Cj7

Stephen Chow's follow up to the hilarious "Kung Fu Hustle" is a disapointment. It has some moments but never lives up to its potential. One of the biggest problems is that it tries to be both a drama and a comedy but fails to be either. Chow has more a supporting role with the newcomer Xu Jian in the lead. Technical aspects are great, specially the title character which should make a killing as a toy where the film could serve well as a commercial. YRCinema's coverage of upcoming releases.

In Bruges

Martin McDonagh blazes into a new territory with his debut that brings some fresh air into the genre. It's a funny and touching story about two hit men sent to hide in the idyllic town of title. McDonagh's sharp script and quicksilver dialog keeps things moving with great performance all around, specially Ralph Fiennes in a chilling performance. The film recalls Jonathan Glazer's "Sexy Beast" in many ways such as a new talent with a winning debut. YRCinema's coverage of recent releases.

El Cid

One the greatest epic films of Hollywood's Golden Age. It still holds up which is the testimony of a real classic. The themes of conflict and love are timeless and relevant today. This film aged well and one of the few films I have seen at different stages of my life and every time I discovered something new. This film is the real deal with a great story set on the actual locations with a cast of thousands that's a thing of the past in the CGI age. It's the forefather of "Gladiator" with strikingly similar characters such as a wronged and fallen hero, treacherous royal siblings, and fight for glory and freedom. It's an underrated film and didn't get the recognition it deserved at the time of its release. Charlton Heston delivers a fine performance and Sophia Loren shows her talent as an actress and movie star and proves that she's every bit of a screen goddess and rightly so at the height of her beauty.
YRCinema's coverage of films on DVD.

FESTIVALS 1: SUNDANCE, USA

The first important festival of the year is the most important one in the US that has a competition and world premieres. The festival started to support the independent films and filmmaker but is now an integrated part of Hollywood.

2008 Winners:

FROZEN RIVER directed by Courtney Hunt
Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic
Jury (Drama): Marcia Gay Harden, Mary Harron, Diego Luna, Sandra Oh and Quentin Tarantino

TROUBLE THE WATER directed by Tia Lessin and Carl Deal
Grand Jury Prize: Documentary
Jury (Documentary): Michelle Byrd, Heidi Ewing, Eugene Jarecki, Steven Okazaki and Annie Sundberg

KING OF PING PONG (PING PONGKINGEN) directed by Jens Jonsson
The World Cinema Jury Prize: Dramatic
Jury (World Cinema Dramatic): Shunji Iwai (Japan), Lucrecia Martel (Argentina) and Jan Schütte (Germany)

MAN ON WIRE directed by James Marsh (UK)
The World Cinema Jury Prize: Documentary
Jury (World Cinema Documentary): Amir Bar-Lev (US), Leena Pasanen (Finland/Denmark) and Ilda Santiago (Brazil)

THE WACKNESS directed by Jonathan Levine
Audience Award: Dramatic

FIELDS OF FUEL directed by Josh Tickell
Audience Award: Documentary

CAPTAIN ABU RAED directed by Amin Matalqa (Jordan)
World Cinema Audience Award: Dramatic

MAN ON WIRE directed by James Marsh (UK)
World Cinema Audience Award: Documentary

For more info : http://www.sundance.org

Brick

It's an impressive first feature due its extremely low budget but fails to impress. The film opens strongly but declines sharply. It's plot driven and one note without any character development or layers to the story. It's a detective story that wants to be a film noir where high school kids seem acting out a Raymond Chandler story. The film heavily borrows from David Lynch, specially "Twin Peaks" but has none of its atmosphere or mystery. The filmmakers show some talent but need to learn more than imitating great films. YRCinema's coverage of films on DVD.

RIP: HEATH LEDGER 1979 – 2008

GUILD AWARDS 7: Art Directors Guild (ADG)

PERIOD FILM
AMERICAN GANGSTER	PD: Arthur Max
ATONEMENT	PD: Sarah Greenwood
ELIZABETH: THE GOLDEN AGE	PD: Guy Hendrix Dyas
SWEENEY TODD THE DEMON: BARBER OF FLEET STREET	PD: Dante Ferretti
THERE WILL BE BLOOD	PD: Jack Fisk
FANTASY FILM
THE GOLDEN COMPASS	PD: Dennis Gassner
HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX	PD: Stuart Craig
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: AT WORLD’S END	PD: Rick Heinrichs
RATATOUILLE	PD: Harley Jessup
300	PD: James Bissell
CONTEMPORARY FILM
THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM	PD: Peter Wenham
THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY	PD: Michel Eric, Laurent Ott
THE KITE RUNNER	PD: Carlos Conti
MICHAEL CLAYTON	PD: Kevin Thompson
NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN	PD: Jess Gonchor

