Who doesn't love a good war movie — the romance, the spectacle, the exhilaration, the drama, the heartbreak? Well, as it turns out, most critics seem to hate a majority of war films and save their positive reviews for a select few, such as "Apocalypse Now," "Full Metal Jacket," and "Saving Private Ryan." Granted, the genre has produced some real stinkers over the years, but plenty of war epics also endured unwarranted critical disdain; many of these pictures provided rock-solid entertainment but were labeled cliché, sentimental, or too noble for their own good.
Imagine calling a film set in World War II too earnest or berating a romantic epic for its love story.
Look, I'm just as enamored with and respectful of a critic's opinion as the next person, but we can all agree they get it wrong sometimes. As proof, I've compiled a list of war epics I believe were...
Imagine calling a film set in World War II too earnest or berating a romantic epic for its love story.
Look, I'm just as enamored with and respectful of a critic's opinion as the next person, but we can all agree they get it wrong sometimes. As proof, I've compiled a list of war epics I believe were...
- 1/22/2023
- by Jeff Ames
- Slash Film
Over the years, there have been several launching-pad movies, where the casting edict is to find as many fresh young faces as possible rather than lean on established star power. In 1955, "Rebel Without a Cause" assembled a number of exciting performers in James Dean, Natalie Wood, Sal Mineo and Dennis Hopper. Nearly 30 years later, Francis Ford Coppola's "The Outsiders" served up a smorgasbord of rising stars in C. Thomas Howell, Matt Dillon, Ralph Macchio, Diane Lane, Patrick Swayze, Rob Lowe and Tom Cruise. And in 1993, director Robert Mandel brought together a company of future stars via the crackling drama "School Ties."
Though many of the actors in "School Ties" had popped up here and there in smaller roles, Mandel's drama about a Jewish student contending with antisemitism at a Massachusetts boarding school in 1959 was the movie where they got to show off their considerable chops. Ben Affleck, Cole Hauser...
Though many of the actors in "School Ties" had popped up here and there in smaller roles, Mandel's drama about a Jewish student contending with antisemitism at a Massachusetts boarding school in 1959 was the movie where they got to show off their considerable chops. Ben Affleck, Cole Hauser...
- 9/28/2022
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
We were a film couple. David Chute was writing film reviews for the Boston Phoenix when I met him in New York. He’d come down for a George Romero party, where we talked for hours. He had written two pieces for Film Comment, where I was the new Associate Editor. And even though I had landed my dream job, when he moved to Los Angeles to join Peter Rainer at the Los Angeles Herald Examiner, he convinced me to ditch my Upper West Side rent-controlled apartment and move in with him in Koreatown. I had never been to California and had to learn how to drive. We were married in October 1983, and six years later, Nora arrived.
Sadly, we both said goodbye to David last week; he died at age 71 on November 8 of esophageal cancer. He had just moved back after eight years taking care of his father in Poland,...
Sadly, we both said goodbye to David last week; he died at age 71 on November 8 of esophageal cancer. He had just moved back after eight years taking care of his father in Poland,...
- 11/20/2021
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
We were a film couple. David Chute was writing film reviews for the Boston Phoenix when I met him in New York. He’d come down for a George Romero party, where we talked for hours. He had written two pieces for Film Comment, where I was the new Associate Editor. And even though I had landed my dream job, when he moved to Los Angeles to join Peter Rainer at the Los Angeles Herald Examiner, he convinced me to ditch my Upper West Side rent-controlled apartment and move in with him in Koreatown. I had never been to California and had to learn how to drive. We were married in October 1983, and six years later, Nora arrived.
Sadly, we both said goodbye to David last week; he died at age 71 on November 8 of esophageal cancer. He had just moved back after eight years taking care of his father in Poland,...
Sadly, we both said goodbye to David last week; he died at age 71 on November 8 of esophageal cancer. He had just moved back after eight years taking care of his father in Poland,...
- 11/20/2021
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
David Chute, a longtime film critic and writer who tirelessly championed Hong Kong films in the U.S., died Nov. 8 in Los Angeles.
His daughter, Nora Chute, confirmed that he died of esophageal cancer.
Chute wrote for publications including the Boston Phoenix, Film Comment, the Los Angeles Herald Examiner, Vanity Fair, the Los Angeles Times and Variety, often advocating for genre films and international filmmakers to get the recognition they deserved.
Chute grew up in Maine with his father, Robert, a poet and biology professor at Bates College, his mother, Vicki, a novelist. He launched his career in the 70s as a film critic at the Kennebec Journal and The Maine Times, where he discovered Stephen King, who he also profiled for Take One. In 1979, King inscribed a copy of “The Shining” to David Chute, “the best film critic in America.”
In 1978, Chute joined the staff of The Boston Phoenix,...
His daughter, Nora Chute, confirmed that he died of esophageal cancer.
Chute wrote for publications including the Boston Phoenix, Film Comment, the Los Angeles Herald Examiner, Vanity Fair, the Los Angeles Times and Variety, often advocating for genre films and international filmmakers to get the recognition they deserved.
Chute grew up in Maine with his father, Robert, a poet and biology professor at Bates College, his mother, Vicki, a novelist. He launched his career in the 70s as a film critic at the Kennebec Journal and The Maine Times, where he discovered Stephen King, who he also profiled for Take One. In 1979, King inscribed a copy of “The Shining” to David Chute, “the best film critic in America.”
In 1978, Chute joined the staff of The Boston Phoenix,...
- 11/19/2021
- by Pat Saperstein
- Variety Film + TV
While the Oscars and other awards bodies have all pushed events back on their calendar and expanded eligibility for what movies can be considered, the New York Film Critics Circle will only consider movies released in the 2020 calendar year for its annual awards.
The Nyfcc announced Friday it will vote for its 2020 awards on Dec. 18 and that only movies released in theaters or on digital platforms between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2020, will be considered.
Further, the date for the group’s annual Gala Awards dinner is still to be announced, and membership for 2020 members will be frozen this year, with all current members still eligible to vote, even as many critics’ jobs have been affected by Covid-19. No new members will be voted in this year.
“This is a year unlike any other in our lifetimes. But the world of movies hasn’t stopped, and already, even in this very strange year,...
The Nyfcc announced Friday it will vote for its 2020 awards on Dec. 18 and that only movies released in theaters or on digital platforms between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2020, will be considered.
Further, the date for the group’s annual Gala Awards dinner is still to be announced, and membership for 2020 members will be frozen this year, with all current members still eligible to vote, even as many critics’ jobs have been affected by Covid-19. No new members will be voted in this year.
“This is a year unlike any other in our lifetimes. But the world of movies hasn’t stopped, and already, even in this very strange year,...
- 9/11/2020
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
Notorious mobster Al Capone was a larger than life bootlegger, racketeer, killer and organized crime boss in the first half of the 20th century, who has been portrayed on big-screen and small for seven decades. Here is a look at the actors who took on the challenge. And, if you’re curious, here is archival footage of Scarface himself.
Rod Steiger – “Al Capone” (1959) • Rod Steiger played Capone with deliberate showiness, from the roar of his voice to the tilt of hid fedora. Although he won a Laurel Award for his performance, Capone’s sister wasn’t crazy about the film – she sued the filmmakers for $10 million for invasion of privacy because they failed to get permission from the Capone estate to make it. The suit was eventually dismissed. Check out Steiger as Capone in a clip here.
Neville Brand – “The George Raft Story” (1961) • Although Neville Brand had an extensive resume...
Rod Steiger – “Al Capone” (1959) • Rod Steiger played Capone with deliberate showiness, from the roar of his voice to the tilt of hid fedora. Although he won a Laurel Award for his performance, Capone’s sister wasn’t crazy about the film – she sued the filmmakers for $10 million for invasion of privacy because they failed to get permission from the Capone estate to make it. The suit was eventually dismissed. Check out Steiger as Capone in a clip here.
Neville Brand – “The George Raft Story” (1961) • Although Neville Brand had an extensive resume...
- 5/11/2020
- by Rosemary Rossi
- The Wrap
“I have some big news,” the Los Angeles Times lead film critic Kenneth Turan tweeted on Wednesday. “After close to 30 years in the most exciting and rewarding of jobs, I am stepping away from being a daily film critic for the Los Angeles Times. I will keep writing about film but at a different pace. To quote Ecclesiastes, ‘To every thing there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven.’ Looking forward to what’s to come.”
The outpouring of praise for Turan, who is 73, was intense and immediate. “The maestro takes a bow,” responded The New York Times lead film critic A.O. Scott on Twitter, who himself stepped down from full-time daily criticism on March 15 for one year, leaving that task to his fellow lead critic Manohla Dargis. In his case, taking the title of Critic at Large as he writes “bigger, cross-topic essays,” per The Nyt,...
The outpouring of praise for Turan, who is 73, was intense and immediate. “The maestro takes a bow,” responded The New York Times lead film critic A.O. Scott on Twitter, who himself stepped down from full-time daily criticism on March 15 for one year, leaving that task to his fellow lead critic Manohla Dargis. In his case, taking the title of Critic at Large as he writes “bigger, cross-topic essays,” per The Nyt,...
