A Touch of Sin (China: Jia Zhangke, 2013)

A Touch of Sin (China: Jia Zhangke, 2013: 133 mins)

Hudson, David. "Jia Zhangke’s A Touch of Sin: Melds 'the Mainland China of the news to a heightened theatricality veering toward satire.'” Keyframe (September 27, 2013)

Labuza, Peter and Carson Lund. "Special Episode - The 51st New York Film Festival #1." The Cinephiliacs (September 26, 2013)

Ma, Aliza. "Histories of Violence: A Touch of Sin." Reverse Shot #33 (2013)

Resources for August 30, 2015

Stern, Marlow. "Laura Poitras Discusses Suing the U.S. Government, Hillary Clinton’s ‘Crazy’ Email Blunder." The Daily Beast (August 18, 2015)

Angwin, Julia, et al. "AT&T Helped U.S. Spy on Internet on a Vast Scale." The New York Times (August 16, 2015)




Wright, Stuart. "Blanck Mass Re-Score: The Strange Colour of Your Body’s Tears." Electric Sheep (July 8, 2015)





McLaughlin, Jenna. "Court: We Can’t Rule on NSA Bulk Data Collection Because We Don’t Know Whose Data Was Collected." The Intercept (August 28, 2015)

Fang, Lee. "Attorney Hounding Climate Scientists Is Covertly Funded By Coal Industry." The Intercept (August 25, 2015)

La Rose, Lauren. "Canadian researchers offer university courses studying Beyonce." CP24 (August 27, 2015)

Sélavy, Virginie. "The Strange Color of Your Body's Tears." Electric Sheep (April 10, 2014)

Repo Man (USA: Alex Cox, 1984) Dialogic Cinephilia (Ongoing Archive)

Dreyer, Carl Theodor. "Thoughts on My Metier." The Current (August 20, 2001)

Castillo, Monica. "The 51st New York Film Festival #2." The Cinephiliacs (Occtober 3, 2013)

Knapp, Chris. "Growing Up Together: Love Through the Eyes of Fellini." The Paris Review (March 11, 2014)

Repo Man (USA: Alex Cox, 1984)

Repo Man (USA: Alex Cox, 1984: 92 mins)

Cronk, Jordan. "Repo Man." The Cinephiliacs #26 (September 8, 2013)

"Repo Man." The Cinematologists #1 (March 23, 2015)

Tobias, Scott. "Keynote: Repo Man." The Dissolve (July 15, 2013)

Resources for August 29, 2015

Kappeler, Victor E. "Policing Political Upheaval in the 1960s and Today: Which Side Are You On?" Uprooting Criminology (March 13, 2014)





Sundar, Pavita. "Of radio, remix, and Rang De Basanti: rethinking history through film sound." Jump Cut #56 (Winter 2014/2015)





Hudson, David. "Brigitta Wagner and Rosehill." Keyframe (August 25, 2015)

Kristoff, Nicholas."Lessons From the Murders of TV Journalists in the Virginia Shooting." The New York Times (August 27, 2015)

Nadzam, Josh. "What it’s like to be homeless in Lexington, Kentucky." Under-Main (No Date)

Mauricette, Carolyn. "Born in Flames' Adelaide Morris: A Sci-Fi Joan of Arc." Graveyard Shift Sisters (January 2015)

Labuza, Peter and Carson Lund. "Special Episode - The 51st New York Film Festival #1." The Cinephiliacs (September 26, 2013)

Axmaker, Sean. "Fernando Di Leo’s Anti-Mob Movies: Is There Such a Thing as a Happy Ending Built on the Corpses of the Losers?" Keyframe (March 13, 2014)

Resources for August 26, 2015

Guest, Haden. "The Complete Samuel Fuller." Harvard Film Archive (June 2015)

State of Siege (France/Italy/West Germany: Costa-Gravas, 1972: 120 mins) Dialogic Cinephilia (Ongoing Archive)

Westphal, Kyle. "Invasion of the Aaspect Ratios." Northwest Chicago Film Society (July 2, 2012)





Axmaker, Sean. "Fernando Di Leo, in the Shadow of THE GODFATHER." Keyframe (March 12, 2014) ["There is no loyalty, and really no family—there is just money and power and violence: Fernando Di Leo’s pulp fiction dismantlings."]

