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5 items from 2012

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Daily Briefing. Cinema Scope 50

20 April 2012 10:43 AM, PDT | MUBI | See recent MUBI news »

Yesterday was all about the Cannes lineup, so we've got quite a bit of news to catch up with today. First and foremost, Cinema Scope has relaunched its site with a healthy selection of pieces from Issue 50, which cinephiles lucky enough to be holding a print copy have been talking about for weeks now. Editor Mark Peranson: "So to commemorate 50 issues, I came up with the silly (not stupid) idea of deciding on the best 50 filmmakers currently working under the age of 50 (or the top, or the greatest — I've spent far too much time pondering this silly adjective). I'm anticipating heaps of criticism for this in the blogosphere, but I hope this leads to a little discussion outside of the pages of this magazine, and provides a snapshot of where cinema finds itself today."

20 of those 50 pieces are online. You'll find, for example, Raya Martin on Carlos Reygadas (and »

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Daily Briefing. A Pulitzer, "Pizza" and Cannes Shorts

17 April 2012 6:53 AM, PDT | MUBI | See recent MUBI news »

Congratulations to Wesley Morris of the Boston Globe, winner of the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Criticism. The judges have cited "his smart, inventive film criticism, distinguished by pinpoint prose and an easy traverse between the art house and the big-screen box office." And the Globe's collected his nominated reviews. "Journalism's highest honor has only been bestowed upon a film critic a few times," notes Eugene Hernandez of the Film Society of Lincoln Center. "Previous recipients include Joe Morgenstern of the Wall Street Journal in 2005, Stephen Hunter of the Washington Post in 2003 and Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times in 1975. 'I was just doing my job and this is what happened,' Morris offered modestly during an emotional newsroom speech that was recorded and edited for the Globe website."

In other news. Nick Catucci for Artinfo: "When we say that Abel Ferrara's Pizza Connection — a web serial for Vice now in »

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The Loneliest Planet

24 February 2012 3:47 PM, PST | The Scorecard Review | See recent Scorecard Review news »

The Loneliest Planet

Directed by: Julia Loktev

Cast: Gael Garcia Bernal, Hani Furstenberg, Bidzina Gujabidze

Running Time: 1 hr 55 mins

Rating: Not Rated

Showtimes at Piff: Monday 2/20 5:15pm at Cinema 21, Friday 2/24 8:45pm at Cinema 21 Complete Piff Schedule

Plot: An engaged couple going on a backpacking trip through the Caucasus Mountains and find out some tough truths about their relationship.

Who’S It For? Filmgoers who prefer visuals over dialogue.

Overall

Bernal and Furstenberg make a beautiful and believable couple. From the beginning, their rapport seems easy and natural. The film is observational, the camera watches the couple as they walk around town, find a guide, play with children and just have a good time. Their guide seems a little suspect, but maybe only because I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop. Though the program says the film has subtitles, mine didn’t. Most of the dialogue is in English, »

- Megan Lehar

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Piff '12 Review: All Is Not What It Seems In Beautifully Shot 'The Loneliest Planet'

22 February 2012 11:32 AM, PST | The Playlist | See recent The Playlist news »

A review from the 35th Portland International Film Festival.  It’s true that “The Loneliest Planet,” directed by Julia Loktev (“Day Night Day Night”), is the kind of film that works best if you know little to absolutely nothing about it going in. But then again, couldn’t that be said for just about every film? So before we write this review, let’s get the basics out there: a young couple (played wonderfully by Gael García Bernal and Hani Furstenberg), engaged to be married, is backpacking in the Caucasus Mountains in Georgia. They hire a guide to lead them on a hike filled with stunning vistas, and…something happens that changes things, irrevocably. Sure, it’s a simple enough plot, but where this assured sophomore fiction effort from Loktev becomes quite interesting is in its complex character moments and subtle nuances. This is the kind of film that many »

- Erik McClanahan

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Takashi Miike and James Franco Films Part of Initial Rotterdam Fest Line-Up

6 January 2012 11:09 AM, PST | The Film Stage | See recent The Film Stage news »

I’ll just fess up: Despite the fact that it’s in its 41st year, the International Film Festival Rotterdam is something I’ve kind of never heard about until today. (Let’s blame it on a slip in my geography skills.) This ignorance on my part notwithstanding, taking a look at their initial lineup for this year — when the event runs from January 25th to February 5th — has left me mightily impressed.

The biggest world premieres come from two directors on opposite ends of at least a few spectrum: Takashi Miike and James Franco. (Discounting the fact that they’ve both depicted amputations onscreen, in one way or the other.) The former is debuting his adaptation of the popular Nintendo DS game, Ace Attorney, while the latter will be exhibiting Francophrenia (Or: Don’t Kill Me, I Know Where the Baby Is). A movie based on a kid’s »

- jpraup@gmail.com (thefilmstage.com)

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2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2007 | 2006

5 items from 2012

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