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December 2006 Archive
December 1, 2006
The Nativity Story
Original star-crossed lovers flounder in dullest version of greatest story ever told
By Vadim Rizov
Mondovino Takes the Scenic Route
Director Nossiter revisits his wine-world chronicle in 10-hour series premiering at MoMA
By Karen Kramer
Cracking the Code
Film Forum revives the raunchy and restless with Fox Behind the Code program
Screening Gotham: Naomi a Go Go No-Show
Also: Soderbergh backs out of his next NYC appearance, Four Eyed Monsters gets curious Times review
December 4, 2006
Screening Gotham: You (Not) Talkin' to Me?
Also: Stallone finds Jesus, Musetto finds Tokyo
NYC Premiere: Charlotte's Web
Fanning "animal-ed out," especially when it comes to her controversial Sundance debut Hounddog
New This Week: Minghella Breaking and Entering into 92nd Street Y
Jude Law/Juliette Binoche Oscar bait replaces Soderbergh at last minute
December 5, 2006
Dream On
In NYC preview, Condon discusses Murphy, Hudson and bringing Dreamgirls to the screen at last
By S.T. VanAirsdale
Coffee, Cheese and Vertigo: Lynch Slays 'Em Downtown
"Inspiration is the main thing," filmmaker reminds capacity crowd at IFC Center
Screening Gotham: Will Power at the Waldorf
Also: Harvey loses deputy, Arkin looks back
December 6, 2006
Inland Empire
Is David Lynch's Hollywood hall of mirrors meta-punking you -- or just misunderstood?
By Michelle Orange
Screening Gotham: Kasell Kruises From Hamptons
Also: Lumenick meets Lynch, Stuart meeets Posey
Aliens in Our Midst
Art Fag City: Smack Mellon's Multiplex series continues with overlapping works on immigration
By Wayne Hodge
Burman's Law Invoked at Makor
“I’m interested in misunderstandings,” director tells crowd at preview of new film Family Law
Forsaking Oscar, Beyonce Lobbies For Gay Culture Sainthood
Heart on sleeve? Tongue in cheek? Does it really matter?
InSolvEnt: Winick Shutting Down Indie Shingle
Microbudget indie "biting the dust" after six years -- and everything seemed so peachy only days ago
December 7, 2006
Losing Their Place
As the Movie Place met its end, it showed why indie video shops still matter
By Daniel Nemet-Nejat
Screening Gotham: Game On at Tribeca '07
Also: Robert Benton on sale, Factory Girl on ice
Oscar Bloggers Get Out Their Belts for NBR Awards
Merciless smackdown no deterrent to studios jamming their laurels on posters and other ads
"I Owe It All To Jonas Mekas"
Sarris and Hoberman discuss their absent friend's influence at BAM's launch of Village Voice Film Guide
December 8, 2006
Off the Black
Vibrant screen chemistry doesn't quite burst Nolte melodrama's soapy bubble
By Eric Kohn
Apocalypto
Gory, kinetic spectacle masks the flimsiness of Gibson's history lesson
By Michelle Orange
The Holiday
Studio cheese log's polished charms can't overcome paint-by-numbers plot
By Michelle Orange
Blood Diamond
Disingenuous issue film manages to deliver solid action thrills
By Vadim Rizov
Out 1 in a Million
Surviving (and enjoying) the first-ever American screening of Rivette's 12-hour-plus epic
By Aaron Hillis
Screening Gotham: The Weinsteins Find God
Also: Yoko Ono wants justice, Kyle Smith needs a nap
Black Friday: Ponsoldt's Debut Opens at Last
Eleven months (and a handful of new music cues) after Sundance, Nolte's winning performance to screen in NYC
December 9, 2006
BREAKING: Kirk Douglas's Head-Exploding Birthday Wish
Hey, kid -- it's my birthday! And your problem! It was 90 years ago...
December 11, 2006
Screening Gotham: Diamonds and Dust-Up
Also: What Edelstein loves, what Adams hates
When Robots (From Brooklyn) Attack!
