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2009 | 2008

7 articles from 2009

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Frozen River: an icy tale to warm your heart

24 July 2009 9:39 AM, PDT | t5m.com | See recent t5m.com news »

Yesterday evening I had an unpleasant realisation… I had completely forgotten to watch Courtney Hunt’s much lauded debut feature, Frozen River. This was, of course, unacceptable. The last ‘promising’ female screenwriter to demand the attention of the Oscars was Diablo Cody, but on the assumption that the Oscar’s couldn’t be so disastrously wrong two years in a row, I decided to head over to the Odeon Panton Street to watch Frozen River. At University I was forced to consider the importance of the ‘performance space’ to the experience of seeing a play or film. There is no doubt that the chosen location for a film’s exhibition – be it a living room, the local Multiplex, a rundown family theatre, or an archway near London Bridge – makes for a unique viewing experience. I had never actually entered the Odeon Panton Street (the one hidden behind the Odeon West »

- Nicholas Deigman

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Movies that are made for forever

2 May 2009 4:38 PM, PDT | blogs.suntimes.com/ebert | See recent Roger Ebert's Blog news »

I have feelings more than ideas. I am tired, but very happy. My 11th annual film festival has just wrapped at the Virginia Theater in my home town, and what I can say is, it worked. There is no such thing as the best year or the worst year. But there is such a thing as a festival where every single film seemed to connect strongly with the audience. Sitting in the back row, seeing these films another time, sensing the audience response, I thought: Yes, these films are more than good, and this audience is a gathering of people who feel that.

Let me tell you about the last afternoon, the screening of a newly restored 70mm print of "Baraka." The 1,600 seats of the main floor and balcony were very nearly filled. The movie exists of about 96 minutes of images, music and sound. Nothing else. No narration. No subtitles. »

- Roger Ebert

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The best train set a boy could ever want

27 March 2009 12:43 PM, PDT | blogs.suntimes.com/ebert | See recent Roger Ebert's Blog news »

It's a good thing Ebertfest is no longer called the Overlooked Film Festival. One of my choices this year, "Frozen River," was in danger of being overlooked when I first invited it, but then it realized the dream of every indie film, found an audience and won two Oscar nominations. Yet even after the Oscar nods, it has grossed only about $2.5 million and has been unseen in theaters by most of the nation.

Those numbers underline the crisis in independent, foreign or documentary films--art films. More than ever, the monolithic U.S. distribution system freezes out films lacking big stars, big ad budgets, ready-made teenage audiences, or exploitable hooks. When an unconventional film like "Slumdog Millionaire" breaks out, it's the exception that proves the rule. While it was splendid, it was not as original or really as moving as the American indie "Chop Shop," made a year earlier. The difference is, »

- Roger Ebert

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Indie Spirits ~ Live Blogging

22 February 2009 9:41 AM, PST | FilmExperience | See recent FilmExperience news »

5:00 Pm Mickey Rourke (a lot more on him if you scroll down), Kerry Washington, Taraji P Henson, John Malkovich, Darren Aronofsky, Debra Winger, Rosemarie DeWitt... lots of famous faces flashing at us, some of them probably trying desperately not to think about the Oscars tomorrow. Ben Stiller is talking at us to introduce our host Steve Coogan (Tropic Thunder, Hamlet 2). Why is it that I think Stiller is so funny when he's playing himself and not so funny in actual movie roles? Jokes about "most of us haven't seen these films"... why do I get so much flak for suggesting Hollywood types don't watch all the nominated movies and yet, they themselves joke about it constantly. (sigh) He's joking about how the Oscars are orgies of backpatting for beautiful people. At the indie spirits they're beautiful on the inside instead. People don't seem to think this joke is funny. »

- NATHANIEL R

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Frozen River DVD Review

9 February 2009 7:00 PM, PST | newsinfilm.com | See recent newsinfilm news »

Frozen River is a cold, harsh movie, but what it lacks in popcorn entertainment it makes up for in authentic emotion and stellar storytelling.  The film’s difficult theme (the necessary pursuit of money) presents lasting moral dilemmas for the characters and the audience, but the reality of the country’s own financial situation lurks under the timely story.  When the tears flow or the credits roll, you’ll ask yourself what you would be willing to do to survive in the cold, harsh world.

The opening introduces Ray Eddy (played to perfection by Melissa Leo), a desperate mother struggling to provide for her family during financial crisis.  An extreme close-up captures the haggard look of a weary woman, whose burdens are apparent under her eyes as she draws on a cigarette to ease the stress.  Her gambling addict husband (who we never see) has just fled with the money »

- Jeff Leins

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Blu-Ray Review: Oscar-Nominated ‘Frozen River’ Has Gripping Dramatic Power

9 February 2009 11:50 AM, PST | HollywoodChicago.com | See recent HollywoodChicago.com news »

Blu-Ray Rating: 3.5/5.0 Chicago – Courtney Hunt’s “Frozen River” is easily the most unlikely double Oscar nominee of 2008, scoring nods for Best Actress and Best Original Screenplay and now available on Blu-Ray from Sony Home Entertainment.

Like “Wendy and Lucy” and “Ballast” (both films I think are slightly superior), “Frozen River” is about people on the economic fringe. Melissa Leo gives a stunning performance as Ray, a Yankee Dollar employee struggling to make ends meet after the gambling addict father of her kids leaves her with next to nothing.

Misty Upham and Melissa Leo star in Courtney Hunt’s Frozen River.

Photo credit: Sony

Ray can’t make the payments on her new double-wide house, feeds her kids popcorn and Tang for dinner, and does everything she can to keep her fragile world together. She lives in Massena, New York, near the Canadian border on a landscape of North American that feels frozen physically, »

- adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)

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Another Big Win for "Slumdog Millionaire"

6 January 2009 11:39 PM, PST | Manny the Movie Guy | See recent Manny the Movie Guy news »

"Slumdog Millionaire" is the one to beat this Oscar season! This time, the Alliance of Women Film Journalists awarded the movie its highest honor -- Best Picture of their Eda (Excellent Dynamic Activism) Awards.

Sean Penn also scored a Best Actor win for "Milk."

But my favorite categories of the Eda Awards? Their Special Mention Awards with fun categories like the Hall Of Shame Award ("27 Dresses") or Actress Most in Need Of A New Agent Award (gasp, Kate Hudson).

The Alliance of Women Film Journalists is a great organization with members who are "highly qualified professional female movie critics, reporters and feature writers working in print, broadcast and online media."

Check their site here.

And to see the full list of winners, click read more.

Eda Annual Achievement Awards

Best Film

Slumdog Millionaire

Best Direction

Danny Boyle - Slumdog Millionaire

Best Screenplay Original

Wall-e - Andrew Stanton, Pete Docter, Jim Reardon »

- Manny

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2009 | 2008

7 articles from 2009

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