The Edinburgh College of Art has swept the RTS Scotland Student Awards, reports Scotsman.com. Hosted by the Royal Television Society Scotland, the event awarded the animation prize to Asaf Agranat for the film A BUS RIDE AND FLOWERS IN HER HAIR. Gunhild Enger won both the factual and non-factual categories with the films BARGAIN and WAITING FOR HAPPINESS, respectively.
Taylor Jessen reviews five short films Workin Progress by Gabriel Garcia, Benjamin Fligans, Geordie Vandendaele and Benjamin Flinois, The Mantis Parable by Josh Staub, The Man Who Walked Between the Towers by Michael Sporn, Juan el Tintero (John the Inkerman) by Edwing Solzano and Ichthys by Marek Skrobecki. Includes QuickTime movie clips!
The ION Festival is now over. The winners of the second ION International Animation, Games & Short Film Festival include:
ION International Animation Of The Year AwardTHE MANTIS PARABLE, Josh Staub (USA)
ION International Short Film Of The Year Award ANTEBODY, James P. Gleason (USA)
ION International Music Video Of The Year Award CON TODA PALABRA, Brigitte Henry, Ralph Dfouni (Canada)
ION International Game Of The Year Award CALL OF DUTY 2, Activision (USA)
On Dec. 16, 2005, Ezell Elester Channel, a convicted sex offender, was arrested on the suspicion of molesting a 14-year-old boy at Nickelodeon Animation Studios while he served as a production assistant on the film, ADAM SANDLER'S EIGHT CRAZY NIGHTS, reports the BURBANK LEADER.
Special-effects veteran Stan Winston was awarded the Tesla Award for visionary achievement in filmmaking technology from the International Press Academy on Dec. 17, 2005, reports SCI FI WIRE.
Winston responded by saying, "This award is for technical innovation, and it's interesting that I'm getting this award, because I really don't know much about technology, and, in fact, I'm techno-ignorant. I am an artist... Any technology I created for special effects I was forced to develop in order to do the things I love... I created it for the characters in the movies."
Director Anthony Mann and star James Stewart teamed on five Westerns, including the wonderful THE MAN FROM LARAMIE. This earlier film, which had its screenplay nominated for an Oscar (a rare feat for a Western), is actually a grittier and more emotionally complex film. It came out the same year as the sappy and overrated SHANE, but holds up a lot better than that dated “classic.”
Stewart plays Howard Kemp, a Civil War veteran who is forced to become a bounty hunter out of necessity. In his effort to capture killer Ben Vandergroat (Robert Ryan, THE WILD BUNCH), he receives help from old miner Jesse Tate (Millard Mitchell, WINCHESTER ‘73) and dishonorably discharged soldier Roy Anderson (Ralph Meeker, THE DIRTY DOZEN). Traveling with Ben is Lina Patch (Janet Leigh, PSYCHO), the daughter of a dead bank robber.
Coming out in the same year as Barbara Stanwyck’s wonderful turn in THE LADY EVE, this film is just as hilarious and just as fun.
Written by Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett and directed by Howard Hawks, the film has eight stodgy professors living in one big house working for years on an epic encyclopedia. Leading the group of scholars is the youngest of them — linguist Bertram Potts (Gary Cooper, MEET JOHN DOE). One day the garbageman (Allen Jenkins, DESTRY RIDES AGAIN) comes in to ask them to answer some questions on a quiz he’s trying to win and they are fascinated with his use of new slang. Potts realizes that his chapter on slang is woefully out of date and has to venture out into the world to discover the current data on the ever-changing topic.
The beginning of the film has John (Brad Pitt, FIGHT CLUB) and Jane Smith (Angelina Jolie, GIRL, INTERUPTED) in couple’s therapy. They seem to be resigned to the fact that their marriage is boring. John wants Jane to be more spontaneous while Jane wants John to take more than a nonchalant attitude toward their home life. What they don’t know is that both are leading secret lives as top-notched assassins working for opposite agencies.
