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Once upon a time, I was an Oz purist. Not for the 1939 movie, though I liked it well enough, but for L. Frank Baum’s books, which I read until they were ragged. The first time I saw the cover of Wicked, Gregory Maguire’s novel about the Wicked Witch of the West, I stopped dead, thinking: One does not do that to Oz. Continue reading
Filmmaker Peter Wang’s In the Family came to him in a mental flash. “I had a glimpse of this family, the family at the center of the movie — two dads playing soccer with their kids,” Wang tells EW. It seems simple; a fleeting spark that captures the imagination, but Wang’s feature-length directorial debut tackles some complex issues — death, same-sex partnership in the South, guardianship, a custody battle — and it does so with unconventional filmmaking. Continue reading
It’s never too late to start watching the Up movies. The British documentary series began in 1964 with Seven Up, in which children from varied socio-economic backgrounds were interviewed. The series follows 14 (give or take) of these kids, revisiting their lives every seven years. Continue reading
On May 24, 1990, in Oakland, Calif., a car bomb exploded beneath the seats of Earth First! activists Darryl Cherney and Judi Bari. Cherney escaped with minor injuries while Bari, who had to be cut out of the car, was disabled by the blast. Before Bari was out of the hospital, the duo found themselves as the main suspects in the attack. Continue reading
Let’s face it, after 85 years, the Oscars have become a bit of a joke. The awards show is too long (2002’s production ran an ungodly 4 hours and 23 minutes), with bad hosts (ahem, Anne Hathaway and James Franco) and the winners (and the nominations) are all-too-predictable (Steven Spielberg and Meryl Streep seem to be at least nominated every year, even when they don’t have a film in the running). When’s the last time you saw a comedy or sci-fi film nominated for Best Picture? Continue reading
1. Holy Motors Continue reading
1. Sound of My Voice Continue reading
1. Elite Squad: The Enemy Within City of God meets The Wire in this fast-paced political action-thriller set in Rio de Janeiro. An exciting and devastating look at corrupt systems of law enforcement, politics and media, this was the highest-grossing film of all time in Brazil (even out-grossing Avatar). 2. Sound of My Voice Continue reading
How to Survive A Plague This harrowing and inspiring doc follows the highly organized activists that demanded medical and social progress for AIDS sufferers during the height of the epidemic in the ’80s and ’90s — a lesson in complacency, compassion and the power of a dedicated group of people. The Art of Rap Continue reading
At their best, each year’s Oscar-nominated short films are a chance to see something new, or unusual, or unlikely. Short films can take different chances with structure, rely less heavily on traditional narrative or capture a moment rather than laying out a whole tale. But this year’s crop of live action shorts is a bit of a letdown in this regard: They tend toward the traditional, are predictably heart-wrenching or fall a little short in one aspect while succeeding in others. Continue reading