<<< Not anymore! I was told last week that LA Times columnist Patrick Goldstein would be launching a blog of his own, and today I see that The Big Picture has morphed into just that.  I must say, even when I was tipped off to this development, I didn’t believe it.  This is the hater […]

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Many thanks to reader Mr. Gittes (perhaps as much a Bat-fiend as yours truly), who pointed me to this Wired story detailing director Christopher Nolan’s torrid love affair with all things practical in the world of action cinema. Much has been said and written of Nolan’s preference for saving the CGI drama for your mama […]

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What can be said of the fearless Edward Norton, who recently became an on-screen comic book hero?  I never understood his choice to take on the role of Bruce Banner, a.k.a. The Incredible Hulk.  And now, post-release, I’m still puzzled. He walked into a franchise that became a fast mess just five years ago.  And […]

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I hate that I missed this, but did anyone happen to make the 40th anniversary resotration screening of “Once Upon a time in the West” last week? It screened at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater Friday night. I’d love to know what the print looked like, though news of the exhibition may have flown under everyone’s […]

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Interviewing Warren Beatty a few years ago in Toronto, I was struck at once by his intellect, which is laser sharp. The man misses nothing. He speaks slowly, taking long pauses before he speaks, and avoids personal questions, which I dislike and refuse to ask anyway. He was with Annette Bening at the time, supporting […]

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Alright folks…we’re getting close.  Judging by that poll a few weeks ago, “The Dark Knight” is far and away the most anticipated film of the summer with the IC readership, so I expect you won’t mind my further indulgence in the lead-up to the release. But there’s actually something to talk about now.  The film […]

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By way of our friends at Cinematical I stumbled across this Onion A.V. Club article — a truly genius post.  It’s a countdown of the top cameo performances of all time, a “one-scene wonders” list of 20 memorable cinematic moments. Like Eric Snider at Cinematical, I can’t find a single bone to pick with The […]

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The Academy has officially announced the 105 people it has invited to join its ranks this year; they range from obvious recent winners (Marion Cotillard, Diablo Cody), to cool commercial forces (Judd Apatow, Sacha Baron Cohen), to less glamorous but equally deserving names such as documentarian Nanette Burstein and composer Michael Giacchino. Looking down the list, it’s […]

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Because “WALL-E” doesn’t open in the UK until mid-July, there haven’t been, nor will there be any press screenings lined up.  I’ll have to wait until I’m back in the States. LAM-E.

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With the recent announcement of Paul Gross’s “Passchendaele” as the opening night film at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival (and honor traditionally handed to a Canadian endeavor), I thought I’d dedicate some space to the best of Canadian cinema.  But first, a history of sorts. Growing up in Ontario, Canada, I fell in love […]

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I know we don’t really cover TV here at In Contention, but since Matthew Weiner’s AMC show “Mad Men” is the greatest piece of screen drama I’ve seen in any medium this past year, I couldn’t resist linking to this mammoth profile of the show, and its creator, in yesterday’s New York Times Magazine. Neatly timed […]

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David Gordon Green took a strong dive into a typical post-film school career in 2000, and I’ve never been afraid to admit that his breed of cinema failed to speak to me on pretty much every level (despite us sharing an alma mater).  I found “George Washington” to be derivative, “All the Real Girls” to […]

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I rarely link to these, but since Lorenzo from the Reel Geezers has some personal insight into Mr. Polanski, I thought it’d be worth tossing up the video.  The Reel Geezers review “Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired”: httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FvE4HQwo-o

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To say the least.  But since I just sat staring out my window for a solid five minutes trying to come up with a decent film-related poll for this week (and drew a massive blank in the process), I figured we’d go off the beaten path with something fun and simple: WHO’S GONNA WIN EURO?! […]

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George Carlin’s passing has been in the cards for a long time.  But MAN it stings. Personally I went from youthful (and therefore ignorant) adoration of the guy to a learned and mature wariness of his humor.  Later on, though, I came back around.  He did things with the English language that any writer had […]

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From People magazine, an excerpt from an interview with Michael Caine concerning “The Dark Knight”: Caine, contemplating his co-star’s loss, goes so far as to predict Ledger might win an Oscar from beyond the grave for his role as The Joker in The Dark Knight. “He was just so scary. Everyone was worried beforehand, because […]

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I finally watched this trailer for Spike Lee’s upcoming “Miracle at St. Anna” over the weekend. It’s been out and about for at least a week now, but I decided to wait a bit as I am in the middle of James McBride’s novel at the moment. Sometimes one prefers the imagination. I knew once […]

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