new in film

surfwise

Interview with Surfwise Director Doug Pray

Interview by Alexandra Bullen | 5.7.08

"When I got out of film school, there was sort of this realization like, 'Oh my God, I have to make this happen.' You don't get jobs out of film school. Nobody ever says, 'Oh, did you go to UCLA? I have a fine position for you.'"

Paying Dearly for Masculinity in 3:10 to Yuma

Film Review by David Ryan | 5.1.08

3:10 to Yuma plays on the idea that storytelling and narratives are deeply involved in identity formation and that stories help make sense of human motives and experiences.

Interview with Wetlands Preserved Director Dean Budnick

Interview by Alexandra Bullen | 4.4.08

"Wetlands was unlike any music venue or any nightclub I had ever entered, let alone one in New York City. I remember being blown away by the use of space, in particular the downstairs lounge, which was something of the ultimate chill zone."

And: Mike Wood reviews Wetlands Preserved

Jan Svankmajer's Faust and the Folly of Control

Retrospective by Mike Wood | 3.21.08

Is the struggle to control destiny nothing more than an internal wrestling match? Svankmajer hints that things are no more settled in heaven or in hell.

Dreams with Sharp Teeth: Documenting Harlan Ellison

Review by Matthew Sorrento | 2.22.08

Matthew Sorrento reviews the new documentary about famed writer Harlan Ellison

Video Volunteers for Social Change: A Conversation with Jessica Mayberry

Interview by Elham Shabahat | 2.18.08

"If the media is made by just one elite percent of the global population, how much of the world's reality must we be missing? We need to change this."

A Boy's Prayer, a Filmmaker's Passion: An Interview with Director Ilana Trachtman

Interview by Matthew Sorrento | 2.8.08

When people say to me, "You took such a risk," "You were so brave (to make the film)," or "What a leap of faith," I almost cannot relate to those comments--I just felt like I didn't have a choice. I knew someone should make a movie about Lior.

History Lessons in The Wind that Shakes the Barley

Review by A. Mary Murphy | 2.1.08

In spite of an almost constant barrage of shouting and shooting and arguing, echoing through forests and jails and houses, there also are many, more subtle, echoes linking this story to the larger revolutionary history of Ireland.

Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea: Exterminating Angels and L’Iceberg

Reviews by Erika Baldt | 9.6.07

Exterminating Angels is a gratuitous mix of lesbian love scenes and preposterous dialogue; L'Iceberg feels more like performance art than a feature film.

The Passion of Gary: 1982's The Last American Virgin

Retrospective by Kevin Koehler | 8.2.07

The final moments of the forgotten classic The Last American Virgin are what elevate the picture from cultural curiosity to subversive brilliance.

The Hoax – Too Close For Comfort

Review by Louis J. Wasser | 8.2.07

Why do we feel blocked from our own laughter, sadness and outrage when we watch The Hoax? – This film has caught us as a society standing too close to the mirror.

The Danse Extraordinaire of Ballets Russes; Hard Candy, a Bitter Pill

Reviews by Erika Baldt | 5.10.07

The story of the Ballets Russes dance company is the story of the modern cult of celebrity; Hard Candy offers a new interpretation of a well-known fairy tale.

A Nightmarish Fling with The Last King of Scotland; A Dose of Twilight Sleep in Dreamgirls

Reviews by A. Mary Murphy | 4.18.07

In The Last King of Scotland, two monumental egos come together for a complex, destructive dance; the dance of the egos in Dreamgirls (i.e., those offscreen) proves not so effective.

related interviews

Ethan Hawke, Anthony Lane, David Levien

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