Brad Nguyen
After the film
DISCUSSED: obsessive rewatching of movies / the fragility of memory in “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” / the importance of not seeing a memory in “The Umbrellas of Cherbourg” / why “Tropical Malady” relates to images in the past tense / the difference between an image and a memory / the function of criticism
Read the Article »Phil Coldiron
Desire: notes and sketches
DISCUSSED: what it means to be “in the dark” when you watch movies / Stanley Cavell’s ontology of film / how “Star Wars” and “Avatar” leave no room for thinking / why legitimate movie stars are an endangered species / the comfort of movies for lonely people / films that make our lives richer
Read the Article »Elliott Logan
Ghostly presence
DISCUSSED: the enormous archives of Formula One footage / how the documentary “Senna” brings the past back to life using narrative film grammar / Ayrton Senna’s quest for transcendence as a metaphor for film / why films are haunted by death / memory as a way to cope with the inevitability of death
Read the Article »Huw Walmsley-Evans
The death of the critic
DISCUSSED: the so-called film criticism “crisis” / a meeting with Andrew Sarris / how there never was a golden age of criticism / the “Circles and Squares” controversy / the importance of a sense of lineage in film criticism
Read the Article »Whitney Monaghan
The pleasures of the unspoken
A review of “Mosquita y Mari”, directed by Aurora Guerrero
Read the Article »Daniel Fairfax
The ghosts of Murnau
A review of “Tabu”, directed by Miguel Gomes, and “Faust” directed by Aleksandr Sokurov
Read the Article »Andrew Gilbert
The emperor’s new drones
A review of “The Avengers”, directed by Joss Whedon
Read the Article »Stephanie Van Schilt
The poetry of the everyday
A review of “Almayer’s Folly”, directed by Chantal Akerman
Read the Article »Aaron Cutler
The life you save may be your own
A review of “Bernie”, directed by Richard Linklater
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