Category Archives: Uncategorized

3 things about Joe Dante’s GREMLINS

Gremlins [1984] 1. Chuck Jones encourages him to keep drawing. 2. Great metaphor: she’s assaulted by a Christmas tree. 3. Snowshovel as car ramp.

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3 things about Johan Grimonprez’s DOUBLE TAKE

Double Take [2009] 1. A plane crashes into the Empire State Building. Everyone looks up. 2. Folgers is mountain-grown. 3. The two elderly Hitchcock look-alikes, arms linked, walk slowly away.

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3 things about Martin Scorsese’s HUGO

Hugo [2011] 1. Is Django the guitar player? 2. The cracked red leather of the ancient armchair. 3. He attempts his best smile. She winces.

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3 things about Gillo Pontecorvo’s BURN!

Burn! [1969] 1. A group of children help carry the headless corpse to the wagon. 2. The soldiers set the field of sugar cane on fire, and shoot the rebels as they emerge from the flames. 3. Jodhpurs. A straw … Continue reading →

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3 things about Steve McQueen’s SHAME

Shame [2011] 1. She picks at a bit of fluff on his coat, but he stops her. “I like it there,” he explains. 2. The back of his head, in sharp focus, on the left side of the frame. The … Continue reading →

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3 things about Béla Tarr & Ágnes Hranitzky’s THE TURIN HORSE

The Turin Horse [2011] 1. Eating a boiled potato using only one’s fingers is a tricky business. 2. The patches of worn-away fur on the horse’s flanks. 3. Do they use an outhouse? If so, where is it? Easily the … Continue reading →

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3 things about Patrice Leconte’s DOGORA

Dogora [2004] 1. A ladybug slowly crawls along the bicycle’s handlebar. 2. The orchestra and singers are black and white blobs. The conductor, however, is in focus. 3. Stacks of multicolored plastic plates. Lots of pretty images, but this movie … Continue reading →

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3 things about Martin Ritt’s EDGE OF THE CITY

Edge of the City [1957] 1. “You get $1.71 an hour, out of which you pay me a quarter. That’s how you say thank you.” 2. They hop up onto the boxcar to eat their lunch. Chrysler Building in the … Continue reading →

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3 things about Joseph Losey’s THE PROWLER

The Prowler [1951] 1. Unconvincingly, he demonstrates a reluctance to leave. Finally  she offers him a cup of coffee. His name is Webb. 2. On his wall is a target practice training poster with a cluster of hits near the … Continue reading →

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3 things about Robert Altman’s POPEYE

Popeye [1980] 1. Bluto sees red. 2. Dennis Franz as a bully. 3. The contents of the treasure chest: several cans of spinach, baby mementos.

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