Thompson on Hollywood

Now and Then: '360,' Another of Fernando Meirelles' Beautiful Disappointments

Reviews

Of all the sloppy descriptions in film criticism, "visceral" may be the most misleading. It's a frequent synonym for "loud," not to mention "flashy," "punishing," or "gory." What it almost never means is instinctive, earthy, and intestinal, so forthright it grabs you. Except, that is, when we're talking about Fernando Meirelles.

By Matt Brennan
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July 2, 2012 11:38 AM
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Now and Then: Hitchcock's First Classic, and an Underrated Modern Descendant

Reviews

Alfred Hitchcock had been working as a director for more than a decade when he made "The 39 Steps" (1935), a film that's half trench coats, street lamps, and foreign agents. The other half is English wit, a marriage plot, and a MacGuffin: the first proof, long before his later masterworks, that he was a maestro of the unbalancing act.

By Matt Brennan
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June 26, 2012 2:53 AM
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Now and Then: Do Silent Movies Still Matter?

Reviews

In some quarters I'll be considered a heretic for even asking the question. But think about how many people you know — discounting film school types and critics, people pretty much required to do so — who have ever seen a silent, let alone watch them regularly. I'll bet the number is small. Should we care?

By Matt Brennan
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June 11, 2012 7:08 PM
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BBC's 'I Claudius' The Accidental Emperor on DVD

Television

Rome and its emperors are with us still. What are the "Hunger Games" but a modern version of the gladiator fights-to-the-death with which the emperors pacified unruly citizens? There is a lot of killing in the brilliant 1976 BBC miniseries “I Claudius,” newly remastered with a sharper look, and released on DVD by Acorn Media.

By Aljean Harmetz
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May 1, 2012 12:25 PM
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EXCLUSIVE: Online Indie Label SundanceNOW Launches Curated Doc Club

News

It's no secret for film festivalgoers that the best titles tend to be documentaries. And yet they are often not released widely outside of major cities. Thus the folks at Sundance Selects have not only launched their digital sister online site SundanceNow ("a new online destination for independent film") but a VOD subscriber site for doc lovers as well. Doc Club offers subscribers eight new titles a month for $3.99, or $19.99 a year.

By Anne Thompson
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April 19, 2012 1:08 PM
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Focus World & Tugg Team for 'Extraterrestrial' Theatrical and VOD Release

News

Focus Features' VOD label Focus World is partnering with Tugg to release Nacho Vigalondo's "Extraterrestrial" in theaters and through VOD beginning June 15. "Extraterrestrial" is set to play theaters in Brooklyn, Seattle, North Hollywood, and Texas' Alamo Drafthouse cinemas, and will expand to wherever audiences demand it through Tugg.

By Sophia Savage
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April 17, 2012 7:10 PM
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Trying to Load Sony and Amazon Instant Video App for My PlayStation 3

News

As soon as Amazon and Sony Computer Entertainment announced the launch of the Amazon Instant Video app for PlayStation 3, which means that as an Amazon Prime member I can not only upload to watch on my TV some 120,000 movies and TV shows, but 17,000 movies and TV shows on the PlayStation Network as well.

By Anne Thompson
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April 4, 2012 10:09 PM
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BET Founder Robert L. Johnson to Buy Image Entertainment and Acorn Media to Form RLJ Entertainment

News

Black Entertainment Television founder Robert L. Johnson, chairman of RLJ Companies, has agreed to acquire home video distributor Image Entertainment and Brit DVD/streaming company Acorn Media Group. The new company will be called RLJ Entertainment, Inc; Johnson will serve as its Executive Chairman.

By Anne Thompson
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April 2, 2012 4:17 PM
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For Titanic Disaster's 100th Anniversary, 'A Night to Remember' Comes to Criterion Blu-ray: Docudrama meets Pinewood Studios

Reviews

With James Cameron grabbing headlines for his deep ocean plunges and "Titanic" 3-D re-release, the doomed oceanliner is back in headlines. Another terrific Titanic flick, "A Night to Remember," has come to the Criterion Collection in a new digital restoration, commemorating the 100th anniversary of the RMS Titanic's sinking.

By Beth Hanna
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March 29, 2012 1:38 PM
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Anglophile Acorn Media is 28 and Profitable, Growing and Getting Into Production

News

From little acorns massive oaks grow might apply to Acorn Media, which was started in its chairman’s spare bedroom in 1984. This week, Peter Edwards, the chairman, told the New York Times that Acorn believes it is the second largest distributor of British programming on DVD in North America, bested only by the BBC.