Every week, IndieWire asks a select handful of film critics two questions and publishes the results on Monday.
This week’s question: In honor of “First Man,” which is now playing in theaters, what is the greatest biopic of all time?
Matt Zoller Seitz (@mattzollerseitz), RogerEbert.com
The best biographical movie I’ve ever seen was “32 Short Films About Glenn Gould,” because it gets the furthest away from traditional biographical movie structures and has a constant sense of surprise.
Sarah Marrs (@Cinesnark), LaineyGossip.com, Freelance
I’m giving this one to “Amadeus”. It’s not 100% accurate — no biopic is — but where “Amadeus” fudges details it does so in service of its theme. This movie has more to say about competition and rivalry than most sports movies, and it’s one of the only Great Man biopics to observe its subject from the outside. By centering on Salieri, a master in his own right,...
This week’s question: In honor of “First Man,” which is now playing in theaters, what is the greatest biopic of all time?
Matt Zoller Seitz (@mattzollerseitz), RogerEbert.com
The best biographical movie I’ve ever seen was “32 Short Films About Glenn Gould,” because it gets the furthest away from traditional biographical movie structures and has a constant sense of surprise.
Sarah Marrs (@Cinesnark), LaineyGossip.com, Freelance
I’m giving this one to “Amadeus”. It’s not 100% accurate — no biopic is — but where “Amadeus” fudges details it does so in service of its theme. This movie has more to say about competition and rivalry than most sports movies, and it’s one of the only Great Man biopics to observe its subject from the outside. By centering on Salieri, a master in his own right,...
- 10/15/2018
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
20. Story of Ricky (Lik wong) – Starring Siu-Wong Fan as the titular character, Riki Oh, based on a manga series which eventually became an anime, marks the end of an era of Japanese exploitation flicks, before the new generation of filmmakers such as Takashi Miike took over. Unlike Miike’s movies, or other recent entries such as Tokyo Gore Police, Riki Oh’s tone borders on comedy, played up by bad voice dubbing, foolish plot lines, cartoonish gore and eccentric characters (including a one-eyed assistant warden with a hook for a hand). For a prison film, the movie never seems mean-spirited, and if anything it masquerades as a bizarre superhero flick. The effects are the main draw – Riki Oh exists simply to showcase several outlandish set pieces, ramping up the level of violence, gore and action with each new scene. Made before the days of CGI, director Lam relies simply on practical effects,...
- 9/2/2015
- by Staff
- SoundOnSight
In our writers' favourite films series, Amy Fleming explains why she's drawn to the world of comic-book author Harvey Pekar
• Don't spare us the graphic detail, post your own review of American Splendor – or get comical in the comments
The underground comic writer Harvey Pekar didn't really do happy, but he did truth and humour in spades, which is why American Splendor, a 2002 film about Pekar (in which he also appears), got under my skin in a big way. "If you're the kind of person looking for romance or escapism or some fantasy figure to save the day," warns his rasping narration at the start, "guess what? You got the wrong movie." Sometimes, a little cinematic holiday from the gloss and fantasy of Hollywood is just what the doctor ordered.
Pekar, a downtrodden hospital file clerk, chronicled the intricacies of his glum life in depressed Cleveland, Ohio, in his ironically named American Splendor comic books.
• Don't spare us the graphic detail, post your own review of American Splendor – or get comical in the comments
The underground comic writer Harvey Pekar didn't really do happy, but he did truth and humour in spades, which is why American Splendor, a 2002 film about Pekar (in which he also appears), got under my skin in a big way. "If you're the kind of person looking for romance or escapism or some fantasy figure to save the day," warns his rasping narration at the start, "guess what? You got the wrong movie." Sometimes, a little cinematic holiday from the gloss and fantasy of Hollywood is just what the doctor ordered.
Pekar, a downtrodden hospital file clerk, chronicled the intricacies of his glum life in depressed Cleveland, Ohio, in his ironically named American Splendor comic books.
