Star Wars: The Last Jedi delivered on expectations, debuting with the second largest opening weekend of all-time and propelling the box office to the third largest weekend ever based on estimates. In an attempt at counter-programming, Fox's Ferdinand got off to a bit of a slow start against the might of Star Wars as well as the continued strong performance of Pixar's Coco as it fell below Mojo's expectations, though the studio is optimistic when it comes to the film's future. With an estimated $220 million, Star Wars: The Last Jedi delivered the second largest opening weekend ever behind only Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which debuted with $247.9 million back in 2015. Last Jedi got off to a strong start on Thursday night with the second largest preview gross ever of $45 million and became only the second film to ever gross over $100 million on opening day resulting in the second largest opening day ever,...
- 12/17/2017
- by Brad Brevet <mail@boxofficemojo.com>
- Box Office Mojo
Hey, "Grey's Anatomy" fans. We've got some very interesting new casting news for you guys in regards to this current season 14. Recently, the folks over at Entertainment Weekly put out a new article revealing that the show has hired former"One Tree Hill" actress Bethany Joy Lenz. If any of you were "One Tree Hill" fans, you'll remember her as the one who played character Haley James Scott on that show. Entertainment Weekly pointed out that this new casting comes just after they got rid of season regular Martin Henderson aka Dr. Nathan Riggs. Bethany is scheduled to just be a guest character on Grey's Anatomy. So, it doesn't sound like she'll be sticking around for long. She might come in and do an arc that spans a few episodes and then head out. But, who knows? Anything can happen. She might stick around the whole season if they decide its better for the show.
- 11/3/2017
- by Andre Braddox
- OnTheFlix
Released in 2003, Park Chan-Wook’s Oldboy is often heralded as a cult favorite and masterpiece of Korean cinema. Venturing to emotional extremes with its grim violence and extraordinary sadomasochism, it is a film that is compulsive viewing for anyone with a petulance for gore or a good revenge story. As tense as it is tragic, Jo Yeong-wook’s composition work mirrors the film’s dark beauty—filled with melancholic moments and infectious melodies. Looking for a visual artist to complement the project, Milan Records enlisted the talents of Laurent Durieux, whose captivating, lucid style immaculately captured the overcast essence of the film.
Left to his own devices, Durieux was able to showcase a unique, personal perspective of the film without being constricted by the label or design teams. “Milan hardly had any input in the creation of the poster,” informs Durieux. “They trusted me completely and they knew that it is the way I work,...
Left to his own devices, Durieux was able to showcase a unique, personal perspective of the film without being constricted by the label or design teams. “Milan hardly had any input in the creation of the poster,” informs Durieux. “They trusted me completely and they knew that it is the way I work,...
- 10/17/2017
- by Sam Hart
- DailyDead
Ever since the recent release of It, people have been going nuts over Pennywise merchandise like never before. After the 1990 version the merchandise was there but it wasn’t nearly as widespread as it is now. In fact throughout the last twenty years Pennywise has still been a part of pop culture, but now with the remake the items have been just flying off of the shelves as people have fully embraced the interest that It has renewed in the maniacal clown that sparked off the film. There are so many different Pennywise products out there that the list below
Five Pennywise Products Floating Around Amazon Worth Taking a Look At...
Five Pennywise Products Floating Around Amazon Worth Taking a Look At...
- 10/4/2017
- by Wake
- TVovermind.com
By Cooper Peltz
Taking a look at every time a director has used Barry White's Never, Never Gonna Give Ya Up in film history.
The article Never Gonna Give You Up: A Look at Barry White’s Banger in Film appeared first on Film School Rejects.
Taking a look at every time a director has used Barry White's Never, Never Gonna Give Ya Up in film history.
The article Never Gonna Give You Up: A Look at Barry White’s Banger in Film appeared first on Film School Rejects.
- 9/12/2017
- by Cooper Peltz
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
Taylor Swift dropped "...Ready for It" over the weekend, much to her fans' surprise and great interest. You see, not only was the song another look inside the "new Taylor's" upcoming album Reputation, but it also addressed a love interest...and you know we can't help but try to figure out who her muse might be. Taking a look at the song's lyrics, Swifties came up with the two biggest possibilities: Swift's new boyfriend, Joe Alwyn, or her ex, Harry Styles. Let's take a look at some of the arguments for both: Joe Alwyn One verse reads, "Some, Some, Some boys are trying too hard / He don't try at all though / Younger than my exes...
- 9/5/2017
- E! Online
The Badlands can be a very dangerous place nowadays.
Rhys Coiro stars in this intense thriller Valley of Bones about a paleontologist discovering a T-rex bone in the Badlands of North Dakota. She enlists the help of a recovering meth addict, but eventually their shady pasts caught up with them.
The film also stars Autumn Reeser, Steven Molony, Mason Mahay, Alexandra Billings, Bill Smitrovich and Mark Margolis. It is directed by Dan Glaser.
Lrm got a chance to sit-down to speak with Rhys Coiro one-on-one in Los Angeles about his role in Valley of Bones. He plays the brother to Autumn Reeser’s character in the film. It was a refreshing role, in which he was known playing bad boys or bad guys for most of his career. He also discussed about North Dakota film production, which is a rarity for any films to be produced there due to distance,...
Rhys Coiro stars in this intense thriller Valley of Bones about a paleontologist discovering a T-rex bone in the Badlands of North Dakota. She enlists the help of a recovering meth addict, but eventually their shady pasts caught up with them.
The film also stars Autumn Reeser, Steven Molony, Mason Mahay, Alexandra Billings, Bill Smitrovich and Mark Margolis. It is directed by Dan Glaser.
Lrm got a chance to sit-down to speak with Rhys Coiro one-on-one in Los Angeles about his role in Valley of Bones. He plays the brother to Autumn Reeser’s character in the film. It was a refreshing role, in which he was known playing bad boys or bad guys for most of his career. He also discussed about North Dakota film production, which is a rarity for any films to be produced there due to distance,...
- 8/30/2017
- by Gig Patta
- LRMonline.com
Earlier this month, I had the great pleasure to head over to Pixar Animation Studios, where they’re hard at work finishing up their next feature film, Coco. Of course, as with most of their films, Pixar likes to push themselves in new and exciting directions. With Toy Story, they pioneered the computer animation technology, with A Bug’s Life, they brought more organic forms to life, and with Monster’s Inc, they pushed the envelope in terms of the different types of creatures they brought to the screen. With almost every film, you can seem the stretch themselves more and more as a creative entity.
This is a tradition that continues with Coco. For those who don’t know, Coco is their latest movie that will take audiences into Mexico and explore the holiday that is Día de los Muertos — or Day of the Dead. This will be Pixar...
This is a tradition that continues with Coco. For those who don’t know, Coco is their latest movie that will take audiences into Mexico and explore the holiday that is Día de los Muertos — or Day of the Dead. This will be Pixar...
- 8/28/2017
- by Joseph Medina
- LRMonline.com
Everyone loves the Grinch, right? Dr. Seuss’ 1957 children’s book How the Grinch Stole Christmas, famously adapted into a 1966 animated film, is a stone cold holiday classic. Even the 2000 live-action adaptation starring Jim Carrey as the green grouch has aged surprisingly well, and is a strikingly strange and ambitious Christmas movie. But, we’ve had 17 Grinchless years since, so Universal has decided to remedy that with The Grinch.
Apart from the title character being voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch, we don’t really know too much about what the studio has in store for us here. What little we can tell you, however, comes courtesy of Illumination Entertainment CEO Chris Meledandri, who spoke to Deadline in April 2016, when he laid out how they’re differentiating themselves from previous adaptations:
“I think that the essence of this film is the notion of this cynicism comedically expressed in the Grinch and this absolute innocence represented in Cindy Lou,...
Apart from the title character being voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch, we don’t really know too much about what the studio has in store for us here. What little we can tell you, however, comes courtesy of Illumination Entertainment CEO Chris Meledandri, who spoke to Deadline in April 2016, when he laid out how they’re differentiating themselves from previous adaptations:
“I think that the essence of this film is the notion of this cynicism comedically expressed in the Grinch and this absolute innocence represented in Cindy Lou,...
- 5/26/2017
- by David James
- We Got This Covered
Despite where your allegiances lie, you can’t deny that Marvel and DC have made some pretty awesome casting choices over the years. From Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man to Gal Gadot as Diana Prince/Wonder Woman, there have been some terrific actors in major roles in superhero films.
With the good, however, there’s also been some bad, as several casting decisions have left a lot to be desired. Sometimes, the role was too small for the caliber of performer, while in other instances, the actor was just plain wrong for the part. Either way, many talented individuals have been wasted when they shouldn’t have.
Taking a look back at the super-powered blockbusters, I’ve identified 10 actors whom I believe were cast as the wrong characters in superhero films. Naturally, these selections are open for debate, so don’t be shy about letting me know...
With the good, however, there’s also been some bad, as several casting decisions have left a lot to be desired. Sometimes, the role was too small for the caliber of performer, while in other instances, the actor was just plain wrong for the part. Either way, many talented individuals have been wasted when they shouldn’t have.
Taking a look back at the super-powered blockbusters, I’ve identified 10 actors whom I believe were cast as the wrong characters in superhero films. Naturally, these selections are open for debate, so don’t be shy about letting me know...
- 4/23/2017
- by Sergio Pereira
- We Got This Covered
Suraj Sharma began his journey in the world of making movies with the critically acclaimed and Oscar nominated film Life of Pi, directed by Ang Lee. The young actor’s first role was very challenging not only in the character he had to potray, but the fact that much of his role was filmed in front of a green screen with a CGI tiger. He excelled and won rave reviews. Originally from India, Sharma has been looking for an Indian film to do and finally found it in Anushka Sharma’s Phillauri.
Set in Punjab, Phillauri is about an Nri Punjabi boy named Kanan (played by Suraj Sharma) who returns to India to get married to his childhood sweetheart. As luck would have it, his horoscope reads that he is a Manglik and that he needs to marry a tree before he can marry Anu (played by Mehreen Pirzada) to...
Set in Punjab, Phillauri is about an Nri Punjabi boy named Kanan (played by Suraj Sharma) who returns to India to get married to his childhood sweetheart. As luck would have it, his horoscope reads that he is a Manglik and that he needs to marry a tree before he can marry Anu (played by Mehreen Pirzada) to...
- 3/24/2017
- by Stacey Yount
- Bollyspice
Taking a look at the French director’s fascinating filmography.
