Article by Dane Eric Marti
Sometimes a film will speak directly to a person in an audience: A preternatural, unearthly tendril of luminous light tapping you on the shoulder, a benevolent yet mysterious voice reminding you of an obligation, or a musical, colorful Dream Message entering your eyes and speaking to your soul with wonder, awe and truth. Like other Art forms, film can do amazing things.
For me, there are definitely a few choice films of overwhelming, pristine power. Yet one cinematic work is not just great, deeply special to me: ‘Close Encounters of the Third Kind.’ Directed by the Wonderkind, Steven Spielberg, directly after his landmark suspense-adventure film, ‘Jaws’.
Now, his new flick, released in 1977, also dealt with the fantastic, with riveting moments of terror… but its endgame was something quite dissimilar.
I think it would take either a first-rate Psychologist or an Exorcist with a lot of...
Sometimes a film will speak directly to a person in an audience: A preternatural, unearthly tendril of luminous light tapping you on the shoulder, a benevolent yet mysterious voice reminding you of an obligation, or a musical, colorful Dream Message entering your eyes and speaking to your soul with wonder, awe and truth. Like other Art forms, film can do amazing things.
For me, there are definitely a few choice films of overwhelming, pristine power. Yet one cinematic work is not just great, deeply special to me: ‘Close Encounters of the Third Kind.’ Directed by the Wonderkind, Steven Spielberg, directly after his landmark suspense-adventure film, ‘Jaws’.
Now, his new flick, released in 1977, also dealt with the fantastic, with riveting moments of terror… but its endgame was something quite dissimilar.
I think it would take either a first-rate Psychologist or an Exorcist with a lot of...
- 8/31/2017
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
To celebrate the release of new horror Wish Upon – in cinemas 28th July – we are giving away a limited edition poster and t-shirt courtesy of Vertigo Releasing.
From the director of the hit chiller Annabelle, and featuring the stars of The Conjuring and Stranger Things, Wish Upon is a wickedly chilling story about an alluring object imbued with sinister and dangerous powers, a cautionary tale that takes the ‘be careful what you wish for’ theme to frightening new levels.
17-year-old Clare Shannon (Joey King) is barely surviving the hell that is high school, along with her friends, Meredith (Sydney Park) and June (Shannon Purser). So, when her dad (Ryan Phillippe) gifts her an old music box with an inscription that promises to grant the owner’s wishes, she thinks there is nothing to lose. Clare makes her first wish and, to her surprise, it comes true. Before long, she finally has it all: money,...
From the director of the hit chiller Annabelle, and featuring the stars of The Conjuring and Stranger Things, Wish Upon is a wickedly chilling story about an alluring object imbued with sinister and dangerous powers, a cautionary tale that takes the ‘be careful what you wish for’ theme to frightening new levels.
17-year-old Clare Shannon (Joey King) is barely surviving the hell that is high school, along with her friends, Meredith (Sydney Park) and June (Shannon Purser). So, when her dad (Ryan Phillippe) gifts her an old music box with an inscription that promises to grant the owner’s wishes, she thinks there is nothing to lose. Clare makes her first wish and, to her surprise, it comes true. Before long, she finally has it all: money,...
- 7/28/2017
- by Phil Wheat
- Nerdly
Every week, IndieWire asks a select handful of film and TV critics two questions and publishes the results on Monday. (The answer to the second, “What is the best film in theaters right now?”, can be found at the end of this post.)
This week’s question: Inspired by Baby Groot’s “Mr. Blue Sky” dance sequence at the beginning of “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2,” what movie has the best opening credits sequence?
April Wolfe (@awolfeful), La Weekly
Hands down, it’s R.W. Fassbinder’s “The Marriage of Maria Braun.” I watch the opening sequence at least three times a year and show it to every filmmaker I can. I love any film that begins with a bang, and this one does quite literally: We open up on an explosion that rips out a hunk of brick wall, exposing a German couple in the middle of a rushed marriage ceremony.
This week’s question: Inspired by Baby Groot’s “Mr. Blue Sky” dance sequence at the beginning of “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2,” what movie has the best opening credits sequence?
April Wolfe (@awolfeful), La Weekly
Hands down, it’s R.W. Fassbinder’s “The Marriage of Maria Braun.” I watch the opening sequence at least three times a year and show it to every filmmaker I can. I love any film that begins with a bang, and this one does quite literally: We open up on an explosion that rips out a hunk of brick wall, exposing a German couple in the middle of a rushed marriage ceremony.
