J. Bennett

Contributions

Movie Review: Black Swan

THRILLER BLACK SWAN (Fox Searchlight) STARS > Natalie Portman, Vincent Cassel, Mila Kunis, Barbara Hershey, Winona Ryder DIRECTOR > Darren Aronofsky RATING > 5/5 OPENS > DEC 3 On paper, Black Swan looks like a potential snoozer: “A psychological thriller set in the world of New York City ballet, Black Swan stars Natalie Portman as […]

Movie Review: Rare Exports

  FANTASY RARE EXPORTS: A CHRISTMAS TALE (Oscilloscope) STARS > Onni Tommila, Jorma Tommila, Ilmari Jarvenpaa, Peeter Jakobi DIRECTOR > Jalmari Helandar RATING > 3.5/5 OPENS > DEC 10 (Finnish with English subtitles)   Once upon a time, in the “pre-Christian Alpine traditions” of yore, the figure of Saint Nicholas was accompanied on his holiday […]

Movie Review: I Love You Phillip Morris

DRAMEDY I LOVE YOU PHILLIP MORRIS (Roadside Attractions) STARS > Jim Carrey, Ewan McGregor, Leslie Mann, Rodrigo Santoro DIRECTOR > John Requa and Glenn Ficarra RATING > 3.5/5 OPENS > DEC 3 If we told you that this movie is a beautiful love story between two gay dudes who met in prison, would you take […]

Movie Review: Fair Game

DRAMA FAIR GAME (Summit) STARS > Naomi Watts, Sean Penn, Michael Kelly, Sam Shepard DIRECTOR > Doug Liman RATING > [3/5] OPENS > NOV 5 (limited), NOV 19 (nationwide) A movie about a middle-aged D.C. power-couple almost getting divorced probably seems a little outside of AP's target demographic, but if you’re at all politically minded, […]

Exclusive Q&A: Ryan Kwanten of 'True Blood' and 'Red Hill'

REDNESS IN THE WESTERN SKY If you’re familiar with the work of RYAN KWANTEN, it’s almost definitely because of his role as swampland sex machine Jason Stackhouse on HBO’s ridiculously popular vampire series, True Blood. What often gets lost in the high-powered estrogen fog that follows Stackhouse’s Southern drawl, heartthrob abs and frequently bare ass […]

Movie Review: Nowhere Boy

BIOPIC NOWHERE BOY (The Weinstein Company) STARS > Aaron Johnson, Anne-Marie Duff, Kristin Scott Thomas, Thomas Brodie Sangster, David Morrissey DIRECTOR > Sam Taylor-Wood RATING > 3/5 OPENS > OCT 8 [limited] As music biopics go, Nowhere Boy makes an interesting narrative choice right off the bat. Rather than the standard rock-star rise, fall and […]

Movie Review: I Spit On Your Grave

  HORROR I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE (Anchor Bay) STARS > Sarah Butler, Jeff Branson, Daniel Franzese, Rodney Eastman, Chad Lindberg, Tracey Walter, Andrew Howard DIRECTOR > Steven R. Monroe RATING > 3.5/5 OPENS > OCT 8 It has been said that 1978’s I Spit On Your Grave is the ultimate feminist revenge flick. Written […]

Movie Review: Let Me In

  HORROR LET ME IN (Overture) STARS > Kodi Smit-McPhee, Chloe Moretz, Elias Koteas, Richard Jenkins, Dylan Minnette, Cara Buono DIRECTOR > Matt Reeves RATING > 4/5 OPENS > OCT 1 First, the good news: Against all odds, Hollywood did not ruin this remake of Swedish director Tomas Alfredson’s gorgeous 2008 adaptation of John Lindqvist’s […]

Lovely, Now: Q&A with filmmaker Nik Fackler

When AP first interviewed Omaha filmmaker Nik Fackler back in early 2009, it was about a year after he’d finished directing his feature debut, Lovely, Still, starring Oscar winners Martin Landau and Ellen Burstyn. After another year of haggling with distributors, Fackler finally secured theatrical release dates (see locations here) throughout September and October 2010. […]
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