Movies

Article on the current crop of "eccentric" young American directors, and why they take so goddam long to make a new movie.

Slate's Ross Douthat on the rise and ignominious decline of the modern historical epic. Makes me want to see Gladiator again (sort of), and Master and Commander (best surround sound ever).

I'd have to say that my #1 is Seven Samurai. When I was a kid, my father and I would go any time it appeared at the local repertory theater. It was one of the first DVDs I bought, and any time I see any of it, I have to see it to the end. It's probably the fastest and best 3+ hours in film. My #2 is probably Ronin. Unlike Seven Samurai, Ronin is not a great film. But it is a very, very watchable movie. Good enough to be satisfying, but lightweight enough to go down easy. #3 is probably 1995's adaption of Pride and Prejudice, all 5+ hours of it. Another that I can't turn off once it's begun.

Makes me want to go watch (or re-watch) a bunch of Linklater movies.

Good article about post-middle-age directors. Some good suggestions for your Netflix queue (almost makes me want to watch 16 Blocks too).

The list is kind of dumb (why is "The Searchers" no. 12 this year but no. 96 in 1998? why is "Citizen Kane" on top?), but there are some movies on there I want to see, that I haven't.

some of the cut-up things she cites sound interesting