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2 items from 2013

27 March 2013 11:55 AM, PDT | Thompson on Hollywood | See recent Thompson on Hollywood news »

Classic screen actor Burt Lancaster (1913-1994) would have turned 100 this year, and to celebrate his centennial the UCLA Film & Television Archive is rolling out a fabulous 25-film retrospective of his work, running April 5 through June 30. The series kicks off with Alexander Mackendrick's acid-tongued portrait of corrupt ambition "Sweet Smell of Success," starring Lancaster and Tony Curtis as an unscrupulous gossip columnist-and-press agent team. A must-see. Also included in the series is Fred Zinnemann's Pearl Harbor drama "From Here to Eternity," which famously features Lancaster and an uncharacteristically bombshell Deborah Kerr kissing passionately on the sands of Hawaii; Jules Dassin's explosive prison-breakout thriller "Brute Force"; and a Robert Siodmak noir double feature of Ernest Hemingway's "The Killers" and "Criss Cross." Lancaster possessed that magical combo for a Hollywood star: acting skills, danger, rugged, sexy masculinity--he trained as a circus acrobat and »

- Anne Thompson and Beth Hanna

27 February 2013 2:18 PM, PST | SoundOnSight | See recent SoundOnSight news »

This article is dedicated to Andrew Copp: filmmaker, film writer, artist and close friend who passed away on January 19, 2013. You are loved and missed, brother.

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Looking at the Best Actor Academy Award nominations for the film year 2012, the one miss that clearly cries out for more attention is Liam Neeson’s powerful performance in Joe Carnahan’s excellent survival film The Grey, easily one of the best roles of Neeson’s career.

In Neeson’s case, his lack of a nomination was a case of neglect similar to the Albert Brooks snub in the Best Supporting Actor category for the film year 2011 for Drive(Nicolas Winding Refn, USA).

Along with negligence, other factors commonly prevent outstanding lead acting performances from getting the kind of critical attention they deserve. Sometimes it’s that the performance is in a film not considered “Oscar material” or even worthy of any substantial critical attention. »

- Terek Puckett

2 items from 2013