Do the Movies Have a Future?

Description

In the second decade of the twenty-first century, the movies, once America's primary popular art form, have become an endangered species. Do the Movies Have a Future' is a rousing and witty call to arms. In these sharp and engaging essays and reviews, New Yorker movie critic David Denby weighs in on "conglomerate aesthetics," as embodied in the frenzied, weightless action spectacles that dominate the world's attention, and "platform agnosticism," the notion that movies can be watched on smaller and smaller screens: laptops, tablets, even phones. At the same time, Denby reaffirms that movies are our national theater, and in this exhilarating book he celebrates such central big movies as Avatar and The Social Network as well as small but resonant triumphs like There Will Be Blood and The Tree of Life. Denby joyously celebrates what remains of the shared culture in romantic comedy, high school movies, and chick flicks; he assesses the expressive triumphs and failures of auteurs Quentin Tarantino, the Coen brothers, Pedro AlmodOvar, and David Fincher. Refusing nostalgia, he mines the past for strength, examining the changing nature of stardom and the careers of Joan Crawford, Otto Preminger, and Victor Fleming, and the continuing self-invention of Clint Eastwood. And he recreates the excitement of reading two critics who embodied the film culture of their times, James Agee and Pauline Kael. Wry, passionate, and incisive, Do the Movies Have a Future' is both a feast of good writing and a challenge to fight back. It is an essential guide for movie lovers looking for ammunition and hope.;Intro; Dedication; Preface; Introduction: The Way We Live Now; Part One: Trends; Conglomerate Aesthetics: Notes on the Disintegration of Film Language; Pirates on the iPod: The Soul of a New Screen; Spectacle; The Passion of the Christ; Avatar; Endless Summer-Digital All the Time; Part Two: Independent Glories; Capturing the Friedmans; Sideways; Capote; The Squid and the Whale; The Diving Bell and the Butterfly; There Will Be Blood; The Hurt Locker; Winter's Bone; Part Three: Stars; Enduring Joan Crawford; Fallen Idols: Movie Stars Today; Part Four: Genres; High School Movies; Chick Flicks Intro Dedication Preface Introduction: The Way We Live Now Part One: Trends Conglomerate Aesthetics: Notes on the Disintegration of Film Language Pirates on the iPod: The Soul of a New Screen Spectacle The Passion of the Christ Avatar Endless Summer-Digital All the Time Part Two: Independent Glories Capturing the Friedmans Sideways Capote The Squid and the Whale The Diving Bell and the Butterfly There Will Be Blood The Hurt Locker Winter's Bone Part Three: Stars Enduring Joan Crawford Fallen Idols: Movie Stars Today Part Four: Genres High School Movies Chick Flicks Romantic Comedy Gets Knocked Up: The Slacker-Striver ComedyPart Five: Directors Otto Preminger: The Balance of Terror Victor Fleming: The Director the Auteurists Forgot Pedro Almodóvar: In and Out of Love Clint Eastwood: The Longest Journey The Coen Brothers: A Killing Joke Quentin Tarantino Pulp Fiction Kill Bill: Vol. 1 Inglourious Basterds David Fincher and The Social Network Part Six: Two Critics James Agee Pauline Kael: A Great Critic and Her Circle Part Seven: An Opening to the Future? Mumblecore Terrence Malick's Insufferable Masterpiece Rise of the Planet of the Apes AcknowledgmentsAbout the Author Index Copyright