Danish filmmaker Max Kestner opens Cph:dox, his hometown festival, with the world premiere of Life And Other Problems in the Dox:Award competition.
The documentary uses the euthanasia of a giraffe in the Copenhagen Zoo in February 2014 as the jumping-off point for an exploration of life, love and consciousness. Kestner intersperses interviews with scientists such as Charles Foster and Eske Willerslev, with a philosophical consideration of existence.
It is an eighth feature for Kestner, whose previous films include Cph:dox titles Little Galaxies in 2021, and Dreams In Copenhagen in 2009, and whose work often gives a wry look at contemporary life in Denmark and further afield.
The documentary uses the euthanasia of a giraffe in the Copenhagen Zoo in February 2014 as the jumping-off point for an exploration of life, love and consciousness. Kestner intersperses interviews with scientists such as Charles Foster and Eske Willerslev, with a philosophical consideration of existence.
It is an eighth feature for Kestner, whose previous films include Cph:dox titles Little Galaxies in 2021, and Dreams In Copenhagen in 2009, and whose work often gives a wry look at contemporary life in Denmark and further afield.
- 3/12/2024
- ScreenDaily
Copenhagen-based Dr Sales has snapped up international rights on the anticipated opening film of the 21st Cph:dox Festival, “Life and Other Problems.” Variety debuts the trailer below.
The playful existential film by Danish documentary filmmaker Max Kestner is shepherded by Denmark’s Bullitt Film (Prix Europa for “Absolute Beginners”), with Ruben Östlund’s Swedish banner Plattform Produktion and the U.K.’s Hopscotch Films (“Story of Film”). Bullitt and Plattform teamed up earlier on the 2023 Sundance special jury prize winning doc “And the King Said, What a Fantastic Machine.”
Commenting on the Dr Sales pick up, Kim Christiansen, executive producer, in charge of documentaries and co-productions, says: “Max Kestner has for decades been one of the most intelligent filmmakers in Denmark, and I have personally been a huge fan since his 2002 TV series ‘Blue Collar White Christmas,’ which in tone and humor was way ahead of its time.”
“It’s...
The playful existential film by Danish documentary filmmaker Max Kestner is shepherded by Denmark’s Bullitt Film (Prix Europa for “Absolute Beginners”), with Ruben Östlund’s Swedish banner Plattform Produktion and the U.K.’s Hopscotch Films (“Story of Film”). Bullitt and Plattform teamed up earlier on the 2023 Sundance special jury prize winning doc “And the King Said, What a Fantastic Machine.”
Commenting on the Dr Sales pick up, Kim Christiansen, executive producer, in charge of documentaries and co-productions, says: “Max Kestner has for decades been one of the most intelligent filmmakers in Denmark, and I have personally been a huge fan since his 2002 TV series ‘Blue Collar White Christmas,’ which in tone and humor was way ahead of its time.”
“It’s...
- 2/9/2024
- by Annika Pham
- Variety Film + TV
The 21st edition of Cph:dox will open with the world premiere of Danish documentary “Life and Other Problems” on March 12 at the Conservatory’s Concert Hall, Copenhagen, where director Max Kestner and a number of the film’s participants will be present. The film will compete for the festival’s main prize, Dox:award. The festival runs until March 24.
Niklas Engstrøm, artistic director for Cph:dox, said: “‘Life and Other Problems’ is an eternally relevant story about the value of life and the quest to make sense of one’s own — and all of our — existence. With his new film, Max Kestner has created a deeply personal tour de force through the scientific answers to what we know about life, fir trees, animal rights activists, and just how much imagination a Chinese giant salamander really has. It has become nothing short of a fantastic film that challenges our worldview, stimulates both the mind and the funny bone,...
Niklas Engstrøm, artistic director for Cph:dox, said: “‘Life and Other Problems’ is an eternally relevant story about the value of life and the quest to make sense of one’s own — and all of our — existence. With his new film, Max Kestner has created a deeply personal tour de force through the scientific answers to what we know about life, fir trees, animal rights activists, and just how much imagination a Chinese giant salamander really has. It has become nothing short of a fantastic film that challenges our worldview, stimulates both the mind and the funny bone,...
- 1/31/2024
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
The world premiere of Danish documentary Life And Other Problems will open the 2024 Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival (Cph:Dox) on March 12.
Max Kestner’s film will play as the opening gala at the Conservatory’s Concert Hall in Copenhagen, with Kestner and several subjects from the film in attendance. It will also compete in the festival’s main Dox:Award section
Kestner’s film uses the death of a giraffe in a Copenhagen zoo 10 years ago as a jumping off point for existential questions about the nature of life, consciousness, love and connections. Subjects in the film include scientists Charles Foster and Eske Willerslev.
Max Kestner’s film will play as the opening gala at the Conservatory’s Concert Hall in Copenhagen, with Kestner and several subjects from the film in attendance. It will also compete in the festival’s main Dox:Award section
Kestner’s film uses the death of a giraffe in a Copenhagen zoo 10 years ago as a jumping off point for existential questions about the nature of life, consciousness, love and connections. Subjects in the film include scientists Charles Foster and Eske Willerslev.
- 1/31/2024
- ScreenDaily
Jodie Foster and Alexandra Hedison were seen together this weekend in New York City walking with their son, Kit Foster. The three of them walked to Rockefeller Center, in Midtown, and went to multiple stores and also stopped for bubble tea.
Kit was wearing a white tee with the sleeves rolled up, black striped shorts and black boots. He carried a light green satchel over his shoulder.