- 5/8/2017
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
It’s been almost a year to the day since we lost David Bowie, but the rock icon and beloved creative force is still foremost in the minds of those who knew and loved him best. As Billboard reports, on Sunday evening, some of those people — including fans, friends and even former bandmates — gathered together to celebrate what would have been Bowie’s seventieth birthday for a three-hour charity concert at London’s Brixton Academy. It was an appropriately rocking and raucous event.
The show was hosted by actor (and close Bowie pal) Gary Oldman, who took the stage not only to emcee the event, but to rock out to a few of Bowie’s classics, including “Sorrow” and “The Man Who Sold the World.”
Read More: David Bowie’s ‘No Plan’ Music Video Is a Posthumous Tribute to the Departed Space Oddity — Watch
Oldman was joined by other luminaries and performers,...
The show was hosted by actor (and close Bowie pal) Gary Oldman, who took the stage not only to emcee the event, but to rock out to a few of Bowie’s classics, including “Sorrow” and “The Man Who Sold the World.”
Read More: David Bowie’s ‘No Plan’ Music Video Is a Posthumous Tribute to the Departed Space Oddity — Watch
Oldman was joined by other luminaries and performers,...
- 1/9/2017
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
Kirk Douglas is 100 years old today, and his famous daughter-in-law is celebrating the occasion with a sweet video montage of the actor’s life.
Catherine Zeta-Jones, who’s married to Douglas’s son Michael, posted the video to Instagram on Friday. The montage shows famous photographs of the Spartacus actor, as well as never-before-seen pictures and home movies from his private life.
“Happy birthday Kirk,” the video reads. “100 years old today. Love you Pappy.”
Set to David Bowie’s “Young Americans,” the video also shows adorable clips of the actor playing with his grandchildren, Dylan, 16, and Carys, 13. In one sequence,...
Catherine Zeta-Jones, who’s married to Douglas’s son Michael, posted the video to Instagram on Friday. The montage shows famous photographs of the Spartacus actor, as well as never-before-seen pictures and home movies from his private life.
“Happy birthday Kirk,” the video reads. “100 years old today. Love you Pappy.”
Set to David Bowie’s “Young Americans,” the video also shows adorable clips of the actor playing with his grandchildren, Dylan, 16, and Carys, 13. In one sequence,...
- 12/10/2016
- by m34miller
- PEOPLE.com
Happy 100th, that's right, 100th birthday to Kirk Douglas! The famed Hollywood legend, known for films such as Spartacus and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, and father of Michael Douglas turned 100 Friday and received a sweet video montage from his daughter-in-law, Catherine Zeta-Jones. The actress posted on her Instagram page a clip set to David Bowie's 1975 hit "Young Americans" that shows photos of Kirk with his family over the years, including pics of him with her, Michael, and their two children, Dylan, 16, and Carys, 13. "Happy birthday Kirk," the video reads. "100 years old today. Love you Pappy." There are also...
- 12/9/2016
- E! Online
"Steady as a preacher, free as a weed," goes the Lady Antebellum tune that gives filmmaker Andrea Arnold's teenage-island-of-misfit-toys road movie its title. You can see why those two things might be aspirations for Star (newcomer Sasha Lane), the teenager we first meet digging through the trash for food, grubby kid siblings in tow. Stability and liberation aren't things she comes across a lot. Her life is a wreck, her residence is a parody of Southern trashiness (ants on the counter, handsy stepdad in the living room, Dixie flag...
- 9/30/2016
- Rollingstone.com
By Patrick Shanley
Managing Editor
This year’s best documentary feature nominees continues a long trend of music docs being recognized by the Academy, as two music-related films have earned nominations at this year’s Oscars.
Amy, which tells the story of late songstress Amy Winehouse in her own words through never-before-seen archival footage and unreleased tracks and is nominated for best doc this year, earned nominations for the Queer Palm and Golden Eye awards at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival for director Asif Kapadia.
Filmmaker Liz Garbus earned the second nomination of her career with the Netflix documentary, What Happened, Miss Simone? The film focuses on the life of iconic R&B singer Nina Simone and her life as a singer, mother, and civil rights activist. Garbus earned her first Oscar nomination in 1998 for her documentary The Farm: Angola, USA.
