26 April 2010

Land of Plenty

Occasionally strident but still one of the better responses to 9/11, shot about 2 years after the attacks.

22 April 2010

The Box

I always preferred the original theatrical cut of Donnie Darko. It had an engrossing ambiguity apparently due to budget- or studio oversight- imposed limitations.  When given the chance to enhace the film for a "directors's cut," all of that mystery was removed by Richard Kelly -- and the less interesting "truths" behind the bizarre happenings watered down the film's impact.  It didn't quite become Southland Tales, but it did become something like The Box.  So even with lovely Kubrickian flourishes and intriguing premises aplenty in Kelly's latest work, he still explains too much and it isn't quite as Rorschachian as it should be. It doesnt quite exceed itself. But it's still better than most.

19 April 2010

Paris

Sure, it's set in Paris, and draws on Parisian particulars for color. But it's not about Paris. It's about us.