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Articles tagged "morgan freeman" Short Ends and LeaderPsycho Smackdown: ‘Watchmen’‘s Rorschach vs. ‘The Dark Knight’‘s Jokerby 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...  NewsBackstage at the Oscars: Heath Ledger’s family discusses winby 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...  NewsAcademy’s snubbing of ‘The Dark Knight’ is a crimeby 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... Film FeatureSuperheroes Versus Comicsby 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? NewsOscars ignore ‘The Dark Knight,’ except for Ledger nominationby 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...  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 Iconic - The Top 20 Male Performances of 2008by 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. Featured Article Short Ends and LeaderWanted, and the Art of Ass-Kicking Self Actualizationby Bill Gibron[1.Dec.08] :. Screw Abraham Maslow! According to this so-called philosopher, the route to self-actualization - you know, the ultimate realization of one’s own value and worth within the context of social and... Let Us Now Praise Ordinary Men: Normalcy, Comics, and The Dark Knightby 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. How to play at being a villain: Bardem, Ledger reignite media interest in craft of actingby 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 evolvingby 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 Millionby 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... PopMatters Pick Short Ends and Leader‘Dark Knight’ Is Epic Entertainmentby Bill Gibron[18.Jul.08] :. Duality is the nature of man. We all have good and evil inside us. Which side we choose to embrace earmarks our very existence, putting us on a path toward redemption…or damnation. Christopher... The Dark Knightby 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. Wantedby Cynthia Fuchs[27.Jun.08] :. Angelina Jolie has evolved. As of Wanted, she is no longer merely mortal, but her own sublime creature. Featured Article Short Ends and LeaderWanted: The Fight Matrix Clubby Bill Gibron[23.Jun.08] :. Hollywood is notorious for repeating ideas. When something is successful, you can guarantee studio suits are desperate to find a way of copying it. With this Friday’s release of Wanted,... The Return of the Popcorn Circus: July 2008by 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. The Return of the Popcorn Circus: June 2008by Bill Gibron[29.Apr.08] :. If May almost tent-poled itself out of existence, June will be even worse. After all, are audiences really ready for 13 major release in less than two months -- with more to come? 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. Performance Art: The Best Acting of 2007 - Maleby PopMatters Staff[9.Jan.08] :. From the tender and eerie precision of Sam Riley's depiction of Joy Division singer Ian Curtis in Control to yet another superlative performance by Daniel Day-Lewis in There Will Be Blood, PopMatters highlights the best male actors of 2007. Jack of all trades: Nicholson stars as a dying manby Barry Koltnow [The Orange County Register (MCT)][2.Jan.08] :. BEVERLY HILLS, Calif.—“Big Jack,” as Jack Nicholson calls his mischievous, Cheshire Cat-grinning, eyebrow-raising, L.A. Lakers-cheering public alter-ego, is sitting on the coffee... The Bucket Listby Cynthia Fuchs[27.Dec.07] :. The Bucket List is the sort of movie you can watch in your sleep. Ben Affleck directs new movie rather than stars in itby Rene Rodriguez [McClatchy Newspapers (MCT)][19.Oct.07] :. When Ben Affleck took the recommendation of several friends and read Dennis Lehane’s novel “Gone Baby Gone,” he immediately started thinking about adapting it into a film. He just... The up-and-coming Affleck: younger brother Casey, in 2 new filmsby Steven Rea [The Philadelphia Inquirer (MCT)][19.Oct.07] :. TORONTO—Don’t underestimate Casey Affleck, the reedy-voiced, baby-faced actor, who is younger brother to Ben. Like the character he plays in “Gone Baby Gone”—the... Gone Baby Goneby Cynthia Fuchs[19.Oct.07] :. Part noir, part moralizing, and part urban-malaisey, the movie offers an assembly of seedy sorts who make Patrick's quest look