Showing posts with label Noah Baumbach. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Noah Baumbach. Show all posts

Saturday, September 2, 2023

"Barbie" Heads to IMAX Screens for Special Event Sept 22nd

 

Think Pink! Tickets Go On Sale Today for “Barbie” as the Year’s #1 Film Heads to IMAX® for 7 Days Only

Audiences who get tickets for the limited engagement beginning September 22 will also see a special address from history-making director Greta Gerwig, along with all-new footage selected just for the IMAX experience

BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Tickets are on sale now for the limited one-week run of “Barbie” in IMAX®, beginning September 22, 2023 on IMAX screens across North America and in select international markets. The announcement was made today by Jeff Goldstein, President of Domestic Distribution, and Andrew Cripps, President of International Distribution, Warner Bros. Pictures.

As a special treat for IMAX audiences only, a special greeting from director Greta Gerwig will play before the film, and exclusive post-credit footage, selected by Gerwig, will follow. The announcement was made today by Jeff Goldstein, President of Domestic Distribution, and Andrew Cripps, President of International Distribution, Warner Bros. Pictures.

Goldstein and Cripps said, “We really wanted to super-serve all the fans out there who made this the Summer of ‘Barbie’ in every way imaginable, and we couldn’t think of a better way than to serve up the biggest film of 2023 and the biggest Warner Bros. film of all time on the biggest, most experiential screens around. Thanks to our terrific partners at IMAX and our incredible director, Greta Gerwig, we went a step further and are offering audiences an added incentive with this special post-credits footage. We encourage moviegoers everywhere, whether they’ve seen ‘Barbie’ or not, to see it in IMAX for a can’t-miss moment in film history.”

To live in Barbie Land is to be a perfect being in a perfect place. Unless you have a full-on existential crisis. Or you’re a Ken.

From Oscar-nominated writer/director Greta Gerwig (“Little Women,” “Lady Bird”) comes “Barbie,” starring Oscar nominees Margot Robbie (“Bombshell,” “I, Tonya”) and Ryan Gosling (“La La Land,” “Half Nelson”) as Barbie and Ken, alongside America Ferrera (“End of Watch,” the “How to Train Your Dragon” films), Kate McKinnon (“Bombshell,” “Yesterday”), Issa Rae (“The Photograph,” HBO’s “Insecure”), Rhea Perlman (“I’ll See You in My Dreams,” “Matilda”), and Will Ferrell (the “Anchorman” films, “Talladega Nights”). The film also stars Michael Cera (“Scott Pilgrim vs. the World,” “Juno”), Ariana Greenblatt (“Avengers: Infinity War,” “65”), Ana Cruz Kayne (“Little Women”), Emma Mackey (“Emily,” “Sex Education”), Hari Nef (“Assassination Nation,” “Transparent”), Alexandra Shipp (the “X-Men” films), Kingsley Ben-Adir (“One Night in Miami,” “Peaky Blinders”), Simu Liu (“Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings”), Ncuti Gatwa (“Sex Education”), Scott Evans (“Grace and Frankie”), Jamie Demetriou (“Cruella”), Connor Swindells (“Sex Education,” “Emma.”), Sharon Rooney (“Dumbo,” “Jerk”), Nicola Coughlan (“Bridgerton,” “Derry Girls”), Ritu Arya (“The Umbrella Academy”), Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter Dua Lipa and Oscar-winner Helen Mirren (“The Queen”).

Gerwig directed “Barbie” from a screenplay by Gerwig & Oscar nominee Noah Baumbach (“Marriage Story,” “The Squid and the Whale”), based on Barbie by Mattel. The film’s producers are Oscar nominees David Heyman (“Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood,” “Marriage Story,” “Gravity”), Margot Robbie (“Birds of Prey,” “Promising Young Woman,” “I, Tonya”), Tom Ackerley (“Promising Young Woman,” “I, Tonya”) and Robbie Brenner (“Dallas Buyers Club”), with Gerwig, Baumbach, Ynon Kreiz, Richard Dickson, Michael Sharp, Josey McNamara, Courtenay Valenti, Toby Emmerich and Cate Adams serving as executive producers.

