By John Duncan Talbird. Frank Zappa was a man of his time even while remaining an iconoclast and pushing back against whatever counted as “pop culture” at the moment. He was seen as a “freak” by mainstream America and revered in hippie culture in the sixties and seventies even as he […]
A Swing and a Miss: The Phenom
By Elias Savada. Recruited out of high school, Hopper Gibson (Johnny Simmons) is professional baseball’s latest pitching sensation, but, like the cracked face of his iPhone, his mental mechanics are off. A case of the yips is sending his tosses to the North Pole. Baseball may be his passion, but […]
In Need of Tech Support: Beta Test
July 10, 2016
By Elias Savada. In an attempt to meld the pc gaming world with that of modest-budget movie-making, Beta Test doesn’t score many points. Opening in 15 AMC theatres and Seattle’s SIFF Cinema Uptown (the film was shot in Seattle and Lake Forest Park, Washington) on July 22nd, this is a hybrid […]
Son of Saul: Versions of the Irrational
By Christopher Sharrett. I have been meaning for some time to put pen to paper about last year’s superb achievement by Laszlo Nemes, Son of Saul, but have hesitated for various reasons, not least of which was that any comment by me on the film would as this point seem […]
Film Scratches: Odd Intersections – Inside/outside (DOGS VIII) (2014)
July 7, 2016
Film Scratches focuses on the world of experimental and avant-garde film, especially as practiced by individual artists. It features a mixture of reviews, interviews, and essays. A Review by David Finkelstein. Inside/outside (DOGS VIII) by Berlin-based artist Enkidu rankX is a four minute video study of the view from a Berlin streetcar. […]
Not My Kind of Film: Our Kind of Traitor
July 6, 2016
By Elias Savada. I wasn’t attracted to the ruffled, ordinary couple at the core of the latest big screen John le Carré adaptation, which, I believe, is the tenth feature birthed from the writings of 84-year-old British author, responsible for nearly two-dozen best-selling spy fiction novels. Ewan McGregor and Naomie Harris […]
A Question of the Medium: Scott of the Antarctic (1949)
July 5, 2016
By Paul Risker. Humanity shares a love-hate relationship with the planet. Our ongoing rape and exploitation of it has been reciprocated, in a way, by nature’s propensity for devastating violence, none of which has either been conscious or discriminatory. Rather deliberate cruelty is the preserve of humanity. The Antarctic continent and […]
Recap of the 21st Annual San Francisco Silent Film Festival
By Michael T. O’Toole. For those who enjoy a good silent film, you’ll seldom find a more a captivating outlet than the stylish San Francisco Silent Film Festival (held this year between June 2-5). It’s an overwhelming aesthetic treat: the fine period wardrobe of the attendees; the savvy, academic discussions; […]
Not So Simple?: The Nasty Terrible T-Kid 170: Julius Cavero
July 3, 2016
By John Duncan Talbird. Julius Cavero is a Bronx, NY graffiti artist who has been making art – both illegal and legal – since the 1970s and has made an international name for himself in the world of graffiti art. In 2006, he published an autobiography, The Nasty Terrible T-Kid 170 […]
Film Scratches: A Symbolic Journey – Catalysts and Aftershocks (2014)
July 3, 2016
Film Scratches focuses on the world of experimental and avant-garde film, especially as practiced by individual artists. It features a mixture of reviews, interviews, and essays. A Review by David Finkelstein. Catalysts and Aftershocks is a poignant and poetic four-and-a-half-minute silent short by Jessica J Giacobbe, examining a garden and an old […]