AltWeeklies Wire
New Values: Corruption and Death in Cannes
The big movies at Cannes this year treated the subject of corruption, from betrayal of personal ethics for cash to systematic governmental abuse, with cinematic inoculations of hope for an equalizing justice for humanity.
The 61st Cannes Film Festival Awards its Favorites
CANNES, France May 25. At this year's Cannes Film Festival, the jury, presided over by Sean Penn, awarded the Palme d'Or to Laurent Cantet for his heavily work-shopped film about a French junior high school teacher in a tough neighborhood, whose teaching style is challenged by his difficult students.
Cannes So Far: Sean Penn's Festival of Response
Cannes is much more than an all-you-can-watch buffet of world cinema (more than 2,300 films are shown during its 10 days), it's a bellwether of cinematic, economic, and global social values. But to weigh these new values, we have to wait until the climactic awards ceremony on May 25th.
'War, Inc.': Savage Satire Compares to Reality
The would-be comic lampoonery, about a time when all wars are outsourced, mirrors the realities of America's corporate-enabled occupation of Iraq.
'Speed Racer': The Wachowskis Make Summer Family Fun
The Wachowski Brothers achieve a divine vision of psychedelic visual ecstasy, while digging deep into a campy comic/dramatic tone that speaks to audiences of all ages.
Getting to Know Our Captors: Errol Morris Connects the Pictures to Their Takers
Documentarian Errol Morris effectively takes the viewer inside the atmosphere of psychological and physical abuse doled out by American military personnel at Abu Ghraib by connecting the hundreds of damning photos taken by soldiers to their context.
Baby Madness: It's All in the Delivery
Baby madness happily invades the brain of Philadelphia bachelorette and thriving businesswoman Kate Holbrook (gleefully played by Tina Fey) who, at the ripe age of 37, hires a surrogate mom to birth her sperm bank assisted baby.
Tags: Baby Mama, Michael McCullers
American Cinema Isn't All About Bush Anymore
Full-frontal male nudity achieves de rigueur R-rated status in American cinema thanks to the shameless efforts of Judd Apatow's gang of cutting-edge writers and directors that have delivered movies like The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Superbad.
David Ayer's 'Harsh Times' Get Harsher
A combination of implausible plot-points, and the miscasting of television's Hugh Laurie as Internal Affairs chief Captain Biggs, hampers a convoluted crime thriller that is nonetheless entertaining for its grotesque action sequences.
Tags: David Ayer, Street Kings
Empathy for the Stones
Martin Scorsese returns to the rock 'n' roll concert documentary genre that he helped develop in 1978 with The Last Waltz, to capture an energized performance by The Rolling Stones at New York's Beacon Theater in the fall of 2006.
Tags: Martin Scorsese, Shine a Light
Scorsese Shines a Light on the Stones
On a cold Sunday at Manhattan's Palace Hotel, Martin Scorsese, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood, and Charlie Watts joined a throng of anxious journalists so we could pepper them with questions. Needless to say, Marty and the Stones looked marvelous, laughed a lot, and cracked wise to everyone's delight.
Maui Time |
Cole Smithey |
03-31-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Martin Scorsese, Shine a Light
'Boys Don't Cry' Director Returns With Soldiers' Untold Story
Co-writer and director Kimberly Peirce returns after her impressive 1999 drama Boys Don't Cry with an equally empathetic film centered around the U.S. military's current backdoor-draft, responsible for forcing 81,000 soldiers back into war after multiple tours of duty.
Tags: Kimberly Peirce, Stop-Loss
Gettin' Jiggy Wid It: International B-Boy Battle Buzzes Onscreen
The mid '80s urban dance form of breakdancing is alive and well in director Benson Lee's joyful celebration of the ingenuity and energy expressed by international "B-boy" dance crews competing in Braunschweig, Germany at the 2005 "Battle of the Year."
Tags: Benson Lee, Planet B-Boy
More Animated: Dr. Seuss Gets a Spotless Facelift
The best-loved 1954 children's book by Ted Geisel (AKA Dr. Seuss) gets an appropriately colorful and vibrant film treatment with the aid of beautiful animation and expressive vocal performances.
Two Serial Killers Walk Into a Home
Michael Haneke's remake of his own movie is no joke.
Tags: Funny Games, Michael Haneke
