Quickie: Julie & Julia
Julie & Julia (2009)–** Quickie Review Julia Child changes the world by introducing French cuisine to servantless American cooks. Years later, Julie Powell attempts to change her life by cooking her way through Child’s cookbook. Told using parallel narratives, this Nora Ephron dramedy is half great and half miserable. Meryl Streep inhabits Child’s skin, giving one of the best, most entertaining performances of her career. However, it’s the Julie Powell pity party, highlighted by a melodramatic performance from a miscast Amy Adams, that drains the energy from what could have been an amazing Child biopic. Also starring Stanley Tucci and Chris Messina. Julie & Julia, starring Meryl Streep and Amy Adams, directed by Nora Ephron, is now in...
Read MoreTFC Morning Report – Monday, March 9, 2009 – Dakota Fanning official joins New Moon
Top Story: Apparently tired of being taken seriously, teen thesp Dakota Fanning has officially joined the Twilight sequel, New Moon. (EW) In Other News: Watchmen was number one at the box office both domestically and internationally this weekend. The graphic novel adaptation scored $55.7 million here and $27.5 over there. (Variety 1 & 2) Martin Lawrence and Tracy Morgan will star alongside Chris Rock in the Neil LaBute-directed American remake of Death at a Funeral. (Variety) Mrs. Tom Hanks, Rita Wilson, has joined the upcoming Nancy Meyers picture, which also stars Meryl Streep, Steve Martin, and Alec Baldwin. (HR) Julia Roberts will star in and produce the upcoming comedy Jesus Henry Christ. (HR)...
Read MoreFinal Oscar 2008-2009 Nomination Predictions
Will The Dark Knight get its Best Picture nod? Will Slumdog nab the most nominations? Will Woody Allen spoil the day for another director? Will Kate Winslet get the two nods she deserves? What’s going to happen?! Tomorrow at 8:30 a.m. EST/5:30 p.m. PST the Academy will announce the Oscar nominees. Anyone who has watched the Oscar knows there are bound to be surprises. People are starting to doubt The Dark Knight, but I’m not betting against it. TDK fans will have their day. My final predictions are listed below, but check out the Oscar Predix page to see the evolution of Oscar 2008/2009. Best Picture Slumdog Millionaire – And the winner is… The Curious Case of Benjamin Button – Solid, classy, the future of Hollywood. Milk – The kind of politically-charged, fight-for-what’s-right kind of story the Academy loves....
Read MoreSlumdog takes Best Picture at Critics’ Choice Awards
No real surprise as Slumdog Millionaire takes top prize (and 4 others) at the BFCA Critics’ Choice Awards. (Sorry, The Dark Knight fans.) All signs continue to point to Slumdog as the Best Picture favorite. Damn me for not having cable television. I’d would have liked to seen some of these acceptance speeches, especially Kate Winslet’s for her surprise win in the Supporting Actress category. These speeches are make or break for a potential Oscar winner. You’ll see more of them on Sunday at the Not the Oscars… err… Golden Globes. Here are all your Critics’ Choice winners (courtesy of AwardsDaily.com): Best Comedy Movie: Tropic Thunder Best Acting Ensemble: Milk Best Young Actor/Actress: Dev Patel Best Writer: Simon Beaufoy, Slumdog Millionaire Best Action Film: The Dark Knight Best Composer: A.R. Rahman, Slumdog Millionaire Best Song: Bruce Springsteen, The Wrestler...
Read MoreMovie Review: ‘Doubt’ & ‘Frost/Nixon’
Doubt — *** Frost/Nixon — ***1/2 The differences between Doubt, an adaptation of John Patrick Shanley’s stage play directed by the playwright, and Frost/Nixon, an adaptation of Peter Morgan’s play directed by Hollywood filmmaker Ron Howard, reveal two approaches to theatrical adaptations. Doubt looks like a stage production forced to be a movie, while Frost/Nixon is a cinematic production of a popular play. Both Doubt and Frost/Nixon are good films, but Frost/Nixon borders on greatness because, despite being more cinematic, I’m never aware that I’m watching a movie. Doubt, with distracting oblique camera angles and calculated, theatrical dialogue, makes it hard to engage the story at its most basic level. And it’s a story that should be engaging. Sister Aloysius (Meryl Streep) accuses Father Flynn (Philip Seymour Hoffman) of sexual abuse based on novice Sister James’ (Amy Adams) reports....
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