Chicago – The title of the film, “Calvary,” should have resonance to any guilty Catholic out there, and yet the loaded word can’t deliver the truth that the film seeks. Brendan Gleeson gives an astonishing performance as a conflicted priest, but the material he has to work with is not up to his portrayal.
Rating: 3.0/5.0
Essentially the territory mined is nothing new, as the sins of humanity are on display while the priest makes his journey. Even the intriguing twists – like the priest having a daughter from his former life – don’t really pay off. The writer/director John Michael McDonagh gets points for conceiving the thesis of the narrative, but the points are subtracted one by one as the story fleshed out from this thesis is revealed. While it might be more substantial to people who have wondered about the strange and Irish meanderings of the Catholic Church, to...
Rating: 3.0/5.0
Essentially the territory mined is nothing new, as the sins of humanity are on display while the priest makes his journey. Even the intriguing twists – like the priest having a daughter from his former life – don’t really pay off. The writer/director John Michael McDonagh gets points for conceiving the thesis of the narrative, but the points are subtracted one by one as the story fleshed out from this thesis is revealed. While it might be more substantial to people who have wondered about the strange and Irish meanderings of the Catholic Church, to...
- 8/11/2014
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Exclusive: Protagonist exec named head of acquisitions and development at Pinewood Pictures.
Protagonist Pictures head of acquisitions Jeremy Baxter is to join UK production outfit Pinewood Pictures as head of acquisitions and development.
Baxter will join the production arm of the Pinewood Studios Group, run by Former CinemaNX chairman Steve Christian, in late April.
The addition of the executive is a coup for Pinewood, which to date has backed productions including Crispian Mills’ A Fantastic Fear Of Everything, Amma Asante’s period-drama Belle and Richard Shepard’s Dom Hemingway, and is now looking to ramp its production activities.
Parent company Pinewood Studios manages the multi-million pound Isle of Man Film Fund and was recently appointed as advisor to the Welsh government on their new film and TV investment pool.
London-based sales outfit Protagonist has yet to announce how it will fill the role vacated by Baxter, who joined the company shortly after its launch in 2008, working on titles...
Protagonist Pictures head of acquisitions Jeremy Baxter is to join UK production outfit Pinewood Pictures as head of acquisitions and development.
Baxter will join the production arm of the Pinewood Studios Group, run by Former CinemaNX chairman Steve Christian, in late April.
The addition of the executive is a coup for Pinewood, which to date has backed productions including Crispian Mills’ A Fantastic Fear Of Everything, Amma Asante’s period-drama Belle and Richard Shepard’s Dom Hemingway, and is now looking to ramp its production activities.
Parent company Pinewood Studios manages the multi-million pound Isle of Man Film Fund and was recently appointed as advisor to the Welsh government on their new film and TV investment pool.
London-based sales outfit Protagonist has yet to announce how it will fill the role vacated by Baxter, who joined the company shortly after its launch in 2008, working on titles...
- 4/3/2014
- by andreas.wiseman@screendaily.com (Andreas Wiseman)
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: Protagonist acquisitions exec to join Pinewood Pictures.
Protagonist Pictures head of acquisitions Jeremy Baxter is to join UK production outfit Pinewood Pictures as head of acquisitions and development.
Baxter will join the production arm of the Pinewood Studios Group, run by Former CinemaNX chairman Steve Christian, in late April.
The addition of the executive is a coup for Pinewood, which to date has backed productions including Crispian Mills’ A Fantastic Fear Of Everything, Amma Asante’s period-drama Belle and Richard Shepard’s Dom Hemingway, and is now looking to ramp its production activities.
London-based sales outfit Protagonist has yet to announce how it will fill the role vacated by Baxter, who joined the company shortly after its launch in 2008, working on titles including Submarine, Kill List, StreetDance 3D, Monsters, In The Loop and Searching for Sugar Man.
Recent Protagonist acquisitions during the executive’s tenure include Yann Demange’s ‘71, John Michael McDonough’s Calvary, and [link=nm...
Protagonist Pictures head of acquisitions Jeremy Baxter is to join UK production outfit Pinewood Pictures as head of acquisitions and development.
