Early reports on Lars von Trier’s latest, Antichrist, are now actually terrifying. “Not for the squeamish!” cautioned Sara Vilkomerson in her New York Film Festival preview; “another loathsome barf job,” said Rex Reed after he saw it in Toronto. Mr. Reed’s summary: “pickle-faced Charlotte Gainsbourg, who always looks embalmed, prunes away Read More
Lou Reed, legendary frontman of the Velvet Underground, and Julian Schnabel, noted artist and filmmaker, were sitting at a rustic wooden table inside the Steven Kasher Gallery in Chelsea on the evening of Thursday, June 25.
The two longtime friends were there for a book-signing and cocktail party celebrating the forthcoming release of Read More
Adam Resurrected
Running time 106 minutes
Written by Noah Stollman
Directed by Paul Schrader
Starring Jeff Goldblum, Willem Dafoe
Paul Schrader’s Adam Resurrected, from a screenplay by Noah Stollman, based on the 1968 novel by Yoram Kaniuk, deals with an absurdist fictional sidelight of the Nazi Holocaust that was once Read More
Last night, Milanese fashion label Costume National hosted a party in their Soho boutique commemorating 21 years in the industry. To toast the milestone, the brand known for super-slim-fitting clothes—à la Hedi Slimane—released a weighty book, Costume National: 21 (Assouline). While the Misshapes provided the background tunes for the relatively small gathering, a Read More
The movie year of 2006 is far from over, despite what the calendar says—at least as far as this reviewer is concerned. Anywhere from 522 to 540 new feature films were exhibited locally this year, depending on who is doing the counting and compiling. Apparently, more big movies were released in the month of December Read More
In a preface to The Raven and Other Poems (1845), Edgar Allan Poe boasted of the purity of his artistic ambitions: “With me poetry has been not a purpose, but a passion; and the passions should be held in reverence; they must not-they cannot at will be excited with an eye to the paltry compensations, Read More
This year, movies are like botany. Summer blooms are opening a month early, and so are the brainless vacation blockbusters. So, boys and girls, gather around while I tell you about Spider-Man , in the hope that you won’t have to find out for yourselves.
When I was a kid, I collected Captain Marvel and Read More
I must tell you at the outset that the Wooster Group’s experimental version of Racine’s Phèdre –retitled To You, the Birdie! –is an astonishing invention and completely, utterly nuts. If it weren’t so nuts, it wouldn’t be so astonishing. (And vice versa, I guess). Either way, there’s much here that’s new and exciting–not least the Read More
The Toronto International Film Festival reminds me of what Red Skelton said at Harry Cohn’s overcrowded funeral: “Give the people what they want, and they’ll come.” With film festivals, there’s one small difference. They come, in thundering droves, and decide if it’s what they wanted later.
The 25th anniversary of the world’s most popular and Read More
