paris TEXAS
wim WENDERS’S beautiful road movie paris, texas has been re-released to dvd by criterion. the movie’s gorgeous southern american landscapes provide sumptuous atmospheres for the quiet ramblings of harry dean stanton’s travis as he tries to reconnect with his family. [CONTINUED WITH TRAILER]
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portland OREGON
another great issue of yeti magazine complete with luc sante’s real photo postcards, illustrations by nicholas gazin, interviews with zolla jesus, bishop perry tillis, and elaine radigue as well as a cd full of fuzzed out gems from tyvek, ty segall, mantles, woven bones, and little claw.
san bernadino CALIFORNIA
criterion releases the stunning restoration of douglas SIRK’S magnificent obsession done by martin scorsese’s film foundation to dvd. rock hudson in his breakout role plays vapid bob merrick whose recklessness indirectly causes the death of a local doctor and sends him on a bizarre spiritual trip. the lush colors and visuals are gorgeous, a major achievement of technicolor and melodrama.
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FRANCE
jason’s low moon collects five of his shorter pieces including the titular new york times serial into his first hardcover book. continuing in his spare style and his impeccable timing he uses techniques that are reminiscent of silent film as he builds suspense and bizarre laughs at every twist with these stories of murder, sex, and deadpan talking dogs.
new york NEW YORK
the stylish gangster film the hit by stephen FREARS features tim roth, john hurt, and terrence stamp. roth and hurt’s ruthless hitmen hunt stamp in the idyllic spanish countryside and then must drive him back to paris. before tarrantino’s hitmen ever uttered a philosophical musing frears had his thugs waxing existential laments during this thriller of a road trip. [TRAILER]
new york NEW YORK
the third set of PENGUIN’S beautiful great ideas series is finally available in the united states. the covers feature designs in shades of green by the fantastic david pearsons. this set of twenty pocket paperbacks includes foucault, plutarch, kierkegaard, camus, proust, tolstoy, and freud.
baghdad IRAQ
in the hurt locker kathryn BIGELOW skillfully cuts scene after scene together to induce gut wrenching tension and an overwhelming sense of disorientation and anxiety.
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new york NEW YORK
nathaniel WEST’S classics the day of the locust and miss lonelyhearts have been collected in one volume and published by new directions. both are darkly comic visions ahead of their time set in new york and los angeles. desperation, misery, failure, and lost hope were never so funny.
new york NEW YORK
log 17 , “the superficial issue,” explores issues of form, sensation, mood, styling, and affect in architecture while creating some distance from the contemporary hangups of sustainability, scientific data, and process. the issue contains excellent writings by sylvia lavin, david erdman, and the not to be missed essay “hair and makeup” by jason payne. there are also three illuminating conversations with participants including thom mayne, hernan diaz alonso, marcelo spina, elena manferdini, peter zellner, tom wiscombe, and kivi sotamaa.
london ENGLAND
although not a major departure in character and story from his previous films, the fantastic mr fox is the most enjoyable wes ANDERSON outing in quite a while. the success relies heavily on the virtuoso puppet work of mackinnon & saunders. the detail and mood evoked by the stop motion techniques are mesmerizing as the animation allows for anderson’s control of set design and atmosphere to reach a new level complete with plenty of cutaways and autumnal colors.
