Ten Years of Film Interpretation

In Metaphilm, and in these books . . .

Monday, January 23, 2006

Alone In The Dark

It’s been a “dark” week in the journalism world of film writing, apparently, and yet this is a very interesting review of Colin McGinn’s new book, The Power of Movies, which is the first serious attempt to articulate the theory that film is the medium that allows us to most closely approximate the dreamstate in our Waking Life.  Well worth the time for Metaphilm readers who have been subscribers to this theory for a while now. 

Dark Art

Chris Fujiwara at The Boston Globe writes a nice piece that is both meditative review and further exploration of the theme of Mark Conard’s new book, The Philosophy of Film Noir.  It’s a subject clearly dear to Fujiwara’s heart, who already has a book out on a similar theme, and whose upcoming biography on Otto Preminger will be read with eagerness by those on this side of the pond, since Paul Glass, the soundtrack composer for the increasingly creepy narrative of Preminger’s 1965 Bunny Lake Is Missing, is also a professor at Franklin College Switzerland.  And as it turns out, a remake of Bunny Lake Is Missing is slated for 2007.  I had thought FlightPlan was already the remake, but that was an impression gleaned only from the previews; I’ve still not seen the film.

Thursday, January 05, 2006

Movies as Therapy

Cinematical points us to a new book out, Reel Fulfilment, which bills itself as a twelve-step plan for transforming your life through movies. Sounds like a potential triumph of the human spirit. Eesh. Actually, didn’t CinemaShrink do this first?

Wednesday, January 04, 2006

The Dharma of Star Wars

Thanks to reader Jan Bernd ten Berg from The Netherlands for pointing us to this FilmThreat interview with Matthew Bortolin, author of The Dharma of Star Wars. Interpreting the Star Wars saga through a Buddhist framework does open some helpful insights. “Buddhism teaches that the first Truth of life is that suffering is a part of life. For me nothing makes the fact of suffering more evident than the ‘Holiday Special’ and especially Beatrice Arthur singing the Mos Eisley Cantina patrons out the door. Just the memory makes my skin crawl.” Indeed. I have recently gotten my hands on a copy, but I haven’t been able to make my hands put it into the VCR. Apparently, I am not sufficiently willing to embrace suffering. 

Sunday, January 01, 2006

The Chronic Rock-les of Narnia

You know that cinema has replaced the cathedral when Lazy Sunday makes it to the top of the charts by telling the story of two Saturday Night Live guys catching a matinee to a filmed adaptation of a child’s Christian allegory.

Although, personally, for my money I prefer the Cupcake Cafe at 39th and 9th Avenue.