Thumbnails 2/6/15
Amy Pascal resigns; The appeal of “Fifty Shades of Grey”; “Inherent Vice” walkouts; The self-inflicted war wounds of Brian Williams; The daring “Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take One.”
Features
Thumbnails 2/5/15
The dangers of stock photo modeling; Nancy Reagan refused to help Rock Hudson; Bed bugs may be splitting into new species; Hollywood’s white-guy problem; Eugene Levy and Catherine O’Hara.
The Great Movies Review of “Groundhog Day”
A reprint of Roger’s Great Movies review of the timeless “Groundhog Day.”
The Unloved, Part 14: Joe Vs. the Volcano
Scout Tafoya’s series on overlooked or under appreciated films continues with screenwriter John Patrick Shanley’s debut feature.
Thumbnails 2/2/15
Celebrating “Groundhog Day”; Stop making movies like “Black or White”; The catharsis of “Almost There”; Reflections on sexual abuse; How secular family values stack up.
Book Excerpt: “Mise en scène and Film Style: From Classical Hollywood to New Media Art” by Adrian Martin
An excerpt from Adrian’s Martin’s Mise en scène and Film Style: From Classical Hollywood to New Media Art.
Thumbnails 1/30/15
The epic uncool of Philip Seymour Hoffman; How “Selma” got smeared; The fantasy fueling “Sniper”‘s popularity; Paradise in Palm Springs; Looking back at “Before Sunrise.”
Thumbnails 1/29/15
“The year of women” at Sundance; “Sniper” proves critics matter; Gene Hackman is still in charge; Kurosawa watches “Solaris” with Tarkovsky; Joel Grey comes out.
Short Films in Focus: The 2015 Oscar-Nominated Short Films
A look at the fifteen short films nominated by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Thumbnails 1/26/15
“Selma” is more than fair to L.B.J.; “American Sniper” increases threat against Muslims; Struggle over Vivian Maier’s photos; When racism can’t be ignored; Johnny Depp was never a movie star.
Thumbnails 1/23/15
Chatting with Björk; Life and death in Senegal; Why “Life Itself” was snubbed; Disney rejects George Lucas; “American Sniper” is not war propaganda.
“Chi-chi: Tales from the Bass Line” to Screen in Chicago
Chi-chi Nwanoku will attend a screening of Barrie Gavin’s documentary, “Chi-chi: Tales from the Bass Line,” in Chicago in February 9th.
Thumbnails 1/22/15
Women taking action in Hollywood; Contrasting “Safe” and “Still Alice”; Bridge between love and lipstick; Adrià Julià on Rocky Ascending; What “American Sniper” says about America.
Thumbnails 1/19/15
The true tragedy of “American Sniper”; Can America handle the truth on race?; Collapse of the Catholic right; Films that raise accuracy questions; 8 Oscar-worthy performances by Julianne Moore.
Thumbnails 1/16/15
Open-office trend destroys workplace; Dark day for women in Hollywood; Matt Zoller Seitz on Wes Anderson; Hollywood absent from Oscars; Michael Phillips on “American Sniper.”
Thumbnails 1/15/15
The female journey as an existential quest; Richard Pryor’s Hollywood Bowl meltdown; Stop GamerGate; “Selma” is a horror movie; “Blackhat” scoring controversy.
The Chase is the Thing: On Michael Mann’s “Manhunter,” “Heat” and “Public Enemies”
A look at the character-defining aspect of the chase in Michael Mann’s “Heat,” “Manhunter,” and “Public Enemies,” on the eve of the release of “Blackhat.”
Bright Wall/Dark Room Excerpt January 2015: “Break, Blow, Burn, and Make Me New” by Chad Perman
The January 2015 excerpt from Bright Wall/Dark Room on Mike Nichols’ “Wit”.
Thumbnails 1/12/15
Selma responds to “Selma”; Clooney and red carpet culture; The best art that offends us; Hip-hop isn’t a race relations cure-all; Enduring delights of “Duck Soup.”
“Godard: The First Wave” Comes to Chicago
A tribute to Jean-Luc Godard in light of the retrospective “Godard: The First Wave,” playing at the Siskel Film Center in Chicago.
