Archive for category Film
Choice Quote: Celeste and Jesse Forever
Posted by Amy Steele in Film on September 3, 2012
this will definitely rank as one of my favorite films of this year. Rashida Jones co-wrote a thoughtful, sharp script about relationships. smart, cultured women. yay.
Celeste: “He’s just going about everything so wrong.”
Paul: “You want to be right or you want to be happy?”
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FILM: photo from the Labor Day set
Posted by Amy Steele in Film on June 25, 2012
Kate Winslet and Josh Brolin currently filming the Joyce Maynard novel Labor Day, directed by Jason Reitman in Acton.
it’s set in the late 70s/ early 80s.
here’s the mailbox with the fiction town of Holton Mills and the newpaper Holton Mills Ledger:
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FILM: my summer must-see list
Posted by Amy Steele in Film on June 24, 2012
Magic Mike
release date: June 29
written by: Reid Carolin
directed by: Steven Soderbergh
starring: Channing Tatum, Matthew McConaughey, Matt Bomer, Adam Rodriguez
–Channing Tatum’s abs and hot male strippers. Bingo. Perfect for summer.
Take This Waltz
release date: June 29
written and directed by: Sarah Polley
directed by: Steven Soderbergh
starring: Michelle Williams, Seth Rogen, Sarah Silverman
–Sarah Polley. Extremely talented.
People Like Us
release date: June 29
written by: Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci
directed by: Alex Kurtzman
starring: Chris Pine, Elizabeth Banks, Michelle Pfeiffer, Olivia Wilde
Savages
release date: July 5
written by: Shane Salerno and Don Winslow
directed by: Oliver Stone
starring: Taylor Kitsch, Uma Thurman, John Travolta, Benecio DelToro Blake Lively
–crime drama from Stone about a Mexican drug cartel
Trishna
release date: July 5
directed by: Michael Winterbottom
starring: Freida Pinto
–a remake of Tess of the d’Urbervilles set in India could work with one of my favorite directors at the helm
Ruby Sparks
release date: July 25
written by: Zoe Kazan
directed by: Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris
starring: Paul Dano, Zoe Kazan, Annette Bening, Antonio Banderas
–Zoe Zazan wrote it and stars in it and it’s about a novelist. Sounds like a charming romantic comedy.
Total Recall
release date: August 3
written by: Kurt Wimmer and Mark Bomback
directed by: Len Wiseman
starring: Colin Farrell
–I crush Colin Farrell.
Celeste and Jesse Forever
release date: August 3
written by: RAshida Jones and Will McCormack
directed by: Lee Tolad Krieger
starring: Rashida Jones, Andy Samberg, Elijah Wood, Emma Roberts
–I’m a big fan of super smart Rashida Jones.
Cosmopolis
release date: August 20
written and directed by: David Cronenberg
starring: Robert Pattinson, Juliette Binoche
years ago I interviewed David Cronenberg. He reminded me of a very cool college professor. And Juliette Binoche is a favorite.
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Moonrise Kingdom: film review
Posted by Amy Steele in Film on June 9, 2012
screenplay by: Roman Coppola and Wes Anderson
directed by: Wes Anderson
starring: Kara Hayward, Jared Gilman, Frances McDormand, Bill Murray, Bruce Willis, Ed Norton, Harvey Keitel, Jason Schwartzman, Bob Balaban
Here are a few ways to describe Moonrise Kingdom: magical; wistful; dreamy; subversive; nostalgic [might be that lens filter]; delightful and contrary.
12-year-olds Suzy [Kara Hayward] and Sam [Jared Gilman] run away together on an island in Maine. A hurricane is en route. The pair manage to elude Suzy’s parents, a troop of scouts, the island Chief of Police and Child Protective Services– at least for a little while. They are so sweet together. It’s a charming concept. He’s a geeky science kid with a head full of facts and information about camping and other fascinating things. She’s a strong-willed girl who prefers fantasy books with female heroines and brings her cat along for the adventure. How cool is that girl? Just when you might think the film veers toward male fantasy. I like all Wes Anderson’s films but this might now top the list above The Royal Tenenbaums.
ps. someone needs to cast Kara Hayward as Emma Watson’s younger sister.
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FILM OF THE WEEK: The Raven
Posted by Amy Steele in Film on May 9, 2012
“That’s life. So much less satisfying than fiction.”
John Cusack stars as Edgar Allan Poe in this macabre and darkly humorous blending of fiction and reality. With a serial killer using Poe’s stories as a blueprint, Baltimore police turn to the author for assistance. It’s particularly personal for Poe as his reputation and the life of his girlfriend are both at risk.
Being a fan of both Edgar Allan Poe and John Cusack, I enjoyed every moment of The Raven.
written by: Ben Livingston, Hannah Shakespeare
directed by: James McTeigue
starring:
John Cusack
Luke Evans
Alice Eve
Brendan Gleeson
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FILM of the MONTH: Damsels in Distress
Posted by Amy Steele in Film on May 3, 2012
ONE OF THE BEST FILMS I’VE SEEN THIS YEAR.
Greta Gerwig, Adam Brody and rest of cast are fantastic. It’s about a group of young women intent on radically changing the male-dominated environment of their college campus. Fraternities and rape crisis centers get equally sardonic treatment. Whit Stillman is a brilliant writer/director. Of course I’m already a fan of Metropolitan, Barcelona, The Last Days of Disco. If you enjoy intelligent humor, go see it!
“They’re in that sympathetic range of being not good looking and not smart. There’s something reassuring about that.”
written and directed by: Whit Stillman
starring:
Greta Gerwig
Adam Brody
Carrie MacLemore
Megalyn Echikunwoke
Analeigh Tipton
Ryan Metcalf
Jermaine Crawford
Caitlin Fitzgerald
Zach Woods
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HAPPY INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY: SEE, HEAR, READ
Posted by Amy Steele in Books, Film, Music, Women/ feminism on March 8, 2012
SEE: Searching for Debra Winger [written and directed by Rosanna Arquette]
–honest, refreshing examination of women in entertainment
purchase at Amazon: Searching for Debra Winger
HEAR: Oumou Sangare
download: Seya
READ: All the Stories of Muriel Spark by Muriel Spark
purchase: All the Stories of Muriel Spark
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FILM: Fighting Trafficking Through Film Forum 2012
Posted by Amy Steele in Film on February 2, 2012
This weekend, the Boston Initiative to Advance Human Rights (BITAHR) in collaboration with Suffolk University Law School, presents its 2nd Annual Film Forum.
“Fighting Trafficking Through Film” takes place February 3-5 at The Modern Theatre, Suffolk University.
from the BITAHR site:
The forum will consider the role of film in advancing women’s human rights and the many governmental and non‐governmental organizations (NGOs) efforts to combat sex trafficking. Preliminary research indicates that this forum will be the first of its kind, merging filmmakers and academics in order to understand the phenomenon on all levels, from theory to practical solutions and law.
films:
The Whistleblower starring Rachel Weisz
Fatal Promises
Very Young Girls
The Dancing Boys of Afghanistan
Call + Response
Sacrifice: Child Prostitutes from Burma
for schedule and more information BITAHR website
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FILM: Best of 2011
Posted by Amy Steele in Film on December 29, 2011
strong year for Ryan Gosling (Drive, Ides of March, Crazy Stupid Love), Jessica Chastain (Take Shelter, The Help, Tree of Life) and Brad Pitt (Moneyball, Tree of Life)
Melancholia
— brilliant, intense film about depression, anxiety and the end of the world
starring: Kirsten Dunst, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Keifer Sutherland
written and directed by: Lars von Trier
Take Shelter
–mesmerizing, creepy
starring: Michael Shannon, Jessica Chastain
written and directed by: Jeff Nichols
Midnight in Paris
–romantic, magical
starring: Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams, Michael Sheen, Marion Cotillard
written and directed by: Woody Allen
Moneyball
–fascinating whether or not you follow baseball
starring: Brad Pitt, Robin Wright
directed by: Bennett Miller
written by: Steven Zaillian, Aaron Sorkin
Young Adult
–smart, acerbic, dark
starring: Charlize Theron, Patton Oswalt, Patrick Wilson
directed by: Jason Reitman
written by: Diablo Cody
Meek’s Cutoff
–sweeping saga of a covered wagon trek through the dangerous landscape comprising the Oregon Trail
starring: Michelle Williams, Shirley Henderson, Bruce Greenwood, Paul Dano
directed by: Kelly Reichardt
written by: Jonathan Raymond
Win Win
–unique, moving, honest
starring: Paul Giamatti, Amy Ryan
written and directed by: Thomas McCarthy
Margin Call
–quietly effective, potent
starring: Zachary Quinto, Stanley Tucci and Kevin Spacey, Demi Moore, Paul Bettany, Penn Badgley
directed and written by: J.C. Chandor
Another Earth
–dreamy, pensive
starring: Brit Marling, William Mapother
directed by: Mike Cahill
written by: Brit Marling, Mike Cahill
Jamie and Jessie are Not Together
–inventive, alluring, engaging
starring: Jacqui Jackson, Jessica London-Shields
written and directed by: Wendy Jo Carlton
The Future
—bizarre, amusing, wistful existentialism
starring: Miranda July, Hamish Linklater
written and directed by: Miranda July
Crazy Stupid Love
—sweet without being predictable or over-sentimental
starring: Steve Carell, Julianne Moore, Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone
directed by: Glenn Ficarra, John Requa
written by: Dan Fogelman
The Muppets
–nostalgic, happy
starring: Jason Segel, Amy Adams, Chris Cooper
directed by: James Bobin
written by: Jason Segel and Nicholas Stoller
Drive
–retro, startling
Starring: Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan, Mel Brooks, Bryan Cranston
written by: Hossein Amini
directed by: Nicolas Winding Refn
Into the Abyss
-superb meditation on the death penalty and our criminal justice system
written and directed by: Werner Herzog
The Tree of Life
–exquisite misery
starring: Brad Pitt, Jessica Chastain
written and directed by: Terrence Malick
Martha Marcy May Marlene
–disturbing and haunting
starring: Elizabeth Olson, Sarah Paulson
written and directed by: Sean Durkin
My Week with Marilyn
–delightful film and amazing performance by Michelle Williams
starring: Michelle Williams, Eddie Redmayne, Kenneth Branagh
screenplay by: Adrian Hodges,
directed by: Simon Curtis
Jane Eyre
–lovely, sweeping, romantic
starring: Mia Wasikowska, Michael Fassbender and Jamie Bell
screenplay by: Moira Buffini
directed by: Cary Fukunaga
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Into the Abyss: film review
Posted by Amy Steele in Film on November 19, 2011
Into the Abyss is another accomplished, engrossing Werner Herzog documentary. It’s an exploration of the reasons why people kill. Herzog speaks with death row inmate Michael Perry, his accomplice, Jason Burkett, in the crime as well as those most closely affected. He also questions people about the validity, morality and overall effectiveness of the death penalty. As an anti-death penalty film, Into the Abyss brings up some standard arguments from a former Death House officer and others. The strongest, most compelling and moving documentary about the death penalty is At the Death House Door. Texas kills so many inmates annually. Many states might have the death penalty but don’t really practice it. I can’t understand the reasoning behind it. It doesn’t deter someone from a crime and it also doesn’t bring the dead back.
Ten years ago, two drug-addled teenagers killed a woman to take her car. And in the process they killed two other boys their own age. One sits on death row. The other has a life sentence. The ever inquisitive Herzog interviews law officials, career criminals and white trash for the most part. The erudite Cambridge audience I sat in a screening with laughed at much of what these people said, to my dismay—“I can’t read”—“My father’s in prison too.” They talk about guns with such bravado, knowledge and comfort that it’s disturbing. Then again, it’s Texas where I think infants learn to shoot before they learn to read. The provocative Into the Abyss reveals quite a bit and will engage you throughout the film.
Directed by Werner Herzog
IFC Films/ Sundance Selects
107 minutes
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covering mostly music and books. focus on alternative/indie and women in music, literature and the arts. feminist. vegan. mostly alternative, a bit bohemian. Masters in journalism from Boston University. BA from Simmons College.
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