Screen Scene: “300”

“300” Director Zach Snyder Warner bros. 2 paws Fun fact: Frank Miller’s graphic novel “300” showed a great deal of male nudity and was content with a highly minimalistic plot. Zach Snyder’s film adaptation manages to do the opposite. “300” is an account of the historical battle in which 300 Spartan soldiers fended off an […]

Penn Name

Kal Penn has come a long way: from one Taj Mahal to another. It’s been five short years since most audiences were introduced to the New Jersey-born Indian actor in the comedy “National Lampoon’s Van Wilder,” in which the UCLA graduate played Taj Mahal Badalandabad, an endearingly earnest exchange student determined to lose his virginity. […]

Screen Scene: “Avenue Montaigne”

“Avenue Montaigne” Director Danièle Thompson Thinkfilm 4 Paws Would you sympathize with someone who laments the high costs of maintaining their fleet of Ferraris? Essentially, that’s what “Avenue Montaigne” asks of its viewers. The official French submission to this year’s Oscars, “Avenue Montaigne” is a lighthearted mosaic of the lives of several highly privileged Parisians […]

Screen Scene: “The Monastery: Mr. Vig and the Nun”

“The Monastery: Mr. Vig and the Nun” Director Pernille Rose Grønkjær First Hand Films Love can blossom in the strangest ways. And “The Monastery: Mr. Vig and the Nun” is as unexpected and unconventional a love story as one could possibly imagine. Mr. Vig, an 82-year-old bachelor, has a lifelong dream of turning his somewhat […]

It’s the Reel thing

Click here to vote for your favorite film in the Coca-Cola Refreshing Filmmaker’s Award competition. A man with a vision. $7,500. Coke. These ingredients could wind up a recipe for success for UCLA film student Austin Formato. Formato, a graduate student in film directing, is a finalist in this year’s Coca-Cola Refreshing Filmmaker’s Award competition. […]

Screen Scene: “Seraphim Falls”

“Seraphim Falls” Director David Von Ancken Samuel Goldwyn Films LLC A few years after the Civil War, one man finds himself running for his life as another hunts him mercilessly through the Western wilderness on the fringes of civilization. “Seraphim Falls” certainly appears to have all the ingredients for success. Liam Neeson (“Batman Begins”) and […]