Posts Tagged ‘danny boyle’

  • 20 Jul

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    Cinecast Episode 131 – Visually Elegant

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    Episode 131:
    Back to our roots with a classic shoot the proverbial shit episode. Just Kurt and Andrew with a short review of a mediocre film and then our general rambling of this and that complete with a debate on Boyles and Fresnadillos. Have a ball. We did.

    Click the Audio Icon below to listen in:

    Cinecast Episode 131 [ 1:56:07 | 66.45 MB ] Play Now | Play in Popup


    show


    show

    To download the show directly, paste the following URL into your favorite downloader:
    http://rowthree.com/audio/cinecast_09/episode_131.mp3

    » Read the rest of the entry..

  • 20 Jul

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    Row Three Narcissism: Movies We Watched

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    A miniature holiday for yours truly delayed our micro-capsule column by a few days, but it is back to help with the multiplex blues, for a few minutes, anyway. The gist of it is that the writers around here watch and re-watch a lot of stuff in between the current releases, and occasionally (with a little cajoling, less successful when I am on the road it would seem) drop blurbs in the Movies We Watched sub-page of the site, accessed on the right-hand-sidebar with icon you see in this post. Hopefully it offers a tiny catalyst for conversation. A sampling of the entries for the past few weeks are below:

    The Man from Laramie (1955) 4/5
    The last of seven films director Anthony Mann made with James Stewart, and it’s as good as any of them. Stewart plays the title character, who takes his little wagon train to neighboring Coronado to exchange his cargo and also find out who’s been selling repeating rifles to the Apache – the Apache’s possession of said rifles had led to a massacre killing Stewart’s brother. While there he stumbles into a feud with the landowner of the region (Donald Crisp in a surprisingly empathetic role). Stewart plays the quiet man with both purpose and humor, and he’s surrounded by a supporting cast that does its job admirably. The way Mann lets the story unfold, letting it layer itself slowly and deeply while never losing focus, works extremely well, too. -JANDY

    Love Me if You Dare (2003) 3/5
    Here’s one that wasn’t quite as engrossing and rich as I remember it being. I actually found this film to be rather mean-spirited and not believable at all. Funny that it reminds me so much of Amélie both in aesthetic and directing style. It’s frantic and the color scheme is corrected too high in the magenta and yellow palette. Normally something this different would be something I’d enjoy, but this time around it was just grating and frustrating – compunded negatively by the downer (confusing?) ending. Marion Cotillard is fantastic here but it’s so cold I got distracted easily. All in all, not what I want from a dramatic “love” story, if you could even call this such. -ANDREW

    28 Weeks Later… (2002) 5/5
    Rapidly becoming my favourite film of the new millenium, Juan Carlos Fresnadillo (who wrote and directed) takes the concepts and general aesthetic of Danny Boyle’s 2002 film and improves upon it in ever single way. From its eerie and powerful opening sequence to the firebombing of central london to even an improved metro-in-the-dark set-piece. Moving back to film was a vast improvement in the visual departments, and Jeremy Renner, donning Gulf War II-esque combat fatigues before The Hurt Locker came along, makes a lasting impression as a soldier that fears the containment policy more than he fears the raging undead. -KURT

    28 Days Later… (2002) 4/5
    While big points for re-inventing the zombie film and making the plunge into digital video, Danny Boyle’s rage-infection flick does suffer from a murky palette and lack of direction in the final 30 minutes. Still it is an ambitious story full of ideas and social pot-shots. And when it is Cillian Murphy, Naomie Harris and Brendan Gleeson travelling around deserted London, the film is a wonder to behold. The army guys were much better used in the superior sequel. -KURT

