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Michael Haneke Makes It Hurt So Good
30 December 2009 11:08 PM, PST
| ifc.com
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"Why so glum, chum?"
It's the first question I really wanted to ask 67-year-old Austrian filmmaker Michael Haneke, whose provocative social dramas are fueled by some of the bleakest, most distressing subject matter in world cinema today. Whether it's the sadomasochistic student-tutor romance in "The Piano Teacher," the relentlessly brutal critique of violence as entertainment in his meta-horror "Funny Games" (and his shot-for-shot U.S. remake, which gave the finger to Hollywood by mocking it with Hollywood financing), or the accusations of bloodlust against his own audience in his allegorical masterpiece "Caché," Haneke's arthouse miserablism certainly doesn't inspire hope in the goodness of mankind. But maybe inspiring thought, self-reflection and debate demands that cinema hurt so good.
The 2009 jury at Cannes certainly believed so. Winner of this year's Palme d'Or (and now nominated for a Golden Globe), "The White Ribbon" finds Haneke returning to his German roots. Staged in a
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- Aaron Hillis
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Critics Consensus: The White Ribbon Is Certified Fresh
30 December 2009 7:43 AM, PST
| Rotten Tomatoes
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The final week of the year brings no wide releases, but Michael Haneke's Palme d'Or winner The White Ribbon hits theaters in limited release. What do the critics have to say? Michael Haneke's films are not for the faint of heart. Best known in the United States for Cache and Funny Games, the Austrian maestro makes haunting thrillers that burn into your psyche. Critics say his latest, the Certified Fresh The White Ribbon, ranks among his very best. Set in a small German town in the days before World War I, the film tells the tale of a series of
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Suffer the Children
29 December 2009 9:33 PM, PST
| ifc.com
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Seasoned moviegoers have come to recognize certain visual cues that let them know they're about to witness scenes of unspeakable brutality: A close-up of a pot of boiling liquid in a movie that's not about cooking. The emergence of a straight razor in a scene not set in a barbershop. And the five words: "Ein film von Michael Haneke."
Actually, by Haneke standards, "The White Ribbon" isn't the kind of cinematic waterboarding we've come to expect from the stern Austrian auteur, but while it may not be as viscerally horrifying as, say, "Funny Games," it's still a grim and potent moviegoing experience.
Set entirely in a small farming community on the eve of World War I, "The White Ribbon" feels like a cross between "Le Corbeau" and "Village of the Damned" as directed by Andrei Tarkovsky. The town suddenly finds itself beset with crimes and misdemeanors: The local doctor's horse trips over a wire,
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- Alonso Duralde
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Check Out 'The White Ribbon,' 'The Loss Of A Teardrop Diamond' And 'The Chaser' In This Week's unLimited
29 December 2009 9:00 AM, PST
| MTV Movies Blog
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New Year's week is typically a dry time for new releases, which is likely fine by multiplex employees. After last weekend's record box office, they could use a rest. But we cinephiles are always in need of fresh options, and just because it's the week after Christmas -- a traditional peak time for moviegoing -- doesn't mean there should be a total lack of new offerings. I know I'm not the only person who grew up regularly going to the movies on New Year's Eve.
Fortunately, while there seems to be no studio fare out this week, there are a few new films coming out in limited release. And each appears to be worth checking out if they're available in your area now or later, theatrically or otherwise.
"The White Ribbon"
What it is: The latest from Austrian filmmaker Michael Haneke ("Funny Games"), "The White Ribbon" is a drama set
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- Christopher Campbell
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He Said – He Said … Top Films of the Decade
28 December 2009 4:18 PM, PST
| The Scorecard Review
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He Said – He Said … The Top 7 Films of the Decade
Our lists are done. We’ve checked them twice (and then some). Now there is only one thing left to do, complain, rant and argue. It’s time for the He Said – He Said … Top 7 Films of the Decade.
It’s He (Jeff Bayer) and his list …
7. Inglourious Basterds
6. Moulin Rouge!
5. Michael Clayton
4. Memento
3. Wall-e
2. Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
1. Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind
Versus
He (Nick Allen) and his list …
7. The Band’s Visit
6. Superbad
5. The Lives of Others
4. Adaptation
3. The Dark Knight
2. Talk to Her
1. There Will Be Blood
Complete Coverage of Top 7 Films of the Decade
Top 7 Films of the Decade by Jeff Bayer
Top 7 Movies of the Decade by Nick Allen
He Said – He Said … Top 7 Films of the Decade
Amazing. Not one movie in common. I’ve decided to let
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- Jeff Bayer
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The Notable Films of 2010: Part One
15 December 2009 7:47 AM, PST
| Dark Horizons
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After such success with this last year, today comes the first in a multi-chapter look at the various cinematic releases hitting the U.S. in 2010.
