Landing a Miracle
The unspoken question, a bit more tangible as the investigation develops, bobbles up again: Is Whitaker to blame?
Thirteen Creepy Movies
'Tis the season to get creeped out. Here are 13 movies guaranteed to make you scream like a little girl.
Eclectic Espionage
Ben Affleck's "Argo" is a deeply satisfying picture with an emotional current that sizzles your senses into shock and awe.
A Stupendous Mechanism
“Frankenweenie” is an incredible piece of moving art, well suited for adults and younger audiences, but particularly for Burton fans, who will appreciate the homage to classic monster films.
No Rules for Money
You may wonder why anyone would invest time, money and energy in making a film about such a loathsome character.
Promises, Promises
"The Words" is a literary movie. I mean that all too literally. This film, written and directed by Brian Klugman and Lee Sternthal, tells a story of an author who has written a book called "The Words."
Guts, Gore and Survival
I received a call on my cell phone when I was cabbing through some now-forgotten city for a deposition.
Road Trippin'
I admit that I had a complete lack of interest in seeing "Hit and Run," a low-budget movie written, co-directed, co-edited, co-produced and starring Dax Shepard.
Treasuring 'Sparkle'
Directed by Salim Akil ("Jumping the Broom") from a screenplay written by Mary Brock Akil, "Sparkle" centers on a middle class matriarchal household in Detroit in 1968, though the civil-rights landscape barely infiltrates this musical melodrama.
Laugh 'Til You Cry
"The Campaign" squares off Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis as opposing candidates running for a U.S. congressional seat from the Tar Heel State of North Carolina.
Fitting Together
Quvenzhane Wallis stars as Hushpuppy in "Beasts of the Southern Wild," set in the fictional town of Bathtub in the Louisiana bayou.
The Ones They Haven't Made, Yet
Last Friday, theatrical movie releases reeled back in the shadows of the 2012 Summer Olympic Games opening ceremonies.
A Satisfying Finale
"The Dark Knight Rises," the final installment in Christopher Nolan's Gotham trilogy, should have been the cherry on top of a summer sundae of blockbusters.
'Mike' is Magic and More
"Magic Mike" bares skin and exposes the finer aspects of southern gentility.
Fairy Tale Redux
"Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the biggest bitch of them all?" That is the real question never posed by the Evil Stepmother Queen (Charlize Theron) in "Snow White and The Huntsman."
More Than Alright, in the End
"The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel," based on Deborah Moggach's novel, "These Foolish Things," meditates on life after retirement. The movie blends touches of Eastern philosophy with British wit and irreverence.
Bring Out the Inner Patriot
After three big-budget variations of "Transformers," anything with shifting metal parts, alien life forms and a hot girlie in distress triggers an involuntary poke-my-eye-out response.
Burton's Bag of Schtick
"Blood is thicker than water," says Barnabas Collins (Johnny Depp), the eloquent lord of an idyllic New England fishing port. Barnabas' voice lingers through gorgeous, haunting images created by director Tim Burton of a gothic past where entrepreneurial seamen make riches beyond expectations and a blonde beauty adorned in baby-blue satin sinks to the bottom of the ocean floor.
Forgotten Lore
"Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary, / Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore," begins Edgar Allan Poe's poem "The Raven."
Heroes and Sheroes
The concept of "big" stretches to "bigger" for the 2012 summer blockbusters, where budgets for comic-book fare exceed the $220-million mark.
Slap Me Silly
"The Three Stooges" promises nothing and provides less, but it is slap-me-silly funny. Directed by Bobby and Peter Farrelly from a script they wrote with Mike Cerrone, three knuckleheads try and raise $830,000 plus their "meels" to save the Sisters of Mercy orphanage.
Home-Grown Talent
The Crossroads Film Festival, a four-day event beginning Thursday night, April 12, shines the spotlight on producers, screenwriters, directors, cinematographers, actors and musicians from Mississippi.
A Darker Oz
"The Hunger Games" portrays a futuristic nightmare where indentured masses, working in 12 districts, feed and entertain a parasitic society. The powers-that-be leech anything of consumptive value from the districts and hover-craft it into the Capitol, the central city of Panem.
Films Under the Stars
Deep within the well of nostalgia lie carefree memories of families and friends packed in wood-paneled station wagons heading for an entertaining evening at the drive-in movie theater.
America's ‘Treasure'
Kirk Cameron had an idea that led to a cinematic quest to discover what has made America's legacy for freedom, prosperity and global leadership. I didn't recognize Cameron's name at first, but it evoked shadowy memories of a teen idol plastered on the glossy covers of Tiger Beat and Teen Beat magazines.
Saving the Day
Disney imagineers went stark raving mad creating "John Carter," a $250-million movie based on Edgar Rice Burroughs' series about a Confederate war veteran transported via magic medallion from the Wild West on Earth to Mars. The ailing planet, which the indigenous people call "Barsoom," is going down the black hole thanks to greedy, selfish warmongers charged up by electric blue forces from the ninth ray.
Art-House Offerings
"The Artist," this year's Academy Award winner for the really big awards of Best Picture, Director and Actor, started out as an art-house offering. Quite understandably, its makers did not believe that a black-and-white silent film with a funny little dog would appeal to a mainstream audience. But the originality of the film, the quality of the performances and the brilliant marketing strategy of the Weinstein brothers caused this film to cross from a niche market to popular success.
Eyes of Green Fire
Aldo Leopold believed in wildlife management and conservation long before it was fashionable. "Conservation is a state of harmony between men and land," he wrote in his well-known book, "A Sand County Almanac and Sketches Here and There," published shortly after his death by Oxford University Press in 1949.
