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Articles Posted by sphinx

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  • Thank You, And Goodbye ... [The Critical Drinker]

    04/03/2024 1:56:18 PM PDT · by sphinx · 50 replies
    YouTube ^ | April 1, 2024 | The Critical Drinker
    So I've been thinking about this for a while, and it's time for a change.
  • A Stalin-Era Story, Roiling Russia

    04/01/2024 10:25:36 AM PDT · by sphinx · 31 replies
    National Review ^ | April 1, 2024 | Jay Nordlinger
    The movie came out on January 25, 2024. There had been very little of the usual promotion. Lockshin’s name was omitted from posters. His name was absent from all marketing materials, such as they were. In any event, the movie was a sensation. The public went to see it, quickly making it the top-grossing Russian movie of all time, in the over-18 category.Furious, the state and its propagandists got to work. As Lockshin says, “a whole campaign” was launched against him and the movie. Propagandists called him a “criminal” and a “terrorist,” and demanded that the movie be pulled from...
  • 'The Promised Land' delivers epic Nordic Western

    02/10/2024 6:22:46 PM PST · by sphinx · 23 replies
    Boston Herald ^ | February 2, 2024 | James Verniere
    ...Nikolaj Arcel’s “The Promised Land,” Denmark’s submission for the foreign-language Oscar, has everything you want in an epic film: struggle, romance, period detail, violence, great acting, atmosphere, unforgettable images, a hero played by the great Mads Mikkelsen, a despicable villain and German potatoes. In yet another awards-worthy performance, Mikkelsen plays Ludvig von Kahlen, the 18th century bastard son of a maid and a land owner, who was sent off to the German army as a boy. Having returned to his native Denmark in 1755, Captain von Kahlen (Mikkelsen) has a plan to work the non-arable soil of the Danish “heath”...
  • Male and Pale is Stale: Responses to an Open Letter to the WGA

    02/02/2024 10:35:31 AM PST · by sphinx · 54 replies
    Film Threat ^ | February 1, 2024 | Chris Gore
    ...A recent open letter to the Writers Guild of America, written by a WGA member, is saying out loud what so many in the industry fear to say....... [T]he story has resulted in a flood of emails sent to Film Threat. These correspondences paint a picture of an industry where fear of speaking out could result in one being “blacklisted” as problematic... A phrase we heard over and over again is this: “male and pale is stale.”A Modern Black List I am a WGA member and wish to be anonymous.My email isn’t real as I don’t want to accidentally give...
  • Oscar Nominations: ‘Oppenheimer’ Tops With 13, With ‘Poor Things’, ‘Killers Of The Flower Moon’ And ‘Barbie’ Close Behind – Full List

    01/23/2024 8:24:33 AM PST · by sphinx · 69 replies
    Deadline ^ | January 23, 2024 | Mike Fleming Jr, Patrick Hipes
    Best Picture American Fiction Ben LeClair, Nikos Karamigios, Cord Jefferson and Jermaine Johnson, Producers Anatomy of a Fall Marie-Ange Luciani and David Thion, Producers Barbie David Heyman, Margot Robbie, Tom Ackerley and Robbie Brenner, Producers The Holdovers Mark Johnson, Producer Killers of the Flower Moon Dan Friedkin, Bradley Thomas, Martin Scorsese and Daniel Lupi, Producers Maestro Bradley Cooper, Steven Spielberg, Fred Berner, Amy Durning and Kristie Macosko Krieger, Producers Oppenheimer Emma Thomas, Charles Roven and Christopher Nolan, Producers Past Lives David Hinojosa, Christine Vachon and Pamela Koffler, Producers Poor Things Ed Guiney, Andrew Lowe, Yorgos Lanthimos and Emma Stone, Producers...
  • Snoop Dogg To Help With NBCUniversal’s Coverage Of Summer Olympic Games In Paris

    01/01/2024 6:56:21 PM PST · by sphinx · 50 replies
    Deadline ^ | January 1, 2024 | Lynette Rice
    “I grew up watching the Olympics and am thrilled to see the incredible athletes bring their A-game to Paris. It’s a celebration of skill, dedication, and the pursuit of greatness,” said Snoop Dogg in a statement. “We’re going to have some amazing competitions and, of course, I will be bringing that Snoop style to the mix. It’s going to be the most epic Olympics ever, so stay tuned, and keep it locked. Let’s elevate, celebrate, and make these games unforgettable, smoke the competition, and may the best shine like gold. Peace and Olympic LOVE, ya dig?”
  • ‘Past Lives’ Review: Celine Song’s Transcendent Debut Is Destined to Be One of 2023’s Best Films

