I've read Daney, who was kind of André Bazin's heir at the head of Cahiers. Good stuff.

@Scrawler2:disqus Thanks!

Of course I would never ask you to out anybody! I was wondering about openly gay critics or critics who have a different take on the sexuality of the films (which does not necessarily imply that the critic might be gay, bisexual, or otherwise).

Can you recommend a critic (or critics) who is as upfront about their own bias, but who reacts differently to the sexuality of the films, on the subject of *Stranger by the Lake,* *Behind the Candelabra,* and *Blue is the Warmest Color*? Part of the issue, I think, is that the male heterosexual critic's response can…

They used it on Will, too, when he, as VanderWerff puts it, waved away a potential male suitor.

The whole presentation scene was hilarious, and the blank screen idea reminded me of the project "A Lecture" by experimental filmmaker Hollis Frampton. http://www.criterion.com/cu…

@avclub-1a9500054bc5eaaa163acff0dac63754:disqus I did wonder if the PWS Anderson mention was a joke. D'oh!

@Unregistered4Life Point taken about the shortcomings of the post. I thought it made sense to say that after a few tries at writing/directing had proven ineffective, with directing winning out, the writing should stop from then on. I was talking about future screenplays, not the ones they'd already worked on. But I've…

Yeah, I didn't like *Doomsday* or *Centurion,* but I agree that *Dog Soldiers* and *The Descent* are very good. After Doomsday it seemed to me he had clearly run out of ideas, since Doomsday looked like Marshall had chosen a number of films he liked and written scenes that would allow him to recreate part of those…

No, I did mean PTA. I posted a reply above explaining why which answers all of your questions (if probably not satisfactorily).

Yeah, I wouldn't say Refn belongs to that list because I too believe those films you  mention are cracking good films indeed.

*12 Monkeys* he didn't write, and it was awesome (that was the work of the great David Webb Peoples and his wife Janet, working from Chris Marker's idea). And he's had collaborators on most of his other films, if I'm not mistaken. So I'm not sure I'd put him there entirely. But 12 Monkeys showed he can really work…

Ah, good one. Thanks.

Hehe, yeah. But he actually inspired the list. I still think he can do great things with atmosphere and create striking images. But his latest stuff (The Last Airbender in particular) have put that idea to the test for me.

That's why I said PTA sometimes, because he can absolutely make brilliant movies as a writer/director. Actually, like wolfmansRazor said, I'm thinking of directors whose talent for directing seems to me to visibly surpass their writing abilities. It's a debate I've had with other film enthusiasts of whether these two…

The difference between *Drive* and *Only God Forgives* might be screenwritier Hossein Amini, who worked on the former. I wonder if Refn will join my growing list of directors who should only direct other people's scripts and never their own (other members include Shyamalan, Neil Marshall, sometimes Paul Thomas…

But then again, that year they also gave *Volver* the screenplay award. So the spread wasn't great then.

The acting awards at Cannes are certainly in a position where they can serve to spread the wealth. Almodóvar's *Volver* won the Best Actress prize for all of his female ensemble. It seems, given the way Cannes categories work, that it is the only one where the jury can come to such a decision. And is it safe to say…

I believe you're certainly right that the writers do try to connect Vic with Mike, but at a much deeper level than their shared positions as "public servants gone rogue." Nowalk points out that Claudette offers Vic a chance for projection in the scene with Lou, and that's true, but there's a second moment of…

Agree and agree. Next season the show has a chance to really go insane and global.Is there any word that they will show what is going on outside what once was the USA?