Each 'Volume' contains brief descriptions and editorial opinion/analysis of around 25-30 films, and at present it's looking to run around nine volumes in length.
Expect the remaining ones to go up between now and the first official weekend of releases on January 8th.
13
Opens: 2010
Cast: Jason Statham, Alexander Skarsgard, Mickey Rourke, Ray Winstone, 50 Cent
Director: Géla Babluani
Summary: A remake of 2005 French thriller "13 (Tzameti)". A naive young man assumes a dead man's identity and finds himself embroiled in an underground world of power, violence, and chance where men gamble behind closed doors on the lives of other men.
Analysis: Remakes are very common, the same director remaking his own film in English is rarer but still not unheard of ("Funny Games," "Bangkok Dangerous," "The
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- Garth Franklin
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Predictions 2010 Sundance Film Festival: Granik, Mahoney, Casey Phoenix
12 December 2009 6:25 PM, PST
| ioncinema
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I think there are only three film festivals on the circuit where filmmakers and producers are really conscious on how a production start date my ultimately affect their film festival status. There are the heavyweights of Cannes and Venice, and then there is Sundance. For the better part of the last 15 years, we are talking about the Reservoir Dogs era, the festival has jumped started thousands of careers and perhaps the best sign of adulation is the creation of competing festivals in SXSW and Tribeca. Here are five more prediction picks, you can find the complete list of predictions by clicking here. - I think there are only three film festivals on the circuit where filmmakers and producers are really conscious on how a production start date my ultimately affect their film festival status. There are the heavyweights of Cannes and Venice, and then there is Sundance. For the better part of the last 15 years,
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- Ioncinema.com Staff
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Movie Posters of the Decade
12 December 2009 2:05 PM, PST
| The Auteurs
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Trawling through databases of all the movie posters released in the past ten years and trying to remember my ten favorites, two things stand out: that only a very small percentage qualify as great pieces of design in their own right (there are far fewer contenders for movie poster of the decade than there are for movie of the decade for sure); and that my favorite posters have little bearing on my favorite films. In fact, I haven’t even seen the first two films on the list (Ok, I just started watching the first one on HBO the other day, but I have yet to finish it). I present this list as an eclectic personal selection of posters in which graphic simplicity and typographic elegance count most of all, as well as one poster which has neither but which I love for different reasons.
We welcome your own picks
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Movie Poster of the Week: "Up in the Air"
13 November 2009 8:05 AM, PST
| The Auteurs
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If anyone merits the “big head” poster treatment so expertly parodied by Funny or Die it would be everybody’s favorite movie star George Clooney. Lately, however, Clooney has started to disappear from his own posters: his eyes were obscured by the title in the Syriana poster and his face was out of focus and again covered in lettering for Michael Clayton. The poster for Up in the Air, however, has his most subdued presence of all: a small dark silhouette dwarfed by the movie title in sober Helvetica high up on an airport information board.
What I like about this poster, beyond its symmetrical simplicity, is how it looks up close, when you can see the pixels of the monitor, something that is lost when you see the poster at anything but full size. I do feel the poster is maybe a little too pleased with itself (which is
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Review: The White Ribbon (Das Weisse Band)
10 November 2009 4:01 PM, PST
| HeyUGuys.co.uk
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The Palme d’Or. The prize awarded by the jury at the Cannes International film festival, for the best film in the competition. In recent times, it has been awarded to both up and coming film directors, like Steven Soderbergh, the Coens, and perhaps most famously Quentin Tarantino, and veterans of their art like Gus Van Sant and Roman Polanski. The Palme d’Or is considered one of the most prestigious awards in film.
This year, it went to Michel Haneke. It’s been a long time coming for the Austrian. Considered one of the most talented directors in Europe, Haneke will be best known in the UK and Us for his only English language effort, 2007’s Funny Games Us. A remake of his own 1997 Austrian movie, it wasn’t the best showcase of his work. He has returned to his native tongue, and hopes this year’s award winning
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- Barry Steele
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Method Man Gets His Tools for 'Mortician 3D'
5 November 2009 10:42 PM, PST
| bloody-disgusting.com
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Shooting starts November 16th in Louisiana for Belladonna and Stealth Media's The Mortician, which will be helmed by Gareth Maxwell Roberts from his own screenplay. The redemption tale in which kindness triumphs over cruelty falls within the urban noir, contemporary fairy tale and psychological thriller genres. Method Man (The Wackness, How High, Garden State) and Angelic Zambrana (Fighting) both star with Tom Hardy (Bronson, RocknRolla, Mad Max 4) and Edward Furlong (Night of the Demons) in talks.
