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February 2007 Archive

February 1, 2007

Nader Hits Town for Unreasonable Opening

Activist-turned-candidate joins directors and loyal supporters at IFC Center premiere

By Christopher Campbell

Screening Gotham: Another Penguin Preem in NYC

Also: Cinetrix knows travel time, Fallon knows Warhol

Miller Lite: NYDN's Piazza Walks a Mile in Sienna's Hose

News shocker: NYC men leer at attractive woman in undies

Woody Going Bilingual in Barcelona; Cruz Attached?

Cassandra's Dream to Cannes, then Spain for the summer, writes gossip monster Friedman

Penguin Preem Reprise: Olsens Giggle for Swarthy Inquisitor

Race card wins hard-fought smiles from steely, skinny millionaires

February 2, 2007

The Situation

Tangled Iraqi drama may have happened too soon for the filmmakers, not the audience

By Michelle Orange

The Trouble With sleepwalkers

Art Fag City: MoMA's immense public art project downplays the public and the art

By Paddy Johnson

Screening Gotham: All-Positive Friday!

Inside: Carr calls out the haters, Gosling follows his passion to Africa

Sun Rises in Queens

Misu Khan in Tanuj Chopra's Punching at the Sun The Reeler caught up Thursday...

By Chopra's fest-circuit fave makes hometown debut at Moving Image

February 4, 2007

Factory Girl

Miller's performance nearly redeems messy, misbegotten Sedgwick biopic

By Michelle Orange

February 5, 2007

Screening Gotham: Marty's (Next to) Last Laugh

Also: Woody not amused (literally), City Lights distributing Brooklyn mob flick

Tonight: Donovan Makes Rare Appearance at Rarer Film

Anthology hosts first screening of Demy's The Pied Piper in decades; pop star at 7 and 9 p.m. shows

Believe It: NY Post Hits New Low

Sunday feature takes Affleck down for no real reason, kicks him while he's there

Morricone Wrap: An Abbreviated Recap

What they're saying online about the maestro's historic weekend in New York

February 6, 2007

"My Part is the Pied Piper"

Wordy folk legend Donovan turns inside-out at Anthology's screening of rare Demy Film

Screening Gotham: Putting the "Wack" in "Waxman"

Also: Lustig reflects on the joys of grindhouse filmmaking, Factory Girl pisses one critic off a little too much

NYC Film Writer Gets SXSW Berth with New Doc

Co-director (and periodic Reeler contributor) Hillis taking Fish Kill Flea to Austin next month

The Decomposition of the Soul

Former Stasi prisoners supply a fascinating, if insular, look at the shame of the GDR

By Eric Kohn

February 7, 2007

Lives in His Hands

German director von Donnersmarck on the art and politics of The Lives of Others

By Vadim Rizov

Screening Gotham: Vera Farmiga, Point-Counterpoint

Also: Carr hits the warpath, Theron hits the jewelry box

Is Amy Redford the New M. Night Shyamalan?

Sundance scion busts out mythology big guns for first feature

February Events Madness! The Sequel!

Amy Berg a late addition at Makor, Crispin Glover terrorizes IFC Center

February 8, 2007

The Painted Whale

Art Fag City: A closer look at the unique animation of Jacco Olivier

By Paddy Johnson

Screening Gotham: Criterion Preparing Films from Bergman's Fabled "Bargain Era"

Also: Sundance doc makers score $$$, Deborah Harry contemplating a change

Robert Evans: Of Bad Lungs and New York Showgirls

Why was the legendary producer hospitalized in 1948? Why do you think?

NY Press Film Isssue '07: More Sundance! More Dick!

Also: Fan films come into their own, trailers come into 21st century

February 9, 2007

The Lives of Others

Two Good Germans meet at the corner of ethics and empathy in the GDR

By Michelle Orange

Black and White in Color

Buscemi, Rockwell and Rockwell (with cameo by Seymour Cassell) heat up Soup at Lincoln Center

Screening Gotham: All-Positive Friday!

