Friday, September 9 2011
‘Life Itself’, From One of the Few Writers of the Modern Era Who Can Express Joy Without Schmaltz
Roger Ebert describes the movie of his life, lending his unique outlook to his childhood, his relationship with Gene Siskel, and his recent battle with cancer.
Thursday, June 23 2011
Moral Ambiguity, Greyness and Imperfection in the Classic, ‘Once Upon a Time in the West’
This is, literally and figuratively, a movie about the dirt under the fingernails of its characters, and how everyone has some of that dirt, no matter how they might appear on the outside or to those in society at large.
Tuesday, May 18 2010
An Overview of American Film Criticism from 1896 to Today
I'd really like to read a complete history of American film criticism. Unfortunately, this volume falls far short of delivering what the title promises.
Friday, August 15 2008
Man in the Dark by Paul Auster
This superb small novel isn’t about war or politics at all, but about, in the face of guilt and horror, choosing whether to die and how, if that is the choice, to live.
Wednesday, January 23 2008
Physical Evidence: Selected Film Criticism by Kent Jones
What matters isn’t whether you or I agree with Jones, of course, but whether his writing offers new insights into the films and directors at hand.
Friday, January 4 2008
Making Waves: New Cinemas of the 1960s by Geoffrey Nowell-Smith
On censorship he says: "It tended to be assumed in European films that human beings were born with sexual organs and at a certain point in their lives began to use them, not always in socially approved ways."
