Posts Tagged: HBO
Midnight in Paris and The Descendants were the big winners at the WGA Awards.
In a major upset, the Italian docudrama Caesar Must Die from directors Paolo and Vittorio Taviani has won the Golden Bear for best film at the 62nd Berlin International Film Festival.
And yesterday, Pedro Almodóvar didn't have much luck at the Spanish Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' Goya Awards.
David Denby takes some notes on a lost style of acting.
Take these stats into account when entering your office's Oscar pool.
David Bordwell on the tradecraft of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.
A slideshow of New Yorker covers about the Academy Awards.
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Tags: Academy Awards, Berlinale, Caesar Must Die, David Bordwell, David Denby, Downton Abbey, Francis Ford Coppola, Goya Awards, Hank Azaria, HBO, Industrial Light & Magic, Midnight in Paris, New Yorker, Paolo Taviani, Pedro Almodóvar, The Descendants, The New York Review of Books, The Simpsons, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Vittorio Taviani, Writers Guild of America
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For the past few weeks, those unfamiliar with David Milch's style have probably been scratching their heads, wondering what, aside from the lush visual rubric established by Michael Mann, critics and fans see in Luck. As far as Milch shows go, Luck's characters, at least initially, are a good deal less likeable than, for instance, Dennis Franz's alcoholic, racist Andy Sipowicz was in Milch's NYPD Blue. Because the writer incorporates horse-racing terminology into his trademark stylized slang, Milch-speak as it's referred to, is made more impenetrable in Luck than it is in his period-accurate Deadwood—never mind the surfer-infused dialect of his failed John in Cincinnati. Tonight's revelatory episode, written by Daily Racing Form columnist Jay Hovdey and directed by Phillip Noyce, marks the turning point that should put any detractors' criticisms to rest. Continue Reading »
Tags: David Milch, Dustin Hoffman, HBO, Kerry Condon, Luck, Nick Nolte
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If I had to select one image that best represents the central theme of this week's episode of Luck, it would be a medium shot of Marcus (Kevin Dunn), Jerry (Jason Gedrick), Renzo (Ritchie Coster), and Lonnie (Ian Hart), all holding carrots while they stand, befuddled, in Turo's stall. The episode's director, Allen Coulter, is known for the menacing edge he brings to his other projects for HBO, like The Sopranos. But what's often ignored is his ability to leaven such dark material with a healthy dose of humanity, and this week, Bill Barich's script provides just the right opportunity for Coulter to display his talent in this respect. A good number of our main characters are closer to catching on to what Luck's horse trainers, old Walter (Nick Nolte) and Turo (John Ortiz), seem to know already: These horses aren't just lucky talismans; they also possess a purity of spirit that rehabilitates many of the show's jaded characters. Continue Reading »
Tags: David Milch, Dustin Hoffman, HBO, Ian Hart, Jill Hennessy, John Ortiz, Kevin Dunn, Luck, Nick Nolte
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by Ed Gonzalez on February 10th, 2012 at 9:00 am in Awards, Film
We're not exactly batting a thousand in this category, but we're pretty sure we got this year's winner pegged. Stupidly, we placed our bets the last two years on wrenching docs—one about the aftermath of the massive earthquake that rocked the central region of China, the other about a female soldier's post-traumatic stress disorder—only to see the voters indulge other fetishes. So, if topicality isn't exactly an asset for a film nominated in this category, we can safely rule out Gail Dolgin and Robin Fryday's warmhearted but mundane The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement, about a now-deceased activist who looks back on the early days of the movement in the days leading up to Barack Obama's victory in the 2008 election. Yes, the 2008 election, which, at least for AMPAS members with proven short-attention spans, probably now feels as old as the silent-film era. Continue Reading »
Tags: Academy Awards, Barack Obama, China's Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province, Daniel Junge, Ethan McCord, Gail Dolgin, HBO, Incident in Baghdad, James Spione, Kira Carstensen, Lucy Walker, Poster Girl, Rabbit à la Berlin, Rebecca Cammisa, Robin Fryday, Saving Face, Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy, The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement, The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom, Waste Land, WikiLeaks
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Last week, Luck's introductory episode concluded with an exhilarating race that ended badly. The horse that "bug boy" (named for the bug-like asterisk that follows the jockey's name in the racing forms, signifying his apprentice status) Leon rode was put down after its front legs broke. That tragedy still hangs over the main plot of this episode (unlike most shows, Luck isn't naming its episodes). But it also thrusts Leon into a kind of limbo reflective of all of the show's characters. It's in this episode where one is first able to grasp how the different permutations of fortune (good, bad, indifferent) have washed the show's ensemble ashore onto the pretty and slightly desolate beach that is Arcadia's Santa Anita Park. Continue Reading »
Tags: David Milch, Dustin Hoffman, HBO, Kerry Condon, Luck, Michael Mann
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Author Damien Bona, who I met some 15 years ago right out of NYU and humbled me not long after by thanking me in the pages of Inside Oscar 2, passed away yesterday at the age of 57. He will be missed for his wit, sensitivity, and bringing sanity to the yearly Oscar chatter.
Why Viola Davis gets it right.
Ignatiy Vishnevetsky reviews HBO's Luck.
Why has Lana Del Rey's reinvention caused such a stir?
Armie Hammer is going places.
Peet Gelderblom re-cuts Brian De Palma's Raising Cain.
How the Academy Awards slant our views of movies.
What were the gayest (and straightest) Super Bowl halftime shows?
Ben Marcus urges writers to march on the enemy.
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Tags: Academy Awards, Armie Hammer, Bad Girls, Ben Marcus, Brian De Palma, Damien Bona, HBO, Ignatiy Vishnevetsky, Inside Oscar 2, Lana Del Rey, Luck, M.I.A., Madonna, Meryl Streep, Peet Gelderblom, Raising Cain, Super Bowl, Viola Davis
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The Help cleaned up and Jean Dujardin pulled an upset at last night's Screen Actors Guild awards.
In other news of The Artist's march toward Oscar, Michel Hazanavicius beat out Fincher, Allen, Scorsese, and Payne at Saturday's DGA awards.
This year's Sundance Film Festival winners have also been announced.
A look back at the film and art career of the Eiffel Tower, a 122-year-old movie star prepping for her facelift.
Matt Zoller Seitz recaps the latest episode of HBO's Luck.
Over the weekend, Mitt Romney widened his lead over Newt Gingrich.
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Tags: Blake Lively, David Bordwell, Directors Guild of America, HBO, Jean Dujardin, Luck, M.I.A., Madonna, Matt Zoller Seitz, Michel Hazanavicius, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Nicki Minaj, Rick Perry, Rooney Mara, Screen Actors Guild, Steven Soderbergh, Sundance Film Festival, The Artist, The Help
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Ace: Generally, how'd he look?
Gus: What do I know, Ace? All four of his legs reach the ground.
That exchange, between two of the leads on the new HBO series Luck, concerns Pint of Plain, the race horse that Chester "Ace" Bernstein (Dustin Hoffman) owns by way of his driver and bodyguard Gus Demetriou (Dennis Farina). Gus is fronting for Ace, who's recently been released from prison and can't legally own a horse until he's off parole. But he knows as much about horse racing as most viewers probably do—which is to say, not much. Those expecting to get a primer on the sport will be disappointed by Luck's first episode, written by creator David Milch (Deadwood) and directed by his co-executive producer, Michael Mann. But that's not a criticism; what Milch and Mann have always been most effective at is getting to the substance of a specific subculture through stylistic means. Continue Reading »
Tags: David Milch, Dennis Farina, Dustin Hoffman, HBO, Jill Hennessy, John Ortiz, Luck, Massive Attack, Michael Mann, Nick Nolte, Richard Kind, Splitting the Atom, Tom Payne
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The Village Voice's 2011 film poll is here.
The L Magazine's critics reveal their Top 10 lists.
So, HBO has renewed a show we thought wouldn't be coming back and axed a favorite we didn't even know was in trouble.
David Fincher talks violence, unpleasant reveange, and more.
The year in photos according to Flickr.
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Tags: A Separation, Bored to Death, David Fincher, Enlightened, Flickr, HBO, Margaret, Melancholia, Peter Jackson, Rachel Maddow, Senses of Cinema, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, The Hobbit, The L Magazine, The Tree of Life, The Village Voice
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The Golden Globes have announced their nominations and Terrence Malick's The Tree of Life leads the pack with 8 nods. Kidding.
Related: Nine observations about the nominations.
Madonna inks new label deal for March album.
The films of Steven Spielberg, an introduction by Matt Zoller Seitz, Ali Arikan, and Serena Bramble.
Armond White on embargo blues.
Every film on this list that I've seen is indeed terrible.
Because 25 is too little, and 100 to gluttonous, PopMatters gives us their 75 best albums of 2011.
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Tags: Andrew Sullivan, Armond White, Barack Obama, Beat the Reaper, Dana Stevens, Golden Globes, HBO, Interscope, Leonardo DiCaprio, Madonna, Mitt Romney, PopMatters, Republican Party, Ron Paul, sofia vergara, Steven Spielberg, Terrence Malick, The Tree of Life
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Billboard's year in music.
Iranian documentary filmmaker Mojtaba Mirtahmasb, who worked with the still-imprisoned Jafar Panahi on This Is Not a Film, has been released from Evin Prison after three months in jail.
The best TV criticism's ink is pink, but powerful.
This weekend, the following critics groups voted on their awards: the Boston Society of Film Critics, the Indiana Film Critics, the New York Film Critics Online, the San Francisco Film Critics Circle, and the Los Angeles Film Critics Association.
Lady Gaga rewrites the script at Jingle Ball.
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Tags: Adele, AFI, AFI Awards, Billboard, Boston Society of Film Critics, Girls, HBO, Indiana Film Critics, Jafar Panahi, Jingle Ball, Judd Apatow, Lady Gaga, Laura Miller, Lena Dunham, Los Angeles Film Critics Association, Manoel de Oliveira, Mojtaba Mirtahmasb, New York Film Critics Online, San Francisco Film Critics Circle, This Is Not a Film
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The National Board of Review has announced its awards for 2011 and Scorsese's Hugo it tops.
The American unemployment rate unexpectedly dropped to its lowest level in two and a half years in November, despite the many global crises batting against the economy.
Napster is dead.
Charles Taylor has a problem with film criticism.
David Milch strikes deal to bring Faulkner works to HBO.
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Tags: Charles Taylor, David Milch, HBO, Hugo, Lady Gaga, Marry the Night, Martin Scorsese, Napster, National Board of Review, Suspiria, Twitter, William Faulkner
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Arrested Development is comming back to life on the Netflix video streaming service.
Terry Gilliam is still trying to make The Man Who Killed Don Quixote.
We finally have a real look at some footage from season two of HBO's Game of Thrones.
Stephen Sondheim reveals how good reviews can be as harmful as bad ones.
John Waters discusses staying in Baltimore, becoming a capitalist, and The Wire.
Woman claims she heard Natalie Wood's cries for help on night actress died.
Odie Henderson reviews Woody Allen: A Documentary.
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Tags: Arrested Development, Before Sunrise, Bored to Death, Ethan Hawke, Game of Thrones, HBO, John Waters, Julie Delpy, Natalie Wood, Netflix, Oakland, Odie Henderson, Rihanna, Stephen Sondheim, Terry Gilliam, The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, The Wire, UC Davis, Woody Allen: A Documentary
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Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg on Tuesday defended his decision to clear the park in Lower Manhattan that was the birthplace of the Occupy Wall Street movement.
Mike White knew HBO's Enlightened would be a tough sell.
Armond White claims he was kicked off Rotten Tomatoes for Jack and Jill review.
The Hollywood Reporter parts ways with critic Kirk Honeycutt.
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Tags: Armond White, Enlightened, HBO, Jack and Jill, Jerry Sanusky, Kirk Honeycutt, Michael R. Bloomberg, Mike White, Occupy Wall Street, Rotten Tomatoes, S.T. VanAirsdale, Space, The Hollywood Reporter, Wim Wenders, Zuccotti Park
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Cuba announced Thursday it would allow its residents to buy and sell real estate for the first time since the revolution, in yet another bold free-market reform that effectively legalizes a practice Cubans have been secretly engaging in for years. (Photo above by yours truly.)
Woman said to have felt hostility at work after complaining about Cain.
For the New York Times, Nate Silver handicaps the 2012 election.
Support for gay marriage continues to rise.
Is there a Razzie in Clint Eastwood's future?
House contributor Elise Nakhnikian interviews Alma Har'el, director of Bombay Beach.
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Tags: Alma Har'el, Bombay Beach, Clint Eastwood, Crazy Clown Time, Cuba, David Lynch, Elise Nakhnikian, gay marriage, HBO, Herman Cain, J. Edgar, Jonathan Franzen, Murmuration, Noah Baumbach, Razzie Awards, The Corrections, The Guardian, The New York Times
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