film criticism by maryann johanson | since 1997
Peter Hartlaub at SFGate’s The Poop — a baby blog, not a movie blog — recently asked raised an intriguing possibility: [T]his may be the greatest year for animated feature films of all time. One could make make a strong argument for 1937 with the seminal “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” 1940 with “Pinocchio” … more…
The 20 pictures in contention for five nominee slots — up from three in recent years — for the upcoming Academy Awards in the Best Animated Feature Film category have been announced. They are: Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel Astro Boy Battle for Terra Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs Coraline Disney’s A Christmas … more…
Probably the Brits were even more pissed about the trashing of Dickens: 1. A Christmas Carol: £1.9 million (NEW) 2. Michael Jackson’s This Is It: £1.4 million (2nd week; drops 52%) 3. Up: £1.3 million 4. The Men Who Stare at Goats: £1.2 million (NEW) 5. The Fourth Kind: £.85 million (NEW) (actual numbers, not … more…
Up is down after Michael Jackson’s arrival at multiplexes: 1. Michael Jackson’s This Is It: £4.9 million (NEW) 2. Up: £3.4 million (4th week; drops 10%) 3. Fantastic Mr. Fox: £1.5 million (2nd week; up 2%) 4. Saw VI: £.94 million (2nd week; drops 46%) 5. Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant: £.54 million (2nd … more…
We know how it is: You’d like to go to the movies this weekend, but it’s all this settling back down into pre-autumnal routine has got you exhausted. But you can have a multiplex-like experience at home with a collection of the right DVDs. And when someone asks you on Monday, “Hey, did you check … more…
Imagine if Jules Verne wrote a movie for Pixar, if that steampunk visionary looked forward from his perch in the late Victorian age to a Great War in his near future that didn’t pause for twenty years to let everyone to catch their breath but instead went apocalyptic.
As of this writing, 15 movies will open wide in North America in the month of September. Which means that even if you’re an active moviegoer and see a movie each week, you’ve still gotta pick and choose (and it’s even worse if you’re in a city on the arthouse circuit, but let’s not make … more…
Oh my, that’s a nasty poster, ain’t it? Inglourious Basterds (opens in the U.K. on August 19, and in the U.S. on August 21) is gonna be even more brutal than the trailer makes it look, I think. The question is whether Quentin Tarantino gets the balance of gore and humor right… I’m gonna attend … more…
New fun for Wednesdays! We look at an image from an upcoming movie and write snarky, witty, or otherwise entertaining captions for it. No prizes, it’s just for fun. So here’s an early peek at Shane Acker’s 9, a feature-length adaptation of his own short film (which you can watch here), produced by Tim Burton … more…
Turns out the feature film 9, which I posted the teaser trailer of earlier today, is based on a short film. This one:
