If New York’s iconic American Museum of Natural History is the focal point of Todd Haynes’ “Wonderstruck,” then the tactile Cabinet of Wonders exhibit is the epicenter. That’s where the worlds of Rose (Millicent Simmonds) and Ben (Oakes Fegley), the two deaf children, converge 50 years apart (1927 and 1977).
“It was like winning the production design lotto,” said Mark Friedberg, who practically grew up at the museum and became a production designer as a result of its stimulating wonderment. “The Cabinet of Wonders is a glorious moment for a girl obsessed with making things and it’s where Rose’s journey stops. And it’s the place where Ben finally realizes he’s on the cusp of figuring out his mystery.”
A Tactile Theater of Memory
For Friedberg, building a set filled with such tactile historical objects is as good as it gets. Cabinets of Wonder, which date back more than 500 years,...
“It was like winning the production design lotto,” said Mark Friedberg, who practically grew up at the museum and became a production designer as a result of its stimulating wonderment. “The Cabinet of Wonders is a glorious moment for a girl obsessed with making things and it’s where Rose’s journey stops. And it’s the place where Ben finally realizes he’s on the cusp of figuring out his mystery.”
A Tactile Theater of Memory
For Friedberg, building a set filled with such tactile historical objects is as good as it gets. Cabinets of Wonder, which date back more than 500 years,...
- 10/31/2017
- by Bill Desowitz
- Indiewire
Netflix has given an eight-episode straight-to-series order to an untitled comedy (fka Russian Doll) from Natasha Lyonne, Leslye Headland (Bachelorette, Sleeping with Other People) and Amy Poehler, with Lyonne attached to star. Co-created and executive produced by Lyonne, Poehler and Headland, the comedy follows a young woman named Nadia (Lyonne) on her journey as the guest of honor at a seemingly inescapable party one night in New York City. "Natasha's humor, humanity…...
- 9/20/2017
- Deadline TV
One of the most eagerly anticipated trailers that’s going to come from San Diego Comic-Con has got to be the one for Thor: Ragnarok. Everything we’ve seen so far has knocked our socks off and we see no reason why that trend won’t continue. But, to whet our appetite until later tonight, we’ve got this seriously cool new one sheet – which you can check out down below.
In a Russian Doll configuration, we see Mark Ruffalo as Hulk, Cate Blanchett as Hela, Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Jeff Goldblum’s Grandmaster, Tom Hiddleston’s Loki, Tessa Thompson’s Valkyrie and Anthony Hopkins’ Odin. Fitting all these characters onto one poster would generally mean a dull as dishwater array of floating heads (usually wreathed in photoshopped sparks). But, in what might well be a good sign for the film’s quality, whoever designed this has picked an excellent layout,...
In a Russian Doll configuration, we see Mark Ruffalo as Hulk, Cate Blanchett as Hela, Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Jeff Goldblum’s Grandmaster, Tom Hiddleston’s Loki, Tessa Thompson’s Valkyrie and Anthony Hopkins’ Odin. Fitting all these characters onto one poster would generally mean a dull as dishwater array of floating heads (usually wreathed in photoshopped sparks). But, in what might well be a good sign for the film’s quality, whoever designed this has picked an excellent layout,...
- 7/22/2017
- by David James
- We Got This Covered
It’s exceedingly likely that your primary association with Hampton Fancher is Blade Runner, on which he served as co-writer and executive producer; and if you have another, it’s probably Blade Runner 2049, on which he also served as co-writer and the story’s architect. Little is it known that the scribe, actor, and director has had one of Hollywood’s strangest ascendancies, a trip marked by happenstance, romance, crossing paths with legends, and perhaps divine fate — a series of stories so good that Michael Almereyda (Marjorie Prime, Experimenter) turned them into a feature-length documentary whose intoxicating style is somewhere between the career-spanning De Palma and juxtaposition-heavy films of Thom Anderson (Los Angeles Plays Itself).
Escapes, executive produced by Wes Anderson, begins its theatrical run in just under two weeks, and we’re happy to exclusively debut the trailer courtesy of Grasshopper Film. Word has been strong since it premiered at BAMcinemaFest last month,...
Escapes, executive produced by Wes Anderson, begins its theatrical run in just under two weeks, and we’re happy to exclusively debut the trailer courtesy of Grasshopper Film. Word has been strong since it premiered at BAMcinemaFest last month,...
- 7/13/2017
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
Escapes isn’t the only Michael Almereyda film showing at BAMcinemaFest this year. In fact, it’s not even Almereyda’s only festival entry dealing with memory (the other is melancholic sci-fi tale Marjorie Prime), but it’s certainly the one in which he best approaches how we remember. The documentary (executive produced by Wes Anderson) centers on the life of B-list actor Hampton Fancher, who achieved moderate success largely in part to a lanky handsomeness that made him the right type to play brooding cowboys, con men, and an assortment of supporting characters in TV shows and obscure European films. But what Fancher lacked in prestigious roles he more than made up for in outlandish life experiences, which ranged from becoming a flamenco dancer at age 15 to being picked up in the street and put in a film. Perhaps his most remarkable achievement, and the reason why Almereyda even made a whole film about him, is that he wrote the screenplay for Blade Runner after an unusual encounter with Philip K. Dick.
But reading about Fancher’s life doesn’t compare to hearing him narrate it, and Almereyda makes the most of this Dickensian hero’s qualities by having him share some of his most unique anecdotes. Narration is juxtaposed with cleverly selected and edited shots from TV and film appearances — as well as those of other celebrities mentioned, e.g. his friend Brian Kelly of Flipper fame, and his former romantic partners Teri Garr, Sue Lyon, and Barbara Hershey — that give Escapes the shape of a collage or a Russian doll, depending on how Fancher is telling the story.
In allowing him to speak his mind, Almereyda turns Fancher into an unreliable narrator who isn’t always totally likable. He speaks ill of women and calls Mexican immigrants “wetbacks,” like the racist relative who claims he just never learned the right terms for non-white people. Since his stories are so self-centered and full of terms that make one squirm, it’s easy to wonder if he’s telling the truth. Are his anecdotes based in reality or simply an actor’s attempt to make his life sound more grandiose than it was? When he tells of a time the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. was opened only for him, we can envy the privilege, but also wonder if it wasn’t just a case of him showing up earlier, at an hour when it would’ve seemed he was all by himself.
Fancher seduces the ear and imagination by relentlessly spitting names and dates, giving us no time to breathe and question his remarks. But if you look past his occasionally unpleasant way of telling stories, he proves to be an anachronistic figure, a man trapped in the amber of Hollywood dreams. Perhaps all of his tales are true — but were that the case, the film’s title would seem odd. Who would want to escape a life of such adventure? Almereyda uses a title card in which Tinseltown is referred to as the “land of make believe,” and if that’s true, Fancher could very well crown himself a prince of pretense — a man born to be in the movies.
Escapes screened at BAMcinemaFest and opens on July 26.
But reading about Fancher’s life doesn’t compare to hearing him narrate it, and Almereyda makes the most of this Dickensian hero’s qualities by having him share some of his most unique anecdotes. Narration is juxtaposed with cleverly selected and edited shots from TV and film appearances — as well as those of other celebrities mentioned, e.g. his friend Brian Kelly of Flipper fame, and his former romantic partners Teri Garr, Sue Lyon, and Barbara Hershey — that give Escapes the shape of a collage or a Russian doll, depending on how Fancher is telling the story.
In allowing him to speak his mind, Almereyda turns Fancher into an unreliable narrator who isn’t always totally likable. He speaks ill of women and calls Mexican immigrants “wetbacks,” like the racist relative who claims he just never learned the right terms for non-white people. Since his stories are so self-centered and full of terms that make one squirm, it’s easy to wonder if he’s telling the truth. Are his anecdotes based in reality or simply an actor’s attempt to make his life sound more grandiose than it was? When he tells of a time the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. was opened only for him, we can envy the privilege, but also wonder if it wasn’t just a case of him showing up earlier, at an hour when it would’ve seemed he was all by himself.
Fancher seduces the ear and imagination by relentlessly spitting names and dates, giving us no time to breathe and question his remarks. But if you look past his occasionally unpleasant way of telling stories, he proves to be an anachronistic figure, a man trapped in the amber of Hollywood dreams. Perhaps all of his tales are true — but were that the case, the film’s title would seem odd. Who would want to escape a life of such adventure? Almereyda uses a title card in which Tinseltown is referred to as the “land of make believe,” and if that’s true, Fancher could very well crown himself a prince of pretense — a man born to be in the movies.
Escapes screened at BAMcinemaFest and opens on July 26.
- 6/22/2017
- by Jose Solís
- The Film Stage
Sometimes Emily Hampshire slips into character during dates.
Things get awkward, the Canadian actress tells Et, when her courter suddenly realizes that she's not Stevie Budd, the deadpan, buttoned-up motel clerk she hilariously portrays on Pop TV's Schitt's Creek, which just finished airing a critically acclaimed third season earlier this year. In fact, Hampshire, who frequently breaks into uproarious giggle fits during our freewheeling interview, couldn't be more infectiously giddy and refreshingly forthcoming.
"I feel bad that I'm not Stevie for them, that I'm not as cool as Stevie," the 35-year-old actress says. "They meet me and they're like, 'Oh, you're way more animated than Stevie is.' I can hear the disappointment in their voice."
That's when, she acknowledges, "I try to overcompensate for not being Stevie."
So then they get Jennifer Goines, the brainy but unhinged heroine she plays on Syfy's 12 Monkeys. If you know Jennifer, you know this means Hampshire's dates end with...
Things get awkward, the Canadian actress tells Et, when her courter suddenly realizes that she's not Stevie Budd, the deadpan, buttoned-up motel clerk she hilariously portrays on Pop TV's Schitt's Creek, which just finished airing a critically acclaimed third season earlier this year. In fact, Hampshire, who frequently breaks into uproarious giggle fits during our freewheeling interview, couldn't be more infectiously giddy and refreshingly forthcoming.
"I feel bad that I'm not Stevie for them, that I'm not as cool as Stevie," the 35-year-old actress says. "They meet me and they're like, 'Oh, you're way more animated than Stevie is.' I can hear the disappointment in their voice."
That's when, she acknowledges, "I try to overcompensate for not being Stevie."
So then they get Jennifer Goines, the brainy but unhinged heroine she plays on Syfy's 12 Monkeys. If you know Jennifer, you know this means Hampshire's dates end with...
- 5/18/2017
- Entertainment Tonight
Here is an image to cherish: Guillermo del Toro, as a young boy, “watching a TV series on the floor, on my belly, with a glass of milk and a plate of cookies.” It represents more than just a pleasant memory for the director when it comes to “Trollhunters,” the new animated series he co-created for Dreamworks and Netflix. In crafting the story of Jim (played by Anton Yelchin, who tragically passed away earlier this year), a young man who gets chosen by a mystical amulet to serve as protector of a hidden troll kingdom, del Toro hopes to capture the spirit of the shows he grew up watching, including classic adventure series like “Jonny Quest.”
Read More: ‘Trollhunters’ Featurette: Guillermo Del Toro and the Cast Reveal the Mythology Behind the Animated Series
While the visual master is best known for dark tales of childhood like “The Devil’s Backbone” and “Pan’s Labrynth,...
Read More: ‘Trollhunters’ Featurette: Guillermo Del Toro and the Cast Reveal the Mythology Behind the Animated Series
While the visual master is best known for dark tales of childhood like “The Devil’s Backbone” and “Pan’s Labrynth,...
- 12/22/2016
- by Liz Shannon Miller
- Indiewire
The Notebook is the North American home for Locarno Film Festival Artistic Director Carlo Chatrian's blog. Chatrian has been writing thoughtful blog entries in Italian on Locarno's website since he took over as Director in late 2012, and now you can find the English translations here on the Notebook as they're published. The Locarno Film Festival will be taking place August 2 - 12.If I think back to my earliest memories of the cinema, one fact—along with the names of certain films—leaps to mind. Or rather, not a fact, but a sensation. A sensation that fades into a hazy memory. At the movies I laughed at the twists and turns of bodies that could transpose acrobatic moves into everyday life, and at other bodies, too, ones that really were made of rubber, or seemed to be. Bodies that could be bent out of shape and absorb incredible falls, shocks and...
- 12/16/2016
- MUBI
Mubi is showing The Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe (1972) from November 17 - December 16, 2016 in the United States.There is deception throughout The Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe. Sometimes, it’s deliberate; sometimes, it’s not. From the sleight of hand card trickery that plays out under its opening credits to its hilariously enacted case of intentionally-mistaken identity, the film is an increasing volley of duplicity and modified perception. But it’s more than just what happens in the film. This 1972 spy movie send-up is itself a cleverly crafted ruse, a straight-faced farce that incorporates most everything one associates the cinematic sub-genre and slyly points out the subtle silliness inherent in its recurrent conventions. Characters and the viewer will often see something and assume it to mean something—one is accustomed to always looking for clues and revealing “tells” in a movie like this—only to have...
- 11/29/2016
- MUBI
One disgruntled former sheriff and 172 demons and witches, what’s he to do? Fight them, of course! IFC’s new horror-comedy series “Stan Against Evil” is another unique twist on the usual monster shows. A new trailer for the upcoming series was released during New York Comic Con, which you can check out below.
Created by Dana Gould, the half-hour show stars John C. McGinley as a police sheriff who is forced into retirement after he loses his position due to an angry outburst. Having trouble relinquishing his authority, he teams up with new sheriff Evie Barret (Janey Varney) to battle a plague of unleashed demons that start haunting their small New England town.
Read More: ‘Stan Against Evil’ Exclusive Teaser: John McGinley Stars as a Gruff Sheriff Who Has To Fight Demons In New IFC Series
The show has previously been compared to “Ash vs. Evil Dead,” but that...
Created by Dana Gould, the half-hour show stars John C. McGinley as a police sheriff who is forced into retirement after he loses his position due to an angry outburst. Having trouble relinquishing his authority, he teams up with new sheriff Evie Barret (Janey Varney) to battle a plague of unleashed demons that start haunting their small New England town.
Read More: ‘Stan Against Evil’ Exclusive Teaser: John McGinley Stars as a Gruff Sheriff Who Has To Fight Demons In New IFC Series
The show has previously been compared to “Ash vs. Evil Dead,” but that...
- 10/7/2016
- by Liz Calvario
- Indiewire
Submarines, snow and brain surgery collide in these dazzling but bewildering tales within tales
Guy Maddin’s typically bewildering latest has its creative roots in the 2010 film-loop installation Hauntings, which grew into the internet Seances project; a series of short films nominally inspired by lost titles of the 20s and 30s. Created in conjunction with Evan Johnson (who gets a co-director credit), The Forbidden Room is a cinematic Russian doll of tales within tales – tales of the snow and the cave; of submarines laden with Wages of Fear-style unstable blasting jelly; of doppelgängers, demons and two-faced gods; of volcanic sacrifices and monstrous couplings; of brain surgery, memory and madness. The heavily post-produced images jump from faux-scratchy black and white to the damaged hues of two-strip Technicolor, silent movie intertitles overlapping with sound-era dialogue in a postmodern meringue of pulp cliche as the screen pulsates like infernal internal organs, or...
Guy Maddin’s typically bewildering latest has its creative roots in the 2010 film-loop installation Hauntings, which grew into the internet Seances project; a series of short films nominally inspired by lost titles of the 20s and 30s. Created in conjunction with Evan Johnson (who gets a co-director credit), The Forbidden Room is a cinematic Russian doll of tales within tales – tales of the snow and the cave; of submarines laden with Wages of Fear-style unstable blasting jelly; of doppelgängers, demons and two-faced gods; of volcanic sacrifices and monstrous couplings; of brain surgery, memory and madness. The heavily post-produced images jump from faux-scratchy black and white to the damaged hues of two-strip Technicolor, silent movie intertitles overlapping with sound-era dialogue in a postmodern meringue of pulp cliche as the screen pulsates like infernal internal organs, or...
- 12/13/2015
- by Mark Kermode, Observer film critic
- The Guardian - Film News
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Scream Queens returns to form in its latest episode, Ghost Stories, written by showrunner Ryan Murphy...
This review contains spoilers.
1.9 Ghost Stories
Warts and all, Scream Queens is a show you can't help but fall in love with. It's bold, irreverent, funny and entertaining, but storytelling has been its downfall. The most recent instalments - Beware Of Young Girls and Mommie Dearest - were the weakest we've had yet and there was a genuine fear that those episodes could sound the death knell for a show that started so brilliantly. But this week's visit to Kappa Kappa Tau, Ghost Stories, is up there with Seven Minutes In Hell - and an absolute treat.
More character development, an advance in the Red Devil mystery, a tighter focus, a more inclusive cast and a perfect comedy-horror balance was on my wishlist for Ghost Stories after the duds in previous weeks.
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Scream Queens returns to form in its latest episode, Ghost Stories, written by showrunner Ryan Murphy...
This review contains spoilers.
1.9 Ghost Stories
Warts and all, Scream Queens is a show you can't help but fall in love with. It's bold, irreverent, funny and entertaining, but storytelling has been its downfall. The most recent instalments - Beware Of Young Girls and Mommie Dearest - were the weakest we've had yet and there was a genuine fear that those episodes could sound the death knell for a show that started so brilliantly. But this week's visit to Kappa Kappa Tau, Ghost Stories, is up there with Seven Minutes In Hell - and an absolute treat.
More character development, an advance in the Red Devil mystery, a tighter focus, a more inclusive cast and a perfect comedy-horror balance was on my wishlist for Ghost Stories after the duds in previous weeks.
- 11/19/2015
- by louisamellor
- Den of Geek
“Look at where you are.”
(Spoilers abound.)
Michael Mann’s new film, Blackhat, is a paradox of magnitudes and proximities. The scale is global, as announced in the opening shots that rhyme with the Universal logo just prior and, thanks to the dissolves down to Earth, Charles and Ray Eames' 1977 Powers of Ten. Once on ground, in a nuclear reactor’s control room, the powers of cinema take us yet deeper, smaller, to see how fast data travels across minuscule relays inside a screen, a computer, a network. And this data, or code, is made visible as points of light—dots arrayed and racing in tandem with the image (itself a fiction of code, or data) of this new vast universe—given weight through the thunder and crackle of sound design—a truly cinematic sequence of movement/animation no text can replicate.
This opening serves to illustrate the mechanisms...
(Spoilers abound.)
Michael Mann’s new film, Blackhat, is a paradox of magnitudes and proximities. The scale is global, as announced in the opening shots that rhyme with the Universal logo just prior and, thanks to the dissolves down to Earth, Charles and Ray Eames' 1977 Powers of Ten. Once on ground, in a nuclear reactor’s control room, the powers of cinema take us yet deeper, smaller, to see how fast data travels across minuscule relays inside a screen, a computer, a network. And this data, or code, is made visible as points of light—dots arrayed and racing in tandem with the image (itself a fiction of code, or data) of this new vast universe—given weight through the thunder and crackle of sound design—a truly cinematic sequence of movement/animation no text can replicate.
This opening serves to illustrate the mechanisms...
- 1/20/2015
- by Ryland Walker Knight
- MUBI
Starting in a remote village on the Indo-Tibetan border and finishing in downtown Delhi, Geethu Mohandas’ low budget Hindi film is essentially a game of road trip chess. Deception and evasion are key, but this sociopolitical tale underwhelms more than it thrills, despite an intense performance from Bollywood veteran Nawazuddin Siddiqui.
Kamala (Geetanjali Thapa) hasn’t heard a peep from her husband since he left to work on a construction site in Delhi five months earlier. As paranoia and worry begin to suffocate, she leaves her snowy surroundings in search of an answer. With no one to look after her Russian doll-like daughter Manya (Manya Gupta), the three-year-old bundle of joy joins her mother’s weary journey, bringing along her impeccably well-behaved baby goat.
The early stages of their passage unexpectedly introduce them to rucksack-sporting army deserter, Nawazuddin (Siddiqui): a mysterious presence who continually offers his assistance. Similarly to Kamala,...
Kamala (Geetanjali Thapa) hasn’t heard a peep from her husband since he left to work on a construction site in Delhi five months earlier. As paranoia and worry begin to suffocate, she leaves her snowy surroundings in search of an answer. With no one to look after her Russian doll-like daughter Manya (Manya Gupta), the three-year-old bundle of joy joins her mother’s weary journey, bringing along her impeccably well-behaved baby goat.
The early stages of their passage unexpectedly introduce them to rucksack-sporting army deserter, Nawazuddin (Siddiqui): a mysterious presence who continually offers his assistance. Similarly to Kamala,...
- 6/27/2014
- by Emma Thrower
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Football, football, football. It's all anybody is going to bang on about for the next month. Or at least until England get knocked out on penalties anyway.
However, even for those who don't care for the delights of 22 men running around hoofing a ball and rolling around like pansies, there is something to enjoy tonight. The World Cup Opening Ceremony.
Jack Wilshere, Gerard Pique: World Cup 2014's hottest footballers, part 1
BBC pundits' World Cup guide: Who will win? Are England doomed?
Announcing Digital Spy's World Cup of football games
8 World Cup anthems for 2014: The Good, The Bad... and The Macarooney
World Cup 2014: Andy Bates teaches DS how to make Brazilian footie snacks
With Jennifer Lopez booked to perform, and the promise of an extraordinary samba festival, the party in Sao Paulo promises to be great entertainment.
If nothing else, we can also enjoy chuckling at Adrian Chiles bumbling...
However, even for those who don't care for the delights of 22 men running around hoofing a ball and rolling around like pansies, there is something to enjoy tonight. The World Cup Opening Ceremony.
Jack Wilshere, Gerard Pique: World Cup 2014's hottest footballers, part 1
BBC pundits' World Cup guide: Who will win? Are England doomed?
Announcing Digital Spy's World Cup of football games
8 World Cup anthems for 2014: The Good, The Bad... and The Macarooney
World Cup 2014: Andy Bates teaches DS how to make Brazilian footie snacks
With Jennifer Lopez booked to perform, and the promise of an extraordinary samba festival, the party in Sao Paulo promises to be great entertainment.
If nothing else, we can also enjoy chuckling at Adrian Chiles bumbling...
- 6/12/2014
- Digital Spy
Belfast Film Festival | Bradford International Film Festival | Drive In Film Club | The Double Q+A
Belfast Film Festival
The new films at this eclectic festival encompass everything from an Icelandic human/equine romcom (Of Horses And Men to a Kristin Scott Thomas/Daniel Auteuil marriage drama (Before The Winter Chill) to a Liam Neeson-narrated doc on Northern Irish motorbike racing (Road) – not to mention a Siberian heist movie involving telekinetic dwarves (The Distance). There are cult screenings, social-outreach documentaries, films in choice venues (The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou on the Belfast Barge), Dawn Of The Dead with a live score by giallo greats Goblin, and Mark Cousins and David Holmes sneaking a short snippet of their new film I Am Belfast.
Various venues, Thu to 5 Apr
Bradford International Film Festival
You want international? How about a British film about Chinese women in Dubai? Or a French study of...
Belfast Film Festival
The new films at this eclectic festival encompass everything from an Icelandic human/equine romcom (Of Horses And Men to a Kristin Scott Thomas/Daniel Auteuil marriage drama (Before The Winter Chill) to a Liam Neeson-narrated doc on Northern Irish motorbike racing (Road) – not to mention a Siberian heist movie involving telekinetic dwarves (The Distance). There are cult screenings, social-outreach documentaries, films in choice venues (The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou on the Belfast Barge), Dawn Of The Dead with a live score by giallo greats Goblin, and Mark Cousins and David Holmes sneaking a short snippet of their new film I Am Belfast.
Various venues, Thu to 5 Apr
Bradford International Film Festival
You want international? How about a British film about Chinese women in Dubai? Or a French study of...
