2009 |
2008
17 articles from 2009
Blu-Ray Review: ‘A Christmas Tale’ Offers French Take on Family Dysfunction
14 December 2009 9:23 AM, PST
| HollywoodChicago.com
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Chicago – When American filmmakers throw a colorful familial ensemble under one roof for the holidays, the result often feels like a forced sitcom. Consider 2005’s “The Family Stone,” an ungainly fusion of slapstick laughs, scathing satire and feel good fuzziness.
The family members and their significant others each came equipped with their own specially designed quirks, including a matriarch battling cancer, and a deaf son with a black male lover (they’re portrayed as the only “normal” people in the film). French filmmaker Arnaud Desplechin’s “A Christmas Tale,” has the same basic outline, yet its style is more evocative of the New Wave than bad television.
Blu-Ray Rating: 4.5/5.0
Not since Ingmar Bergman’s “Fanny and Alexander” has a film so enchantingly merged jubilant holiday magic with melancholy family drama. It’s an exhilaratingly off-kilter picture, with a story both sprawling and simple. The film opens with a man, Abel
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- adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
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A Christmas Tale Criterion Blu-ray Review
11 December 2009 9:53 AM, PST
| Collider.com
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Criterion and IFC have formed a partnership which has offered Criterion access to their catalog, which means over the next couple we’re going to see more modern films from the company than ever before. This is surely a boom for both companies, and for those loyal to the Criterion label, it may foist more modern (and modern classics) upon them. The signature of Cc still carries weight with any real cineaste. But more than that, foreign cinema has been taking it in the shorts due to the recession. Granted, the peak for foreign cinema was the post-war boom of the late 50’s and 60’s, but things are much more dire currently, and it’s hard for average theater goers to get their hands on foreign and indie cinema without a dedicated theater, and even then it can get hard. My review of A Christmas Tale after the jump.
And
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- Andre Dellamorte
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Trailer Alert – 44 Inch Chest
3 December 2009 12:30 AM, PST
| FilmShaft.com
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Momentum Pictures have sent us the trailer for Ray Winstone’s latest film, the awesome looking 44 Inch Chest, also starring Joanne Whalley, John Hurt, Ian McShane and Stephen Dillane. Directed by Malcolm Venville, 44 Inch Chest is a gangster film with a real difference. This isn’t about drugs, it isn’t about hustling, no, this gangster is going through divorce!
Colin Diamond (Ray Winstone) is in agony, shattered by the bombshell of his wife’s (Joanne Whalley) infidelity with a young French waiter. His motley crew of friends – Old Man Peanut (John Hurt), Meredith (Ian McShane), Archie (Tom Wilkinson), and Mal (Stephen Dillane) – kidnap Loverboy (Melvil Poupaud), and assemble a kangaroo court so that Colin can restore his manhood with revenge. A very bumpy night ensues for Loverboy whose life is at stake as Colin wrestles with heartbreak, anger, madness, love and gargantuan self-pity.
Potent, provocative and outrageously profane, this
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- Craig Sharp
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Trailer: 44 Inch Chest
2 December 2009 5:58 AM, PST
| HeyUGuys.co.uk
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Last week we showed you this new poster for Ray Winstone’s latest movie, ‘44 Inch Chest’. Today, Momentum Pictures have given us the brand new trailer for the movie which is written by the same guys who did Sexy Beast,. Louis Mellis and David Scinto. You can tell straight away that the writing is going to be excellent from the opening 30 seconds of the trailer.
44 Inch Chest is directed by Malcolm Venville and has an amazing British cast which as well as Winstone includes Joanne Whalley, John Hurt, Ian McShane, Stephen Dillane and Melvil Poupaud. It’s scheduled for release 15th January and we’ll hopefully bring you a review early in the new year. Check out the synopsis and trailer below.
44 Inch Chest, a powerful and explosive drama of retribution and is the feature film debut of renowned photographer and commercial director Malcolm Venville.
Colin Diamond (Ray Winstone) is in agony,
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- David Sztypuljak
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Review | Climax First, then the Build Up: Ozon Finds Satisfaction in “Refuge”
12 September 2009 5:55 PM, PDT
| IndieWIRE
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Francois Ozon’s “Le Refuge” begins where most movies climax. It opens with junkie Parisian couple Mousse (Isabelle Carre) and Louis (Melvil Poupaud) overdosing on heroin in weary ecstasy. The next morning, Louis dies; when Mousse wakes up in a coma, she’s single and pregnant. Retreating to a quiet home in the countryside, she settles into a lonely existence. Louis’s brother Paul (Louis-Ronan Choisy) pays her a visit, introducing a new chance …
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Review | Climax First, then the Build Up: Ozon Finds Satisfaction in “Refuge”
12 September 2009 12:20 PM, PDT
| IndieWIRE
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Francois Ozon’s “Le Refuge” begins where most movies climax. It opens with junkie Parisian couple Mousse (Isabelle Carre) and Louis (Melvil Poupaud) overdosing on heroin in weary ecstasy. The next morning, Louis dies; when Mousse wakes up in a coma, she’s single and pregnant. Retreating to a quiet home in the countryside, she settles into a lonely existence. Louis’s brother Paul (Louis-Ronan Choisy) pays her a visit, introducing a new chance …
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50 Essential Foreign Films 2000-2008 (Part 1) - Spotlight on French Cinema
2 September 2009 4:17 AM, PDT
| The Movie Fanatic
| See recent The Movie Fanatic news
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Films on the cutting edge. That's how I would describe the 50 movies on this list. While some moviegoers may find it an 'alien' experience to refer to sub-titles in understanding what's happening on the big screen, a good number of audiences are totally enjoying the different and often surprising take by many foreign filmmakers, nothwithstanding the language barrier.
Content-wise, the 50 movies feature stories about war and peace, love and romance, family affairs, coming-of-age tales, cultural and religious diversity, social issues (including prostitution and abortion) and personal - celebrating life or facing death with dignity. Coverage-wise, tMF list down many of the best foreign films from 2000 until last year from the UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy and about 15 other countries in Europe, North and Latin America and Asia-Pacific.
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André Téchiné, Catherine Breillat, Julian Schnabel, Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Christophe Barratier, Jacques Audiard, Cedric Clapisch, Francois Ozon... they are,
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50 Essential Foreign Films 2000-2008 (Part 1) - Spotlight on French Cinema
2 September 2009 4:17 AM, PDT
| The Movie Fanatic
| See recent The Movie Fanatic news
»
Films on the cutting edge. That's how I would describe the 50 movies on this list. While some moviegoers may find it an 'alien' experience to refer to sub-titles in understanding what's happening on the big screen, a good number of audiences are totally enjoying the different and often surprising take by many foreign filmmakers, nothwithstanding the language barrier.
Content-wise, the 50 movies feature stories about war and peace, love and romance, family affairs, coming-of-age tales, cultural and religious diversity, social issues (including prostitution and abortion) and personal - celebrating life or facing death with dignity. Coverage-wise, tMF list down many of the best foreign films from 2000 until last year from the UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy and about 15 other countries in Europe, North and Latin America and Asia-Pacific.
André Téchiné, Catherine Breillat, Julian Schnabel, Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Christophe Barratier, Jacques Audiard, Cedric Clapisch, Francois Ozon... they are,
…
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50 Essential Foreign Films 2000-2008 (Part 1) - Spotlight on French Cinema
2 September 2009 4:17 AM, PDT
| The Movie Fanatic
| See recent The Movie Fanatic news
»
Films on the cutting edge. That's how I would describe the 50 movies on this list. While some moviegoers may find it an 'alien' experience to refer to sub-titles in understanding what's happening on the big screen, a good number of audiences are totally enjoying the different and often surprising take by many foreign filmmakers, nothwithstanding the language barrier.
