Pages

Sunday, January 24, 2010

Killing Kasztner

"Killing Kasztner": LA Times Critics' Choice Award from Kenneth Turan:

A compelling documentary on the strange life and death of Rezso Kasztner, a hero to some, a collaborator to others, but undeniably on the the most morally complex figures to come out of the Holocaust into the state of Israel.
Read Turan's full review of "Killing Kasztner" at the LA Times


Killing Kasztner: The Jew Who Dealt With Nazis

Right-wing extremists murder a Budapest lawyer who negotiated with the Nazis to save the lives of more than 1,600 Jews during World War II.

Director: Gaylen Ross
Genres: Biography, History
Limited Release

Movie times and tickets for "Killing Kasztner" from Fandango

Subscribe to Only Movies Worth Watching by Email Alert
(Please note that immediately after you subscribe you will be sent a confirmation email that you must respond to to begin your subscription. If you do not see the email in your inbox shortly, please check your spam folder for an email from "noreply+feedproxy@google.com". We also recommend you "white list" that email address for successful delivery to your inbox going forward.)

Sunday, January 17, 2010

2010 Movies Sneak Peek LA Times

The LA Times Calendar for today has the annual look at what lies ahead in movies for 2010.

Headlined are:
'Shutter Island'
'Iron Man 2'
'Alice in Wonderland'
'Inception'
'Sex and the City 2'
'Robin Hood'
'The Twilight Saga: Eclipse'
'Green Zone'
'Date Night'
'Salt'
'The Wolfman'
'Percy Jackson and The Olympians: The Lightning Thief'

The one I'm personally looking forward to most is Tim Burton's cinematic rendition of "Allice in Wonderland" starring Johnny Depp in the role of the Mad Hatter. Vanity Fair published photos by Mary Ellen Mark's in the August 2009 edition of Depp as the Mad Hatter and Helena Bonham Carter as the Red Queen. What fantastic photographs, which can be viewed in their pale online versions.

Here's the link to the LA Times 2010 Movie Sneak Peek


Subscribe to Only Movies Worth Watching by Email Alert
(Please note that immediately after you subscribe you will be sent a confirmation email that you must respond to to begin your subscription. If you do not see the email in your inbox shortly, please check your spam folder for an email from "noreply+feedproxy@google.com". We also recommend you "white list" that email address for successful delivery to your inbox going forward.)

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Amazon 2010 DVD Deals

Dear Movie and Film Lover,

Amazon Movies & TV has announced the ir first deals event for 2010 which will run through January 24, 2010, while supplies last. The Amazon DVD Deals Event will feature DVDs and Blu-ray discs with savings of up to 50% off, including:

- Over 200 Fitness DVDs including yoga, pregnancy, and dance workouts, and featuring celebrity trainers such as Jillian Michaels and Denise Austin

- Hundreds of hit movies including some the biggest new releases from Q4, 2009

- Over 400 indie and art house films including Oscar® winners Juno, Milk, and Lost in Translation

-Over 450 TV shows including HBO favorites, NBC comedy, and more

Subscribe to Only Movies Worth Watching by Email Alert
(Please note that immediately after you subscribe you will be sent a confirmation email that you must respond to to begin your subscription. If you do not see the email in your inbox shortly, please check your spam folder for an email from "noreply+feedproxy@google.com". We also recommend you "white list" that email address for successful delivery to your inbox going forward.)

Sunday, January 10, 2010

The Young Victoria

The Young Victoria"The Young Victoria": LA Times Critics' Choice Award from Betsy Sharkey:

Starring Emily Blunt as the 18-year-old queen of England circa 1837, the film is a rich pastiche of first love, teen empowerment, fabulous fashion and fate. Together with Rupert Friend as Prince Albert, as we follow them through courtship, coronation and just beyond, they create a couple you'll want to see again. But until then, "The Young Victoria" is a great place to start. Read Sharkey's full review of "The Young Victoria" at the LA Times


The Young Victoria
As the only legitimate heir of England's King William, teenage Victoria (Emily Blunt) becomes caught up in the political machinations of her own family. Victoria's mother (Miranda Richardson) wants her to sign a regency order, while her Belgian uncle schemes to arrange a marriage between the future monarch and Prince Albert (Rupert Friend), the man who will become the love of her life.