- 3/22/2014
- by Steve Rose
- The Guardian - Film News
An insane scene played out today in Johnny Weir's divorce case ... ending with Johnny taking the family dog out of their apartment ... as his sobbing husband Victor helplessly watched.TMZ broke the story ... Johnny has filed for divorce and it's turned vicious. Sources connected to the case tell TMZ ... both Johnny and Victor rushed to court Friday. Victor got a restraining order against Johnny, claiming the Olympian attacked him March 5 by hitting him in...
- 3/21/2014
- by TMZ Staff
- TMZ
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Written and directed by Wes Anderson
USA/UK/Germany, 2014
More than perhaps any other director, the work of Ernst Lubitsch has been the most noticeable influence on Wes Anderson’s style. Though the great German-American writer-director, most prolific in the 1930s and 1940s, was never quite so aesthetically bold in the look of his sets, he too was preoccupied with meticulous staging for comedy within his chosen locales, be they the titular Shop Around the Corner or the Parisian hotel of Ninotchka; The Grand Budapest Hotel is set in a fictional European country, the Republic of Zubrowka, another Lubitsch trait from works like The Merry Widow and The Love Parade, though The Shop Around the Corner happens to be set in the city Anderson’s mountaintop lodging house takes its name from. He garnered the descriptor of ‘the Lubitsch touch’ thanks to the moving sincerity that...
Written and directed by Wes Anderson
USA/UK/Germany, 2014
More than perhaps any other director, the work of Ernst Lubitsch has been the most noticeable influence on Wes Anderson’s style. Though the great German-American writer-director, most prolific in the 1930s and 1940s, was never quite so aesthetically bold in the look of his sets, he too was preoccupied with meticulous staging for comedy within his chosen locales, be they the titular Shop Around the Corner or the Parisian hotel of Ninotchka; The Grand Budapest Hotel is set in a fictional European country, the Republic of Zubrowka, another Lubitsch trait from works like The Merry Widow and The Love Parade, though The Shop Around the Corner happens to be set in the city Anderson’s mountaintop lodging house takes its name from. He garnered the descriptor of ‘the Lubitsch touch’ thanks to the moving sincerity that...
- 2/20/2014
- by Josh Slater-Williams
- SoundOnSight
Review Billy Grifter 12 Feb 2014 - 11:22
Billy is frustrated by the network shuffling Almost Human's episode order...
This review contains spoilers.
1.10 Perception
I’ve mentioned it before, but the order in which Almost Human was shot is entirely at odds with the one they’ve chosen to show it. In fact with the exception of the pilot, and last week’s story Unbound, none of the episodes so far have been shown in their originally intended order. That’s created some curious problems, because there are facts that we’re now being presented that might have made the audience view characters and situations a little differently, had the order been as intended.
Perception was meant to be episode four, and in it we discover that genetically altered people, ‘Chromes’, are the ultimate academics. But, more pointedly for fans of the show, we discover that Stahl is a Chrome. That...
Billy is frustrated by the network shuffling Almost Human's episode order...
This review contains spoilers.
1.10 Perception
I’ve mentioned it before, but the order in which Almost Human was shot is entirely at odds with the one they’ve chosen to show it. In fact with the exception of the pilot, and last week’s story Unbound, none of the episodes so far have been shown in their originally intended order. That’s created some curious problems, because there are facts that we’re now being presented that might have made the audience view characters and situations a little differently, had the order been as intended.
Perception was meant to be episode four, and in it we discover that genetically altered people, ‘Chromes’, are the ultimate academics. But, more pointedly for fans of the show, we discover that Stahl is a Chrome. That...
- 2/12/2014
- by louisamellor
- Den of Geek
Here is last week’s caption pic winner. This week’s caption pic is at the bottom of the page.
Thanks to everyone for participating! The winner is …
“Do you mind? He was about to deck my halls!”"
Thanks to dostka for this week’s winning caption!
Weekend Birthdays! Geoff Stults (above) is 36, Stuart Townsend is 41, Helen Slater is 50, Don Johnson is 64, Patty Duke is 67, Wendie Malick is 63, and Taylor Swift is 24.
Russian actor Ivan Okhlobystin: “I myself would shove all live gays into furnace.”
The Spider-Man franchise will grow, as feature versions of Venom and Sinister Six have been announced.
Viktor Luna: Why I Decided to Come Out as HIV-Positive on Project Runway: All Stars
Phobie Awards: The 13 Worst People of the Year. #1 is no surprise.
Why Beards And Scruffy Facial Hair Are Becoming More Popular Among Gay Men. How many of our readers have embraced the scruff?...
Thanks to everyone for participating! The winner is …
“Do you mind? He was about to deck my halls!”"
Thanks to dostka for this week’s winning caption!
Weekend Birthdays! Geoff Stults (above) is 36, Stuart Townsend is 41, Helen Slater is 50, Don Johnson is 64, Patty Duke is 67, Wendie Malick is 63, and Taylor Swift is 24.
Russian actor Ivan Okhlobystin: “I myself would shove all live gays into furnace.”
The Spider-Man franchise will grow, as feature versions of Venom and Sinister Six have been announced.
Viktor Luna: Why I Decided to Come Out as HIV-Positive on Project Runway: All Stars
Phobie Awards: The 13 Worst People of the Year. #1 is no surprise.
Why Beards And Scruffy Facial Hair Are Becoming More Popular Among Gay Men. How many of our readers have embraced the scruff?...
- 12/13/2013
- by snicks
- The Backlot
Review Frances Roberts 26 Oct 2013 - 19:00
A pacey case, personal revelations and zippy dialogue make this week’s Elementary a joy…
This review contains spoilers.
2.5 Ancient History
Whether they’re fitting a washer-dryer, filing a tax return or creating an entertaining forty minutes of detective telly, there’s little as comforting as being in the company of people who know exactly what they’re doing. This week’s Elementary, while admittedly not the most momentous in terms of plot or arc, was proof that the show’s creators and cast know just what they’re about.
Aptly, the Bratva case opened up like a Russian doll, each suspect leading to another, and another, until we wound up all the way back at the beginning, with the wife of the deceased revealed to have orchestrated his death. The first, discounted interviewee turning out to be the culprit is well-trodden Elementary and genre territory,...
A pacey case, personal revelations and zippy dialogue make this week’s Elementary a joy…
This review contains spoilers.
2.5 Ancient History
Whether they’re fitting a washer-dryer, filing a tax return or creating an entertaining forty minutes of detective telly, there’s little as comforting as being in the company of people who know exactly what they’re doing. This week’s Elementary, while admittedly not the most momentous in terms of plot or arc, was proof that the show’s creators and cast know just what they’re about.
Aptly, the Bratva case opened up like a Russian doll, each suspect leading to another, and another, until we wound up all the way back at the beginning, with the wife of the deceased revealed to have orchestrated his death. The first, discounted interviewee turning out to be the culprit is well-trodden Elementary and genre territory,...
- 10/28/2013
- by louisamellor
- Den of Geek
A "Touch Of Evil" with Arnaud Desplechin and Anne-Katrin Titze through the lens of Kent Jones.
I met up with Arnaud Desplechin to discuss his latest film screened at the New York Film Festival and discovered masculinity in Hitchcock's Vertigo by letting Kim Novak die and the soul of a Russian doll while sounding like Danny Kaye in The Court Jester. We were photographed with just a touch of evil by co-screenwriter Kent Jones and tried to find out what it actually means to "become an American."
In Jimmy P: Psychotherapy Of A Plains Indian, based on the case study 'Reality and Dream' by ethnologist and psychoanalyst Georges Devereux, nationalities and accents blur to bring light, while Devereux (Mathieu Amalric in fire and fervor) and his patient Jimmy Picard, a Native American war veteran played with internal radiance by Benicio Del Toro embark on mapping out disclosures of the mind.
I met up with Arnaud Desplechin to discuss his latest film screened at the New York Film Festival and discovered masculinity in Hitchcock's Vertigo by letting Kim Novak die and the soul of a Russian doll while sounding like Danny Kaye in The Court Jester. We were photographed with just a touch of evil by co-screenwriter Kent Jones and tried to find out what it actually means to "become an American."
