Plenty of politics play into the Oscar nomination process (often leading to some dubious selections in the Best Picture, Director and acting categories), but there’s one aspect of the Academy Awards circus that consistently feels pure and even altruistic: the spotlighting of short films. FilmScene is screening the Oscar-nominated short films in the animation, live […]
FilmScene
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Not a one-handed read: Anticipating ‘Bat Pussy’ (1973) on Valentine’s Day
Not only will attendees be able to get a free Bijou condom or dental dam at the ‘Bat Pussy’ screening, but Bijou will also partner with the Emma Goldman Clinic to provide information about healthy, consensual sex.
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‘Stan & Ollie’: The first home run of 2019
‘Stan & Ollie’ immediately interested me because of the perfect chemistry John C Reilly (‘Step Brothers’) and Steve Coogan (‘Tropic Thunder’) displayed in just the short trailer. After seeing the full feature film, I’m happy to say that it is my favorite movie so far in 2019.
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An overly in-depth and totally not bitter alternative Best Picture list
After dozens of forays to FilmScene and local multiplexes in 2018, crunching countless popcorn kernels in anticipation of celebrating the best of the best come February 2019, it was both anticlimactic and disappointing to see a line-up of Best Picture nominees that included the likes of Bohemian Rhapsody, Vice, Green Book and Black Panther.
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What it means to find a home: ‘Shoplifters’ provides a portrait of grace
‘Shoplifters,’ written and directed by Kore-eda Hirokazu, is an unsettling movie filled with a joie de vivre that proves unsustainable and falls apart.
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‘If Beale Street Could Talk’: the intensely emotional drama you’ve been waiting for
I was quite excited to see how Jenkins would follow up ‘Moonlight.’ ‘If Beale Street Could Talk,’ his third full-length effort, is already getting heaps of award buzz, and after seeing the film, I completely understand why.
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A new documentary highlights Holocaust writers and the ‘sacred memory’ they recorded
This Jan. 27, FilmScene will take part in a global screening event (one of two in Iowa) to remember the victims of the Holocaust. Connecting our community with the International Day of Commemoration, FilmScene will show the documentary ‘Who Will Write Our History’ and Agudas Achim’s Rabbi Esther Hugenholtz will moderate a panel discussion
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A valuable ally and a cunning enemy: Intrigue and rivalry shine in Lanthimos’ ‘The Favourite’
As with most of Lanthimos’ work, ‘The Favourite’ really defies category. Though the historical setting is inseparable from the narrative of the film, to call this a historical drama would clearly be wrong — the choreography, the foul-mouthed modern insults and the mostly casual regard for historical accuracy would all disqualify it.
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Alfonso Cuarón’s masterpiece ‘Roma’ is now on Netflix — but it’s worth a trip to FilmScene
There’s a fine line between a movie that’s “artsy” and one that’s “artistic,” at least in my mind. Artsy films I associate with a palpable (and largely unearned) sense of importance, originality and depth. They may be unnecessarily abstract, employ an unsteady cam ~for realism~ and cannot end until at least one character has floated […]
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‘At Eternity’s Gate’ is a well-worn story worth the retelling
‘At Eternity’s Gate,’ now playing at FilmScene, offers little new to the lore and legacy of van Gogh. Nonetheless, an homage to one of the very founders of modern art — as well as the idea of the modern artist — by one of its 21st century practitioners feels right, and Schnabel’s admiration for his subject informs every moment of this film.
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‘Wildlife’ transcends Oscar trappings with slow-burn drama and Carey Mulligan
Wildfires rage in the hills surrounding a small Montana town in the 1960s. A father, humiliated by his boss while working at a golf course, joins a group of firefighters battling the blaze for weeks on end at $1 an hour. His wife resents her husband’s pride and temporary desertion of his family, and becomes […]
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FilmScene at five: Origin story and future projections
There was a hole left in the downtown Iowa City culture when, in 1999, the twin movie screens of Englert Theatre closed for the large scale renovation and reopening of the Englert Theatre that we enjoy today. This was made worse when the University of Iowa bought and closed the sole remaining theatre, Campus 3 in the Old Capitol Mall, in 2007 to convert into UI offices and, after the flood, to house the UI School of Music. Iowa City was left without a permanent downtown movie theatre for the first time in almost 100 years.