Jodie also looked casual, wearing a white sweatshirt with a white short sleeve t-shirt underneath, green pants, black Hoka sneakers, a yellow baseball cap, black sunglasses and a black backpack.
Hedison had a more preppy outfit on, wearing a red sweater with a white collared shirt underneath, black pants, white Hoke sneakers and a brown satchel over her shoulder.
Foster tends to stay out of the spotlight and was last seen publicly with Kit in 2021. She has purposely stayed out of the public...
Kit was wearing a white tee with the sleeves rolled up, black striped shorts and black boots. He carried a light green satchel over his shoulder.
Jodie also looked casual, wearing a white sweatshirt with a white short sleeve t-shirt underneath, green pants, black Hoka sneakers, a yellow baseball cap, black sunglasses and a black backpack.
Hedison had a more preppy outfit on, wearing a red sweater with a white collared shirt underneath, black pants, white Hoke sneakers and a brown satchel over her shoulder.
Foster tends to stay out of the spotlight and was last seen publicly with Kit in 2021. She has purposely stayed out of the public...
- 6/5/2023
- by Nina Hauswirth
- Uinterview
Robert here, with the inaugural post of my new feature: Distant Relatives, where we look at two films, (one classic, one modern) related through a common theme and ask what their similarities and differences can tell us about the evolution of cinema.
What has become of the American entrepreneur?
There are many reasons why we're drawn to tales of industrialists, inventors and entrepreneurs. For starters, their influence is almost inescapable. Tales about them are vis-a-vis tales about us and the world in which we live. If we don't see theirs as stories about what we are, then surely they're stories about what we'd like to be, that ever elusive American dream that we want to achieve, and their eventual corruption and fall from grace (common in movies, not in reality) gives our schadenfreude a nice shot of adrenaline. Films like Citizen Kane and There Will Be Blood play out an...
What has become of the American entrepreneur?
There are many reasons why we're drawn to tales of industrialists, inventors and entrepreneurs. For starters, their influence is almost inescapable. Tales about them are vis-a-vis tales about us and the world in which we live. If we don't see theirs as stories about what we are, then surely they're stories about what we'd like to be, that ever elusive American dream that we want to achieve, and their eventual corruption and fall from grace (common in movies, not in reality) gives our schadenfreude a nice shot of adrenaline. Films like Citizen Kane and There Will Be Blood play out an...
- 11/19/2010
- by Robert
- FilmExperience
At first sight, The Godfather seems like a crime picture or a gangster movie. And we should remember that in its day it was the most successful film there had ever been, as well as winner of the Oscar for best picture. So it seems like a triumph of the mainstream, and nowhere more acutely than in the scene in which Michael goes to a meeting with Sollozzo and McCluskey and executes them.
Ostensibly, it's a brilliantly sustained exercise in suspense in which we hear about the meeting arranged and follow the plan to conceal a gun in the lavatory of the small, neighbourhood Italian restaurant chosen for the rendezvous. We wonder, will it work? So there's the night-time car ride where Michael is frisked and approved. There are the ominous chords of Nino Rota's score building. And there is the restaurant itself, a quiet but welcoming place – "Try the veal", says Sollozzo.
Ostensibly, it's a brilliantly sustained exercise in suspense in which we hear about the meeting arranged and follow the plan to conceal a gun in the lavatory of the small, neighbourhood Italian restaurant chosen for the rendezvous. We wonder, will it work? So there's the night-time car ride where Michael is frisked and approved. There are the ominous chords of Nino Rota's score building. And there is the restaurant itself, a quiet but welcoming place – "Try the veal", says Sollozzo.
- 10/20/2010
- by David Thomson
- The Guardian - Film News
By now, reviewing King Kong is kind of pointless. The details of plot and characterization are familiar to millions who have not even seen the original film, and its conclusion has been copied and referenced so many times that it has come to feel more obligatory than revolutionary. But as the distance we look back to see its 1933 premiere grows greater and greater, so too does the film’s at once majestic and concise vision of primal aggression. In a cinema that frequently seems obsessed with exploring different modes of male hierarchy and how they are enforced, there has yet to be a better expression of singular power than of Kong standing astride the Empire State Building, shaking his fists in the air and roaring defiantly at a more complicated world that it won’t take him down by wits alone.
Carl Denham (Bruce Cabot) is a out to get...
Carl Denham (Bruce Cabot) is a out to get...
- 10/9/2010
- by Anders Nelson
- JustPressPlay.net
With Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Justin Timberlake, Armie Hammer, Max Minghella and Rooney Mara; directed by David Fincher.
By Kevin Bowen - October 1, 2010
I know I’m supposed to get out and help push.
The fight for great cinema is on, and I’m expected to throw it into neutral, hop out, and chug-chug-chug with my hands on the door. We all have to get behind “The Social Network” and push the crowds to every mall across the country to see this, The Movie of a Generation.
Can I tap the brakes just a little, just a little, without people saying that I didn’t like it? I did. Very much. However, I remember when Baby Boomers chose “Reality Bites” as the movie of my generation. So I always hesitate to declare one for the next generation. We like to think we are forever advancing as people, and that makes...
By Kevin Bowen - October 1, 2010
I know I’m supposed to get out and help push.
The fight for great cinema is on, and I’m expected to throw it into neutral, hop out, and chug-chug-chug with my hands on the door. We all have to get behind “The Social Network” and push the crowds to every mall across the country to see this, The Movie of a Generation.
