Tag: cinema
Jimi: All is by My Side
On paper it sounds like a great idea – a Jimi Hendrix biopic starring Andre Benjamin, one of the members of hip-hop group, OutKast. And having avoided any of the talk around the film, it was one I’d been looking forward to for some time. Unfortunately, Benjamin’s generally convincing performance isn’t enough to save Jimi: All…
The Chapter Film: In Honour of the Portmanteau
Mise en scene. Montage. Auteur. The French really like writing and theorising about movies, and thus have bequeathed many terms unto the film lexicon. And I am just pretentious enough to toss them around without regard for whosoever may be rolling their eyes. But there’s one French term to which I have never taken. Portmanteau.…
An Honest Liar: Understanding James ‘The Amazing’ Randi
Things are not always as they appear in An Honest Liar, a film in which misdirection and a carefully constructed series of narrative revelations result in the film’s structure emulating its subject matter. This wonderful documentary, directed by Tyler Measom and Justin Weinstein, provides an insightful look into the fascinating life of famed magician and…
Life Itself: A Roger Ebert Primer
Steve James’ Life Itself, a documentary about the life of internationally recognised Pulitzer Prize winning film-critic, Roger Ebert, was always going be subject to high expectations – especially given his unfettered access to Ebert in the months leading up to his passing. The good news is that, generally speaking, James manages to live up to…
Mehran Tamadon’s Iranian: An Atheist and Four Mullahs
What would happen if an Iranian atheist invited four mullahs to come and stay with him for a weekend and discuss the prospect of a secular coexistence? This is the unlikely situation presented in Iranian, the latest documentary from Paris-based Iranian filmmaker, Mehran Tamadon. Fascinating, frustrating, confronting, and occasionally amusing, Tamadon’s film is a powerful…