Thompson on Hollywood

Now and Then: The False Promise of Kiarostami's 'Certified Copy'

Reviews

Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami's 2010 Cannes entry "Certified Copy," which won Juliette Binoche the festival's Best Actress prize, is out today on Blu-ray and DVD from the Criterion Collection. Given that he debuted his latest effort on the Croisette this week, the timing is felicitous. I wish I could say the same about the movie.

By Matt Brennan
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May 22, 2012 7:17 AM
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'Being John Malkovich' from Criterion: The Actor, The Geek, His Wife, and Her Lover

Reviews

Puppetry is control. So are acting, filing, and pet care. Each in its own way signals an attempt to make sense of the chaos that is lived experience, to grab hold of it and make it do what you want. And each, in "Being John Malkovich," director Spike Jonze's and screenwriter Charlie Kaufman's exhilarating mind-meld, fails spectacularly.

By Matt Brennan
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May 14, 2012 12:53 PM
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'The Double Hour' on iTunes & DVD: A Twisting, Noirish Italian Delight

Reviews

Italian thriller "The Double Hour" from first time director Giuseppe Capotondi lands on iTunes and DVD Tuesday. The film debuted at Venice in 2009, where the film's star Ksenia Rappoport won the Best Actress prize. The film went on to earn a warm reception on the global fest circuit by its limited theatrical release in April 2011.

By Sophia Savage
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April 3, 2012 1:39 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.

By Aljean Harmetz
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March 28, 2012 6:42 PM
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Ranking Best and Worst NC-17-Rated Films; 'Shame' On Blu-ray April 17 (Video)

News

Fox Searchlight has been trying to embrace NC-17 by raising public consciousness on the rating, which they adopted for both 2003's "The Dreamers," from Bernardo Bertolucci, as well as recent "Shame," which is finally coming out in a Blu-ray combo pack on April 17. Here's a ranking of NC-17 films, from must-sees to must-avoids, with review links...

By Anne Thompson
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March 27, 2012 4:29 PM
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'The Harry Potter Wizard's Collection' Is A Nineteen Pound Bundle of Joy for Franchise Fans

News

"Harry Potter" fans, take note: Warner Home Video is releasing a limited and numbered collection of 31 discs, including all previously released content (eight films in Blu-ray, DVD and UltraViolet digital copy), an additional five hours of never-before-seen exclusive material and collectible memorabilia.

By Sophia Savage
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March 22, 2012 4:08 PM
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'Dragon Tattoo' DVD Release Maintains Anti-Establishment Attitude with Pirated Disc

News

"The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" DVD release has, according to TheWrap, "created the sort of mystery that even Lisbeth Salander might have trouble solving." It looks like a blank, pirated disc with the title seemingly hand-scrawled across it...

By Sophia Savage
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March 22, 2012 3:30 PM
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'Casablanca' Is Back: Turner Classic Movies Presents 70th Anniversary Event

News

World War II has been over for nearly seven decades, but “Casablanca” is still with us. With its story of love renounced for the good of the world, the Oscar winning Best Picture of 1943 has more than once been voted the most romantic American movie.