News

‘Last Airbender’ cleans up at the Razzies

M. Night Shyamalan’s mystical “The Last Airbender,” about characters who can manipulate the elements, led all other contenders Saturday with five Razzie awards, including Worst Picture, Worst...

Feb 28, 2011 / Eric M. Armstrong

The Prize: Not a Winner

After yesterday’s blog on My Best Enemy , a film set during Germany’s fascist past, today’s blog reviews a film set during the country’s communist period, as well as the present-day. The Prize ( Der...

Feb 19, 2011 / Alison Frank

My Best Enemy: One of the Berlinale’s best films

Wolfgang Murnburger’s latest film tells the story of two lifelong friends, Rudi and Victor: when World War II breaks out, Rudi joins the Nazis and betrays Victor, who is Jewish. This is all I knew...

Feb 17, 2011 / Alison Frank

Berlinale Day 4: The Allegory of the ‘Cave of Forgotten Dreams’, 3D

When I arrived at my hotel in Berlin to cover this festival, I was surprised to discover a default image of a fireplace quietly crackling away on the flat screen TV on the wall of my room. I wondered...

Feb 14, 2011 / Alison Frank

Berlinale Day 5: Ancient meets Modern in ‘Tales of the Night’

In Cave of Forgotten Dreams Herzog couldn’t resist commenting on the cinematic dimensions he perceived in the 32,000 year old Chauvet cave paintings. He noted that some of the animals portrayed had 8...

Feb 14, 2011 / Alison Frank

Animated

Berlinale Day 3: Zuzana Liová’s ‘House’

Dom ( House , Zuzana Liová, 2011) tells the story of a family in a small Czech town. Imrich wanted to give his daughters a good start in life by building them each a house on the same land as the...

Feb 13, 2011 / Alison Frank

Animated

Albanian ‘Amnesty’ at the Berlinale: A Quiet Drama

Life is not easy for Elsa: her husband is in prison for gambling debts, she has just lost her job at the factory, she has two young sons to look after, and a elderly little father-in-law who lives...

Feb 11, 2011 / Alison Frank

The Berlinale Opens with True Grit

True Grit, the Coen Brothers’ latest feature, opened the 61st Berlin Film Festival this evening. Based on a novel of the same name by Charles Portis, the Coen Brothers’ film is the second film...

Feb 11, 2011 / Alison Frank

Henry Cavill to play Superman in Zack Snyder-directed film

Henry Cavill, star of Showtime’s period drama “The Tudors,” has been given the keys to the Fortress of Solitude. The 27-year-old actor, who was on the short lists to play both Batman and Superman...

Jan 31, 2011 / Eric M. Armstrong

‘The King’s Speech’ reigns with 12 Oscar nominations

Tom Hooper’s period drama about King George VI and his debilitating speech impediment reigned supreme with 12 Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, Best Actor (Colin Firth), Best Supporting...

Jan 25, 2011 / Eric M. Armstrong

WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange, to get a big screen biopic

WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange, who has stirred global controversy by releasing classified documents and communication wires between top government officials, will get his story told on the big...

Jan 21, 2011 / Eric M. Armstrong

Anne Hathaway to play Catwoman, Tom Hardy to play Bane in ‘The Dark Knight Rises’

Batman may have found himself a new love interest, and a new baddy to defend Gotham against once again. On Wednesday, Warner Bros. Pictures announced that Anne Hathaway (“Rachel Getting Married”) has...

Jan 19, 2011 / Eric M. Armstrong

James Bond Will Return

For months, millions of fans around the globe have been wondering, ‘Will James Bond return?’ Now they can finally rejoice; his licence to kill has not been revoked. After his involuntary hiatus, the...

Jan 17, 2011 / Torsten Reitz