22 December
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A CONVERSATION WITH TODD HAYNES AND CHRISTINE VACHON ON “CAROL” Director Todd Haynes and his producing partner Christine Vachon have been working together for twenty years now through her production company Killer Films. Their films, including Far From Heaven and Velvet Goldmine, have been celebrated by critics and moviegoers for their depiction of gay and lesbian themes. They were recently in Minneapolis when the Walker Art Center presented a retrospective of their work together. It opened with a special screening of their new film, Carol, starring Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara. It’s based off the book The Price of Salt, the second book by Patricia HighsmithRead More →

13 March
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CINDERELLA Director: Kenneth Branagh Starring: Lily James, Cate Blanchett, Richard Madden, Sophie McShera, Holliday Grainger, Helena Bonham Carter, Haley Atwell, Ben Chaplin, Derek Jacobi, Stellan Skarsgård Cate Blanchett as the evil stepmother? YES PLEASE! Disney has been in the habit of making live action adaptations of some of their finest animated films. So far we’ve seen Alice in Wonderland, Maleficent, and now we have Cinderella to add to that mix. Throughout her childhood, Ella lived a playful carefree life with a mom (Atwell) and dad (Chaplin) that loved her immensely. She loved playing with the animals and making the most out of each day despite leading aRead More →

17 December
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THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES Director: Peter Jackson Starring: Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Richard Armitage, Evangeline Lilly, Lee Pace, Luke Evans, Orlando Bloom, Christopher Lee, Cate Blanchett, Aidan Turner When we last saw Bilbo Baggins (Freeman) and Thorin Oakenshield (Armitage) at the Lonely Mountain, they witnessed the escape of the dragon Smaug (Cumberbatch). Smaug unleashes his fury by destroying the small city of Lake-town where some of the other dwarves, along with elves Tauriel (Lilly) and Legolas (Bloom), are presiding. Have no fear as some of them are able to escape before the wooden island burns down. Thorin becomes highly protective overRead More →

29 July
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In Movie Trailers

THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES Director: Peter Jackson Starring: Martin Freeman, Benedict Cumberbatch, Ian McKellen, Lee Pace, Evangeline Lilly, Luke Evans, Richard Armitage, Cate Blanchett Fans have been a bit hesitant when it comes to The Hobbit movies. I can understand the frustration as Peter Jackson and his writing team of Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens took one book and turned it into three movies by adding characters and taking details from the appendices. So far, they are nowhere near as good as The Lord of the Rings trilogy, but I feel like The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug was heading inRead More →

20 June
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In Movie Reviews

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2 Writer/Director: Dean DeBlois Starring: Jay Baruchel, America Ferrera, Cate Blanchett, Gerard Butler, Craig Ferguson, Jonah Hill, Kristen Wiig, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Djimon Hounsou, Kit Harington Dreamworks Animation has made some fantastic animated franchises like Madagascar, Shrek, and Kung Fu Panda. Frankly, I wouldn’t mind seeing a sequel to Chicken Run. They have another successful one under their belt with How to Train Your Dragon 2. In the Viking land Berk, the Vikings and dragons are friendly and peaceful. For many of the characters, their dragons are their best friends. Our favorite Viking Hiccup (Baruchel) has grown up a bit sinceRead More →

14 March
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THE MONUMENTS MEN Director: George Clooney, Matt Damon, Bob Balaban, John Goodman, Hugh Bonneville, Bill Murray, Jean Dujardin, Dimitri Leonidas, Cate Blanchett As we all know George Clooney is a man of many talents. He has won Oscars for acting (Syriana) and producing (Argo) and has been nominated for his writing and directing efforts (Good Night, and Good Luck). These are just some of the high caliber credits under his belt. Plus, he is pretty darn good to look at on any given day of the week. His latest project, The Monuments Men, has him wearing many hats again as he acts, directs, writes, andRead More →

03 March
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THE 86th ACADEMY AWARD WINNERS   BEST PICTURE 12 YEARS A SLAVE BEST DIRECTOR Alfonso Cuarón, Gravity BEST ACTOR Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyers Club BEST ACTRESS Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS Lupita Nyong’o, 12 Years a Slave BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM The Great Beauty, Italy BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY John Ridley, 12 Years a Slave BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY Spike Jonze, Her BEST ANIMATED FILM Frozen BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN Catherine Martin and Beverly Dunn, The Great Gatsby BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY Emmanuel Lubezki, Gravity BEST SOUND MIXING Skip Lievsay, Niv Adiri, Christopher Benstead, and Chris Munro, Gravity BEST SOUNDRead More →

01 January
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PAUL’S YEAR AT THE MOVIES: 2013 EDITION It has come to that time where I look back at my trip to the movies in 2013. Every year, I track all of the movies I saw for the first time. Whether they were the new 2013 releases or older films I was just discovering for the first time, I like to jot them down to see how I fare year to year. Before I go any further, I must give a special acknowledgment to my friend and fellow cinephile Max who I stole this idea from many years ago. I looked back at the 2012 EditionRead More →

17 December
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In Movie Reviews

THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG Director: Peter Jackson Starring: Ian McKellen, Martin Freeman, Benedict Cumberbatch, Evangeline Lilly, Richard Armitage, Lee Pace, Cate Blanchett, Luke Evans, Ken Scott, Aidan Turner, Stephen Hunter It was around this time last year that we were introduced to Peter Jackson’s version of “The Hobbit” by J.R.R. Tolkien.  The first film, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, was hit with some hesitation and disapproval. The second part in this new trilogy, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, should hopefully bring some uptight fans back for more. Our fearless gang led by Gandalf the Wizard (McKellen), head dwarf Thorin Oakenshield (Armitage), twelveRead More →

21 August
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In Movie Reviews

BLUE JASMINE Writer/Director: Woody Allen Starring: Cate Blanchett, Alec Baldwin, Sally Hawkins, Andrew Dice Clay, Louis C.K., Bobby Cannavale, Peter Sarsgaard, Michael Stuhlbarg Cate Blanchett. Cate Blanchett. Cate Blanchett. She has portrayed Elizabeth I, Katherine Hepburn, Bob Dylan, Galadriel the Elf, and was the object of Judi Dench’s affection. All fantastic performances, yet one of the most riveting portrayals comes in Woody Allen’s latest, Blue Jasmine. Jasmine (Blanchett) is trying to start a new life. She leaves New York and moves to San Francisco to live with her sister, Ginger (Hawkins). They are both adopted and could not be any more different. Ginger believes Jasmine wasRead More →