- 11/7/2011
- by Amy Fleming
- The Guardian - Film News
Centuries from now, historians of early twenty-first century popular culture will surely point to "Paul" as the ultimate example of geek culture's invasion of mainstream Hollywood filmmaking. Here is a movie about nerds, written by nerds, made for nerds, in which the word "nerd" appears in the dialogue at least a dozen times. This movie is a Toby Radloff cameo away from being the dorkiest movie ever created.
The film concerns a road trip of the sort that only happens in movies, the kind where friendships are tested and strengthened, romance is found in the most unexpected places, and wacky car chases occur between government agents and men in RVs. In another movie, we might label these cliches and brand the whole experience artificial. But it feels wholly appropriate for "Paul," a movie made entirely of quotations, both visual and verbal, from other movies. If I had to venture a guess,...
The film concerns a road trip of the sort that only happens in movies, the kind where friendships are tested and strengthened, romance is found in the most unexpected places, and wacky car chases occur between government agents and men in RVs. In another movie, we might label these cliches and brand the whole experience artificial. But it feels wholly appropriate for "Paul," a movie made entirely of quotations, both visual and verbal, from other movies. If I had to venture a guess,...
- 3/14/2011
- by Matt Singer
- ifc.com
Rounding up the usual suspects of film news and reviews this week, the Mouth Off podcast is back to ease you into the weekend, and lining up to be shot at dawn this week we have a nicely eclectic mix of horror and history with a touch of sociopathy throw in.
[Rec]2, Agora and The Killer Inside Me are all up for discussion this week, and we have news on the Logan’s Run remake and potentially a very odd career move for Sam Rockwell. Brendon Connelly and Craig Skinner jump aboard the Mouth Off bandwagon once again to talk around the fetishistic nature of prolonged on-screen violence and why Ghost Trains really aren’t that scary.
As always do leave your comments and suggestions below, we want to make this podcast as good as it can be so please do get involved, and you may have seen we now have...
[Rec]2, Agora and The Killer Inside Me are all up for discussion this week, and we have news on the Logan’s Run remake and potentially a very odd career move for Sam Rockwell. Brendon Connelly and Craig Skinner jump aboard the Mouth Off bandwagon once again to talk around the fetishistic nature of prolonged on-screen violence and why Ghost Trains really aren’t that scary.
As always do leave your comments and suggestions below, we want to make this podcast as good as it can be so please do get involved, and you may have seen we now have...
- 5/28/2010
- by Jon Lyus
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Cast: Raymond Turturro, Ashleigh Holeman, Duane Whitaker, Joe Estevez and Toby Radloff. Directed by: Andrew Campbell and Lucas Campbell Scores: Technical:85 , Story:95 , Acting:90 , Overall Score: 90 I always get super excited when I hear the Campbell brothers have put out a new movie. You want independent film at its finest? They’ll give it to you. Notorious for working with a low/no budget, the Campbell brothers really show you how far the dollar goes and provide you with some righteous entertainment. The Movie Cordoba Nights, the latest film from the brothers, follows Finn (Raymond Turturro), a pizza delivery guy, on his route one night in the city of Bronston. All seems to be going according to plan until he meets Allie (Ashleigh Holeman), [...]...
- 8/20/2008
- by Tessa Petrocco
- ShockYa
NEW YORK -- Judah Friedlander, who co-stars in HBO Films and Fine Line Features' American Splendor as "genuine nerd" Toby Radloff, and Julie Hagerty have joined the cast of InDigEnt and writer-helmer Mark Christopher's indie feature Pizza. Ethan Embry and newcomer Kylie Sparks also star in the offbeat comedy about the unexpected relationship that develops between a thirtysomething pizza deliveryman (Embry) and a teenage high school girl (Sparks). IFC's InDigEnt shingle is headed by John Sloss and Gary Winick, who is producing with Jake Abraham and Process' Tim Perell and Howard Gertler. Executive producers are Sloss and IFC execs Jonathan Sehring and Caroline Kaplan. Pizza goes before the cameras this month in Pennsylvania. Repped by Innovative Artists and Framework Entertainment, Hagerty's credits include the comedy classics Airplane! Lost in America and A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy. Her credits also include indie auteur Todd Solondz's Storytelling. Friedlander's credits include Meet the Parents, Wet Hot American Summer, Zoolander and Showtime.
- 8/26/2003
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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