 |
|
It's hard to know where to begin when trying to summarize what Paul Newman meant to those of us who are fans of cinema, but after his passing this weekend, we're compiling obituaries and tributes to the legendary actor. As the NY Times wrote, "If Marlon Brando and James Dean defined the defiant American male as a sullen rebel, Paul Newman recreated him as a likable renegade, a strikingly handsome figure of animal high spirits and blue-eyed candor whose magnetism was almost impossible to resist, whether the character was Hud, Cool Hand Luke or Butch Cassidy. " Also: What is your favorite Newman movie? Read more >> |
|
|
In This Dispatch:
- What's New: Iron Man, So Much So Fast, and a ton more.
- What We're Watching: Autumn Afternoon, Hairdresser's, Pingpong.
- Explore: NYFF Podcasts.
|
|
|
At last, a "comic book" movie that both transcends and embraces the genre. "Some of us knows that there's an American style -- best displayed in the big, smart, kid-friendly epic -- that few other cinemas even aspire to, and none can touch," wrote Richard Corliss in Time. "When it works, as it does here, it rekindles even a cynic's movie love. So cheers to Robert Downey Jr, [Jon] Favreau and the Iron Man production company. They don't call it Marvel for nothing." Adds Rolling Stone: "All praise to acting dynamo Downey, who brings so much creative juice to the party that Iron Man achieves instant liftoff." |
|
|
|
Surprisingly gripping, unflinching but unmaudlin documentary about a man with ALS, Steven Ascher and Jeanne Jordan's film is "harrowing, heartbreaking, cheering, and unforgettable" ( Boston Globe), "Access and affection, which can fog the lens of the documaker, are precisely what make So Much So Fast so moving and engaging. " ( Variety) |
|
|
|
| |
This turned out to be Yasujiro Ozu's last film -- the director died exactly on his 60th birthday in 1963 -- but it's also a remarkable example of a "last film." It sums up a career's worth of work, while simultaneously looking ahead and coming to terms with new ideas. The film begins by eradicating the burlap backgrounds over the titles, and then using industrial images (polluting smokestacks, etc.) rather than more innocent ones, like his usual clotheslines. Shuhei Hirayama ( Chishu Ryu) ... Read more >> |
|
|
| |
Long desired on DVD, this erotic, melancholy French romantic comedy arrives, perhaps to finally receive the audience it deserves. Wrote Variety upon its 1990 release: "[A]nother of director Patrice Leconte's original, hypnotic efforts about sexual longing and romantic obsession. Delicate and stylish, it's the story of a man who fulfills his childhood dream of marrying a lady hairdresser... Jean Rochefort is outstanding as the man obsessed. Anna Galiena, who has a beautiful model-type presence, is a dream come true as his lovely wife whose past never gets revealed. Excellent script leaves many details unexplained, such as Rochefort's adult background. But in this case, that just heightens the pic's dramatic punch." |
|
| |
Up for Debate
|
|