    Sunshine (2007) 4/5
    Even after a fourth viewing of Danny Boyle’s hard science fiction film, I find it hard to love the last 20 minutes, even as I understand how it fits into screenwriter Alex Garland’s vision of the sun as a malevolent and implacable old-testament god. An international team of scientists have one last shot to (essentially) impregnate the sun with science and bend it to their will; the resulting ‘rebirth’ will reheat the now freezing third rock from the dying star. As they get closer bad judgement and strange addictions to the power and the fury of the central orb drive some of the crew mad, while the remainder make tough decisions on how to salvage the increasingly desperate mission. A blend of hard science fiction and oddly enough action setpieces (particularly the wobbly final act) it is the truly stunning and unique visuals that make this one a winner. There are some good ideas embedded in the bombast as well. -KURT

    Solaris (2002) 4.5/5
    Taking the core love story element from Stanislaw Lem’s novel, the one element that Tarkovsky’s 1972 version of the film fumbled on, and re-building a hard-science fiction look at identity, and a celestial body as implacable deity, Steven Soderbergh’s 2002 film gets 4 top notch performances from George Clooney, Natasha McElhone, Viola Davis and Jeremy Davies as the real and replicate technical folks battling their demons made corporeal. A fabulous script and gorgeous production design make this one overcome its delicate (some may say glacial) pacing. -KURT

  • 24 Feb

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    Cinecast Episode 113 – Hats, Canes and a Shiny New Penny

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    Episode 113:
    It’s the Academy Awards (almost) all the time. From the show itself to the winners; a complete recap. A new and interesting version of the top 5 and of course DVD picks.
    Thanks for listening.

    Click the Audio Icon below to listen in:

    Cinecast Episode 113 [ 2:13:00 | 60.89 MB ] Play Now | Play in Popup

    Below the fold are the Show Notes…
    » Read the rest of the entry..

  • 09 Feb

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    Slumdog Cleans House at BAFTA 2009

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    Penelope CruzBig surprise on this headline eh? Slumdog Millionaire cleans house in Britain; winning five out of six of the categories it was nominated for, including best picture.

    Two things that baffle me: First of all, how can Slumdog Millionaire win for best film, but lose for best British film to Man on Wire? Doesn’t that mean Man on Wire is the best film – yet it’s not even nominated? Confusing. Second, I find it interesting that Kate Winslet was up against herself in the best actress category, even though her role in The Reader was clearly a supporting role. Ah well, if she had been nominated for a supporting role, it might’ve taken away from the most important winner of the night.

    See all the nominees and winners below…

    BEST FILM
    SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE – Christian Colson
    THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON – Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall, Ceán Chaffin
    FROST/NIXON – Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Brian Grazer, Ron Howard
    MILK – Dan Jinks, Bruce Cohen
    THE READER – Anthony Minghella, Sydney Pollack, Donna Gigliotti, Redmond Morris

    OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM
    MAN ON WIRE – Simon Chinn, James Marsh
    HUNGER – Laura Hastings-Smith, Robin Gutch, Steve McQueen, Enda Walsh
    IN BRUGES – Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin, Martin McDonagh
    MAMMA MIA! – Judy Craymer, Gary Goetzman, Phyllida Lloyd, Catherine Johnson
    SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE – Christian Colson, Danny Boyle, Simon Beaufoy

    THE CARL FOREMAN AWARD: for Special Achievement by a British Director, Writer or Producer for their First Feature Film
    STEVE McQUEEN (Director/Writer) – Hunger
    SIMON CHINN (Producer) – Man On Wire
    JUDY CRAYMER (Producer) – Mamma Mia!
    GARTH JENNINGS (Writer) – Son of Rambow
    SOLON PAPADOPOULOS, ROY BOULTER (Producers) – Of Time And The City

    DIRECTOR
    SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE – Danny Boyle
    CHANGELING – Clint Eastwood
    THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON – David Fincher
    FROST/NIXON – Ron Howard
    THE READER – Stephen Daldry

    ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
    IN BRUGES – Martin McDonagh
    BURN AFTER READING – Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
    CHANGELING – Joe Michael Straczynski
    I’VE LOVED YOU SO LONG – Philippe Claudel
    MILK – Dustin Lance Black

    ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
    SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE – Simon Beaufoy
    THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON – Eric Roth
    FROST/NIXON – Peter Morgan
    THE READER – David Hare
    REVOLUTIONARY ROAD – Justin Haythe

    FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
    I’VE LOVED YOU SO LONG – Yves Marmion, Philippe Claudel
    THE BAADER MEINHOF COMPLEX – Bernd Eichinger, Uli Edel
    GOMORRAH – Domenico Procacci, Matteo Garrone
    PERSEPOLIS – Marc-Antoine Robert, Xavier Rigault, Marjane Satrapi, Vincent Paronnaud
    WALTZ WITH BASHIR – Serge Lalou, Gerhard Meixner, Yael Nahlieli, Ari Folman

    ANIMATED FILM
    WALL•E – Andrew Stanton
    PERSEPOLIS – Marjane Satrapi, Vincent Paronnaud
    WALTZ WITH BASHIR – Ari Folman

    LEADING ACTOR
    MICKEY ROURKE – The Wrestler
    FRANK LANGELLA – Frost/Nixon
    DEV PATEL – Slumdog Millionaire
    SEAN PENN – Milk
    BRAD PITT – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

    LEADING ACTRESS
    KATE WINSLET – The Reader
    ANGELINA JOLIE – Changeling
    KRISTIN SCOTT THOMAS – I’ve Loved You So Long
    MERYL STREEP – Doubt
    KATE WINSLET – Revolutionary Road

    SUPPORTING ACTOR
    HEATH LEDGER – The Dark Knight
    ROBERT DOWNEY JR. – Tropic Thunder
    BRENDAN GLEESON – In Bruges
    PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN – Doubt
    BRAD PITT – Burn After Reading

    SUPPORTING ACTRESS
    PENÉLOPE CRUZ – Vicky Cristina Barcelona
    AMY ADAMS – Doubt
    FREIDA PINTO – Slumdog Millionaire
    TILDA SWINTON – Burn After Reading
    MARISA TOMEI – The Wrestler

    MUSIC
    SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE – A. R. Rahman
    THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON – Alexandre Desplat
    THE DARK KNIGHT – Hans Zimmer, James Newton Howard
    MAMMA MIA! – Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus
    WALL•E – Thomas Newman

    CINEMATOGRAPHY
    SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE – Anthony Dod Mantle
    CHANGELING – Tom Stern
    THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON – Claudio Miranda
    THE DARK KNIGHT – Wally Pfister
    THE READER – Chris Menges, Roger Deakins

  • 06 Feb

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    Actor/Director Oscar Photo Shoot

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    Via Variety this morning, I stumbled across a really nice looking photo shoot of ten director/actor photo shoots from the 2008 movie season that account for some four dozen Oscar nominations. Each photo is quite handsome and were obviously done some time ago as Ledger appears in one of the photos.

    All shots were captured by photographer Annie Leibovitz and more information about each one can be found over at Variety if you’d like. Feel free to click on any image to get a slightly bigger version…

    THE RINGERS

    So are these great shots or what? Or was this just an excuse for me to post yet another Penélope Cruz photo? You decide. The rest of the photos can be seen under the seats below (the last one is kind of amusing I think).

    » Read the rest of the entry..

  • 13 Jan

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    Golden Globes Spoil Slumdog

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    Slumdog MillionaireNot much being mentioned about this around the web, so maybe it’s just me that takes offense. But during the Golden Globes on Sunday night, a couple of our readers mentioned immediately in the comment section of the live update post, that when The Hollywood Foreign Press showed the clip for one of the nominees up for best picture, Slumdog Millionaire (our review), they actually showed one of the film’s pivotal, climactic scenes. Had they left it at a cliffhanger all would be well, but they showed us exactly how the scene ends up.

    To not give away a spoiler myself, I would liken it to a clip of Star Wars in which Luke Skywalker finally fires his proton torpedoes at the Death Star’s thermal exhaust port. With time and villainy against him, Skywalker races his ship as fast as he can, desperately trying to close the distance between himself and his target before it is too late. Will he make it? Will he not? Will there be some other surprise? Had this clip been shown at The Golden Globes in 1979, we would have seen exactly what happens (comparatively speaking; using their clip of Slumdog Millionaire as an example).