From Belladonna (Rene Bastian, Linda Moran and Adam Folk), the producers who brought you hit indie films such as Transamerica, Funny Games, The Caller and The Good Guy, in association with Molinare, Film and Music Entertainment Ltd and Full Circle Films (Rhys Thomas, Gareth Maxwell Roberts) producers of the award-winning Kill Kill Faster Faster, comes The Mortician 3D a gritty, urban drama in the style of David Finchers Seven.
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Gadget of the week: BlackBerry 8700 Smartphone from Funny Games
29 October 2009 6:02 AM, PDT
| Boxwish.com
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Be warned sensitive Boxwishers – there’s very little to tickle your funny bone in Funny Games. The shot-for-shot remake of the 1997 German film of the same name sees the domestic bliss enjoyed by George (Tim Roth), his wife Anne (Naomi Watts) and their young son, Georgie shattered when a holiday to their lake house is interrupted by two psychopathic strangers. It’s certainly not light viewing, but makes an unusual spin on the modern horror thriller, and so, with Halloween looming, we’re celebrating the movie by naming its BlackBerry 8700 Smartphone as our gadget of the week.
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50 Influential Scream Queens: Part 2
27 October 2009 10:57 PM, PDT
| Fangoria
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Before I launch into the conclusion of my 50 Influential Scream Queens (read part 1 here), please let me remind you that this list is based upon my personal taste, and my personal taste alone. I didn't poll 100 Fango readers, the Fango staff or any other form of 'industry professionals'. It's all opinion, so if you feel I've wronged a certain actress by excluding them from the list, don't leap to brand the entire Fango crew 'vile'. I probably just don't personally find their work to be that influential. Either that or I'm just ignorant to their accomplishments!
25. Mia Farrow: Mia's genre work may be a bit limited, but that doesn't change the fact that Rosemary's Baby will forever be regarded as one of the creepiest films in history. Farrow's portrayal of Rosemary Woodhouse is harrowing to say the least, and will always remain (in my mind) one of the best performances the genre has seen.
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- no-reply@fangoria.com (Matt Molgaard)
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tMF Perspectives: Michael Haneke's The White Ribbon and his polemical statements against the American 'barrel down' cinema
26 October 2009 1:46 AM, PDT
| The Movie Fanatic
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If you're going to ask me (once again) who I considered to be one of the most controversial filmmakers today, then I would name Michael Haneke (right after Lars von Trier, of course). While von Trier's movies can be overwhelming at times, Haneke's can be very daunting and just like subjecting one self to torture. If von Trier loves to portray America without touching American soil, Haneke loves to teach his viewers a dose of their own medicine - patronizing American escapist movies is like committing a crime, there will be punishment sooner or later.
- - -
- - -
But how to begin? Perhaps a look at The White Ribbon, his latest would be a good way to start. Instead of a chronological set of events, we start from the most recent.
More about The White Ribbon, Haneke's previous movie Funny Games and some insights into the Austrian filmmaker after the jump!
»
- modelwatcher@gmail.com (Jed Medina)
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tMF Perspectives: Michael Haneke's The White Ribbon and his polemical statements against the American 'barrel down' cinema
26 October 2009 1:46 AM, PDT
| The Movie Fanatic
| See recent The Movie Fanatic news
»
If you're going to ask me (once again) who I considered to be one of the most controversial filmmakers today, then I would name Michael Haneke (right after Lars von Trier, of course). While von Trier's movies can be overwhelming at times, Haneke's can be very daunting and just like subjecting one self to torture. If von Trier loves to portray America without touching American soil, Haneke loves to teach his viewers a dose of their own medicine - patronizing American escapist movies is like committing a crime, there will be punishment sooner or later.
- - -
- - -
But how to begin? Perhaps a look at The White Ribbon, his latest would be a good way to start. Instead of a chronological set of events, we start from the most recent.
More about The White Ribbon, Haneke's previous movie Funny Games and some insights into the Austrian filmmaker after the jump!
