<em>Offside</em> (Panahi, 2006)
March 2, 2010 – 12:32 pm | 2 Comments

In soccer (or football, as the non-American world stubbornly persists in calling it), there is a rule that states that an offensive player must have at least one defensive player between him and the goal …

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Essays

Reviews or essays covering topics not specific to one particular film.

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News and reviews from film festivals.

Interviews

Interviews with and/or essays informed by interviews with artists, critics, and other academics.

Reviews

Reviews of new films, dvd releases, film related books, and classic films of note.

Top 10s and Other Lists

Top 10, Favorite Discoveries, and Other Lists

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Gun Crazy (Lewis, 1950)
February 27, 2010 – 7:47 pm | No Comment

Context is–well, not everything–but it is important.

If I had watched Gun Crazy (a.k.a. Deadly is the Female) a year ago…well, okay, I would not have watched it a year ago, but if I had, I doubt I would have gotten past the first ten minutes. Read the full story »

2009 Top 10
December 29, 2009 – 11:00 pm | 2 Comments
2009 Top 10

When I think back on 2010, the phrase that comes to mind is “top heavy.”

Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire (Daniels, 2009)
December 25, 2009 – 3:52 pm | No Comment
<em>Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire</em> (Daniels, 2009)

I’ve been putting off writing about Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire, mostly, I suppose because I’m having a hard time describing and justifying my strong antipathy, first to the novel Push on …

Me and Orson Welles (Linklater, 2008)
December 21, 2009 – 8:11 pm | No Comment
<em>Me and Orson Welles</em> (Linklater, 2008)

Most of my high school years were spent in and around the drama room at W.T. Woodson High School. Dramas in the fall (except, inexplicably my senior year when Mrs. B.—I could never quite forgive …

I Am an American: The Making of an Anthem (Lott, 2009)
December 20, 2009 – 7:08 pm | No Comment
<em>I Am an American: The Making of an Anthem</em> (Lott, 2009)

It is perhaps a coincidence that I screened I Am an American: The Making of an Anthem the same week I read this post from the Slacktivist blog deriding a member of the Dallas Tea …

A Serious Man (Coen & Coen, 2009)
December 10, 2009 – 10:14 pm | No Comment
<em>A Serious Man</em> (Coen & Coen, 2009)

Author’s note–this isn’t a review of the film, really. It’s a meditation spurred by seeing the film. If a critical judgment is implied by the nature of the meditation…c’est la vie. If some of my …

Gigante (Biniez, 2009)
December 6, 2009 – 8:25 pm | No Comment
<em>Gigante</em> (Biniez, 2009)

One of my recent discoveries is how many great films are being produced in Spanish-speaking countries. I don’t just mean the international hits everyone knows about like Pan’s Labyrinth (El laberinto del fauno) by Guillermo …