Archive for July, 2011

 

Funny Ha Ha: It’s, Um, Uh, A Pretty Great Movie

Sunday, July 10th, 2011

Part of the reason I like the movie Funny Ha Ha so much is because of my personal history with it. I feel toward it that proprietary affection you feel toward movies that seem to pop up out of nowhere and seek you out, especially if you see them alone; it’s as if they’re something [...]

The Eisenberg Principle

Sunday, July 10th, 2011

Two weeks ago, having a glass of wine with a friend I seldom see, I found myself summarizing the past year of my life in one of those oversimplifying thumbnail sketches that make you feel like a bad Hollywood pitchman for yourself. As I compared and contrasted my various writing gigs, trying to keep it [...]

Urban Harvest

Sunday, July 10th, 2011

If wishes were horses, I’d have seen both Holy Girl and Revenge of the Sith by now, not to mention the new Miyazaki, Ozon and Hou Hsiao-Hsien movies. And don’t think I’m skipping Mr. and Mrs. Smith, either, though I have the feeling I’ll prefer the Alfred Hitchcock version, which TCM is cannily re-airing tonight. [...]

Howl’s Moving Castle: Mapless in Dreamland

Saturday, July 9th, 2011

Two weeks after seeing Howl’s Moving Castle, I’m still not sure what to make of this strange, magical, ultimately maddening film. I would never say, like the Washington Post guy (and unlike nearly every other rapt critic) that I disliked the movie; it was fiercely gorgeous, as intricate as an opium dream, and there was [...]