In Jimmy P: Psychotherapy Of A Plains Indian, based on the case study 'Reality and Dream' by ethnologist and psychoanalyst Georges Devereux, nationalities and accents blur to bring light, while Devereux (Mathieu Amalric in fire and fervor) and his patient Jimmy Picard, a Native American war veteran played with internal radiance by Benicio Del Toro embark on mapping out disclosures of the mind.
- 10/21/2013
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Director: Michael Bay; Screenwriters: Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely; Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Dwayne Johnson, Anthony Mackie, Tony Shalhoub, Ed Harris; Running time: 129 mins; Certificate: 15
It's very easy to ridicule Michael Bay's movies... and also great fun. Despite attempting to witness his latest endeavour Pain & Gain with an open mind, it was only a matter of time before a coping strategy was instigated to ensure some modicum of sanity was preserved throughout this painfully (not gainfully) overlong and execrable affair. More on that later...
Based on a true story, a fact which is shoehorned into viewers' minds with "This Is A True Story" captions intermittently flashing up during seemingly contrived sequences, Pain & Gain follows three pumped up bodybuilders as they embark on an evil and greedy quest involving kidnap, extortion and murder.
There's Mark Wahlberg's gym instructor Daniel, the ringleader who often adopts a saucer-eyed expression of derangement not seen...
It's very easy to ridicule Michael Bay's movies... and also great fun. Despite attempting to witness his latest endeavour Pain & Gain with an open mind, it was only a matter of time before a coping strategy was instigated to ensure some modicum of sanity was preserved throughout this painfully (not gainfully) overlong and execrable affair. More on that later...
Based on a true story, a fact which is shoehorned into viewers' minds with "This Is A True Story" captions intermittently flashing up during seemingly contrived sequences, Pain & Gain follows three pumped up bodybuilders as they embark on an evil and greedy quest involving kidnap, extortion and murder.
There's Mark Wahlberg's gym instructor Daniel, the ringleader who often adopts a saucer-eyed expression of derangement not seen...
- 8/30/2013
- Digital Spy
Just keep spinning, just keep spinning…
This summer witnessed the transition of The HD Adventures of Rotating Octopus Character from humble PlayStation Mini to fully fledged title on the PlayStation Vita. In its jet-propelled leap to Sony’s handheld, the game also latched onto online leaderboards and trophy support, too. Originally released in 2011, Dakko Dakko’s quirky, intelligible title blends perfectly into the Vita’s indie milieu; what with its elevator pitch moniker and pacy yet accessible gameplay. It’s a notable design feature, and one which can largely be attributed to the title’s core mechanic: this particular octopus simply can’t stop spinning.
The game’s over-arching goal is therefore to control the eponymous cephalopod in his mission to rescue all of the baby octopi, which have been scattered across the earthly environment. It’s a clear-cut objective that is complimented by an inherently intuitive control scheme; reverse...
This summer witnessed the transition of The HD Adventures of Rotating Octopus Character from humble PlayStation Mini to fully fledged title on the PlayStation Vita. In its jet-propelled leap to Sony’s handheld, the game also latched onto online leaderboards and trophy support, too. Originally released in 2011, Dakko Dakko’s quirky, intelligible title blends perfectly into the Vita’s indie milieu; what with its elevator pitch moniker and pacy yet accessible gameplay. It’s a notable design feature, and one which can largely be attributed to the title’s core mechanic: this particular octopus simply can’t stop spinning.
The game’s over-arching goal is therefore to control the eponymous cephalopod in his mission to rescue all of the baby octopi, which have been scattered across the earthly environment. It’s a clear-cut objective that is complimented by an inherently intuitive control scheme; reverse...
- 8/18/2013
- by Michael Briers
- We Got This Covered
Aaron Tveit and Daniel Sunjata are unflinchingly serious as undercover FBI agents in the new series Graceland (premiering tonight on USA), but the Les Mis breakout and the Smash alum let loose for EW’s Pop Culture Personality Test. Watch below as they discuss life-changing fan letters, Friday Night Lights tearjerkers, and funky smells at a Cypress Hill concert.
Tveit and Sunjata got back to business to discuss Graceland’s freshman season. In the series (which was inspired by a real California beach house shared by the FBI, DEA, and Customs agencies), Tveit plays Mike Warren, a Quantico hotshot assigned...
Tveit and Sunjata got back to business to discuss Graceland’s freshman season. In the series (which was inspired by a real California beach house shared by the FBI, DEA, and Customs agencies), Tveit plays Mike Warren, a Quantico hotshot assigned...
- 6/6/2013
- by Lanford Beard
- EW.com - PopWatch
Review Frances Roberts 3 May 2013 - 13:00
We rejoin Elementary as it launches into its end-of-season Moriarty arc. Here’s Frances’ review of A Landmark Story…
This review contains spoilers.
1.21 A Landmark Story
These Elementary reviews fell down the back of the TV sofa for a couple of episodes, but we’ve fished them out in time for the season one finale arc, four stories dominated by one name: Moriarty.
A Landmark Story presented us with a Russian doll of potential Moriarties, each one a contender to be the shadowy criminal mastermind (apologies for writing in clichés, they’re tricky to avoid on the subject of mastermind criminals who are, it has to be said, more than a bit shadowy), and each one opening up to reveal another possible candidate for the role. Briefly, there was a property magnate, then a hitman, then an ex-reform school genius, and then… well, have...
We rejoin Elementary as it launches into its end-of-season Moriarty arc. Here’s Frances’ review of A Landmark Story…
This review contains spoilers.
1.21 A Landmark Story
These Elementary reviews fell down the back of the TV sofa for a couple of episodes, but we’ve fished them out in time for the season one finale arc, four stories dominated by one name: Moriarty.
A Landmark Story presented us with a Russian doll of potential Moriarties, each one a contender to be the shadowy criminal mastermind (apologies for writing in clichés, they’re tricky to avoid on the subject of mastermind criminals who are, it has to be said, more than a bit shadowy), and each one opening up to reveal another possible candidate for the role. Briefly, there was a property magnate, then a hitman, then an ex-reform school genius, and then… well, have...
- 5/3/2013
- by louisamellor
- Den of Geek
Guest feature by Emma Carey
Fans of Philip Seymour Hoffman will remember him in those supporting roles he played in films such as Magnolia, where he played the role of Phil Parma, nurse to the dying Earl Partridge, the father of the main character Frank T J Mackey (played by Tom Cruise). Then there was the role of Freddie Miles, in The Talented Mr Ripley (also released in 1999) when he was the only one of Dickie Greenleaf (Jude Law)’s friends to spot the deceit being played out by Tom Ripley (Matt Damon) and ended up being bludgeoned to death with an ashtray.
But in 2012, we saw Hoffman play a charismatic leader of a cult in the drama movie The Master. Hoffman plays the character Lancaster Dodd, who leads a movement called The Cause. There are obvious comparisons with scientology here, although these are never actually voiced as such.
The...
Fans of Philip Seymour Hoffman will remember him in those supporting roles he played in films such as Magnolia, where he played the role of Phil Parma, nurse to the dying Earl Partridge, the father of the main character Frank T J Mackey (played by Tom Cruise). Then there was the role of Freddie Miles, in The Talented Mr Ripley (also released in 1999) when he was the only one of Dickie Greenleaf (Jude Law)’s friends to spot the deceit being played out by Tom Ripley (Matt Damon) and ended up being bludgeoned to death with an ashtray.
But in 2012, we saw Hoffman play a charismatic leader of a cult in the drama movie The Master. Hoffman plays the character Lancaster Dodd, who leads a movement called The Cause. There are obvious comparisons with scientology here, although these are never actually voiced as such.
The...
- 1/18/2013
- by Guest
- Nerdly
An eye opens. A pair of eyes in fact. Two eyes; both opening. Two orbs waiting to perceive, to absorb their strange new surrounds, and in that act of viewing, to come to know themselves.
