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Why Australia is a Dud

Well, Australia's second-weekend drop indicates that it isn't doing well enough with adult audiences to ever make it into a success here.

By Anne Thompson
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December 7, 2008 9:03 AM
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Eastwood's Changeling: Manna for Adults

I saw Changeling for the second time Thursday night. It's as good as I remember it from last May at Cannes. And it's just the kind of movie that Academy members will appreciate--it played well at the Academy premiere.

By Anne Thompson
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October 24, 2008 4:45 AM
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Oscar Watch: National Society Picks There Will Be Blood

We knew the various critics groups would go for No Country for Old Men and There Will Be Blood, as the National Society of Film Critics did Saturday. This means each film gets a boost during this all important ballot-filling season. What fascinates me is whether the Academy goes the same way as the critics. (Tom O'Neill goes underground with the NSFC voting.)

By Anne Thompson
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January 6, 2008 7:31 AM
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Atonement: Wright and Hampton Talk

Atonement screened for my last UCLA class Monday night, and they went for it, although you can always tell when a movie has left some folks behind when they ask questions about why the characters behaved the way they did. About a third of the class had read the book. Director Joe Wright and screenwriter Christopher Hampton explained why the movie was such a difficult challenge.

By Anne Thompson
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November 12, 2007 8:16 AM
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Cotillard is Strong Oscar Contender for Piaf Biopic La Vie en Rose

I've been tracking the French Edith Piaf biopic La Vie en Rose since Picturehouse president Bob Berney picked it up after screening some footage during last May's Cannes Fest. His instincts were correct. The movie, which opens stateside on June 8, is beautifully done. Luckily Piaf's life is so gut-wrenching and the music holds up so well that writer-director Olivier Dahan's rags-to-riches story arc manages to skirt the edges of cliche. It helps that Marion Cotillard's Piaf is a richly-layered, nasty, gifted, wounded character.