- 3/26/2020
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
“I have some big news,” the Los Angeles Times lead film critic Kenneth Turan tweeted on Wednesday. “After close to 30 years in the most exciting and rewarding of jobs, I am stepping away from being a daily film critic for the Los Angeles Times. I will keep writing about film but at a different pace. To quote Ecclesiastes, ‘To every thing there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven.’ Looking forward to what’s to come.”
The outpouring of praise for Turan, who is 73, was intense and immediate. “The maestro takes a bow,” responded The New York Times lead film critic A.O. Scott on Twitter, who himself stepped down from full-time daily criticism on March 15 for one year, leaving that task to his fellow lead critic Manohla Dargis. In his case, taking the title of Critic at Large as he writes “bigger, cross-topic essays,” per The Nyt,...
The outpouring of praise for Turan, who is 73, was intense and immediate. “The maestro takes a bow,” responded The New York Times lead film critic A.O. Scott on Twitter, who himself stepped down from full-time daily criticism on March 15 for one year, leaving that task to his fellow lead critic Manohla Dargis. In his case, taking the title of Critic at Large as he writes “bigger, cross-topic essays,” per The Nyt,...
- 3/26/2020
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
The New York Film Critics Circle awarded Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman” with its Best Picture prize, but it didn’t take much effort to realize “Parasite” was the true king of the ceremony. After being the hit of Golden Globes weekend in Los Angeles, Bong Joon Ho and his “Parasite” team (including actor Song Kang-ho) proved their overwhelming popularity is bicoastal by holding court at the Nyfcc awards. Bong posed for photographs with Best Screenplay winner Quentin Tarantino, was name dropped by the Safdie brothers in their Best Director speech (Bong enthusiastically gave them a thumbs up from his dinner table), and received the first major standing ovation of the ceremony while accepting the Best Foreign Language Film prize for “Parasite” (Ben Stiller presented Bong the award and joked that “Parasite’s” awards season domination would extend to the Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards).
“I like ‘Parasite’ winning Best Foreign...
“I like ‘Parasite’ winning Best Foreign...
- 1/8/2020
- by Zack Sharf
- Indiewire
The 31st-annual USC Libraries Scripter Award honored the year’s best film and television adaptations, as well as the works on which they are based, at a black-tie ceremony on Saturday in the Edward L. Doheny Jr. Memorial Library at the University of Southern California. This group of academics, industry professionals, and critics (for which I vote) is often predictive of the Adapted Screenplay Oscar race.
Last year’s Scripter winners were “Call Me by Your Name” screenwriter James Ivory (who won the Oscar), and author André Aciman; past winners include “Moonlight,” “The Big Short,” and “The Imitation Game,” which all won Oscars. In fact, the past eight Scripter Award winners have gone on to win Oscars.
Not this year. Amazon Studios’ limited series “A Very English Scandal,” adapted by Russell T Davies from the book by John Preston, took home the USC Libraries Scripter Award for television, which will compete in the 2019 Emmy race.
Last year’s Scripter winners were “Call Me by Your Name” screenwriter James Ivory (who won the Oscar), and author André Aciman; past winners include “Moonlight,” “The Big Short,” and “The Imitation Game,” which all won Oscars. In fact, the past eight Scripter Award winners have gone on to win Oscars.
Not this year. Amazon Studios’ limited series “A Very English Scandal,” adapted by Russell T Davies from the book by John Preston, took home the USC Libraries Scripter Award for television, which will compete in the 2019 Emmy race.
- 2/10/2019
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
The 31st-annual USC Libraries Scripter Award honored the year’s best film and television adaptations, as well as the works on which they are based, at a black-tie ceremony on Saturday in the Edward L. Doheny Jr. Memorial Library at the University of Southern California. This group of academics, industry professionals, and critics (for which I vote) is often predictive of the Adapted Screenplay Oscar race.
Last year’s Scripter winners were “Call Me by Your Name” screenwriter James Ivory (who won the Oscar), and author André Aciman; past winners include “Moonlight,” “The Big Short,” and “The Imitation Game,” which all won Oscars. In fact, the past eight Scripter Award winners have gone on to win Oscars.
Not this year. Amazon Studios’ limited series “A Very English Scandal,” adapted by Russell T Davies from the book by John Preston, took home the USC Libraries Scripter Award for television, which already competed in the 2018 Emmy race.
Last year’s Scripter winners were “Call Me by Your Name” screenwriter James Ivory (who won the Oscar), and author André Aciman; past winners include “Moonlight,” “The Big Short,” and “The Imitation Game,” which all won Oscars. In fact, the past eight Scripter Award winners have gone on to win Oscars.
Not this year. Amazon Studios’ limited series “A Very English Scandal,” adapted by Russell T Davies from the book by John Preston, took home the USC Libraries Scripter Award for television, which already competed in the 2018 Emmy race.
- 2/10/2019
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
Spike Lee's Inside Man (2006) and Do the Right Thing (1989) are showing on Mubi in many countries around the world in January and February, 2019.Forty-five minutes into Spike Lee’s 2006 Inside Man, Clive Owen’s mysterious bank robber Dalton Russell negotiates with Denzel Washington’s detective Keith Frazier a food delivery for the 50 or so people he’s holding hostage inside the fictional Wall Street-headquartered Manhattan Trust Bank. The food smuggled through the horde of cops surrounding the building is pizza, and the boxes the slices come in read: Sal’s Famous Pizzeria. I wish I could say I spotted the intertextual connection right away, but it took Lee’s DVD commentary to illuminate the link between his 2006 star-studded thriller and the family-owned Bedford-Stuyvesant restaurant that staged his 1989 Do the Right Thing. “Sal’s pizzeria,” Lee comments, somewhat sarcastically, “burned down in Brooklyn, and moved to Wall Street.”Revisiting the...
- 1/29/2019
- MUBI
Penny Marshall, who starred alongside Cindy Williams in the hit ABC comedy “Laverne & Shirley” and then became a successful director, died on Monday night at her Hollywood Hills home due to complications from diabetes, Variety has confirmed. She was 75.
Marshall was the first woman to direct a film that grossed more than $100 million, the first woman to direct two films that grossed more than $100 million, and she was only the second woman director to see her film Oscar nominated for best picture.
“Laverne & Shirley” ran from 1976-1983 and proved an enormous success for ABC. It was the No. 3 show on television in 1975-76, No. 2 in 1976-77, and No. 1 in 1977-78 and 1978-79, spawning ancillary revenue in the form of merchandising, a record album and an animated series based on the show.
Marshall began her directing career by helming several episodes of “Laverne & Shirley.” With little experience, she...
Marshall was the first woman to direct a film that grossed more than $100 million, the first woman to direct two films that grossed more than $100 million, and she was only the second woman director to see her film Oscar nominated for best picture.
“Laverne & Shirley” ran from 1976-1983 and proved an enormous success for ABC. It was the No. 3 show on television in 1975-76, No. 2 in 1976-77, and No. 1 in 1977-78 and 1978-79, spawning ancillary revenue in the form of merchandising, a record album and an animated series based on the show.
Marshall began her directing career by helming several episodes of “Laverne & Shirley.” With little experience, she...
- 12/18/2018
- by Carmel Dagan
- Variety Film + TV
The New York Film Critics Circle announced today that 8 new members will join the group, bringing the total number of members to 42, the largest membership since the group was founded in 1935. The new members include The Ringer’s Kameron Austin Collins, IndieWire’s own David Ehrlich, The National Catholic Register’s Steven Greydanus, BBC’s Caryn James, Film Comment’s Violet Lucca, RogerEbert.com’s Sheila O’Malley, The Atlantic’s David Sims and Vox’s Alissa Wilkinson. Additionally, the group formally voted in Alison Willmore from Buzzfeed as their Vice Chair.
“We are thrilled to welcome so many strong voices from a variety of publications into the group this year,” said Nyfcc Chair Eric Kohn of IndieWire. “Our group is now at its largest number in history, illustrating the ongoing vitality of film criticism in New York and the range of voices keeping it relevant. While we plan to...
“We are thrilled to welcome so many strong voices from a variety of publications into the group this year,” said Nyfcc Chair Eric Kohn of IndieWire. “Our group is now at its largest number in history, illustrating the ongoing vitality of film criticism in New York and the range of voices keeping it relevant. While we plan to...
- 10/27/2017
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
The New York Film Critics Circle has announced the date for its annual vote on the best films and performances of the year, taking place this year on Thursday, November 30, 2017, followed by its annual Gala Awards dinner on Wednesday, January 3, 2018. As is the organization’s tradition, winners will be announced on Twitter during the annual meeting. New members will be announced in October, after their annual meeting on October 20.