Can I tap the brakes just a little, just a little, without people saying that I didn’t like it? I did. Very much. However, I remember when Baby Boomers chose “Reality Bites” as the movie of my generation. So I always hesitate to declare one for the next generation. We like to think we are forever advancing as people, and that makes...
- 10/3/2010
- by Screen Comment
- Screen Comment
Jesse Eisenberg in The Social Network
Photo: Columbia Pictures Ten minutes into The Social Network the film's lead protagonist, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg), speaking nearly a mile a minute, is made to look like a socially inept, unsympathetic word robot as he sips beer at a bar outside the Harvard campus with his date (Rooney Mara). The conversation ends with her breaking up with him, but not before calling him an "asshole" thus establishing the film's position on Zuckerberg. Directed by David Fincher from an Aaron Sorkin screenplay, adapted from Ben Mezrich's semi-fictional story of Facebook's roots, "The Accidental Billionaires," The Social Network portrays Zuckerberg as a villain who lies, cheats and steals his way to becoming the world's youngest billionaire.
Following Zuckerberg's falling out with his date, he goes home to vent the only way he knows how... blogging and coding. It's here we're witness to...
Photo: Columbia Pictures Ten minutes into The Social Network the film's lead protagonist, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg), speaking nearly a mile a minute, is made to look like a socially inept, unsympathetic word robot as he sips beer at a bar outside the Harvard campus with his date (Rooney Mara). The conversation ends with her breaking up with him, but not before calling him an "asshole" thus establishing the film's position on Zuckerberg. Directed by David Fincher from an Aaron Sorkin screenplay, adapted from Ben Mezrich's semi-fictional story of Facebook's roots, "The Accidental Billionaires," The Social Network portrays Zuckerberg as a villain who lies, cheats and steals his way to becoming the world's youngest billionaire.
Following Zuckerberg's falling out with his date, he goes home to vent the only way he knows how... blogging and coding. It's here we're witness to...
- 10/1/2010
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
The Movies' Top Ten Greedy Bastards
Greed is the way of the world. It always has been. Art reflects humanity so it's no shock cinema obsesses over greed. It's the most primal of vices. It's the go-to, off-the-shelf trait for most villains. And it's a common one for flawed protagonists too. So with the release of Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps last week I felt it was time to point out the greediest of cinema's greedy bastards.
In order to narrow the focus, I chose greed-heads who desire material wealth. Otherwise, I'd have to consider every sex fiend, glutton, and vampire in movie history too. Obviously there were a few "juuust misses" such as Tuco from The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, Goodfellas' Jimmy Conway, Hank and Sarah Marshall from A Simple Plan, and Aguirre: The Wrath of God's titular character. Ebenezer Scrooge was another character considered. Yet...
Greed is the way of the world. It always has been. Art reflects humanity so it's no shock cinema obsesses over greed. It's the most primal of vices. It's the go-to, off-the-shelf trait for most villains. And it's a common one for flawed protagonists too. So with the release of Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps last week I felt it was time to point out the greediest of cinema's greedy bastards.
In order to narrow the focus, I chose greed-heads who desire material wealth. Otherwise, I'd have to consider every sex fiend, glutton, and vampire in movie history too. Obviously there were a few "juuust misses" such as Tuco from The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, Goodfellas' Jimmy Conway, Hank and Sarah Marshall from A Simple Plan, and Aguirre: The Wrath of God's titular character. Ebenezer Scrooge was another character considered. Yet...
- 9/29/2010
- by David Frank
- Rope of Silicon
Winners of the 2010 New York Innovative Theatre Awards were announced Monday night in a ceremony hosted by Lisa Kron at Cooper Union. The It Awards celebrate the stars of the Off-Off-Broadway community. The event was available for streaming and was live-blogged by theatre critics Doug Strassler and Aaron Riccio at www.nyitawards.com/live, where a rebroadcast is available. The list of nominees follows with the winners' names in bold.Outstanding Ensemble Marc Bovino, Joe Curnutte, Michael Dalto, Stephanie Wright Thompson, Samuel and Alasdair: "A Personal History of the Robot War"Christine Rebecca Herzog, Itsuko Higashi, Jubil Khan; "Fêtes de la Nuit" Kaela Crawford, Julia Giolzetti, Caitlin Mehner, Alison Scaramella, Stephanie Strohm; "Pink!" Jenny Bennett, Melissa D. Brown, John Graham, John J. Isgro, Courtney Kochuba, Kyle Minshew, Amanda Nichols, Katherine Nolan Brown, Jed Peterson, Sean Reidy, Miranda Shields, Douglas Taurel, Nate Washburn; "The Disorder Plays" Joie Bauer, David Bishins, Gina Nagy Burns,...
- 9/21/2010
- backstage.com
“I have seen the film three times now and each time I come away with a different perspective,” Kyle MacLachlan says. The 51-year-old star of ABC’s Desperate Housewives is discussing his latest film, Mao’s Last Dancer. Based on the best selling autobiography by ballet dancer Li Cunxin, it tells of the sweeping story of a young boy born into poverty in rural China, his selection for ballet training in Beijing and his later defiant defection to the United States.
“The last time I watched it I realized that apart from the training and the discipline evident in Li’s life, it was the value of his mentors and how at critical times within his life, someone — or perhaps a memory or something that someone has said — would come forward and how that would resonate and propel him further. For me, watching the film for the third time, I...
“The last time I watched it I realized that apart from the training and the discipline evident in Li’s life, it was the value of his mentors and how at critical times within his life, someone — or perhaps a memory or something that someone has said — would come forward and how that would resonate and propel him further. For me, watching the film for the third time, I...