Baxter will join the production arm of the Pinewood Studios Group, run by Former CinemaNX chairman Steve Christian, in late April.
The addition of the executive is a coup for Pinewood, which to date has backed productions including Crispian Mills’ A Fantastic Fear Of Everything, Amma Asante’s period-drama Belle and Richard Shepard’s Dom Hemingway, and is now looking to ramp its production activities.
London-based sales outfit Protagonist has yet to announce how it will fill the role vacated by Baxter, who joined the company shortly after its launch in 2008, working on titles including Submarine, Kill List, StreetDance 3D, Monsters, In The Loop and Searching for Sugar Man.
Recent Protagonist acquisitions during the executive’s tenure include Yann Demange’s ‘71, John Michael McDonough’s Calvary, and [link=nm...
- 4/3/2014
- by andreas.wiseman@screendaily.com (Andreas Wiseman)
- ScreenDaily
Whilst we can look forward to seeing Sam Mendes return to the helm for the as-yet-untitled Bond 24, one person that will sadly be missing from the shoot is Mendes’ frequent cinematographer, Roger Deakins.
In Contention’s Kris Tapley recently took to Twitter to reveal that he’d had dinner with Deakins and learned that Deakins will sadly not be shooting the anticipated next Bond film.
The plot details are understandably being kept tightly under wraps, but we do know that John Logan is returning to write the script, with Daniel Craig of course taking the lead once more for what could be his penultimate outing as the eponymous agent.
Deakins, who has earned an impressive eleven Oscar nominations for his work over the years, first worked with Mendes back on 2005’s Jarhead, before reuniting with him on 2008’s Revolutionary Road.
Fast forward four years, and he was earning his...
In Contention’s Kris Tapley recently took to Twitter to reveal that he’d had dinner with Deakins and learned that Deakins will sadly not be shooting the anticipated next Bond film.
The plot details are understandably being kept tightly under wraps, but we do know that John Logan is returning to write the script, with Daniel Craig of course taking the lead once more for what could be his penultimate outing as the eponymous agent.
Deakins, who has earned an impressive eleven Oscar nominations for his work over the years, first worked with Mendes back on 2005’s Jarhead, before reuniting with him on 2008’s Revolutionary Road.
Fast forward four years, and he was earning his...
- 2/19/2014
- by Kenji Lloyd
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Meredith Brody continues her enviable Mexican sojourn at the Morelia International Film Festival: The choice is easy for me for the first film today, even though there are ten competing screenings (however, three are at another Cinépolis multiplex, Las Americas, that I’ve been warned off by Festival vets because it’s far from the Festival center and requires a taxi ride). Still, there’s an eclectic and tempting array that includes The Guard, in the International section, an Irish film by John Michael McDonough starring Brendan Gleeson, unseen by me although released in the Us in mid-summer; a program featuring three films by Yolanda Cruz, a young Mexican filmmaker and graduate of UCLA who works on border films; Michael Nyman’s Nyman with a Movie Camera, a shot-by-shot ...
- 10/22/2011
- Thompson on Hollywood
Best Movie - Winter’S Bone Buried Treasure – Dogtooth Best Documentary – Marwencol Best Director - Debra Granik for Winter’S Bone Best Actress – Hye-ja Kim for Mother Best Actor – (Tie...
- 3/22/2011
- by Ryan Adams
- AwardsDaily.com
While the Oscars can often times take the air out of the bag with overproduced pieces, cut off speeches and the Academy’s general inability to laugh at itself, the IFC’s Independent Spirit Awards are a contrasting gas. Slightly more casual and more daring fashion risks are welcome–so are jeans–as are uncensored acceptance speeches, the Spirit Awards honor those films embodying independence and original filmmaking. Joel McHale hosted the event, which was a cold night in Los Angeles (for southern California anyway) with many men wrapped in scarves, while the women wore raincoats over their dresses.
Black Swan was the big winner taking home honors for Best Actress, Best Cinematography, Best Director and Best Feature. John Hawkes and Dale Dickey each won for their Supporting roles in Winter’s Bone and graffiti artist Banksy won for his documentary, Exit Through The Gift Shop. The King’s Speech...