Only a handful of other voting bodies go before the Nyfcc, including the Gotham Awards (November 27) and the National Board of Review (November 28). The Nyfcc is typically the first critics-led organization to announce its winners, getting a major jump on the season and helping set the stage for the weeks to come. IndieWire’s own Deputy Editor and Chief Critic Eric Kohn serves as this year’s Chairman, with Buzzfeed’s Alison Wilmore serving as Vice Chair and Marshall Fine continuing on as General Manager.
Only a handful of other voting bodies go before the Nyfcc, including the Gotham Awards (November 27) and the National Board of Review (November 28). The Nyfcc is typically the first critics-led organization to announce its winners, getting a major jump on the season and helping set the stage for the weeks to come. IndieWire’s own Deputy Editor and Chief Critic Eric Kohn serves as this year’s Chairman, with Buzzfeed’s Alison Wilmore serving as Vice Chair and Marshall Fine continuing on as General Manager.
- 9/18/2017
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
The prestigious New York Film Critics Circle, founded in 1935, is always a force in the early awards conversation.
But there is often some debate about how early they can reasonably vote for the year’s best films. Traditionally, they like to set the tone for the awards season (while protesting that it has no bearing on how they vote). Will they be able to see all the late-breaking entries by their voting date December 1? They’ve insisted on voting around the same time for the last five years.
While they will likely catch Ben Affleck’s “Live By Night” and Denzel Washington’s “Fences” in time, the film they are most likely to miss is Martin Scorsese’s “Silence.” He’s working with Paramount on a last-minute marketing campaign for the period film set in Japan, but there are concerns about when that movie starring Andrew Garfield, Liam Neeson...
But there is often some debate about how early they can reasonably vote for the year’s best films. Traditionally, they like to set the tone for the awards season (while protesting that it has no bearing on how they vote). Will they be able to see all the late-breaking entries by their voting date December 1? They’ve insisted on voting around the same time for the last five years.
While they will likely catch Ben Affleck’s “Live By Night” and Denzel Washington’s “Fences” in time, the film they are most likely to miss is Martin Scorsese’s “Silence.” He’s working with Paramount on a last-minute marketing campaign for the period film set in Japan, but there are concerns about when that movie starring Andrew Garfield, Liam Neeson...
- 10/27/2016
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
The prestigious New York Film Critics Circle, founded in 1935, is always a force in the early awards conversation.
But there is always some debate about how early they can reasonably vote for the year’s best films. Traditionally, they like to set the tone for the awards season (while protesting that it has no bearing on how they vote). Will they be able to see all the late-breaking entries by their voting date December 1? They’ve insisted on voting around the same time for the last five years.
While they will likely catch Ben Affleck’s “Live By Night” and Denzel Washington’s “Fences” in time, the film they are most likely to miss is Martin Scorsese’s “Silence.” He’s working with Paramount on a last-minute marketing campaign for the period film set in Japan, but there are concerns about when that movie starring Andrew Garfield, Liam Neeson...
But there is always some debate about how early they can reasonably vote for the year’s best films. Traditionally, they like to set the tone for the awards season (while protesting that it has no bearing on how they vote). Will they be able to see all the late-breaking entries by their voting date December 1? They’ve insisted on voting around the same time for the last five years.
While they will likely catch Ben Affleck’s “Live By Night” and Denzel Washington’s “Fences” in time, the film they are most likely to miss is Martin Scorsese’s “Silence.” He’s working with Paramount on a last-minute marketing campaign for the period film set in Japan, but there are concerns about when that movie starring Andrew Garfield, Liam Neeson...
- 10/27/2016
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
Polish filmmaker Marcin Wrona’s Demon, one of last year’s Tiff Vanguard selections, started quietly making its way into theaters just before this year’s edition of the festival, and has drawn a number of warm reviews in the last month. The scary-sounding title may have put off otherwise likely viewers, but it really shouldn’t: as Manohla Dargis puts it, Demon is “ready-made for the art house even if its mystical flourishes — an otherworldly claw, an undead bride — are the sort of woo-woo pleasures more often scared up in genre stories.” Michael Nordine has more at the Village Voice:Demon, while not straight horror, has one foot in the genre (the other, of course, is in the grave). It opens on an enigmatic river-crossing sequence, the body that gets dragged from the water serving as a harbinger of what Wrona has in store. His tale concerns a groom-to-be who,...
- 10/5/2016
- MUBI
The New York Film Critics Circle voted today at the Film Society of Lincoln Center for their 2015 awards winners. The awards will be handed out during their annual ceremony on Monday, January 4th at Tao Downtown.
Carol was awarded Best Picture and Todd Haynes was named Best Director. Saoirse Ronan was selected as Best Actress for her role in Brooklyn, and Michael Keaton was chosen as Best Actor for Spotlight.
Carol
Two Special Awards were given, honoring the legacy of William Becker and Janus Films and Ennio Morricone for his extraordinary contribution to the language of cinema. Full list of winners below.
Says 2015 Nyfcc Chairman, Star Magazine’s Marshall Fine, “This group is known for inserting films into the awards conversation and this year was no different. I’m particularly pleased at how New York-centric so many of the films are, representing many parts of the city, as well as several different eras.
Carol was awarded Best Picture and Todd Haynes was named Best Director. Saoirse Ronan was selected as Best Actress for her role in Brooklyn, and Michael Keaton was chosen as Best Actor for Spotlight.
Carol
Two Special Awards were given, honoring the legacy of William Becker and Janus Films and Ennio Morricone for his extraordinary contribution to the language of cinema. Full list of winners below.
Says 2015 Nyfcc Chairman, Star Magazine’s Marshall Fine, “This group is known for inserting films into the awards conversation and this year was no different. I’m particularly pleased at how New York-centric so many of the films are, representing many parts of the city, as well as several different eras.
- 12/2/2015
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
This podcast focuses on Criterion’s Eclipse Series of DVDs. Hosts David Blakeslee and Trevor Berrett give an overview of each box and offer their perspectives on the unique treasures they find inside. In this episode, David and Trevor discuss Eclipse Series 40: Late Ray.
About the films:
The films directed by the great Satyajit Ray in the last ten years of his life have a unique dignity and drama. Three of them are collected here: the fervent Rabindranath Tagore adaptation The Home and the World; the vital An Enemy of the People, based on the Henrik Ibsen play; and the filmmaker’s final work, the poignant and philosophical family story The Stranger. They are complex, political, and humane depictions of worlds both corrupt and indescribably beautiful, constructed with Ray’s characteristic elegance and imbued with autumnal profundity. These late-career features are the meditative works of a master.
Subscribe to...
About the films:
The films directed by the great Satyajit Ray in the last ten years of his life have a unique dignity and drama. Three of them are collected here: the fervent Rabindranath Tagore adaptation The Home and the World; the vital An Enemy of the People, based on the Henrik Ibsen play; and the filmmaker’s final work, the poignant and philosophical family story The Stranger. They are complex, political, and humane depictions of worlds both corrupt and indescribably beautiful, constructed with Ray’s characteristic elegance and imbued with autumnal profundity. These late-career features are the meditative works of a master.
Subscribe to...
- 12/2/2015
- by David Blakeslee
- CriterionCast
The New York Film Critics Circle voted today for their picks for the 2014 awards at the Film Society at Lincoln Center.
Boyhood was awarded Best Picture and Richard Linklater was named Best Director. Marion Cotillard was selected as Best Actress for her roles in both The Immigrant and Two Days, One Night and Timothy Spall was chosen as Best Actor for Mr. Turner. A Special Award was given to Adrienne Mancia, who, as a curator at MoMA for more than 30 years, helped shape the moviegoing tastes of New Yorkers by bringing the work of filmmakers like Bernardo Bertolucci, Manoel De Oliveira, and Marco Bellocchio to the United States.
In celebration of the Critics 80th year, the awards will be handed out during their annual ceremony on Monday, January 5th at Tao Downtown.
Full list of winners below
Best Picture: Boyhood
Best Director: Richard Linklater (Boyhood)
Best Actress: Marion Cotillard (for The Immigrant and Two Days,...
Boyhood was awarded Best Picture and Richard Linklater was named Best Director. Marion Cotillard was selected as Best Actress for her roles in both The Immigrant and Two Days, One Night and Timothy Spall was chosen as Best Actor for Mr. Turner. A Special Award was given to Adrienne Mancia, who, as a curator at MoMA for more than 30 years, helped shape the moviegoing tastes of New Yorkers by bringing the work of filmmakers like Bernardo Bertolucci, Manoel De Oliveira, and Marco Bellocchio to the United States.
In celebration of the Critics 80th year, the awards will be handed out during their annual ceremony on Monday, January 5th at Tao Downtown.
Full list of winners below
Best Picture: Boyhood
Best Director: Richard Linklater (Boyhood)
Best Actress: Marion Cotillard (for The Immigrant and Two Days,...
- 12/1/2014
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Los Cabos International Film Festival took place this month of November. It was a brave move to keep it going after Cabo had been so hard hit by Hurricane Odile with winds of 125mph less than a month earlier. The vast destruction in our part of town was quickly being repaired though traces remained visible and repairs still to be done necessitated cutting the normal invitation list by half and doubling up hotel rooms for a few unlucky journalists. That being said, there were 15,000 attending the festival. Volunteers wore the worthy words on their t-shirts: #Unstoppable, and they were that.
For all the infrastructure problems of the city in the midst of rebuilding itself, the festival seemed to thrive with all sorts of invitees showing up from all over the world. It seemed like gala events, panels, master classes, coproduction meetings, works in progress, screenings and interviews were constantly taking place. It was a great team and we all felt part of it.
The festival is overseen by the executive board members Eduardo Sánchez Navarro, Alfonso Pascal Barcenas, Scott Cross and Sean Cross (who also founded Vail Film Festival) and is organized by the festival team of Alonso Aguilar (General Director), Alejandra Paulin (General Coordinator) - who was a great market director in Guadajalara before coming here, Maru Garzon (Head of Programming), Ana Molinar Trujillo (Communication Manager), and Monica Herrera (Film Programmer). My friend from Guadalajara, normally an English teacher, Fabian Cruz was also there working for the festival.
When Eduardo Sánchez Navarro Redo remembers how he first came to Los Cabos, there is no doubt in his mind that destiny and luck played an important part. When he married his wife 30 years ago, he decided to travel along the entire Pacific Coast, from Acapulco to Mazatlan, where he crossed over to La Paz eventually driving to Los Cabos. The beauty of the area impressed him and it was during this trip that he and his wife decided to buy a vacation home in Los Cabos, thus beginning a distinguished career as a principal player and developer of what is Los Cabos today. Over the course of more than 20 years, his company, Grupo Questro, has emerged as one of the most highly respected developers in all of Mexico. He, together with Juan Gallardo Thurlow, Scott Cross, and Sean Cross, founded the festival in 2012.
My job as a journalist was to explore and write, hard to do when you are having such fun 24/7. We journalists were all in one hotel where we were given space and time to bond. Travel writers mixed with trade writers: from Film Journal David Noh, whose article is worth sharing here, my colleagues Peter Rainer from NPR and Christian Science Monitor, Anne Thompson from Thompson on Hollywood on Indiewire, Godfrey Cheshire of RogerEbert.com and many others met and mixed. Also Ira Deutchman of Colombia University Film School and Emerging Pictures and Robin Brock of Creative Coalition were there with time to share dinners.
The filmmakers, in another hotel, mixed by day and at the communal lunches and parties. I will write more on them in an upcoming blog! After all, filmmakers are the backbone of our industry. Without them, we have nothing!
The agents, mostly from CAA, were placed in another hotel, luxurious and far away. As someone said, Cabos is like Cannes, only in November. If so, perhaps they were at the Eden Roc in Cap d’Antibes. (Actually they were at Hacienda Beach Club & Residences) CAA has always been an honored part of this festival. I have heard that that is because someone with lots of money from Mexico invests it in cinema through CAA and even started the festival. That is, however, pure conjecture. Under the guidance of CAA agent, Micah Green, people can be assured that the directions he sees and the decisions he makes about investing private individuals' capital into filmed entertainment is priceless. I could think of no one I would trust more --in this untrustworthy business we are in-- than Micah.
At least two other agents – Bec Smith and Rena Ronson from UTA -- were also there. Rena and Micah were on the Film Financing Panel moderated by Variety’s expert in all things Iberoamerican and my idol, John Hopewell. Other participants on the Film Finance Panel were Jonathan King, Evp of Production at Jeff Skoll’s Participant Media whose partnership with Canana formed Participant PanAmerican production fund. “No” by Pablo Lorrain was their first investment. Pp also financed "El Ardor" which played in Cannes and “Cesar Chavez”, directed by Diego Luna. Also on the panel were Mark Musselman of Canada’s 10X2yinc, the exec producer of “Eastern Promises” and most recently of “Remember” by Atom Egoyan which was also produced by Robert Lantos and son, also in Los Cabos. It went into production in 2014 and is tipped for Cannes. Other panelists included Raul Del Alto of Mexico’s Ag Studios (Itaca Films Mexico, Itaca Films USA, Itaca Films Colombia and Itaca Filkms Brazil, and Rena Ronson of UTA who, like Micah Green of CAA focuses on global film finance, distribution and marketing strategies for Independents and co-financed features and is fluent in Spanish because of her long time experience with Latin America.
At one point I looked up and found the European fund chiefs there as well, Laufey Gudjonsdottir from Iceland (where Interstellar was filmed), Katriel Schory from Israel Film Fund and Edith Sepp-Dallas from the Estonian Film Institute. They were there for Bpx. Best Practice Exchange is an initiative that brings together the leaders of film funding agencies from across the world to take part in high-level-workshops – one or two each year – designed to promote new standards of excellence in the provision of public funding for the support of film production, development and distribution. The aim of Bpx is to ensure that policies and procedures adopted by film funding agencies will act together, positively and proactively, to stimulate and sustain practices of international coproduction and cofinancing worldwide.
Triggered by the situation in which filmmaking outside the main production centers of Hollywood and Bollywood now finds itself, Bpx was created by Simon Perry, president of Ace (Ateliers du Cinéma Européen), in collaboration with Katriel Schory, executive director of the Israel Film Fund. It held its first workshop in February 2013 in Israel, and two further workshops in Toronto (September 2013) and Berlin (February 2014) and this was the third! Bravo!
Among the Mexican, Canadian and U.S. films that showed, the winners were as follow:
Mexico First
Mexico First winning film was ¨Llevate mis amores” ("All of Me") by Arturo Gonzalez. The film narrates the story of the generosity of the women of Las Patronas who feed the immigrants who ride La Bestia. The director was awarded a cash Prize of Usd $15,000. This film made me cry. I thought of it again when reading the L.A. Times article about the murder of Adrian Rodriguez and his assistant, Mexican good Samaritans who dedicated their scarce resources to feeding Central American migrants passing by on La Bestia, which is what the women in this movie do. And one of the women was at the festival too.
Los Cabos Competition
The Los Cabos Competition winner was “Güeros” by Alonso Ruizpalacios, also a winner at the Berlinale, Jerusalem Film Festival, Tribeca, Toronto and San Sebastian. Being sold internationally by Mundial, the joint venture of Canana (again!) and Im Global, the film has sold to Kino Lorber for U.S., Cannibal for Mexico, Dreams Hill for Italy, Noori for So. Korea and Maison Motion for Taiwan … "Güeros" is the undeniable triumph of a nouveau director who dares to pay homage the French New Wave on a wild detective hunt through Mexico City. In light of the 43 murdered students, this film, about students on strike, strikes a chord within the watcher. The film´s producer won a Usd $15,000 cash prize.
Work In Progress Mexico
The second Work in Progress Mexico prize was awarded to "Los Herederos," by Jorge Hernandez, a film that describes adolescent effervescence and idleness through a group of friends who spend their vacations adrenaline-seeking through parties, sex and alcohol. The winner received a Usd $10,000 cash prize.
Mexico-usa-canada Co-production Forum
The winner of the first Mexico- USA- Canada Co-production Forum was also announced: "Afronauts" by Frances Bodomo, based on the real life story of the Academia Nacional de Ciencias, Investigación Espacial e Investigación Astronómica of Zambia. Writer- Director Frances Bodomo received a Usd $8,000 cash prize. It also received funding from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.
Mexico First: Fox +
In its second year running the México Primero: Fox+ chose one of the films that participated to have its distribution rights pre-bought for the Latin American and Caribbean (Except Brazil) markets. The México Primero: Fox+ prize consists of Usd $40,000 and was awarded to Isaac Ezban´s "El Incidente" ("The Incident"), two M.C. Escher-maze-like parallel stories about characters trapped in illogical endless spaces: two brothers and a detective locked on an infinite staircase, and a family locked on an infinite road… for a very long time. The international sales agent, Shoreline, will be showing the film at Ventana Sur December 3rd at 17:00 at Cinemark 3.
Work In Progress Mexico Fox +
In its second year running as well, Work in Progress México Fox+ selected a participating film to have its distribution rights pre-bought for the Latin American and Caribbean (Except Brazil) markets. The Usd $30,000 prize was awarded to Katina Medina Mora’s "Sabras que hacer conmigo" aka "En Contraluz", produced by Gerardo Gatica and Alberto Muffelmann.
Work In Progress Mexico Chemistry
This Third edition of the Festival also witnessed the first Work In Progress México –Chemistry award. Chemistry post-production studios granted the winner, Jorge Hernandez’s "Los Herederos", $45,000 Usd in color correction services.
Mexico – USA – Canada Splendor Omnia Mantarraya Co-production Forum
On its first year running, the Coproduction Forum Mexico- USA- Canada Splendor Omnia – MANTArraya will be granting a $30,000 Usd equivalent prize worth 40 hours of color correction, 40 hours of sound mixing, as well as a paid stay in Tepoztlan Morelos, site of their studios, to the winner "Afronauts" by Francez Bodomo (U.S.).
The key phrase to understanding Cabo is "Seeing what the neighbors do" as the festival and market connects Canada, U,S, and Mexico in showing of films and exploring coproduction. And the mixing of filmmakers and journalists from all three Americas was exciting in the possibilities it offered to everyone.
As for the hard-core business done there:
Mark Kassen will be directing "Criminal Empire for Dummies" written by Cliff Dorman. Kassen will also be producing the film along with James Gibb of Cutting Edge Group and Greg Hajdarowicz of Gremi Films. The deal took place at the exclusive resort Hacienda Beach Club & Residences and was reported by Variety.
Actor and producer Luis Gerardo Mendez ("Nosotros Los Nobles") signed a representation agreement with Paradigm. Reported by Variety. So I guess Paradigm also sent agents to Los Cabos.
Pat Saperstein of Variety also attended Los Cabos and scooped a story, that “Wolverine Hotel” from director Patricia Chica who was participating in the Coproduction Forum, is closing in on production with a "recent financing commitment from Jean-Guy Després, who will serve as exec producer. The edgy crime thriller is produced by Canada-based Byron Martin. Looking to cast a Latino actor as co-star, Chica met with rising Mexican thesp Luis Gerardo Mendez ('We Are the Nobles') during Afm though he has not yet been attached. 'A Latino star opens up a market', said Martin."
Celebrated producer Monica Lozano announced the launch of Alebrije Distribución. She has had her hand in 23 productions since her first film, "Amores Perros". "Instructions Not Included" the Us$ 5.5 million film that grossed Us$ 100 million worldwide was also her production. With this Pan-American initiative, the company will acquire distribution rights for the Latin and North American markets. Reported by Variety again!! You would think John was the only real reporter there. Pinske should be proud of him! Most of us got no scoops, but then, I guess we have to prove ourselves worthy - which I am not because at heart, I am not a reporter hunting for news, but rather a gatherer of information and a writer.
Speaking of Monica Lozano, the Germany-based international sales agent, Media Luna, acquired world rights to Internet Junkie, directed by Alexander Katzowicz and produced by Monica Lozano. Variety reports on this again!
"Yamaha 300", a participating project of the 1st Mexico – USA- Canada Coproduction Forum, produced by Valerium Arts (Mayra Espinosa y Jorge Michel Grau, producer and writer-director of the horror hit "Somos lo que hay" respectively, and Grau, the writer of the remake "We Are What We Are") and Uncorked Productions (Andrew Corkin, the producer of the horror film "What We Were"), will be one of the first projects to receive the development stage and postproduction support offered by The Good Film Fund, an initiative of Media Darling (Amy Darling) and The Chatanooga Film Festival. See Variety.
New York producer Dodgeville Films ("To Be Takei") will be joining Varios Lobos in Mexico to produce "Ya no estoy aquí", Fernando Frias’s second film, which was also a winner during Gabriel Figueroa Film Fund second edition. This film in the Coproduction Forum was reported on in Variety.
"Siete Horas" ("Seven Hours"), one of the winning projects of the second Gabriel Figueroa Film Fund edition, which will be directed by Chema Rodriguez and produced by Francisco Vargas, the renowned director of the film "El violin", made an alliance with the Spanish production companies Sin un Duro and Noodles Prods to co-produce the project. (Variety)
CineTren closed deals to handle Latin American distribution for Spring, a Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead film, whose Latin American Premiere was held at Los Cabos International Film Festival. Negotiations between Nate Bolotin and Marie Katz fromLos Angeles-based Xyz and Manuel Garcia from CineTren, took place at the Hotel Grand Solmar. Next time, I'll have to visit all the hotels!! See Variety article.
BH5 Group, which participates in the executive production of "Remember" by Atom Egoyan, will be working with Alonso Ruizpalacios, director of Güeros, in his second movie: Museo, a project that participated in the Ist Mexico- USA- Canada Co-production Forum. Even though Variety wrote about this, my blog on the three year old conglomerate of companies, BH5, was more complete:
BH5 Group Makes a Splash with Three Impressive Films at Los Cabos Int'l Film Fest
BH5, a conglomerate of five formerly independent production companies all run by various friends from the same film school, will be working the international markets much more. Besides the Toronto hit, Jodorowsky's "Dance of Reality", they are working with larger companies like Pathe now. Their work in progress, "You Will Know What To Do With Me" ("Sabras que hacer conmigo" aka "En Contraluz") which just won the The Usd $30,000 prize of Fox+, is seeking an international sales agent.
"Entrevero" by Max Zunino, also winner of the Gabriel Figueroa Film Fund second edition, was selected in the development project category by Ibermedia. See Variety.
And though Colombian Ciro Guerra, whose "The Wind Journeys" was produced by our German friends Roman Paul and Gerhard Meixner at Razor Film Production and by Burning Blue's prolific Diana Bustamente -- who is now also heading the Carthagena Film Festival -- showed in 2009 Cannes Un Certain Regard and was sold by Paris’ Elle Driver to 19 countries including Film Movement for U.S., announced to Variety's John Hopewell that his next film, "Embrace of the Serpent" will star U.S. actor Brionne Davis (“Savaged”) and Belgium’s Jan Bijvoet, the lead in Cannes Competition entry “Borgman” a really creepy dark comedy, he did not discuss his next project "Taganga" in the Coproduction Forum. "Taganga" is about a fisherman from a small village by the Colombian coast where many foreign-owned scuba diving centers have been established. A new law requiring local fisherman to change the motors of their boats forces him to earn quick money, so he chooses to dynamite to fish. The owner of the largest scuba diving center opposes this use of explosives. When the fisherman receives a death threat if he continues the dynamiting of fish, he assumes the center's owner is behind the threat. In order to prove it, he begins a series of fateful actions.
Finally, while it seems like Variety wrote all the news, I have one item which no one has reported on. Reese Witherspoon stated at her press conference in Los Cabos, where her film "Wild" premiered in a red carpet gala, that she is talking to Eugenio Derbez ("Instructions Not Included") to make a movie with him. I heard her say it and later spoke of this to Ben Odell (my next blog on Los Cabos features him). Ben (now partners with Eugenio at 3Pas Studios) said, Actually that would be a great idea but they had not spoken about it. However, they are both represented by CAA, so it would seem like a natural and really exciting pairing. After all, aren't "Legally Blond" and "Beverly Hills Chihuahua" the same film? She is certainly on a role as a producer with "Wild" and David Fincher's "Gone Girl" as he is with his U.S. career. The studios are all courting her now, she said. More to come on this...
For all the infrastructure problems of the city in the midst of rebuilding itself, the festival seemed to thrive with all sorts of invitees showing up from all over the world. It seemed like gala events, panels, master classes, coproduction meetings, works in progress, screenings and interviews were constantly taking place. It was a great team and we all felt part of it.
The festival is overseen by the executive board members Eduardo Sánchez Navarro, Alfonso Pascal Barcenas, Scott Cross and Sean Cross (who also founded Vail Film Festival) and is organized by the festival team of Alonso Aguilar (General Director), Alejandra Paulin (General Coordinator) - who was a great market director in Guadajalara before coming here, Maru Garzon (Head of Programming), Ana Molinar Trujillo (Communication Manager), and Monica Herrera (Film Programmer). My friend from Guadalajara, normally an English teacher, Fabian Cruz was also there working for the festival.
When Eduardo Sánchez Navarro Redo remembers how he first came to Los Cabos, there is no doubt in his mind that destiny and luck played an important part. When he married his wife 30 years ago, he decided to travel along the entire Pacific Coast, from Acapulco to Mazatlan, where he crossed over to La Paz eventually driving to Los Cabos. The beauty of the area impressed him and it was during this trip that he and his wife decided to buy a vacation home in Los Cabos, thus beginning a distinguished career as a principal player and developer of what is Los Cabos today. Over the course of more than 20 years, his company, Grupo Questro, has emerged as one of the most highly respected developers in all of Mexico. He, together with Juan Gallardo Thurlow, Scott Cross, and Sean Cross, founded the festival in 2012.
My job as a journalist was to explore and write, hard to do when you are having such fun 24/7. We journalists were all in one hotel where we were given space and time to bond. Travel writers mixed with trade writers: from Film Journal David Noh, whose article is worth sharing here, my colleagues Peter Rainer from NPR and Christian Science Monitor, Anne Thompson from Thompson on Hollywood on Indiewire, Godfrey Cheshire of RogerEbert.com and many others met and mixed. Also Ira Deutchman of Colombia University Film School and Emerging Pictures and Robin Brock of Creative Coalition were there with time to share dinners.
The filmmakers, in another hotel, mixed by day and at the communal lunches and parties. I will write more on them in an upcoming blog! After all, filmmakers are the backbone of our industry. Without them, we have nothing!
