The title of the new Albert Brooks movie is as misleading as it is specific. For starters, the so-called Muslim world is largely restricted to India, a democratic ally of America with a majority Hindu population. Then there’s the subject of the film’s title, which implies an earnest inquiry into how a certain foreign culture […]
David Fellerath
Bio: David Fellerath is INDY Week's culture and sports editor.Email: [email protected]: http://twitter.com/dfellerath
Posted inFilm & Television
Native sons
In the world of strange jobs, the occupation of film director is a particularly curious one. For every year of filmmaking (and editing and promoting) and frantic activity, there’s bound to be a year or two of relative quiet. Charles Stone III is neither the newest hot filmmaker on the block like Hustle and Flow‘s […]
Posted inNews
in elegant decay
Italian cinema has fundamentally been nostalgic in character. More than just about any other country in Europe, Italy maintains a direct connection to its ancient past, most vividly in the ongoing veneration of the papacy, the thousand-year old frescoes and the ancient roads that still lead to Rome. Accordingly, the great films from Italy have […]
Posted inNews
in Jane Goodall’s dreams
“You will have the tallest, darkest leading man in Hollywood,” Merion C. Cooper allegedly said to Fay Wray prior to the production of King Kong. The remake currently in theaters is the work of Peter Jackson, who was so taken with the 1933 original as a child that he nurtured a lifelong ambition to remake […]
Posted inArt
Film preview
At this very moment, all eyes are on this Friday’s opening of Brokeback Mountain, which seems to be the most eagerly awaited specialty film since Fahrenheit 9/11. While this tale of gay cowboy love looks to dominate discussion this month, January is also the kickoff to the busiest period on the Triangle film schedule, from […]
Posted inNews
Movie Spotlight
The shock comedian Sarah Silverman has a lot to be thankful for this holiday season. Her appearance in the dirty joke documentary The Aristocrats was the film’s most memorable and unnerving scene. Amid the numbing variations on the same filthy and unfunny joke, she slyly spun out her version by embedding it into a casual, […]
Posted inFilm & Television
Best of the year…
Movie executives will be relieved to see this year pass into history, judging from the never-ending complaints about declining revenue. Hopefully the news will get even worse next year, which might prompt Hollywood to make better movies with lower ticket prices. While there were many fine movies in theaters this year, there was a paucity […]
Posted inFilm & Television
One sweet, one chestnut and a lump o’ coal
This is the season for elegantly wrapped and expensive-looking packages. But those presents tend to get opened immediately, thus leaving other forlorn gifts lying under the far side of the tree. So it goes in theaters this weekend that, in the shadow of Kong and Munich, there are several new releases destined to be overlooked. […]
Posted inFilm & Television
Blue Christmas
It’s unlikely that the religious hucksters who are presently bleating about “putting the Christ back into Christmas” will take comfort in The Family Stone. Still, this holiday film does meet some of the genre’s cozy expectations. It’s a reasonably entertaining tale of a family Christmas reunion, with a fair helping of the warm and fuzzies […]
Posted inArt
The Gaghan view
Stephen Gaghan, the writer and director of Syriana, lived in Carrboro in 1989, during which time he wrote fiction, ate Greek grilled cheese sandwiches at Hector’s, watched movies at the Varsity and saw the Pixies play in his favorite dive, Cat’s Cradle. He also developed a taste for UNC basketball. His new film is inspired […]
