Resources for September 26, 2016

Sokolowski, Joanna and Kate Trumbull-LaValle. "Ovarian Psychos." Film School (July 8, 2016) ["Riding at night through streets deemed dangerous in Eastside Los Angeles, the Ovarian Psycos use their bicycles to confront the violence in their lives. At the helm of the crew is founder Xela de la X, a single mother and poet M.C. dedicated to recruiting an unapologetic, misfit crew of women of color. The film intimately chronicles Xela as she struggles to strike a balance between her activism and nine year old daughter Yoli; street artist Andi who is estranged from her family and journeys to become a leader within the crew; and bright eyed recruit Evie, who despite poverty, and the concerns of her protective Salvadoran mother, discovers a newfound confidence. Co-directors Joanna Sokolowski & Kate Trumbull-LaValle stop by to talk about the boldness of Ovas’ politics, their brazen approach to feminism, and unapologetic aesthetic: a hybrid mix of Chicana, Riot Grrrl, Zapatista and militant-punk cultural markers and the individual personalities that make Ovarian Psycos such a compelling watch."]

Hurne, Mark, Doug McCambridge and Aaron West. "The Player." Criterion Close-Up #43 (July 8, 2016) ["A Hollywood studio executive with a shaky moral compass (Tim Robbins) finds himself caught up in a criminal situation that would be right at home in one of his movie projects, in this biting industry satire from Robert Altman. Mixing elements of film noir with sly insider comedy, The Player, based on a novel by Michael Tolkin, functions as both a nifty stylish murder story and a commentary on its own making, and it is stocked with a heroic supporting cast (Peter Gallagher, Whoopi Goldberg, Greta Scacchi, Dean Stockwell, Fred Ward) and a lineup of star cameos that make for an astonishing Hollywood who’s who. This complexly woven grand entertainment (which kicks off with one of American cinema’s most audacious and acclaimed opening shots) was the film that marked Altman’s triumphant commercial comeback in the early 1990s."]

Ayres, Jackson. "The X-Men and the Legacy of AIDS." The Los Angeles Review of Books (September 21, 2016)

Jenkins, Jamie, Mark Mcgee and Mike White. "Invasion of the Body Snatchers." The Projection Booth #130 (September 3, 2013) ["From the deep reaches of space the pods arrive, ready to take over the human race, erasing our humanity and turning us into walking vegetables. We're looking at the four versions of Invasion of the Body Snatchers (and a few other films)."]


Refn, Nicholas Winding. "The Neon Demon." The Cinema Show (July 8, 2016)

Eves, Dave and James Hancock. "The Cinema of Jacques Tati." The Wrong Reel #159 (July 9, 2016)

Isenberg, Nancy. "'White Trash' and Class in America." On the Media (June 22, 2016) ["As the media have watched the ascent of Donald Trump with disbelief-going-on-horror, pundits have returned frequently to the question of who exactly his supporters are. Terms like "angry" and "white working class" are mentioned frequently, but the National Review several months ago put it the most pointedly and viciously. In an article lambasting Trump supporters, Kevin Williamson characterized them as lazy drug addicts, compared them to animals, and even suggested that they deserved to die. Though he did not say it directly, the implication was clear: these people were white trash. We took that opportunity to take a deeper look at the idea of "white trash," with the help of writer and professor Nancy Isenberg, author of the forthcoming book, White Trash: The 400-Year Untold History of Class in America. Isenberg described to Brooke how the notion of "white trash" has been around for a long time, belying the idea that America is a "classless" society. White Trash comes out this week, and we're re-running our conversation in honor of it."]

Raup, Jordan. "Ava DuVernay Takes on America’s Prison System in First Trailer For The 13th." The Film Stage (September 26, 2016) ["While Selma took a look at a very specific, vital part of American history, director Ava DuVernay is exploring its political and systemic reverberations over the span of many decades with her next film. The 13th chronicles the history of racial inequality in the United States, particularly how it relates to the prison system, and ahead of a NYFF opening and Netflix premiere, the first powerful trailer has arrived."]