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Movies editor Dawn Burkes and critic Chris Vognar offer views, news and nuggets on all things movies. November 2009
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VideoFest this weekend at the Angelika Paste's Top 50 films of the decade Chris Vognar at the Austin Film Festival 'This Is It' tickets still widely available Recent Comments
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November 6, 2009
Herewith the award winners for this year's VideoFest, with comments from the judges. Congrats, and spoils, to the victors. Best feature documentary
The entry "Best of VideoFest" has no entry tags.
No, video is not dead. You may have your swank DVD's and Blu-rays piled high around your TV, but the art of video-making continues strong. VideoFest (that Bart Weiss-driven thing known as the Dallas Video Festival for the past 21 years) is going on right now at the Angelika Film Center. With screenings through Sunday, you have plenty of time to make it down to Mockingbird Station and check out some of the local and international films. Scope it out before you go with these details from movie critic Chris Vognar. Tell us, which videos did you see? Any low-key artists from the festival we should watch out for? The entry "VideoFest this weekend at the Angelika" is tagged: Angelika , Angelika Dallas , Angelika Film Center , Dallas Video Festival , Videofest November 3, 2009
I dig Paste magazine. It's hip without being hipper than thou, and the staff tends to have good tatse (meaning their interests coincide with mine). So peep Paste's tally of the Top 50 films of the decade (yeah it's about that time). No. 1: City of God. The rest? Keep reading. The entry "Paste's Top 50 films of the decade" has no entry tags. November 2, 2009
The Couch Potato got so excited about this week's DVD releases that he wrote way over his allotted space. (Cursed newshole). Here's what got cut. Enjoy. Gone but not forgotten The best impressionists don't turn into carbon copies of their subjects; they take a trait or two and accentuate to hilarious proportions. That's what Will Ferrell does in You're Welcome America, his Tony-nominated one-man George W. Bush show captured for posterity by HBO. Ferrell's Bush is the swaggering, eager-to-please frat boy more comfortable with bestowing jocular nicknames than conducting foreign policy. The anger of You're Welcome America -- and it's there if you look deep enough -- is wrapped snugly inside the comedian's art. And if you want a little bit of inexplicable full-frontal nudity, they got that, too. This is, after all, Will Ferrell. Also this week The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 -- Underrated Tony Scott remake in standard and Blu-ray. G.I. Joe: Rise of the Cobra -- The cobra rises. Filmmaking falls. The Watchmen: Ultimate Blu-Ray -- Apparently even more ultimate than the previous Blu-ray. Star Wars: The Clone Wars - Season One -- Love me some General Grievous. Bela Fleck: Throw Down Your Heart -- Acclaimed documentary on the banjo maestro and the instrument's African folk traditions. The entry "More on this week's DVDs" has no entry tags.
So, now there's a TV show, a lounge, several homes on the Web and so on and so forth. Turns out the folks in charge of opening this restaurant didn't check with another place called Volterra in Seattle. But owners Annette and Tim Root say that "Volterra" is just a working name. Stay tuned. (Photo of Robert Pattinson as Edward Cullen and Kristen Stewart as Bella Swan by Kimberley French for Summit Entertainment) The entry "'Twilight' empire expands" is tagged: alternative , chicks on flicks , movie news , Twilight October 27, 2009
Movie critic Chris Vognar is at the Austin Film Festival through Oct. 29. Follow him for updates at twitter.com/guidelivemovies. The entry "Chris Vognar at the Austin Film Festival" is tagged: AFF , Austin Film Festival October 26, 2009
The movie's running time is 1 hour and 51 minutes, for those of you wondering just how much of the reported 120 hours of footage made it onto the screen. I'm sure the DVD will be ready for purchase during the holiday season. Aren't you?
The entry "'This Is It' tickets still widely available" is tagged: alternative , chicks on flicks , Michael Jackson , movie news , This Is It October 9, 2009
So the marketing-savvy folks at Disney have unleashed a combo DVD/Blu-ray package edition of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. A few thoughts: The film looks remarkably clear - almost too clear. There's something about the old-fashioned Disney animation style - 1937, in this case - that's a little jarring in Blu-ray. The line looks harder than ever; you half expect Her Fairness to jump of the screen and sing in your ear. It is indeed a pioneering work of narrative feature-length animation: strong story arc, vivid characters, everything we would come to take for granted in animated movies. Speaking of song: When I think back to the satiric slings and arrows hurled by Shrek, I think of Snow White. Spontaneous treacle abounds. This is one happy chick. Finally: What's with the "fair" obsession? Why is the queen so color-conscious? Of course nine years later Disney would remove all subtext with Song of the South. Snow "White?" Hmmm. Better get Undercover Brother on the case. In the meantime, The Princess and the Frog await. The entry "Snow White and the Blu-ray Dwarfs" is tagged: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs October 6, 2009
I've always had a thing for American movies of the '30s. The period is right up there with the early-to-mid '70s in terms of artistic creativity; the coming of sound and the turmoil of the Great Depression combined to yield some of the most bracing work to emerge from American pop culture. Now I've got an extra reason to indulge my habit. I'm almost done with Dancing in the Dark, Morris Dickstein's addictive cultural history of the Great Depression (which I'll be writing about soon in the DMN). So I've been staying up way too late digging into the world of '30s comedy, a field always worth revisiting. The entry "My '30s Hollywood kick " is tagged: Cary Grant , Frank Capra , The Awful Truth , You Can't Take it With You October 2, 2009