Picks for Oscar
Most cinema scholars revere 1939 as the ultimate year in motion pictures. Nothing since the new millennium comes remotely close to the majestic heights reached in 1939 or even the peaks of the early 1940s or mid-1970s. That is, until 2011.
Tick Tock, Tick Tock
"Safe House" is a CIA-agent-gone-rogue thriller. No further information is needed to understand the plot line, and if this picture didn't have Denzel Washington, Ryan Reynolds and a fine cast of actors—along with that inexplicable something else—there would be no point in discussing the film.
Oxford Film Festival 2012
The Oxford Film Festival follows closely on the heels of the Sundance Film Festival, which, in my book, officially launched the 2012 independent film season.
A Pleasing Affair
The poster for "The Artist" reveals a raffishly handsome gentleman gazing into the soft, wide eyes of a beautiful ingénue. They are glamorous in the high-contrast, black-and-white photo.
‘The Matchmaker'
Avi Nesher's "The Matchmaker" is a gold-dusted fable of love, friendship and everlasting hope. The movie opens at the end of the story, in war-torn Haifa, Israel, where Lebanese missiles have left casualties, and rescue personnel race to save any survivors.
Walking the Thin Purple Line
"Carnage," based on the Tony award-winning play "God of Carnage" ("Le Dieu du Carnage") by French dramatist Yasmina Rez, explores civility, savagery and vomiting on art books. The movie opens without drama on a long, static shot of a local park where a group of 11-year-old boys are playing.
Tinker, Tailor, Texture
"Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy," based on John Le Carré's classic espionage thriller of the same name, is a lyrical poem of intrigue told in bits and pieces of flashback from different perspectives. It has many moving parts, and it is difficult to keep it all straight.
Silent Crusader
David Fincher's film adaptation of Stieg Larsson's international bestseller, "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo," scorches the screen with a new-millennium Joan of Arc on a social crusade against violence. "I want you to help me catch a killer of women," Mikael Blomkvist says to Lisbeth Salander.
Poignant, Comic Gift
"The Descendants" bubbles to the top of critic lists and Golden Globe nominations. The film goes against the current of behemoth blockbusters; it defies the prevailing philosophy of franchising prior successes, recycling and repackaging old stories under new names.
The Holiday Playlist
Defining when the holiday season begins gets more complicated every year. A growing number of retailers pull out the Christmas garlands and ornamentation around Halloween. Black Friday and cyberspace Monday overshadow the annual homage to pilgrims and turkey feasts. Not wanting to be left behind, movie distributors have grabbed onto the premature rush of holiday consumerism.
MIFF: A Cinematic Extravaganza
Edward Saint Pe and his team of organizers and volunteers commandeer the indie-film scene from Friday through Saturday with the 2011 Mississippi International Film Festival. "We're showing 50 films all day Friday and Saturday at the Russell C. Davis Planetarium in downtown Jackson," Saint Pe says.
‘Curry is a Technique'
Grandma Modak, a quiet, kind woman who wore simple white saris, gave my mother a wonderful gift. She taught her how to make mouth-watering curry chicken from West Bengal. Although the word "modak" refers to a sweet dumpling favored by the Hindu god Ganesh, curry chicken defines the Modak side of the hyphen.
Inside Their Skins
Tate Taylor instinctively understood what he had in common with the characters in "The Help." Like his childhood buddy Kathryn Stockett, who wrote the bestselling novel, and the film's producer Brunson Green, Taylor grew up in Jackson.
And the Oscar Goes To ...
Hollywood rolls out the red carpet Sunday, Feb. 27, to celebrate the achievements of the motion picture industry during the past year. Despite promises of something new and better, devoted Oscar fans know and expect a rather dull, drawn-out ceremony. We have lowered our expectations and fortified ourselves for a long night, as we patiently wait for the unscripted moments that make the show worthwhile. Cue Sally Fields and her misremembered "You like me" speech." Her unrestrained happiness made that year's show.
The Reel Oxford
Every year, Oxford, Miss., holds a festival that reels filmmakers and movie buffs into a uniquely authentic southern experience. One can see firsthand William Faulkner's and other extraordinary Mississippi artists' inspirations. Faulkner and those Mississippi creative whizzes found their voices in the tranquil setting of one of the most picturesque parts of the Deep South.
Jackson Jewish Film Festival: A Multicultural Celebration
Like most art forms, there's something about a film that brings people together. Lessons about love, life and relationship always strike a chord, no matter your religious, familial or ethnic background. Some things are just universal.
Coming Together
Man-about-town Edward Saint Pé is a vibrant personality who eschews labels. His accomplishments range from TV weatherman to business entrepreneur to moviemaker to film actor. Most recently, he's added to the list founder of the Mississippi Film Institute, which hosts the first-ever Mississippi International Film Festival and Halloween Fest.
Fusion Cooking for Fledglings
While I really have no business discussing a "how to" article on fusion cooking, the undeniable fact is that my mother, the ever-lovable Mama Jacqueline, is the greatest fusion chef ever. Mama Jacqueline put the fusion into cooking long before it was fashionable to do so, and her fusion-styled cooking can put a smile on the face of the most persnickety critic, who just happens to be my dad.
‘The Help' Comes Home
Skeeter Phelan never intended to be a catalyst for change.
No Rough Edges
"One Came Home," the first feature film from Rolling Fork native Willy Bearden, is about an idyllic rural community in Mississippi called Magnolia, where all the mamas are nice, all the men are handy, and all the grown children live with their parents.