53 items found for your search. If no results were found please broaden your search.
(04/30/07 4:00am)
Today, in my first and last column, I'd like to talk about Knut the polar bear and make him a metaphor for what I consider a huge problem in modern society. Many of you may already know Knut because of his silky-soft fur and cuddly appearance. For those of you who aren't familiar, Knut is a German-born baby polar bear currently residing at the Berlin Zoo. My interest in Knut is twofold: one, Knut is a baby polar bear, and two, Knut is at the center of a worldwide controversy.
(04/19/07 4:00am)
This past weekend, the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival jury awarded the Jury Prize for Best Film to The Monastery, a lovely Danish film about an old man's long-standing dream of building a monastic paradise. But they made a mistake. The most exciting cinema this weekend was Manda Bala, director Jason Kohn's film about kidnapping and corruption in Brazil. While The Monastery offered a more reflective representation of human life, it had little to offer beyond its story.
(04/12/07 4:00am)
Today, at 10 a.m., a forty-two minute film about Hurricane Katrina-made without a single edit-will open the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival in downtown Durham. Over the next four days, dozens of premiere documentary films will hit screens across town, and some of modern film's top artists will be in attendance as Full Frame celebrates its tenth year.
(04/05/07 4:00am)
The last few years have seen the resurrection of several so-called "lost" films," movies never distributed in America or significantly overlooked in their original theatrical runs. Films like Elevator to the Gallows (Ascenseur pour l'echafaud, reviewed in recess in 2005), Army of Shadows and Overlord have found new life decades after they were originally produced.
(02/22/07 5:00am)
Ghost Rider, the latest from director Mark Steven Johnson, is a fiery disaster of epic proportions. Nicolas Cage plays the titular character-a simple motorcycle stuntman who doubles as the devil's collector of souls. If that doesn't make sense, just wait until you discover that the Rider enjoys watching nature programs about howler monkeys. Here's the best scene:
(02/15/07 5:00am)
If film directors can double as teachers, Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck is modern film's Aristotle and his first film, The Lives of Others, is the lecture that inspires Alexander the Great to take action. It's also the best directorial debut since Truffaut's The 400 Blows, and unequivocally the best film of 2006.
(01/25/07 5:00am)
The re-release of Akiru Kurosawa's Sanjuro films, Yojimbo and Sanjuro, reflects not only the impact both films have had on filmmakers since the samurai classics were released, but also Criterion's ongoing desire to preserve films of decades past in pristine, beautiful packages. Previous releases of both of these films were inadequate, blocky and poor transfers. These latest restored prints are immaculate, the black and white photography reflecting pure contrast.
(01/18/07 5:00am)
If George W. Bush weren't president, Old Joy would still be a film of deft artistic touch and relevancy. But with "the Decider" facing his last few years in power, Kelly Reichardt's latest film takes on additional meaning. Its protagonists are worn down, thirty-something liberal men, Kurt and Mark, college buddies reuniting years after their graduation. Their rendezvous is not an official function, just a chance to catch up while searching for a hot spring in the Oregon Cascades, and Reichardt fills the movie's many moments of silence with tangible import.
(12/07/06 5:00am)
What would happen if twenty years from today humans found themselves unable to procreate? If the events of Children of Men, the latest feature from director Alfonso Cuaron (Y Tu Mamá También) turn out to be real, you might want to start hording disaster supplies right now-you're going to need them.
(12/07/06 5:00am)
If you can dispense with the baggage that now comes with a Mel Gibson film, the rewards of Apocalypto are great-Gibson has, simply stated, crafted one of the best films of 2006, and one of the most entertaining action films in decades.
(11/30/06 5:00am)
The Fountain has divided every audience member and critic alike since its debut at the Venice International Film Festival in July.
(11/15/06 5:00am)
Christopher Guest's name is synonymous with the mockumentary genre-he helped create it with This is Spinal Tap and made it popular with Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show and A Mighty Wind.
(11/15/06 5:00am)
Damien Rice's second album, 9, evokes many memories. Occasionally, it makes one cry. More often, however, it makes one love life. Here are some other things that you will think of during or after listening to 9-other than life and tears:
(11/02/06 5:00am)
The opening scene of Babel, the year's most ambitious film thus far (it's namesake is, after all, a Bible passage), finds a Moroccan family acquiring a high-powered rifle. The weapon is ostensibly protection against the predators that ravage their livestock, but as the family's two young children take turns firing into the dusty horizon, the rigid determination in their eyes warns of disaster to come. That disaster manifests itself in the accidental shooting of an American tourist (played by the luminous Cate Blanchett), an action that jumpstarts the film's central narrative.
(11/02/06 5:00am)
Helen Mirren's performance in Stephen Frears' The Queen is already garnering Oscar attention. What isn't being discussed as thoroughly is the outstanding performance of co-star Michael Sheen as Prime Minister Tony Blair, or how large a part TV footage plays in this retelling of the British Monarch's reaction to Princess Diana's death.
(10/26/06 4:00am)
"Imagine going without education for most of your life," says Valentino Achak Deng, summarizing the plight of his generation of Sudanese countrymen. "Imagine that in your entire lifetime there has been war."
(10/19/06 4:00am)
The tone of Badly Drawn Boy's new album is set in the first seconds of the introductory track-halfway between smoky crooning and pop exultation. The rest of Born in the U.K. stays velvety and heavily produced but struggles to find its direction. This isn't the finest hour of Badly Drawn Boy or his alter ego Damon Gough-his loving, melancholy and hopeful lyrics are lost among strings and occasionally grating pop-rock choruses, like the one on the album's title track.
(09/28/06 4:00am)
Michel Gondry's The Science of Sleep is the most sumptious visual treat of the year, a confection of handmade animation and old-school special effects filled with swirls of color and a surprising amount of heart.
(09/28/06 4:00am)
recess' Brian McGinn recently talked with Dan Kish, director of dinner at Panera Bread, to talk about the Crispani, Panera's new pizza product, ready to serve just in time for October, which is National Pizza Month. Tastes Editor Bryan Zupon offers commentary after sampling the Crispani.
(09/21/06 4:00am)
Sometimes alcohol makes you vomit and collapse on your friend's velveteen couch; other times, it makes you yearn to caress the soft fur of a beautiful black and white panda bear. And you never know what'll happen-that's the beauty of tossing back a shot of whiskey or enjoying a few beers with your friends. And, as Zhang Xinyan, a migrant worker in the great country of China found out, the combination of alcohol and panda bears doesn't always go together
