Bright Lights Film Journal editor Gary Morris introduces #74: "This issue opens with JD Markel's enchanting exegesis of Mike Leigh's Happy-Go-Lucky, but as in JD's previous contribution, expands into a much wider cultural critique…. In the Movies section, one of our new writers — come on down, Graham Daseler! — appears with two delightful entries, one on My Dinner with André, the other on the life and career of John Huston. BL regular David Pike authoritatively analyzes Denis Villeneuve's disturbing feature Incendies, while BL newbie Barry Stephenson offers a thoughtful study of ritual in Wes Anderson's The Darjeeling Limited. First-time contributors William Anselmi and Sheena Wilson shine light on the dark side of cinema technologies in a daring piece on Inception. And two recent returnees to these cyberpages, Mark Chapman and Alex Kirschenbaum, stylishly weigh in on, respectively, the 'aesthetic of disavowal' of Haneke's La Pianiste and Scorsese's The Color of Money as a film about transitory states and process."
Also: Gregory Stephens on films that take off for Alaska, Norman Ball on Exit Through the Gift Shop, Andrew Grossman — twice — on the American political scene, DJM Saunders on Frank Capra, Alan Jacobson on the "devilishly motivated moving camera" several of last year's films, Robert Smart on "outsider filmmaker" Bob Moricz, Frank Bren on Ernie Kovacs, William Leung on Linda Carter's Wonder Woman, Alan Vanneman on Chaplin at Keystone, Mark Cresswell and Zulfia Karimova on Bergman's women in Persona and Cries and Whispers, Lesley Chow from the Melbourne and Busan film festivals, Robert Keser from Abu Dhabi, Gordon Thomas on a stack of recent DVDs, Chad Trevitte on Christopher Sorrentino's book on Death Wish and Erich Kuersten on Pauline Kael.
In other news. Tomorrow evening, the Sartorialist will be hosting a book signing for G Bruce Boyer's new book, Gary Cooper: Enduring Style.
Also in New York, the 24th New York Queer Experimental Film Festival opens tomorrow and runs through Sunday.
Recently at the Chiseler: Jim Knipfel on Val Lewton and Mark Robson's The Ghost Ship (1943) and David Cairns on Mervyn LeRoy's Five Star Final (1931).
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