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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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Time After Time
17Feb

13 Movies: Time After Time

Posted by: mark Categories: Movies
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Directed by Nicholas Meyer, screenplay by Meyer from a story by Steve Hayes based on the novel by Karl Alexander Time After Time was a high concept movie before the term was in common use. For those not in the know, “high concept” refers to a story with a quick and easy hook, and Nicholas […]

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A Perfect Candidate, a documentary about the Oliver North-Chuck Robb 1994 Senate race
5Feb

13 Movies: A Perfect Candidate

Posted by: mark Categories: Movies
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Directed by R. J. Cutler and David Van Taylor Many documentaries are actually propaganda, and that’s okay. The Thin Blue Line, Harlan County, USA, and Bowling for Columbine wore their agenda on their sleeves. Salesman, in my opinion one of the best documentaries ever made, not so much. We travel along with these Bible salesmen […]

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The Colosseum destroyed by lightning in The Core
4Feb

13 Movies: The Core

Posted by: mark Categories: Movies
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Directed by Jon Amiel, written by Cooper Layne and John Rogers The Core is a dumb film. Dumb dumb dumb. The science is garbage. The very concept of drilling through the Earth’s mantle and setting off a nuke to jump start the spinning of the core is stupider than a box of rocks. If you’re […]

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1Feb

13 Movies: Topkapi

Posted by: mark Categories: Moviemakers Movies
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Directed by Jules Dassin, written by Monja Danischewsky, based on The Light of Day by Eric Ambler The bad guys are the good guys. This seems a simple, uncomplicated conceit. But to a 12-year-old boy weaned on Star Wars and Indiana Jones, this idea was revolutionary. Like Capricorn One and Time After Time, Topkapi was […]

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31Jan

13 Movies: Wall-E

Posted by: mark Categories: Moviemakers Movies
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Directed by Andrew Stanton, screenplay by Stanton and Jim Reardon, story by Stanton and Pete Docter I’m going to pick 13 movies. They may be an influence on my writing, on my filmmaking, or on my thinking. They may just be movies I like. There may be more than 13. From 1995’s Toy Story to 2019’s […]

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14Jan

13 Movies: American Psycho

Posted by: mark Categories: Moviemakers Movies
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Directed by Mary Harron, written by Harron and Guinevere Turner from the novel by Bret Easton Ellis I’m going to pick 13 movies. They may be an influence on my writing, on my filmmaking, or on my thinking. They may just be movies I like. There may be more than 13. Here’s a hot take. […]

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