Sundance 2023 — Part 3
In her summary piece on this year’s Sundance Film Festival, The New York Times‘s Manohla Dargis lauded the documentary line-up, noting a greater consistency of quality this year and most years, also allowing that the films “were more intellectually engaging … Continue reading Sundance 2023 — Part 3
Sundance 2023 — Part 2
D. Smith’s documentary Kokomo City flouts all sorts of rules of nonfiction filmmaking. The primary mission of the film is to point the lens at several different Black trans women who make their living as sex workers and allow them … Continue reading Sundance 2023 — Part 2
Sundance 2023 — Part 1
My most reliable of reliable sources on the ground in Park City, Utah reports that the first in-person staging of the Sundance Film Festival since 2020 was a full return to the halcyon days of old in at least one … Continue reading Sundance 2023 — Part 1
College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #86 to #84
86. INXS, Listen Like Thieves (1985) Chris Thomas introduced himself to INXS by telling them they were recording their music all wrong. When the Australian band played the Palladium in Los Angeles during the tour to support their 1984 album, … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #86 to #84
Outside Reading — Be Cruel to Your School
When Public Money Becomes Private by Lyz Lenz Writing in her own newsletter, Men Yell at Me, Lyz Lenz details how the longstanding right-wing crusade to divert public education funds towards charter schools has other private institutions does irreparable damage … Continue reading Outside Reading — Be Cruel to Your School
This Week’s Model — Steve Mason, “The People Say”
ROB AND DICK stand behind the counter. Rob holds a CD in his hand. Rob leans over to Dick. ROB I will now sell five copies of Brothers & Sisters by Steve Mason DICK Do it. Rob pops in the … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Steve Mason, “The People Say”
Top Ten Movies of 2022 — Number Ten
In Fire of Love, director Sara Dosa traces the collaborative career of Katia and Maurice Krafft, who gained renown in the nineteen-seventies and nineteen-eighties for their daring pursuit of volcanic eruptions. The married couple exhaustively filmed and photographed their exploits, … Continue reading Top Ten Movies of 2022 — Number Ten
Top Ten Movies of 2022 — An Introduction
As I alluded to yesterday, 2022 struck me a topsy-turvy year in film. In certain respects, that’s understandable. Collectively, we are easing into a new understanding of how to operate in public spaces now that loads of people have decided … Continue reading Top Ten Movies of 2022 — An Introduction
All at Once — Thoughts on the Oscar Nominations
Befitting a year in which Hollywood reeled in continuous confusion trying to adjust to the new reality of the post-COVID version of moviegoing, the Oscar nominations feel all over the place. There’s this wild convergence of old and new strewn … Continue reading All at Once — Thoughts on the Oscar Nominations
Then Playing — Near Dark; Elvis; Amsterdam
Near Dark (Kathryn Bigelow, 1987). It’s amusing now to see that Kathryn Bigelow filled her solo directorial debut with actors imported from Aliens, the action sequel made the previous years by her future husband, James Cameron. Especially since Cameron has … Continue reading Then Playing — Near Dark; Elvis; Amsterdam
Coffee for Two 