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PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY -(Reviewed at Outfest 2007)
 Duncan Roy's "The Picture of Dorian Gray" stars David Gallagher ("7th Heaven") as a young handsome elite gentleman who has everything but eternal youth until his friend Basil changes things a bit.. "The Picture of Dorian Gray" is the classic tale of vanity written by Oscar Wilde updated and adapted by Duncan Roy. Artist Basil Hallward has become obsessed with Dorian Gray whose beauty is the focus of a new portrait /art installation. When the young Dorian sees the installation for the first time he resents the portrait wishing it would grow old and ugly instead of him. Henry is the cynical, intellectual friend and agent of Basil Hallward who befriends Dorian in spite of his friendship with Basil. Henry is responsible for Dorian's transformation from angel to devil.The film was eloquent,lyrical, poetic and very artistic. I saw and loved
Duncan's previous work AKA and thoroughly enjoyed "Dorian Gray". I have seen several
versions of Dorian Gray and found this one to be original, entertaining and
disturbing. I applaud the filmmaker for his innovative choices and I know, not
hope, that this film will get distribution and released in theatres soon for everyone to enjoy. I look
forward to Duncan's future great works. "Dorian Gray" is still screening in the festival circuit.
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BLACK SHEEP (DVD Review)   
Zombies move over, there's a new killer in town. Original, witty and
down right horror fest gory, "Black Sheep" hits its marks right on the nose. This smartly made film by Jonathan King summarizes what happens
when human in their quest for cloning mess with nature and turn some inoffensive, cuddly sheep in to human eating carnivores."There are 40
million sheep in New Zealand... and they're pissed off!". The sheep
have awaken and their are not about to take any more abuse!. Now they will try anything in their power to stop the human from the
massacre!... A horror flick with comedic tones sprinkled throughout, this film should have done a lot better at the box office. I blame the
distributors for that. It's a well done, well crafted film with very invested actors willing to take on whatever sheep comes their way.
Nathan Meister does a fine job playing Henry Oldfield, the lead who is
very easy on the eyes and has a phobia for sheep after his brother Angus (Peter Feeney) plays cruel joke on him. If you are absolutely tired of seeing zombie movies, I know I am, this one comes as a delight
to have your eyes feast on. The whole idea of using these suspecting
cuddly animals as vessels of revenge is fascinating, specially when they are out to attack the human race who for sometime has been using these innocent creatures as test tube experiments to better the human
condition. Not to be missed by film lovers who enjoy a good smart, well made flick.
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| 2008 SPIRIT AWARDS NOMINATIONS ANNOUNCEDTodd Haynes' "I'm Not There" leads the 2008 Film Independent's Spirit Awards, with four nominations including best feature, best director and acting nods for Marcus Carl Franklin and Cate Blanchett, both for playing fragments of Bob Dylan. "There," which opened in 130 locations over Thanksgiving weekend, also recieved the inaugural Robert Altman Award, which is given to one film's director, casting director and ensemble cast. Alongside "There," with four nominations each, were Jason Reitman's "Juno," Julian Schnabel's "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" and Tamara Jenkins' "The Savages," all of which open in the next few weeks. The nominations, which were announced by Zach Braff and Lisa Kudrow this morning in Los Angeles, featured a variety of both expected and surprise nominees. "Butterfly" and "Juno" joined "I'm Not There" as nominees in the best feature category, which also included Michael Winterbottom's "A Mighty Heart" and Gus Van Sant's "Paranoid Park." "Park," which won't be seeing theatrical release in the U.S. until 2008, also garnered a director nod for Van Sant, who joined Haynes, Schnabel, Reitman and Tamara Jenkins. Notable snubs included Laura Linney's performance in "The Savages," Noah Baumbach's "Margot at the Wedding," whose sole nomination came for Jennifer Jason Leigh as best supporting female, as well as Craig Gillepsie's "Lars and the Real Girl," which did not recieve any nominations. (Note: indieWIRE previously suggested Sarah Polley's "Away From Her" was snubbed, though as a Canadian production it was in fact ineligible for this year's awards). nominations... continued
Over 520 Films will Screen at 2007 AFM including 106 Industry World Premieres and 364 Market Premieres
More than 520 films in 34 languages are set to screen at the 2007 AFM. The
complete Screening Schedule is available in the AFM Catalogue of Films. To read the full Press Release, click here.
