Today, Terrence Malick’s latest opus “The Tree of Life” opens on four screens, two in Los Angeles, two in New York. So while it’s a small slice, the US public now has its chance to see the film, so it’s time to gauge reactions. Guy reviewed it out of Cannes, I followed up with my […]
Tell us what you thought of ‘The Tree of Life’
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 10:40 am · May 27th, 2011
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‘The Descendants’ trailer
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 2:55 pm · May 25th, 2011
As soon as the wheels started turning on 2011 Oscar season considerations, I was thinking Alexander Payne’s “The Descendants” could be a big player. Fox Searchlight could have another healthy slate this year and the studio has clearly caught and maintained its prestige stride. The trailer for the film dropped recently via Apple. Check it […]
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THE LISTS: Top 10 performances in Terrence Malick films
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 9:40 am · May 24th, 2011
If you can believe it, it’s been since Halloween that we kicked the dust off this feature at In Contention. We made it all the way through the Oscar season without feeling compelled to go there. Odd. So, with Terrence Malick’s “The Tree of Life” opening in New York and Los Angeles this weekend, before […]
Filed in: The Lists
Oscilloscope nabs ‘Kevin’
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 10:31 am · May 23rd, 2011
Lynne Ramsay’s Cannes hit “We Need to Talk About Kevin” has found a home, and an awards trajectory is in place. The press release, in part: May 23, 2011 Oscilloscope Laboratories announced today the company has acquired from Luc Roeg’s Independent Film Company North American distribution rights of the critically acclaimed and much talked […]
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Taking post-fest stock
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 9:37 am · May 23rd, 2011
Yesterday’s thoughts on Academy Award potential for “The Tree of Life” will serve as my post-Cannes Oscar column. Thanks to Guy for doing such a bang-up job covering the festival. For now, I’ve run a comb through the Contenders section and tiered things up a bit. No ranking and no predictions yet. Just defining the […]
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On the Oscar prospects of ‘The Tree of Life’
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 11:59 am · May 22nd, 2011
With “The Tree of Life” winning the Palme d’Or in Cannes today, Oscar talk has already swelled on Twitter (after whispered considerations in the wake of the premiere last week). I’ll be writing about the film again next weekend, when some of you will be able to take a look, but for now, I thought […]
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No rapture for you
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 1:46 pm · May 21st, 2011
Filed in: Et Cetera
Inevitable
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 7:04 pm · May 20th, 2011
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New ‘Green Lantern’ trailer
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 5:36 pm · May 20th, 2011
Summer movie season is just heating up. We’ve already seen “Thor” delight and annoy with equal measure. “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” stinks up cinemas this weekend. I’m beginning to get nervous about “X-Men: First Class,” right around the corner, but mainly I’m holding out hope for “Green Lantern,” which could go either […]
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Bane
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 11:40 am · May 20th, 2011
Since a reader already tried to veer off-topic in another thread with this, I might as well get it out of the way. A shot of Tom Hardy as Bane from “The Dark Knight Rises,” revealed through viral marketing that will no doubt be as annoying (if not more so) as it was during the […]
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Tell us what you thought of ‘Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides’
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 10:31 am · May 20th, 2011
I’ve already warned you to stay away. Guy spared himself in Cannes. But plenty of you will nevertheless take in “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” (I’m so sick of these gigantic titles) this weekend. So, if you can stomach thinking about it afterward, please come back and let us know what you thought. […]
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OSCAR TALK: Ep. 56 — Special Edition! — Cannes so far, ‘Tree of Life,’ Von Trier, taking the 2011 awards pulse
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 8:32 am · May 20th, 2011
Welcome to Oscar Talk. In case you’re new to the site and/or the podcast, Oscar Talk is a weekly kudocast, your one-stop awards chat shop between yours truly and Anne Thompson of Thompson on Hollywood. The podcast is weekly, every Friday throughout the season, charting the ups and downs of contenders along the way. Plenty […]
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Greatest. Marriage. Proposal. Ever.
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 2:20 pm · May 19th, 2011
This bit of hopeless romanticism ought to be enough to douse the controversial flames today, if just for a moment:
Filed in: Et Cetera
Persona non whateva
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 9:32 am · May 19th, 2011
Guy is on his way to a screening of Nicolas Winding Refn’s “Drive” at Cannes right now, but he will eventually get around to addressing Lars Von Trier’s spanking by the festival, which now considers him persona non grata. In the meantime, however, I’ll align myself with this statement from David Poland’s assessment: Is von […]
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Harris is McCain
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 5:38 pm · May 17th, 2011
I had to stop and take a second to point this out. The Julianne-Moore-as-Sarah-Palin production still from in Jay Roach’s “Game Change” seemed about right, nothing to write home about, etc. But this still, courtesy of Entertainment Weekly, stopped me in my tracks. THAT’s Ed Harris? I saw McCain straight away and had to search […]
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Thoughts on Malick’s ‘Tree of Life’
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 12:17 pm · May 17th, 2011
I decided to sleep on Terrence Malick’s “The Tree of Life.” After a full day of jury duty, a few moments for dinner and then a trip to West Hollywood for the 7:30 screening — which let out near 10pm — it seemed foolish to jump right in to such a dense piece of work. […]
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‘The Adventures of Tintin’ teaser trailer
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 12:02 am · May 17th, 2011
So, Steven Spielberg’s “The Adventures of Tintin” has a lot of people excited. I can’t summon that kind of enthusiasm for some reason. I’m not getting that event-of-the-year vibe others seem to be getting, but this just-released teaser trailer (courtesy of Apple) is enough to at least pique the interest. Check it out by clicking […]
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‘Showrunners’ to explore the making of modern American TV
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 3:16 pm · May 15th, 2011
I think it’s fair to say, with top name talent from Martin Scorsese to Michael Mann, Gus Van Sant to Neil Jordan rushing to the arms of the small screen, not to mention the general lift in quality programming of the past half a decade, television could be on the precipice of a new renaissance. […]
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