News Rick on 30 Apr 2008
Roger Ebert has a blog. That’s all that needs to be said, really, but here’s a bit of his prose to whet your appetite. It’s from a post on, of all things, Joe and the Volcano:
It’s the kind of film that offends the Movie Police, a shadowy group that lurks about proclaiming, [...]
Analysis & Commentary Rick on 29 Apr 2008
Dear Guillermo:
I’m really glad that you’ve gotten the plum directing gig in the known universe, and I hope you get a boodle of cash out of it (and if you want somewhere to spend it, my email’s in the profile). As a public service, and because you seem like a nice boy and all, [...]
Analysis & Commentary Rick on 28 Apr 2008
There’s a piece I wrote over at MovieZeal; its one of the Final Things in their month-long tribute to Joel and Ethan Coen, and it’s called The Coen Brothers and the Spirit of Chaos. Check it out, and while you’re there, peruse Evan et al’s fine site, with beaucoup reviews and analysis almost any [...]
Review Rick on 26 Apr 2008
Remember Al Pacino’s over-the-top histrionics in Coppola’s equally over-the-top Godfather: Part III? Remember how he bellowed “Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in?” Well, that’s the plot of Johnnie To’s Triad Election, and a venerable one it is, too. It’s served not only gangster flicks, but cop movies [...]
Analysis & Commentary Rick on 25 Apr 2008
Back when I was a child, there were no DVDs or even — and I know this will shock you all — any of those quaint things with rollers called video cassettes. Back then, if you wanted to see a movie that wasn’t playing in the theaters, an older movie, you had to wait [...]
News Rick on 24 Apr 2008
After literally years of intrigue, then months of speculation, it’s finally official: Guillermo del Toro will direct the two Hobbit pictures for New-Line MGM. As reported by Dave McNary in Variety,
The widely expected announcement — which had been rumored for several weeks — came Thursday afternoon jointly from exec producers Peter Jackson and [...]
Review Rick on 22 Apr 2008
There’s a scene early-on in Joel and Ethan Coen’s The Man Who Wasn’t There where Doris Crane (Frances McDormand) is in the bathtub, getting ready for a night out. Her husband Ed (Billy Bob Thornton) stands in the doorway, watching, and she calls him over to shave her legs. He bends over the [...]
News Rick on 18 Apr 2008
Marilyn Ferdinand has a review of Errol Morris’ (right) new documentary on the Standard Operating Procedure, and a very thought-provoking interview with Morris here. After a rocky start, the interview makes telling points about the Abu Ghraib incidents and how our citizens deal with clear evidence of the wrong-doings of our government. Way to [...]
Analysis & Commentary Rick on 17 Apr 2008
Just about my favorite American actor is starring in the biggest blockbuster of the summer (ok, other than You-know-who in the Kingdom of You-know-what). It’s Iron Man, of course, and while I appreciate a good comic book movie as well as the next guy, I really appreciate him in those smaller, quirky roles like tranny-loving [...]
Analysis & Commentary Rick on 16 Apr 2008
I love François Truffaut’s The 400 Blows. I am convinced it is one of the most affecting movies of all time, and it was influential to boot: along with Breathless, it helped usher in the French New Wave, which genuinely revolutionized cinema. One of the things I love about it is the [...]
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