One of the biggest films of 2016, La La Land, owes a thing or two to French director Jacques Demy. The bright, colorful musical visually mirrors Demy’s The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964) and The Young Girls of Rochefort (1967), and director Damien Chazelle was able to capture something of the melancholic sweetness of Demy’s musicals. Demy is not one of the most famous French directors, however his films have a specific charm and intelligence that no other filmmaker could match. The way he blended Hollywood style with French culture was unlike any other filmmaker at the time.
Demy began his career in 1960s France, during the time of the “Nouvelle Vague” or French New Wave. This was the time of films such as Breathless, Jules and Jim, The 400 Blows, and Le Beau Serge. However, Demy lies a little bit outside of this group of filmmakers, and...
One of the biggest films of 2016, La La Land, owes a thing or two to French director Jacques Demy. The bright, colorful musical visually mirrors Demy’s The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964) and The Young Girls of Rochefort (1967), and director Damien Chazelle was able to capture something of the melancholic sweetness of Demy’s musicals. Demy is not one of the most famous French directors, however his films have a specific charm and intelligence that no other filmmaker could match. The way he blended Hollywood style with French culture was unlike any other filmmaker at the time.
Demy began his career in 1960s France, during the time of the “Nouvelle Vague” or French New Wave. This was the time of films such as Breathless, Jules and Jim, The 400 Blows, and Le Beau Serge. However, Demy lies a little bit outside of this group of filmmakers, and...
- 3/20/2017
- by Angela Morrison
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
Michael Reed Mar 24, 2017
Examining some of the key turning points in the Star Trek series, with the projects that never quite made it to the screen...
“History is replete with turning points. You must have faith.” - Spock
See related Broadchurch series 3 episode 4 review Broadchurch series 3 episode 3 review Broadchurch series 3 episode 2 review Broadchurch series 3 episode 1 review
Star Trek has been with us for over 50 years in one form or another. It started in 1964 with the filming of the pilot episode of the original series, and it has continued to the present day, through films and subsequent TV series, along with other mediums such as books and video games.
We’re principally interested in the core of the franchise here, the TV series and films, and we’re going to take a look at some 'what if...' possibilities of projects that almost happened but didn’t. If you’re reading...
Examining some of the key turning points in the Star Trek series, with the projects that never quite made it to the screen...
“History is replete with turning points. You must have faith.” - Spock
See related Broadchurch series 3 episode 4 review Broadchurch series 3 episode 3 review Broadchurch series 3 episode 2 review Broadchurch series 3 episode 1 review
Star Trek has been with us for over 50 years in one form or another. It started in 1964 with the filming of the pilot episode of the original series, and it has continued to the present day, through films and subsequent TV series, along with other mediums such as books and video games.
We’re principally interested in the core of the franchise here, the TV series and films, and we’re going to take a look at some 'what if...' possibilities of projects that almost happened but didn’t. If you’re reading...
- 3/16/2017
- Den of Geek
The 89th Annual Academy Awards aired Sunday, with Jimmy Kimmel at the helm, and the star-studded show was filled with some incredibly close races and a few genuinely surprising upsets -- not to mention a slew of emotionally charged acceptance speeches.
Oh, and it was also the year that they made the most embarrassing mistake in the history of the Oscars when they announced the wrong Best Picture winner!
In honor of Hollywood's biggest night, here are a look at some of the best, worst and absolutely weirdest moments from this year's Oscars.
Photos: Oscars 2017: See the Stars at All the Parties!
The Best
Justin Timberlake Kicks Things Off on a Happy Note
Instead of starting the show with a traditional pre-taped comedy montage, the Oscars decided to let the endlessly charismatic Timberlake open the ceremony with a live, energetic performance of his Oscar-nominated song, "Can't Stop the Feeling," and it set...
Oh, and it was also the year that they made the most embarrassing mistake in the history of the Oscars when they announced the wrong Best Picture winner!
In honor of Hollywood's biggest night, here are a look at some of the best, worst and absolutely weirdest moments from this year's Oscars.
Photos: Oscars 2017: See the Stars at All the Parties!
The Best
Justin Timberlake Kicks Things Off on a Happy Note
Instead of starting the show with a traditional pre-taped comedy montage, the Oscars decided to let the endlessly charismatic Timberlake open the ceremony with a live, energetic performance of his Oscar-nominated song, "Can't Stop the Feeling," and it set...
- 2/27/2017
- Entertainment Tonight
Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling in ‘La La Land’ (Courtesy: Lionsgate)
By: Carson Blackwelder
Managing Editor
Not only is La La Land breaking records as the most-nominated musical in Oscar history but that haul of 14 nominations for its lead pair, Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling. Musicals don’t often get that much love from the Academy Awards and getting recognition in both the best actor and best actress categories is even rarer. Let’s take a look back at the history of this happening and see how Stone and Gosling’s nominations — and potential wins — are important.
Taking a look at this year’s nominations, Stone is favored to win more than Gosling is for their work in the Damien Chazelle-directed musical. Gosling is up against Casey Affleck (Manchester by the Sea), Andrew Garfield (Hacksaw Ridge), Viggo Mortensen (Captain Fantastic), and Denzel Washington (Fences) — with the latter expected to reign supreme.
By: Carson Blackwelder
Managing Editor
Not only is La La Land breaking records as the most-nominated musical in Oscar history but that haul of 14 nominations for its lead pair, Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling. Musicals don’t often get that much love from the Academy Awards and getting recognition in both the best actor and best actress categories is even rarer. Let’s take a look back at the history of this happening and see how Stone and Gosling’s nominations — and potential wins — are important.
Taking a look at this year’s nominations, Stone is favored to win more than Gosling is for their work in the Damien Chazelle-directed musical. Gosling is up against Casey Affleck (Manchester by the Sea), Andrew Garfield (Hacksaw Ridge), Viggo Mortensen (Captain Fantastic), and Denzel Washington (Fences) — with the latter expected to reign supreme.
- 2/6/2017
- by Carson Blackwelder
- Scott Feinberg
‘Deadpool’ (Courtesy: 20th Century Fox)
By: Carson Blackwelder
Managing Editor
The Oscars have never recognized a comic book film in the best picture category — but that could very easily change this year with Deadpool. The Tim Miller-directed and Ryan Reynolds-led Marvel movie was promoted to perfection, sustained hype, wowed critics, made a ton of money, and has been gaining steam throughout the entire awards season. Now, with mere days until Oscar nominations are announced, let’s see if this foul-mouthed fellow can surprise everyone and become the first superhero film to ever be nominated for best picture.
As far as precursor awards go, Deadpool has been nominated for two Golden Globe Awards (best motion picture for a comedy/musical as well as lead actor for Reynolds), a DGA Award (for Miller), a PGA Award (for Lauren Shuler Donner, Simon Kinberg, and Reynolds), and a WGA Award (for Rhett Reese...
By: Carson Blackwelder
Managing Editor
The Oscars have never recognized a comic book film in the best picture category — but that could very easily change this year with Deadpool. The Tim Miller-directed and Ryan Reynolds-led Marvel movie was promoted to perfection, sustained hype, wowed critics, made a ton of money, and has been gaining steam throughout the entire awards season. Now, with mere days until Oscar nominations are announced, let’s see if this foul-mouthed fellow can surprise everyone and become the first superhero film to ever be nominated for best picture.
As far as precursor awards go, Deadpool has been nominated for two Golden Globe Awards (best motion picture for a comedy/musical as well as lead actor for Reynolds), a DGA Award (for Miller), a PGA Award (for Lauren Shuler Donner, Simon Kinberg, and Reynolds), and a WGA Award (for Rhett Reese...
- 1/16/2017
- by Carson Blackwelder
- Scott Feinberg
By: Carson Blackwelder
Managing Editor
The greatest thing about the best foreign-language film category is the recognition of works from all around the world. Throughout the years, movies made outside the United States of America have gotten the recognition they deserve thanks to the implementation of this specific award. With the 2017 Oscars right around the corner, let’s take a look back at the distribution of nominations and wins across the seven continents that make up this big world we inhabit.
This year’s best foreign-language film contenders are: Toni Erdmann (Germany), The Salesman (Iran), Land of Mine (Denmark), A Man Called Ove (Sweden), Paradise (Russia), The King’s Choice (Norway), My Life as a Zucchini (Switzerland), It’s Only the End of the World (Canada), and Tanna (Australia). This site’s namesake, The Hollywood’s Scott Feinberg, lists the first five of those as frontrunners and the other four as major threats.
Managing Editor
The greatest thing about the best foreign-language film category is the recognition of works from all around the world. Throughout the years, movies made outside the United States of America have gotten the recognition they deserve thanks to the implementation of this specific award. With the 2017 Oscars right around the corner, let’s take a look back at the distribution of nominations and wins across the seven continents that make up this big world we inhabit.
This year’s best foreign-language film contenders are: Toni Erdmann (Germany), The Salesman (Iran), Land of Mine (Denmark), A Man Called Ove (Sweden), Paradise (Russia), The King’s Choice (Norway), My Life as a Zucchini (Switzerland), It’s Only the End of the World (Canada), and Tanna (Australia). This site’s namesake, The Hollywood’s Scott Feinberg, lists the first five of those as frontrunners and the other four as major threats.
- 1/5/2017
- by Carson Blackwelder
- Scott Feinberg
It’s been a long time between drinks for Blake Shelton — at least if we’re talking about the last time The Voice‘s winning-est coach saw one of his artists take home first prize. Indeed, you’d have to go back to Craig Wayne Boyd’s victory in Season 7 — almost two years ago — for that particular milestone.
RelatedThe Voice Season 11 Performance Finale Recap: The Sundance Also Rises
That might all change during tonight’s season finale (8/7c on NBC), as Blake’s last remaining artist, Sundance Head, holds the advantage on the iTunes charts following Monday’s performance finale.
RelatedThe Voice Season 11 Performance Finale Recap: The Sundance Also Rises
That might all change during tonight’s season finale (8/7c on NBC), as Blake’s last remaining artist, Sundance Head, holds the advantage on the iTunes charts following Monday’s performance finale.
- 12/13/2016
- TVLine.com
‘Zootopia’ and ‘Moana’ (Courtesy: Disney)
By: Carson Blackwelder
Managing Editor
This year’s best animated feature race could very easily be a Disney showdown between Zootopia and Moana — but could their box office performances dictate who takes home the title? Taking a look back the category’s history, it appears the trophy does generally go to the highest-earning animated film of the year unless, of course, that film isn’t even nominated.
Zootopia — which follows a newly-minted bunny cop and a hustler fox who work together to solve a crime in the anthropomorphic title city — came out on March 4 while Moana — which follows the headstrong daughter of a Polynesian chief on a quest to save her island — just celebrated its opening weekend. Both are considered frontrunners for best animated feature by this site’s namesake, The Hollywood Reporter’s Scott Feinberg, along with a few others.
The two Disney films...
By: Carson Blackwelder
Managing Editor
This year’s best animated feature race could very easily be a Disney showdown between Zootopia and Moana — but could their box office performances dictate who takes home the title? Taking a look back the category’s history, it appears the trophy does generally go to the highest-earning animated film of the year unless, of course, that film isn’t even nominated.
Zootopia — which follows a newly-minted bunny cop and a hustler fox who work together to solve a crime in the anthropomorphic title city — came out on March 4 while Moana — which follows the headstrong daughter of a Polynesian chief on a quest to save her island — just celebrated its opening weekend. Both are considered frontrunners for best animated feature by this site’s namesake, The Hollywood Reporter’s Scott Feinberg, along with a few others.
The two Disney films...
- 11/28/2016
- by Carson Blackwelder
- Scott Feinberg
Steve James is bringing his talents to the small screen. The “Hoop Dreams” director, a favorite of Roger Ebert long considered one of the finest working documentarians, is creating an unscripted series for Participant Media. “America to Me” will document a year at Chicago’s Oak Park and River Forest High School, a highly regarded public school dealing with racial and educational inequities.
Read More: ‘Hoop Dreams’ Director Steve James to Receive Hot Docs 2016 Outstanding Achievement Award
“Having collaborated with Steve many years ago, and continuing to follow his career, I have tremendous respect and admiration for him and his ability to tell powerful stories,” said Diane Weyermann of Participant. “It is inspiring to partner with him once again on this timely series.” James matched her enthusiasm in a statement of his own: “I am thrilled to be working with Diane and her team at Participant,” he said. “They’ve...
Read More: ‘Hoop Dreams’ Director Steve James to Receive Hot Docs 2016 Outstanding Achievement Award
“Having collaborated with Steve many years ago, and continuing to follow his career, I have tremendous respect and admiration for him and his ability to tell powerful stories,” said Diane Weyermann of Participant. “It is inspiring to partner with him once again on this timely series.” James matched her enthusiasm in a statement of his own: “I am thrilled to be working with Diane and her team at Participant,” he said. “They’ve...
- 10/18/2016
- by Michael Nordine
- Indiewire
There are probably two schools of thought out there after watching "Flashpoint."
Hardcore comics fans have to be disappointed, as there is virtually nothing, from what I understand, remaining from the printed page to grace this version. TV viewers may have enjoyed it quite a bit.
Me? After watching The Flash Season 3 Episode 1, I really don't care about the concept of "Flashpoint" one way or another, but rather enjoyed a couple of scenarios that came to light during the premiere.
View Slideshow: The Flash Photos from "Flashpoint"
Taking a look at the hour with broad strokes, the flashpoint itself was corrected much faster than I would have expected (or preferred).
I'm a sucker for alternate worlds/timelines, and there was a lot left unexplored in the timeline created by the flashpoint. We got a decent feel for Cisco, Iris and Wally, but were woefully deficient in understanding what tore Joe apart.
Hardcore comics fans have to be disappointed, as there is virtually nothing, from what I understand, remaining from the printed page to grace this version. TV viewers may have enjoyed it quite a bit.
Me? After watching The Flash Season 3 Episode 1, I really don't care about the concept of "Flashpoint" one way or another, but rather enjoyed a couple of scenarios that came to light during the premiere.
View Slideshow: The Flash Photos from "Flashpoint"
Taking a look at the hour with broad strokes, the flashpoint itself was corrected much faster than I would have expected (or preferred).
I'm a sucker for alternate worlds/timelines, and there was a lot left unexplored in the timeline created by the flashpoint. We got a decent feel for Cisco, Iris and Wally, but were woefully deficient in understanding what tore Joe apart.
- 10/5/2016
- by Carissa Pavlica
- TVfanatic
While much of Resident Evil 7 is still shrouded in mystery, Capcom has pulled back the curtain on the PC version, specifically, with the game’s system requirements. As detailed on its Steam page, minimum and recommended system specs have been added for the game, though Capcom is quick to point out that these are still subject to change, as Resident Evil 7 is still in development at this point.
Taking a look at the minimum specs, the game will run on an Intel i5-4460 or Amd FX-6300, coupled with a Nvidia Gtx 760 or Amd Radeon R7 260x, which is fairly low by today’s standards. Memory wise, 8 Gb of Ram is required, along with any modern version of Windows (7, 8, 8.1, or 10, 64-bit versions only). These minimum specs target a rendering resolution of 1080p with a framerate of 30 frames per second.
On the other hand, the recommended specs target a full 60 frames...
Taking a look at the minimum specs, the game will run on an Intel i5-4460 or Amd FX-6300, coupled with a Nvidia Gtx 760 or Amd Radeon R7 260x, which is fairly low by today’s standards. Memory wise, 8 Gb of Ram is required, along with any modern version of Windows (7, 8, 8.1, or 10, 64-bit versions only). These minimum specs target a rendering resolution of 1080p with a framerate of 30 frames per second.
On the other hand, the recommended specs target a full 60 frames...
- 9/23/2016
- by Shaan Joshi
- We Got This Covered
“I could be kinder to my body,” Jeff Bridges tells Rolling Stone about his fitness regime. “As an actor, a role can be a great excuse not to be in shape. I mean, you wouldn’t want to see the Dude with a six-pack, so you eat that Häagen-Dazs. My weight goes up and down.”
Bridges is one of those actors who you’ve seen in some of Hollywood classics like “The Big Lebowski,” “Crazy Heart” and “True Grit.” Currently, he can be seen in the critically acclaimed drama “Hell or Highwater,” where he portrays an almost-retired marshal who tracks down a pair of bank robbers (Chris Pine and Ben Foster).
The actor has had a long career as a movie star, and with it, his fair share of box office hits and misses – something that he doesn’t take personally. In a new interview with the publication, Bridges shared...
Bridges is one of those actors who you’ve seen in some of Hollywood classics like “The Big Lebowski,” “Crazy Heart” and “True Grit.” Currently, he can be seen in the critically acclaimed drama “Hell or Highwater,” where he portrays an almost-retired marshal who tracks down a pair of bank robbers (Chris Pine and Ben Foster).
The actor has had a long career as a movie star, and with it, his fair share of box office hits and misses – something that he doesn’t take personally. In a new interview with the publication, Bridges shared...
- 8/27/2016
- by Liz Calvario
- Indiewire
Taking a look through Guy Ritchie’s back catalogue, you’ll be hard pressed to find a better example of the director’s cheeky, chaotic style than Snatch, the movie that gave us Brad Pitt as barely understandable gypsy and Alan Ford’s memorable crime boss Brick Top. Now, Snatch is following in the footsteps of Lethal Weapon, From Dusk Till Dawn, and Fargo, making the jump to t.v. with streaming service Crackle commissioning a new series based on the hit movie. The series will premiere it first series, made of ten one hour episodes, in 2017, and the synopsis promises a new story that will skew close to the source material: Inspired by a real life heist in London, Snatch centers on a group of twenty-something, up and coming hustlers who stumble upon a truck load of stolen gold bullion and are suddenly thrust into the high-stakes world of organized crime.
- 8/24/2016
- by noreply@blogger.com (Tom White)
- www.themoviebit.com
The Critics’ Choice Awards are getting real. The popular annual event show is branching off, thanks to a brand-new awards ceremony that will focus on the year’s best achievements in documentary features and non-fiction television, appropriately branded as the Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards.
The Critics’ Choice Awards previously awarded documentary-facing awards, including Best Documentary Feature and Best Unstructured Reality Show, as part of its annual awards show.
Read More: What the Critics’ Choice Awards Can and Cannot Tell Us About the Emmy Race
The inaugural event will take place on Thursday, November 3 in Brooklyn, New York and feature awards in the following categories:
Best Documentary Feature Film (Theatrical Premiere) Best Documentary Feature (Television Premiere) Best Director of a Documentary Best First Documentary Feature Best Music Documentary Best Sports Documentary Most Compelling Living Subject of a Documentary Best Limited Documentary Series for Television Best Ongoing Documentary Series for Television Best...
The Critics’ Choice Awards previously awarded documentary-facing awards, including Best Documentary Feature and Best Unstructured Reality Show, as part of its annual awards show.
Read More: What the Critics’ Choice Awards Can and Cannot Tell Us About the Emmy Race
The inaugural event will take place on Thursday, November 3 in Brooklyn, New York and feature awards in the following categories:
Best Documentary Feature Film (Theatrical Premiere) Best Documentary Feature (Television Premiere) Best Director of a Documentary Best First Documentary Feature Best Music Documentary Best Sports Documentary Most Compelling Living Subject of a Documentary Best Limited Documentary Series for Television Best Ongoing Documentary Series for Television Best...
- 8/1/2016
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
“I feel manipulated by you,” a viewer states to Danish filmmaker Lars von Trier, “how do you feel about that?” Without pause, the director answers, “I feel wonderful.” This is a perfectly succinct summary of his provocative nature, from a man who is a self-proclaimed “manipulator,” and one that is explored extensively in a new video essay by Lewis Bond. Taking a look at all of Von Trier’s filmography, the essay delves into the provocateur’s breaking of traditional cinematic norms with an avant garde approach — through digressions, editing, and other techniques — and how von Trier subscribes to the philosophy that if an artist has some limits, an entirely new type of artistic freedom can be achieved.
Of particular interest is Bond’s insistence that the Melancholia director takes relatable aspects of the human condition and “elevates them to almost metaphysical levels,” which is a wonderful summary of his’s style.
Of particular interest is Bond’s insistence that the Melancholia director takes relatable aspects of the human condition and “elevates them to almost metaphysical levels,” which is a wonderful summary of his’s style.
- 7/26/2016
- by Mike Mazzanti
- The Film Stage
A day after a new poster for “Wonder Woman” was released, the exhilarating first trailer for the superhero film, starring Gal Gadot, was shown by Warner Bros. during Saturday’s Comic-Con celebration.
The trailer is striking, with Diana, princess of the Amazons, being a total badass and independent woman. The first shot sees Wonder Woman finding Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) unconscious on the beach. Taking a look at her home and her mother Queen Hippolyta (Connie Nielsen), the scenes are breathtaking. We then see Trevor and Diana embark on a journey when he tells her about a massive conflict in the outside world. Hoping that she can stop the threat, she fights alongside men and discovers her full power and her true destiny.
