In the late ’90s, a pre-Governator Arnold Schwarzenegger nearly headlined a version of Richard Matheson’s post-apocalyptic classic I Am Legend before budget concerns derailed the project. Almost two decades later, the 67-year-old Schwarzenegger is starring in a decidedly different futuristic plague film. In the indie Maggie, Schwarzenegger plays a farmer who brings his infected daughter (Abigail Breslin) home for the last days of her life. No gunfights, no car chases, no “get to the choppers”: it’s essentially an ephemeral mood piece, photographed in widescreen with an emphasis on tight close-ups and naturalistic lighting. The film’s cinematographer, Lukas Ettlin, spoke to […]

Most of the TV reviewers who reviewed David Simon’s new HBO series Treme were shown the first three episodes. I only caught the first, last night, on its premiere. Directed by Agnieskza Holland, the post-Katrina series set in the world of New Orleans musicians was undeniably gorgeous to look at and listen to. It took the fairly bold approach of not kickstarting with any huge central incident but rather sketching a tableaux of characters defined, in part, by their attitude toward a city that has been irrevocably changed. If The Wire was about characters defined by either their resistance or […]