2009 |
2008 |
2007 |
2006 |
2005 |
2004
1-20 of 77 articles from 2009 « Prev | Next »
The Best Films of the Decade (aka "The Naughties")
27 December 2009 9:03 PM, PST
| The Hollywood Interview
| See recent The Hollywood Interview news
»
Best Films Of The Decade (aka The Naughties) From Alex & Terry
List # 1
By Alex Simon
When Terry and I initially discussed writing these lists, I had a tough time thinking back on 20 films over the past decade which I was really taken with, thinking that movies have sunk so low over the past ten years, that even choosing a dozen would be a short-order job. Thirty minutes into it, my list had nearly 60 titles! After much cutting, pasting, and re-cutting and pasting, here are my top 20 films (in no particular order) of the first decade of the 21st century, dubbed by many as “the naughties.” --A.S.
1.No Country for Old Men (Coen Brothers, 2007) An elegiac blend of stark beauty and full-throttle despair from two of our finest filmmakers, set in the contemporary American West. Every frame is damn near flawless, and would have been an even more perfect vehicle for the late Sam Peckinpah.
»
- The Hollywood Interview.com
Permalink | Report a problem
SAG Awards 2010 Prediction: George Clooney, Best Actor
23 December 2009 10:46 PM, PST
| Alt Film Guide
| See recent Alt Film Guide news
»
2010 SAG Award Predictions
Best Actor
George Clooney (with Anna Kendrick), Up in the Air
Why George Clooney?
Reason #1: He is George Clooney, a well-liked, well-respected actor who has often used his name to push projects that have something say, e.g., Syriana, Good Night, and Good Luck., The Men Who Stare at Goats, and most recently Jason Reitman’s dramatic comedy Up in the Air, in which Clooney plays a corporate-downsizing expert whose job is to ensure that thousands of other people lose theirs.
Before you begin hating his character, consider this: It could have been much worse. Clooney’s Ryan Bingham could have been a banker or a politician, doing his utmost to destroy the lives of millions instead of mere thousands. Also, [...]
»
- Andre Soares
Permalink | Report a problem
Movie Review: The Young Victoria (2009)
18 December 2009 3:14 AM, PST
| Rope of Silicon
| See recent Rope Of Silicon news
»
Emily Blunt and Rupert Friend in The Young Victoria
Photo: Apparition
The Young Victoria is an excellent film, but it's missing a conclusion. The script penned by Julian Fellowes ends just when it seems it should be getting to the final act of the story of the up-and-down first years of Queen Victoria's rule. Fellowes gets us over a hill only to feed us text to take us down the other side. It's like investing in the stock market and watching your stock climb only to have it earn you hundreds instead of thousands when you cash out. Sure, you're a little richer, but the promise was much greater than the ultimate payoff.
For as melancholy as the film opens, The Young Victoria is actually quite the entertaining royal period piece as it introduces us to 17-year-old Princess Victoria (Emily Blunt) describing her "palace as a prison" while she sits in waiting.
»
- Brad Brevet
Permalink | Report a problem
16th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards Nominations
17 December 2009 7:11 AM, PST
| Manny the Movie Guy
| See recent Manny the Movie Guy news
»
Nominees for the 16th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards (SAG Awards) for both film and television categories were announced this morning. Michelle Monaghan and Chris O'Donnell announced the nominees at the Pacific Design Center's Silver Screen Theater in West Hollywood.
The 16th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards will be simulcast live nationally on TNT and TBS on Saturday, Jan. 23, 2010 at 8 p.m. Et/Pt, 7 p.m. Ct, and 6 p.m. Mt from the Los Angeles Shrine Exposition Center. Recipients of the stunt ensemble honors will be announced from the SAG Awards red carpet during the TNT.TV and TBS.Com live pre-show webcasts.
If you want to predict the acting categories for the Oscars, look no further than the results of the Screen Actors Guild Awards. Voted by actors' peers, the SAG award has closely resembled the winners of the Oscars in the past few years.
For example, the SAG
»
- Manny
Permalink | Report a problem
Review of the decade: Peter Bradshaw's noughties round-up
7 December 2009 3:01 AM, PST
| The Guardian - Film News
| See recent The Guardian - Film News news
»
Hollywood struggled to respond to the war on terror, documentaries went through a golden age, and Michael Haneke was the noughties' moral conscience
If it is possible to whimper at the volume of a bang, then that is how this decade is ending on the big screen: with two high-profile, high-budget movies about the end of the world: Roland Emmerich's cheerfully silly 2012, and John Hillcoat's cheerlessly serious The Road, which arrive with a good deal of commentary to the effect that these movies typify the zeitgeist of the decade.
