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European Film Awards: Un Prophète, Antichrist, The Reader
1 hour ago
The EFAs are only 20 years old, a novice awards organization really, but their prizes offer up a rich variety of films, languages and genres. It's truly a grab bag and, if you're too Oscar focused, their prizes can be head scratching. Their 2009 Best Picture Nominees encompass three years worth of U.S. release dates:
(2008) Slumdog Millionaire, Let the Right One In and The Reader(2009) The White Ribbon(2010) Fish Tank and Un Prophète.
Tis a pity we can't bring the world closer together for simultaneous multilingual film discussions.
The Best Director is filled with heavyweights. When will you ever see an Oscar lineup that's this populated with critical giants: Pedro Almodóvar Broken Embraces, Andrea Arnold for Fish Tank, Jacques Audiard for Un Prophete, Danny Boyle for Slumdog Millionaire, Michael Haneke for The White Ribbon and Lars von Trier for Antichrist. Maybe a lot of what led to these nominations is reputation »
- NATHANIEL R
Birthday Suits 11/07
7 hours ago
1891 Miriam Cooper silent film star of the Dw Griffith wing of Hollywood (Intolerance, Birth of a Nation)
1903 Dean Jagger Oscar winner for the war drama Twelve O'Clock High. Can't say I've seen that one. Anyone?
1923 Gene Callahan started working in feature films in 1960. He'd won two Oscars for Art Direction (The Hustler and America, America) by April, 1964. Quick study, yes? I imagine he had great stories to tell: his first movie scenery was chewed by none other Liz (BUtterfield 8) and Brando (The Fugitive Kind) and he worked right up until his death, closing a fine career out with those Steel Magnolias and Reese Witherspoon's debut Man in the Moon. If you haven't seen the latter, I recommend. Sweet movie and Reese had full star charisma even at 14.
1943 Joni Mitchell ♫ oh I could drink a case of you, darling... and I'd still be on my feet
1949 Judy Tenuta Buy her gifts, »
- NATHANIEL R
The 13th Link
9 hours ago
Au Current
Nick's Pix is not going to tell you how much he loves the latest Coen Bros, A Serious Man. No way. He won't do it
BuzzSugar Angelina Jolie + Johnny Depp = hottest screen couple ever?
Just Jared But Nicole Kidman + Robert Pattison = urrrgh-aa--well... No! (at least to me)
Mighty God King Americanized poster of Pirate Radio née The Boat That Rocked sinks
Pop Elegantiarum Film Experience contributor Alexa does Joanie from Mad Men for Halloween. Her husband as Roger Sterling. I love this so much. It's almost as good as dreaming about this weekend's season 3 finale
Low Resolution Joe on Avatar's second trailer "...everything went Ferngully"
My New Plaid Pants but Ja is more excited. And not just for that movie. What's left in '09?
Miscellania
The Auteurs What's left to discuss when it comes to Alfred Hitchcock?
The House Next Door Betty White...
...By Ken Levine a brief »
- NATHANIEL R
Katey and Nathaniel Talk Antichrist
9 hours ago
Katey moved far far away
She didn't leave New York exactly but I'm being dramatic about it because we used to live mere blocks away. She's too far away. Getting together has been more difficult so we're experimenting this week with a remote discussion of Antichrist. I was not alone in my difficulty connecting with it... though we both recommend in that 'we're film fanatics and you have to see certain films' kind of way.
It was good to chat movies with Katey again. Have you seen this particular controversy magnet yet, now that it's in theaters and VOD?
* »
- NATHANIEL R
Precious Review
11 hours ago
Precious has arrived... at least in three four cities. I've reviewed it for Towleroad, so if you've had a chance to see it have your say in the comments.
You're barely a reel into Lee Daniel's Precious (based on the novel Push by Sapphire) before you begin to realize that maybe Job didn't have it so bad after all. Claireece "Precious" Jones is suffering. She's obese, she's a welfare mother of a disabled child, she's pregnant again, kicked out of high school, her parents abuse her, neighborhood kids taunt her. She's illiterate on top of that... as the twee incorrectly spelled opening credits foreshadow.
Before too long, though, "Precious" (Gabourey Sidibe) has enrolled in an alternate school for girls who are slipping through the cracks. She blossoms, as much as a continually trampled living thing can, under the guidance of a new teacher (Paula Patton). The further she steps »
- NATHANIEL R
Birthday Suit: Shapeshifters
6 November 2009 12:48 PM, PST
Sing your favorite stars a happy birthday in the privacy of your own home.
Maybe not out loud.
Happy birthday to Ethan, Rebecca and Mike
11/06
Today's filmic / famous birthdays.
If it's your own birthday shout it out. It's your day, after all.
1882 Thomas H Ince actor who became a lifeguard then an actor again until he was a pioneering film director who became a studio mogul until he morphed into Cary Elwes having an affair with Kirsten Dunst ... and then died mysteriously.
1903 June Marlowe lovely brunette who became the Warner Bros proclaimed "Most Beautiful Girl On Screen" and eventually settled in as Our Miss Crabtree
1931 Mike Nichols Second City Improv founder who became a comedian then morphed into one of the most celebrated film directors of the second half of the 20th century. The filmography is kind of uneven, though, right?
poll by twiigs.com
1946 Sally Field a little Pasadena »
- NATHANIEL R
Pucker Up. It's La Pfeiffer
6 November 2009 9:45 AM, PST
Kissing. I want to bring this series back. Where is the time?
Someone has recorded my dreams! It's Michelle Pfeiffer's make-out sessions in the movies, compiled by the great pfansite, Pfeiffer the Face
Mmmm, Pfeiffer lips. The only person who doesn't love them is Pfeiffer herself "I look like a duck"Head on over to Pfeiffer The Face to vote in the poll for your favorite Pfeifferian smooch.... but someone get Pacino off of her first. He's practically eating her face* in Frankie & Johnny and he wasn't so nice to her in Scarface, either come to think of it.
* In Pacino's defense she is delicious. Even Emma Thompson thinks so. Remember that 90s interview when she was asked who she would like to be paired with if she played a lesbian? [src] Oh, God, well, lots of women, because I love women so much. I think that because of my »
- NATHANIEL R
De Niro to the 7th? (Oscar's Male Hierarchy)
6 November 2009 3:46 AM, PST
Have you been buying the minor huzz (hype+buzz) 'Robert De Niro's 7th Oscar nomination' for the holiday film Everybody's Fine? My friend txt critic saw it last night and sent the following note by phone...
it's, well, fine. most definitely a drama (despite the trailer) and conceptually a cross between About Schmidt and Four Christmases. nice, sweet and somewhat forgettable.
might, Might be a nomination for DeNiro, but i wouldn't bet on it.I dunno. I wasn't betting on it either but Best Actor sure seems vacant this year with only Colin Firth (A Single Man) and George Clooney (Up in the Air) catching any sort of real fire. As I've been saying for months, Fox Searchlight shouldn't have even hesitated to position Crazy Heart for a 2009 release. Jeff Bridges would have a clear shot at the career trophy given the field (if -- and it's always »
- NATHANIEL R
Directors of the Decade: Darren Aronofsky
5 November 2009 7:19 PM, PST
Robert here, continuing my series of the directors that shaped the past 10 years. Last week I wrote about a “love him” or “hate him” director that turned out to be mostly loved. So having promised such a man I feel like I let you down. I think I can do better with this week’s subject: Darren Aronofsky
Number of Films: Three.
Modern Masterpieces: Two. Requiem for a Dream and The Fountain (this is called baiting the hook.)
Total Disasters: None.
Better than you remember: Requiem for a Dream and The Fountain if applicable.
Awards: Requiem and The Wrestler receive Oscar Nominations for acting. The Wrestler gets the Spirit Award for Best Picture. The Fountain goes mostly overlooked (because The Academy has no idea what a good movie score sounds like).
Box Office: The Wrestler is tops with over 23 mil. The Fountain tops 10 mil. Requiem in very limited release (thank »
- Robert
Decade in Review: 2000 Top Ten
5 November 2009 1:07 PM, PST
What follows is my original top ten list of 2000... or rather the revised version I published in 2002. Let's discuss each year of this decade as it winds down! Who's with me?!? It's always interesting to see which films remained at the forefront of our memory and which fade... both for a variety of reasons, quality being only one factor. New comments are in red.
Please note: This list was based on NYC release dates in the year 2000. Some movies are listed as different years at the IMDb based on when they were released in their home country or in La or whatnot.
Runners Up (in descending order): Une Liaisons Pornographique, Nurse Betty, You Can Count On Me, Before Night Falls, Pola X, Chicken Run, American Psycho, Wonder Boys and Billy Elliott Um... What The Hell are some of these movies doing outside the top ten list? You Can Count on Me »
- NATHANIEL R
Birthday Suits: Tilda's Frontal & Sam's Moon
5 November 2009 9:30 AM, PST
I was going to try out this new quickie daily birthday feature. Only it's not quickie it's longie. I can't even do filler without breaking my back. Sigh, I'll never be a mega famous blogger. I care too much!
Today's birthdays 11/05
For those prone to celebrating the filmic and famous.
1905 Joel McCrea undervalued 40s star. Read this great piece on his career
1913 Vivien Leigh, more on her soon
1931 Ike Turner didn't deserve Tina. But, ugh, remember how great Laurence Fishburne was in What's Love Got To Do Without It?
1940 Elke Sommer, the German movie star turns 69 years young today. She was very generous with her birthday suit back in the 60s. Wouldn't you be if you looked like that? On a sad note I have never seen the infamous movie The Oscar (1966) which is about the Oscars that she co-stars in. Is it as bad as they say? I must see it. »
- NATHANIEL R
F&L: Voiceover
5 November 2009 4:20 AM, PST
first image after the opening credit segment
last line in the movieI have no idea what's going to happen. I just -- I can't stay in the city, you know? Maybe I'll come back. You'll probably see me next week.Can you guess the movie? My god, I love this one... even picking out this first and last bit set my heart racing. One of my favorite films of all time.
* »
- NATHANIEL R
Curio: Barbies Reborn
4 November 2009 7:15 PM, PST
Alexa from Pop Elegantiarum here. Like a lot of women, I have a love-hate relationship with Barbie. In her current incarnation, she is a stripper image of femininity that, in addition to being a bad role model for girls, is just, well, tasteless. But then I'll see a retro Barbie from the 60s and I flip for her exaggerated glamour. In the spirit of the latter, I wanted to share these repainted dolls by Noel Cruz. Noel takes your average fashion doll, like Barbie, removes the factory paint, and repaints the features. After a wardrobe change, the dolls are reborn as some favorite film characters, like this Miranda Priestly doll. Love the wardrobe, and how he managed to capture the essence of Meryl Streep's features (albeit in a streamlined Barbie way).
And he has a slew of actressy dolls too, like this dreamy Nicole Kidman. I could bore my »
- Alexa
Birthday Suit: Do You Dig Gig?
4 November 2009 11:39 AM, PST
Celebrating the birthdays of the filmic and famous. Because, why not? If it's your big day, holla at us in the comments.
Gig and Matthew
Today's Birthdays 11/04
1868 La Belle Otero Spanish actress, courtesan to royalty, La Folies Bergere dancer and star of a scandalous silent short performing the "Valse Brilliante". Where's her biopic? In order to inject life into that zombie-like genre (no brains, only forward motion) I really think filmmakers need to look at more obscure but still fascinating figures, further back in time. If they stop trying to win Oscars and just try to tell interesting stories, I bet they'll still win the Oscars. Try harder, Hollywood.
1913 Gig Young won the supporting actor Oscar for They Shoot Horses Don't They?, a totally brilliant and Oscar historical film. Emcee roles are sometimes gold for awards contention, right?
1918 Art Carney of Harry and Tonto Oscar-winning fame
1946 Frederick Elmes, wonderfully expressive »
- NATHANIEL R
Film Experience Readers Celebrating Halloween
4 November 2009 8:11 AM, PST
Several readers took up The Film Experience challenge and sent photos from their movie related Halloween costumes this past weekend. Cheers to them. Not only are Tfe readers creative, movie obsessed and participatory... they're totally fetching in Halloween costumes!
Keelay went as a Camp Crystal Lake counsellor. I imagine he was very popular with any holiday revellers who happened to be wearing that infamous hockey mask. Love the tube socks. They scream summer camp.
That's Mickie and Mindy as Dallas (Bruce Willis) and Leeloo (Milla Jovovich) from 90s sci-fi extravaganza The Fifth Element. I recognized those orange-loving Gautier costumes instantly. We can only hope that one of their friends sang some technopera as the movie's best blue tentacled hair lady, the Diva Plavalaguna.
