Forget it, Roman? Polanski and the Politics of What we Remember
A friend suggested I should comment regarding Roman Polanski’s arrest and the attempt to extradite him to the US to face charges stemming from his admitted sex offence against a 13 year old girl in 1977. I’m reluctant to do so, because the issues are complex and probably better handled in conversation where dialogue partners [...]
The Movie of the Year 2009: Overtures
[Read the first part of this post here] OVERTURES Three opening sequences have embedded themselves in my mind this year: Youssou N’Dour’s anthemic call, at the beginning of Elizabeth Chai Versalihis’ ‘I Bring What I Love’ to the young people of Africa, tears streaming down his face, asking his people to be guided by their [...]
TFT 92 – The New York Film Festival – Lebanon / Inferno / Room and a Half
In this week’s episode: In association with our friends at the Film Society of Lincoln Center we delve into the 2009 New York Film Festival – Lebanon / Inferno / Room and a Half Get TFT delivered weekly via iTunes Subscribe to our podcast Subscribe to our blog Follow us on Twitter
The Movie of the Year 2009
Earlier in the summer I began an ill-advised attempt at writing haiku (what’s the verb for composing a haiku? Haikuing? Haiku-tecturing? Haiku-grammising?) for the films that have intrigued me this year. The experiment was abruptly ended by an outbreak of good taste, but as we roll into the fourth quarter of 2009, in anticipation of [...]
TFT 91 – Surrogates / Paul Newman
In this week’s episode: Surrogates / Paul Newman: The Tribute Collection / The Paul Newman Collection Get TFT delivered weekly via iTunes Subscribe to our podcast Subscribe to our blog Follow us on Twitter
The Only Film That Has Everything?
Tarkovsky’s ‘Andrei Rublev’, anointed weekly by Jett as the ‘best film ever made’ seems to me to be one of the few films guaranteed to be watched centuries from now, if the art form that captured my heart (and so often betrays it – which means that movies are, in the end, very much like [...]
'Der Baader Meinhof Komplex' – Or Why We Need Our Directors to be Ill
Val Kilmer as Jim Morrison as German Terrorist Oh Fritz Lang, if only you were still around! You would have made a great pic out of the true-life crime epic that is the story of the Red Army Faction. After all, your great subject was crime – and by extension the evil that men do. [...]
The Film Talk Needs Your Support
We’d like to be as well funded as this guy. Alas… These folks would love to help…But… Hi folks – you already know what I’m about to say if you’ve listened to this week’s episode, in which Jett and I wander around the concepts of the American Dream, false noses, the meaning of consumerism, false [...]
‘The Terminal Man’ – The Greatest 70′s Sci-Fi Thriller You’ve Never Seen
Like these frame-grabs from ‘The Shining’? Scary, huh, when Jack tries to break-in to the bathroom and kill Wendy. Oh wait a minute – these shots aren’t from The Shining – they’re from that near forgotten Mike Hodges classic 1974 sci-fi thriller ‘The Terminal Man’!
TFT 90 – The Informant! / Lawrence of Arabia / Andrei Rublev / The Big Blue / Easy Rider
In this week’s episode we review: The Informant! / Lawrence of Arabia / Andrei Rublev / The Big Blue / Easy Rider Get TFT delivered weekly via iTunes Subscribe to our podcast Subscribe to our blog Follow us on Twitter
The Exodus of Henry Gibson
You know Henry Gibson. He’s one of those character actors who beefed up everything he was in, and indelibly so. Fully worthy of Jett’s appellation ‘an OTG actor’ (no matter how bad the movie, when he’s on screen, your reflex is to say ‘Oh Thank God’). You can’t imagine ‘Magnolia’ without his Luciferian bar-loiterer [...]
Werner Herzog says "Go for it, losers"
Oh sure, I’ve always been entertained by Werner Herzog’s films. They’re always interesting. But as the years roll on and on I realise more firmly, more concretely that the man himself, as an artist, is a man of actual…god, what’s the word…what is it that is so lacking today…oh yeah: courage. Artistic courage. But of [...]