But it all comes to a head when they are assigned the same target and they discover their secrets. This sets up an all-out, cat-and-mouse war. John’s associate Eddie (Vince Vaughn WEDDING CRASHERS) is the paranoid type who thinks that Jane has been setting him up for six years. Jane’s right-hand woman Jasmine (Kerry Washington, RAY) doesn’t have a much better opinion of John.
Haunting is the only way to explain this methodically paced picture. This film from Japan looks into the lives of four abandoned children. The film begins with their mother (You) moving them into a new apartment by smuggling three of the children in under the noses of the landlord.
Akira (Yuya Yagira) is eldest and the designated caretaker of the children when their mother disappears. Next in line is the sad Kyoko (Ayu Kitaura), who dreams of one day buying a real piano. Following them is silly and mischievous Shigeru (Hiei Kimura) and the adorable 5-year-old Yuki (Momoko Shimizu).
The best part about the film is that the mother isn’t painted out like an arch-villain like a character Shelley Winters would have played in the 1960s. She’s not evil; she’s just very, very selfish. She keeps the kids from attending school and then leaves them for long stretches of time to fend for themselves. One time she leaves for over a month and then comes back with presents like it was no big deal.
The 2005 animated box office champ has arrived on DVD and it provides enough laughs to be well worth a viewing. Marty (Chris Rock, NURSE BETTY) is a zebra in the Central Park Zoo in New York City. He has never been to the wild and dreams of what it would be like to go. When he shares his desires with his friends Alex the lion (Ben Stiller, DODGEBALL), Melman the hypochondriac giraffe (David Schwimmer, TV’s FRIENDS) and Gloria the hippo (Jada Pinkett Smith, THE MATRIX RELOADED) they think he’s nuts for wanting to leave the pampered life of the zoo. Especially for Alex, who is the superstar attraction of the zoo, leaving is not an option.
With the help of some spy-like penguins (director Tom McGrath), Marty gets out into the city, which leads to him and his friends being shipped off to a wildlife reserve in Africa. However, along the way, they become shipwrecked on the tropical island of Madagascar where they run into a tribe of lemurs, ruled by King Julien (Sacha Baron Cohen, TV’s DA ALI G SHOW) and his right-hand-man Maurice (Cedric the Entertainer, ORIGINAL KINGS OF COMEDY). The lemurs want to enlist Alex to scare away jackals that have been preying on their people. Tension builds between the zoo friends and when the call of the wild takes over, Alex begins to look upon his friends as food.
You will never look at a person in a wheelchair the same after seeing this documentary. It’s fun, exciting, humorous, moving and badass.
The central story of the film deals with quadriplegics who play full-contact wheelchair rugby, leading up to the Paralympic Games in Athens, Greece. The central characters are Mark Zupan, the grumpy goatee sporting tough guy from Team USA, and Joe Soares, the bitter, arrogant coach of Team Canada, who use to play for Team USA before he got too old and was cut. Both of these men have dynamic testosterone-fueled personalities and can be total jerks. This is the most joyous thing about the film, which shows quadriplegics as human beings that have varying emotions and personalities.
This sequel to Rob Zombie’s HOUSE OF 1,000 CORPSES was something that I wasn’t looking forward to seeing before it came out. However, the positive reviews for the film made me want to give it a chance. Zombie, the frontman for the band White Zombie, has made a huge leap forward in his filmmaking career with this twisted horror film that harkens back to 1970s classics like TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE and LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT.
One doesn’t need to see the nearly unwatchable first film to see this one. The film is bloody and gory and also morbidly funny. Zombie seems to be playing with the conventions of the slasher film, making you drawn to and repulsed by the killers at the same time. The film begins with a police raid on a farmhouse where a family of savage killers and rapists are keeping young women prisoner. The standoff ends with the matriarch Mother Firefly (Leslie Easterbrook, POLICE ACADEMY) arrested and her children Otis (Bill Moseley, ARMY OF DARKNESS) and Baby (Sheri Moon Zombie, 2004’s TOOLBOX MURDERS) on the run.
