February 2011

The Archives

  • 02.28.11
    And the Oscar went to…. Blog Exclusives, Lists, Trade News | Comments Off
    So I stayed up all last night watching the Oscars... & Jesus, it was like staying up all night watching paint dry. James Franco & Anne Hathaway have definitively proved themselves to be the most boring, bland hosts in the history of the awards ceremony, with the highlight of their wit being when Franco remarked that the titles of the nominated films offended him - Winter's BONE? Rabbit HOLE? How to Train Your Dragon??? Sorry James, I'm sure we would have found that hilarious, but we were momentarily distracted by that big tumbleweed rolling across the stage.... Though winners Colin ...
  • 02.27.11
    Between the Canals Blog Exclusives, Trailers | (2)
    I missed this at last year's JDIFF, but Between the Canals is going to in the IFI from March 18. Written & directed by Mark O'Connor, Between the Canals follows three small time criminals from Dublin's North Inner City as they each aspire to be somebody in a fast changing society: Liam (Liam Hyland) a small time dealer who wants to quit his life of crime to become an electrician and provide for his girlfriend and son; Dots (Peter Coonan), a crazy, irresponsible thug with ambitions to become a big time dealer and Scratchcard (Stephen Jones), a drug user with ...
  • 02.27.11
    I AM NUMBER FOUR: One, Two, Three…Stop. Reviews, Trailers | Comments Off
    REVIEW: I AM NUMBER FOUR Directed by D.J. Caruso. Starring Alex Pettyfer, Timothy Olyphant, Dianna Agron, Teresa Palmer, Kevin Durand, Callan McAuliffe. 104 mins Rating: Two/Five In cinemas February 23 You have to give Disney some credit: for a blatant attempt to make a more guy-friendly Twilight franchise, I Am Number Four nails the central character: forget about sparkly emo vampires who play classical piano, John Smith (Alex Pettyfer) is a buff, surf-loving alien who hangs around with Timothy Olyphant. Now that’s cool. Continue Reading...
  • 02.27.11
    NO STRINGS ATTACHED: They’re Some Damn Conservative Strings, Pinnochio Reviews, Trailers | Comments Off
    REVIEW: NO STRINGS ATTACHED Directed by Ivan Reitman. Starring Natalie Portman, Ashton Kutcher, Kevin Kline, Cary Elwes. 110 mins. Rating: Two and a half/Five In cinemas February 25. In 1989, When Harry Met Sally asked “Can men and women ever really just be friends?” The answer was a witty and heartwarming “Hell no!” But hey, that was two decades ago, man. Nowadays we’re far more progressive, and so need a modern update. Enter Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher, now asking “Can men and women ever really just be sex friends?” Ooh, can’t you feel the transgressive edginess? Pity director Ivan Reitman doesn’t have the ...
  • 02.27.11
    AS IF I AM NOT THERE: Wish You Weren’t Here Reviews, Trailers | (1)
    REVIEW: AS IF I AM NOT THERE Directed by Juanita Wilson. Starring Natasa Petrovic, Feda Stukan, Mira Grbic. 109 mins. Rating: Three and a half/Five In cinemas March 4 Samira (Natasa Petrovic) has just moved from Sarajevo to Bosnia to teach in a rural school, but is almost immediately captured by Serbian soldiers who have overtaken the village. The women are dragged away to a labour camp. The men are killed. On the pastoral prison, Samira’s haunting beauty makes her the target of the inhumane soldiers and along with four other women and a child, she is kept in a house where she is ...
  • 02.27.11
    HOWL: The Best Mind of Our Generation Reviews, Trailers | Comments Off
    REVIEW: HOWL Directed by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman. Starring James Franco, Aaron Tveit, Jon Hamm, David Strathairn, Jeff Daniels, Alessandro Nivola. 85 mins. Rating: Four and a half/Five In cinemas February 25 A man sits on a couch, hidden behind Woody Allen style glasses and a haze of cigarette smoke, and in a drawn-out growl asserts “Poetry is a rhythmic articulation of feeling.” A quote has never lent itself so easily to a film’s description. In Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Freidman’s Howl, the iconic work of poet Allen Ginsburg is explored and evoked through four disparate, nonlinear and uniquely styled strands that captivatingly ...
  • 02.27.11
    ANIMAL KINGDOM: Strewth to Kill Reviews, Trailers | Comments Off
    REVIEW: ANIMAL KINGDOM Directed by David Michôd. Starring James Frecheville, Ben Mendelsohn, Jackie Weaver, Guy Pearce. 113mins. Rating: Four/Five In cinemas February 25. From the opening scene of David Michôd’s Animal Kingdom, it’s clear that his characters inhabit an unnervingly inhumane world. Sitting in a dingy apartment, J (James Frecheville) calmly watches a gameshow as paramedics burst in and fruitlessly attempt to revive his unconscious mother. When J later calls his grandmother Janine, she immediately accepts him into her home but also fails to mourn her late daughter. Apparently when it’s survival of the fittest, there’s no time for tears. Continue Reading...
  • 02.25.11
    Interview:David Michôd Interviews, Trailers | Comments Off
    David Michôd, director of critically acclaimed Australian crime drama Animal Kingdom, talks about the Melbourne crime scene, Jackie Weaver’s Oscar nominated performance and why not going to therapy has helped his art. Blame it on Home and Away or Crocodile Dundee, but for me Australian drama always conjures up images of incredibly cheerful blonde people whose daily activities consists of surfing and sunbathing. Unless they’re exceptionally unlucky that is, in which case they’ll have to dodge some sharks, a Wolf Creek-style psychopath or Baz Luhrman’s love of stereotypes. But in David Michôd’s debut feature film Animal Kingdom, the darker underbelly of ...
  • 02.24.11
    Essential Viewing Blog Exclusives, Lists | Comments Off
    For those seeking out some classic, essential viewing cinema, look no further. The IFI presents Essential Cinema 2011: a five week series of key films from the 1970s including Jaws, The Godfather, and The French Connection March 1st – 29th The IFI will present the second installment of its popular Essential Cinema programme that screens classic films that are essential viewing for any film buff. Essential Cinema 2011 focuses on Hollywood in the 1970s and was programmed in conjunction with IADT (Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology). Each film will be preceded by a short introduction by Tom Kennedy of ...
  • 02.22.11
    Why do so many movies suck? Blog Exclusives, Lists | Comments Off
    Fianlly I have an excuse to be mean - it's not that I''m evil & just savage decent films for the fun of it - most of them really are that bad! And the legends over at Cracked have an idea why. Check out their article 5 Hollywood Secrets That Explain Why So Many Movies Suck Funny though, this guy never made the list: