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'The High Cost of Living' According to Director Deborah Chow

By Monika Bartyzel (Subscribe to Monika Bartyzel's posts), Posted Apr 22nd 2011 8:00AM
Filed under: Celebrity Interviews, Moviefone Canada


First-time filmmaker Deborah Chow hit the TIFF scene last September with 'The High Cost of Living' -- the story of a pregnant woman (Isabelle Blais) from Montreal who loses her unborn child in a hit-and-run accident and is subsequently befriended by her hit-and-run driver (Zach Braff). This hard-hitting drama took Toronto by storm and won the filmmaker TIFF's Best Canadian First Feature.

The flick is finally set to open -- in Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary and Montreal -- to a wider audience on Friday. To mark the opening, Moviefone.ca sat down with Chow, who dished about her love of fantasy like 'His Dark Materials,' the inspiration she found in Nick Cave, 'Incendies' and the cautionary tale she plans to film next.
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Is 'Scream 4' Actually Scary?

By Monika Bartyzel (Subscribe to Monika Bartyzel's posts), Posted Apr 14th 2011 12:00PM
Filed under: Features, Moviefone Canada


In 1996 the phone rang, Drew Barrymore's Casey Becker was terrorized, and the horror world received a much needed revitalization. It was the mainstream gateway drug to cinematic thrills and gore, a fest of bloody, meta-comedy that explained the rules of the death game and thrived on a passion for all things horror.

It was also a trilogy of diminishing returns. While the three films each made roughly the same amount at the box office, the sequels played out like many do -- each a paler, less thrilling version of the last. And though the third film wiped away much of the love Kevin Williamson and Wes Craven brought to the world of Woodsboro, word hit in 2007 that a new installment/potential reboot was on the way.

Along with the cacophony of complaints about remakes, a more important questioned loomed: Wiping away the fan discontent and how much Sidney Prescott's story had already been run into the ground, could it possibly live up to the original -- not only with laughs, but with thrills?
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'Hanna,' Hollywood and the Redefinition of the 'Blonde Bombshell'

By Monika Bartyzel (Subscribe to Monika Bartyzel's posts), Posted Apr 7th 2011 1:00PM
Filed under: Features
It's been said that blondes have more fun. For years -- millennia -- blond hair has been a signifier of something special, otherworldly and seductive. Venus was graced with flowing blond curls, Milton gave Adam and Eve golden tresses, and fairy tale maidens like Goldilocks and Rapunzel were adored for their flaxen hair.

In the 20th century, the blonde fervor increased. Anita Loos published her 1925 novel 'Gentlemen Prefer Blondes' (later turned into the classic '50s film), and after the brown tendrils of cinema's great silent actresses, the '30s dropped a tantalizing bomb. Blondie Jean Harlow starred as sexpot Lola Burns in 'Bombshell,' becoming the first 'blonde bombshell' and ushering in a wave of tow-headed cinematic seductresses from Jayne Mansfield to Marilyn Monroe. For years, the double-B's reigned, though a new millennium and a Judi Dench film attempted to end the reign with 'The Last of the Blonde Bombshells.'

But instead of the end it was just cinematic limbo, as the new and improved blonde bombshells gained power, throwing aside the essential seduction for a characterization much closer to the phrase's warring roots.
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Cinematical Is Hosting an L.A. Screening of Max Winkler's 'Ceremony'

By Monika Bartyzel (Subscribe to Monika Bartyzel's posts), Posted Apr 4th 2011 12:40PM
Filed under: Movie News, Cinematical
Attention, Los Angeles readers! Cinematical has teamed up with Magnolia Pictures to offer an advanced screening of Max Winkler's 'Ceremony' at the Cinefamily Theater this Thursday.

The film stars Michael Angarano as a guy who convinces his former best friend to travel to the beachside estate of a documentary filmmaker (Lee Pace) to rekindle their relationship. But he has ulterior motives -- he's not doing this for friendship, but rather to try and stop the upcoming wedding between Pace and his fiancee (Uma Thurman).

Our own Todd Gilchrist will moderate a Q&A with Winkler after the screening, and you can nab a spot by RSVPing here. The screening is first-come, first-served, so arrive early to secure your spot.

