Category Archives: Movies

“Thomas Graal’s Best Film”

Posted on December 22, 2012 by Fabrizio del Wrongo

Fabrizio del Wrongo writes: Swedish film pioneer Mauritz Stiller is known mainly for his connection to Greta Garbo; it was he who brought her to MGM. But in the 1910s and early ’20s he was a major force in movies, perhaps … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies, Performers | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

The Story of Film: An Odyssey

Posted on December 21, 2012 by Fenster

Fenster writes: I have been waiting to see Mark Cousin’s 15-hour documentary The Story of Film: An Odyssey.  Good news for me, and for you too if you are interested: it is now on Netflix streaming. I watched the first … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

Django Non-Review

Posted on December 19, 2012 by Fenster

Fenster writes: People are rightly criticized for criticizing movies they haven’t seen, so I won’t set myself up as a critic of Django, which I have not seen and don’t plan to see. I don’t know, it’s just that I … Continue reading →

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Douglas Fairbanks and “When the Clouds Roll By”

Posted on December 16, 2012 by Fabrizio del Wrongo

Fabrizio del Wrongo writes: This Douglas Fairbanks project, the first directing effort of Victor Fleming, stands at the nexus of a number of popular art traditions. It dates from 1919, a year prior to Fairbanks’ swashbuckling debut in “The Mark … Continue reading →

Posted in Commercial art, Movies, Performers | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

“The Sadist”

Posted on December 9, 2012 by Paleo Retiree

Paleo Retiree writes: Ultra low-budget — shot in two weeks for $33,000 —  b&w psycho-killer thriller with Arch Hall, Jr. as the nutcase, written and directed by James Landis, and set almost entirely in an automobile junkyard in the California … Continue reading →

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“Tiny Furniture”

Posted on December 6, 2012 by Fabrizio del Wrongo

Fabrizio del Wrongo writes: Lena Dunham has deflected attempts to categorize her work as mumblecore. Watching her “Tiny Furniture” I understood why: the picture is tightly scripted and controlled, a caterpillar-like series of awkward-comic vignettes that never lapses into navel gazing … Continue reading →

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“Bandits of Orgosolo”

Posted on December 3, 2012 by Fabrizio del Wrongo

Fabrizio del Wrongo writes: I enjoyed this late Neorealist film directed by Vittorio De Seta. (What a name for an Italian filmmaker to be cursed with!) It deals with the attempts of a Sardinian shepherd to evade the law after … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

“Damsels in Distress”

Posted on December 2, 2012 by Blowhard, Esq.

Blowhard, Esq. writes: Like Fabrizio, I recently watched Whit Stillman’s latest mocking eulogy for WASP culture and enjoyed it quite a bit. In the DVD commentary Stillman says the budget and shooting style was like his first film Metropolitan and this movie feels like … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies, Personal reflections, Travel | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments

Joss Whedon’s Disney’s “Marvel’s The Avengers”

Posted on December 1, 2012 by Sax von Stroheim

Sax von Stroheim writes: I finally caught up with the year’s biggest hit. I’m a longtime reader of super-hero comics, and while the Avengers comics by Jack Kirby, Stan Lee, et al. aren’t my favorites from Marvel’s Silver Age, I … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies | Tagged , , , , | 8 Comments

Listing Movies: Vintage Martial Arts

Posted on November 28, 2012 by Fabrizio del Wrongo

Fabrizio del Wrongo writes: Do you like movie lists as much as I do? They seem to me to be a great way to explore movie history — perhaps even the only way. A fledgling movie buff could do a lot worse … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments