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2009 | 2008

11 articles from 2009

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DVD Playhouse--October 2009

15 October 2009 12:34 AM, PDT | The Hollywood Interview | See recent The Hollywood Interview news »

DVD Playhouse—October 2009

By

Allen Gardner

The Wizard Of Oz 70th Anniversary Ultimate Collector’S Edition (Warner Bros.) A true highlight in digital restoration technology, Warner Bros. restoration of the 1939 classic is cause for celebration. The Technicolor of the late ‘30s looks as though it was shot yesterday, and is especially stunning on Blu-ray, which was produced by scanning each of the film’s original Technicolor camera negatives using 8K resolution. From this scan, a final “capture” master was created in 4K, yielding twice the resolution seen in the master utilized for the film’s previous DVD release. Judy Garland’s Dorothy is charming as ever, and the entire cast: Ray Bolger, Bert Lahr, Jack Haley and Margaret Hamilton as the Wicked Witch, are all stellar. Four disc set bonuses include: Sing-along track; Documentaries and featurettes; Two 1914 silent films produced by Oz author L. Frank Baum, based on his stories »

- The Hollywood Interview.com

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[DVD Review] TCM Spotlight: Esther Williams, Volume 2

8 October 2009 3:00 PM, PDT | JustPressPlay.net | See recent JustPressPlay news »

TCM has put out some great vintage film collections in the last few years. The collections usually have a fair collection of winners and so-so contenders who need the better films to make them palatable and Esther Williams: Volume 2 is no exception. However, to the volume’s credit, it has a better ratio than most sets with 4 good to great films supporting 2 mediocre ones. The set could very well help reel in some younger viewers as the films in this volume have a surprisingly modern feel to them all. This one maybe good, but it might still qualify as “for collectors only”.

Thrill of a Romance (1945)

Directed by Richard Thorpe and written by Richard Connell and Gladys Lehman.

Co-starring Van Johnson and Henry Travers.

Summary: Two lovebirds get swept up in a whirlwind romance; one a girl looking for love and one a celebrated veteran, the two find their »

- Lex Walker

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New On DVD This Week

11 August 2009 1:15 PM, PDT | The Flickcast | See recent The Flickcast news »

Here’s a list of some of the new DVD and Blu-ray releases this week we’re particularly interested in. Plus, some old favorites (and not so favorites) coming out this week for the first time on Blu-ray.

Movies

About Last Night… ~ Rob Lowe, Demi Moore, James Belushi (Blu-ray)

Alien Trespass ~ Eric McCormack, Dan Lauria, Robert Patrick, and Jenni Baird (DVD and Blu-ray)

Blue Thunder ~ Roy Scheider, Warren Oates, Candy Clark, and Daniel Stern (Blu-ray)

Chaos ~ Jason Statham (Blu-ray)

The Class (Entre Les Murs) ~ François Bégaudeau, Agame Malembo-Emene, and Angélica Sancio (DVD)

Cutthroat Island ~ Geena Davis, Frank Langella, Matthew Modine (Blu-ray)

Eagles Over London ~ Van Johnson, Frederick Stafford, Francisco Rabal, and Luigi Pistilli (Blu-ray)

Gigantic ~ Zooey Deschanel, Paul Dano, John Goodman, and Ed Asner (DVD)

I Love You, Man ~ Paul Rudd, Jason Segal (DVD and Blu-ray)

Katyn ~ Artur Amijewski, Maja Ostaszewska, and Andrzej Chyra (DVD)

Michael Jackson: Moonwalking – The »

- Joe Gillis

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Gay night at the Oscars includes victorious "Milk"

23 February 2009 1:21 AM, PST | AfterElton.com | See recent AfterElton.com news »

Gus Van Sant's Milk may not have won Best Picture, but tonight’s 81st annual Academy Awards ceremony included plenty of gay-related moments, the most satisfying of which may have been Sean Penn’s win for Best Actor for his acclaimed portrayal of slain gay rights activist Harvey Milk.

Sean Penn

(Getty Images/Kevin Winter)

"You commie, homo-loving sons of guns!” Penn said in accepting the award.

Later, he referred to anti-gay protesters who had been picketing the streets of Sunset and Highland outside the theater, saying “For those who saw the signs of hatred as our cars drove in tonight, I think that it is a good time for those who voted for the ban against gay marriage to sit and reflect and anticipate their great shame, and the shame in their grandchildren's eyes if they continue that way of support. We've got to have equal rights for everyone! »

- michael

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'Slumdog Millionaire' is Top Dog at Oscars

22 February 2009 9:47 PM, PST | TheInsider.com | See recent The Insider news »

The rags-to-riches Mumbai drama 'Slumdog Millionaire' took the top prize at the 81st annual Academy Awards, with Sean Penn and Kate Winslet earning the top acting awards during a creatively revamped show at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood Sunday night. Click Here for the complete list of winners! Beating out 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,' 'Frost/Nixon,' 'Milk' and 'The Reader' for Best Picture, 'Slumdog' was also awarded Best Adapted Screenplay, Cinematography, Original Song, Original Score, Sound Editing, Film Editing and Best Director. Upon receiving his Oscar, director Danny Boyle jumped up and down "in the spirit of Tigger" for his children, a promise he made to them years ago, and singled out the people of Mumbai, saying, "all of you who helped us make the film, and all of those who didn't, you dwarf this guy (Oscar)." Winning the top honor of the »

- TheInsider

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Live blogging the Oscars

22 February 2009 12:07 PM, PST | Gold Derby | See recent Gold Derby news »

Make this blog item your home page for the rest of Oscar day. Tom O'Neil and Paul Sheehan are blogging live continuously all day. Keep hitting "refresh" for constant updates about what's happening at the Kodak Theatre.

9:06 p.m. — As with all of the past seven Oscars held at the Kodak Theater, the Governors Ball takes place in the adjoining Grand Ballroom which is 25,090 square feet. The menu for the Governors Ball was created by Wolfgang Puck for the fifteenth consecutive year. He promises the return of old favorites like tuna tartare in sesame miso cones and Maine lobster as well as, of course, caviar. And pastry chef Sherry Yard will once more be creating her gold-dusted chocolate Oscars as consolation prizes for those who didn’t get one of the real ones. Music will be spun by Kcrw radio host Jason Bentley who will alternate with The Impulse »

- tomoneil

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SAG Live Blogging (Part 2)

25 January 2009 8:31 PM, PST | FilmExperience | See recent FilmExperience news »

continued from part one

9:03 One thing I should mention about Sally Field. I love that she referred to her fellow nominees (i.e. the losers) as "the cable girls." Heh. Whoever chose the clips for the TV Drama Actress category (which also included the great Holly Hunter looking ravishing as always) defines great acting as screaming. Every clip was pitched to the rafters. Is the editor a member of SAG too.

It wouldn't surprise me. They're such suckers for the Big moments.

9:04 Forrest Whitaker loves James Earl Jones's "mesmerizing deep valley voice". That's great. Maybe Whitaker should do this live-blogging because my descriptive powers have failed me. Jones is accepting a lifetime achievement award (the name I forget). Apparently Jones moved to Michigan at age 5 and his life changed after winning a poetry contest. (I won a spelling bee contest in Michigan but it did not change »

- NATHANIEL R

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'Slumdog,' Streep & Penn Top Dogs at SAG Awards

25 January 2009 8:07 PM, PST | TheInsider.com | See recent The Insider news »

From Meryl Streep and Sean Penn's surprise wins to another "30 Rock" sweep, the kudos were evenly distributed at the 15th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles Sunday night. The only awards show of the year in which actors in film and television honor their own, the Guild's unexpected winners provided some spice to this year's awards season odds. Click here for the Complete List of Winners! 'Slumdog Millionaire' continued to prove that it is the little movie that could this season, winning the award for Outstanding Ensemble Cast over 'Frost/Nixon,' 'Milk,' 'Doubt' and 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.' But both 'Milk' and 'Doubt' had their day, with unexpected Best Actor and Best Actress wins respectively for screen vets Penn and Streep. Penn bested Richard Jenkins, Frank Langella, Brad Pitt and Mickey Rourke for his first SAG win ever after »

- TheInsider

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Sean Penn wins SAG Award for Best Actor in "Milk"

25 January 2009 7:03 PM, PST | AfterElton.com | See recent AfterElton.com news »

Sean Penn accepting his SAG Award

Tonight the acting community awarded its best and brightest for their work in 2008, and Sean Penn was singled out for one of the biggest awards of the night for playing Harvey Milk in Gus Van Sant's biopic. His acceptance speech was a plea for equal rights, and his final thanks were to "the counsel of Cleve Jones and the great Harvey Milk". But first, he gave the crowd a healthy dose of humor:

"Something happened to me during the making of this movie. I noticed it tonight that the statues have rather healthy packages ... As actors we don't play gay, straight ...we play human beings. (I'm) so appreciative of this acknowledgment. This is a story of equal rights for all human beings. Thanks Gus Van Sant, Lance Black, the counsel of Cleve Jones and the great Harvey Milk."  

The men of Milk got »

- brian

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R.I.P. 2008: A Rough Year For Hollywood

5 January 2009 3:56 PM, PST | ScreenRant.com | See recent Screen Rant news »

For me, the only part of the Oscars worth watching every year is their tribute video, highlighting those in the movie industry that passed away in the previous year. It always puts a lump in my throat and often surprises me due to the passing of people I hadn’t heard about. And with the actors who were popular decades ago, it gives me a sense of melancholy nostalgia.

TCM (Turner Classic Movies) has put together their version of a tribute video which you can watch below, and it gave me the same feelings I just mentioned (I wasn’t aware they do one every year). It’s a beautiful video and very classy. They did miss a couple of people which I mention below.

 

I would suggest you watch the video before moving on to the list of names below it. It includes actors, directors, composers, screenwriters, animators, etc. »

- Vic Holtreman

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Watch This: TCM's Tribute to the Departed of 2008

5 January 2009 10:02 AM, PST | Cinematical | See recent Cinematical news »

Every December, Turner Classic Movies produces a lovely montage honoring the actors and filmmakers who died that year, and here's the one for 2008. Apparently they released it around Dec. 10, then updated it to include Van Johnson, who died Dec. 15, but now it's incomplete again because Eartha Kitt died. Maybe they should wait until the year's actually over? I'm just sayin'.

Anyway, TCM's montages are always classy and elegant, putting the ones at the Academy Awards to shame. If you're interested, you can see previous years' montages here: 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003.

And now here's 2008. The song is "God Only Knows," by Joe Henry, from his 2007 album Civilians.

[Via /Film.]Filed under: Fandom, Obits, Lists

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- Eric D. Snider

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2009 | 2008

11 articles from 2009

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