Hit the jump for the invite and prepare yourself for some May-December romance.

Update: Star Michael Angarano and Reece Thompson will also participate in the Q&A. Updated invite after the jump.
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PG-13 'King's Speech' Kinda F-Bombs at Box Office

By Monika Bartyzel (Subscribe to Monika Bartyzel's posts), Posted Apr 4th 2011 11:30AM
Filed under: Movie News, Cinematical
This weekend saw more than just the Easter Bunny zipping onto screens with 'Hop.' It also marked the release of the Weinstein Company's grand family affair, an F-bomb-free version of 'The King's Speech.'

You remember this plan, right? After grabbing a figurative sword and setting out to battle the MPAA, Harvey Weinstein had decided that, gee, the F-word was keeping out masses of young ones and families who would be too scandalized to hear a king speak about unlawful carnal knowledge in the context of speech therapy. So, he whipped up a version where the F-sound is silenced, which earned the film a PG-13 rating.

That version hit screens over the weekend and what a surprise -- masses of little ones did not hit the theaters.
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Phew -- Vanilla Ice Is Doing Mainstream Movies Again

By Monika Bartyzel (Subscribe to Monika Bartyzel's posts), Posted Apr 4th 2011 10:50AM
Filed under: Movie News, Cinematical
The reach of Vanilla Ice knows no bounds. In 1990, "Ice Ice Baby" led his breakout album to become the fastest-selling hip-hop album of all time. The fame led him to a blip in 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2,' before someone had the bright idea of fashioning the one-hit wonder as the new James Dean in a 'Rebel Without a Cause'-type affair, 'Cool As Ice.' But Marky Mark he was not. The film tanked and Rob Van Winkle disappeared from the spotlight for a while. But he didn't stay dormant.

Over the last 15 years, Rob V has done a little of everything, from creating darker, self-produced music and guesting on a Bloodhound Gang release, to getting arrested a bunch, digging into 'The Surreal Life,' leading home makeovers on an HGTV show, zipping around on 'Dancing on Ice,' a guest gig on 'The New Guy' and pulling out some ice, ice flava for a spoof called 'The Helix Loaded.'

But now he's going mainstream once again, thanks to Adam Sandler.
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Cinematical Originals: Faulty Easter History in 'Hop' to Time Traveling Paradoxes

By Monika Bartyzel (Subscribe to Monika Bartyzel's posts), Posted Apr 1st 2011 9:00PM
Filed under: Columns, Cinematical


Zip out for the weekend before our great Friday night content? Miss a day of movie coverage? Check here every Friday afternoon for all the great original content Cinematical published over the last week and play catch up!

Reviews

'Tyrannosaur' Review: Like a Boot to the Head
Jenni Miller reviews Paddy Considine's film, noting: "While the film moves towards a sort of higher meaning about damaged people finding solace in each other or some such mumbo-jumbo, the ending feels like an empty coda meant to placate the viewer."

'Hop' Review: The Easter Bunny Lays an Egg
Eric D. Snider wasn't thrilled with 'Hop,' and noted the flick's faulty history: "it's probably good that the current Easter Bunny is about to retire (or die?), as he doesn't seem to grasp some of the fundamentals of the holiday he represents. He is mystified at not being beloved in China, evidently unaware that Easter is a Christian observance and the vast majority of Chinese are not Christian. He also tries to appeal to E.B.'s sense of duty by reminding him of the Easter Bunny's 'four thousand years of tradition' -- which means they started delivering candy and eggs to commemorate the resurrection of Christ some two thousand years before the birth of Christ, which demonstrates remarkable foresight."

Plus past film fest reviews:

'Super' offers up satire "with a good deal of vim, vigor, and uniquely twisted jokes." [Scott Weinberg]

'Source Code' is "not nearly as original as his first film, but it is the next best thing to unique: it's two or three familiar ideas tossed into a blender, whipped into a tasty concoction, and delivered with a great deal of style and confidence." [S. Weinberg]

'Insidious' "dares to be different, and that's enough to forgive it some of its tonal indiscretions." [Joe Utichi]
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