MOVIE airport

Paranormal Activity 2

noreply@blogger.com (win) — Wed, 8 Dec 2010 13:14:00 +0700

Paranormal Activity 2 is about the sister Katie (figures from the previous film), Kristi and her family as they face the demons that haunt them in future too young. When Kristi and her husband found their house a mess, they believe it occurs because the robbery and decided to install security cameras around the house, where most of the strange happenings occurred. Is Hunter, who Kristi newborn son, was the target demon

Producer:
Oren Peli, Jason Blum, Akiva Goldsman
Production: Paramount Pictures
Cast: Katie Featherston, Micah Sloat, Brian Boland
Sprague Grayden, Molly Ephraim, Tim Clemens
Director:
Tod Williams
Author:
Michael R. Perry, Christopher Landon, Tom Pabst

Trialer

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

noreply@blogger.com (win) — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 09:34:00 +0700

This time the story of Edmund and Lucy Pevensie, along with their cousin, Eustace Scrubb - enter the painting into a ship toward the end of a fantastic world of Narnia

Back to join with friends royal soldier Prince Caspian and Reepicheep mice, they headed for a mysterious mission to the Lone Islands. This magical journey will test the heart and spirit of the three faces Dufflepuds witch, an evil slave traders, the roar of the dragon and the mermaid's charming.

The only route towards Asian countries that have not been mapped - the trip will be fate of each crew Dawn Treader - to save Narnia and all the incredible creatures in it from an unexpected fate.

Film Type:
Fantasy
Producer:
Andrew Adamson, Mark Johnson, Perry Moore, Douglas Gresham
Production:
20th Century Fox

Cast & Crew
Players:Liam Neeson,Skandar Keynes,Georgie Henley
Ben Barnes,Will Poulter,Eddie Izzard
Director:
Michael Apted
Author:
Andrew Adamson
Christopher Markus
Stephen Mcfeel

TRAILER

Rapunzel

noreply@blogger.com (win) — Fri, 26 Nov 2010 10:04:00 +0700

Once, a king and queen were expecting the birth of their child. Unfortunately, the queen of pain during her pregnancy, struggling to survive for the sake of herself and the child she is carrying. In desperation, a bodyguard desperate to steal the magic of plants from the garden of a wicked witch named Gothel. Queen and their baby daughter, Rapunzel, healthy and have the strength. Revenge for stolen plants, and still wanted the power and strength, Gothel kidnap Rapunzel. Rapunzel grew up, locked in a tower, only accompanied by the mother Gothel evil. Gothel always forbade him to leave the tower. Every year on the anniversary of Rapunzel, the kingdom held a lantern festival to commemorate their missing daughter. Rapunzel saw the lanterns from the window and keinginnya to visit the kingdom

One day, a thief named Flynn Rider resting under the tower. Rapunzel take Flynn's bag containing the stolen crown jewels. Rapunzel promised to return it if Flynn helped him out of the tower and bring it to the festival of lanterns, and Flynn agreed. They fled along with pet Rapunzel, a chameleon named Pascal, and Maximus, a horse should catch Flynn and took him to the palace. Together, Rapunzel and Flynn must avoid the guards and Gothel which turned out to go to the kingdom during lantern festival lasts for revenge.

Film Type:
Animation
Producer:
John Lasseter, Glen Keane, Philip Lofaro
Production:
Walt Disney Pictures

Cast & Crew
Players:
Mandy Moore
Zachary Levi
Donna Murphy
Ron Perlman
Director:
Nathan Greno
Byron Howard
Author:
Dan Fogelman

Trailer

The Next Three Days

noreply@blogger.com (win) — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 13:41:00 +0700

Life is so perfect for John Brennan (Russell Crowe) to his wife, Lara (Elizabeth Banks) was arrested on charges of murder that he did not do. Three years later, John struggled with his family, raising their son and teach in college, all the way he did to prove her innocence. While their appeal is rejected, she becomes a suspect of murder and attempted suicide, John decides there is only one solution: to run his wife from prison. Ignoring ketidakhaliannya in terms of prison break, John formulate strategy, went into a dangerous and alien to him, risking everything for the woman he loves

Producer:
Michael Nozik, Paul Haggis, Olivier Delbosc, Marc Missonnier
Production:
Maple Pictures

Cast & Crew
Players:
Russell Crowe
Elizabeth Banks
Liam Neeson
Brian Dennehy
Rza
Olivia Wilde
Director:
Paul Haggis
Author:
Paul Haggis

T r a i l e r

UNSTOPPABLE

noreply@blogger.com (win) — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 13:43:00 +0700

Railway company tried to stop an unmanned freight train carrying flammable liquids and toxic gases that lost control so as not to destroy the city. Before too late, a veteran locomotive engineer (Denzel Washington) and a young machinist (Chris Pine) tried to stop the train of a different locomotive.