McKenney's robot-rage allegory Automatons digs in for December at the Pioneer
By S.T. VanAirsdale
NYC Critics Orgs Toast The Queen, United 93
Also: Mirren, Whitaker lauded once again; Borat as "non-fiction film" runner-up?
More From the NYFCC: Sarris Bathroom Break Thwarts Linklater Glory
It's no coincidence the man's second choice was Flushed Away
Kyle Smith Masters the Allusion, If Not the Language
"And then Santa extinguished his blunt in a 40 of King Cobra..."
December 12, 2006
"Just the Facts, Ma'am": Stone Brings WTC to MoMA
"What makes me particularly proud is that I believe we got it right," filmmaker tells audience
Screening Gotham: Rinko's Ki-Coochie Wins Nudity Accolade
Also: Actress-habitat bus tours, Weinsteins pretend to be interviewed
Lynch, Inland Empire Boom in NYC
Anonymous crazy-ass sits through three consecutive screenings as engagement breaks three-day IFC Center record
El Topo Sorpresa: Mystery Guest SCRATCHED for Wednesday Opening
Show to go on without historic intro, or something
December 13, 2006
The Mystery of Kaspar Hauser
Scathing comedy of manners is also Herzog's most affecting character study
By Eric Kohn
El Topo
Jodorowsky's restored cult classic a singular experience to be had, not a story to be followed
By Aaron Hillis
Sympathy for the Devil
De Niro's excellent Good Shepherd upends spy-movie convention with tragic glimpse at early CIA
By S.T. VanAirsdale
Screening Gotham: Peter Guber Takes Staten Island to Next Level
Also: Cindy Adams goes ticketless, NYC mourns Boyle
December 14, 2006
The Pursuit of Happyness
Will Smith vehicle loses its ring of truth to the trappings of truthiness
By Aaron Hillis
Screening Gotham: "No Such Thing as Bad Publicity" Edition
Also: Black Christmas critics see red, Yoko needs a ride
Shadows Stretch a Little Longer
Melville revival returns after half-hearted NYFCC accolades
December 15, 2006
Home of the Brave
Hopelessly inadequate Iraq drama gunning for worst film of the year
By Vadim Rizov
The Good German
There's a conceit to offend every movie-lover in Soderbergh's honorable failure
By Vadim Rizov
Dreamgirls
Despite best intentions, Broadway adaptation resembles variety show with too many hollow acts
By Aaron Hillis
The Secret Life of Words
Silence is golden for Polley and Robbins in Coixet's strangely sensual drama
By Michelle Orange
The Little DiVA That Couldn't
Art Fag City: The best videos in Miami's art fairs were from New York -- but where were all the buyers?
By Paddy Johnson
Screening Gotham: Sundance, Here They Come
Also: Dargis bitchslaps Good German, Anderson jabs at Crash
Spanking the Monkey Town
Pornstar Pets (right) among highlights of venue's Third Annual Porn Week
NYC Buyer Picks Up Dawson Rape Film
"Shocking, controversial and graphic" Descent is "not a revenge thriller," says subtle distributor
December 18, 2006
Screening Gotham: NYU Film Empire Reaches Asia
Also: Rocky mythbreakers call "Bullshit!", Lyonne's four-legged fan club calls "Woof!"
Monsters Ball: Buice and Crumley on Their $100,000 Score
"That's the other thing that nobody understands: We've never really considered our film done. Until today."
BAM Prepared to Skate by in February
You know it's all downhill for '07 after Gotham Girls Roller Derby tribute
December 19, 2006
Showing No Restraint
Art Fag City: Alison Chernick's new documentary digs for meaning in the world of Matthew Barney
By Paddy Johnson
December 20, 2006
The Case of the Grinning Cat
Marker documentary a striking blend of lyricism and political commentary
By Eric Kohn
Letters From Iwo Jima
Eastwood's flip-side war epic ponders Japanese soldiers' choice between life and honor.
By Matt Singer
Rocky Balboa
Punchy with self-reflexivity, Stallone swan song is unremarkable -- and that's a good thing.
By Eric Kohn
Woody Allen, Thespian?
