Review: Page One: Inside the New York Times
Andrew Rossi's Page One: Inside the NYTimes looks to newspapers long past their heydey.
DVD REVIEW: Some Old Truths: True Grit and The Fighter
Many recent films have brought historical verity to narratives clouded in myth.
Review: L’Amour Fou
Those who love hearing fashion discussed as serious art will love this documentary, a portrait of the late iconic French designer, Yves Saint Laurent.
A Really Irritable Dream: Scorsese’s Shutter Island
In this film, the director tributed classic crime with a modern, more visceral twist.
An "Extraordinary" Journey for Brendan Fraser
You really can't blame the guy: when asked about his career, Brendan Fraser ducks the question like “Encino Man” diving into the nearest cave. “The science of chaos rules [my] decisions,” the 41-year-old actor remarked, when the question surfaced during a recent Philadelphia round table. Showing a knack for low comedy as early as “Encino,” …
Review: "The Lovely Bones" a Career Low
Peter Jackson's head must have been spinning as he read Alice Sebold's disturbing if obvious novel, "The Lovely Bones." After viewing the film version, we'd guess that the novel brought many a fantastical set piece to the filmmaker's vision. The otherworld of the novel's dead girl, Susie Salmon, suggests all sorts of whims: trees bursting …
In "Invictus": Where’d that Joe Clark Go?
Morgan Freeman's role in “Invictus” is a universe away from his role in “Lean on Me,” even if both characters turn around troubled institutions. The latter film, from 1989, features Freeman as Joe Clark, the real life principal who brought tough love to a near militaristic level. Clark, who coins himself “Batman” for his penchant …
Bright Lights, Big Cine: Interview with Bright Lights’ Editor Gary Morris
Bright Lights Film Journal, which offers some of the finest film writing out there, took the gamble and went virtual in 1996 after an on-off history in print.
Saving the Westmont: Interview with Theatre Historian/Activist Allen F. Hauss
by Phil Hall (reprinted from Film Threat, April 18, 2009) For the serious movie lover, there are few things more depressing than a theatre that is shut down. The rise of the conglomerate-owned multiplexes in the 1970s helped to speed the decline of many independently owned community theatres, and today many of the smaller venues …
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Midnight Picnic
Just finished Midnight Picnic by Nick Antosca...in the middle of Walt Disney: Triumph of the American Imagination by Neal Gabler (fascinating tale about one ambitious fellow...unfortunately, the story's often about business, with many numbers crunched).