Friday December 19, 2008
Drama Doubt leads SAG award nominations
Film drama Doubt led all nominees for Screen Actors Guild (SAG) awards yesterday with five nominations overall, including for best ensemble cast.Joining Doubt in the race for best ensemble cast were Milk and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Those movies each earned three award nods. Slumdog Millionaire and Frost/Nixon also saw actors land in the race for best ensemble cast and pulled down two nominations apiece. From Print Edition, 19/12/08
It's not every 18-year-old who scores sex scenes with Kate
Sankt Nikolaus came early this Christmas for the young German actor David Kross. Already something of a teen idol in his homeland, with a handful of European film roles to his credit, Kross is making his English-language debut in The Reader, alongside (quite literally in one case) no less than Kate Winslet, Ralph Fiennes and legendary Swiss-German character actor Bruno Ganz. From Print Edition, 19/12/08
XMAS MOVIES
If you can tear yourself away from the turkey, some of the year's most anticipated films open on Christmas and Boxing Day. Reviews of Dec. 25 filmswill appear in Globe Review From Print Edition, 19/12/08
Carrey's amped up, the script is stalling
Yes ManDirected by Peyton ReedWritten by Nicholas Stoller,Jarrad Paul, Andrew MogelStarring Jim Carreyand Zooey DeschanelClassification: PG** Whether moping in his artsy flicks or manic in his jangling comedies, Jim Carrey is Hollywood's token existentialist. Time and again on screen, from The Truman Show to Liar, Liar, the guy is mucking through a chaotic existence in search of his true essence, he and his rubber body contorting to define their real self, to find some still point in an elastic universe. Yes Man puts him back in the same old quandary and, once again, Carrey lacks an identity. Alas, this time, he also lacks a script. From Print Edition, 19/12/08
A one-man bailout operation
Seven PoundsDirected by Gabriele MuccinoWritten by Grant NieporteStarring Will Smithand Rosario DawsonClassification: 14A**In keeping with a certain segment of the seasonal mood, Seven Pounds opens with a man calling 911 to report his own imminent suicide. But since the man is Will Smith, and he's reteaming with the same director who scaled such feel-good heights in The Pursuit of Happyness, we're not too worried by this downer of a start, confident that the picture will soon, like Santa's sleigh, catch a ride on the buoyant updrafts of sweet inspiration. And ride it does, way way up. In fact, it's probably safe to argue that never before has the spirit of giving been pushed any higher. How high? According to my altimeter, to that oxygen-deprived point where lachrymose meets laughable. From Print Edition, 19/12/08
NOW PLAYING
Australia**Director Baz Luhrmann's new film is determined to put the ''awe'' in Australia and ends up inspiring at least as much exasperation as admiration. Nicole Kidman stars as an English aristocrat who arrives in Australia at the start of the Second World War in search of her husband, and Hugh Jackman is the rough cattle drover who comes to her aid. Quoting liberally from Gone with the Wind, The Wizard of Oz, Red River and The African Queen, the film is all over the place but so eager to please that it feels like being pinned down by a friendly dingo and having your face licked for three hours. PG (Nov. 26) L.L. From Print Edition, 19/12/08
Grumpy Old Vigilante
Gran TorinoDirected by Clint EastwoodWritten by Nick Schenk Starring Clint Eastwood, Bee Vang and Ahney HerClassification: 14A**When Clint Eastwood's character, Walt Kowalski, the aging blue-collar hero of Gran Torino, sees something he doesn't like, like his teenaged granddaughter text-messaging at his wife's funeral in the opening scene, he growls. The sound suggests an arthritic dog being kicked off the bed, or perhaps Frankenstein's monster dimly apprehending a threat. The behaviour is an oddly comical set-up to what turns out to be a serious, and seriously bizarre, movie. As both the surviving icon of American tough-guy swagger, and a director known for exploring sombre moral themes, Eastwood has made a hybrid film that's both a declaration of righteous rage and a critique of short-sighted American individualism. From Print Edition, 19/12/08
One sadistic, preachy kid flick
The Tale of DespereauxDirected by Sam Fell and Rob StevenhagenWritten by Gary Ross, Will McRobb and Chris ViscardiFeaturing the voices of Matthew Broderick, Dustin Hoffman, Kevin Kline, Emma Watson From Print Edition, 19/12/08
Cineforum's last picture show
''That's all, folks.''That's what film buff Reg Hartt says after each screening in the Cineforum theatre before flicking on the houselights.And soon it may well be true. From Print Edition, 19/12/08
Nothing says Christmas like a twisted Santa
Not everyone appreciates the Christmas season's candy-cane smiles and chocolate ho-ho-hos. Which is why a rare screening of Christmas Evil - originally titled the more appropriately sinister You Better Watch Out - should appeal to those who prefer naughty over nice during the holidays. From Print Edition, 19/12/08
Holiday cheer, from Shrek's forest to Cash's house
Christmas movies fall into two camps: those you love and those that drive you round the Yuletide bend. I'm a sucker for Miracle on 34th Street and A Christmas Carol (Alastair Sim, prop.), but Will Farrell's hyper man-child in Elf gives me the willies. Maybe one of the following will hit the spot. From Print Edition, 19/12/08
New on DVD
Death Race **1/2 Mamma Mia! **1/2 The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor ** The House Bunny *1/2NEXT WEEK (Dec. 23) American Teen **1/2Star ratings were provided by Globe and Mail critics at the time of theatrical release. From Print Edition, 19/12/08
After snacking on the specials, gorge on the festive films
For some people, Christmas movies are the main reason to stay home for the holidays.The festive season always brings back the usual slate of holiday-themed movies from past and present. Some viewers opt for the more traditional cinema offerings like It's a Wonderful Life and A Christmas Carol (as always, both air Christmas Eve on multiple channels), while those with more refined tastes may have found their own personal favourites. Here's seven to watch for in the week ahead: The Bishop's Wife (1947) From Print Edition, 19/12/08
