8 years ago
Longform (10 posts found)
30 Years of Road-Tripping: “Sesame Street Presents: Follow That Bird”
My partner in crime, Steven Boone, recently met Luis from Sesame Street on the MTA subway. Since MTA trains are denoted by a letter or a number, Sesame Street was literally brought to Boone by one of the items that has “sponsored” the show since 1969. Luis to...
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Acting Out: On the Reflexivity of Actors in Crisis
Some actors treat their profession simply like a job. When asked about acting, Spencer Tracy famously offered the following: “Come to work on time, know your lines and don’t bump into the other actors.” But Tracy’s workmanlike approach is certainly not the onl...
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Why Michelle Pfeiffer Deserves a Career Comeback
Nearly every year brings news of a comeback or return-to-form for a major film actor. Last year’s Birdman brought renewed appreciation and a long-overdue Oscar nomination to Michael Keaton. Bruce Dern got a late-career highlight the year before with Nebraska. ...
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On Johnnie To At Age 60
Today marks the 60th birthday of the world’s most exciting filmmaker, Johnnie To. The Hong Kong master enters his seventh decade more popular than ever, riding a wave of critical support with Drug War, his first film released in the West in years, as well as e...
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The Agony of Comedy
“In order to become a comic—pay attention—you have to love watching yourself die.” —Lewis Black
In the new documentary Misery Loves Comedy, funnyman Kevin Pollak interrogates the popular notion that comedians must necessarily live wretched lives to fuel their...
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The Value of Being “Lynchian” Instead of Being Unique
Recently, someone asked me to describe It Follows, David Robert Mitchell’s horror film currently in theaters. Having just seen it and unable to come up with the right words, I immediately settled on “Lynchian” without really knowing why. Afterward, I stitched ...
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Bringing Humanity to the Screen: Paul Walker & “Furious Seven”
The death of Paul Walker during the filming of Furious Seven posed an unprecedented challenge to director James Wan and his crew. It was, of course, hardly the first time an actor had passed away while working on a film, but never before had it happened with a...
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Hollywood’s Old Honchos: Burt Reynolds and Clint Eastwood
In a very special episode of the animated television series Archer, Burt Reynolds makes a guest appearance as himself playing the love interest of Malory Archer. Idolized by her son, the superagent Sterling Archer, Reynolds is portrayed affectionately as the e...
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Such a Beautiful Day: On The Works of Don Hertzfeldt
Don Hertzfeldt is, in my not-so-humble opinion, one of the most talented filmmakers working today. That statement may sound hyperbolic, but only until you consider that all of his movies are about stick figures, and that their combined lengths barely adds up t...
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It’s Not Not About Him: On Noah Baumbach and “While We’re Young”
“Your first film was entertaining. It was honest. This feels so ungenerous, like you took your ball and went home.”
This slap to the ego is delivered in writer-director Noah Baumbach’s latest serio-comedy, While We’re Young. The recipient, Josh (Ben Stiller),...
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