GUILD AWARDS 6: Cinematographers' Guild (ASC)

Best Cinematography
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
- Roger Deakins
Atonement - Seamus McGarvey
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly - Janusz Kaminiski
No Country for Old Men - Roger Deakins
There Will be Blood - Robert Elswit

Charlie Wilson's War

This film would have been a total disaster if it were in anybody else's hands but Mike Nichols knows how to salvage a film. After the recent failures of war related films, this film seems modified on the fly to focus more on the actors for entertainment to avoid the fate of the others and that's the biggest problem or saving grace. Julia Roberts applying mascara takes more screen time than the refugees. However the film manages to be entertaining enough thanks to the great cast, however at the cost of the real characters. It's based on a great true story and proves there's original material out there only if somebody looks for it. YRCinema's coverage of current releases.

CRITICS AWARDS 6: Golden Globes

MOTION PICTURE - DRAMA
"ATONEMENT" - Working Title Productions; Focus Features

ACTRESS - DRAMA
Julie Christie - "Away From Her"

ACTOR - DRAMA
Daniel Day-Lewis - "There Will Be Blood"

MOTION PICTURE - COMEDY OR MUSICAL
"SWEENEY TODD" - Warner Bros. Pictures

ACTRESS - COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Marion Cotillard - "La Vie en rose"

ACTOR - COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Johnny Depp - "Sweeney Todd"

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
"The Diving Bell And The Butterfly"

DIRECTOR - MOTION PICTURE
Julian Schnabel - "The Diving Bell And The Butterfly"

SCREENPLAY - MOTION PICTURE
Ethan Coen & Joel Coen - "No Country For Old Men"

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Cate Blanchett - "I’m Not There"

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Javier Bardem - "No Country For Old Men"


FOR DETAILS: http://www.goldenglobes.org/

GUILD AWARDS 5: Producer's Guild (PGA)

PRODUCER OF THE YEAR AWARD IN THEATRICAL MOTION PICTURES

"The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" (Miramax)

"Juno" (Fox Searchlight)

"Michael Clayton" (Warner Bros.)

"No Country for Old Men" (Miramax/Paramount Vantage)

"There Will Be Blood" (Paramount Vantage/Miramax)

PRODUCER OF THE YEAR AWARD IN DOCUMENTARY

"Body Of War" (Phil Donahue Productions/Mobilus Media)

"Hear And Now" (HBO)

"Pete Seeger: The Power Of Song" (The Weinstein Company)

"Sicko" (The Weinstein Company)

"White Light/Black Rain: The Destruction Of Hiroshima And Nagasaki" (HBO)

For more info: http://www.producersguild.org/pg/

GUILD AWARDS 4: Editor's Guild (ACE)

BEST EDITED FEATURE FILM
(DRAMATIC)
"The Bourne Ultimatum" - Christopher Rouse
"Into the Wild" - Jay Cassidy
"Michael Clayton" - John Gilroy
"No Country for Old Men" - Roderick Jaynes
"There Will Be Blood" - Dylan Tichenor

BEST EDITED FEATURE FILM

(COMEDY OR MUSICAL)

"Hairspray" - Michael Tronick

"Juno" - Dana E. Glauberman

"PotCaribbean: At Worlds End" - Craig Wood & Stephen Rivkin

"Ratatouille" - Darren Holmes

"Sweeney Todd" - Chris Lebenzon

Late Bloomers

"Die Herbstzeitlosen" The Swiss entry for the Academy Awards Foreign Film consideration is a crowd pleaser with a winning formula à la Chocolat or Golden Girls. It's about a widowed woman who fulfils her life long dream of opening a Lingerie shop in her conservative village where her son is the priest and everybody knows each other. With the help of her girl friends she defies the village. The film is a winner with a great cast and gorgeous setting in the idyllic Emmental, home of the world famous cheese. YRCinema's coverage of current releases.