Black Swan was the big winner taking home honors for Best Actress, Best Cinematography, Best Director and Best Feature. John Hawkes and Dale Dickey each won for their Supporting roles in Winter’s Bone and graffiti artist Banksy won for his documentary, Exit Through The Gift Shop. The King’s Speech...
- 2/27/2011
- by Ernie Estrella
- BuzzFocus.com
Last week I completed my quest to see all 35 of the independent films nominated for this year’s Spirit Awards. This meant weeks upon weeks of trekking to Tribeca through snow drifts, slick ice and high winds, and sitting through some heartbreaking moments, some grotesque sequences, and some deeply pretentious drivel. But I also saw a lot of truly daring and enthralling cinema – much of it on its way to theaters near you this year!
So now that I’ve done the legwork it’s time to vote. Below I break down my thoughts on who will win, and who should win.
—–
Best Foreign Film
The King’s Speech, Mademoiselle Chambon, Kisses, Of Gods and Men, and Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives
Unlike the Oscars, the Spirit Award’s foreign film eligibility is defined by place of origin — not language. So, English-language pictures are not disqualified from this category.
So now that I’ve done the legwork it’s time to vote. Below I break down my thoughts on who will win, and who should win.
—–
Best Foreign Film
The King’s Speech, Mademoiselle Chambon, Kisses, Of Gods and Men, and Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives
Unlike the Oscars, the Spirit Award’s foreign film eligibility is defined by place of origin — not language. So, English-language pictures are not disqualified from this category.
- 2/21/2011
- by Kristy Puchko
- The Film Stage
Cinema extends to more than just a visual medium, but that component keeps us coming back. The sense of awe seeing the completely unexpected is unmatched. Few cinematographers have the skill to deliver it, but this year we have an abundance in beauty. Keep in mind we are taking in account all elements of cinematography from camera movement, composition choices, lighting choices, etc. Before we get to the 15 films that impressed the most, I’d like to note a few specific favorite moments:
The best long take of 2010 goes to the stadium shot in The Secret In Their Eyes. While stitched together digitally, like Children of Men, the sequence is one of the most stunning of the year. Runner-up goes to the Black Swan transformation scene and Let Me In‘s car scene.
Black Swan also takes two more of my arbitrarily made-up awards, the best blink-and-you-miss it shot goes...
The best long take of 2010 goes to the stadium shot in The Secret In Their Eyes. While stitched together digitally, like Children of Men, the sequence is one of the most stunning of the year. Runner-up goes to the Black Swan transformation scene and Let Me In‘s car scene.
Black Swan also takes two more of my arbitrarily made-up awards, the best blink-and-you-miss it shot goes...
- 1/3/2011
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
After some NYC set indies, bittersweet docs and dramas, I continued soldiering through my Netflix Queue and trekking to theaters for matinee shows, taking in some tales of love and desperation.
Mademoiselle Chambon ~ Directed by Stéphane Brizé
A leisurely paced and subtlety told tale of star-crossed lovers, Mademoiselle Chambon centers on Jean, a construction worker who finds himself entranced by his son’s teacher. To be honest, because it is a French film that’s garnering notice, I expected something more daring or shocking than Brizé’s drama provides; his is a gently revealed story of romance simply told without surreal dramatics or grand gestures. It was bare but charming.
Nominations: Best Foreign Film
Snubbed? Mais Non.
The Exploding Girl ~ Directed by Bradley Rust Gray
Another leisurely paced and unconventional romance, The Exploding Girl stars Zoe Kazan as an epileptic girl in a winding search for love during spring break in Brooklyn.
Mademoiselle Chambon ~ Directed by Stéphane Brizé
A leisurely paced and subtlety told tale of star-crossed lovers, Mademoiselle Chambon centers on Jean, a construction worker who finds himself entranced by his son’s teacher. To be honest, because it is a French film that’s garnering notice, I expected something more daring or shocking than Brizé’s drama provides; his is a gently revealed story of romance simply told without surreal dramatics or grand gestures. It was bare but charming.
