JARHEAD (2005) Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Peter Sarsgaard, Lucas Black, Brian Geraghty, Jacob Vargas, Laz Alonso, Evan Jones, Chris Cooper, Dennis Haysbert and Jamie Foxx. Screenplay by William Broyles, Jr. Directed by Sam Mendes. Distributed by Universal Pictures. 123 minutes. Rated R. With the United States deeply divided on the subject of the war of Iraq, … Continue reading
DON’T COME KNOCKING (2006) Starring Sam Shepard, Jessica Lange, Tim Roth, Gabriel Mann, Sarah Polley, Fairuza Balk, Eva Marie Saint, Tom F. Farrell, James Gammon, Rodney A. Grant, George Kennedy, Tim Matheson, Julia Sweeney, James Roday, Jeff Parise and Marley Shelton. Screenplay by Sam Shepard. Directed by Wim Wenders. Distributed by Sony Pictures Classics. 122 … Continue reading
HEATH LEDGER MAKES HIS STAND ON BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN By Brad Balfour Doing Brokeback Mountain, was as much a challenge for Heath Ledger, taking on what might seem to be a risky role — playing Ennis, a gay cowboy in love with Jack Twist (Jake Gyllenhaal) — as it was taking on a complex restrained character at … Continue reading
RACHEL WEISZ STEPS THROUGH THE GARDEN By Brad Balfour Though Rachel Weisz has received accolades before, none are more appreciated than an Academy Award nomination. And given that she dies a few minutes in the film The Constant Gardener, it’s even more appreciated she got this attention. But the film is a powerful statement – about … Continue reading
KEIRA KNIGHTLEY DUAL IDENTITIES by Brad Balfour Though she could easily coast on her adorable smile and refined good looks, twenty-year-old British actress Keira Knightley likes challenges. Within the space of a few days she had to shift from playing the brainy yet biting heroine, Elizabeth Bennet, in the 18th century period drama Pride and Prejudice to … Continue reading
The Little Willies – The Little Willies (Milking Bull/EMI) The Little Willies aren’t just a side project for country-jazz-pop chanteuse Norah Jones and her boyfriend/collaborator Lee Alexander with a bunch of New York muso buddies like Richard Julian, Jim Campilongo and Dan Reiser. They are a legitimate band, a group of separate and equal pub performers … Continue reading
LUC JACQUET A DIRECTOR DOCUMENTS A NEW GENERATION OF EMPERORS By Brad Balfour For French documentary director Luc Jacquet, making The March of the Penguins, might have been success enough, but to see his tale of an emperor penguin colony under some of the harshest conditions on earth, become a summer sleeper family hit and one … Continue reading
THE TRANSFORMATION OF FELICITY HUFFMAN by Brad Balfour Although Felicity Huffman’s name has been before the public through the high-profile award winning ABC TV series Desperate Housewives, seeing her in Transamerica is the real shocker. In taking on the role of a man becoming a woman, Huffman tests her acting skills in ways the TV show could never possibly do. … Continue reading
Journey And the Journey Continues… by Deborah Wagner When you think of classic 70’s and 80’s arena rock, undoubtedly Journey is one of the first groups that comes to mind. Now, over 30 years after the band’s creation – with countless hits and the 2005 release of their 13th studio album Generations – Journey is still having fun doing … Continue reading
Philip Seymour Hoffman Channels Capote by Brad Balfour Though the actor is almost a head taller than the late author and social figure Truman Capote, Philip Seymour Hoffman brilliantly recreates the writer for the film about his life during the creation of his literary masterpiece, In Cold Blood – the story of two killers who massacre a … Continue reading
