AltWeeklies Wire
Gerald Peary's Ode To The Film Criticnew
Rock critics rarely cut gold records. Likewise, few football reporters go on to quarterback Super Bowl winners. But with his eight-years-in-the-making documentary on film criticism, long-time critic and professor Gerald Peary incinerates the barrier between subject and reporter, demonstrating more than mere comprehension of the art he's scrutinized for decades.
Boston Phoenix |
Chris Faraone |
09-03-2009 |
Reviews
Is 'Project Runway' Walking in Circles?new
As I watched this season's 16 Project Runway hopefuls squinting into the setting sun during their champagne reception, it was hard not to view the scene as a sad little metaphor for the state of the show. What's supposed to feel like the beginning of something new sure looks a lot more like the end of something old.
Boston Phoenix |
Michael Brodeur |
08-27-2009 |
TV
Can Chris Kattan be a Bollywood Hero?new
Here's something Chris Kattan probably rarely hears in real life: "In Night at the Roxbury, you were awesome!" Such, however, is the encomium proffered by two young Indian fans in IFC's new mini-series Bollywood Hero, which finds the former SNL cast member traveling to the subcontinent to star in a saffron-colored, jasmine-scented music-and-dance extravaganza.
Boston Phoenix |
Mike Miliard |
08-07-2009 |
TV
Judd Apatow on the Making of His 'Citizen Kane'new
The director talks about what it's like casting his preteen daughters in a comedy with so many penis references, why comedians are such dicks and his hard-on for Steve Martin.
Boston Phoenix |
Lance Gould |
07-29-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
The Search for 'America's Biggest Asshole'new
This week in Boston, Spike TV held auditions for its new sub-low-culture program, America's Biggest Asshole. You're right -- all reality show tryouts are essentially auditions for America's Biggest Asshole, but this one is transparently egregious, as if the NHL re-named hockey "Kill the Man with the Puck."
Boston Phoenix |
Chris Faraone |
07-15-2009 |
TV
Has Kathryn Bigelow Made the 'Apocalypse Now' of Iraq?new
Although everyone makes a point of director Kathryn Bigelow's gender and height and good looks, what's germane is that even if she were short and had bushy eyebrows like Martin Scorsese, she still would be directing action pictures like no one since Sam Peckinpah and Sergio Leone. With her latest, The Hurt Locker, maybe she'll start getting the recognition she deserves.
Boston Phoenix |
Peter Keough |
07-09-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Harvard's UFOlogistnew
A visit to the site of an alien sighting in Zimbabwe prompted Harvard Medical School psychiatrist John E. Mack's life-long interest in UFOlogy. It was work that didn't sit particularly well with many of his colleagues.
Boston Phoenix |
Mike Miliard |
06-10-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
'Up': Raising the Art to a Higher Levelnew
The future of movies? No, it's not 3-D — it’s Up's limpid storytelling, thrilling visuals, endearing characters, and respect for the audience.
Boston Phoenix |
Peter Keough |
05-29-2009 |
Reviews
Cannes, Like France, Is Differentnew
Tarantino, Antichrist , and a well-lit genitalia show add up to a film festival like no other.
Boston Phoenix |
Lisa Nesselson |
05-29-2009 |
Movies
Tags: Cannes Film Festival
A Star Is Porn: Adult-Film Star Sasha Grey Makes Her Mainstream Debutnew
Sasha Grey is barely 21, but already she has 150 feature films to her credit. True, her films have titles like Cum Fart Cocktails 5, Gang Bang My Face, and Grand Theft Anal 11, but she doesn't believe that diminishes her accomplishments.
Boston Phoenix |
Peter Keough |
05-14-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
PBS Puts a Human Face on Native American Historynew
In terms of exposition, inspiration, and cross-cultural outreach, you can think of We Shall Remain as the Native American Eyes on the Prize. Like that landmark documentary, this series reminds us that true glory lies in the honest histories of people, not the manipulated histories of governments.
Boston Phoenix |
Clif Garboden |
04-08-2009 |
TV
Re-Viewing 'Honey West'new
Produced on the cheap (by Aaron Spelling), and with some sets recycled from episode to episode, the short-lived series nonetheless retains some of its cocktail-shaker-and-hidden-transistors glamor on DVD.
Boston Phoenix |
Charles Taylor |
02-19-2009 |
TV
News From Waaay Outside the Mainstream: 'How's Your News?'new
How's Your News? is certainly groundbreaking: there's never been a program on TV hosted by people with disabilities.
Boston Phoenix |
Mike Miliard |
02-09-2009 |
TV
The Kult of Al Kaprieliannew
New England weather-caster Al Kaprielian is not at all like the smooth-talking and self-possessed meteorologists on the air in major markets. And his eccentric delivery has won him a cult following to rival -- well, David Bowie.
Boston Phoenix |
Mike Miliard |
02-05-2009 |
Movies
The 2008 Heroic Holiday DVD and Blu-ray Gift Guidenew
At the end of this year, when you're deciding between making December's mortgage payment or spending just a little bit more for little (or big) Billy's holiday gift, keep in mind that dear, cute Billy will always fondly remember 2008 as the year that his beloved superheroes whammed!
Boston Phoenix |
Brett Michel |
12-12-2008 |
Movies
