• Scientists say “Contagion” is for real. [Associated Press] • James Rocchi talks “The Ides of March” with Best Supporting Actress hopeful Evan Rachel Wood. [MSN Movies] • Nicolas Winding Refn breaks down a scene from “Drive.” [Arts Beat]
9/16 OSCARWEB ROUND-UP: Scientists vouch for ‘Contagion,’ Refn breaks down ‘Drive,’ Toronto takeaways
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 7:46 am · September 16th, 2011
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‘Drive’ on an interactive tour of Los Angeles
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 4:30 pm · August 31st, 2011
It’s no secret both Guy and I are full on in the tank for Nicolas Winding Refn’s “Drive.” It’s one of the year’s best films, full of the promise of a fresh young filmmaker just beginning to sample his abilities for us all. One of the big takeaways for me when I saw the film […]
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COMIC-CON: Refn’s ‘Drive’ is a bullet of vision
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 11:40 am · July 23rd, 2011
I’ve had to sit on my feelings on Nicolas Winding Refn’s “Drive,” which had a special screening here Thursday night, because I haven’t found a window to write about it. That’s either good or bad, I don’t know, because the film has just continued to grow in my mind, but I don’t want to over-inflate […]
‘Drive’ red-band trailer
Posted by Guy Lodge · 5:50 am · July 22nd, 2011
As you can see from the previous post, Kris is every bit as punch-drunk on Nicolas Winding Refn’s electric throwback thriller “Drive” as I was at Cannes — read my review here — where it deservedly won the Best Director prize. It stands as my favourite narrative feature of the year so far; the rest […]
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“You don’t want to be trapped inside with me, sunshine.”
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 3:12 am · July 22nd, 2011
So I was sitting down for a casual interview with Nicolas Winding Refn this evening, after seeing his ABSOLUTELY AMAZING OMFG FILM “Drive” at a special screening. Guy Pearce walks up with Tom Hardy in tow, so I couldn’t pass up the photo op. As you know, “Bronson” was comfortably one of my top 10 […]
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CANNES: ‘Tree of Life’ wins Palme d’Or, Dunst takes Best Actress
Posted by Guy Lodge · 10:02 am · May 22nd, 2011
And so it came to pass that the pre-festival bookies’ odds were on the money. The most talked-about film at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, Terrence Malick’s “The Tree of Life,” was handed the Palme d’Or by Robert De Niro’s jury — a major vindication for a film that has been labelled both a masterpiece […]
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Shut up and ‘Drive’
Posted by Guy Lodge · 9:41 am · May 21st, 2011
Those of you who follow me on Twitter already know how I feel about wild-card Palme d’Or contender “Drive,” but I’ll have a review up a little later. For now, though, I can’t resist posting this shot of Ryan Gosling, his awesome royal-blue tux and director Nicolas Winding Refn at last night’s red carpet premiere […]
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CANNES CHECK: ‘Drive’
Posted by Guy Lodge · 3:34 pm · May 10th, 2011
The director: Nicolas Winding Refn (Denmark) The talent: Ryan Gosling and Carey Mulligan — the latter making her first significant foray into multiplex territory — are the star attractions here, but the supporting cast isn’t too shabby, either: Albert Brooks, Ron Perlman and current TV darlings Christina Hendricks and Bryan Cranston are all on board. […]
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Cannes competition includes Malick, Almodóvar, von Trier
Posted by Guy Lodge · 3:06 am · April 14th, 2011
After weeks of speculation, this year’s Cannes lineup was unveiled in spectacularly long-winded fashion by fest director Thierry Frémaux this morning. (French TV networks clearly got so bored with his sidebar discussions on each title he announced that they helpfully cut to commercial halfway through the press conference.) Anyway, the speculation was largely borne out […]
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OFF THE CARPET: Original players
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 2:44 pm · November 16th, 2009
When I had the unmitigated gall last week to project a set of winners for this year’s Oscar race, I was a bit startled at how easy Mark Boal’s script for “The Hurt Locker” slid into the Best Original Screenplay slot. Looking over the landscape of contenders in the category, it’s a little obvious why […]
Filed in: Off the Carpet
10/6 Oscarweb Round-up
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 8:41 am · October 6th, 2009
• Steve Pond asks five important questions about the expanded Best Picture category. #1, #3 and #5 have been covered at length in this space. #2 is philosophical and worth considering. #4 is a practical issue at hand, I imagine. [The Odds] • On set with the Coens directing “A Serious Man.” [MakingOf] • Nicolas […]
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10/5 Oscarweb Round-up
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 8:48 am · October 5th, 2009
• Lee Daniels and his cast and crew had a blast making “Precious,” despite the gut-wrenching display on screen. [Movieline] • Hugo Rifkind sits down with Wes Anderson to talk “Fantastic Mr. Fox,” which is set to open the London Film Festival. [The Times] • Dennis Lim talks to Nicolas Winding Refn about his film […]
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TORONTO: ‘Whip It,’ ‘Valhalla Rising’
Posted by John Foote · 12:42 pm · September 17th, 2009
More from the fest… “Whip It” (***) Skinny Milly Miller. I remember that name from the roller derby shows on Saturday afternoons in the 1970s. My grandfather loved sports of any kind and when there was nothing else, it was roller derby he would watch, and invite me to do so with him. I loved […]
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‘Bronson’ trailer
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 4:45 pm · August 19th, 2009
Last month I briefly wrote up Nicolas Winding Refn’s “Bronson” out of the Los Angeles Film Festival. As we approach the 2009 awards season, it still remains one of the best films of the year, in this viewer’s opinion. Audacious, twisted and featuring an instantly classic performance by actor Tom Hardy. A new trailer has […]
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SHORT TAKE: “Bronson” (****)
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 11:08 am · June 25th, 2009
Los Angeles Film Festival It took me a few minutes to really grasp that watching Nicolas Winding Refn’s “Bronson” was likely the most rewarding cinematic experience of the year to date, but when it clicked, it became obvious I was in the hands of an unrelenting artist. Refn’s canvas is bone-crushingly overt. The telling of […]
Filed in: Reviews