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Christian Bale in Talks to Play Dick Cheney for Adam McKay
Amy Adams and Steve Carrell also in negotiations.After a string of blockbuster comedies starring Will Ferrell — Anchorman, The Other Guys, Step Brothers — writer-director Adam McKay side-stepped a...
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When Obscure Movies Become More Obscured by Bad Remakes
Some fine original works are going even further out of style.Remakes, they tell us, do no harm to the original works. The first movie will always be there for us to enjoy. I admit, I’m one of “they,”...
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‘Breaking Bad’ — Best Pilot Ever?
It’s a rhetorical question, as this excellent video proves.Seems like every time a television series ends, the same question pops up: what are the greatest TV finales ever? But for some reason the...
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Let’s Keep Talking About Big Little Lies
And how it’s set a new benchmark for Prestige TV.I’m finding that writing about Big Little Lies is extraordinarily difficult, because an itemization of its merits as a piece of craft are inevitably...
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The Curious Gaze of Alfred Hitchcock: A Point-of-View Supercut
All the ways there are to see according to the Master of Suspense.The cinema of Alfred Hitchcock is one of curiosity, nearly all his films are motivated by it, whether internal to a character — a...
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The Case for ‘Death Proof’ as Essential Tarantino
Tarantino has promises to keep and miles to go before he sleeps.Rip it, drop the title card, call it Death Proof, re-release it!“‘Death Proof’ has got to be the worst movie I ever make. And for a...
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Review — ‘Bokeh’ Is Devastatingly Beautiful and Beautifully Devastating
‘Bokeh’ Is Devastatingly Beautiful and Beautifully DevastatingIf you have to be depressed and alone somewhere there are far worse places to go than Iceland.Isolation can be a terrifying experience. The...
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‘Two Men, Two Cows, Two Guns’ is an Equation for a Darkly Farcical Film
Short of the DayFrom writer-director Pardis Parker.As a parent-to-be of two adopted children, I can tell you firsthand that home visits from social workers are stressful under the best of...
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Trials and Tribulations: The Art of Adapting Kafka
Should all adaptations of classic works be faithful?In an interview with the BBC’s Hew Wheldon, Orson Welles set out his philosophy concerning adaptation, more specifically, his willingness to...
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Let’s Go to Green Gables with the New Trailer for Netflix’s ‘Anne’
It’s a feminist re-imagining in Netflix’s latest series.Last Tuesday, Netflix released the first full-length trailer for their new series, Anne. Working with Canadian network CBC, the eight-episode...
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Animation as a Fallback
How ‘Smurfs,’ ‘Ghostbusters,’ ‘Ghost in the Shell’ and more are keeping their brands alive after live-action disappointments.As the live-action Hollywood version of Ghost in the Shell looks to lose...
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Why the Last 30 Seconds of ‘Prisoners’ is Perfect Storytelling
An original OPS/FSR video essay.Denis Villeneuve’s 2013 film Prisoners, written by Aaron Guzikowski, is a taut, labyrinthine thriller that doesn’t really resolve itself until the last 30 seconds before...
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‘The Hidden’s Meaning: What It Means To Be Human
The zeitgeist of one of the 80s more insane buddy cop flicks.Buddy cop movies are plentiful to be sure, in fact, when The Hidden was released in 1987, it wasn’t even the biggest buddy cop flick of the...
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‘The Art of Ghost in the Shell’ Highlights the Film’s Greatest Strength
Production design, characters, and more come alive in new coffee table book.Regardless of where you stand on Ghost in the Shell 2017’s story, performances, and overall existence, there’s one thing most...
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The Tao of Nicolas Cage: The Cage Cage
Step inside a wonderful cage where all your wildest fantasies become reality.All the Cage.Earlier this week the esteemed and never grumpy Christopher Campbell brought to my attention a brand-new VR...
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Dueling Metropoles: Comparing Niihama from Oshii’s ‘Ghost in the Shell’ with...
A new video painstakingly recreates shots from the anime in the real world.Is it too late to talk about the utter shitshow that is the live-action remake of Ghost in the Shell? What’s that? Oh, it is?...
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A Brief History of Casting Talent Over Resemblance for Biopics
How important is resemblance, really?As we mentioned in our newsletter yesterday, Christian Bale is reportedly in talks to star as former vice president Dick Cheney in an Adam McKay helmed biopic,...
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‘At the End of the Cul-de-Sac’ is a Frightening Fable and a Filmmaking First
Short of the DayA breakdown with extreme consequences.We’re going to finish this week with something really, really neat, and a filmmaking first. The short in question is called At the End of the...
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The Inside Story of One Perfect Shot
This week’s Big Idea pod is here with a discussion about the inception, sale, and future of One Perfect Shot.In this week’s edition of The Big Idea, Neil sits down with One Perfect Shot founder and...
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The Return of ‘Better Call Saul’ and ‘MST3K’ and More TV You Must See This Week
This month is packed with great television. A lot of our favorite shows are returning for new seasons and, in one special case, a resurrected series. Plus there are exciting shows and movies making...
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