For someone who has a tremendous fear of flying, I can say that the opening act of Robert Zemeckis’ Flight is one of the most terrifying film experiences I’ve had in years, as Denzel Washington flies a malfunctioning plane completely inverted in an attempt to save the lives on board his craft. From here, the film becomes less of a story about the survival of a plane crash and the legal proceedings that follow, and more of a story about a man trying to survive his own personal crash landing as he deals with inner demons in the same vein as Leaving Las Vegas or Days of Wine and Roses before it. Denzel plays Whip Whitaker, a charming and brilliant pilot afflicted by alcoholism, and does so with the usual casual grace and tender ease we’ve grown accustomed to seeing from the two-time Oscar winner. Flight is a capable film about hitting rock bottom, coming to terms with that bottom, and finding a way towards recovery and salvation. Sure, this is something we have seen before, but few times have we seen it carried by such a strong and magnetic performance as we do this time around from one of this generation’s finest actors. (***)
Read more on Snippet Reviews: ‘Flight’ and ‘Wreck-It Ralph’…
Categories: Film Reviews Tags: Channing Tatum, Denzel Washington, Disney, Film, Flight, Flight review, John C. Reilly, Magic Mike, Robert Zemeckis, Snippet Reviews, Wreck-It Ralph, Wreck-It Ralph Review
(Image Courtesy of MouseInfo®)
A few weeks back, I was fortunate enough to attend the press junket for Disney’s Wreck-It Ralph. As I’m sure you’re aware, I absolutely love this nostalgia-driven feature, and it was an even greater joy sitting down and meeting with the talented cast and crew behind Disney’s latest animated treat. John C. Reilly, Sarah Silverman and Jane Lynch are extremely charismatic individuals who can make a room erupt in laughter just by the simplest of quips. Unfortunately, Jack McBrayer was unable to attend the press day, but my fellow “junketeers” and I still gained valuable insight on the film from director Rich Moore, writer Phil Johnston, and producer Clark Spencer. We also spoke to one of the most graciously humble animator-turned-directors in the business, John Kahrs, whose magnificent animated short Paperman precludes the screening of Wreck-It Ralph. Below, you will hear the audio from each roundtable session that features either the talent or crew. Enjoy!
Read more on ‘Wreck-It Ralph’ Press Day Roundtables…
Categories: Article Tags: California Institute of Arts, Clark Spencer, Jack McBrayer, jane lynch, John C. Reilly, John Kahrs, john lasseter, Nintendo Co. Ltd., Phil Johnston, Pixar, Rich Moore, Sarah Silverman, The Jungle Book, Wreck It Ralph press junket, Wreck-It Ralph, Wreck-It Ralph roundtables
Forgive the obvious pun, but I’ve got my money on Ralph wrecking his competition at the box office this weekend to cap off a nice week of triumphs for Disney. Robert Zemeckis is also back at it with the help of a non-animated Denzel Washington. And perhaps a little stylized kung fu from a hip-hop chameleon to feed the eclectic palate?
Read more on Weekend Openings: 11/2/2012…
Categories: Weekend Openings Tags: Animation, Barry Levinson, Bradley Rust, Cast Away, China, Christopher Denham, Christopher Walken, Denzel Washington, Director, Don Cheadle, Entertainment/Culture, Francis McDormand, humble blacksmith, Jack McBrayer, Jacob Aaron Estes, jane lynch, Jane McNeill, John C. Reilly, John Goodman, Judd Hirsch, Juno Temple, Katherine Keener, Kristen Connolly, Kylie Minogue, Late Quartet, Laura Linney, Lucy Lui, Movie Release, Paolo Sorrentino, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Rich Moore, Riley Keough, Robert Zemeckis, Russell Crowe, Sean Penn, tobey maguire
 In true topsy-turvy form, where this summer’s Brave is a Pixar film with Disney sensibilities, Wreck-It Ralph is a Disney film in name only. From its intimate characterizations, right on down to its all-ages accessibility, everything about this wholly unique video game adventure feels so wonderfully Pixar-esque! This is due in large part to the innovative mind of Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios’ chief creative officer, John Lasseter, who also serves as the film’s executive producer. Where many industry vets in Hollywood would shudder at the mere idea of setting an original story within a video game world (especially given the stigma surrounding video game adaptations), Lasseter carries onward and refurbishes the scorned genre with the very same “pixie dust” magic that turned films like Up and Toy Story into instant classics. Hiring Simpsons director Rich Moore to helm the project was a risky yet astute move by Lassetter, one that disproves any notion that Disney is reverting back to its soft and cuddly ways. If anything, it demonstrates how all-encompassing Disney has become, appealing to the masses from every trajectory. Calling Wreck-It Ralph the “greatest video game movie of all-time” almost seems too easy, but low and behold that’s exactly what it is. Never settling for mediocrity, Wreck-It Ralph is a triumph from its first level to its very last.
