The sad news of Mike Nichols’ death at age 83 had me searching for something beyond the usual The Graduate highlight reel that would illustrate what seems to me like his greatest directorial virtue: the ability to keep a tonal straight face when confronted with material whose comic or dramatic potential could quickly push matters way over the top. This Catch-22 clip serves the purpose: the famous speech explaining what Catch-22 actually is is dwarfed by the airfield it takes place on, with jets and vehicles surrounding Yossarian (Alan Arkin) and Doc Daneeka (Jack Gilford). The choreography, both human and mechanical, is immaculate and […]
by Vadim Rizov on Nov 20, 2014In this Q&A from a recent Toronto screening of 2001: A Space Odyssey, stars Keir Dullea and Gary Lockwood are in fine form as they take to the stage to discuss why all the actors in the film were Canadian (Canadian actors didn’t need visas to live in the UK at the time), trade interpretations of what that ending means, and share a plethora of production anecdotes. Other highlights include Dullea’s reminiscences of how he came to be involved in the sequel 2010 and the two recalling Gene Hackman and Warren Beatty’s post-screening reaction: Beatty told the pair they were […]
by Vadim Rizov on Nov 20, 2014In Interstellar‘s future, a life-ending new Dust Bowl requires astronaut Matthew McConaughey to go into space, shoot through a wormhole, scope out three planets for habitation and make it back home to assure his daughter he loves her. The film is bookended and periodically interrupted by real Dust Bowl veterans’ talking heads, their hard times testimonies taken from a Ken Burns doc on the topic. It speaks to Christopher Nolan’s admirably idiosyncratic instincts that he’d ground visualizations of near-mystical journeys through quantum physics with seemingly incompatible Burns talking heads; it speaks simultaneously to his imaginative limitations that he can think of […]
by Vadim Rizov on Nov 19, 2014Pulp fans, take note: via Pitchfork, US viewers can stream the entirety of Florian Habicht’s new documentary about them for free. Part concert film from their 2012 reunion, part tribute to and investigation of their Sheffield roots: enough said. Miss the window of opportunity? It enters limited release on Wednesday and is available for digital download starting Friday.
by Vadim Rizov on Nov 17, 2014In the second trailer for 50 Shades of Grey, we get a much clearer overview of the plot trajectory: successful corporate boy meets shy journalist girl for interview, later runs into her and asks her “Are you free?” Meaning, presumably, both schedule-wise and also with reference to her soul/libido. Then out come the S&M tools. The big change from the first trailer is that the emphasis is equally split between the softcore elements and what Tom Wolfe once deemed the “plutographic,” i.e. the graphic depiction of the acts and vices of the rich. Look for lots of private jet plane rides and […]
by Vadim Rizov on Nov 14, 2014David Lynch is notoriously averse to discussing the meaning of his movies, so this recent “in conversation” exercise from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts gets above-average results by getting him to focus on the process of making his artwork instead. There are anecdotes about creating art using mice, discussions of his love of stone lithography, and this unbeatable evaluation of what’s changed about Philadelphia since Lynch’s mid-’60s art school time there: “There was a lot of fear and insanity and violence, and then we’d hear about corruption and police brutality, and there was a lot of sickness in the people, and […]
by Vadim Rizov on Nov 13, 2014Released in 1975, Joan Micklin Silver’s feature debut Hester Street is the story of immigrant Jews assimilating with various degrees of success to turn-of-the-century New York City. She followed with two contemporary works: 1977’s Boston alt-paper story Between the Lines and 1979’s Chilly Scenes of Winter. The latter is set to screen tomorrow at NYC’s IFC Center as part of the “Celluloid Dreams” series, whose premise would not have made sense in the very recent pre-DCP past: it aims to show repertory cinema on 35mm. Chilly Scenes is based on Ann Beattie’s first novel, which primarily concerns itself with Charles (John Heard) and his deathless, […]
by Vadim Rizov on Nov 11, 2014This is making the Internet rounds and will presumably swallow the entire world by midday at this rate, so why resist? Casper Kelly is a regular Adult Swim contributor, and this is his magnum opus. What begins as an extended parody of every single type of mediocre ’80s sitcom personage (the casting, finding the exact right face for every goofy dad, hectoring boss and bemused grandma, is really something) mutates into a series of other staples of the decade — G.I. Joe-esque animation, some kind of old-school Battlestar Galactica thing — before metastasizing into a self-reflexive slasher film, a hospital drama, […]
by Vadim Rizov on Nov 7, 2014“I consider the industrious Robert Greene a friend, but that makes me no less cautious in deeming his new film Actress a big deal,” I wrote after seeing the film at True/False this year. The quick takeaway: This collaborative psychodrama follows and subjectively sculpts his friend/neighbor Brandy Burre’s attempt to simultaneously separate from her longtime boyfriend and return to the acting world she left for suburban motherhood. Sliding from seemingly straightforward self-presentation to ambiguously unfeigned snapshots of daily life, director and subject collude, not so much valorizing her attempts to jumpstart her career and finances (“I have to make a […]
by Vadim Rizov on Nov 6, 2014This Film Riot video (via No Film School) quickly runs down five basic tools you’ll need to have in order to shoot outside — wind socks or other protection for your mic, ND filters and so on — as well as suggesting cost-effective alternatives for especially cash-strapped productions. No money for a bounce board? No problem: pull a pillowcase over a cardboard box and you’re ready to go. While intended primarily for beginners, this video’s pointers can serve as a quick refresher crash course to bring everyone on your crew up to speed.
by Vadim Rizov on Nov 6, 2014