Production Company(ies)
Charles Chaplin Productions,
 
Distributor
Sony Pictures Entertainment
 
Release Type
Theatrical
 
Filming Location(s)
Fox Hills Mall – 294 Fox Hills Mall, Culver City, California, USA
 
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for pervasive crude and sexual content, strong language, drinking, some drug use and a fantasy/comic violent image – all involving teens
 
Year of Release
2007
 

 
Genre(s)
Comedy
 
Keyword(s)
starring Jonah Hill, Michael Cera, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Bill Hader, Seth Rogen, Martha MacIsaac, Emma Stone, Aviva Baumann, Joe Lo Truglio, Kevin Corrigan, Dave Franco, Carla Gallo, Jody Hill, Danny McBride, Evan Goldberg, David Krumholtz, Martin Starr, Lauren Miller Rogen, Shauna Robertson, Judd Apatow, directed by Greg Mottola, written by Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, comedy, R rating, box office success, $121.5M gross, high school, graduation party, friendship, awkwardness, partying, alcohol, vulgarity, sincerity, police officers, separation anxiety, teenage innocence, crude sexual content, strong language, drinking, drug use, flat aspect ratio, Sony Pictures Entertainment, SDDS, DTS, Dolby SRD, reviewed by Devin Gordon, Scott Foundas, Ryan Gilbey, Bob Mondello, Christopher Orr, Tom Charity, Mike Massie, Richard Propes, Micheal Compton, Mattie Lucas, Dorothy Woodend, Sean Axmaker, 207 critic reviews, 65 top critic reviews, 181 fresh reviews, 26 rotten reviews
 

Cast & Crew

Jonah Hill

Seth Michael Cera

Evan Christopher Mintz-Plasse

Fogell Bill Hader

Officer Slater Seth Rogen

Seth

Evan

Fogell

Officer Slater

Officer Michaels

Jonah Hill – Seth
Michael Cera – Evan
Christopher Mintz-Plasse – Fogell
Bill Hader – Officer Slater
Seth Rogen – Officer Michaels
Martha MacIsaac – Becca

 

Greg Mottola

Seth Rogen

Judd Apatow

Shauna Robertson

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
Greg Mottola
 
Writer(s)
Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg
 
Producer(s)
Judd Apatow, Shauna Robertson

 

Film Festivals

 
Awards & Nominations
11 wins & 24 nominations
 
Academy Awards

Top Reviews

Devin Gordon

Scott Foundas

Ryan Gilbey

Bob Mondello

Christopher Orr

Newsweek

Village Voice

Sight & Sound

NPR.org

The New Republic

SUPERBAD
 All Critics (207) | Top Critics (65) | Fresh (181) | Rotten (26)
 … “Superbad” isn’t perfect. But it’s super close.
 
 February 7, 2018
 
 Devin Gordon
 Newsweek
 TOP CRITIC
 Superbad is a movie about partying and getting wasted and getting the girl, but as the night wears on, much wisdom is gained too, about self, friendship and the end of teenage innocence in all its wondrous, terrifying splendor.
 
 August 3, 2013
 
 Scott Foundas
 Village Voice
 TOP CRITIC
 Honest goodwill, fond observational detail and Greg Mottola’s exuberant direction make the picture nigh on irresistible, but there are some missteps.
 
 July 6, 2010
 
 Ryan Gilbey
 Sight & Sound
 TOP CRITIC
 What makes the film so appealing is the disconnect between what comes from the mouths of these hormone-addled pups and what’s going on in their heads, where they’re still clinging desperately to the innocence they’re leaving behind.
 
 October 18, 2008
 
 Bob Mondello
 NPR.org
 TOP CRITIC
 [Cera] has some of the best comic timing of anyone working in film today, a precocious sense of the awkward pauses and misread cues in which social panic resides.
 
 September 22, 2008
 
 Christopher Orr
 The New Republic
 TOP CRITIC
 This is the funniest picture since Borat, and more emotionally nuanced than you would expect.
 
 January 4, 2008
 
 Tom Charity
 CNN.com
 TOP CRITIC
 The oftentimes outrageous dialogue and vulgar exchanges between stars Michael Cera and Jonah Hill are both wildly hilarious and genuinely portrayed.
 
 November 28, 2020 | Rating: 8/10
 
 Mike Massie
 Gone With The Twins
 An intelligent and occasionally insightful look at the sometimes scary place we call the adolescent male mind.
 
 September 24, 2020 | Rating: 3.0/4.0
 
 Richard Propes
 TheIndependentCritic.com
 There are enough laughs to make it worth your time. It may not be super good, but it is good enough.
 
 November 21, 2019
 
 Micheal Compton
 Bowling Green Daily News
 Hysterically funny and also strangely poignant and heartfelt.
 
 June 6, 2019 | Rating: 3/4
 
 Mattie Lucas
 The Dispatch (Lexington, NC)
 Yes, Superbad is a boy’s story, so a certain perspective should be expected, and it’s not the cheerful filth that bothers me, nor even the conventional morality; it’s the paternalism.
 
 August 23, 2017
 
 Dorothy Woodend
 The Tyee (British Columbia)
 … the love child of American Pie and Dazed and Confused.
 