Nominations: Best Foreign Film
Snubbed? Mais Non.
The Exploding Girl ~ Directed by Bradley Rust Gray
Another leisurely paced and unconventional romance, The Exploding Girl stars Zoe Kazan as an epileptic girl in a winding search for love during spring break in Brooklyn.
- 1/3/2011
- by Kristy Puchko
- The Film Stage
Best Animated Feature
The Secret Of Kells
Directed by Tomm Moore
I realize The Secret Of Kells was nominated for an Academy Award in 2009, but technically the film was only released in 2010 and quite frankly I don’t care much for the Oscars. The Secret of Kells remains a feast for the eyes with its meticulous drawings, a throwback to the more stylized, painterly work of decades past. Steeped in magic, history, religion and Celtic mytholosgy, the subject matter may be a tad obscure for American audiences but at least it offers a refreshing alternative to Hollywood fare. Quite unlike anything I’ve ever seen before, The Secret Of Kells features a powerful message, appealing characters and a unique visual style.
Special mention: Toy Story 3
Best Documentary
Exit Through the Gift Shop
Directed by Banksy
Exit Through the Gift Shop initiates a role reversal in which documentarian becomes artist...
The Secret Of Kells
Directed by Tomm Moore
I realize The Secret Of Kells was nominated for an Academy Award in 2009, but technically the film was only released in 2010 and quite frankly I don’t care much for the Oscars. The Secret of Kells remains a feast for the eyes with its meticulous drawings, a throwback to the more stylized, painterly work of decades past. Steeped in magic, history, religion and Celtic mytholosgy, the subject matter may be a tad obscure for American audiences but at least it offers a refreshing alternative to Hollywood fare. Quite unlike anything I’ve ever seen before, The Secret Of Kells features a powerful message, appealing characters and a unique visual style.
Special mention: Toy Story 3
Best Documentary
Exit Through the Gift Shop
Directed by Banksy
Exit Through the Gift Shop initiates a role reversal in which documentarian becomes artist...
- 12/16/2010
- by Ricky
- SoundOnSight
Every year, the Spirit Awards celebrate the best in independent film.
The nominees were announced for the 26th Annual Spirits, to be handed out on Saturday, February 26, 2011 at 10pm Et/Pt, live on the Independent Film Channel (IFC).
After winning the top prize at the Gotham Awards, Winter’s Bone leads with seven nominations.
Winter’s Bone was nominated for Best Film, Best Actress, Best Screenplay, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress and Best Cinematography.
The Best Film nominees also include 127 Hours, Greenberg, The Kids Are All Right and Black Swan.
The Kids Are All Right had five nominations while Black Swan, Greenberg and Rabbit Hole each landed four.
127 Hours, Jack Goes Boating and Tiny Furniture found three each.
Rabbit Hole received nominations for its performances from Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart playing grieving parents, as well as a director’s nod for John Cameron Mitchell, best known...
The nominees were announced for the 26th Annual Spirits, to be handed out on Saturday, February 26, 2011 at 10pm Et/Pt, live on the Independent Film Channel (IFC).
After winning the top prize at the Gotham Awards, Winter’s Bone leads with seven nominations.
Winter’s Bone was nominated for Best Film, Best Actress, Best Screenplay, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress and Best Cinematography.
The Best Film nominees also include 127 Hours, Greenberg, The Kids Are All Right and Black Swan.
The Kids Are All Right had five nominations while Black Swan, Greenberg and Rabbit Hole each landed four.
127 Hours, Jack Goes Boating and Tiny Furniture found three each.
Rabbit Hole received nominations for its performances from Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart playing grieving parents, as well as a director’s nod for John Cameron Mitchell, best known...
- 12/2/2010
- by Fiona
- Filmofilia
Every year after the Gotham Awards choose their winners, the nominees for the Independent Spirit Awards are announced. Leading with nominations this year is Danny Boyle’s 127 Hours, Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan and Debra Granik’s Winter’s Bone. All three may make my best of the year list and each and every year I wholeheartedly agree with their picks. It is by far my favorite awards show and while I sometimes disagree with the winners I am always excited to see the smaller productions receive recognition for their amazing work.
The nominations are only given to films which were produced for under $20 million and the awards will be handed out on February 26 live on IFC.
Missing in action:
Where is Gareth Edwards’ Monsters? It was his first feature and he produced it for under ten grand.
Honestly Rabbit Hole deserves the nomination for best picture more than The Kids Are Alright.
The nominations are only given to films which were produced for under $20 million and the awards will be handed out on February 26 live on IFC.
Missing in action:
Where is Gareth Edwards’ Monsters? It was his first feature and he produced it for under ten grand.
Honestly Rabbit Hole deserves the nomination for best picture more than The Kids Are Alright.
- 11/30/2010
- by Ricky
- SoundOnSight
The announcements came at 11am Est (watch below). The full list of nominees follows underneath the video player (of note, Tanya Hamilton was nominated for Best First Feature for her directorial debut, Night Catches us, and Samuel L. Jackson in the Best Supporting Male category, for his performance in Mother and Child):
The list of nominations:
Best Feature (Award given to the Producer)
127 Hours
Black Swan
Greenberg
The Kids Are All Right
Winter’s Bone
Best Director
Darren Aronofsky, Black Swan
Danny Boyle, 127 Hours
Lisa Cholodenko, The Kids Are All Right
Debra Granik, Winter’s Bone
John Cameron Mitchell, Rabbit Hole
Best First Feature (Award given to the director and producer)
Everything Strange and New
Get Low
The Last Exorcism
Night Catches Us
Tiny Furniture
John Cassavetes Award
(Given to the best feature made for under $500,000; award given to the writer, director, and producer)
Daddy Longlegs
The Exploding Girl
Lbs.
The list of nominations:
Best Feature (Award given to the Producer)
127 Hours
Black Swan
Greenberg
The Kids Are All Right
Winter’s Bone
Best Director
Darren Aronofsky, Black Swan
Danny Boyle, 127 Hours
Lisa Cholodenko, The Kids Are All Right
Debra Granik, Winter’s Bone
John Cameron Mitchell, Rabbit Hole
Best First Feature (Award given to the director and producer)
Everything Strange and New
Get Low
The Last Exorcism
Night Catches Us
Tiny Furniture
John Cassavetes Award
(Given to the best feature made for under $500,000; award given to the writer, director, and producer)
Daddy Longlegs
The Exploding Girl
Lbs.
- 11/30/2010
- by Tambay
- ShadowAndAct
As award season draws nearer, theaters will be flooded with prestige-seeking dramas, stars will tout their recent turns as arrogant survivalists, stuttering monarchs, or grieving mothers, and audiences will clamor to catch up, seeking those films deemed the very best of 2010.
Are you ready? Because it has begun.
This morning in Hollywood, Eva Mendes and Jeremy Renner announced the nominees for the Spirit Awards, which honors the best of independent cinema. Lots of love was shown to Debra Granik’s Winter’s Bone, and Lisa Cholodenko’s The Kids Are All Right, which snagged seven and five nominations respectively, while Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan earned four nods, as did Noah Baumbach’s Greenberg and John Cameron Mitchell’s Rabbit Hole.
Below is the full list of honorees, courtesy of IFC, which will air the awards ceremony on February 26th at 10Pm.
Best Feature
127 Hours
Black Swan
Greenberg
The Kids Are All Right...
Are you ready? Because it has begun.
This morning in Hollywood, Eva Mendes and Jeremy Renner announced the nominees for the Spirit Awards, which honors the best of independent cinema. Lots of love was shown to Debra Granik’s Winter’s Bone, and Lisa Cholodenko’s The Kids Are All Right, which snagged seven and five nominations respectively, while Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan earned four nods, as did Noah Baumbach’s Greenberg and John Cameron Mitchell’s Rabbit Hole.
Below is the full list of honorees, courtesy of IFC, which will air the awards ceremony on February 26th at 10Pm.
Best Feature
127 Hours
Black Swan
Greenberg
The Kids Are All Right...
- 11/30/2010
- by Kristy Puchko
- The Film Stage
DVD Playhouse—November 2010
By Allen Gardner
Paths Of Glory (Criterion) Stanley Kubrick’s 1957 antiwar classic put him on the map as a major filmmaker. Kirk Douglas stars in a true story about a French officer in Ww I who locks horns with the military’s top brass after his men are court-martialed for failing to carry out an obvious suicide mission. A perfect film, across the board, with fine support from George Macready as one of the most despicable martinet’s ever captured on film, Ralph Meeker, and Adolphe Menjou, all oily charm as a conniving General. Also available on Blu-ray disc. Bonuses: Audio commentary by critic Gary Giddins; Excerpt from 1966 audio interview with Kubrick; 1979 interview with Douglas; New interviews with Jan Harlan, Christiane Kubrick, and producer James B. Harris; French television documentary on real-life case which inspired the film; Trailer. Widescreen. Dolby 1.0 mono.
Winter’S Bone (Lionsgate) After her deadbeat father disappears,...
By Allen Gardner
Paths Of Glory (Criterion) Stanley Kubrick’s 1957 antiwar classic put him on the map as a major filmmaker. Kirk Douglas stars in a true story about a French officer in Ww I who locks horns with the military’s top brass after his men are court-martialed for failing to carry out an obvious suicide mission. A perfect film, across the board, with fine support from George Macready as one of the most despicable martinet’s ever captured on film, Ralph Meeker, and Adolphe Menjou, all oily charm as a conniving General. Also available on Blu-ray disc. Bonuses: Audio commentary by critic Gary Giddins; Excerpt from 1966 audio interview with Kubrick; 1979 interview with Douglas; New interviews with Jan Harlan, Christiane Kubrick, and producer James B. Harris; French television documentary on real-life case which inspired the film; Trailer. Widescreen. Dolby 1.0 mono.
Winter’S Bone (Lionsgate) After her deadbeat father disappears,...
- 11/6/2010
- by The Hollywood Interview.com
- The Hollywood Interview
Chicago – Every year there’s a performance or two that truly heralds the arrival of an amazing new talent. Arguably the most impressive debut of 2010 belongs to Jennifer Lawrence, a nearly-guaranteed Oscar nominee for her searing performance in the devastating “Winter’s Bone,” recently released on Blu-ray and DVD on the eve of what is sure to be numerous year-end mentions and potential award nominations.
Blu-Ray Rating: 4.5/5.0
Lawrence stars as a 17-year-old named Ree Dolly, a young woman forced to be much more mature than your average movie mallrat. Ree’s mom is mentally ill to the point that she’s essentially useless. When writer/director Debra Granik’s film opens, Ree is struggling to take care of her younger brother and sister by not only taking them to school but teaching them how to hunt and cook squirrels. Ree’s life is as rural as you can imagine with...
Blu-Ray Rating: 4.5/5.0
Lawrence stars as a 17-year-old named Ree Dolly, a young woman forced to be much more mature than your average movie mallrat. Ree’s mom is mentally ill to the point that she’s essentially useless. When writer/director Debra Granik’s film opens, Ree is struggling to take care of her younger brother and sister by not only taking them to school but teaching them how to hunt and cook squirrels. Ree’s life is as rural as you can imagine with...
- 11/4/2010
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
We're sitting on a screener of the indie horror flick I Sell The Dead here at Reject HQ, but only because we're waiting for a dark and stormy night to break that shit out. Called the ScareFlix series (the brainchild of producer Larry Fessenden), the latest in the series might just be a groundbreaking film, and not just by ridiculously-low-budget indie horror thrill film standards. Joe Maggio (Paper Covers Rock) has written and directed his first genre film, Bitter Feast, starring Joshua Leonard (of indie staff favorite Humpday) and James LeGros (The Last Winter). Making the movie for $16.50 and a pack of Jujubees, Bitter Feast is the first feature to be shot on a Dslr camera. As far as anyone knows. (And recording over your little brother's junior high graduation with your girlfriend's drunken rendition of "The Humpty Dance" doesn't count. Unless you'd like to submit it to Larry Fessenden as the missing link of the ScareFlix...
- 8/4/2009
- by Bethany Perryman
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
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