ReelPolitik

Sarah Palin Propagandist Bannon Unveils New Anti-Obama Doc

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 15:14:34 GMT

It was only a matter of time before documentary propagandists on the right would launch an anti-Obama screed. Watch out, folks, here we go: From the man who brought us the Sarah Palin hagiography...

Can "Rampart" Lead Millennium into New Era?

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 14:13:36 GMT

Whenever a company I don't expect comes along and picks up a film that I admire -- say when Fox Searchlight acquired "Shame" and "Martha Marcy May Marlene" last year or when...

Gael Garcia Bernal and Diego Luna Attacking Social Issues with Genre Fare

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 15:16:51 GMT

A production announcement about a new English-language genre franchise coming from Gael Garcia Bernal and Diego Luna's Mexico-based Canana Films caught my eye this morning for a number of...

"The Island President" Forced Out of Office at Gunpoint; Doc Filmmakers Respond to Unrest in Maldives

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:03:05 GMT

The star of upcoming documentary favorite "The Island President," charismatic Maldives president and climate change crusaser Mohammed Nasheed, was forced to resign from office at gunpoint...

"Iron Sky" Space Nazis Land in Berlin; Crowd-Funding Giant Could Impact Indies

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 16:56:25 GMT

"Iron Sky," a Finnish sci-fi epic about Nazis who have been hiding out in the moon since WWII, is finally having its world premiere, at the Berlin Film Festival this Saturday, and according...

From Sundance to Eastwood, Detroit as Emblem of America's Collapse (and Recovery?)

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 00:54:31 GMT

Once you start looking, it's amazing how much media you can find being made these days about America's most beleagured city: Detroit. As a microcosm for the country's economic depression...

Will "A Separation" Oscar Win Hurt or Help Iranian Cinema?

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 14:47:00 GMT

It's practically a forgone conclusion that "A Separation," Asghar Farhadi's incisive examination of domestic and class struggle in Iran, will win the award for Best Foreign Language...

America's Dubious War on Drugs: Pot Busts and Eugene Jarecki's Sundance Winner "The House I Live In"

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:53:39 GMT

Yesterday, news broke that New York City police had arrested more than 50,000 people on low-level marijuana charges last year despite being told dubious tactics--such as...

New Doc "Windfall" Takes Sails out of Wind Power

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 19:33:08 GMT

If you're like me, you probably thought wind turbines offered one of the best possible solutions for our global energy crisis. Turns out they're not the green panacea we've all been...

How Overrated is "Beasts of the Southern Wild"?

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 15:49:14 GMT

One of the best films to play at Sundance in two decades? I don't think so. Admittedly, I'm no Manohla Dargis, who made such a pronounced vote of confidence for the rough-and-tumble...

Sundance 2012: The Great, the Good, and the Blah

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 17:14:46 GMT

I'm finished with Sundance 2012. And despite some painfully frustrating circuitous shuttle rides, this year's American independent movie brouhaha was a fairly good one. As I have mentioned...

In Defense of "Compliance," Sundance's Most Divisive Movie

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 01:19:07 GMT

I can't get Craig Zobel's "Compliance" out of my head. Like a migraine that won't go away, this nasty enervating movie is really sticking. It's the only movie I saw at...

Strong Sundance Docs Raise Specter of Racism in U.S. and Abroad

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 21:04:46 GMT

I haven't yet seen "Slavery by Another Name," a new documentary that's premiering in Sundance this week, but the title evokes a theme I've seen running through a number of docs...

Fiercely Independent: "Simon Killer," "Beasts," "Keep the Lights On" at Sundance

Sat, 21 Jan 2012 16:38:12 GMT

Not long ago on this blog I called for the celebration of non-corporate films in non-corporate theaters. Well, at Sundance, I've been pleasantly surprised by the committed and audacious indie...

This Year's Foreign Oscar Snubs: "Separation" In; "Bala" Out

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 18:38:52 GMT

Oh, why do I even still bother? Predictably disappointing, but still somewhat grating, the Academy Awards have announced their short-list for the Best Foreign Language Film of the year, and the...

Does Digital Spell the End of the Art House?

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 18:13:14 GMT

I did not attend Art House Convergence, the annual event in Park City, Utah that precedes Sundance and gathers together the leading lights of community theaters and small art house venues around the...

Will Sundance 2012 Be Any Good? 4 Films to Watch

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 16:54:33 GMT

As I've written before, I'm not crazy about Sundance as an experience, but I do like a number of the films that play there. Last year, my favorites included "Perfect Sense,"...

The Mathematics of Sundance, or Size Doesn't Matter; Inverse Proportionality in Park City

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 23:17:46 GMT

With the Sundance Film Festival right around the corner, I thought it would be appropriate to re-publish a little post I wrote some time ago in the waning days of the 2008 fest. Originally published...

MoMA's (Still) Missing Film Stills? Not Exactly.

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 00:52:19 GMT

In 2002, the Museum of Modern Art closed off its venerable Film Stills Achive--an essential resource for archivists and academics--and fired its chief staffers Mary Corliss and Terry Geesken, causing...

Indie Theaters Left in the Dark by 3-D Boom

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 14:40:29 GMT

With the releases of 3D documentaries "Cave of Forgotten Dreams" and "Pina," and an increasing number of auteurs considering the format, the question inevitably arises: Can...

Prop-docs: The Rightwing Media and "When Mitt Romney Came to Town"

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 14:36:10 GMT

Ever since Fox News arrived on our cultural scene, the rightwing media has cultivated an aesthetics of clumsy propaganda and broad cliched imagery that has spread like a virus among conservative...

(UPDATED) Will Oscar Shaft Truly Indie Docs? They Already Have.

Mon, 09 Jan 2012 00:46:09 GMT

It's hard to believe that the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences and its Oscar documentary branch are instilling a new rule that docs would have to receive a review in the New York or...

4 Ways to Keep the Indie Film Biz Thriving

Fri, 06 Jan 2012 13:23:52 GMT

As part of Variety's celebration of Sony Pictures Classics' 20 year anniversary, I spoke to co-presidents Michael Barker and Tom Bernard ("Steady as she grows") after their best...

With Firing of Film Critic J. Hoberman, Indie Film Biz Loses Out

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 02:29:41 GMT

When the news came out that longtime critic J. Hoberman had been fired from the Village Voice, the Twitter feeds and film blogs immediately went aflutter with praise for Hoberman and fury at the...

Iran's Hardliners Shutter Filmmakers' Guild

Wed, 04 Jan 2012 16:04:37 GMT

At a time when Iranian cinema is once again being heralded for its artistry and universal appeal -- with the release of Asghar Farhadi's "A Separation" and expatriate Rafi Pitts'...