tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10506214Tue, 02 Oct 2012 04:35:17 +0000flashrpgsnew york citymasters of horrorauteurismstreet levelwilliam gibsonarrested develpmentgreen lanternold man's warwilliam wellmanpunisher: war zonesummerkids todayactiondchouse of 100 corpsesmillenniumluc bessonracingthe godfatherrock and rollnextwill eisnerthe island of dr. moreaustuart immonenthe good shepherdthe punisherwar gamesdungeons and dragonssci-ficulture of awesomeavant gardemarvel comics8 1/2john byrnethe beach boysla stradabrad meltzerbruce campbelljack kirbydesigndirectorsgrendeldogs in the vineyardfellblogging1996true crimenew wavejudgmentthe queengooglebizblack snake moanbloggersdumaidentity crisisthe squareomw universebesttalladega nightsthe hostidiocracysitcomsabsolute friendspresidentscriticskeith giffenart school confidentialhallelujah i'm a bumf for fakecurb your enthusiasmadaptationsthird way comicsbrian michael bendisjohnny toanimationpatern recognitionthe pink panthermutual appreciationpodcaststime out of jointgeorge lucasmatthias lehmannwachowski bros1992stephen kingthe river's edgemusicplastic manalan moorethe tripperanimal kingdomboard gamesbuster keatoncgi5x5superbadthe bird and the beechris waredavid fincherwritingultrafxmichael bayjeff carlsonbujalski52funny ha hajohn scalziavatarjerry ordwaykill billmarc forstergore vidalpaul austergenrecontroversyartmethodpauline kaelsimpsonsoscarshendricksthe hills have eyesfantasypunditrybertrand taverniertvstan leestar treklove and rocketsbondspeed racerjackson guiceelmore leonardyikespaul di filippogilbert hernandezparkerdenny o'neilrick gearysteve mcnivenrob zombiebrickmonster housedan clowesnash edgertonjim hanley's universeblack summeractingmichel gondryikiruron howardpopeyethe boysnoirandrew sarrisgrindhousecomicsgrant morrisonanimal manlit-ficdc comicsroy thomasyoutubeprimersteve englehartespionagethe lady in the watercrimecoen brothersnarniawuxia2004steve dillonsorcererchildren of mensteven spielbergtrack of the catdevil's rejectssons and daughtersjohn le carremovie clubrecommendationssupermanfriendsyou can't get there from herearmy of darknesslewis milestonepersonalculturethe spiritmarv wolfmanpre-codegamesnerd culturejasonrick veitchmax fiumaraslumdog millionairehappy-go-luckyknocked uppaybackhistorysuper heroesno country for old menakira kurosawajapanolivier megatonsam raimithe bourne ultimatumwolverinejimmie johnsonthe dark knightpimpschanging your mindthe happeningneal adamsacademy awardsben templesmithred beardmoviesbookscrossoversmovie goingburning wheelmike baronamazing spider-manhorrorwarfatewebseriesindyjobfrank santorodarwyn cookequantum of solaceman huntseinfelddeja vuorson welles2008steve ditkoreadingplotclint eastwoodthe osterman weekendc.s. lewisfinal destination 2lazinesshostelpaul greengrasswes cravencartegged onjulius schwartzlittle miss sunshineclassicismcolombianadouglas sirk2006300australian crime moviesslothamerican graffitinew avengersjohn ostranderself reflectionlovecrafttakashi miikethe puffy chairsopranosdave gibbonswoody allenlistsde palmatim and ericsword and planetcar chaseswarren ellisdonald westlakeadult swimlazytriple agentthe walking deadsteve weissmanmark millarnextwave agents of hateabc comicstarantinosilentsmon oncleprometheakyle bakerold school renaissanceradiodan slottstarship trooperstransformerslegendsthe matrixtatijohn fordmort weisingerarmy-at-lovehwy 115literaturenascarlet the right one inthe wicker manthe gameguillermo del torosearchesdiscussion1981jeff gordonall-star squadroncomedytop tenatonementapatowday for nightnegativityblogathonjuan jose rypoefrank millernetflixstranger than fictionblack dahliathe phantom menaceboratsportsspirit of the centuryimprintgreg ruckafellinimatt wagneral jolsonblogsselina's big scorehollywood knightsdr. whothe blair witch projecthustle and flowdogsone note wondersjohn romita jrcartooninggeoff johnsheinleingoodfellaslinksstory gamesimusjohn boltonjacques tatiwatchmenJames l Brookswes andersonblackgasearnhardtplague warmark waidnicolas cagebusyburn after readingspieslen weinbournejoe statonthe luna brotherstomas alfredsonunderratedscreening logshab-al-hiri roachnerdnycbuffalo billneil gaimanthe wirelyricterminator 2keanu reevespost-apocalypticeightballdave arnesonpolarisj. michael straczynskizodiacstar warsremakesthe ghost brigadesthe brooklyn folliesm. night shyamalaninternetchatthe fatal bulletinfinite crisisthe questionbiopicscloverfieldofficebreachwar fictionvacationthe promisepoliticsaudiencesblake edwardsthe beatlescharley bowerscriticismpans labyrinthavengerssam peckinpahjason aaronspioneirldavid thomasstanwyckeric wareheimcrossover eventjoe dantenovelshttp://foragerblog.