LoneCelloTheory

I'm not turning out the lights, but I am turning them down...

Tue, 22 Feb 2011 20:20:02 GMT

Sad but true, I rarely post anything here anymore. I'm not closing down the space, as I like having all that history, and maybe I'll have something to add to here from time to time. But my writing focus lies elsewhere, so I thought it best to direct you there. The space you're sitting on right now has been offering somewhat diminished returns, and that's not apt to change significantly for the foreseeable future.

So, if you'd like to see what I'm writing about these days, head on over to my film blog, Beautiful Frauds.

And, to keep up with less formalized, single-serving thoughts, you can always follow me on Twitter, too.

NYE in Pictures

Mon, 03 Jan 2011 19:23:21 GMT

This year's New Year's party was a rousing success. About 20ish people over the course of the evening, which puts it about average, but this was possibly the most animated and dance-tastic one since the final 15th Street party. We projected Kenneth Anger films on the wall, had a drunken "Common People" singalong, and reenacted Guns 'n' Roses' "November Rain" video. I was happy drunk, but not too drunk; no sickness, only a mild hangover. Welcome 2011!

Click here for the photo record as seen through our camera.

Lonecellist on DCist

Mon, 03 Jan 2011 19:14:07 GMT

What were my favorite movies of 2010? Check them out in Popcorn & Candy: Looking Over Our Shoulder.

Lonecellist on NPR & DCist

Fri, 17 Dec 2010 23:47:40 GMT

More reviews and such from the last couple of weeks:

Film picks for the week starting Dec. 10 in Popcorn & Candy: Gumshoe (DCist)

A review of Steven Soderbergh's documentary about Spalding Gray, And Everything is Going Fine (NPR)

A review of Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor as lovers in the con-artist comedy, I Love You Phillip Morris. (DCist)

A review of Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp in the hugely underwhelming The Tourist. (DCist)

Film picks for the week beginning Dec. 17 in Popcorn & Candy: Hollywood, Potomac Style (DCist)

A review of the long awaited (28 years!) sci-fi sequel from Disney, Tron: Legacy. (NPR)

A review of David O. Russell's boxing flick, a great actors' showcase, The Fighter. (DCist)

A review of Tanya Hamilton's insightful little indie about the aftermath of the most incendiary years of the civil rights movement in Night Catches Us. (DCist)

hear my voice on the internets!

Fri, 17 Dec 2010 23:38:03 GMT

A twitter friend that one of my L.A. NEA cohorts hooked me up with recently interviewed me about film criticism for his writing podcast. For a peek into my mind unedited, to see what I'm talking about when I talk about film, check it out on his site.

Lonecellist on DCist & NPR

Tue, 07 Dec 2010 16:39:35 GMT

Chronologically, since last we spoke...

Film picks for the week of Nov. 11: Popcorn & Candy: Forget it, Roman. It's Łódź. (DCist)

A review of Danny Boyle's 127 Hours. (DCist)

A review of Gaspar Noé's Enter the Void. (DCist)

Film picks for the week of Nov. 18: Popcorn & Candy: Higher Than the Stars (DCist)

A review of the first part of the 7th installment of the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1 (DCist)

Film picks for the week of Nov. 25: Popcorn & Candy: This Gun's For Hire (DCist)

A review of Edward Zwick's Love and Other Drugs. (DCist)

A review of Claire Denis' White Material (DCist)

A review of Andrew Jarecki's All Good Things. (NPR)

Film picks for the week starting Dec. 3: Popcorn & Candy: Erin Go Bragh. (DCist)

A review of Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan. (DCist)

A review of Lena Dunham's Tiny Furniture. (DCist)

A post reporting the year-end awards given out by the Washington Area Film Critics Association. (DCist)

Lonecellist on NPR & DCist

Mon, 08 Nov 2010 02:53:36 GMT

Film picks for this week! Popcorn & Candy: European Imports

At NPR, my review of Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench, one of the loveliest films I've seen this year.

And, at DCist, a review of Gareth Edward's modestly scaled creature feature, Monsters, and an interview with Chris Morris, the director of a wickedly funny satire about jihadist suicide bombers.

Lonecellist on NPR & DCist

Sun, 31 Oct 2010 22:52:46 GMT

Posts from the last time I compiled them, in chronological order...

