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I know there are a lot of “Moon” fans and collector types among you, so I thought this worth mention. The great British design studio All City, who dreamed up the justly famous poster for Duncan Jones’s sci-fi debut, have launched a new series of limited edition Redrawn poster concepts for some of their most [...]
‘Moon’ redrawn: own a future classic
Posted by Guy Lodge · 5:53 am · October 3rd, 2010
Filed in: Daily
Ebert names ‘Synecdoche’ the decade’s best
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 8:22 am · December 31st, 2009
I’m happy to see the Chicago Sun-Times’ Roger Ebert is bold enough to tap something like Charlie Kaufman’s “Synecdoche, New York” as the best film of the decade. His list on the whole is rather singular, I found, which is also refreshing. Of his number one pick, he says: “Synecdoche, New York” is the best [...]
Filed in: Daily
THE LISTS: Top 10 actors under 30
Posted by Guy Lodge · 10:39 am · October 6th, 2009
I wrote recently about how this year’s Best Actress race seems to ushering in a striking new wave of young talent, from the elfin throwback charm of Carey Mulligan to the rawer screen presence of Gabourey Sidibe, while a range of youthful names, from the long-hyped Abbie Cornish to the out-of-nowhere Katie Jarvis, have been [...]
Filed in: The Lists
5/20 Web Round-up
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 8:26 am · May 20th, 2009
• Peter Sciretta asks for your most hated uses of CGI in movie history. [/Film] • Charlie Kaufman talks “Synecdoche, New York,” his “mutant horro film,” across the pond. [Daily Telegraph] • IMAX plans to cozy up next to James Cameron’s “Avatar” for an extended run. [The Carpetbagger] • Donna Freydkin chats up “Terminator Salvation” [...]
Filed in: Daily
Charlie Kaufman on Charlie Kaufman
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 1:08 pm · May 18th, 2009
Flipping through Empire Online’s typically entertaining list of features recently, I stumbled across this portrait of filmmaker Charlie Kaufman (whose brilliant “Synecdoche, New York” opened in the UK this weekend) giving one-offs on the six features sprung from his twisted mind to date. There’s talk of his working relationship with director Michel Gondry on their [...]
Filed in: Daily
The Brits get it
Posted by Guy Lodge · 8:43 am · May 15th, 2009
Of course, the film is very old news to all of you Stateside, but allow me a moment to say how proud I am that my fellow Englishmen — well, the critics among them, at least — have embraced Charlie Kaufman’s stunning “Synecdoche, New York” with open arms. The film opens today in the UK [...]
Filed in: Daily
A pleasure deferred
Posted by Guy Lodge · 12:23 pm · May 4th, 2009
As I walked past my local cinema (that would be my beloved Dalston Rio, if there are any other fans out there) en route to the supermarket this morning, I was rather struck by this new poster for Charlie Kaufman’s masterpiece “Synecdoche, New York.” After spending a moment admiring the one-sheet and wondering why I [...]
Filed in: Daily
‘The Wrestler’ wins big at the Indie Spirits
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 2:18 pm · February 21st, 2009
Darren Aronofsky’s “The Wrestler” walked away three trophies at today’s Independent Spirit Awards, including top honors for Best Actor (Mickey Rourke) and Best Feature. In his greatest acceptance speech of the season, Rourke seemed fully uninhibited, almost as if he said, “Screw it, ballots are in,” and he cut loose. The tough guy thing poked [...]
Filed in: Daily
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 [...]
Filed in: Daily
‘Dark Knight’ tops our list of the year’s best
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 9:29 am · January 6th, 2009
In lieu of a proper Tuesday list, I thought I’d do something a little different this year, since we have a slew of contributors and In Contention is no longer the brain space of just one person. I polled all our writers for their individual top 10 lists, which you can find detailed after the [...]
Filed in: The Lists
EXCLUSIVE: Best Makeup contenders narrow to seven
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 9:13 pm · January 5th, 2009
The first bake-off of the season is here, narrowing the Oscar contenders for Best Makeup down to seven. The finalists are: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” “The Dark Knight” “Hellboy II: The Golden Army” “The Reader” “Synecdoche, New York” “Tropic Thunder” “The Wrestler” No major surprises here. My predicted three are still in the [...]
Filed in: Daily
For the completists
Posted by Guy Lodge · 2:20 pm · January 4th, 2009
Over at Gold Derby, Tom O’Neil lists all the runners-up (with points tallies) from yesterday’s National Society of Film Critics awards, along with other gossipy tidbits from the days proceedings. (Most stupid/amusing nugget: Eve, the eerily Applesque female robot from “WALL-E,” garnered a lone Best Actress vote.) The full list is below the cut, but [...]
Filed in: Daily
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 [...]
Filed in: Daily
INTERVIEW: Michelle Williams
Posted by Guy Lodge · 8:27 am · December 31st, 2008
Fate can have a bittersweet sense of timing, and Michelle Williams understands this better than most. A 2008 that started bleakly with the passing of Heath Ledger, her former partner and the father of her daughter, has ended as a professional banner year for the 28 year-old actress. A triptych of startling performances in a [...]
Filed in: Interviews
OFF THE CARPET: Memo to the Academy
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 9:11 am · December 29th, 2008
–MEMO– TO: Members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences FROM: Kristopher Tapley RE: The ballot you recently received Ladies and gentleman, As you sit to ponder the year’s best in your various fields of professional expertise, you might find yourself strong-armed into the consensus view 2008′s film product has been whittled down [...]
Filed in: Off the Carpet
“Agonized and beautiful”
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 7:32 pm · December 21st, 2008
At the risk of sounding stoned on hope, I offer the following heresy: The movies are fine. Sometimes they’re great; occasionally they’re magnificent. The twelfth-graph opener in Manohla Dargis’s recent year-end wrap-up. The sentiment would be a nice reference to Charlie Kaufman’s “Synecdoche, New York,” which Dargis calls “a grievously underloved film about life and [...]
Filed in: Daily
Best in show: the year in superlatives
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 10:22 am · December 19th, 2008
The year is slowly coming to a close, and after this week’s year-in-review pieces, I’m happy to see so much healthy and spirited discussion on my humble picks for the year’s best films. Today I’m wrapping all of that up with a list of superlatives, some of them in your usual categories, the staples, some [...]
Filed in: Daily
All in the family: a note on the SAG nods
Posted by Guy Lodge · 7:00 pm · December 18th, 2008
I know I shouldn’t get upset. As Sasha Stone over at Awards Daily repeatedly intones, when it comes to awards analysis, “the trick is not minding.” You should coolly observe the trends, learn from them and be guided always by your head rather than your heart. But damn it, I’m only human. I can’t help [...]
Filed in: Daily