Gerwig’s creative team behind the camera included Oscar-nominated director of photography Rodrigo Prieto (“The Irishman,” “Silence,” “Brokeback Mountain”), Oscar-nominated production designer Sarah Greenwood (“Beauty and the Beast,” “Anna Karenina”), Oscar-winning costume designer Jacqueline Durran (“Little Women,” “Anna Karenina”), editor Nick Houy (“Little Women,” “Lady Bird”), visual effects supervisor Glen Pratt (“Paddington 2,” “Beauty and the Beast”) and music supervisor George Drakoulias (“White Noise,” “Marriage Story”), with a score by Oscar winners Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt (“A Star Is Born”), who also contributed to numerous songs on the film’s soundtrack. The soundtrack includes an impressive roster of today’s hottest music artists, including Lizzo, Dua Lipa, Nicki Minaj & Ice Spice with Aqua, Charli XCX, KAROL G feat. Aldo Ranks, Tame Impala, Dominic Fike, HAIM, The Kid LAROI, Khalid, PinkPantheress, GAYLE, Ava Max, FIFTY FIFTY and more.

Warner Bros. Pictures Presents a Heyday Films Production, a LuckyChap Entertainment Production, an NB/GG Pictures Production, a Mattel Production, “Barbie.” The film is distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures.

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Saturday, December 7, 2019

Negromancer News Bits and Bites from December 1st to 7th, 2019 - Update #27

Support Leroy on Patreon:

AWARDS - From IndieWire:  The National Board of Review has announced its 2019 film awards and name Martin Scorsese's "The Irishman" as its "Best Film of 2019."

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DISNEY - From THR:  Disney is developing its first spinoff from its hit, live-action film, "Aladdin."  The Disney+ project would focus on "Prince Anders," the dim-witted royal who wanted to marry Jasmine.  Actor Billy Magnussen, who played the role in the film, would return for the spinoff.

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TELEVISION - From THR:  HBO has picked up Adam McKay's drama about the 1980s Los Angeles Lakers of the professional basketball league, the National Basketball Association (NBA).  McKay is executive producing the series that would focus on the "Showtime" era of the Lakers, led by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson.

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MOVIES - From Deadline:  Jason Reitman's "Ghostbusters" film now has a title, "Ghostbusters: Afterlife."  There is also a first poster for the film, which is scheduled for a July 10, 2020 release.  There may also be a first trailer of some sort released Mon. Dec. 9th.

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POLITICS - From TheHill:  Oscar-nominated actor, Mark Ruffalo, endorses Senator Bernie Sanders in the 2020 U.S. presidential race.

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BLM - From YahooNews:  Georgia college student, Tommia Dean, and a representative of Georgia's Department of Administrative Services have signed a settlement that gives Dean $145,000.  Dean, a former Kennesaw State University cheerleader, was disciplined for taking a knee during the national anthem during a September 2017 football game.

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STAR WARS - From YahooGMA:  "Star Wars" actress Daisy Ridley says that she does not take selfies with fans for reasons of privacy.

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CELEBRITY - From TheDailyBeast:   The Egyptian-born, Canadian actor, Mena Massoud, played "Aladdin," in Disney's billion-dollar-grossing live-action remake, "Aladdin."  Massoud says that he has not been able to get an audition since Aladdin debuted in theaters.

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JAMES BOND-TRAILER - From THR:  The first official trailer for the next James Bond movie, "No Time to Die," makes it debut.

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MOVIES - From THR:   20th Century Fox has reportedly hired Wes Ball, the filmmaker behind "The Maze Runner" series, to redevelop the "Planet of the Apes" franchise.  This would be the first historically Fox property to get the redevelopment treatment since the Walt Disney Company acquired Fox.

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AWARDS - From Variety:  The New York Film Critics Circle name "The Irishman" the "best film of 2019."

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SPORTS - From NBA:  Los Angeles Lakers Coach Frank Vogel has been named the "NBA Western Conference Coach of the Month" for game played in October and November 2019.

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JAMES BOND - From Newsarama:  There are new character posters for the next James Bond film, "No Time to Die."  The film is due April 8, 2020.

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COMICS-FILM TRAILER - From EW:  Marvel Studios releases the first official teaser trailer and a poster for its next feature film, "Black Widow," which is set for release, May 1, 2020.

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AWARDS - From Deadline:  The winners of the 2019 IFP "Gotham Awards" were announced last night (Mon., Dec. 2nd).  Noah Baumbach's "Marriage Story" won four awards including for "best feature," "best actor" (Adam Driver), and "best screenplay."

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MOVIES - From Deadline:  Two-time Oscar-winner Alexander Payne is attached to a "re-imagining" of the Oscar-winning Danish film, "Babette's Feast" (1987).

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SCANDAL - From Deadline:  The actor's union, SAG-AFTRA, has gotten involved in Gabrielle Union's firing from the reality competition TV series, "America's Got Talent" (NBC)," by launching their on probe.

