Charlie Kaufman films and digital video
I’ve been to a lot of films recently, and I don’t have the time, I’m afraid, to write about them all. But I would like to try to correct what seems to be a general misconception that the cool new film...
View ArticleCity of God
At the beginning of City of God, the critically-acclaimed new movie about the slums of Rio de Janeiro, a young thug in the eponymous neighborhood is showing off his footwork to some younger kids. As he...
View ArticleThe Oscar nominations
I haven’t seen much in the blogosphere over recent days on the subject of the Oscar nominations. I’m a little surprised, since the big news is the way in which New York has triumphed over Los Angeles....
View ArticleBush and Beckham
It is the eve of war, and the mood of the world is sombre. Some developments have been heartening. In the UK, the resignation of Robin Cook and today’s debate on going to war have shown the world...
View ArticleRaising Victor Vargas
I usually feel a strong affinity for films which are set in my home cities – Mona Lisa, say, or anything by Woody Allen. New York has way, way more than its fair share of indy filmmakers, so a lot of...
View ArticleCharlie’s Angels: Full Throttle
Felix’s First Rule of Movies states that "films are always better on their opening weekend". Well, if that’s true, then maybe there’s a case for adding Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle to the Ten Worst...
View ArticleAmerican Splendor
I’m not entirely sure what the "dog days of summer" are, but if they exist, then surely these are they. The papers are already running summer-movie post-mortems, but the big, serious autumn films have...
View ArticleLost in Translation
Lost in Translation is a film about loneliness, featuring two individuals drawn to each other partly by the pull of genuine attraction but mainly by the push of having no other respite from their...
View ArticleSchool of Rock
OK, it hasn’t been the best year for movies. But it’s still worth noting that the two best films of the year thus far have been PG-13 romps aimed at children and their parents. After the box-office...
View ArticleBefore Sunset
I’m probably biased, but I’ve always considered Richard Linklater’s Before Sunrise to be a film which is loved by those who have seen it, and hated by those who haven’t. Linklater is one of the most...
View ArticleTadpole
The first thing we’re told at the beginning of Miramax’s much-hyped new film, Tadpole, is that it’s "a film by" Gary Winick. (He also, of course, gives himself a "directed by" credit a couple of...
View ArticleGood news at the Box Office
The numbers are in for the weekend, and the news is good! At the top of the list is Barbershop, a $12 million-budgeted film which took in $20.6 million over the three days. Next is the unstoppable My...
View Article8 Women and True Lies
No review of Barbershop here, I’m afraid, despite the fact that it remained at the top of the box-office chart for the second week running last weekend. It was my girlfriend’s birthday, so she got to...
View ArticleBarbershop
A bit later than I originally intended, I finally got around to seeing Barbershop tonight. If you haven’t done so as well, I highly recommend you follow suit: it’s an excellent film, which pulls off...
View ArticleSecretary
Secretary is, at heart, a by-the-numbers love story. Troubled girl meets troubled boy, they fall in love, but their troubles drive them apart before they are eventually overcome and our loving couple...
View ArticleThe Trials of Henry Kissinger and Bowling for Columbine
Left-wing documentaries are popular in New York City these days. I’ve been to two this week: The Trials of Henry Kissinger on Thursday afternoon, and Bowling for Columbine on Sunday night. Both...
View ArticleFrida
At the end of Frida, the new film by Julie Taymor, the great Mexican muralist Diego Rivera (Alfred Molina) says of his wife, the painter Frida Kahlo (Salma Hayek), that "never before has a woman...
View ArticlePunch-Drunk Love
If there’s one thing that Paul Thomas Anderson loves, it’s virtuouso camerawork. In his first film, Boogie Nights, it was generally considered to be a nod of the head to Martin Scorcese. But the...
View ArticleRoger Dodger
We open on a conversation taking place between fellow workers in a restaurant, all seated around a table. One of them is on a riff, going into impressive amounts of detail with regard to a thesis he...
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Decasia
Old celluloid decays in a spectacular manner. Ricky Jay and Rosamond Purcell have just published a fine book on what happens to old dice (they start cracking up, quite literally, and quite...
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