Email Author Vadim Rizov

2009 Stories by Vadim Rizov

• Ghosts of the Heartland Integrates Racial Tension into '40s Noir

  published May 20, 2009

  Good intentions and bad ideas go hand in hand in Allen Blumberg's Ghosts of the Heartland, which broadcasts from the title down its... More >>

• The Films of Sergei Loznitsa at Anthology

  published May 13, 2009

  Anthology Film Archives' Sergei Loznitsa series concentrates on the Russian filmmaker's compilation documentaries. His 2008's... More >>

• Have to Deal With Rest of Powder Blue to See Jessica Biel's Tits

  published May 6, 2009

  Pre-release discussion of Powder Blue focused exclusively on the burning question of whether Jessica Biel—playing what the press... More >>

• Right Wing Bloggers Agree: Brothers at War First Worthwhile Iraq Doc

  published May 6, 2009

  "I always wanted to go to war," novice documentarian Jake Rademacher announces at the start of Brothers at War. It's presumably that... More >>

• Ice People Follows Scientists in Antarctica

  published April 29, 2009

  Anne Aghion's Ice People suffers from being released on the heels of Werner Herzog's lunatic Encounters at the End of the World, but to be... More >>

• Battle for Terra No Fun For Kids or Adults

  published April 29, 2009

  A spiritual sequel to the equally hapless Delgo—which sold pacifism in animated form to an empty theater—Battle for... More >>

• The Education of Charlie Banks: Fred Durst's Second Film?!?

  published March 25, 2009

  While Fred Durst's name triggers automatic sniggering, it turns out he's not a God-awful director. His second film—the doggedly... More >>

• 12 Rounds

  published March 25, 2009

  Renny Harlin has an unjustly terrible reputation, but with the right material (Deep Blue Sea, Mindhunters), he's very good at... More >>

• Skills Like This Descends into Obnoxious Quirk-Fest

  published March 18, 2009

  Monty Miranda's Skills Like This boasts the arguable distinction of being the first film produced in Colorado to be picked up for... More >>

• Robert Blecker Wants Me Dead Proves Refreshingly Problematic

  published February 25, 2009

  Robert Blecker Wants Me Dead, directed by Ted Schillinger, is shot on crappy consumer video, lazily set to ominous music, and bears all... More >>

• An American Affair Mucks through a Tiresome JFK Conspiracy

  published February 25, 2009

  Even the most insatiable JFK-conspiracy-theory freak won't get much juice out of William Sten Olsson's An American Affair, which... More >>

• An Interview with Michael Almereyda

  published February 18, 2009

  Best known for 2000's millennial Hamlet, Michael Almereyda consistently integrates the avant-garde into the narrative: Some of his first... More >>

• Dealing and Wheeling in Small Arms Investigates the Price of Weapons Smuggling

  published January 21, 2009

  Dealing and Wheeling in Small Arms opens with a cheerful Cambodian shooting off rounds, without earphones, in a shady gallery. This is... More >>

• The Pervert's Guide to Cinema Is Slavoj Žižek at His Most Accessible

  published January 14, 2009

  Slavoj Žižek is the closest thing contemporary critical theory has to a rock star, in part because he regularly addresses pop cinema... More >>