What happened to Cameron Crowe? This is the guy that made two of the greatest movies of my lifetime — “Almost Famous” and “Say Anything…” — and wrote maybe the greatest high school movie of anyone’s lifetime, “Fast Times at Ridgemont High.” Now he returns to fiction filmmaking six years after the underwhelming “Elizabethtown” with…
Back in April, we shared the first, vaguely bootleg-y trailer for “Casa De Mi Padre,” the upcoming Will Ferrell project notable for the fact that the entire film was made in Spanish (yes, that includes Ferrell’s parts too). And then, for months and months, nada. We didn’t even have an official release date. The film…
Producer/director/schlockmeister Roger Corman famously made over a hundred movies in Hollywood and never lost a dime, in part because he never financed stuff like “Corman’s World: Exploits of a Hollywood Rebel.” That’s not to say this documentary about the maverick drive-in movie maven’s life is bad; on the contrary, it’s a breezy, informative ninety minutes…
A version of this review originally ran as part of our coverage of the 2011 New York Film Festival. Nobody makes a trapped-in-a-house-slowly-going-insane movie quite like Roman Polanski. You’ve got “Repulsion,” “Rosemary’s Baby,” “The Tenant,” “The Ghost Writer,” and now “Carnage,” the first out-and-out comedy of the bunch. The film, based on the Tony Award-winning…
Countdown to Top Ten 2K11 is a column with one simple goal: to help you decide what films you need to see before making your end of the year top ten list. Each installment features my thoughts on a critically acclaimed 2011 movie, a sampling of other critics’ reactions, the odds of the film making…
The Golden Globes are to the Academy Awards what AAA baseball is to the major leagues, or what the Nationwide Series is to the Sprint Cup, or what the Golden Globes are to the Academy Awards: an important stepping stone on the way to the big time. They’re also a good show for watching movie…
They’re baaaaaaaaaack. Everyone’s favorite gang of lovable hired killers, The Expendables, returns to theaters next summer in “The Expendables 2.” Doesn’t look like the movie has a subtitle; personally, I would have gone with “The Expendables 2: Expend Harder.” Maybe a sequel’s no surprise with Arnold Schwarzenegger in the cast; that dude’s always threatening to…
Countdown to Top Ten 2K11 is a column with one simple goal: to help you decide what films you need to see before making your end of the year top ten list. Each installment features my thoughts on a critically acclaimed 2011 movie, a sampling of other critics’ reactions, the odds of the film making…
You guys don’t need to get me a present for my birthday (*coughDecember23cough*) anymore. I already got everything I wanted. That’s because Mark Neveldine — one half of the brilliant writing/directing tandem Neveldine/Taylor” — told Empire that “Crank 3″ — the second sequel to “Crank,” a.k.a. one of the best action movies of the last…
From theater pubs to Zoo Brew, here are the top places to get your drink on.
Ah, December. The time of year when we reflect on what the last twelve months of cinema have meant, with dignity, thoughtfulness, and respect. Oh, and also the time of the year where we take the names of movies and make them really, really filthy by imagining how the porn industry would turn them into…
Think you’re busy? Steven Spielberg has two movies opening in the same week. Stanley Kubrick used to take a decade to make a single film. Spielberg’s got two of ‘em — “The Adventures of Tintin” and “War Horse” — opening within four days of each other. That’s crazy. All this Spielberginess means it’s a good…
Countdown to Top Ten 2K11 is a column with one simple goal: to help you decide what films you need to see before making your end of the year top ten list. Each installment features my thoughts on a critically acclaimed 2011 movie, a sampling of other critics’ reactions, the odds of the film making…
“I feel like I’m trespassing in the indie world and they seem to have accepted it,” Seth Rogen recently told The Hollywood Reporter about his 2012 Spirit Award nomination as producer of the comedy “50/50.” Looks like they’ve not only have they accepted it, they’ve embraced it, as Rogen’s been invited to host this year’s…
Our Portlandia blogger takes a look at the city’s cinematic roots.
Have you ever wanted to own an Academy Award? Are you a talentless hack with no shot of earning one through legitimate, artistic means? Are you also inordinately wealthy? If you’ve answered yes to all these questions, first of all, hello! Let’s be friends. Secondly, congratulations! I, your new bestie, have a cool movie news…
Countdown to Top Ten 2K11 is a column with one simple goal: to help you decide what films you need to see before making your end of the year top ten list. Each installment features my thoughts on a critically acclaimed 2011 movie, a sampling of other critics’ reactions, the odds of the film making…
In film nerds circles, yesterday is what’s known as “Super Sunday,” when a whole bunch of critics groups all announce their award winners on the same day. Do a couple of press releases qualify the day for an adjective reserved for presidential elections and internationally televised football games? If your movie wins something, absolutely. Yesterday,…
Well, if your weekend calendar was looking a little empty, here’s something to do. You can watch Quentin Tarantino‘s “Pulp Fiction” reedited by YouTube user “crimewriter95″ so that all the scenes play out in chronological order. Instead of beginning with Pumpkin and Honey Bunny in the diner, the film now kicks off with Christopher Walken…
Tis the season to be judgmental. With December inching closer and closer to January, my inbox and Twitter feed keep filling up with all kinds of movie-ranking lists. Last night someone sent me this one from Cinema Enthusiast, The Top 20 Film Posters of 2011. It’s a strong list, with a lot of really good…
Get a low down on the secrets of the city behind Portlandia.
Director Tomas Alfredson‘s last film was the unorthodox vampire story “Let the Right One In,” a title that would also fit Alfredson’s new film, “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.” This adaptation of the famous John le Carré novel is set in the world of British Intelligence circa the 1970s, but it’s less about espionage than it…
Swedish director Tomas Alfredson first got noticed in the United States with his film “Let the Right One In,” a brilliant and boldly original take on the vampire genre (the film was remade, not quite as brilliantly or boldly originally, as “Let Me In” — you can read Alfredson’s thoughts on that film here). He’s…
The newest member of the “Portlandia” blogging team makes an introduction.