From there we race forward to the cinema of 2009. From top left we've got two Rorschachs from Watchmen. To your left is JoFo (with Lady Gaga in background. »
- NATHANIEL R
Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin to Host the Oscars
4 November 2009 4:24 AM, PST
Well, that drama was shortlived. I rather like the idea of two very funny men, who've already worked together, hosting the Oscars. It does set up a rather unusual circumstance for the big night, though. It's not often that the the movie industry's biggest night feels like one movie is sponsoring the show in which they aren't allowed to advertise. But this year one movie essentially will.
Meryl Streep has to choose between Steve and Alec in It's Complicated. But Oscar doesn't have to choose. He'll take both men. And Meryl too, possibly... if it would like to renew those vows it made back in 1982.
* »
- NATHANIEL R
Birthday Suit: Dolph 'the biggest one' Lundgren
3 November 2009 7:06 PM, PST
Thought I'd goof around with a little b-day series. In case it's yours! Could be shortlived. Or maybe it'll go on forever. You never know.
Hal Hartley , Paprika Steen and Charles Bronson
Today's Birthdays, November 3rd ...some of them at any rate. For those who are prone to celebrating the lives of the filmic and famous. And if you aren't, you're not having enough fun.
1921 Charles Bronson had a Death Wish, five of them actually, and he had them before "franchise" was a daily spoken word in movie discussions.1930 Lois Smith, sweet character actress, is now 79 years old. I once saw her in a train station. It's true. Weren't you shocked when she died on the first season of True Blood? I sure was.
1931 Monica Vitti, breathtaking Italian goddess
1953 Kate Capshaw aka Mrs. Spielberg. Did she sing or was she dubbed for that awesome "Anything Goes" opening number in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom »
- NATHANIEL R
This Is It Madness
3 November 2009 2:03 PM, PST
two brief but belated Oscar notes
For months now, people have been reciting various reasons why the 10-Wide Best Picture field is a bad idea. For all the chatter no one has yet talked about the most harmful effect of this decision: armchair and professional punditry has slipped, perhaps irrevocably, into insanity. The world has entirely forgotten what the Oscars are like or, rather, what they like. In the summer everyone seemed convinced that totally atypical films like Star Trek (X), The Hangover and District 9 were Best Picture likely. The new 'Best Pic Nominee To Be' is This Is It, the Michael Jackson documentary. [I've tried not to mention this article for well over 48ish hours but I've finally caved because it's been haunting my thoughts ever since. Share in the daymares with me!] That prediction comes despite the fact that Michael Jackson has never even been so much as a songwriting Oscar nominee and no documentary has ever performed that trick. In fact, I'm not sure you'd even be able to find a documentary that has managed more »
- NATHANIEL R
Halfway House: Oh Suzanne-ah
3 November 2009 9:00 AM, PST
Halfway through the day we freeze a movie halfway through. What do we see?
Doris Mann: Have you known Suzanne long?
Jack Faulkner: Ah, lets see. we've known each other about a month. It seems like longer, though.
Doris: Oh, I know what you mean. I'm her mother and it seems like longer.Fifty minutes into Postcards From the Edge (1990), Jack (Dennis Quaid) has dropped by to pick up Suzanne Vale (Meryl Streep) for a date. Her mother (Shirley Maclaine) intercepts the man with the bedroom eyes ('and the living room nose and the kitchen forehead'). The performers are deliciously insynch with Carrie Fisher's rapid fire witticisms.
One of the reasons people get so invested in the Oscars is the joy that comes from arguing about whether or not the octogenarian institution got it right in any given year / category. When it comes to Postcards From the Edge, they got it very very wrong. »
- NATHANIEL R
Prince Gyllenhaal
3 November 2009 3:00 AM, PST
One of the things I've never quite understood about videogames turned movies is how you're supposed to play them.
But I miss Jake Gyllenhaal so here he is all acrobatic like in The Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
More Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Info
I haven't yet read any internet opinions about this new trailer, so haven't a clue what the consensus is but if it's hugely negative, I'm here to say that that's just silly. This looks exactly like the other video games turned movies (Tomb Raider) or movies that seem like they're based on video games even when they're not (The Mummy... or wait, was that?). They're all marketed in this same bombastic way with loud music, "fun" bits and CGI heavy promises of spectacle. Though I can't remember offhand if most trailers for films of this genre spend this much time describing »
- NATHANIEL R
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