The Oscars Project: Week 12 — Midnight Cowboy
For 82 years, the Academy Awards have purported to choose the year’s best film. For the next year, I’ll be watching one best picture winner per week, starting 52 years ago and working up to The Hurt Locker. Some of the films are rightly regarded as classics. Others, decidedly less so. But each of them … Continue reading
Full interview: Alex Ebert of Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros
In 2006, Alex Ebert was the frontman of L.A. brat-punks Ima Robot., with a record deal from Virgin and a knack for pop hooks and instantly hateable hairstyles. Four years later, he’s the mastermind behind Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, a 10-piece art-rock “family” that combines the folk-influenced songwriting of the ’60s with the … Continue reading
Owl a good story poorly told
There are few things in film more frustrating than a good idea poorly executed. Psychological thriller The Cry of the Owl practically oozes potential — and even manages to salvage some of it by the end — but it’s ultimately sunk by an awkward script and a flat lead performance. The promise comes from the … Continue reading
Feel-good hit of the summer
(illustration: Tomb, from http://www.ffwdweekly.com) Something happens in the summer. Maybe it’s the heat softening our brains, or maybe it’s the excess of sangria, but whatever the reason, the pop charts tend to fill up with some unlikely hits. Some are just strange, others are flat-out terrible, and a few could serve as proof that humanity … Continue reading
The Oscars Project: Week 11 — Oliver!
The era of the honest, straightforward musical has passed. It’s like we’ve somehow forgotten their language. The idea of crowds bursting into song has been parodied so often, audiences can’t accept it as anything but ridiculous. In a way, it’s a mixed blessing — it means that the next Dr. Strangelove or The Hustler won’t be beaten by My Fair Lady or West Side Story (and that’s not mentioning 2001, which came out the same year as Oliver! and didn’t even get a nomination), but it’s like a whole avenue of cinema has been cut off.
The Oscars Project: Week 10 — In the Heat of the Night
For 82 years, the Academy Awards have purported to choose the year’s best film. For the next year, I’ll be watching one best picture winner per week, starting 52 years ago and working up to The Hurt Locker. Some of the films are rightly regarded as classics. Others, decidedly less so. But each of them … Continue reading
Folk Fest announces lineup
The Calgary Folk Music Festival, the one weekend when the city’s hoola-hoopers, hipsters and suburban soccer moms come together as equals, has announced its 2010 lineup — and it’s a bit of an odd one. Soul legend Roberta Flack, indie-pop darlings Stars and protest-rock mainstay Michael Franti are nothing to turn up your nose at, … Continue reading
Banksy’s cinematic sleight-of-hand
All reviews of Exit Through the Gift Shop should come with a disclaimer: There’s a good chance this whole thing is a hoax. The premise of the ostensible documentary is just too perfect — compulsive videographer Theirry Guetta tries to track down notorious British artist and provocateur Banksy, but once he succeeds, Banksy turns the … Continue reading
The Oscars Project: Week 9 — A Man For All Seasons
For 82 years, the Academy Awards have purported to choose the year’s best film. For the next year, I’ll be watching one best picture winner per week, starting 52 years ago and working up to The Hurt Locker. Some of the films are rightly regarded as classics. Others, decidedly less so. But each of them … Continue reading
La Danse: Inside the Dancer’s Studio
Dance fans rejoice — you’re not likely to find a better onscreen exploration of the art form any time soon. La Danse: The Paris Opera Ballet is two-and-a-half hours of rehearsals, performance and a minimum of backstage business, presented without a word of narration or context. Instead, director Frederick Wiseman throws his audience straight into … Continue reading
The Consumption 