Producer: Tony Scott, Julie Yorn, Mimi Rogers
Production: 20th Century Fox
Cast : Denzel Washington, Chris Pine, Rosario Dawson
Kevin Dunn, Ethan Suplee
Director : Tony Scott
Author : Mark Bomback

Trailer Click Here

You Again

noreply@blogger.com (win) — Sun, 14 Nov 2010 09:15:00 +0700

Whatever your age, you never forget the high school. Marni (Kristen Bell) back to his hometown to attend the wedding her brother (Jimmy Wolk) and learned that his brother's bride (Odette Yustman) is his enemy during high school, the woman who treated her well not many years ago. Then the bride's aunt (Sigourney Weaver), a rich present and apparently is in the high school friend and enemy of Mother Mary (Jamie Lee Curtis). A sense of hurt and reopened old wounds in a comedy about what happens when you meet again with the people you want to forget

Producer:
Andy Fickman, John J. Strauss, Eric Tannenbaum
Production:
Touchstone Pictures
Players:
Kristen Bell
Jamie Lee Curtis
Sigourney Weaver
Odette Yustman
Kristin Chenoweth
Victor Garber
Betty White
Director:
Andy Fickman
Author:
Moe Jelline

Trailer

Skyline

noreply@blogger.com (win) — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 09:12:00 +0700

After partying all night, a group of young children was shocked when a very bright light to wake everyone else in Los Angeles, attracted like moths fire everyone. The light that will lift them into the air and disappeared, while an army threatened to engulf all of humanity.

Producer: The Brothers Strause, James Kristian Andresen, Liam O'Donnell
Production:Hydraulx Entertainment
Players:Eric Balfour,Scottie Thompson,David Zayas,Donald Faison
Brittany Daniel,Neil Hopkins
Director: The Brothers Strause
Author: Joshua Cordes,Liam O'Donnell

T r a i l e r

HARRY POTTER AND THE DEADLY HALLOWS

noreply@blogger.com (win) — Mon, 8 Nov 2010 13:23:00 +0700

Strength Voldemort getting stronger. He mastered the entire Ministry of Magic and Hogwarts. Harry, Ron, and Hermione decided to settle and find Horcruxes Dumbledore struggle to defeat the Dark Lord. However, little hope for them to do it, so everything should go as planned

Producer: David Heyman, David Barron
Production: Warner Bros. Pictures
Players: Daniel Radcliffe,Rupert Grint,Emma Watson
Ralph Fiennes,Helena Bonham Carter,Gary Oldman,Robbie Coltrane
Director: David Yates
Author: Steve Kloves

T r a i l e r

Due Date (2010)

noreply@blogger.com (win) — Wed, 3 Nov 2010 13:42:00 +0700

Any father would want to be present when his son was born into the world. Similarly, Peter Highman (Robert Downey Jr..) Who wants to arrive in time to see the birth of her baby. Peter also hitchhike Ethan Tremblay (Zach Galifianakis) to arrive at the destination. Two different person in one car for long trips. Peter is firm and Ethan are frivolous. As a result many unexpected things happened. A lot of silliness and funny events that they experience together to make them learn new things in life.

Genre: Comedy
Cast: Robert Downey Jr.., Zach Galifianakis, Jamie Fox, Michelle Monaghan, Rza, Juliette Lewis, Alan Arkin
Director: Todd Phillips
Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures

Trailer

Megamind "MEGA Rap" TV Spot

noreply@blogger.com (win) — Sun, 31 Oct 2010 17:45:00 +0700

Megamind (Will Ferrell), brilliant and smartest villains ever. Over the years, he tried to conquer the city of Metro in any way. Every effort is always foiled by the invincible super hero known as Metro Man (Brad Pitt), until one day Megamind successfully kill him. Life Megamind empty. A villain without a hero savior. He realizes that his life's ambition is to reach the worst thing that ever happened to him

The only way to exit the void is creating a new hero named "Titan", bigger, better and stronger than Metro Man. Apparently Titan feels a lot more fun to be a villain than a hero. Titans do not just want to conquer the world, but want to destroy it! Is Megamind will be defeated by his own creation? Will Megamind which will be a hero?

