The Dissolve: Features

The human nature of Werner Herzog’s Grizzly Man

Scott Tobias — Tue, 07 Jul 2015 00:00:00 -0500

A Movie Of The Week month devoted to the theme of man vs. nature kicks off with a look at Werner Herzog’s stunning examination of self-proclaimed bear expert Timothy Treadwell.

Why Tangerine could be a turning point for transgender actors

Andreas Stoehr — Tue, 07 Jul 2015 00:00:00 -0500

There’s a long tradition of cisgender actors playing transgender roles—often to great acclaim. But trans actors have started to make waves on television, and a winning comedy could help change things in movies, too.

Female pleasure looks mighty odd in Magic Mike XXL

Tasha Robinson — Mon, 06 Jul 2015 00:00:00 -0500

On every level of calculation, the film is about servicing women’s sexuality; it’s an open, repeated plot point. But the film has some strange, sticky ideas about what turns women on.

Penelope Spheeris on the long-overdue return of her Decline Of Western Civilization trilogy

Simon Abrams — Mon, 06 Jul 2015 00:00:00 -0500

From the late 1970s to the late 1990s, Penelope Spheeris made three music documentaries that doubled as snapshots of a particular time in California. With the release of a new Blu-ray set, the director looks back on the process.

Forum: The Killer

Mike D'Angelo and Scott Tobias — Thu, 02 Jul 2015 00:00:00 -0500

A conversation about The Killer covers its auspicious arrival in America, its lasting legacy, and whether or not John Woo lays on the melodrama thickly.

When Jean-Claude Van Damme became Hong Kong’s gateway to Hollywood

Charles Bramesco — Thu, 02 Jul 2015 00:00:00 -0500

As Hong Kong directors like John Woo, Tsui Hark, and Ringo Lam made their way to Hollywood in the 1990s one star helped them get there: Jean-Claude Van Damme. The weird thing: It kind of worked.

Winter’s Bone director Debra Granik says her new Stray Dog is a love letter to America

Tasha Robinson — Wed, 01 Jul 2015 00:00:00 -0500

The subject of Granik’s documentary was a minor player in Winter’s Bone. After years of filming him, she put together an emotional portrait of poverty, PTSD, and his many survival tactics.

Pixar’s films put technology and storytelling hand-in-hand

Noel Murray — Wed, 01 Jul 2015 00:00:00 -0500

Conceived as a means to push the limits of computer animation, Pixar has evolved from a problem-solving wing in a tech company to an assured teller of moving stories. But its success as the latter has its roots in the former.

The sincerity and sensation of John Woo’s The Killer

Keith Phipps — Tue, 30 Jun 2015 00:00:00 -0500

Though Woo’s influences range from Sam Peckinpah and Martin Scorsese to Le Samouraï and Magnificent Obsession, his breakthrough hit brought his own distinct style to a bullet-riddled gangster melodrama.

Amy’s filmmakers on the secret, real Amy Winehouse

Keith Phipps — Tue, 30 Jun 2015 00:00:00 -0500

Producer James Gay-Rees and director Asif Kapadia talk about why they turned their documentary Amy around so quickly, how they built trust with Winehouse’s media-shy former friends, and the hidden woman they reveal.

Which version of James Cameron’s The Abyss is better?

Keith Phipps — Mon, 29 Jun 2015 00:00:00 -0500

Our new feature digs into multiple version of the same film. First up: James Cameron’s The Abyss, an ambitious underwater adventure that attempted to do for the seas what 2001: A Space Odyssey did for outer space.

The 50 most daring film roles for women since Ripley

Fri, 26 Jun 2015 00:00:00 -0500

Starting with the watershed moment of Sigourney Weaver’s tough-as-nails space heroine, we look at some of the female roles that broke ground, dodged stereotypes, and paved the path for today’s increasingly diverse women on film.

Forum: The Virgin Suicides

Keith Phipps and Tasha Robinson — Thu, 25 Jun 2015 00:00:00 -0500

The conversation around Sofia Coppola’s debut continues with a discussion of death, nostalgia, and teenagers.

In Sofia Coppola’s films, music says what characters can’t

Hazel Cills — Thu, 25 Jun 2015 00:00:00 -0500

From The Virgin Suicides through The Bling Ring, Coppola turns up the volume even when her characters can’t express themselves.

In 1978, a trio of films rushed to feed the craze for science fiction

Keith Phipps — Wed, 24 Jun 2015 00:00:00 -0500

After Star Wars’ success, the gold rush was on for cheap space adventures from around the world, from a laser-blasting American kid to a Japanese movie with Sonny Chiba and Vic Morrow to an Italian production starring a young David Hasselhoff.

The Virgin Suicides is a window into Sofia Coppola’s fixations

Genevieve Koski — Tue, 23 Jun 2015 00:00:00 -0500

Coppola’s career-long concern with looking in, looking out, and characters feeling trapped no matter which side they’re on begins with her remarkable debut.

Pete Docter on the goals and milestones of Inside Out

Tasha Robinson — Tue, 23 Jun 2015 00:00:00 -0500

The lead director and co-writer of Pixar’s latest animated movie talks about characters he cut (including Pride, Hope, and Schadenfreude), dead ends and problems, and why it’s so expensive to make textured, glowing CGI characters.

Parsing tragedy through documentary at AFI Docs

Andrew Lapin — Mon, 22 Jun 2015 11:00:57 -0500

Grim real-world events cast a shadow on this year’s AFI Docs, a festival of new documentaries that, at its best, doubles as a mirror of what’s going on in the world.

In Inside Out, Pixar gets mature about growing up

Jen Chaney — Mon, 22 Jun 2015 00:00:00 -0500

Several Pixar films have already addressed the poignancy of childhood’s end. But in Inside Out, the studio gets brutally honest about coming of age.

This is the part where I defend Me And Earl And The Dying Girl

David Ehrlich — Fri, 19 Jun 2015 00:00:00 -0500

Is Alfonso Gomez-Rejon’s film as blinkered as its critics claim? One writer’s recent personal history leads him to suggest otherwise.

Writer-director Lou Howe on building Gabriel from the inside out

Tasha Robinson — Fri, 19 Jun 2015 00:00:00 -0500

The debuting writer-director of the Essential Viewing pick Gabriel talks about learning film at Harvard, working under Hal Hartley, and building realistic, natural dialogue.

Forum: Aliens

Keith Phipps and Scott Tobias — Thu, 18 Jun 2015 00:00:00 -0500

The Aliens discussion continues with a conversation about why it still works so well, and the legacy of a film that still seems ahead of its time.

How Aliens set the gold standard for supporting casts

Genevieve Valentine — Thu, 18 Jun 2015 00:00:00 -0500

Aliens’ Colonial Marines are a memorable group, thanks to a combination of smart writing and the efforts of a cast that went through hell together.

One Year Later: The Fault In Our Stars

Genevieve Koski — Wed, 17 Jun 2015 00:00:00 -0500

2014’s adaptation of John Green’s bestselling tearjerker connected with audiences in a big way. How does it play one year later?

André Gregory and Wallace Shawn discuss their decades working together

Noel Murray — Wed, 17 Jun 2015 00:00:00 -0500

Since the surprise 1981 hit My Dinner With André, André Gregory and Wallace Shawn have collaborated on two more films. As a Criterion Collection box set gathers their work together, they look back.