Inside: Murdoch bankrolling Borat 2, Disney unpacking the ink supply

Unfiltered Cammell

The endlessly fascinating freak-out Wild Side closes out the late filmmaker's NYC retrospective

By S.T. VanAirsdale

February 12, 2007

Screening Gotham: Gasp! Spurlock's Berlin Surprise a Stunt?

Also: Weinsteins continue buying spree, Zwick affirms diamond-industry heroism

Filmmaking Duo Goes Off Half-Cocked

Hawley and Galinsky revisit seminal indie rock drama for 10th anniversary revival at Anthology

By S.T. VanAirsdale

Bamako

African debt-relief courtroom drama too dogmatic and elusive for embrace

By Vadim Rizov

"That's the Best Combination"

Jonas Mekas emphasizes Scorsese, NYC and lots of quartets at latest exhibition at P.S. 1

MoMA's the Longest, Hardest in Marathon Film Throwdown

35 hours of cinephile endurance on the way as local theaters sked Sátántangó, Out 1 and Berlin Alexanderplatz

February 13, 2007

Screening Gotham: A Picture's Worth a Few Dozen Words

Also: Film Snobs go live on NPR, Lionsgate goes binary

NYC Theaters Welcome the Long and Short of Oscar

Plus a local bakery tosses its cookies at this year's nominees

February 14, 2007

The Selects Few

Verhoeven, Brisseau and the gang at Film Comment take over with annual program

By Vadim Rizov

Screening Gotham: Gratuitous Valentine's Day Edition

Inside: List of romantic NYC movies omits the greats, someone with money loves Deborah Kampmeier

NYDN: Drew Barrymore Adorable, Even With Gas

The smell of great journalism is in the air as actress flees interview

Industry Newsflash: Steiner Swells, Hart Sharp Over

Young studio adding 600,000 square feet at Navy Yard while producers split after 10 years

February 15, 2007

'60s Legend Gets First US Retro

Peter Whitehead's diverse docs explore collision of art and politics

Screening Gotham: Even Blurb Queens Hate Factory Girl

Also: Warhol to be remembered at Gershwin Hotel, Oscar party class war is on in NYC

NYC Altman Memorial Set For Feb. 20

Tomlin, Robbins, Trudeau and Costello among those set to pay tribute at Majestic Theater

Hanks for Nothing

Actor/producer works blue in Tribeca, plays Oscar strategy close to vest

Grbavica: The Land of My Dreams

A mother and daughter learn to be a family in the aching aftermath of war

By Michelle Orange

Days of Glory (Indigènes)

Long-view history lesson about Algerians in WWII hits its mark

By Michelle Orange

February 16, 2007

Oscars Anonymous

A terrifying epiphany forces one film lover into Academy Awards detox

By Lewis Beale

Screening Gotham: All-Positive Friday!

The Post halts operations for sake of "Cheesy Rider," Nanny Diaries trailer features favorable ratio of ScarJo to Fine Young Cannibals

"It's Beautiful, But it's Harsh"

Daniele and Christopher Thompson discuss the romance versus reality of their latest, Avenue Montaigne

Activist Crowd Cheers Glover, Bamako in NYC

African courtroom drama gives way to passionate political exchange at Film Forum

Museum of the Moving Image: Patron Saint of Film Journalism?

Five-day boot camp connects writers to NYC industry, throws Tribeca in for good measure

February 19, 2007

Screening Gotham: Sluggish President's Day Edition

Inside: Baked Anna Faris elevated to deity, Stephen Holden retains bragging right over NYT readers

Oscar's (Im)Potent Quotables?

