MCN DVD Wrap-Up
Grizzly Man

Let's hope that Grizzly Man being left off the short list of documentaries under consideration for an Oscar doesn't sway anyone from sampling one of the most compelling films of 2005. More >

The Hot Button: The most compelling and easily the funniest film about a man who gets himself and his girlfriend eaten alive by a bear you will ever see.

Plus: All Souls Day, The Aristocrats, Chan is Missing, Cisco Pike, Dallas, Dim Sum: A Little Bit of Heart, Educating Rita, Flightplan, Grizzly Man, Junebug, Lois & Clark, Lord of War, Missing, My Date with Drew, Oliver Twist, Partner(s), Puppetmaster vs. Demonic Toys, Sueno, The Tomorrow Show: Punk and New Wave, Thumbsucker, Two for the Money

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Sundance: Status Kuo
Episode Eleven: God (quicktime)

One of the hot Sundance docs, God Grew Tired Of Us, tells the ongoing story of three Lost Boys of Sudan who moved to America.  The Boys, now men, arrived in snowy Sundance with their own unique perspective.
Episodes 1-10

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10 Days Of Sundance
For Movie Folks Who Considered Burning Down The Ratings Board When The Adjustment Was Enuf
by David Poland

The film is fun, and clever, and smart and does an excellent job of giving the choir what they are hoping to see. But really, I expect more than this from Kirby Dick. There are many factual misstatements in the movie. And worse, there is an unmediated tendency to gross exaggeration and wild assumptions about the motivation of the ratings board that go unchallenged.

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The Ultimate DVD Geek
The Island
by Doug Pratt

Bay describes the basics of the production, and also attempts to justify his choices. "There are people who think that some of the product [placement] in this movie, that we were whoring out the movie and we were making the commercial. Now let's face it guys, the world is focused on products. Products surround us and for us to think in the year 2019 we're not still going to be focused and have products and labels, flying at us from every different vantage point, is just unreal, it's not a true world. So that's my statement for people who have given me a hard time for thinking I'm just trying to whore out the movie and just make a big advertisement."

Who Will Get Nominated? Best Supporting Actress For eight days, you can put your powers of Oscar prognostication to the test. Each day a different category. Each day someone wins an award season collection of DVDs. Wed: Supporting Actress Tuesday: Original Screenplay

Sundance on Ice by Ray Pride After seeing the deeply disturbing, angry, vital doc The Ground Truth: After the Killing Ends, about the abandonment of Iraq War veterans by the US government, I was hypnotized by the flag waving behind Cisero's, at a pour for filmmakers and journalists. Nearby, Mexican director Carlos Reygada (Battle of Heaven) and his crew are conspiring in Spanish and Kirby Dick and Eddie Schmidt (This Film Is Not Yet Rated) are talking about censorship.

The Reeler A Good Listener by ST VanAirsdale "The story was just so unbelievably intense," Collette said when asked how she prepared. "I think basically this woman is very needy and wants love, and I think it's a very basic need to take it to the nth degree. I feel sorry for her. And I don't know how I prepared for it."

The Weekend Report
by Leonard Klady

Underworld: Evolution sent a chill through the domestic marketplace with a potent debut estimated at $27.1 million. The vampire yarn far out-distanced all competition including no better than fair launches of the family values End of the Spear and the national bow of The New World. Nonetheless, it was a sufficient lead to send grosses soaring above 2005 levels and bear out the old industry saw about it being a "product driven" marketplace.
Weekend Estimates (Full List)
Domestic Market Share

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20 Weeks To Oscar
Looking Back With Forward Still Ahead
by David Poland

Before we get to the real surprises, in two weeks, let's look at what surprises we can take away from this year's Oscar season so far.

TINKLE TINKLE - Can you hear that? Every time a bell rings, someone becomes a star. This year that someone is Terrence Howard, who has not only given great performances, but has also shown himself to be up to the superstar game off the screen.

The Oscar Charts
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The Gurus Look At The Big Eight Categories ...

Best Picture
Best Supporting Actress
Best Supporting Actor
Best Original Screenplay
Best Adapted Screenplay
Best Actress
Best Actor
Best Director

Updated throughout the day
Updated: 5:05 pm

Lions Gate Buys Right At Your Door For Worldwide Distribution

Superman Returns In Pictures

Roger Ebert Finds Flannel Pajamas And An Update On The Kid On Day Six

The Reeler At Sundance: Wordplay Goes To IFC Films

Bringing NASA's Real Mars Missions To An IMAX Screen

The Transgender "Trend"

"God Save the Hollywood Industry" And Other Sundance Moments

A McSweeney's Minute
Films As Reviewed By The City Of Los Angeles Herself

Pop Quiz: How Many Gossip Headlines Have You Read This Week

Chris Penn Dies At 43

Miramax Shooting At The Night Listener, Picturehouse Trying To Lock Up Half-Nelson, Deals For Stephanie Daley, Open Window, The Illusionist, And Still, Wordplay, Expected Soon

A Deal Driven By Fear
Earlier - It's A $7.4 Billion Marriage For Disney And Pixar

Germain On Dick's Ratings Rant

From The Guy Who Gave Us Dodgeball Comes Magnum PI: The Movie

Everybody Hates Chris Meets Smallville
WB + UPN = The CW

Mizrahi's Back For The Oscar Red Carpet, But Academy Is Watching Carefully
"I can predict we would be extraordinarily angry if that happened on our carpet. I cannot predict what we would do afterwards"

MTV Looks Back At The Lighter Side Of Cross-Dressing In Film

Factory Girl Finds A Home With The Weinstein Co

The Academy Museum Finds A Hollywood Location

Eve And The Fire Horse And Roger Ebert

Sundance: The Science Of Sleep Goes To Warner Independent
And - The News From Park City

Tourtellotte On The Immigration Subtext Of Sundance 2006

Spielberg Finally Gets A Bit Pissed About The Treatment Munich Has Gotten
Earlier - Tony Kushner Defends Munich Territory

The Reeler On Night Listener and Wordplay

Sundance: The Bidding War For The Science Of Sleep Begins
Earlier - Bobcat's Doggie Tale
And - Sunday, Sunday

The Producers Guild Loves Brokeback

Picture Sundance On Ice

Cannes Opens With Ron Howard And The DaVinci Code

September Dawn: History Of Religious Fervor And Violence Right Here At Home

Sundance Buzz Dead Wrong... As Usual... P-Rice Buys LMS For $10 Million
Earier - Sundance Buzz Says Paramount Buys Little Miss Sunshine Starring Steve Carrell

Smart Uses For CGI, Dreams John Patterson

New ClearPlay-Like Battle... Pre-Loaded iPods

Anthony Kaufman On The Withering Market In America For Foreign Films

The Sundance Kid Finds The Thought Of An Affleck/Damon Remake Depressing

The Always Intense Tony Franciosa Dies At Age 77

Geoff Pevere Thinks Some Movies Are Way Too Long, And He Says God Agrees With Him

The Sundance Year Of The Music Doc: Hip-Hop & Manhood, The Talking Heads, Neil Young, And The Beastie Boys

20 Worthy Performances That Shouldn't Get Forgotten At Voting Time From Claudia Puig

Mark Lawson Explains Why Cache (Hidden) Is A Critic Fave - And Why It Should Be

Marr & Wingfield Report That Disney/Pixar Talks Are Heating Up... But Is The News Just An Attempt To Find Out If Wall Street Will See This As The Next AOL Merger?

Halbfinger Hearts Alpha Dog's Nick Casavettes

The Man Dances With The Attitude (Or Is That Altitude?) That Brung Her
"Despite the hype and the frigid climes Sundance remains invaluable - wildly annoying, but invaluable."

The BAFTAs Have Nominated

AMPAS Has Spoken ..
Kris Tapley On Syriana's Screenplay Switch Midstream - It's Not Adapted, It's Original

USA Today Previews Ten At Sundance
The News From Park City

He Shoulda' Been A Cowboy
Harry Hamlin's Gay Love Story Movie Didn't Make Him A Star

David Germain Gets Excited About 2006

Jack Mathews Makes A Case For Terence Howard, Crash And Capote

Sundance Trailers To Whet The Appetite
Michael Rappaport's Special
Sarah Polley in The Secret Life of Words

When Animators Blog

So Distubing For So Many Reasons ..
Captain Kirk, A Kidney Stone, And Someone Willing To Pay $25k

International Tensions And Other Challenges Of Rating Memoirs Of A Geisha In China

Last Year Ray, This Year Walk The Line: The March Of The Musical Bio-Pics

Russia's Museum Of Cinema Goes Dark

Malaysia's Intellectual Property Protection & The MPAA Team Up On Piracy

Scott & Emanuel Globeathize

The Art Directors Nominate

"I'm Campaignin' Here..."
The Original Brokeback Ride, Midnight Cowboy, Set For A Glamorous DVD Re-Release, Just In Time For What Is Hoped to Be The Peak Of The Brokeback Mountain

"What The HELL Happened To That Copy Of The Flamingo Kid They Were Sending Me?"

That Great Opening Song From The Golden Globes

The Sundance High School & The Hard Core Art Film

LouLu Looks At Aniston Craziness For Sundance Kickoff, Friends With Money

Kathleen Turner On What Really Makes A Woman Sexy And Why You Don't See It In Movies