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Tag Archives: Lars von Trier
“My films are about ideals that clash with the world. Every time it’s a man in the lead, they have forgotten about the ideals. And every time it’s a woman in the lead, they take the ideals all the way.” — Lars von Trier
It’s his birthday today. So … happy (?) birthday to this provocative sometimes-maddening always-fascinating auteur. Question mark due to the doubt that “happy” has anything to do with the Danish film director, who has been poking the bear from the … Continue reading
Lars von Trier’s Melancholia: Open Thread
It’s hard to “get into stuff” on Twitter, so I’m opening up a thread to discuss Lars von Trier’s Melancholia. I reviewed it when it first came out in 2011, and I also wrote the capsule review of it in … Continue reading
Year in Review: Running my mouth in 2014
I may write some magnum opus in the next two days, you never know, but here are links to some of the things I’ve written in 2014, here and elsewhere. I have worked hard to keep my site an eclectic … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Movies, Music, Personal
Tagged Alfred Wertheimer, Anna Magnani, Austria, Carroll Baker, Christopher Hitchens, Claude Rains, Eli Wallach, Elvis Presley, Eminem, France, friends, Gena Rowlands, Germany, Harry Potter, Howard Hawks, Inherent Vice, Iran, Iranian film, Israel, Italy, Jafar Panahi, Japan, Jim Jarmusch, Joan Crawford, John Cassavetes, Juliette Binoche, Kristen Wiig, Kwik Stop, Lars von Trier, Lauren Bacall, Lester Bangs, Liv Ullmann, Lon Chaney, Love Streams, Mark Twain, Martin Scorsese, Nicolas Cage, Orpheus Descending, Palestine, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Poland, Richard Linklater, Romania, Russia, Seth Rogen, Seymour Cassel, Sudden Fear, Supernatural, Sweden, Tennessee Williams, The Beatles, The Everly Brothers, Tommy Lee Jones, Trotsky, war, year in writing, Zac Efron
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My Favorite Films of 2014
My Top 10 (more in-depth commentary, and other writer’s choices over at Rogerebert.com): 1. Beyond the Lights, directed by Gina Prince-Blythewood. 2. Boyhood, directed by Richard Linklater. Review here. 3. Closed Curtain, directed by Jafar Panahi. Review here. 4. Force … Continue reading
Posted in Movies
Tagged Australia, Bong Joon-Ho, Denmark, documentary, France, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Germany, Iranian film, Jafar Panahi, Jean-Luc Godard, Jim Jarmusch, Josephine Decker, Kristen Stewart, Kristen Wiig, Lars von Trier, Paul Thomas Anderson, Poland, Richard Linklater, South Korea, Sweden, Vietnam, Wes Anderson, Zac Efron
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Review: Nymphomaniac: Vol. II (2014)
Part II of Lars von Trier’s Nymphomaniac. I loved Vol. I. Vol II is a bit more uneven, more conventional in many respects. I think a little Charlotte Gainsbourg (a very little) goes a long way, and Vol. II has … Continue reading
Posted in Movies
Tagged Denmark, Lars von Trier, reviews, sex drama, Stellan Skarsgård
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Review: Nymphomaniac, Vol. I (2014)
The movie people have already been talking about for a straight year. I went in curious. The experience of the film is so much fun, something I was not expecting at all. I knew it would be provocative, disturbing, possibly … Continue reading
Melancholy Manifest
I first saw this film at the NYFF in 2011, and have seen it 5 or 6 times since. It won’t let me go, and some of its images have actually been incorporated into my own psyche. I have felt … Continue reading