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If you ever doubted that animation could convey deep and complicated human emotions, see Waltz with Bashir, Ari Folman's feature-length (and, alas, timely) chronicle of his journey to retrieve his memories as a soldier in the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon. Folman's elaborate animation began with a live-action filmed version of the story, followed by original drawings of the same script. David D'Arcy talks with Folman about what makes an animated film vital long after its technical wow-effect wears off... Read article >> |
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In This Dispatch:
- What's New: Baghead, Battle for Haditha and more.
- What We're Watching:Transsiberian, Sukiyaki and Noel Coward.
- Laurence Cantet; goings and comings; best of '08 lists.
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"Much of the fun of Baghead," wrote Scott Tobias in the AV Club, "is that it's unclassifiable, by turns a movie-movie lark, an Eric Rohmer-like relationship comedy, and a surprisingly effective 'Friday The 13th' kids-in-the-woods slasher film." Adds the Chicago Reader: "a raw, wickedly clever comedy that also includes moments of genuine terror." We featured an interview with the Duplass brothers, the filmmakers behind this indie gem, this year, too. |
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Nick Broomfield's film "has some of the raw energy of Sam Fuller's war pictures, which weren't subtle but left you energized by their ambivalence (there was no good or evil)," wrote NY Mag's David Edelstein. "It's a hell of a picture." Adds Salon's Andrew O'Hehir: "Largely improvised, cast with ex-Marines and Iraqi refugees and shot in Jordan. It might just be the movie this war has been waiting for." |
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Writer/director Brad Anderson ( Session 9, The Machinist) next uses expert sleight-of-hand to juggle drugs, murder, and various shades of villainy at precisely the right times. Even if you've seen lots of movies of this type and can figure out exactly what's going to happen, with Transsiberian Anderson takes great pleasure in the pure form and execution of it. The film also scores points simply by using Jessie as its film's driving force rather than the genre's usual male hero; she's far richer and more deeply developed than most thriller heroines, and Mortimer... Read review >> |
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As someone who has seen all of the famous western-samurai remakes too many times to count, I can assure you that the last thing I was looking forward to was yet another remake (Japanese or American) of Yojimbo. That, of course, was because I never thought to wonder what it might be like if Takashi Miike, notorious madman-filmmaker extraordinaire, made one. Now I know; this is one of Miike’s most entertaining movies, an absolutely gonzo gem of... Read review >> |
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We're compiling quite a few year end/best of '08 lists - some of them with twists - and there will be a few more popping up throughout the week. But here's one selection for you, from James Van Maanen's Best Gay Films of 2008: finally out on DVD is the famous Noel Coward Trilogy from British TV: a three part series on one of the most famous closeted gays in history. ( Coward came from a time when homosexuality was outlawed in Britain). This brilliant series is a must for anyone interested in who we were and what we aspired to, back in the day. |
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