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Director Francis Lawrence (“I Am Legend,” “Constantine”) and screenwriter Richard LaGravenese (“Beloved,” “The Horse Whisperer”) have taken liberties with their film adaptation of novelist Sara Gruen’s “Water for Elephants,” but the changes shouldn’t upset anyone, as the result is a well-produced Depression-era love story.
It’s been a great year for Marvel, as three of the comic book company’s superhero titles have made their way to the big screen, each garnering critical praise and respectable box-office numbers. “Thor” got things started in early May, followed closely by “X-Men: First Class.” “Captain America: The First Avenger” hit theaters most recently, and it maintained the high quality set by the earlier films.
The annual Silent Film Festival (Le Giornate del Cinema Muto) has been attracting increasingly larger and more youthful crowds of silent film enthusiasts to Pordenone, Italy. Inhabiting a media culture in which portable film screens feel more and more like sensory extensions of one’s own body—from the iPod Touch to the all-encompassing, visceral thrills of 3-D IMAX—it is nothing short of spectacular to witness a hand-tinted, science-fiction film from 1902 manage to fill Pordenone’s palatial Teatro Verdi to the limits of its capacity.
Writer-director Kevin Smith’s latest project has probably attracted more attention due to Smith’s pre-release antics than for the movie itself. Leading up to the Sundance film festival, the filmmaker promised to sell “Red State” in an auction at a special festival event. Then, at that event, he announced that he was purchasing the movie for self-distribution. This created controversy in the industry, and the film ultimately received an extremely limited theatrical release before becoming an on-demand option Sept. 1. This week, “Red State” is getting a wider rollout on DVD, Blu-ray and digital download.
Only time will tell if “Tree of Life” becomes an all-time great, but it is certainly one of the most intriguing films released this year. The movie is hard to describe because it is so sweeping in scope. Terrence Malick has always strayed from traditional storytelling and added elements of visual poetry to his films. Here, he takes that predilection to the extreme, adding lengthy sequences of footage that are backed only by music tracks and never completely explained.
The “Fast and the Furious” movies have never been the benchmark for cinematic quality, but expertly staged action sequences and a likable cast have helped them achieve an impressive box office run. Now a decade old, the series is still relevant and, surprisingly, getting better.
The only major theatrical release making its way to home video this week is a big-budget action film from director Michael Bay. It’s no secret that Bay is Hollywood’s go-to guy for loud, violent, special effects-laden blockbusters, so it should come as little surprise that his third entry in the “Transformers” franchise is exactly that.
Unlike the dancing, singing and sewing on other reality shows, we barely get to see, let alone taste, the food from ‘Top Chef,’ so we can’t apply our personal preferences. Sautéed scallops with banana foam sounds unappetizing, so despite head judge Tom Colicchio assuring us that this is the best thing he’s ever tasted, there’s no connection to the end result.