It would not be outrageous to assume that Current TV exists solely for conservatives in need of a laugh these days, because that’s certainly what the news that the flailing Al Gore-led cable network has hired Joy Behar to host a show will elicit. Behar, the longtime left-wing co-host of “The View,” will headline “Joy […]
Joy Behar to host new show on Current TV Read More »
Posting better-than-expected Saturday and projected Sunday figures in light of its epic 76.3 percent Friday-over-Friday fall, “The Dark Knight Rises” easily retained the #1 spot at the box office this weekend, ending up with $64.1m. That’s not enough to bring it to a $300m domestic cume just yet, but Monday should get the movie over
Weekend Box Office: “Dark Knight Rises” easily retains crown as openers flop Read More »
Anyone who has ever harbored the aspiration of becoming a film director will have a hard time not being blown away by Benh Zeitlin’s “Beasts of the Southern Wild” as it rolls through the projector gate. Even though the first credit on the movie states that it was made by Court 13, a collective of
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Despite the general feeling among prognosticators that “The Dark Knight Rises” could suffer a less-than-standard second-weekend drop due to the fearful, Aurora-related feelings that plagued the multiplex during its first weekend, the Batman finale ended up falling even more than the genre norm. At this point, it’s safe to say that there is no way
Friday Box Office: “The Watch” and “Step Up: Revolutions” among summer’s biggest bombs Read More »
Todd Solondz’s films are trips into abysses of intense misery, seriously disturbing examinations of lower-middle-class suburban despair. Almost irreverently infused with shocking dark humor and achingly unsentimental, his better works are beautifully strange pieces of filmmaking, aggressively painful stories that manage to feel profound even as they resemble rides through an emotional hell. Then there’s
Review: “Dark Horse” Read More »
HBO has made a name for itself by getting high-profile movie stars to act in its TV shows and, along the way, it has produced a number of pedigreed made-for-TV movies, as well. As audiences’ preference have shifted from the big-screen to the not-so-small ones in their living rooms, this trend has only been exacerbated. First, we
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In the wake of an horrendous massacre that rendered any attempt to predict the box office not only futile, but completely inconsequential, the most compelling box office question-related this weekend is: “Will Aurora have long-term effects on moviegoing?” While many were not deterred by the tragedy and still went out to see “The Dark Knight
Box Office Beat: Weekend of July 27 Read More »
With wall-to-wall coverage of the Aurora massacre on television, it’s no surprise that “The Dark Knight Rises” did not open to record-breaking numbers (nor should that be of paramount concern to anyone right now). But even as many stayed away from the multiplex–particularly families, I hear from theater managers–the epic conclusion to Christopher Nolan’s Batman
Weekend Box Office: “The Dark Knight Rises” in spite of Aurora massacre Read More »
It’s hard to deny that an insidiousness permeates Christopher Nolan’s Batman series, and not just because of the real life unpleasantness that has transpired offscreen. “The Dark Knight Rises” is almost unbearably grim, a tangle of frayed nerves and cultural angst. The fiery and destructive imagery of the ad campaign symbolizes Batman’s rebirth, but could
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In promotional interviews, filmmakers frequently talk about making so-called “personal” movies, but rarely do moviegoers feel the tangible presence of this vague, mildly self-important adjective in the films themselves. Mathieu Demy’s “Americano” is another story; while not autobiographical, it could not more clearly be the work of its maker. Demy’s approach is not simply an
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