Shorts, 10/28.

"What is appealing to American audiences is the exoticism: the totally fresh aesthetic of Chinese martial arts and the imaginary artistic conception. But that turned out to be mundane to Chinese viewers." Li Xun, director of the Graduate Programme of China Film Arts Research Centre, isn't talking about Kill Bill. Instead, the quote pops up in Felicia Chan's piece "Reading Ambiguity and Ambivalence: The Asymmetric Structure of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," and right next door to it is a piece in which Quentin Tarantino does make a brief appearance as the distributor of "Wong Kar Wai's third and one of his most popular films..., the film that secured his international reputation as a hip, unconventional filmmaker."

Chungking Express

Wendy Gan's "0.01cm: Affectivity and Urban Space in Chungking Express" also appears in the new issue of Scope, "an entirely free online journal of film studies edited by staff and students within the Institute of Film Studies at the University of Nottingham."

It appears every couple of months, and while it's usually got three or four of these big, chewy articles in there, there are also brief film reviews, which is fine, but really, the best feature of all is the mile-long page of book reviews. Over 30 reviews this time around, quick, readable and on books you probably won't find readily and accessibly reviewed elsewhere, books you really do want to know about, though you'll probably get around to actually reading only a few of each batch - if that many.

Via George Thomas, an interesting round-up, rather bloggish, actually, of recent reviews in Christianity Today. Jeffrey Overstreet's tagged on a provocative title as well: "Is The Passion More Violent than Kill Bill?"

"Let's call it Japsploitation." Oh, let's not. With a straight face, evidently, Christopher Shulgan rages against Tarantino and Sofia Coppola in the Globe and Mail. But Brian Ruh, approaching a similar stance in PopMatters, soft peddles it a bit, going for the lesser charge of "appropriation."

And then there's Elvis Mitchell in the New York Times: "Mr. Tarantino" is "the movie world's DJ, and Kill Bill is another one of his mix tapes."

Michael and Amanda are definitely looking forward to My Wife is a Gangster 2. For good reason, too, sounds like.

Today's must-read (and I'm not kidding, either; it's short, go read it): "DVD Player," by Paul Ford.

In comments here and at greg.org, Greg Allen points to Peter Greenaway's most recent version of his lecture, "Cinema is Dead, Long Live Cinema?" Just so you know. Also in those comments is a pointer to the House of Telcontar, where you can watch of clip of Viggo Mortensen's speech at the rally in Washington this weekend protesting the occupation of Iraq.

Lars Iyer, via Harlequin Knights: "I cannot contemplate Mirror - I am not the spectator; the work does not lay itself before me. Above all, it does not let me see myself. Alexei, the child of the film is fascinating because I am seized by the fascination that seizes him as he gazes into the mirror.... We see the film with the blindspot which permits our sight..."

Gotta love Forbes. Choices for "Best Movie Blogs": Number One, with a bullet is Rotten Tomatoes. No, I didn't know it was a blog, either, but that's what a reliable business magazine is good for, isn't it. Enlightenment. Number Two is actually an excellent choice: Milk Plus. Three: DVD Verdict. Fine site. But posting reviews in reverse chronological order does not a blog make. Four: Rick McGinnis's movieblog. Well, it used to be one of the best, but he's been taking a break for quite a while. Don't get me wrong, we all need one now and then, and I look forward to his real return. Unfortunate timing for Forbes, though. And Five: Film Fodder. Actually, I'm glad to be reminded of those guys. They took a break at some point, and I'd forgotten. All in all, though, seriously: If you're looking to map a link cosmos from which you can start poking around for film-related blogs, naturally, we like our own list over there on the right, but an even better one is Jurgen Fauth and Marcy Dermansky's guide at their World / Independent Film section of About. Because we're in there? Well, yes, sure. But also because they've very helpfully annotated their choices.

"While the [CBS mini-series The Reagans] is still almost a month away, it makes one wonder if Reagan partisans would be happy with any series that wasn't overwhelmingly laudatory toward the Gipper, even as the former president himself has acknowledged he had his share of faults." Most Plasticians think not.

"The MPAA is counting on your apathy. It's precisely because the [broadcast] flag seems, on the surface, so innocuous that the studios are having an easy time pushing it to regulators in Washington." But the PC industry and the EFF will stand up for our rights if, once again, we prove ourselves too dumb and lazy to do it ourselves, writes Farhad Manjoo. Also in Salon: Heather Havrilesky on what three upcoming TV shows tells us about "the fascination and ambivalence we have for the wealthy."

