PIRATE RADIO Part 2: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Bill Nighy, Richard Curtis

Richard Curtis had a death in the family. I’d flown in to London to do the interviews for my PIRATE RADIO coverage, and the director was at the top of my list. Some things, though, take precedence over spending fifteen minutes with a dumpy New York journalist, and for Curtis, this had to be one [...]

Read More About - PIRATE RADIO Part 2: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Bill Nighy, Richard Curtis »

So here’s what I did on my class trip to London: shoot a video featuring people on the street discussing whether they preferred PIRATE RADIO or THE BOAT THAT ROCKED as the title of the latest Richard Curtis film; interview some of the stars of the film itself; and eat British airport pizza. Two of [...]

Read More About - PIRATE RADIO Part 1: Nick Frost, Talulah Riley, Tom Sturridge »

Not to put too fine a point on it, but the poster for TURNING GREEN lies. It showcases Tim Hutton, Colm Meaney, and Allesandro Nivola, but while they’re prominent figures in the film, it ain’t about them. Off in the lower right, with his back turned towards the camera, there’s your protagonist: A teenage boy, [...]

Read More About - Michael Aimette and John G. Hofmann on TURNING GREEN »

So I figured, while I’m in London interviewing some of the people involved with PIRATE RADIO, Richard Curtis’ film about those intrepid souls who in the 60’s brought the UK their daily dose of rock when the BBC was loathe to, why not try a little experiment in whether one dude with a netbook, a [...]

Read More About - (Almost) Live from London: PIRATE RADIO vs. THE BOAT THAT ROCKED »

You wanna talk extreme? Charles Bronson, ne Michael Peterson, has spent thirty-four of his fifty-six years of life in incarceration of one form or another — most of that time has been in solitary confinement. The system has been violent to him, but he’s been violent back, and an anti-authoritarian cult has risen around his [...]

Read More About - Nicolas Winding Refn on BRONSON »

Hey, lookee here: Focus Features’ 9, which opens in the UK at the end of October, is willing to throw a little financial support our way. (Thanks, guys!) So, in honor of all our brothers and sisters across the pond, I figured it’d be a good idea to re-offer the Tim Burton roundtable ep, and [...]

Read More About - 9 Opens in UK on October 28th »

To be clear, I’ve got nothing against sports films that exult in good sportsmanship and the triumph of the underdog and the sheer joy of human competition. THE NATURAL? Sure. BAD NEWS BEARS? No prob. THE MIGHTY DUCKS? Let’s not go crazy, now.
But to be honest, I’m more favorably inclined towards films like THE DAMNED [...]

Read More About - Tom Hooper on THE DAMNED UNITED »

Let’s forget about narrative for now, shall we? Let’s not focus on narrative, let’s live in the moment. And let’s consider a documentary focused on isolated pieces of time, how those pieces can be compiled into a portrait of life as it is lived around the world.
Michael Almereyda is no stranger to toying with film [...]

Read More About - REPOST: Michael Almereyda on PARADISE »

Guess I’m going to have to reevaluate my opinion of THE PIANO. I was one of those backlash guys, one of the ones who read all the effulgent praise about the film, the stuff elevating it to hitherto unknown heights as a stunning, sensuous cinematic event, and anticipated an experience that would forever change my [...]

Read More About - REPOST: Ben Whishaw and Paul Schneider on Jane Campion’s BRIGHT STAR »

Could it just be coincidence? Could it just be that, by some random alignment of the planets, we have two films about the conflict in Northern Ireland opening on the same weekend? I’m seeing conspiracy, frankly. Your grandmas may be safe from the death panels, but that doesn’t mean the government hasn’t got its sights [...]

Read More About - Oliver Hirschbiegel on FIVE MINUTES OF HEAVEN »