Film & TV
Light up a 'Match Point'
Woody Allen's new film, Match Point, is a departure from his recent string of less-than-stellar comedies.
Scary new world
The scenery in The New World is very pretty. The trees are pretty, the water is pretty, the sun is pretty.
That guy
David Koechner is one of those actors who is perfectly content playing "policeman number two." Though he's not usually on the screen for more than a couple of minutes, he manages to garner up a small, but well-deserved laugh.
Scarlett fever
Match Point was a departure from The Island -- I thought you were going to go action on us.
By your powers combined, I am Captain Communism!
Salt of the Earth has the distinction of being the only film blacklisted by the United States government.
Better red than dead
A bold cinematic statement of rebellion, Warren Beatty's 1981 Hollywood masterpiece Reds challenges mainstream political thought on every level.
Ruthless Dictator Turned Director
The People's Republic of Street Film recently sat down for a conference call with the man, the myth and the legend, Fidel Castro, to talk about werewolves, dominos and his upcoming musical production Springtime for Castro. The following interview was edited for maximum happiness, equality and pro-state sentiment. People's Republic of Street Film: Fidel, comrade, bubelah, what can we look forward to from the state-run media in the upcoming holiday season? Cuban President Fidel Castro: Well, comrade, I have some exciting new projects coming up from the Ministry of Propaganda.
Criminal injustice
Documentarian Jessica Sanders' film After Innocence follows the lives of nine wrongfully convicted prisoners who, after years of false imprisonment, are released with the help of newly introduced DNA evidence.
Justice, 50 years later
In August 1955, a 14-year-old African American named Emmett Louis Till left Chicago to visit relatives in Money, Mississippi; during his stay he was killed for whistling at a white woman and became a catalyst for the American Civil Rights Movement.
George clooney never saw an egg mcmuffin he didn't like
Good Night, and Good Luck director George Clooney produces and stars in the hot new political thriller Syriana, about the ins and outs of the global oil business.
Go for the gold
Transamerica: Felicity Huffman plays a transsexual who discovers she has a son from when she was still a man.
Walk this way
Coming on the heels of recent Hollywood biopics such as Ray and The Aviator comes Walk the Line, the heartwarming story of the man, not the legend, that is Johnny Cash.
Peter Boyle, renaissance man
I just wanted to keep working," says Everybody Loves Raymond star Peter Boyle about his long and successful acting career.
Sink or schwimm
This past week Street Film sat down with David Schwimmer at Philadelphia's Sofitel to discuss his college days, life after Friends and his role in the recently released Duane Hopwood. Schwimmer plays the title character in this comedy-drama, an alcoholic father whose life is unraveling before his eyes. How are you going about choosing roles in terms of differentiating yourself from the Ross character? I don't consciously look for roles that will differentiate me from Ross as much as I look at roles that will challenge me as an actor, and those are more likely roles that are different from that character.
HOLY CRAP, HARRY POTTER 4!!!!!
It is very difficult to cram 734 pages into a film, even one which is two-and-a-half hours long. However, this is what director Mike Newell (Mona Lisa Smile) has successfully accomplished with the fourth installment of the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. While fanatic fans of the book will be able to pick out what is missing (no house elves), Newell does an excellent job of cutting out the sub-plots to create a clear, concise storyline that follows the main plot of the book. Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) is a young wizard who is back for his fourth year at Hogwart's School of Wizardry and Witchcraft, where the historic Tri-Wizard Tournament is going to be taking place.
Lost in space, in a good way
Zathura, which promotes itself as "a new adventure from the world of Jumanji," involves a pair of siblings left alone at home who find and play a forgotten board game which gives them a lot more than they bargained for.
Pride (in the name of beating a dead horse)
Pride & Prejudice features some fine performances, lovely scenery and costumes and a serviceable script, but ultimately begs the question: why make another version of this beloved Jane Austen novel, especially after the wonderful 1995 BBC production starring Colin Firth? Well, one answer is that Keira Knightley, playing Miss Elizabeth Bennet, looks ravishing in period dress.
Clop clop bang bang - like an amish drive-by
Street Film recently spoke with Robert Downey Jr. and Val Kilmer, stars of the upcoming comedy-thriller Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, about drugs, gay detectives, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Street Film: Robert, do you ever feel as though you've been pigeonholed by American critics and robbed of the recognition you deserve because of your highly publicized struggle with drug addiction? Robert Downey Jr.: I was robbed-- Val Kilmer: I'll answer that on behalf of Robert.
Half dollar, whole story
Rapper Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson, who has had success with his albums Get Rich or Die Tryin' and The Massacre, recently talked with Street about prosthetics, Shakespeare and his upcoming autobiographical film. Street Film: Was it a big transition going from making music videos to making movies? 50 Cent: Absolutely.
