Welcome back to the Weekend Warrior, your weekly look at the new movies hitting theaters this weekend, as well as other cool events and things to check out.
This Past Weekend:
Another bad weekend where nothing really popped, which is bad news for a month at the box office where only Clint Eastwood’s Sully exceeded any expectations. Tim Burton’s new film Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children came out just below my predictions with $29 million, but the Mark Wahlberg-Peter Berg disaster flick Deepwater Horizon was right around where I predicted with $20.2 million. The comedy Masterminds tanked with just $6.5 million for the weekend to end up in sixth place while Disney’s The Queen of Katwe did slightly better than predicted with $2.5 million.
The first full weekend in October has a good deal of competition from the release of the video game Mafia III to the...
This Past Weekend:
Another bad weekend where nothing really popped, which is bad news for a month at the box office where only Clint Eastwood’s Sully exceeded any expectations. Tim Burton’s new film Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children came out just below my predictions with $29 million, but the Mark Wahlberg-Peter Berg disaster flick Deepwater Horizon was right around where I predicted with $20.2 million. The comedy Masterminds tanked with just $6.5 million for the weekend to end up in sixth place while Disney’s The Queen of Katwe did slightly better than predicted with $2.5 million.
The first full weekend in October has a good deal of competition from the release of the video game Mafia III to the...
- 10/5/2016
- by Edward Douglas
- LRMonline.com
Rolled into a joint made with the kief leftover from a dozen different movies, American Ultra is a natural underachiever. An early action scene, in which our protagonist average Joe brutally dispatches of two government goons through unconscious reflex, is a familiar one. So too are many of the events that follow, like when a military liaison explains to his CIA superior (Topher Grace, delightful) why their hit on a former asset has gone pear-shaped. “How is he still alive?” yells Grace’s pissy and psychotic company man. “Well, sir,” replies the Army brass, “he had a spoon.”
Deadpan statements shine like whites beneath the wide, spectral black light of American Ultra’s influences. It’s a paranoid pothead thriller (The Bourne Indica) that’s been hybridized with a sweetly simple relationship comedy. It’s also a violent action vehicle, a dopey stoner romp, and a Looney Tunes vision of surveillance state overreach.
Deadpan statements shine like whites beneath the wide, spectral black light of American Ultra’s influences. It’s a paranoid pothead thriller (The Bourne Indica) that’s been hybridized with a sweetly simple relationship comedy. It’s also a violent action vehicle, a dopey stoner romp, and a Looney Tunes vision of surveillance state overreach.
- 8/20/2015
- by Sam Woolf
- We Got This Covered
Some docs are journalism. Some are history. Some are entertainment. Very few aspire to poetry -- the Oscar-shortlisted “First Cousin, Once Removed” by Alan Berliner being a notable exception. Ostensibly about Berliner’s cousin and his battle with Alzheimer’s disease, “First Cousin” (HBO Docs) is a film that broadens the definition of what nonfiction filmmaking can mean, while also expanding its capacity for creative expression. It tells a highly emotional story without adhering to narrative conventions; it celebrates the life of an artist in the only way that does it justice, by being art. Five years in the making, “First Cousin” is “about” the distinguished Edwin Honig, and the poet's painful descent into dementia. One of Berliner’s magic acts is making his movie both dispiriting and exhilarating -- the former because of the obvious cruelty of disease, age and mortality; the latter because the director, freed from the constraints of conventional narrative,...
- 1/3/2014
- by John Anderson
- Thompson on Hollywood
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences recently announced the 15 films left in the race for the Documentary Feature Oscar (out of a record 147 films which had originally qualified in the category). You can see the full list of docs still in the running here. While some of them are still available in select theaters or on DVDs, we've got the lowdown on where you can watch these docs online now and in the near future. "The Square" will be available on Netflix beginning on January 17. Meanwhile, "Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer," "First Cousin: Once Removed," "The Crash Reel," "Life According to Sam" and "Which Way is the Front Line from Here? The Life and Time of Tim Hetherington" are available to HBO subscribers on HBO online and on-demand. Here's where where you can these shortlisted docs online now: "The Act of Killing" (iTunes) "Blackfish" (Netflix) "Cutie and the Boxer...
- 1/3/2014
- by Paula Bernstein
- Indiewire
We will be taking a closer look at each of the 15 contenders for Best Documentary soon, but for now let's look at the films that Oscar's doc branch decided to shortlist from that gargantuan list of 151 contenders. All of the titles are rather high profile with a few left field contenders for fun. I was surprised to not see the likes of A River Changes Course, Let the Fire Burn (the only Ida nominee which didn't make it), At Berkeley, Call me Kuchu, and my personal favourite, The Missing Picture, but this looks like a fairly well representative list of films from what has arguably been one of the strongest years ever for documentaries.
The 15 contenders are:
The Act of Killing The Armstrong Lie Blackfish The Crash Reel Cutie and the Boxer Dirty Wars First Cousin: Once Removed God Loves Uganda (Reviewed) Life According to Sam Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer (Reviewed) Stories We Tell,...
The 15 contenders are:
The Act of Killing The Armstrong Lie Blackfish The Crash Reel Cutie and the Boxer Dirty Wars First Cousin: Once Removed God Loves Uganda (Reviewed) Life According to Sam Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer (Reviewed) Stories We Tell,...
- 12/4/2013
- by Glenn Dunks
- FilmExperience
Review Kevin Pocock 29 Oct 2013 - 06:17
Another year brings another version of Football Manager, the nerdiest sports management game on the market. Here's our review...
Football Manager is undoubtedly unique as an essentially menu-based gaming franchise that is adored. Every year the title is almost guaranteed to do well, and because of that some may think that nothing really changes. Yes the welcome boost in revenue may make the annual release obvious, but to think of it as static is to deprive Sports Interactive their deserved credit. Improvements and additions are virtually inevitable, and Football 2014 has plenty. A reported '1,000 improvements' help the latest incarnation to deliver as engrossing an experience as you would expect. As for additions? The obvious and subtle both get a billing.
While 2013 may have added the Challenge and Classic Modes to the feature list, 2014 has 'widening the game's fanbase' firmly in mind. So now, triumphantly,...
Another year brings another version of Football Manager, the nerdiest sports management game on the market. Here's our review...
Football Manager is undoubtedly unique as an essentially menu-based gaming franchise that is adored. Every year the title is almost guaranteed to do well, and because of that some may think that nothing really changes. Yes the welcome boost in revenue may make the annual release obvious, but to think of it as static is to deprive Sports Interactive their deserved credit. Improvements and additions are virtually inevitable, and Football 2014 has plenty. A reported '1,000 improvements' help the latest incarnation to deliver as engrossing an experience as you would expect. As for additions? The obvious and subtle both get a billing.
While 2013 may have added the Challenge and Classic Modes to the feature list, 2014 has 'widening the game's fanbase' firmly in mind. So now, triumphantly,...
- 10/28/2013
- by sarahd
- Den of Geek
MTV has provided an exclusive look at the design for the upcoming Limited Edition Blu-ray case for The Walking Dead Season 3 and it’s easily one of the best cases we’ve ever seen. Designed by McFarlane Toys, the same company that brought us the flip-top zombie head container for Season 2, the case is a direct representation of The Governor’s secret “TV room” as seen in both the comics and on TV, complete with five violently decapitated zombie heads.
What makes this case so incredibly unique are the options for presentation that fans are given when they take the case out of the box. Once removed, fans can actually fill the forward compartment of the case up with water which allows the heads to float in an eerie fashion as seen on TV.
“We thought it would be fun for the consumer, after buying the case and taking it home,...
What makes this case so incredibly unique are the options for presentation that fans are given when they take the case out of the box. Once removed, fans can actually fill the forward compartment of the case up with water which allows the heads to float in an eerie fashion as seen on TV.
“We thought it would be fun for the consumer, after buying the case and taking it home,...
- 2/7/2013
- by Adam B.
- GeekRest
Once in a blue moon a festival competition film comes along that’s a masterpiece, so flawless it’s inconceivable that it won’t take top prize. This year at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam, that film was Alan Berliner’s First Cousin Once Removed (which I actually saw before this year’s 25th edition began), and it did indeed nabb the Vpro Idfa Award for Best Feature-Length Documentary, along with a nice sum of 12,500 euros. Fittingly, my reaction towards Berliner’s breathtaking portrait of his mentor and relative, the acclaimed poet and translator Edwin Honig, as he succumbs to Alzheimer’s disease, mirrors my …...
- 11/30/2012
- by Lauren Wissot
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
The awards for the 25th anniversary International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (Idfa) were announced in a ceremony today, covering the various competition sections of the world's largest documentary event. Alan Berliner's Nyff entry, "First Cousin Once Removed," a moving portrait of Edwin Honig facing Alzheimer's, took Idfa's top honor, the Vpro Idfa Award for Best Feature-Length Documentary, a distinction that comes with a hefty €12,500 prize. Esther Hertog's "Soldier on the Roof," a look at a small community of Jewish settlers in the overwhelmingly Palestinian West Bank city of Hebron, claimed both the First Appearance Award and the Best Dutch Documentary Award, a total of €10,000. Also taking home two nods was Malik Bendjelloul, whose "Searching for Sugar Man" received €7,500 between his Audience Award and Best Music Documentary Award, repeating the film's double win from its premiere at the beginning...
- 11/24/2012
- by Basil Tsiokos
- Indiewire
"Searching for Sugar Man" is continuing to find critical acclaim. Malik Benjelloul's documentary about musician Rodriguez, who abandoned music only to find his career resuscitated after becoming hugely popular in South Africa, won the Best Music Documentary award at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam, the festival said Friday. Also read: "Searching for Sugar Man" Tops Cinema Eye Honors Nominations "Sugar Man" also took home the Audience award. Alan Berliner's documentary "First Cousin Once Removed," about his uncle's struggle with Alzheimer's disease, also scored big, winning for Best Feature-Length Documentary. ...
- 11/23/2012
- by Tim Kenneally
- The Wrap
At this year’s New York Film Festival I took part in a panel organized by Indiewire’s Critics Academy, a program for young, emerging film writers. The following is a consideration on the subject of death as it is depicted in three of this year’s films by one of those writers, Fariha Roisin. — Sm
In Michael Haneke’s latest film, Amour, an opening wide shot captures a crowded mass. An audience is watching a piano recital, and we are hypnotized, unsure of where to look, or rather, who to look for. The shot gives us no clues and yet a romanticism lurks, suggesting that this act of watching live music has a certain universality to it, as does death and its true contender and antithesis — love. The camera finally focuses on Georges (Jean-Louis Trintignant) as he turns to Anne (Emmanuelle Riva) his wife. They are elderly, well-to-do. He watches her,...
In Michael Haneke’s latest film, Amour, an opening wide shot captures a crowded mass. An audience is watching a piano recital, and we are hypnotized, unsure of where to look, or rather, who to look for. The shot gives us no clues and yet a romanticism lurks, suggesting that this act of watching live music has a certain universality to it, as does death and its true contender and antithesis — love. The camera finally focuses on Georges (Jean-Louis Trintignant) as he turns to Anne (Emmanuelle Riva) his wife. They are elderly, well-to-do. He watches her,...
- 10/21/2012
- by Fariha Roisin
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Alzheimer’s is one of the most tragic diseases for a creative person. While physically painless, the dementia and memory loss are dreadful impairments that no mind should have to bear, and that seems to be especially the case for celebrated artistic minds like that of Edwin Honig. The late poet and critic is the subject of a new documentary by Alan Berliner, the renowned maker of deeply personal experimental nonfiction films. Previous works of his include An Intimate Stranger, which focuses on his maternal grandfather, and Nobody’s Business, which is about his father. His relationship to Honig is directly spelled out in the new doc’s title, First Cousin Once Removed. In addition to that familial bond, though, Berliner considers his mother’s cousin to be his mentor and friend; Honig’s estranged adopted kids meanwhile imply that the filmmaker was treated more like a son than they each were. Making...
- 10/13/2012
- by Christopher Campbell
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
Documentarian Alan Berliner is frequently the star of his movies, but his focus extends beyond his neuroses. Rather than the star of the show, he's a vessel for bigger ideas and evades the perils of self-indulgence that could result from putting himself in front of the camera. That tricky balance is on display better than ever in the stirring "First Cousin Once Removed," which deepens an oeuvre that has already dealt with the tender issues of father-son relationships ("Nobody's Business") and insomnia ("Wide Awake") by exploring his fears of senility to devastating effect. Using a powerful focal point to manifest the movie's central concerns, Berliner makes his interest in the topic relevant to everyone. His case study is Edwin Honig, the first cousin of Berliner's mother, a bond that gives the movie its title. But there's more about Honig -- once a world-class poet and founder of Brown University's creative writing.
- 10/2/2012
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
Above: Passion (Brian de Palma, France/Germany).
Tonight the 50th incarnation of the New York Film Festival gets underway at Lincoln Center, and for the third year running I have tried to find posters for all the films in the festival’s main slate (see 2010 and 2011). Poster art not being what it used to be, these inevitably pale in comparison to the posters I collected last week for the very first Nyff of 1963. For starters, most of those were illustrated, whereas only two of this year’s batch are hand drawn: the folk-art Filipino design for Bwakaw and Spanish artist Riki Blanco’s illustration for The Dead Man and Being Happy. But there are some other standouts, like the striking UK quads for Holy Motors and Ginger and Rosa, the near-abstract monochrome and gothic lettering of Leviathan, the unconventional titling for Barbara (coupled with that can’t-lose photo of Nina Hoss on a bike,...
Tonight the 50th incarnation of the New York Film Festival gets underway at Lincoln Center, and for the third year running I have tried to find posters for all the films in the festival’s main slate (see 2010 and 2011). Poster art not being what it used to be, these inevitably pale in comparison to the posters I collected last week for the very first Nyff of 1963. For starters, most of those were illustrated, whereas only two of this year’s batch are hand drawn: the folk-art Filipino design for Bwakaw and Spanish artist Riki Blanco’s illustration for The Dead Man and Being Happy. But there are some other standouts, like the striking UK quads for Holy Motors and Ginger and Rosa, the near-abstract monochrome and gothic lettering of Leviathan, the unconventional titling for Barbara (coupled with that can’t-lose photo of Nina Hoss on a bike,...
- 9/28/2012
- by Adrian Curry
- MUBI
The New York Film Festival announced its full slate of films on Thursday, a line up of 32 titles that largely serves as a catch-all compendium of standouts from other international festivals like Cannes, Berlin, Venice, and Toronto.
Along with the previously announced opening night film (Ang Lee’s Life of Pi), centerpiece gala (David Chase’s Not Fade Away), and closing night film (Robert Zemeckis’ Flight) — all world premieres — the highlights of the festival include: Hyde Park on Hudson, starring Bill Murray as President Franklin D. Roosevelt; Ginger and Rosa, starring Elle Fanning as a girl growing up in 1962 London...
Along with the previously announced opening night film (Ang Lee’s Life of Pi), centerpiece gala (David Chase’s Not Fade Away), and closing night film (Robert Zemeckis’ Flight) — all world premieres — the highlights of the festival include: Hyde Park on Hudson, starring Bill Murray as President Franklin D. Roosevelt; Ginger and Rosa, starring Elle Fanning as a girl growing up in 1962 London...
- 8/17/2012
- by Adam B. Vary
- EW - Inside Movies
Amour
The Film Society of Lincoln Center announced today the main slate of selections for the 50th New York Film Festival (September 28-October 14) including such notable directors as Olivier Assayas, Noah Baumbach, Leos Carax, Brian De Palma, Michael Haneke, Abbas Kiarostami, Ang Lee, Cristian Mungiu, Sally Potter, Alain Resnais, Raul Ruiz and Robert Zemeckis.
Regarding the line up of 32 films comprising the main slate for the 50th anniversary of Nyff Richard Peña, Selection Committee Chair & Program Director of the Film Society of Lincoln Center, said, .The films making up the main slate of this year’s Nyff, have in common a general quality of fearlessness” that unites otherwise very disparate works. These are films that go all the way, works willing to take the risk or chance that by doing so they may be bringing audiences to places they might rather not go..
Award winners that will be presented for...
The Film Society of Lincoln Center announced today the main slate of selections for the 50th New York Film Festival (September 28-October 14) including such notable directors as Olivier Assayas, Noah Baumbach, Leos Carax, Brian De Palma, Michael Haneke, Abbas Kiarostami, Ang Lee, Cristian Mungiu, Sally Potter, Alain Resnais, Raul Ruiz and Robert Zemeckis.
Regarding the line up of 32 films comprising the main slate for the 50th anniversary of Nyff Richard Peña, Selection Committee Chair & Program Director of the Film Society of Lincoln Center, said, .The films making up the main slate of this year’s Nyff, have in common a general quality of fearlessness” that unites otherwise very disparate works. These are films that go all the way, works willing to take the risk or chance that by doing so they may be bringing audiences to places they might rather not go..
Award winners that will be presented for...
- 8/16/2012
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
The 2012 New York Film Festival announced its main slate of movies Thursday. The 32 movies draw from a healthy mix of big named directors and indie favorites.
Films From Noah Baumbach ("Frances Ha"), Roger Michell ("Hyde Park on Hudson"), Michael Haneke ("Amour," which won the Palme d'Or at Cannes this year) and Abbas Kiarostami ("Like Someone in Love") were selected.
As previously announced, Ang Lee's "Life of Pi" will open the festival, David Chase's "Not Fade Away" is the Centerpiece Gala Selection and Robert Zemeckis' "Flight," starring Denzel Washington, will close the fortnight.
"Passion," Brian De Palma's widely anticipated film, will also screen at the Venice Film Festival, which runs from Aug. 29 to Sept. 8. A number of Nyff's selections actual make their bow at the Toronto International Film Festival, which begins Sept. 6.
Nyff runs Sept. 28 to Oct. 14. The full main-slate list of films is available below, direct from...
Films From Noah Baumbach ("Frances Ha"), Roger Michell ("Hyde Park on Hudson"), Michael Haneke ("Amour," which won the Palme d'Or at Cannes this year) and Abbas Kiarostami ("Like Someone in Love") were selected.
As previously announced, Ang Lee's "Life of Pi" will open the festival, David Chase's "Not Fade Away" is the Centerpiece Gala Selection and Robert Zemeckis' "Flight," starring Denzel Washington, will close the fortnight.
"Passion," Brian De Palma's widely anticipated film, will also screen at the Venice Film Festival, which runs from Aug. 29 to Sept. 8. A number of Nyff's selections actual make their bow at the Toronto International Film Festival, which begins Sept. 6.
Nyff runs Sept. 28 to Oct. 14. The full main-slate list of films is available below, direct from...
- 8/16/2012
- by Kia Makarechi
- Huffington Post
HollywoodNews.com: After a little bit of pondering on my part, the question of what will be playing this year at the New York Film Festival has now been answered. 32 films will comprise the main section of the fest, according to the Nyff website (here), and besides the movies already known about, we'll also be seeing 'Amour', 'Frances', 'Holy Motors', 'Hyde Park on Hudson', and 'Passion' represent some of the most notable entries. After the jump you can see the full lineup, but it's looking like a really stellar film festival (I'm especially interested in that new flick from Noah Baumbach). Amour (Michael Haneke, Austria/France/Germany) Michael Haneke’s Palme d’Or winner of Cannes 2012 is a merciless and compassionate masterpiece about an elderly couple dealing with the ravages of old age. A Sony Pictures Classics release. Araf—Somewhere In Between (Yeşim Ustaoğlu, Turkey/France...
- 8/16/2012
- by Clayton Davis
- Hollywoodnews.com
After Venice and Toronto unveiled their strong assembly of titles, the 50th annual New York Film Festival have released this year’s primary lineup. Short answer: We won’t be left out in the cold this fall.
Though not necessarily on the same massive scale as last year, the Film Society of Lincoln Center look to be offering some of world cinema’s finest options for 2012. The biggest title would, unquestionably, have to be Michael Haneke‘s Palme d’Or winner, Amour, while “the rest,” if you’re so callous as to call it that, include some of our favorite Cannes selections — including Abbas Kiarostami‘s Like Someone in Love, or Leos Carax‘s Holy Motors. Sure, maybe Beyond the Hills was a flat bore that didn’t live up to its director’s last effort, but at least I get to find out for myself.
Past those obvious picks,...
Though not necessarily on the same massive scale as last year, the Film Society of Lincoln Center look to be offering some of world cinema’s finest options for 2012. The biggest title would, unquestionably, have to be Michael Haneke‘s Palme d’Or winner, Amour, while “the rest,” if you’re so callous as to call it that, include some of our favorite Cannes selections — including Abbas Kiarostami‘s Like Someone in Love, or Leos Carax‘s Holy Motors. Sure, maybe Beyond the Hills was a flat bore that didn’t live up to its director’s last effort, but at least I get to find out for myself.
Past those obvious picks,...
- 8/16/2012
- by jpraup@gmail.com (thefilmstage.com)
- The Film Stage
The 50th New York Film Festival, presented by the Film Society of Lincoln Center, will present 32 films in its main slate, representing the work of an international array of filmmakers ranging from Olivier Assayas to Robert Zemeckis. The festival, which runs from Sept. 28 through Oct. 14, will include four world premieres: Alan Berliner's First Cousin Once Removed, a documentary about how Alzheimer's disease affected poet and critic Edwin Honig, from HBO Documentary Films; Ang Lee's 3D fantasy film Life of Pi, the opening night film; David Chase's feature directorial debut, Not Fade Away, which will be featured as
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- 8/16/2012
- by Gregg Kilday
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Heading into its 18th year in 2011, the Chicago Underground Film Festival is the longest-running underground film festival in the world. It used to be tied with the New York Underground Film Festival — both were started in 1994 — until Nyuff closed up shop in 2008.
In 1994, the Internet wasn’t the big promotional tool it is today so neither Nyuff nor Cuff that year had a website; or, if they did, those pages have since vanished off the web. So, details about what these fests screened in their first years have been sketchy. Well, until now for Cuff.
I’m not sure how I stumbled upon it, but I recently discovered that the alternative newsweekly the Chicago Reader had posted up the entire, full lineup of the first annual Chicago Underground Film Festival.
So, I copied that info and reformatted it into the style of Bad Lit’s traditional film festival lineups, which...
In 1994, the Internet wasn’t the big promotional tool it is today so neither Nyuff nor Cuff that year had a website; or, if they did, those pages have since vanished off the web. So, details about what these fests screened in their first years have been sketchy. Well, until now for Cuff.
I’m not sure how I stumbled upon it, but I recently discovered that the alternative newsweekly the Chicago Reader had posted up the entire, full lineup of the first annual Chicago Underground Film Festival.
So, I copied that info and reformatted it into the style of Bad Lit’s traditional film festival lineups, which...
- 12/9/2010
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
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