OSCAR-NOMINATED FILMS TO GET A SECOND CHANCE

The major studios are hoping to capitalize on Oscar nominations this weekend by expanding nominated films that have not yet been released on DVD. “The Oscar spotlight could boost several contenders at the box office,” Daily Variety observed, then commented, “It better: The class of 2011 consists of some comparative underachievers.” Only one film in […]

NY FILM CRITICS CIRCLE NAMES THE ARTIST BEST PICTURE

The New York Film Critics Circle, the first major film group to announce its selections for best picture and performances each year, has given its top honor to The Artist, a black-and-white silent film. Its director, Michel Hazanavicius, was named best director. Meryl Streep received the best actress award for The Iron Lady, in which […]

HANGOVER II: CURE FOR INDUSTRY’S HEADACHE?

The principal complaint from many critics about The Hangover II was that it lacked the surprise element of the first film and amounted basically to a copy of the original. But the actual surprise came at the box office over the weekend as the movie set an all-time record for a comedy. As reported by […]

MOVIE REVIEWS: THE TREE OF LIFE

Terrence Malick’s The Tree of Life, starring Brad Pitt, which won the top prize, the Palme d’Or, at the Cannes Film Festival last weekend, continues to attract much applause from critics as it opens in limited release this weekend. Ironically, most of the positive reviews anticipate that the film will also receive a negative reaction […]

THE TREE OF LIFE IS A GOLDEN PALM

Terrence Malick’s The Tree of Life, starring Brad Pitt, was the controversial winner of the 64th Cannes Film Festival’ top prize, the Palme d’Or, on Sunday. Major critics attending the festival either hailed it or scorned it; few gave it merely so-so reviews. Malick, who shuns the spotlight himself and declined to participate in a […]

MALICK’S TREE IS PLANTED IN CANNES

Terrence Malick’s long-awaited Tree of Life was finally unspooled at the Cannes Film Festival today (Monday), receiving polite applause mixed with scattered boos from an overflow crowd of reporters attending a morning screening. Most, however, were no doubt left mystified by Malick’s laudable attempt to portray the mundane life of a nuclear family of the […]

TREE OF LIFE WILL PREMIERE AT CANNES AFTER ALL

Terrence Malick’s much anticipated The Tree of Life, starring Sean Penn and Brad Pitt, will have its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival on May 11 after all. Icon Film Distribution, which had planned to open it in the U.K. on May 4 — a week before its screening in Cannes — issued a […]

MALICK’S TREE OF LIFE TO BE PLANTED AT CANNES

Terrence Malick’s much awaited The Tree of Life, starring Brad Pitt and Sean Penn, is among the films selected to compete for the Palme d’Or, the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival, which opens on May 11. (The film had been expected to compete at the festival last year but was not completed in […]