Shorts, 6/13.

The sheer beauty of The Forbidden Street nabs and holds the Self-Styled Siren; and then she realizes who the cinematographer is.

"Simply put, Daisy Kenyon is the most bluntly realistic romantic melodrama I've ever seen," writes Mike D'Angelo. "At the same time, however, every element of the film is subtly, expressionistically heightened, creating a mesmerizing tension between naturalism and artifice - which, not coincidentally, is the subject of a recent post by Kenyon fanatic Dan Sallitt."

Jürgen Fauth, just briefly for now, on Death at a Funeral: "Frank Oz's morbid farce is the funniest movie I've seen this year so far."

David O Russell was chatting at the Ghetto Film School's annual spring benefit dinner at Bottino in Chelsea on Monday, and David Foxley listened in for the New York Observer: "Just to make Mr Russell's party affiliations absolutely clear: He has co-written a film with Al Gore's daughter Kristin, entitled The Girl with the Nail in Her Head. 'It's about a girl with a four-inch nail in her head who goes to Washington with the dream of getting help to have it removed,' he said. Frank Capra, move over!"

Signandsight points to and translates a snippet from a piece in the Frankfurter Rundschau by Wim Wenders on Europe's need for a "soul": "If Europe wants to remain credible in the eyes of its own citizens, it should really define itself by what it's fundamentally always been about: the wonderful, chaotic and unique diversity of its culture!"

For Julia Wallace, Volker Schlöndorff's Strike is "Iron Curtain porn at its most shameless... but [Katharina] Thalbach's Agnieszka is irresistible: She works so hard that she leads the shipyard in production 10 years in a row, yet still finds time to sing, dance, raise a son, take a lover, and foment a revolution." Related: At the Reeler ST VanAirsdale talks with Schlöndorff and... former UN ambassador Richard Holbrooke? Yep.

"One of the most ambitious tonal mash-ups in memory, Noriko's Dinner Table is a domestic comedy, a bloody psychological thriller and a comment on intergenerational tension and the fragility of identity," writes Matt Zoller Seitz. "It's also a sort of sequel to Suicide Club, written and directed by the same filmmaker, Sion Sono, that replays its predecessor's key event from a new vantage point." Also in the New York Times: Orange alerts, yellow tags. Who knew the 00s would be color-coded? David M Halbfinger explains the online movie trailer classification system. And Michael Cieply reports on Oscar's reluctant willingness to bend the rules.

Mike at Bad Lit on Parker Tyler's Underground Film: A Critical History: "This is another book that picks an authoritative title all the while knowing it’s not trying to live up to that title."

"It is an absolute disgrace. I've never hated a film so much in my entire life." David Marin-Guzman catches up with Sofia Coppola's Marie Antoinette.

Paul Matwychuk talks with Laura Dern about Inland Empire.

Steven Spielberg endorses Hillary Clinton, reports the AFP's Rob Woollard.

The Guardian's got briefs on an upcoming Big Chill remake (Glenn Kenny comments), William Hurt joining Edward Norton and Liv Tyler in The Incredible Hulk and: "Peter Greenaway is pursuing his exploration of the link between cinema and painting. The British director will next year project images onto the canvas of Las Meninas, the Velázquez masterpiece held in Madrid's Prado."

Deputydog lists the top 10 "physical transformations for a film role." Kind of creepy. Via Coudal Partners.

"Word is coming in that Dan Epstein, known to most of you through his interviews at SuicideGirls.com, has died suddenly, just shy of his 32nd birthday." Ryan Stewart has more at Cinematical.

Online viewing tip #1. Blaise Aguera y Arcas's Photosynth demo at TED. Do stay for the "punchline." Oh, my. Via Jeffrey Overstreet.

Online viewing tip #2. A clip from Kurt Cobain: About a Son, via Monika Bartyzel at Cinematical.

Online viewing tip #3. David Poland lunches with the LA Weekly's Scott Foundas, Variety's Anne Thompson and "The Geek Culture Artist Formerly Known As Mr Beaks, Jeremy Smith."

Posted by dwhudson at June 13, 2007 4:08 PM