Joe Wright’s The Soloist will be making its North American premiere as the opening night film of the 2008 AFI Fest in Los Angeles. In the film, Jamie Foxx plays Nathaniel Ayers, the true-life musical prodigy who succumbed to schizophrenia and ended up homeless on the streets of Los Angeles. Robert Downey, Jr. plays the [...]

Filed under: Film Festivals | 6 Comments »

Generally I’m willing to give Pixar the benefit of a doubt — they’ve earned it — but this business of willingly caving in to sequels, particularly a sequel to the weakest movie they’ve ever made, continues to give me pause.
Originally slated for 2012, Cars 2 will now be crossing the finish line in 2011. Maybe [...]

Filed under: News, Release Dates | 10 Comments »

One of the movies in tomorrow’s Weekend Forecast put me in the mind of one of the best movies of the 1980s: Bill Forsyth’s Local Hero. It’s one of those rare magical movies that brings me joy and makes me happy to be alive.

Filed under: Clips, Friday Filler | 9 Comments »

Popular comedies are a tricky business. If they’re too quirky, they’re liable to limit themselves to a niche audience. Smooth off too many rough edges however, and they risk turning to cinematic sponge cake — formless, lifeless and lacking in character.
Occasionally a comedy will hit a sweet spot where it satisfies expectations yet remains edgy [...]

Filed under: Reviews | 15 Comments »