Some of the best known lines in this year's Academy Awards ads from films stiffed by voters

The Wayward Cloud

Taiwanese formalist turns in a fruit-fisting fever dream -- with a twist

By Vadim Rizov

Mira Nair's Tribeca Trifecta

Filmmaker's latest joins Salaam Bombay and Monsoon Wedding among free screenings and gallery exhibit

February 20, 2007

Tarnished Angel

Brooklyn filmmaker Tully brings sordid festival hit Cocaine Angel to NYC audience

By S.T. VanAirsdale

February 21, 2007

The Long Goodbye

Robert Altman tribute brings stars, family and fans together one final time in New York

By S.T. VanAirsdale

Screening Gotham: What I Missed Edition

Inside: Friedkin's gayest film reaches DVD, Jesus Camp auteurs touched by an Oscar angel

Stranger Than Fiction Plays it Cool

Documentary series resumes with NYC premiere of the other buzzworthy global warming doc, Everything's Cool

Zalla, Zobel Among 32 Chosen For New Directors/New Films

Novelist Auster nabs opening-night slot with The Inner Life of Marvin Frost

February 22, 2007

Reno by Way of Tribeca

"We're not that incompetent," promises Lt. Dangle as feature adaptation of cop parody previews in NYC

The Astronaut Farmer

Billy Bob's wannabe space cadet family drama keeps it light and pleasant

By Matt Singer

Screening Gotham: Think Like a Killer

Also: Lohan at Altman memorial "in spirit," quirk is the hot new Oscar commodity

Dream in Doubt Premieres in NYC

Brooklyn filmmaker looks at threats to Sikh community in aftermath of 9/11

February 23, 2007

Faster, Pussycat! Kael! Kael!

Revisiting a eulogy throwdown with heavyweights Michael Atkinson and Manohla Dargis

The Taste of Tea

Character drama meets trippy clip show in Ishii's triumphant family saga

By Vadim Rizov

Screening Gotham: All-Positive Friday!

Inside: A warm NYC reception for Lake of Fire, unlikely film blogging couple gets a room

Gray Matters

Manhattan coming-out comedy brain dead on arrival

By Eric Kohn

NY Arab and South Asian Fest Biggest Yet

More than six dozen films from 30 countries screening around Manhattan

Gray Area: When a Kiss is Not Just A Kiss

Gray Matters director Kramer on the liplock with a life of its own

By S.T. VanAirsdale

February 24, 2007

Sounds, Starts and Padres

A roundup of some the last few days' NYC film premieres at Sundance

February 25, 2007

Oscar's Exes and "Oh!"s

Amid hype, fashion and prognostication, the strategy that really matters

February 26, 2007

It's All Geek to Me

Getting into The Spirit (among other phenomena) at New York Comic Con

By John Lichman

Screening Gotham: "I Guess I Should Write About the Oscars" Edition

Inside: Scorsese validated at long last, tabloids liveblog readers to death

Carr Channels the Dead in Red-Carpet Finale

Intrepid reporter in place for the the most dramatic Oscar entrance ever

Panahi's Visa Not Everywhere He Wants to Be

Uncle Sam trips up Iranian filmmaker on way to promote Offside

February 27, 2007

One Last Date with Oscar

The Reeler's annual review of Academy Awards liveblogs

By S.T. VanAirsdale

"Fincher's Going to Eat You For Breakfast"

Zodiac star Mark Ruffalo on his director's craft and his colleagues' gripes

Red Shift Expands its Borders

Fifth annual festival showcases filmmakers working far from home

February 28, 2007

From Holland to Hollywood (and Back)

Verhoeven retraces road to Black Book at closing night of Film Comment Selects

By Christopher Campbell

Into Great Silence

The lives of France's Carthusian monks gets the (extremely faithful) silent treatment

By Vadim Rizov

Screening Gotham: Auteur Jury Duty Edition

Also: Have a Pan's Labyrinth creature for breakfast, West Village shutterbugs bid adieu to Maggie

Dahan, Dumont en Route for Rendez-Vouz

Annual French cinema series welcomes filmmakers for 16 US premieres

Pennebaker Meets Ellington, And Other NY Stories

Documentarian revisits 50-plus years on eve of Don't Look Back reissue

Oscar Liveblog Addendum: The Conservatives Take the Floor

Libertas commentator, readers celebrate diversity with spectrum of stereotypes