The 1977 Oscar-nominated political thriller Operation Thunderbolt is a dismal failure as both cinema and propaganda. Klaus Kinski star.
International Cinema
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Foreign Language Film Oscar get entries from 49 countries, but 2 internationally acclaimed Gael García Bernal movies have ended up as Academy Award orphans.
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Imelda Staunton delivers a superb performance as a mid-1950s abortionist in Mike Leigh’s socially conscious family drama Vera Drake.
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Robert Siodmak’s 1957 political drama The Devil Strikes at Night asks whether serial killers are any worse than socially sanctioned mass murderers.
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A less effusive Shakespeare in Love rehash, Stage Beauty fails to delve into the complexities of gender and sexual identity.
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The Oscar-nominated The Grandfather works both as a Fernando Fernán Gómez showcase and as an irresistible message movie.
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What are the best British films of all time? A violent thriller is critics’ surprise #1 choice, while women-focused titles are (as usual) almost completely ignored.
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A trio of French film stars are among the celebrities offering support for hostages being held in Iraq + an Iranian director has been hospitalized after Moral Police arrest.
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The new Claude Lelouch film is a critical and box office bomb. The director is resorting to radical measures, but fellow veteran Philippe de Broca thinks that’s a bad idea.
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Chris and Paul Weitz’s reactionary audience-pandering comedy About a Boy (2002) stars Hugh Grant as a man who tragically discovers his inner family man.
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Starring Daniel Radcliffe, Alfonso Cuarón’s Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban 2004 adaptation proves that CGI and movie magic aren’t the same thing.
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This year’s Toronto Fest has had its share of controversies, including those surrounding documentaries about animal abuse and White House contender John Kerry.
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The Adolf Hitler movie debate revolves around the question of whether the most hated modern political leader should be portrayed as a complex human being.
Unexpected UK and Australia decisions about the sex scenes in Michael Winterbottom’s explicit romantic drama 9 Songs has irked prudes.
War-related movies were the clear favorites at the San Sebastian Film Festival, where Lifetime Achievement honors went to Woody Allen and Annette Bening.
Venice Festival: The Golden Lion victory of Mike Leigh’s abortion drama at the snafu-plagued Biennale has angered Italian nativists rooting for local father-son tale.