The history of this film will become legend. Director Paul Schrader (AUTO FOCUS) was asked to do a prequel to THE EXORCIST. When he turned in his moody dramatic piece the studio decided they wanted something more commercial and hired a new director to virtually redo the entire film with more conventional scares. That movie was EXORCIST: THE BEGINNING and it stank. After it bombed in the theaters, the studio decided to release Schrader’s version to help recoup the costs of making two films.
The core idea of the films is relatively the same, but they couldn’t be anymore different. Schrader’s film is more of a dramatic ode to spiritual doubt and the presence of evil in the world than a scare-fest. Father Lankester Merrin (Stellan Skarsgard, GOOD WILL HUNTING) goes on sabbatical from the Catholic Church after an incident during World War II emotionally scars him. He is involved in an archeological dig in Africa where they find a church buried in the sand.
Like 2002’s overlooked NICHOLAS NICKLEBY, which successfully pared down an epic novel into a two-hour film, PRIDE & PREJUDICE does a stellar job of doing the same. Star Keira Knightley (BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM) proves that she is not just another pretty face, but a real actress. She brings wit and humor to the central role of Elizabeth Bennet, the second eldest daughter of the moderately poor Mr. and Mrs. Bennet (Donald Sutherland, KLUTE, & Brenda Blethyn, SECRETS & LIES).
She has a bit of snobbery for rich people, but this doesn’t stop her from encouraging her shy older sister Jane (Rosamund Pike, DIE ANOTHER DAY) in her courtship of Mr. Bingley (Simon Woods, TV’s CHARLES II: THE POWER AND THE PASSION). However, she cannot stand Mr. Bingley’s seemingly arrogant and snobbish Mr. Darcy (Matthew MacFadyen, THE RECKONING). Other key characters include Elizabeth’s flirtatious sister Lydia (Jena Malone, SAVED!), stuffy preacher Mr. Collins (Tom Hollander, THE LAWLESS HEART), Mr. Darcy’s rich aunt Lady Catherine de Bourg (Judi Dench, MRS. BROWN), dashing soldier Mr. Wickham (Rupert Friend, forthcoming THE LIBERTINE) and Elizabeth’s best friend Charlotte (Claudie Blakley, GOSFORD PARK).
This film rendition of the best-selling novel of the same name is an enjoyable love story, but lacks a certain emotional or intelligent oomph to lift it to a greater level. I enjoyed the film from start to finish and was completely engaged, but I never felt swept away by the subject or the love tale.
The film begins with the young girl, Chiyo (Suzuka Ohgo), being sold to a geisha house. She wants to escape, but is thwarted at every turn. Running the geisha house is Auntie (Tsai Chin, THE JOY LUCK CLUB) and the raspy-voiced, chain-smoking Mother (Kaori Momoi, KAGEMUSHA). Chiyo is special because she has brilliant blue eyes, making her an instant threat to the aging geisha Hatsimomo (Gong Li, RAISE THE RED LANTERN). Chiyo must endure though and eventually begins her training as a geisha with Mother’s rival Mameha (Michelle Yeoh, CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON). Taking the name Sayuri, Chiyo (now played by Ziyi Zhang, HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS) becomes the most popular geisha in Japan.
Are the HARRY POTTER films really getting better? This one doesn’t have the whimsy of the first two films, but as we grow up with Harry, Ron and Hermione we do expect them to tackle issues more sinister and dangerous like dating. Because of the huge length of the fourth book a lot has been cut from the movie, but none of it is missed.
