TRUE GRIT, BLACK SWAN, TRON LEGACY, and IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE
I’ve seen a few films over the past few weeks, but none hold a candle to IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE, which I viewed for the first time in 10 years at The Belcourt Theatre. It’s neither a Christmas film nor a religious one, although the holiday trimmings may suggest otherwise. (Lucky that. I’m not a [...]
Episode 156 – TRON: LEGACY / TRUE GRIT / The Films of 2010
Here it is – a review of that Apple Store you have to pay to get into, TRON: LEGACY, plus the laugh out loud tragedy of the year TRUE GRIT. All that and our thoughts on the Films of the Year.
TRUE GRIT: City of Mann
Comparing the Coen Brothers’ latest western, the chase film TRUE GRIT, to its predecessor, the camp classic (double entendre!) that finally won John Wayne his Oscar, is a triflin’ quarrel. Never mind that the original TRUE GRIT is dated by its tomboys with Mia Farrow voice, comic mugging accompanied by jaunty woodwinds, and an overall [...]
It’s a TRUE GRIT Week
It’s a week of TRUE GRIT here at TFT folks, with posts over the next few days on the new Coen Bros. film by Brandon Nowalk and Tony Youngblood as well as some podcast action on the topic, (including TRON and our best of the year lists). Enjoy!
DOGTOOTH: Adventures in home-schooling
The night after I got to see Yorgos Lanthimos’ bone-dry Greek family comedy DOGTOOTH at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, that same room saw the Houston Film Critics Society name THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO the best foreign language film of the year. In the year Houston hosted CARLOS, WHITE MATERIAL, MOTHER, A [...]
TRON LEGACY: 3 Dimensions of Cliche
Most of the time, I’m quite content with my indie and foreign film diet. But every now again, I crave the high-calorie, high-fat content of an EVENT film. These are the films for which you soak up the production diaries; buy tickets for in advance; stay up late for the midnight premiere; pack yourself into [...]
Episode 155 – BLACK SWAN / MONSTERS
A slightly heated conversation or perhaps you might even call it a podcast review of Darren Aronofsky’s BLACK SWAN and the beautiful new film MONSTERS.
The Film Talk is Now an Android App!
Right so it’s not just you iOS folks who now get to enjoy all the fun of the The Film Talk in a portable streamable format – because Dear Listener TFT is now an Android App!
BLACK SWAN: Hall of mirrors
Just once I’d like to see a film about an artist who achieves his masterpiece by seeking greater control. The popular fantasy is that artists are sensitive feelers who must completely lose themselves and let the spirit of Obi-Wan or whatever guide them to glory, not practicing communicators who ought to pinpoint precisely what they’re [...]
Episode 154 – An Interview with Armond White
New York Film Critic Armond White dispenses wisdom regarding modern film criticism and the impact of Michael Jackson on cinema. In addition Gareth and I spend more time then you thought possible discussing Robert Zemeckis’ A Christmas Carol. Yes, that’s right, it’s another treasure from the archives: enjoy!
WAKING SLEEPING BEAUTY: A Walt Disney Studios picture
Don Hahn’s WAKING SLEEPING BEAUTY is almost as exciting as Al Gore’s AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH. Wake me when Guy Maddin gets here. Hahn’s documentary on the second golden age of Disney—a climb from the nadir of THE BLACK CAULDRON all the way up to Pride Rock, with a glance at infinity and beyond—is more insidery [...]
WHITE MATERIAL: Stay the course
Boy, there’s nothing like watching a Claire Denis film to make a guy feel thankful. Especially if that guy happens to (perhaps secretly) love COLD MOUNTAIN, as WHITE MATERIAL has at least as much in common with Denis’ cinematic cousin Olivier Assayas and regional relatives like HOTEL RWANDA as it does with the Minghella story [...]
Disney’s TANGLED: Notes from the Front Line
There are moments in adulthood when you find yourself staring down the barrel of your life choices. One such moment came for me Sunday night when I went to the theater to see TANGLED, Walt Disney’s 50th animated film. The crowded theater of early-teens and children/parent bonds seemed to do a collective double-take as I [...]