Reeler critics Matt Singer and Vadim Rizov on the filmmaker's time in front of the camera -- for better or worse
Prose by Any Other Name
Finding comic salvation by accident in Woody's collected writings
By Michelle Orange
Le Woody, C'est Moi
An Upper East Sider recalls growing up under the director's influence
By Andrew Grant
Film Forum's Allen Retrospective Gets City Talking
Weinstein, Kopple, LaBute, Dargis and other New York culture all-stars reflect on best of Woody's work
By Karen Kramer and S.T. VanAirsdale
Screening Gotham: Adulterous, Guilt-Ridden Sex Wins Big with Women Critics
Also: Jonas Mekas will distribute at least 37 films by the time Factory Girl sees the light of day
December 21, 2006
Curse of the Golden Flower
Clumsy, impersonal spectacle may be the worst movie Zhang Yimou has ever made
By Vadim Rizov
"I Can Die Now": Arkin Celebrated at Lincoln Center
Veteran actor chats up blind luck, missed opportunities and hard work before screening of Little Miss Sunshine
Screening Gotham: Rocky Balboa is Liz Smith's Fault
Also: Film Comment critics' poll hits street, DGA screener "controversy" hits bottom
Like a Wonky, Pasty Phoenix, Voice Critics' Poll Rises at indieWIRE
Mr. Lazarescu takes top spot in Lim & Co.'s return to cinephilic scorekeeping
December 22, 2006
Screening Gotham: Finicky Christians Whack New Line Over Nativity
Also: Zacharek lights up Iwo Jima, Carr not getting much sleep
The Good Shepherd
Untold story of the CIA a dry espionage drama of epic impassivity
By Aaron Hillis
Handle With Care: Can Filmmakers Deal With the Truth?
When it comes to film reporting and criticism, honesty evidently isn't always the best policy
December 25, 2006
Children of Men
Alfonso Cuaron's surprisingly cogent fable the activist achievement of the year
By Eric Kohn
December 26, 2006
The Painted Veil
Norton and Watts battle cholera and each other in finely wrought Maugham adaptation
By Michelle Orange
All His Children
Filmmaker Alfonso Cuarón on Children of Men, influences and "the Sept. 11 of sound"
By Ray Pride
December 27, 2006
Notes on a Scandal
Dench and Blanchett deliver the giddy rush of a first-class face-off
By Michelle Orange
Defending Miss Potter
Don't call it a chick flick, says star/producer Zellweger
By Vadim Rizov
Screening Gotham: Like Sugar and Spike: Lee to Helm Brown Biopic
Also: New Yorkers working through holiday, George Hickenlooper drinking through post-post-production
"And Here I Was Being Offered This Funny Old Lady..."
Scandal screenwriter Patrick Marber checks his Notes with The Reeler
December 28, 2006
The Top 10 of Top 10 Lists of 2006, Part I
The Reeler's second annual look back at the misconceived hype that mattered
By S.T. VanAirsdale
Screening Gotham: Woody Allen, Now in Convenient Blog Form
Also: Another Look at Kubrick, untruth in advertising for NYC indie
O'Hehir: Out With the Old, In With the Old-ish
News flash: Mini-majors had a good year, indies still impossible to define
New Times Update: LA Weekly Poll Arrives; Chain Chops High-Paid DVD Columnist
Syndicated DVD reviews save America's biggest weekly chain mid- to low-four figures annually
December 29, 2006
The Dead Girl
Joyless L.A. melodrama a host of dreary indie clichés
By Vadim Rizov
The Tiger and the Snow
Dreamy Benigni schticks it up -- in Iraq
By Vadim Rizov
Pan's Labyrinth
Six knock-out minutes redeem del Toro's mystical examination of the Spanish Civil War
By Vadim Rizov
The Top 10 of Top 10 Lists of 2006, Part II
Selecting the best of this year's hype, hypocrisy and general self-importance
By S.T. VanAirsdale
Screening Gotham: Understanding Armond
Also: The Talbots speak! Invincible explained!
Factory Girl Opens in Exile; Hickenlooper Haunts the Rumor Mill
Angry director offers bounty for head of shadowy online detractor
Del Toro: "Thank God I'm Not in Charge of the Parenting Board"
The Pan's Labyrinth director makes a case for taking the kids to his brilliant, bloody fable