1. "Best kid performances from Abigail Breslin to Jodie Foster": The directors of Nim's Island, more than a bit biased, pick their favorite child performances. What are yours?
["Levin says his main criterion for a good kid performance is that the young actor is never preening or cute, or mugging for the camera. “If there is depth and honesty to the performance, then when things are funny they are so much funnier,” he said. Here are the seven kid performances that Flackett and Levin love the most."]
2. "Bush pledges to send more troops to Afghanistan": A report from the L.A. Times.
["President Bush told a NATO summit that the United States would increase its number of troops in Afghanistan, administration officials said Friday, as the president sought to assure partners of Washington's long-term commitment to the campaign. U.S. officials previously made it clear that the foreign force of 59,000, including 31,000 Americans, was insufficient. But they had not committed the U.S. to providing more troops. ... Navy Adm. Michael G. Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in Washington on Wednesday that NATO commanders believe the U.S. and allied forces in Afghanistan need to add as many as 7,500 soldiers and 3,000 military trainers."]
3. "Nothing filling about this 'Blueberry' offering": House contributor Steven Boone, not-so-favorably, on My Blueberry Nights. His former interview subject, initials A.W., begs to differ.
[Boone: "It's safe to say that Norah Jones is the main reason most Americans would get off the couch for "My Blueberry Nights." It is her feature film debut, in a lead role. Can the gorgeous Grammy winner actually act? Another, much smaller, segment of this film's audience will attend because it's the American debut of legendary Hong Kong director Wong Kar Wai. Does Wong's ultra-stylized, intoxicating brand of screen romance (exemplified by "Chungking Express," "Fallen Angels" and "In the Mood for Love") translate well into English, with Western pop and Hollywood stars? The answer to both questions is, "In a better film, maybe." Jones displays some acting chops, but the character she creates with Wong has all the personality of a museum tour guide."
White: "What possessed the Cannes Film Festival correspondents whose reports last year ridiculed My Blueberry Nights! (It’s a thousand times superior to Cannes prizewinner 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days.) Now we can see for ourselves that it’s a splendid movie—the essence of what makes Wong special. It’s Wong’s most tactile film—almost as if he's found a new medium. Working in video with cinematographer Darius Khondji, Wong sharpens his usual ideas and images and emotions. Sensations result."]
4. "Thinking About Negulesco": As only the Self-Styled Siren can.
["Is auteurism useful, then, for discussing Jean Negulesco? After watching two excellent films in a row, the Siren says yes. She once described him as a guilty pleasure, but no more. The more she sees of Negulesco's movies, the more the Siren thinks she should trust her taste on this one."]
5. "Formula One's 'Nazi' Sex Scandal": Time Mag goes tabloid.
["Last Sunday the British tabloid News of the World posted video footage on its website of [Max] Mosley and five prostitutes in what it frothily described as "a depraved Nazi-style orgy in a torture dungeon." In the secretly filmed video, the paper reports, Mosley "barks orders in German as he whips two hookers dressed in striped uniforms reminiscent of Auschwitz garb while girls in Nazi uniforms look on." ... Mosley's background ensures that he won't get off that easily. His mother, Diana Mitford, was a celebrity British Nazi sympathizer in the prewar years, while his father, Sir Oswald Mosley, founded and led the British Union of Fascists — a guest of honor at their wedding in 1936, at the Berlin home of Joseph Goebbels, was none other than Adolf Hitler."]
Quote of the Day: Bob Hope
Image of the Day (click to enlarge): An image from Neil Burger's upcoming The Lucky Ones, which (as Glenn Kenny explains and annotates here) is facing its fair share of marketing challenges.
Clip(s) of the Day: A brief history of Tony the Tiger
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"Links for the Day": Each morning, the House editors post a series of weblinks that we think will spark discussion. Comments encouraged.
Saturday, April 05, 2008
Links for the Day (April 5th, 2008)
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3 comments:
Where's the love for The Wire kids? Obviously that's not what most people think of when they think of good kid performances (they think of cute white kids), but if you listen to the commentary track with them, it's clear that the actors are just regular kids who manage to become those characters.
Re: 5
Hmmm...sounds suspiciously like a publicity stunt for the documentary "Stalags" opening next week.:)
Yeah, where are Namond, Randy, Dukie, and Michael? They're GRRRRRRRRRR-REAT!
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