January 01, 2004World / Independent Film Blog Archives |
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The Best Movies From Australia and New Zealand Nicole Kidman, Jane Campion, Russell Crowe, Peter Jackson, Keisha Castle-Hughes, Peter Weir, Mel Gibson, Naomi Watts: Australia and New Zealand's roster of talent is impressive (plus, it's summer there right now.) Reason enough to take a closer look at the best films from Down Under.
02:19 PM # Review: On the Run "On the Run" is the first film of ambitious writer/director/actor Lucas Belvaux' Trilogy to hit American cinemas, a moody thriller that will be followed by the comedy "An Amazing Couple" and "After the Life," a melodrama. The three interlocking movies share characters and locations, but belong to entirely different genres. Read the review of "On the Run," opening Friday.
10:30 AM # Fernando Meirelles Nominated For "City of God"The Academy announced their Oscar nominations today. In a surprise choice, Brazilian filmmaker Fernando Meirelles was nominated for Best Director for "City of God." Mereilles joins Clint Eastwood ("Mystic River"), Peter Weir ("Master and Commander"), Peter Jackson ("Lord of the Rings: Return of the King") and Sofia Coppola ("Lost In Translation"), only the third woman ever nominated for the prestigious award. Another surprise nomination went to Keisha Castle-Hughes, the irrepressible Kiwi teen in "Whale Rider," for Best Actress.The nominees for Best Foreign Film are "The Barbarian Invasions" from Canada, "Zelary" from the Czech Republic, "The Twilight Samurai" from Japan, "Twin Sisters" from the Netherlands and "Evil" from Sweden. Of the four, only "The Barbarian Invasions" has been released in the U.S. so far. More: Jurgen's favorite films of 2003, Marcy's favorite films of 2003, and a complete list of past Oscar winners in the Foreign Film category. 10:42 AM # Wicked Heart: New DVD Releases If there's a common thread to this week's top new independent and world films on DVD, it's the twisted ways of the heart: Alan Rudolph's "The Secret Lives of Dentists," starring Hope Davis and Campbell Scott, concerns infidelity and tooth pain, Catherine Hardwicke's "Thirteen" traces the reckless desires of teenages, and the hit documentary "Capturing the Friedmans" focuses on pornography and sexual abuse. Also: Kate Hudson in "Le Divorce" and the Seijun Suzuki yakuza thriller "Kanto Wanderer."
05:28 PM # Low-Budget Films Take Top Prizes at SundanceWhile the buzz had pegged high profile films like "Garden State," "Napolean Dynamite," and "Woodsman" to sweep the awards, the actual winners prove that indies are alive and well. Shane Carruth's low budget, sci-fi "Primer" was the surprise winner of the Dramatic Grand Jury Prize and Ondi Timoner's "DiG!" about warring musicians took the top documentary prize. See the complete list of winners of the 2004 Sundance Awards.03:17 PM # New DVD Reviews We are constantly adding reviews of new and old films to the site. Take a look at the latest from Italy, Australia, Scotland, and France.
05:28 PM # Substance From SundanceWhile Paris Hilton sings karaoke at Park City bars and Ashton Kutcher rides the ski lift with Demi Moore to plug his first dramatic role in "The Butterfly Efflect," numerous films of substance are making their mark. More documentaries than ever are screening at this year's indie fest, including several highly political works. Alison Maclean ("Jesus' Son") and Tobias Perse's "Persons of Interest" investigates the persecution of Muslim-Americans in the wake of 9/11. Ivy Meeropol's "Heir to an Execution" chronicles her effort to come to terms with the lives and deaths of her grand parents, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. Carlos Sandoval and Catherine Tambini's "Farmingville" looks at immigration, and Jehane Noujaim's "Control Room" examines media coverage of the war in Iraq. There are also dramas that feel like documentaries, including Debra Granik's stark feature film "Down to the Bone," the story of a mother's battle with drug addiction.More: the official Sundance blog, indieWire's coverage, and previous Sundance news. 01:37 PM # Binoche Double Feature: This Week's New DVDs We highly recommend a Juliette Binoche double feature this week: last year's slow charmer "Jet Lag" with Jean Reno and Leos Carax' wildly poetic "Lovers On the Bridge" are out on DVD this week. Also, the critically acclaimed documentary "Spellbound" and Francois Ozon's "Sitcom." More: DVD Reviews, Criterion DVDs, DVD Stores, and the best DVDs of 2003. 11:49 AM # "Garden State" Nabbed At SundanceCast Natalie Portman as the beautiful girl in the neighborhood, and no worries: your indie film will sell on the second day of Sundance. Congratulations to 28 year old Zach Braff of TV's "Scrubs" whose "Garden State" (based on Rick Moody's first novel) got nabbed in an unprecendent joint deal by Miramax and Fox Searchlight. More high profile distribution deals on day two of the tenth annual Sundance Film Festival include Walter Salles' "The Motorcycle Diaries" starring Gael Garcia Bernal ("Y Tu Mama Tambien"), which was picked up by Focus Features. Sony Classics bought Stacy Peralta's opening night documentary, "Riding Giants," while Lions Gate acquired Chris Kentis' "Open Water," a thriller about married scuba divers. Also, check out Sundance's official blogger's daily gossip reports, indieWIRE's in-depth reportage, and previous news on the fest.07:03 PM # Bollywood 2004 Missed "Bollywood/Hollywood," "Devdas," and "Koi...Mil Gaya?" Get into Hindi film with our newly added Bollywood 101 section, updated star galleries, and info on the movies, including the upcoming "Kal Ho Naa Ho" and other Bollywood hits to watch out for this year--but if Juhi Chawla, Hrithik Roshan, Preity Zinta and Shilpa Shetty don't float your boat, there's always Nollywood.
