Film & TV
Pure Illumination
"You mean actual flames?" "Yes." "Well, we can't set Mick Jagger on fire." It would be redundant.
Cross-Cultural Trumpeting
So this Egyptian police band walks into a remote Israeli town. After strong showings at every major film festival over the past six months, The Band's Visit finally opens in Philadelphia on Friday.
Profile: Woody Allen
To be cool. To be suave. To be Bogart. In Play It Again Sam, we witness one man's aspiration to be all of the above. Wildly imaginative and uncannily original, this neurotic comedy is arguably the best of Woody Allen's career.
Garden State Wisdom
Garden State is not New Jersey - Zach Braff never even got caught in traffic on the Parkway. Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle, now studied assiduously at Penn alongside Citizen Kane, seems closer, at least stereotypically.
Got Adderall?
Charlie Bartlett has been kicked out of every private high school he has ever attended. The last time he was expelled for running a fake ID laminating press out of his dorm room.
Leaving casper behind, but still pale
Street: What makes Penelope a fresh take on a fairy tale? Christina Ricci: I think the writer uses that traditional structure to then inject this very powerful surprise, and to really make a statement in an impactful way that isn't necessarily patronizing. Street: How do you think this movie will impact young individuals? CR: I'm hoping that young people really like the movie.
No Nose Job Here
The childhood bedtime story of the Ugly Duckling becomes a colorful modern fairytale in the film Penelope.
Charlie Bartlett Interview
What audience is the Charlie Bartlett aimed at? When I first pitched to do the film, I said it's a movie for teenagers for anyone who has a teenager and anyone who ever was a teenager.
Spotlight On: The Balkans
If the last time you heard about the Balkans was when you wore your retainer in public, you should know that things have changed a bit.
FEBRUARY FILMS
We promise they're worth leaving the comfort of your house/boyfriend's arms/cocoon at Bucks. Free screening of Harlan County USA Feb.
So Nice, So Spice
At the risk of losing respect and friendship, I would like to turn your attention to a movie that I thoroughly enjoyed watching: Spice World, or as some call it, "that stupid Spice Girls marketing device." Those negative Nancies do have a point.
Jumping Away From Jumper
20th Century Fox's latest action flick Jumper might possibly be the most ill-conceived movie I have seen in some time.
So Bad It's Good. But Not 2 Good.
If you're reading this, you probably already know that Step Up 2 the Streets is a really bad movie. You know this because everyone knows this; it's like knowing that Barack Obama is running for president or that right now, wherever she may be, Amy Winehouse is smashed (or wishes she were). This is Step Up 2 the Streets.
COMEDY TOUR: suprisingly... Wild
Director Ari Sandel wants you to cry. Whether you cry from laughing so hard that your abs feel like they've just been through Billy Blanks' Tae-Bo Boot Camp, or you're crying from the raw emotive power of each of the comedians' stories, there's no question that you'll find a little glisten on your cheeks after watching this film. Vince Vaughn's comedy tour took four amateur comedians and three professional ones on the road for a month in 2005 across the U.S.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Imagine that you're a film editor and a German director walks into your office and pitches this idea: "We're going to go into the middle of the Amazon, find a giant mountain straddling two rivers, blow it up and move a large boat across." Seriously. In Werner Herzog's 1982 film, Fitzcarraldo, one can watch roughly 1000 Amazon tribesmen move an actual steamboat over a mountain, a feat accomplished with no special effects.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT. Cinema's forgotten masterpieces: Landscape in the Mist (1988)
As Americans, we fancy ourselves as having monopolized postmodernist existential angst. But Theo Angelopoulos's 1988 masterpiece Landscape in the Mist plaintively reminds us that we are not alone in our search for meaning in a bleak universe.
Soviet-Style Abortion
I'll be honest: even though we put Juno on our Best Movies of 2007 list, I don't think it deserves half of the hype it's garnered.
SO DAMAGED
Neil McCormick and Brian Lackey of Mysterious Skin: Neil, a soulless teenage hustler + Brian, an introverted and coddled 18-year-old + alien abductions + repressed dark memories = a raw, graphic and seriously depressing and disturbing film with intense performances by its lead actors Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Brick) and Brady Corbet (Thirteen). Dawn Wiener of Welcome to the Dollhouse: Dawn, an unattractive, awkward and certified 7th grade loser + an adorable little sister + absent-minded parents + unrequited love for a cool guitar player + the "Special People Club" = a quotable, coming of age, dark comedy that makes you cower at the thought of middle school. Duncan Mudge of The Mudge Boy: Duncan, a quiet, sheltered farm boy + his unusual desire to mimic his dead mother + an unlikely friendship with a tough, neighborhood boy + a question of sexuality = a poignant film featuring a stunning performance by Emile Hirsch in the title role.
Web Video of the Week
Sometimes we wonder what our high school friends have been doing with their lives. Recently, I checked up on two pals of mine, Brian McElhaney and Nick Kocher, who were notorious comedians within our Atlantan community.
