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Articles tagged "cate blanchett" Decade-Dense: The 60 Most Memorable Films of 1999 FeaturePart 5: Toy Story 2 to Titus (November - December 1999)by PopMatters Staff[27.Mar.09] :. On this final day of PopMatters' 1999 overview, awards season hype gives way to pure acting prowess and definitive directorial flair. Decade-Dense: The 60 Most Memorable Films of 1999  NewsWhich road will Oscar take? ‘Benjamin Button,’ ‘Slumdog’ travel on two distinct pathsby Duane Dudek [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (MCT)][16.Feb.09] :. New Orleans is 8,870 miles from Mumbai, India, as the crow flies. The Academy Award nominees for best picture set in those cities - “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” and...  PopMatters Picks: The Best TV, Film, and DVD of 2008 FeatureThe New Classics - The 30 Best Films of 2008by 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  PopMatters Picks: The Best TV, Film, and DVD of 2008 FeatureOMG - The 20 Worst Films of 2008by PopMatters Staff[15.Jan.09] :. There's bad, and then there's 2008 level bad. You know this list is looking down into a deep dark bottomless pit of cinematic despair when Mike Myers' shameful Love Guru didn't even make the Top 20! PopMatters Picks: The Best TV, Film, and DVD of 2008  PopMatters Picks: The Best TV, Film, and DVD of 2008 FeatureOff the Radar - The Top 30 DVDs of 2008by PopMatters Staff[13.Jan.09] :. Oddly enough, while the major studios continue scratching their heads over how to sell yet another new format (Blu-ray) to disinterested consumers, several outside distributors made sure that this would be a digital year to remember. PopMatters Picks: The Best TV, Film, and DVD of 2008  PopMatters Picks: The Best TV, Film, and DVD of 2008 FeatureCelulloid Culpability - Top 10 Film Guilty Pleasures of 2008by PopMatters Staff[13.Jan.09] :. Like comedy or music, one's choice in cinematic pleasure can be very personal - and very peculiar. Take this tantalizing list of shameful indulgences. You can argue over their artistic value, but their individuals rewards definitely speak to those who champion them. PopMatters Picks: The Best TV, Film, and DVD of 2008 Featured Article Short Ends and Leader‘Benjamin Button’ is Brilliantby Bill Gibron[25.Dec.08] :. David Fincher is a god. Not a lesser deity, mind you, or some manner of false filmmaking prophet. No, this inside outsider may have gotten his start in music videos, and suffered at the hands of a... The Curious Case of Benjamin Buttonby Cynthia Fuchs[24.Dec.08] :. It's an inelegant but provocative means to measure Benjamin and Daisy's ostensibly transcendent connection: as he grows young and she grows old, they share but a single moment when their bodies and visions and hopes can easily coincide. Talk, Talk, Talk: December 2008by Bill Gibron[12.Sep.08] :. Just like the end of an inspiring speech that may or may not succeed in making its point, these final four weeks before 2009 tend to define or defeat the entire awards season purpose. I’m Not There, and Neither Are Youby George Reisch, Peter Vernezze and Paul Lulewicz[9.Sep.08] :. The Bob Dylan film, I’m Not There, shows that the main puzzle behind pop music’s most enigmatic personality resides right here, within us all. ‘Indiana Jones’ will open strong, but will it stay hot?by Russ Britt [MarketWatch (MCT)][23.May.08] :. LOS ANGELES - It’s been nearly two decades since Indiana Jones graced the silver screen and while times have changed, the initial box-office draw of the aging adventurer is expected to be as... Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skullby Cynthia Fuchs[21.May.08] :. It is a little surprising to see the silliness that leads to Crystal Skull's gargantuan climax, a series of antics simultaneously hyper and enervated. Indiana Jones paved the road for dumb box-office thrill ridesby Carrie Rickey [The Philadelphia Inquirer (MCT)][20.May.08] :. Largely by cracking jokes and his bullwhip, Indiana Jones snared American hearts in the 1980s. Ever since, the indefatigable finder of incomparable objects in improbable places has continued to... Harrison Ford returns to the real ‘let’s-pretend’ job that propelled his careerby Michael Phillips [Chicago Tribune (MCT)][19.May.08] :. When Harrison Ford attended Wisconsin’s Ripon College, he drifted over to the theater department from the philosophy department and stuffed a pillow under his