John G. Avildsen – Rocky Road To a Classic by Jay S. Jacobs In the summer of 1976, Philadelphia was the home of the American Bicentennial. However, it turned out that celebration was only the second biggest thing to come out of the City of Brotherly Love that year. A small movie about a ham-and-egg … Continue reading
Hany Abu-Assad On His Oscar nominated Controversial Feature Omar by Brad Balfour Palestinian director Hany Abu–Assad’s controversial Oscar–nominated feature Omar merges genres and uses flawed characters to dynamically illustrate the complex political realities between Israel and the Palestinian territories. Born October 11th, 1961, in Nazareth, Israel, Abu–Assad was first nominated for a Best Foreign Language … Continue reading
Michael Haneke Makes A Loving Statement in Amour by Brad Balfour A cultivated couple in their 80s, retired music teachers Georges and Anne have a nice apartment in a fine Parisian neighborhood. One night, after seeing a former student perform, Anne blanks out at home, presaging the condition to come. Afterwards, surgery to correct her blocked … Continue reading
Michel Hazanavicius Silences the Skeptics with the Oscar Favorite The Artist by Brad Balfour Wily provocateur and indie screen mogul Harvey Weinstein sees beyond the obvious and recognizes value in some rather offbeat films. Thankfully, that support has so far paid off. Four of Weinstein’s pictures won awards at this year’s Golden Globes, with a … Continue reading
Michelle Williams Her Uncanny Performance in My Week With Marilyn Turns Heads and Wins Award Noms by Brad Balfour Who knew that when actress Michelle Williams first appeared as the bad girl in Dawson’s Creek, she would have the uncanny good sense to take on roles which offered her real challenges? From a supporting part in Brokeback Mountain to the lead in Wendy and … Continue reading
Chris Weitz Helping Others to Find A Better Life by Jay S. Jacobs It is not often that people almost completely change course in Hollywood. However, after making two straight huge blockbuster films, Chris Weitz has downshifted into the tiny independent drama A Better Life. However, smaller is not necessarily a bad thing. Weitz started small … Continue reading
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