doubt Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Cinematical Seven: Religious Doubt
Filed under: Drama », Cinematical Seven », Lists », Religious »
So I thought I might provoke a little conversation by listing seven films that are centered around theological distress. Some of the picks are a bit light-hearted, others a little more controversial, but all are worth talking about. Spoilers abound, so if you really don't know how Dogma or The Last Temptation of Christ ends, skip this post for something safer.
1. The Last Temptation of Christ
Both Nikos Kazantzakis' novel and Martin Scorsese's film continue to attract controversy for daring to portay a Jesus who was uncertain, troubled, and struggling with his destiny. I can't really say it any better than Roger Ebert did, so let's just quote him: "Here he is flesh and blood, struggling, questioning, asking himself and his father which is the right way, and finally, after great suffering, earning the right to say, on the cross, 'It is accomplished.'"
2. Agnes of God
Immaculate conception or someone taking advantage of a troubled young nun? Are her actions tinged with madness or inspired by a higher power? Neither the movie nor the play its based on ever really answers the question, and neither explanation offers much comfort.
Spin-ematical: New on DVD for 4/7
Filed under: Action », Animation », Classics », Comedy », Drama », Horror », Independent », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », New on DVD », Family Films », Home Entertainment », Remakes and Sequels »
Doubt
Philip Seymour Hoffman is thrilling to watch as a priest accused of abuse by god-like nun Meryl Streep. Streep's highly-studied Bronx accent cracks me up, but this is a crackerjack stage play by John Patrick Shanley that he adopted for the screen and directed. Viola Davis makes a deep impression, and Amy Adams is a cute nun. Buy it.
Add to Netflix queue | Buy at Amazon | Read Jeffrey M. Anderson's review.
The Tale of Despereaux
Quoting myself: "A slapdash character study of two rodents ... a gentle and nurturing children's story, imparting lessons without being too condescending to its audience." This could become a family perennial. With the voices of Matthew Broderick, Dustin Hoffman, and Emma Watson. Buy it.
Add to Netflix queue | Buy at Amazon | Read my review.
The Day the Earth Stood Still
You've already seen the best bits in the trailer. Seriously. Even allowing for Keanu Reeves' intentionally blank slate and the prototypical "annoying kid," and crushing on Jennifer Connelly, this was a deadly bore that didn't come close to the far superior original. Skip it.
Add to Netflix queue | Buy at Amazon | Read William Goss' review.
Yes Man
Jim Carrey stars in what our man Will Goss described as "a minor lark in the Canadian comedian's career ... familiar and funny in about equal measure." Still, Carrey familiarity + Zooey Deschanel makes me want to check it out. Rent it.
Add to Netflix queue | Buy at Amazon | Read William Goss' review.
Adam Sandler has always seemed child-like, but Jette Kernion said: "Watching Bedtime Stories is about as delightful as peeking into your Christmas stocking and finding it empty except for a few lint-covered peppermints." (Note: Released this past Sunday.) Skip it.
Add to Netflix queue | Buy at Amazon | Read Jette Kernion's review.
Last Minute Wild Oscar Guess: 'Dark Knight' Gets Snubbed for 'Wall-E'
Filed under: Awards »
I haven't really done any comprehensive Oscar predicting this year. There's a glut of prognosticators, and I'm not any good at it anyway. But I figure I should go out on one limb the day before nominations are announced -- how else can I look foolish on the 22nd? -- and here it is: I predict that Wall-E slips into the Best Picture final five and leaves The Dark Knight in the cold. Now, I'll admit that I'm doing this partially to annoy Josh "Snub It And There Will Be Consequences" Tyler (because seriously, that was insane). But here's the thing: if you accept the conventional wisdom that four of the five Best Picture slots will be occupied by Slumdog Millionaire, Frost/Nixon, Milk and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, that leaves Dark Knight and Wall-E (and possibly Doubt) fighting for #5. Since we're talking about Academy voters here, I think the smart money is on the beloved, endlessly charming Pixar flick over the pitch-black superhero epic. It's less divisive and more accessible. (I'll agree that it's not quite as awesome.) The Bat will content itself with tech noms and Heath Ledger.
So that's my last-minute sucker's bet. You got any? Aronofsky for Best Director? Dev Patel for Best Actor? Last chance, kids.
Exclusive: Final Poster for 'Doubt'
Filed under: Drama », Fandom », Movie Marketing », Oscar Watch », Images », Posters »
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Cinematical has received this exclusive final poster for Doubt, which proudly displays its many much-deserved award nominations. Based on the play by John Patrick Shanley (who also adapted and directed this big-screen version -- listen to our audio interview with him here), Doubt is exceptional because of its cast -- with all four players (Philip Seymour Hoffman, Meryl Streep, Amy Adams and Viola Davis) turning in sharp, powerful performances. Set in the Bronx, New York in 1964, Doubt plunges right into the heart of a Catholic School and follows the two nuns who suspect a priest of making unwanted advances toward the school's first black student. Easily one of my favorite films of the year, this is definitely one you don't want to miss -- especially on a cold dark weekend in the middle of winter.
Doubt is in theaters now. Check out a larger version of the poster by clicking below.
Gallery: Doubt
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Weekend Box Office: 'The Day the Earth Stood Still' and Oscar Contenders Enter the Fray
Filed under: New Releases », Box Office »
The weekend's sole big-budget multiplex offering -- the sappy alien-invasion remake The Day the Earth Stood Still -- opened well with $31 million. But the bigger news lies under the top 10. This was the weekend that Doubt and Gran Torino began their elaborate platform releases, which Miramax and Warner Bros. (respectively) hope will result in multiple Oscar nominations. Doubt opened on 15 screens and grossed $525,000 for a $35,000 per-screen average. Gran Torino -- a goofy, entertaining little movie that's only an awards contender because of Clint Eastwood's involvement -- opened to $284,000 on 6 screens for $47,333 per screen.
Another piece of Oscar bait, The Reader, opened with marginally less fanfare, ending up with $170,000 on 8 screens ($21,250 per screen).
These sets of numbers are promising, but the real test for these movies is what happens once they expand beyond their ultra-limited initial releases. Slumdog Millionare, for example, is handling its slow expansion very well, with $13,000 per-screen on 170 screens, after five weeks.
There's not much to say about the other wide new releases. Nothing Like the Holidays, Overture's niche-y Christmas offering, was predictably lackluster, opening to $3.5 million. The computer-animated Delgo was another flop for Freestyle Releasing (which, as a commenter helpfully pointed out last week, is a for-hire distributor that has nothing to do with the production of its films) with less than $1 million on over 2000 screens.
The only other thing I want to point out this week is that Quantum of Solace may have trouble setting the all-time Bond franchise record I had expected it to set handily. It has not held up well after a strong opening, and is now $10 million shy of Casino Royale's $167 million. Its weekend gross was $3.8 million, so it's going to be close.
The full top 10 -- and then some -- is under the jump.
Review: Doubt
Filed under: Drama », New Releases », Theatrical Reviews », New in Theaters », Miramax », Religious »
As many movie fans know by now, the prologue to last summer's Tropic Thunder features some brilliant spoof trailers, including one for a phony film called Satan's Alley (which won the "coveted Crying Monkey Award at the Beijing Film Festival"). Better seen than described, it's a brilliant deconstruction of every pompous award-hungry film that comes out in December. The trailer for John Patrick Shanley's Doubt looks a lot like that, but if I've learned one thing this year, it's to not trust trailers. Happily, the real Doubt is a great deal sprightlier, cleverer and more powerful than its dreadful promo would suggest.
Shanley is a playwright who occasionally forays into movies, and he adapted his own 2004 play into the screenplay for Doubt. He won a Best Screenplay Oscar for Moonstruck (1987), and his other writing work ranges from Five Corners (1987) to an adaptation of Congo (1995). As a director, Doubt is only his second feature; his first came 18 years ago, with the bizarre, wonderful, underrated Joe vs. the Volcano (1990). That movie was a highly stylized, colorful, very dry, very black romantic comedy that left most Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan fans (or, to put it another way, just about everybody on the planet) completely baffled. Shanley brings some of that same skill and style to Doubt, although this time expectations and delivery are more in harmony.
Interview: Writer-Director John Patrick Shanley of 'Doubt'
Filed under: Drama », Fandom », Interviews »
"I went to a church school in the Bronx in the early '60s, and I had the Sisters of Charity (as teachers) who wore these very particular, very peculiar Victorian black bonnets; I had an interesting and good experience there. It was a time of great certitude; it was a quieter time, and yet it was on the cusp of great change. There was a big sound coming from over the hill, and that sound was the '60s; it came crashing in shortly after that. ... At the time I wrote the play, again, it was a time of great certitude -- it was the lead-up to the invasion of Iraq, and I didn't feel certain, I felt doubtful. ... I (thought) I wanted to write something... that shows what is lost and what is gained when the world changes."
Playwright and director John Patrick Shanley can tell you where his film Doubt, starring Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Meryl Streep and Amy Adams, came from; as it's being released into a busy Oscar season with high expectations, he can't quite tell you where it's headed. The Oscar-winning screenwriter of Moonstruck and the writer-director of the cult fave Joe Versus the Volcano also talked about the challenges of opening up his play for the big screen, how tough times can mean great opportunities for writers and the pleasure of working with noted cinematographer Roger Deakins. Shanley spoke with Cinematical in Los Angeles; you can listen to the podcast here at Cinematical by clicking below:
You can also download the interview in full right here -- and those of you with RSS Podcast readers can find all of Cinematical's podcast content at this link.
Philip Seymour Hoffman Defends the Titular Notion of 'Doubt'
Filed under: Drama », Oscar Watch », Miramax »
Having just seen the film version of Doubt, based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning play of the same name, I was encouraged to dig up this Defamer post in which Philip Seymour Hoffman goes off on a junket journalist who couldn't help but ask whether or not his priest character had indeed done the dirty with a young boy at his Catholic school.Don't worry, there aren't any spoilers to be heard there or read here, but believe me when I say that whether or not Hoffman knows the truth is more important than whether or not we, the audience, know. To a greater point, such an admission would dilute only the whole purpose of the film and play, the relentless ambiguity of the story at hand, and Hoffman -- surely having feared this inquiry, and perhaps already having tackled it elsewhere -- clearly suffers no fools.
For my money, though, that still has nothing on this bout of humiliation.
Witness Meryl Streep's Reign of Terror in 'Doubt' Trailer
Filed under: Drama », Awards », Miramax », Trailers and Clips »
I am pretty sure I saw at least two, and possibly three, future Oscar nominees in the new trailer for John Patrick Shanley's Doubt, now available over here. If nothing else, you'd be a fool to bet against 1) Meryl Streep, 2) playing a righteous nun, 3) in an adaptation of a Pulitzer-Prize winning play. There are few sure things in Hollywood, but come on. I'd almost say the same for Philip Seymour Hoffman as a (possible) child molester, and I think the oddly unrecognizable Amy Adams has a sporting chance as well. Streep's role here -- a stern nun who accuses a priest of sexually abusing a young boy -- looks like a variation on Miranda Priestly from The Devil Wears Prada, if The Devil Wears Prada had been serious business instead of silliness. "I was not inviting a guessing game, Sister Raymond." Her response to Hoffman's hateful "I can fight you" is basically the greatest line delivery of all time. "The dragon is hungry," indeed.
I can't wait to see this; I really wanted to see the play on Broadway, but never got around to it. Watching Streep and Hoffman face off, with strong material backing them up, is a dream come true. Doubt is set for a December 12th release.
EXCLUSIVE: 'Doubt' Poster Premiere!
Filed under: Drama », Fandom », DIY/Filmmaking », Movie Marketing », Images », Posters »
Cinematical has just received this exclusive poster for the film Doubt (click image above to enlarge), starring Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Amy Adams. Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning play of the same name, Doubt was written, adapted for the screen and directed by John Patrick Shanley (whose last directorial effort came in the form of the very awesome Joe Versus the Volcano). Set at a Catholic School in the Bronx in 1964, Doubt tells of a stern principal and nun (Streep) who accuses a priest (Hoffman) of "acting inappropriately" with a young black student, and the younger, inexperienced nun (Adams) who comes between the two.
While on Broadway, Doubt was the talk of the town, and we expect this big-screen version to give us more than one buzz-worthy performance, especially with a cast like this. I can't be the only one looking forward to a little Doubt this December. Have you seen the play? Whaddya think?
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