Dialogic Cinephilia -

Federal officials said Wednesday they’ve arrested five members of a far-right white nationalist group who were conspiring to threaten and intimidate journalists and activists around the United States. U.S. prosecutors say members of the neo-Nazi group Atomwaffen threatened black and Jewish journalists in Arizona and the Seattle area, while others harassed and threatened an unnamed reporter from ProPublica. That reporter is likely journalist A.C. Thompson, who’s written extensively about Atomwaffen and one of its leaders, John Cameron Denton, who was among those arrested on Wednesday. Democracy Now headlines (February 27, 2020)

"The 50 Most Overlooked Films of 2019." The Film Stage (December 20, 2019)

Harron, Mary. "Charlie Says." Film Comment Podcast (May 29, 2019) ["For our latest Film Comment Free Talk, the director of I Shot Andy Warhol and American Psycho sat down for a conversation about her latest, Charlie Says. The film looks past the mythology of the Manson Family murders to focus on the experiences of three women under the charismatic cult leader’s spell, both at the time of the crimes and later, in prison. Harron and FC Editor-in-Chief discuss the genesis of the film, the director’s background as a punk-era music journalist, and her depictions of violence—both physical and psychological—on screen."]




Hidalgo, Omar Zúñiga, Dominga Sotomayor and Rodrigo Teixeira. "Too Late to Die Young." Film at Lincoln Center Podcast (May 29, 2019)

Scharf, Zack. "Bong Joon Ho’s Favorite Movies: 30 Films the Director Wants You to See." IndieWire (February 6, 2020)

Scialabba, George. "Back to the Land: Wendell Berry in the Path of Modernity." The Baffler (January 2020)

Seitz, Matt Zoller. "A Hidden Life." Roger Ebert (December 13, 2019)

Tafoya, Scout. "The Unloved, Pt. 74: Vigilante." Roger Ebert (February 3, 2020) ["Video essay introduction: "When Robert Forster passed, the tragedy was compounded by the fact that he never quite got to shine the way other actors do. His career revival, when Quentin Tarantino cast him in "Jackie Brown" in a rare leading man role (an even rarer leading man role for a guy over 50 playing a guy over 50), happened two decades ago, and led only to him playing more character parts in frequently lamentable movies. Not that he ever gave less than his best. To hear Forster talk about his work, you'd think he was the best rated contractor in town—just a guy who showed up with his toolkit and left you with a full, functioning, beautiful, sturdy house. As big a fan as I am of his poignant later work, my favorite period of Forster's is his '80s period, when he played downcast, slightly sleazy dudes on missions of mercy. I love his depressive hero shtick in "Alligator," the way he never once lets on that he's doing more than the job of city cop requires, even as he's trying to blow up a 30-foot reptile terrorizing his city. But his work in William Lustig's "Vigilante" catapulted it into the upper echelon of late grindhouse. Even though "Maniac Cop 2" is Lustig's masterpiece, "Vigilante" is Lustig's most soulful work—a "Death Wish" remake with an actual moral underpinning, asking questions of its violent world and characters every step of the way. If not for an everyman type like Forster in the role, the film would slip off balance. With him in the role, it became a classic."]

Taibbi, Matt. "Russia Isn't Dividing Us - Our Leaders Are." Rolling Stone (February 24, 2020)