Kevin Koplan
ARTICLES
Film
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.
Film
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.
Film
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.
Film
The Sundance Rundown
This Sunday marked the conclusion of the Sundance Film Festival, the biggest event of the year for American independent film.
Film
Best and Worst Movies of 2007
The best
La Vie en Rose
Persepolis
4 Months, 3 weeks, 2 Days
Lars and the Real Girl
Once
No Country for Old Men
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
There Will Be Blood
I'm Not There
Juno
Control
Charlie Wilson's War
Lust, Caution
the worst
Norbit
Hostel II
Who's Your Caddy
The Simpsons Movie
I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
Mr. Woodcock
I Know Who Killed Me
Good Luck Chuck
Revolver
Wild Hogs
The Number 23
Film
Blackballed
My good friend Joseph McCarthy was the greatest American ever to live. He fought to rid America of the godless Communists committed to the destruction of our way of life.
Film
Shelter from the Norm
With I'm Not There, Todd Haynes has made a truly innovative movie. Though it tells the story of Bob Dylan's life, it is in no way a typical biopic.
Film
Take Four: Prepare for Battle
War and Peace
Although almost unknown to American audiences, this Soviet adaptation of the epic novel was the most expensive movie ever made ($500 million when adjusted for inflation). The Battle of Borodino scene shows over 120,000 extras from the Soviet Army on screen.
Film
Drop dead, Fred
Fred Claus tries to tell an updated version of the Santa Claus story by bringing in Santa's relatives and adding some modern flourishes, but it ends up being a formulaic cash-in on the holidays that only those under the age of six will enjoy.
In order to drive home an anti-corporate message, the film has Santa answering to a board of businessmen (the script never explains why Santa has to answer to a board) and an efficiency expert (Spacey), who wants to shut down the North Pole and outsource to the South Pole.
Film
Bee-ing Jerry
Is there a particular message people will get out of this?
There is a message that I tried to install in there, but I don't think people are getting it.
Film
'Bourne' scribe takes Ritalin
This movie marks the directorial debut for Gilroy, who wrote the screenplays for the Bourne trilogy.
Film
Trailer Park
White Collar:
Persepolis: Highly stylized animation set to an off-beat rendition of "Eye of the Tiger" makes for an extremely entertaining trailer, even though the English trailer isn't out yet.
Film
Meet the Osbornes
In this dark comedy, Finn Earl (Anton Yelchin), a teenager from New York City, is planning to have the summer of a lifetime studying the Iskanani tribe in the Amazon with his anthropologist father.
Film
La Vie en Rose
Director Olivier Dahan's new film La Vie en Rose had its Philadelphia premiere last Thursday night at the Philadelphia Film Festival and it received a standing ovation.
Film
molto bello
The Italian, one of the best movies so far this year, follows Vanya (Kolya Spiridonov), a young boy in an orphanage in rural Russia.
Film
Molto Bello
The Italian, one of the best movies so far this year, follows Vanya (Kolya Spiridonov), a young boy in an orphanage in rural Russia.
Film
Throw it Back
Catch and Release is no work of art, and the filmmakers know it. In one scene, a character flat out remarks that mainstream flicks today provide more gimmicks and cheap thrills than commercials.
Film
'Babel'-ing on with Alejandro
At the 2006 Cannes Film Festival, Mexican director Alejandro Gonz
Film
Towering achievement
Following in the wake of Syriana and The Constant Gardener, Babel is a thought-provoking film examining a multitude of characters and locales.
Set in Morocco, Japan, San Diego and Mexico, the movie cuts among four interconnected tales.
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