Film Type:
Animation
Producer: Lara Breay, Denise Nolan Cascino
Production Company: Dreamworks Animation
Cast: Will Ferrell, Tina Fey, Justin Long, Jonah Hill, David Cross, Brad Pitt
Director: Tom McGrath
Authors: Alan J. Schoolcraft, Brent Simons

T r a i l e r

IN THE NAME OF GOD

noreply@blogger.com (win) — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 15:42:00 +0700

Two musician brothers from Lahore, Pakistan, caught the wake of September 11. The older brother, Mansoor (Shan) who attend school music in America and then married her classmate, the people of America, (Austin Marie Sayre), accused Al-Qaeda terrorist network, although not proven, but finally was forced to go through the interrogation of the authorities

The younger, Sarmad (Fawad Khan) who is affected by Fundamentalist Islam, leaving his career as a musician and choose to join terrorist networks. Due to religious reasons, Sarmad forced to marry the son of her uncle, Mary (Iman Ali), a girl British citizens of Pakistani descent who were born since living in London with Western culture

Mary's father who can not stand the gossip Pakistani community in London due to Marry a relationship with the white man finally took his daughter to Pakistan, for secretly marrying his daughter to Sarmad. Mary was forced to live in remote areas in Pakistan-Afghanistan border to the British government rescue

One of the Box Office in Pakistan and the film received warm appreciation to JiFFest 2008.

Production : Geo Films
Players : Shan,Iman Ali,Fawad Khan,Naseer Uddin Shah
Austin Marie Sayre,Rasheed Naz
Director : Shoaib Mansoor
Author : Shoaib Mansoor

IN THE NAME OF GOD Film Trailer

PIRANHA

noreply@blogger.com (win) — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 16:36:00 +0700

A new kind of terror to divide the beautiful Lake Victoria. After the earthquake under the sea by a sudden release of human flesh-eating fish, prehistoric times, a group of strangers must unite to stop themselves into sharp-toothed fish food. Julie Forester is the Sheriff (Elizabeth Shue) using only chance to save the lake and his family, he must destroy the carnivorous creatures alone

Producer:
Alexandre Aja, Mark Canton, Marc Toberoff
Production:
Dimension Films
Players:
Elisabeth Shue, Adam Scott, Jerry O'Connell, Ving Rhames
Jessica Szohr, Steven R. McQueen, Christopher Lloyd, Richard Dreyfuss
Director:
Alexandre Aja
Author:
Alexandre Aja, Greg Levasseur, Pete Goldfinger, Jo

Trailer

HIGH LANE: Dangerous Ascent

noreply@blogger.com (win) — Sat, 23 Oct 2010 10:14:00 +0700

Holiday is a good time to do something completely different from the daily routine. Vacation is an opportunity to escape from the bonds of routine. One interesting activity is to conduct a trip to a strange place. Create Chloe (Fanny Valette) and Loic (Johan Libéreau), their choice fell on mountain climbing event.

Croatia is the location of their choosing. This time the leave is not just Chloe and Loic only. Guillaume (Raphael Lenglet), Karine (Maud Wyler), and Fred (Nicolas Giraud) also participated in this trip. Should this trip is a pleasant journey but there are a hindrance to them.

First, the route was covered with debris and could not continue the ascent. Fred is also a professional climber and then propose to continue the ascent. At first they all think this trip will be easy but over time turned out to climb this time not as easy as they imagined. Not only was not easy but there is a risk lives have been lost because of some accident that happened, not to mention the fact they are not the only one who is on the mountain.

Watch Trailer click here

Genre	:	Thriller
Release Date	:	June 24, 2009
Director	:	Abel Ferry
Script	:	Johanne Bernard, Louis-Paul Desanges
Producer	:	Alain Benguigui, Thomas Verhaeghe
Distributor	:	IFC Midnight

Knight and Day

noreply@blogger.com (win) — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 04:05:00 +0700

If you do like me and have no expectations about this film probably you will enjoy it as a true American escapist film with all the necessary elements (action sequences, big names actors, exotic settings, romance, bad guys, etc.) to make the film safe to watch. But there is one (important) element missing: a good/credible story; but the odd thing is that even if the plot is pure absurd fantasy and was not really well-developed, story was entertaining and fun to watch probably because lead actors did well their job and characters became alive above the story.

Film tells about a woman that’s used as a mule to pass a top secret gadget by airport security and as she boards an almost empty plane -after having a hard time getting in as was told flight was oversold- she starts a conversation with the man that use her as the mule. That’s how Diaz and Cruise characters meet and from there on you have a ‘normal’ woman releasing and conquering her action skills and a secret agent trying to not get kill by his CIA’s colleagues. Plot gets so absurd that director has to use fade out techniques to allow characters to escape and remain alive, which was funny after all.

So if you haven’t seen the film yet I suggest you do when you get the ‘urge’ to escape reality for almost two hours, as probably you will enjoy the film if you don’t take it too seriously.

Watch Trailer click here

Winter’s Bone

noreply@blogger.com (win) — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 20:23:00 +0700

An intense story and great performance by lead actress Jennifer Lawrence make this Debra Granik sophomore film absolutely must be seen for those that appreciate rare American indie films that transcend the indie standards and take you in a visual and narrative voyage that will delight your senses even when story is not necessarily a pleasant one. In a sense, this indie film made me recall the huge and positive surprise with Frozen River and if you enjoyed this film I’m sure you will enjoy Granik’s film too.

Film tells about a seventeen-years-old girl that is forced to look for her father after learning that if he does not appear in court she will lose her house and land that father posted as part of bail. Her search becomes an intense personal voyage into the darkish side of living in an American poor rural area as is set in the Ozarks where moonshine, pot, methamphetamine and OxyContin put inhabitants in the wrong side of the law. Kudos to Granik and Anne Rosellini for a great screenplay based on Daniel Woodrell novel as what could have been a told-many-times story becomes anew in this film.

But it’s Jennifer Lawrence performance what makes this film out-of-the-ordinary and makes this film her film; just to watch Lawrence’s performance the film is more than worth watching so the icing in the cake comes from the well developed story and quite nice visual narrative. Lawrence been getting Oscar buzz and if she gets a nomination will be more than well-deserved as she is really good here.

Film won Grand Jury Prize and Screening Award at 2010 Sundance fest plus the CICAE Award and Tagesspiegel Reader Award at the 2010 Berlinale and don’t doubt that will get more honors during the current award season, starting with the many nominations at the Gotham Independent Film awards, probably followed by the Spirit Awards and surely Oscar that now has 10 slots for Best Film. But this year has been so good for American indie films that races in different awards will be tight.

I liked the film a lot more than I imagined as watch it like in one very long sigh with my eyes glued to the screen all the time. Very intense. Absolutely must be seen for many that read this blog and enjoy strong women stories, but also to those that like very rare but excellent American indie cinema.

Enjoy!!!

RED: these Retirees are Extremely Dynamics

noreply@blogger.com (win) — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 15:17:00 +0700

Much similar to the Sylvester Stallone-directed "The Expendables" this recent summer, "RED" brings together an ensemble of veterans, Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich and Helen Mirren as retired C.I.A. operatives who bring a fresh take on the espionage adventure and punctually topple the showbiz myth that action movies are a young actor's realm. However, contrasting to “Expendables”, which lived in denial of the aging process and looked outrageous as a result, “RED” is a dynamic mix and every one of those veterans does their job to precision, but what gives this otherwise solid content an extra boost is the humor. Yep, since the smiling ex-CIA operative (Freeman) says, “we’re getting the band back together,” it’s an indicator of the free-wheeling humor of this action movie. Directed by Robert Schwentke (Flightplan, The Time Traveler's Wife) from a script by Whiteout's Jon & Erich Hoeber based on the cult DC Comics graphic novel by Warren Ellis and Cully Hammer, while the comic was written into a brooding, intense, extremely violent, fairly hopeless story, “RED” movie version is a somewhat lighthearted actioner that pulls out the entertainment from its story and characters from every turn. So it is true that “RED” not nearly as loyal as “300” or “Watchmen” or even “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World”. But it’s still good.

Ex-CIA agent Frank Moses (Willis) isn't tuning well to retirement. He's totally bored, and the barely bright spot in his otherwise dreary days is chatting with Sarah (Mary-Louise Parker), whom he flirts regularly on the phone under the guise of not receiving checks. He rips them up to talk to her. Soon the two are planning a face-to-face meeting which Frank is absolutely delighted about. But his vision of a nice evening with Sarah is dashed after his residence is riddled with bullets by a troop of hitmen. One thing leads to another and soon he's holding Sarah against her will in attempt to save her life - which is definitely not anyone's idea of a good first date. So now Frank's forced out of retirement - not that he minds - and forced into seeking out his old (as in also retired) buddies from the CIA. Joe (Freeman) lives in a retirement home and seems to have adjusted reasonably well. Victoria (Mirren) looks completely comfortable in her gorgeous home, arranging flowers and carrying on as though she's embraced retirement. But looks are deceiving as she's taking 'odd jobs' on the side that have nothing to do with putting together pretty floral arrangements. And Marvin (Malkovich) is a loony conspiracy theorist who was given LSD on a daily basis while he was still in the CIA. Together they must figure out why they're being targeted by killers. And to complicate matters, a rising star in the CIA, William Cooper (Karl Urban), would like nothing better than to bring in Frank and his reactivated sidekicks.

# Director Robert Schwentke shows he’s an adept director of over-the-top action, and benefits from good chemistry among a cast that’s having too much fun to be put out to pasture. He also orchestrates the unlikely merger of action, comedy and tart romance with solid craft and a stimulating sense of fun.

# Even with the story changed to accommodate a larger cast, it still did not lose the feel the original conveyed.

# One of the film smarter tricks is throwing a familiar face in every 30 minutes or so between fast-paced shootouts and explosions.

# The film does not rely to much on epic explosions and gunfights, but it’s much more a character driven, relying on the strength of its actors to create jokes and to connect with the audience.

# Willis formerly appeared in "The Expendables" brief scene opposite Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger but he truly comes alive in "RED" with a mix of humor and fighting equal to his best "Die Hard" moments.

# With his weirdness and doughy physicality, John Malkovich will have even the hardest-hearted person laughing hysterically by the end.

# Morgan Freeman with his wizened world-weariness and Helen Mirren with her steely elegance also bring some humanity to the cold-blooded killers group that makes the film feel organic and helps the story flow seamlessly.

# Karl Urban gives Cooper a deadly, laser-guided hyper-competence. This guy is so steady you could use him as a building foundation.

# Other honorable mentions should goes to Brian Cox, as a Russian spy with a soft spot for Victoria, who’s solid and charming with his accent, Richard Dreyfuss who turns in another solid performance as a spoiled smart-ass arms dealer, also memorable cameo role of Ernest Borgnine.

# Talking about action scene, Willis and Urban actually throw down in one of the best physical fights which I think is even better than anything in “The Expendables”.

# Schwentke directs large, complicated setpieces in which you can always follow the action clearly and you always know where every character stands in relation to the others.

Kak ya provyol etim letom (How I Ended This Summer)

noreply@blogger.com (win) — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 20:25:00 +0700

A visually breathtaking film by Alexei Popogrebsky that absolutely will blow your mind with many extraordinary sights of real Artic Circle landscapes as film was really shot on a real meteorological station in the Arctic which besides the visual poetry gives so much realism to the very-slow paced story that becomes sort of a thriller between the two technicians that work at the remote station.

Absolutely not a movie for everyone as for two hours you will watch awesome landscape after landscape, with very little dialogue, absence of sounds, only two characters not really getting along, and tension built more from not really knowing why the younger character is doing what he’s doing. You actually will not really know so will be up to you to deduce motivations when you reach the open ended story finale.

For one third of time film tells about the routine of the two meteorologists, one third about the younger one not telling the older the important news and the last third about what happens after the younger man tells the important news. That’s it very simple yet complex story.

Film was in competition at the 2010 Berlinale were won the Outstanding Artistic Achievement in the Category Camera and both actors, Grigory Dobrygin and Sergei Puskepalis shared the Best Actor Award.

I liked the film and was marveled by the beauty of the Artic circle, but at moments lost interest in the narrative as wasn’t sure what to think about the younger man motives and got not many clues to like or dislike what he was doing. Perhaps a little more info will have allowed me to ‘forget’ about the story and concentrate on watching so many outstanding sights. A must be seen film only to those that appreciate art cinema.

Enjoy!!

Край Kray (The Edge)

noreply@blogger.com (win) — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 03:40:00 +0700

An entertaining film by Aleksei Uchitel that to my surprise is a love story told using all the western stereotypes of Russia (taiga, bears, moonshine, etc) plus one element that I’m sure will excite more some viewers (male) than others (female) showing train races with early 20th century built locomotives.

Set shortly after the end of WWII in the Siberian hinterland among Russians and Germans with damaged personal stories and a strange transformation: the victors seem to be crawling into the skins of the defeated, and vice versa. Ignat arrives to the small village and stirs the population with his ways and driving a locomotive when he was clearly forbidden to do. Eventually he goes to an island to rescue an old abandon locomotive which he succeeds thanks to the help of a German woman that spent the war alone in the island and survived after four years. So, it’s the very unconventional –yet very commercial- love story between Ignat and Elsa.

As Uchitel said in an interview, this is the most commercial film he has done and consequently appeals to a wider audience and unfortunately it’s true as looks and feels like a very-entertaining but very-commercial film. Still there were a few (too few) outstanding and breathtaking scenes that recall how Uchitel can be poetic framing scenes.

I enjoyed the film that grabbed my attention for every minute and didn’t let go until the very end with an extraordinary aerial view of grayish Siberian forest in winter. So commercial does not mean bad, but I absolutely missed visual poetry and slower pace that allows feeling and live everything told in the story. Puzzles me that’s Russia’s Oscar submission, but seems whoever chose this film was thinking in a film that could please Academy voters to –of course- get the Oscar.

So if you’re in the mood of watching mainstream Russian cinema with a very-unconventionally told love story this is the film to watch and I’m sure you’ll enjoy beyond what you imagined. Then I’m positive that men will love also the film for all the locomotive action that the film portraits.

Enjoy!!

Watch trailer @MOC

4th Annual Asia Pacific Screen Awards Nominations

noreply@blogger.com (win) — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 02:58:00 +0700

Today APSA announced the nominations for this year awards, with a total of 31 films from 15 countries and areas. Here are the nominations

Best Feature Film
Tangshan dadizhen (Aftershock), Xiaogang Feng, China and Hong Kong
Bal (Honey), Semih Kaplanoglu, Turkey and Germany
Báng-kah (Monga), Doze Niu, Taiwan
Paju, Chan-ok Park, Korea
Shi (Poetry), Chang-dong Lee, Korea

Best Children’s Feature Film
Boy, Taika Waititi, New Zealand
Bran Nue Dae, Rachel Perkins, Australia
Shui Yuet Sun Tau (Echoes of the Rainbow), Alex LawHong Kong
Digari (The Other), Mehdi Rahmani, Iran
Udaan, Vikramaditya Motwane, India

Best Animated Feature Film
Ibara no Ou (King of Thorn), Kazuyoshi Katayama, Japan
Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole, Zack Snyder, Australia and USA
Mai Mai Shinko to Sennen no Maho (Mai Mai Miracle), Sunao Katabuchi, Japan
Hottarake no Shima – Haruka to Maho no Kagami (Oblivion Island: Haruka and the Magic Mirror), Shinsuke Sato, Japan
Piercing 1, Liu Jian, China

Achievement in Directing
Feng Xiaogang for Tangshan dadizheng (Aftershock), China and Hong Kong
Semih Kaplanoglu for Bal (Honey), Turkey and Germany
Doze Niu for Báng-kah (Monga), Taiwan
Chang-dong Lee for Shi (Poetry), Korea
Quanan Wang for Fang Zhi Gu Niang (Weaving Girl), China

Best Performance by an Actress
Xu Fan in Tangshan dadizheng (Aftershock), Xiaogang Feng, China and Hong Kong
Tejaswini Pandit in Mee Sindhutai Sakpal (I am Sindutai Sakpal), India
Seo Woo in Paju, Chan-ok Park, Korea
Yun Jung-hee in Shi (Poetry), Chang-dong Lee, Korea
Yu Nan in Fang Zhi Gu Niang (Weaving Girl), Quanan Wang, China

Best Performance by an Actor
Chen Daoming in Tangshan dadizheng (Aftershock), Xiaogang Feng, China and Hong Kong
Tony Barry in Home by Christmas, Gaylene Preston, New Zealand
Sergei Puskepalis in Kak ya provel etim letom (How I Ended This Summer), Aleksei Popogrebsky, Russia
Mark Ivanir in The Human Resources Manager, Eran Riklis, Israel, Germany, France and Romania
Atul Kulkarni in Natarang, Ravi Jadhav, India

To check nominations in other categories go here or here. The film with most nominations (6) is China’s Oscar submission Aftershock that APSA Nominations Council unanimously praised for its ability to deftly balance a large scale epic story with the intimate drama of one family dealing with the aftermath of the devastating Tangshan earthquake and I humble absolutely agree with this well-deserved honor. Haven’t seen Bal that I know will blow my mind as much as Semih Kaplanoglu’s two previous films in this story that’s told backwards, but wonder if the third installment is more accessible to those voting for the awards.

The awards ceremony will be held on Australia’s Gold Coast on December 2, 2010 at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre and like last year there will be a Live webcast.

2010 Gotham Independent Film Awards Nominations

noreply@blogger.com (win) — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 00:59:00 +0700

We officially start the awards season with the first nominations for indie films and here they are according to the live announcement and press release that can be found here.

Best Feature
Black Swan, Darren Aronofsky (lesbian Interest)
Blue Valentine, Derek Cianfrance
The Kids Are All Right, Lisa Cholodenko (lesbian interest)
Let Me In, Matt Reeves
Winter’s Bone, Debra Granik

Breakthrough Director
John Wells for The Company Men
Kevin Asch for Holy Rollers
Glen Ficarra and John Requa for I Love You Phillip Morris
Tanya Hamilton for Night Catches Us
Lena Dunham for Tiny Furniture

Breakthrough Actor
Price Adu in Prince of Broadway
Ronald Bronstein in Daddy Longlegs
Greta Gerwig in Greenberg
Jennifer Lawrence in Winter’s Bone
John Ortiz in Jack Goes Boating

Best Ensemble Performance
The Kids Are All Right
Life During Wartime
Please Give
Tiny Furniture
Winter’s Bone

Best Documentary
12th & Delaware, Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady
Inside Job, Charles Ferguson
The Oath, Laura Poitras
Public Speaking, Martin Scorsese
Sweetgrass, Lucien Castain-Taylor and Ilisa Barbash

Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You
Kati with an i, Robert Greene
Littlerock, Mike Ott
On Coal River, Francine Cavanaugh and Adams Wood
Summer Pasture, Lynn True and Nelson Walker
The Wolf Knife, Laurel Nakadate

There are a total of 26 films that were nominated across the six categories and haven’t seen one single film! There are two that are must be seen for me but I’m looking forward to watch all five nominated for best feature, which is going to be something as I promised myself that I was not going to watch the American remake of my favorite Swedish vampire movie. But I will and honestly hope to not get mad because the destruction of an excellent concept and film.

As always all the films in my favorite category, Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You, will be screened to the public at MoMa from November 18 to 22. This year the IFP created a new award, The Festival Genius Audience Award; to be eligible a USA film must have won an audience award at USA or Canadian film fest from Nov 09 to October 2010. The Festival Genius community, 200,000 film fans worldwide, will vote online for the winner. The nominees will be announced in early November and the winner will be revealed at the Gotham Awards ceremony.

The 20th Anniversary and awards ceremony will be held on Monday, November 29th at Cipriani Wall Street. Actors Robert Duvall and Hilary Swank, director Darren Aronofsky and James Schamus will each be presented with a career tribute.

Cheers!

SHANGHAI

noreply@blogger.com (win) — Sun, 17 Oct 2010 11:31:00 +0700

In the months leading up to the bombing of Pearl Harbor, an American man (Cusack) arrives in Shanghai to find his friend Conner recently murdered. After further investigation, Cusack realizes Conner had an affair with Japanese Captain Tanaka's lover, Sumiko. Unconvinced that Sumiko betrayed Conner, he later dons his Nazi-sympathizer/German cover and he meets Mr. Lang-Ting and Captain Tanaka. Paul later uncovers numerous photos Conner took, in his darkroom, some of which include Captain Tanaka and his officers.

After a few bizarre encounters with Ms. Lang-Ting and Antony Lang-Ting, Paul realizes that Mrs. Lang-Ting secretly leads the Resistence-a group that is anti-Japanese,while her husband, Anthony, who is partners with Captain Tanaka's soldiers, is oblivious to this. In investigating his friend's death, he stumbles upon a secret the United States government has been keeping and falls in love in the process.

Producer : Mike Medavoy, Barry Mendel, Jake Myers

Production :The Weinstein Company

Players :John Cusack,Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Gong Li,Chow Yun-Fat,Ken Watanabe,Rinko Kikuchi,Nicholas Rowe

Director :Mikael Håfström

Author :Hossein Amini

4th Abu Dhabi Film Festival

noreply@blogger.com (win) — Sat, 16 Oct 2010 23:13:00 +0700

Two days ago the most magnanimous festival (award money prizes are the highest in the fest circuit) had its opening ceremony with none other than Secretariat opening the every year more famous festival.

Most films at the Narrative Competition are known to the blog, but I suggest you check the films at the New Horizons Competition here.

I’ll be posting award winners when announced. Been trying to add a video here but for whatever reasons does not work, if you feel like watching some videos from the October 14 opening ceremony go here.

15th Pusan International Film Festival

noreply@blogger.com (win) — Sat, 16 Oct 2010 22:36:00 +0700

The festival screened 306 films from 67 countries with 101 world premieres and 52 international premieres which are record numbers for the fest. Yesterday was the awards ceremony and here are the winners.

New Curents Award
The Journals of Musan, Park Jung-Bum, Korea
Bleak Night, Yoon Sung-Hyun, Korea

Flash Forward Award: Pure, Lisa Lngseth, Sweden
Special Mention: Erratum, Marek Lechki, Poland

FIPRESCI Award: The Journals of Musan, Park Jung-Bum, Korea
NETPAC Award: Dooman River, Zhang Lu, Korea
Audience Award: My Spectacular Theatre, Lu Yang, China

To check awards for documentaries and shorts go here and to browse films go here.

Prince of Persia (The Sands of Time)

noreply@blogger.com (win) — Sat, 16 Oct 2010 10:48:00 +0700

That said, according to Persian legend, anyone who has an hourglass containing the Sands of Time (sands of time) will be able to reverse time. This hourglass is the gift of the gods that can not be used carelessly. n the hands of good people, at this sand can bring good and vice versa in the hands of bad people who caused the destruction is also not inconceivable.

The only person who can issue a 'sands of time' is from the hourglass is Dastan (Jake Gyllenhaal)who has the Dagger of Time (dagger of time). Dastan, the prince, not a bad man but with his trickery vizier (Gisli Orn Gardarsson), Dastan finally release 'sands of time' and cause chaos everywhere.

The entire kingdom at once destroyed and its inhabitants turned into a scary monster. Now the whole world's salvation in the hands of Dastan. He had managed to restore the "sands of time 'is to the hourglass and stop the destruction on earth. Fortunately, the prince Dastan not alone. There are princess Tamina (Gemma Arterton) who are willing to help in this noble mission.

Film Type :Action/fantasy

Producer :Jerry Bruckheimer

Production :Walt Disney Pictures

Pelayers :Jake Gyllenhaal,Gemma Arterton,Ben Kingsley,Alfred Molina

Director :Mike Newell

Author :Jordan Mechner,Boaz Yakin

Lourdes

noreply@blogger.com (win) — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 21:51:00 +0700

There are movies that just mesmerize you like this Jessica Hausner film that will absolutely mesmerize you in so many levels that will blow your mind watching the layered story, the astonishing images and most of all the amazing storytelling. I was really dubious if I should watch or not this film, but finally decided to just watch and mentally ‘prepare’ myself to whatever was going to see.

As film has so many layers, let me start by sharing the one that spontaneously got me inside this mesmerizing film. I was born Catholic and was baptized in a rush because died when I was days-old and well, came back as I’m still here; but after my religious fifteen-years-old mass, religion left my life. Still had time to learn a lot about Catholicism so the first and second thirds of this film was a true experience of reliving rites and beliefs that I chose to leave behind and my honest reaction was to nervously laugh at the absurdity –yet puzzling- reactions, rites, belief, faith, etc that people have at was have been called the “Disneyland of Miracles”. The last third marveled me with people’s reactions to the miracle. This is a brief summary with my reactions to one layer of this amazing film but there is another layer that I feel like sharing.

From a cinematic point-of-view the layer that I enjoyed most even above the ‘emotional’ voyage was the one related to an almost perfect film about religion that is not religious. This is an extremely well designed voyage into the nature of miracles very similar to films by Cavalier, Rivette, Bresson, Reygadas and most of all Dreyer’s Ordet, which Hausner confirms was her source of inspiration. Aesthetically film belongs to this group, but Hausner does something different when approaches the idea of miracles with a detached, quizzical eye; this is what makes this film not only really mysterious but extremely interesting to watch if you are or are not familiar with the Catholic Church rites, as honestly maybe the film first third will enlighten you with objective facts that happen at Lourdes. Is the first third of the movie what looks and feels like a Lourdes pilgrimage documentary but also has other layer that works as an introduction to Christine, brilliantly played by Sylvie Testud, with her perspective of everything she’s seeing and living.

Second third starts to explore the small group perspective about what they’re living and doing in this pilgrimage. Most amazing is the joke told by one member from the Order of Malta about Virgin Mary approving God’s idea to go to Lourdes, as she never has been there; this serves as an example of the wry humor found in this segment and sets the mood to many other pilgrims behavior we will watch.

Final third is the most astonishing exploration about human and Catholic Church reactions to a (possible) miracle, which specifically tells about needs and dissatisfaction's of film other characters. Here is where Testud performance becomes the true miracle when her facial expressions and body language tell and reflect absolutely everything that words don’t tell; before this moment Testud performance was marvelously done only with her face as she was paralyzed from her neck down thanks to multiple sclerosis.

Definitively there are more layers to this story that some consider ‘blasphemous’, others call it Buñuel-esque, while others saw a profound yet controversial religious sentiment, etc. To me was obvious that the ample range of opinions prove the deliberate ambiguity of this cinema masterpiece by Jessica Hausner.

How can a filmmaker do this outstanding film? Not really a surprise but I was glad to find that Jessica Hausner was Michael Haneke’s pupil and ‘script girl’ which easily explains (to me) her amazing ability to so objectively tell a story about what many tend to do very subjectively. Chapeau to this outstanding director that shows superb mastery even when is only her third film.

Yes the film absolutely blew my mind and is one that I strongly recommend as excellent cinema that I believe could profoundly engage many even when movie has a slow pace, not much dialogue, many silences (but some extraordinary music score moments like when Bach’s Toccata and Fugue plays or when Herr Jesu Christ plays which not coincidentally is the theme from Tarkovsky’s Solaris –and there are more moments where music score is totally integrated to narrative), and many, but many, mind blowing takes with absolutely beautiful framed scenes. Marvelous, marvelous, marvelous.

Have to close with a line that have to share with you all as according to me brilliantly resumes what this film is all about: “The mysteries of life (which some call God) may remain unknowable, but in Hausner’s remarkable film, the needs and doubts of mankind are made all too clear.”

A must be seen film for many that honor me visiting this blog.

Big Enjoy!!!