed Champion, Alonso Duralde (MSNBC), Bryant Frazer, Aaron Hillis (GreenCine Daily), Robert Horton (Herald), Nathan Lee (New York Times), Peter Martin (Cinematical), Andrew O'Hehir (Salon), Tim Robey (Telegraph), Tasha Robinson (AV Club), Nick Schager (Slant) and Jim Tudor (Twitch). And at Screengrab, Nick Schager revisits every previous film in the franchise - with clips. Dennis Cozzalio, too, considers the "Jason Voorhees Legacy."

Donald G McNeil Jr profiles Taran Davies: "His travels around the Muslim world have led to five documentaries, each shot with a larger and larger camera.... His latest and most ambitious project, 'Journey to Mecca,' strives to impress Westerners with a side of Islam that he thinks gets short shrift in the news coverage of Islamic fundamentalism, focusing on the respect with which millions of Muslim pilgrims treat one another and how the hajj unites Muslims, Jews and Christians."

Also in the New York Times, Margy Rochlin talks with Nina Paley about "Sita Sings the Blues," the festival crowd-pleasing animated feature that, thanks to the costs of licensing the music she uses, has been stuck in "copyright jail." However: "Because of an exception in the copyright act, public television stations can broadcast music without having to clear individual licenses, and 'Sita' will be shown on the New York PBS station WNET on March 7, after which it will be available on the station's Web site."

For this week's DVD column, which seems to have been bumped up to the weekend from Tuesday, the day most DVDs are released, Dave Kehr selects three from the 50s: Victor Saville's "The Silver Chalice" (1954), featuring Paul Newman's onscreen debut and which "is distinguished by a daring use of stylized, theatrical sets, executed in a stripped-down midcentury-modern style that suggests a Jerusalem designed by Philip Johnson"; Arch Oboler's "Five" (1951), "an early example of the postapocalyptic survival film"; and David Lean's "Hobson's Choice" (1954): "Lean's chronic unease with female sexuality gets an endearing comic twist, and the sight of [Charles] Laughton, daintily maneuvering down the cobblestone streets led by his immense belly, is a spectacle in itself."

"The Caller" is "a corporate crime drama that runs fatally amok," writes Stephen Holden. More from Aaron Hillis (Voice) and Karina Longworth (SpoutBlog).

And again, Stephen Holden: "No computer-designed animatronic invention can begin to match the beauty and grace of the oceanic life photographed in 'Under the Sea 3D,' a visually enthralling 40-minute tour of the southwestern Pacific depths."

In the New Statesman, Ryan Gilbey offers the Academy a few "suggestions for making the Oscars matter." Related: Patricia Leigh Brown in the NYT: "Along with the executive producer Bill Condon (director of 'Dreamgirls') and the veteran producer Laurence Mark, [David] Rockwell - the first architect to design the show -- is turning back the clock, Benjamin Button-style, to recapture the show's nightclubby, Champagne-popping, convivial, communal roots."

Meanwhile, Matt Dentler's been thinking about the Independent Spirit Awards and realizing that "there are few shoo-ins. I mean, the Best Feature contenders are: 'Ballast,' 'Frozen River,' 'Rachel Getting Married,' 'Wendy and Lucy' and 'The Wrestler.' Not a single Oscar Best Picture nominee in the group, the first time that's happened since 2003."

Criterion remembers Jean Martin, 1922 - 2009: "Though he appeared in more than 80 films (including 'My Name Is Nobody' and 'The Day of the Jackal'), Martin is probably best remembered for his role as the French military chief, Colonel Mathieu, in Gillo Pontecorvo's 'The Battle of Algiers.'"

Online listening tip. At the BOMBLog, Montana Wojczuk talks with filmmaker Olivia Silver.

Online viewing tip. Joe Leydon has the trailer for "The People vs George Lucas."

Online viewing tips, round 1. An annotated and clip-laced list of "Mindfuck Movies" from Matthew Baldwin in the Morning News. Via Jason Morehead.

Online viewing tips, round 2. The Guardian's Kate Stables has half a dozen for Valentine's Day.

Tags: Amicus, Jean Martin, Michael Powell, Mission to Moscow