The fourth film does not start at Harry’s aunt and uncle’s house but jumps right into the Quiddich World Cup where Lord Voldemort’s Death Eaters make their first appearance, including a mysterious Voldemort servant (David Tennant, BRIGHT YOUNG THINGS) who appears in Harry’s dreams. This year at Hogwort’s the school will play host to the Tri-Wizard Tournament, where one wizard over 17 from three schools will compete for the coveted title. Hogwort’s champion is the nice jock Cedric Diggory (Robert Pattinson, VANITY FAIR). From the French school, there’s Fleur Delacour (Clémence Poésy) and, from the Eastern European school, there’s professional Quiddich champion Viktor Krum (Stanislav Ianevski). But what’s this? The Goblet of Fire, which picks the names of the contestants, has spit out a fourth — Harry Potter!
This Chevy Chase vehicle from the early ’80s is a total mess. The plot moves all over the place and a lack of a consistent tone leaves the film completely repulsive.
Max Fielder (Chase, FUNNY FARM) is an air traffic controller who is so paranoid about his girlfriend Darcy (Patti D’Arbanville, THE FAN) cheating on him that he bugs her. Early in the film she breaks up with him. Depressed Max tries to find comfort from his ex-wife Lorraine (Mary Kay Place, SILVER CITY), who ends up falling for Max’s high school friend Brian Stills (Brian Doyle-Murray, GROUNDHOG DAY), who has become a publisher for egotistical relationship guru Mark (Dabney Coleman, 9 TO 5). Brian’s personal assistant is Dorita (Nell Carter, TV’s GIMME A BREAK), who is into voodoo.
Director Bob Fosse (ALL THAT JAZZ) tackles the story of groundbreaking and controversial stand-up comedian Lenny Bruce (Dustin Hoffman, THE GRADUATE). The film takes a faux documentary approach to recapping the rise and fall of the funny man, who pushed the boundaries of what could be said on stage in an effort to expose American hypocrisy.
In the interviews, Lenny’s drug-addicted wife Honey (Valerie Perrine, SUPERMAN), his manager Sally Marr (Jan Miner, MERMAIDS) and his smarmy agent Artie Silver (Stanley Beck, WHO KILLED TEDDY BEAR) reminisce over the life and career of Bruce, who died of a drug overdose right before he was to go to jail. Bruce was a genius who bordered on madness. His obsession with the stage and pushing the boundaries of social norms to make his point, lead him to cult fame, but also down a path of paranoia-fueled drug abuse.
In 1990 when this film became one of the all time box office champions, I loved it. I was 14. I’m a bit older now and find the film so implausible that it was hard for me to be engaged with it as I was back then.
The premise has the McCallister family heading off to Paris for Christmas. Due to a power outage, they are running late and in the rush to make their flight they miscount and leave 8-year-old Kevin (Macaulay Culkin, SAVED!) behind. So many plot contrivances have to pile up to make this scenario work that the film lose a lot of credibility. However, when I put myself in the mind frame of Kevin, I was able to sit back and have fun.
The film is really an 8-year-old’s fantasy. Kevin not only is able to survive on his own, but through elaborate booby traps (that no eight year old could have constructed in the hour the film allows) thwarts two burglars named Harry Lime (Joe Pesci, GOODFELLAS) and Marv Merchants (Daniel Stern, CITY SLICKERS). Adding to the tension of the story is Kevin’s mother Kate’s desperate attempts to find help for her son and get a flight back home. Some of the film’s most satirical moments come when Kate (Catherine O’Hara, WAITING FOR GUFFMAN) hitches a ride with a polka band lead by Gus Polinski (John Candy, PLANES, TRAINS & AUTOMOBILES).
GODSEND is not a godsend. Ugh, this is film is dumb. Paul and Jessie Duncan (Greg Kinnear, AS GOOD AS IT GETS, & Rebecca Romijn, X-MEN) love their son Adam (Cameron Bright, BIRTH). So when he is killed, they are distraught. At the funeral, Jessie’s former teacher Richard Wells (Robert DeNiro, RAGING BULL) offers them a morbid proposition — he can clone their son.
