Andrew Rostan was a film student before he realized that making comics was his horrible destiny, but he’s never shaken his love of cinema. Every two weeks, he’ll opine on either current pictures or important movies from the past.
In an annual tradition, Andrew and Alex commence their Oscar coverage with this preview of how the nominations will work out. Andrew will return solo in two weeks with more in-depth movie reviews.
Kathleen Hanna in The Punk Singer (Allison Michael Orenstein/Opening Band Films)
If you’re a voracious documentary consumer like me, you’ve long since burned through the top-tier, can’t-miss films streaming online. You’ve seen all the hits, like Thin Blue Line, Hoop Dreams and Restrepo and are ready for the deep cuts. HuluPlus and Netflix are ever-growing repositories of documentary goodness, offering everything from Justin Bieber to genocide at the click of a button. But sorting through the huge selection of movies available can be daunting. And let me be frank: there’s a lot of crap out there. Never fear, I’ve done the work for you. Without further ado, here are the ten best under-the-radar documentaries currently streaming.
Oscar season, like the baseball season I spend much of the year covering, drags on. It’s literally a year-long discussion, and like baseball, has its peak months. We’re entering that stretch now, and it’s an amazing time. Over the next few months, we’ll see a barrage of high quality, high profile “Oscar movies” – a term I dislike because it somewhat discredits (in my opinion) the relative worth of the labeled film as an artistic piece in and of itself. With that being said, my tastes tend to lean towards what might be described as “long shots” – smaller movies with something to say that fall just short of being labeled front runners. (Think Her, Nebraska, and Before Midnight from last year.)
Recently, I’ve taken in two movies that will probably fall by the wayside as the season goes on through no fault of their own, but because they lack the narrative that propels movies like Dallas Buyers Club and the overwhelming weight of 12 Years a Slave.
This week’s article is a little bittersweet to write, because it is about a production that is close to me. We are taking a look at Waltzing Mechanics’ seventeenth edition of EL Stories: The New Kids in Town. As a member of this particular production, I wanted to shine a light on the wonderfully talented cast and crew that I have had the pleasure to work and learn from.
To give a little history Waltzing Mechanics was founded in 2010 by Thomas Murray, Keely Leonard, and Zachary Florent. The Mechanics work “to create original documentary theatre inspired by real people telling stories about their lives. Using methods of performance ethnography, we facilitate dialogues among our audiences and within our communities.” EL Stories is part of that endeavor, and is exactly what it sounds like: stories about being on the EL Train and the other public transportation around Chicago.
For this interview I sat down with the director of this edition of EL Stories, Rebecca Willett, who provided some insight with her experience on this production. [Read more…]
Andrew Rostan was a film student before he realized that making comics was his horrible destiny, but he’s never shaken his love of cinema. Every two weeks, he’ll opine on either current pictures or important movies from the past.
Thirty days before Christmas, one of this year’s best gifts for the film fan will be released. Criterion Designs is a 300-page coffee table book documenting the art of the Criterion Collection. Since 1984, first on laserdisc and now on DVD and Blu-Ray, Criterion has been responsible for reissuing the greatest films ever made in the best possible formats—they popularized letterboxing, restoration, and commentary tracks.
With all this, any fan will tell you that the hallmark of the collection is its design. World-class illustrators and designers work on each new release to create iconic imagery that, minimalist or elaborate, can tell an entire story in a single frame. (Indeed, Criterion art is now so distinctive that many outstanding parody sites have sprung up that give the label’s treatment to much less-deserving films.) The treat of Criterion Designs is in its presentation of sketches and first drafts, culminating in a gallery of every single cover. It’s an art lover’s dream…
That should also serve to make one go out and watch some of the movies. The Criterion Collection’s presentation, for all its aesthetics, is ultimately packaging—but packaging in the best “form serving content” sense. Last week, I wrote about Karina Longworth’s podcast You Must Remember This, and in one episode Longworth discussed how we have so few of the earliest films ever made because producers would simply throw film stock away. The Criterion Collection, in the care it lavishes, is an affirmation that film is not disposable but one of our highest art forms, a dramatic and visual experience like no other that is worth preserving and elevating.
Tell someone that you’re playing a light civilization game that’s really fun, and you might as well tell them there’s a unicorn in your apartment’s laundry room.
One of the defining features of a “civ” or 4X game, whether video or tabletop, is its satisfying depth and heavy long-term planning. Translating that into something which is both strategic and fun in less than two hours seems like a fantastical goal.
Behold the unicorn.
Hyperborea hits that goal for me. The more I’ve played it since I picked it up at Gen Con, the more I think this was my favorite takeaway from the con. It’s innovative, beautiful, and fun — while it doesn’t hit all the deep notes that civ games do, it hits many of them in a different and interesting timbre.
We’ve all seen the announcements, major events reminiscent of Apple conventions, wherein the stuff of comic books are plotted out in their latest big screen adventures. This year, both Marvel and DC have declared (civil?) war upon movie screens and wallets across America. Over the next six years, there will be over 40 (!) superhero movies featuring the characters of the two comics publishers released, setting the tone for blockbusters for the immediate future to come. On the surface, this sounds exciting – there’s never been a better time to be a comic-book movie fan.
And that might not necessarily be a good thing.
Rosamund Pike stars as Amy (seen here), and Ben Affleck as Nick. (image via)
It’s been a few weeks, so hopefully you’ve had the chance to get yourself acquainted with Gone Girl by now — be it by reading Gillian Flynn’s 2012 mind-bending novel, or by seeing the author-written screenplay film adaptation that came out last month. If not, be warned: Spoilers lie here. (Lots of them!)
This picture is worth more than a thousand words. Karina Longworth speaks those words.
Karina Longworth is overqualified to talk about movies. She holds three degrees in film (the first coming from our own School of the Art Institute of Chicago), co-founded the late, lamented Cinematical web site, and until recently served as chief critic for the venerable LA Weekly. Longworth left that position because, as she told rogerebert.com, she found being forced to have opinions on so many films she didn’t care about was less interesting than researching and asking deeper questions about films she did care about. Today, Longworth is a multiply-published author, a college teacher…and one of the best new podcasters in America with her show You Must Remember This.
Benched is a show that deserves to be seen.
Benched, a new sitcom that airs on Tuesdays at 9:30 CST on USA, is catnip for the Bean household. It boasts a cast we love, a winning creative team, and a concept that promises more thematic heft than the typical sitcom. The show is about a corporate lawyer who loses her boyfriend and her job in brutal fashion and lands at the public defender’s office. Yes, you already know where this is going, but it’s the potential journey that has us excited. It’s love at first sight over here, but let us break down why we’re so excited about Benched.
