KPCC film critics Claudia Puig, Tim Cogshell and Charles Solomon join Larry to review the week’s new film releases including Burlesque, The Kings Speech, Love and Other Drugs, Tangled, and White Materials, among others. TGI-FilmWeek!
Guests:
Tim Cogshell, senior film critic for Box Office Magazine
Claudia Puig, film critic for USA Today
Charles Solomon, animation critic, author and historian for amazon.com
Films Reviewed
Burlesque
A country girl achieves stardom at a burlesque lounge in L.A.
Starring: Christina Aguilera, Cher, Eric Dane, and Alan Cumming
Written and Directed by: Steven Antin
Rated: PG-13
Screen Gems
Faster
After his release from prison, a man aims to avenge his brother’s death one accomplice at a time.
Starring: Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Billy Bob Thornton, and Carla Gugino [Goo-JEAN-o]
Written by: Joe and Tony Gayton
Directed by: George Tillman Jr.
Rated: R
CBS Films
The Kings Speech
A story of friendship between King George VI and his speech therapist who helps him defeat a debilitating stammer after his abrupt ascension to the throne.
Starring: Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, Helena Bonham Carter and Guy Pearce
Written by: David Seidler
Directed by: Tom Hooper
Rated: R
The Weinstein Company
Love and Other Drugs
A womanizing pharmaceutical sales rep falls in love with a free spirited artist.
Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Anne Hathaway, Oliver Platt, Hank Azaria
Written by: Charles Randolph, Edward Zwick & Marshall Herskovitz
Directed by: Edward Zwick
Rated: R
Twentieth Century Fox
Tangled
After escaping from her tower prison, Rapunzel and a passing thief set off on an adventure.
Starring: voices of Mandy Moore, Ron Perlman, Jeffrey Tambor,
Directed by: Byron Howard & Nathan Greno
Written by: Dan Fogelman
Based on the fairytale Repunzel by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm
Rated: PG
Walt Disney
White Material
A white French family struggles to hold onto their coffee plantation amidst the chaos of African conflict.
Starring: Isabelle Hupert, Isaach De Bankolé [Ban- “COLE”], and Christopher Lambert
Written by: Claire Denis and Marie N’diaye
Directed by: Claire Denis
Not Rated
IFC Films
William S. Burroughs: A Man Within
An intimate glimpse into the life of one of the central figures in the Beat movement.
Starring: Peter Weller as the narrator.
Written and Directed by: Yony Leyser
Oscilloscope Laboratories
The Nutcracker 3D
A re-telling of the Christmas classic about a young girl and her magical nutcracker toy.
Starring: Elle Fanning, Nathan Lane, and John Turturro
Written by: Andrey Konchalovskiy and Chris Solimine
Directed by: Andrey Konchalovskiy
Rated: PG
Freestyle Releasing
Me, Too (Yo Tambien)
An exceptionally bright man with Down's Syndrome falls in love with a co-worker.
Starring: Lola Dueñas Pablo Pineda
Written and Directed by: Alvaro Pastor & Antonio Naharro
Not Rated
Olive Films
Nothing Personal
An unhappy woman moves to Ireland after a failed marriage and ends up living with a reclusive older man.
Starring: Stephen Rea and Lotte Verbeek
Written and Directed by: Urszula Antoniak
Not Rated
Olive Films
Tiny Furniture
A young woman tries to figure out what to do with her life in the upscale Tribecca art community.
Starring: Lena Dunham, Laurie Simmons and Grace Dunham
Written and Directed by: Lena Dunham
Not Rated
IFC Films
Undertow
A married man struggles with the memory of his gay lover in a small Peruvian fishing village.
Starring: Tatiana Astengo, Manolo Cardona and Cristian Mercado
Written and Directed by: Javier Fuentes-León
Not Rated
Wolfe Releasing
Disco and Atomic War
The story of how illicit television cracked strict censoring in Soviet Estonia.
Starring: Gerda Viira, Oskar Vuks
Written by: Kiur Aarma and Jaak Kilmi
Directed by: Jaak Kilmi
Not Rated
Icarus Films
DVD Releases
Eat, Pray, Love
Starring: Julia Roberts, Javier Bardem and Viola Davis
Directed by: Ryan Murphy