- 9/19/2010
- CinemaSpy
[Thanks to our friend Josh Hurtado for providing an advance look at the schedule.]
It is July. For me this means gearing up for my annual marathon movie event, the Asian Film Festival of Dallas. The organizers have been tossing hints at titles out via facebook and Twitter, but yesterday they finally let the cats out of the bag.
This year Affd is screening 30+ features as well as their usual shorts programs. I'm pretty sure this may be their biggest festival ever in terms of variety. The schedule looks great, with some really awesome titles and some surprises (which are almost always my favorite part!). Affd has a newly redesigned website that makes it easy to explore the titles, watch trailers, make your own schedule, and learn about the events. Facebook friends and Twitter followers are always the first to know about cool events and news, so be sure to check them out there as well as the official site for all the latest!
It is July. For me this means gearing up for my annual marathon movie event, the Asian Film Festival of Dallas. The organizers have been tossing hints at titles out via facebook and Twitter, but yesterday they finally let the cats out of the bag.
This year Affd is screening 30+ features as well as their usual shorts programs. I'm pretty sure this may be their biggest festival ever in terms of variety. The schedule looks great, with some really awesome titles and some surprises (which are almost always my favorite part!). Affd has a newly redesigned website that makes it easy to explore the titles, watch trailers, make your own schedule, and learn about the events. Facebook friends and Twitter followers are always the first to know about cool events and news, so be sure to check them out there as well as the official site for all the latest!
- 7/8/2010
- Screen Anarchy
The IMDb250. A list of the top 250 films, as ranked by the users of the biggest movie Internet site on the web. It is based upon the ratings provided by the users of The Internet Movie Database, which number into the millions. As such, it’s a perfect representation of the opinions of the movie masses, and arguably the most comprehensive ranking system on the Internet.
It’s because of this that we at HeyUGuys (and in this case, we, is myself and Gary) have decided to set ourselves a project. To watch and review all 250 movies on the list! We’ve frozen the list as of 1st January this year. It’s not as simple as it sounds, as we’ll be watching them in one year, 125 each.
This is our seventeenth update, a rundown of my next five movies watched for the project.
(You can find last week...
It’s because of this that we at HeyUGuys (and in this case, we, is myself and Gary) have decided to set ourselves a project. To watch and review all 250 movies on the list! We’ve frozen the list as of 1st January this year. It’s not as simple as it sounds, as we’ll be watching them in one year, 125 each.
This is our seventeenth update, a rundown of my next five movies watched for the project.
(You can find last week...
- 5/17/2010
- by Barry Steele
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Film-makers invariably take a grim and satirical view of elections. There is a poignant episode midway through Orson Welles's Citizen Kane (1941) which reveals how quickly fortunes change for powerful and self-important men in movies who try to get themselves voted into office. The newspaper publisher Charles Foster Kane (Welles), the "liberal", the "friend of the working man", is standing for governor against the incumbent, Jim Gettys (Ray Collins.) At a huge rally, Kane...
- 4/22/2010
- The Independent - Film
"Extra" brings you AFI's 100 Best Movie Quotes of all time! From "The Wizard of Oz" to "Taxi Driver," see if your favorites made the list!
AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie QuotesGone with the Wind (1939)
"Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn." --Said by Clark Gable as Rhett Butler to Vivien Leigh as Scarlett O'Hara.
The Godfather (1972)
"I'm going to make him an offer he can't refuse." --Marlon Brando as Don Corleone.
On the Waterfront (1954)
"You don't understand!
AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie QuotesGone with the Wind (1939)
"Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn." --Said by Clark Gable as Rhett Butler to Vivien Leigh as Scarlett O'Hara.
The Godfather (1972)
"I'm going to make him an offer he can't refuse." --Marlon Brando as Don Corleone.
On the Waterfront (1954)
"You don't understand!
- 3/6/2010
- Extra
Forget the idea of retro-fitting old movies for 3-D, which sometimes reminds me too much of when Ted Turner thought it'd be a good idea to colorize classic films back in the mid-80s. Vampires are a much better trend. If you don't believe me, just check out the mash-up video "Gone with the Wind with Vampires," which takes the all-time top-grossing (adjusting for inflation) classic and tosses in a plot involving bloodsuckers. Rhett Butler as a Civil War-era Dracula? Or is he more like a 19th century Edward Cullen? Either way, it fits.
Here are five more classics that could be retro-fitted with vampires:
"Citizen Kane" (1941)
The original begins with the death of publishing tycoon Charles Foster Kane (Orson Welles) at the end of his life and works in flashbacks, as relayed through the investigation of a journalist. In the vampirized version, after the camera makes it's way up...
Here are five more classics that could be retro-fitted with vampires:
"Citizen Kane" (1941)
The original begins with the death of publishing tycoon Charles Foster Kane (Orson Welles) at the end of his life and works in flashbacks, as relayed through the investigation of a journalist. In the vampirized version, after the camera makes it's way up...
- 2/24/2010
- by Christopher Campbell
- MTV Movies Blog
This week on Clip joint, put down your danish, throw away your pain au raisin and chow down on Joe Sommerlad's platter of the best doughnuts on film
In recent years, the doughnut has been edged out of the cinematic limelight. Perhaps it's to do with how strongly Homer Simpson is associated with the sugary buns. Perhaps it's a product of cop shows being a bigger staple on TV than on film. Perhaps it's even about increased health consciousness. But it's easy to forget just how pivotal a role this humble snack has played in great films over the years.
