Wong Kar Wai | Coosa Creek Cinema

Cinematic, Whatever That Means

By Rick, on March 21st, 2009 |

I just saw Ashes of Time Redux, and I know there are those who will disagree, or think I’m just full of it, but I think Wong Kar Wai does “pure cinema” about as well as anybody. In other words, his movies — for me — are very cinematic. Whatever that means. And because I [...]

Stand and Deliver, Part II

By Rick, on July 13th, 2008 |

Yesterday, I posted a clip from Alfred Hitchcock’s North by Northwest (1959) that showed the dialog scene from a classic Hollywood perspective. The conversants are established half-facing each other, and after a master shot, the dialog proceeds in shot/reverse-shot fashion, with alternating takes shot over the shoulder of the actors. The lighting is [...]

Stand and Deliver

By Rick, on July 12th, 2008 |

Watching Wong Kar Wai’s My Blueberry Nights, I got to thinking about what David Bordwell and others have called the “Classical Hollywood Style.” It refers to a collection of techniques or rules that work together to enable smooth, unobtrusive film-making that does not call attention to itself.

Here’s a scene from Hitchcock’s North by Northwest [...]

My Blueberry Nights

By Rick, on July 9th, 2008 |

OK, let’s get the obvious out of the way: Norah Jones can’t act. She is beautiful, and she can sing like an angel, but she can’t act. She’s inexpressive, a blank canvas, a tabula rasa. And when she is called upon to emote, she’s too obvious, like a kid [...]

Coosa Creek Times, 4-18-2008

By Rick, on April 18th, 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 [...]

Coosa Creek Times, 3-9-2008

By Rick, on March 9th, 2008 |

I realize some of this is not the freshest news in the land, but hey … I was in Atlanta, working to grade, of all things, ordination exams. So here is some catch-up news.

Over at Sergio Leone and the Infield Fly Rule — Dennis Cozallio’s blog, the name of which I wish I’d thought [...]