The owner of those eyes, our protagonist, staggers slowly to his feet. An unfamiliar landscape suddenly meets his gaze. He is bewildered. This alien environment is unsettling, foreboding; strange sounds filter in from beyond the trees, and a portentous, thunderous music punctuates the air. Our solitary hero has no recollection of the events that flung him into this anachronistic land, and over the course of his adventures he will confront dangerous, shadowy ‘others’, predatory animals and otherworldly beasts, even convoluted machines that change the very fabric of space, time, and influence the elemental forces themselves. He will find himself in world that seems to defy all logic or expectation, and over the course of his...
The owner of those eyes, our protagonist, staggers slowly to his feet. An unfamiliar landscape suddenly meets his gaze. He is bewildered. This alien environment is unsettling, foreboding; strange sounds filter in from beyond the trees, and a portentous, thunderous music punctuates the air. Our solitary hero has no recollection of the events that flung him into this anachronistic land, and over the course of his adventures he will confront dangerous, shadowy ‘others’, predatory animals and otherworldly beasts, even convoluted machines that change the very fabric of space, time, and influence the elemental forces themselves. He will find himself in world that seems to defy all logic or expectation, and over the course of his...
- 11/18/2012
- by drayfish
- Obsessed with Film
Although critics have drawn their own opinions on the quality of the film itself, none of them are doubting that there’s something bold, different, and spectacular about Cloud Atlas, the latest blockbuster from Tom Twyler and Lana and Andy Wachowski (The Matrix, Speed Racer).
So far, Cloud Atlas has been pushed as a relentless epic. From the looks of the trailer, it appears as though no other word might be fit to describe a movie that has been called a “Russian doll of nestling, uninterrupted narratives” by one of its directors. The picture seems made up of several different worlds, time periods, and stories that don’t seem like they might connect naturally at all. For anybody who hasn’t read the book (this writer included), the whole thing seems absolutely bonkers.
Which is good, then, as an extended 15-minute featurette (you can see it below) has just been...
So far, Cloud Atlas has been pushed as a relentless epic. From the looks of the trailer, it appears as though no other word might be fit to describe a movie that has been called a “Russian doll of nestling, uninterrupted narratives” by one of its directors. The picture seems made up of several different worlds, time periods, and stories that don’t seem like they might connect naturally at all. For anybody who hasn’t read the book (this writer included), the whole thing seems absolutely bonkers.
Which is good, then, as an extended 15-minute featurette (you can see it below) has just been...
- 10/25/2012
- by T.J. Barnard
- We Got This Covered
Kevin James is one of those actors who is so featureless and bland that he makes Tom Hanks seem, in comparison, positively exotic. With his doughy figure, dad-next-door face, and line delivery that suggests he's getting ready for the next big football game instead of commanding movies that cost tens of millions of dollars, he is so bereft of personality that you sense that he might just waft off the screen. Usually, though, he's nestled inside a Russian doll of higher caliber comedic talent, whether it's Will Smith in "Hitch" or Adam Sandler and his posse in a whole host of movies (including "Grown Ups" and "The Zookeeper"). Teaming him up with someone usually makes his bumbling everyman shtick slightly more palatable. ("Paul Blart: Mall Cop" starred James almost exclusively and is one of his biggest and most unwatchable films.) "Here Comes the Boom," a semi-watchable but excruciatingly dumb and schmaltzy Mma comedy,...
- 10/11/2012
- by Drew Taylor
- The Playlist
This week sees the release of The Bourne Legacy, the latest installment of the Bourne franchise. Of course, this is also the one without Matt Damon in the title role, as Jeremy Renner takes over as operative Aaron Cross, who was trained in a similar program to Jason Bourne's Operation Treadstone. Like Bourne, however, Cross is soon on the run from his agency once the events of 2007's The Bourne Ultimatum forces the program to shut down. Cross then finds himself and scientist Dr. Marta Shearing (Rachel Weisz) hunted by Edward Norton's Agent Byer (see how Legacy relates to the original trilogy here). When Reelz sat down with Norton to discuss the movie, the actor compared Legacy's place in the franchise with that of a Russian doll.
It's sort of like the Russian dolls. You know, you start with the little one and there's the bigger one outside...and...
It's sort of like the Russian dolls. You know, you start with the little one and there's the bigger one outside...and...
- 8/8/2012
- by Ryan Gowland
- Reelzchannel.com
Once upon a time, you could just release a trailer and people were happy with it: a rare glimpse into a movie that was still weeks or months off. Nowadays, you can't just have one trailer, you have to several, some before the movie's even been made, plus endless TV spots and featurettes and clips and whatnot. And sometimes, they're all combined into one. Universal have in recent years been pioneering 'the interactive trailer,' which allows you to unlock behind-the-scenes clips, trivia and more from inside another trailer, like some kind of promotional Russian doll. And the latest film to get the treatment is the hopeful blockbuster "Snow White & the Huntsman," which hits next week. The trailer itself is, as far as we can tell, identical to the main one we've seen already, but get clicking away, and you'll find a lot more to get you prepped for the film,...
- 5/23/2012
- by Oliver Lyttelton
- The Playlist
Angelina leads the obligatory Hollywood posse this year but tales about Brits in America, explorers in Africa, Nazis in space and the life of Bob Marley offer more interesting viewing
A big beast with a split personality, the Berlinale likes to parade big Hollywood names while playing films of serious political intent. In that sense, Angelina Jolie's In the Land of Blood and Honey is exemplary – what could be more Berlin than a directorial debut by a major movie star with the Bosnian war on its mind? Suffice to say here that Jolie's gauche portrayal of a Night Porter-type relationship between a Serb soldier and his Bosnian captive strains for significance. But it does illustrate Berlin's main problem: how to stay relevant when the better films are all held back for Cannes.
Any event that can line up Jolie, Jake Gyllenhaal (on the jury), Christian Bale (in Zhang Yimou's...
A big beast with a split personality, the Berlinale likes to parade big Hollywood names while playing films of serious political intent. In that sense, Angelina Jolie's In the Land of Blood and Honey is exemplary – what could be more Berlin than a directorial debut by a major movie star with the Bosnian war on its mind? Suffice to say here that Jolie's gauche portrayal of a Night Porter-type relationship between a Serb soldier and his Bosnian captive strains for significance. But it does illustrate Berlin's main problem: how to stay relevant when the better films are all held back for Cannes.
Any event that can line up Jolie, Jake Gyllenhaal (on the jury), Christian Bale (in Zhang Yimou's...
- 2/19/2012
- by Nick James
- The Guardian - Film News
Meryl Streep has been awarded the Golden Bear lifetime achievement award at the Berlin Film Festival. The Iron Lady actress was handed the prize by Jake Gyllenhaal - a member of the festival's 2012 jury - during a special ceremony at Berlinale Palace on Tuesday. Streep had previously been handed several presents earlier in the day at a press conference, including a Russian doll from one reporter, while another gave her a large bouquet of flowers. Upon receiving the bouquet, (more)...
- 2/15/2012
- by By Tom Eames
- Digital Spy
Meryl Streep received a Valentine's Day gift from Jake Gyllenhaal at the Berlin Film Festival in Germany on Tuesday when he honoured the actress with a lifetime achievement award.
The Hollywood icon, who scooped the Best Actress titles at Sunday's BAFTAs and at last month's Golden Globes for her portrayal of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady, received the prestigious Golden Bear statuette from Gyllenhaal, a member of the festival's 2012 jury, during a special prizegiving at the Berlinale Palace.
The award topped a Valentine's Day to remember for Streep - at a press conference earlier in the day, she also received a Russian doll from one reporter, while another gifted her with a surprise bouquet of flowers.
Accepting the bunch of white blooms from the journalist, the actress said, "How beautiful! My husband didn't send me flowers, so thank God for Dieter!"...
The Hollywood icon, who scooped the Best Actress titles at Sunday's BAFTAs and at last month's Golden Globes for her portrayal of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady, received the prestigious Golden Bear statuette from Gyllenhaal, a member of the festival's 2012 jury, during a special prizegiving at the Berlinale Palace.