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AWARDS - From Deadline:  The nominations for the 47th / 2020 Annie Awards have been announced.  The Annies are considered the most important honor in the animation film industry... after the Academy Awards, which currently dedicates two Oscars to animated filmmaking.

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BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficeMojo:  The winner of the 11/29 to 12/1/2019 weekend box office is "Frozen 2" with an estimated take of 85.2 million dollars.

From Variety:  "Frozen 2" grossed 123.7 million dollars over the five-day Thanksgiving 2019 weekend.  That is a record for that frame, besting previous record holder, "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire" (2013), which made 109 million dollars over the five-day period.

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MOVIES - From IndependentUK:  2019 seems to be the year directors and stars of film bombs and flops have been apologizing in public for them.  Why?  The article offers a reason.

From TorontoSun:  The "Toronto Sun" suggests 10 films to see this month, in December 2019.

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AVATAR - From Deadline:  The "Avatar" sequel marks the end of filming for 2019 with a set photo.

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ECO - From Deadline:  Leonardo DiCaprio responds to the ridiculous claims from Jair Bolsonaro, president of Brazil, that the Oscar-winning actor is bankrolling the fires currently raging through the Amazon rain forest.

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OBITS:

From Deadline:  Veteran TV and film executive and producer, Leonard Goldberg, has died at the age of 85, Wednesday, December 4, 2019.  He was the former president of 20th Century Fox and Head of Programming at ABC.  Goldberg was an executive producer of such TV series as "Charlie’s Angels" (1976-1981) and "Blue Bloods" (2010 to present).


From Deadline:  The actor, Robert Walker, Jr., has died at the age of 79, Thursday, December 5, 2019.  He was the son of Hollywood stars, Robert Walker (best known for Hitchcock's "Strangers on a Train") and Jennifer Jones (who won an Oscar for her performance in "The Song of Bernadette").  Although he made numerous film and TV appearances, Walker is best known for appearing in the "Charlie X," the second episode of the first season of the original "Star Trek" TV series.

From THR:  Television writer Dorothy Catherine Fontana, better known as D.C. Fontana, has died at the age of 80, Monday, December 2, 2019.   Once a secretary, Fontana moved into writing scripts for television in the 1960s.  She is best known for her association with the original "Star Trek" TV series, being credited for writing or co-writing 10 episodes and working as the series "story editor" for the first two seasons.

From Deadline:  Actress Shelley Morrison has died at the age of 83, Sunday, December 1, 2019.  She had a 50-year career in film and television, but Morrison was best known for playing fan-favorite character, "Rosario Salazar," on the NBC television series, "Will & Grace" (1999-2006).

From BBC:  The African-American songwriter and musician, Irving Louis Burgie - better known as Lord Burgess - has died at the age of 95, Friday, November 29, 2019.  Burgess is best known for co-writing a version of the Jamaican folk song, "Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)," that Harry Belafonte made famous.  He also wrote eight of the 11 songs on Belafonte's 1956 album, Calypso, which was the first album to sell one million copies.


Monday, November 23, 2015

2015 Gotham Award Nominations Announced; Winners Announced Nov. 30th

Honoring independent films, the Gotham Awards are the first major awards of the film awards season.  The Gotham Awards are presented by the Independent Filmmaker Project (IFP), an organization which helps independent filmmakers by connected artists with resources at all stages of film development and distribution.

This year, the 2015 Gotham Awards kicks off the 2015-16 season.  The Gotham Awards ceremony will be held on Monday, November 30, 2015 at Cipriani Wall Street.  For information on attending: http://gotham.ifp.org

The 2015 IFP Gotham Independent Film Award nominations:

Best Feature

Carol
Todd Haynes, director; Elizabeth Karlsen, Christine Vachon, Stephen Woolley, producers (The Weinstein Company)

The Diary of a Teenage Girl
Marielle Heller, director; Anne Carey, Bert Hamelinck, Madeline Samit, Miranda Bailey, producers (Sony Pictures Classics)

Heaven Knows What
Josh and Benny Safdie, directors; Oscar Boyson, Sebastian Bear-McClard, producers (RADiUS)

Spotlight
Tom McCarthy, director; Michael Sugar, Steve Golin, Nicole Rocklin, Blye Pagan Faust, producers (Open Road Films)

Tangerine
Sean Baker, director; Darren Dean, Shih-Ching Tsou, Marcus Cox & Karrie Cox, producers (Magnolia Pictures)

