By John ThomasonHeartless (IFC)Release date: April 12Standard list price: $17.99A visionary director whose visions are all too infrequent, Britian’s Philip Ridley has made just three films in 21 years, making Robert Bresson look like a workaholic. His audience is tiny and seems unlikely to grow: His outstanding debut, The Reflecting Skin, has never been … [Read more...]
Film feature: This year, Oscars have 10 best pictures worthy of the honor
Natalie Portman in Black Swan.By Hap ErsteinGoing into today’s release of Academy Awards nominations, it looked like a two-horse race between The Social Network and The King’s Speech -- both superior pictures -- and nothing about the announcements from Hollywood changes that.Both movies, of course, made it into the field of 10 for Best Picture and they … [Read more...]
Film feature: State, regional critics agree: ‘Social Network’ was year’s best film
Jesse Eisenberg in The Social Network. By Hap ErsteinThere is no dominant front-runner for this year’s Best Picture Oscar, but you would never know that from the polls of the Florida Film Critics Circle and the Southeastern Film Critics Association (the two groups I belong to as a voting member).Both tapped The Social Network, David Fincher’s account of the founding … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks: Dec. 24-26
Colin Firth in The King’s Speech. Film: With meticulous attention to period details and an engrossing history-based story that humanizes the struggle of a British king like no movie before it, The King’s Speech is great, albeit old-fashioned, filmmaking. Colin Firth stars as Bertie, a/k/a Prince Albert (Colin Firth), who unexpectedly becomes King George VI … [Read more...]