#49 — The Age of Innocence (Martin Scorsese, 1993) The most famous and justly revered films of Martin Scorsese’s career are notable for their muscular rawness, their willingness to dive headlong into the toughest territory, those streets that will never … Continue reading Top Fifty Films of the 90s — Number Forty-Nine
This time of year, I wind up devoting an awful lot of time to bloated awards shows, often shows that I’m not even interested in except for their suspected influence on the ceremony I can’t resist. Turns out I should just learn to wait, because some enterprising soul is bound to come up with a more compact version. (Posted simultaneously to “Jelly-Town!”) Continue reading Like a thief in the night see the world by candlelight
Things I learned about this year’s Oscar race from tonight’s Golden Globes awards: –Any meager lingering doubts that the Best Supporting Actress is done are now gone as Mo’Nique handled her Globes victory the same way she handled her big scene in Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire. She, to lean on a pertinent cliche, knocked it out of the park. –Any meager lingering doubts that the Best Actor race is done are wiped out by some simple awards ceremony arithmetic. If my count is correct, there were three standing ovations tonight. One was for Martin Scorsese when … Continue reading When you’re golden, I’m your beast
She barely says a word. As Bang Bang in Rian Johnson’s second feature, The Brothers Bloom, Rinko Kikuchi does not have the benefit of hefty monologues that plumb her character’s soul, nor does she get the sort of clever, stylized … Continue reading Class of 2009 Supporting Actress Blogathon: Rinko Kikuchi in The Brothers Bloom
I like to say that it all started with a girl, but that’s not precisely accurate. Yes, there was a Robyn Hitchcock fan who won my susceptible little heart during my freshman year of college, and she professed her affection for the man in an open and charming fashion. She had first encountered him in Greece, where he played a show before a largely indifferent audience. She was enchanted by his socks. Robyn Hitchcock was one of those names that I knew before finding my way to the college radio station, one of those odd, enticing monikers that promised a … Continue reading One for Friday: Robyn Hitchcock ‘n’ the Egyptians, “Swirling”
It’s hard to deny the emotional wallop built right in to Precious: Based on the Novel “Push” by Sapphire. Set in 1987, the film tells the story of an overweight black teenager living in poverty with her abusive mother in … Continue reading Now Howard the Duck and Mr. Stress both stayed trapped in a world that they never made
I suspect I’ve already tipped my hand about my pick for the best animated film of 2009, but if the Oscars let Wes Anderson accept a trophy in the same fashion that he employed for the National Board of Review awards ceremony, I may have to shift my rooting interest in the the relevant category to Fantastic Mr. Fox. They undoubtedly won’t, so I’ll be able to bypass those conflicting emotions. (Posted simultaneously to “Jelly-Town!”) Continue reading Fox in the snow, where do you go to find something you can eat?
Summer of Sam (Spike Lee, 1999). Lee certainly wasn’t lacking in ambition with this film. It depicts the sweltering New York summer of 1977, marked by an ascendant Yankees ballclub, record-setting heat, and paralyzing fear over the unpredictable Son of Sam serial killer. Bringing his own distinctive flourishes to a screenplay by actor friends Victor Colicchio and Michael Imperioli, Lee piles more story and heavy import than just about any film could bear. Discotheques and punk rockers, gritty urban newscasts and brash bellowing neighborhoods, and it quickly collapses under its own weight. As with all of his more compromised efforts, … Continue reading Capra, Hopkins, Kieslowski, Lee, Pichel
After a long day, sometimes I just need a little Michael Kupperman. You can read more about it. (Posted simultaneously to “Jelly-Town!”) Continue reading Grab my boots and a sandwich, let’s start a parade
#50 — Galaxy Quest (Dean Parisot, 1999) Galaxy Quest is easy to dismiss. It was certainly easy for me. We saw it upon its Christmas Day release, honoring a beloved household tradition of spending the biggest holiday of the year … Continue reading Top Fifty Films of the 90s — Number Fifty
