By Gary M. Kramer. AFI Docs, formerly known as Silverdocs, took place June 19th through June 23rd in Silver Spring, MD and this year, for the first time, at several venues in Washington, DC. The program–54 features and 8 shorts, plus panels, Galas, and other special events–made for a busy […]
Appreciating Hitchcock All Over Again: ‘The Hitchcock 9’ stateside tour
July 2, 2013
By Michael T. Toole. “The silent pictures were the purest form of cinema.” (Alfred Hitchcock) It’s not that I ever lost appreciation for Hitchcock, but somehow watching his embryonic work, I savored again the beauty and ease that he conveyed his narratives, with images over dialogue. The result is not […]
Absence (2013)
July 1, 2013
By Matthew Wollin. A good idea goes a long way, and in this department, Absence starts out ahead of the crowd. Liz (Erin Way), a woman in her third trimester, falls asleep one night and wakes up to find that she’s no longer pregnant and she has no memory of […]
Quiet Inspiration: Interview with Margarethe von Trotta
June 28, 2013
By Matthew Sorrento. Of all the genres in contemporary film, the feminist historical biopic is one of the most noble. This rare style continues the tradition of the 1960s women’s movement by revealing silenced narratives. In most historical films, women occupy supporting roles that, while often insightful, are underdeveloped. Work […]
L’enfance nue (1968)
June 27, 2013
By Zachariah Rush. By the time Maurice Pialat’s feature film debut, L’enfance nue, was released in 1968, Pialat already had a body of work comprising documentary and short films spanning close to two decades that began with the dark experimental piece Isabelle aux Dombes (1951). L’enfance nue follows young François […]
World War Z (2013)
June 26, 2013
By Jacob Mertens. “We are the hollow men We are the stuffed men Leaning together Headpiece filled with straw. Alas! Our dried voices, when We whisper together Are quiet and meaningless As wind in dry glass Or rats’ feet over broken glass In our dry cellar Shape without form, shade […]
This is the End (2013)
June 24, 2013
By Jacob Mertens. I must be getting old. Three or four years ago, I would probably find This is the End a humorous apocalyptic romp not be taken too seriously, a worthy diversion of my time. Now, I laugh here and there and leave thinking “What do I take away […]
The Internship
June 24, 2013
By Cleaver Patterson. It may be hard for many to remember a time before Google. The ubiquitous search-engine is, for better or worse, the first stop on the World Wide Web for a large proportion of internet users when they are looking for information on … well, anything to be […]
Kuroneko: The Cat’s Return
June 20, 2013
By Cleaver Patterson. Tales of vengeful murder victims whose spirits take on the shape of animals in order to exact revenge upon those who did them wrong, form the origin of legends the world over. However few can be as bewitching, or darkly romantic, as the Japanese folktale The Cat’s […]
Spider Baby or, The Maddest Story Ever Told
June 19, 2013
By Cleaver Patterson. Sometimes it is hard to fathom why some films flourish and increase in popularity over time, whilst other equally deserving works are left to gather dust on the back shelf of film obscurity. Spider Baby (1968) – also known under the alternative titles Cannibal Orgy and Attack […]