Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance, “Like Crazy” offers a credible look at the complications of long-distance romance — but still feels wan and emptily precious in its exploration of this scenario.
Review: 'Like Crazy' keeps too level a head
Posted by Guy Lodge · 6:08 pm · October 14th, 2011
Filed in: HitFix · In Contention
First trailer for 'Shame' nails the tone
Posted by Guy Lodge · 2:29 am · October 14th, 2011
Ahead of its UK debut at the London Film Festival tonight, The Guardian has unveiled the first trailer for Steve McQueen’s fall festival hit “Shame” — with an award-winning performance from Michael Fassbender that could be an Oscar dark horse.
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The Long Shot: Foreign exchange
Posted by Guy Lodge · 5:42 pm · October 13th, 2011
This year, however, the stage has been set for the Academy to make more relevant choices than usual in the often-derided Best Foreign Language Film category. The list of 63 contenders announced today includes many critically beloved festival hits, but will voters take the bait?
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Scorsese and Spielberg join in elegy for celluloid
Posted by Guy Lodge · 11:51 am · October 13th, 2011
A new exhibition in London celebrates the dying medium of 35mm, and Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg are among its most high-profile advocates — despite both directors entering new technical territory in their latest films.
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Review: The circle of lifelessness in '360'
Posted by Guy Lodge · 1:45 am · October 13th, 2011
There are precious few good screenplays that begin with the words, “A wise man once said…”. Peter Morgan’s script for “360,” a vacuous theoretical spin on “La Ronde,” isn’t one of them.
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Previewing the best of the London fest
Posted by Guy Lodge · 6:16 pm · October 11th, 2011
Tomorrow marks the beginning of the BFI London Film Festival, which opens with Fernando Meirelles’s tepidly reviewed “360.” But I’m beginning on a positive note, with a list of the 15 best already-seen films of the fest.
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Aaron Sorkin remembers Steve Jobs… and the Pixar movie that never was
Posted by Guy Lodge · 2:52 pm · October 11th, 2011
Aaron Sorkin’s chief memory of Steve Jobs concerns a creative proposal made to him that isn’t too hard to imagine as a reality — Jobs, it seems, wanted a reluctant Sorkin to write a Pixar movie.
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Review: Colman stuns as 'Tyrannosaur' wrecks
Posted by Guy Lodge · 1:29 pm · October 11th, 2011
Severe, compassionate and graced with exquisite performances by Olivia Colman and Peter Mullan, Paddy Considine’s directorial debut “Tyrannosaur” is a moving, comfort-free study of personal abuse in its manifold forms.
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Joshua Marston DQ'd (again) as foreign-language Oscar list hits 60
Posted by Guy Lodge · 2:07 am · October 10th, 2011
American director Joshua Marston’s film “The Forgiveness of Blood” has been disqualified as Albania’s Best Foreign Language Film Oscar submission for not being sufficiently homegrown — the same fate endured by Marston’s 2004 debut “Maria Full of Grace.”
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Cinejabber: A taste of one of 2012's treats
Posted by Guy Lodge · 9:34 am · October 8th, 2011
Welcome, again, to Cinejabber: our free ‘n’ easy open thread for you to air whatever cinematic matters are on your mind. On mine: the latest Studio Ghibli delight, “Arrietty.”
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AMPAS president Sherak promises a younger, more diverse Academy
Posted by Guy Lodge · 3:51 pm · October 7th, 2011
In AMPAS president Tom Sherak’s latest statement on the future of the Academy, he pledges to “take this organization into the next decade,” by recruiting a younger and more culturally diverse membership, launching a new website and incorporating new media into their regular processes.
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Britain braces quietly for 'Tintin'
Posted by Guy Lodge · 2:55 pm · October 7th, 2011
While Americans have to hold tight until December, it’s less than three weeks until “The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn” hits UK screens. If I’m being honest, however, it hardly feels that way.
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Olivia Colman bigs up 'Iron Lady' co-star Streep
Posted by Guy Lodge · 9:39 am · October 7th, 2011
British TV actress Olivia Colman sings the praises of her “Iron Lady” co-star Meryl Streep, while her own Oscar-caliber turn in UK indie “Tyrannosaur” earns rave notices from local critics.
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London Film Critics' Circle aims to stand out
Posted by Guy Lodge · 9:02 am · October 6th, 2011
Keen for a more prominent spot on the awards season calendar, the British answer to the top US critics’ awards have moved back to January, and made some welcome changes to the award categories.
Filed in: HitFix · In Contention
The Long Shot: But is it 'The Artist?'
Posted by Guy Lodge · 3:15 am · October 6th, 2011
Since being picked up by The Weinstein Company at Cannes, Michel Hazanavicius’s acclaimed silent-cinema homage “The Artist” has been stirring buzz as the potential arthouse dark horse of the Oscar race. But could it actually be the one to beat?
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59 films vying for foreign-language Oscar
Posted by Guy Lodge · 2:40 pm · October 5th, 2011
With the deadline having passed two days ago, our list of submissions for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar is complete — and at 59 films, it’s down considerably from the last couple of years, when as many as 67 titles were put forward for consideration. Turkey’s entry, Cannes prizewinner “Once Upon a Time in Anatolia,” heads the list of late entries.
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Von Trier takes vow of public silence
Posted by Guy Lodge · 10:45 am · October 5th, 2011
Nearly five months ago, I sat in the delegate room at the Cannes festival center waiting for Lars von Trier to arrive for his press conference, fully expecting some of the senior enfant terrible’s requisite fun-and-games (or foot-in-mouth, depending on your take). The director has, of course, made something of a professional trademark out of his contentious public statements — and duly delivered on this occasion.
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London Film Festival announces awards shortlists, honors Cronenberg and Fiennes
Posted by Guy Lodge · 9:10 am · October 5th, 2011
After last year’s jury opted for lower-profile works, this year’s shortlist for the Best Film award at the BFI London Film Festival is picked with big names and proven festival hits. Meanwhile, David Cronenberg and Ralph Fiennes, both presenting new films at the festival, join the illustrious list of BFI Fellows.
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