Content-wise, the 50 movies feature stories about war and peace, love and romance, family affairs, coming-of-age tales, cultural and religious diversity, social issues (including prostitution and abortion) and personal - celebrating life or facing death with dignity. Coverage-wise, tMF list down many of the best foreign films from 2000 until last year from the UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy and about 15 other countries in Europe, North and Latin America and Asia-Pacific.
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André Téchiné, Catherine Breillat, Julian Schnabel, Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Christophe Barratier, Jacques Audiard, Cedric Clapisch, Francois Ozon... they are,
…
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tMF puts the Spotlight on Francois Civil
27 August 2009 9:57 AM, PDT
| The Movie Fanatic
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tMF is in constant lookout for the next breakout star and we're happy to discover and write about some of the most talented young French actors today - Gaspard Ulliel, Louis Garrel, Malik Zidi and the two mega-talented leading men - Romain Duris and Melvil Poupaud. So now, we have another rising star - and he's quite a looker.
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With a signature hairstyle (watch out Robert Pattinson!), Francois Civil is carefully taking all the right steps on his way to acclaim. But he's no longer an up and coming actor to some and the Disney channel (via this show) has something to do with this early brush with fame. If American teens scream for the Jonas brothers, their French counterparts are doing the same for Francois Civil.
But apparently, the young French actor wanted something more challenging. Now already 20 years old, he seriously took
…
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tMF puts the Spotlight on Francois Civil
27 August 2009 9:57 AM, PDT
| The Movie Fanatic
| See recent The Movie Fanatic news
»
tMF is in constant lookout for the next breakout star and we're happy to discover and write about some of the most talented young French actors today - Gaspard Ulliel, Louis Garrel, Malik Zidi and the two mega-talented leading men - Romain Duris and Melvil Poupaud. So now, we have another rising star - and he's quite a looker.
- - -
- - -
With a signature hairstyle (watch out Robert Pattinson!), Francois Civil is carefully taking all the right steps on his way to acclaim. But he's no longer an up and coming actor to some and the Disney channel (via this show) has something to do with this early brush with fame. If American teens scream for the Jonas brothers, their French counterparts are doing the same for Francois Civil.
But apparently, the young French actor wanted something more challenging. Now already 20 years old, he seriously took
…
Permalink | Report a problem
tMF puts the Spotlight on Francois Civil
27 August 2009 9:57 AM, PDT
| The Movie Fanatic
| See recent The Movie Fanatic news
»
tMF is in constant lookout for the next breakout star and we're happy to discover and write about some of the most talented young French actors today - Gaspard Ulliel, Louis Garrel, Malik Zidi and the two mega-talented leading men - Romain Duris and Melvil Poupaud. So now, we have another rising star - and he's quite a looker.
- - -
- - -
With a signature hairstyle (watch out Robert Pattinson!), Francois Civil is carefully taking all the right steps on his way to acclaim. But he's no longer an up and coming actor to some and the Disney channel (via this show) has something to do with this early brush with fame. If American teens scream for the Jonas brothers, their French counterparts are doing the same for Francois Civil.
But apparently, the young French actor wanted something more challenging. Now already 20 years old, he seriously took
…
Permalink | Report a problem
tMF puts the Spotlight on Francois Civil
27 August 2009 9:57 AM, PDT
| The Movie Fanatic
| See recent The Movie Fanatic news
»
tMF is in constant lookout for the next breakout star and we're happy to discover and write about some of the most talented young French actors today - Gaspard Ulliel, Louis Garrel, Malik Zidi and the two mega-talented leading men - Romain Duris and Melvil Poupaud. So now, we have another rising star - and he's quite a looker.
- - -
- - -
With a signature hairstyle (watch out Robert Pattinson!), Francois Civil is carefully taking all the right steps on his way to acclaim. But he's no longer an up and coming actor to some and the Disney channel (via this show) has something to do with this early brush with fame. If American teens scream for the Jonas brothers, their French counterparts are doing the same for Francois Civil.
But apparently, the young French actor wanted something more challenging. Now already 20 years old, he seriously took
…
Permalink | Report a problem
DVD Review: 'After Dark Horrorfest III: 8 Films to Die For'
23 April 2009 8:58 AM, PDT
| HollywoodChicago.com
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Chicago – Lionsgate and After Dark Films’ recently released their third collection of “8 Films to Die For” and this year proved to be the most uninspiring octet to date. With fewer risks taken than the last two years and less extreme failures or successes, “After Dark Horrorfest III” is terrifyingly dull.
Overall DVD Rating: 2.0/5.0
What makes this year’s collection rather forgettable is the lack of extremes on either side of the rating spectrum. The first two years produced some truly excellent genre gems including “Borderland,” “The Hamiltons,” and “The Abandoned.” At the same time, movies like “Dead Lake,” “Undead,” and “Nightmare Man” should be buried in a deep hole and never see the light of day again.
I have to admit that I liked the variety in quality of the last two years more than this year, when nearly every film registered as forgettable more than good or bad. There was one notable standout,
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- adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
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A Tragicomedy, Split Down Its Center
14 April 2009 7:10 AM, PDT
| ifc.com
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The palm-sized absurdist Lebanese film "The Kite" (2003) was never released to U.S. theaters, and it's a piteous sign of the times -- even a decade ago, such a deft and humane film, bearing an armload of festival awards, would've hit screens in at least a few cities, and appeared on critics' top ten lists, and therein manage a footprint on American film culture consciousness. Perhaps the alt-distribution stream of DVD will suffice, in general; as it is, Randa Chahal Sabbag's film deserves eyeballs, trafficking in the satiric-fable tradition of "West Beirut" (1998) and "In the Battlefields" (2004) that might stand as a particularly Lebanese idiom. For a country as savaged and riven by warfare, occupation, religious vendettas and geographic tumult, the sense of embracing humor in all three films must be hard won -- the DNA of it shares genes with Jiří Menzel's Czech élan and Kusturica's Serbian hyperbole, but
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- Michael Atkinson
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DVD Art For All The After Dark Horrorfest III "8 Films To Die For"!
12 January 2009 7:54 AM, PST
| iconsoffright.com
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Amazon has listed all the DVD artwork for all "8 Films To Die For" as part of After Dark's Horrorfest 3. All the following titles will be released on March 31st. Below you'll find a break down of each film, along with the cover art which will be linked to the Amazon link if you'd like to pre-order any of these. Enjoy!
Autopsy Synopsis:
A group of recent college grads is taking a final vacation together when an accident leaves them hurt and stranded on a lonely Louisiana road. An ambulance arrives and takes them to mercy hospital, an eerie, half empty place that harbors a chilling secret: a doctor conducting inhuman experiments on its helpless patients. Directed by Adam Gierasch. Written by Adam Gierasch, Jace Anderson & E.L. Katz. Starring Jessica Lowndes, Michael Bowen, Robert Patrick, Jenette Goldstein, Robert Lasardo & Ashley Schneider.
The Butterfly Effect: Revelation Synopsis:
The latest entry in The Butterfly Effect
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Review: The Broken
11 January 2009 12:33 PM, PST
| Cinematical
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By Kim Voynar (original publication date: 1/23/08 -- Sundance Film Festival)
I'm not what I would call a serious fan of the horror genre overall, but I do like smart horror films, and The Broken, by Cashback director Sean Ellis, was a pretty smart film. I've had some arguments the past couple days about Cashback, and while that film has its weaknesses in the story structure, Ellis's strength as a director lies in imaginative visual sequences, a skill he uses to great effect in The Broken.
Gina (Lena Headey) and her boyfriend Stefan (Melvil Poupaud) go to Gina's father's house for a surprise birthday party. Her dad, who works for the Us Embassy in London, is nearing retirement. Gina's brother Daniel and his girlfriend Kate show up for the party as well; the party is nice but uneventful, until a large mirror in the dining room suddenly shatters for no apparent reason.
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- Cinematical staff
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