Film
"Oz" Both Great and Powerful
A 200-million-dollar major motion picture cannot be labeled camp (if this is camp, it is the air-conditioned-cabins, day-trips-to-Six-Flags variety)—a better descriptor for “Oz the Great and Powerful” may be ebulliently self-aware. The dialogue is stilted, the characters are caricatures, but everyone is in on the joke.
Tweets Of The Southern Wild
With the ever-tactless Seth MacFarlane for a host, there was never any doubt that this year’s Academy Awards broadcast would ruffle a fair amount of feathers. For all of its other failings, the ceremony certainly delivered spectacularly on that front; it took a scant few minutes for the “Family Guy” creator to offend just about the entire audience in an opening number cleverly titled “I Saw Your Boobs.”
The Beauty of the Act
Director Leos Carax appeared at the Carpenter Center for the Harvard Film Archive's retrospective “Overdrive,” which took place during the last two weekends of February. Carax is notoriously averse to public appearances and speaking with press about his work, so it was a rare privilege to hear the director speak in depth about his work.
TV In The Age Of Netflix
The February debut of Netflix series “House of Cards” has critics in a frenzy—but not over anything that actually happens on the show. The topic of discussion is instead its method of distribution. The company released all 13 of the series’ episodes on the same day, making it in some ways resemble a long movie more than a traditional television show..
Park's "Stoker" An Icy Affair
Park Chan-wook’s English-language debut filled with sights but little fright. With its funereal calm and measured pacing, “Stoker” initially seems a million miles away from the kinetic heat of “Oldboy.” Dig deeper, though, and this exercise in style is a pleasing evolution of Park’s visual palette.
"Giant Slayer" a Modest Success
"Jack the Giant Slayer" is a predictable yet satisfying film. The writing remains very faithful to the source material—elements from both the classic “Jack and the Beanstalk” tale and lesser-known Cornish story “Jack the Giant Killer” are deftly integrated without the spirit of either being compromised.
Beyoncé Inspires in "Life Is But a Dream"
Through a medley of professional footage of her onstage performances, behind-the-scenes moments, home movies, and private videos taken by Beyoncé on her laptop, “Life Is But a Dream” captures how personal the artistic experience of music is to Beyoncé and exposes the complications of fame.
Ben Zauzmer Wins Oscars
With the Academy Awards now over, Flyby caught up with Harvard's very own Oscar guru Ben Zauzmer '15. Zauzmer, who published data predicting the Oscar wins, used available data pertaining to the nominees to predict the likelihood they would go home with an Oscar. Zauzmer tells Flyby how the math matched up to the winning movies.
Wincing with the Stars: Oscars 2013
The majority of the content of the 2013 Oscars left us mostly wondering what any of it had to do with the 2013 Oscars.
And the Oscar Should Go To...
Crimson arts editors select the year's best in film before tonight's Academy Awards.
Oscar Watch: "Amour"
Director Michael Haneke's game, as it always has been, is to make the audience complicit in whatever heinous act he chooses to depict onscreen, in this case the euthanasia of someone in extreme pain.
Jacki Weaver
Crimson arts editor Tree A. Palmedo explains who should win the Academy Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role.