Robinson, Tasha. "Keynote: Zelig." The Dissolve (July 22, 2013)

Greene, Robert. "Edvard Munch." The Cinephiliacs #24 (August 11, 2013)

Ross, Janell. "The Myth of the Anchor Baby Deportation Defense." The Washington Post (August 20, 2015)





Fujishima, Kenji. "Rendez-Vous with French Cinema 2014: Tip Top." Slant (March 6, 2014)

State of Siege (France/Italy/West Germany: Costa-Gravas, 1972)

State of Siege (France/Italy/West Germany: Costa-Gravas, 1972: 120 mins)


Bluegrass Film Society responses to State of Siege (August 2015)


Danner, Mark. "State of Siege: Their Torture, and Ours." The Current (May 27, 2015)

Perkins, John. Confessions of an Economic Hit Man. Berret-Koehler, 2004.

State of Siege Critics Round Up (Ongoing Archive)

Resources for August 22, 2015

Daisies (Czechoslovakia: Vera Chytilová, 1966: 74 mins) Dialogic Cinephilia (Ongoing Archive)





Aradillas, Aaron, Steven Santos and Matt Zoller Sietz. "Motion Studies #11 - Razzle Dazzle Part 6: The Takeaway." Press Play (April 4, 2012) ["A stunning montage that tunnels through the media distortion field as depicted in dozens of movie and video clips."]

Torture: Peace and Conflict Studies Dialogic Cinephilia (Ongoing Archive)

Blackhat Dialogic Cinephilia (Ongoing Archive)

Tobias, Scott. "Keynote: Repo Man." The Dissolve (July 15, 2013)

Sicinski, Michael. "Le Havre: 'Always Be a Human.'" Current (July 31, 2012)

"Yojimbo." The Cinematologists #4 (April 9, 2015)

"Bronson." The Cinematologists #5 (May 2, 2015)

Blackhat (USA: Michael Mann, 2015)

Blackhat (USA: Michael Mann, 2015: 133 mins)

Blue, Violet. "Blackhat the movie, as reviewed in Loki gifs." ZD Net (January 19, 2015)

Sachs, Ben. "Blackhat isn't a failed action movie—it's a big-budget avant-garde film." Chicago Reader (January 27, 2015)

Uhlich, Keith. "The Fog of Cyberwar: Blackhat." Reverse Shot (January 16, 2015)

---. "Michael Mann." Auteur Museum #1 (August 2015)

ENG 281: Fall 2015 Resources

American Psycho (USA: Mary Harron, 2000: 102 mins)

Archives of Individual Films Dialogic Cinephilia (Ongoing)

Benton, Michael. Recommended Films From the 1930s to the Present Dialogic Cinephilia (Ongoing Archive)

Bordwell, David. "Three Dimensions of Film Narrative." Observations of Film Art (Excerpted chapter 3 from Poetics of Cinema. NY: Routledge, 2007.)

Chocolat (France/Cameroon: Claire Denis, 1988: 105 mins) Dialogic Cinephilia (Ongoing Archive)

ENG 281 Fall 2015 Responses

Podcasts/Videocasts Dialogic Cinephilia (Ongoing Archive)

Video Essays Dialogic Cinephilia (Ongoing Archive)

Water (Canada/India: Deepa Mehta, 2005: 117 mins) Dialogic Cinephilia (Ongoing Archive)

Women and Cinema Dialogic Cinephilia (Ongoing Archive)

Yale Film Studies Analysis 2.0

Daisies (Czechoslovakia: Vera Chytilová, 1966)

Daisies (Czechoslovakia: Vera Chytilová, 1966: 74 mins)

Daisies Criterion (Ongoing Archive)

Erickson, Steve. "The Art of Resistance: The brief, bright flowering of the Czech New Wave." Moving Image Source (April 24, 2012)

Ivins, Laura. "Collaged Gluttony in Vera Chytilová’s Daisies." A Place for Film (October 13, 2016)

Rapold, Nicholas. "An Audience for Free Spirits in a Closed Society: Daisies, From the Czech Director Vera Chytilova, at BAM." The New York Times (July 1, 2012)

Resources for August 18, 2015

Chepp, Valerie. "Secrets of the SAT Sociological Cinema (December 28, 2012)

Blum, William. Killin Hope: U.S. Military and CIA Interventions Since World War II." Common Courage Press, 2004.

