Clint Eastwood at his best is a brilliant director, but consistency has never been his strong suit. For every Million Dollar Baby there is a Firefox, for every Mystic River a Sudden Impact. Muck or masterpiece, Razzie or Oscar — with Clint, you just can’t be sure. Much like Steven Spielberg, another great and erratic [...]
Archive for the ‘Filmmakers’ Category
Lost
Posted in Filmmakers, Fuck-ups, War movies on November 1, 2006 |
Love on Wheels
Posted in Filmmakers on July 24, 2006 |
John Frankenheimer’s Grand Prix, just out on DVD, is actually two movies struggling for dominance: a stunningly fluid and imaginative racing film, and a tangle of love stories so inane even the actors have a hard time keeping a straight face. Grand Prix marked the end of Frankenheimer’s amazing four-year run of bullseyes, which began [...]
Malick in Wonderland
Posted in BEST OF 05, Filmmakers on January 29, 2006 |
I’ve just sat through 135 mind-blowing minutes of The New World, and as always with Malick, the first viewing is so exhausting one can hardly fire a synapse let alone formulate a coherent opinion. A few random thoughts will have to suffice.
My Life with Sam Peckinpah, Pt. 2
Posted in Filmmakers on January 26, 2006 |
One of these days, I’m going to die a happy man buried under a pile of Sam Peckinpah DVDs. Another batch arrived this morning: The Wild Bunch, Pat Garrett and Billy The Kid, The Ballad of Cable Hogue, Ride the High Country, and The Getaway. All brand new reissues enhanced with commentaries, documentaries and all [...]
Cronenberg’s letdown
Posted in BEST OF 05, Filmmakers on January 19, 2006 |
For the first 80 minutes of David Cronenberg’s A History of Violence, I was in awe. But when it was all over 16 minutes later, I was more perplexed than satisfied, and I had a nagging feeling that somehow I’d just been fucked around with. What the hell happened here, Dave?
By George, it’s a Clooney!
Posted in BEST OF 05, Filmmakers on January 16, 2006 |
Here’s a tip, Academy voters: if you want to look like jackasses, don’t nominate Good Night, and Good Luck. I really root for this beautiful, no-nonsense movie, mostly because it so adamantly defends that important but sadly unfashionable aspect of democracy — free speech.
Brilliance Comes in Threes
Posted in BEST OF 05, Filmmakers on January 5, 2006 |
Phew — what a splurge. In less than a week, I’ve feasted on three exquisitely crafted movies. I’m not easily given to praise, but man, sometimes one’s gotta do what one’s gotta do. And now’s the time.
My life with Sam Peckinpah
Posted in Filmmakers on October 29, 2005 |
When I was a kid, Sam Peckinpah was my hero. Other boys dug clowns like Batman and The Virginian, but for me the true sign of a man was the ability to make violent motion pictures. Peckinpah swore and boozed and whored and made blood look pretty. And he was an intellectual, too. Man, he [...]
The World According to Lurie
Posted in Filmmakers on October 25, 2005 |
I have a soft spot for Rod Lurie, who has recently had some trouble with the production of his TV show Commander in Chief. A self-confessed political junkie, this ex-film critic is one of the few commercial American filmmakers working almost exclusively with serious material – stories about world politics, Washington power struggles, and such [...]
