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At his best Dario Argento weaves thrillers that not only keep us guessing with ingenious twists, they end leaving the audience thinking about the ramifications of what transpired. The director takes the signature ultra-violent death scenes of the Italian giallos and gives them artistic flare. In this outing, Argento comments on how art and reality collide.

Peter Neal (Anthony Franciosa, DEATH WISH II) is an American writer who is very popular in Europe. Upon a tour promoting his latest book, he gets a letter from a killer inspired by his work. With his dedicated assistants Anne (Daria Nicolodi, DEEP RED) and Gianni (Christiano Borromeo, HOUSE ON THE EDGE OF THE PARK), Paul starts his own investigation into the murders. This worries his literary agent Bullmer (John Saxon, A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET). He must also deal with the likes of his bitter ex-wife Jane (Veronica Lario); Tilde (Mirella D’Angelo, THE POPE MUST DIE), a lesbian journalist, who questions the sexist undertones of his novels; and TV interviewer Christiano Berti (John Steiner, MARAT/SADE), who is a huge fan of his work.
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Rob Reiner took on his second Stephen King story with this film, having made STAND BY ME, based on THE BODY, four years earlier. Unlike the previous coming of age tale, this one feels like a King story. Adapted brilliantly by legendary screenwriter William Goldman, the story is one that relies on its central performances. James Caan gave one of his career best performances and Kathy Bates made her star-making turn.

Paul Sheldon (Caan, THE GODFATHER) is a romance novelist who has ended his long-running “Misery” series and is finishing up a new novel. A man of ritual he checks into the same mountain hotel to finish his writing. Promptly checking out when he’s done, he ventures out into a snow storm and runs off the road. He’s saved from freezing to death by former nurse Annie Wilkes (Bates, PRIMARY COLORS), who happens to be his biggest fan.
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Each act of this unique thriller is like a different movie. It starts as a portrait of an alcoholic then becomes a kidnap drama and closes by flipping roles and dripping with dark irony. At 144 minutes long, the film doesn’t move at the fast clip of a typical thriller, but director Erick Zonca’s patient measured pace, matching the slow and skewed perspective of a drunk, is perfect for its antihero, brought to life selflessly by Oscar winner Tilda Swinton. A performance that in a just world would earn her another Oscar.

Swinton (MICHAEL CLAYTON) plays Julia, a party girl who isn’t really fazed when she wakes up in strange places. Her AA sponsor Mitch (Saul Rubinek, BAADASSSSS!) has a nuanced relationship with her. He’s certainly attracted to her, but he doesn’t want to sleep with her because he knows that she needs a friend right now not a lover. Julia can’t understand his feelings because for her sex is a weapon and love is a myth. She’s not a very sophisticated woman and the booze just makes her dumb.
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With Disney’s THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG opening in LA and NYC this Thanksgiving weekend, This Weekend’s Film Festival turns its spotlight on essential Disney animated features. The lineup features vintage classics and a modern masterpiece. It doesn’t matter if you love Disney animation or haven’t seen the films in years or ever, this week’s fest is a cinematic lesson in the power and magic of animation.
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This thoughtful, joyous production has brought class back to Disney feature animation whether it’s hand-drawn or CG. Directors Ron Clements and John Musker (THE LITTLE MERMAID) have gone back and captured the essence of the studio’s past and made a new film that moves them into the future as well.

Tiana (Anika Noni Rose, DREAMGIRLS) has dreamed of owning her own restaurant her whole life. However, as a poor girl from New Orleans, she has to work multiple jobs to save up the money. She is the polar opposite of her friend Charlotte (Jennifer Cody), a pampered “Southern princess” who just wishes on a star for her prince to come. Then one day her prince does arrive. Prince Naveen (Bruno Campos, TV’s NIP/TUCK) is a charming jazz lover who has been cut off by his parents. In comes Dr. Facilier (Keith David, PLATOON), the voodoo doctor. He sees Naveen and his disgruntled manservant Lawrence (Peter Bartlett, TV’s ONE LIFE TO LIVE) as the perfect opportunity to steal Charlotte’s money and take over New Orleans.
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This sports documentary is like watching the commentary track on a DVD, but for an NBA game. Director Spike Lee, a bona fide basketball nut, put 30 cameras on star Kobe Bryant for a key game against Lakers’ rivals the San Antonio, Spurs at the end of the 2008 season. The player was miked and then comments in voice over to get a unique look into the game from his point of view.

