Watch This: 10 Film Picks
So this is a first for me: a blog post by request. What’s more, a blog post about movies by request. Happy to oblige! I was recently asked to toss together a top ten list of films I’d recommend viewing. That’s it. That was the request. No criteria, no specifications. Which is simultaneously liberating and daunting! Ten classic films to watch? Sure. Ten favorites from childhood? I can do that. Ten overlooked indies worth checking out? No problem. But just ten films to watch? Where to start!? In order to narrow it down (and hopefully make this list as watchable as possible for everyone), I’m imposing my own criteria: we’re going…
Watch This: BLUE IS THE WARMEST COLOR
It happened this week: Blue is the Warmest Color hit Netflix streaming. I’ve already written how moving I found this film, what a compelling performance Adele Exarchopoulos delivers. No matter. The news that the film is now streaming on Netflix merits mentioning it yet again. The film didn’t get any recognition at the Oscars. The rumor I read was that France didn’t submit it as their Best Foreign Language pick because the US distributor thought they could finagle nominations in the main categories (Picture, Actress, etc.). Which certainly isn’t unheard of (Life is Beautiful), but unfortunately didn’t pan out. In the waning days of winter, I can’t recommend hunkering down for…
The Indie’s Oscars
The day before the Oscars, there’s a party in Santa Monica that’s more “smart chic” than “custom couture,” more “new kid in town” than “living legend,” more “vote of the people” than “who votes for these again?” It’s the Spirit Awards, and over the last several years it’s become the indie Oscars, even as the films recognized are less and less truly independent films (case in point: several films are nominated for both Spirit Awards and Oscars.). Dress code is decidedly relaxed; hosts are the likes of Andy Samberg and, this year, Patton Oswalt; and far as I know, though it is televised, there’s no orchestra kicking winners off stage…
Life in 179 minutes
If you’ve heard of Blue is the Warmest Color at all, you’ve heard that it features a fairly explicit sex scene between our protagonist and her first girlfriend. If you’ve heard a little more about Blue, you’ve heard that the director and his actresses have been feuding in the awesome way Europeans do. Here’s the thing, though. The thing is that Blue is the Warmest Color is a really great film. Like, still-with-me-over-a-week-later good. I’m not familiar with director Abdel Kechiche’s other films, but he’s achieved something nearing epic in Blue, something that won’t soon be forgotten. The story of Adele, a young woman (Adele Exarchopoulos in her debut role) who blossoms from shy…
Coming Soon: October
I’m about 3 days late with this, but finally had some time to get together the first of monthly installments on what’s hitting theaters as the year winds down. If October is any indicator of the films to come in 2013, we’re in good shape indeed. These films encompass what’s being called the cinematic achievement of its time, quite possibly the most controversial scene in a film released yet, and the film gunning for soaring awards status a la Lincoln of last year. So without further ado…the films I’m keeping track of for October.
