Hmm, I don't see much of the French New Wave in Polanski's style, now or then. His films seem to me much more influenced by Hitchcock and Bunuel, as well as long-take masters like Jancso and Tarkovsky (look at Chinatown for a film with a surprisingly long ASL for a Hollywood production — mostly because it's much more…

I'd say as far as Polanski goes, only Chinatown is better. This is one disturbing and well-crafted movie, and it just gets better each time. I don't quite get the love for Repulsion or The Pianist. The Ghost Writer, Bitter Moon and Death and the Maiden are all much better, and rank up there with Rosemary.…

And, to continue from your analysis, it seems to me like the film is very much depicting the way that people can be so separate from each other, the way they hole up in their solipsistic bubbles — and how this kind of living makes compassion and care for one's fellow man, or any larger issues, pretty difficult (c.f.…

There may be some exceptions, but I think that for the most part each episode was basically just a single day, or two at the most. There's no break between S1/2 and S2/3, either, so it's pretty much just 22 days or so.

Goddamnit, that was spectacular and powerful beyond words. Before watching I was apprehensive about the prospect of only showing Daniel — but now I feel it was a brilliant, brilliant decision. It almost makes me wish the rest of the season was the same, but then I remember how much I need to see what happens to…

Foley and Gyllenhaal both did a terrific job I thought. Edel was alright but was saddled with a bad script. Keaton was saddled with a weak script AND directed the episode terribly, the definition of over-direction.

Well put. It's an extremely dreamlike film — only 3 Women, After Hours, and the bulk of Lynch's output compete with it in terms of that — but I wouldn't say it's literally a dream or anything. I really am surprised that there's still so many people around here who hate it. I remember when it was on the New Cult Canon…

Its stature has risen a lot in the past several years, and not only due to the increase in conspiracy theories on it (plus Room 237 etc). I'm very glad about this because it's my favorite film not just by Kubrick but anyone — I'd gladly trade all of Kubrick's other films for EWS, and I say that as someone who adores…

Kubrick thought that it was his greatest film. He was correct.

One of the worst commonly accepted falsehoods surrounding Spielberg's mess of a film (albeit, a much more interesting work than most of that hack's output) is that Kubrick "passed on" A.I. to Spielberg to direct, that he intended Spielberg to have it. Not at all — this is pure retroactive Spielberg propaganda, to make…

Yeah, I mean I'm pretty certain that virtually every shot focused on a person in the entire series is off-center, framing them usually in the bottom corner of the image. It's been so prominent since the first episode and it's so unusual for television that I never fail to notice it. (However, the show does a good job…

Great news! Thanks for sharing. I suspected he might not be able to resist the temptation…

One movie doesn't have the monopoly on fiction about the porn industry in the 70s and 80s. I'm sure the NY angle alone, plus Simon's distinctive style, will make it quite different.

There's actually an entire book that argues the Unabomber and the Zodiac Killer are one and the same. I actually read it once. It actually made some very good points, though in the end I definitely disagree. Logically speaking it'd be the biggest coincidence ever if they were the same person.

Agreed. I find The Blackout, New Rose Hotel, 'R Xmas, Mary and Go Go Tales to all be varying levels of superb, as well. His films since then are noticeably weaker but still interesting.

That kind of reverting back to the safe money-making mainstream after a period of unusual artistry seems to happen a lot in not just music but other art, like film. It's similar to the commonly told (but basically true) narrative of the New Hollywood era, where gritty, dark, personal films like Badlands and The…

I don't know, I really like The Americans but I wouldn't say it's one of the more moving shows out there — I think its forte is more the "pulpy thrills" you mention, pure plot momentum plus detailed character work. Rectify, by contrast, is just one of the most emotionally-wrenching shows I've ever seen.

Damn, I really hope you're wrong. This is such an awful development for the AV Club, I've always loved their classic TV reviews and it would be great, for example, if they went back and covered The Wire (God knows there's certainly an audience for that). But now it's like they're just focused on the most superficial…

Despite the fact that I've seen three of his films and think two of them are awful (Deer Hunter and Desparate Hours) and one is pretty decent (Heaven's Gate), I have a certain sympathy for Cimino. I think he should have gotten more chances, at least. His style was so grandiose and operatic it made De Palma look like…

It's probably my favorite album of theirs, with A Moon Shaped Pool a close second. I love the whole atmosphere of it, it's so mysterious.