Brief Interviews with Hideous Men Dir. John Krasinski John Krasinski deserves some enormous kudos for bringing such a faithful, intelligently constructed and nontraditional adaptation of David Foster Wallace’s writing to the screen–even a flawed one such as Brief Interviews with Hideous Men. Wallace’s work defies filmic adaptation, and it takes incredible heart and chutzpah to even …
Warning: Unabashed Geekery To Follow Ah, I remember fondly the years of Tolkien mania, that stretch of time spanning 2001 to 2004 back when The Lord of the Rings was busting up box office records and sweeping the Oscars, and Frodo and Gandalf were names familiar to social groups outside your average D&D gatherings. I …
The leaves are stirring and Oscar season is right around the corner. This year it has been announced that the old pro Steve Martin will be back to host with the friendly Mr. Alec Baldwin. This will be Alec’s first time hosting while Steve is an old pro making this third time the charm. It …
Filmmakers are confronted with the perennial challenge of intriguing their audience with new cinematic experiences – the challenge of innovation.When a traditional genre transcends time, it is often altered to slake this thirst for the new.Consequently, such an evolution has altered one of America’s most stylish genres of the 1940s, film noir.The introduction of color …
With 2012 fast approaching I anticipated a surge in the apocalypse genre, but so far all I’ve really heard about is the obviously titled movie 2012 and, the one I’m most looking forward to, The Road. However, this week The Hollywood Reporter reported that Fox has some plans for the end of the world too. …
Punching The Clown Directed by Gregori Viens The very best independent films somehow avoid the pitfalls of a low budget–showcasing great performances or beautiful cinematography against all odds. Punching the Clown achieves something nearly as impressive: it works despite its limitations. Writer and lead actor Henry Philllips has crafted a pseudo-autobiography so genuine and likable …
An Education Directed by Lone Scherfig Let’s start with the bad. Carey Mulligan’s Jenny is just slightly too self-assured and forthright for a sixteen year old. The lurch from light-hearted to a darker tone midway through the film is marginally clumsy. And the running time is about 5 minutes too long: the ending grates somewhat …
Writer-director Richard Kelly hasn’t been around too long, but his three features have all been the subject of intense debate: Is Donnie Darko the great sci-fi fable of the 2000s or a teen angst pretension pit? Is Southland Tales, as the Village Voice’s J. Hoberman contends, a a “visionary” film, or creative control gone horribly …
The Fourth Kind Directed by Olatunde Osunsanmi Seventy-one years after Orson Welles’ War of the Worlds radio broadcast convinced the American public of a real-time alien-invasion, writer-director Olatunde Osunsanmi tries a similar gimmick by presenting a cinematic re-creation of supposedly true occurrences in and around the small town of Nome, Alaska, that suggest an alien …
The Box Directed by Richard Kelly Anyone expecting Donnie Darko and Southland Tales director Richard Kelly to finally dial back on his idiosyncrasies in service of a familiar conceit may be surprised to find his peculiar voice very much present in The Box, his third feature. Where initial reports suggested a fairly conventional take on …
A Single Man Directed by Tom Ford With fashion supremo Tom Ford at the helm, the very least you’d expect from this adaptation of Christopher Isherwood’s novel is a parade of gorgeous men in well-cut suits. There’s certainly enough Kennedy-era period detail here to satisfy the most ardent fan of Mad Men (along with an …
Before Cinéma l’Amour started showing hardcore porn, 40 years ago, it opened as Le Pussycat and showed exploitation films. It was a time when Montreal’s movie palaces were struggling to stay in business due to the popularity of television and the emergence of conglomerate-owned multiplex chains. To stay afloat, dozens of theatres started showing grindhouse …
Henri-Georges Clouzot’s Inferno Directed by Serge Bromberg and Ruxandra Medrea Serge Bromberg’s much-lauded documentary, on limited UK release from today, tells the story of revered French director Henri-Georges Clouzot’s ill-fated attempt to create his cinematic opus: L’Enfer (‘Inferno’ or, more commonly, ‘Hell’). In 1964, Clouzot, working with an unlimited budget, a handpicked crew, and total …
SOS: This is your second short film. What would you say was the most difficult part of the entire process? SA: I think each film presents its own unique challenges, and like our previous short The Merciful Death of Jonas Blake, major hurdles presented themselves at each stage of production. It’s difficult to pinpoint one …
New Moon, as anyone frequenting any type of mass media would probably know, is the second part of the filmings of Stephanie Meyers’ Twilight Saga. This part, directed by Chris Weitz, has its release on November 20, and apparently the soundtrack sizzled as it hit the audience. The New Moon soundtrack is more expansive in …
The Men Who Stare at Goats Directed by Grant Heslov According to Jon Ronson’s book The Men Who Stare At Goats, the U.S. government has experimented with various extra-sensory ‘abilities,’ such as remote-viewing and mind control, since the 1950s. These highly classified sub-divisions of the Army were developed in the hopes of creating a different …
Undertones: Volume 7 It’s the time of the year again where folks’ minds turn to the macabre and the ghoulish; where death is celebrated rather than feared and of course, when dusty copies of horror films are taken off the shelf to terrify and amuse. So, in honor of the Halloween season it would seem …
I like to consider myself one part book nerd, the other part film geek. So nothing excites me more than when these two worlds come together. That’s why news that we’re one step closer to a film adaptation of Yann Martel’s prize-winning novel Life of Pi really “floats my boat.” Well, you’ll get that reference …
By William S. Gooch At first glance, Anthony Fabian draws a strong resemblance to Alan Cummings, so I expected him to be funny, which he was; witty, which he undoubtedly is, and a bit irreverent, which I saw shades of as well. Maybe because he’s British, I was slightly offset by his relaxed charm and …
Taking Woodstock Directed by Ang Lee I’ve never been able to sit through more than a few minutes of Michael Wadleigh’s revered documentary Woodstock. Every time it’s on TV, I hope I’m going to catch some footage of Crosby Stills and Nash or Jimi Hendrix. Invariably, what I get is a (split) screenful of hippies …
Cracks Directed by Jordan Scott The opening scene of Cracks is very Madchen in Uniform, as the innocent 1930s school girls stuck on a remote English island sing their hymns, awaiting the arrival of the figurehead: Miss G, the striking, eyeliner-wearing cool teacher, the one the girls all have a pash for, especially head girl …
A Serious Man Directed by Joel Coen and Ethan Coen Written by Joel and Ethan Coen 2009, USA The Coens are getting positively prolific these days, treating their hardcore fans with a movie a year, and with their latest release, A Serious Man they have taken the comedic strand of their work into uncharted waters …
The Times BFI 53rd London Film Festival announced its winners at the high profile awards ceremony held at London’s Inner Temple this evening. Hosted by journalist and broadcaster, Paul Gambaccini, the six awards were presented by some of the most respected figures in the film world. BEST FILM In recognition of original, intelligent and distinctive …