American Cinema

Thoughts On ‘Days of Heaven’

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I recently viewed Terrence Malick’s Days of Heaven for the fourth or fifth time and it was no less impactful than it was the first time I saw it.  The blisteringly beautiful cinematography of Nestor Almendros and Haskell Wexler is the hallmark of this film which remains the quintessence of style of a master filmmaker.  The “little things” make all the difference in this film, like the shot of the wind blowing on the water and blades of grass.  Details like Sam Sheppard reaching out for Brooke Adams’ hand in the woods.  So many unforgettable moments such as the swarm of locusts descending on the farm, the imposing farmhouse designed and built by the great Jack Fisk in the distance as the migrants approach the property, and the way the camera seems to float in the stream and circle playfully around Gere and Adams.  Continue reading →

Top 10 Performances of 2013: #10

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10. Lupita Nyong’o: 12 Years A Slave

In the months since I posted my 12 Years piece on tumblr, the world has rightfully fallen in love with Ms. Nyong’o and it is safe to say she is an unknown no longer. The utter despair and pain captured in her performance continues to resonate.  This is the sort of performance you can feel in your bones and makes you squirm in your seat.  The whole film is like that, really, but her performance stands out in this respect because her situation is so uniquely desperate and hopeless.  She’s literally hard to watch at times, not because of the brutality she endures, but because the despair and sense of being trapped is so complete and dire in her face, in her actions, her voice.  Great work in what ought to be a star-making performance.  Now, if only the American film industry created roles for black women…

Defaulting To Whiteness: Sci-fi Futures, ‘Girls,’ & The Trouble With Colorblind Thinking

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Celebrity City

Media are reflections of the culture and society they represent and emerge from.  When one is alienated from certain media it likely stems from a lack of relatability on the part of the consumer in relation to the reflection in question.  In other words, the consumer doesn’t see themselves reflected in the product.  This is why, stereotypically, men don’t like daytime soap operas and romantic comedies, women don’t like sports and wrestling, and black people don’t like Seinfeld and the Winter Olympics (this black person actually loves Seinfeld as much as he hates the Winter Olympics, but we’re talking about stereotypes).  Continue reading →

Top 10 Performances of 2013

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1. Adele Exarchopoulos: Blue Is the Warmest Color

Some actors have “that face,” other actors have “those eyes.” Exarchopolous has both. Her’s was not the most polished performance this year, or the most mature, but it is the one that effected me the most emotionally. It’s the one that stuck in my head and refused to leave. I don’t think it sentimental for one to give marks for that: cinema, by it’s very nature is an art of manipulation of the emotions of the viewer, and actors are the vessels through which the viewers emphasize with the characters.  Continue reading →