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David and Nathan Zellner's Goliath is "a passionate ode to old ties and new beginnings, steeped in metaphor, strangely evocative, yet hilariously deranged," writes Eric Kohn for GC Daily. "The Austin-based sibling filmmakers seemingly know the tropes of mainstream comedy and work against them. A plot synopsis tells you almost nothing: Though essentially the story of one man's ties to his cat, the movie operates on a singularly bizarre narrative plain based around the ramifications of becoming a social pariah." More >> |
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In This Dispatch:
- What's New: In the Loop, Moon, and much more.
- What We're Watching: Big Fan, The Drummer, Passing Strange.
- Explore: Eric Rohmer's influence.
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Armed with a razor-sharp script, Armando Iannucci's film (based on the BBC series The Thick of It) pokes fun at the absurdity and ineptitude of our highest leaders. "In The Loop floats above its chaotic world on wave after wave of beautifully profane dialogue," wrote Keith Phipps. NPR's Bob Mondello says "The performances are explosively funny, from [Tom] Hollander's increasingly bewildered and way-out-of-his-depth Simon to Chris Addison's hapless PR fledgling. But the star is Peter Capaldi." See also our podcast interview with Capaldi here. |
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Provocative film by Duncan Jones (son of David Bowie but clearly a name to watch in his own right), "Moon is a superior example of that threatened genre, hard science-fiction," wrote Roger Ebert, "which is often about the interface between humans and alien intelligence of one kind of or other, including digital." Sam Rockwell stars and carries the film, in more ways than one. "Rockwell is as snark-free human and compassionate as he's ever been," wrote Nick Schager, adding to the film's "quiet, empathetic grace." |
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Big Fan seemed to come and go in theaters about as quickly as a Detroit Lions season goes down the drain, but deserves a cult life on DVD. The film is not just writer Robert Siegel's directorial debut, but a breaking out party for one of my favorite comedians, Patton Oswalt, as an actor. Like Siegel's Oscar-nominated script for The Wrestler it plumbs the depths of sports hero worship, but rather than look at the athlete's rise and fall from the heights of fame it looks at the other side, those that worship them and are ultimately doomed... Read review >>
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Mayhem, martial arts and… Film Movement: together? The distributor known for bringing us classy, tasteful films from around the globe offers up a movie that features Triad bosses, blood and violence? Well, yes and no. While all of these things are present in The Drummer, which arrives on DVD this week, the resulting film is surprisingly gentle, thoughtful and sweet -- when measured against almost any other in this overcrowded Hong Kong genre... Read more >> |
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Spike Lee's first-rate, woefully underseen film of the stage play by Stew (with music by him and Heidi Rodewald) based on Stew’s own life. The NY Times' A.O. Scott saw both the play and the film of the play and was amazed to like the latter even more. "I was blown away. Loose ends ceased to dangle; soft spots were smoothed away and slow passages tightened up. Some of this may lie in my own preference for the cognitive solitude of movie-watching over the self-conscious sociability of theatergoing, but Mr. Lee’s contribution, as well as that of the cinematographer, Matthew Libatique, should not be discounted..." Passing Strange is "moving, thrilling and new."
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With the passing of legendary French filmmaker Eric Rohmer this week, we unearthed some nuggets on GC reflecting how far and wide was Rohmer's influence and reputation, including this piece on Claude Chabrol:about Rohmer's fellow Cahiers du Cinéma critic (and soon-to-be fellow Nouvelle Vague instigator). And in this piece by Jay Kuehner: Cristi Puiu's quotidien epic The Death of Mr. Lazarescu is a "long day's gurney into night indebted to ER and Rohmer, as envisioned by a painter." And in his list of Criterion favorites, David Hudson picked Six Moral Tales: "A convenient package for me because, as with, say, Ozu, I love Rohmer’s oeuvre more than I prefer one film over all the others." Rohmer will be missed. |
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