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12Sep

Closet Land (1991)

Posted by: mark Categories: Moviemakers Movies
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You’ve probably never heard of Closet Land, nor of its writer-director Radha Bharadwaj. You probably have heard of composer Richard Einhorn, cinematographer Bill Pope, and designer Eiko Ishioka, who all contributed to Closet Land. You no doubt know Madeleine Stowe and Alan Rickman, the stars of the film. You may also know Martin McDonagh, whose […]

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10Aug

Night Falls on Manhattan (1996)

Posted by: mark Categories: Moviemakers Movies
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Sidney Lumet has an encyclopedia of classics under his belt: 12 Angry Men, The Pawnbroker, Fail Safe, Serpico, Dog Day Afternoon, Network, and The Verdict stand out in a parade of excellent American movies by the prolific genius. But if I had to name a favorite Lumet film, it would be… Network. Then maybe 12 […]

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Nicole Holofcener
8Jul

Nicole Holofcener: The 1990s indie scene was “exciting.” Today it’s “obscene.”

Posted by: mark Categories: Moviemakers Movies
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https://www.avclub.com/nicole-holofcener-indie-filmmaking-comments-black-widow-1851575986 Per the AV Club and The Hollywood Reporter: “Independent movies when I was coming up in the ’90s were really exciting and open, and studios were willing to take chances on me—weirdos. I was at Sundance with Todd Solondz and Quentin Tarantino,” Holofcener said during a Q&A at the Czech Republic’s Karlovy Vary International […]

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9Jun

Kiss or Kill (1997)

Posted by: mark Categories: Moviemakers Movies
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Kiss or Kill is a film noir in every way except for its visuals. It’s a crime thriller featuring two hapless con artists who accidentally kill a mark and go on the run across the Australian outback. So instead of dark alleys and underground nightclubs we get blazing hot deserts, out of the way motels, […]

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Run Lola Run
18May

Run Lola Run (1998)

Posted by: mark Categories: Moviemakers Movies
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Run Lola Run is everything one goes to the movies for. It has action, crime, ironic comedy, hotly-burning young love, and sharply-realized characters. It also has meditations on destiny, free will, and the plasticity of time. Tom Tykwer, the brilliant writer-director-co-composer, has stuffed every idea he possibly conceived into the brisk 80 minutes of running […]

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11May

The 1990s: Thirteen Movies

Posted by: mark Categories: Movies
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The 1990s were not the best decade artistically for independent filmmaking (not when compared to the 1960s and 70s), but it was the best time for getting your indie movie seen. Small distributors (Miramax, October/Artisan, Island) released films that enough people saw to keep indie theaters thriving. Sundance became a household name in the 1990s, […]

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29Feb

13 Movies: Lovely & Amazing

Posted by: mark Categories: Movies
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Written and directed by Nicole Holofcener I am not opposed to nudity in movies. As with violence, swearing, and other transgressions, I am staunchly opposed to it when its sole purpose is to titillate. Nudity for the sake of sensationalism betrays an artistic laziness similar to blowing something up or swooping in with an unnecessary […]

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24Feb

13 Movies: My Neighbor Totoro

Posted by: mark Categories: Moviemakers Movies
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Written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki The two girls enter the house. They don’t want to be here, away from friends and school. But their mother is in a rural hospital, and dad has moved them to this rental to be closer to her. In the midst of this unease, they open a door and […]

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Denzel Washington in Spike Lee's Malcolm X
22Feb

13 Movies: Malcolm X

Posted by: mark Categories: Moviemakers Movies
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Directed by Spike Lee, screenplay by Arnold Perl and Lee based on The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Malcolm X as told to Alex Haley If any filmmaker working today could claim the legacy of David Lean, it would be Steven Spielberg. The man who brought us Raiders of the Lost Ark, Empire of the […]

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Triumph of the Will screen shot
18Feb

13 Movies: Triumph of the Will

Posted by: mark Categories: Moviemakers Movies
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Directed by Leni Riefenstahl The list of reviled movies everyone should see is short. In fact, I would say there is only one reprehensible film that makes the list: Triumph of the Will, a film not only about Adolf Hitler, but one that helped elevate him to power and is therefore responsible for the Holocaust […]

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