    So am I justified in feeling a little upset or am I missing something and just feeling the effects of the crack I just smoked? Admittedly I’m not that broken up about it, but I know if I had not seen the movie yet, I might be a little perturbed at knowing how an important, intense, edge of your seat scene is going to play out.

    To read the spoiler scene I am speaking of, click this link:
    show

    I realize that there is more to Slumdog Millionaire than just this pivotal scene and the story continues on even after this sequence, nevertheless it still is important to the audience in terms of getting enjoyment out of the film.

    What do you think?

  • 07 Jan

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    Cinecast Episode 108 – The Privilege Stick

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    Episode 108:
    The top ten is here! But before that, we tackle Revolutionary Road, Doubt, The Wrestler and Wendy & Lucy.
    Thanks again for listening!

    Click the Audio Icon below to listen in:

    Cinecast Episode 108 [ 3:07:06 | 128.47 MB ] Play Now | Play in Popup

    Below the fold are the Show Notes…
    » Read the rest of the entry..

  • 16 Dec

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    Cinecast Episode 106 – Some Familiar Territory

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    Episode 106:
    Going back over some films that we have mentioned before, but this time with a little more depth; including talk on Slumdog (which gets a bit spoiler-y), JCVD, and Milk. And new tangents on villains and 80′s TV shows. Of course the DVD picks are here and few things more.
    Thanks again for listening!

    Click the little Audio Icon below to listen in:

    Cinecast Episode 106 [ 1:28:38 | 60.86 MB ] Play Now | Play in Popup

    Below the fold are the Show Notes…
    » Read the rest of the entry..

  • 13 Dec

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    Extended Thoughts: Slumdog Millionaire

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    A lot has been said on Slumdog Millionaire in these parts and elsewhere. It looks to be a major awards contender in a year that has been neither strong nor weak. I sure took my sweet time getting to this film, managing to skip not one, but two free screenings at the Toronto International Film Festival where it went on to win the People’s Choice award (TIFF’s only big prize). Even from the festival catalogue description, I was a bit apprehensive on the Forrest Gump vibe the film’s concept gave off and then there is Danny Boyle‘s tendency to muck things up spectacularly in the final act. Look what he did with the last 20 minutes of the otherwise fabulous Sunshine. Slumdog Millionaire finally landed in wide release this weekend and I made my way to the multiplex in a mixed state of hype and dread.

    **SPOILERS AHOY** You have been warned from this point onward.

    » Read the rest of the entry..

  • 10 Dec

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    Cinecast Episode 105: Assaninity

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    Episode 105:
    LOADS of movie reviews on this show (My Name is Bruce, Dear Zachary, Milk, Australia, Happy-Go-Lucky, I’ve Loved You So Long); plus Gamble (Where the long Tail Ends) makes a cameo appearance once again to entertain with tales of The Punisher and other obscurities. Also a new TOP 5 list and DVD picks.
    Thanks for listening!

    Click the little Audio Icon below to listen in:

    Cinecast Episode 105 [ 2:18:52 | 95.36 MB ] Play Now | Play in Popup

    Below the fold are the Show Notes…
    » Read the rest of the entry..

  • 30 Oct

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    Slumdog Millionaire Trailer and One Sheet

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    I really do not think I can put into words adequately how much I enjoyed Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire (Our Review) at this years Toronto International Film Festival. If I had only been able to see this one at the festival I would have actually thought that the trip had been worthwhile.

    The one sheet came out a few days ago and I’m not really a fan of it. I much prefer the following picture:

    Slumdog Millionaire - Young Jamal

    It truly sums of the sense of hope and thrill for life which Slumdog instills in its audience. The one sheet does not really convey much other than the game show aspect.

    Slumdog Millionaire One Sheet

    I know you are probably rolling your eyes by now at how much I’m gushing over this one but it truly deserves it. I’ve watched the trailer twice now and I still get goosebumps when I watch it.