The film goes through the typical reluctance to the idea then clones the kid. Everything seems fine until new Adam reaches the age of old Adam and he begins to see and hear strange things. The film plays along typical thriller lines until the end when it tries to twist things and ends up twisting the entire plausibility of the plot off the rails.
The original GINGER SNAPS is arguably the best horror film of the new millennium so far. GINGER SNAPS 2: UNLEASHED was a solid sequel that continued the tale from the first film and took it into an interesting direction. The third film in the series is a huge departure and made me wonder if the franchise was dead. However, despite being an odd choice, the third film is still engaging and entertaining.
Outsider sisters Ginger (Katharine Isabelle, FREDDY VS. JASON) and Brigitte (Emily Perkins, PROZAC NATION) return, but they aren’t modern girls anymore. The story takes the characters and places them in 19th Century Canada. Their parents have died and they become lost in the woods. After Brigitte is injured, a mysterious Indian hunter (Nathaniel Arcand, ELEKTRA) leads them to an outpost where the inhabitants are very leery of strangers. This is because on a nightly basis the fort is attacked by werewolves.
This film just makes you smile… until it breaks your heart that is. Unlike any other musical, director Jacques Demy creates a grand tale of young love that in an artistic way heightens the feelings and emotions to an operatic level.
Part of the film’s charm is that all the dialogue is sung in French. It just seems right that young lovers should be singing in French. 17-year-old Geneviève (Catherine Deneuve, BELLE DE JOUR) is in love with 20-year-old mechanic Guy (Nino Castelnuovo, THE ENGLISH PATIENT). Her mother (Anne Vernon) doesn’t think that her daughter is ready for a serious relationship and really doesn’t know what love is all about. But that can’t stop Geneviève and Guy.
This Technicolor extravaganza had six directors and began filming in the U.K. until the blitz of WWII forced the production to move to the States. Fans of Disney’s animated ALADDIN will find a lot of similarities in this film about the rightful heir of Bagdad whose advisor tricks him out of this throne as well as steals his true love.
The film begins with Prince Ahmed (John Justin, 1978’s THE BIG SLEEP) as a blind beggar on the street with his dog who is actually his faithful ally — the thief Abu (Sabu, BLACK NARCISSUS). Ahmad’s advisor Jaffar (Conrad Veidt, CASABLANCA) has come back to woo the Princess of Basara (June Duprez, THEY RAID BY NIGHT) away from her father the Sultan (Miles Malleson, PEEPING TOM). As the story progresses, we learn how the prince and Abu got in such a predicament.
When Woody Allen is on, he is simply brilliant. This is a statement I find myself saying every time I discover another one of his older classics. He is one of — if not — the best comedy director of all time.
Cecilia (Mia Farrow, ROSEMARY’S BABY) is a waitress trying to support her philandering husband Monk (Danny Aiello, DO THE RIGHT THING) during the Depression. She finds great joy, comfort and peace from her hard life at the movies, which she goes to almost every night. A new film called, THE PURPLE ROSE OF CAIRO, has come to town and she just loves it, especially the pith hat wearing, young explorer Tom Baxter, played by Gil Shepherd (Jeff Daniels, THE HOURS). One day when things are at their worst for Cecilia, Tom Baxter walks out of the movie screen and declares his love for her. For once in Cecilia’s life, the magic of the movies has entered her drab existence.
When it comes to haunted house films, this one is one of the best. The story knows what scares people and plays on a lot of the common fears that people have as kids. The spooky tree, the strange doll, the monster in the closet are all examples of the film collecting and tapping into very relatable chills that many have firsthand experience with.
The Freeling family lives in a planned community in California. Steve (Craig T. Nelson, TV’s COACH) is the top realtor for the community. His wife Diane (JoBeth Williams, FEVER PITCH) is a stay-at-home mom for their three kids — teen Dana (Dominique Dunne), middle child Robbie (Oliver Robins, AIRPLANE II) and pre-schooler Carol Anne (Heather O’Rourke, POLTERGEIST II: THE OTHER SIDE).
