Film

‘Client 9’: The Rehabilitation of Eliot Spitzer

Richard Schickel / Truthdig Nov 6, 2010 A confession: I’ve never liked Eliot Spitzer He has his virtues: He is relentlessly—and not stupidly—articulate He has the right enemies, be they corporate titans or the endemically corrupt denizens of the New York legislature He is natty in his well-cut suits (by Hickey-Freeman, as the New York Times informs us) . Dig deeper ( 4 Min. Read )

Not Appearing at the Oscars: Jean-Luc Godard

Staff / Truthdig Oct 26, 2010 How do you give out an Oscar to someone who doesn't want to come and get it? That's the quandary the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is facing, as Jean-Luc Godard, French New Wave auteur and one of this year's honorary Academy Award recipients (continued). Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

New Zealanders Stage Pro-‘Hobbit’ Rallies

Staff / Truthdig Oct 26, 2010 As executives from Warner Bros. visited New Zealand to deliberate about whether to film the studio's pair of planned "Hobbit" prequels there, people from around the country joined in demonstrations in an attempt to tip the balance in their favor. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

‘Carlos’: A Different Kind of Terrorism

Richard Schickel / Truthdig Oct 17, 2010 “Carlos” is a fictionalized but persuasively believable biography of celebrity terrorist Ilich Ramirez Sanchez, a man known for his indolence as well as support for a whole gamut of revolutionary causes. Dig deeper ( 4 Min. Read )

Taking ‘Superman’ to School

Marcia Alesan Dawkins / Truthdig Oct 17, 2010 This depiction of our nation’s teachers is typical of those who promote a particular reform agenda calling for charter schools, anti-unionism and merit pay based on high-stakes test scores While it’s fine to promote this agenda, it’s also ethical to provide a balanced critique. Dig deeper ( 4 Min. Read )

A Glimpse Into the Heart of a Rotten System

Richard Schickel / Truthdig Oct 9, 2010 I have now sat through Charles Ferguson’s “Inside Job”— the nonfiction version of Oliver Stone’s “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps”— and I still don’t fully understand our endless financial crisis This does not mean that “Inside Job” is a failureI have now sat through Charles Ferguson’s documentary and I still don’t fully understand our endless financial crisis. Dig deeper ( 4 Min. Read )

‘The Social Network’: Your Life in Pixels

Kasia Anderson / Truthdig Oct 2, 2010 The 1970s were branded the “Me Decade” long ago, but whatever shadowy committee makes such important temporal pronouncements might want to reconsider that call in light of the last 10 years.Stripped of its particulars, "The Social Network" is a classic fable about love and betrayal and the outsider wanting in so badly he ends up destroying what he desires the most. Dig deeper ( 4 Min. Read )

Wall Street Revisited: Greed Is Good and Dull

Richard Schickel / Truthdig Sep 25, 2010 The inherent problem with Oliver Stone's follow-up to his 1987 classic is that it does not have the courage of its own nastiest convictions. Dig deeper ( 4 Min. Read )

‘The Tillman Story’: Myth, Mystery and Celebrity

Richard Schickel / Truthdig Aug 19, 2010 Thanks to the Establishment’s truly spectacular mishandling of this case—will they never learn, you can live with screw-ups, never coverups?—Pat Tillman left the country of celebrity and entered the land of myth, innocently, even perhaps tragically.Thanks to the Establishment’s truly spectacular mishandling of his case, Pat Tillman left the country of celebrity and entered the land of myth, innocently, even perhaps tragically. Dig deeper ( 5 Min. Read )

Eat Pray Buy

Staff / Truthdig Aug 18, 2010 Historically, the notion of cross-promotion in the film world has frequently involved plastic products optimized for Happy Meals -- collect ’em all! But with changing times and audiences come all new ways to part moviegoers with their pocket money. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Men Defeat Women at the Box Office

Staff / Truthdig Aug 16, 2010 Whether by chance or design, Hollywood turned the weekend of Friday, Aug. 13, 2010, into a cinematic tug of war between the sexes, with two of the most narrowly gender-targeted movies imaginable coming out on the same day. (continued) Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

‘Countdown to Zero’ — or Apocalypse, Whichever Comes First

Richard Schickel / Truthdig Jul 30, 2010 "Countdown to Zero" is an intelligent, graphically sophisticated documentary film about what is almost certainly the most important issue confronting the world today -- nuclear proliferation. Dig deeper ( 4 Min. Read )