Read On is a regular feature in which The Dissolve’s staff recommends recent film pieces. Because there’s always someone writing something notable about the movies somewhere on the Internet.
Slate’s Dana Stevens reacts to Finding Vivian Maier’s Oscar nom:
“If anything, Finding Vivian Maier is one of the worst documentaries I saw in 2014, or at least the one with the most glaring mismatch between the intrinsic value of the material and the degree of aesthetic, intellectual, and moral care with which that material is presented. Vivian Maier deserves a far better documentary than Finding Vivian Maier—and, I suspected by movie’s end, a better custodian for her work than Maloof, who often seems as invested in crowing over his luck at stumbling onto this stash of images as he is in understanding the art of those images, or the complex and troubling life of the woman who created them.”
The Guardian’s Shaun Walker on why the Oscar-nominated Leviathan has upset officials in Russia:
“Unmoved by the film’s victory in the foreign language category at the Globes this month, the official reaction in Russia has been scathing. Vladimir Medinsky, the culture minister, told the Izvestia newspaper this week that Leviathan’s portrayal of the church was ‘beyond all limits’ and said its characters were not real Russians. ‘However much the authors made the characters swear and swig litres of vodka, they are not Russians. I did not recognise myself, my colleagues, friends or even friends of friends in Leviathan’s characters,’ said Medinsky. He said he hoped Zvyaginstev would make films in future ‘without this existential despair.’ ”
The Daily Beast’s Marlow Stern talks to Spike Lee about the Selma Oscar snub:
“ ‘But that doesn’t diminish the film. Nobody’s talking about motherfuckin’ Driving Miss Daisy. That film is not being taught in film schools all across the world like Do the Right Thing is. Nobody’s discussing Driving Miss Motherfuckin’ Daisy. So if I saw Ava today I’d say, ‘You know what? Fuck ’em. You made a very good film, so feel good about that and start working on the next one.’ ”
ScreenCrush’s Matt Singer kicks off “the complete history of comic-book movies” with Adventures of Captain Marvel:
“When Adventures Of Captain Marvel was made in 1940, the rules of of comic-movies hadn’t been established yet; heck in 1940, most of the rules of comic books themselves hadn’t been established yet. Characters onscreen are weirdly unfazed by the appearance of a man in red tights and a cap flying through the air, and Captain Marvel himself is shockingly violent; in the very first episode he kills a whole bunch of bad guys by commandeering their Gatling gun and then mowing them down as they run for their lives. Shooting dudes in the back in cold blood? This is a long way from ‘family-friendly entertainment.’ ”
Plus, the rest of today’s biz-ness:
- The cast of Selma is returning to Alabama for a commemorative march
- Sundance London has been canceled for 2015
- President Obama will host a Selma screening
- Berlin International Film Fest’s classic screenings will include a digitally restored Goldfinger and In Cold Blood
- More than 15,000 have signed a petition demanding an Asian actor is cast in the live-action Ghost In The Shell in place of Scarlett Johansson
- Under The Skin and The Immigrant are among the Cinematographers Spotlight Award nominees
- Fox Searchlight is rerelasing The Grand Budapest Hotel in select cities
And a heads up: The Dissolve offices will be closed on Monday in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. day. We’ll be back Tuesday with new content. Happy Friday!