Remembering Maila Nurmi (1921-2008)
Maila Nurmi, aka Vampira – actress, comedienne, artist, and horror hostess – was one of the most interesting and extraordinary persons I have ever met. MAILA KNEW EVERYBODY The first[…]
Daniel Day Lewis… the New Dark God of Actors
If you’re as hung up on the mythic greatness of THERE WILL BE BLOOD as I am (if you haven’t seen it, may I advise you do so?) then you’re[…]
2007: A Look Back in the Old Texas Rearview Cinema
I am heralding 2007 as the year American cinema re-embraced Texas-sized ambiguity and best you do the same. Everyone’s got a good thing to say about old NO COUNTRY FOR[…]
Edna May Oliver, Heal this Nation!
In honor of the sudden John Ford deluge at the DVD-o-teque nearest you, I’d like to suggest that Edna May Oliver, the stoically ornery widow of Ford’s DRUMS ALONG THE[…]
There Will Be Blood – Missing Links
The five films Paul Thomas Anderson has made to date fall neatly into two categories. On the one hand, there are the Altmanesque ensemble films, Boogie Nights and Magnolia; on[…]
The New “Stretched” HD America
The holidays provide many dubious pleasures, one of which is to see what the rest of your family watches on television. In my case, as we are all congregated in[…]
Depp’s Todd
Those of us who feared Johnny Depp might not be able to execute the vocal gymnastics required for Stephen Sondheim’s revenge-musical, Sweeney Todd, can breathe a sigh of relief. Depp[…]
Forever… Marlene
So after delays and cancelation and sorrow I get into Chicago for Xmas and my parents books us each in a big suite in a big empty Sheraton near O’Hare…[…]
Merry Christmas From Hans and Adolph
Hans Jurgen Syberberg’s Hitler: A Film From Germany aka Our Hitler (1978) is one of the most unusual movies ever made, a 7½ hour meditation on Hitler and what he[…]
Two Overlooked Supporting Performances of 2007
What with all the year-end lists we’ve been seeing lately, I’ve been surprised at some of the omissions. Well, not all that surprised, since lists like these almost always[…]
No Country For Old Men – Breaking the Rules
[SPOILERPHOBES BEWARE!! The following post comments in a general fashion on the endings of No Country for Old Men and The Great Silence, as well as what happens to Marion[…]
The White Reindeer (Valkoinen Peura, 1952)
Christa Lang Fuller, widow of Sam, in response to my post re 31 Essential Horror Films writes: “Please add Valkoinen peura (1952) to the top of your list as one[…]
Kim Masters, Natural-Born Killer
Kim Masters, Slate’s assassin for hire, who clearly does not know the meaning of the words “You’ll never have lunch in this town again,” pisses all over Jerry Seinfeld’s major[…]
Still, Life: Looking at Jia Zhang-ke’s Recent Masterpiece
“Present-day society doesn’t suit us because we’re too nostalgic.” August 8, 2007 saw a huge celebration in Beijing marking the one-year countdown to the opening of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.[…]
The Searcher: On Ethan Edwards and John Ford’s Masterpiece
“Ride away . . . ride away . . .” John Ford’s The Searchers (1956) opens with the arrival of Ethan Edwards (John Wayne) at his brother’s home in southern[…]
The Wages of Skin: The Irrepressible Rise of All-American Smut
Linda Lovelace meets the Forty Thieves Having seen how sixties San Francisco spawned a generation of irreverent young celluloid porn barons — “Before The Green Door” in Bright Lights 57[…]
“What Is Beauty Worth?” On Perfume: The Story of a Murderer
(And an Artist) Tom Tykwer’s film Perfume: The Story of a Murderer has the bones of a cinematic fairytale (with its male narration and ethereal lighting) and the flesh of[…]
Safety First: The 45th New York Film Festival
The 2007 NYFF’s more cautious than courageous this year For a long time, the New York Film Festival was the inarguable heavyweight in town, practically on a direct feed from[…]
How Did History Happen? The 2007 Melbourne International Film Festival
“Each stranger is a figure of seemingly infinite potential, pinned down to a changing series of points.” Given that the new director of the Melbourne International Film Festival, Richard Moore,[…]
The Passion of the Auteurist: On Man of Cinema: Pierre Rissient
“It’s not enough to like this movie” He has been called the Kissinger of Cinema and the King of Cannes. Quentin Tarantino describes him as “a samurai warrior for films[…]
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