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The Cornell Connection: Tom Swartwout '86

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Anxious about what to do with your life? Have no fear. Tom Swartwout ’86 didn’t know what he was going to do until late on in his Cornell experience, and now he’s the regular film editor for legendary director Sydney Lumet (Dog Day Afternoon, Network). Most recently he worked with Lumet on the critically lauded Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead, starring Ethan Hawke and Phillip Seymour Hoffman, about two brothers with money troubles who decide to knock off their parents’ Westchester jewelry store, with tragic results. Swartwout will be introducing the film tonight at 7:15 in Willard Strait Hall when it’s screened for Cornell Cinema.

The Sun: You were a Film Studies major [at Cornell]?

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Beat o' The Week (2-5-08)

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Aaaah, interviews! For the last month, overstretched Cornell juniors have been stressing over internships, completing dozens of resume drops and the high-stress interrogations … errr … interviews that follow. Those with Gordon Gekko ambitions salivate at the prospect of signing bonuses and BMWs (and even the 100-hour workweeks) that lie ahead. JP, Goldman, Citi, Suisse; these names control the destinies, and more specifically the wallets, of hordes of hungry finance go-getters, not only in Ithaca, but all around the world. Thus, it seems appropriate that this week’s featured beat be the seminal Pink Floyd jam, “Money.”

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Cornell Cinema: The Blame Game

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While Blame it on Fidel, written and directed by Julie Gavras, isn’t fantastical like its French-film compatriot Amelie, it does possess a certain amount of its own magic, albeit of a more understated variety. The story, set in 1970s France, is an exploration of ideology, observing its effect on one little girl who’s presented with various political philosophies over the course of the film.

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The Cool

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Sense some similarities between Lupe Fiasco and fellow mainstream hip-hopper Kanye West? Don’t be surprised. Both rappers hail from Chi-town, and both place production on a pedestal, utilizing mesmerizing sonic backdrops and elevating their game to ambitious heights. What’s the difference then between the two? Well, quite simply, Lupe’s better.

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Monster Mash

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Cynics and skeptics long ago dubbed Cloverfield, the mystery-shrouded monster movie from Lost creator J.J. Abrams, “Godzilla meets Blair Witch Project.” The phrase was meant to be a jab at the film’s handheld, “shot by the characters who were really there”-style camerawork. This type of criticism, however is unfair, because Cloverfield, directed by newcomer Matt Reeves, cannot rightly be qualified as anything so insignificant as a Blair Witch knock-off. At the core of the film is the epic struggle of its characters to survive in the face of unimaginable horrors.

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How to Survive the Writers’ Strike

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As long as the writers’ strike rages on, loyal viewers will be deprived of some of their favorite shows (the absence of The Office stings especially badly). However, with the New Year, many old favorites will see their triumphant returns. While the prospect of uncovering new secrets surrounding the survivors of Oceanic Flight 815 might have Lost fans licking their lips, more intriguing might be the slew of new original series that mid-season brings. Here’s a cheat sheet to break down some of the more interesting new shows, with the aim of helping you to differentiate the good from the bad. Which shows will be this season’s Mad Men (the good ones) and which will be Cavemen (i.e. absolute crap)?

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The Birth of Cool

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One of the funniest stories to come out of 2007 is about a 16-year-old girl dealing with the social and emotional pitfalls of being a pregnant teen; shockingly, it doesn’t involve Jamie Lynn Spears. Juno, the second film from director Jason Reitman (Thank You For Smoking), transcends the limited accessibility of the indie-film genre, and delivers a refreshing movie-going experience with universal appeal. Penned by secretary-turned-stripper-turned-screenwriter Diablo Cody, Juno is a razor-sharp comedy that packs an emotional punch takes a surprisingly mature look at a hot-button issue that too easily could have been politicized.

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Buzzkill

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Bee Movie checklist: Lush animation? Check. The return of Jerry Seinfeld? Check. Funny? … Did somebody forget to bring the funny? Whoops.
So if you’re Jerry Seinfeld, you’ve taken a 10-year hiatus from the national spotlight after wrapping up the most successful sitcom in the history of television, and you decide you want to work again, what’s your first instinct? Seinfeld has received offers from everyone in show business in the last few years, but he seemed content to just do his stand up and enjoy life after Seinfeld. That was the case until one fateful evening, when he pitched an idea to Steven Spielberg over dinner for his triumphant return. What was the idea? A movie about bees.

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The Assassination Doesn't Hold Up

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The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, a marathon neo-western from Australian writer-director Andrew Dominik, could have been a classic. There are traces of a masterpiece interspersed throughout the overlong two-and-a-half hour run time. The problem lies not in the quality of the content, per se, but rather the sometimes-excruciating pace at which the story unfolds. Sometimes minutes fly by unnoticed. Other times, especially as the film builds towards the climactic murder, every second lingers, and time slows down to a stop. Add to these pacing issues a monotonous score that tends to make each scene blend together into a haze of tedium and you have yourself a movie more likely to bore its viewers to sleep than leave them satisfied as the credits roll.

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Lawyers, Guns and Money

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Michael Clayton is about that small, powerful class of individuals who run civilization from high above. This elite social order is well versed in the euphemistic language of business warfare and inhabits a rarefied world that’s both cutthroat and amoral but disguised behind a veneer of corporate respectability. The film focuses primarily on the legal operatives that allow this commercial network to function, unrestrained by silly concepts like the rule of law. These are people who exhibit an almost freakish level of commitment to their trade, largely at the expense of a private life. It’s no surprise that all of the most prominent players in Michael Clayton carry with them immense emotional baggage, the eponymous lawyer being no exception.