This might have been the last episode ever of The Newsroom (reports are murky on whether it is being picked up for a third season), and if so, it’s a solid ending that surprised me with how much I was affected by it. “Election Night: Part II” took the elements of the show I’ve always…
Happy Friday – Please check out my review of Money for Nothing: Inside the Federal Reserve, a new and very timely documentary opening today in select theaters. You can read the review in the Washington City Paper, but here’s an excerpt: As an introductory course in monetary policy, it works. This is an admirably wonky…
I’m just getting around to seeing Michael Haneke’s Amour, and I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one. The French film, nominated for five major awards at last year’s Oscars, barely screened in the U.S. At its widest release, it showed in 333 American theaters. By way of contrast, Argo, the eventual Best Picture winner,…
In the dog days of this past August, when many Americans were on vacation and few were going to the movies, The Hollywood Reporter quietly published an article about the use of steroids in Hollywood. Apparently, those ripped physiques you’ve been seeing at multiplexes this summer are not the work of nature alone. The article…
Opening in cities nationwide this Friday, Drinking Buddies represents a significant moment in the career of writer/director Joe Swanberg – a step into the mainstream for the famously independent filmmaker. More than anyone except perhaps Mark Duplass, Swanberg is often associated with the “mumblecore” film movement, a term that he himself only half-embraces. His low-budget…
Some interesting news this week about the impending production of Man of Steel 2, or what has become known on the internet as Superman vs. Batman. While rumor had it that the production would film in Vancouver, producers have changed course and decided to bring their millions of dollars to Detroit instead. The ostensible reason was…
For the last fifteen years or so, Hollywood has been obsessed with orphans. We’ve seen them survive harrowing shipwrecks (Life of Pi), win game shows (Slumdog Millionaire), and discover old, forgotten filmmakers (Hugo), not to mention the seemingly endless number of them who become superheroes (Batman, Spider-Man, Superman). Why so many orphan movies? It could…
A quick story: I tried to get my wife to come see Ain’t Them Bodies Saints with me last weekend, but she opted out. When I asked her why, she said she was put off by the name. For me, that’s no reason to dismiss a movie, but she has a near-perfect track record of…
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