French filmmaking collective HOTU’s three-minute 87 Bounces is not your typical short film. Somewhat of a cross between a supercut and a flipbook, follows a basketball as it bounces through cinematic history. What it lacks in story it makes up for in slick nostalgia. Watch it here. Six-minute short Snooze Time, from director Ivan Barge and writer Matthew Harris, feels…
Entertainment news round-up for Oct. 19
Alamo Drafthouse CEO Tim League wants to end the decline of 35mm film usage in modern movie theaters. “We should be finding ways to inspire a young generation to fall in love with going to the cinema just like Tarantino, Nolan and many of us theater owners did when we were kids. I want a…
Entertainment news round-up for Oct. 10
A review of the entertainment industry for this week
Short film round-up
Despite coming from such a strong animation background, French filmmaker Loïc Bramoullé seems to draw up a rather lifeless character in Space Cat Hob. The six-minute short follows the titular astrokitty Hob, whose spaceship crash-lands on an alien planet. Although the world around Hob is lovingly crafted and stunningly beautiful, the cat’s misproportioned body and face straight out of…
Jim Jarmusch’s vampire movie doesn’t suck
At first glance, Only Lovers Left Alive seems like a stupid movie. The plot summary reads like the back cover of a Stephanie Meyer novel: two ancient vampire lovers, one a cosmopolitan intellectual and the other a sadsack recluse, reunite after years apart, only to be antagonized by a wacky younger sister. However, due to…
Entertainment news round up for Sept. 18
Disney is building a Frozen attraction at Epcot, the Mouse House announced Friday. Based on the hit film, it will feature a pavilion where park visitors can meet Anna and Elsa.“We think these Frozen elements are great compliments to the Norway Pavilion, which showcases the country and region that inspired the film,” said Walt Disney Parks…
Entertainment news round-up for Sept. 21
Matt Stone and Trey Parker have taken aim at the Washington Redskins in the teaser for the new season of South Park. The NFL team recently lost its name’s trademark, which a U.S. patent office ruled “disparaging to Native Americans.” The new season of South Park will premiere during the Redskins-Eagles game on Wednesday at 10 pm ET….
Entertainment news round-up for May 1
True Grit and Ender’s Game star Hailee Steinfeld has signed on for Pitch Perfect 2, the sequel to the 2012 film about college a capella groups. Anna Kendrick and Brittany snow are reprising their roles, and Elizabeth Banks is set to direct. The film will be released on May 15, 2015. For more on the project and on Steinfeld’s…
Entertainment news round-up for April 30
HBO is bringing back Matt Damon and Ben Affleck’s Project Greenlight, which gave an inside look at the challenges posed to a first-time director. Damon and Affleck will be back to executive produce. “Project Greenlight was ahead of its time,” said Affleck in a statement. “Now that technology has caught up to the concept, we thought…
Entertainment news round-up for April 28
Fox will broadcast a three-hour live version of Grease in 2015. The cast has not yet been assembled. “From Broadway to film, and across generations, Grease is one of the most beloved musical stories ever told — and we can’t wait to bring it to our air in a spectacular live event,” said Shana C. Waterman, Fox’s…
Critic underwhelmed by ‘Black Swan’
I will openly admit that I am not the biggest fan of Darren Aronofsky’s particular directorial style. It was with great skepticism, then, that I selected his 2011 film Black Swan for review, though I thought perhaps that its slew of award nominations indicated that it might impress me. Sadly, my hopes were dashed. Black Swan is…
Entertainment news round-up for April 25
SNL vet and new Late Night host Seth Meyers is set to host the Primetime Emmy Awards, airing August 25th on NBC. “Seth’s expertise and ease in front of a live audience during his time at SNL, as well as his comedic brilliance both as a writer and in front of the camera on SNL and Late Night, makes him…
Entertainment news round-up for April 23
Johnny Depp’s upcoming action-comedy Mortdecai has been set for a February 2016 U.S. release. The film is based on Kyril Bonfigliol’s novel trilogy and features Depp in a race to locate a stolen painting that could contain the code to a lost bank account filled with Nazi gold. The star-studded cast also includes Gwyneth Paltrow, Ewan McGregor,…
Entertainment news round-up for April 20
Chicago musician Chance the Rapper missed his scheduled performance on the last day of Coachella due to hospitalization. Particulars of his medical condition are unknown. Hours before the performance was set to begin, a since-removed photo appeared on his Instagram with a caption that read “Pray for my boy chance,” after which the cancellation was…
Critic disappointed by ‘The Artist’
As a film critic, I obviously watch a lot of movies. Each year, though, there are a few that slip by me, and every so often, I like to make an effort to catch up. This time around, I selected The Artist, and to be quite frank, I wish I had chosen something else. Though…
Entertainment news round-up for April 19
The lineup for the 67th annual Cannes Film Festival has been announced. Notable French entries include Jean-Luc Godard’s 3D experiment Goodbye to Language and Michel Hazanavicius’ The Search. Other films vying for prizes include Atom Egoyan’s The Captive and Mike Leigh’s Mr. Turner. For more on the lineup, click here. In other Cannes news, French actress-turned-director Nicole Garcia will…
Entertainment news round-up April 11
Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner says that the show’s upcoming mini-season will be action-packed. “The episodes are dense,” he said. ““After realizing that I needed two premieres and two finales, it changed the pacing of every other episode. These episodes are more focused on the main characters than ever before — and I’ve got a lot…
Entertainment news round-up
CBS has named Stephen Colbert to succeed David Letterman on The Late Show. He will be leaving the right-wing caricature he plays in The Colbert Report behind. “Simply being a guest on David Letterman’s show has been a highlight of my career,” he said in a statement. “I never dreamed that I would follow in his footsteps,…
Entertainment news round-up for April 4
Sources say that 12 Years a Slave star Chiwitel Ejiofor is MGM and Sony’s top choice to play the villain in the next James Bond film. The studios had no comment. Daniel Craig is set to return as Bond with Ralph Fiennes, Ben Whishaw, and Naomie Harris slated to return as well. Skyfall helmer Sam Mendes will again direct….
Entertainment news round-up for April 3
Holly Hunter has joined the cast of Zack Snyder’s as-yet-untitled Superman/Batman film starring Henry Cavill and Ben Affleck. She will play a character newly created for the movie. The feature also stars Jessie Eisenberg, Jeremy Irons, Amy Adams, and Diane Lane. For more information on the project, click here. David Letterman has announced his plans…
Entertainment news round-up for March 30
Twilight actor Patrick Brennan will join the cast of ABC’s Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. for two upcoming episodes. The actor, who played Liam in The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2, will play Blackout, a villain with the power to suck the energy from everything around him. “It’s just rare to have a character that’s [this] interesting,” he told…
Entertainment news round-up for March 27
The Wu-Tang Clan plans to release only one copy of their secretly-recorded new double album The Wu – Once Upon a Time in Shaolin. The album is priced in the millions and will be presented in a handcrafted silver box designed by British Moroccan artist Yahya. “By taking this step, we hope to re-enforce the weight…
Entertainment news round-up for March 13
Once Upon a Time actress Rose McIver has joined the cast of iZombie, a new zombie crime fighter from Veronica Mars scribes Rob Thomas and Diane Ruggiero. She will play a medical student who eats brains and inherits the corpses’ memories, which she uses to solve homicide cases. To read more on the series, click here. Cynthia Nixon…
Entertainment news round-up for March 12
90’s rom-com hit Pretty Woman is making its way to Broadway. The film’s screenwriters, Marshall and J.F. Lawton, are set to pen the book of the musical, with Paula Wagner on board to produce. The production does not yet have a composer, lyricist, or director. For more information on the show, click here. Japan’s Tezuka Productions has…
Critic touched and amazed by ‘The Wind Rises’
I am appalled that The Wind Rises did not take home the Oscar for Best Animated Picture. It makes Frozen look like a straight-to-DVD castoff. A beautiful farewell from Hayao Miyazaki, it is utterly magical – and in a way that eschews Disney’s heavy-handedness in favor of a much gentler, realer approach. The film presents…
Critic delights in Allen’s ‘Vicky Cristina Barcelona’
Given the recent success of Blue Jasmine – namely, Cate Blanchett’s Best Actress Oscar win – I decided to revisit another of Woody Allen’s films that features women in plum roles: Vicky Cristina Barcelona. Released in 2008, it’s one of Allen’s best, with a light, fresh tone that still hits all the expected cynical notes….
