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The Museum Of Modern Art Presents Spike Jonze: The First 80 Years The Museum of Modern Art has announced the first-ever exhibition to focus onSpike Jonze, “celebrating his work as a director, producer, cinematographer, writer, actor, choreographer, and sometime stuntman.” I love the title of the exhibition, Spike Jonze: The First 80 Years. Apparently Jonze came up with the wry title for the early mid-career retrospective title himself. The exhibition runs October 8th through 18th, 2009, in The Roy and Niuta Titus Theaters....

The Northman Star Alexander Skarsgård Talks Maintaining Muscle, Learning Old Norse, And Mythmaking [Interview] In"The Northman,“leading man Alexander Skarsgård gives a powerfully brutal performance as Amleth, a berserker Viking seeking toavenge his father, save his mother, and kill his uncle, Fjölnir. Set over 1000 years in the past, the story is carried entirely on the muscled shoulders of Skarsgård as Amleth weaves (and slashes) his way towards his destiny. He’s also surrounded by an incredible cast that includes Nicole Kidman, Claes Bang, Anya Taylor-Joy, Ethan Hawke, Björk, and Willem Dafoe....

The Real History Of The Egyptian Gods In Moon Knight If all of the references to the history and mythology of ancient Egypt in “Moon Knight” made you look like Steven Grant (Oscar Isaac) in the image above, don’t worry; I’ve got you covered. The latest Disney+ series is based on the Marvel comics of the same name, but they are both heavily inspired by ancient Egyptian mythology. After all, Steven Grant and his alter-ego Marc Spector are the vessel for the Egyptian god of the moon, Khonsu (spelled Khonshu in the comics/series), and he does battle with the forces of the goddess of judgment, Ammit....

The Walt Disney Company Will Give $5 Million To Support Social Justice Causes Joining several other major Hollywood companies and productions in taking a stand for social justice, The Walt Disney Company has announced that it will be donating $5 million to nonprofit organizations that advance social justice causes – starting with a $2 million donation to the NAACP. But is that enough? “The killing of George Floyd has forced our nation to once again confront the long history of injustice that black people in America have suffered, and it is critical that we stand together, speak out and do everything in our power to ensure that acts of racism and violence are never tolerated,” new Disney CEOBob Chapeksaid in a statement....

Theme Park Bits: Shanghai Disneyland, ‘Ratatouille Kitchen Calamity’, ‘Transformers: The Ride 3D’, ‘Despicable Me Minion Mayhem’, Imagineers, Stephen Chow If you don’t have plans for the next couple of summers yet, you may be tempted to take some theme park trips after you read this post. After the jump: According to those, guests will be “shrunk” down to Remy’s size and chased around by the villainous Chef Skinner while in the queue....

This Week In Trailers: Gnarr, Douchebag, Client 9, Who Is Harry Nilsson?, Billie & Theodore Trailers are an under-appreciated art form insofar that many times they’re seen as vehicles for showing footage, explaining films away, or showing their hand about what moviegoers can expect. Foreign, domestic, independent, big budget: I celebrate all levels of trailers and hopefully this column will satisfactorily give you a baseline of what beta wave I’m operating on, because what better way to hone your skills as a thoughtful moviegoer than by deconstructing these little pieces of advertising?...

TIFF Movie Review: The Brave One Last week I wrote an embarrassingly positive review of James Wan’sDeath Sentence.One week later I’m in Canada for the Toronto Film Festival to review another vigilante film, but this time I’m not quite as excited. The Brave One is a more artfully done film, with a less convoluted story, and some otherwise great actors. So why did I likeDeath Sentencemore? May-be because it knew what it was – a no apology genre movie....

Tom Hanks To Play Walt Disney In ‘Mary Poppins’ Making-Of Drama ‘Saving Mr. Banks’ The way Disney’sSaving Mr. Banksis shaping up, we might as well pencil it in now for the 2014 Oscar race. Based on true events,Kelly Marcel’s 2011 Black List script centers around company founder’sWalt Disney’s 14-year effort to convinceMary PoppinsauthorP.L. Traversto turn over the rights to her book. Since the early days, the project’s sought big names, withTom Hanksand Meryl Streep said to be among the top choices to play the leads andThe Blind SidehelmerJohn Lee Hancockboarding the picture in late February....

Tribeca Movie Review: Born And Bred (Nacido Y Criado) The following film was screened at the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival. Born and Bred(Nacido y Criado) World Narrative Competition 2006, Argentina Dir: Pablo Trapero When the man who has it all suddenly loses it all, his life can make such an unforeseen shift that not even he is prepared for the outcome. In Pablo Trapero’s Born and Bred, the man in this case is Santiago, played with painful resignation by Guillermo Pfening....

Upcoming Netflix Original Movies You Need To Know About In less than a decade, Netflix has transformed from a digital alternative to Blockbuster into one of the most ambitious studios in Hollywood. After Cary Joji Fukunaga’s critically acclaimed war epic “Beasts of No Nation” made a splash at award shows in 2015, Netflix has only increased its output of original films. In 2021 alone, Netflix will distribute well over 100 new films alongside their lineup of exclusive shows and docuseries....

Video: What Is Film Criticism, And Why Is It Important? Film criticism matters! Shout it from the rooftops. That said, there seems to be a common misconception aboutwhatfilm criticism even is. An informative new film criticism video essay attempts to get to the bottom of just what criticism is, and why it’s important. What is film criticism? It seems like a simple question, but answers will vary. If you yourself have ever wondered justwhatfilm criticism is and why it even matters at all, a helpful new video fromPatrick Willemsis here with some answers....

VOTD: HBO’s ‘Real Sports’ Segment About An Autistic Savant Pinball Wizard Might Make You Cry We may receive a commission on purchases made from links. As someone who opts not to spend much time paying attention to athletics, my familiarity and interest in sports comes in the form of movies about them. Whether it’s a drama likeRemember the Titans, a comedy likeSemi-Pro, a childhood favorite likeThe Mighty Ducksor a compelling documentary like the classicHoops Dreams, I have fallen in love with plenty of stories from the world of sports....

Watch: Let Junkie XL Teach You How To Compose Music For Movies Though cinema is a visual medium, movies wouldn’t be anywhere near as powerful without the music that pulses from their soundtracks. Often times it’s the composer of a film’s score that makes a scene truly memorable. But how do composers create music that enhances movies so the thousands of notes we hear combine to give the film emotion, excitement, suspense and power?...