Results tagged “jamesgandolfini”

       

Spike Jonze's long-awaited Where the Wild Things Are soared to the top of the box office this weekend as it brought in an impressive $32.4M to top the charts. Law Abiding Citizen came in a surprising second despite overwhelmingly mediocre reviews ($21.2M). After that it was gimmicky horror pic Blair Witch 2: Paranormal Activity ($20.1M | $33.7M), the unfunny comedy Couples Retreat ($17.9M | $63.3M) and the unnecessary remake The Stepfather which debuted to $12.3M.

                     

Other than The Cove, I didn't see a better film this year at the Sundance Film Festival than Humpday (review here). It's inventive; it's challenging; it's odd but, most of all, it's funny. Very, very funny. The premise may scare some away -- two straight friends decide to have gay sex for a porn film festival -- but the treatment of the material is so perfect that I can't imagine anyone not loving it. While not quite as laugh-out-loud funny as Humpday, In the Loop is as smart a comedy as you will ever see (review here). A barely-veiled satire of the run-up to the 2003 Iraq War, In the Loop features at least a half-dozen brilliantly venal performances, especially Peter Capaldi as Malcolm Tucker (nee the Prince of Fucking Darkness!) See these two movies!!

              

In the same way that Wag the Dog was about the Clinton sex scandals without ever explicitly being about the Clinton sex scandals, Armando Iannucci's In the Loop is a searing and hilarious shadow satire about the run-up to the West's collective misadventures in Iraq. Alternately howlingly mean and relentlessly authentic, it may be the funniest movie of the year, weaving a pastiche of profanity so inventive one can't help but marvel at it. Further, if there has been a better performance this year than that given by Peter Capaldi, I haven't seen it.

                                          

The 15th annual Los Angeles Film Festival kicks off tonight at 7:30 pm with the premiere screening of Paper Man at the Mann Village Theater. The full festival begins in earnest the following morning as over 80 documentary and narrative features unspool in venues across the Westside. In addition to that, the festival features panels and seminars, coffee talks and poolside chats, short-film programs, music video showcases, live concerts and free screenings of such beloved films as Ghostbusters, Election and The Muppet Movie.

       

I'm surprised that reviews haven't been better for the re-imagined version of The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3. It is, by all rights, a superior film to the original from the 70s. Moon may not be as funny as Solo, but it does cover similar territory. How can you not love Sam Rockwell? There will be no hot dogs served at the screening of Food, Inc.! Repeat -- no hotdogs! Has Eddie Murphy really come to this? Imagine That looks awful, awful, awful. Francis Ford Coppola is finally a true independent filmmaker. Tetro proves yet again, though, that he probably could use some pressure from above. Seriously, some people need studio interference to thrive.

       

LA has a diverse cast of characters. Whether it's the characters with stirring stories or interesting occupations or the people who are just simply characters, this town has them all. In an effort to get to know some of those characters a little better, we've created "Seven Questions with..." If you have a suggestion for a future Seven Questions subject send us an email.

After the disaster that was ? Screw Charlie Chaplin--give me Buster Keaton! America has nothing like the divine nimbus that is Frenchie Ludivine Sagnier--to our great detriment.

Valentines Day is in just mere hours and for those of us who want to celebrate the holiday in true love fashion here is a short list of love or anti-love movies, perfect or the occasion. No Meg Ryan and Julia Roberts here.

The Prime Time Emmy Award nominations were announced today and yes, LAist was left out again this year. We keep waiting for the opportunity to use that old yet tried and true saying "its just a pleasure to be nominated" but we never seem to get the chance.