»
- modelwatcher@gmail.com (Jed Medina)
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tMF Perspectives: Michael Haneke's The White Ribbon and his polemical statements against the American 'barrel down' cinema
26 October 2009 1:46 AM, PDT
| The Movie Fanatic
| See recent The Movie Fanatic news
»
If you're going to ask me (once again) who I considered to be one of the most controversial filmmakers today, then I would name Michael Haneke (right after Lars von Trier, of course). While von Trier's movies can be overwhelming at times, Haneke's can be very daunting and just like subjecting one self to torture. If von Trier loves to portray America without touching American soil, Haneke loves to teach his viewers a dose of their own medicine - patronizing American escapist movies is like committing a crime, there will be punishment sooner or later.
- - -
- - -
But how to begin? Perhaps a look at The White Ribbon, his latest would be a good way to start. Instead of a chronological set of events, we start from the most recent.
More about The White Ribbon, Haneke's previous movie Funny Games and some insights into the Austrian filmmaker after the jump!
»
- modelwatcher@gmail.com (Jed Medina)
Permalink | Report a problem
tMF Perspectives: Michael Haneke's The White Ribbon and his polemical statements against the American 'barrel down' cinema
26 October 2009 1:46 AM, PDT
| The Movie Fanatic
| See recent The Movie Fanatic news
»
If you're going to ask me (once again) who I considered to be one of the most controversial filmmakers today, then I would name Michael Haneke (right after Lars von Trier, of course). While von Trier's movies can be overwhelming at times, Haneke's can be very daunting and just like subjecting one self to torture. If von Trier loves to portray America without touching American soil, Haneke loves to teach his viewers a dose of their own medicine - patronizing American escapist movies is like committing a crime, there will be punishment sooner or later.
- - -
- - -
But how to begin? Perhaps a look at The White Ribbon, his latest would be a good way to start. Instead of a chronological set of events, we start from the most recent.
More about The White Ribbon, Haneke's previous movie Funny Games and some insights into the Austrian filmmaker after the jump!
»
- modelwatcher@gmail.com (Jed Medina)
Permalink | Report a problem
tMF Perspectives: Michael Haneke's The White Ribbon and his polemical statements against the American 'barrel down' cinema
26 October 2009 1:46 AM, PDT
| The Movie Fanatic
| See recent The Movie Fanatic news
»
If you're going to ask me (once again) who I considered to be one of the most controversial filmmakers today, then I would name Michael Haneke (right after Lars von Trier, of course). While von Trier's movies can be overwhelming at times, Haneke's can be very daunting and just like subjecting one self to torture. If von Trier loves to portray America without touching American soil, Haneke loves to teach his viewers a dose of their own medicine - patronizing American escapist movies is like committing a crime, there will be punishment sooner or later.
- - -
- - -
But how to begin? Perhaps a look at The White Ribbon, his latest would be a good way to start. Instead of a chronological set of events, we start from the most recent.
More about The White Ribbon, Haneke's previous movie Funny Games and some insights into the Austrian filmmaker after the jump!
»
- modelwatcher@gmail.com (Jed Medina)
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Second International Trailer For Michael Haneke’s The White Ribbon
21 October 2009 9:17 AM, PDT
| Beyond Hollywood
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»
Although they’re frequently hard to swallow and more than a little confusing, I guess you could say I’m a fan of the work of German director Michael Haneke. I won’t pretend for two seconds that I fully comprehend “Cache,” or that I totally enjoyed his challenging 2003 effort “Time of the Wolf.” I am, however, fascinated with this storytelling abilities, so much so that I’ll blindly watch whatever he decides to release. Very few directors have that sort of power over me, especially when I feel that their material frequently flies directly over my head. “The White Ribbon” appears a little more accessible than, say, “Funny Games” or “The Piano Teacher,” though not by much. Regardless, I’m rather excited about it, and am anxious to check it out.
Here’s what it’s all about:
The story focuses on a children’s choir in a village
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- Todd
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Naomi Watts Says Sons Are ‘Endlessly Fascinating’
19 October 2009 1:00 PM, PDT
| People - CelebrityBabies
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Jackson Lee/Splash News Online
Likening motherhood to “science fiction,” actress Naomi Watts says she continues to marvel at sons Alexander ‘Sasha’ Pete, 2, and Samuel Kai, 10 months – and how they came to be.
“I still can’t believe it when I look at my children that they came from one little moment and they’re people,” she admits. “They’re babies and people and they learn and figure out all these things and you go, ‘God, I can’t believe it.’”
To hear the 41-year-old Funny Games star tell it, however, this time is just the quiet before the storm!
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- Missy
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