Lee follows the league MVP from when he arrives at the Staple Center until he leaves after the game. The film is really geared toward basketball fans. Kobe talks strategy and players like the audience is already in the know. For fans, the film shows how much preparation goes into winning basketball games. Kobe is a scholar of the game and constantly talks to his teammates about how to run plays and defend against the Spurs’ offense. In watching him throughout the course of the game, you get a strong sense of how mental skills are just as important, maybe even more so, than physical ability.
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Many have been divided about the screen adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s award-winning novel. As a two hour production, the film doesn’t capture the epic despair of the novel, but the film does capture the existential poetry of a parent’s fear for their children. No film can capture the power of McCarthy’s uniquely powerful sparse writing style. There isn’t a filmic equivalent. All films based on complex novels have to focus on the main themes, and John Hillcoat’s THE ROAD does this movingly.

The world has been destroyed by an undisclosed disaster. All animals and planets have died. The few humans that remain roam the land searching for food. Some have banded together and turned to cannibalism. A man (Viggo Mortensen, A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE) and his wife (Charlize Theron, MONSTER) have a boy (Kodi Smit-McPhee, THE KING) in this world. The father promises to do anything to protect the child, but the woman has lost all faith in this cruel world.
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In many ways, BAMBI is a redo of the themes Disney tackled in PINOCCHIO. At its simplest level this is a grand coming-of-age tale. It’s also bold like PINOCCHIO in that it wasn’t afraid to take its premise to emotionally challenging and deep levels.

Bambi (Hardie Albright), as a newborn, is a complete innocent. Bambi’s mother (Paula Winslowe) must teach him about the joys and dangers of the world. Bambi must make his first friends, first meeting the energetic rabbit Thumper (Peter Behn). When he meets his first skunk, he names him Flower (Stan Alexander). Pure innocence. But Bambi is shy when he meets his friend female, the pretty doe Faline (Cammie King). Through the course of the story, Bambi learns to get his feet under the icy paths of life.
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It’s nomination for an Academy Award, the first time ever for an animated feature, was more than just a testament to the quality of the film, but also a celebration of the return of Disney animation. The 1990s were a new Golden Age and this was one of their new masterpieces.

Belle (Paige O’Hara, ENCHANTED) is a book worm who doesn’t fit into her provincial life. Her father Maurice (Rex Everhart, SUPERMAN) is an inventor who might have created the one device that might give him the fortune and respect that he has been eluding him. The town hunk and egotist Gaston (Richard White) wants to marry Belle because she is the most beautiful girl in town. Belle of course wants something more from her husband than simply good looks. On the way to the fair, Maurice stumbles across the castle of the Beast (Robby Benson, ICE CASTLES), a young prince who was transformed into a hairy creature for slighting an enchantress. In an effort to save her father, Belle trades herself for her father’s freedom.
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Walt Disney’s musical epic started as a Mickey Mouse short and was transformed into a feature masterpiece. In seven segments, the Disney animators and artists make a truly cinematic experience setting gorgeous moving pictures to classical music. Nothing so bold or adult has come out from Disney animation since. Few major studios have ever attempted something so experimental.

The various segments are bookmarked by live-action introductions from Philadelphia Orchestra conductor Leopold Stokowski. The first piece is set to Bach’s “Toccata Fugue in D Minor.” Disney doesn’t ease the audience into his musical experiment, which ushered in stereophonic sound; he begins with an abstract piece. Shapes dance in synch with the music. While it doesn’t contain some of the abandon of the very best experimental animation from masters like Norman McLaren, the segment certainly builds to a freewheeling ending.

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