DAVID CRONENBERG A DIRECTOR LOOKS AT VIOLENT AMERICA by Brad Balfour Now transformed from a horror genre master (Rabid, The Brood, Scanners, Videodrome) to a full-blown, critically acclaimed and analyzed auteur, Toronto-based director David Cronenberg finally has made A History of Violence – the film that may be the Oscar-garnering capper of his career. With Cronenberg having … Continue reading
ATOM EGOYAN FINDING THE TRUTH IN DIRECTING by Brad Balfour For Canadian director Atom Egoyan creating Where the Truth Lies offered a challenge of constructing something that was almost a genre film but not quite. Wrestling with musician/composer Rupert Holmes’ novel of the same name, Egoyan takes a story that plays on the conventions of the classic … Continue reading
Curtis HANSON The director steps into a WOMAN’S WORLD by Brad BALFOUR Veteran director Curtis Hanson loves to confound people. As the Oscar-winning director of L.A. Confidential, who would have thought he would take on a project like 8 Mile – the fictionalized telling of cross-over rapper Eminem’s rise to success in the Detroit ghetto. Yet now he again defies expectations of him by doing … Continue reading
George Clooney, David Strathairn, Patricia Clarkson and Grant Heslov Patriotic Acts by Jay S. Jacobs Copyright ©2005 PopEntertainment.com. All rights reserved. Posted: October 1, 2005. The word legendary is tossed about way too cavalierly, however Edward R. Murrow is legitimately a legend of television broadcasting. The newsman took his radio fame (from his current affairs show … Continue reading
Elijah Wood, Liev Schreiber and Eugene Hutz Illuminate Us by Jay S. Jacobs Everything Is Illuminated is the debut writing and directing project by respected New York-based actor Liev Schreiber (The Manchurian Candidate, Scream, Kate and Leopold.) The film is based on a portion of the fanciful and yet disturbing best-selling novel of the same name by Jonathan Safran … Continue reading
Andrew Niccol The Art of Lord of War by Jay S. Jacobs New Zealand-born writer-director Andrew Niccol has been the brains behind some of the most mind-bending films in recent years. Though he was not the director of his first screenplay, the critically acclaimed The Truman Show, he has since had the opportunity to create and helm … Continue reading
ALEXANDER PAYNE STAYING STRAIGHT WHILE MAKING SIDEWAYS by Brad Balfour With Sideways, Alexander Payne really proves he’s a true contender, not just the creator of smart, snarky idiosyncratic comedies but solid filmmaker who tackled humanity with aplomb. In this humorous on-the-road buddy flick, leads Paul Giamatti (failed writer Miles Raymond) and Thomas Haden Church (former hot actor Jack) grapple with Jack’s … Continue reading
Mark Ruffalo, Peter Krause, Laura Dern and John Curran Adultery Education by Jay S. Jacobs We Don’t Live Here Anymore is a haunting, sometimes even devastating, look at modern marriage. Based on two short stories by Andre Dubus (“We Don’t Live Here Anymore” and “Adultery”), the movie focuses on two couples. The film chronicles the casually cruel … Continue reading
BEFORE SUNSET (2004) Starring Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy, Vernon Dobtcheff, Louise Lemoine Torres, Rodolphe Pauly, Mariane Plasteig, Diabolo, Albert Delpy and Marie Pillet. Screenplay by Richard Linklater, Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy. Directed by Richard Linklater. Distributed by Castle Rock Entertainment/Warner Independent Pictures. 80 minutes. Rated R. “Think of it like this. Jump ahead ten, … Continue reading
ADAPTATION. (2002) Starring Nicolas Cage, Meryl Streep, Chris Cooper, Tilda Swinton, Jay Tavare, G. Paul Davis, Cara Seymour, Stephen Tobolowsky, Gary Farmer, Curtis Hanson, David O. Russell, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Judy Greer, Ron Livingston, Brian Cox, Catherine Keener, John Cusack and John Malkovich. Screenplay by Charlie Kaufman and Donald Kaufman. Directed by Spike Jonze. Distributed by … Continue reading
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