Opened December 18, 2009 Runtime:1 hr. 44 min.
Rated PG
Cast: Emily Blunt, Rupert Friend, Paul Bettany, Miranda Richardson, Jim Broadbent
Director: Jean-Marc Vallée
Genres: Romantic Drama, Docudrama, Drama

Movie times and tickets for "The Young Victoria" from Fandango



Subscribe to Only Movies Worth Watching by Email Alert
(Please note that immediately after you subscribe you will be sent a confirmation email that you must respond to to begin your subscription. If you do not see the email in your inbox shortly, please check your spam folder for an email from "noreply+feedproxy@google.com". We also recommend you "white list" that email address for successful delivery to your inbox going forward.)

The White Ribbon

"The White Ribbon": LA Times Critics' Choice Award from Betsy Sharkey:
We don't go to Michael Haneke films for comfort, but to gaze through a glass darkly. That vision -- tense, provocative and unnerving -- is on full display in "The White Ribbon," which could be considered a culmination of this difficult director's brilliant career. Set in an ordinary German village on the eve of World War I, the film looks at the children who would survive that war and grow into the generation that would bend to Hitler's sway. History hovers over "White Ribbon" with the force of impending doom. These children will inherit this world of sin and sorrow and the consequences will be catastrophic. Whatever responsibility we might feel for future generations after seeing a cautionary tale like this one, well that's just one of the questions Haneke leaves us to figure out. Read Sharkey's full review of "The White Ribbon" title at the LA Times

The White Ribbon
An undercurrent of malice runs through a German village, as a series of misfortunes plagues its citizens in the year before the outbreak of World War I.


Opened December 30, 2009 Runtime:2 hr. 24 min.
Rated R
Cast: Christian Friedel, Ernst Jacobi, Leonie Benesch, Ulrich Tukur, Ursina Lardi, Fion Mutert, Michael Kranz, Burghart Klaußner, Steffi Kühnert, Maria-Victoria Dragus, Leonard Preoxauf, Levin Henning, Johanna Busse, Yuma Amecke, Thibault Sérié, Josef Bierbichler, Gabriela Maria Schmeide, Janina Fautz, Enno Trebs, Theo Trebs, Rainer Bock, Susanne Lothar, Roxane Duran, Miljan Chatelain, Eddy Grahl, Branko Samarovski
Director: Michael Haneke
Genres: Period Film, Drama

Movie times and tickets for "The White Ribbon" from Fandango

Subscribe to Only Movies Worth Watching by Email Alert
(Please note that immediately after you subscribe you will be sent a confirmation email that you must respond to to begin your subscription. If you do not see the email in your inbox shortly, please check your spam folder for an email from "noreply+feedproxy@google.com". We also recommend you "white list" that email address for successful delivery to your inbox going forward.)

The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond

"The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond": LA Times Critics' Choice Award from Betsy Sharkey:

A troubled woman with a difficult past, humidity that hangs like condemnation in the air and a drawl as thick as honey, if not always as sweet. That's Tennessee Williams country, and it's right where we find Bryce Dallas Howard's Memphis heiress, Fisher Willow, in "The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond." Like Fisher, the film is lovely, if flawed. Based on a never-produced screenplay Williams wrote in the late '50s, its characters are not fully fleshed to their breaking or boiling point, the playwright's specialty. Still, director Jodie Markell's first feature remains a film to savor, rich in ways that are all too rare today. Consider it a treasure of the unpolished sort. Read Sharkey's full review of "The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond" at the LA Times

The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond

Set in the Roaring Twenties in Williams’ (and Markell’s) home town of Memphis, the film tells the story of Fisher Willow (Howard) a headstrong young heiress who chafes under the constraints of proper Southern society, and who rebels by asking the impoverished but handsome son of her father’s caretaker, Jimmy Dobyne (Evans), to escort her to the major social events of the season. The relationship is purely a business arrangement at the outset, with Fisher paying for Jimmy’s time and attention, but when she discovers that she really loves him, she finds it impossible to re-write the rules and earn the affection she tried to buy.

Opened December 30, 2009 Runtime:1 hr. 42 min.
PG-13
Cast: Bryce Dallas Howard, Chris Evans, Ann-Margret, Will Patton, Ellen Burstyn
Director: Jodie Markell
Genres: Romantic Drama, Period Film, Drama

Movie times and tickets for "The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond" from Fandango

Subscribe to Only Movies Worth Watching by Email Alert
(Please note that immediately after you subscribe you will be sent a confirmation email that you must respond to to begin your subscription. If you do not see the email in your inbox shortly, please check your spam folder for an email from "noreply+feedproxy@google.com". We also recommend you "white list" that email address for successful delivery to your inbox going forward.)

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

"The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus": LA Times Critics' Choice Award from Kenneth Turan:

Heath Ledger's last project is a film as unusual and idiosyncratic as its one-of-a-kind title. You'd expect no less from Terry Gilliam, and admirers of this singular filmmaker will be happy to know that "Imaginarium" is his most original and accessible work in years.

"The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus" Synopsis

Set in the present day, director Terry Gilliam's fantastical morality tale follows the traveling show of the mysterious Dr. Parnassus (Christopher Plummer) -- a man who once won a bet with the Devil himself, and possesses the unique ability to guide the imagination of others. Many centuries ago, Dr. Parnassus won immortality in a bet that found the malevolent Mr. Nick (Tom Waits) coming up short. While few would be foolish enough to try their luck against the powers of darkness a second time, Dr. Parnassus did precisely that -- this time trading his mortality for youth on the understanding that his firstborn would become the property of Mr. Nick when the child reaches his or her 16th birthday. Flash-forward to the present day, and Dr. Parnassus' daughter, Valentina (Lily Cole), is about to celebrate her sweet sixteen. Dr. Parnassus is desperate to save his little girl from her fiery fate, so when Mr. Nick arrives to collect, he senses the good doctor's malaise and cooks up a wager too enticing to refuse: Dr. Parnassus and Mr. Nick will each compete to seduce five souls, with possession of Valentina going to whomever manages to complete the task first. As the competition begins to heat up, a mysterious man named Tony (Heath Ledger) appears. Could Tony be the one man capable of helping Dr. Parnassus win the competition and save Valentina? While the sudden death of prominent Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus player Heath Ledger in January of 2008 left Gilliam and company scrambling to find a means of salvaging the film -- which was already well into principal photography at the time -- the cavalry soon arrived in the form of Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Colin Farrell, who each serve as alternate-dimension versions of Tony when the character crosses through a paranormal mirror. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Opened December 25, 2009 Runtime:2 hr. 2 min.
Cast: Heath Ledger, Christopher Plummer, Tom Waits, Johnny Depp, Jude Law, Colin Farrell
Director: Terry Gilliam
Genres: Fantasy

Movie times and tickets for "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus" from Fandango
Subscribe to Only Movies Worth Watching by Email Alert
(Please note that immediately after you subscribe you will be sent a confirmation email that you must respond to to begin your subscription. If you do not see the email in your inbox shortly, please check your spam folder for an email from "noreply+feedproxy@google.com". We also recommend you "white list" that email address for successful delivery to your inbox going forward.)

Labels

1961 (1) 1965 (1) 1989 (1) 2005 (2) 2006 (5) 2007 (75) 2007 film awards (1) 2008 (57) 2008 holiday season movies (1) 2009 (59) 2010 (47) 2010 best movies (2) 2010 movies worth watching (1) 2011 (50) 2011 Academy Award winners (1) 2011 best movies (3) 2011 Oscar Winners (1) 3D (3) abortion (1) action (4) action adventure (1) action comedy (5) action thriller (11) adventure (2) adventure comedy (2) adventure drama (2) Adventure Travel (1) adventure_drama (1) Afghanistan (1) Africa (1) African American issues (1) AIDS (1) Alejandro González Iñárritu (1) Alice in Wonderland (1) Amazon sale (1) American Idol (1) Americana (1) animals (1) animation (5) anime (1) anthropology (1) art house (7) Australia (2) avant-garde (5) AVATAR (1) babies (1) basketball (1) Belgian (3) Belgium (1) Ben Affleck (1) Ben Kingsley (1) best 2009 movies (7) best L.A. movies (1) best movies (5) best movies 2007 (9) best movies 2008 (55) best movies 2010 (1) Betsy Sharkey (63) Betsy Sharkey best movies 2010 (1) Betsy Sharkey best movies 2011 (1) Biography (23) biopic (5) bisexual (1) black and white movies (1) black comedy (5) Black Friday deals (1) blockbuster (1) bodybuilding (1) British (7) British monarchy (2) buddy film (5) Bush administration (1) business (1) campy (1) Canadian (1) Cannes (1) cannes "Vulcain de l'Artiste-Technicien" Prize (1) cannes best director (1) Cannes Camera d'or Award (1) Cannes Palme d'Or (1) caper (1) Carina Chocano (9) Catherine Deneuve (1) Cesar Award (1) Che Guevara (1) chet baker (1) childhood drama (5) children (4) Children's Fantasy (2) children's/family (6) childrens fantasy (7) Chile (1) Chinese (2) Christmas (1) christmas DVD gift set recommendations (1) civil rights (1) Clint Eastwood (3) Clive Owen (2) Coen brothers (2) Colin Firth (1) combat film (2) comedy (41) comedy drama (22) comedy of manners (1) comedy thriller (1) coming-of-age (8) communism (1) concert (4) cooking (3) Coraline (1) crafts and games (1) crime (6) crime drama (3) crime thriller (4) cuba gooding (1) Culture and Society (22) Czech (1) daniel day lewis (1) danish (4) dark comedy (1) denzel washington (2) detective (1) detective film (4) Disney (2) divine (1) docudrama (10) Documentary (21) domestic comedy (5) Donkey Kong (1) drama (99) dutch (2) DVD deals (1) dvd sets (1) Education (1) Emily Blunt (1) emily watson (1) ence fiction (1) ensemble film (6) erotic drama (2) errol morris (1) Escape Film (1) Ethiopia (1) European Film Award (1) Ewan McGregor (1) experimental (5) Facebook (1) fairy tale (3) Fall 2010 movie sneaks (1) Fall 2010 must-see movies (1) family (9) family drama (21) family-oriented adventure (2) family-oriented comedy (2) fantasy (6) fantasy adventure (3) fantasy comedy (2) fantasy drama (1) farce (2) feminist (1) film (1) film and television history (1) film noir (1) finance and investing (1) financial crisis (2) Fine Cut Festival of Student Film 2008 (1) food (2) foreign (8) Formula One Racing movie (1) french (27) games (1) gang (1) gangster film (1) Gary Goldstein (1) gay (6) gay and lesbian film (3) george clooney (3) german (3) Germany (1) gifts (1) GLBT (1) Glenn Gould (1) gospel music (1) Government (1) Great Recession (1) Gwneth Paltrow (1) Harry Potter (1) health and fitness (1) healthcare (1) Heath Ledger (1) Hebrew (2) Helen Mirrem (1) Helen Mirren (1) Helena Bonham Carter (1) historical epic (1) historical film (2) history (8) hobbies (2) holiday DVD gift sets (1) Holocaust (3) homophobia (1) honor killing (1) horses (1) Hurricane Katrina (1) hybrid western (1) Illness and Disabilitis (1) IMAX (1) independent film (1) India (1) ingmar bergman (1) inspirational drama (2) instrumental music (2) iranian (2) iraq war (10) Irish (3) Israel (5) Italian (6) James Gray (1) Jane Campion (1) Japanese (4) javier bardem (2) jazz film (1) jean-luc godard (1) Jeff Bridges (1) Jewish (2) Jim Broadbent (1) Joachim Phoenix (1) John le Carre (1) John Madden (1) john waters (1) Johnny Depp (2) Julia Child (1) Julia Roberts (2) Julianne Moore (1) Juliette Binoch (1) Juvenile Delinquency (1) KCET Public Television Southern California (1) Kenneth Turan (104) Kenneth Turan best movies 2010 (1) Kenneth Turan best movies 2011 (1) Kenneth Turan LA Times movie critic (1) kenneth turan picks best movies 2008 (1) kenneth turan picks best movies 2009 (1) Kevin Thomas LA Times critic (2) Korean (2) L.A. Times best L.A. films (1) L.A.