Trekkies

Written by Matt Zoller Seitz on June 1, 1999. Posted in Arts & Film, Posts

Trekkies directed by Roger Nygard What is the nature of obsession? Almost any of the Star Trek fans who appear onscreen in Roger Nygard’s documentary Trekkies could answer that question. That is, they could answer it if they agreed that what there are engaged in is an obsession, as opposed to a hobby or interest. And most of them
[ read more... ]

Be the first to comment on this post

The Love Letter

Written by Armond White on June 1, 1999. Posted in Arts & Film, Posts

The Love Letter directed by Peter Ho-Sun Chan The Third Man directed by Carol Reed Kate Capshaw plays Helen, a bookstore owner who discovers an unsigned love letter and obsesses about its author among her kooky employees and quaint neighbors. Her romantic suspicions make her antsy–like a vacationer freaking out from Lyme disease panic. Screenwriter Maria Maggenti rips off the more interesting
[ read more... ]

Be the first to comment on this post

Notting Hill Is Bad, But The Loss of Innocence May Be the Year’s Worst So Far

Written by Godfrey Cheshire on June 1, 1999. Posted in Arts & Film, Posts

Notting Hill directed by Roger Michell Those lips, those eyes: They seem to belong to the sketchpad of some stoned fashion designer bent on mocking his—or the culture’s—lust for outlandish ideals. The perfection of her looks was never balanced or poised but always loud, aggressive, unashamedly incongruous. Does anyone ever mention that the different features of her face, striking though
[ read more... ]

Be the first to comment on this post

Only Clouds Move the Stars

Written by Armond White on April 13, 1999. Posted in Arts & Film, Posts

Only Clouds Move the Stars directed by Torun Lian Passing off a canard as insight, Vincent Canby in the March 25 New York Times slapped Steven Spielberg with this backhanded compliment: “He has a child’s-eye view of the universe. He demonstrates an uncanny appreciation for children’s fears and fantasies… To hail him as an Eisenstein is to mislead him and the public.”
[ read more... ]

Be the first to comment on this post

LOVERS OF THE ARCTIC CIRCLE

Written by Godfrey Cheshire on April 13, 1999. Posted in Arts & Film, Posts

Lovers of the Arctic Circle directed by Julio Medem Do some movies begin as a snappy title? The filmmaker’s sitting in the tub, say, or waiting for a train to arrive, idly spinning words through his head, when suddenly a phrase clicks, and then he can’t get it out of his head. I suspect something of this sort may have been
[ read more... ]

Be the first to comment on this post

Lovers of the Arctic Circle

Written by Ed Halter on April 13, 1999. Posted in Arts & Film, Posts

Lovers of the Arctic Circle directed by Julio Medem Do some movies begin as a snappy title? The filmmaker’s sitting in the tub, say, or waiting for a train to arrive, idly spinning words through his head, when suddenly a phrase clicks, and then he can’t get it out of his head. I suspect something of this sort may have been
[ read more... ]

Be the first to comment on this post

Paulina directed by Vicky Funari

Written by Matt Zoller Seitz on April 13, 1999. Posted in Arts & Film, Posts

Paulina directed by Vicky Funari Plenty of people had it rough as children, but you’d have to look a long time to find somebody who had it rougher than Paulina Cruz Suarez, subject of the riveting nonfiction feature Paulina. In early adolescence, she got up the nerve to leave Mauro, traveled to Mexico City and returned to the town in
[ read more... ]

Be the first to comment on this post

Hands on a Hardbody

Written by Godfrey Cheshire on February 9, 1999. Posted in Arts & Film, Posts

Hands on a Hardbody directed by S.R. Bindler This truly is the most threadbare time of the year for new film releases. Yet I find dependable entertainment value in a headline that invariably appears in the Times in late January. It reads something like “Documentaries Are the Surprise Favorites at This Year’s Sundance.” Granted, documentaries at Sundance and in general these days
[ read more... ]

Be the first to comment on this post

Gloria

Written by Matt Zoller Seitz on February 9, 1999. Posted in Arts & Film, Posts

Gloria directed by Sidney Lumet John Cassavetes’ 1980 Gloria was easily that director’s most conventional feature, and frankly, it wasn’t very good–sort of a mobbed-up reworking of the Japanese comic book Lone Wolf and Cub, in which a lone warrior protects a child against legions of would-be assassins. It was a baldfaced bid for commercial success. But it had grimy
[ read more... ]

Be the first to comment on this post

The 24 Hour Woman

Written by Armond White on February 9, 1999. Posted in Arts & Film, Posts

The 24 Hour Woman directed by Nancy Savoca Ten years into her movie career, Rosie Perez plays a spoiled white woman’s fantasy in The 24 Hour Woman. This isn’t progress; it’s a trap. As Grace Santos, she suffers arriviste abundance: work at a New York television show, marriage to an up-and-coming actor, a comfortable apartment and fertility. Grace already has everything but
[ read more... ]

Be the first to comment on this post