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (Jon Hastings)Blogger390125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10506214.post-8833568926159939147Wed, 07 Dec 2011 08:48:00 +00002011-12-07T03:59:04.002-05:00spiesmoviesjohn le carrecriticismtomas alfredsonThere’s very little movement in Tomas Alfredson’s adaptation of John Le Carré’s Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. Or perhaps I should say there’s lots of very little movements: a woman steps through a doorway, two people catch each others’ eye across a party, someone sights down a rifle, a car window opens a few inches, a man pulls a trigger. Wait - do we see the trigger being pulled or just hear thehttp://foragerblog.blogspot.com/2011/12/thoughts-on-tinker-tailor-soldier-spy.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Jon Hastings)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10506214.post-8639892788033801959Tue, 06 Sep 2011 18:35:00 +00002012-09-25T18:00:18.273-04:00criticsactionolivier megatonluc bessoncriticismcolombiana Colombiana is a good action movie, but, looking over some of the reviews for it, I think David Edelstein - who doesn't like the movie - does a better job of describing it than most of the critics who did like it. For instance, Christy Lemire gave it a positive review and called it "sexy and silly": Zoe Saldana is sexy in the movie, but I don't think anything about the movie is silly (which is http://foragerblog.blogspot.com/2011/09/colombiana-megaton-2011.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Jon Hastings)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10506214.post-6141543992257510084Fri, 12 Aug 2011 10:45:00 +00002011-08-12T06:52:46.810-04:00new wavepre-codemovieswilliam wellmancriticismstanwyckSome thoughts after seeing several "pre-code" movies at the Film Forum over the last few weeks: The freedom I see in these movies isn't just in terms of content: their narrative form is freer than that of the movies that came after, as Hollywood's storytelling and genre conventions are still in flux. The two kinds of freedom are intimately related: as the code becomes more strongly enforced, http://foragerblog.blogspot.com/2011/08/some-thoughts-on-code.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Jon Hastings)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10506214.post-7605604966188714045Tue, 07 Jun 2011 14:11:00 +00002011-06-07T10:23:13.420-04:00classicismaustralian crime moviesmoviesnash edgertoncriticismthe squareanimal kingdomTwo Australian crime movies, both available on Netflix Watch Instant, both worth seeing. Interesting to watch them together because one is good and the other is excellent, and the reasons for that difference in quality are instructive.ANIMAL KINGDOM (David Michod, 2010) is a solid, serious movie. It's made in what I'd consider to be the contemporary conventional mode for this kind of material: http://foragerblog.blogspot.com/2011/06/two-australian-crime-movies.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Jon Hastings)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10506214.post-1369280511455499649Mon, 09 May 2011 21:26:00 +00002011-05-09T17:30:32.413-04:00criticsmoviesmichel gondryron howardcriticismcomedyJames l BrooksThree movies that got bad reviews that I more or less liked: The Green Hornet (Michel Gondry, 2011), The Dilemma (Ron Howard, 2011), and (especially) How Do You Know (James L. Brooks, 2010):THE GREEN HORNET: Aside from not having Robert Downey Jr.in it (granted, a big aside from) this is superior to Iron Man in just about every way. Clever action sequences, good chemistry between Rogen and Jay http://foragerblog.blogspot.com/2011/05/three-movies.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Jon Hastings)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10506214.post-5313827516772534043Sat, 02 Oct 2010 13:36:00 +00002010-10-02T09:41:01.507-04:00screening logmoviescriticismwoody allenBack on track...Ditrict 13: Ultimatum (Patrick Alessandrin, 2009) (v) *** - Not as strong as the first District 13, but still quite good: better than any American action movie this side of Crank. The kung-fu choreography is inventive and Luc Besson’s Gallic, un-PC sense of humor is in full effect.Centurion (Neil Marshall, 2010) ** - I agree with Jim Emerson: this is an action movie stripped downhttp://foragerblog.blogspot.com/2010/10/screening-log-september-2010.