Child’s Play: The Degeneration of Blockbusters
Alexander Huls argues blockbusters been reduced to giant CGI toy sets for directors. How did that happen?
Features
Black FIlm and TV Directors in 2013: A Progress Report
By all accounts, 2013 has been a striking year for black film directors. But is the real story about black directors working in television?
The Twelve Scenes of Christmas: Numbers 4 to 1
The completion of our countdown of twelve great Chirstmas-set scenes from the movies. Check out #4–#1.
Thumbnails 12/20/2013
“Tower Prep” was cancelled because it was too girl-centric; the year’s 10 best movie quotes; the year’s worst movie titles; the real sins of the Welfare Queen; the aptly named Wiseman speaks.
Thumbnails 12/19/2013
Paul Rudd is Ant Man; Richard Linklater on “Before Midnight’s” fight scene; why stars we dig often work with stars we despise; “G.B.F.” was rated R for being gay; “Her” and the sad-sack sensitive man.
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“The Stream” finally may be drying up; Beyoncé the feminist; top 2013 horror films; Shia Labeouf ponies up; “Fraggle Rock” is still the best.
Thumbnails 12/23/2013
Sizing up “The Wolf of Wall Street”; our weird tendency to sexualize technology; Dame Vengeance aka Judith Anderson; beefcakes are the new cheesecakes; Ty Burr on “Inside Llewyn Davis.”
The Twelve Scenes of Christmas: Numbers 8 to 5
Part two of our countdown of twelve great scenes set around Christmas: #8–#5.
The Twelve Scenes of Christmas: Numbers 12 to 9
We’re counting down twelve great movie scenes set around Christmas. Here is the first batch, with #12 through #9.
Joan Fontaine: 1917–2013
Dan Callahan has an appreciation of the career of Joan Fontaine.
“Life Itself” filmmakers host Roger’s friends and colleagues in live Twitter chats
Friends and colleagues of Roger will share stories and answer questions on the Twitter feed of the new doc about Roger, “Life Itself,” in a series of live chats.
Who Represents? On “Laurence Anyways” and Trans Characters in Film
Vex Poet on “Laurence Anyways” and the complicated question of who gets to speak for the trans community.
Fire and Ice: On Box Office for Films with Women as Protagonists
For the last three weeks, two films with female protagonists (“The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” and “Frozen”) have been at the top of the box office. Carrie Rickey does some numbers on the history of box office numbers and films with women as protagonists.
Dr. Ryan Stone: Everything a Typical Female Movie Character Is Not
Sandra Bullock’s character in “Gravity” defies the norms of female characters in Hollywood films.
Love Yourself — Powerfully: Lessons to My Younger Self
Joyce Kulhawik considers what message she would give to her younger self.
Is Blue a Straight Color?: On “Blue is the Warmest Color” and Representing Lesbians
Anne Elizabeth Moore considers the straight male perspective behind “Blue Is the Warmest Color.”
Thumbnails 12/13/2013
Critic Inkoo Kang deems “The Wind Rises” disgraceful; critic Amy Nicholson deems “Saving Mr. Banks” a spoonful of lies; the prison memoir by an African American has been discovered; real 2013 heroines of film; an academy taxonomy.
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A.O. Scott says movies aren’t dead; John Waters says kids shouldn’t write to Santa; David Simon says there are two Americas; Keith Phipps says 2013 movies go “boom”; Vulture says movies with “America” in the title go “boom,” too.
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Russian Supreme Court declares Pussy Riot sentence unlawful; Erica Huggins appointed new president of Imagine Films; a music critic comes to her senses about R. Kelly; Bette Midler to play Mae West; celebrities’ queasy new publicity machine.
Thumbnails 12/10/2013
A celebration of A Christmas Story; The Wes Anderson Collection‘s first pan; Abel Ferrara breaks it down for you, pal.