Best Documentary

Approaching the Elephant
Amanda Rose Wilder, director; Jay Craven, Robert Greene, Amanda Rose Wilder, producers (Kingdom County Productions)

Cartel Land
Matthew Heineman, director; Matthew Heineman, Tom Yellin, producers (The Orchard and A&E IndieFilms)

Heart of a Dog
Laurie Anderson, director; Dan Janvey, Laurie Anderson, producers (Abramorama and HBO Documentary Films)

Listen to Me Marlon
Stevan Riley, director; John Battsek, RJ Cutler, George Chignell, producers (Showtime Documentary Films)

The Look of Silence
Joshua Oppenheimer, director; Signe Byrge Sørensen, producer (Drafthouse Films)

Bingham Ray Breakthrough Director Award
Desiree Akhavan for Appropriate Behavior (Gravitas Ventures)
Jonas Carpignano for Mediterranea (Sundance Selects)
Marielle Heller for The Diary of a Teenage Girl (Sony Pictures Classics)
John Magary for The Mend (Cinelicious Pics)
Josh Mond for James White (The Film Arcade)

Best Screenplay
Carol, Phyllis Nagy (The Weinstein Company)
The Diary of a Teenage Girl, Marielle Heller (Sony Pictures Classics)
Love & Mercy, Oren Moverman and Michael Alan Lerner (Roadside Attractions, Lionsgate, and River Road Entertainment)
Spotlight, Tom McCarthy and Josh Singer (Open Road Films)
While We’re Young, Noah Baumbach (A24)

Best Actor*
Christopher Abbott in James White (The Film Arcade)
Kevin Corrigan in Results (Magnolia Pictures)
Paul Dano in Love & Mercy (Roadside Attractions, Lionsgate, and River Road Entertainment)
Peter Sarsgaard in Experimenter (Magnolia Pictures)
Michael Shannon in 99 Homes (Broad Green Pictures)

Best Actress*
Cate Blanchett in Carol (The Weinstein Company)
Blythe Danner in I’ll See You in My Dreams (Bleecker Street)
Brie Larson in Room (A24 Films)
Bel Powley in The Diary of a Teenage Girl (Sony Pictures Classics)
Lily Tomlin in Grandma (Sony Pictures Classics)
Kristen Wiig in Welcome to Me (Alchemy)

Breakthrough Actor
Rory Culkin in Gabriel (Oscilloscope Laboratories)
Arielle Holmes in Heaven Knows What (RADiUS)
Lola Kirke in Mistress America (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
Kitana Kiki Rodriguez in Tangerine (Magnolia Pictures)
Mya Taylor in Tangerine (Magnolia Pictures)


* The 2015 Best Actor/Best Actress nominating panel also voted to award a special “Gotham Jury Award” jointly to Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Liev Schreiber, John Slattery, Stanley Tucci, and Brian d’Arcy James for their ensemble work in Spotlight. (Open Road Films).

Spotlight on Women Directors ‘Live the Dream’ Grant

For the sixth consecutive year, IFP is proud present the euphoria Calvin Klein Spotlight on Women Directors ‘Live the Dream’ grant, a $25,000 cash award for an alumna of IFP’s Independent Filmmaker Labs or IFP’s Screen Forward Lab. In 2015, Screen Forward Lab directors have been included in this opportunity for the first time. This grant aims to further the careers of emerging women directors by supporting the completion, distribution and audience engagement strategies of their first feature film or episodic series. The nominees are:

Claire Carré, director, Embers
Deb Shoval, director, AWOL
Chanelle Aponte Pearson, director, 195 Lewis
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Gotham Independent Film Audience Award

IFP members will determine the 7th Annual Gotham Independent Film Audience Award with nominees comprised of the 14 nominated films in the Best Feature, Best Documentary, and Bingham Ray Breakthrough Director Award categories. All IFP current, active members at the Individual Level and above will be eligible to vote.  Voting will take place online from November 18th at 12:01 AM EST and conclude on November 25th at 5:00 PM EST. In addition, IFP will be scheduling screenings of the nominated films for IFP members in the theater at the Made in NY Media Center by IFP in Brooklyn. These screenings will take place from November 4-11. The winner of the Audience Award will be announced at the Gotham Awards Ceremony on November 30, 2015.

Gotham Appreciation Award

A Gothams Appreciation Award will be given to Ellen Cotter for her contribution to theatrical distribution, including leadership of the Angelika Film Centers.

