Precious: Sundance Fest Hit Wins Toronto Fest Audience Award

September 19, 2009 by

Sept 19, 2009–At the 34th Toronto Film Fest, the Cadillac People's Choice Award, voted on by festival audiences, went to Lee Daniels's Precious: Based on the Novel “Push” by Sapphire, a vibrant, honest and resoundingly hopeful film about the human capacity to grow and overcome hardships. Set in 1987 Harlem, it is the story of Claireece "Precious" Jones, an illiterate African-American teenager who is pregnant for the second time by her absent father and abused by a poisonously angry mother. Despite her experiences, Precious has a dream that other possibilities exist for her and jumps at the chance to enroll in an alternative school.

Click here to see the Precious trailer.

 

Please read our review and Oscar prospects in the Review and Oscar Alert Sections. 

Filed Under: BLOG

Tarantino's Most Commercial Film

September 17, 2009 by
September, 17, 2009–A month after its premiere, Quentin Tarantino's "Inglourious Basterds" is still running strong at the foreign box-office. Even harsh critics who didn't like it had to admit that the anti-Nazi reverie was technically well made, well acted by an impressive international cast, and enjoyable, once you accept its terms.
 
Please read Review and Commentary of the film.

 

Filed Under: BLOG

Serious Man: Interview with Joel and Ethan Coen

September 16, 2009 by

A review of "A Serious Man" will be posted tonight. 

Meanwhile the fall season is in full volume this weekend.   We have reviews of seven or eight films that open this Friday or next week, including The Informant, Jennifer's Body, The Invention of Lying, The Boys Are Back, Bright Star, Burning Plain, Disgrace, Coco Before Chanel.  Please Go to the Review Section.

"The picture takes place in 1967 among a Jewish community in an unnamed Midwestern suburb; Joel and I are from the Midwest and so it's reminiscent of our childhoods. The milieu, the whole setting is important to us and was a big part of what got us going on this story. Where you grew up is part of your identity. That doesn't go away, even if you've been away for a long time"–Ethan Coen

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: BLOG

Michael Moore's Capitalism: A Love Story

September 15, 2009 by
On the 20-year anniversary of his groundbreaking masterpiece Roger & Me, Michael Moore’s Capitalism: A Love Story returns to the issue he’s been examining throughout his career: the disastrous impact of corporate dominance on the everyday lives of Americans (and by default, the rest of the world). But this time the culprit is much bigger than General Motors, and the crime scene far wider than Flint, Michigan. From Middle America, to the halls of power in Washington, to the global financial epicenter in Manhattan, Michael Moore will once again take filmgoers into uncharted territory.
 
 Click on link to look at the new trailer for Michael Moore's new Hot Docu, "Capitalism: A Love Story."

Filed Under: BLOG

Oscar 2009: Mo’Nique for Supporting Actress Oscar

September 6, 2009 by

 

The buzz about Mo’Nique as Oscar contender in the Best Supporting Actress category began in January, when her new film, “Precious: Based on the Novel by Sapphire,” won three awards at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival: Jury, Audience and Acting kudos. As I pointed out in my review of the film, which also played at Cannes Film Fest in May, the entire cast is good, but it’s Mo’Nique who gives the most riveting performance in an unexpectedly dramatic and emotional turn as she’s mostly associated with comedies.
 
As of early September, Mo’Nique is a frontrunner for the Supporting Actress Oscar (and other kudos).  For some critics, hers is the performance to beat!

Filed Under: BLOG
« Previous Page
Next Page »