You might be surprised to learn that you’ve very likely already seen the work of Argentine director Juan José Campanella. Most of his career for the past several years has been directing numerous episodes of American television series, among them House, MD, 30 Rock, and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. He has only directed [...]
Read More blu-ray, crime, Darin, drama, DVD, Guillermo Francella, Juan Jose Campanella, Mystery, R, Ricardo, romance, Soledad Villamil, The Secret In Their Eyes, willTemple Grandin. Now there’s a name that was ready-built for fame and consequence. It’s a name that may only now be entering household use, but Grandin’s influence, both as a professional and as an example to others, has had a significant impact for decades, in this country and elsewhere. Few others have done more to [...]
Read More biography, Catherine O'Hara, Claire Danes, David Straithairn, drama, DVD, Julia Ormond, Mick Jackson, PG-, Temple Grandin, willItalian cinema was once distinguished for its postwar “neorealism” movement, with films that were shot on location in a stripped down, almost documentary style, exemplified by titles like Rossellini‘s Rome, Open City (1946) and de Sica‘s Bicycle Thieves (1948). Times seem to have changed, though not necessarily for the worse. With a few notable exceptions [...]
Read More biography, drama, DVD, Filippo Timi, Giovanna Mezzogiorno, History, Mussolini, R, Vincere, willStephen Fry may not be a common household name in the United States, but he’s become a much-beloved figure in British popular culture. Something of a popular intellectual and polymath, he’s well-known there as an actor, comedian, author, and director. He had a long comedy partnership with Hugh Laurie (famous here for his title role [...]
Read More DVD, Last Chance to See, Mark Carwardine, Stephen Fry, TV, will2009 marked the anniversaries of two of the greatest milestones in human understanding. 400 years ago last year, Galileo Galilei turned his improved telescopes to the sky and found new evidence that the earth was not the center of the universe. 150 years ago last year, Charles Darwin published “On the Origin of Species”, which [...]
Read More biography, Charles Darwin, Creation, drama, DVD, Jennifer Connelly, Jeremy Northam, paul bettany, PG-13, Toby Jones, willIf the dialogue in The Last Station had been delivered about twice as fast, it would not be a stretch to label the film as a screwball tragedy. Its characters engage in clever repartee and trade barbs throughout, but ultimately it is the story of two people who have grown remote from one another in [...]
Read More biography, blu-ray, Christopher Plummer, drama, DVD, Helen Mirren, James McAvoy, Kerry Condon, Paul Giamatti, R, The Last Station, willIt’s not wrong to still get a little excited about the latest offerings from Martin Scorsese. Though some might be inclined to dismiss him these days, making the assertion that he has abandoned the grittier, “simpler” style that made him famous, I find his crisp formalism refreshing. That’s not to say that every film he [...]
Read More Ben Kingsley, blu-ray, drama, DVD, Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, Martin Scorsese, Max Von Sydow, Mystery, R, Shutter Island, thriller, willMorgan Freeman is uniquely qualified to play Nelson Mandela. He has, during his career, already portrayed a South African, a President, and a man who has spent decades in prison. In Clint Eastwood‘s latest film, Invictus, he finally gets to play all three at once, helped in large part by his somewhat better than passing [...]
Read More biography, blu-ray, Clint Eastwood, drama, DVD, Invictus, Matt Damon, Morgan Freeman, Nelson Mandela, Sport, willIt’s a peculiar thing to review a movie that has grossed enough money to launch the space shuttle twice or to build a complete Virginia-class nuclear fast attack submarine. Is there actually a point in doing so? If I say it’s overrated will that stop anyone from renting it? If I say it’s underrated will [...]
Read More action, adventure, Avatar, blu-ray, DVD, Fantasy, James Cameron, PG-13, Sam Worthington, Sci-Fi, willWell, gentle readers, now we must address ourselves to an examination of the latest cinematic incarnation of the eminent Sir Arthur Conan Doyle‘s famous prototypical super-sleuth. Did our director, Mr. Guy Ritchie, famous for his brawling British caper flicks (Snatch and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels among them), indeed run roughshod over one of [...]
Read More blu-ray, DVD, Eddie Marsan, Geraldine James, Guy Ritchie, Jude Law, Kelly Reilly, Mark Strong, PG-13, Rachel McAdams, Robert Downey Jr., Sherlock Holmes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, will