Blogathons etc. Rick on 31 Jul 2008
Who doesn’t like a good Film Noir? I certainly do, and so it’s with genuine pleasure that I direct your attention, dear readers, to MovieZeal’s Film Noir month with articles about 31 — count ‘em, 31 — noir classics, including, but certainly not limited to, an article by moi. So round up your trench coats [...]
Review Rick on 30 Jul 2008
We see the ghost in the opening scene of Guillermo del Toro’s The Devil’s Backbone. There’s no slow reveal, no build-up, no ratcheting-up of suspense. And it liberates us to pay attention, and pay attention we should. As in any good opening sequence, del Toro tells us all we need to know about [...]
Carl Th. Dreyer and Great Clips Rick on 30 Jul 2008
No early film maker used tracking shots with more intelligence and originality than Carl Theodor Dreyer. Far from being simply a way to move the camera, or a way of showing off (yes, I’m talking about you, Atonement), in Dreyer’s work they they are integral to the design of each film.
A major theme running through [...]
Blogathons etc. Rick on 28 Jul 2008
All, right, copper — uh, Fox — you got me. You tagged me with Piper’s Fake Film Festival meme. Here are the rules:
1) Choose 12 Films to be featured. They could be random selections or part of a greater theme. Whatever you want.
2) Explain why you chose the films.
3) Link back to [...]
DVDs Rick on 25 Jul 2008
Note: My friends over at MovieZeal write about DVD releases once a week, but they don’t include classics. So as a public service, and because I’m just an altruistic kind of guy, here are some of the recent classic art house releases for your viewing pleasure.
At the top of the list has to be [...]
News Rick on 24 Jul 2008
When I heard about the Cannes premiere of Synecdoche, New York, Charlie Kaufman’s directing debut, I wanted to see it, in spite of its mixed reviews. Finally, it looks like I’ll get the chance: according to Variety, it’s been picked up for distribution by Sony. Philip Seymour Hoffman stars as theater director Caden [...]
Review Rick on 23 Jul 2008
I really can’t remember a film that has been so relentless in it’s marketing, or so successful, for that matter. You would think it was the second coming of Christ, there was so much anticipation. I half expected there to be groups of white-robed acolytes, heading up to some mountain top last Thursday afternoon, [...]
Analysis & Commentary Rick on 21 Jul 2008
Easily the best film of the summer, The Dark Knight is the most hyped as well. In a brilliant marketing campaign, Warners began sometime last year to tease us with images of Heath Ledger as the Joker. Since he died, there has been a campaign building steam to get him the nomination for [...]
Review Rick on 19 Jul 2008
Ok. Here’s the setup of Hellboy II: The Golden Army. The Elven King Balin — oops, I mean Balor — is getting overrun by the children of men, and so rather than go to the Grey Havens, he takes a goblin’s advice (something one should never do) and lets him make a humongous army [...]
Federico Fellini and Review Rick on 17 Jul 2008
When Fellini goes bad . . . sounds like one of those old Discovery Channel programs, doesn’t it? But when Fellini goes bad, it can be an unmitigated disaster. Take Satyricon — please! Or City of Women, a film that only Fellini’s mother could love (or a dedicated Fellinista like Vincent Canby, [...]
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