The noughties – that jokey word coined in the carefree 90s – are seen as damaged, injured, traumatised. The decade looks cracked from top to bottom by a sensational act of terrorism; by a reaction that achieved neither political palliative nor military success; by the confrontation between first-world prosperity and developing-world poverty; by the coming environmental catastrophe that threatens to engulf both; and finally,
»
- Peter Bradshaw
Permalink | Report a problem
Preview: Invictus
6 December 2009 1:17 PM, PST
| HeyUGuys.co.uk
| See recent HeyUGuys news
»
In the 1950’s, a western TV show called Rawhide hit Us airwaves. One of several series about the old west, it captivated adults and children alike. Rawhide featured an ensemble cast of largely unknown actors, including a young man named Clint Eastwood. Eastwood had appeared in TV and film before, but it was here he really found fame. After Rawhide ended, Eastwood made a handful of TV shows and movies, until his big break came along. Sergio Leone’s A Fistful of Dollars and it’s follow ups made Eastwood into an icon. He went on to play numerous tough guy parts, invariably a cowboy or cop, and was very successful.
He made his directorial debut early on, often combining his newfound talent with his acting. He met with mild success until his 1992 western Unforgiven. It was hailed as one of the best westerns of all times, and gained Eastwood alot of credibility.
»
- Barry Steele
Permalink | Report a problem
Interview: Jason Reitman Takes Personal Journey With ‘Up in the Air’
3 December 2009 12:14 PM, PST
| HollywoodChicago.com
| See recent HollywoodChicago.com news
»
Chicago – Following up the massive critical and commercial success of “Juno” would be a daunting task for anyone and writer/director Jason Reitman admits that he was nervous coming off that film. Somewhat surprisingly, he’s delivered an even more confident and, overall, superior film in the excellent “Up in the Air,” starring George Clooney, Vera Farmiga, Anna Kendrick, J.K. Simmons, and Jason Bateman.
After taking our pictures for his own records and a lively discussion about why he’s not too psyched about “Avatar,” what he thought of “Final Destination 4” in German, and what went wrong with the “Saw” movies, Bateman, Peter Sobczynski of EFilmCritic.com, Lee Shoquist of N:Zone, and I got into “Up in the Air”. Bateman is very open about how each of his films reflect what he’s concerned about personally.
Up in the Air
Photo credit: Paramount Pictures
Reitman says, “I like my
»
- adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
Permalink | Report a problem
Inside track on the Golden Globes' race for best drama actor
3 December 2009 7:17 AM, PST
| Gold Derby
| See recent Gold Derby news
»
Now that Woody Harrelson ("The Messenger") has been pushed up to the lead race from supporting at the Globes, that changes the category scenario a bit. Co-star Ben Foster remains a contender, but Woody upstages him here just like he does in the film. Best Drama Actor Front-runners Jeff Bridges, "Crazy Heart" George Clooney, "Up in the Air" Colin Firth, "A Single Man" Morgan Freeman, "Invictus" Woody Harrelson, "The Messenger" Viggo Mortensen, "The Road" Michael Sheen, "The Damned United" Spotlight: Everybody's talking about how overdue Jeff Bridges is for an Oscar (four defeats), but he's also Globe-less (skunked three times). Bridges must beat beloved George Clooney, who won for "Syriana" at the Globes first, then
»
- tomoneil
Permalink | Report a problem
Top Ten Tuesday: George Clooney
1 December 2009 3:52 PM, PST
| WeAreMovieGeeks.com
| See recent WeAreMovieGeeks.com news
»
From humble beginnings in films like Return To Horror High and Return Of The Killer Tomatoes, a two-time “Sexiest Man Alive”, four-time Academy Award nominee (so far), and one-time winner of Best Supporting Actor (so far) was born. George Clooney’s career has been a long and winding road in both film and television. Today, he takes all roles from absolutely serious (Syriana) to comical (Leatherheads) to downright silly cameos (South Park: Bigger, Longer, And Uncut and Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over). It is for this eclectic mix of performances and characters that we salute this week the top 10 of George Clooney. Whether it is his performance or the roles themselves he brings to life, each character listed below is memorable in their own right. And, with films like Up In The Air and The American forthcoming, we are sure to see even more memorable characters brought to life by Clooney.
»
- Movie Geeks
Permalink | Report a problem
Oscar Update: New Predictions after Seeing 'Up In the Air' and 'A Single Man'
25 November 2009 12:35 PM, PST
| Rope of Silicon
| See recent Rope Of Silicon news
»
It feels good to know it will only be a matter of weeks before I will have seen all the major Oscar contenders as my prediction charts are starting to be less about buzz and the opinion of others and I can finally add my own personal opinion into each. Of course, I still have films such as Invictus, Nine and Avatar yet to see, but by the end of day on December 10 that will no longer be the case for those three.
I will also have seen Brothers, Broken Embraces and The Princess and the Frog by that time as well.
