Gemini Man, Review: Clone arranger Ang Lee directed this poor man’s James Bondage? The man who made Eat Drink Man Woman, Sense and Sensibility, Crouching Tiger--Hidden Dragon, Brokeback Mountain and Life of Pi? No, this is the Ang Lee who made Hulk, which earned twice its cost. A VFX delight, Gemini Man is about a clone on a mission to kill a man who is a professional killer, and is also the man he was cloned from. The movie disappoints, with a below par screenplay, and few impressive d...

Movie memories, by Siraj Syed—Brokeback Mountain (2005): Rough terrain, smooth ride Friendship between the two protagonists of Brokeback Mountain turns to a homosexual relationship that survives their respective conventional marriages and fatherhoods. Director Ang Lee tackles this taboo theme, placed in the Wyoming of half a century ago, and treats it with old-world unravelling, at a gentle pace and accompanied by slow background score. The dialogue is highly accentuated and mumbled, wh...

Siraj Syed reviews Billy Lynn’s Long Half-Time Walk by Ang Lee >“Americans are children, who must go somewhere else to grow up, and sometimes die.” > “How does anyone ever know anything—the past is a fog that breathes out ghost after ghost, the present a freeway thunder run at 90 mph, which makes the future the ultimate black hole of futile speculation.” >“It is sort of weird, being honored for the worst day of your life.” Trust Ang ...

by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent   You may not have heard of Life After Pi, but you certainly remember Life of Pi, which continues to dazzle in VFX and revenues. Life After Pi, from now-bankrupt studio Rhythm + Hues, is the story of a movie made by hand by 100's of VFX artists whose movie won an Oscar in 2013, only to find themselves out of work in 2014. Out of work on a picket line outside the Academy Awards this year. It is a 30-minute documentary made by the studio ...

By Maria Esteves - February 25, 2013 The 85th Oscar Awards presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (A.M.P.A.S.) for outstanding film achievements of 2012 hosted by Seth MacFarlane commenced Sunday, February 24, 2013, 8:00pm ET at the Dolby Theatre, Hollywood & Highland Center, California, and aired live with 40 million  viewers worldwide. The Oscars celebrated James Bond 007 50th Anniversary with two James Bond theme performances by Dame Shirley Bassey (Goldfinger...

By Maria Esteves - September 9, 2012 The 50th New York Film Festival (NYFF50) presented by the Film Society of Lincoln Center commence September 28-October 14, 2012 at Lincoln Center. This year’s festival celebrates it’s 50th anniversary with 32 films including the first honoree actress Nicole Kidman for her artistic contributions to film and a special restoration of Lawrence of Arabia (1962), directed by David Lean. The festival’s Opening, Centerpiece and Closing Premieres are L...

 Before the screening of SANDCASTLE, I was able to catch up with the film's director and festival curator, Boo Junfeng.Tania: How does it feel to have a film that is acclaimed and award winning in Singapore, its home country and then Pusan, which is as good as it gets in East Asia and Cannes, which is as good as it gets in Europe?Boo Junfeng: Pretty good! (laughs) I've always wanted to make movies since I was 15 and I thought, by the time I'm 30 I can make a feature film. This is happening a li...

The 66th Venice International Film Festival concluded with the presentation of the Golden Lion Award for best film to Lebanon by Samuel MAOZ (Israel, France, Germany). The festival ran 2nd to 12th September 2009.The Venezia 66 Jury, chaired by Ang Lee and comprised of Sandrine Bonnaire, Liliana Cavani, Joe Dante, Anurag Kashyap, Luciano Ligabue, Sergei Bodrov, having viewed all twenty-five films in competition, has decided as follows: Silver Lion for Best Director to: Shirin NESHAT ...

With director Ang Lee and stars Emile Hirsch, Imelda Staunton and Demetri Martin present, the premier of "Taking Woodstock" last night was an event not to be missed. While the film's mixed reviews were nothing short of extraordinary, on the contrary the crowd's response to the film was a pleasant one. It could have been the fact that it was my first premier and I was not used to sitting in an tuxedo for two hours while watching a film on 1969's Woodstock, but it plainly did not hold my...

Monday, October 22-----Ang Lee, the Oscar-winning director of BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN will take part in the evening tribute event on Wednesday night at the Rome FilmFest dedicated to Italian director Sergio Leone. The director's latest film, LUST, CAUTION, is currently playing in theaters worldwide. As a member of the Film Foundation, Ang Lee has been designated by Martin Scorsese to introduce the world premiere of the restored version of Leone's ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST (1968), featuring an al...

 Sunday, September 9---------If one missed them at the Venice Film Festival, the major winners of that Festival on the Lido (announced last evening) are playing here in Toronto. As part of the roundelay that has become the Fall Festival circuit, buyers, programmers and the press can pick up on films they have missed by simply waiting for another turn of the merry-go-round. If not Venice, then Toronto. If not Toronto, then New York. If not New York, then San Sebastian.. So for those who have st...