Thumbnails 11/27/2013
Ted Hope gives thanks (about the indie film biz); how the “Catching Fire” movie outstrips the book; animals are still being harmed in many films; why “Boardwalk Empire” Season 4 is a masterpiece; men who explain rap to women.
Features
Thumbnails 12/2/2013
How we discuss celebrity deaths; Maria Bello’s modern coming-out; filmmaker Ava DuVernay on black films and filming black people; best books of 2013; how graphics are innovating documentaries.
Zatoichi Films Get the Deluxe Box Set Treatment
Twenty-five films about Zatoichi, the blind swordsman, are gathered in a new box set from Criterion.
Is the Director Who is Quirky a Documentarian? On Michel Gondry’s Nonfiction
MIchel Gondry’s new documentary about Noam Chomsky fits into Gondry’s body of work, if you look at his whole body of work and not just the most popular films.
“GET THE PICTURE!”: Public Nominations to the National Film Registry
The National Film Registry accepts public nominations of films for preservation. Cary O’Dell looks at what letters and emails from the public tell us about our feelings about our film heritage.
Unresolved Chords: How Film Composers Shape Our Feelings
Alan Zilberman looks at the move to minimalism in musical scores, and how those scores shape our emotional reactions.
BBC America Uses “Doctor Who” Mania to Launch “Atlantis”
BBC America wastes the “Doctor Who” lead-in on the trashy, boring “Atlantis.”
Meet the Writers: Michal Oleszczyk
Writer Michał Oleszczyk responds to our Movie Love Questionnaire.
Grace-Infused: Notes on Director Wes Anderson’s Working Relationship with Actor Jason Schwartzman
Notes on Jason Schwartzman’s special place in the Wes Anderson universe.
Kieslowski at Tribeca
A series of Polish films brings Krzysztof Kieslowski’s early work to NYC.
Thumbnails 11/22/2013
The 50th anniversary of JFK’s assassination; critical reviews of a critical review of Sarah Silverman’s career; Guillermo Del Toro’s biggests firsts; an official video for “Like a Rolling Stone”; is Harvey “Scissorhanding” his company’s awards site?
Thumbnails 11/21/2013
Scorsese, De Niro reuniting on a new gangster film; Zadie Smith on life, death, Warhol; Spike Lee speaks; our ancestors didn’t sleep like us; Van Sant to headline a LGBT film fest in St. Petersburg.
Thumbnails 11/20/2013
Hollywood studios face huge upheavals; why feminists don’t get drunk; why ‘Homeland’ is falling apart; the secret snobbery of JFK’s Camelot; decoding critics’ favorite ‘Simpons’ quotes.
Thumbnails 11/25/2013
Hoberman on the Coen Brothers’ portrayal of Jews; horror-woman’s films; the “Goodbye New York” essay; Sheila O’Malley on anniversaries; Elmore Leonard’s 10 rules of writing.
Thumbnails 11/18/2013
Death to the death of criticism; Pussy Riot’s Nadezhda’s letters to a political philosopher; was Marvel’s New Universe ever all that?; Doris Lessing’s legacy; a CinemaScore F-estival.
Time Shifting Redefines Ratings Success For Fox
Has Fox finally learned to stop worrying and love viewers who don’t watch shows ‘live’?
Atom Age Feminists: The Women of ’50s Sci-Fi
Science fiction films of the 1950s gave women surprisingly prominent roles as scientists.
Spike Lee, Mike Tyson Bring Riveting “Undisputed Truth” to HBO
Spike Lee captures “Mike Tyson: Undisptued Truth,” his Broadway one-man show starring Mike Tyson, on film.
