The Playlist

Exclusive: James Franco Discusses His Pact With Catherine Keener In Clip From 'Maladies'

By Kevin Jagernauth
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March 4, 2013 10:57 AM
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0 Comments

News

While James Franco will be starring in the fantastical "Oz The Great And Powerful" opening this weekend, the busy multi-hyphenate has another movie making its way to audiences as well. "Maladies" finds the actor once again stretching his wings, in a movie that finds him alongside talent like Catherine Keener and David Strathairn.

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Berlin Review: James Franco-Starring 'Maladies' Maroons A Dream Indie Cast In A Wasteland Of Tiresome Self-Indulgence

By Jessica Kiang
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February 11, 2013 11:03 AM
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4 Comments

Festivals

Carrying the dubious distinction of being a film that managed to try our patience after just five minutes, “Maladies” is for us best summed up in one word: wasteful. It is wasteful of the considerable talents of a fabulous cast, wasteful of a pleasingly off-kilter visual approach, and wasteful of our time. It is even wasteful of a director whose instincts, no matter how much he may want to kick against them, seem to lie more in the direction of the kind of classical, straightforward story he is at pains here to not give us.

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Watch: Trailer For Berlin & SXSW Pic 'Maladies' Starring James Franco & Cross-Dressing Catherine Keener

By Kevin Jagernauth
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February 8, 2013 1:44 PM
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3 Comments

News

Yes, it's James Franco Project #A-9087B-X7, but we'll say this about the prolific actor/writer/director/producer -- his choices are never dull. Indeed, "Maladies" is on our list of 5 Most Anticipated Movies Of The 2013 Berlin Film Festival, and the cast, which also includes Catherine Keener and David Strathairn, is one that we'd be curious to check out in almost anything. And with subject matter such as schizophrenia and sexuality in the mix, the blend could be potent, but we have to be honest: now that the first trailer is here, we're not sure what to think.

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Review: 'A Late Quartet' Is A Soap Opera Symphony That Hits All The Wrong Notes

By Kevin Jagernauth
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November 1, 2012 3:59 PM
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2 Comments

Reviews

Certainly, if a film pulls together a cast that includes Philip Seymour Hoffmam, Christopher Walken and Catherine Keener, there's going to be something worth enjoying. And indeed, the trio give top shelf performances as we've always come to expect from them in "A Late Quartet." But it's just too bad that they're in service of Yaron Zilberman's film, which takes the unique focus of a string quartet in Manhattan and puts it in the middle of a standard and unsatisfying soap opera that spins off into one subplot too many.

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Review: 'The Oranges' Is Dated, Schtick-Reliant Suburban Satire

By Gabe Toro
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October 4, 2012 4:00 PM
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0 Comments

Reviews

There’s another era that would have welcomed the chaste suburban sex comedy “The Oranges.” In an earlier time, this mock-revealing story of two families coming apart due to infidelity would have seemed appalling, transgressive. Perhaps as a low-heat exploitation picture threatening to expose the chaos and lack of identity underneath the perfect suburban exterior. Maybe as a sobering drama about two groups of adults at an impasse between the intensity of their feelings, and the acceptable social mores which they must battle. But you review the movie that you’ve gotten, and “The Oranges” is neither of these films.

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TIFF Review: 'A Late Quartet' Is A Soap Opera Symphony That Hits All The Wrong Notes

By Kevin Jagernauth
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September 11, 2012 6:28 PM
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7 Comments

Reviews

Certainly, if a film pulls together a cast that includes Philip Seymour Hoffmam, Christopher Walken and Catherine Keener, there's going to be something worth enjoying. And indeed, the trio give top shelf performances as we've always come to expect from them in "A Late Quartet." But it's just too bad that they're in service of Yaron Zilberman's film, which takes the unique focus of a string quartet in Manhattan, and puts it in the middle of a standard and unsatisfying soap opera, that spins off into one subplot too many.

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Watch: First Trailer For 'A Late Quartet' Starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, Christopher Walken, Catherine Keener & More

By Oliver Lyttelton
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September 10, 2012 1:00 PM
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5 Comments

News

The world of classical music isn't one that's explored often in the movies, but when it is, it can often prove prime awards territory -- think of "Amadeus" or "Shine," which each featured composers and musicians, and which each picked up Oscars (or in the case of the former, several) for their trouble. And that certainly seems to be the hope of Yaron Zilberman's drama "A Late Quartet," which premieres at the Toronto International Film Festival tonight.

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Catherine Keener and Toni Collette Join Nicole Holofcener's Next Project, Filming Now Underway

By Charlie Schmidlin
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August 7, 2012 12:00 PM
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2 Comments

News

Taking some time off after 2010’s “Please Give” to bring her caustic hilarity to “Parks and Recreation” and “Enlightened,” it's not like Nicole Holofcener had swapped the big screen for the small permanently. She’s had a couple scripts in development for years, including a French remake and the crime drama “Every Secret Thing” (which “West of Memphis” director Amy Berg recently signed on to direct), but after casting news broke earlier this summer on her latest directorial effort, it appears the film has rounded out its line-up with two veteran actresses.

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Philip Seymour Hoffman & Christopher Walken Play Classical Music In Pics From 'A Late Quartet'

By Kevin Jagernauth
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July 24, 2012 11:37 AM
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6 Comments

News

So, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Christopher Walken, Catherine Keener and Mark Ivanir as a string quartet? Sure, we'll make the leap, particularly when it involves some of our favorite actors.

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Hugo Weaving Goes Down 'Mystery Road'; James Marden Draws 'Two Guns'; Catherine Keener Ready To 'Save Your Life' & James Woods Finds 'Jobs'

By Kevin Jagernauth
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June 26, 2012 6:03 PM
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0 Comments

News

Hugo Weaving continues to switch up big blockbusters and smaller minded fare, and this time he's headed to Australia to star in "Mystery Road" alongside "True Blood" hunk Ryan Kwanten, Jack Thompson, Tony Barry, Tasma Walton, Damian Walshe-Howling, David Field, Trisha Whitton and Siobhan Binge. Written and directed by Ivan Sen ("Toomelah"), the picture will tell the story of an indigenous detective who returns home to find out who killed an indigenous girl. Kwanten will play a pig hunter while Thompson takes the role of an out to pasture pastoralist. Filming is already underway and Aussie distribution is locked up, but if you're an international buyer, give Arclight Films a ring.

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