My Night at Maud's (Éric Rohmer, 1969)
First things first: I'm sure my old friend Gabe Klinger would like me to point out that, for some reason, in the U.K. the film was released as My Nig...
2022-06-30 03:58:06 +0000 UTC View Post
msicism posts
Crimes of the Future (David Cronenberg, 2022)
In terms of my response to Crimes of the Future, I owe a significant debt to my friend Steve Carlson, whose comment on Twitter helped orient my ...
2022-06-29 00:58:59 +0000 UTC View PostRRR (S. S. Rajamouli, 2022)
It's unusual for a popular Indian film to gain much critical or commercial traction in the U.S., apart from the Desi circuit, a parallel distribution net...
2022-06-28 02:00:34 +0000 UTC View PostPrometheus (Dominic Angerame, 2021)
In other writing, I've lamented the fact that so many showcases for experimental film have so fixated on discovering new talent that many old masters of ...
2022-06-23 02:35:55 +0000 UTC View PostClaire's Knee (Éric Rohmer, 1970)
Perhaps because Rohmer knew that La collectionneuse was too subtle for idiots like me, he thoughtfully made Claire's Knee, a film that ...
2022-06-23 01:47:35 +0000 UTC View PostBoth Sides of the Blade (Claire Denis, 2022)
This is an extremely difficult film to evaluate. I will state for the record that I did not enjoy watching it, although enjoyment is of course only one r...
2022-06-21 01:44:30 +0000 UTC View PostThe Integrity of Joseph Chambers (Robert Machoian, 2022)
For In Review Online's Tribeca coverage:
"[...]...
2022-06-19 05:57:55 +0000 UTC View PostMaria Schneider, 1983 (Elisabeth Subrin, 2022)
Elisabeth Subrin is a filmmaker who uses her art to make interventions into feminist theory. This was the challenge that Laura Mulvey posed in the early ...
2022-06-16 20:50:01 +0000 UTC View PostThe Tomb of Kafka (Jean-Claude Rousseau, 2022)
The more work I see by Jean-Claude Rousseau, the harder it is for me to pin him down. He is a bit of an anomaly in the contemporary film world. He makes ...
2022-06-16 02:38:24 +0000 UTC View PostLa collectionneuse (Éric Rohmer, 1967)
[NOTE: Because a lot of things have taken me away from Patreon work this month, I am continuing to focus on Rohmer through July.]
Just out of curio...
2022-06-15 02:24:31 +0000 UTC View PostDe Humani Corporis Fabrica (Véréna Paravel and Lucien Castaing-Taylor, 2022)
TIFF WAVELENGTHS 2022
After the genre-redefining triumph that was Leviathan, Paravel and Castaing-Taylor took their Senso...
2022-06-13 20:37:01 +0000 UTC View PostLetterboxing
Hey, just a note to say I watched a couple of recent films, and I didn't think I had a lot to say about them. So I did quick write-ups on Letterboxd instead of putting anything here.
To wit:
2022-06-10 03:50:25 +0000 UTC
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VIVE LE DROIT!
So the Director of the Month for June is the one and only Éric Rohmer. So looking forward to getting down with this guy at long last.
Stay tuned...
2022-06-06 06:21:02 +0000 UTC View PostTwo People (Carl Theodor Dreyer, 1945)
Following the artistic triumph of Day of Wrath, Dreyer made Two People, a film that has a fairly shaky reputation. By some accounts the...
2022-06-06 06:02:30 +0000 UTC View PostWill-o'-the-Wisp (João Pedro Rodrigues, 2022)
TIFF WAVELENGTHS 2022
Since his feature film debut O Fantasma back in 2000, João Pedro Rodrigues has been one of the mos...
2022-06-04 23:22:53 +0000 UTC View PostJune Director of the Month
This month, I want to be a bit more focused in my viewing. In light of this, I'm giving you a poll with a fairly limited slate of choices. This will prob...
2022-06-03 03:54:20 +0000 UTC View PostA Chiara (Jonas Carpignano, 2021)
If you are a filmmaker or group of filmmakers -- let's say, the Dardennes brothers -- the desire to combine a rough cinematic realism with contemporary s...
2022-06-01 03:52:23 +0000 UTC View PostMichael (Carl Theodor Dreyer, 1924)
While it's difficult not to marvel at Michael's candor regarding same-sex attraction, specifically for a film made in 1924, it may be useful to ...
2022-06-01 00:55:32 +0000 UTC View PostCannes Marginalia (Final)
At the end of 2021, I set it as a personal goal to attend Cannes this year. Like many of my personal goals, I failed to achieve it. I'll spare you the details.
However I am reviewing a few Cannes titles for 2022-05-27 03:18:32 +0000 UTC View Post
Pleasure (Ninja Thyberg, 2021)
Sometimes we want to explore the messiness of complex situations, the way that not every action, decision, or emotion falls in line with social or politi...
2022-05-24 04:34:05 +0000 UTC View PostJim Jennings (1951-2021)
One of the true unsung heroes of American experimental cinema, Jim Jennings has passed away, following a five-year mental and physical degeneration resul...
2022-05-21 17:58:59 +0000 UTC View PostParis, 13th District (Jacques Audiard, 2021)
There's nothing particularly wrong with Paris, 13th District (aka Les Olympiades). It has quite a lot going for it, actually. The black...
2022-05-21 05:36:58 +0000 UTC View Post
Master of the House (Carl Th. Dreyer, 1925)
You know what? Women really do hold up half the sky!
There's nothing particularly complicated (or compelling) about this early Dreyer effo...
2022-05-17 04:15:30 +0000 UTC View PostFresh (Mimi Cave, 2022)
[MILD SPOILERS]
Bless this movie's heart. Fresh is an attempt at psychological body-horror that is so besotted with its own dominant metap...
2022-05-15 04:21:33 +0000 UTC View PostVortex (Gaspar Noé, 2021)
I cannot say I necessarily disagree with the conventional wisdom on Vortex. In most respects it is a fine film, and there's certainly no denying...
2022-05-15 03:57:43 +0000 UTC View PostCovering More (Prismatic) Ground
(Just a random-ass jawn for my Philly peeps.)
Some Brief Notes on.....
Although I was not able to completely devote my weekend to the Prismatic Ground online film festival -- a challenging and always intriguing selection of ...
2022-05-11 06:08:26 +0000 UTC View PostX (Ti West, 2022)
Shakedown: 1979
Confession: I've never seen any of Ti West's other films, and so even though I spent a lot of X kind of wishing R...
2022-05-07 04:58:46 +0000 UTC View PostVampyr (Carl Theodor Dreyer, 1932)
This is the one major Dreyer film I'd never seen, and wow, what an oversight. Made twelve years after The Cabinet of Dr. Caliga...
2022-05-06 23:19:05 +0000 UTC View Post