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Monday, October 22, 2012

Review: "Madagascar 3" is DreamWorks Animation's Best to Date

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 79 (of 2012) by Leroy Douresseaux

Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted (2012)
Running time: 93 minutes (1 hour, 43 minutes)
MPAA – PG for mild crude humor
DIRECTORS: Eric Darnell, Tom McGrath, and Conrad Vernon
WRITERS: Eric Darnell and Noah Baumbach
PRODUCERS: Mireille Soria and Mark Swift
EDITOR: Nick Fletcher
COMPOSER: Hans Zimmer

ANIMATION/COMEDY/FANTASY/ACTION/FAMILY

Starring: (voices) Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, Jada Pinkett Smith, Sacha Baron Cohen, Cedric the Entertainer, Andy Richter, Tom McGrath, Frances McDormand, Jessica Chastain, Bryan Cranston, Martin Short, Chris Miller, Christopher Knights, John DiMaggio, Paz Vega, Frank Welker and Vinnie Jones

The subject of this movie review is Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted, a 2012 3D computer-animated film from DreamWorks Animation. It is the third movie in the Madagascar film series, following Madagascar (2005) and Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (2008). Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted finds Alex, Marty, Gloria and Melman on the run in Europe and hiding with a traveling circus, which needs their help.

Alex the Lion (Ben Stiller) was the king of New York City’s Central Park Zoo. A series of bizarre incidents found Alex and his friends: Marty the Zebra (Chris Rock), Melman the Giraffe (David Schwimmer), and Gloria the Hippo (Jada Pinkett Smith), as well as four crafty Penguins: Skipper (Tom McGrath), Kowalski (Chris Miller), Private (Christopher Knights), and Rico (John DiMaggio), stranded on the exotic island of Madagascar. They make new friends, the Madagascar lemurs: King Julien (Sacha Baron Cohen), Maurice (Cedric the Entertainer), and Mort (Andy Richter).

Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted finds Alex, Marty, Gloria and Melman headed to Monaco, Monte Carlo in search of the penguins and their two chimpanzee companions, Mason and Phil. What they find is trouble in the form of Captain Chantal DuBois (Frances McDormand) of Monaco Animal Control. On the run from DuBois and her cohorts, Alex and company find a safe haven with Zaragoza Circus. The circus, which has seen better days, needs some help, but its animal denizens are suspicious of the newcomers. Alex sets out to reinvent the circus, a miracle that just may get him and his friends home – finally!

Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted is the best film in the Madagascar franchise. I’d planned on seeing it in a theatre, but I wasn’t really that enthused about it. I rented Madagascar 3 on DVD, and gave the copy to my mother. After watching it, she wanted to know if she could keep the disc to watch it a second time. She rarely watches films a second time, so I knew something was up. After watching the first few minutes of the film, I knew that it was going to be good. By the time the action explodes in the Hotel De Paris sequence, I knew that this movie was going to be something special, and it is. Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted is the best film DreamWorks Animation has produced to date – even better than the exceptional Kung Fu Panda movies. What’s the difference between Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted and the earlier Madagascar films and most other DreamWorks’ cartoons? The difference is the writing/storytelling.

I’ve come across commentary that describes DreamWorks as the tech guys of computer animation and Pixar Animation Studios as the art of storytelling guys. There is some truth to that. DreamWorks is producing computer-animated films in which the quality of the animation in terms of movement of characters and objects is improving by sky-high leaps and bounds. The stories in Pixar’s films have heart and the characters almost seem like real people, as seen in the Toy Story films, Wall-E, and Up. These films captivate adults as much as they capture the imagination of children.

Europe’s Most Wanted has heart. The earlier Madagascar films relied on the personality quirks and the motivation and conflicts of the characters, but the plots and action weren’t as interesting or as funny as the characters. In fact, whenever the characters fell flat in the first two films, the plots could not rise to the level where the characters had been. The first film was interesting, and the second was not quite as good, but had its moments.

Europe’s Most Wanted has one great moment after another; the narrative is entrancing, and the action is exhilarating. This allows the characters, main and supporting, to shine, as excellent performers usually do when they have top-notch material. Of course, the animation is great, some of the best ever; it’s DreamWorks Animation, after all.

This movie also adds three fine new characters: Gia the Italian jaguar (Jessica Chastain), Vitaly the Russian tiger (Bryan Cranston), and Stefano the Italian sea lion (Martin Short). All three of the actors playing these characters give superb voice-acting performances. They help make Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted better than the earlier films – a lavish spectacle of animation brilliance. This story about the meaning of home and friendship is one of the great animated films in recent memory. I want to watch it again.

