The thrilling conclusion of Bwogger Christian Kamongi’s interview with NYFF head and Columbia professor Richard Pena. Christian Kamongi: Speaking of American independent cinema, I’ve noticed that two of the three American comedies are in the tradition of Whit Stillman’s Mannerist comedies (The Darjeeling Limited and Margot at the Wedding [pictured, right]), and there are two features […]

To kick off a week of New York Film Festival coverage, Bwog cinema correspondent Christian Kamongi sits down for a two-part interview with Richard Peña, head of the NYFF and Columbia film professor. Christian Kamongi: How do you think the lineup for this year’s 45th New York Film Festival reflects any particular positive trends in […]

In which Bwog newbie Thomas Rhiel ascends to the height of filmmaker fandom. Critics seem to have lost much of their patience with Wes Anderson (He’s elitist! Self-important! Maybe even racist!), but I admit it: I can’t get enough. I want my characters quirky, forlorn, and constantly smoking. I want my frames symmetrical and colorful, […]

Sophomores Mike Molina and Rob Stenson (the kids who brought you this hilarity), along with Jeff Schwartz, are launching a crusade for as-yet-largely-nonexistent independent film at Columbia. It’s called Project Bluelight, modeled off the real-life Project Greenlight, which makes movies happen from storyboard to screening. Bwog interrogated them last night via e-mail. Do you have […]

In which Learned Foote, one of those delightfully over-eager first years (and a legit film reviewer), muses on Nicole Kidman’s latest risky venture. No sarcasm intended whatsoever�Invasion of the Body Snatchers, in which weird alien intelligence hits Earth and stealthily creates duplicates of the people we know and love,  should definitely be remade every twenty […]

South by Southwest (SXSW), the annual film and music festival in Austin, Texas, ends today—and BW culture editor Paul Barndt got himself a press pass (see, bwogging has its benefits). The music part is higher profile, but it’s a pain–unless running around Austin to catch half-hour sets at crowded bars is your idea of a […]

Herein dumpeth Bwog various unrelated chunks of news, information, and gossip… SoA Films Score Big Three films produced by School of the Arts alums have received major accolades. At the Sundance Film Festival, Padre Nuestro, written and directed by Christopher Zalla and produced by Ben Odell (both SoA ’04) took the Grand Jury Prize for best dramatic […]

Albert Maysles, with his brother and co-director David, is responsible for some of the most famous and influential documentaries of all time. If you haven’t heard of him, just pick up Grey Gardens at Kim’s. The story of two of Jackie Kennedy’s lesser-known relatives living in a crumbling Long Island mansion, it has inspired a […]

In which film savant Iggy Cortez recommends a melodrama with honesty. Like many Iranian movies, Bahman Ghobadi’s beautiful and passionate A Time for Drunken Horses focuses its poignant narrative on children, a device some critics consider excessively manipulative, but which Ghobadi handles with honesty and an admirable restraint. The film follows a family of orphaned Kurdish […]

In which film savant Iggy Cortez tells us how to live forever, and live right. Sally Potter’s film version of Virginia Woolf’s irreverent biography remains one of the strongest examples of adaptation in recent years, maintaining the spirit of its novelistic predecessor while enriching it with distinctly cinematic qualities. This is a particularly impressive achievement […]

In which film savant Iggy Cortez shows us the Way. Jim Jarmusch’s Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai is a bizarre but very watchable melting pot of ancient spiritualism, gangster references, urban decay and RZA’s  predictably infectious soundtrack. Forest Whitaker stars as yet another off-beat and enigmatic character, a bird-loving hit man named Ghost […]

In which film savant Iggy Cortez gives you something to watch this weekend when you ask the cute girl from CC to your room to “watch a movie.” What Time is it There? is Tsai-Ming Liang’s powerful exploration of loneliness and loss, themes he has explored previously in such modern classics as the bleak The […]

Feeling guilty about being suckered in by the Oscars? Ease your guilt! Read about how once upon a time, film screenings meant something. From the March issue of the B&W. I Can’t Believe it’s not Goulash Roger Ebert likes to wax nostalgic about the old days. In a favorite story of his, he stood with […]

In which film savant Iggy Cortez tells you what to watch on Oscar’s eve. Joining the ranks of Fellini and Kurosawa, Robert Altman will receive a life-time achievement award during this year’s Academy Awards. Although the Oscar’s prestige has considerably diminished in the past few years, Altman’s recognition should be universally lauded, as he is […]

In which staffer Mark Krotov gives movie suggestions for those who fear to venture off the 1, 2, and 3 lines. AMC Loews 84th Street 6 84th and Broadway Dave Chappelle’s Block Party Any attempt at sarcasm goes out the window when confronted with a movie directed by Michel Gondry (of Eternal Sunshine of the […]