Scarfing down some deep-fried treats in a diner is one of the first things Bill Murray does when he realises he's doomed to repeat the same day over and over again in Groundhog Day. Jeff Goldblum's mutating mad scientist in The Fly eventually finds himself vomiting stomach acid on...
In recent years, the doughnut has been edged out of the cinematic limelight. Perhaps it's to do with how strongly Homer Simpson is associated with the sugary buns. Perhaps it's a product of cop shows being a bigger staple on TV than on film. Perhaps it's even about increased health consciousness. But it's easy to forget just how pivotal a role this humble snack has played in great films over the years.
Scarfing down some deep-fried treats in a diner is one of the first things Bill Murray does when he realises he's doomed to repeat the same day over and over again in Groundhog Day. Jeff Goldblum's mutating mad scientist in The Fly eventually finds himself vomiting stomach acid on...
- 2/4/2010
- The Guardian - Film News
Orson Welles' "Citizen Kane" is about one man from many perspectives. As a reporter travels the country in search of the meaning of Charles Foster Kane's last words, he hears stories about the man from wives, co-workers, friends, and guardians, all of whom see Kane's life differently. In the trailer, Welles describes the many dimensions of his character in the narration: "Kane is a hero, and a scoundrel, a no account and a swell guy. A great lover, a great American citizen and a dirty dog."
Certainly, Welles believed that one man could encompass all of these dissimilar traits. And in recent years, enough actors have portrayed enough variations of Welles himself to suggest that the acting/directing wunderkind, like Kane, was just as complex an individual. Some films have portrayed him as a hero, others as a scoundrel. Some, like Richard Linklater's new film "Me and Orson Welles,...
Certainly, Welles believed that one man could encompass all of these dissimilar traits. And in recent years, enough actors have portrayed enough variations of Welles himself to suggest that the acting/directing wunderkind, like Kane, was just as complex an individual. Some films have portrayed him as a hero, others as a scoundrel. Some, like Richard Linklater's new film "Me and Orson Welles,...
- 11/26/2009
- by Matt Singer
- ifc.com
Enter for your chance to win tickets to see Citizen Kane, and The Magnificent Ambersons at The Aero Theatre in Santa Monica!
Famous Monsters is giving away tickets, courtesy of American Cinematheque and the Aero Theater, to Five Lucky winners!!!
Event Details: Saturday, November 21 7:30 Pm
Double Feature: Citizen Kane, 1941, Warner Bros., 119 min. Orson Welles’ debut remains one of the most phenomenal motion pictures ever made. It unspools in flashback the life story of legendary newspaperman Charles Foster Kane (based on the real life of William Randolph Hearst), as a pack of reporters tries to decipher the meaning of Kane’s final utterance: “Rosebud.” Trailblazing in so many aspects, from Gregg Toland’s complex camera and lighting to Bernard Herrmann’s score to one of the finest ensemble casts (including Welles, Joseph Cotten, Everett Sloane and Agnes Moorehead) ever assembled.
The Magnificent Ambersons, 1942, Warner Bros., 88 min. Director Orson Welles’ poetic,...
Famous Monsters is giving away tickets, courtesy of American Cinematheque and the Aero Theater, to Five Lucky winners!!!
Event Details: Saturday, November 21 7:30 Pm
Double Feature: Citizen Kane, 1941, Warner Bros., 119 min. Orson Welles’ debut remains one of the most phenomenal motion pictures ever made. It unspools in flashback the life story of legendary newspaperman Charles Foster Kane (based on the real life of William Randolph Hearst), as a pack of reporters tries to decipher the meaning of Kane’s final utterance: “Rosebud.” Trailblazing in so many aspects, from Gregg Toland’s complex camera and lighting to Bernard Herrmann’s score to one of the finest ensemble casts (including Welles, Joseph Cotten, Everett Sloane and Agnes Moorehead) ever assembled.
The Magnificent Ambersons, 1942, Warner Bros., 88 min. Director Orson Welles’ poetic,...
- 11/4/2009
- by kristen
- FamousMonsters of Filmland
"Extra" brings you AFI's 100 Best Movie Quotes of all time! From "The Wizard of Oz" to "Taxi Driver," see if your favorites made the list!
AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie QuotesGone with the Wind (1939)
“Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn.” —Said by Clark Gable as Rhett Butler to Vivien Leigh as Scarlett O’Hara.
The Godfather (1972)
“I’m going to make him an offer he can’t refuse.” —Marlon Brando as Don Corleone.
On the Waterfront (1954)
“You don’t understand!
AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie QuotesGone with the Wind (1939)
“Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn.” —Said by Clark Gable as Rhett Butler to Vivien Leigh as Scarlett O’Hara.
The Godfather (1972)
“I’m going to make him an offer he can’t refuse.” —Marlon Brando as Don Corleone.
On the Waterfront (1954)
“You don’t understand!
- 11/4/2009
- Extra
Life is political. Hollywood is political. And yesterday in the U.S., the state elections were very political in the broad sense of the term, since many pundits kept arguing that they served as a referendum on President Obama and his policies.
We make no such claims. We're not here to talk U.S. politics specifically, but with all this political fever in play, what better time than to reflect back on what we believe are the ten best movies about American politics?
There are some terrific contenders here; not surprisingly some from decades gone by. But in most, the themes of power and corruption going hand-in-hand is front and center. It's material that's inherently rife with conflict, making for some of the best drama to be found anywhere.
So have a look at the following pages and our selections for the best movies about American politics. And when you're finished,...
