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We've got links and blurbs from intriguing DVD reviews in our latest Spotlight, including Michael Atkinson (IFC) on two new movies to DVD: " Reha Erdem 's Times and Winds (2006) and Ramin Bahrani's Chop Shop (2007), [which] make their individual cases that little outside of the movie dynamic has changed at all, and that life as a 12-year-old in any corner of the globe is still subject to the grinding, merciless self-involvement of the adult world." Plus: "There's hardly a frame in the 1929 film A Throw of Dice [pictured above] that doesn't provide a surge of visual pleasure," writes Dave Kehr in the New York Times. And more! "DVD Spotlight: 7/15 " >>
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In This Dispatch:
- What's New: Trafic, Bank Job, and more.
- What We're Watching: Sinatra/Kelly, Paddle to the Sea, Belle Toujours.
- Explore: Slovenian cinema.
- Special Promo: The Auteurs.
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At last, the final of Jacques Tati's Monsieur Hulot comedies has arrived on DVD, thanks to Criterion. Slant's Bill Weber calls it an "inescapably fitting companion piece to its predecessor, the monumental Playtime, whose disastrous commercial reception necessitated a smaller, faster-incubating project to keep Tati's movie career alive. But Trafic doesn't seem to suffer from pandering or artistic compromise; its meticulously framed images are stuffed with the recognizably choreographed chaos, entropic mayhem and long-lens potshots at humanity fumbling with mechanization that are its ringmaster's signature." As expected, there are a wealth of fine extras here, too, a must for any Tati-ophile, including a 1973 interview with the director. More >> |
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Old school heist picture fans rejoice! "One of the pleasures of The Bank Job is that it returns us to the days when robbing a bank was a gritty, hole-in-the-wall affair," wrote EW's Owen Gleiberman. Adds Premiere's Glenn Kenny: "The suspense aspect works like mad, but what's also noteworthy is the character component, which at times evokes a Smash Palace-era Donaldson." And Jason Statham is fast becoming Bruce Willis! |
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When MGM first paired its rising musical star Gene Kelly with the heartthrob crooner Frank Sinatra, audiences must have expected Kelly to take the dancing turns and Sinatra to take the vocal spotlights. Instead, Kelly and Sinatra took the route of Paramount's then-current hit team of Bob Hope and Bing Crosby. MGM's boys would share everything-the singing, dancing, joke telling and skirt chasing. There would be a difference, though. Hope and Crosby's movies conformed, often surrealistically, to their comedic personas. Kelly and Sinatra, in the three movies collected in the DVD box set " The Frank Sinatra and Gene Kelly Collection" (Warner Home Video), served the genre - in this case, the movie musical. Their three movies together chart the development of the genre, as well as Kelly's expanding... read the review >> |
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I have the vaguest of recollections of the Canadian short film Paddle to the Sea, from probably around the time I was in elementary school in the late 70s, probably rolling my eyes at the start -- "what's this dumb movie about a carved Indian in a canoe?" -- until becoming, many years later as an adult, completely engaged and enraptured by the story. Then, it was probably a jittery, wobbly film print played on a dirty projector, the voice over narration skipping and the sound warbling; now, thanks to Criterion and Janus, Paddle to the Sea has been digitally remastered, likely looking as good as it ever has, even if a bit faded, and is as lovely as ever. The simple story follows a wood carving from... read review >> |
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Any review of a new movie by the Portuguese master filmmaker Manoel de Oliveira must mention his age -- 99 years old as of this writing -- as well as this factoid: he's the only living filmmaker to have begun working during the silent era. That much, let alone his output of austere and literal, yet poignant films, has pretty much earned him the right to make any movie he feels like making. And so he set his sights on a sort of sequel to Luis Bunuel's Belle de Jour (1967), and although it reunites two of the main characters from that masterpiece, it actually becomes more of a mysterious, moving epilogue. In that, Belle Toujours is probably closer to Oliveira's... read review >> |
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James Van Maanen on another series running in NYC: The FSLC (with major support and collaboration from the Slovenian Film Fund) launches its week-long second installment, devoted to Slovenian Cinema, tomorrow Once again, I arrive as a novice and leave somewhat closer to an acolyte. Titled At the Crossroads: Slovenian Cinema, the program consists of 13 films, contemporary to classic. According to program director Richard Peña... Read article >>
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Reposting this one more time: The Auteurs is extending a special offer to GreenCine subscribers. Currently in closed beta testing, The Auteurs is providing access to a sneak preview of their online cinematheque. The Auteurs is where cinephiles from around the world come together to watch, discuss, and read about the best of film. Focusing on delivering great films through HD streaming and video on demand, editorial coverage of international cinema, and a highly interactive, community-based design, The Auteurs want to create a global community of the most interested and interesting film fans in the world. GreenCine's movie loving members can get an exclusive taste of the new online venue. To sign up click here! |
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