Hudson, David. “Agnès Varda in California.” Keyframe (August 17, 2015)








Faraci, Devin and Amy Nicholson. "Romeo and Juliet." The Canon #3 (November 17, 2014)

Bleasdale, John. "Tetsuo: Metal Machine Music." Electric Sheep (July 3, 2012)

Danner, Mark. "State of Siege: Their Torture, and Ours." The Current (May 27, 2015)

Perkins, John. Confessions of an Economic Hit Man. Berret-Koehler, 2004.

ENG 102 Resources for Fall 2015

Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn. -- Benjamin Franklin


Ethics and politics look at both how we should regard and accomodate each other and what kind of things make it possible to, for example, treat each other with respect and what kinds of things don't. That I might view you as "weird" or even "inhuman" (politics) may very much dictate how I then treat you (ethics). When we examine more closely how we think about the world, it turns out that ethics and politics are inseperable. (21) -- Veronique Pin-Fat "How Do We Begin to Think About the World?" (2014)



Homework #1 due August 19/20:
Pin-Fat, Veronique. "How Do We Begin to Think About the World." Global Politics: A New Introduction. 2nd. edition. Ed. by Jenny Edkins and Maja Zehfuss. Routledge, 2014: 20-38.


Homework #2 due August 24/25:
Citizenfour (USA/Germany/UK: Laura Poitras, 2014: 114 mins)


Homework #3 due August 26/27:
Two proposals for a paper topic -- at least 150 words for each one. State what the subject is -- why it is important to consider -- what is the argument you would like to make. Typed.


Homework #4 due August 31/September 1:
Extended proposal for the 1st paper -- at least 300 words and must have two relevant sources cited. Typed.


Homework #5 work on your 1st essay and find out about upcoming writing workshops. Here is the link for the Bluegrass Film Society if you are interested in extra credit opportunities -- let me know if you have questions. This is the BFS Events Page

Homework #6: due September 30/October 1:
Bring the book you are going to use as the foundation of your second essay to class. Very important - 1st essay is due in class on this date.


Homework #7: due October 8/October 12
Typed statement of your core beliefs that are the foundation for your ethical reasoning. 300 word minimum. Ethical Reasoning, Pt. 1


-------------------------------------------------

Resources for August 16, 2015

"Andrea Štaka's Cure - The Life of Another." Notebook (august 4, 2015)

Taubin, Amy. "Like a Hurricane: The Diary of a Teenage Girl boldly goes where no American coming-of-age movie has gone before." Film Comment (July/August 2015)

Coates, Ta-Nehisi. "Reads from His Block-Buster Memoir Between the World and Me." Building Bridges (August 11, 2015) €["Readers of his work in The Atlantic (including his June 2014 feature The Case for Reparations) and elsewhere know Ta-Nehisi Coates for his thoughtful and influential writing on race in America. Written as a series of letters to his teenaged son, his new memoir, Between the World and Me, walks us through the course of his life, from his neighborhood in Baltimore in his youth, to Howard University—which Coates dubs “The Mecca” for its revelatory community of black students and teachers —to the broader Meccas of New York and Paris. Coates describes his observations and the evolution of his thinking on race, from Malcolm X to his conclusion that race itself is a fabrication, elemental to the concept of American (white) exceptionalism. Ferguson, Trayvon Martin, and South Carolina are not bumps on the road of progress and harmony, but the results of a systemized, ubiquitous threat to “black bodies” in the form of slavery, police brutality, and mass incarceration."]

