The world of television is about to change on Feb. 1. And I have a feeling that change may be for good — both in terms of permanence and in terms of being positive. That’s when Netflix will release “House of Cards,” a political thriller series starring Kevin Spacey, Robin Wright and Kate Mara. And … Continue Reading →
The nominations for this year’s Detroit Film Critics Society awards were posted this morning. Winners will be announced Friday… 1. BEST PICTURE ARGO THE IMPOSSIBLE SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK TAKE THIS WALTZ ZERO DARK THIRTY 2. BEST DIRECTOR BEN AFFLECK – ARGO JUAN ANTONIO BAYONA – THE IMPOSSIBLE KATHERINE BIGELOW – ZERO DARK THIRTY SARAH POLLEY … Continue Reading →
“Revolution” is hardly revolutionary, but the NBC show is one of this broadcast season’s few bonafide hits. There are three new shows in this season’s top 20 when it comes to ratings, and “Revolution” is one of them. The other two — “Vegas” and “Elementary” on CBS — skew older, and since TV networks crave … Continue Reading →
It’s sad when bad things happen to good TV shows. It’s even worse when great characters go wrong. Which brings us to Kalinda Sharma. As played by Emmy-winner Archie Panjabi on “The Good Wife” — which became the best drama on broadcast television the night it debuted and has held that title three years running … Continue Reading →
The Toronto International Film Festival ended last weekend. “The Master” is opening wide this weekend. The race to this year’s Oscars has begun. And now so has our official coverage of the race. Coming out of Toronto there were a number of clear contenders as well as a few fuzzy ones. They are: “Silver Linings … Continue Reading →
Met with John Hawkes (“Winter’s Bone,” “Me and You and Everyone We Know,” “Deadwood”) this morning. What a gracious and personable guy. Right now he’s the clear frontrunner for the best actor Oscar for “The Sessions,” in which he plays a polio victim in an iron lung who wants to lose his virginity. But obviously … Continue Reading →
I was talking with another critic here today and we had talked earlier during the festival and we couldn’t remember when. That’s how it is, it all becomes a blur. Standing out spectacularly in the blur, though, was “Silver Linings Playbook,” which I saw early this morning and which confirmed that Jennifer Lawrence is the … Continue Reading →
Way better day. Way, way. Remembering why I love movies. Started out with “Love is All You Need,” a supposed comedy by Oscar winning (“In a Better World,” foreign film) director Susanne Bier. It is funny a good deal of the time, but in a complex, layered European brilliant way. This woman is known for … Continue Reading →
Well, kind of a botched day. Talked to Aaron Taylor-Johnson (“Kick-Ass”) this morning about Anna Karenina and that went well, but… Then went to the Snoop Dogg documentary, “Reincarnated,” which was basically a self-aggrandizing overlong promotion for his reggae album. If you want to see Snoop getting wasted, being idolized and rambling incoherently about his … Continue Reading →
Arrived Thursday at the Toronto International Film Festival to find things muggy, crowded and typically frantic. Raced to the Scotiabank theaters to catch Ben Affleck’s latest, “Argo,” and promptly waited an hour in line. Not sure “Argo” is the Oscar-bait some have been thinking, although if they gave out a trophy for acting ensemble — … Continue Reading →