05:47 PM # Review: "Monster" The beautiful but bland Charlize Theron gained thirty pounds, blotched her flawless complextion and revved up the emotion for her lead performance in Patty Jenkins' "Monster." She's gaining critical acclaim as a "serious actress" - nominations, awards, in-depth interviews, you name it - but the question remains: does a hideous exterior equal a good performance and a worthwhile film? Read Marcy's review.
03:54 PM # In Theaters Today From the Australian outback to Tehran penthouses and the Tokyo slums, today's new theatrical releases offer to take you to the unlikeliest places. "Crimson Gold" by Jafar Panahi tells the tragic story of an Iranian pizza delivery man, Toni Colette finds herself stranded with an unwelcome companion in "Japanese Story," and rising star Satoshi Kon ("Millennium Actress," "Perfect Blue") returns with "Tokyo Godfathers" to push the possibilities of anime.
More: Coming Soon - In Theaters Now 11:23 AM # Sundance Film Festival Kicks Off TodaySundance 2004 gets underway tonight with the premiere of "Riding Giants," a documentary by Stacy Peralta ("Dogtown and Z-Boys.") Last year's grand jury winner "American Splendor" appeared on many critics' top ten lists. This year's festival promises once again a mix of high profile pictures and work by unknown filmmakers. Superstar Nicole Kidman will be in attendance to promote Lars Von Trier's "Dogville," and in a festival first, Sundance founder Robert Redford will appear on the big screen as a kidnapped father in "The Clearing."High buzz screenings include the premiere of Bernardo Bertolucci's sexually provocative drama "The Dreamers, " "Maria and Bruce" starring Julianne Moore and Matthew Broderick, "Garden State," the debut feature from Zach Braff with Natalie Portman, Peter Sarsgaard, and Ian Holm, and "Iron Jawed Angels" starring Hilary Swank and Frances O'Connor. 12:10 PM # Bertolucci Film Receives NC-17 RatingFox Searchlight Pictures will release the original version of Bernardo Bertolucci's erotic drama "The Dreamers" with an NC-17 designation, AP reports. Bertolucci praised the studio's decision not to cut the sexually explicit film for an R rating. "After all," the director said, "an orgasm is better than a bomb." Set in 1968, "The Dreamers" tells the story of a young American student (Michael Pitt of Hedwig and The Angry Inch) who falls in with two French twins and fellow film fanatics whose wild ways change him forever. The film opens on February 6.04:04 PM # DVD Review: "So Close" Hong Kong action choreographer Corey Yuen shows Quentin Tarantino how it's done: stylish wire-fu, high tech gadgets and three of Asia's sexiest actresses make "So Close" buckets of high-flying fun. More on Hong Kong Film, the best Hong Kong action flicks, and Shu Qi. 12:43 AM # Focus on AfricaExplore our extended section on African film: new titles, new directors, and new resources, including the African Film Festival, a biography of the Senegalese pioneer Sembène Ousmane, and an essay on the history of African film. Elsewhere on About.com: African History.01:42 PM # Ludivine by the Pool: New DVD Releases Oh la la! Ludivine Sagnier is entertaining family audiences in "Peter Pan," but she became an international sensation with her luscious nymphet performance in Francois Ozon's "Swimming Pool," out this week on DVD. More: DVD Reviews, Criterion DVDs, DVD Stores, and the best DVDs of 2003. 01:38 PM # Dishing the Dirt on Sundance, Miramax, and Indie FilmPeter Biskind's eagerly awaited book on the film industry in the 90s, "Down and Dirty Pictures: Miramax, Sundance, and the Rise of Independent Film" is finally in stores. As the subtitle suggests, this time around, the author of the eminently readable "Easy Riders, Raging Bulls" focuses on Miramax honcho Harvey Weinstein, Sundance Kid Robert Redford, and the tales behind the films that defined the decade. IndieWire has more, and Frank Rich offers his own take in today's New York Times.08:08 PM # January Movie PreviewA gripping survival story, news from Turkey and Iran, the first of Lucas Belvaux's "Trilogy," a murderous highway prostitute and the cult poet of booze: read up about new films opening this month, including "Touching the Void," "Distant," "On the Run," "Crimson Gold," "Aileen: The Life and Death of a Serial Killer," and "Bukowski: Born Into This."11:35 AM # Review: The Battle of Algiers The first must-see release of 2004 is almost forty years old: Gillo Pontecorvo's legendary re-telling of the struggle for Algerian independence from France was reportedly screened at the Pentagon last year for its similarties to the current situation in Iraq. On Friday, a new print of this timelessly powerful film is opening in theaters. Read Jürgen's review.
09:21 AM # New DVD Releases Japan and France dominate this week's top DVD releases. Choose from the films of Japanese masters Akira Kurosawa and Masato Hagiwara, and classic French comedy by the always hilarious Jacques Tati. More: DVD Reviews, Criterion DVDs, DVD Stores, and the best DVDs of 2003.
12:45 PM # |
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