Read more on Wreck-It Ralph (***½)…
Categories: Film Reviews Tags: Best Animated Feature, Best Animted Short, Brave, Disney animated feature, greatest video game movie, Jack McBrayer, jane lynch, John C. Reilly, John Kahrs, john lasseter, oscars 2013, Paperman, Paperman Oscar, Paperman review, Pixar, Rich Moore, Sarah Silverman, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Wreck-It Ralph, Wreck-It Ralph Review
 I laughed at ‘The Dictator’ more than I’d care to admit. More a stretched out Saturday Night Live sketch or Adam Sandler high concept comedy than anything that star/co-writer Sacha Baron Cohen and director Larry Charles have tackled before, this is far from a good movie, but it does manage to be a reasonably entertaining one. Like some of Sandler’s recent outings, there’s very little in the way of quality craftsmanship and the jokes are hardly new ones, but they manage to elicit more chuckles and belly laughs than they should. Now, ‘The Dictator’ once or twice manages to do some interesting things (and end speech satirically comparing democracy to a dictatorship isn’t just funny, but surprisingly biting and right on the money), but most of the time they go for the easy jokes. The hit to miss ratio is pretty good, but the ones that miss, well, they miss pretty badly. Baron Cohen is a fearless performer, and his straight up chutzpah is hard not to admire, but I’m still waiting for him to put it all together. I wasn’t as big a fan of ‘Borat’ as most, though I still found it funny, and ‘Bruno’ was disappointing however you slice it, so this is another mixed bag for the comedian. This time around, it’s a narrative instead of a mockumentary, and honestly, I’m not sure which suits him better as of yet. Personally, I prefer his more subdued work in other films, but that’s just me. On its own terms, ‘The Dictator’ is entertaining, it’s just not especially good. If that’s an odd combination to you, well…you’re not alone there.
Read more on The Dictator (**½)…
 Directed By: Larry Charles
Written By: Sacha Baron Cohen, Alec Berg, David Mandel, Jeff Schaffer
Cast: Sacha Baron Cohen, Anna Faris, Ben Kingsley, John C. Reilly
Synopsis (From IMDB): The heroic story of a dictator who risks his life to ensure that democracy would never come to the country he so lovingly oppressed.
Read more on Awards Profile: ‘The Dictator’…
 The Academy Awards will be revealing their nominations on Tuesday morning and we here are gearing up for the big announcement. We will be LIVE Blogging the morning of beginning at 8:15am ET and going on until about 9:00am.
The Staff of the Awards Circuit consisting of Anna Belickis, Joseph Braverman, John H. Foote, Robert Hamer, Joey Magidson, and Michael Ward have put together their picks of who and what films will be nominated on Tuesday morning. There are some interesting choices with some ballsy moves as well. The Official Predictions will be updated in the coming hours. For now, enjoy what the staff have chosen and start discussing your picks. Go here or Click onStaff Predictions.
Read more on The Staff Unveils their Final Oscar Predictions…
 A violent act on a playground between two middle school boys is all that’s needed to launch into Carnage, the cinematic adaptation of a Tony Award winning play about two sets of parents who are brought together to work through a situation their children have forced them into.