Film picks for the week beginning Oct. 14: Popcorn & Candy: Acid Test

Two reviews that week at DCist, one for the big budget action comedy, Red, the other for a little South African romantic comedy, White Wedding

The next week, film picks for the week beginning Oct. 21: Popcorn & Candy: Return of the Shopping Dead

Two reviews at DCist that week as well, one of the latest Clint Eastwood-directed film, Hereafter, the other a British graphic novel adaptation from Stephen Frears called Tamara Drewe

Earlier this week at NPR, a review of the mid-week limited release of the music documentary, Strange Powers: Stephin Merritt and the Magnetic Fields

Also from earlier this week, a news story (I know! a news post! from me of all people!) about the re-opening of a long-defunct DC moviehouse, the West End Cinema.

Movie picks for the week beginning Oct. 29: Popcorn & Candy: We Want Candy

And, finally, just one end-of-the-week review from me at DCist, the third installment of the Swedish language film adaptations of Stieg Larsson's Millennium trilogy, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest

Lonecellist on DCist, NPR, and Pinna Storm

Tue, 12 Oct 2010 18:21:43 GMT

Once again, so busy that I'm way behind on posting new things. But that means that I've been writing a lot, which is always good, plus I was in NYC this past weekend for the New York Film Festival and general catching up and hanging out in the city (more on that later). Of special interest in this post, a milestone, plus a post at a brand new outlet.

So, let's go chronologically with this, starting where we left off.

Film picks for the week that started September 30th: Popcorn & Candy: World Series (DCist)

A film review of David Fincher and Aaron Sorkin's fantastic retelling of the inspired genesis and sordid aftermath of the early days of Facebook, The Social Network. (DCist)

A film review of a really nice little thriller that takes place entirely inside a coffin containing Ryan Reynolds, buried under the sand in the Iraqi desert, Buried. (DCist)

A theatre review of Solas Nua's fun, if slightly ragged, production of the WWII-set Irish sci-fi musical, Improbable Frequency. This also happens to be my 500th post at DCist. Wow! (DCist)

Brand new outlet! Amanda Mattos, the former music editor at DCist, has her own music site these days known as Pinna Storm, and Chris Klimek started up a fun little chain-letter of a feature called "Exquisite Chord", a play on the old storytelling parlor game, "Exquisite Corpse", in which one person tells a sentence or two of a story, and then passes it on to someone else to continue. In this musical version, we're creating a playlist rather than a story, with each person's pick related in some way, no matter how tenuous, to that of the person who passed the turn to them. Alexandra Gutierrez picked the Delta 5's "Mind Your Own Business" and passed the baton to me; click here to see where I went with it. (Pinna Storm)

Another round of film picks, for the week starting October 6: Popcorn & Candy: Rising in the East. (DCist)

A film review of Stone, which features Ed Norton as a convicted arsonist, and Robet De Niro as his parole reviewer. (NPR)

A film/art review of Matthew Barney's Cremaster Cycle, his collection of 5 art films that are making their way back to DC for the first time in a few years. (DCist)

Lonecellist on DCist

Mon, 27 Sep 2010 05:37:04 GMT

Last week's roundup: Popcorn & Candy: Play it Again

Plus, reviews of Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps and Never Let Me Go.

Lonecellist on DCist & NPR: Playing catch-up

Tue, 21 Sep 2010 18:01:51 GMT

Good lord, am I to fall behind on even just posting links over here?

OK, here we go, since last we spoke:

2 weekly roundups:
Popcorn & Candy: Float On
Popcorn & Candy: The Marrying Kind

3 movie reviews on DCist:
I'm Still Here
The Town
A Woman, a Gun, and a Noodle Shop

and, 1 review on NPR:
The Romantics

Lonecellist on NPR & DCist

Sat, 04 Sep 2010 01:46:33 GMT

Oh, what a busy week. Next time I decide to do something like this, somebody slap some sense into me. After Wednesday's review of The American, everything just goes into a blurry haze. Let's get to linking, shall we?

First, there's the usual weekly film column, in which we talk briefly about The Tillman Story and a screening of Roman Holiday among other things. That would be Popcorn & Candy: Misdirected

Then there's a review of Woolly Mammoth's excellent production of Sara Ruhl's equally excellent In the Next Room, or the vibrator play.

Then we have three movie reviews:

At NPR, a review of Robert Rodriguez's Machete, which I saw today was quoted over on CNN.