Music-related docs have been a hot topic for the Academy in years past,...
Managing Editor
This year’s best documentary feature nominees continues a long trend of music docs being recognized by the Academy, as two music-related films have earned nominations at this year’s Oscars.
Amy, which tells the story of late songstress Amy Winehouse in her own words through never-before-seen archival footage and unreleased tracks and is nominated for best doc this year, earned nominations for the Queer Palm and Golden Eye awards at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival for director Asif Kapadia.
Filmmaker Liz Garbus earned the second nomination of her career with the Netflix documentary, What Happened, Miss Simone? The film focuses on the life of iconic R&B singer Nina Simone and her life as a singer, mother, and civil rights activist. Garbus earned her first Oscar nomination in 1998 for her documentary The Farm: Angola, USA.
Music-related docs have been a hot topic for the Academy in years past,...
- 1/22/2016
- by Patrick Shanley
- Scott Feinberg
During the encore of their three-and-a-half-hour concert, during which they performed The River in its entirety for the first time since 2009 (the tour will go on for nine weeks), Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band performed David Bowie's classic Diamond Dogs track "Rebel Rebel." The Boss talked about how Bowie, who died last week at 69, was an early advocate for the Jersey band, way, way, way back in the very, very beginning (1973), even inviting Springsteen and co. to the studio where Bowie was recording Young Americans. The cover, in classic Springsteen fashion, is neck-vein-bulging loud and features no less than three people playing the iconic riff. Doo doo doo-doo doo doo doo doo.
- 1/17/2016
- by Greg Cwik
- Vulture
In a tribute published via Rolling Stone on Tuesday, Chuck Palahniuk explained how David Bowie helped jump-start the author's career. Intense fondness for the late rock idol's work had reached new heights when, in the summer of ’86, the writer heard Bowie doing sound checks for a tour stop in Portland, virtually right outside his apartment window. "He'd sing most of 'Young Americans' and stop. Then begin from the beginning. Over and over," wrote Palahniuk, who, at the time, lived near Civic Stadium as a newly graduated, loan-plagued newspaper reporter. "All afternoon, my friends and I were in a music video, dancing on our perfect Hollywood backlot street, drinking beer and enjoying a concert none of us could afford to attend. The repetition of the song, the beer and the sunshine were hypnotic." Palahniuk tapped that same blissful repetition a decade later to nab a meeting with the person...
- 1/13/2016
- by Sean Fitz-Gerald
- Vulture
To a young journalist in the mid-'70s, David Bowie was the ungettable interview. He did not speak to the press. Still, through some cajoling from Ron Wood of The Rolling Stones and Glenn Hughes of Deep Purple, both of whom I’d previously profiled, David Bowie called me from a cross-country train trip. “I’ve left my manager,” he said, “I’m traveling to L.A. I’ll call you when I arrive and we can do an interview.” I followed him, with tape rolling, for six months as he transitioned from Young Americans to his next phase, The Thin
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- 1/12/2016
- by Cameron Crowe
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Cameron Crowe joined the mob of celebrities memorializing the late David Bowie on Monday, dedicating a blog post to the rock legend whom he first met as a journalist. The now writer-director had the rare opportunity of catching him for six months in the mid-’70s, interviewing him as he bounced around L.A., shifting from Young Americans to Station to Station. "Bowie was the most generous and entertaining interview subject I’d ever met," writes Crowe. "When he asked to meet you, it was rarely casual. You would be ushered into the room where he was waiting, and the artist would be perfectly positioned, his head cocked at the perfect angle to catch the light. It was not an affectation. He naturally staged himself, only to break out of such an iconic pose with a crackling smile and jaunty warmth." The Almost Famous helmer goes on to reminisce about Bowie's ferocious creativity,...
- 1/12/2016
- by Sean Fitz-Gerald
- Vulture
Monday morning, the world woke up from its collective Golden Globes hangover to find out that David Bowie had died at 69. Obviously, nothing about this is okay, so we're going to work through this the only way we really can: by watching old videos and weeping stoically at our desks. Join us. 'Life on Mars' Most Poignant Lyrics to Hear Today: "Wonder if he'll ever know / He's in the best-selling show / Is there life on Mars?" 'Ashes to Ashes' Most Poignant Lyrics to Hear Today: "I've heard a rumor from Ground Control / Oh no, don't say...
