Required Reading: The Best, The Worst and The American Fellini
Columbia Pictures
The best movie culture writing from around the internet-o-sphere.
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“RIP Paul Mazursky” – Sam Adams at Indiewire rounds up some beautiful thoughts on a powerful filmmaker – the man Mel Brooks calls the American Fellini.
“Halftime Report: The Best Movies of 2014 So Far” – The Movie Mezzanine Staff offers a crazy diverse listing that travels through bleak blockbusters, epic animated fare, dystopian thought-breakers and two movies where we stay in the same moving vehicle for the bulk of the run time. Now if only someone could combine all of these together to make the greatest movie of all time.
“The Worst and Most Disappointing Films of 2014 So Far” – Hey, look at that. Just so you weren’t overwhelmed with positivity, The Playlist Staff does something clever by spotlighting high hopes that crashed to earth, covered in melting wax and feathers.
“I Am The Real Nick Cave” – John Wray, New York Times, profile of the baddest seed. I’ll assume you already clicked on it.
“Why I’d Like to Be…Christian Slater in True Romance” – Ben Child joins in for a Guardian feature where writers share the movie characters they secretly emulate or want to act like. This one definitely doesn’t get dark at all.
“If a Slasher Isn’t Fun, What Is It?” – Brian Collins at Badass Digest reviews Scream Factory’s new release of 1983’s Final Terror, asking if a body doesn’t get chopped down in the woods, and people are around to see it, what the hell genre is this again?
“However it doesn’t feel like they’re trying to circumvent the slasher or actively go against its “rules” – it seems more like they merely forgot to kill off more of the cast. On his (impossibly dull) commentary, Davis points out that he doesn’t like horror movies and has never made another one, so it almost seems like he kept the body count low, not because he wanted to go against the grain or make some sort of statement, but simply because he wasn’t interested in filming any more carnage than he had to. If anything, he seems more engaged with his photography, as he was also the film’s DP – the movie looks pretty great compared to other woods-based horror flicks of the era (with several soon-to-be famous cast members making it look even classier), and he opted for some unusual techniques, such as lighting a bus attack scene using only the in-camera flashlights. Add in the several shots of wildlife and sun poking through the trees, and you have what I’m sure someone will call a Terrence Malick slasher movie.”
“107 Reasons You Need to See Richard Linklater’s Boyhood” – Peter Sciretta at Slashfilm wins.
