Category Archives: the state of things

cahiers du cinema’s 100 greatest films

Posted on 12/17/2008 by arnab

somehow we have managed to not have any discussion of this list published last month in conjunction with some fancy book. lots of fine movies, but also some head-scratchers in both inclusions and omissions. let me say first of all … Continue reading →

Posted in the state of things | 6 Comments

Burn After Reading

Posted on 9/13/2008 by jeff

The Coen Brothers’ latest black, black comedy of errors follows a group of thick-sculled, mean-spirited, surface-obsessed, selfish, moronic imbeciles. It’s an extreme and unflatteringly hilarious portrait of America but a believable one nonetheless. In terms of plot, tone and craft, … Continue reading →

Posted in likey, the state of things | 11 Comments

two masters gone, back to back

Posted on 7/31/2007 by gio

yesterday, ingmar bergam, today, michelangelo antonioni. a retrospective would be in order but i’ll be damned if i feel like it.

Posted in classic, the state of things | 7 Comments

I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry

Posted on 7/18/2007 by jeff

Everytime I see the trailer for this film I feel the fury of righteous indignation (“that’s not how anybody should roll in anybody’s house” I scream to myself); I even want to boo the screen but I haven’t. Nathan Lee’s … Continue reading →

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jane campion on the dearth of women directors

Posted on 5/20/2007 by arnab

from yahoo When Jane Campion was honored onstage at the Cannes Film Festival with about 30 other major directors Sunday, she was the lone woman of the bunch. And she’s still not used to how strange that feels. The New … Continue reading →

Posted in the state of things | 26 Comments

Tideland

Posted on 3/2/2007 by mauer

I’m writing this only because it’s the first film I’ve felt very strongly about in a long time, and because it’s so much better than another much-talked about film to which it can be easily compared. First off, my love … Continue reading →

Posted in (by verdict), classic, favorite films, the state of things | 2 Comments

the ground truth and the road to guantanamo

Posted on 2/26/2007 by gio

i’ve been trying to write these reviews for days now. these are troubling movies, not only for what they say about the iraq war and the war on terror, but also for the feelings of identification and alienation they evoked … Continue reading →

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Indie Films, Genre, Structure

Posted on 1/23/2007 by john

How do certain indy films (Little Miss Sunshine, Lost in Translation) achieve Hollywood-style success while others don’t? I want to return to Little Miss Sunshine, because the film came up in my class today (after class, really). I was speaking … Continue reading →

Posted in (by verdict), the state of things | 59 Comments

Children of Men

Posted on 1/6/2007 by jeff

Films in which the future of the human species is at stake tend to be problematic; the commodification of despair is tricky stuff. Alfonso Cuarón’s adaptation of P.D. James novel is certainly a very entertaining, emotionally and intellectually powerful film … Continue reading →

Posted in (by verdict), likey, the state of things | 49 Comments

Altman favorites and successors

Posted on 11/21/2006 by mauer

And so it goes. But he leaves behind a remarkable string of work that will go in and out of favor for decades, being rediscovered, evaluated and fawned over. I am sorry that Prairie Home Companion was his last film. … Continue reading →

Posted in (by verdict), the state of things | 11 Comments