Directed by Oscar-winner Roman Polanski, Carnage is essentially a filmed play with four characters engaging in a rollercoaster ride of discussions about their children, their lives, their respective marriages, and a whole treasure trove of other related and unrelated topics. The film retains a feverish, almost manic, pitch and your ability to like this rests with how much vitriol, dialogue, and smarminess you can stomach from these four interesting, but slightly troubled, individuals.
 Read more on Carnage (**½)…
The Year-In-Review continues with some non-traditional citations on certain films and performances that did or did not make head way in 2011. What are your choices for “Limited Performance” of the year? or Most Underrated Film? or share what you thought about the Year-in-TV as I dish out my favorites in Television Drama and Comedies. Read more after jump. Read more on Year-In-Review: Editor’s Specialty Awards…
Categories: Article, Community, Editor Tags: Alexander Payne, American Horror Story, american idol, Andy Serkis, arthur christmas, Bennett Miller, Berenice Bejo, Best Animated Feature, Best of the year, bill hader, Boardwalk Empire, Brad Pitt, Bridesmaids, Bryce Dallas Howard, Carey Mulligan, Christina Hendricks, Christine Baranski, dancing with the stars, Dexter, Drive, Eric Stonestreet, George Clooney, glee, Harry Escott, Hugo, it;s always sunny in philadelphia, jane lynch, Jason Segel, jean dujardin, Jessica Chastain, Jessica Lange, John C. Reilly, Jonah Hill, Julie Bowen, Kelly MacDonald, Kristen Wiig, mad men, Martin Scorsese, Max Greenfield, Maya Rudolph, Melissa McCarthy, Michael Fassbender, Michel Hazanavicius, modern family, Moneyball, New Girl, Nicolas Winding Refn, pariah, Paul Feig, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Ryan Gosling, saturday night live, Score, Sean Penn, Shame, sofia vergara, Steve McQueen, Super 8, Survivor, Terrence Malick, the artist, The Descendants, The Help, The Muppets, the office, The Tree of Life, The Walking Dead, the x factor, Tilda Swinton, True Blood, tv, Ty Burrell, Up All Night, We Need To Talk About Kevin
 For Your Consideration: Best Achievement in Directing
Film: “We Need to Talk About Kevin”
Director: Lynne Ramsay
Writer: Lynne Ramsay & Rory Kinnear
Realistic Nominations: Best Actress (Tilda Swinton)
Oscar Scene: Kevin’s bow (after the massacre).
Few women find themselves in Oscar’s conversation for Best Director. Most recently we saw Kathryn Bigelow win her much deserved Oscar for “The Hurt Locker” but there have been plenty of women worthy of citation over the past decade. Sofia Coppola was nominated for writing and directing the independent classic, “Lost in Translation” but what of Julie Taymor for her wonderful adaptation of the Beatles’ classic songs in “Across the Universe.” Before the “Twilight” franchise, Catherine Hardwicke put her stamp on the indie film, “Thirteen” starring Evan Rachel Wood and Oscar Winner Holly Hunter. Obviously we’ve seen Jane Campion awarded for her work in “The Piano” but she brought to life the beautiful “Bright Star” and “Portrait of a Lady,” both ignored by the Academy.
Read more on Circuit Consideration: Lynne Ramsay for “We Need to Talk About Kevin”…
Polanski handles comedy well in his newest "Carnage"…
Roman Polanski has created some of the most heart-wrenching and prolific films of the past four decades. In his newest film, Carnage, Polanski examines two couples as they discuss an altercation between their two children all in real time. Alan (Christoph Waltz) and Nancy (Kate Winslet), married with their son, have a hard time communicating between Alan’s pharmaceutical business and Nancy’s constant abrupt illnesses. Penelope (Jodie Foster) and Michael (John C. Reilly) are prim and proper and the owner’s of the home where our story takes place, and between Penelope’s badgering about perfection and Michael’s lackadaisical attitude towards life, tensions are building. The film handles the tension with sure-fire wittiness and ease not withstanding the terrific exchangeable words between our principals, Carnage is a delight for all movie-goers.
