Augustine

Written by Doug Strassler on . Posted in Arts & Film, Film

Photo courtesy Music Box Films Alice Winocour’s debut marks a very suitable case for treatment By Doug Strassler We first meet Augustine - a kitchen servant, the title character of director-writer Alice Winocour’s impressive debut feature – in the middle of a major fit while working a very highbrow dinner. It’s a convulsion so severe I expected her character to die.
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Every Day They Write the Book: Francois Ozon’s In the House

Written by Doug Strassler on . Posted in Arts & Film, Film

Photo courtesy Cohen Media Group The French film is part social commentary, part unabashed soap opera It’s always nice to see a work of art that values the art of creation – particularly the act of observant writing. Such is the case with In the House, the latest satire-cum-thriller from French auteur François Ozon. Adapting Juan Mayorga’s play, House is
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God is the Bigger Auteur

Written by Armond White on . Posted in Arts & Film, Arts our town, Arts our town downtown, Arts west side spirit, Film, Our Town, Our Town Downtown, West Side Spirit

Cristian Mungiu goes for the bogus In God is the Bigger Elvis, about former movie actress Dolores Hart who gave up her Hollywood career opposite such glamorous stars as Elvis Presley, Montgomery Clift, Stephen Boyd and is now Mother Prioress at the Regina Laudis Benedictine abbey in Bethleham, Conn., director Rebecca Cammisa touches upon faith,
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Number One With a Bullet

Written by Armond White on . Posted in Arts & Film, Film

AN EXCLUSIVE CITYARTS CRITICS DISCUSSION OF WALTER HILL’S COMEBACK Bullet to the Head is an event. It is director Walter Hill’s first theatrical film since 2002’s Undisputed and the most meaningful Sylvester Stallone acting vehicle since Rocky. On this occasion, I discuss the significance of Bullet to the Head with CityArts film critic Gregory Solman,
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At Cinema’s Crossroads

Written by Armond White on . Posted in Arts & Film, Film

HELLO, WALTER HILL. GOOD RIDDANCE TO SODERBERGH This week, America’s most overrated filmmaker, Steven Soderbergh, gets booted out of the arena by the country’s most underrated great filmmaker, Walter Hill. The simultaneous release of Hill’s Bullet to the Head and Soderbergh’s Side Effects perfectly contrasts the art of genre filmmaking with the pretense of art
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Frack You!

Written by City Arts on . Posted in Arts & Film, Film

‘FRACKNATION’ DEBATES THE GREENSHIRTS—AND WINS By Gregory Solman In Fracknation, Irish investigative journalist Phelim McAleer finds a combustible metaphor for the contrived controversy of hydraulic fracturing in the footage of the Sautner family hustlers of Pennsylvania. McAleer couldn’t politely interview the couple without Craig threatening a lawsuit (apparently emboldened by the radical National Resources Defense
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Frick or Frack?

Written by Armond White on . Posted in Arts & Film, Film

VAN SANT AND DAMON’S PROMISED PROPAGANDA Gus Van Sant must really be out of imagination (or horniness) to make the drab, politically slanted Promised Land. That’s two phony films in a row for Gus, following the 2010 Restless. Promised Land takes on the fracking controversy about drilling for gas in underground shale deposits, using Gus’
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How Do You Pronounce Quvenzhané?

Written by Armond White on . Posted in Arts & Film, Film

How-Do-You-Pronounce-Quvenzhane600 Celebrated indie film ‘Beasts of the Southern Wild’ confuses pandering with empathy In answer to the above question, “pickaninny” would be a viable option. Nine-year-old Quvenzhané Wallis, from the film Beasts of the Southern Wild, has become the youngest person ever nominated for a lead-actor Academy Award but not because her untrained performance is extraordinary acting; it’s
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City Arts: Frack You!

Written by City Arts on . Posted in Arts & Film, Film

promised-land-mcdormand-and-damon-300x224 Documentary ‘Fracknation’ debates ‘Gasland,’ ‘Promised Land’ and the greenshirts—and wins. By Gregory Solman In Fracknation, Irish investigative journalist Phelim McAleer finds a combustible metaphor for the contrived controversy of hydraulic fracturing in the footage of the Sautner family hustlers of Pennsylvania. McAleer couldn’t politely interview the couple without Craig threatening a lawsuit (apparently emboldened by the radical National
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