Jeff Bridges spent eighteen years trying to adapt The Giver for the big screen. I wish he had succeeded earlier. One thing that became achingly apparent while watching the film is that it would have been far subtler and far more affecting ten or fifteen years ago. Lois Lowry published her Newbury Award-winning novel in 1993, and […]
Philip Seymour Hoffman’s Acting “Master” Class
The late Philip Seymour Hoffman was without question one of the greatest actors of his generation. Through his performances, he provided the ideal model of what a good screen actor should be. As with any actor, much of that quality came from the directors he worked with. But I would argue that his performances go […]
Remembering Robin Williams
I am leaning on the register. It’s a slow day at work, so I check my phone. There’s a message in my Sketch 22 thread that stops me. I start scanning the internet, hoping to find something to tell me it isn’t true. But I only find confirmation. I stare at Entertainment Weekly’s short breaking […]
A Most Wanted Man
Murky water sloshes quietly against a stone wall. The scene is peaceful with nothing but the quite ebb and flow of the river to break the silence. Suddenly, a disturbance: the water starts to rise and fall, angrily smashing against the stones. But no matter how hard it pushes, the wall stands unmoved. The opening shot of A Most […]
Ember Island Airwaves: Episode 6
Well, here we are. Perhaps the best season of The Legend of Korra to date has come to its inevitable conclusion. Josh and I were spectacularly wrong about most of our predictions, but the finale generated some fascinating speculation about Book 4. Will Korra ever be able to access her past lives again? Has Suyin finally esablished her allegiance to the […]
Ember Island Airwaves: Episode 5
In this week’s installment of Ember Island Airwaves, J and I discuss the incredibly draining experience of watching “The Ultimatum.” We explore classism and how the protagonist/antagonist relationships in The Legend of Korra directly contrast with those in Avatar: The Last Airbender. J and I then speculate about the fate of Tenzin and the other airbenders […]
Calvary
Everything is a portrait in Calvary. Each shot feels designed to stand on its own. Cinematographer Larry Smith often fills his frames with the thoughtful faces of characters staring at something just out of view. At first glance, their countenances seem mysteriously unadulterated. But these shots take on new meaning in context. As we learn about their […]
Boyhood
Two children stare through the window as their parents argue just outside. The yelling is muffled and indistinct; vague words phase in and out of earshot as adult voices rise and fall. This whole scene is an exercise in good filmmaking. Innocent faces watch curiously as their parents exchange heated emotion. The window blocks out the argument but allows the kids to see their […]
Ember Island Airwaves: Episode 4
It’s been awhile since our last episode of Ember Island Airwaves. In the interim, I had the chance to interview the fantastic Stephen Stanton (the voice of Old Wan and the Air Lion Turtle in “Beginnings, Part 2”). In addition, some major news about The Legend of Korra was dropped at San Diego Comic Con. Last week saw the birth […]
Noah
Darren Aronofsky, a director best known for Requiem for a Dream (2000) and Black Swan (2010), has fallen victim to that most dreaded art-versus-production trope of Hollywood: a big budget. Noah had financial backing north of $100 million and you can see every cent of it. Everything about this film is supersized – giant tracking shots, a […]
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