"Hark, a new genre has emerged! It's a bloody blend of secondary ed movie, prison flick, and western: the American high school massacre film." Howard Feinstein in indieWIRE. Also: Karl Beck previews MIX, the New York Lesbian & Gay Experimental Film/Video Festival.

"In addition to being the first woman to hold the title of head writer at SNL, [Tina] Fey is also the first female performer to become the face of a show that other female comics, including the original cast members Jane Curtin and Laraine Newman, have cited for frat-house hoo-ha." Virginia Heffernan in the New Yorker.

In Screen Daily: Dan Fainaru on Amos Gitai's latest film, Alila, "one of his least overtly militant and one of his most emotionally charged in a long time." Benny Crick on Francis Veber's Ruby & Quentin: "Even when we're reminded of gags past, Veber is a master at recycling situations in hilarious new configurations."

"[Peter] Bart's semifictional universe is populated by agents who lie to studios, studios who lie to the press, real estate agents who lie to super-rich home buyers, producers who bully, directors who bluff and publicists who despise the stars they represent." Hugh Hart on a short story collection due in November from the Variety editor. Also in the San Francisco Chronicle: talks to Robert Benton about The Human Stain. And his stars: "I have a number of relatives who have spiraled down in some way, and they could never quite organize life... (Kidman) talked and walked and did the thing of not quite meeting your eye, just like they did."

In the Guardian, Observer and the NYT:

"L'exception culturelle under threat as DVD sales and US blockbusters hit French films," reads the headline over a piece by Amelia Gentleman. But despite his name, Philip French has a very different take: "Is the DVD the most significant thing in movies since the coming of sound? More important than 3-D, the widescreen, the multiplex, the VHS cassette? Five years after its introduction, many people think so."

"Just for the record, Hana was 14-and-a-half when she wrapped Joy of Madness." Fiachra Gibbons meets the youngest filmmaker in the Makhmalbaf family.

"Right now, [Julien] Schnabel is deciding which film to make next." Sean O'Hagan ticks off the options. And while Schnabel reemerges from the gallery, Mike Figgis is heading into one, reports Liz Hoggard.

Anne Thompson on Peter Jackson's $20 million/20 percent of the gross deal with Universal. It's a shock to the system, but also "involves three people, three sets of services over almost three years."

Craig Taylor profiles Sarah Polley.

"'You're not from LA, are you, Bill?' I said. 'Hell no,' he laughed. 'Chicago - and back there it's already five o'clock. Cheers!'" John Patterson raises a few with William H. Macy.

Bernard Weinraub on Jack Valenti's last crusade.

Julie Salamon on documentary filmmaker Liz Garbus and her latest, Girlhood.

Neil Armstrong on why catering is tougher than you might think.

David Lynch is betting Transcendental Meditation can save the world, and he's evidently very serious about it, reports Paul Harris.

Simon Romero on a play reviving the memory of Cantinflas.

"What distinguishes her pictures from those of other major portrait photographers is a refusal in some part to seek out and divulge anything about a particular subject that you might not already surmise or know. It is visual shorthand that compels her instead." Ginia Bellafante on Annie Leibovitz. Another photographer, another slight. Cecil Beaton was not "a beautiful old man," surmises Janet Maslin, but he wasn't Mr. Nice Guy himself, either. On Marlene Dietrich: "She's a liar, an egomaniac, a bore, but she has her points."

Elvis Mitchell looks back on the Hamptons International Film Festival.

Fun, raucous chat in Time, and quite possibly more fun and raucous than Love Actually: Hugh Grant, Liam Neeson, Emma Thompson and Colin Firth.

Speaking of Time, it looks like we missed it by a week, but it's very much worth pointing out now that Time Asia has run a big, whopping Bollywood special recently. Now, in terms of background, a lot of it might not be new to you, but besides the bits of news you might not have heard about yet, there are interviews galore (Aamir Khan, Amitabh Bachchan, Ram Gopal Varma, Rahul Bose and of course, the cover interview with "Bollywood's leading lady," Aishwarya Rai), a nice little browse called "10 Indian Films to Treasure."

Online viewing tip. Very short, but heavens: A sword fight from Wiley Wiggins.

Posted by dwhudson at October 28, 2003 7:51 AM