For writer and teacher Jenny Lumet, this has been a long time coming. Her first screenplay to be made into a film, the Jonathan Demme-directed Rachel Getting Married, has made waves in the movie world, something that Lumet, daughter of Academy Award-winning director Sidney Lumet, didn’t necessarily see coming, but has enjoyed.
The film is about as fun as an evening spent dining out at T.G.I.Friday’s and about as funny as the funnies. Talentless shell of a man Rob Cohen sexifies this Mummy for the audience of seven-years-later, apparently doubling the budget in his requisites.
Poor de Marigny and Vellini discover that insatiability, desire without limits, consumes lives.
Funny Games, a shot-for-shot remake of Michael Haneke's Austrian 1997 film, is the sort of film that really shouldn't be spoiled, so I'll simply sum it up by saying that two young imps (Pitt and Corbett, who are decidedly more adorable than their Austrian counterparts) thrust themselves into the lives of a family (Watts and Roth), and force upon the family their own unique brand of entertainment.
Vantage Point has what is probably the best action trailer in recent memory, forcing you to seek out the full flick. The only problem is that the film does little to fill you in on those questions rattling inside your brain.
Be Kind Rewind tells the story of a guy who sabotoges a power plant, magnetizes himself and unknowingly demagnetizes all the VHS tapes in his friend's video store while the boss is out. Sound weird? Then you don't know Michel Gondry.
Still in selected theatre runs, Todd Haynes' unorthodox biopic of Bob Dylan, I’m Not There, is a highly imaginative piece of work, perhaps too imaginative for its own good. A viewer somewhat knowledgeable with Dylan’s history, real or imagined, may be able to impose a sense of logic to the film, but someone only superficially familiar with the Bard’s life may see only a series of often surreal images with little or no continuity.
The bottom line is that There Will Be Blood is not only possibly Anderson's best, but one of the best films of the last twenty years.
Set in the heart of autumn in beautiful upstate New York, this year’s eight annual Woodstock Film Festival impressed with a blend of small town charm, prestigious films, and great music. There was a little bit of something for everyone, even those who aren’t your average film fest attendees.
The profound influence of Hunter S. Thompson on modern journalism, popular culture and rock ‘n’ roll is undeniable and not up for debate.
