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  • Author: Robert Hamer
    January 1, 2012
    • Anna Belickis concluded her countdown of the worst, most vile, most inhumane offenses to art that graced the TV screen last year.  What was the worst of the worst, and what was the runner-up?

    Read more on Circuit Round-Up (Week Ending 01/01)…

    Author: Robert Hamer
    December 29, 2011

    Anyone who describes Julia Leigh’s almost startlingly assured debut film as erotic either hasn’t seen the film or has some seriously deranged kinks, as sexiness is the last thing that this film invokes (In fact, there are no actual sex scenes in the entire film).  It is so precisely visually controlled and keeping its main character such a puzzling enigma, it’s really in a class of its own.  Whether or not such a distinction makes it worthwhile or not is another matter entirely, but for those willing to see a near-100% depersonalized and usually intriguing exploration of the female body and male voyeuristic gaze, Sleeping Beauty is a uniquely creepy if somewhat arch experience.

    Emily Browning (from Sucker Punch, but let’s not hold that against her) stars as Lucy, a college student who takes on a number of odd jobs to support herself.  These include guinea pig, office worker, waitress, and possible prostitute…though whether or not she gets paid for hooking up with anonymous men at bars for sex is left unclear.  In fact, much of what is presented about her – aided by Browning’s deliberately vacuous performance and doll-like appearance – is intended as a cipher, each scene another new twist in her personality without actually giving us a clear idea of “who” she really is, sometimes maddeningly so. Read more on Sleeping Beauty (***)…

    Author: Robert Hamer
    December 2, 2011

    Hope y’all enjoyed your Turkey Day last week, folks.  Now that your hangover is hopefully recovered, let’s take a look at what’s opening this weekend:

    Well…um, that’s interesting.  No wide releases this weekend.  Oh well, that’s not so bad; the limited circuit has had two very sexually daring movies making their theatrical foreplay.  The more anticipated of the two is Steve McQueen’s Shame, about a sex addict whose life spins out of control when his troubled sister moves in with him.  The film has been acclaimed by critics – including our own John and Clayton – as a powerful, beautifully-directed cinematic gem with a tour de force performance by Volpi Cup-winner Michael Fassbender.  Such widespread kudos would be a shoo-in for an Oscar nomination were it not for one little problem: NC-17.  Yep, that dreaded MPAA rating usually spells doom for films trying to reach an audience, as it not only bars the film from being shown in most theaters but the label is often perceived as “pornographic” to mainstream audiences and conservative organizations like the Academy.  Then again, it appears as though this film could single-handedly bring back legitimacy to the sexually explicit drama, and AMPAS could reward that with a Best Actor nomination for the ubiquitous thespian.  Keep an eye out also for a Supporting Actress nod for Carey Mulligan if that happens. Read more on Weekend Openings (December 2-4)…

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