"The Women of the Avant-Garde: An Introduction Featuring Audio by Gertrude Stein, Kathy Acker, Patti Smith & More." Open Culture (August 5, 2015)

Juel, Henruk. "Defining Documentary Film." P.O.V. #22 (December 2006)

Faraci, Devin and Amy Nicholson. "Goodfellas." The Canon #1 (November 11, 2014)

Graeber, David. "Ferguson and the Criminalization of American Life." Gawker (March 19, 2015)

Kantor, Jodi and David Streitfield. "Inside Amazon: Wrestling Big Ideas in a Bruising Workplace." The New York Times (August 15, 2015) ["The company is conducting an experiment in how far it can push white-collar workers to get them to achieve its ever-expanding ambitions."]

American Psycho (USA: Mary Harron, 2000: 102 mins) Dialogic Cinephilia (Ongoing Archive)

Faraci, Devin and Amy Nicholson. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom." The Canon (November 10, 2014)

The Imitation Game (UK/USA: Morten Tyldum, 2014: 114 mins)

The Imitation Game (UK/USA: Morten Tyldum, 2014)

The Imitation Game (UK/USA: Morten Tyldum, 2014: 114 mins)

Cohen, Josh. "The Imitation Game and the complicated byproducts of adaptation." Melville House (February 25, 2015)

"Diminished Lives." Cineaste (Summer 2015)

Ehrenstein, David. "Oscars 2015: Based on a ‘Truthiness’ Story." Keyframe (January 16, 2015) ["Dramatizing history, taking heat this Oscar season: SELMA, FOXCATCHER, THE IMITATION GAME and AMERICAN SNIPER wrangle with the truth."]

Hart, David and Jason Michael. "The Imitation Game and Diversity." Pop Culture Case Study #211 (February 16, 2017)

Hodges, Andrew. "The Life of Alan Turing." Radio West (January 21, 2015) ["... we're talking about mathematician and computer pioneer Alan Turing. Our guest is biographer Andrew Hodges, whose book inspired the Academy Award-nominated film "The Imitation Game." Turing's code-breaking during World War II was a key to saving the Allies from the Nazis. But, he had a secret of his own, and was eventually arrested and persecuted for being gay. We'll talk to Hodges about Turing's extraordinary mind, his service and the life he couldn't live."]

Maass, Peter. "Oscars Make History, So Hollywood's War Stories Need to Be True." The Intercept (February 13, 2015)

American Psycho (USA: Mary Harron, 2000)

American Psycho (USA: Mary Harron, 2000: 102 mins)


Ellis, Brett Easton. American Psycho. Vintage, 1991.

Final Girl Studios. "Why American Psycho is More Relevant Than Ever (And Why Women Love It)." (Posted on Youtube:  February 15, 2023)  [Movie description: "A wealthy New York investment banking executive hides his alternate psychopathic ego from his co-workers and friends as he escalates deeper into his illogical, gratuitous fantasies."]

Gross, Anisse. "Mary Harron [SCREENWRITER, DIRECTOR]." Believer (March/April 2014)

Guthat, Paula. "Special Report: American Psycho (2000)." The Projection Booth (June 20, 2017) ["Based on the controversial book by Bret Easton Ellis, American Psycho (2000) tells the tale of Wall Street's Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale), his murderous rampage, and the world of the late 1980s Manhattan."]

Holden, Stephen. "American Psycho (2000) FILM REVIEW; Murderer! Fiend! (But Well Dressed)." The New York Times (April 14, 2000)

Kapica, Stephen S. "The multivalent feminism of The Notorious Bettie Page." Jump Cut #55 (Fall 2013)

Kooijman, Jaap. "Teaching American Psycho." The Cine-Files #9 (2016)

"Margot Robbie’s Beauty Routine Is Psychotically Perfect." Vogue (May 13, 2016)

Morton, Drew. "The American Dream in Film: As the man said, ‘America’s not a country. It’s just a business.’" Keyframe (May 30, 2016)

Phipps, Keith, et al. "American Psycho: Materialism, Misogyny, and Machismo." The Dissolve (April 16, 2014)

Rabin, Nathan. "American Psycho put Patrick Bateman, and the world he called home, under a microscope." The Dissolve (April 15, 2014)