-focused films (1) LA Times Critics' Choice movies (1) LA Times movie sneak peeks 2009 (1) LA Times movie sneak peeks 2010 (1) Laos (1) Lars von Trier (1) law and crime (5) LeBron James (1) Leonardo DiCaprio (2) LGBT (6) LGBT interest (1) literary figures (1) Los Angeles (2) love (1) Mandarin (2) marriage drama (4) martial arts (2) Martin Scorsese (1) matt damon (2) medical drama (1) melodrama (1) Meryl Streep (1) message_movie (1) Michael Keaton (1) michael moore (1) Michael Ordona (1) michelangelo antonioni (1) Mike Leigh (1) military (3) Military and War (1) mockumentary (1) modern noir (3) Mongolia (1) monster film (1) mountain climbing (1) movie merchandising (1) Mozart (1) music (6) music history (3) musical (3) musical comedy (4) musical drama (2) Mystery (1) NASA (60) national society of film critics (1) National Society of Film Critics best of 2007 (2) natural environments (1) Nazi concentration camp (1) Nazi Germany (3) new film (1) New York City (3) Norweigian (1) Not Rated (9) odd couple film (1) out on dvd (3) outlaw (1) Palestine (1) Palestinian (1) parody (1) Pat Tillman (1) Pedro Almadovar (1) Penelope Cruz (1) penguins (1) performance art (1) period film (27) personal recommedation (1) Philip Seymour Hoffman (1) philosophy (1) physical sciences (1) piano (1) Pierce Brosnan (1) Pixar (2) police comedy (1) police drama (1) political drama (5) political thriller (2) politics and government (5) post-noir (3) POW drama (1) psychological drama (31) psychological sci-fi (3) psychological thriller (7) race and ethnicity (1) Ratatouille (2) Rated G (1) Rated NC (1) Rated PG (8) Rated PG-13 (27) rated R (38) recommended movies (1) redemption (1) religion (3) religious drama (1) religious faith (1) revolution (1) ridley scott (1) road movie (1) road_movie (1) rock music (1) rock musical (2) Rolling Stones (1) Roman Polanski (1) romance (13) Romanian (2) romantic comedy (15) romantic d (1) romantic drama (12) Romantic Fantasy (1) Romantic Mystery (1) rugby (1) Rupert Friend (1) russell crowe (1) Russian (1) sales and marketing (1) San Francisco gay community (1) satire (2) sci-fi action (2) sci-fi adventure (4) sci-fi comedy (1) sci-fi disaster (1) sci-fi fantasy (4) science fiction (9) scottish (1) Sean_Penn (1) Second World War (1) Sex and the City (1) sex comedy (2) Sheri Linden (1) showbiz drama (1) silent movies (1) sketch comedy (1) skinhead (1) slice of life (9) sneak previews 2008 holiday movie season (1) social history (8) social issues (10) social science (1) socialism (1) Society (1) sociology (1) spanish (2) Spanish language (3) speech therapy (1) spirituality (1) spirituality and philosophy (1) spoof (1) sports (1) sports and recreation (3) sports drama (3) spy film (3) standup comedy (1) Star Trek (1) steroids (1) steve_niles (1) stop animation (1) Stop-Loss (1) student film (1) stuttering (1) suitable for children (2) Sundance audience award (1) sundance film festival (1) Sundance Grand Jury Prize (1) Sundance jury prize (1) superhero (1) supernatural drama (1) surfing (1) surrealist (1) suspense thriller (4) Swedish (1) Swedish film (1) Swedish Language Film (1) Swiss-German (2) teen movie (7) teenage angst (1) the visitor (1) thriller (13) Tibet (1) tommy lee jones (1) top 10 movies 2005 (1) top 10 movies 2007 (1) top movies 2008 (1) torture (1) tragedies and catastrophes (4) tragi-comedy (1) Turkish (1) tv and radio (1) U.S. Education System (1) Ugandan (1) unglamorized spy film (1) unrated (8) urban comedy (2) urban drama (2) Urban Drama 2008 (1) vampire movie (1) vampire_movies (1) Vanity Fair photos (1) Venice Silver Lion winner (1) vietnamese (1) Vinessa Shaw (1) visual arts (1) vocal music (4) Wall Street (1) war (7) war drama (5) Werner Herzog (2) Western (2) Will Ferrell (1) women in africa (1) women in Islam (1) women in society (1) Woody Allen (1) workplace comedy (3) World War II (1) WWII Resistance (1)