Read More: ‘Wonder Woman’: Gal Gadot Shares Striking First Poster For Comic-Con 2016
The almost three-minute video has incredible action sequences, dark tones and the cinematography is amazing.
The trailer is striking, with Diana, princess of the Amazons, being a total badass and independent woman. The first shot sees Wonder Woman finding Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) unconscious on the beach. Taking a look at her home and her mother Queen Hippolyta (Connie Nielsen), the scenes are breathtaking. We then see Trevor and Diana embark on a journey when he tells her about a massive conflict in the outside world. Hoping that she can stop the threat, she fights alongside men and discovers her full power and her true destiny.
Read More: ‘Wonder Woman’: Gal Gadot Shares Striking First Poster For Comic-Con 2016
The almost three-minute video has incredible action sequences, dark tones and the cinematography is amazing.
- 7/23/2016
- by Liz Calvario
- Indiewire
The general assumption when it comes to critical consensus and box office success is simple: negative reviews hurt independent films more than they hurt blockbuster tentpoles. Reason being, if a kid (or lets face it, adult) wants to see Action Man Smash Crush, the pouty review in the Friday paper warding them away with cries of contrivances and retina-searing bombast won’t stop them. Yet, for an indie trying to make a name for itself with the trailer featuring leaf-embroiled festival banners and that song you haven’t heard, they need all the help they can get. Thus, year after year we see some of the most poorly-received blockbusters still manage to be amongst the highest-grossing.
However, a recent study conducted by a Reddit user (with a tip of the hat to ScreenCrush) suggests that this general assumption may be as unequivocally fabricated as that visual effects creation socking that...
However, a recent study conducted by a Reddit user (with a tip of the hat to ScreenCrush) suggests that this general assumption may be as unequivocally fabricated as that visual effects creation socking that...
- 6/28/2016
- by Mike Mazzanti
- The Film Stage
'
As February comes to a close we are looking at DC and Marvel lead into March going into two different directions. Marvel will begin to ramp up its first crossover storyline this year with Civil War 2. DC will begin its last prints of all its major titles before it goes into Rebirth. Taking a look at all the new releases this week I listed the five comics I am looking forward too. Let us know in the comic section if there is a comic you are picking up this week.
Venom: Space Knight (2015) #4
Guardian Becomes Gladiator! Venom finally meets some aliens who don’t need his help! They just want him to Fight ‘til he Bleeds in their Combat Arena!!! And in a turn of similar luck, the notorious, vicious Pik Rollo finally catches up to Venom and 803.
Writer: Robbie Thompson
The Flash #49
On the run from a...
As February comes to a close we are looking at DC and Marvel lead into March going into two different directions. Marvel will begin to ramp up its first crossover storyline this year with Civil War 2. DC will begin its last prints of all its major titles before it goes into Rebirth. Taking a look at all the new releases this week I listed the five comics I am looking forward too. Let us know in the comic section if there is a comic you are picking up this week.
Venom: Space Knight (2015) #4
Guardian Becomes Gladiator! Venom finally meets some aliens who don’t need his help! They just want him to Fight ‘til he Bleeds in their Combat Arena!!! And in a turn of similar luck, the notorious, vicious Pik Rollo finally catches up to Venom and 803.
Writer: Robbie Thompson
The Flash #49
On the run from a...
- 2/23/2016
- by Michael Connally
- LRMonline.com
One of the things we love so much about Breaking Bad is not only the fact that it’s one of the best shows ever, but that it’s still being talked about today. Fans are still coming up with deep, dark theories about the show and it’s literally endless. As Better Call Saul gets set to air season 2’s premiere tonight, we can’t help but wonder if Vince Gilligan’s newest baby will create the same ripple effect. Everyone is already wondering how long it’s going to take for Breaking Bad characters to enter the mix and it’s just a matter of
Two Better Call Saul Fan Theories Worth Taking a Look At...
Two Better Call Saul Fan Theories Worth Taking a Look At...
- 2/15/2016
- by Nat Berman
- TVovermind.com
By Patrick Shanley
Managing Editor
This year’s Oscar race features many familiar faces, such as last year’s best director Alejandro G. Inarritu or last year’s best actor Eddie Redmayne, both of whom are repeat nominees in the same category.
However, what may surprise many is the number of big names behind many of this year’s nominees.
Taking a look at some of this year’s executive producers (people not necessarily involved in the making of a film but helped to finance the production), a number of names that may be surprising were hard at work behind the scenes.
Paul Allen, who co-founded Microsoft alongside Bill Gates, owns the Seattle Seahawks and Portland Trailblazers, and is estimated to be the 51st richest man in the world, had a hand in producing one of this year’s best documentary short nominees, Body Team 12, about a team tasked...
Managing Editor
This year’s Oscar race features many familiar faces, such as last year’s best director Alejandro G. Inarritu or last year’s best actor Eddie Redmayne, both of whom are repeat nominees in the same category.
However, what may surprise many is the number of big names behind many of this year’s nominees.
Taking a look at some of this year’s executive producers (people not necessarily involved in the making of a film but helped to finance the production), a number of names that may be surprising were hard at work behind the scenes.
Paul Allen, who co-founded Microsoft alongside Bill Gates, owns the Seattle Seahawks and Portland Trailblazers, and is estimated to be the 51st richest man in the world, had a hand in producing one of this year’s best documentary short nominees, Body Team 12, about a team tasked...
- 2/3/2016
- by Patrick Shanley
- Scott Feinberg
With the lack of diversity in this year's Academy Award nominations, the film industry is yet again discussing the issue as a cause for improvement. Most prominently, this failure has now been noticed by one key member of the Academy . and she intends to do something to try and remedy the situation. In an official statement, reported by The Wrap, Academy president Cheryl Boone Issacs made the following remarks which directly addressed the issue: I am both heartbroken and frustrated about the lack of inclusion. This is a difficult but important conversation, and it.s time for big changes. The Academy is taking dramatic steps to alter the makeup of our membership. In the coming days and weeks we will conduct a review of our membership recruitment in order to bring about much-needed diversity in our 2016 class and beyond. Taking a look at the films that were nominated this year,...
- 1/19/2016
- cinemablend.com
The Writers Guild of America has just announced the nominations for their annual awards for Best Screenplays (by writers who are guild signatories). That’s right, before you get nervous thinking that your favorite may have been left off the list, you must remember that the WGA is the group that is not all-inclusive and leaves out several of the top contenders each year due to them not being part of the guild or not following their very specific rules. For this reason, you won’t see Inside Out, The Hateful Eight, and Ex Machina in the Original Screenplay category or Room, Brooklyn, or Anomalisa in the Adapted screenplay category.
Taking a look at what’s left over for the nominations, we find many that were expected to make a showing, including Spotlight and Bridge of Spies for Original Screenplay, though they apparently had to sink to really low depths...
Taking a look at what’s left over for the nominations, we find many that were expected to make a showing, including Spotlight and Bridge of Spies for Original Screenplay, though they apparently had to sink to really low depths...
- 1/6/2016
- by Jeff Beck
- We Got This Covered
Wikipedia
Picture a science lab and visions of high-tech equipment, polished surfaces and people in lab coats probably floated through your mind.
The reality, however, is a little different.
Sure, scientists get to play with super swish toys like lasers and space rockets (that’s the technical term), but sometimes the low-tech option can be the best. Not to mention that this then saves more money to spend on super-swish space rockets.
Taking a look at the everyday objects that scientists have MacGyvered into the service of science makes you realise the sheer ingenuity and creativity required to solve the biggest (and the smallest) mysteries in of the universe.
With everything from candy floss to cat litter to breakfast cereal being put to work in the lab for some really amazing work, it just goes to show that the humblest of things can be incredibly important.
7. Candy Floss: Artificial Blood...
Picture a science lab and visions of high-tech equipment, polished surfaces and people in lab coats probably floated through your mind.
The reality, however, is a little different.
Sure, scientists get to play with super swish toys like lasers and space rockets (that’s the technical term), but sometimes the low-tech option can be the best. Not to mention that this then saves more money to spend on super-swish space rockets.
Taking a look at the everyday objects that scientists have MacGyvered into the service of science makes you realise the sheer ingenuity and creativity required to solve the biggest (and the smallest) mysteries in of the universe.
With everything from candy floss to cat litter to breakfast cereal being put to work in the lab for some really amazing work, it just goes to show that the humblest of things can be incredibly important.
7. Candy Floss: Artificial Blood...
- 12/20/2015
- by Stevie Shephard
- Obsessed with Film
David Azia/AP
Richard Madden may be best known for his television run as Robb Stark on the massively popular, Game Of Thrones but he’s been a busy man well before and ever since he stepped into his most recognizable role as the eldest Stark sibling.
Robb may have met a grisly end but Madden doesn’t seem to be going anywhere, anytime soon. Although he maintains that he can still take the tube relatively incognito – albeit while making a cameo appearance on the blog Men Taking Up Too Much Space On The Train – that might not be the case for long. Having played the iconic Prince Charming in the recent highly anticipated live action version of Cinderella, and with several upcoming roles lined up, his days of moving the streets unnoticed may be coming to an end sooner than he thinks.
Taking a look back through Madden’s...
Richard Madden may be best known for his television run as Robb Stark on the massively popular, Game Of Thrones but he’s been a busy man well before and ever since he stepped into his most recognizable role as the eldest Stark sibling.
Robb may have met a grisly end but Madden doesn’t seem to be going anywhere, anytime soon. Although he maintains that he can still take the tube relatively incognito – albeit while making a cameo appearance on the blog Men Taking Up Too Much Space On The Train – that might not be the case for long. Having played the iconic Prince Charming in the recent highly anticipated live action version of Cinderella, and with several upcoming roles lined up, his days of moving the streets unnoticed may be coming to an end sooner than he thinks.
Taking a look back through Madden’s...
- 8/10/2015
- by Alaina Urquhart-White
- Obsessed with Film
Chinese online giant Alibaba Group will launch a Netflix-style video streaming service in about two months, Reuters reported Sunday from Shanghai where the city’s film festival began this weekend. The streaming service will be called Tbo, or Tmall Box Office and will offer in-house productions in addition to content from within China and imported from other countries, Alibaba’s head of digital entertainment Patrick Liu said. Taking a look at the Chinese online market…...