Resources for August 14, 2015

"Diminished Lives." Cineaste (Summer 2015)

Peaceful Stoner. "Ex Machina." Letterboxd (August 13, 2015)

Blue, Violet, et al. "Be an Expert." Popaganda (July 30, 2015) ["In all kinds of ways, race and gender impact the way we present ourselves as knowledgable. You see it everywhere: from the way boys are more likely to speak up in classrooms to the way men are way more likely to be quoted as “experts” in print media or asked to be voices of authority on TV. A recent analysis of Sunday morning TV news shows by Media Matters showed that 61 percent of expert guests were white men. So on today’s show, we have three stories about women who are screwing around with the idea of what’s an expert. The women on this show are all putting themselves forward as experts—sometimes requiring actual imposter situations. We talk with Laura Nix, the co-director of the new documentary The Yes Men Are Revolting about how she captures the activist group's media stunts on camera. Then, comedians Gaby Dunn and Allison Raskin discuss being fake advice experts to dish out genuine comedy. The show ends with journalist Violet Blue, author of The Smart Girls' Guide to Privacy, about how to be an expert on your internet privacy."]

Kalmár, György. "Inhabiting post-communist spaces in Nimród Antal’s Kontroll." Jump Cut #56 (Fal/Winter 2015)

Ex Machina (UK: Alex Garland, 2015: 108 mins) Dialogic Cinephilia (Ongoing Archive)

Lund, Carson. "Orson Welles, Part One." Harvard Film Archive (January 2015)

Yue, Genvieve. "The 17th Geneviève McMillan - Reba Stewart Fellow: Mati Diop." Harvard Film Archive (February 2015)

Pendleton, David. "The Complete Robert Altman." Harvard Film Archive (June 2015)

Krauss, Lawrence M. "Why Hollywood Thinks Atheism Is Bad for Business." The New Yorker (March 5, 2014)

Ex Machina (UK: Alex Garland, 2015)

Ex Machina (UK: Alex Garland, 2015: 108 mins)

Alpert, Roger. "Alex Garland’s Ex Machina: The gender of artificial intelligence and the triumph of enlightenment." Jump Cut #57 (Fall 2016)

---. "A.I. at the Movies and the Second Coming." Senses of Cinema #88 (October 2018)

Bluegrass Film Society Responses to Ex Machina (August 2015)

Booker, M. Keith. "EX MACHINA (2014, Director Alex Garland)." Comments on Culture (ND)

De Fren, Allison. "The Human Machine in Ex Machina." Keyframe (March 16, 2016)

Ex Machina. Critics Round Up (Ongoing Archive)

"Ex Machina." The Film Stage #139 (April 27, 2015)

Fitzpatrick, Veronica. "'Can I Fuck This?': Alex Garland’s Ex Machina." cléo 5.1 (2017)

Like Stories of Old. "The Problem of Other Minds – How Cinema Explores Consciousness." (Posted on Youtube: May 31, 2018) ["How have films engaged the problem of other minds? In this video essay, I discuss cinematic explorations into consciousness in the context of the cognitive revolution that has challenged many of the basic assumptions about what was for a long time believed to be a uniquely human trait." Uses Frans de Waal's book Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are?: "Hailed as a classic, Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are? explores the oddities and complexities of animal cognition--in crows, dolphins, parrots, sheep, wasps, bats, chimpanzees, and bonobos--to reveal how smart animals really are, and how we've underestimated their abilities for too long. Did you know that octopuses use coconut shells as tools, that elephants classify humans by gender and language, and that there is a young male chimpanzee at Kyoto University whose flash memory puts that of humans to shame? Fascinating, entertaining, and deeply informed, de Waal's landmark work will convince you to rethink everything you thought you knew about animal--and human--intelligence."]