The award topped a Valentine's Day to remember for Streep - at a press conference earlier in the day, she also received a Russian doll from one reporter, while another gifted her with a surprise bouquet of flowers.
Accepting the bunch of white blooms from the journalist, the actress said, "How beautiful! My husband didn't send me flowers, so thank God for Dieter!"...
- 2/15/2012
- WENN
Hugh Grant, Britain's newest investigative reporter and all-round national treasure, gets back to his day job with a couple of peachy roles in coming months. If you've seen the trailer for Aardman's Pirates! In An Adventure With Scientists you'll know all about his knockabout Pirate Captain in the stop-motion caper. But you not know as much about his role in the genre kaleidoscope that is Cloud Atlas.For the new issue Empire sat down with Grant to chat about his film career to date, Leveson and the lure of Hollywood blockbusters in his post-Four Weddings heyday. And a cracking interview he proved to be.He shared some fascinating insights into his role in Tom Tykwer and Lana and Andy Wachowski's Russian doll of a movie. Or should that be roles? "I have six cameo parts in this strange, ambitious film," Grant explained. "I do a lot of killing and raping.
- 2/15/2012
- EmpireOnline
Chicago – In many ways, 2011 was the year of startlingly successful throwbacks. Who could’ve guessed that Woody Allen, Tom Cruise and The Muppets would revive their crowd-pleasing appeal? How many moviegoing soothsayers predicted that Michel Hazanavicius’ melodrama, “The Artist,” would become an Oscar front-runner that proves the silent art form is far from dead?
And who could’ve possibly dreamed that veteran Chilean filmmaker Raúl Ruiz would end his extraordinary 48-year-long career with a staggering epic that revitalized the storytelling techniques of a nineteenth century Portuguese novelist? “Mysteries of Lisbon” is a direct rebuke to the conventional narratives that follow uncluttered three-act structures. At four-and-a-half hours, this film preserves the scope and density of its source material, while utilizing modern technology to make every frame thrillingly cinematic.
Blu-ray Rating: 5.0/5.0
Author Camilo Castelo Branco’s illegitimate birth and upbringing as an orphan are clearly reflected in the young character placed at the center of his 1852 novel.
And who could’ve possibly dreamed that veteran Chilean filmmaker Raúl Ruiz would end his extraordinary 48-year-long career with a staggering epic that revitalized the storytelling techniques of a nineteenth century Portuguese novelist? “Mysteries of Lisbon” is a direct rebuke to the conventional narratives that follow uncluttered three-act structures. At four-and-a-half hours, this film preserves the scope and density of its source material, while utilizing modern technology to make every frame thrillingly cinematic.
Blu-ray Rating: 5.0/5.0
Author Camilo Castelo Branco’s illegitimate birth and upbringing as an orphan are clearly reflected in the young character placed at the center of his 1852 novel.
- 1/24/2012
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Stephen King latest book in The Dark Tower series will be released on April 24th. Titled The Wind Through the Keyhole, the story features Roland Deschain in his early days as a gunslinger, and is also said to bridge the gap between books 4 and 5. Publisher Donald M. Grant will be selling a signed limited edition of the book and they have released Stephen King’s foreward and the first 5 pages:
“For readers new to Stephen King’s epic 7-volume fantasy masterpiece The Dark Tower, The Wind Through the Keyhole is a stand-alone novel, and a wonderful introduction to the series. It is an enchanting Russian doll of a novel, a story within a story within a story, which features both the younger and older Roland Deschain – Mid-World’s last gunslinger – on his quest to find the Dark Tower.
For the legions of fans, it is a gift of deeper insight...
“For readers new to Stephen King’s epic 7-volume fantasy masterpiece The Dark Tower, The Wind Through the Keyhole is a stand-alone novel, and a wonderful introduction to the series. It is an enchanting Russian doll of a novel, a story within a story within a story, which features both the younger and older Roland Deschain – Mid-World’s last gunslinger – on his quest to find the Dark Tower.
For the legions of fans, it is a gift of deeper insight...
- 12/19/2011
- by Jonathan James
- DailyDead
Stephen King’s The Dark Tower franchise has stood the test of time as one of the best anthologies ever in print. There are now comics and graphic novels that follow the stories with films and a TV series on the way. The question most fans have is what’s left for the books? What can we expect from King and his beloved Roland? Well, the next installment is a stand alone book called The Wind Through The Key Hole.
This book is set in the gunslinger days and has been rumored to bring together the events from book 4 and 5 in the series. Set to hit the shelves on April 24th, 2012, Stephen King returns to Mid-World after thinking about some unfinished business while penning his latest book 11/26/63. Here is the official press release for the book.
“For readers new to Stephen King’s epic 7-volume fantasy masterpiece The Dark Tower,...
This book is set in the gunslinger days and has been rumored to bring together the events from book 4 and 5 in the series. Set to hit the shelves on April 24th, 2012, Stephen King returns to Mid-World after thinking about some unfinished business while penning his latest book 11/26/63. Here is the official press release for the book.
“For readers new to Stephen King’s epic 7-volume fantasy masterpiece The Dark Tower,...
- 12/8/2011
- by nyquill
- Destroy the Brain
For those who missed out on the news, Stephen King announced a new stand-alone book in The Dark Tower series this past March. Titled The Wind Through the Keyhole, the story features Roland Deschain in his early days as a gunslinger, and is also said to bridge the gap between books 4 and 5. The book is due out on April 24th and we have an updated book description, which provides new plot details:
“For readers new to Stephen King’s epic 7-volume fantasy masterpiece The Dark Tower, The Wind Through the Keyhole is a stand-alone novel, and a wonderful introduction to the series. It is an enchanting Russian doll of a novel, a story within a story within a story, which features both the younger and older Roland Deschain – Mid-World’s last gunslinger – on his quest to find the Dark Tower.
For the legions of fans, it is a gift of...
“For readers new to Stephen King’s epic 7-volume fantasy masterpiece The Dark Tower, The Wind Through the Keyhole is a stand-alone novel, and a wonderful introduction to the series. It is an enchanting Russian doll of a novel, a story within a story within a story, which features both the younger and older Roland Deschain – Mid-World’s last gunslinger – on his quest to find the Dark Tower.
For the legions of fans, it is a gift of...
- 12/7/2011
- by Jonathan James
- DailyDead
Back in March, Stephen King had announced a new book in The Dark Tower series. Titled The Wind Through the Keyhole, this story will take place between the 4th and 5th books. While it ties into The Dark Tower series, it is also being written as a stand-alone novel that is described as a “wonderful introduction to the series”.
“For readers new to The Dark Tower, The Wind Through The Keyhole is a stand-alone novel, and a wonderful introduction to the series. It is a story within a story, which features both the younger and older gunslinger Roland on his quest to find the Dark Tower. Fans of the existing seven books in the series will also delight in discovering what happened to Roland and his ka tet between the time they leave the Emerald City and arrive at the outskirts of Calla Bryn Sturgis.
This Russian Doll of a novel,...
“For readers new to The Dark Tower, The Wind Through The Keyhole is a stand-alone novel, and a wonderful introduction to the series. It is a story within a story, which features both the younger and older gunslinger Roland on his quest to find the Dark Tower. Fans of the existing seven books in the series will also delight in discovering what happened to Roland and his ka tet between the time they leave the Emerald City and arrive at the outskirts of Calla Bryn Sturgis.
This Russian Doll of a novel,...
- 8/25/2011
- by Jonathan James
- DailyDead
Before this panel starts, we're told to put on our 3-D glasses for a Real-d presentation. It's the same one as last year, with a robot dog chasing a robot ball. Yeeha. Next, out comes Morgan Spurlock, to give us a tease of his newest documentary Comic-con Episode IV: A Fan's Hope. Says the idea came to him after he met Stan Lee at Comic-Con one year, gushed about how he was such a fan, and Stan gushed back ,saying they should do a documentary together about Comic Con. From there, Joss Whedon and Harry Knowles got involved. We see a clip. It begins with Eli Roth talking about his first time taking a leak between a Klingon and a Stormtrooper. Snippets of Seth Rogen, Kevin Smith (talking about how now there are chicks at Comic-Con), Joss Whedon, Seth Green saying he actually met his wife at Comic-Con, Guillermo del Toro...