shirt to play Mr. Antrobus in... Karen Allen is back where she belongs: in an Indiana Jones movieby Roger Moore [The Orlando Sentinel (MCT)][19.May.08] :. The eyes still have that twinkle, though they twinkle behind wrinkles these days. The freckled girl-next-door grin is still infectious, the voice and laugh as plucky as we remember them. Karen Allen... After 20 years, Harrison Ford returns to his signature role: Indiana Jonesby Gene Seymour [Newsday (MCT)][19.May.08] :. With most of our action movie icons, there are easily identifiable trademarks: John Wayne’s pigeon-toed swagger and slow-rolling drawl; Humphrey Bogart’s facial twitches and muted... The Return of the Popcorn Circus: May 2008by Bill Gibron[28.Apr.08] :. In the first act of this four-part production, Tinsel Town decides to do some unbelievable front loading. Will there be room for independent offerings, or former HBO carnal comedy divas? Who knows? Without a doubt, it's an interesting way to start the season. A Gallery of Good Works: The Best Films of 2007by PopMatters Staff[11.Jan.08] :. From Julian Schnabel's artsy The Diving Bell and the Butterfly to the legendary Coen Brothers splendid adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's No Country for Old Men, PopMatters counts down the 30 best films of 2007. Performance Art: The Best Acting of 2007 - Femaleby PopMatters Staff[9.Jan.08] :. From the most sweetly nuanced performance of Jennifer Jason Leigh's career to Cate Blanchett's revelatory portrayal of Bob Dylan in I'm Not There, the women of 2007 were stellar. Director Todd Haynes rediscovers Bob Dylanby Rene Rodriguez [McClatchy Newspapers (MCT)][26.Nov.07] :. NEW YORK—It was in the year 2000 that filmmaker Todd Haynes rediscovered Bob Dylan all over again. “I had always admired Dylan—I was a fan in high school—but then I kind of... PopMatters Pick Film ReviewI’m Not Thereby Cynthia Fuchs[21.Nov.07] :. Dylan Per Se is a trip, an embodiment of potential meanings for fans and detractors, a performative opportunity for movie stars. Geoffrey Rush gets his Rove on for ‘Elizabeth’ sequelby Stephen Becker [The Dallas Morning News (MCT)][12.Oct.07] :. TORONTO—Geoffrey Rush knows how to close the deal. It’s a skill he may have learned from playing Sir Francis Walsingham, the Karl Rove-like consigliere who serves as the monarch’s... Elizabeth: The Golden Ageby Cynthia Fuchs[12.Oct.07] :. The movie feels more superficial than significant, like it's stuck behind a pane of glass. Cate Blanchett returns as Queen Elizabeth I in ‘The Golden Age’by Joseph V. Amodio [Newsday (MCT)][9.Oct.07] :. Elizabeth, Elizabeth, Elizabeth. Hollywood can’t get enough of her. If there’s a historical costume drama coming out, you can bet it’s one of two things: an adaptation of a Jane... Babel: Borders Withinby Rebecca Chang[1.Oct.07] :. As a director, Inarritu is kinetic, adventurous and deeply motivated by spontaneity of feeling. The new edition of Babel is worth getting ahold of for the extra feature documentary alone. Babel: Lest We Be Unitedby Stuart Henderson[1.Oct.07] :. The great, overarching question one asks during a film such as this is: where is the light? At 143 minutes, this much sadness and tragedy becomes somewhat numbing. The Good German (2006)by Brian Holcomb[27.Jul.07] :. Instead of a deeply involving present-tense drama, we get an essay on how such dramas used to look and work. PopMatters Pick Film DVD ReviewNotes on a Scandal (2006)by Jarrett Berman[17.Apr.07] :. Oscars – like secrets – can be seductive, and this little film means to tempt us. Dame Judi gives an absolutely pulverizing performance. Babel (2006)by Jack Patrick Rodgers[23.Feb.07] :. With a movie that encompasses international relations, broken families, personal epiphanies, romantic longings, painful secrets, and our constant aching need for human connection, Iñárritu might have bitten off more than he could chew. Notes on a Scandal (2006)by Cynthia Fuchs[19.Jan.07] :. As much as Barbara judges, you may find yourself in a quandary, not judging so much as taking pleasure in her vile, brilliant perfection. The Pay Off: The Best Film of 2006by PopMatters Staff[11.Jan.07] :. For many of the movies on PopMatters' 2006 list of the year's best films, it is clear that a heavy personal and professional stake was riding on the final product. The Good German (2006)by Cynthia Fuchs[18.Dec.06] :. The Good German's visual evocations of 1940s movies only underscore its many deconstructions, of nostalgia, heroism, and political coherence. PopMatters Pick Film ReviewBabel (2006)by Cynthia Fuchs[27.Oct.06] :. Associated by instances of violence, the stories in Babel all concern children caught up in circumstances beyond their easy comprehension, while adults struggle to maintain some semblance of illusory order. Little Fish (2005)by Nikki Tranter[28.Feb.06] :. Jacquelin Perske's script delivers Tracy's story in a series of snapshots, brief, highly detailed moments, comprised of close-ups or bits of dialogue. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou: Criterion Collection (2004)by Cynthia Fuchs[16.May.05] :. 'That's what the movie's sort of about,' observes Wes Anderson, 'self-invention, and making their own art, and all those things.'" The Aviator (2004)by Cynthia Fuchs[22.Dec.04] :. The Aviator portrays Hughes as a rebel and a genius, a dashing young man with ambition, hope, and nerve. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004)by Cynthia Fuchs[10.Dec.04] :. Wes Anderson's film and Steve's filmed life creak a little, exposing seams and efforts to make sense of experience. Coffee and Cigarettes (2004)by Cynthia Fuchs[20.Sep.04] :. Coffee and Cigarettes is a return, of sorts, for Jim Jarmusch. Coffee and Cigarettes (2004)by Cynthia Fuchs[20.May.04] :. Coffee and Cigarettes is a return, of sorts, for Jim Jarmusch. Coffee and Cigarettes (2004)by Jesse Hassenger[13.May.04] :. On its own terms, Coffee and Cigarettes is an effective addiction movie, self-indulgent but also familiar and low-key. The Missingby 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. The Missingby Cynthia Fuchs[20.Nov.03] :. Maggie's toughness is surely enhanced by Blanchett's fabulous cheekbones and icy eyes. Veronica Guerin (2003)by Cynthia Fuchs[16.Oct.03] :. Such moments illustrate Veronica's earnest incentive while undermining her hard work with crazily implausible coincidences. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)by Cynthia Fuchs[19.Dec.02] :. It's useful to remember that, offscreen, both good and bad tend to be tricksy. Heaven (2002)by Cynthia Fuchs[18.Oct.02] :. Heaven begins with assorted ascents. Written by the late Krzysztof Kieslowski (with Krzysztof Piesiewicz), and intended as part of a trilogy (Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory), it explores accident and fate, guilt and grief, time and truth. Charlotte Gray (2001)by Todd R. Ramlow[10.Jan.02] :. The obvious reason for the glut of overly celebratory WWII films of the past few years is nostalgia for a time in American life when things like international politics and warfare were clear-cut. Charlotte Gray (2001)by Cynthia Fuchs[10.Jan.02] :. ... challenges the national ideologies, nostalgia and idealization that have become so commonplace in popular cultural imaginings of the 'great war'. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)by Todd R. Ramlow[18.Dec.01] :. What is potentially most urgent about 'The Fellowship of the Ring' is how it reflects the tenor of our time. The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)by jserpicomidst all the hoopla shouting of the probable Oscar proliferation showering upon The Talented Mr. Ripley; the ongoing comparisons (of the original series of novels by Patricia, the French film Purple Noon, and Anthony Minghella's creation); and glowing appreciation for Minghella's assembly of the most fashionable young and beautiful, there lie hidden a few very nasty notions regarding homosexuality. The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)by Cynthia FuchsOn first hearing this voice-over at the beginning of Anthony Minghella's The Talented Mr. Ripley, you might think you're going to see a film about regret or guilt, or perhaps a refined kind of melancholy. But it's not long before you realize that for the speaker, Tom Ripley, such emotion - any emotion - is a performance. The Shipping News (2001)by Cynthia FuchsQuoyle is yet another of Kevin Spacey's damaged souls, but a nice one. The Man Who Cried (2001)by Todd R. Ramlow...a sprawling affair, filled with bad accents (Cate Blanchett's tortured 'Russian'), tired cliches about studly horsemen and young girls' sexual awakenings, and really bad lip-syncing to Italian opera. Bandits (2001)by Cynthia FuchsThough it looks like it might have been fun to make, 'Bandits' never becomes subversive or screwball. |
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