We make no such claims. We're not here to talk U.S. politics specifically, but with all this political fever in play, what better time than to reflect back on what we believe are the ten best movies about American politics?
There are some terrific contenders here; not surprisingly some from decades gone by. But in most, the themes of power and corruption going hand-in-hand is front and center. It's material that's inherently rife with conflict, making for some of the best drama to be found anywhere.
So have a look at the following pages and our selections for the best movies about American politics. And when you're finished,...
- 11/4/2009
- CinemaSpy
By: John Gholson
Their engines whine; their walls creak. These spaceships may look like antiques from the future, but many pack more punch under the hood than they let on. Never judge a book by its cover, and never judge a spaceship by its rust-holes and sputtering warp drive. What space-faring rattletraps make the cut in our top five list of "hunk of junk" spaceships?
5. Eagle V from Spaceballs
The most impressive thing about the Eagle V is its amazingly pristine (and retro-hideous) 1973 Winnebago chassis. Piloted by Captain Lone Starr and his Mawg co-pilot, Barf, the Eagle V is a ship-for-hire last seen crash landing on the surface of MoonaVega. I would say it was last seen on the recent Spaceballs cartoon series, but that would imply that people actually watched it.
Features: Interior shag carpeting, perfect for camping.
Drawbacks: Screen door, chemical toilet, small fuel tank.
4. Thunder Road from...
Their engines whine; their walls creak. These spaceships may look like antiques from the future, but many pack more punch under the hood than they let on. Never judge a book by its cover, and never judge a spaceship by its rust-holes and sputtering warp drive. What space-faring rattletraps make the cut in our top five list of "hunk of junk" spaceships?
5. Eagle V from Spaceballs
The most impressive thing about the Eagle V is its amazingly pristine (and retro-hideous) 1973 Winnebago chassis. Piloted by Captain Lone Starr and his Mawg co-pilot, Barf, the Eagle V is a ship-for-hire last seen crash landing on the surface of MoonaVega. I would say it was last seen on the recent Spaceballs cartoon series, but that would imply that people actually watched it.
Features: Interior shag carpeting, perfect for camping.
Drawbacks: Screen door, chemical toilet, small fuel tank.
4. Thunder Road from...
- 10/21/2009
- by Cinematical staff
- Cinematical
One of the world's great film culture apostates, Hans-Jürgen Syberberg is mostly notorious for the seven-hour-plus 1977 film "Our Hitler," and for Susan Sontag's rocket-to-Mars essay, ambitiously praising it to the heavens, and for being the most recalcitrant of the New German Cinema's unholy four (with Wenders, Fassbinder and Herzog).
Finally, two of his famous earlier films have been released on video to contextualize that later behemoth, "Ludwig: Requiem for a Virgin King" (1972) and "Karl May" (1974), the three of which supposedly comprise a "German trilogy." Syberberg hardly seems disposed to ever make films about anything else, and it's an unassailable career project, especially in light of the last decade or so of Holocaust movies produced in Germany and elsewhere, which have tried to straitjacket and even romanticize the horrifying mystery of German culture's evolution.
Syberberg has always regarded it as a monstrous enigma, and his movies reflect his position in every frame.
Finally, two of his famous earlier films have been released on video to contextualize that later behemoth, "Ludwig: Requiem for a Virgin King" (1972) and "Karl May" (1974), the three of which supposedly comprise a "German trilogy." Syberberg hardly seems disposed to ever make films about anything else, and it's an unassailable career project, especially in light of the last decade or so of Holocaust movies produced in Germany and elsewhere, which have tried to straitjacket and even romanticize the horrifying mystery of German culture's evolution.
Syberberg has always regarded it as a monstrous enigma, and his movies reflect his position in every frame.
- 10/20/2009
- by Michael Atkinson
- ifc.com
There was a time when, at the end of a bad movie, I would say, "Well, that's an hour-and-a-half of my life I'm never getting back." These days, however, I'm likely to bemoan, "Well, that's two-and-a-half hours of my life I'm never getting back." I don't want to specifically blame anyone for the bloated state of many blockbusters. Let's just say that if Orson Welles managed to tell the entire life story of Charles Foster Kane in two hours (and reinvent cinema while he was at it) then surely a sequel about transforming robots doesn't need to be 25 minutes longer. The antidote to this can be found at comedy website 5secondfilms, which is sort of a funnyordie for people who really don't have the time to watch Will Ferrell being berated by a small child for two minutes. Every weekday there's a new sketch which lasts, yes, just five seconds...
- 8/20/2009
- by Clark Collis
- EW.com - PopWatch
From MTV.Com: George Simmons is a dying comic. Not just dying onstage — he's really dying, of leukemia. In Judd Apatow's "Funny People," Adam Sandler, in a strong and resolutely unsentimental performance, plays this character as a guy who's worked his way to the top of his trade — from bottom-rung standup gigs to blockbuster movies — and now, at 40, doesn't know what to do with the news that his time is up. What's it all been for? He recently moved into a huge Malibu mansion, through which he wanders like Charles Foster Kane adrift in the empty splendor of Xanadu. Which is to say, alone. "I don't have any friends," he tells Ira Wright, the guy he's hired to impersonate one. "I have showbiz friends."
Ira (Seth Rogen at his most winning) is just starting out in the comedy business. George caught his act at an L.A. club — one...
Ira (Seth Rogen at his most winning) is just starting out in the comedy business. George caught his act at an L.A. club — one...
- 7/31/2009
- by Kurt Loder
- MTV Movies Blog
Judd Apatow heads off in a new direction.
