oscars 2013
The biggest news of the year for Disney has been their acquisition of the Star Wars franchise, but the house the Mickey Mouse built has had a tremendous year of filmmaking.
Ultimately, "Hitchcock" proves entertaining, but hardly satisfying. Helen Mirren's performance is engrossing and heartfelt, but the treatment of the film's central icon feels superficially handled by the script and filmmakers. Some fans of the historic director will surely get a laugh out of the scarce nods and hints toward his movies, but this film is not likely to linger long afterward.
The Oscar Race is officially underway. And a number of hopefuls have already seen their glimmering hopes fade away.
The audience I watched the film with could not stop laughing and let out a liberating round of applause during the film's climax. Russell's film, led by a pitch perfect cast, gives its audience the cathartic experience that its main characters seek out during its entirety. Regardless of whether the viewer is simply seeking laughs or a deeper, uplifting affirmation of the human spirit, Silver Linings Playbook will easily prove to be one of the most fulfilling films of the year.
Ultimately, Anna Karenina is a technical feast with some of the most incredible production design, editing, cinematography, and music of the year. Wright's concept of setting the film in a theater is a resounding success, but the film stumbles a bit in its main narrative. Fortunately, there is abundance of things to appreciate in the film and even if Anna never comes through as an admirable heroine, this film is a masterful piece of art.
The Gotham Award nominations have been announced and with them are a number of surprises.
The third time is a truly a charm for Affleck who creates a relentlessly thrilling and powerful film that will leave you exhausted, but uplifted and overjoyed to have experienced it.
As the festival season starts to wind down, the first awards are starting to come in.
A few weeks ago, Steven Spielberg did a massive launch event on Google+ to showcase the new trailer for his upcoming Lincoln Film. Initial responses to the trailer were not overwhelmingly positive with some predicting that the film would be overly sentimental and lack focus. There was also a great deal of criticism for Daniel Day-Lewis' light and high voice for the president.
The film moves along briskly in a rather subdued manner. It does lose its footing a bit in the final act as it seeks a way out. Fortunately the end comes quickly and ultimately leaves you satisfied. It is a feel-good film to be sure, but also one that emphasizes the brevity of life and the necessity to live it to the fullest.
The Oscar frontrunners are starting to come out as the Toronto Film Festival wrapped up Sunday, September 16.
"The Silver Linings Playbook" by David O. Russell won the audience award beating out tough competition by Ben Affleck's "Argo" and Eran Rikili's "Zaytoun."
This season Latinos will dominate the big screen with some of the biggest stars in big blockbuster films and some acclaimed indie films.
"The Master" may not possess the formal perfection or thematic congruity of some of his past works, but it is still an exemplary work of art.