- 7/22/2011
- by NIKKI FINKE
- Deadline Hollywood
Both Newt Gingrich and Tim Pawlenty posted campaign videos today. Let’s take a look at Gingrich first, then Pawlenty—like a stale, fattening dinner followed by vanilla ice cream. Gingrich, speaking from his interestingly decorated office, suggests that the Federal Reserve be audited. He peppers his plea with close-up footage of $20 bills and American flags flapping in the breeze. “It’s profoundly wrong to have your government cheat you from devaluing the dollar right out from under you,” Gingrich says. He also argues that conservatives should agree the Dodd-Frank consumer-protection act is “automatically probably worth repealing just on principle.” This is presumably because its co-sponsors, Chris Dodd and Barney Frank, are Democrats. That line got big laughs. Gingrich says later that “this economy is going to stay mired in a bad economy.” Was that in the script? The economy is stuck in a bad economy? Like a Russian doll...
- 6/22/2011
- Vanity Fair
On the whole, the games produced by Double Fine can be generally categorized as sweet, even poignant experiences. "Psychonauts" uses the interior landscapes of peoples' minds as a setting for adventure and coming-of-age, "Costume Quest" evokes the childhood fun of Halloween dress-up and imaginative play and the Russian doll tomfoolery of "Stacked" hid a family drama inside of one of its layers. Even heavy-metal homage "Brutal Legend" was about Eddie Riggs finding an alternate universe where a roadie could be a hero.
But there's nothing sweet about "Trenched." The latest game by the studio founder by Tim Schafer puts players inside a grinding war of attrition where only explosive firepower and strategic cunning can win the day. You play as a member of the Mobile Trench Brigade, soldiers who pilot gigantic mech suits on an old-timey battlefield against the threat of Monovision. You can see the game's first cutscene, which...
But there's nothing sweet about "Trenched." The latest game by the studio founder by Tim Schafer puts players inside a grinding war of attrition where only explosive firepower and strategic cunning can win the day. You play as a member of the Mobile Trench Brigade, soldiers who pilot gigantic mech suits on an old-timey battlefield against the threat of Monovision. You can see the game's first cutscene, which...
- 5/26/2011
- by Evan Narcisse
- ifc.com
It feels like “Scream 4” is meant to be admired more than loved, and talked about more than enjoyed. It does offer plenty to ponder, but the scares are getting a little old and the plot twist at the end really stretches credibility. Warning: Spoilers Ahead It opens with a Russian Doll of a scene that riffs on the famous Drew Barrymore opening in the first movie. We get Shenae Grimes, Lucy Hale, Anna Paquin, Kristen Bell, Brittany Robertson, and Aimee Teegarden in a scene about two girls watching a movie about two girls...
- 5/1/2011
- The Wrap
A Dolce & Gabbana-clad Russell Brand had lots of love to share this afternoon at the UK premiere of Arthur in London. His wife, Katy Perry, was on hand for the red carpet, and her sparkly nude gown was evidently a hit with Russell. He threw his arms around her to give her a big kiss before temporarily leaving her side in order to pose with his costars Greta Gerwig and Helen Mirren, who also had a sweet Pda moment with her own spouse, Taylor Hackford. One cast-mate didn't make the trek, though, as Jennifer Garner celebrated her 39th birthday back in La. Katy is on a break from her Teenage Dream world tour, and she jetted to England after spending the weekend with other celebs at Coachella. Russell arrived in his home country a few days ago to do press for the European opening of his film, which opened in...
- 4/19/2011
- by Allie Merriam
- Popsugar.com
Sprawling science fantasy novel Cloud Atlas is set for an adaptation with the Wachowski brothers and Tom Tykwer at the helm…
In most instances, the presence of no fewer than three directors working on one movie would sound like a recipe for disaster. In the case of David Mitchell's sprawling literary/sci-fi/fantasy novel, Cloud Atlas, which intertwines six disparate narratives across a thousand year period, it may require three people with canvas chairs and megaphones just to get the thing finished and in the can.
According to news floating in across the Atlantic, the Wachowski brothers will be teaming up with Run Lola Run director Tom Tykwer to adapt Mitchell's Russian doll-like novel, which takes the reader through multiple time periods before folding back on itself and providing closure for each separate tale.
Mitchell wrote each section in a markedly different style from the last, so the...
In most instances, the presence of no fewer than three directors working on one movie would sound like a recipe for disaster. In the case of David Mitchell's sprawling literary/sci-fi/fantasy novel, Cloud Atlas, which intertwines six disparate narratives across a thousand year period, it may require three people with canvas chairs and megaphones just to get the thing finished and in the can.
According to news floating in across the Atlantic, the Wachowski brothers will be teaming up with Run Lola Run director Tom Tykwer to adapt Mitchell's Russian doll-like novel, which takes the reader through multiple time periods before folding back on itself and providing closure for each separate tale.
Mitchell wrote each section in a markedly different style from the last, so the...
- 1/6/2011
- Den of Geek
Maths - I hate it. Ever since I was a small kid, I've never got it. All that talk of hypotenuses, acute angles and fractions frequently left me with a revolving head at school. Even as a grown-up, anything to do with maths leaves me in a cold sweat. Me and maths do not go together - much like the fourth Doctor. This may account for his long face which never really breaks into a smile during the story called Logopolis.
Or maybe it's to do with the fact that he's about to meet his maker.
Yes, after a record-breaking near-on seven years, Tom Baker is about to hang up his scarf. It's an important moment in Doctor Who, especially when you consider how Doctor Who had changed between 1974 and 1981. In 1974, it was a well-respected and much loved family TV show, watched by millions. However, Tom Baker helped to turn...
Or maybe it's to do with the fact that he's about to meet his maker.
Yes, after a record-breaking near-on seven years, Tom Baker is about to hang up his scarf. It's an important moment in Doctor Who, especially when you consider how Doctor Who had changed between 1974 and 1981. In 1974, it was a well-respected and much loved family TV show, watched by millions. However, Tom Baker helped to turn...
- 12/15/2010
- Shadowlocked
After nursing an emotional erection for Toy Story 3* over the last few weeks it seemed sensible to check out the other kid-oriented cinematic offerings of the summer. The Karate Kid When Jaden Smith ascends to superstardom, as he inevitably will, I only hope he retains the infectious likeability of his father. It’s going to be hard to achieve given his incredibly public, privileged upbringing, but The Karate Kid shows the first signs that he might actually be able to step into Big Willy’s shoes, as vulgar as that sentence sound. Smith is perfectly adequate as Dre, the boyish fish out of water, transported from a Us ghetto to the improbably vibrant heart of Beijing, China. He tackles bullies almost instantly and falls for the charms of a violin-playing local girl, with whom he strikes up a slightly unlikely relationship. After being chased home by his tormenters one...
- 8/19/2010
- by Joe West
- t5m.com
Gone are the days when TV networks only had to compete with a few rivals to get the attention of potential viewers. Creating compelling content is only the beginning; in a world of fragmented audiences and thousands of platforms and products competing for the same eyeballs, everyone is trying to stand out. Miguel Gonzalez reports.
It’s no secret that television has become a segmented market where audiences are no longer limited by the offerings of the five networks that for years were Australia’s preferred source of entertainment and information. It is a world of multi-channels, pay TV, Iptv, games and an explosion of local and international content available at home or on the go. All of these options are competing for the same viewers so, more than ever, broadcasters must remain visible and attractive.
“Marketing is really under the pump to make whatever it is we are selling unique,...
It’s no secret that television has become a segmented market where audiences are no longer limited by the offerings of the five networks that for years were Australia’s preferred source of entertainment and information. It is a world of multi-channels, pay TV, Iptv, games and an explosion of local and international content available at home or on the go. All of these options are competing for the same viewers so, more than ever, broadcasters must remain visible and attractive.
“Marketing is really under the pump to make whatever it is we are selling unique,...
- 7/23/2010
- by Miguel Gonzalez
- Encore Magazine
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