Much of its reputation comes from exposing the masses to special effects that had been done much more excitingly, not to mention economically, in experimental shorts. Only where money really counts -- the finicky construction of model spaceships -- does it move into new territory. Kubrick's paranoid spoofs on modern …
Much of its reputation comes from exposing the masses to special effects that had been done much more excitingly, not to mention economically, in experimental shorts. Only where money really counts -- the finicky construction of model spaceships -- does it move into new territory. Kubrick's paranoid spoofs on modern …
Much of its reputation comes from exposing the masses to special effects that had been done much more excitingly, not to mention economically, in experimental shorts. Only where money really counts -- the finicky construction of model spaceships -- does it move into new territory. Kubrick's paranoid spoofs on modern …
By turns exhilarating and devastating, the 2013 live-action short film lineup serves as a reminder of why movies matter, what they can do, and why they needn't be larded up into three-hour epics that hit all the expected beats. Every entry confronts the blunt fact of death; every entry provides …
Michael Apted was only a subordinate member of the filmmaking team that interviewed fourteen British seven-year-olds of varied backgrounds for a 1963 Granada Television program called 7 Up, but it was he who thought to keep up with the group thereafter, tracking them down and shooting them at seven-year intervals …
In a fit of calculated desperation, a young woman (Marziyeh Rezaei) fires off several electronic cries-for-help to celebrated Iranian actress Behnaz Jafari (playing herself). When her pleas go unanswered, Rezaei construes the rejection as an excuse to document her hanging — in chilling long-take — and implicate Jafari in the …
The first feature by François Truffaut has a claim to being the origin of the New Wave (it is not unchallenged in that claim); it is also the first, and by far best, of Jean-Pierre Léaud's appearances in the ongoing Antoine Doinel role. The first part -- the escapades around …
Writer-director Andrew Haigh’s 45 Years is a two-hander about aging that refuses to walk the generally prescribed paths of shedding sentiment and/or dwelling on disease, and for that alone, it deserves hardy praise. On the eve of a couple’s 45th anniversary, news arrives of the discovery of a body found …
The seventh installment in what could very well be television’s first reality show. In 1964, Paul Almond began filming a group of fourteen seven-year-old British schoolkids. The directorial reins were later handed to Michael Apted, who has since gone back at regular seven-year intervals to document the group's growth. Inspired …
Fellini's ever intriguing interweave of fantasy and reality, having to do with the drains on a fictional movie director's creativity. Parasites, vampires, angels, ghosts, and grotesques drift weightlessly through the hero's real and imaginary life, moving as if on floats or on turntables -- this remarkable new groove for Fellini …
Alexander Payne's late-life-crisis comedy about a retired Omaha insurance executive who now begins to wonder what it was all about. Jack Nicholson may be too big a star, or too hip a one, in relation to his surrounding cast (chosen with care down to the smallest role), but you cannot …
A young prostitute (with child in tow) is bounced from her “house” by the same law enforcement officers sworn to help keep her off the streets. In this case, writer-director Anahí Berneri’s fly on the wall technique frequently translates into long takes from a fixed camera giving ample time, if …
A relentless gallery of raillery aimed at introducing Steve Coogan and company’s Alan Partridge -the quick-witted and eminently inflated fictional radio and television host - to American multiplexes. The corporatization of a British radio station causes the recently axed overnight man (Colm Meany) to flip out: he ends up taking …
Whether he's dancing on top of a car or madly tapping a coffee spoon, Ali (Adeel Akhtar) has enough nervous energy in him to power all of Bradford. Ava’s (Claire Rushbrook) work as a teacher’s assistant introduces the Irish born immigrant to her Indian counterpart, the landlord of a student …