Clint Eastwood doesn't always play nice in the drama "Gran Torino."
This week’s DVD releases are anchored by a Clint Eastwood drama that earned the veteran performer a best actor nod from the National Board of Review.
Tag Archives: film
‘Dances With Wolves’ writer attending this year’s Reno Film Festival
Michael Blake
Michael Blake is best known as a behind-the-scenes guy, but the “Dances With Wolves” novelist and screenwriter stepped in front of the camera for “The American West: On the Road With Michael Blake.”
In the documentary film, showing June 21 at the Reno Film Festival, Blake takes viewers on a journey through great moments in U.S. history, especially as they relate to American Indians. He will be at the Reno screening to talk about the film, which was inspired by his first non-fiction book, “Indian Yell: The Heart of an American Insurgency.”
Click here for full story: http://rgj.com/article/20090607/ENT/906070305/1056/+Dances++writer+presenting+documentary+of+the+West
Filed under Features
Reno Film Festival: Indies and more
Actress Stella Stevens will appear at the Reno Film Festival this month
During its nine years, the Reno Film Festival has seen its share of change. It debuted in October 2000 and served as an outlet, primarily, for classic movies. In the early days, screenings of great films were paired with appearances by beloved stars and directors, including Rod Steiger, Tony Curtis and George Sidney.
Since, the festival has morphed, moving first to November, then May and finally this year to June. It also has shifted from showing mainly classics to include an increasing number of independent pictures. Also, organizers have placed less of a focus on celebrities.
“If Kevin Costner wanted to come, we would certainly have star power, but it’s always difficult for us to get them (stars) lined up and everything,” said festival spokesman Bob Alessandrelli. “We actually have, the last few years, morphed more into the indies.”
This year’s festival, running June 17-21, isn’t free of classic films or stars. For instance, actress Stella Stevens will be in town June 20 to sign autographs and talk about her 1970 feature “The Ballad of Cable Hogue.”
Click here for full story: http://rgj.com/article/20090607/ENT/906070304/1056/Reno+Film+Festival+focuses+on+indies++American+West+and+free+flicks
Filed under Movie News, Uncategorized
‘Up’ avoids gimmicky 3D
Carl Frederickson launches his house into the sky in the movie "Up."
Don’t go to Pixar Animation Studio’s first 3-D feature expecting things to fly out of the screen and hover in your face. That’s not going to happen.
“Our job is to make the audience forget they’re at the movies, as opposed to reminding them they’re watching a movie,” said producer Jonas Rivera. “We treated the screen more like a window looking in, you know, almost like a diorama. That just felt right.”
In other words, the 3-D version of “Up,” opening nationwide Friday, gives the action extra dimension, but it isn’t filled with typical 3-D gimmicks.
Click here for full story: http://rgj.com/article/20090524/ENT/905240337/1056/Directors%20knew%20just%20who%20to%20turn%20to%20for%20%20Up
Filed under Features
Director bringing indie film to Reno
I figure readers in the Reno area will be interested that Louis Mandylor is bringing his film “In the Eyes of a Killer” to Reno Saturday, April 25, and admission is free.
Click here for the details: http://www.rgj.com/section/blogs10?plckController=Blog&plckScript=blogScript&plckElementId=blogDest&plckBlogPage=BlogViewPost&plckPostId=Blog%3ab52afc96-c17f-4757-89f2-89834028aca8Post%3ade69ad86-8aa8-4145-9987-0339f8e9fda0&sid=sitelife.rgj.com
Filed under Quick Hits
Video Verdict: New DVDs for March 10
Josh Brolin, left, plays Dan White and Sean Penn plays Harvey Milk in the drama "Milk."
It’s an exceptionally busy week on the home video front, with film lovers gaining access to a 2008 best picture nominee, a crude-but-funny Hollywood comedy, a Jason Statham action flick and a handful of notable indies.
Filed under Video Verdict
Are we ready for “Watchmen”?
Malin Akerman in "Watchmen."
SAN FRANCISCO — The road to the “Watchmen” movie was long, bumpy and routed through rugged, unfamiliar territory. That it finally opened in theaters at midnight Thursday brings that road to an end. But one question still burns: Are audiences ready for an R-rated superhero spectacle that has been described by some as unfilmable?
“There are a lot of reasons, I think, why the movie didn’t get made up until now,” director Zack Snyder said during an interview last week at the WonderCon comic convention in San Francisco. “(Producer) Larry Gordon said, ‘It’s not unfilmable, it’s unfinanceable,’ which I thought was a really interesting distinction. … Culture, I hope, is ready for ‘Watchmen’ now.”
Click here for the full story: http://www.rgj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200990305026
Filed under Features
Which “Watchmen” character is best?
“Watchmen” opens at midnight today in many markets. Get in the mood by voting in my “Watchmen” poll (below). And, to check out other polls, click here: https://foresthartman.com/category/polls/
Filed under Polls
Video Verdict: New DVDs for March 3
Piper Perabo, left, and Jamie Lee Curtis with the canine star of "Beverly Hills Chihuahua."
This week is relatively light on major video releases, but the quality of the titles more than makes up for the slight number.
Filed under Video Verdict
Oscars: Who will win tonight?
Dev Patel, left, and Anil Kapoor in "Slumdog Millionaire," Forrest's pick to win Oscar's best picture.
Predicting who will win the Academy Awards is a lot like predicting the weather. No matter how sure you feel, there’s always a surprise. A low pressure front that moves in unexpectedly, a fast-moving hail storm, ridiculously strong winds.
Still, there are signs that a skilled prognosticator can read to get things right at least some of the time.
Yes, its that time of year when I put my reputation on the line and offer my best guesses as to who will win cinema’s biggest awards. So, without further delay, my predictions for tonight’s Oscars in several key categories.
Click here to read more: http://rgj.com/article/20090222/ENT/902220303/1056
