PRIDE (2007) Starring Terrence Howard, Bernie Mac, Kimberly Elise, Tom Arnold, Nate Parker, Kevin Phillips, Evan Ross, Jesse Moore, Trevor Morgan, Regine Nehy, Scott Reeves, Brandon Fobbs, Alphonso, McCauley, Jeff Galpin and Gary Anthony Sturgiss. Screenplay by Kevin Michael Smith & Michael Grizzard and J. Mills Goodloe & Norman Vance, Jr. Directed by Sunu Gonera. … Continue reading
MARTIN SCORSESE, LEONARDO DiCAPRIO, MATT DAMON, VERA FARMIGA AND WILLIAM MONAHAN MEETING WITH MARTIN AND THE DEPARTED BY BRAD BALFOUR The following documents two 40-minute press conference sessions merged together that tell the tale about Martin Scorsese’s latest elaborate feature, The Departed, one that finally has garnered him the top Oscar awards – Best Director and … Continue reading
Forest Whitaker Becomes the First King of the Hour by Brad Balfour For Forest Whitaker, it’s been a long, strange ride from the start, creating the character of Idi Amin for his last film, The Last King of Scotland. With this year’s Best Actor nomination, he’s favored to win – something he never expected upon taking … Continue reading
Seamus McDonagh The Fighter Still Remains by Ronald Sklar Photography by Eugene Gallegos “I did feel like I was Rocky,” Seamus (pronounced Shay-mus) McDonagh was admitting to me, but only after I insisted. “It was my nickname in school, after Rocky Mariano.” The other Rocky – the guy picked out of obscurity to touch gloves with the … Continue reading
Meryl Streep Walks With the Devil by Brad Balfour If there was one film from last summer that carried weight beyond the season’s froth it was The Devil Wears Prada. A snarky but loving stab at the fashion world and Vogue‘s editor in specific, the real secret to the film’s success was Meryl Streep’s propulsive portrayal of the Fashion … Continue reading
GIL KENAN MAKES A MONSTROUS HOUSE by Brad Balfour What a break for first-time feature animation film director Gil Kenan. After Executive producers Steven Spielberg and Robert Zemeckis saw his live-action/animated horror-fantasy short, The Lark he was awarded the directing seat for Monster House – and now is nominated for a Best Animated Feature Oscar. The story goes something … Continue reading
Cate Blanchett Rewrites the Book On Scandal by Brad Balfour In Notes on a Scandal, a high-school teacher Sheba Hart (Cate Blanchett) starts an affair with one of her students, Steven (Andrew Simpson), and is discovered and emotionally blackmailed by her colleague Barbara (Judi Dench, receiving a Best Actress Oscar nomination for this film). As adapted … Continue reading
SHUT UP AND SING (2006) Featuring Natalie Maines, Emily Robison, Martie Maguire, Rick Rubin, Simon Renshaw, Dan Wilson, Lloyd Maines, Chad Smith, Billy B, Adrian Pasdar, Gareth Maguire, Charlie Robison and archival footage of George W. Bush. Directed by Barbara Kopple and Cecilia Peck. Distributed by The Weinstein Company. 93 minutes. Rated R. “Just so … Continue reading
CLOSE TO HOME (KAROV LA BAYIT) (2007) Starring Smadar Sayar, Naama Schendar, Danny Geva, Sharon Reginiano, Sandra Schonwald, Irit Suki, Ami Weinberg, Katia Zinbris, Anna Stephan and Ilanit Ben Yaakov. Screenplay by Vidi Bilu and Dalia Hager. Directed by Vidi Bilu and Dalia Hager. Distributed by IFC First Take. 94 minutes. Not Rated. The day-to-day … Continue reading
MUSIC AND LYRICS (2007) Starring Hugh Grant, Drew Barrymore, Brad Garrett, Kristen Johnston, Campbell Scott, Haley Bennett, Jason Antoon, Adam Grupper, Matthew Morrison, Billy Griffith, Aasif Mandvi, Scott Porter, Emma Lesser, Zak Orth and Brooke Tansley. Screenplay by Marc Lawrence. Directed by Marc Lawrence. Distributed by Warner Bros. 96 minutes. Rated PG-13. Remember Andrew Ridgeley? … Continue reading
PopEntertainmentblog.com 