The agents, mostly from CAA, were placed in another hotel, luxurious and far away. As someone said, Cabos is like Cannes, only in November. If so, perhaps they were at the Eden Roc in Cap d’Antibes. (Actually they were at Hacienda Beach Club & Residences) CAA has always been an honored part of this festival. I have heard that that is because someone with lots of money from Mexico invests it in cinema through CAA and even started the festival. That is, however, pure conjecture. Under the guidance of CAA agent, Micah Green, people can be assured that the directions he sees and the decisions he makes about investing private individuals' capital into filmed entertainment is priceless. I could think of no one I would trust more --in this untrustworthy business we are in-- than Micah.
At least two other agents – Bec Smith and Rena Ronson from UTA -- were also there. Rena and Micah were on the Film Financing Panel moderated by Variety’s expert in all things Iberoamerican and my idol, John Hopewell. Other participants on the Film Finance Panel were Jonathan King, Evp of Production at Jeff Skoll’s Participant Media whose partnership with Canana formed Participant PanAmerican production fund. “No” by Pablo Lorrain was their first investment. Pp also financed "El Ardor" which played in Cannes and “Cesar Chavez”, directed by Diego Luna. Also on the panel were Mark Musselman of Canada’s 10X2yinc, the exec producer of “Eastern Promises” and most recently of “Remember” by Atom Egoyan which was also produced by Robert Lantos and son, also in Los Cabos. It went into production in 2014 and is tipped for Cannes. Other panelists included Raul Del Alto of Mexico’s Ag Studios (Itaca Films Mexico, Itaca Films USA, Itaca Films Colombia and Itaca Filkms Brazil, and Rena Ronson of UTA who, like Micah Green of CAA focuses on global film finance, distribution and marketing strategies for Independents and co-financed features and is fluent in Spanish because of her long time experience with Latin America.
At one point I looked up and found the European fund chiefs there as well, Laufey Gudjonsdottir from Iceland (where Interstellar was filmed), Katriel Schory from Israel Film Fund and Edith Sepp-Dallas from the Estonian Film Institute. They were there for Bpx. Best Practice Exchange is an initiative that brings together the leaders of film funding agencies from across the world to take part in high-level-workshops – one or two each year – designed to promote new standards of excellence in the provision of public funding for the support of film production, development and distribution. The aim of Bpx is to ensure that policies and procedures adopted by film funding agencies will act together, positively and proactively, to stimulate and sustain practices of international coproduction and cofinancing worldwide.
Triggered by the situation in which filmmaking outside the main production centers of Hollywood and Bollywood now finds itself, Bpx was created by Simon Perry, president of Ace (Ateliers du Cinéma Européen), in collaboration with Katriel Schory, executive director of the Israel Film Fund. It held its first workshop in February 2013 in Israel, and two further workshops in Toronto (September 2013) and Berlin (February 2014) and this was the third! Bravo!
Among the Mexican, Canadian and U.S. films that showed, the winners were as follow:
Mexico First
Mexico First winning film was ¨Llevate mis amores” ("All of Me") by Arturo Gonzalez. The film narrates the story of the generosity of the women of Las Patronas who feed the immigrants who ride La Bestia. The director was awarded a cash Prize of Usd $15,000. This film made me cry. I thought of it again when reading the L.A. Times article about the murder of Adrian Rodriguez and his assistant, Mexican good Samaritans who dedicated their scarce resources to feeding Central American migrants passing by on La Bestia, which is what the women in this movie do. And one of the women was at the festival too.
Los Cabos Competition
The Los Cabos Competition winner was “Güeros” by Alonso Ruizpalacios, also a winner at the Berlinale, Jerusalem Film Festival, Tribeca, Toronto and San Sebastian. Being sold internationally by Mundial, the joint venture of Canana (again!) and Im Global, the film has sold to Kino Lorber for U.S., Cannibal for Mexico, Dreams Hill for Italy, Noori for So. Korea and Maison Motion for Taiwan … "Güeros" is the undeniable triumph of a nouveau director who dares to pay homage the French New Wave on a wild detective hunt through Mexico City. In light of the 43 murdered students, this film, about students on strike, strikes a chord within the watcher. The film´s producer won a Usd $15,000 cash prize.
Work In Progress Mexico
The second Work in Progress Mexico prize was awarded to "Los Herederos," by Jorge Hernandez, a film that describes adolescent effervescence and idleness through a group of friends who spend their vacations adrenaline-seeking through parties, sex and alcohol. The winner received a Usd $10,000 cash prize.
Mexico-usa-canada Co-production Forum
The winner of the first Mexico- USA- Canada Co-production Forum was also announced: "Afronauts" by Frances Bodomo, based on the real life story of the Academia Nacional de Ciencias, Investigación Espacial e Investigación Astronómica of Zambia. Writer- Director Frances Bodomo received a Usd $8,000 cash prize. It also received funding from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.
Mexico First: Fox +
In its second year running the México Primero: Fox+ chose one of the films that participated to have its distribution rights pre-bought for the Latin American and Caribbean (Except Brazil) markets. The México Primero: Fox+ prize consists of Usd $40,000 and was awarded to Isaac Ezban´s "El Incidente" ("The Incident"), two M.C. Escher-maze-like parallel stories about characters trapped in illogical endless spaces: two brothers and a detective locked on an infinite staircase, and a family locked on an infinite road… for a very long time. The international sales agent, Shoreline, will be showing the film at Ventana Sur December 3rd at 17:00 at Cinemark 3.
Work In Progress Mexico Fox +
In its second year running as well, Work in Progress México Fox+ selected a participating film to have its distribution rights pre-bought for the Latin American and Caribbean (Except Brazil) markets. The Usd $30,000 prize was awarded to Katina Medina Mora’s "Sabras que hacer conmigo" aka "En Contraluz", produced by Gerardo Gatica and Alberto Muffelmann.
Work In Progress Mexico Chemistry
This Third edition of the Festival also witnessed the first Work In Progress México –Chemistry award. Chemistry post-production studios granted the winner, Jorge Hernandez’s "Los Herederos", $45,000 Usd in color correction services.
Mexico – USA – Canada Splendor Omnia Mantarraya Co-production Forum
On its first year running, the Coproduction Forum Mexico- USA- Canada Splendor Omnia – MANTArraya will be granting a $30,000 Usd equivalent prize worth 40 hours of color correction, 40 hours of sound mixing, as well as a paid stay in Tepoztlan Morelos, site of their studios, to the winner "Afronauts" by Francez Bodomo (U.S.).
The key phrase to understanding Cabo is "Seeing what the neighbors do" as the festival and market connects Canada, U,S, and Mexico in showing of films and exploring coproduction. And the mixing of filmmakers and journalists from all three Americas was exciting in the possibilities it offered to everyone.
As for the hard-core business done there:
Mark Kassen will be directing "Criminal Empire for Dummies" written by Cliff Dorman. Kassen will also be producing the film along with James Gibb of Cutting Edge Group and Greg Hajdarowicz of Gremi Films. The deal took place at the exclusive resort Hacienda Beach Club & Residences and was reported by Variety.
Actor and producer Luis Gerardo Mendez ("Nosotros Los Nobles") signed a representation agreement with Paradigm. Reported by Variety. So I guess Paradigm also sent agents to Los Cabos.
Pat Saperstein of Variety also attended Los Cabos and scooped a story, that “Wolverine Hotel” from director Patricia Chica who was participating in the Coproduction Forum, is closing in on production with a "recent financing commitment from Jean-Guy Després, who will serve as exec producer. The edgy crime thriller is produced by Canada-based Byron Martin. Looking to cast a Latino actor as co-star, Chica met with rising Mexican thesp Luis Gerardo Mendez ('We Are the Nobles') during Afm though he has not yet been attached. 'A Latino star opens up a market', said Martin."
Celebrated producer Monica Lozano announced the launch of Alebrije Distribución. She has had her hand in 23 productions since her first film, "Amores Perros". "Instructions Not Included" the Us$ 5.5 million film that grossed Us$ 100 million worldwide was also her production. With this Pan-American initiative, the company will acquire distribution rights for the Latin and North American markets. Reported by Variety again!! You would think John was the only real reporter there. Pinske should be proud of him! Most of us got no scoops, but then, I guess we have to prove ourselves worthy - which I am not because at heart, I am not a reporter hunting for news, but rather a gatherer of information and a writer.
Speaking of Monica Lozano, the Germany-based international sales agent, Media Luna, acquired world rights to Internet Junkie, directed by Alexander Katzowicz and produced by Monica Lozano. Variety reports on this again!
"Yamaha 300", a participating project of the 1st Mexico – USA- Canada Coproduction Forum, produced by Valerium Arts (Mayra Espinosa y Jorge Michel Grau, producer and writer-director of the horror hit "Somos lo que hay" respectively, and Grau, the writer of the remake "We Are What We Are") and Uncorked Productions (Andrew Corkin, the producer of the horror film "What We Were"), will be one of the first projects to receive the development stage and postproduction support offered by The Good Film Fund, an initiative of Media Darling (Amy Darling) and The Chatanooga Film Festival. See Variety.
