Aside from Vittorio De Sica there is no name that dominates the national film movement of Italian Neorealism more than Roberto Rossellini. A few years before the heavenly Ingrid Bergman would send Rossellini her now iconic letter, the Italian master was hard at work filming a series of searing war-time tales: Rome Open City, Paisan,…Read more Film Review: Germany Year Zero (1948)
Month: December 2013
American Hustle, Angels in the Outfield, Ed Wood: On the Various Forms of the Ensemble
With American Hustle finally being released in "fly-over" country; aka the boonies, aka the middle of the country, aka anywhere that is not New York or LA, one can at last enjoy the all-star cast which dominates the film. In watching Hustle it's hard not to think about the power of actors, especially the power…Read more American Hustle, Angels in the Outfield, Ed Wood: On the Various Forms of the Ensemble
Film Review: The Hobbit – The Desolation of Smaug (2013)
With the release of the second installment of The Hobbit Trilogy it is now clear that the power and emotion of the first LOTR films is not coming back. The good news is that the pacing problems which plagued Jackson's first film are less detrimental here. The seemingly endless run-time of The Desolation of Smaug…Read more Film Review: The Hobbit – The Desolation of Smaug (2013)
Philosophy of the Bedroom: On The Insights and Limitations of Sade’s Dialectic
In his day the Marquis de Sade was a social pariah, an embarrassment to his family and a lecher whose pornographic sensibilities attracted the derision of Napoleon himself. However, in the roughly 200 years since his rather unremarkable death at the Charenton Asylum, Sade's life and work have been the subject of a revival and…Read more Philosophy of the Bedroom: On The Insights and Limitations of Sade’s Dialectic
Film Review: Zack and Miri Make a Porno (2008)
Zack and Miri (an effective Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks) are two childhood friends who share an apartment and a friendship that they both insist is utterly platonic. Never amounting to anything after leaving high school ten years ago the two slackers spend their days wallowing about their dire financial situation, and working dead-end jobs…Read more Film Review: Zack and Miri Make a Porno (2008)
Film Review: Dallas Buyers Club (2013)
Early on in Dallas Buyers Club Matthew McConaughey's character, rodeo cowboy and electrician Ron Woodroof, is diagnosed with HIV. The two doctors who deliver this news, one being a soulless bureaucrat (Denis O'Hare), the other a bleeding heart (Jennifer Garner), attempt to outline the severity of his condition, finally telling him that he has only…Read more Film Review: Dallas Buyers Club (2013)
Adam Mohrbacher 