9 of 10
A+

Sunday, October 21, 2012

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Friday, December 31, 2010

"Black Swan," "The Social Network" Lead Online Film Critics Nominations

The Online Film Critics Society describes itself as "the largest, most respected organization for critics whose work appears primarily on the Internet."  The group recently announced its nominations for the best films of 2010.  OFCS members will submit their final votes and winners will be announced Monday, January 3, 2010.

Nominees for the 2010 OFCS Awards:

Best Picture
Black Swan
Inception
The Social Network
Toy Story 3
True Grit
Winter's Bone

Best Director
Darren Aronofsky, Black Swan
Danny Boyle, 127 Hours
Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, True Grit
David Fincher, The Social Network
Christopher Nolan, Inception

Best Lead Actor
Jeff Bridges, True Grit
Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Network
Colin Firth, The King's Speech
James Franco, 127 Hours
Ryan Gosling, Blue Valentine
Edgar Ramírez, Carlos

Best Lead Actress
Annette Bening, The Kids Are All Right
Kim Hye-ja, Mother
Nicole Kidman, Rabbit Hole
Jennifer Lawrence, Winter's Bone
Natalie Portman, Black Swan

Best Supporting Actor
Christian Bale, The Fighter
Andrew Garfield, The Social Network
John Hawkes, Winter's Bone
Mark Ruffalo, The Kids are All Right
Geoffrey Rush, The King's Speech

Best Supporting Actress
Amy Adams, The Fighter
Mila Kunis, Black Swan
Melissa Leo, The Fighter
Hailee Steinfeld, True Grit
Jacki Weaver, Animal Kingdom

Best Original Screenplay
Mark Heyman, Andres Heinz & John McLaughlin, Black Swan
Noah Baumbach, Greenberg
Christopher Nolan, Inception
Lisa Cholodenko & Stuart Blumberg, The Kids Are All Right
David Seidler, The King's Speech

Best Adapted Screenplay
Danny Boyle & Simon Beaufoy, 127 Hours
Michael Bacall & Edgar Wright, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
Aaron Sorkin, The Social Network
Joel Coen & Ethan Coen, True Grit
Debra Granik & Anne Rosellini, Winter's Bone

Best Cinematography
Anthony Dod Mantle & Enrique Chediak, 127 Hours
Matthew Libatique, Black Swan
Wally Pfister, Inception
Robert Richardson, Shutter Island
Roger Deakins, True Grit

Best Editing
Jon Harris, 127 Hours
Andrew Weisblum, Black Swan
Lee Smith, Inception
Jonathan Amos & Paul Machliss, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
Kirk Baxter & Angus Wall, The Social Network

Best Animated Feature
Despicable Me
How to Train Your Dragon
The Illusionist
Tangled
Toy Story 3

Best Film Not in the English Language
Carlos
Dogtooth
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
Mother
A Prophet

Best Documentary
Catfish
Exit Through the Gift Shop
Inside Job
Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work
Restrepo
Waiting for "Superman"

http://www.ofcs.org/

Friday, December 17, 2010

Review: "Greenberg" is an Excellent Character Study

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 103 (of 2010) by Leroy Douresseaux

Greenberg (2010)
Running time: 107 minutes (1 hour, 47 minutes)
MPAA – R for some strong sexuality, drug use, and language
DIRECTOR: Noah Baumbach
WRITERS: Noah Baumbach; from a story by Jennifer Jason Leigh and Noah Baumbach
PRODUCERS: Jennifer Jason Leigh and Scott Rudin
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Harris Savides (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Tim Streeto

DRAMA

Starring: Ben Stiller, Greta Gerwig, Rhys Ifans, and Jennifer Jason Leigh

Greenberg is the most recent film from filmmaker Noah Baumbach, the writer/director of the Oscar-nominated films, The Squid and the Whale and Margot at the Wedding. Greenberg focuses on a New Yorker returning to Los Angeles, the place where he grew up, to figure out some things.

Fresh out of a mental institution, 40-year-old Roger Greenberg (Ben Stiller) travels to L.A. to housesit for his brother, 15 years after he left the city. At a crossroads in his life, Roger, a carpenter, hopes to fix his wreck of life, while he fixes some things around his brother’s house. Roger meets his brother’s personal assistant, Florence Marr (Greta Gerwig), a sweet and considerate, but naïve 20-something. Roger needs Florence because he doesn’t drive, and the two begin an awkward relationship. Roger, however, has a quick temper, over-analyzes everything, and does not have a sense of humor when it comes to himself. Can Roger really fix himself?

