OK, so I haven't posted anything new in a while, but there are exciting things on the way. My annual top ten list and other best of 2008 stuff will be posted soon. I'm going to launch a new column on the site. "The Masterpieces". Essentially, it is a rip off of Roger Ebert's ongoing "Great Movies", which you can find
here. Basically, I will, from time to time, add a movie (any movie, as long as it's worthy) to a growing list of what I consider to be true masterpieces. I'm not sure if I'll write full reviews or try something new...We'll see. Hopefully, I'll see some new movies soon so I can post some reviews as well. I plan to see Doubt upon release, as well as The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, but the truth is that I've seen most everything I plan to in the near future. I'm going to do some thinking and try to come up with some more neat stuff. Wish me luck.
In the meantime, I highly recommend a trip to criterion.com and their partners theauteurs.com. Since Criterion redesigned their site last month (click
here for a sick intro video to their site), this has been my favourite place on the Internet. The Auteur's forums have a great community of film lovers discussing anything to do with movies. I myself tend to post everyday under my creative online handle, "Adam Cook".
The best thing to come of the Criterion/Auteurs partnership is a monthly online film festival. Each month on The Auteurs, there will be a themed festival featuring Criterion films. Right now it is "Cruel Stories of Youth". The best part of the festival? All the movies are available to watch, in considerably high quality...for free. So head on over and start watching
here. I watched the film, Fat Girl. I recommend it. I'll try to check out as many films in the festival each month as I can and I'll post my thoughts here.
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4 comments:
The Criterion releases are pretty cool. I never understood Criterion though, they state their mission as being "dedicated to gathering the greatest films from around the world." And they do have great films in there like North by Northwest, 12 Angry Men, Seven Samurai, etc. but then they also have Armageddon and The Rock. Don't get me wrong, I find Michael Bay entertaining, but saying his films are the greatest is a bit of a stretch.
It should be noted North By Northwest and 12 Angry Men were released by Criterion back in the days of laserdiscs but, are not part of their "official" collection nor their DVD catalogue.
The inclusion of Bay's films is a peculiar mistake, but a forgivable one when considering it takes up 2 out of 500-ish films in a continuously growing collection. Some would also criticize their incorporation of Robocop (still, much better than Armageddon or The Rock) and Chasing Amy (one of my most treasured films). While I, along with many others rush to the defense of "Amy", Bay's films aren't so lucky, and justifiably so. I wouldn't worry though, Criterion must have learned their lesson, so Transformers won't be sneaking it's way into the collection anytime soon.
I do love the fact that the Criterion "stamp" pretty much brands a film as a masterpiece and it's fun to see movies I love be honoured this way, but the true value of Criterion is the spotlight they shine on must-sees one would otherwise never see. I've discovered films and film makers through the Criterion library that have enriched my experience as a cinephile.
The thing about RoboCop is that it isn't just your standard action movie. Unlike Bay's formulaic cookie-cutter movies Robo was actually quite smart. It's full of critiques and satire of the human condition, the role of media, the problems with urbanization, poverty, and commercialization. The sequels were a little meh, but the original is what I'd consider a classic - especially if you are a sci-fi action junkie.
Also, I just noticed they have Life Aquatic on there. It seems to me that Criterion picks a director they like and they nominate all their films. Bottle Rocket, Rushmore, and Tenenbaums...ok I guess. I probably don't agree so much with Tenenbaums being on there. But Life Aquatic I'm definitely skeptical about that being on there.
Wes Anderson is one of my favourite film makers. It's so rare to find a true auteur in the industry. I love all of his movies, Tenenbaums and Rushmore being two of my favourite movies of all time. Mind you, in the case of Tenenbaums it took a few viewings to completely get into it. Ever since I did it has been a movie and I can re-watch again and again and enjoy it more each time.
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