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Films Features | Wednesday, March 17,2010

My Greenberg Problem—and Yours

Armond White speaks out against the the strange symbiosis between publicists and film critics, Hoberman’s hypocrisy and the conspiracy to keep critics from cultural relevancy

By Armond White
Greenberg, the big-budget mumblecore movie by Noah Baumbach, should enter the language as Woody Allen’s Zelig did—a title that goes beyond ethnic specificity to stand for a particular social disorder: the tendency toward vanity, suppression and censorship. Those meanings attached to the movie from the moment a Greenberg publicist phoned this journalist to disinvite him from the film’s press screening, claiming the disinvitation was at the request of Baumbach, his producer Scott Rudin and executive publicist Leslee Dart. That’s the truth—anything else you’ll likely read in Page Six or elsewhere has been slander. The Indian-giver discourtesy is reflected in the film itself, in which Ben Stiller portrays Roger Greenberg, a self-absorbed L.A. nerd recovering from a nervous breakdown (“I’m doing nothing deliberately”), who inflicts his peremptory ego on everyone around him. Read more

Films Features | Tuesday, March 9,2010

Pressed for Time: Winning Time

By Joshua David Stein
Even if you think the whole enterprise of basketball is a bit silly—putting a ball in a hoop, really?—the rivalry between Indianapolis Pacers and the New York Knicks transcends the confines of the court.The two teams hate each other like the Smiths and the McCoys and no one embodied this vendetta more than Reggie Miller, the Haman to legions of Knick fans. This film, by Crazy Love director Dan Klores, is as much about the epic rivalry, fit for an amphitheater, as it is about the game. Read more Read it in print

Films Features | Tuesday, March 9,2010

Exploding Zoe

An unlikely indie starlet on the verge of fame, Zoe Kazan doesn’t need any more ‘friends’ and is tired of you fantasizing about her tits.

By Eric Kohn
Zoe Kazan is contemplating suicide. No, not in real life, where she’s doing just fine, thank you very much. But she’s had it with that dubious realm of interactivity known as Facebook. So it may be time for online suicide. Read more Read it in print

Films Features | Wednesday, March 3,2010

Wake Up and Smell the Oscars: They Stink!

Or why Kathryn Bigelow doesn’t need to win a statue because she’s better than that.

By Armond White
EVERYONE HAS THEIR wakeup moment about the Academy Awards: A moment when you put away childish belief and realize it’s not at all about art but about popularity (as Sally Field once indicated and then got lambasted for her clarity). Mine happened back in 1977 when Rocky won Best Picture and Taxi Driver did not. No plainer illustration of art vs. commerce is imaginable, but the reality has been blurred ever since. Read more Read it in print

Films Features | Wednesday, February 10,2010

Pressed for Time: The Short Films of Al Jarnow

By Joshua David Stein
Why is it that avant-garde film cloaked as educational garb is dismissed so easily? Thus the truly revolutionary work of Al Jarnow, seen on everything from 3-2-1 Contact. Read more Read it in print

Films Features | Wednesday, January 27,2010

Pressed for Time: O Mistere Do Samba

By Joshua David Stein
Samba is the shuffling beating heart of Rio de Janeiro, the soundtrack of long hot nights that don’t end until 4 a.m. This film, part of the Cinema Tropical festival, follows the velha guarda,. Read more Read it in print

Films Features | Wednesday, January 6,2010

Better-Than List 2009

Coraline is more precious than Precious and Anvil proves heavier than The Hangover in ARMOND WHITE’s annual reassessment of the year’s top films.

By Armond White
Don’t talk about 2009 movies unless you’ve seen Jan Troell’s comeback film. Everything that makes movies matter is in Everlasting Moments, but its virtual blackout and small (New York only) distribution by IFC proves how difficult it has become to survive Hollywood’s juggernaut—especially if you claim you love movies. Alienated from our own affections this way, we all become avatars. Read more

Films Features | Wednesday, December 23,2009

Sita Sings At Last

Nina Paley's animated feature gets a cinema showing at long last

By Felicia Feaster
Nina Paley’s Sita Sings the Blues has been well received at film fests by critics through her own distribution efforts and a diehard group of supporters. When Paley couldn’t secure the music rights for the Annette Hanshaw songs integral to the film’s storytelling, it looked like it may never been seen by a wide audience. The film is now released on DVD this month (Indiepix) and will begin screening at the IFC Center this Friday (Dec. 25-31). Earlier this year Felicia Feaster spoke with Paley about the film, Sita’s “bodacious boobs” and her next project: viral animation shorts about artistic freedom. Read more

Films Features | Tuesday, December 8,2009

The Films That Ate Brooklyn

This has been a banner year for Brooklyn-based movies. But is there really such a thing as a Brooklyn film? ERIC KOHN explores the ‘ugly-beautiful’ new cinema of Williamsburg.

By Eric Kohn
THE SUN HAS set in East Williamsburg, but the street is bathed in light. As I exit the Montrose stop on the L train slightly after 10 o’clock on a Tuesday night, I find myself in the midst of sudden activity. The occasional Latin-American celebration blazes through the neighborhood. This is different: It’s never this quiet. Tonight’s crowd has gathered on Meserole Street in absolute silence. People poke their heads out of darkened buildings, hypnotized by the bright lights. I approach with caution. It’s not some FlashForward plot made real, but a movie set—a big one. I notice papers on a nearby piece of equipment identifying the production: Boy Wonder. It appears to have a sizable budget and actors with major TV cred. Read more Read it in print

Films Features | Tuesday, November 24,2009

Pressed for Time: X: THC

By Joshua David Stein
Though it may be a stoner’s film, the THC in X:THC refers, heavily, to The Human Condition.This multimedia extravaganza—a film featuring music by a band of the same name—delves deep into the HD world of depression. Read more
 


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