Lyttleton, Oliver. "Alex Garland's Gripping, Brilliant, And Sensational Ex Machina." The Playlist (January 21, 2015)

Peaceful Stoner. "Ex Machina." Letterboxd (August 13, 2015)

Romney, Jonathan. "Inside Your Head: Conceptual Science Fiction." Sight and Sound (February 24, 2015)

Tucker, Michael. "Ex Machina: The Control of Information." (Posted on Youtube: December 20, 2016)

Von Appen, Joe, Erik McClanahan, and Rodrigo Perez. "A Spoiler Heavy Talk About Alex Garland's Ex Machina." The Playlist (May 4, 2015)

Watercutter, Angela. "Ex Machina has a Serious Fembot Problem." Wired (April 9, 2015)

Fall 2015 Bluegrass Film Society

Bluegrass Film Society: Events Page


August 16: Ex Machina (UK: Alex Garland, 2015: 108 mins)

August 20: State of Siege (France: Costa-Gravas, 1972: 121 mins)

August 24: The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (USA: John Cassavettes, 1976: 135 mins)

August 25: Chocolat (France/Cameroon: Claire Denis, 1988: 105 mins)

August 28: The Knick (Showtime: Season 1, 2014)

September 1: American Psycho (USA: Mary Harron, 2000: 102 mins)

September 3: Girlhood (France: Céline Sciamma, 2014: 113 mins)

September 5: 52 Tuesdays (Australia: Sophie Hyde, 2013: 114 mins)

September 8: Frida (USA/Canada/Mexico: Julie Taymor, 2002: 123 mins)

September 9th: Hiroshima Mon Amour (France/Japan: Alain Resnais, 1959: 90 mins) [The Rosa Godard International Film Festival at The Kentucky Theater: 7:15PM]

September 10: Advantageous (USA: Jennifer Phang, 2015: 90 mins)

September 12: The End of the Tour (USA: James Ponsoldt, 2015: 106 mins) [Screening at The Kentucky Theater, 214 E Main St, Lexington, Kentucky 40507]

September 14: Trouble Every Day (France/Germany/Japan: Claire Denis, 2001: 101 mins)

September 16: Solaris (Soviet Union: Andrei Tarkovsky, 1972: 167 mins)[The Rosa Godard International Film Festival at The Kentucky Theater: 7:15PM]

September 18: Fat Girl (France/Italy: Catherine Breillat, 2001: 86 mins)

September 23: Heartbeats (Canada: Xavier Dolan, 2010: 101 mins)[The Rosa Godard International Film Festival at The Kentucky Theater: 7:15PM]

September 24: Timbuktu (France/Mauritania: Abderrahmane Sissako, 2014: 97 mins)

September 28: The Double Life of Veronique (France/Poland/Norway: Krzysztof Kieslowski, 1991: 98 mins) [Screening BCTC Oswald Building Auditorium at 7:30 PM]

September 29: Sense8 (Netflix: Andy Wachowski and Lana Wachowski, 2015: 1st season)

September 30: A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (USA: Ana Lily Amirpour, 2014: 101 mins) [The Rosa Godard International Film Festival at The Kentucky Theater: 7:15PM]

October 3: Norte, The End of History (Philippines: Lav Diaz, 2013: 250 mins)

October 6: Turn Me On, Dammit (Norway: Jannicke Systad Jacobsen, 2011: 76 mins)

October 9: Kill List (UK: Ben Wheatley, 2011: 95 mins)

October 10th: 3 events
Some Beasts (USA: Cameron Bruce Nelson, 2015: 90 mins) [Filmslang 2015 screening at Farish Theater]

Don’t Think I’ve Forgotten: Cambodia’s Lost Rock and Roll (USA/Cambodia/France: John Pirozzi, 2014: 105 mins) [Filmslang 2015 screening at Farish Theater]

Pharaoh's Army (USA: Robby Henson, 1995: 90 min) [Filmslang 2015 screening at Farish Theater]

October 12: Eyes Wide Shut (UK/USA: Stanley Kubrick, 1999: 153 mins)

October 19: Polytechnique (Canada: Denis Villeneuve, 2009: 77 mins)

October 19: Fando y Lis (Mexico: Alejandro Jodorowsky, 1968: 93 mins)

October 24: Concerning Violence(Sweden/Finland/Denmark/USA: Göran Olsson, 2014: 89 mins)

October 26: I Am Curious: Yellow (Sweden: Vilgot Sjöman, 1967: 121 mins)