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Jon Hastings)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10506214.post-2856122042299158426Fri, 17 Sep 2010 21:23:00 +00002011-01-26T14:51:51.763-05:00screening logmoviescriticismI went back to school in May and didn’t have time to see much of anything. But around the middle of June I got into a groove and started catching up with stuff via Netflix Watch Instant and DVRing TCM. I had most of August off, so I even managed to get to the theater to catch some of the big summer movies. But I’m back in school now, and I have no time at all to write this up as a proper http://foragerblog.blogspot.com/2010/09/screening-log-rest-of-summer-drive-by.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Jon Hastings)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10506214.post-7673665982598449600Fri, 02 Jul 2010 22:30:00 +00002010-07-02T18:41:58.649-04:00the beatlesdavid thomascriticismmusicthe beach boysrock and rollDavid Thomas makes the claim that rock music is the voice of American folk culture and, because of that, non-Americans can't make rock music. I'm not sure that I believe him, but I do think he's onto something. It does seem that there is a major - I'd even argue central - feature of American rock that did not travel with the music when it was picked up by British bands. Whether or not this http://foragerblog.blogspot.com/2010/07/why-all-summer-long-is-better-rock.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Jon Hastings)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10506214.post-7976451651693367054Sun, 27 Jun 2010 12:34:00 +00002010-06-27T08:35:41.524-04:00screening logmoviescriticismSo - blogging has been light here because I left my job in order to go back to school in May and, as it turns out, school has been more work (and more rewarding work) than the old 9 to 5. Most of these movies I saw in April: a few of them I saw more recently. I'm finding it difficult to put together the 2+ hours necessary to devote to a single movie: I've spent my leisure time (what there is ofhttp://foragerblog.blogspot.com/2010/06/screening-log-april-to-late-june-2010.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Jon Hastings)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10506214.post-3992946864753736326Mon, 26 Apr 2010 13:38:00 +00002010-04-27T16:00:31.100-04:00gamesrpgsdesignstreet level(At this point, this game is a broken rip-off, but I thought I'd get it out there. I have to playtest, but my suspicion is that I've seriously overdesigned here and that there's not much room for actually playing anything.)Street LevelStreet Level is a game about people who put on super-hero costumes and go out and try to protect their communities from various dangers. It is inspired by:-the "http://foragerblog.blogspot.com/2010/04/street-level.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Jon Hastings)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10506214.post-4122798699905769132Fri, 16 Apr 2010 14:19:00 +00002010-04-16T10:22:56.233-04:00comicsandrew sarriscartooningcriticismlistsInspired by this comments thread:The PantheonWinsor McCayGeorge HerrimanE.C. SegarFrank KingHarold GrayChester GouldRoy CraneWalt KellyJules FeifferHarvey KurtzmanCarl BarksCharles SchulzJack KirbyR. CrumbThe Far Side of ParadiseGeorge McManusHal FosterCrockett JohnsonMilt CaniffBill MauldinWill EisnerJack ColeJohn StanleyOtto Binder*Saul SteinbergBernie KrigsteinSteve DitkoLeonard StarrGarry http://foragerblog.blogspot.com/2010/04/american-comics-after-andrew-sarris.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Jon Hastings)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10506214.post-7467862703425750601Thu, 08 Apr 2010 14:49:00 +00002011-01-26T14:54:21.131-05:00screening logjohn fordmoviescriticismTwo Rode Together (John Ford, 1961) (v) ** - The kind of a movie die hard auteurists are likely to overvalue: a good-but-not-great that happens to be very interesting to think about in terms of how it relates to other movies - other John Ford movies (mainly The Searchers), other westerns (the Anthony Mann movies where Jimmy Stewart plays an amoral anti-hero).Midnight (Mitchell Leisen, 1939) (v) *http://foragerblog.blogspot.com/2010/04/screening-log-march-2010.