Thompson on Hollywood

Now and Then: What Can We Demand of the Documentary--Subjects, Aesthetics, Goals and Business Models?

Features

This year, if you held your ear to the Oscar keyhole and listened hard enough, you might have discerned a slight disquiet. "Very strong category," people were saying about the nominees for Best Documentary Feature. "I loved all of them," they usually added. "But..." The "but" concerned the eventual winner, director Malik Bendjelloul's "Searching for Sugar Man." A soulful mystery about the American musician Rodriguez, who rose to prominence in South Africa and Australia a generation ago before being relegated to obscurity, "Sugar Man" was never discussed as anything less than deserving. In certain quarters, though, "Sugar Man" could be seen as insubstantial when placed against the other nominees, all weighing heavy political subjects: the Israeli/Palestinian conflict ("The Gatekeepers," "5 Broken Cameras"), military sexual assault ("The Invisible War"), and the AIDS crisis ("How to Survive a Plague").

By Matt Brennan
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March 12, 2013 3:22 PM
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Seeing VFX Is Believing, From Original 'Star Wars' and 'Superman' Franchises to Woody Allen's 'Zelig'

Features

“You’ll believe a man can fly.” That was the promise made to potential ticket-buyers during the fall and winter of 1978, when Richard Donner’s take on the Superman legend was being readied to soar across Christmastime movie screens all over America. We certainly never believed (nor were we asked to believe) that George Reeves, the Superman known to viewers of the popular TV series which ran from 1952 until 1958, could really fly.

By Dennis Cozzalio
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March 11, 2013 10:30 AM
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Who's Your Favorite Movie Pope?

Features

When it comes to films about the church, I’m partial to nun films ("The Nun’s Story," "The Sound of Music," "The Trouble With Angels," "Therese," "Black Narcissus") than pope movies, because the pontiff is usually a distant authoritarian rather than a fleshed-out character.

By Carrie Rickey
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March 11, 2013 9:24 AM
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The Industry: Bad Habits of the Entertainment Media

Features

A lot of loss this month. Time Warner is shedding its magazines. Variety is saying goodbye to its daily edition. And Yahoo is finally losing the jerk-off rule that allowed so many people to work from home in the first place. But the more things change, the more they stay the same.

By J.J. Hunsecker
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March 11, 2013 6:09 AM
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Test Your Mettle with Latest Sergio Leone and the Infield Fly Rule Movie Quiz

Features

Yes, fair pupils, it’s time once again break out the books and study aids, loosen your fingers, sharpen your #2s and settle into your seats, for the bell has rung and work will soon begin on a brand new Sergio Leone and the Infield Fly Rule movie quiz.

By Dennis Cozzalio
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March 8, 2013 3:56 PM
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Immersed in Movies: Puppet Cams, China Girl and VFX Wizardry in 'Oz the Great and Powerful'

Features

Bryan Singer and Sam Raimi both embraced lighter, kid-friendlier fables with "Jack the Giant Slayer" and "Oz the Great and Powerful," tapping into their inner child while pushing virtual production and 3-D with theatrical flair. While the results have been mixed (it's hard to pull off innocence after the post-modern "Shreking" of our culture), Disney placed serious pressure on Raimi, whose return to "Oz" was a bumpy ride.

By Bill Desowitz
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March 8, 2013 2:23 PM
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Who Should Direct Bond 24? Take Our Poll

Features

Now that Sam Mendes has dropped out of directing "Bond 24," who should helm the follow-up to the billion-dollar "Skyfall"? The new MI6 table's been set with M (Ralph Fiennes), Q (Ben Whishaw), and Moneypenny (Naomie Harris), and with no more rites of passage or existential crises to deal with, Daniel Craig's 007 is now fully formed and reporting for duty "with pleasure."

By Anne Thompson and Bill Desowitz
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March 7, 2013 4:17 PM
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Your Nominations for the Gender Bender Hall of Fame? [Video]

Features

“What is most beautiful in virile men is something feminine; what is most beautiful in feminine women is something masculine,” observed Susan Sontag, who was both a little butch and a lot beautiful.

By Carrie Rickey
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March 7, 2013 2:02 PM
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Ten Things I've Learned at the Movies, From Slicing Garlic with a Razorblade to Applying Lipstick

Features

Who says movies aren’t educational? I’ve learned a lot, frivolous and otherwise, while watching the big screen.

By Carrie Rickey
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March 6, 2013 12:37 PM
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The Big Send-Off: A Year of Movies 2012

Features

Here I am once again, landing just past the sell-by date for final considerations of the year in movies past, when all the Oscar hype and grist for the mill of 10-best lists everywhere gets recycled into enthusiasm, or lack thereof, for next year’s offerings and some burning incense to ward off the faint whiff of defeat in the air already in the wake of the year’s early offerings.