Joaquin Phoenix made his return to The Late Show last night following his performance art appearance a year and a half ago which made plenty of headlines. With the reality of “I’m Still Here” out in the open, it made for a “how could you not know” session. Letterman was reportedly in on the gag […]
Phoenix “apologizes” as Letterman plays it straight
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 9:16 am · September 23rd, 2010
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Teasing Phoenix’s return to Letterman
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 4:48 pm · September 22nd, 2010
Now that the cat’s out of the bag on “I’m Still Here,” all eyes are on The Late Show tonight where Joaquin Phoenix parks it on David Letterman’s chair one more time. Courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter, here’s a rather, well, nothing teaser clip of tonight’s appearance, which would have wrapped filming I guess about […]
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WEEKLY WRAP: Venice winners, Toronto bites, ‘Network’ raves
Posted by Guy Lodge · 7:05 pm · September 17th, 2010
• Sofia Coppola’s “Somewhere” surprised many by taking top honors at the Venice Film Festival; we took a closer look at the Lido winners. • Meanwhile, we were considerably less than wowed by the festival closer, Julie Taymor’s “The Tempest.” • This week’s Off the Carpet column reflected on the unusual depth of this year’s […]
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Casey Affleck: “Gotcha!”
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 3:02 pm · September 16th, 2010
Obviously “Catfish” isn’t the only documentary leaving people wondering whether everything we see is legitimate. Casey Affleck’s “I’m Still Here,” a chronicle of Joaquin Phoenix’s abandonment of his acting career in favor of a passion for, hip-hop has had many puzzled since Phoenix’s awkward appearance on The Late Show over a year ago. I’ve always […]
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SHORT TAKE: “I’m Still Here” (**1/2)
Posted by Guy Lodge · 9:11 am · September 6th, 2010
Venice Film Festival “This is the moment where the fucking good guy wins,” yells an evidently kite-high Joaquin Phoenix at a hapless member of his entourage, midway through his brother-in-law Casey Affleck’s debatable documentary portrait of the star’s much-publicized career meltdown. It’s a little difficult to spot the victory – or, indeed, the good guy […]
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‘I’m Still Here’ trailer
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 11:14 am · August 17th, 2010
In case you’re interested in the Casey Affleck documentary about his brother-in-law Joaquin Phoenix’s attempt at a rap career and either serious-as-cancer or totally put-on downward spiral, the trailer for “I’m Still Here” has landed at Yaho0! Movies. But is it just me or is this whole thing all a bit stale already? How long […]
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‘I’m Still Here’ poster
Posted by Guy Lodge · 7:27 pm · August 6th, 2010
I’m not entirely sure what manner of beast Casey Affleck’s upcoming documentary about his friend Joaquin Phoenix’s 2008 retirement/reinvention/stunt/freakout is: it claims to be a sincere portrait underpinned by mutual understanding between artists, but it could just as well be the latest archly ironic act in this most slow-burning of celebrity pranks. Whether it answers […]
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The Great Performances: 2005
Posted by John Foote · 5:07 pm · December 18th, 2009
2005 was the year of Heath Ledger’s beautiful, moving performance in “Brokeback Mountain,” which I saw for the first time in Toronto. It instantly became the talk of the festival, and the film became the one to beat for the Academy Award. Ledger was astonishing as the taciturn cowboy who is more surprised than anybody […]
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Checking in with Joaquin’s performance art
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 9:50 am · February 12th, 2009
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1/29 Oscarweb Round-up
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 6:03 am · January 29th, 2009
• Looks like Mickey Rourke isn’t going to get into the ring after all. [Associated Press] • Perhaps in response to snarky items like this? [Vulture] • Kim Voynar deconstructs the Oscar nominations a week later. [Movie City News] • In case it wasn’t obvious from the start, Joaquin Phoenix has been punkin’ y’all. [Entertainment […]
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‘Two Lovers’
Posted by Guy Lodge · 5:55 pm · January 28th, 2009
This US trailer for James Gray’s wispy throwback romance has been knocking around for a little while, but it only came to my attention now. It’s a minor-key work that admittedly isn’t flattered by the rather prosaic trailer, though it’s been lauded (like all Gray’s films) in France, and I was rather charmed by it […]
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“Why are you laughing at me?”
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 12:11 pm · October 30th, 2008
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SHORT TAKE: “Two Lovers” (***)
Posted by Guy Lodge · 9:37 am · October 22nd, 2008
London Film Festival Bar the odd appearance of a text message or Ecstasy tablet, James Gray’s “Two Lovers,” a disarmingly modest tale of misdirected passion, could just as easily be set in 1958 as in the present day. This is both one of its charms and one of its failings. The premise is unfussy and […]
Sean Penn defends ‘Che’
Posted by Guy Lodge · 2:21 am · July 11th, 2008
British film magazine Sight & Sound has a nice new tradition of interviewing the jury president of the most recent Cannes Film Festival, which makes for interesting reading. (Last year’s prez, Stephen Frears, presciently predicted in his interview that “No Country for Old Men” would “do really well,” despite not winning anything at the festival.) […]
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Cannes update: Eastwood scores…again
Posted by Guy Lodge · 6:35 am · May 20th, 2008
Well, I’m pleased to report that my initial doubts about Clint Eastwood’s latest, “Changeling,” were obviously unfounded. His Angelina Jolie-starrer, based on a true story about a child’s kidnapping in 1920s Los Angeles, premiered this morning at Cannes, and, judging from the reviews so far, the man’s impeccable recent run of form hasn’t hit a […]
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SHORT TAKE: “Walk the Line” (***)
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 1:21 pm · September 26th, 2005
You’ll soon see Joaquin Phoenix tearing up the screen with a blistering performance in the story of a seminal rock star’s fascinating life in “Walk the Line” – but it ain’t Johnny Cash. The film works very well on its own terms, but I have to say – I just don’t like the terms. On […]
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