FilmWeek

Larry Mantle and KPCC film critics Andy Klein of Brand X and Lael Loewenstein of Variety review the week’s new film releases, including Book of Eli, The Spy Next Door, 44 Inch Chest, and The Last Station. They will also discuss their top films of 2009 and the Writers Guild of America nominations. Then, the great search for the worst movie, ever.

Larry Mantle and KPCC film critics Henry Sheehan of henrysheehan.com and Wade Major of boxoffice.com discuss the week’s new film releases including Leap Year, Youth In Revolt, Daybreakers, Wonderful World, Bitch Slap, Waiting For Armageddon, Bicycle Thief, and The Loss Of A Teardrop Diamond. They will also discuss their top ten lists of films from 2009. Then, Samson & Delilah, Australia’s foreign-language entry for the 82nd Academy Awards, tells the story of two children growing up in a remote Aboriginal community in Australia and falling in love for the first time. The film, directed by Warwick Thornton, was a hit at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year, where it won the Caméra d'Or for first time filmmaking. Larry talks with Warwick, who is Aboriginal himself, about Samson & Delilah and the challenges of bringing his culture to the screen.

Larry Mantle talks with KPCC film critics Henry Sheehan of henrysheehan.com, Claudia Puig of USA Today and Wade Major of boxoffice.com about the week’s new film releases including Sherlock Holmes, It’s Complicated, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, Alvin And The Chipmunks: The Squeakquel, Creation, The White Ribbon, Police Adjective and Gigante. Then, Larry and the critics discuss their favorite holiday films.

Larry Mantle talks with KPCC film critics Jean Oppenheimer of Village Voice Media, Lael Loewenstein of Variety, and Charles Solomon, animation critic and historian for amazon.com about the week’s new film releases including Avatar, Nine, Did You Hear About The Morgans?, Crazy Heart, The Young Victoria, A Town Called Panic, and My Son My Son What Have Ye Done.

Larry Mantle and KPCC film critics Andy Klein of Brand X, and Henry Sheehan of henrysheehan.com discuss the week’s new film releases including Invictus, The Lovely Bones, A Single Man, Broken Embraces, Uncertainty, The Misfortunates, Until The Light Takes Us, Yesterday Was A Lie, and The Vicious Kind. Then Larry talks with the director and writer of the film, “Up In The Air,” Jason Reitman, about his critically acclaimed film and his career in Hollywood. Reitman also directed the films “Thank You For Smoking” and “Juno.”

Larry Mantle talks with KPCC film critics Wade Major of boxoffice.com, Peter Rainer of The Christian Science Monitor and Charles Solomon of amazon.com about the week’s new film releases including Up In The Air, Brothers, Everybody’s Fine, The Last Station, Serious Moonlight, The Strip, Fifty Dead Men Walking, and The Secret of Kells. Then, Leslie Caron went from dancing as a ballerina in Paris to instant stardom with her debut in the musical "An American in Paris." In her memoir "Thank Heaven," Caron recounts living through Hollywood's Golden Era, from her iconic role in "Gigi", to her romance with Warren Beatty, to her struggles to overcome depression and alcoholism later in life. Today, Caron runs a bed-and-breakfast outside of Paris but continues to act. In 2007, she received an Emmy for a role on "Law and Order: Special Victims Unit." On December 8, she will receive a star on the "Hollywood Walk of Fame."

Larry Mantle and KPCC film critics Henry Sheehan of henrysheehan.com, Andy Klein of Brand X, and Charles Solomon of Amazon.com discuss the week’s new film releases including Old Dogs, The Princess And The Frog, Ninja Assassin, The Road, Red Cliff, The Missing Person, The Private Lives of Pippa Lee, and The Sun.

Larry Mantle and KPCC film critics Jean Oppenheimer, Claudia Puig, Wade Major, and Charles Solomon discuss the week’s new releases, including New Moon, Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans, The Blind Side, Planet 51, Defamation, That Evening Sun, and La Danse, among others. Then, Grace Kelly had a fairy-tale life, leaving a childhood in Philadelphia to become an iconic Hollywood actress and later the Princess of Monaco. In film, Kelly is remembered for her appearances in Rear Window, Dial M for Murder, and her Academy Award-winning role in The Country Girl. In the biography "High Society", Grace Kelly's close friend Donald Spoto draws from his personal interviews with the star to share details about Kelly's life, her impact on Hollywood, and her years as a princess.

Larry Mantle and KPCC film critics Lael Loewenstein of Variety, Henry Sheehan of henrysheehan.com, and Charles Solomon, animation critic and historian for amazon.com discuss the week’s new film releases including 2012, The Fantastic Mr. Fox, Pirate Radio, Endgame, TEN9EIGHT: Shoot For The Moon, and Women In Trouble, among others. The documentary "No Subtitles Necessary: László and Vilmos" follows the lives of two renowned cinematographers. In 1967, film students László Kovács and Vilmos Zsigmond escaped to Hollywood from war-torn Hungary. Starting with work on low-budget movies, the two each would go on to shoot the films that defined American New Wave, including "Easy Rider", "Close Encounters of the Third Kind", "Five Easy Pieces", "McCabe and Mrs. Miller", and "Paper Moon."

Larry Mantle and film critics Claudia Puig of USA Today, Peter Rainer of The Christian Science Monitor and Charles Solomon, animation critic and historian for amazon.com discuss several of the week’s new releases including Disney’s A Christmas Carol, The Men Who Stare At Goats, The Box, Precious, The Fourth Kind, The Yes Men Fix The World, Turning Green, The Wedding Song, Died Young Stayed Pretty, and Araya. Why do we need another book on Elizabeth Taylor? Author William Mann says that Taylor created the culture of celebrity that we have today and that everyone from Madonna to Britney to Miley Cyrus has taken a page from her book. In his new biography of the famed film star, Mann reveals how Liz Taylor “did it,” how her on-and off-screen passions ignited the sexual revolution and how she helped kick down the studio system by taking control of her own career.