Five Things About Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

I recently saw Tinker Tailor Solider Spy. Again.

This adaptation of John Le Carre’s espionage novel is one of my favorite films from last year and one of the few I actually want to watch again. (There are not that many. 2011 was such a meh year for movies.) Director Tomas Alfredson and cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema have made an exceptionally well-crafted film. And then there is Gary Oldman; his performance as George Smiley is quietly powerful and those are the best kind of performances. These are a few thoughts about what stood out to me about Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy the second time around.

LOL: In Which Miley Cyrus Reminds Us She Still Exists

Well…I was attempting to write a serious post about Tinker Tailor Solider Spy this morning. Then I watched the trailer for LOL: Laughing Out Loud, a coming-of-age teen dramedy starring Miley Cyrus. LOL is a remake of a 2008 French film of the same name. Both films are written and directed by Lisa Azuelos. Somehow I don’t find this comforting and any chance of me being serious is long gone. Here’s the trailer.

Don’t worry. I have broken down LOL (colon) Laughing Out Loud for you.

My Week in Film: January 1 to January 7

Here is what I watched this week. Read More…

January 4, 2012

What I Learned From Casablanca

I saw Casablanca for the umpteenth time last night. It’s a wonderful movie and the more times I see Casablanca, the more I enjoy it. There are individual elements of the film you can easily criticize, but overall it is fantastic.

Here are the most important things I took away from Casablanca this time around.

My (Blogging) Plans for 2012

Here's how I spent the end of 2011. Now it is time to focus on 2012.

Now that it is officially 2012, here are just some of the ideas I have for this blog in the upcoming months.

Director Marathons
- Last month I took an informal Twitter poll about the directors whose entire filmography is worth checking out. I received a ton of responses (nearly 70) and I think it is necessary for me to start working my way through certain director’s filmographies. This may just be an excuse so that I finally watch all of Martin Scorsese/Stanley Kubrick/Akira Kurosawa’s (you get the point) films.
Birthday Blitz Blogathon 2012
- In conjunction with my birthday in September, I watched 24 movies I had never seen and blogged about each one. I plan on doing this again, though on a smaller scale. And hopefully, this year a hurricane and flood won’t get in the way of my blogging plans.
Five Great Movies According To…
- You know my dad’s favorite movies and my mom’s favorite movies. But what about other people? I want this to become a more regular feature. One of my sisters has already agreed to share her favorite movies, though she claims her list consists of solely Dirty Dancing. So if you would be interested in sharing five of your favorite movies, send me an email – joanna.arcieri@gmail.com
Thesis Redux
- Last spring I decided it was time to revisit my college thesis about American independent cinema after September 11. I wrote one post (about Killer of Sheep) and not a single post after that. This time I’m serious. I’ll actually write more about this topic.
And I will continue to post the usual reviews, Oscars commentary, weekly film diets, lessons from bad movies, Skins recaps, Friday Night Classics, and my general misgivings about the movies I watch.
Also. I will stop abbreviating For Cinephiles by a Cinefille to “FCBAC” because I sometimes think it stands for an undiscovered STD.