And, on DCist, reviews of Mesrine: Public Enemy #1, the second half of two part French crime film I started reviewing last week, and Centurion, Neil Marshall's extra bloody Roman battle flick.

Rest assured I passed out hard at the end of this week.

Lonecellist on DCist

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 22:14:36 GMT

My review on DCist of the quiet new George Clooney thriller, The American.

He's Got a Gold Medal in Kicking Your Ass...

Sat, 28 Aug 2010 03:29:22 GMT

The next installment of our summer rooftop movie series was announced today over at Cinéma sur le toit. Check it out.

Lonecellist on NPR & DCist

Sat, 28 Aug 2010 03:26:47 GMT

Two reviews for today, both movies about criminals, but that's where the similarity ends. One is an awful, formulaic, cliche-ridden GQ ad posing as a heist movie, Takers (on NPR), and the other is a good-bordering-on-excellent account of the life of notorious French criminal Jacques Mesrine, the first of two parts, Mesrine: Killer Instinct (on DCist).

Lonecellist on DCist

Thu, 26 Aug 2010 21:22:52 GMT

After taking a head-clearing week off for vacation, P&C returns with a rather trashy group of film picks: Popcorn & Candy: Double Trouble

Lonecellist on NPR & DCist

Mon, 23 Aug 2010 21:16:57 GMT

Despite the radio silence, I did, in fact, have a couple of movie reviews posted last week. It's just I was relaxing on the beach when they did. So here they are, belatedly:

On NPR, a review of a narratively problematic, but visually fascinating Peruvian film about mercury poisoning in the native populations that live near gold mines in the high plateaus of southern Peru, Altiplano.

And on DCist, Bruce Beresford's adaptation of the biography of Li Cunxin, a renowned Chinese ballet dancer whose improbable rise from a tiny Chinese village to the biggest stages of the world feels a little too formulaic in Mao's Last Dancer.

Lonecellist on NPR & DCist

Fri, 06 Aug 2010 21:44:52 GMT

Three reviews for today:

On NPR, a solid little British abduction thriller in The Disappearance of Alice Creed.

And on DCist, the mountaineering documentary about an attempt to (somewhat) recreate the first attempt at climbing Everest, The Wildest Dream, as well as the new Todd Solondz, a ten-years-after sequel to Happiness in Life During Wartime.

Lonecellist on DCist

Fri, 06 Aug 2010 03:36:31 GMT

Popcorn & Candy: Peanuts & Pratfalls

Lonecellist on DCist

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 22:15:03 GMT

Not as good as the first, still better than the average horror flick: my review of [REC] 2.

Lonecellist on DCist

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 21:59:41 GMT

Popcorn & Candy: Pottymouth

Lonecellist on DCist, NPR, and Washington City Paper

Fri, 23 Jul 2010 23:53:42 GMT

Quite a flurry of activity to close out the week.

We'll start with Fringe. Two final reviews to close out my coverage there:

Freud Meets Girl
Eight

Heading over to NPR, we've got a review of the adaptation of Beverly Cleary's Ramona books, Ramona and Beezus.

And, over on DCist, two reviews:

Alain Resnais' Wild Grass
and
Phillip Noyce's Angelina Jolie-starring spy thriller, Salt

With that, my Fortnight of Critical Insanity comes to a close. In the past 15 days, I've published 16 reviews (7 movies, 9 plays), totally around 9,300 words. It's been a blast, but my brain is now mushy. Time for alcohol, carryout, and mindless televised entertainment while parked on the couch.

Lonecellist in the Washington City Paper

Sun, 18 Jul 2010 04:56:00 GMT

Two Fringe & Purge reviews for today:

The Von Pufferhütte Family Singers! (the musical)

The Horrors of Online Dating

Lonecellist in the Washington City Paper and on DCist

Sat, 17 Jul 2010 23:21:38 GMT

Two reviews for Friday:

A Fringe & Purge review of The Tragical Life of Eleanor Bloom

and

over on DCist, the review I think people have told me they were looking forward to more often than anything else I've ever written, of Christopher Nolan's Inception.

Lonecellist on DCist

Thu, 15 Jul 2010 21:33:48 GMT

I'll be back to posting way too many Fringe reviews soon (7 planned over the next week, I believe), but in the meantime, something else to occupy your time in darkened theaters this week: Popcorn & Candy: Rise Above.