- 6/14/2015
- Deadline TV
Chinese online giant Alibaba Group will launch a Netflix-style video streaming service in about two months, Reuters reported Sunday from Shanghai where the city’s film festival began this weekend. The streaming service will be called Tbo, or Tmall Box Office and will offer in-house productions in addition to content from within China and imported from other countries, Alibaba’s head of digital entertainment Patrick Liu said. Taking a look at the Chinese online market…...
- 6/14/2015
- Deadline
While the name Gabriel Figueroa may not be a familiar one to many, even those with a stronger affinity for filmmaking and the art behind it, New York’s own Film Forum is hoping to change that.
On June 5, the theater began a career spanning retrospective surrounding the work of iconic cinematographer and Mexican film industry legend Gabriel Figueroa. Taking a look at 19 of the photographer’s films, the series is running in conjunction with the new exhibition at El Museo del Barrio, entitled Under The Mexican Sky: Gabriel Figueroa – Art And Film.
Best known as a pioneer of Mexican cinema, primarily with his work alongside director Emilio Fernandez, Figueroa’s work was as varied as they come. His work with Fernandez is without a doubt this retrospective’s highlight, particularly films like Wildflower. One of the many times Mexican cinema’s “Big Four” worked together, the film saw the...
On June 5, the theater began a career spanning retrospective surrounding the work of iconic cinematographer and Mexican film industry legend Gabriel Figueroa. Taking a look at 19 of the photographer’s films, the series is running in conjunction with the new exhibition at El Museo del Barrio, entitled Under The Mexican Sky: Gabriel Figueroa – Art And Film.
Best known as a pioneer of Mexican cinema, primarily with his work alongside director Emilio Fernandez, Figueroa’s work was as varied as they come. His work with Fernandez is without a doubt this retrospective’s highlight, particularly films like Wildflower. One of the many times Mexican cinema’s “Big Four” worked together, the film saw the...
- 6/9/2015
- by Joshua Brunsting
- CriterionCast
David Oyelowo is one black actor who's been able to keep himself constantly employed, despite the well-publicized struggles of other black actors over the years. Since I was first introduced to his work in the 2006 drama "Shoot the Messenger," he's appeared in numerous projects, often more than a few each year, on both sides of the pond. Taking a look at his slate, he's clearly an actor in demand, while also producing work for himself, not relying solely on the "kindness of others" to ensure that he's always working. Last month, HBO Films picked up the indie drama feature "Nightingale," which stars Oyelowo, and set its premiere for May 29,...
- 5/20/2015
- by Tambay A. Obenson
- ShadowAndAct
David Oyelowo is one black actor who's been able to keep himself constantly employed, despite the well-publicized struggles of other black actors over the years. Since I was first introduced to his work in the 2006 drama "Shoot the Messenger," he's appeared in numerous projects, often more than a few each year, on both sides of the pond. Taking a look at his slate, he's clearly an actor in demand, while also producing work for himself, not relying solely on the "kindness of others" to ensure that he's always working. Last month, HBO Films picked up the indie drama feature "Nightingale," which stars Oyelowo, and set its premiere for May 29,...
- 5/18/2015
- by Tambay A. Obenson
- ShadowAndAct
While it would be easy to dismiss Sony's aggressive plans to expand the "Ghostbusters" franchise, it's worth noting that Paul Feig, who will get out of the gate first with the upcoming female driven entry, was hesitant at first about taking it on. “I just couldn’t get my head around it,” he admitted to Variety, but when he struck upon switching up genders, inspiration hit. “I know how to do that movie, and I know all these funny women.” But no franchise expansion comes without risk and cost, and Feig's movie will definitely have both. Taking a look at Sony, now operating under the leadership of ex-Fox honcho Tom Rothman and following the departure of Amy Pascal, THR reveals that this "Ghostbusters" will have quite a price tag: $154 million. And that's after Feig tweaked the script for budget conscious Rothman, allowing the cost to be scaled back from an initial $169 million.
- 4/20/2015
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
Bollywood actresses surely know how to turn the heads with their splendid myriad avatars! From saris to short dresses, these divas can simply make you crazy in any outfit. So how can we not be stunned if they flash their innerwear. Taking a look at 7 Bollywood hotties who were snapped flaunting underclothing:
Deepika Padukone:
The dimply beauty flashes her innerwear with a grin!
Sonam Kapoor:
Her polka dots only add elegance!
Sridevi:
While the hawa hawai lady shies away!
Priyanka Chopra:
Piggy Chops poses pretty!
Kalki Koechlin:
Glittering Kalki simply astonishes as she flaunts her underclothing
Parineeti Chopra:
She indeed grabs the eyeballs donning that see-through Tee!
Alia Bhatt:
Alia catches attention as she flashes her innerwear!
Deepika Padukone:
The dimply beauty flashes her innerwear with a grin!
Sonam Kapoor:
Her polka dots only add elegance!
Sridevi:
While the hawa hawai lady shies away!
Priyanka Chopra:
Piggy Chops poses pretty!
Kalki Koechlin:
Glittering Kalki simply astonishes as she flaunts her underclothing
Parineeti Chopra:
She indeed grabs the eyeballs donning that see-through Tee!
Alia Bhatt:
Alia catches attention as she flashes her innerwear!
- 4/1/2015
- GlamSham
In the political discourse, when a country addresses another, whether in positive or negative terms, such statements often fail to differentiate between said country’s government and its people, between the government’s policies and the people’s unheard sentiment towards these.
While useful in the theoretical realm in which politics take place, these generalizations create a distorted image of the foreign nation fed by assumptions and dangerously insensitive stereotypes. It’s much easier for rulers to justify their actions if the adversary is made out to look like an irredeemable villain. Sensationalism and ignorance are weapons far more destructive than missiles, because once the smoke dissipates hatred remains.
On that note, it should be clear that the Iranian people are not the Iranian government. Their rich cultural history is not reflected in the actions of those in power, but in the prevailing elegance and allure of their artwork. Remarkable poets, musicians, painters, and, what we are mostly concerned with here, filmmakers.
The history of Iranian cinema is vast and has survived the many transitions and troubling periods the country has experienced. Even more impressive is the fact that as masterfully as Iranian filmmakers and actors understand the medium, they have never watered down their individuality for the sake of mainstream international success. Instead, they’ve managed to create their unique cinematic language that aligns with their idiosyncrasies and that is not silenced despite the hardships they face, but finds a way around censorship or defies it altogether.
Certainly not a definitive list, the following collection of films aims to be an introduction to the compelling and diverse voices within this captivating national cinema and to encourage you to seek out other films in the future. There are films here that are concerned with rural and working class lifestyles, others that focus on the traditions of ethnic minorities, those that deal with the modern middle class, and also several works denouncing the country’s political situation and the oppression that comes with it.
There are also some films that are note worthy even if they don’t easily fit within the parameters of what an Iranian film is.
Special Mentions:
-Iranian-American director Ana Lily Amirpour and her outstanding Farsi-language debut “A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night,” a visually striking vampire story set in a fictional Iranian town.
-American filmmaker Till Schauder and his documentary “The Iran Job,” which follows Kevin Sheppard, an American professional basketball player in Iran, and uses his experience to build cultural bridges between the two countries.
-Farhadi’s “The Past,” which though is not precisely an Iranian story, continues to show the director’s specific talent for greatly written, puzzling narratives both in his home country and abroad.
-Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud's “Chicken with Plums,” a gorgeously whimsical and darkly comedic love story set in pre-revolutionary Tehran starring Mathieu Amalric.
Lastly, in honor of Nowruz or Persian New Year, which is a peaceful celebration of renewal and rebirth that takes place from March 20-24 in Iran and Iranian communities around the world, let’s remember the deeply moving and wise words that Asghar Farhadi gifted us during his acceptance speech on Oscar night a few years back. No one could have said it better than him.
“At this time many Iranians all over the world are watching us, and I imagine them to be very happy. They are happy not just because of an important award, or a film, or a filmmaker, but because at a time in which talk of war, intimidation, and aggression is exchanged between politicians, the name of their country, Iran, is spoken here through her glorious culture, a rich and ancient culture that has been hidden under the heavy dust of politics. I proudly offer this award to the people of my country, a people that respect all cultures and civilizations and despise hostility and resentment. Thank you so much.” –Director Asghar Farhadi after winning the Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award for “A Separation” on February 26, 2012
1. "About Elly" (2009)
Dir. Asghar Farhadi
In Farhadi's tense psychological drama a casual trip to the sea evolves into a subtly plotted mystery. The director's depiction of the Iranian middle class in such a fascinatingly unexpected story connected with both local and international audiences earning him awards at home and abroad, among them Berlin's Silver Bear.
*The Cinema Guild will release the film theatrically on April 17, 2015
2. "Baran" (2001)
Dir. Majid Majidi
Taking a look at the diverse ethnic groups that coexist in Iran, the film follows a love story between a man and a young Afghan woman who must pretend to be a man in order to work. Eliciting truly naturalistic performance from his cast Majidi gives voice to his almost silent protagonist, a woman caught up in a system designed by men.
*Available on Netflix Instant Watch
3. "Children of Heaven" (1997)
Dir. Majid Majidi
Iran's first ever Academy Award nominated film is also Majidi's most renowned work. Innocence permeates this sweet story about two siblings from a working class family trying to find a pair of missing shoes. Their adventure delivers valuable life lessons that are at once heartwarming and profound. Unquestionably a classic.
*Available on Netflix Instant Watch and on DVD from Lionsgate
4. "Closed Curtain" (2013)
Dir. Jafar Panahi & Kambuzia Partovi
In this enigmatic observation on repression and surveillance an anonymous screenwriter, played by co-director Kambuzia Partovi, hides with his dog in a secluded location. Eventually, as other surprising characters appear, the film becomes a complex dance between reality and fabrication. Both filmmakers had their passports confiscated by the Iranian government due to the subversive content of the film.
*Available on Amazon Instant Video
5. "Close-Up" (1990)
Dir. Abbas Kiarostami
In one of the greatest examples of reality and fiction blending in almost seamless ways, Abbas Kiarostami's masterwork poses complex questions about identity. When a film buff impersonates his favorite director, who happens to Mohsen Makhmalbaf , a series of events unravel as he plans his next, fake, film. Surreally enough the film is based on a true story and stars the actual people involved. It's all brilliantly meta.
*Available on Blu-ray & DVD from Criterion
6. "The Color of Paradise" (1999)
Dir. Majid Majidi
Though rejected by his father, a young blind boy rejoices in nature’s beauty and tries to understand the meaning of his struggles with the help of a mentor with the same condition. Showcasing Iran’s visually stunning rural landscapes and delicately embedding with philosophical concerns, Majidi’s poetic film delivers wisdom in wondrously unassuming ways.