New York producer Dodgeville Films ("To Be Takei") will be joining Varios Lobos in Mexico to produce "Ya no estoy aquí", Fernando Frias’s second film, which was also a winner during Gabriel Figueroa Film Fund second edition. This film in the Coproduction Forum was reported on in Variety.
"Siete Horas" ("Seven Hours"), one of the winning projects of the second Gabriel Figueroa Film Fund edition, which will be directed by Chema Rodriguez and produced by Francisco Vargas, the renowned director of the film "El violin", made an alliance with the Spanish production companies Sin un Duro and Noodles Prods to co-produce the project. (Variety)
CineTren closed deals to handle Latin American distribution for Spring, a Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead film, whose Latin American Premiere was held at Los Cabos International Film Festival. Negotiations between Nate Bolotin and Marie Katz fromLos Angeles-based Xyz and Manuel Garcia from CineTren, took place at the Hotel Grand Solmar. Next time, I'll have to visit all the hotels!! See Variety article.
BH5 Group, which participates in the executive production of "Remember" by Atom Egoyan, will be working with Alonso Ruizpalacios, director of Güeros, in his second movie: Museo, a project that participated in the Ist Mexico- USA- Canada Co-production Forum. Even though Variety wrote about this, my blog on the three year old conglomerate of companies, BH5, was more complete:
BH5 Group Makes a Splash with Three Impressive Films at Los Cabos Int'l Film Fest
BH5, a conglomerate of five formerly independent production companies all run by various friends from the same film school, will be working the international markets much more. Besides the Toronto hit, Jodorowsky's "Dance of Reality", they are working with larger companies like Pathe now. Their work in progress, "You Will Know What To Do With Me" ("Sabras que hacer conmigo" aka "En Contraluz") which just won the The Usd $30,000 prize of Fox+, is seeking an international sales agent.
"Entrevero" by Max Zunino, also winner of the Gabriel Figueroa Film Fund second edition, was selected in the development project category by Ibermedia. See Variety.
And though Colombian Ciro Guerra, whose "The Wind Journeys" was produced by our German friends Roman Paul and Gerhard Meixner at Razor Film Production and by Burning Blue's prolific Diana Bustamente -- who is now also heading the Carthagena Film Festival -- showed in 2009 Cannes Un Certain Regard and was sold by Paris’ Elle Driver to 19 countries including Film Movement for U.S., announced to Variety's John Hopewell that his next film, "Embrace of the Serpent" will star U.S. actor Brionne Davis (“Savaged”) and Belgium’s Jan Bijvoet, the lead in Cannes Competition entry “Borgman” a really creepy dark comedy, he did not discuss his next project "Taganga" in the Coproduction Forum. "Taganga" is about a fisherman from a small village by the Colombian coast where many foreign-owned scuba diving centers have been established. A new law requiring local fisherman to change the motors of their boats forces him to earn quick money, so he chooses to dynamite to fish. The owner of the largest scuba diving center opposes this use of explosives. When the fisherman receives a death threat if he continues the dynamiting of fish, he assumes the center's owner is behind the threat. In order to prove it, he begins a series of fateful actions.
Finally, while it seems like Variety wrote all the news, I have one item which no one has reported on. Reese Witherspoon stated at her press conference in Los Cabos, where her film "Wild" premiered in a red carpet gala, that she is talking to Eugenio Derbez ("Instructions Not Included") to make a movie with him. I heard her say it and later spoke of this to Ben Odell (my next blog on Los Cabos features him). Ben (now partners with Eugenio at 3Pas Studios) said, Actually that would be a great idea but they had not spoken about it. However, they are both represented by CAA, so it would seem like a natural and really exciting pairing. After all, aren't "Legally Blond" and "Beverly Hills Chihuahua" the same film? She is certainly on a role as a producer with "Wild" and David Fincher's "Gone Girl" as he is with his U.S. career. The studios are all courting her now, she said. More to come on this...
- 12/1/2014
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Reviews were split down the middle: “Maleficent” was both magnificent and Grimm failure. The "Wicked"-style live-action reworking of the animated classic "Sleeping Beauty" that focuses on the vengeful fairy who places the curse on a young princess scored a so-so 51% positive ranking on Rotten Tomatoes. However, even some of the harshest critics couldn’t resist star Angelina Jolie’s chillingly seductive brand of visual hocus pocus -- jutting cheekbones, curvaceous horns, crimson-lacquered lips combined with the mesmerizing allure of a silent-movie siren -- as the human incarnation of the Disney cartoon icon. Peter Rainer of the “Christian Science Monitor” praised her as “a genuinely heroic presence,” despite being otherwise underwhelmed. Those who were kinder to the CGI-jammed fantasy were even more effusive. As Moira MacDonald of the “Seattle Times” observed, “There's really only one special effect in "Maleficent" worth mentioning, and that is Angelina...
- 6/2/2014
- by Susan Wloszczyna
- Thompson on Hollywood
Photo: Francois Duhamel © 2013 Annapurna Productions LLC All Rights Reserved.
The New York Film Critics Circle voted today for their picks for the 2013 awards at the Film Society at Lincoln Center. The awards will be handed out during their annual ceremony on Monday, January 6th at The Edison Ballroom.
American Hustle was awarded Best Picture and 12 Years a Slave’s Steve McQueen was named Best Director.
Cate Blanchett was selected as Best Actress for her role in Blue Jasmine and Robert Redford was chosen as Best Actor for All is Lost.
A Special Award was given to legendary filmmaker, Frederick Wiseman.
Full list of winners below.
Best Non-Fiction Film (Documentary): Stories We Tell
Best First Film: Ryan Coogler – Fruitvale Station
Best Cinematography: Bruno Delbonnel – Inside Llewyn Davis
Best Screenplay: American Hustle
Best Animated Film: The Wind Rises
Best Supporting Actor: Jared Leto – Dallas Buyers Club
Best Foreign Language Film: Blue is the Warmest Color...
The New York Film Critics Circle voted today for their picks for the 2013 awards at the Film Society at Lincoln Center. The awards will be handed out during their annual ceremony on Monday, January 6th at The Edison Ballroom.
American Hustle was awarded Best Picture and 12 Years a Slave’s Steve McQueen was named Best Director.
Cate Blanchett was selected as Best Actress for her role in Blue Jasmine and Robert Redford was chosen as Best Actor for All is Lost.
A Special Award was given to legendary filmmaker, Frederick Wiseman.
Full list of winners below.
Best Non-Fiction Film (Documentary): Stories We Tell
Best First Film: Ryan Coogler – Fruitvale Station
Best Cinematography: Bruno Delbonnel – Inside Llewyn Davis
Best Screenplay: American Hustle
Best Animated Film: The Wind Rises
Best Supporting Actor: Jared Leto – Dallas Buyers Club
Best Foreign Language Film: Blue is the Warmest Color...
- 12/3/2013
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Peter Rainer, a longtime personal and 'friend in the business' has written a book we all need to read closely.
He is certainly my favorite film critic (along with The Hollywood Reporter's Todd McCarthy).
Peter obsesses on this thing called cinema which, I believe, for most of my colleagues, as well as myself, is why we ever got into the 'movie biz' in the first place.
He is tough and knowledgeable and the reason I personally even read about films at all is to 1) try and understand if I want to see the film discussed, and 2) if I have just seen it and am wondering and trying to understand a bit better how and why I am feeling what I am at the moment.
His past reviews (here in this fat and truly fascinating book) add to my life, film, intellectual education.
Another of my current favorite film reviewers, The New Yorker's David Denby wrote - 'No one is better than Peter Rainer at establishing the intersection of politics and popular culture, or at mapping the tormented convolutions of such actors as Eddie Murphy or Richard Pryor. In the longer pieces, he has nailed the essential temperament of such celebrated directors as Robert Altman, Ingmar Bergman, and Steven Spielberg. Reading these reports on our movie culture of the last thirty years allows us to sharpen our memories and emotions in a sweet blend of happiness and regret.'
That about sums it up. Great book, available now from the Santa Monica Press LLC.
You can purchase the book from the publisher Here or on Amazon Here...
He is certainly my favorite film critic (along with The Hollywood Reporter's Todd McCarthy).
Peter obsesses on this thing called cinema which, I believe, for most of my colleagues, as well as myself, is why we ever got into the 'movie biz' in the first place.
He is tough and knowledgeable and the reason I personally even read about films at all is to 1) try and understand if I want to see the film discussed, and 2) if I have just seen it and am wondering and trying to understand a bit better how and why I am feeling what I am at the moment.
His past reviews (here in this fat and truly fascinating book) add to my life, film, intellectual education.
Another of my current favorite film reviewers, The New Yorker's David Denby wrote - 'No one is better than Peter Rainer at establishing the intersection of politics and popular culture, or at mapping the tormented convolutions of such actors as Eddie Murphy or Richard Pryor. In the longer pieces, he has nailed the essential temperament of such celebrated directors as Robert Altman, Ingmar Bergman, and Steven Spielberg. Reading these reports on our movie culture of the last thirty years allows us to sharpen our memories and emotions in a sweet blend of happiness and regret.'
