Pieta, a shocking new work by Korean filmmaker Kim Ki-Duk about a small-time crook’s attempted redemption after he rediscovers his humane side in a society corrupt by money won the Golden Lion for Best Film at the 69th Mostra last night. “I wish to thank all those who contributed to this film as well as the Venice Festival and Italian audiences, and, finally, the members of the jury,” the filmmaker said upon accepting his prize. Next
To properly discuss David Cronenberg’s “Cosmopolis,” we need to discuss something that film reviews rarely touch: the relationship between film and literature, in a general and historical sense. The challenge that cinema placed upon the primacy of literature in the last century has resulted in marketplace rivalry. Like any good products, the two began to differentiate. Film became the reserve of action, plot, emo-
Last year “Bridesmaids” showed that women could do crude humor. When did that stop? Didn’t Cameron Diaz expertly handle a “hair gel” scene more than a decade ago? Anyway, now here is Lauren Miller and Katie Ann Naylon’s “For a Good Time, Call”. It’s got laughs, it’s got heart. Looks like crude women are 2 for 2, so far.
In addition to sharing screenwriting duties
Every kid has that movie that’s going to scare the crap out of them for the first time. The stop-motion animation studio Laika, which was behind 2009’s fantastic “Coraline” and now this Tim Burton-meets-low-rent monster movie mash-up “Paranorman,” again manages a good first step for scary movie virgins.
Norman (Kodi Smit-McPhee) is a young kid living in Blithe
Can a bunch of long-in-the-tooth action stars still substitute muscles, guns, and wisecracks for super heroes and special effects? Sylvester Stallone & Co. respond to that question with a resounding “hell yeah.” “The Expendables 2” is a “go-bigger” sequel that works and it does so because of exciting familiar faces.
This time a debt Barney (Sylvester Stallone) owes to Mr. Church (Bruce Willis) leads him and his
Those hoping “The Campaign” would be an economic-political satire will probably be a little disappointed, but for those ready to laugh at some Dog-Gate 2012-like absurdity with two comedic heavyweights behind the wheel, this Will Ferrell-Zach Galifianakis comedy hits the mark. Ferrell is Cam Brady, on his way to another term as congressman for Hammond, NC, while Galifianakis is Marty Huggins, the effeminate, disappoint-
Watching a Bourne movie not starring Jason Bourne is like watching the Harlem Globetrotters starring the Washington Generals. Over the past months, writer of the last three, and now director of this one, Tony Gilroy and Matt Damon have feuded over the future of this franchise. Gilroy has stated that this is a companion piece which ties into the Bourne storyline, but other than telling us that there’s more than one C.I.A. program (a fact we