October 27: The Strange Color of Your Body's Tears (Belgium/France/Luxembourg: Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani, 2013: 102 mins)

October 30: Tokyo Gore Police (Japan/USA: Yoshihiro Nishimura, 2008: 110 mins)

November 2: Mulholland Dr. (France/USA: David Lynch, 2001: 147 mins)

November 4: '71 (UK: Yann Demarge, 2014: 99 mins)

November 9: Mad Max: Fury Road (Australia/USA: George Miller, 2015: 120 mins)

November 15: Mr. Robot (USA: Sam Esmail, 2015) [1st Season]

November 16: The Duke of Burgundy (UK/Hungary: Peter Strickland, 2014: 104 mins)

November 17: Hannah Arendt (Germany/Luxemborg/France: Margarethe von Trotta, 2012: 113 mins)

November 18: Leviathan (Russia: Andrey Zvyagintsev, 2014: 140 mins)

November 23: The Game (USA: David Fincher, 1997: 128 mins)

November 29: Psywar (Canada: Scott Noble, 2010: 99 mins)

November 30: All That Jazz (USA: Bob Fosse, 1979: 123 mins)

December 1: Human Resources: Social Engineering in the 20th Century (Canada: Scott Noble, 2010: 119 mins)

December 6: Dressed to Kill (USA: Brian De Palma, 1980: 105 mins)

Resources for August 12, 2015

Pfister, Wally. "Batman: The Dark Knight." American Society of Cinematographers #5 (2008) ["Wally Pfister, ASC discusses working on The Dark Knight, the use of IMAX and shooting single camera, as well as his long term working relationship with Christopher Nolan in this interview with fellow cinematographer Daryn Okada, ASC."]

Rapold, Nicholas. "Chantal Akerman Takes Emotional Path in Film About 'Maman'." The New York Times (August 6, 2015)





Hudson, David. "Věra Chytilová, 1929 – 2014." Keyframe (March 12, 2014) ["Best known for DAISIES (1966), Chytilová was a major figure in Czech cinema."]

Fritsche, Tom. "The Ten Best Overlooked Soundtracks Keyframe (June 7, 2013)

Harvey, Dennis. "DAISIES’ Chain: Czech New Wave High Points." Keyframe (June 7, 2012) ["A Pacific Film Archive series with two Věra Chytilová classics highlights an unforgettable era."]

Claire Denis: The Art of Seduction Reverse Shot (June 26, 2009-July 16, 2009)





Gravely, Brittany. "To the Beat of Shirley Clarke." Harvard Film Archive (March 2015)

Tsangari, Athina Rachel. "Furious Cinema '70-'77." Harvard Film Archive (January 2015)

Resources for August 10, 2015

Kubrin, Charis. "The Criminalization of Rap." Against the Grain (July 22, 2015) ["Young men of color who are or aspire to be rap artists have long been targeted by police departments and the FBI. The lyrics they write are often viewed not as artistic expression but as evidence of a criminal disposition or even as confessions of wrongdoing. Charis Kubrin puts the growing use of rap lyrics in criminal proceedings in context."]

"A Moment of Zen: Seven Stories Looking Back at Jon Stewart’s Fake-News Legacy." Longreads (August 6, 2015)

Eig, Jonathan. "The tail wags: Hollywood’s crumbling infrastructure." Jump Cut #56 (Winter 2014/2015)





Gross, Anisse. "Mary Harron [SCREENWRITER, DIRECTOR]." Believer (March/April 2014)

Bierend, Doug. "Photos: The Brutal DIY Weapons of the Ukrainian Revolution." Wired (March 11, 2014)

Maguire, John. "The Secret to Good Writing: It's About Objects, Not Ideas." The Atlantic (October 2012)








Navarro, Guillermo. "Hellboy II: The Golden Army." The American Society of Cinematographers #4 (No Date) ["Guillermo Navarro, ASC, cinematographer of Hellboy II: The Golden Army, discusses shooting tooth fairies and elementals, creating otherworldly environments and working alongside Guillermo del Toro with American Cinematographer’s Iain Stasukevich."]

