For what it’s worth, while I’d probably rate the film as a C because it is very well crafted, I agree with Steven’s observations about the film. Match Point is a work of wicked, twisted genius, one that comes to dangerous and frightening conclusions about reality and morality. This is a great review. The first shot in Woody Allen’s Match Point is meant to serve as a metaphorical master-image for the film as a whole: a freeze-frame shot of a... Read more
This year’s Image Film Festival promises to be a challenging, exciting series of events. It’s entitled “Telling the Truth: The Art of Documentary Films,” featuring five documentary films that satisfy our desire for revelation, entertainment, emotional connection, and above all, truth. Join us for the kick-off event, Friday, January 20, 2006, from 7:00 p.m. – 9:30 p.m. Five films will be screened over the course of the weekend–Hoop Dreams, Born Into Brothels, Murderball, Supersize Me, and Buena Vista Social Club–followed... Read more
Here are the records that I’ve put on and kept on, over and over, this last year. Read more
Wednesday’s specals: President of this year’s Cannes Film Festival jury… Wong Kar-wai! Fantastic. This should make for some very interesting choices. Can’t wait to see who else is on the jury. (Thanks, Opus, for the link.) No more Pedro the Lion. Please welcome… David Bazan! It was bound to happen. Bazan’s dropped the band name, officially declared himself a solo artist. Peter Chattaway and Roy Anker post contrary top ten lists at Books and Culture I like titles on both... Read more
Somehow, I missed Sunday’s edition of The Seattle Times, and didn’t find out until today that the Pacific Northwest Magazine again ran an update on my doings at Looking Closer… Thanks to Richard Seven for doing the follow-up story! (If you missed the original cover story, check it out here.) Read more
A close friend of mine, who also happens to be one of my favorite photographers, is getting extraordinary honors this month. A portfolio of Fritz Liedtke’s work is featured in the new issue of LensWork. And one of the images from his exhibit “Welcome to Wonderland,” a collection of images exploring the strange and unstable land of adolescence, is on the cover. LensWork is one of the top fine art photography magazines. Its reproductions are museum-book quality, having won numerous... Read more
The 2006 Glen Workshop – Registration is underway! Poetry – Scott Cairns, Jeanine Hathaway Fiction – Bret Lott Spiritual Writing – Paula Huston Playwriting/Screenwriting – Arlene Hutton Seminar – Fr. David Denny Drawing from Life – Barry Moser Mixed Media – Barry Krammes Mosaic – Ginger Geyer Songwriting – Over the Rhine Musician-in-Residence – Pierce Pettis Here are the details, the faculty list, the online registration pages, and a photo album from last summer’s Glen Workshop. (There’s an amusing photo... Read more
I’ve just published the Looking Closer “Favorite Films of 2005” list. This list will very likely be revised in the next month, as I catch up to some of those hard-to-reach 2005 releases. But I’ll be required to turn in my list to various publications in the coming weeks, so I figured I’d better come up something. I’m as surprised as anybody to see what has ended up as my #1 film of the year. A few months ago, I... Read more
I will provide a link to this post on the top of the Looking Closer blog soon. (Currently, there’s a link to the 2005 journal.) This is the post where I’ll catalog every film I see in 2006. * = indicates first-time viewing 2006 December The Last King of Scotland* (DVD screener)…..B The Secret of Roan Innish (VHS) ….. A- Marie Antoinette*……B+ The Holiday*…..C- Children of Men (second viewing)…..A Letters from Iwo Jima*…..A- The Devil Wears Prada* (DVD screener)…..C+ Joyeux... Read more
If a show about Muslims were written by sarcastic evangelicals who liked to poke fun at Islam, can you imagine the cultural outcry across America? That show would be shot down so fast, you wouldn’t have time to say “politically incorrect!” Now, imagine a show in which Jesus himself is a regular character who pals around with a priest. Imagine it’s written by “a recovering Catholic” who is apparently very interested in the idea of reincarnation, and who thinks a... Read more
Looking Closer
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In