If Force Majeure, Swedish director Ruben Östlund’s seismic 2015 feature, darkly satirized today’s work-obsessed culture through the prism of one family man’s existential identity crisis, his new Palme d’Or winner, The Square, weaves an assured, singular and thematically ambitious tapestry of human behavior and coexistence in the modern world. Where the former film used a ski resort’s avalanche as its protagonist’s eponymous patriarchal Litmus test, The Square expands its lens beyond the family unit; drawing upon the smug intellectualism, vapid self-seriousness and occasionally pompous decadence of the contemporary art world and its donor class, to effectively probe the moral hypocrisies, vanity and bourgeoisie sensibilities of urbane liberalism. In doing so, Östlund transforms his film into—among other things—a caustic commentary on a global capitalist society that continues to reward self-interest over social harmony. In skewering the commercialization of art, The Square effectively draws attention to the well-meaning,...
- 12/1/2017
- MUBI
Even though some folks bemoan when Pixar goes the sequel route, they still turn up in droves, and that will certainly be the case for this sequel to Finding Nemo, one of the studio’s most beloved titles. This one, Finding Dory, opens this week and is a pretty cute new adventure for the heroes from the first one. It’s basically a slam dunk for the studio, so this is going to be a huge success no matter the quality, but it helps that this is an easy to recommend cartoon. Something tells me that Disney will again be able to print money from this Pixar outing. The film is, once again, a sequel to Finding Nemo, continuing a trend with Pixar of making follow ups to some of their most popular properties. Here, we’re following Dory (Ellen DeGeneres), the forgetful Blue Tang who now is searching for her parents (Diane Keaton and Eugene Levy), as she’s remembered her childhood. Along for the ride is Marlon (Albert Brooks), who obviously owes her from last time, and Nemo as well. This search will take them to a Marine Life Institute where Dory thinks her parents are. There she’ll meet a ton of friends, old and new, including octopus Hank (Ed O’Neill). Andrew Stanton is once again at the helm here, co-directing with Angus MacLane and co-writing with the duo of Bob Peterson and Victoria Strouse. The voice cast, in addition to those mentioned, includes Ty Burrell, Idris Elba, Bill Hader, Kate McKinnon, Kaitlin Olson, Hayden Rolence, Dominic West, and a cameo of sorts by Sigourney Weaver. Music is by Thomas Newman. Though this isn’t as good as the first one (probably an impossible bar to clear), there’s definitely plenty of fun to be had here. Personally, I really loved Hank, which is a combination of O’Neill doing strong voice work and the animators at Pixar really outdoing themselves with the creation of the octopus. Watching him is delightful, as is the whole thing really, once the first act is through. It takes a while for things to get going here, but as the second half begins, the movie is firing on all cylinders. It’s not top tier Pixar, but it’s still an easy to recommend family film. Awards wise, this is probably going to be a very targeted campaign on the part of Pixar and Disney. Sure, with money to burn they’ll throw out a [...]...
- 6/14/2016
- by Joey Magidson
- Hollywoodnews.com
At a loss for what to watch this week? From new DVDs and Blu-rays, to what's streaming on Netflix, we've got you covered.
New on DVD and Blu-ray
"The Good Lie"
Although Reese Witherspoon's face is on all the posters, the real stars of "The Good Lie" are the actors who portray young survivors of the brutal civil war in Sudan. Arnold Oceng, Ger Duany, and Emmanuel Jal star as the Sudanese "Lost Boys" who start a new life in Kansas City, Mo. Philippe Falardeau ("Monsieur Lazhar") directed the movie, based on a script by Margaret Nagle ("Boardwalk Empire").
"Pride"
Critics loved this crowd-pleasing film based on a true story about two disparate groups who come together in solidarity during Margaret Thatcher's term as Pm. Lgbt activists are trying to raise money to support the families of striking miners, but they're not having any success. Eventually, the group,...
New on DVD and Blu-ray
"The Good Lie"
Although Reese Witherspoon's face is on all the posters, the real stars of "The Good Lie" are the actors who portray young survivors of the brutal civil war in Sudan. Arnold Oceng, Ger Duany, and Emmanuel Jal star as the Sudanese "Lost Boys" who start a new life in Kansas City, Mo. Philippe Falardeau ("Monsieur Lazhar") directed the movie, based on a script by Margaret Nagle ("Boardwalk Empire").
"Pride"
Critics loved this crowd-pleasing film based on a true story about two disparate groups who come together in solidarity during Margaret Thatcher's term as Pm. Lgbt activists are trying to raise money to support the families of striking miners, but they're not having any success. Eventually, the group,...