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Jon Hastings)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10506214.post-4836821795082954497Mon, 15 Mar 2010 19:22:00 +00002010-03-15T15:23:52.156-04:00screening logmoviescriticismNote: This one is late and anemic, but March's should be a doozy.The Damned United (Tom Hooper, 2009) (v) * - Sheen, Broadbent, Spall, and Meaney are all very fine. The movie itself, though, is the kind where every beat is played exactly as you'd expect.Hunger (Steve McQueen, 2008) (v) ***13 Rue Madeleine (Henry Hathaway, 1947) (v) **Bright Star (Jane Campion, 2009) (v) *** - A surprise.Killshot http://foragerblog.blogspot.com/2010/03/screening-log-february-2010.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Jon Hastings)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10506214.post-6965519043294136084Fri, 05 Mar 2010 15:16:00 +00002010-03-05T10:20:39.076-05:00top tenscreening logmovieslistsI'm putting the finishing touches on my February Screening Log, but since I've now been doing these for just over a year I thought it would be a good time to share my "Top 20" list for 2009 NYC releases, which serves as a shorthand for "my year in (new) movies".I've enjoyed putting together these monthly screening logs. For one thing, "monthly" is just about the only kind of blogging schedule I'mhttp://foragerblog.blogspot.com/2010/03/my-year-in-movies.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Jon Hastings)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10506214.post-2135663583711050959Fri, 12 Feb 2010 17:06:00 +00002010-02-12T12:09:01.925-05:00comicsdc comicsgeoff johnssupermanOne of the things I liked the most about Geoff Johns' run on Action Comics was the commonsensical, kitchen-sink approach to what I call "the Mythos". Johns' stories all grew out of earlier Superman stories, but there was something agreeably laid back about the way that, say, "Last Son" (co-written by Richard Donner) riffed on the Superman movies and "Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes" http://foragerblog.blogspot.com/2010/02/superman-secret-origin-1-4.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Jon Hastings)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10506214.post-1305327101019890820Thu, 04 Feb 2010 15:12:00 +00002010-02-04T10:14:23.196-05:00screening logmoviescriticismApocalypto (Mel Gibson, 2006) (v) (r) **** - Mel Gibson's best movie and, I think, one of the key action movies of the aughts, if only because it bucked so many of the decade's trends.Wanted (Timur Bekmambetov, 2008) (v)Pandorum (Christian Alvart, 2009) (v) * - Effective, if derivative, videogame inspired sci-fi horror flick. Marks the first time I have liked Ben Foster in anything.The Final http://foragerblog.blogspot.com/2010/02/screening-log-january-2010.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Jon Hastings)4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10506214.post-7616606185630439940Fri, 15 Jan 2010 21:11:00 +00002010-01-15T16:23:04.892-05:00marvel comicscomicscriticismthe punishersteve dillonjason aaronI have to admit that I like the bizarre naming conventions of mainstream super-hero comics that Tom Spurgeon makes fun of. "Punishermax" isn't as gloriously, needlessly confusing and baroque as, say, Final Crisis Aftermath Dance, but there's still something off about it. For one thing, shouldn't the "Max" Punisher title be the one where he's running around as a Frankenstein monster killing http://foragerblog.blogspot.com/2010/01/punishermax-1-3-by-jason-aaron-and.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Jon Hastings)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10506214.post-6242682827694139076Mon, 11 Jan 2010 13:48:00 +00002010-01-11T15:31:13.232-05:00screening logmoviescriticism(500) Days of Summer (Marc Webb, 2009) (v) * - You know how sometimes people complain that film critics can't enjoy movies because they watch too many of them? In general, I think that's a bogus complaint, but, here, specifically, I think that I would probably have enjoyed this movie a lot more had I not spent the last year catching up with Hong Sang-soo's very clear-eyed relationship movies and http://foragerblog.blogspot.com/2010/01/screening-log-december-2009-and-early.