Seth Rogen, Judd Apatow and Adam Sandler on the set of "Funny People"
Photo: Universal Pictures
George Simmons is a dying comic. Not just dying onstage — he's really dying, of leukemia. In Judd Apatow's "Funny People," Adam Sandler, in a strong and resolutely unsentimental performance, plays this character as a guy who's worked his way to the top of his trade — from bottom-rung standup gigs to blockbuster movies — and now, at 40, doesn't know what to do with the news that his time is up. What's it all been for? He recently moved into a huge Malibu mansion, through which he wanders like Charles Foster Kane adrift in the empty splendor of Xanadu. Which is to say, alone. "I don't have any friends," he tells Ira Wright, the guy he's hired to impersonate one. "I have showbiz friends."
Ira (Seth Rogen at...
Seth Rogen, Judd Apatow and Adam Sandler on the set of "Funny People"
Photo: Universal Pictures
George Simmons is a dying comic. Not just dying onstage — he's really dying, of leukemia. In Judd Apatow's "Funny People," Adam Sandler, in a strong and resolutely unsentimental performance, plays this character as a guy who's worked his way to the top of his trade — from bottom-rung standup gigs to blockbuster movies — and now, at 40, doesn't know what to do with the news that his time is up. What's it all been for? He recently moved into a huge Malibu mansion, through which he wanders like Charles Foster Kane adrift in the empty splendor of Xanadu. Which is to say, alone. "I don't have any friends," he tells Ira Wright, the guy he's hired to impersonate one. "I have showbiz friends."
Ira (Seth Rogen at...
- 7/31/2009
- MTV Movie News
Even in its flaws and near-failure, there's something mighty impressive about Funny People. It's indulgent, for sure, but how can it not be, with this kind navel-gazing premise? This is Judd Apatow's dissection of Hollywood's comedy world, and he does so thoroughly, depicting in rich observational detail the many different paths "funny people" can take to achieve success in showbiz. In a performance that would no doubt color his future films, Adam Sandler plays a character very close to himself that paints an unflattering picture of his own career so far.
There's a lot of pent-up anger in Sandler's performance, so much so that it's enough to carry the 2 hour 26 minutes running time by itself. His self-pity is repetitive, but nonetheless fascinating and in-depth, like a sorry schlub version of Charles Foster Kane. As George Simmons, a comic-turned-movie star dying from a rare form of leukemia, Sandler destroys the...
There's a lot of pent-up anger in Sandler's performance, so much so that it's enough to carry the 2 hour 26 minutes running time by itself. His self-pity is repetitive, but nonetheless fascinating and in-depth, like a sorry schlub version of Charles Foster Kane. As George Simmons, a comic-turned-movie star dying from a rare form of leukemia, Sandler destroys the...
- 7/30/2009
- by Arya Ponto
- JustPressPlay.net
Indiana Jones ... Ferris Bueller ... James T. Kirk ... Harry Potter ... Freddy Krueger ... Sam Witwicky? This summer has certainly seen it's fair share of iconic characters returning to the big screen, most notably in Star Trek and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. And next year we'll see new incarnations of Freddy Krueger in A Nightmare on Elm Street and the titular Alice in Wonderland. More often, though, it seems that memorable characters have been crowded off the stage in favor of interchangeable "types" rotating through a stock collection of cliches. The robots were better defined in Terminator: Salvation and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen than the people. Where have all the great characters created expressly for the screen gone?
True, most of the great movie characters of the past sprang either from real life or the fertile imagination of novelists. Yet Charles Foster Kane, J.J. Gittes, Travis Bickle, Rocky Balboa,...
True, most of the great movie characters of the past sprang either from real life or the fertile imagination of novelists. Yet Charles Foster Kane, J.J. Gittes, Travis Bickle, Rocky Balboa,...
- 7/22/2009
- by Peter Martin
- Cinematical
When it comes to horror movies, I know lots of stuff but I’ve never claimed to be cutting edge. That’s usually because I’m so busy mining the past and revelling in vintage terror trends that I often miss the current product when it first sees the light of the projector beam or small screen. But that’s okay. To paraphrase Charles Foster Kane, they’ve been making horror films for over 100 years and I’ve only been watching for 30.
So forgive the fact that in 2009, I’m only now getting around to raving about a blood spattered modern day surrealist shocker that was lensed in 2005. That film is Nightmare directed by Dylan Bank and co-written by Morgan Pehme and Bank and man alive is it aboslutely insane, sleazy, unnerving, bizarre and boldly berserk. In other words, my kind of horror film. Cerebral yet utterly, proudly trashy. Yum.
So forgive the fact that in 2009, I’m only now getting around to raving about a blood spattered modern day surrealist shocker that was lensed in 2005. That film is Nightmare directed by Dylan Bank and co-written by Morgan Pehme and Bank and man alive is it aboslutely insane, sleazy, unnerving, bizarre and boldly berserk. In other words, my kind of horror film. Cerebral yet utterly, proudly trashy. Yum.
- 5/31/2009
- by no-reply@fangoria.com (Chris Alexander)
- Fangoria
Like Charles Foster Kane, Gordon Gekko, and Victor Mancini before him, Fsr's regular DVD columnist Brian Gibson has seen the limits of excess... and he has paid the price. Years of snorting DVDs, mainlining Blu-ray discs, and fornicating with pop culture figurines in back alleys has finally caught up with him. He's currently in entertainment rehab and debt counseling, and even worse, his mother has cut up his credit cards and cut off his allowance. Dark times indeed. We wish him a successful and speedy recovery, and in his absence, please allow me to share my DVD recommendations with you this week. (And yes, I always pay cash.) Click on any of the titles below to magically head over to Amazon.com and pick up the DVD. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Criterion) Pitch: Forrest Gump re-imagined! Why Buy? Thirteen Oscar nominations aside, this is not a great movie. So...
- 5/5/2009
- by Rob Hunter
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
Like Charles Foster Kane, Gordon Gekko, and Victor Mancini before him, Fsr's regular DVD columnist Brian Gibson has seen the limits of excess... and he has paid the price. Years of snorting DVDs, mainlining Blu-ray discs, and fornicating with pop culture figurines in back alleys has finally caught up with him. He's currently in entertainment rehab and debt counseling, and even worse, his mother has cut up his credit cards and cut off his allowance. Dark times indeed. We wish him a successful and speedy recovery, and in his absence, please allow me to share my DVD recommendations with you this week. (And yes, I always pay cash.) Click on any of the titles below to magically head over to Amazon.com and pick up the DVD. The Hit Pitch: Three mobsters on a road trip... Why Buy? This is a forgotten film from the eighties that is now getting a second chance thanks to Criterion. Unlike...
- 4/28/2009
- by Rob Hunter
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
Like Charles Foster Kane, Gordon Gekko, and Victor Mancini before him, Fsr's regular DVD columnist Brian Gibson has seen the limits of excess... and he has paid the price. Years of snorting DVDs, mainlining Blu-ray discs, and fornicating with pop culture figurines in back alleys has finally caught up with him. He's currently in entertainment rehab and debt counseling, and even worse, his mother has cut up his credit cards and cut off his allowance. Dark times indeed. We wish him a successful and speedy recovery, and in his absence, please allow me to share my DVD recommendations with you this week. (And yes, I always pay cash.) Click on any of the titles below to magically head over to Amazon.com and pick up the DVD. The Hit Pitch: Three mobsters on a road trip... Why Buy? This is a forgotten film from the eighties that is now getting a second chance thanks to Criterion. Unlike...
- 4/28/2009
- by Rob Hunter
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
Like Charles Foster Kane, Gordon Gekko, and Victor Mancini before him, Fsr's regular DVD columnist Brian Gibson has seen the limits of excess... and he has paid the price. Years of snorting DVDs, mainlining Blu-ray discs, and fornicating with pop culture figurines in back alleys has finally caught up with him. He's currently in entertainment rehab and debt counseling, and even worse, his mother has cut up his credit cards and cut off his allowance. Dark times indeed. We wish him a successful and speedy recovery, and in his absence, please allow me to share my DVD recommendations with you this week. (And yes, I always pay cash.) Click on any of the titles below to magically head over to Amazon.com and pick up the DVD. Caprica Pitch: All the melodrama of "Battlestar Galactica" but without those annoying action scenes... Why Buy? I'm a completist, and I love "Battlestar Galactica." This...
- 4/21/2009
- by Rob Hunter
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
Like Charles Foster Kane, Gordon Gekko, and Victor Mancini before him, Fsr's regular DVD columnist Brian Gibson has seen the limits of excess... and he has paid the price. Years of snorting DVDs, mainlining Blu-ray discs, and fornicating with pop culture figurines in back alleys has finally caught up with him. He's currently in entertainment rehab and debt counseling, and even worse, his mother has cut up his credit cards and cut off his allowance. Dark times indeed. We wish him a successful and speedy recovery, and in his absence, please allow me to share my DVD recommendations with you this week. (And yes, I always pay cash.) Click on any of the titles below to magically head over to Amazon.com and pick up the DVD. Hiding Out Pitch: Duckie joins "21 Jump Street." Why Buy? It's all about the Coogan. Sure sure, Jon Cryer is the "star" of the movie, but...
- 4/14/2009
- by Rob Hunter
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
There were great films before Citizen Kane and there have been many great films after it, but perhaps no movie in the history of cinema changed so many things all at once as did Orson Welles' Best Picture nominee, which will turn 70 in a couple of years.
If you haven't seen it, or if it's been a while, a visit to the world of Charles Foster Kane is always worthwhile. Roger Ebert has studied the film frame-by-frame multiple times during his university lectures. You should check out his DVD commentary about the film sometime.
As part of 31 Days of Oscar, TCM is showing Citizen Kane later today, at 1:45pm. I know a fair percentage of our readers weren't even born before Welles died in 1985, so asking you to reach back another 40-plus years beyond that might be a tall order.
However, this movie so radically altered cinematography, musical scoring,...
If you haven't seen it, or if it's been a while, a visit to the world of Charles Foster Kane is always worthwhile. Roger Ebert has studied the film frame-by-frame multiple times during his university lectures. You should check out his DVD commentary about the film sometime.
As part of 31 Days of Oscar, TCM is showing Citizen Kane later today, at 1:45pm. I know a fair percentage of our readers weren't even born before Welles died in 1985, so asking you to reach back another 40-plus years beyond that might be a tall order.
However, this movie so radically altered cinematography, musical scoring,...
- 2/9/2009
- by Colin Boyd
- GetTheBigPicture.net
Hollywood actress Jodie Foster has given birth to her second child - a baby boy named Kit. Jodie's new offspring arrived on Saturday, weighing 6 pounds and 3 ounces, in Los Angeles. The newborn will be a younger brother for her three-year-old son Charles Foster, 38, has not revealed the name of Kit's father.
- 10/3/2001
- WENN
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