Articles tagged "aaron eckhart"

Short Ends and Leader

Psycho Smackdown: ‘Watchmen’‘s Rorschach vs. ‘The Dark Knight’‘s Joker

by Bill Gibron

[4.Mar.09] :. This time next year, if there is any justice left in this baffling business called show, Jackie Earle Haley will be reaping the same kind of universal accolades that followed the late Heath Ledger...

Short Ends and Leader

News

Backstage at the Oscars: Heath Ledger’s family discusses win

by Barry Koltnow [The Orange County Register (MCT)]

[23.Feb.09] :. HOLLYWOOD - Heath Ledger’s sister Kate knew all along. She told us backstage that her brother had been sending her photos from the set of “The Dark Knight.”  “When he...

PopWire

News

Academy’s snubbing of ‘The Dark Knight’ is a crime

by Christopher Kelly [McClatchy Newspapers (MCT)]

[19.Feb.09] :. It conjured up a complex and detailed alternate universe. It featured one of the most convincing portraits of wanton evil ever seen in an American film. Its vision of an upside-down political system...

PopWire

Film Feature

Superheroes Versus Comics

by shathley Q

[27.Jan.09] :. There can be no doubt that the summer of 2008 stands as a high-water mark for superheroes. But in the wake of a superhero renaissance and the growing cultural legitimacy of the genre, the question must be posed: Has the superhero genre evolved beyond the comics medium?

Recent features

News

Oscars ignore ‘The Dark Knight,’ except for Ledger nomination

by Colin Covert [Star Tribune (Minneapolis) (MCT)]

[23.Jan.09] :. It was a dark day for “The Dark Knight” as the 81st annual Oscar nominations, announced Thursday, snubbed the most popular film since “Titanic.” Christopher Nolan’s...

PopWire

PopMatters Picks: The Best TV, Film, and DVD of 2008 Feature

The New Classics - The 30 Best Films of 2008

by PopMatters Staff

[16.Jan.09] :. Unlike previous years, where classics came crawling out of the celluloid woodwork with regular reckless abandon, 2008 was more calm… and considered. That's not to say that choosing 30 top titles was hard. The difficulty in placing them in some manner of rank order suggests the actual depth of quality involved.

PopMatters Picks: The Best TV, Film, and DVD of 2008

Iconic - The Top 20 Male Performances of 2008

by PopMatters Staff

[14.Jan.09] :. Like the gladiators of old, 2008 resembles a battle of formidable acting gods, especially when looking over the 20 choices presented below. Indeed, if anything, choosing a winner requires more of a leap of faith than any amount of critical skill - they all were that good.

Let Us Now Praise Ordinary Men: Normalcy, Comics, and The Dark Knight

by Chris Barsanti

[23.Sep.08] :. Without a couple of recognizably fallible and ordinary men like Harvey Dent and Commissioner Gordon at its center, The Dark Knight would ultimately be nothing more than an exceptionally well-tooled and smartly-acted thriller.

Towelhead

by Cynthia Fuchs

[15.Sep.08] :. As viewers of Towelhead must know (and Jasira, eternally ripe and optimistic, will never know), the future has only become more constricted.

Girl Gone Child: The Trouble with ‘Towelhead’

by Bill Gibron

[11.Sep.08] :. There is a fine line between illustration and exploitation. Put another way, there’s a clear delineation between drama and dreck. Dress it up any way you want, but penetration turns the...

Talk, Talk, Talk: September 2008

by Bill Gibron

[9.Sep.08] :. From wars both past and present to a number of nail-biting thrillers, September is sizing up as a potentially profitable one.

How to play at being a villain: Bardem, Ledger reignite media interest in craft of acting

by Joe Williams [St. Louis Post-Dispatch (MCT)]

[14.Aug.08] :. The verdict is nearly unanimous: As the Joker in “The Dark Knight,” Heath Ledger gives a great performance. But what exactly does that mean? As we watch a movie, the mysterious alchemy...

Pop 20: Super hero formula evolving

by Aaron Sagers [(MCT)]

[30.Jul.08] :. In only 10 days, the Batman defeated the Joker, delivered a one-two punch to Harvey Dent and amassed more than $300 million at the box office. But despite the enormous success of “The Dark...

Batmassive: The Meaning of $300 Million

by Bill Gibron

[28.Jul.08] :. It only took 10 days. Less than two weeks. It remains a stunning accomplishment. It took Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest 16 days to get there. It took the overly hyped third...

The Dark Knight

by Cynthia Fuchs

[17.Jul.08] :. Batman's dilemma in The Dark Knight is how to use his bad press, whether he will embrace it or continue to fight it.

The Return of the Popcorn Circus: August 2008

by Bill Gibron

[1.May.08] :. Talk about a crowded schedule. There are more offerings scheduled this month than in the previous two combined.