Resources for August 6, 2015

ZeroZeroZero by Roberto Saviano
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

An exhaustive and exhausting portrayal of the violent global cocaine industry. My copy was a free advanced uncorrected proof sent to me because of my review of Saviano's first masterpiece Gomorrah (portraying the Naples-based organized crime clans of Camorra) which served as the basis for Matteo Garrone's superb Italian film of the same name. That book was a riveting, dramatic, interweaving look at the realities of this influential underground society and its ties to respectable global businesses. The narrative was honed to perfection and its various stories worked to create a bigger story. Zero Zero Zero has the same shocking impact as we learn the far-flung activities of the cocaine trade, some of the major players over the years, and codes/violence of the various clans that seek to rule the trade. Unfortunately this copy (and it may be corrected in the revised editions) is often overrun by too many characters squeezed in at once and the juggling of multiple narratives within a chapter is confusing at times. Having said that there are the flashes of brilliance of the first book. Particularly relevant for this moment, and in mind the best part of the book, is the story of the rise of the Mexican cartels, especially the recently escaped El Chapo (after the book's narrative), the rise of the hyper-violent Zetas, and the moralistic codes of the La Familia Michoacan. I would imagine the book is essential for those studying the cocaine industry or global crime organizations, but, unfotunately, for this reader, the stories became somewhat repetitive in their listing of deeds and violence (it should not be a surprise that the insanely profitable underground cocaine industry is dominated by those willing to engage the most terrifyingly violent tactics). The connections to above-ground businesses is clear (especially the complicty, if not dependence of, major banks upon the influx of money laundering funds), but not as strong as in the previous book Gomorrah. Perhaps it is unfair to expect this book to live up to the previous one and it should be pointed out that Saviano has spent the last eight years under the constant protection of the Carabinieri because of the publication of the first book made him a target for revenge. The extent of the trade and the incredible global consumption of cocaine did shock me -- leaving me to wonder why this is not made more clear to the public. It also reminded me once again how hypocritical (in that generally the victims are small timers and they keep giving a pass to banks that aid the drug clans) and absurd the American government's devasting and damaging drug war really is ....

View all my reviews

Palast, Greg. "Cops Gun Down Unarmed Journalist's Career: LA Times fires Ted Rall – evidence blows up in newspaper’s face." Reader Supported News (August 5, 2015)

The End Of The Line (trailer) from Wilder Productions on Vimeo.

Simons, Daniel. "Attention." You are Not So Smart #1 ((April 24, 2012)

Chabris, Christopher. "The Illusion of Knowledge." You Are Not So Smart #2 (May 9, 2012)

Jones, Kent. "Critical Condition." Film Comment (March/April 2014)

Paoletti, Dennis. "Noise." 99% Invisible #1 (September 3, 2010) ["This episode of 99% Invisible is all about acoustic design, the city soundscape, and how to make listening in shared spaces pleasant."

Carilli, Craig. "Paramedic Shares Awesome Facebook Post About Minimum Wage Increase." The Good Life (2015)

Bull, Henrik. "180." 99% Invisible #2 (September 9, 2010) ["In the beginning, former AIA-SF president Henrik Bull and the Transamerica Pyramid did not get along. The building was an affront to late 1960’s modernist ideals. It was silly. It looked like a dunce cap. Its large scale had no respect for the neighborhood in which it lived. But over 40 years, something happened…"]

Bacal, Edward. "Sharon Lockhart and Steve McQueen: Inside the Frame of Structural Film." Cineaction #91 (2013)

Resources for August 4, 2015

Graeber, David. "The Bully’s Pulpit: On the elementary structure of domination." The Baffler #28 (2015)

Michael, Gabriel J. "Here’s why Julian Assange is picking a fight with international relationships professors." Washington Post (August 3, 2015)








Sperb, Jason. "Specters of film: new nostalgia movies and Hollywood’s digital transition." Jump Cut #56 (Winter 2014/2015)














Dayen, David. "Political Staff Overruled "Purists" at State Department Who Tallied Slavery Problems." The Intercept (August 3, 2015)