That about sums it up. Great book, available now from the Santa Monica Press LLC.
You can purchase the book from the publisher Here or on Amazon Here...
- 12/3/2013
- by Peter Belsito
- Sydney's Buzz
Matthew McConaughey may be one of the most famous actors in the world, but he’s also one of the most underrated. He shifts seamlessly from rom-coms to action, while cultivating a bunch of solid indie work and supporting roles on the side. He’s still best known for his cool, cocky grin, Texas swagger and off-screen antics (naked bongo drum party, anyone?), though that’s slowly been changing in recent years with memorable turns in Killer Joe, Magic Mike and Mud.
Finally, the real game-changer is here. McConaughey’s work as an HIV positive man supplying drugs for fellow patients in Dallas Buyer’s Club is undeniably excellent, and we’re sure to see him on awards show short lists in coming months. Obviously this is a great time to brush up on McConaughey’s most memorable roles, and we’ve got a perfect list of his finest films for you to review.
Finally, the real game-changer is here. McConaughey’s work as an HIV positive man supplying drugs for fellow patients in Dallas Buyer’s Club is undeniably excellent, and we’re sure to see him on awards show short lists in coming months. Obviously this is a great time to brush up on McConaughey’s most memorable roles, and we’ve got a perfect list of his finest films for you to review.
- 11/4/2013
- by Kate Spencer
- TheFabLife - Movies
People often ask me what critics I read, if any. Of course, I’m not typical; I don’t consult reviews to help me decide whether or not to see a film. In most cases, I read reviews after I’ve already screened the picture in question. I’m interested in having a critic point out things I may have overlooked or illuminate aspects of the film I didn’t appreciate. Mostly, I’m interested in good writing, and this is where Peter Rainer excels. Currently reviewing for the Christian Science Monitor, his byline has appeared in many top publications over the years. He’s just collected essays spanning some thirty years in a valuable book called Rainer on Film: Thirty Years of Film Writing...
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- 6/24/2013
- by Leonard Maltin
- Leonard Maltin's Movie Crazy
Peter Rainer is among the last of a dying breed: A newspaper film critic. Since the 1980s, he's served up consistent commentary with a literary style, and a gentle but firm touch -- even as film criticism has changed as dramatically as the movie business. He's written for the Los Angeles Times, New York Magazine, and the Los Angeles Herald Examiner, where we first met. In those days he was a spark plug in what I remember as the best style section in L.A., when our HerEx was an alternative voice to this coast's Times. Rainer is currently the film
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- 6/21/2013
- by Alex Ben Block
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The day a new M. Night Shyamalan movie hits theaters might as well be labeled Critics’ Christmas. Ever since 2004′s The Village — and, even worse, 2006′s Lady in the Water — each successive film from the Academy Award-nominated writer/director has given writers a golden opportunity to one-up each other with jabs at Shyamalan’s oeuvre.
And even though it’s more of a Smith-Smith joint than a Shyamalan picture — notice the absence of the director’s name from all of the movie’s promotional material — After Earth has been no exception. So far, the film has earned a paltry score...
And even though it’s more of a Smith-Smith joint than a Shyamalan picture — notice the absence of the director’s name from all of the movie’s promotional material — After Earth has been no exception. So far, the film has earned a paltry score...
- 6/2/2013
- by Hillary Busis
- EW.com - PopWatch
If “Rainer on Film” were simply a compendium of the movie reviews Peter Rainer has written over the last three decades, it would be no more or less worth reading than any film critic that you admire or dislike. There are a lot of reviews in the book, but there are also quirky overviews on the careers of important directors and stars.Of Terence Malick: “Now that Stanley Kubrick has passed on, Malick is the undisputed recluse/auteur of the film business, the director that the most movie people would most like to work with, if only they could find him.” Of Robert Altman: “He is renowned for the buzzing expansiveness of his stories, the crisscrossed plots and people, but what strikes home most of all in this sprawl is a terrible sense of aloneness. In film after film, from “McCabe and Mrs. Miller” and “The Long Goodbye” to “Nashville” and “Short Cuts,...
- 5/29/2013
- by Aljean Harmetz
- Thompson on Hollywood
Digital, Blu-ray & DVD Release Date: June 18, 2013
Price: DVD $22.98, Blu-ray/DVD Combo $35.99, Blu-ray 3D Combo $44.95
Studio: Warner Home Video
The old fairy tale gets an update in director Bryan Singer’s (Superman Returns)Â Jack the Giant Slayer.
Nicholas Hoult (Warm Bodies) stars as Jack, a young farmhand who accideentally opens a gateway between our world and the world of a fearsome race of giants. Once they’re unleashed, the giants try to take back the land they lost. To save the kingdom, its people and get the love of a brave princess (Eleanor Tomlinson, Alice in Wonderland), Jack comes face to face with the warriors he thought only existed in legend.
Singer again partnered with scripter Christopher McQuarrie (Jack Reacher), who also wrote Singer’s Valkyrie and The Usual Suspects. But Jack’s screenplay was also thanks to (Shrek Forever After) Darren Lemke and TV writer Dan Studney, with his first feature film.
Price: DVD $22.98, Blu-ray/DVD Combo $35.99, Blu-ray 3D Combo $44.95
Studio: Warner Home Video
The old fairy tale gets an update in director Bryan Singer’s (Superman Returns)Â Jack the Giant Slayer.
Nicholas Hoult (Warm Bodies) stars as Jack, a young farmhand who accideentally opens a gateway between our world and the world of a fearsome race of giants. Once they’re unleashed, the giants try to take back the land they lost. To save the kingdom, its people and get the love of a brave princess (Eleanor Tomlinson, Alice in Wonderland), Jack comes face to face with the warriors he thought only existed in legend.
Singer again partnered with scripter Christopher McQuarrie (Jack Reacher), who also wrote Singer’s Valkyrie and The Usual Suspects. But Jack’s screenplay was also thanks to (Shrek Forever After) Darren Lemke and TV writer Dan Studney, with his first feature film.
- 4/19/2013
- by Sam
- Disc Dish
Blu-ray & DVD Release Date: March 22, 2013
Price: DVD $29.98, Blu-ray/DVD Combo $34.98
Studio: Universal Studios Home Entertainment
Director Judd Apatow (The 40-Year-Old Virgin) returns to his Knocked Up characters for comedy movie This Is 40.
Paul Rudd (Our Idiot Brother) and Leslie Mann (The Change-Up) again star as Pete and Debbie, a husband and wife balancing kids, work and life. All this while approaching the milestone of turning 40 and figuring out how to enjoy the rest of their lives.
Jason Segel (The Five-Year Engagement), Megan Fox (Passion Play), John Lithgow (Blow Out) and Albert Brooks (Broadcast News) also star in the film.
With mixed reviews, the R-rated movie grossed only about half its predecessor at the box office, with around $66 million. Washington Post critic Michael O’Shannon said This Is 40 “feels haphazard and unfinished, despite a few moments of laugh-out-loud humor.” Peter Rainer of the Christian Science Monitor was kinder, but...
Price: DVD $29.98, Blu-ray/DVD Combo $34.98
Studio: Universal Studios Home Entertainment
Director Judd Apatow (The 40-Year-Old Virgin) returns to his Knocked Up characters for comedy movie This Is 40.
Paul Rudd (Our Idiot Brother) and Leslie Mann (The Change-Up) again star as Pete and Debbie, a husband and wife balancing kids, work and life. All this while approaching the milestone of turning 40 and figuring out how to enjoy the rest of their lives.
Jason Segel (The Five-Year Engagement), Megan Fox (Passion Play), John Lithgow (Blow Out) and Albert Brooks (Broadcast News) also star in the film.
With mixed reviews, the R-rated movie grossed only about half its predecessor at the box office, with around $66 million. Washington Post critic Michael O’Shannon said This Is 40 “feels haphazard and unfinished, despite a few moments of laugh-out-loud humor.” Peter Rainer of the Christian Science Monitor was kinder, but...
- 1/29/2013
- by Sam
- Disc Dish
Editor’s note: Critical Consensus is a biweekly feature in which two critics from Indiewire’s Criticwire network discuss new releases with Indiewire’s chief film critic, Eric Kohn. Here, Indiewire contributor and ReelPolitik blogger Anthony Kaufman joins Christian Science Monitor critic Peter Rainer to discuss the directors of two new films -- "Magic Mike" and "Savages" -- as well as the auteur theory that arguably hovers over any conversation about a filmmaker's career. This conversation will have three parts, but one unifying factor: the auteur theory. Last week, Steven Soderbergh's "Magic Mike" opened nationwide, while Oliver Stone's "Savages" opens this Friday. Both filmmakers have achieved enough success and visibility over the years to have "auteur" status. The recent death of auteur theory popularizer Andrew Sarris provides us with the occasion to look at these two filmmakers in light of the...
- 7/4/2012
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
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