The Return of the Popcorn Circus: July 2008

by Bill Gibron

[30.Apr.08] :. And it just doesn't stop. If part two in this three-ring play was packed with well hyped product, July just keeps the receipt treats coming.

Aaron Eckhart takes comedy seriously with ‘Meet Bill’

by Colin Covert [Star Tribune (Minneapolis) (MCT)]

[24.Apr.08] :. Aaron Eckhart is a serious actor - he has appeared in only four comedies in a 20-film career - who chooses roles carefully. His ruggedly handsome looks and athletic frame have secured him leading man...

Neverwas

by Jake Meaney

[29.Aug.07] :. How did a first time writer/ director manage to nab even one of these big guns, let alone a whole gaggle of them? Would that Neverwas never were…

When a film is remade in the U.S.A.

by Steven Rea [The Philadelphia Inquirer (MCT)]

[2.Aug.07] :. Catherine Zeta-Jones dons a crisp white apron, cinches it around her waist, and gets busy cooking up asparagus terrine, quail with truffle sauce, blood-red entrecote, and other signature dishes that...

No Reservations (2007)

by Cynthia Fuchs

[27.Jul.07] :. That No Reservations can't imagine an alternative life for Kate makes all the energetic food-loving seem a little sad -- more sublimation than revelation.

Zeta-Jones and Eckhart dish about ‘No Reservations’

by Joe Neumaier [New York Daily News (MCT)]

[26.Jul.07] :. "Though there are times," she laughs, "when I just ... can't ... help but steal that last chicken nugget off their plate."

Monkey Business (Part 3: July)

by Bill Gibron

[3.May.07] :. Finally, a month with only one remaining series contender. All wizard based Potter-y aside, this will be the most tenuous time for the business called show. After a strong start, the eccentric collection of entertainments here could make or break this potentially record shattering motion picture season.

Thank You for Smoking (2005)

by Tiffany White

[14.Dec.06] :. Naylor doesn't need a "human" face; we love him the minute he offers us a light.

The Black Dahlia (2006)

by Cynthia Fuchs

[15.Sep.06] :. Why the detectives are obsessed with the murder is never clear, though it may have to do with the vacuum of a movie swirling around them: they've got nothing else to do.

Thank You for Smoking (2005)

by Cynthia Fuchs

[17.Mar.06] :. The ironies of Thank You for Smoking are not subtle.

Suspect Zero (2004)

by Cynthia Fuchs

[14.Apr.05] :. Part derivative, part original, and part twisted, the film quotes obviously from other serial killer films, beginning with its first shot.

Suspect Zero (2004)

by Cynthia Fuchs

[10.Sep.04] :. Suspect Zero opens with a barrage of standard serial killer movie components.

Paycheck (2003)

by Cynthia Fuchs

[17.May.04] :. 'A true hero,' says John Woo on the commentary track for the Paycheck DVD, 'always reaches out a helping hand to others.'"

The Missing

by Cynthia Fuchs

[23.Feb.04] :. At the first moment you see Maggie (Cate Blanchett) on screen in Ron Howard's The Missing, you know this is one of those Cate Blanchett tough-girl projects.

Paycheck (2003)

by Cynthia Fuchs

[8.Jan.04] :. Michael (Ben Affleck) doesn't set out to control anything: he just wants to get paid.

The Missing

by Cynthia Fuchs

[20.Nov.03] :. Maggie's toughness is surely enhanced by Blanchett's fabulous cheekbones and icy eyes.

The Core (2003)

by Cynthia Fuchs

[9.Sep.03] :. While the film probably can't be recuperated, Jon Amiel's commentary on the DVD works some wonders of its own.

The Core (2003)

by Cynthia Fuchs

[28.Mar.03] :. Settles quickly into the most mundane of plot and character developments.

Possession (2002)

by Cynthia Fuchs

[15.Aug.02] :. While the plot of Possession concerns yearning and fervor, its tone is provocatively detached.

The Pledge (2001)

by Cynthia Fuchs

Whenever you see a man looking anguished and alone in the opening shot of a film, and especially if he’s surrounded by wide open space—dirt, snow, sky, whatever—it’s a pretty...

Nurse Betty (2000)

by Cynthia Fuchs

It's revealing that Wesley (Chris Rock) remains locked in an ignoble self-image born of gangster and 'hood movies: eager to emulate and please his mentor, he explains his flamboyant violence by saying, 'I'm just trying to make a statement.'"

Nurse Betty (2000)

by Lesley Smith

Perhaps LaBute's willingness to let the audience close enough to his characters, both psychologically and physically, to appreciate such minor-key modulations, is the movie's biggest surprise.

Erin Brockovich (2000)

by Cynthia Fuchs

What is it about a picture of Julia Roberts with a baby on her hip that seems so irresistible? This would be, of course, one of the images that’s become so instantly familiar through its heavy...