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Watch: Philosopher Slavoj Žižek Explains Why Lars Von Trier's 'Melancholia' Is "Profoundly Optimistic"

  • By Kevin Jagernauth
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  • July 30, 2012 5:59 PM
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  • 13 Comments
News
If you know someone in a university who is studying for some kind of liberal arts degree, chances are they've mentioned Slavoj Žižek. To call him "popular" wouuld be overstating it, but as far as contemporary philosophers go with name recognition, he's one of the few that actually have it. Entertaining, and yes, thought provoking, Žižek has often viewed/used pop culture and social/political changes to explore deeper meaning, so naturally, he has an opinion about Lars Von Trier's downer "Melancholia"....or is it a downer?
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More: Melancholia

As Mel Gibson's Latest Film Goes Straight To VOD, Is This A Glimpse Of The Future Of Distribution?

  • By Oliver Lyttelton
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  • February 3, 2012 4:46 PM
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  • 11 Comments
Features
Something curious happened this week. It was announced that an action film from someone who has historically been one of Hollywood's biggest stars would be skipping movie theaters. That's not unprecedented, or necessarily surprising, considering that the star in question is disgraced A-lister Mel Gibson , who's been in the doghouse since his well publicized racist, abusive rants leaked two years ago. And doubly unsurprising considering that Gibson's last film, the Jodie Foster-directed drama "The Beaver" never made it over the million dollar mark at the domestic box office.
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More: Features, DVD and VOD, Margin Call, Get The Gringo, Mel Gibson, Melancholia, Monsters, Lay The Favorite, Arbitrage

Rosie O'Donnell Would Rather Give Birth To A Flaming Child Than Watch 'Melancholia' Again

  • By Kevin Jagernauth
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  • January 11, 2012 1:19 PM
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  • 11 Comments
News
Seems everyone was on their crazy pills this week. Contrarian critic Armond White classed up the New York Film Critic's Circle Awards by heckling the celebs in attendance. How this guy keeps getting taken seriously or invited anywhere is beyond us. But he wasn't the only one being determinedly classless during the awards season.
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More: Rosie O'Donnell, Melancholia, Lars von Trier, National Board Of Review

Gabe Toro's Best Films Of 2011

  • By Gabe Toro
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  • December 21, 2011 3:30 PM
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  • 55 Comments
Features
Great art challenges. Bad art flatters. But those of us who don’t dedicate our lives to film don’t always seek to be challenged. Sometimes we want to experience art at our leisure. One doesn’t schedule, or plan the impact of art (making a film review deceptive, as it can never be a critics’ final thoughts).
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More: Best Of 2011, The Tree Of Life, Melancholia, Hobo With A Shotgun, Margaret, Certified Copy, Bellflower, We Need To Talk About Kevin, Warrior, Ellen Barkin, Alberto Iglesias, Drive

Stellan Skarsgård On David Fincher, Lars Von Trier And Channeling Hugh Grant In A Rape Scene

  • By Jessica Kiang
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  • December 21, 2011 3:00 PM
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  • 0 Comments
Features
You certainly can’t accuse Stellan Skarsgård of lacking a work ethic. A regular on screens big and small in his native Sweden from the time he was a teenager, since his breakout international role in 1996’s “Breaking the Waves” he has averaged anywhere from three to eight films per year, mixing Swedish-language fare with blockbusters, voiceover work and TV appearances, to amass a fairly epic filmography.
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More: Stellan Skarsgård, David Fincher, Lars von Trier, Melancholia, Thor: The Dark World, Hans Petter Moland, Interviews

Stellan Skarsgård Says He "Won't Get To Fuck" In Lars Von Trier's 'The Nymphomaniac,' But Will Go Full-Frontal

  • By Oliver Lyttelton
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  • December 19, 2011 6:04 PM
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  • 3 Comments
News
After nearly thirty years of work in Sweden, with a few small roles in English-speaking films like "The Unbearable Lightness of Being" and "The Hunt For Red October," Stellan Skarsgård really started to turn heads internationally in Lars Von Trier's "Breaking The Waves," as the paraplegic husband of Emily Watson's character.
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More: Stellan Skarsgård, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, Lars von Trier, Melancholia, Nymphomaniac

From Bloody Murders To Bridesmaid Speeches: The 25 Best Movie Moments Of 2011

  • By Oliver Lyttelton
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  • December 13, 2011 1:59 PM
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  • 49 Comments
Features
The great Howard Hawks once famously said that what makes a good film is "three great scenes, and no bad ones." While we'd argue that that's not an absolute hard-and-fast rule, he wasn't far off. With 2011 providing a number of above-average films, there've been plenty of memorable moments to go around, even if we couldn't attest to them all following Hawks Law.
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More: Features, Feature, 2011: The Year In Review, Attack The Block, Bridesmaids, Drive, Martha Marcy May Marlene, Melancholia, Moneyball, Rampart, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Shame, The Skin I Live In, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, The Tree Of Life, We Need To Talk About Kevin, Young Adult, Best Of 2011

'Melancholia' Wins Best Film At European Film Awards; Ties 'The King's Speech' For Most Awards

  • By Kevin Jagernauth
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  • December 3, 2011 8:03 PM
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  • 1 Comment
Awards
While it has pretty much zero influence on the awards season stateside, the European Film Awards, which are essentially the Euro version of the Oscars, presented their winners tonight and it looks like Lars Von Trier's brief moment as a pariah is over.
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More: Melancholia, The Amazing Race, Susanne Bier, Colin Firth, Tilda Swinton, The Wholly Family, Pina, Stephen Frears, Mads Mikkelsen, Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne, In A Better World, The King's Speech, The Artist, We Need To Talk About Kevin, The Kid With The Bike

The Films Of Lars von Trier: A Retrospective

  • By Oliver Lyttelton
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  • November 12, 2011 11:22 AM
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  • 7 Comments
Features
What with all his provocations and (usually) self-manufactured controversies, it's sometimes easy to forget that Lars von Trier is a truly gifted filmmaker, who yes, is a prankster and trickster as well, but also a man who imbues his characters with a rich sensitivity, even if the conditions they face can be cruel and harsh. Not all his films are masterpieces, but he's been turning heads at home and abroad for getting on 30 years now with films like "Europa," "Dancer in the Dark," "Breaking the Waves" and "Dogville" making some of the biggest waves internationally. Never easy watches, but always rewarding, he's slowly been assembling one of the most interesting back catalogues in recent memory -- ranging from period dramas to musicals to comedies -- even if accusations of misogyny and misanthropy aren't easily dismissable.
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More: Features, Lars von Trier, Melancholia

In Theaters: 'J. Edgar' Investigates 'Jack and Jill' & 'Immortals' For Crimes Against Cinema

  • By Katie Walsh
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  • November 11, 2011 5:47 PM
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  • 0 Comments
News
11/11/11! Did you make a wish? I was writing this column at 11:11 a.m. and missed it by one minute. Oh well, I don't much go in for that superstitious stuff, but I hope all your 11:11 wishes and hopes and dreams come true. This weekend at the theater is a weird mix of prestige and flat out horrible crap. For every "J. Edgar," you get a "Jack and Jill;" for every "Melancholia," there's an "Immortals." What are you gonna do?!
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More: J. Edgar, Immortals, Jack And Jill, Melancholia, London Boulevard, 11-11-11, Elite Squad II: The Enemy Within

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