*Available on DVD from Sony Pictures Classics
7. "The Cow" (1969)
Dir. Dariush Mehrjui
Considered a turning point in the nation’s cinematic history, this black-and-white work revolves around a man’s devotion for his cow and how its disappearance drives him into madness. While seemingly simple in its conception, Mehrjui manages to compellingly highlight the country’s traditional lifestyles.
*Available on DVD from First Run Features
8. "Fireworks Wednesday" (2006)
Dir. Asghar Farhadi
Intimate conflicts in the Iranian middle class are Farhadi’s expertise and this domestic drama, set fittingly during the celebrations prior to the Persian New Year, is no exception. When a soon-to-be bride in need of money for her wedding gets a job cleaning a family’s house, their secrets begin to unravel through their interaction and confrontations.
*Available on DVD from Facets
9. "Gabbeh" (1996)
Dir. Mohsen Makhmalbaf
Taking its name from a type of Persian carpet, this stunningly evocative fable is adorned with mysticism and magical realist elements that shine through its colorful visual palette. Gabbeh, a young nomadic woman who is likely the incarnation of one of these traditional rugs, falls in love with horseman, but her community follows beliefs that hinder her desire.
*Available on DVD from New Yorker Video
10. "The Green Wave" (2010)
Dir. Ali Samadi Ahadi
Told through striking animated sequences, interviews and footage from the protests, this documentary constructs a bold portrait of the 2009 Green Movement following Ahmadinejad’s reelection. The regime's strong grip over its citizens is exposed, but the spirit of the Iranian people demanding change is even stronger.
*Available on DVD from Strand Releasing
11. "Hamoun" (1990)
Dir. Dariush Mehrjui
Underscored by subdued comedy and poignant dream sequences, Mehrjui’s visionary drama centers on the decaying relationship between Hamoun, a businessman with hopes of becoming a writer, and his wife Mahshid, a painter. Insanity takes over him when she decides to divorce him because of his angry outbursts. A series of drastic occurrences ensue.
*Available on DVD from First Run Features
12. "Kandahar" (2001)
Dir. Mohsen Makhmalbaf
Despite being set in Afghanistan, this Iranian production is a powerful achievement that unveils the unjust treatment of women, not only under the Taliban’s control, but also in the entire region. Nafas, an Afghan women living in Canada, decides to return to her homeland to find her depressed sister. Through this dangerous journey she discovers much more about life in the war-torn country than she expected.
*Available on DVD from New Yorker Video
13. "Leila" (1997)
Dir. Dariush Mehrjui
Starting famous Iranian actress Leila Hatami in one her earliest roles as a married woman unable to have children, this conjugal drama explores the role of women within Iranian society. Leila’s husband, Reza (played by “The Past” star Ali Mosaffa), loves her, but his mother wants him to get another wife that can give him a son. The title character is divided between her happiness and what others think is best for her marriage.
*Available on DVD from First Run Features
14. "Manuscripts Don't Burn" (2013)
Dir. Mohammad Rasoulof
Rasoulof’s brave and searing political statement was shot illegally going against the20-year-ban from filmmaking imposed on him by the Iranian government. It denounces the terrifying lack of freedom of expression via the thrilling story a pair of writers risking it all to protect an incendiary manuscript that authorities are eager to destroy.
*Available on Netflix Instant Watch and on DVD from Kino Lorber
15. "Marooned in Iraq" (2002)
Dir. Bahman Ghobadi
Highlighting the rich Kurdish culture, both in Iran and Iraq, Ghobadi’s film is set in the aftermath of the ravaging Gulf War. Marooned is an elderly man who must travel across the mountainous landscape that divides the two countries to find his ex-wife. While portraying the horrors of war in an affecting manner, the film is also a life-affirming work that finds hope in the most surprising places.
*Available on DVD from Wellspring
16. "My Tehran for Sale"
Dir. Granaz Moussavi
Devastating and current, this debut feature from renowned poet turned filmmaker Granaz Moussavi is a hard-hitting critique on the blatant criminalization of artists in Iran. An actress banned from her profession questions whether she should remain in the country or flee. Getting to safety means leaving everything she knows behind. There are no easy options for her.
*Available on DVD from Global Lens
17. "No One Knows About Persian Cats" (2009)
Dir. Bahman Ghobadi
Music as the banner of freedom is the focus of Ghobadi’s film about the underground rock scene in Tehran. Secular music is essentially forbidden, and playing in public is considered a criminal act punished with prison. Crafted between reality and fiction, this quasi-documentary takes a look at a group of young musicians desperate to express themselves through their art.
*Available on DVD from Mpi Home Video
18. "Offside" (2006)
Dir. Jafar Panahi
Attending sporting events is prohibited for women in Iran, but that doesn’t stop many of them who go as far as to dress like men to get in. Panahi’s touching and insightful film takes place during the 2006 World Cup Qualifying match between Iran and Bahrain, and follows several girls who despite being excluded cheer for their team as joyfully as any fan would.
*Available on DVD from Sony Pictures Classics
19. "Persepolis" (2007)
Dir. Marjane Satrapi & Vincent Paronnaud
Nominated for the Best Animated Feature Oscar, this French-language marvel is based on Satrapi’s autobiographical graphic novel by the same name. With eye-popping hand-drawn animation, the film revisits the director’s childhood and teenage years in Iran during the events leading up to the Islamic Revolution. It’s a love letter to the bittersweet memories of the Iran Satrapi knew.
*Available on Blu-ray & DVD from Sony Pictures Classics
20. "A Separation" (2011)
Dir. Asghar Farhadi
Dealing with a marriage in turmoil facing the country's peculiar judicial system, Farhadi’s masterpiece is the most acclaimed film in the history of Iranian cinema and earned the country's first Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. It was also nominated for Best Original Screenplay for its enthralling thriller-like narrative that grips the audience until its unnerving conclusion. A must see!
*Available on Blu-ray & DVD from Sony Pictures Classics
21. "The Song of Sparrows" (2008)
Dir. Majid Majidi
When Karim (played by Berlin’s Silver Bear Winner Reza Naji), an ostrich farm worker, is forced to find a new job in the city to pay for his daughter’s hearing aid, Iran’s rural and urban realms collide. Thanks to the captivating grace that characterizes Majidi’s films, poverty and misfortune are observed here not with pity but with an optimistic and undefeated perspective.
*Available on DVD from E1 Entertainment
22." Taste of Cherry" (1997)
Dir. Abbas Kiarostami
This quiet and minimalist meditation on death and the simple joys of its antithesis is the first and only Iranian film to have won the coveted Palme d’Or at Cannes. Kiarostami follows a man who has decided to commit suicide and is looking for someone to help him achieve this. However, those he recruits along the way come with their own views on the meaning of our existence and attempt to persuade him to reconsider.
*Available on DVD from Criterion
23. "Ten" (2002)
Dir. Abbas Kiarostami
A female cabbie drives through the streets of Tehran picking up an array of characters that via their casual conversations shine a light on the Iranian society’s expectations of women. Constructed of ten individual scenes in which the only constant is the driver, this heavily improvised and peculiarly shot cinematic experiment is a work of fiction embedded with truth in every frame.
*Available on DVD from Zeitgeist Films
24. "This is Not a Film" (2011)
Dir. Mojtaba Mirtahmasb & Jafar Panahi
In an effort to tell his story despite being banned from filmmaking and under house arrest, filmmaker Jafar Panahi takes his frustration and ingeniously turns it into a courageous visual statement. Whether is shooting video with his cell phone or blocking an imaginary scene in his living room, his passion for storytelling is resilient even when confronting such suffocating censorship.
*Available on Netflix Instant Watch and on DVD from Palisades Tartan
25. "A Time for Drunken Horses" (2000)
Dir. Bahman Ghobadi
With the snow-covered Zagros Mountains as backdrop, Ghobadi’s debut feature tells the story of Ayoub, a young Kurdish boy who must provide for his siblings after their mother’s death. Added to the already difficult circumstances, his handicapped brother desperately needs a surgery. This pushes the heroic kid to persevere against all odds in the hostile environment.
*Available on Netflix Instant Watch and on DVD from Kino Lorber
26. "Turtles Can Fly" (2004)
Dir. Bahman Ghobadi
Commanding a cast made almost entirely of children Ghobadi sets his film in an Iraqi Kurdish refugee camp just before the American occupation of 2003. Making a living by clearing the hazardous minefields that surround them, a group of orphan children create a small community to survive. The atrocities of war are ever-present, but like in most of the director’s works, the triumph of the human spirit is at the film's core.
*Available on Amazon Instant Video
27. "The White Balloon" (1995)
Dir. Jafar Panahi
Written by Kiarostami and directed by Panahi this is another film set during the important Persian New Year celebrations. It centers on a little girl trying to convince her parents to buy her a goldfish and who gets in a couple mishaps along the way. With utmost innocence, the seemingly simple premise manages to be a charming delight that showcases family values and ancient virtues with a nice dose of humor. It’s an uplifting gem.
*Sadly the film is not curently availble in any format in the U.S. Hopefully Criterion or another distributor will fix this soon.
28. "The White Meadows" (2009)
Dir. Mohammad Rasoulof
While ethereal, almost otherworldly imagery achieved by cinematographer Ebrahim Ghafori is reason enough to see this film, Rasoulof’s poetic storytelling elevates it to even greater intellectual heights. By using a barren coastal land and its inhabitant as a metaphor for the intolerance and injustice that many of his compatriots -creative people in particular - confront everyday, the filmmaker denounces these evils through melancholic beauty.
*Available on DVD from Global Lens
29. "The Willow Tree" (2005)
Dir. Majid Majidi
A writer, who had been blinded in an accident as a child, regains his vision as a middle aged adult only to be challenged by a world that has become foreign to him. At first, his miraculous new situation appears to be an answer to a prayer, but Majidi soon shows us how vision can become a curse in this spiritual drama about fate and regret. Exquisitely shot and sporting visceral performances, the film is both heart-rending and though provoking.
*Available on DVD from New Yorker Films
30. "The Wind Will Carry Us" (1999)
Dir. Abbas Kiarostami
Taking the audience on a trip to an untainted region of Iran where tradition hasn’t yet been disrupted by modernity, the acclaimed director crafted another unforgettable experience. Sublimely executed, the film joins four journalists pretending to be engineers as they document the funerary rituals of the local Kurdish people. More than learning about them as researchers, their interactions force them to engage on a much more human level.
