Hey, did you know I’m something of a Kristin Scott Thomas fan? If you didn’t, chances are you only just met me. Welcome. The precis version is that I think she’s one of the few great contemporary actresses currently working on career-peak form, and in two languages to boot. The non-precis version — well, dig […]
Why we should be watching Kristin Scott Thomas
Posted by Guy Lodge · 5:55 pm · October 7th, 2010
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LONDON: ‘Chloe,’ ‘Leaving’
Posted by Guy Lodge · 4:38 pm · October 23rd, 2009
I realize I’ve dropped the ball somewhat with my festival updates — between the to-and-fro of festival business, other writing tasks and the occasional impulse to have a personal life, a backlog longer than I care to count has accumulated of films yet to be discussed. Expect that to be partially rectified over a quieter […]
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No reason
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 9:02 am · June 5th, 2009
A reader sent me this pic, it amused me, so I’m posting. Simple as that:
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All in good taste
Posted by Guy Lodge · 10:32 am · March 24th, 2009
There’s no real reason to pay attention to the Chlotrudis Awards,which took place on Sunday. After all, they’re a casually organised set of honours determined by an enthusiastic group of Boston-based film lovers — that apparently get mentioned on IMDB and precisely nowhere else. But hey, when their taste is this exemplary, they deserve a […]
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Beautiful rejects
Posted by Guy Lodge · 6:24 am · March 21st, 2009
Yesterday’s post about the UK poster for “Let the Right One In” alerted me to the existence of a nifty little site. Not a Movie Poster showcases notable poster concepts that were ultimately rejected by the powers that be — usually, it seems, in favour of far lesser work. They are mostly UK designs (hence […]
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Better late…
Posted by Guy Lodge · 2:22 am · March 9th, 2009
Last week’s server switch-induced hiatus prevented me from commenting on the César Awards — perhaps the ceremony I was eyeing most keenly this year given the prominence of my personal favourites in their rich pool of nominees. (I’ll say it again: France ruled 2008. End of story.) You’ve probably read the winners elsewhere by now. […]
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Class act
Posted by Guy Lodge · 4:07 pm · January 28th, 2009
Jeff Wells has captured some of last night’s Kristin Scott Thomas Q&A at the Santa Barbara festival, and it’s well worth a look — as I found when I interviewed her back in December, she’s immensely forthright, considered and witty in her discussion of her craft. Truly one of the best in the game. Wells […]
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Cesar nods include ‘Class,’ ‘Loved,’ Swinton
Posted by Guy Lodge · 7:57 am · January 24th, 2009
Now here’s a set of nominations I can get behind. As I may have mentioned before, 2008 was all about the rejuvenation of French cinema for me, with Gallic productions occupying a quarter of my year-end Top 20, including the two poll spots. So it’s hardly surprising that I’m immensely pleased by the list of […]
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My dream ballot: part two
Posted by Guy Lodge · 12:24 pm · January 21st, 2009
OK, I explained the deal with this yesterday, when I covered the technical categories. What follows are the names and films that I, in a perfect world, would like to hear announced by Sid Ganis and Forest Whitaker bright and early tomorrow morning. (Or tomorrow afternoon, in my case … living across the Atlantic does […]
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Hot property
Posted by Guy Lodge · 5:21 am · January 21st, 2009
Yesterday I mentioned how Lone Scherfig’s British period romance “An Education,” starring much-buzzed ingenue Carey Mulligan, had become the talk of Sundance, with Fox Searchlight zeroing in on the film. Now Anne Thompson reports that Searchlight, and several others, have been beaten to the punch by Sony Pictures Classics, who have acquired the North American […]
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Best Actress: a tough call
Posted by John Foote · 9:27 am · January 17th, 2009
Rarely does the lead actress category provide more suspense than leading gentlemen and rarely is it as packed with fine performances as it is this year. I can remember years when it was a struggle to come up with five nominees for best actress, 1975 and 1992 springing to mind. It might have less to […]
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BAFTA announces foreign-language nominees
Posted by Guy Lodge · 5:29 am · January 8th, 2009
I remain perplexed as to why they announce these separately from the main field of nominees (why further ghettoise a ghetto category?), but oh well. The BAFTA nominees for Best Film Not In The English Language are: “The Baader Meinhof Complex” “Gomorrah” “I’ve Loved You So Long” “Persepolis” “Waltz With Bashir” Hardly surprising, though you’d […]
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Small pleasures: Guy’s best (and worst) of 2008
Posted by Guy Lodge · 1:14 pm · January 2nd, 2009
It’s a lovely thing when you realize, at least part of the way through adulthood, that we still possess the ability to surprise ourselves. When left to graze at leisure, the mind can stumble upon some unexpected notions, frequently overriding the conclusions we thought we had reached after twelve months of watching, writing and (occasionally […]
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Nice to be wrong: actresses who changed my mind
Posted by John Foote · 7:47 am · December 20th, 2008
Having been a film critic for more than a quarter of a century now (my God) and a film junkie for more than 40 years, I have never gotten over the joy of surprise when an actor or actress comes out of left field with a performance of such brilliance it eliminates every single bad […]
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12/13 Oscarweb Round-up
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 5:27 am · December 14th, 2008
• Rod Lurie wants to steer comparisons of “Nothing But the Truth” away from Judith Miller, evokes Susan McDougal. [Los Angeles Times] • The company behind releasing his film, meanwhile, goes into chapter 11. [Variety] • Is the Academy ready to award digital performances? [Variety] • Sasha Stone spotlights the seasons actor reunions. [Awards Daily] […]
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Performance of the decade?
Posted by Guy Lodge · 5:48 am · December 12th, 2008
More good news for Kristin Scott Thomas after rebounding yesterday with a Golden Globe nomination — in his 2008 wrap-up, Richard Roeper names her stunning turn in “I’ve Loved You So Long” the performance of the year. (The film, meanwhile, cracks his Top 5.) In fact, he goes even further than that: The acting turn […]
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Globe cheers, jeers and predictions
Posted by Guy Lodge · 6:56 pm · December 11th, 2008
As ever, this morning’s Golden Globe announcement provided a mixed bag of talking points, with some pleasantly zany curveballs at one end of the scale, and a couple of yawnsome autopilot nominees at the other. Like most awards bodies, they’re never going to get it completely right: for every inspired inclusion or omission there’s an […]
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Golden Globes: ‘Slumdog,’ ‘Button’ steady…whither ‘Milk?’
Posted by Guy Lodge · 6:20 am · December 11th, 2008
Well, I said yesterday one should always expect oddities with the Golden Globes … but even with that in mind, they never fail to pull out some genuine “WTF” moments. Tom Cruise’s goofy Best Supporting Actor nod for “Tropic Thunder” may have been the most eccentric revelation of the morning, but surely the most significant […]
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