- 1/11/2016
- by Alex Heigl, @alex_heigl
- PEOPLE.com
Monday morning, the world woke up from its collective Golden Globes hangover to find out that David Bowie had died at 69. Obviously, nothing about this is okay, so we're going to work through this the only way we really can: by watching old videos and weeping stoically at our desks. Join us. 'Life on Mars' Most Poignant Lyrics to Hear Today: "Wonder if he'll ever know / He's in the best-selling show / Is there life on Mars?" 'Ashes to Ashes' Most Poignant Lyrics to Hear Today: "I've heard a rumor from Ground Control / Oh no, don't say...
- 1/11/2016
- by Alex Heigl, @alex_heigl
- PEOPLE.com
Music legend David Bowie had died at the age of 69, it has been confirmed. The news was released late Sunday on his official Facebook page. A statement to fans read: "David Bowie died peacefully today surrounded by his family after a courageous 18-month battle with cancer. While many of you will share in this loss, we ask that you respect the family’s privacy during their time of grief." Very sorry and sad to say it's true. I'll be offline for a while. Love to all. pic.twitter.com/Kh2fq3tf9m— Duncan Jones (@ManMadeMoon) January 11, 2016 Bowie's son Duncan...
- 1/11/2016
- by George Stark and Aaron Couch
- PEOPLE.com
13 years ago today, Eminem began what remains his longest stay atop the Billboard Hot 100 when “Lose Yourself” reached No. 1. The rap hit held onto the top spot for 12 weeks. Written during breaks on set while filming “8 Mile,” the song loosely follows the storyline of the leading character’s struggle to break from poverty and launch a rap career. Eminem created an intense and memorable sound for the song with a moody electric guitar riff and his trademark tinkling piano punctuating hip-hop beats. Its stay atop the chart began a day after the theatrical release of “8 Mile.” The track was the first rap song to ever win an Oscar for Best Original Song, beating fellow nominees U2 and Paul Simon. Other notable November 9 happenings in pop culture history: • 1961: Brian Epstein, the Beatles’ famed manager, first saw a performance by the group that would become the Fab Four (though with Pete Best...
- 11/9/2015
- by Emily Rome
- Hitfix
When Neil Patrick Harris returns to TV next week, he won't be cracking jokes in another sitcom. Best Time Ever With Neil Patrick Harris (debuting on September 15th on NBC) marks the return — overdue or not — of the variety show, that long-dormant format in which kooky skits, musical guests, and frenzied production numbers are jammed into an hour of family-friendly entertainment. "When you think of the variety shows we all grew upon — Sonny and Cher and Donny and Marie — those [programs] all said, 'Sit on the couch, be entertained with a little song,...
- 9/10/2015
- Rollingstone.com
Just because American Idol‘s Top 6 will cover “Arena Anthems” next Wednesday (8/7c on Fox) doesn’t mean we want a Jock Jams-type situation. (Not that there’s anything wrong with “Pump Up the Jam,” mind you.)
Thankfully, the parameters for the theme are a little broader than that — essentially “songs that can entertain a massive crowd and are performed by mega superstars.”
RelatedMay Sweeps Scorecard 2015: Weddings, Deaths, Breakups, Sex, Resurrections, Firings and More!
With that in mind, we’ve cooked up some dream suggestions for the six remaining finalists — the better to stop them from offering up the...
Thankfully, the parameters for the theme are a little broader than that — essentially “songs that can entertain a massive crowd and are performed by mega superstars.”
RelatedMay Sweeps Scorecard 2015: Weddings, Deaths, Breakups, Sex, Resurrections, Firings and More!
With that in mind, we’ve cooked up some dream suggestions for the six remaining finalists — the better to stop them from offering up the...
- 4/17/2015
- TVLine.com
By Anjelica Oswald
Managing Editor
Keep on Keepin’ On, director Alan Hicks’ debut film, follows four years of the friendship and mentorship between jazz legend and trumpeter Clark Terry, who played with Count Basie and Duke Ellington and taught a young Quincy Jones how to play, and Justin Kauflin, a talented 23-year-old blind pianist. The two musicians support each other as Terry begins to lose his eyesight due to health issues and as Kauflin deals with stage fright as a semi-finalist in the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition. The film is one of 15 films on the Oscar documentary shortlist, five of which will be nominated on Jan. 15.
