Every Frame a Painting continues to be one of the best online film criticism video series. Usually the channel looks at editing and composition, but this time, creator Tony Zhou turned his sights to a very difficult film question: why are modern film soundtracks so uninspiring? Zhou puts forward a cohesive argument, with the Marvel […]
Continue readingSOC’s Media that Matter series kicks off with Thank You for Playing
Every semester, SOC’s Media that Matter film series highlights social issues as captured on the screen, from race issues in America to the ethics of food. It’s a very AU film series in the best way, and often, the screening includes a discussion with the filmmakers. Last semester, the series included a screening of Best […]
Continue readingWhat does a filmmaking class from Werner Herzog look like?
We just love this picture so much. Credit to sarkos on Tumblr. Last year, the startup company MasterClass began offering six-hour online video lectures hosted by luminaries in their fields. You can learn about acting from Kevin Spacey or signing from Christina Aguilera, complete with assignments to complete on your own. We don’t know how […]
Continue readingSee Queen of Katwe for free TOMORROW!
One of the great perks of living in a major city is getting to see movies before they come out. This week, we have free passes to see Queen of Katwe, the upcoming biopic about Ugandan chess player Phiona Mutesi, weeks before it hits theaters! The screening is tomorrow, Monday, September 12th, as 7pm in […]
Continue readingDo some TV shows work better un-binged?
So today, a contentious issue came up in Media Services: one of our staff members gave up watching HBO’s Deadwood. One reason it didn’t click, they thought, was that episodes might not play as well when watched one after another. Unlike some shows with slowburn stories that make sense to watch in extended sessions, maybe […]
Continue readingCan someone give Mr. Robot a lamp?
from the trailer for season 4 of The Americans Current great television dramas are dark. We don’t just mean in terms of content, like Mr. Robot or the extremely tense The Americans. They are, literally, dark. Vulture‘s Kathryn VanArendonk wrote a great column about this phenomenon and how this impacts our perception of the shows. […]
Continue readingNew Acquisitions – September 2016
With the first week of classes almost in the bag, we have the Labor Day weekend to look forward to. And with a tropical storm possibly bearing down on us, what better way than to escape a long, stormy weekend than grabbing a few movies? We’re continuing to add new films to our collection that […]
Continue readingHow do you adapt an unfilmable novel?
Academy Award-nominated screenwriter Hossein Amini has a reputation for adapting scripts from books that could never translate into films. His screenplays for The Wings of the Dove and especially Drive took novels that would be incoherent if adapted literally and made them natural fits for the screen. So how does one go about writing something […]
Continue readingGene Wilder and his triumphant Mel Brooks comedies
As with everyone else, we’re saddened by the news of the death of Gene Wilder. He was Willy Wonka, of course, but he was also one of the greatest comedic actors of the 20th century. His collaborations with Mel Brooks and Richard Pryor are all-time classics, and hearing that someone with such a sharp mind […]
Continue readingThe New York Times looks at the confusing work of film preservation
Still from Decasia Welcome back! The fall 2016 semester is underway now, and we’re happy to see students back. You can come to us to watch any films you need to watch for class… but as we’re often reminded, there are some things we just can’t get our hands on. Last week, The New York […]
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