'Andrei Rublev' this Sunday and Monday at the Belcourt
At the start of every week’s show my voice proclaims during the title sequence that Tarkovsky’s ‘Andrei Rublev’ is the best film ever made. That sounds a bit limiting though – I’ll go further and say it’s one of the greatest of all artworks – and feeling the way I do about it I’ll have [...]
Prods and Pom-Poms
Watching Ben Jones and Paul Hutchinson’s entertaining documentary ‘Prods and Pom-Poms’ (available on DVD at a bargain price from Hooptedoodle Films) was a nostalgic experience. (Full disclosure: It’s set in my home town, and Paul and Ben are friends of mine. Second full disclosure: I think I’d like the film even if I didn’t like [...]
Less is More: Or How to Make Your Films More Interesting with the Help of the Easy Surreal
Last month I was all about that most exciting and entertaining of films: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly As promised in the above post I attended the screening at the Belcourt Theatre. I was there, sitting in one of the slightly collapsed, saggy yet homey, misshapen cushioned seats of Nashville’s Best Cinema, ready [...]
Charles Darwin Can't Get No Respect (With a Jay Leno Minority Report)
And so we turn to the news on a Monday morning: Things are going just fine in the world of dumbed down culture – I just heard a story on NPR suggesting that the writers of Jay Leno’s new TV show might struggle to deal with the fact that they’re on just before the news. [...]
'Unforgiven' and the Roots of Violence
I took another look at ‘Unforgiven‘ the other day – one of those films whose original impact was muted by the fact that I saw it amidst hype, and, precisely half a lifetime ago, when I didn’t know that I had no idea what I was talking about. The difference today, I suppose is twofold; [...]
The Film Talk – Part 89 – Extract / 9 / Gamer
In this week’s episode we review: Extract / 9 / Gamer Get TFT delivered weekly via iTunes Subscribe to our podcast Subscribe to our blog Follow us on Twitter
'Up in the Air' vs. 'Armored' – The Collapse of Imagination and the Cowardice of the Market in Trailers
Watch the trailer below for ‘Armored’, (Spoiler Alert – the trailer is the entire film, presented in a linear and condensed format): Now watch the trailer for ‘Up in the Air’: See the difference? I have a fond memories as a kid attending a 5 hour trailer marathon at the old UC Theatre in Berkeley. [...]
Film and Madness
‘Vertigo’s Mad Passion: But Who is He Trying to Save? Fascinating long article-in-progress at GreenCine Daily by the wonderfully named Simon Augustine on portrayals of the edges of sanity in the movies; particularly provocative on the question of how our own projected desires become intertwined with the cinematic image: “Think about how a film works [...]
The Film Talk – Part 88 – Ray McKinnon on Randy and the Mob, Southern Films and the Life of an Independent Filmmaker
In this week’s episode I interview Ray McKinnon about his film ‘Randy and the Mob’, the Southern film genre and his life as an independent filmmaker: You can purchase ‘Randy and the Mob’, the DVD and Soundtrack by clicking below: Get TFT delivered weekly via iTunes Subscribe to our podcast Subscribe to our blog Follow [...]
Film Criticism as Violence/Film Criticism as Love
Edward Yang’s ‘Yi-Yi’: Taking our picture, and hoping he likes what he sees. I’m grateful to Glenn Kenny and David Poland for their very human, very humble interaction over at The Auteurs (read the comments under Glenn’s main article from the 4th September), reflecting on the negativity that propels so much of what passes for [...]
Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice
Was listening back to our chat with Elliott Gould and decided to watch Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice again. If you haven’t seen it Dear Listener you should – yes it’s a mainstream film that is of its time so can seem swamped with the same indulgence of other pics of that era; [...]
A Roundup of Guilty Pleasures
I’m going to think a bit more about what I was trying to say about ’2001′ and negative critical faculties and so the post promised for today will appear on Monday. Instead – the weekly roundup: What I watched this week, so you don’t have to (but maybe you’ll want to): Somewhere in Time: a [...]