Greenberg seems more like an extended chapter in a longer story than it does a self-contained film narrative. I have to give Baumbach credit for presenting a character like Greenberg who seems broken beyond repair and who is also funny, but mostly unlikable. I give him even more credit for writing a script and creating a visual narrative that makes Roger Greenberg so interesting and then dares to tackle his complicated ways.

Ben Stiller seems to shape his performance as Greenberg in a way to make readers always want to know more about the character, including his past and even his future. Stiller really sells the idea that Greenberg is broken and in need of repair. Greta Gerwig and Rhys Ifans are also quite good, creating engaging characters whose own stories matter well beyond their connections to the lead, Greenberg.

Like Baumbach’s other films, Greenberg is inimitably human, balancing the fragile with the sturdy and the mundane with the humorous. Baumbach and Stiller give us a wild adventure into the personality and connectivity turmoil of a complicated, complex character. The only problem is that sometimes, writer/director and lead actor hide too much of Greenberg’s nature and thoughts behind a wall of eccentric behavior and petulance. Still, such an all-too-human character in the cinematic world of vapid characters is welcomed.

7 of 10
B+

Friday, December 17, 2010

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Review: "The Squid and the Whale" Finds Comedy in Pain


TRASH IN MY EYE No. 90 (of 2006) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Squid and the Whale (2005)
Running time: 81 minutes (1 hour, 21 minutes)
MPAA – R for strong sexual content, graphic dialogue, and language
WRITER/DIRECTOR: Noah Baumbach
PRODUCERS: Wes Anderson, Charlie Corwin, Clara Markowicz, and Peter Newman
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Robert D. Yeoman
EDITOR: Tim Streeto
Academy Award nominee

DRAMA/COMEDY

Starring: Jeff Daniels, Jesse Eisenberg, Laura Linney, Owen Kline, William Baldwin, Anna Paquin and Halley Feiffer

16-year old Walt Berkman (Jesse Eisenberg) and his 12-year old brother, Frank (Owen Kline), find themselves caught in the middle of their parents’ separation. Their dad, Bernard (Jeff Daniels), is a Brooklyn professor and writer who seems well past his prime as an author. Their mother, Joan (Laura Linney), is a writer with a burgeoning career. In fact, Joan is on the brink of stardom as she has a book deal, and The New Yorker is publishing an excerpt from her novel.

With their lives headed in different directions, Bernard and Joan are acrimonious about the past, present, and future of their relationship. As soon as their parents announce their separation to them, Walt and Frank’s steady foundation crumbles, and not only are the boys relegated to alternating days and a jumbled calendar when it comes to visitation, but their confusion and conflicted feelings also began to manifest in odd and troubling behavior. Walt passes off a song from a famous band as his own, and Frank begins to drink alcohol and chronically masturbate.

The Squid and the Whale is writer/director Noah Baumbach’s fictional account of his own parents; divorce. Of course, that sounds like an interest-killer, but Baumbach’s film is free of the kind of phony and cloying melodrama that often hampers even the best movies about divorce (or TV movies, that matter), simply because the filmmakers usually have “the best intentions” and “mean well” when such films. What probably makes The Squid and the Whale so good is that it is not only brutally frank and sometimes too frankly honest, but the film is also excruciating even in moments of levity. Divorce can be (very) destructive and painful, and just tears at the confidence and self-image of those involved. Baumbach is not out to provide cures, but to tell a riveting story.

The performances are… strong – no need of any special adjectives; they’re just strong. Jeff Daniels, more talented than most A-list stars, but lesser known than some “B-listers,” is haunting and hilarious as an academic whose fortunes have been on their way down for years. His Bernard Berkman (based on Baumbach’s father, the author Jonathan Baumbach) is hilarious in his intellectual snobbery and pathetic in his absolute belief that one shouldn’t engage in any endeavor unless there is the absolute guarantee of being an elite. Laura Linney’s Joan Berkman is a bit difficult to read. Complex and revealing her long held streak of independence, Linney’s Joan is one of the best and most fully realized female characters in recent memory. Joan is neither villain nor hero, but a person who wishes to have a life of her own not impeded by the sensitivities of insecure males.

The real stars of this film are Jesse Eisenberg and Owen Kline (the son of Phoebe Cates and Kevin Kline) as the Berkmans’ children. Jesse ably creates Walt as a mimic of his father, and then shows him struggling to gain his own footing and identity, even as he seems to have whole-heartedly bought into Bernard’s superiority and snobbery. Owen is so intriguing as Frank, a sly imp as curious as a cat and one who dispenses information with the cunningness of a Beltway reporter.