    12/26/2023 2:59:54 PM PST · by sphinx · 28 replies
    IndieWire ^ | January 21, 2023 | David Erlich
    Of all the writers retreats in all the summer towns in all of New York, he had to walk into hers. As the sun fades on a perfect Montauk night — setting the stage for a first kiss ... Nora (Greta Lee) tells Arthur (John Magaro) about the Korean concept of In-Yun, which suggests that people are destined to meet one another if their souls have overlapped a certain number of times before. When Arthur asks Nora if she really believes in all that, the Seoul-born woman sitting across from him invitingly replies that it’s just “something Korean people say...
  • TIFF 2023 REVIEW: ‘AMERICAN FICTION’ IS THE BEST, FUNNIEST, AND SMARTEST FILM OF THE YEAR

    10/29/2023 4:24:58 PM PDT · by sphinx · 33 replies
    We Live Entertainment ^ | October 2, 2023 | Scott Menzel
    American Fiction stars Jeffrey Wright as Thelonious “Monk” Ellison, an English professor and struggling novelist. Monk prides himself on writing novels that challenge the reader and has become deeply bothered by how the industry repeatedly continues to sell, push, and cash in on clichéd and offensive black narratives. One evening, as a joke, Monk decides to write a book that plays up all of the black narratives and stereotypes he despises. So, under the pen name Stagg R. Lee, Monk sends the book to his agent. To Monk’s surprise, the agent loves it, and the book quickly becomes something everyone...
  • The 50 Best Sci-Fi Movies of the 21st Century, from ‘Nope’ to ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’

    07/06/2023 4:06:26 PM PDT · by sphinx · 184 replies
    IndieWire ^ | July 28, 2022 | Kate Erbland, Chris O'Falt, Alison Foreman
    Yes, science fiction is rooted in profound origins, examining humanity’s deep-seated fear of itself and the intimidating possibility of worlds unknown. But the last two decades have seen a metaphoric rush on sci-fi storytelling that’s left the once niche subgenre a supersaturated movie market. On the one hand, that’s produced an onslaught of sci-fi(ish) titles that aren’t always up to snuff. But on the other, it’s prompted some of the best sci-fi films ever made. Masterworks like “Everything Everywhere All at Once” and “Nope” both arrived this year, and top our list at number five and number eight respectively....Simply put:...
  • P.G. Wodehouse’s ‘Jeeves And Wooster’ Books Changed For ‘Unacceptable Prose’

    04/16/2023 2:42:15 PM PDT · by sphinx · 50 replies
    Deadline ^ | April 16, 2023 | Bruce Haring
    Penguin Random House has altered what it termed the “unacceptable prose” of author P.G. Wodehouse in new editions of his classic Jeeves and Wooster series. The publisher also warned readers of “outdated” terms in the revamped works, the Sunday Telegraph reports.
  • Oscars 2023: Who Will Win, Who Should Win

    03/12/2023 4:00:11 PM PDT · by sphinx · 186 replies
    The Hollywood Reporter ^ | March 9, 2023 | Scott Feinberg, David Rooney
    Best Picture WILL WIN: Everything Everywhere All at OnceA24’s Everything Everywhere All at Once is the likeliest winner, having swept the guilds’ top honors, including the Producers Guild’s, which is decided on a preferential ballot, and also won Critics Choice and Spirit Award prizes, among many others. But the Academy’s preferential ballot wouldn’t seem to favor such a polarizing film — many Academy members love it, but many others found it incomprehensible — so an upset could come from German-language All Quiet on the Western Front, which dominated at the BAFTA Awards (indicating strong European support) and would be Netflix’s...
  • Best Movies of 2022

    01/27/2023 8:32:17 PM PST · by sphinx · 83 replies
    TGC (The Gospel Coaltion, U.S. edition) ^ | December 27, 2022 | Brett McCracken
    Are movies still relevant? ... Even as Hollywood rebounds a bit at the box office (up 21 percent in 2022), critics rightly observe that innovation is suffering. Sequels, reboots, and franchises rule the day and artsy “prestige films” can’t find audiences. Part of the problem: audiences have a growing (and justifiable) sense that Hollywood is increasingly less interested in entertaining them than in force-feeding them progressive ideals.As I put together my list, I focused on films that didn’t pit entertainment against artistry or confuse the difference between having something to say and telling audiences what to think. The best movies...
  • All Quiet on the Western Front

    10/29/2022 9:22:24 AM PDT · by sphinx · 99 replies
    Deadline ^ | Sept. 12, 2022 | Pete Hammond
    It is hard to try to remake a film that is considered a classic (and even though released 92 years ago still tops lists of the greatest war films ever made), much less trying to do a new take on something that won Best Picture. Berger and his co-writers, Lesley Paterson and Ian Stokell, and his crack team of artisans should be congratulated for making the attempt, and one that actually turns out to be a smart move. Why not tell this very German story from a German POV for a change? It is surprising it hasn’t been done before,...
  • Review: 'See How They Run' is a wicked fun whodunit that goes down easy

    10/01/2022 8:41:43 AM PDT · by sphinx · 41 replies
    ABC News ^ | Sept. 16, 2022 | Peter Travers
    While you wait for "Glass Onion," the delicious sequel to "Knives Out," to hit Netflix in December, you can indulge your jones for a whodunit by heading to your local multiplex to check out "See How They Run," a comedy-mystery set against the 1953 London theater scene when murder most foul lurks backstage. Luckily, Scotland Yard is on the case in the rumpled person of "Three Billboards" Oscar winner Sam Rockwell, sporting a wry wit and credible British accent to play Inspector Stoppard, a functioning alcoholic trying not to let booze disrupt his nose for sussing out a killer.And what...
  • Klavan's Three GREAT Modern Movies (Plus: Leftists ACCIDENTALLY Made a Great Christian Film)

    09/02/2022 4:18:40 PM PDT · by sphinx · 51 replies
    YouTube ^ | August 24, 2022 | Andrew Klavan
    It's no secret that we are in the midst of a cultural slump rife with bad films, television, music, and books. Fortunately, there hasn't been a complete absence of great modern art, as evidenced by these three films.
  • Woke Hollywood Celebrates Slavers Because They're Black Women

    08/04/2022 3:29:17 PM PDT · by sphinx · 49 replies
    The Daily Signal ^ | July 15, 2022 | Douglas Blair
    The left’s obsession with centering everything on race and sex has reached a new and despicable low with an upcoming movie called “The Woman King.”The “historical epic film” centers around the real African kingdom of Dahomey, which existed during the Scramble for Africa in the age of empires, around 1800 to 1904.Viola Davis plays General Nanisca, leader of an all-female band of warriors known as the Dahomey Amazons, as she struggles against European attempts to conquer the kingdom....The weirdest thing about this controversy surrounding the trailer is that the story of Dahomey is a genuinely interesting historical narrative....Maybe I’m all...
  • The 25 Best Films of 2022 (so far)

    07/05/2022 8:26:50 PM PDT · by sphinx · 109 replies
    The AV Club ^ | June 30, 2022 | The AV Club (staff)
    Despite the fact that both the pandemic and uncertainty around moviegoing continue, 2022 has already been a solid year for cinema. At the midway point, one obvious trend from our best-of list is the absence of big-budget tentpoles: The Batman and Downtown Abbey: A New Era weren’t quite well-received enough to warrant inclusion, and the less said about Jurassic World: Dominion, the better. Top Gun: Maverick, however, is more than just a commercial success story, so don’t give up on studio pictures just yet.What instead dominates this list are indie distributors—thoughtful, modest fare with ambitious emotional reach. As far as...
  • 40 Films to See This Summer

    04/29/2022 7:49:36 PM PDT · by sphinx · 94 replies
    The Film Stage ^ | April 27, 2022 | The Film Stage (staff)
    The summer season is upon us and, per each year, we’ve dug beyond studio offerings (though a few potential highlights remain) to present an in-depth look at what should be on your radar. From festival winners of the past year to selections coming straight from Cannes to genre delights to some high-flying spectacles, there’s more than enough to anticipate.
  • Oscar: Power of the Dog, Dune, Belfast, West Side Story Lead Nominations-- Can Freepers Do Better Than the Academy?

    02/08/2022 7:29:37 AM PST · by sphinx · 92 replies
    Screen Daily ^ | February 8, 2022 | Michael Rosser
    Netflix-backed The Power Of The Dog secured 12 nods including best picture, directing and cinematography as well as four acting nominations for lead actor Benedict Cumberbatch, supporting actors Jesse Plemons and Kodi Smith-McPhee, and actress Kirsten Dunst....Sci-fi blockbuster Dune received 10 nominations including best picture and across the technical categories for sound, visual effects, cinematography and costume design among others.Kenneth Branagh’s Belfast and Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story both secured seven nominations, including best picture and directing, while King Richard received six, including best picture and for leading actor for Will Smith, who plays the father of tennis stars Venus...
  • Sci-fi Fans: Two EXCELLENT New AI Films to Start the Year

    02/01/2022 10:35:18 AM PST · by sphinx · 46 replies
    FirstShowing.net ^ | February 1, 2002 | Alex Billington
    "I wish I had a real memory." "What do you mean?"