- 12/22/2014
- by Jenni Miller
- Moviefone
Dominic West, Ruth Wilson
The Affair, Season 1, Episode 8: “8″
Written by Dan LeFranc and Melanie Marnich
Directed by Ryan Fleck
Airs Sundays at 10 pm Et on Showtime
The end of summer brought with it a number of revelations for both Noah and Alison, culminating in both of them revealing the affair to their respective spouses, with varying results. Combined with Noah breaking things off with Alison following the discovery of her drug dealing, as well as Cole finally agreeing to sell off the ranch, seemed to put both parties on the road towards reconciling their marriages. This week’s episode picks up four months after the end of summer, as Noah and Alison reconnect once again amidst a number of individual difficulties, in another compelling episode that reopens the door for the affair.
Watching Noah’s life in the aftermath of the exposure of his affair is fascinating. Much of...
The Affair, Season 1, Episode 8: “8″
Written by Dan LeFranc and Melanie Marnich
Directed by Ryan Fleck
Airs Sundays at 10 pm Et on Showtime
The end of summer brought with it a number of revelations for both Noah and Alison, culminating in both of them revealing the affair to their respective spouses, with varying results. Combined with Noah breaking things off with Alison following the discovery of her drug dealing, as well as Cole finally agreeing to sell off the ranch, seemed to put both parties on the road towards reconciling their marriages. This week’s episode picks up four months after the end of summer, as Noah and Alison reconnect once again amidst a number of individual difficulties, in another compelling episode that reopens the door for the affair.
Watching Noah’s life in the aftermath of the exposure of his affair is fascinating. Much of...
- 12/9/2014
- by Deepayan Sengupta
- SoundOnSight
At a loss for what to watch this week? From new DVDs and Blu-rays, to what's streaming on Netflix, we've got you covered.
New on DVD and Blu-ray
"La dolce vita"
Even if you snagged "La dolce vita" on Blu-ray when it was available via Kino Lorber, you'll still want to upgrade to this fancy Criterion edition. This new release received the 4K digital restoration treatment, and the extras include an interview with writer/director (and Ad for "La dolce vita") Lina Wertmüller, an audio interview with star Marcello Mastroianni, and more.
"Life After Beth"
This is a kooky zombie love story about a guy named Zach (Dane DeHaan) whose girlfriend Beth (Aubrey Plaza) returns from the dead. In addition to the whole interpersonal love mishegoss of dating someone who's a rotting zombie, there's also a whole zombie apocalypse to deal with - can their relationship survive? Can they survive?...
New on DVD and Blu-ray
"La dolce vita"
Even if you snagged "La dolce vita" on Blu-ray when it was available via Kino Lorber, you'll still want to upgrade to this fancy Criterion edition. This new release received the 4K digital restoration treatment, and the extras include an interview with writer/director (and Ad for "La dolce vita") Lina Wertmüller, an audio interview with star Marcello Mastroianni, and more.
"Life After Beth"
This is a kooky zombie love story about a guy named Zach (Dane DeHaan) whose girlfriend Beth (Aubrey Plaza) returns from the dead. In addition to the whole interpersonal love mishegoss of dating someone who's a rotting zombie, there's also a whole zombie apocalypse to deal with - can their relationship survive? Can they survive?...
- 10/20/2014
- by Jenni Miller
- Moviefone
Screenwriters will write micro-budget ideas for director Max Myers.
Shoreditch-based production company Agile Films has launched Agile/Incubate, an intensive micro-budget script development scheme aimed at emerging screenwriters.
The initiative aims to help writers take a project from concept to shooting as quickly as possible. It will offer writers a structured, paid development programme with a view to shooting a micro-budget feature by the end of 2015.
The writers will respond to a brief written by a director ready to make his or her first feature — for this first programme, the director is Max Myers [pictured], who has previously made shorts Watching and The Birthday Gift.
From now until Nov 24, screenwriters are invited to send in one-page ideas. Two of those will be awarded £1,000 to turn their idea in to a treatment. One of those will be awarded £5,000 to develop their treatment into a finished script. (More details on Agile’s website)
Agile’s head of development Kristian Brodie, who oversees...
Shoreditch-based production company Agile Films has launched Agile/Incubate, an intensive micro-budget script development scheme aimed at emerging screenwriters.
The initiative aims to help writers take a project from concept to shooting as quickly as possible. It will offer writers a structured, paid development programme with a view to shooting a micro-budget feature by the end of 2015.
