Sundance, the Oscars and the Decline of Film Criticism—Not Just a Lady Problem Sundance, the Oscars and the Decline of Film Criticism—Not Just a Lady Problem
The Sundance-to-Oscar pipeline has been great for independent film directors—at least the male ones.
Feb 22, 2013 / Books & the Arts / Roya Rastegar
A Night at the Oscars for Israel-Palestine A Night at the Oscars for Israel-Palestine
Two brilliant nominees, The Gatekeepers and 5 Broken Cameras, along with other recent documentaries, have deepened our understanding of the conflict.
Feb 20, 2013 / Books & the Arts / Roane Carey
Hollywood Ending? Hollywood Ending?
Steven Soderbergh’s Side Effects; Lynne Sach’s Your Day Is My Night
Feb 19, 2013 / Books & the Arts / Stuart Klawans
Shelf Life Shelf Life
Robert Bresson’s The Devil, Probably; Maurice Pilat’s Police; Leo McCary’s My Son John.
Feb 13, 2013 / Books & the Arts / Akiva Gottlieb
Torture and Taboo: On Elaine Scarry Torture and Taboo: On Elaine Scarry
How the work of a literary critic became the proxy for our preoccupation with the horrors of torture.
Feb 5, 2013 / Books & the Arts / Samuel Moyn
‘Zero Dark Thirty’, Snuff Film ‘Zero Dark Thirty’, Snuff Film
The film’s torture scenes do not excuse or glorify torture; they do something worse: draw the audience into accommodating it.
Jan 30, 2013 / Books & the Arts / JoAnn Wypijewski
Crazy, Stupid, Guns Crazy, Stupid, Guns
Moussa Touré’s La Pirogue, Ruben Fleischer’s Gangster Squad
Jan 23, 2013 / Books & the Arts / Stuart Klawans
Waltz Unchained Waltz Unchained
Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained; Béla Tarr’s The Turin Horse
Jan 9, 2013 / Books & the Arts / Stuart Klawans
‘Django Unchained’: Quentin Tarantino’s Answer to Spielberg’s ‘Lincoln’ ‘Django Unchained’: Quentin Tarantino’s Answer to Spielberg’s ‘Lincoln’
In one film, grateful black people; in the other, the vengeful ones.
Dec 25, 2012 / Books & the Arts / Jon Wiener
Watching ‘The House I Live In’ on Rikers Island Watching ‘The House I Live In’ on Rikers Island
Filmmaker Eugene Jarecki is on a mission to show his Sundance-award winning movie, The House I Live In, to prisoners across the country. On a Friday in December, he went to New Yor...
Dec 21, 2012 / Books & the Arts / Liliana Segura