On Austin, the city where much of Whip It is set (though most of was it was shot in Michigan): "When I go to Austin I hang out on South Congress and go to the Alamo Draft House. I live for Waterloo Records. We did this thing at the bat bridge that got cut out. When we scouted it the bats came out but when we got there to shoot it was too late in the season and it was night time and then it became a night scene instead of a day scene and everything got screwed up. I have a real love and affinity for Texas in general but I'm, madly in love with Austin." On roller derby: "The sport went through a lot of evolutions. It was fake and then it was staged, and then it became a competitive sport again. They started forming leagues, and the legend is that it re-ignited in Austin. A lot of the girls in the movie came from the roller derby world, including the doubles because we had to do second unit. I put the actresses through an intensive training camp because I think it's important that actors do their own stunts. The real players trained the actresses. We Worked a lot with the LA Derby Girls, and the Austin girls, and the Detroit girls. I've gotten to know a lot of derby girls." On getting older and wiser: "When I was in my 20s I was obsessed with happy endings. Now, in my 30s, I just like a good day. I know life goes on. There is no ending except when we pass on to the other side. It's an ongoing process. Life is a beautiful 'dot dot dot' if you're lucky." The entry "More from Drew" is tagged: Drew Barrmore , Whip It
Well, skaters from the Assassination City Roller Derby will be at the Magnolia tonight. They'll be signing autographs and taking pictures. They will also introduce the film for the 7:15 and the 9:50 shows. The league is home to three teams -- the Deadly Kennedys, Lone Star Assassins and Bombshell Brigade -- and a travel team. They've named Barrymore "Motley Drew," in honor of the occasion. (Photo by Darren Michaels/Fox Searchlight) The entry "ACRD Scatters will 'Whip It' tonight" is tagged: Assassination City Roller Derby , chicks on flicks , Drew Barrymore , events , in theaters , Magnolia , Whip It September 28, 2009
From The Associated Press: LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Michael Jackson is still playing to sellout crowds. The entry "Michael Jackson sneak peek screenings sell out in 2 hours" is tagged: Michael Jackson: This Is It , sneak peek , sold out September 18, 2009
The film features British actor Pete Postelthwaite (right) and is set in 2055. Postelthwaite plays an old man, an archivist, who's watching footage from 2008 while bemoaning the preventable damage done to the environment. Thus, it's what he calls "The Age of Stupid." You can see this film all over the Metroplex, including three screenings in Dallas: Cinemark 17; UA Galaxy Stadium 10; AMC NorthPark 15. The filmmakers are doing their part by sending the movie via satellite from a "solar-powered cinema tent" in downtown New York City. For more information, go to www.ageofstupid.net. The entry "'The Age of Stupid' screens Monday" is tagged: Pete Postelthwaite , Stephen Holden , The Age of Stupid , The New York Times September 15, 2009
Whip It director-actress Drew Barrymore will make an appearance from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday (Sept. 16) at Urban Outfitters in Mockingbird Station. Members of the Dallas Derby Devils roller-derby league will also be on hand, and a DJ from "Kiss FM" KHKS-FM (106.1) will host the event. Wristbands for a meet-and-greet with Barrymore will be given out starting at 5:30. The movie, which opens Oct. 2, stars Barrymore, Ellen Page and Kristen Wiig as competitive skaters. 5331 E. Mockingbird Lane. Free. 214-821-4371. www.urbanoutfitters.com. (The photo's from the Associated Press) The entry "Drew Barrymore to appear at Urban Outfitters at Mockingbird Station" is tagged: Dallas Derby Devils , Drew Barrymore , Mockingbird Station September 11, 2009
Bacall, Corman, Willis to get honorary Oscars The entry "Honorary Oscars awarded" is tagged: Gordon Willis , Lauren Bacall , Oscars , Roger Corman
Sorority Row doesn't allow critics (Photo by Michael Desmond/Summit Entertainment) The entry "Out in the cold: 'Sorority Row'" is tagged: chicks on flicks , movie news , Sorority Row
I Can Do Bad All By Myself, without any help from critics TYLER PERRY'S I CAN DO BAD ALL BY MYSELF (Photo of Taraji P. Henson from Lionsgate) The entry "Out in the cold: 'Tyler Perry's I Can Do Bad By Myself'" is tagged: Tyler Perry's I Can Do Bad By Myself September 10, 2009
If that's too much information too late, then you can wake up early tomorrow morning and head downtown to WFAA studios in Victory Park (3030 Olive St.). The wax figure will be there at 8:15 a.m. Sharp. (LOL ... I crack myself up!) Tussauds spokesman Neil Linssen, who is also a sculptor and artist, is riding shotgun withthe statue. He'll talk about the sculpting process. The head of this particular figure took more than six weeks so that they could get an accurate likeness of Jackman. I'll race you there! (And, um, yeah. That's the wax figure to your right ...) The entry "'Wolverine' comes to Dallas" is tagged: chicks on flicks , Madame Tussauds , Wolverine
The Toronto International Film Festival opened Thursday. In its 33rd year, the festival boasts 335 films from 64 countries. Creation, starring Paul Bettany and wife Jennifer Connelly as Mr. and Mrs. Charles Darwin, opens the 10-day fest. Pull out your awards card and start taking notes: The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' best picture, Slumdog Millionaire, won the People's Choice award at last year's edition. Stars will be all over, and that includes the Queen of All Media, Oprah Winfrey, who will attend in support of Push, which is already garnering Oscar mention. Follow movie critic Chris Vognar as he wades through the sea of celebrities (and their movies) @guidelivemovies and here at the Screening Room. The entry "Dispatches from TIFF: Our man in Toronto" is tagged: TIFF , Toronto International Film Festival September 4, 2009
The entry "New releases for Sept. 4" is tagged: All About Steve , Extract , Gamer , It Might Get Loud , My One and Only , new releases , Seraphine , Soul Power , World's Greatest Dad |
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