The Academy is particularly fond of music-related documentaries, nominating 17 since 1942, with eight winning. Keep on Keepin’ On could join the following Oscar-nominated films:
Festival (1967)
Director Murray Lerner’s black-and-white documentary offers a glimpse into three years (1963-1966) of the Newport Folk Festival, which...
Managing Editor
Keep on Keepin’ On, director Alan Hicks’ debut film, follows four years of the friendship and mentorship between jazz legend and trumpeter Clark Terry, who played with Count Basie and Duke Ellington and taught a young Quincy Jones how to play, and Justin Kauflin, a talented 23-year-old blind pianist. The two musicians support each other as Terry begins to lose his eyesight due to health issues and as Kauflin deals with stage fright as a semi-finalist in the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition. The film is one of 15 films on the Oscar documentary shortlist, five of which will be nominated on Jan. 15.
The Academy is particularly fond of music-related documentaries, nominating 17 since 1942, with eight winning. Keep on Keepin’ On could join the following Oscar-nominated films:
Festival (1967)
Director Murray Lerner’s black-and-white documentary offers a glimpse into three years (1963-1966) of the Newport Folk Festival, which...
- 1/8/2015
- by Anjelica Oswald
- Scott Feinberg
Only a few days out from the release of his new “definitive collection” box set, David Bowie has released a suitably noirish new music video for “Sue (Or In A Season Of Crime)”. Directed by Tom Hingston and photographer Jimmy King, the video features footage of Bowie and the Maria Schneider Orchestra recording the track in a studio, superimposed atop shots of a dark, smoke-filled city. “Sue” and Bowie’s recently released demo “Tis a Pity She Was a Whore” will be released both as a digital single and a 10-inch vinyl, first in the U.K. on November 17th, then as a “Black Friday” in the U.S. on November 28th. The video was made to promote “Nothing Has Changed,” a new retrospective box that presents songs from throughout Bowie’s career in reverse chronological order. Watch the video below.
Here are the tracklists for the various digital download,...
Here are the tracklists for the various digital download,...
- 11/16/2014
- by Ricky
- SoundOnSight
Only a few days out from the release of his new "definitive collection" box set, David Bowie takes you out to an alley and laments your death. The Thin White Duke has released the new music video for "Sue (Or In A Season Of Crime)" that's black and white and film noir all over. Serving more as a lyric video than a narrative, the clip is directed by Tom Hingston (who leads a British creative agency) and photographer Jimmy King. It subtly lets you focus on the small story Bowie's telling of Sue, and the humming contributions of the Maria Schneider Orchestra and Grammy Award-nominated saxophone honcho Donnie McCaslin. "Sue" and Bowie's recently released (and dizzyingly titled) demo "Tis a Pity She Was a Whore" were released in promoting "Nothing Has Changed," a new retrospective box set from Bowie and Columbia/Legacy. It comes in a variety of formats --...
- 11/13/2014
- by Katie Hasty
- Hitfix
Beverly Hills — Gregg Alexander is enamored by movies. He grew up in a conservative household where television was "Satan's tool," but he'd sneak off to friends' houses to watch theirs instead. He talks passionately about filmmakers like the Coen brothers, Michael Haneke and Mike Leigh and seems eager to be a part of an industry he finds incredibly efficient. So it's perfectly fitting that he would eventually make his way there via a collaboration on John Carney's "Begin Again," and maybe even more understanding that after 15 years of being relatively reclusive away from touring and the media, he's finally speaking out again in support of the film and his work on tracks like "Lost Stars," which is primed for a Best Original Song Oscar nomination. "It's been exciting and to some degree emboldened me and been a reminder that film and music are amazing dancing partners," Alexander says of his experience.
- 10/25/2014
- by Kristopher Tapley
- Hitfix
On the list of horror’s least scary villains, Warwick Davis’ title character in the Leprechaun films rates right near the top. The evil little imp was often more funny than terrifying – a fact that was always a disappointment for me because it felt like the character could have been frightening in the right hands. Maybe the character will get his chance to terrify in the upcoming reboot Leprechaun Origins, which is backed by Lionsgate and WWE Studios. This new trailer for the film doesn’t have a single laugh in it, which is a promising sign, at least. The setup should look familiar to anyone who’s seen a horror film in the past three decades: Young Americans head to an isolated locale to do their thing (Ireland, in this case), and before you know...
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- 6/10/2014
- by Mike Bracken
- Movies.com
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