    If you have the chance please go out and catch this in the theatre. It is getting a limite release to start and is slowly expanding. I’m really hoping that it hits Saskatoon on the 26th of December. I’m already planning on annoying the family by wanting to drag them out to it on Boxing Day.

    Release Schedule – Thanks go to /Film for creating the list.

    Week #1: Wednesday, Nov. 12

    1 Los Angeles
    2 New York
    3 Chicago
    4 San Francisco
    5 Washington D.C.
    6 Toronto

    Week #2: Friday, Nov. 21st

    7 Boston
    8 Dallas/Ft. Worth
    9 Philadelphia
    10 San Diego
    11 Seattle
    12 Denver
    13 Baltimore
    14 Minneapolis
    15 Phoenix
    16 Vancouver

    More after the jump.

    Week #3: Wednesday, Nov. 26th

    No new markets

    Week #4: Friday, Dec. 5th

    17 Atlanta
    18 Detroit
    19 Indianapolis

    Week #5: Friday, Dec. 12th

    20 Sacramento
    21 St. Louis
    22 Austin
    23 Milwaukee
    24 Hartford/New Haven
    25 Madison
    26 Ann Arbor

    Week #6: Friday, Dec. 19th

    27 Houston
    28 Miami/Ft. Lauderdale
    29 Kansas City
    30 Cleveland
    31 Columbus
    32 Orlando
    33 Charlotte
    34 New Orleans
    35 Louisville
    36 Portland
    37 Rochester
    38 Salt Lake/Boise
    39 Honolulu
    40 Albany
    41 Albuquerque
    42 Boca Raton/W. Palm Beach
    43 Cincinnati
    44 Dayton
    45 Nashville
    46 Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill
    47 Asheville
    48 Charlottesville
    49 Lansing
    50 Northampton/Springfield
    51 Montreal

    Week #7: Friday, Dec. 26th

    52 Buffalo
    53 Fresno
    54 Las Vegas
    55 Tampa/St. Pete
    56 Champaign/Decatur/Springfield
    57 El Paso
    58 Harrisburg, PA
    59 Memphis
    60 Norfolk/Newport News
    61 Oklahoma City
    62 Omaha
    63 Providence
    64 Richmond
    65 San Antonio
    66 Spokane
    67 Tulsa
    68 Baton Rouge
    69 Birmingham
    70 Colorado Springs
    71 Corpus Christi
    72 Grand Rapids
    73 Knoxville
    74 Lexington
    75 Pittsburgh
    76 Reno
    77 Sarasota
    78 Syracuse
    79 Tucson
    80 Anchorage
    81 Des Moines
    82 Ft. Myers
    83 Gainesville
    84 Ithaca
    85 Jacksonville
    86 Portland, ME
    87 Santa Fe
    88 Tallahassee
    89 Calgary
    90 Edmonton
    91 Halifax
    92 Kitchener
    93 Ottawa
    94 St. John
    95 Victoria
    96 Winnipeg

  • 29 Aug

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    Danny Boyle’s Newest: “Slumdog Millionaire”

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    One of the premieres at TIFF this year is Danny Boyle’s (28 Days Later, Sunshine) Slumdog Millionaire; based on the best selling novel “Q&A” by Vikas Swarup.

    The story is of Jamal Malik, an 18-year-old orphan from the slums of Mumbai, is just one question away from winning a staggering 20 million rupees on India’s Who Wants to be A Millionaire? Arrested on suspicion of cheating (after all, how could an 18 year-old from the streets know so much?), he tells the police the amazing tale of his life on the streets which somehow manages to relate to each question he’s answered correctly. With 60 million people watching, will Jamal correctly answer the big money question?

    Thanks to worstpreviews, we get to see a couple of images. They’re nothing overly special, but considering the stellar imagery of Boyle’s previous films, we’re probably in for a real treat and the story line sounds super intriguing.

    Pics are under the seats…
    » Read the rest of the entry..

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