Unfortunately, Crazy Heart and The Last Station are ducking me as I haven't heard a word about either film here in Seattle, but hope to soon.
As for what I have seen, I finally saw Up In the Air just last night as well as The Young Victoria,
»
- Brad Brevet
Permalink | Report a problem
Disney Halts ‘20,000 Leagues,’ McG Off The Project
17 November 2009 7:42 AM, PST
| ScreenRant.com
| See recent Screen Rant news
»
Wow, I didn’t see this one coming. According to Variety, Warner Bros. has halted moving forward with their remake of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. On top of that, McG, who was set to direct, is off the project, and will now concentrate on other things such as the Warner Bros. drama, Dead Spy Running.
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea seemed to be moving ahead pretty well, with a tentative shooting start of February, 2010. McG even said not that long ago that they’d already looked at different shooting locations including Japan, France and Canada. The Terminator Salvation director sounded pretty enthusiastic back in August when he talked about such things as how he was planning on contemporizing the story while still maintaining the spirit of adventure from the original 1870 story and 1950’s movie.
There’s no real word on why Disney has halted 20,000 Leagues, nor why McG has left the
»
- Ross Miller
Permalink | Report a problem
McG’s Captain Nemo Gets Lost at Sea
16 November 2009 11:32 PM, PST
| Collider.com
| See recent Collider.com news
»
It’s a good thing that McG has a lot of projects going at once because his planned adaptation/spin-of Captain Nemo: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea has run aground. Disney has put the picture on indefinite hold after tentatively scheduled to begin shooting this February. However, the closest the film ever came to casting the title role was a rumor that Will Smith may sign on, but beyond that no other names were ever connected with the role of Nemo. This is unfortunate because it would have really been great to stick it to India by casting a non-Indian as the famous anti-hero. Bill Marsilli’s script would have followed Nemo’s origin and his construction of his warship, The Nautillus. Hit the jump to find out why this isn’t a tragedy for anyone.
With McG off the project, the Terminator Salvation director will turn his attention to the drama Dead Spy Running,
»
- Matt Goldberg
Permalink | Report a problem
New Trailer For Leaves Of Grass
16 November 2009 2:52 AM, PST
| Screenrush
| See recent Screenrush news
»
A brand new trailer has been released online for Leaves Of Grass, the pot comedy thriller starring Edward Norton.
The official plot synopsis goes something like this: Norton plays Bill Kincaid, an Ivy League classics professor who returns to rural Oklahoma to bury his dangerously brilliant identical twin brother, only to discover that the brother he believes to have been murdered has lured him home to involve him in a doomed plot against a local drug lord. Before Bill can flee, he's implicated in a murder and his life becomes completely unravelled.
Those savvy among you will have noted the key word in the description is "identical" - yes that's right, Norton will be putting his acting skills to full use by playing dual roles, starring as both brothers. Cue lots of split scenes and classic comedy set-ups.
The film is written and directed by Tim Blake Nelson, who you
»
Permalink | Report a problem
Movie Poster of the Week: "Up in the Air"
13 November 2009 8:05 AM, PST
| The Auteurs
| See recent The Auteurs news
»
If anyone merits the “big head” poster treatment so expertly parodied by Funny or Die it would be everybody’s favorite movie star George Clooney. Lately, however, Clooney has started to disappear from his own posters: his eyes were obscured by the title in the Syriana poster and his face was out of focus and again covered in lettering for Michael Clayton. The poster for Up in the Air, however, has his most subdued presence of all: a small dark silhouette dwarfed by the movie title in sober Helvetica high up on an airport information board.
What I like about this poster, beyond its symmetrical simplicity, is how it looks up close, when you can see the pixels of the monitor, something that is lost when you see the poster at anything but full size. I do feel the poster is maybe a little too pleased with itself (which is
»
Permalink | Report a problem
The Men Who Stare At Goats: A Plot in Search of a Movie
12 November 2009 12:04 PM, PST
| Huffington Post
| See recent Huffington Post news
»
Grant Heslov's movie The Men Who Stare At Goats is a good premise
stuck in a mess of a movie. Based on a stranger-than-fiction book about
paranormal research within the U.S. military, it should be a black
comedy about the lengths to which our army will go to kill people.
Instead, it's a collection of tonally tin-eared, quirky setpieces that
strain believability and almost completely ignore the human cost of the
Iraq War during which the movie is set. In particular, it pales in
comparison to George Clooney's previous Middle Eastern dramedies, the
brilliant Three Kings and fitfully brilliant Syriana.
The cast of Goats is a mixed bag. George Clooney is
terrific playing a character convinced he's always in control, all
circumstances to the contrary; Ewan McGregor is a complete zero as
Clooney's straight man, a journalist unsure of what to make of all the
supernatural stuff Clooney is talking about.