Read more on Carnage (***)…
Categories: Editor, Film Reviews Tags: alexandre desplat, Carnage, Christoph Waltz, Comedy, Editor Film Review, Jodie Foster, John C. Reilly, Kate Winslet, Oscar hopeful, Roman Polanski
 The trailer for Lynne Ramsay’s We Need to Talk About Kevin hits. Is Tilda Swinton and Ezra Miller set up for Oscar success? Some think so. Check it out after the jump. Read more on Trailer: We Need to Talk About Kevin…
With the recent announcements of Keira Knightley from David Cronenberg’s A Dangerous Method being campaigned in the Lead Actress category and every actor from Roman Polanski’s Carnage being campaigned in the Supporting categories by Sony Pictures Classics, the Awards Circuit’s Oscar Tracker has been updated.
What do these announcement’s mean awards-wise? Knightley is going to have an uphill climb indeed for her category with seven or eight leading ladies already duking it out. The cast of Carnage might have an easier time especially stars Christoph Waltz and Jodie Foster who have received good early buzz for their performances. If Max Von Sydow is not the performance we think he is for Stephen Daldry’s Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close or if George Clooney’s The Ides of March buzz dies altogether, Waltz may have a very easy get for himself in the Supporting Actor category. John C. Reilly hasn’t been much of an awards talker thus far and I don’t expect anything to change on that regards.
Read more on Massive Oscar Tracker Update!…
Categories: Editor, News Tags: benedict cumberbatch, Carnage, Christoph Waltz, david cronenberg, extremely loud and incredibly close, Jeff Nichols, Jessica Chastain, Jodie Foster, John C. Reilly, Kate Winslet, Keira Knightley, Lead Actress, Oscar Tracker, Roman Polanski, Supporting Actress, Take Shelter, Tate Taylor, Terrence Malick, The Help, The Ides of March, The Tree of Life, tinker tailor soldier spy
 If you were to ask me about my thoughts on ‘We Need to Talk About Kevin’ directly after seeing it back in September, I would have said that it was one of the biggest disappointments of 2011 (besides ‘The Tree of Life’ and ‘Attack the Block’) for me. Stewing over it some more, I’ve come to find that the pluses outweigh the minuses here. I still think that I like it less than almost all of the other Oscar pundits, but the excellent lead performance by Tilda Swinton and the unsettlingly good turn by Ezra Miller (he’s actually the film’s highlight in my eyes) supersede co-writer/director Lynne Ramsay’s filmmaking missteps. It’s a love it or hate it type of direction she takes, and if not for Swinton and Miller, I might be leaning to towards the latter. When it comes to the acting, the film is rather top notch for the most part. When it comes to the writing and the directing, however…it’s a whole other story. Too flawed to be the masterpiece that the reviews out of Cannes suggested, this still is a unique enough take on familiar material to be worth the recommendation from me, even if it’s not quite on the level as a somewhat similar film from earlier this year called ‘Beautiful Boy’. Still, the pros outweigh the cons here.
Read more on We Need to Talk About Kevin (***)…
 A new trailer for Roman Polanski’s Carnage has hit the web. The reviews that have been shared have been positive but no one really seems to be calling it one of the frontrunners. Relationship dramas have had a hard time getting in with Oscar the past few years (Revolutionary Road, Closer). Acting categories, you never know? If Christoph Waltz and John C. Reilly decide to go supporting, maybe they have a fighting chance. Same goes for Jodie Foster and Kate Winslet, probably a better chance for them. Trailer is after the jump. Read more on Trailer: “Carnage”…
Read more on Trailer: “Carnage”…
 A good natured comedy that wants to be the naïve little cousin to The Hangover pretty badly, Cedar Rapids succeeds largely based on its small town style charm. The movie has some funny moments, but often settles for being a little funny instead of getting the gut busting moments that normally mark successful movies of this ilk. It also gets some strong chemistry from its cast, led by Ed Helms in the lead role. Director Miguel Arteta has done better work before, but there’s nothing wrong with this flick. It sort of straddles the line between being a mainstream acceptable comedy and a somewhat indie one, but that just gives it somewhat of a unique identity. I didn’t crack up much during Cedar Rapids, but I did smile a lot. Read more on Cedar Rapids (***)…
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