Posted in: by Bruce Reid, by Kathleen Murphy, by Richard T. Jameson, by Robert Horton, Contributors, Directors, Film Noir, Framing Pictures, Sam Peckinpah

Video: Framing Pictures – May 2016

Film critics Bruce Reid, Richard T. Jameson, Kathleen Murphy, and Robert Horton debate and discuss the recent restorations of film noir orphans Too Late for Tears and Woman on the Run, the legacy of Sam Peckinpah, Ben Wheatley’s new film High-Rise, and (non)critical opinions of Captain America: Civil War in the May 2016 edition of Framing Pictures from Scarecrow Video.

These discussions are held in the screening room of Scarecrow Video on the second Friday of every month and are free to attend. The video appears a few weeks later on the Seattle Channel.

The June edition will take place on Friday, June 10 at 7pm at the Scarecrow Video Screening Room. More information at the Framing Pictures Facebook page.

Posted in: by Robert Horton, Contributors, Film Reviews

Review: Captain America: Civil War

The scheduling for the Marvel movies is so meticulous, we know the exact days its next nine titles will open, through 2020.But for a globe-conquering pop-culture phenomenon that will dominate movie screens for years to come, the Marvel Comics universe sure flies by the seat of its pants. Each new movie in this blockbuster saga throws in a batch of new wrinkles, many of which seem to be forgotten about or seriously revised by the time the next installment comes out. For instance, red-and-gold billionaire Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.), also known as Iron Man, was clearly bowing out of the Avengers at the end of 2015’s Avengers: Age of Ultron, as the superhero crew rejiggered its starting lineup.

Well, forget that. Captain America: Civil War has plenty of Stark. Downey’s contract negotiations were reportedly of the hardball variety, and his once-diminished role here has been beefed up accordingly. And out of nowhere—well, Queens, actually—the movie finds room for Spider-Man (Tom Holland), the rights to that character having been snapped up by Marvel (now owned by Disney) when previous Spidey contract-holder Sony suddenly decided to cut a deal. All right, fine—at least these incongruities add a little volatility to the Marvel long-term strategic corporate plan.

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