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2008 SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES FILM COMPETITION
Park City, UT—Sundance Institute announced today the line-up of films selected from a record number of submissions for the U.S. and World Cinema Dramatic and Documentary Competitions for the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. The premier showcase for the best new work by American and international independent filmmakers, Sundance Film Festival provides audiences with abundant opportunities to discover today's most innovative films. In addition to the four Competition categories, the Festival presents films in five out-of-competition sections to be announced tomorrow. The 2008 Sundance Film Festival runs January 17-27, 2008, in Park City, Salt Lake City, Ogden, and Sundance, Utah. The complete list of films is available at www.sundance.org/festival. “The broad range of cinematic expression in this year's Festival is found not simply in terms of the volume of submissions or its demographics but in the variety of types of filmmakers and the issues they explore," said Geoffrey Gilmore, Director, Sundance Film Festival. "This year we are seeing a convergence of storytelling and art that truly illustrates the spectrum of what is possible in film. “The creativity, urgency and passion of this year's filmmakers are palpable, proving that independent filmmaking is alive and well not only in the U.S. but throughout the world," said John Cooper, Director of Programming, Sundance Film Festival. "The amount of high-quality work submitted from a diverse range of filmmakers made our jobs difficult this year. The Competition program is funny, spirited, human, and at times uncharacteristically optimistic about the world we live in."
For the 2008 Sundance Film Festival, 121 feature-length films were selected including 87 world premieres, 14 North American premieres, and 12 U.S. premieres representing 25 countries with 55 first-time filmmakers, including 32 in competition. These films were selected from 3,624 feature film submissions composed of 2,021 U.S. and 1,603 international feature-length films. These numbers represent an increase from last year when 1,852 U.S. and 1,435 international feature-length films were considered.
AFI '06 WRAP UP - ACQUISITIONS
More domestic sales of international titles and international territory sales occurred at AFI FEST 2006 than at any other US festival.
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11th EDITION OF LOS ANGELES LATINO FILM FESTIVAL REACHES NEW HEIGHTS With a pletora of films,nightly industry events, panel and industry seminars the Los Angeles Latino Film Festival has become one of the most important industry events to attend. This year, the festival showcased an incredible filmmaker's villa at the rooftop of the Arclight Cinemas in Hollywood. Celebrities, filmmakers press and industry all gathered for business, networking and glamour. The Festival became a hub of activity with an inviting ambiance. The Filmmakers
Café, live musical performances and other events stimulate constant traffic at the Festival venue, and cater to as many facets of society as possible. LALIFF offered industry workshops, panels, labs, networking receptions, educational programs, and hosts some of the best Galas in Tinseltown. For more info on this yearly event go to www.latinofilm.org.
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ALONE (Screamfest '07 Review) |
film was very beautiful, artistic and quite an ambitious project for
its time. Yes, it is a film with lots of nudity and sex but nothing different from what you'd see on showtime or HBO. This film does, however, have accurate historical elements. If all you
see is porn or all you want to see it porn here, you must be looking for
pornography and I suggest you rent porn. This is a cinematic achievement. The
sets, the acting, the story, make up- all in all- a good product. Over religious raised who are themselves puritans, would see this as porn for they have no sense of what
artistic expression really involves. If there is nudity, it must be porn, right?
wrong! Sex, nudity, the human naked or nude body, aroused or not, and all that
encompasses it can be quite artistic and it is shown here with various degrees
of visual artistry. If you want to rent this film because you'd like to see porn
for sexual stimulation then why not rent a real porn that has no story or
artistic value. Pornography's ultimate goal is to stimulate you to
orgasm. I hardly think that was the point of Caligula. So please, be less
intolerant for there is some history going on here both for its
time, 1979, and as a period piece from pagan Rome. Watch trailer and more