Tag Archives: girls
10 Films Every Libertarian Should See
Dogville (2003)
I don’t really get into my political leanings here at Smug Film, for the obvious reason of this being a site about movies, not politics, but also because I hate creating arbitrary ‘dividing lines’ in my work. It’s petty, and I can’t stand when others do it. For instance, I’m a huge Woody Allen fan, I think he’s our greatest American filmmaker, but I cringe whenever he peppers little jabbing jokes against the Right in his films when the story doesn’t even call for it. Those sort of winks to the audience take you out of the film momentarily, whether you agree with them or not. It’s distracting and wholly unnecessary. So rest assured, people who disagree with me politically—there will be no lazy digs, or insults, or other ‘playing to the base’ bullshit in this post whatsoever.
This list will be of particular interest to libertarians, that’s a given, but even if that ain’t your particular alignment, it should at least be a unique window in the the sort of things we, or at least I, care about, both politically and philosophically. And don’t worry, there are no propaganda docs on here; these are simply great movies, many of which (hell, probably all of which) aren’t even made by libertarians. Whether intentionally or unintentionally, they just so happen to contain, within their myriad elements, certain elements that we get a kick out of. Enjoy! Continue reading
Posted in All Posts, Cody's Lists
Tagged annie hall, ayn rand, barcelona, bicycle thieves, charlie kaufman, cody clarke, collectivism, damsels in distress, dardenne brothers, david gelb, david mamet, death wish, dick cheney, dogville, fascism, films libertarians should see, fish tank, george w bush, girls, happiness, howard roark, jean-pierre dardenne, jiro dreams of sushi, lars von trier, libertarian film, libertarian films, libertarian movie, libertarian movies, luc dardenne, manderlay, manhattan, metropolitan, michael winner, new york, objectivity, oleanna, paul kersey, republican film, republican films, republican movie, republican movies, rosetta, rotten tomatoes, smug film, smugfilm, storytelling, subjectivity, synecdoche, synecdoche new york, the last days of disco, todd solondz, tribalism, vittorio de sica, welcome to the dollhouse, whit stillman, william h macy, woody allen, zelig
12 Comments
Spring Breakers: Holy Shit, Harmony Korine Made A Good Movie
Spring Breakers (2012)
Written & Directed by Harmony Korine
94 min.
That thing I said, in the title of this review? That’s a thing I never thought I’d say in a million years. I am not a Harmony Korine fan. I don’t like any of his movies. He has always struck me as someone with absolutely no comprehension of what parts of his films are good and what parts are weak, and somewhat proud of not knowing, and proud of editing in a slapdash way. For instance, in one of his notorious Letterman appearances from the 90’s (which I actually do enjoy watching, they’re awkward and fun and he has some genuinely witty improv moments) he boasts that he doesn’t care about plot, and that when he watches movies all he really remembers are characters and a few scenes, so he wants to create movies that consist entirely of random moments. That sort of thing doesn’t appeal to me whatsoever as a filmgoer or a filmmaker.
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Posted in All Posts, Cody's Reviews
Tagged all the real girls, andy sidaris, christopher tellefsen, cody clarke, david gordon green, days of heaven, douglas crise, george washington, girls, gummo, harmony korine, harmony korine letterman, james franco, lena dunham, lena dunham essay, mark romanek, rehearsals, smug film, smugfilm, spring breakers, spring breakers review, spring summer fall winter and spring, terrence malick, the thin red line, thin red line, tiny furniture, trash humpers
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4 Halfway Decent Movies In Theaters Now (Hannah Arendt, Frances Ha, The Bling Ring, Berberian Sound Studio)
I’ve been hitting the ol’ theaters hard this month, and I’ve found most of these movies to be decidedly satisfactory. I didn’t ‘love’ any of these, but I would say that if you’re interested in seeing them, they’re worthwhile:
Hannah Arendt (2012) | Dir. Margarethe von Trotta | 113 min.
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Posted in All Posts, Jenna's Lists, Jenna's Reviews
Tagged berberian sound studio, berberian sound studio review, frances ha, frances ha review, funny games, girls, greta gerwig, hannah arendt, hannah arendt review, jenna ipcar, lena dunham, margarethe von trotta, movies out now, movies worth seeing in theaters, noah baumbach, peter strickland, smug film, smugfilm, sofia coppola, the bling ring, the bling ring review, the conversation
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A Rebuttal to ‘The Empress, Quite Literally, Has No Clothes’
Let me just start by saying that I agree with everything Cody says about Lena Dunham. But only because it’s true. Except mostly it isn’t. What I mean is, it’s true of everything of that ilk. The ‘ilk’ I’m referring to is any hip ‘indie’ thing made after 1995. Clerks is the only good movie like this and I suspect it’s because it was made by a fat white nerd with a chip on his shoulder at a time before that was a cool thing to be. Kevin Smith made it cool, so of course everything after it sucks. And if it weren’t for the ‘big word’ chapter cards interspersed throughout it (included just to appeal to the bohemian, intellectual, college crowds) it’d probably be a perfect movie.
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Posted in All Posts, Greg's Essays
Tagged cody clarke, empress quite literally has no clothes, girls, girls hbo, girls hbo critcism, girls hbo show critcism, girls lena dunham criticism, girls lena dunham review, greg deliso, lena dunham, lena dunham criticism, lena dunham review, rebuttal, smug film, smugfilm, tiny furniture, tiny furniture lena dunham review, tiny furniture review
4 Comments
The Empress, Quite Literally, Has No Clothes
I’ve been putting off writing this essay for some time, waiting for the ‘right moment’ I guess. As though there is ever a ‘right moment’ to write a scathing criticism of an individual and their artistic output. It’s kind of a dick thing to do, I’ll admit. But god dammit, when it comes to Lena Dunham, it really needs to be done—and done by smart ol’ me. Because even though there is plenty of distaste out there for her and her work, it seems no one is really getting to the root of exactly why she should be despised. So, over the course of this essay, I will break down, on a deep, intellectual level, exactly why she is a counterfeit artist, and why Girls is a hazardous product that goes against the proper functions of storytelling.
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Posted in All Posts, Cody's Essays
Tagged all that heaven allows, another woman, brief encounter, fish tank, girls, girls hbo, girls hbo critcism, girls hbo show critcism, girls lena dunham criticism, girls lena dunham review, has no clothes, je tu il elle, last days of disco, lena dunham, lena dunham criticism, lena dunham review, match factory girl, no clothes, rosetta, smug film, smugfilm, tiny furniture, tiny furniture lena dunham review, tiny furniture review, vicky cristina barcelona, welcome ot the dollhouse
30 Comments
