Episode #58 - Fernando F. Croce (Once Upon A Honeymoon)

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"I think of films at these points where older films go into and newer films come out of."

Reading Fernando F. Croce's work, you get the sense that his criticism is more of an ode to the gods that create cinema than descriptions of moral material. They are filled with such romanticism and specificity that each line feels as intensely sculpted as the contours of a Bernini. So Peter was absolutely delighted to travel up to San Jose to talk about film with the Brazilian born critic, including the influence of Manny Farber, seeing art as a great unconscious that spills between films and beyond, and the two pillars that hold up this great art. The two then dive into the truly unique world of Once Upon A Honeymoon, a Leo McCarey romantic comedy following Cary Grant and Ginger Rodgers as they flee the Nazi invasion of Europe, creating a pathos that includes both sexual innuendo as well as sympathy for the plight of a soon to be exterminated people.

0:00-2:28 Opening

3:24-9:52 Establishing Shots - Rossellini's India: Matri Bhumi

10:37-53:20  Deep Focus - Fernando F Croce

54:05-56:40 Mubi Sponsorship - Boarding Gate and A Spell To Ward Off the Darkness

58:10 -1:24:36 Double Exposure - Once Upon A Honeymoon (Leo McCarey)

1:24:41-1:26:19 Close

Read Fernando F Croce at his website CinePassion, as well as on Slant, Mubi, Reverse Shot, and Keyframe Daily. Follow him on Twitter.
Watch Once Upon A Honeymoon on YouTube or Amazon.

Episode #4 - Keith Uhlich (The Truth About Charlie)

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"I feel like there's all these voices out there, and I want to keep contributing my voice…I think the way film criticism survives in this uncertain landscape is by building a community. As long as you have a strong community of people – not necessarily like-minded on the same films – but people who accept that film criticism is an art that is well worth preserving and keeping around. I’m heartened by the number of different voices I see."

For a film critic who has to keep his reviews under 250 words, Time Out New York staff writer Keith Uhlich has quite a lot to say as he joins Peter for the podcast. Keith explains how he originally got the cinephile bug watching films like Popeye and Spaceballs, as well as his frustrations in making his own films at NYU. They then dive in deep to Keith's unique writing process and spar a bit over some of his more oddball opinions (a love of The Black Dahlia, anger toward Steven Soderbergh). Keith also explains his frustrations over the current state of independent LBGTQ cinema (never have the words “Fuck you, Tom Ford” been spoken with such force). Finally, the two discuss Jonathan Demme’s The Truth About Charlie, an often maligned remake of Charade that inspires both of them for its visual appreciation of Paris and its overlooked humanism.

0:00-4:50 - Opening/Act One: Establishing Shots - Remembering Tony Scott

5:05-1:40:50 - Act Two: Deep Focus - Keith Uhlich
1:41:40-2:06:18 - Act Three: Double Exposure - The Truth About Charlie (Jonathan Demme)
2:06:20-2:08:00 - Close/Outtake

Read Keith Uhlich at Time Out New York, Slant Magazine, The House of Next Door, Senses of Cinema, and Reverse Show. Also read his haiku reviews on Letterboxd.

Follow Keith on Twitter.

Episode #3 - Kenji Fujishima (Fallen Angels)

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"I feel like film for me is kind of a fulfillment of an ideal of an art form that has power and the ability to fuse all these previous forms of art, even before the beginnings of cinema, into one work."

           Kenji Fujishima might not have the wisdom that comes from age of Peter's previous guests, but the two have an excellent time talking about how he became a hardcore cinephile and writing for The House Next Door. Kenji discusses reading Pauline Kael at an early age, choosing to forgo his mother’s wishes to go into accounting, and becoming a consumer of arts beyond cinema. The two also chat about his blog My Life, 24 Frames Per Seconds, balancing emotion and formalism in writing, and the beauty of “cinematic recklessness.” Finally, they explore the dark beauty of Wong Kar-Wai’s Fallen Angels, which Kenji posits as the filmmaker’s most reflexive commentary on his own feelings to transition toward a new style.

0:00-5:00 - Act One: Establishing Shots - Sight & Sound Poll
5:16-52:13 - Act Two: Deep Focus - Kenji Fujishima
53:07-1:18:12 - Act Three: Double Exposure - Fallen Angels (Wong Kar-Wai)
1:18:13-1:19:50 - Close/Outtake

Read Kenji Fujishima at My Life, 24 Frames Per Second, The House Next Door, InReview Online, and the Wall Street Journal’s Speakeasy.

Follow Kenji on Twitter.

Episode #2 - Matt Zoller Seitz (Born on the Fourth of July)

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“I’m a formalist in some ways and a humanist in others. Those two things don’t reconcile very easily. But ultimately, I don’t see my criticism as anything other than a personal response to what I happen to be writing about, and a lot of that is bound up in where you are in your life.”

Peter sits down with New York Magazine TV critic Matt Zoller Seitz to talk about the many different hats he has worn during his cinephile life, which have included film critic, pop culture journalist, filmmaker, video essayist, blogger, and more. Matt discusses growing up in Texas, discovering New York City, and dissecting some of his favorite filmmakers. The two explore his nature as both a film and TV critic, his discovery and love of video essays, and how The New World inspired one of the best film criticism blogs today. Finally, they dig into the Oliver Stone’s Born on the Fourth of July, which Matt explains as one of the quintessential great narratives about a man discovering his true self.

0:00-4:00 – Act One: Establishing Shots — Think Pieces on Aurora

4:10-52:30 – Act Two: Deep Focus – Matt Zoller Seitz

53:33-1:11:38 – Act Three: Double Exposure – Born on the Fourth of July (Oliver Stone)

Read Matt Zoller Setiz’s work at New York Magazine, Salon, Moving Image Source, L Magazine, NY Press, the New York Times, the Dallas Observer, Press Play, and The House Next Door.

Follow Matt on Twitter.