increasingly hopeless but also ineffably gallant. Feast of Loveby Cynthia Fuchs[28.Sep.07] :. Because Morgan Freeman is so good at such voiceovers, in which he patiently explains the good intentions of "humans" (usually white humans) who make terrible mistakes and hurt one another, the role is the one he seems destined to play -- for the rest of his life. Evan Almighty (2007)by Bill Gibron[22.Jun.07] :. Evan Almighty is expertly forged to be a superficial audience friendly phenomenon, the kind of movie that has critics and the cultured scratching their heads over its continued success. Monkey Business (Part 2: June)by Bill Gibron[2.May.07] :. Apparently, as the sun's strongest rays finally settle over the movie going public, sequels are the remedy to cool down an overheated demographic. This month alone holds five examples of such redux refreshment. The rest of the choices are a variety pack of genres, ideas and possibilities. 10 Items or Less (2006)by Cynthia Fuchs[1.Dec.06] :. "Small" would be the most apt word to describe 10 Items, which, as its title suggests, means to contain and concentrate its energy. An Unfinished Life (2005)by Cynthia Fuchs[10.Apr.06] :. For his part, Lasse Hallström likes the subtler strokes, as the scene when Redford sits in his truck and is unable to start it. Lucky Number Slevin (2005)by Cynthia Fuchs[7.Apr.06] :. Despite the title of the movie he lives in, Slevin (Josh Hartnett) is only partly lucky. The Best of the Electric Companyby Dan MacIntosh[15.Feb.06] :. This Electric Company retrospective displays the lasting power of entertaining education. Batman Begins (Two-Disc Deluxe Edition with Comic Book) (2004)by Cynthia Fuchs[4.Nov.05] :. Nolan's Batman is perpetually knotted up, unable to forget his dead parents, seeking a vague solace in his hard body's capacity for violence. An Unfinished Life (2005)by Cynthia Fuchs[13.Sep.05] :. For all its attention to fading landscapes and independence, cowboys and loyalties, the movie is more quaintly melodramatic than adventurous. Batman Begins (2005)by Todd R. Ramlow[16.Jun.05] :. Christian Bale brings a menace to Batman, making him radically distinct from alter ego Bruce Wayne. Unleashed (2005)by Cynthia Fuchs[13.May.05] :. At once ferocious and delicate, brilliantly choreographed by Yuen Wo-Ping, the fights are like dance numbers. Million Dollar Baby (2004)by Cynthia Fuchs[17.Dec.04] :. With the peculiarly titled Million Dollar Baby, Clint Eastwood elicits yet another remarkable performance from a young actor. Deep Impact: Special Collector’s Edition (1998)by Cynthia Fuchs[5.Oct.04] :. Mimi Leder's Deep Impact is both less and more than a science fiction-styled disaster melodrama. The Hunting of the President (2004)by Cynthia Fuchs[29.Sep.04] :. 'There was a sense among a certain social set in Washington that Clinton was not their kind of person.'" The Big Bounce (2004)by Jesse Hassenger[5.Feb.04] :. There is a certain sense of achievement in a movie that actually casts the famously laidback Wilson as a surfer. Levity (2003)by Cynthia Fuchs[24.Apr.03] :. Memory is a tricky business. So are movies that mess with it. Dreamcatcher (2003)by Cynthia Fuchs[20.Mar.03] :. One thing you can say about 'Dreamcatcher': you can't really say one thing about it. The Sum of All Fears (2002)by Cynthia Fuchs[30.May.02] :. Tom Clancy's novels and the movies they spawn have never had much truck with credibility. High Crimes (2002)by Cynthia Fuchs[4.Apr.02] :. 'High Crimes' is a movie starring Ashley Judd whom someone has determined is the ideal Flinty Woman in Danger. Under Suspicion (2000)by Cynthia FuchsThere's not much in this film that's subtle, but it does actually have something thoughtful to say about the ways that we perceive and assume truth, or the ways we might be convinced of some untruth because of our own anxieties. What you see can be -- and usually is -- deceiving. Nurse Betty (2000)by Cynthia FuchsIt'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 SmithPerhaps 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. Along Came a Spider (2001)by Cynthia FuchsMorgan Freeman's sober mien and formidable presence make you wish that the rest of the movie would keep up. |
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