The Deep End, by Scott McGehee and David Siegel, is one of the finer independent films of 2001. Crossing noir and melodrama, the film is a fairly close remake of the last of Max Ophuls’ three Hollywood films, The Reckless Moment (1949).
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Donnie Darko
I just saw (on DVD) Richard Kelly’s Donnie Darko, which is an extraordinarily beautiful film, certainly one of the best movies of 2001. It’s a delicate, creepy, and quite affecting portrait of male teenage alienation and angst, subtly bathed in the colors of what might be described either as schizophrenic hallucination, or as science fiction….
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Monster’s Ball
Seeing Monster’s Ball made me wish that James Baldwin were still alive, because Baldwin wrote the book on the racial hypocrisy of Hollywood. Monster’s Ball continues the tradition of films like The Defiant Ones and Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner–films that wear their ostensibly anti-racist messages on their sleeves, while actually continuing to perpetuate the worst racist stereotypes…
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Trouble Every Day
I just saw Trouble Every Day, the latest film by Claire Denis. I seem to be one of the very few people who actually liked it. It’s gotten bad reviews from nearly every reviewer, except for my friend Charles Mudede. But I think it is an amazing film…
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Oops Oh My
I really like the new video for “Oops! Oh My!” by Tweet. It’s been playing in heavy rotation on VH-1 Soul and BET…
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