Week of « Prev | Next »
6 articles
Carl Ballantine, Actor And Magician, Dead At Age 92
6 November 2009 3:23 PM, PST
Character actor Carl Ballantine ahas died at age 92. He was one of the comedy industry's favorite second bananas and was also acclaimed for his stand-up act in which he played a bumbling magician. Ballantine, who received a lifetime achievement award on behalf of the magic industry in 2007, continued to perform until last year. His film credits include The Shakiest Gun in the West, Speedway and Mr. Saturday Night. He was also known for his role as the con-man Gruber on the McHale's Navy TV series. For more click here »
- nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
Steve Martin And Alec Baldwin To Co-host Next Oscar Awards
4 November 2009 3:06 AM, PST
From hunk to stand-up: Alec Baldwin's latest gig will be as co-host of the Oscar telecast.
For the first time since 1987, A.M.P.A.S. will have multiple hosts for the Academy Awards ceremony. The 2010 show will take place in February and and two of Hollywood's wittiest wise-guys will co-host - Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin. The gambit is an attempt to juice ratings through major changes to the telecast. For more click here »
- nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
Variety's Verdict On"Disney's A Christmas Carol": Humbug!
3 November 2009 6:16 AM, PST
By Lee Pfeiffer
Variety critic Todd McCarthy is playing Scrooge when it comes to evaluating director Robert Zemeckis' new 3-D animated version of Dicken's A Christmas Carol. While acknowledging that younger and more undemanding audiences will likely render the film a major hit, McCarthy says the timeless story has been degraded into a "so-called thrill ride" with animation techniques that rob the film of any emotional resonance. McCarthy says that little of star Jim Carrey's personality emerges in the course of the movie and that the project would have been better served as a live action endeavor. On a personal level, does anyone share my view that its rather obnoxious for Disney to take a possessive credit for this timeless tale? "Disney's A Christmas Carol"??? We weren't aware that Mouse House execs were sitting with Dickens when the story came into being. What's next: "Paramount's The Ten Commandments »
- nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
"Planet Of The Apes" To Be Screened At Pinewood Studios November 14
2 November 2009 7:01 AM, PST
Pinewood Studios has recently initiated a program that allows the public to attend screenings of films at the legendary British venue that is ordinarily strictly off-limits to those who are not in the movie industry. The Drive-In movie night is expanding with a variety of contemporary and classic movies being screened outdoors. The program is exciting and admirable, but the studio realized something was wrong when ticket sales proved virtually non-existent for a screening of Planet of the Apes. Enter Apes fan Simon Graham who alerted studio brass to the fact that the mistake was in announcing that the film to be screened would be Tim Burton's 2001 remake, not the beloved 1968 classic. To the studio's credit, they are now showing the original Charlton Heston starrer. The date is November 14 and you can get more information and tickets by clicking here. Graham also runs an active web-based community for fans »
- nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
Monty Python Enters New Jersey Governor's Race; Copyright Infringement Charged Against Chris Christie
1 November 2009 10:00 PM, PST
The members of Monty Python are accusing New Jersey candidate Chris Christie of copyright infringement.
By Lee Pfeiffer
The New Jersey governor's race is already one of the dirtiest and most bizarre campaigns imaginable. Democratic incumbent Jon Corzine should be coasting to re-election in a state that is largely liberal and largely Democratic. However, Corzine is fighting for his political life despite having virtually unlimited funds from his personal fortune to throw into his campaign. He has also had the benefit of several high profile campaign appearances by President Obama, who is extremely popular in this state. His main rival, Republican Chris Christie, a former Us Attorney, can't take much comfort, either. Despite running against a very unpopular incumbent, the best he has been able to do is draw even in the polls . (The election is Tuesday). Both men have run increasingly vitriolic campaigns, with Christie accusing Corzine of capitalizing »
- nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
Raymond Benson Reviews The New Criterion DVD Of Costa-gavras' "Z"
1 November 2009 5:46 PM, PST
Normal 0 false false false En-us X-none X-none MicrosoftInternetExplorer4
Directed by Costa-Gavras, Z was a landmark thriller from 1969, a political film that pointed to the kinds of pictures Oliver Stone would make two decades later. It was the first film to be nominated for both Best Picture and Best Foreign Film the same year (it won the Oscar for the latter, as well as for its innovative, dynamic editing). The mostly French production was filmed in Algeria, doubling as Greece—which at the time would never have allowed the crew to film there.
Based on true events that occurred in Greece in the early 60s, the story concerns the government-backed assassination of a pacifist political candidate (played by Yves Montand) and the subsequent investigation (led by charismatic Jean-Louis Trintignant) that eventually brought down the chief of police, head of security, and other government officials. The location is never »
- nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
6 articles