As well made as The Squid and the Whale is, the film has an impeccable blueprint in its screenplay. Baumbach’s writing is the family drama as farce, but with an honest examination of love, family bonds, and dependency is jeopardy. There are no villains, just people, and if the film via its script has a weakness, it’s that it is so narrow. The end of the film shows promise for even richer characters and story, but still, what The Squid and the Whale does give us is extraordinary – an almost divine human comedy.

9 of 10
A+

NOTES:
2006 Academy Awards: 1 nomination: “Best Writing, Original Screenplay” (Noah Baumbach)

2006 Golden Globes: 3 nominations: “Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy, “Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy” (Jeff Daniels), and “Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy” (Laura Linney)

Sunday, April 23, 2006

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Thursday, May 20, 2010

Review: "Fantastic Mr. Fox" Actually Not Fantastic

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 35 (of 2010) by Leroy Douresseaux


Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)
Running time: 87 minutes (1 hour, 27 minutes)
MPAA – PG for action, smoking and slang humor
DIRECTOR: Wes Anderson
WRITERS: Wes Anderson & Noah Baumbach (based upon the novel by Roald Dahl)
PRODUCERS: Allison Abbate, Wes Anderson , Jeremy Dawson, and Scott Rudin
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Tristan Oliver
EDITOR: Andrew Weisblum (supervising editor)
COMPOSER: Alexandre Desplat
Academy Award nominee

ANIMATION/FANTASY/ADVENTURE/COMEDY/CRIME

Starring: (voices) George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Wally Wolodarsky, Eric Anderson, Michael Gambon, Willem Dafoe, Owen Wilson, Robin Hurlstone, Hugo Guinness Brian Cox, and Adrien Brody

Fantastic Mr. Fox is a 2009 stop-motion animation film from director Wes Anderson (The Royal Tenenbaums). The film is based on a children’s book of the same title by author Roald Dahl first published in 1970. It is the story of a human-like fox who outwits his human neighbors and steals their livestock and food right from under their noses.

Mr. Fox (George Clooney) is a thief. To feed his family, he steals livestock from three wealthy local farmers, and during one such mission, he is joined by his wife, Mrs. Felicity Fox (Meryl Streep). However, the couple is ensnared in a cage, but escape after Felicity reveals that she is pregnant. Years later, the couple is living an idyllic home life with their sullen son, Ash (Jason Schwartzman), and Mr. Fox’s visiting young nephew, the soft-spoken and talented Kristopherson Silverfox (Eric Chase Anderson).

After 12 years of domesticity, Mr. Fox feels his wild animal instincts coming to the fore, and this bucolic existence starts to bore him. With the help of his pal, an unassuming opossum named Kylie (Wallace Wolodarsky), Mr. Fox soon slips back into his old ways as a sneaky and highly successful thief stealing chickens, turkeys, and apple cider from the wealthy farmers, Franklin Bean (Michael Gambon), Walter Boggis (Robin Hurlstone), and Nathan Bunce (Hugo Guinness). Doing this endangers not only his beloved family, but also the whole animal community, when Bean leads a vicious, total war campaign to capture Mr. Fox. Trapped underground and without enough food to go around, will the animals band together or will they turn Mr. Fox over to the farmers?

Fantastic Mr. Fox is what happens when quirky drowns whimsical. Instead of a fanciful animal fable, what Wes Anderson gives us with this stop-motion animated film is weird and peculiar. It is sometimes entertaining, even delightful, but still weird and peculiar. The script by Anderson and Noah Baumbach tries to impart wisdom, but much of it is lost in the idiosyncratic visual vibe of this film.

There are some good voice performances, especially Wallace Wolodarsky as Kylie. Because their performances, Jason Schwartzman as Ash and Eric Chase Anderson as Kristopherson end up being the best pairing in the film – the most interesting team.

Fantastic Mr. Fox is a sometimes fun ride, although much of it seems awkward. The strange textures of the animation are a mixed bag. Fantastic Mr. Fox looks like a Tim Burton stop-motion animation picture done with tattered puppets and shabby sets. Ultimately, I find myself sitting on the fence about this film because it entertains and perplexes in equal measure.

5 of 10
B-

NOTES:
2010 Academy Awards: 2 nominations: “Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score” (Alexandre Desplat) and “Best Animated Feature Film of the Year” (Wes Anderson)

2010 BAFTA Awards: 2 nominations: “Best Animated Film” (Wes Anderson) and “Best Music” (Alexandre Desplat)

2010 Golden Globes: 1 nomination: “Best Animated Feature Film”

Thursday, May 20, 2010

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