They movie review: the most important decision of their young life
Tender and contemplative, but as it meanders to its not-quite conclusion, it misses a ripe opportunity to give a stronger voice to a character the likes of which isn’t often heard.
Jane Campion
oh, great: now women have to be sexy behind the camera, too
Yes, sexed-up images of women are used to sell absolutely everything. Yes, film is sexy. But is it supposed to be sexually appealing only to straight men?
defining the female gaze
In response to something I posted recently about “the female gaze,” I got an email from a male reader who appeared to believe that “the female gaze” refers to “movies women like to watch.” It doesn’t. Not even close. But his email got my thinking that perhaps I need to explain what “the female gaze” … more…
top 10 movies of 2009: the whys and wherefores
If you regularly check my on-the-fly ranking of new theatrical releases as I see them, then my top 10 movies of 2009 are no surprise: I shuffled a few titles around a bit last month, but the films ranked in the top 10 for 2009 haven’t changed much in months. (The 2009 ranking is here; … more…
because Thomas Edison loved a good ass-kicking
Quentin Tarantino believes violence is what makes movies good. Not just his movies: all movies, according to the London Evening Standard: In general cinema, that’s the biggest attraction. I’m a big fan of action and violence in cinema… That’s why Thomas Edison created the motion picture camera — because violence is so good. It affects … more…
Bright Star (review)
John Keats is the intruder into the story of Fanny Brawne, and if you didn’t already know that he turned out to be the renowed poet and she turned out to be ‘merely’ the young woman who loved him, and was loved by him, and inspired some of his greatest poetry, you might be forgiven for assuming that she’s the one who surely washed up legendary years later, for how the film defies the convention of lavishing its focus not on him as the de facto presumptive natural center of attention, but on her.
North American box office: forecast is good for ‘Cloudy’
Clear skies ahead for the movie? The sun is shining upon it? What other tedious weather-related metaphor can I come up with? 1. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs: $30.3 million (NEW) 2. The Informant!: $10.5 million (NEW) 3. Tyler Perry’s I Can Do Bad All by Myself: $9.9 million (2nd week; drops 58%) 4. … more…
I interview Paul Schneider (and others)
You’ve seen Paul Schneider in movies like Lars and the Real Girl and Away We Go, and he’s in Parks & Recreation on NBC, which just had its second season premiere last night. And now he’s starring in Bright Star, Jane Campion’s new movie about the poet John Keats and his romance with Fanny Brawne, … more…
trailer break: ‘Bright Star’
Take a break from work: watch a trailer… A new movie from Jane Campion is always something to welcome, and this one is even more beautiful and more Keatsy-mopey and more romantic than the trailer suggests. *sigh* It makes me want to go read some early-19th-century poetry… Bright Star opened yesterday in New York and … more…
question of the day: What movie most feels like Monday morning to you?
Ah, what a weekend I’ve had. I was at a cousin’s wedding celebrations on both Saturday and Sunday, got home last night just in time to collapse, hit the ground running the first thing this morning to return a rental car, hit a press event for Jane Campion’s new film, Bright Star, and now is … more…
