Monthly Archives: October 2013

Birds Walk, Filmmakers Soar

Posted on October 31, 2013 by Mark Stern

Omar Mullick and Bassam Tariq’s “These Birds Walk,” is a deeply compassionate and exquisitely shot documentary with images reminiscent of Cartier-Bresson–but in color, and moving.  What is the decisive moment called at 30 frames per second? Made over three years, … Continue reading →

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The Smartest Guy in the (Very Well-Appointed) Room

Posted on October 25, 2013 by Mark Stern

Economics PhD, possible game theorist, and thoroughly amoral (surrounded by immoral colleagues), poker-faced Marc Tourneuil (Gad Elmaleh) accidentally ascends to the position of CEO at Phenix, a powerful French international investment bank.  And although others (in his firm, on Phenix’s … Continue reading →

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Next Year at Marienbad?

Posted on October 23, 2013 by Mark Stern

Alain Resnais’ “Last Year At Marienbad” is the most famous film that I’ve never seen (unless you count “Rocky”–and most of my friends don’t–which is an entirely different filmgoing experience). Starring Delphine Seyrig and with an Oscar-nominated screenplay by Alain … Continue reading →

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Four Is Five

Posted on October 10, 2013 by Mark Stern

I’ve read that a dog who sleeps on his back, with his belly exposed, feels secure in his environment, unworried about attack. Ryder is my fourth Labrador Retriever and since arriving as an eight-week-old puppy (to Leo‘s initial dismay), has … Continue reading →

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There are 1,360,270,000 stories; these are four of them.*

Posted on October 4, 2013 by Mark Stern

Jia Zhangke’s staggering “A Touch of Sin,” blends fiction with four stories (three murders, one suicide) “ripped from the headlines.”  And Jia citing the films of King Hu says, “I’ve drawn on inspiration from wuxia pian (martial arts) to construct … Continue reading →

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Love and Loss

Posted on October 2, 2013 by Mark Stern

A divorcing couple in Baltimore, musicians Kim and Bill (Kim Taylor and Ned Oldham), their college freshman daughter, Abby (Hannah Gross), and their teenage niece/cousin, Taryn (Deragh Campbell), a runaway from Ireland, struggle with beginnings and endings,  knowing who they are, … Continue reading →

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