Tag Archives: film

Tangible Intangibles in Blackhat

Early in Michael Mann’s cyber thriller, Blackhat, Special Agent Barrett (played sturdily as ever by Viola Davis) threatens an official with an overly-dramatic line about making the “intangible” into the “tangible.” The point isn’t the dialogue itself, and in a film filled with … Continue reading

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James Gray’s The Immigrant

At the core of James Gray’s powerful new film, The Immigrant, good and evil are melded to the point of being inseparable. Ewa, the titular lead character, says that she “wants to be happy.” Above all, she wants to survive, … Continue reading

Posted in 2014 Movies, Trailers | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Trailer for Spike Jonze’s Her

Spike Jonze has always perplexed me. While his features are nothing if not unique and filled with dynamic images, they have always felt like an extension of his early career as a music video director. Like David Fincher, he seems … Continue reading

Posted in 2013 Movies, Films, Matthew McConaughey, Movies, News, Trailers | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

PTA’s Directs “Hot Knife”

Using black and white photography, split screens, close-ups, and lingering beats, Paul Thomas Anderson’s music video for Fiona Apple’s “Hot Knife” paints a deceptively simple portrait of a woman expressing uncontrollable desires for another. It’s not until the final minute, … Continue reading

Posted in Films, Movies, Paul Thomas Anderson | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

12 Years a Slave Trailer

There may be no more personal, visceral, or artistic director currently circling the peripheries of mainstream pictures than Steve McQueen. While his newest, 12 Years a Slave, looks to be his most polished to date, his ascendance into this kind … Continue reading

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Harold Lloyd’s Safety Last!

Ahead of the Criterion Collection’s restored Blu-ray release of Harold Lloyd’s massively influential masterpiece, Safety Last!, Janus films has released this pristine new trailer: If you haven’t seen Lloyd’s film, here it is in its entire non-Criterion enhanced form:

Posted in Criterion Collection, Films, Movies, Trailers | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Spring Breakers

Spring Breakers appears as a refreshing change for Harmony Korine, if only because for the first time in his strange filmmaking career, his battle of conspicuous storytelling tropes and self-aware naturalism collides in a way that adds up to something … Continue reading

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The Americans: COMINT + Trust Me

A rapidly unfolding spy thriller without a clear semblance of stakes and a spine of dynamic relationships without distinguished truth between characters, The Americans continues to be a surprising and challenging entry in cable TV. As numbers hover only a … Continue reading

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Final Oscar Predictions 2013

I hoped to post about each category individually, but alas, time and life intervened so I only got through a handful. This has been a crazy awards year. Ultimately, it’s been a positive one for movies because the majority of … Continue reading

Posted in Amour, Ang Lee, Anna Karenina, Argo, Best Animated Feature, Best Cinematography, Best Makeup, Best Original Score, Best Original Song, Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor, Django Unchained, Films, Foreign Films, Les Misérables, Life of Pi, Lincoln, Movies, Oscar Talk, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Oscar Predictions: Best Writing

Best Adapted Screenplay Nominees: Argo, Chris Terrio Lincoln, Tony Kushner Silver Linings Playbook, David O. Russell Life of Pi, David McGee Beasts of the Southern Wild, Benh Zeitlin/Lucy Alibar Two of the tightest races in this year’s Oscars will be … Continue reading

Posted in Amour, Argo, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Films, Life of Pi, Lincoln, Movies, Oscar Talk, Uncategorized, Zero Dark Thirty | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment