ALEX GIBNEY RIDES THE TAXI TO THE DARK SIDE by Brad Balfour Having previously made The Trials of Henry Kissinger and Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room, documentary director Alex Gibney has become an expert on people corrupted by and abusing their power. A prize–winner at last spring’s Tribeca Film Festival, few films resonate like Taxi to the … Continue reading
Michael Moore Heats up the Debate with SiCKO by Brad Balfour What can be said about the 53-year-old Michael Moore that hasn’t been said before? He’s probably one of the first documentary directors – if not the first – to become a household word in his own right, almost a celebrity who commands gossip-porn coverage … Continue reading
Stefan Ruzowitzky and Karl Markovics A Director and an Actor Make an Authentic Holocaust Film out of The Counterfeiters by Brad Balfour Just when you think everything that happened during the Holocaust has been chronicled, another film appears based on a true story that offers another look at that horrible experience in a way which … Continue reading
Angelina Jolie Speaks From A Mighty Heart by Brad Balfour When A Mighty Heart was about to be released, some members of Angelina Jolie’s camp decided to limit her press exposure. Since this film was about a courageous journalist who is kidnapped and beheaded by Al Qaeda members in Pakistan, the press had a bad reaction to … Continue reading
Ellen Page Nurtures the Screen In Juno by Brad Balfour When Juno was first released, who would have believed that this quirky comedy with a strong female perspective on youthful sexuality and teen pregnancy written by an ex-stripper would so resonate with both the public and the awards-nominating community? But impact it did, garnering key Oscar nominations, … Continue reading
Martin McDonagh Going Back to Bruges by Jay S. Jacobs Irish playwright Martin McDonagh has never played by the rules in the theater, so it should be of no surprise that his feature film debut as a screenwriter and director would be a quirky, fascinating affair. In Bruges tells the slightly surreal, definitely funny and often … Continue reading
IN BRUGES (2008) Starring Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Ralph Fiennes, Clemence Poesy, Jeremie Renier, Thekla Reute, Jordan Prentice, Zeljko Ivanek, Eric Godon, Mark Donovan, Rudy Blomme, Theo Stevenson, Elizabeth Berrington and Cieran Hinds. Screenplay by Martin McDonagh. Directed by Martin McDonagh. Distributed by Focus Features. 107 minutes. Rated R. Beauty and ugliness, grandeur and seediness, … Continue reading
Julian Schnabel Continues to Dive Into Filmmaking with The Diving Bell and The Butterfly by Brad Balfour Director Julian Schnabel comes to filmmaking under odd circumstances. Long before he made his first film, he was a world-class fine artist – the self-proclaimed lion of the New York art world – whose paintings and other works … Continue reading
EASTERN PROMISES (2007) Starring Viggo Mortensen, Naomi Watts, Vincent Cassel, Armen Mueller-Stahl, Sinaed Cusack, Donald Sumter, Jerzy Skolimowski, Yousef Altin, Andrej Borkowski, Gergo Danka, Faton Gerbeshi, Raza Jaffrey and Sarah-Jeanne LaBrosse. Screenplay by Steve Knight. Directed by David Cronenberg. Distributed by Focus Features. 101 minutes. Rated R. Director David Cronenberg basically resurrected his career with … Continue reading
Emile Hirsch Takes Some Severe Steps Into the Wild by Brad Balfour When youthful 22-year-old actor Emile Hirsch got cast for Into The Wild, it was great career move for him, not just because he got to work with the actor’s actor Sean Penn (in a directorial turn), but also because he was considerably challenged as … Continue reading
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