Features
Welcome to the second installment of Oscar Talk with yours truly and indieWIRE‘s Anne Thompson. We tried to set aside some time in Telluride to do one of these, but time never seemed to permit. Anne is in Toronto this week, and, at the time of this recording (yesterday, so all “todays” and “tomorrows” should […]
OSCAR TALK: Ep. 2 — ‘Up in the Air,’ disagreeing on ‘The Road’ and Toronto looms
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 10:14 am · September 11th, 2009
Filed in: Oscar Talk
REVIEW: “Up in the Air” (****)
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 6:42 am · September 6th, 2009
Telluride Film Festival Jason Reitman began adapting Walter Kirn’s novel “Up in the Air” five or six years ago (in the wake of an earlier draft by Sheldon Turner). The country was on better economic turf, he wasn’t married, he didn’t have a child. He was drawn to a book jacket with a quote from […]
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PAGE TO SCREEN: “Up in the Air” by Walter Kirn
Posted by Guy Lodge · 9:13 am · May 21st, 2009
“Airworld” is novelist Walter Kirn’s term for the impermanent realm of regional American air travel, a sleek network of bland local airports and adjacent beige hotel rooms, linked by the plush grey trails of business-class flights. It forms the scattered but otherwise constant home to thousands of American corporate drones, and is the simultaneously alien […]
Filed in: Page to Screen
Getting around to the BFCAs
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 10:26 am · December 9th, 2008
A late night premiere and after party kept me in bed most of the morning. It happens. So I’m just now coming around to today’s BFCA announcement. First, some reactions (full disclosure, I am a member of the organization). First and foremost, the group subtracted one category (Best Family Film) and added another (Best Action […]
Hell of a thesp
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 1:32 pm · December 6th, 2008
I mostly enjoyed this by-the-numbers Adam Liptak New York Times piece concerning Rod Lurie’s upcoming “Nothing But the Truth.” I’d say this little anecdote about Vera Farmiga’s acting prowess is probably the best part of an otherwise ho-hum article, though: But the film’s most striking performance comes from Vera Farmiga, who plays the C.I.A. operative, […]
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‘Slumdog’ scores at BIFA Awards
Posted by Guy Lodge · 2:49 pm · November 30th, 2008
Thanks to bright-eyed, bushy-tailed commenter Silrone for pointing out that the winners of the British Independent Film Awards were announced while I was mired in technical problems. “Slumdog Millionaire” emerged as the evening’s big winner, taking Best British Film, Best Director and Best Newcomer for Dev Patel, though “Hunger” ran it close, also taking three […]
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Is Vera Farmiga about to go big?
Posted by Guy Lodge · 5:34 pm · November 24th, 2008
I love Vera Farmiga. I realize that means nothing to you, and I should remain more analytical and level-headed on this site. But we all have our favorites, and Ms. Farmiga is one of mine. Whether cheekily stealing scenes in “Breaking and Entering” or fearlessly carrying the searing “Down to the Bone,” she has an […]
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Release date for ‘Nothing But the Truth’
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 9:31 pm · October 2nd, 2008
Yari Film Group has locked in the release date of December 19th for Rod Lurie’s “Nothing But the Truth,” hoping to cash in on the awards season on the heels of mainly positive reaction at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival. My thoughts are here. In my opinion, the film’s best chances at nominations are […]
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SHORT TAKE: “Nothing But the Truth” (***)
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 1:19 pm · September 8th, 2008
I gave a brief reaction to Rod Lurie’s “Nothing But the Truth” a few weeks ago, but I thought now would be a good time to fully explore what the film has to offer. Debuting tonight at the Toronto International Film Festival, “Truth” holds up on multiple viewings and, given the particulars of the narrative, […]
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OFF THE CARPET: Indies on the march
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 7:39 am · September 8th, 2008
Maybe mid-way through the Toronto Film Festival, two things are strikingly clear: Darren Aronofsky has the goods with “The Wrestler” and Danny Boyle’s streak of successful versatility at the helm continues with “Slumdog Millionaire.” Both films, which enjoy pre-Toronto success at Venice and Telluride respectfully, are also evidence that surprises will happen this time of […]
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Audiences to handle ‘Nothing But the Truth’ in Toronto
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 6:39 pm · August 18th, 2008
The final announcements for this year’s Toronto International Film Festival will land tomorrow morning, and one of the films that will be on the list is Rod Lurie’s “Nothing But the Truth.” The festival organizers have been hopeful that they could show the flick as a Gala and now they’ll be doing just that. ‘Truth’ […]
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‘Batman 3’ (and beyond) casting call
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 7:11 pm · July 21st, 2008
Once again…allow me to geek out for a bit… (SPOILERS FOR “THE DARK KNIGHT” IN THE BODY OF THIS POST — NO WORRIES AFTER THE JUMP.) Now that the record-breaking hysteria has (somewhat) subsided regarding “The Dark Knight,” I thought I’d take a moment to forecast the third installment (and perhaps future installments) of Christopher […]
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Sigourney Weaver + who in ‘Alien 5?’
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 1:28 pm · July 7th, 2008
Meredith Woerner at io9 is wondering this week whether sci-fi/action writers will finally bone up and produce a sidekick to our modern cinema heroes and heroines worth the price of a ticket. She’s rightly spotlighting recent examples in “Live Free or Die Hard” and “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” as reason […]
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REVIEW: “The Departed” (****)
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 1:53 am · September 20th, 2006
One of the most artistically ruthless films to be produced in decades, “The Departed” is a spike of adrenaline straight to the heart of an audience desperately in need of such rambunctious filmmaking. A loose but paradoxically loyal remake of the Hong Kong thriller “Infernal Affairs,” the film is doused with a cast of familiar […]
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REVIEW: “Breaking and Entering” (***1/2)
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 1:52 am · September 10th, 2006
Anthony Minghella’s “Breaking and Entering” is one of the most sincerely penetrating films of the year. It’s most unique quality is the sense of legroom it provides, a healthy stretch of a film with deep breaths and drawn out considerations, as opposed to the typical anxiety of temperamental manipulation (which all film tends to be […]
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