»
- Alex Remington
Permalink | Report a problem
First Look at George Clooney in Spy Thriller ‘The American’
11 November 2009 4:19 PM, PST
| FilmSchoolRejects.com
| See recent FilmSchoolRejects news
»
More updates are coming down the pipe from the American Film Market in Santa Monica, with our friends at Collider uncovering a first look at George Clooney in Control director Anton Corbijn's The American.
In the film, Clooney will play "an artful assassin with a lengthy track record, constantly on the move and always watching his back. When an assignment goes wrong and a lover ends up dead, he vows that the next job will be his last. This final obligation takes him to a picturesque town nestled amongst lush Italian hills, its historical piazzas bursting with life. But to Jack, every location is a trap and every person a potential threat. Still, he surprises himself, enjoying confessional conversations over Armagnac with an insightful priest and slipping into an affair with a local beauty. But by letting his guard down, Jack may be tempting fate. A dangerous shadow-dweller shows every sign of closing in, and
»
- Neil Miller
Permalink | Report a problem
The Men Who Stare At Goats Review
5 November 2009 11:14 PM, PST
| FilmJunk
| See recent FilmJunk news
»
The Men Who Stare At Goats
Directed by: Grant Heslov
Written by: Peter Straughan (screenplay), Jon Ronson (book)
Starring: George Clooney, Ewan McGregor, Kevin Spacey, Jeff Bridges
Since the dawn of modern warfare, people have fantasized about the concept of super soldiers, enhanced human beings that could defend their homeland and give them the edge over their enemies. At this point, we're not just talking about fictional characters like Captain America, either; today's soldiers really are trained to push their body beyond its physical and mental limits, and outfitted with bleeding edge technological advancements. Military interests drive scientific research like few other fields, leading to all kinds of wacky pills and biological experiments. But would it surprise you to learn that U.S. military has delved into even stranger realms in the past, and may still be doing so today?
In his 2004 book, The Men Who Stare At Goats, Welsh
»
- Sean
Permalink | Report a problem
The Men Who Stare At Goats (Review)
4 November 2009 7:47 AM, PST
| SoundOnSight
| See recent SoundOnSight news
»
The Men Who Stare at Goats
Directed by Grant Heslov
According to Jon Ronson's book The Men Who Stare At Goats, the U.S. government has experimented with various extra-sensory ‘abilities,’ such as remote-viewing and mind control, since the 1950s. These highly classified sub-divisions of the Army were developed in the hopes of creating a different kind of warrior, one who could harness mental abilities to destroy his adversary. Although many of these divisions were kept under wraps, journalist Ronson (known as Bob Wilton in the film) got wind of a low-profile Army project after having met Jim Channon, the former colonel who wrote a manual for the creation of the ‘First Earth Battalion,’ an army unit to based upon New Age principals. The book, which inspired the film, charts the absurd journey that began with this chance encounter. It contains a wild, often questionable, but ultimately fascinating story of introspection and destiny.
»
- Myles Dolphin
Permalink | Report a problem
Johnny Depp, Leonardo DiCaprio, George Clooney: Who'd make the best Frank Sinatra?
28 October 2009 1:00 PM, PDT
| EW.com - PopWatch
| See recent EW.com - PopWatch news
»
Back in May, we heard about the Frank Sinatra biopic that Martin Scorsese will be directing with Universal producing. Now mega-stars Johnny Depp, Leonardo DiCaprio and George Clooney are rumored (courtesy of UK newspaper The Guardian) to be in contention for the role of Old Blue Eyes. It's probably important to note here that Clooney's rep, Stan Rosenfeld, told EW, "I wouldn't believe anything I read in British papers" -- which isn't exactly a denial -- while a Universal rep said the studio had no comment. (Reps for DiCaprio and Depp were not immediately available for comment.)
Fact or fiction,
»
- Archana Ram
Permalink | Report a problem
IFC Brings “Cairo” to the U.S.
22 October 2009 1:05 PM, PDT
| IndieWIRE
| See recent indieWIRE news
»
U.S. rights to writer/director Ruba Nadda’s romantic drama, “Cairo Time” have been picked up by IFC Films, the company said Thursday. The film, starring Oscar-nominee Patricia Clarkson and Alexander Siddig (“Syriana”) screened at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival where it won Best Canadian Feature, and will screen at the inaugural Tribeca Doha Film Festival next week. IFC Films acquired the rights to the film from E1 Entertainment International, the film’s …
»
Permalink | Report a problem
2009 |
2008 |
2007 |
2006 |
2005 |
2004
1-20 of 77 articles from 2009 « Prev | Next »
See all NewsDesk partners
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the
above news articles. News articles are published for the entertainment of our
users only. The news items do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we
guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the
site responsible for the article in question to report any concerns you may
have.