The writers will respond to a brief written by a director ready to make his or her first feature — for this first programme, the director is Max Myers [pictured], who has previously made shorts Watching and The Birthday Gift.
From now until Nov 24, screenwriters are invited to send in one-page ideas. Two of those will be awarded £1,000 to turn their idea in to a treatment. One of those will be awarded £5,000 to develop their treatment into a finished script. (More details on Agile’s website)
Agile’s head of development Kristian Brodie, who oversees...
- 10/7/2014
- by wendy.mitchell@screendaily.com (Wendy Mitchell)
- ScreenDaily
Watching this trailer for BBC Four's "Burton & Taylor" starring Dominic West and Helena Bonham Carter as Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor, I do and I don't see Taylor in Carter's performance. Carter has such a uniquely expressive face that I can't help but see her and her myriads of kooky characters rather than the person I would otherwise recognize as Taylor. I'm not sure if this will take me out of the moment while watching "Burton & Taylor" whenever it finds its way stateside, but I can say I am, at the very least, curious to see how the film turns out simply because Cooper and Carter seem like an interesting pairing and the story itself should be intriguing enough for those familiar with those remotely familiar with the beginnings of the Liz & Dick relationship. The film is directed by Richard Laxton and rather than focusing on the tumultuous introduction of...
- 7/5/2013
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
The BBC's new drama The Hour, starring Dominic West and Romola Garai as hacks on a 1950s news show, is oddly familiar
It features an intense, difficult, principled reporter (Ben Whishaw), who is chippy and furious with the smoothie-chops newcomer (Dominic West), a former sports broadcaster for whom he has been passed over for the main presenting job. Meanwhile, the driven, passionate producer (Romola Garai) rages in the gallery as she presides over them all. Watching BBC series The Hour the other night, my wife asked me if I realised which movie it resembled. Embarrassed, I said I didn't, which provoked a head-slapping display of incredulity. "Duh!" she said. "Broadcast News!"
Of course, Broadcast News: James L Brooks's bittersweet comedy of romantic torment and professional status from 1988, which features an intense, difficult, principled TV news reporter (Albert Brooks), who is furious with the handsome ex-sports guy (William Hurt) for...
It features an intense, difficult, principled reporter (Ben Whishaw), who is chippy and furious with the smoothie-chops newcomer (Dominic West), a former sports broadcaster for whom he has been passed over for the main presenting job. Meanwhile, the driven, passionate producer (Romola Garai) rages in the gallery as she presides over them all. Watching BBC series The Hour the other night, my wife asked me if I realised which movie it resembled. Embarrassed, I said I didn't, which provoked a head-slapping display of incredulity. "Duh!" she said. "Broadcast News!"
Of course, Broadcast News: James L Brooks's bittersweet comedy of romantic torment and professional status from 1988, which features an intense, difficult, principled TV news reporter (Albert Brooks), who is furious with the handsome ex-sports guy (William Hurt) for...
- 7/29/2011
- by Romola Garai, Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
With their florid use of the F-Word, Ray Winstone and his low-life cronies hit a high note
Can profanity be poetic? Does swearing make a screenplay soar? Can excessive use of the F-word push back the literary frontiers?
Singular screenwriters Louis Mellis and David Scinto (who penned Sexy Beast after disowning the equally edgy Gangster No 1) clearly think so and on the evidence of 44 Inch Chest they may have a point. I struggle to remember a movie which contains quite so much blistering Anglo-Saxon verbosity or which features a line to rival the full-frontal, four-letter phrase: "You fucked his fucking wife, you fucking wife fucker!" The swearing is so intense, so incessant, so insane, that at times you start to wonder whether the ghosts of Derek and Clive haven't entered the room to fulminate upon the subject of "the worst job I ever had…" And yet in the midst of...
Can profanity be poetic? Does swearing make a screenplay soar? Can excessive use of the F-word push back the literary frontiers?
Singular screenwriters Louis Mellis and David Scinto (who penned Sexy Beast after disowning the equally edgy Gangster No 1) clearly think so and on the evidence of 44 Inch Chest they may have a point. I struggle to remember a movie which contains quite so much blistering Anglo-Saxon verbosity or which features a line to rival the full-frontal, four-letter phrase: "You fucked his fucking wife, you fucking wife fucker!" The swearing is so intense, so incessant, so insane, that at times you start to wonder whether the ghosts of Derek and Clive haven't entered the room to fulminate upon the subject of "the worst job I ever had…" And yet in the midst of...
- 5/8/2010
- by Mark Kermode
- The Guardian - Film News
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