DarfurNow Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Indies on DVD: 'What Would Jesus Buy?,' 'Darfur Now'
Filed under: Documentary », Drama », Independent », ThinkFilm », Warner Independent Pictures », New on DVD », The Weinstein Co. », Home Entertainment », Cinematical Indie »
This week is overflowing with potentially interesting indie DVD releases. What Would Jesus Buy?, an entertaining documentary directed by Rob VanAlkemade and produced by Morgan Spurlock, asks a very serious question in comedic form. As I wrote in my review, the film follows Reverend Billy and his Church of Stop Shopping Choir on a trek across America as they deliver an anti-shopping, anti-materialism, pro-Christmas message, bolstered by the trappings of fundamentalist religion. The DVD from Arts Alliance America includes deleted scenes, an 8-minute public access show featuring Reverend Billy, the Choir and Morgan Spurlock, and printable lyrics of the Choir's customized Christmas carols.Theodore Braun's doc Darfur Now "is solely about the power and the conviction" of six people who have made a difference in Sudan, according to our own Christopher Campbell. "If there's one flaw with the film, it's that it almost conclusively portrays the Darfur problem as no longer a problem." One of the film's producers is Don Cheadle, who also appears along with George Clooney. The DVD from Warner Independent includes additional scenes and an introduction and commentary with Braun.
Woody Allen may not be thought of nowadays as an "indie" auteur, but, really, how many directors enjoy his creative freedom? I admire his untiring work ethic, but many of his recent films feel half-chewed, and Cassandra's Dream is no exception.
Academy Announces 59 Contenders for Original Song Oscar
Filed under: Music & Musicals », Awards », Oscar Watch »
A lot of people were disappointed with the Golden Globe nominations because they failed to include any tracks from Once in the category for Best Original Song. Will the Oscars make the same mistake? We won't know for another month, but we can at least see that the Academy is deeming the film's songs as eligible. Both "Falling Slowly" and "If You Want Me" have been shortlisted along with 57 other song titles written exclusively for their respective movies. The variety of films is quite interesting and includes musicals (Hairspray), action blockbusters (Transformers), documentaries (Larry Flynt: The Right to Be Left Alone), foreign films you've never heard of (56 Drops of Blood), domestic films you've never heard of (Badland) and Hollywood comedies you wish you'd never heard of (Good Luck Chuck).Aside from Once, which the Academy will have to include if they want people to tune into the musical performances, the nominees are likely to include a song from Enchanted -- I'd pick "Happy Working Song" over the Globes' pick of "That's How You Know" -- a song from Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story -- I'd pick "Let's Duet" over "Walk Hard" -- the Eddie Vedder song from Into the Wild (for more "guaranteed" viewers), and the song from Hairspray that wasn't in the Broadway version -- "Come So Far (Got So Far to Go)". I'm sad to see Kimya Dawson not on the list, as I had hoped she had written at least one original tune for the Juno soundtrack. A few of them certainly felt like they were penned exclusively for the film. I'm not sad but was surprised to see that the Bono and Stevie Wonder duet "Love's In Need of Love Today" from Darfur Now was not eligible. But then I realized that despite it seeming like a song written just for
Review: Darfur Now
Filed under: Documentary », Independent », New Releases », Warner Independent Pictures », Theatrical Reviews », George Clooney », Cinematical Indie »
Would you like to see a movie in which Arnold Schwarzenegger and George Clooney unite against a genocidal African nation? How about a movie dealing with racial problems in the Sudan from the producer of Crash? Technically, you can see both movies in one with Darfur Now, a new documentary featuring the star power of the two actors mentioned and produced by co-star Don Cheadle, who was one of Crash's six producers.
Of course, if you're looking forward to Schwarzenegger and Clooney double-handedly kicking some Sudanese butt, or for Cheadle to head-up a multi-character drama focused on race relations within a society in denial, then you're sure to be disappointed. Still, the latter idea does closely describe Darfur Now. The film spotlights six individuals, some of whose stories directly inter-weave, who are affected by the tragedy in Darfur and have been successful at making a difference.
These individuals include Cheadle, an Oscar-nominated actor using his celebrity to draw attention to the issue, Adam Sterling, a 24-year-old waiter and activist urging Governor Schwarzenegger to sign a bill to keep California funds from investing in companies with interests in Sudan, and Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands. Then there's the ones actually situated in Darfur: Hejewa Adam, a woman whose baby was beaten to death by Janjaweed attackers who now fights in the Sudanese Liberation Army; Ahmed Mohammed Abaka, a displaced builder and farmer who now serves as a leader of a camp of 47,000 other displaced Darfurians; and Pablo Recalde, leader of the World Food Program in West Darfur.
Cinematical Giveaway: Tickets to the 'Darfur Now' World Premiere in Los Angeles
Filed under: Independent », New Releases », Warner Independent Pictures », Contests », Cinematical Indie »
Do you live in the Los Angeles area? Are you interested in seeing a free movie and hobnobbing with celebrities at a reception afterwards? Plus with the added benefit of it all being for a good cause? Well, then you've come to the right place.Cinematical, along with Warner Independent Pictures, is giving away ten pairs of tickets to the World Premiere of Darfur Now, starring and co-produced by Don Cheadle, this coming Tuesday, October 30th at the Directors Guild of America. The film starts at 7:30pm, and you'll be able to watch the arrivals on the red carpet, and attend the exclusive reception afterwards. We'll be giving these tickets away to ten random commenters, but please be aware that you need to live near enough to Los Angeles to get there on your own nickel by Tuesday.
Check out the details about the film (including the trailer) and the giveaway after the break.
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