In Defense of the Likable Character
A piece on our obsession with anti-heroes, and an argument for the rewarding arc of the likable character.
Features
Thumbnails 11/10/14
My stepfather, the peeping tom; The Overnighters is a rare bird; Nightcrawler and capitalism; Grace McPhillips on The Other One; Restoring Ramona.
Thumbnails 11/7/14
“Nightcrawler” and the new face of entitlement; “Suffering for their art” films; Fight against TV’s “smooth motion” setting; Suicide and silence; Oliver Stone to make Snowden film.
Thumbnails 11/6/14
Stop freaking out about Lena Dunham; The cheapening of independent film; In defense of Renee Zellweger; Undervalued strengths of “White Bird in a Blizzard”; How big media shot itself in the foot.
Short Films in Focus: “Sidewalk”
The November 2014 short film is Celia Bullwinkel’s “Sidewalk.”
Thumbnails 11/3/14
Filmmakers behind “Radhe Radhe: Rites of Holi”; Deepwater Horizon and “The Great Invisible”; Of women and their emotions; Frances McDormand on NPR; Neil Marshall on “Alien.”
Cinematic Jazz: The Myth of John Cassavetes
A brief history and reappraisal of John Cassavetes in light of the recent Criterion Blu-ray release of “Love Streams.”
Thumbnails 10/31/14
Reverse Shot’s Halloween programming; Rise of the VHS collector; Top 10 favorite witches; Bob Gale on Spielberg; Apple CEO is proud to be gay.
Thumbnails 10/30/14
David Lowery on “Force Majeure”; Rick Perlstein on “Life Itself”; Jacqueline Keeler responds to Matthew McConaughey; Beatrice Welles on “The Other Side of the Wind”; Brandy Burre on “Actress.”
Thumbnails 10/27/14
Boone and Henderson on “Dear White People”; Brody on “Birdman”; Serpico on the NYPD; Sragow on film criticism; Uhlich on “Citizenfour” and “Nightcrawler.”
Book Excerpt: The Ultimate Woody Allen Film Companion by Jason Bailey
An excerpt from The Ultimate Woody Allen Film Companion by Jason Bailey.
Thumbnails 10/24/14
Facebook’s unsung laborers; “Mulholland Drive” is a great horror film; Felicia Day on GamerGate; Extra faces penalty for revealing Batman spoiler; Samuel Fuller’s daughter makes documentary.
Thumbnails 10/23/14
Why “Mrs. Doubtfire” is Robin Williams’s greatest role; Alex Ross Perry on “Listen Up Philip”; Keanu Reeves on “John Wick”; Blackwater founder remains free; Six films to remember from Chicago fest.
A Single Consciousness: The Cinema of Terence Davies
An excerpt from Michael Koresky’s new book about the great filmmaker Terence Davies, the Marcel Proust of Liverpool.
Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson remember L.M. “Kit” Carson
Owen Wilson and Wes Anderson remember L.M. “Kit” Carson, who helped them get their start in the movie business.
A free man: L.M. “Kit” Carson, 1941-2014
An appreciation of filmmaker, writer and actor L.M. “Kit” Carson, a singular talent.
Thumbnails 10/20/14
The roots of reactionary rage; Dietrich Brüggemann on “Stations of the Cross”; Paul Schrader’s silent protest; Case closed on murder of Bulgarian defector; Author tracks down her troll.
Thumbnails 10/17/14
Happy birthday Udo Kier; Reflections on “All That Jazz”; 10 essential Nicolas Roeg films; The abortion conversation we need to have; I just can’t watch “Marry Me.”
That brilliant laugh: Elizabeth Pena, 1961-2014
An appreciation of Elizabeth Pena.
Thumbnails 10/16/14
“The San Francisco Bay Guardian” shuts down; Gabriel García Márquez chats with Akira Kurosawa; Kim Dickens on Fincher’s “woman problem”; Comedy club charges per laugh; R.I.P. Elizabeth Peña.