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Jon Hastings)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10506214.post-4272571588976463919Tue, 01 Dec 2009 15:19:00 +00002009-12-01T10:20:07.036-05:00screening logcriticismThe Limits of Control (Jim Jarmusch, 2009) (v) *** - Trippy.Platform (Jia Zhang Ke, 2000) (v) **** - Time still changes everything.House of Bamboo (Sam Fuller, 1955) (v) *** - Location, location, location.The Box (Richard Kelly, 2009) *** - I.e., Richard Kelly's Eyes Wide Shut.The Roaring Twenties (Raoul Walsh, 1939) (v) (r) **** - Time changes everything.The Plow That Broke the Plains (Pare http://foragerblog.blogspot.com/2009/12/screening-log-november.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Jon Hastings)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10506214.post-1708832306929938970Wed, 11 Nov 2009 15:05:00 +00002009-11-11T10:07:33.475-05:00bloggingI started another blog for short, slightly more estoric posts on film criticism and related matters. I'm keeping my informal, off the cuff screening log entries here, though.http://foragerblog.blogspot.com/2009/11/another-blog.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Jon Hastings)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10506214.post-3030418466884692975Fri, 06 Nov 2009 20:51:00 +00002009-11-06T15:52:50.853-05:00screening logmoviescriticismPredator (John McTiernan, tktk) (v) (r) ** - Truly, a strange movie: the sci-fi actioner that pares itself down as it goes along, so that the last act - far from being an fx-extravaganza - is a nearly naked Schwarzenegger playing boy scout in the jungle.X-Men Origins: Wolverine (Gavin Hood, 2009) (v) * - I really like the second string Marvel movies, especially when I catch them on cable TV: theyhttp://foragerblog.blogspot.com/2009/11/screening-log-halloween-weekend.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Jon Hastings)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10506214.post-4616559748730849428Fri, 30 Oct 2009 19:10:00 +00002009-10-30T17:43:09.863-04:00screening logmoviescriticismlistsJerichow (Christian Petzold, 2008) (v) *** - An exploration of the nuances and biases of viewer identification, in stripped-down B-movie drag. It would all be a bit too clinical, academic, and even pedantic, if it weren't for Himli Sözer's performance, which gives the movie an emotional depth to match its intellectual ambitions.Still Walking (Hirokazu Koreeda, 2008) (v) *** - If I had more free http://foragerblog.blogspot.com/2009/10/screening-log-october.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Jon Hastings)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10506214.post-3130998043199829325Tue, 06 Oct 2009 13:39:00 +00002009-10-06T09:46:42.397-04:00screening logmoviescriticismPolice, Adjective (Corneliu Porumboiu, 2009) ***Johnny Guitar (Nicholas Ray, 1954) (v) (r) ***** - Did I say On Dangerous Ground was my favorite Nicholas Ray movie? I hadn't seen this in years, and the image quality of the VHS tape I had first seen it on really did not do it justice. Also: most of the discussion of this movie talks up its unconventionality (less sympathetic viewers might phrase http://foragerblog.blogspot.com/2009/10/screening-log-september.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Jon Hastings)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10506214.post-6235813614289434182Wed, 09 Sep 2009 21:49:00 +00002009-09-09T19:43:23.973-04:00top tenmovieslistsI feel that I'm finally caught up enough with my movie-watching that I can throw out an interim "best list" that (a) doesn't have any filler and (b) took some thought/reflection about what didn't make the cut.1. Two Lovers (James Gray)2. Inglourious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino)3. Pontypool (Bruce McDonald)4. Duplicity (Tony Gilroy)5. Summer Hours (Olivier Assayas)6. Liverpool (Lisandro Alonso)7. http://foragerblog.blogspot.com/2009/09/top-9-as-of-9909.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Jon Hastings)7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10506214.post-7312661174346651179Wed, 02 Sep 2009 20:25:00 +00002009-09-02T16:40:05.459-04:00screening logmoviescriticismHalloween 2 (Rob Zombie, 2009) * - This is the first Rob Zombie movie where I haven't been shaking in anger, fear, or disgust when I left the theatre. In other words, a bit of a disappointment. Though many of his strengths are on display - the worlds in his movies feel lived in, there's a weight there that most Hollywood filmmaking (and I'm not just talking about horror/genre filmmaking) lacks http://foragerblog.blogspot.com/2009/09/screening-log-late-august.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Jon Hastings)3