*Availble on Blu-ray and DVD from Cohen Media Group...
While useful in the theoretical realm in which politics take place, these generalizations create a distorted image of the foreign nation fed by assumptions and dangerously insensitive stereotypes. It’s much easier for rulers to justify their actions if the adversary is made out to look like an irredeemable villain. Sensationalism and ignorance are weapons far more destructive than missiles, because once the smoke dissipates hatred remains.
On that note, it should be clear that the Iranian people are not the Iranian government. Their rich cultural history is not reflected in the actions of those in power, but in the prevailing elegance and allure of their artwork. Remarkable poets, musicians, painters, and, what we are mostly concerned with here, filmmakers.
The history of Iranian cinema is vast and has survived the many transitions and troubling periods the country has experienced. Even more impressive is the fact that as masterfully as Iranian filmmakers and actors understand the medium, they have never watered down their individuality for the sake of mainstream international success. Instead, they’ve managed to create their unique cinematic language that aligns with their idiosyncrasies and that is not silenced despite the hardships they face, but finds a way around censorship or defies it altogether.
Certainly not a definitive list, the following collection of films aims to be an introduction to the compelling and diverse voices within this captivating national cinema and to encourage you to seek out other films in the future. There are films here that are concerned with rural and working class lifestyles, others that focus on the traditions of ethnic minorities, those that deal with the modern middle class, and also several works denouncing the country’s political situation and the oppression that comes with it.
There are also some films that are note worthy even if they don’t easily fit within the parameters of what an Iranian film is.
Special Mentions:
-Iranian-American director Ana Lily Amirpour and her outstanding Farsi-language debut “A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night,” a visually striking vampire story set in a fictional Iranian town.
-American filmmaker Till Schauder and his documentary “The Iran Job,” which follows Kevin Sheppard, an American professional basketball player in Iran, and uses his experience to build cultural bridges between the two countries.
-Farhadi’s “The Past,” which though is not precisely an Iranian story, continues to show the director’s specific talent for greatly written, puzzling narratives both in his home country and abroad.
-Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud's “Chicken with Plums,” a gorgeously whimsical and darkly comedic love story set in pre-revolutionary Tehran starring Mathieu Amalric.
Lastly, in honor of Nowruz or Persian New Year, which is a peaceful celebration of renewal and rebirth that takes place from March 20-24 in Iran and Iranian communities around the world, let’s remember the deeply moving and wise words that Asghar Farhadi gifted us during his acceptance speech on Oscar night a few years back. No one could have said it better than him.
“At this time many Iranians all over the world are watching us, and I imagine them to be very happy. They are happy not just because of an important award, or a film, or a filmmaker, but because at a time in which talk of war, intimidation, and aggression is exchanged between politicians, the name of their country, Iran, is spoken here through her glorious culture, a rich and ancient culture that has been hidden under the heavy dust of politics. I proudly offer this award to the people of my country, a people that respect all cultures and civilizations and despise hostility and resentment. Thank you so much.” –Director Asghar Farhadi after winning the Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award for “A Separation” on February 26, 2012
1. "About Elly" (2009)
Dir. Asghar Farhadi
In Farhadi's tense psychological drama a casual trip to the sea evolves into a subtly plotted mystery. The director's depiction of the Iranian middle class in such a fascinatingly unexpected story connected with both local and international audiences earning him awards at home and abroad, among them Berlin's Silver Bear.
*The Cinema Guild will release the film theatrically on April 17, 2015
2. "Baran" (2001)
Dir. Majid Majidi
Taking a look at the diverse ethnic groups that coexist in Iran, the film follows a love story between a man and a young Afghan woman who must pretend to be a man in order to work. Eliciting truly naturalistic performance from his cast Majidi gives voice to his almost silent protagonist, a woman caught up in a system designed by men.
*Available on Netflix Instant Watch
3. "Children of Heaven" (1997)
Dir. Majid Majidi
Iran's first ever Academy Award nominated film is also Majidi's most renowned work. Innocence permeates this sweet story about two siblings from a working class family trying to find a pair of missing shoes. Their adventure delivers valuable life lessons that are at once heartwarming and profound. Unquestionably a classic.
*Available on Netflix Instant Watch and on DVD from Lionsgate
4. "Closed Curtain" (2013)
Dir. Jafar Panahi & Kambuzia Partovi
In this enigmatic observation on repression and surveillance an anonymous screenwriter, played by co-director Kambuzia Partovi, hides with his dog in a secluded location. Eventually, as other surprising characters appear, the film becomes a complex dance between reality and fabrication. Both filmmakers had their passports confiscated by the Iranian government due to the subversive content of the film.
*Available on Amazon Instant Video
5. "Close-Up" (1990)
Dir. Abbas Kiarostami
In one of the greatest examples of reality and fiction blending in almost seamless ways, Abbas Kiarostami's masterwork poses complex questions about identity. When a film buff impersonates his favorite director, who happens to Mohsen Makhmalbaf , a series of events unravel as he plans his next, fake, film. Surreally enough the film is based on a true story and stars the actual people involved. It's all brilliantly meta.
*Available on Blu-ray & DVD from Criterion
6. "The Color of Paradise" (1999)
Dir. Majid Majidi
Though rejected by his father, a young blind boy rejoices in nature’s beauty and tries to understand the meaning of his struggles with the help of a mentor with the same condition. Showcasing Iran’s visually stunning rural landscapes and delicately embedding with philosophical concerns, Majidi’s poetic film delivers wisdom in wondrously unassuming ways.
*Available on DVD from Sony Pictures Classics
7. "The Cow" (1969)
Dir. Dariush Mehrjui
Considered a turning point in the nation’s cinematic history, this black-and-white work revolves around a man’s devotion for his cow and how its disappearance drives him into madness. While seemingly simple in its conception, Mehrjui manages to compellingly highlight the country’s traditional lifestyles.
*Available on DVD from First Run Features
8. "Fireworks Wednesday" (2006)
Dir. Asghar Farhadi
Intimate conflicts in the Iranian middle class are Farhadi’s expertise and this domestic drama, set fittingly during the celebrations prior to the Persian New Year, is no exception. When a soon-to-be bride in need of money for her wedding gets a job cleaning a family’s house, their secrets begin to unravel through their interaction and confrontations.
*Available on DVD from Facets
9. "Gabbeh" (1996)
Dir. Mohsen Makhmalbaf
Taking its name from a type of Persian carpet, this stunningly evocative fable is adorned with mysticism and magical realist elements that shine through its colorful visual palette. Gabbeh, a young nomadic woman who is likely the incarnation of one of these traditional rugs, falls in love with horseman, but her community follows beliefs that hinder her desire.
*Available on DVD from New Yorker Video
10. "The Green Wave" (2010)
Dir. Ali Samadi Ahadi
Told through striking animated sequences, interviews and footage from the protests, this documentary constructs a bold portrait of the 2009 Green Movement following Ahmadinejad’s reelection. The regime's strong grip over its citizens is exposed, but the spirit of the Iranian people demanding change is even stronger.
*Available on DVD from Strand Releasing
11. "Hamoun" (1990)
Dir. Dariush Mehrjui
Underscored by subdued comedy and poignant dream sequences, Mehrjui’s visionary drama centers on the decaying relationship between Hamoun, a businessman with hopes of becoming a writer, and his wife Mahshid, a painter. Insanity takes over him when she decides to divorce him because of his angry outbursts. A series of drastic occurrences ensue.
*Available on DVD from First Run Features
12. "Kandahar" (2001)
Dir. Mohsen Makhmalbaf
Despite being set in Afghanistan, this Iranian production is a powerful achievement that unveils the unjust treatment of women, not only under the Taliban’s control, but also in the entire region. Nafas, an Afghan women living in Canada, decides to return to her homeland to find her depressed sister. Through this dangerous journey she discovers much more about life in the war-torn country than she expected.
*Available on DVD from New Yorker Video
13. "Leila" (1997)
Dir. Dariush Mehrjui
Starting famous Iranian actress Leila Hatami in one her earliest roles as a married woman unable to have children, this conjugal drama explores the role of women within Iranian society. Leila’s husband, Reza (played by “The Past” star Ali Mosaffa), loves her, but his mother wants him to get another wife that can give him a son. The title character is divided between her happiness and what others think is best for her marriage.
*Available on DVD from First Run Features
14. "Manuscripts Don't Burn" (2013)
Dir. Mohammad Rasoulof
Rasoulof’s brave and searing political statement was shot illegally going against the20-year-ban from filmmaking imposed on him by the Iranian government. It denounces the terrifying lack of freedom of expression via the thrilling story a pair of writers risking it all to protect an incendiary manuscript that authorities are eager to destroy.
*Available on Netflix Instant Watch and on DVD from Kino Lorber
15. "Marooned in Iraq" (2002)
Dir. Bahman Ghobadi
Highlighting the rich Kurdish culture, both in Iran and Iraq, Ghobadi’s film is set in the aftermath of the ravaging Gulf War. Marooned is an elderly man who must travel across the mountainous landscape that divides the two countries to find his ex-wife. While portraying the horrors of war in an affecting manner, the film is also a life-affirming work that finds hope in the most surprising places.
*Available on DVD from Wellspring
16. "My Tehran for Sale"
Dir. Granaz Moussavi
Devastating and current, this debut feature from renowned poet turned filmmaker Granaz Moussavi is a hard-hitting critique on the blatant criminalization of artists in Iran. An actress banned from her profession questions whether she should remain in the country or flee. Getting to safety means leaving everything she knows behind. There are no easy options for her.
*Available on DVD from Global Lens
17. "No One Knows About Persian Cats" (2009)
Dir. Bahman Ghobadi
Music as the banner of freedom is the focus of Ghobadi’s film about the underground rock scene in Tehran. Secular music is essentially forbidden, and playing in public is considered a criminal act punished with prison. Crafted between reality and fiction, this quasi-documentary takes a look at a group of young musicians desperate to express themselves through their art.
*Available on DVD from Mpi Home Video
18. "Offside" (2006)
Dir. Jafar Panahi
Attending sporting events is prohibited for women in Iran, but that doesn’t stop many of them who go as far as to dress like men to get in. Panahi’s touching and insightful film takes place during the 2006 World Cup Qualifying match between Iran and Bahrain, and follows several girls who despite being excluded cheer for their team as joyfully as any fan would.
