For a critic, loving a movie means never having to say you’re sorry … for a review that makes no sense to the average moviegoer. That’s the conclusion I came to after being swayed by rave reviews for the George Clooney thriller ‘The American’ such … Read more

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By now we’re used to notable directors pausing from their cinematic schedules to whip some short and fancy advertisement for everything from perfume to cars. David Lynch. Martin Scorsese. Wes Anderson. Terry Gilliam. Kathryn Bigelow. Michel Gondry. Even Frank Miller got into the trend this year.

But there’s one name you’d probably never expect to be linked to an ad — a fashion short no less! — Harmony Korine. The man who mused up Kids and then wrote and directed the likes of Gummo, Julien Donkey Boy, and Mister Lonely has crafted a short film for the fashion company Proenza Schouler called Act Da Fool.

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Continue reading Watch This: Harmony Korine’s Fashion Short, ‘Act Da Fool’

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Ridley Scott has revealed the two ‘Alien’ prequels will be “really nasty” and “tough” to watch.

Dominic Cooper is afraid of being typecast as “the guy from ‘Mamma Mia!’ who sings on a jet ski.”

Robert Pattinson reportedly narrowly escaped being crushed by an elephant on the set of his new movie ‘Water for Elephants’.

Evan Rachel Wood was reassured about filming a nude scene for her new movie ‘Mildred Pierce’ by co-star Kate Winslet.

Alexander Skarsgard occasionally feels like the “ugliest person on the planet” and can’t understand why people find him attractive.

Daniel Radcliffe’s ‘Harry Potter’ co-stars designed a giant piece of artwork as a 21st birthday present for the star.

‘Doctor Who’ star David Tennant will take on the role of a magician in ‘Fright Night’ remake

I suppose it’s a testament to the supreme craft and professionalism of Danny Boyle and his crew that watching 127 Hours feels a bit like having surgery; the kind where you’re asked to bite down on something. It’s gut-wrenching in a queasy, horror-movie way – a shield-your-eyes-from-the-screen, chuckle-in-relieved-astonishment sort of experience, done incredibly well. Which is to say: you probably already know whether or not you’re interested.

Then again, if you’re at all familiar with the book or true story on which the movie’s based, you probably already knew. There is, for once, truth in advertising. This is a film about a dude who goes exploring in a remote part of Utah’s Canyonlands National Park, has a mishap, and gets his arm pinned under a rock. And gets stuck, alone, with a single Nalgene water bottle, a sandwich, and no cell phone. And eventually… Well, either you know how the story ends or you don’t, in which case you can likely guess. Suffice it to say that what does happen, we see and hear in excruciatingly painful detail – including what may be the single most horrifying sound effect in movie history.

This may sound like odd subject matter for the flashy, exuberant Boyle. 127 Hours is not his first attempt at a genre film, but his others – the zombie flick 28 Days Later and the underrated sci-fi drama Sunshine – both had an epic sweep that’s the antithesis of this purposefully compact story. Literally trapped in a narrow crevasse, Boyle instead expands the film through his protagonist, but there too, his ambitions are modest. It becomes, believe it or not, a sort of brutal coming-of-age story.

Filed under: Thrillers, Telluride, Theatrical Reviews

Continue reading Telluride Review: 127 Hours

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