Screen Memories
by Giampaolo Bianconi
Iron Man 2, dir. Jon Favreau (2010)
Nothing in Iron Man 2 seems old: like the arc reactor in Tony Stark’s chest, everything glows for no reason. The screens with which Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.) interacts throughout the film go past physical presence and become the very air of Stark’s workshop, which he can manipulate with his touch. He not only tells robots what to do, he is himself a robot. It becomes difficult to stop thinking you’re watching The Jetsons. (more…)
The Counterlife
by Giampaolo Bianconi
(One of my entries in the Best of 2008 discussion.)
Two Lovers, dir James Gray (2008)
At a time when films get progressively more expensive and more explosive, the pleasure in the films of James Gray comes from their smallness. His films are crafted with care and subtlety as opposed to largesse and glossiness. Two Lovers is no exception: it is an intimate story fused with place and the visible power of actors in the hands of an intelligent director. (more…)