GUILD AWARDS 3: Writer's Guild (WGA)

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
"Juno" - Written by Diablo Cody
"Michael Clayton" - Written by Tony Gilroy
"The Savages" - Written by Tamara Jenkins
"Knocked Up" - Written by Judd Apatow
"Lars and the Real Girl" - Written by Nancy Oliver


ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
"No Country For Old Men" - Screenplay by Ethan Coen & Joel Coen
Based on the Novel by Cormac McCarthy

"There Will Be Blood" - Screenplay by Paul Thomas Anderson
Based on the Novel Oil by Upton Sinclair

"The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" - Screenplay by Ronald Harwood
Based on the Book by Jean-Dominique Bauby

"Into the Wild" - Screenplay by Sean Penn
Based on the Book by Jon Krakauer

"Zodiac" - Screenplay by James Vanderbilt
Based on the Book by Robert Graysmith, Paramount Pictures

DOCUMENTARY SCREENPLAY

"The Camden 28" - Written by Anthony Giacchino

"Nanking" - Screenplay by Bill Guttentag & Dan Sturman & Elisabeth Bentley

"No End In Sight" - Written by Charles Ferguson

"The Rape Of Europa" - Written by Richard Berge, Nicole Newnham and Bonni Cohen

"Sicko" - Written by Michael Moore

"Taxi To The Dark Side" - Written by Alex Gibney

For more info: http://wga.org/

The Brave One

What do you get when you put the creative forces of Jodie Foster, director Neil Jordan, cinematographer Philippe Rousselot and great supporting cast together? A first rate film that's way above the standards of the genre. This film could have gone wrong on so many places that many other films like it have but instead hits all the right notes thanks to the ever consistent Mr. Jordan. Jodie Foster's face has hardened over the years but she's one of the best actresses and she delivers a pitch perfect performance. YRCinema's coverage of current releases.

GUILD AWARDS 2: Directors Guild (DGA)

Best Director
Paul Thomas Anderson - "There Will Be Blood"
Joel Coen & Ethan Coen - "No Country for Old Men"
Tony Gilroy - "Michael Clayton"
Sean Penn - "Into the Wild"
Julian Schnabel - "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly"

For more info: http://dga.org/index2.php3

CRITICS AWARDS 5: National Society of Film Critics

Best Film: THERE WILL BE BLOOD
Best Foreign Film: 4 MONTHS, 3 WEEKS & 2 DAYS
Best Documentary: NO END IN SIGHT
Best Director : PAUL THOMAS ANDERSON, THERE WILL BE BLOOD
Best Actor: DANIEL DAY-LEWIS, THERE WILL BE BLOOD
Best Actress: JULIE CHRISTIE, AWAY FROM HER
Best Screenplay: TAMARA JENKINS, THE SAVAGES

Photographing Fairies

Films like this are such a treat because first of all you never heard of them before and then you have no idea what to expect but after you watched it, you treasure it for its daring and unique tale. The story of photographer investigating a photograph that has captured fairies turns into a mystical journey. The film raises some interesting questions that's haunting and compelling. An excellent cast includes Ben Kingsley. Emily Woof, Toby Stephens and Frances Barber. YRFilms coverage films on DVD.

A Fond Kiss

Ken Loach brings honesty and naturalness to the unrequited love story between a Pakistani Muslim man and a Scottish Catholic woman. This is as romantic as possible for a Ken Loach film who always succeeds to bring new talent to the screen. Everything in this film rings true and there's not one false note. Well rounded characters, superb performances, authentic locations and a believable story told in a fresh way. YRCinema's coverage of films on DVD.

Pandaemonium

Julian Temple's inventive film on the friendship and betrayal between English poets Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834) and William Wordsworth (1770-1850) is fresh and full of energy that captures the spirit of the times. It's Merchant-Ivory on acid kind of a film. The characters are well developed and the friendship so well portrayed that the betrayal is really devastating. Linus Roache (Priest) and John Hannah (Four Weddings and a Funeral) are perfectly cast. The supporting roles feature a young Samantha Morton and Andy Serkis (Lord of the Rings). YRCinema's coverage of films on DVD.

Lovers of the Arctic Circle

"Los Amantes del Circulo Polar" Julio Medem's take on the "star-crossed lovers" and "unrequited love" is utterly unique and romantic to the core. He weaves a spell binding tale that shifts between the point of view of the lovers. It's one of the most haunting and beautiful films of its kind with great performances by Fele Martinez and Najwa Nimri in the lead roles. YRCinema's coverage of films on DVD.

The Namesake

Mira Nair's sumptuous adaptation may not be capturing the entire novel but she makes the right choices by focusing more on the parents than Gogol, the main character. She triumphs by casting Irrfan Khan and Tabu who steals the film from everybody else with an astonishing performance that should establish her reputation beyond Bollywood along other great Indian actresses such as Shabana Azmi and Sharmila Tagore.
YRCinema's coverage of films on DVD.