Nap Time I’m pretty sensitive to the social implications of black films. Some of us worked pretty hard to provide means for black voices to speak to their own (and other) issues and audiences. Gone are the days where a white establishment could exploit bug-eyed, stupid, violent stereotypes of blacks. Now blacks do it to… Continue reading Barbershop 2: Back in Business (2004)
Tag: p2004
Comments first posted in 2004
Barbarella (1968)
Which Skin? There are only a few films that can be called roots. 1968 generated two of them, “2001” and this. “2001” is about the ambiguities of who is narrating. This is about the ambiguities of where the skin is. From the very beginning, the prurient peeling of the spacesuit, to the marvellous suits she… Continue reading Barbarella (1968)
Around the World in 80 Days (2004)
Production Design They took an absolutely ordinary film — even dreary in places — and wrapped it in two things that are lovely. The first is a lovely production design. Pastel watercolours that are evocative of Verne’s abstract nature. I have idea who to credit for this, but the mundane story provides interstices of grace… Continue reading Around the World in 80 Days (2004)
Ararat (2002)
Denied I think Egoyan is one of our best living filmmakers. He layers his stories in ways that some layers generate or reinterpret others. Usually, this is apparent to the viewer. In this case, the viewer is fooled into thinking that this is film reminding of an atrocity padded with a bunch of other stuff.… Continue reading Ararat (2002)
Arabian Nights (2000)
In the Lamp One key to master storytelling is the art of folding. That includes all sorts of techniques of overlapping narrative, spanning from overarching metaphor to stories within stories. It is an ancient technique, as old as any story we know. It is especially present in the “Arabian Nights” stories, signified by what’s inside… Continue reading Arabian Nights (2000)
Aqua Teen Hunger Force (2000-2015)
Abstraction Along the Folds The game of animation is in large measure a matter of moving further and further into abstract universes. The game of modern movies is a matter of folding along self-referential dimensions. The rate of abstraction has been pushed pretty far, from Beavis to South Park to the contenders today. The whole… Continue reading Aqua Teen Hunger Force (2000-2015)
April Fools Day (1986)
The Opening By now you probably know that the meat of this is quite ordinary. It has an “it is all a joke“ sort of Scooby-doo ending. And this casts the whole thing retrospectively as a spoof of the genre. Not particularly interesting on that basis alone. But consider the beginning. When you stick close… Continue reading April Fools Day (1986)
Another Thin Man (1939)
Another Side of Thin With the third of the series, the producers decided to move a little more into the world of Hammett and nudge away from the cutesy cute banter. It is only a little in that direction, but noticeable with the fairly complex plot. Hammett was a real innovator, taking the genre from… Continue reading Another Thin Man (1939)
Amores Perros (2000)
Panting Astrology I believe that the future of film is now firmly in the hands of Spanish-speaking filmmakers. Not that they make the best films, but that they have the current crop of ideas. We saw Italians introduce us to the notion that a camera can be tethered to the soul of a character and… Continue reading Amores Perros (2000)
Amateur (1994)
Abstract Porn Hartley is one of the most interesting directors working. Many associate him with French auteurs, but I think his experiments are more intellectual, more New York. His films are not only about other films, but exist in a world abstracted from them where almost everyone else insists on wallowing in the same space… Continue reading Amateur (1994)