Great Movies
Tributes
“This Is The Life, Isn’t It?” Martin Mull: 1943-2024
A tribute to the acclaimed comedian, musician, and actor, best known for Clue and Arrested Development.
A tribute to the acclaimed comedian, musician, and actor, best known for Clue and Arrested Development.
The latest and greatest on Blu-ray and streaming includes Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, and Criterion editions of Bound, Blue Velvet, and The Underground Railroad.
Quentin Dupieux's absurdist comedy Deerskin opened Directors' Fortnight. Chloë Sevigny adds balance to the deadpan humor of Jim Jarmusch's The Dead Don't Die.
A review of Jim Jarmusch's new film with Bill Murray and Adam Driver.
New Blu-ray and streaming options, including Bumblebee, The Mule, and Criterion releases of two Jim Jarmusch films.
The RE staff on some of their favorite performances of 2018.
Reviews from the New York Film Festival of the latest by Alfonso Cuaron, Alex Ross Perry, the Coen brothers and Julian Schnabel.
A look at the 1993 short "The Junky's Christmas," narrated by William S. Borroughs and produced by Francis Ford Coppola.
The 67th Cannes Film Festival kicks off with an original, adventurous and beautiful film from the great Mike Leigh.
Richard Linklater's long-gestating"Boyhood"; "Gravity" opens Venice Film Festival; how social media giants should police their sites; haters are gonna hate; life is meaningless in "The Canyons"; Obama's speech commemorating the March on Washington's 50th anniversary; a '70s Tom Waits documentary.
Marie writes: There was a time when Animation was done by slaves with a brush in one hand and a beer in the other. Gary Larson's "Tales From the Far Side" (1994) was such a project. I should know; I worked on it. Produced by Marv Newland at his Vancouver studio "International Rocketship", it first aired as a CBS Halloween special (Larson threw a party for the crew at the Pan Pacific Hotel where we watched the film on a big screen) and was later entered into the 1995 Annecy International Animated Film Festival, where it won the Grand Prix. It spawned a sequel "Tales From the Far Side II" (1997) - I worked on that too. Here it is, below.
Marie writes: The unseen forces have spoken! The universe has filled a void obviously needing to be filled: there is now a font made entirely of cats. Called Neko Font (Japanese for "cat font") it's a web app that transforms text into a font comprised of cat pictures. All you need to do is write something in the text box, press "enter" on your keyboard and Neko Font instantly transforms the letters into kitties! Thanks go to intrepid club member Sandy Kahn for alerting the Ebert Club to this important advancement in typography. To learn more, read the article "There is now a font made entirely of cats" and to test it out yourself, go here: Neko Font. Meanwhile, behold what mankind can achieve when it has nothing better to do....
"American Masters: Inventing David Geffen" premieres Tuesday, Nov. 20th at 8:00pm on PBS. (Check local listings.) It can also be viewed, where available, via PBS On Demand.
by Jeff Shannon
It was my good fortune to be working at Microsoft when the big announcement was made in March of 1995: Microsoft was entering into a joint venture with DreamWorks SKG, the new film studio and entertainment company founded the previous year by mega-moguls Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen (the "SKG" in the company's original moniker). At the time, Microsoft dominated the booming business of multimedia publishing, and the group I was working in, nicknamed "MMPUB," was producing a dazzling variety of CD-ROM games and reference guides. As an independent contractor I was the assistant editor of Cinemania, a content-rich, interactive movie encyclopedia (later enhanced with a website presence) that was an elegant and in some ways superior precursor to the Internet Movie Database.
Marie writes: I may have been born in Canada, but I grew-up watching Sesame Street and Big Bird, too. Together, they encouraged me to learn new things; and why now I can partly explain string theory.That being the case, I was extremely displeased to hear that were it up Romney, as President he wouldn't continue to support PBS. And because I'm not American and can't vote in their elections, I did the only thing I could: I immediately reached for Photoshop....
(Click image to enlarge.)
Marie writes: As TIFF 2012 enters its last week and the Grand Poobah nurses his shoulder in Chicago (having returned home early for that reason) the Newsletter presents the final installment of Festival trailers. There was a lot to chose from, so many in fact there was no room for theatrical releases; they'll return next week. Meanwhile, enjoy!
"Dear Mr. Spider;I am profoundly sorry to have taken you from your home in the woods, when I was picking Himalayan Blackberries on Monday afternoon. I didn't see you fall into my bucket and which was entirely my fault; I must have bumped into your web while reaching for a berry. Needless to say, I was surprised upon returning home with my bucket full, to suddenly see you there standing on a blackberry and looking up at me." - Marie
(photo recreation of incident)
Charles Bukowski died on his day in 1994. His voice is open and fearless, romantic, honest. He probably has a whole generation of writers getting drunk and wondering why they can't write like that.
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In Big Ed's during the filming of "Barfly." Left to right, Bukowski, Ebert, Faye Dunaway, visiting fireman Andre Konchalovsky.
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My story about a day on location with "Barfly."
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Tom O'Bedlam reads Bukowski's incomparable "Who in the Hell is Tom Jones?"
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Bukowski sits in the back set of a convertible and gives a running commentary along Hollywood Boulevard.
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Bukowski photos and a song by Johnny Cash
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Bono reads "Roll the Dice" by Bukowski
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Charles Bukowski Reads "The Fire Station"
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Tom Waits reads Bukowski's "The Laughing Heart," Hanks version of Ecclesiates 7, 3 -12:
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Marie writes: I have no words. Beyond the obvious, that is. And while I'm okay looking at photos, the video.... that was another story. I actually found myself turning away at times, the suspense too much to bear - despite knowing in advance that he's alive and well and there was nothing to worry about. The bottom of my stomach still fell out...
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This is a free edited sample of the Christmas Newsletter.
For Roger's invitation to the Club, go here.
From the Grand Poobah and Mrs. Poobah:
Seasons Greetings Everyone!