*Available on DVD from Sony Pictures Classics
19. "Persepolis" (2007)
Dir. Marjane Satrapi & Vincent Paronnaud
Nominated for the Best Animated Feature Oscar, this French-language marvel is based on Satrapi’s autobiographical graphic novel by the same name. With eye-popping hand-drawn animation, the film revisits the director’s childhood and teenage years in Iran during the events leading up to the Islamic Revolution. It’s a love letter to the bittersweet memories of the Iran Satrapi knew.
*Available on Blu-ray & DVD from Sony Pictures Classics
20. "A Separation" (2011)
Dir. Asghar Farhadi
Dealing with a marriage in turmoil facing the country's peculiar judicial system, Farhadi’s masterpiece is the most acclaimed film in the history of Iranian cinema and earned the country's first Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. It was also nominated for Best Original Screenplay for its enthralling thriller-like narrative that grips the audience until its unnerving conclusion. A must see!
*Available on Blu-ray & DVD from Sony Pictures Classics
21. "The Song of Sparrows" (2008)
Dir. Majid Majidi
When Karim (played by Berlin’s Silver Bear Winner Reza Naji), an ostrich farm worker, is forced to find a new job in the city to pay for his daughter’s hearing aid, Iran’s rural and urban realms collide. Thanks to the captivating grace that characterizes Majidi’s films, poverty and misfortune are observed here not with pity but with an optimistic and undefeated perspective.
*Available on DVD from E1 Entertainment
22." Taste of Cherry" (1997)
Dir. Abbas Kiarostami
This quiet and minimalist meditation on death and the simple joys of its antithesis is the first and only Iranian film to have won the coveted Palme d’Or at Cannes. Kiarostami follows a man who has decided to commit suicide and is looking for someone to help him achieve this. However, those he recruits along the way come with their own views on the meaning of our existence and attempt to persuade him to reconsider.
*Available on DVD from Criterion
23. "Ten" (2002)
Dir. Abbas Kiarostami
A female cabbie drives through the streets of Tehran picking up an array of characters that via their casual conversations shine a light on the Iranian society’s expectations of women. Constructed of ten individual scenes in which the only constant is the driver, this heavily improvised and peculiarly shot cinematic experiment is a work of fiction embedded with truth in every frame.
*Available on DVD from Zeitgeist Films
24. "This is Not a Film" (2011)
Dir. Mojtaba Mirtahmasb & Jafar Panahi
In an effort to tell his story despite being banned from filmmaking and under house arrest, filmmaker Jafar Panahi takes his frustration and ingeniously turns it into a courageous visual statement. Whether is shooting video with his cell phone or blocking an imaginary scene in his living room, his passion for storytelling is resilient even when confronting such suffocating censorship.
*Available on Netflix Instant Watch and on DVD from Palisades Tartan
25. "A Time for Drunken Horses" (2000)
Dir. Bahman Ghobadi
With the snow-covered Zagros Mountains as backdrop, Ghobadi’s debut feature tells the story of Ayoub, a young Kurdish boy who must provide for his siblings after their mother’s death. Added to the already difficult circumstances, his handicapped brother desperately needs a surgery. This pushes the heroic kid to persevere against all odds in the hostile environment.
*Available on Netflix Instant Watch and on DVD from Kino Lorber
26. "Turtles Can Fly" (2004)
Dir. Bahman Ghobadi
Commanding a cast made almost entirely of children Ghobadi sets his film in an Iraqi Kurdish refugee camp just before the American occupation of 2003. Making a living by clearing the hazardous minefields that surround them, a group of orphan children create a small community to survive. The atrocities of war are ever-present, but like in most of the director’s works, the triumph of the human spirit is at the film's core.
*Available on Amazon Instant Video
27. "The White Balloon" (1995)
Dir. Jafar Panahi
Written by Kiarostami and directed by Panahi this is another film set during the important Persian New Year celebrations. It centers on a little girl trying to convince her parents to buy her a goldfish and who gets in a couple mishaps along the way. With utmost innocence, the seemingly simple premise manages to be a charming delight that showcases family values and ancient virtues with a nice dose of humor. It’s an uplifting gem.
*Sadly the film is not curently availble in any format in the U.S. Hopefully Criterion or another distributor will fix this soon.
28. "The White Meadows" (2009)
Dir. Mohammad Rasoulof
While ethereal, almost otherworldly imagery achieved by cinematographer Ebrahim Ghafori is reason enough to see this film, Rasoulof’s poetic storytelling elevates it to even greater intellectual heights. By using a barren coastal land and its inhabitant as a metaphor for the intolerance and injustice that many of his compatriots -creative people in particular - confront everyday, the filmmaker denounces these evils through melancholic beauty.
*Available on DVD from Global Lens
29. "The Willow Tree" (2005)
Dir. Majid Majidi
A writer, who had been blinded in an accident as a child, regains his vision as a middle aged adult only to be challenged by a world that has become foreign to him. At first, his miraculous new situation appears to be an answer to a prayer, but Majidi soon shows us how vision can become a curse in this spiritual drama about fate and regret. Exquisitely shot and sporting visceral performances, the film is both heart-rending and though provoking.
*Available on DVD from New Yorker Films
30. "The Wind Will Carry Us" (1999)
Dir. Abbas Kiarostami
Taking the audience on a trip to an untainted region of Iran where tradition hasn’t yet been disrupted by modernity, the acclaimed director crafted another unforgettable experience. Sublimely executed, the film joins four journalists pretending to be engineers as they document the funerary rituals of the local Kurdish people. More than learning about them as researchers, their interactions force them to engage on a much more human level.
*Availble on Blu-ray and DVD from Cohen Media Group...
- 3/23/2015
- by Carlos Aguilar
- Sydney's Buzz
Focus Features has debuted the first trailer for Tarsem Singh’s latest effort, Self/Less. As usual, the esoteric filmmaker appears to have conjured up what the official synopsis describes as a ‘provocative psychological’ sci-fi thriller. Ben Kingsley stars as a man dying from cancer, who pays to have his soul placed into the body of a young, healthy chap played by Ryan Reynolds.
Taking a look at the trailer for his next effort, it seems that Singh is on track to deliver another similar caper. Self/Less appears to be providing us with another cautionary tale – as brainy sci-fi flicks often choose to do. This time the futuristic “what if?” comes to us through Singh’s visually adventurous eye, calling to mind two of his previous works, The Cell and The Fall, which developed some stunningly original ideas.
Thematically, it seems to veers close to what Black Mirror offers...
Taking a look at the trailer for his next effort, it seems that Singh is on track to deliver another similar caper. Self/Less appears to be providing us with another cautionary tale – as brainy sci-fi flicks often choose to do. This time the futuristic “what if?” comes to us through Singh’s visually adventurous eye, calling to mind two of his previous works, The Cell and The Fall, which developed some stunningly original ideas.
Thematically, it seems to veers close to what Black Mirror offers...
- 3/4/2015
- by Gem Seddon
- We Got This Covered
Who doesn’t love a good kidnapping movie? A bunch of criminal scamps, the blueprint-planning stage, and the final act of their plan unraveling in the shape of the kidnapping itself. From start to finish, there’s tension and drama threaded throughout every step of the story. So, throw in an international icon And beer and you’re somewhere close to Daniel Alfredson’s upcoming flick, Kidnapping Mr. Heineken.
Based on a true story, the movie follows four childhood friends – played by Sam Worthington, Jim Sturgess, Mark Van Eeuwen and Ryan Kwanten – who in 1983 decide they want out of the rat race. Keen to line their pockets with enough cash to sink the Titanic, they carry out a plot to kidnap one of the world’s wealthiest men, Mr. Freddy Heineken (Anthony Hopkins). If the name sounds familiar, it’s because the man being taken doesn’t just share a...
Based on a true story, the movie follows four childhood friends – played by Sam Worthington, Jim Sturgess, Mark Van Eeuwen and Ryan Kwanten – who in 1983 decide they want out of the rat race. Keen to line their pockets with enough cash to sink the Titanic, they carry out a plot to kidnap one of the world’s wealthiest men, Mr. Freddy Heineken (Anthony Hopkins). If the name sounds familiar, it’s because the man being taken doesn’t just share a...
- 1/20/2015
- by Gem Seddon
- We Got This Covered
Hot on the heals of the New York Film Critics Circle’s announcement yesterday, the National Board of Review has named their picks for the best achievements in film for 2014, naming J.C. Chandor’s crime drama A Most Violent Year as the year’s best movie. The film also won for Best Actor (Oscar Isaac), tying with Michael Keaton for Birdman, and Best Supporting Actress (Jessica Chastain).
Taking a look at their list of winners, the group had some very interesting choices for several categories. Paul Thomas Anderson’s bizarre, drug-fueled odyssey Inherent Vice took Best Adapted Screenplay, while The Lego Movie beat multiple top contenders to receive Best Original Screenplay. Also unexpected was Clint Eastwood snagging Best Director for his biopic American Sniper, which has merely been receiving so-so reviews thus far.
On the other hand, there were several picks that were somewhat expected, including Julianne Moore’s win...
Taking a look at their list of winners, the group had some very interesting choices for several categories. Paul Thomas Anderson’s bizarre, drug-fueled odyssey Inherent Vice took Best Adapted Screenplay, while The Lego Movie beat multiple top contenders to receive Best Original Screenplay. Also unexpected was Clint Eastwood snagging Best Director for his biopic American Sniper, which has merely been receiving so-so reviews thus far.
On the other hand, there were several picks that were somewhat expected, including Julianne Moore’s win...
- 12/2/2014
- by Jeff Beck
- We Got This Covered
Yesterday, we posted images from the new Poltergeist film that is coming out this summer. Today, the trailer has been released and we have it for you down below.
Taking a look at the trailer may put some horror fans at ease. This doesn’t look all that soft. Looks like that drill scene might replace the face ripping scene but it is still pretty vicious. I’m looking forward to this one but I will admit, I don’t think it needs to be in 3D.
Poltergeist will be in theaters in 3D on July 24, 2015
The post Tune In to the Poltergeist Trailer Now! appeared first on Destroy the Brain!.
Taking a look at the trailer may put some horror fans at ease. This doesn’t look all that soft. Looks like that drill scene might replace the face ripping scene but it is still pretty vicious. I’m looking forward to this one but I will admit, I don’t think it needs to be in 3D.
Poltergeist will be in theaters in 3D on July 24, 2015
The post Tune In to the Poltergeist Trailer Now! appeared first on Destroy the Brain!.
- 1/1/1970
- by Andy Triefenbach
- Destroy the Brain
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.