 February 14, 2017
 
 Sean Axmaker
 Stream on Demand…

 

Plot
Seth and Evan are best friends, inseparable, navigating the last weeks of high school. Usually shunned by the popular kids, Seth and Evan luck into an invitation to a party, and spend a long day, with the help of their nerdy friend Fogell, trying to score enough alcohol to lubricate the party and inebriate two girls, Jules and Becca, so they can kick-start their sex lives and go off to college with a summer full of experience and new skills. Their quest is complicated by Fogell’s falling in with two inept cops who both slow and assist the plan. If they do get the liquor to the party, what then? Is sex the only rite of passage at hand?
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
There is no goofy or funny or odd comment about the film Superbad on Fresh Kernels.
 

 
Greg-Mottola.jpg

 
Production Company(ies)
Strong Heart, Demme Production Orion Pictures,
 
Distributor
Lionsgate Films
 
Release Type
Theatrical
 
Filming Location(s)
Diablo Canyon, Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
 
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for violence and some language
 
Year of Release
2007
 

 
Genre(s)
Western/Drama
 
Keyword(s)
starring Russell Crowe, Christian Bale, Logan Lerman, Dallas Roberts, Ben Foster, Peter Fonda, Alan Tudyk, Cathy Konrad, directed by James Mangold, written by Michael Brandt, Derek Haas, Halsted Welles, Western, Drama, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Deborah Ross, Geoffrey Macnab, Bob Mondello, Alonso Duralde, Paul Byrnes, Mark Bourne, Graeme Tuckett, Taylor Baker, Mike Massie, Richard Propes, Ed Travis, Micheal Compton, produced by Cathy Konrad, R MPAA rating, Outlaw, Arizona, Southern Railroad, trial, drought-stricken ranch, escort, grudging respect, danger, pursuit, morality, character study, sympathy, ruthless, gang of robbers, psychotic, interplay, environment, complexities, old west
 

Cast & Crew

Russell Crowe

Christian Bale

Logan Lerman

Dallas Roberts

Ben Foster

Ben Wade

Dan Evans

William Evans

Grayson Butterfield

Charlie Prince

Russell Crowe – Ben Wade
Christian Bale – Dan Evans
Logan Lerman – William Evans
Dallas Roberts – Grayson Butterfield
Ben Foster – Charlie Prince
Peter Fonda – Byron McElroy
Cathy Konrad – Producer
James Mangold – Director
Michael Brandt, Derek Haas, Halsted Welles – Writers

 

James Mangold

Michael Brandt

Cathy Konrad

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
James Mangold
 
Writer(s)
Michael Brandt, Derek Haas, Halsted Welles
 
Producer(s)
Cathy Konrad

 

Film Festivals

 
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 2 Oscars
3 wins & 32 nominations total
 
Academy Awards
Oscar Nominees
 

Top Reviews

Deborah Ross

Geoffrey Macnab

Bob Mondello

Alonso Duralde

Paul Byrnes

The Spectator

Sight & Sound

NPR.org

MSNBC

Sydney Morning Herald

3:10 TO YUMA
 All Critics (225) | Top Critics (65) | Fresh (200) | Rotten (25)
 Both dull and deeply unnecessary; a stinker.
 
 August 23, 2018
 
 Deborah Ross
 The Spectator
 TOP CRITIC
 It is part of the richness of 3.10 to Yuma that this is a classical piece of storytelling with themes and characters that can be found in the very earliest Westerns.
 
 July 6, 2010
 
 Geoffrey Macnab
 Sight & Sound
 TOP CRITIC
 Nothing terribly original happens in this remake of a 1957 semi-classic that starred Glenn Ford and Van Heflin, but everything happens smoothly and with grace.
 
 October 18, 2008
 
 Bob Mondello
 NPR.org
 TOP CRITIC
 [I]f you’re looking for an Unforgiven-style reinvention of the Western, prepare for disappointment.
 
 May 1, 2008 | Rating: 4/5
 
 Alonso Duralde
 MSNBC
 TOP CRITIC
 The film is a creditable remake – no better than the original but different enough to stand on its considerable merits.
 
 January 25, 2008 | Rating: 4/5
 
 Paul Byrnes
 Sydney Morning Herald
 TOP CRITIC
 Mangold’s film is more than sufficiently subtexty and cynical for our modern sensibilities while simultaneously embracing Mangold’s obvious pleasure in the Westerns’ time-honored swinging saloon doors and stern masculine traditions.
 
 January 8, 2008
 
 Mark Bourne
 Film.com
 TOP CRITIC
 One of the 21st century’s best westerns.
 
 March 21, 2022
 
 Graeme Tuckett
 Stuff.co.nz
 ‘We’re going to Contention.’ One of the best remakes in the last twenty years.
 
 August 22, 2021 | Rating: 90/100
 
 Taylor Baker
 Drink in the Movies
 The basic plot – Old West environment or not – is an amusing choice to reintroduce to audiences, since most viewers will be unfamiliar with the 1957 adaptation.
 
 November 24, 2020 | Rating: 6/10
 
 Mike Massie
 Gone With The Twins
 2007 may very well be the year when the Western comes riding back into town.
 
 September 24, 2020 | Rating: 3.5/4.0
 
 Richard Propes
 TheIndependentCritic.com
 3:10 to Yuma is not only exciting, well-acted, and engaging, but it also reveals a deep sense of spirituality; of right and wrong.
 
 April 10, 2020
 
 Ed Travis
 Hollywood Jesus
 A solid, gritty drama getting the most out of its starpower.
 
 November 21, 2019
 
 Micheal Compton
 Bowling Green Daily News…

 

Plot
Rancher Dan Evans heads into Bisbee to clear up issues concerning the sale of his land when he witnesses the closing events of a stagecoach robbery led by famed outlaw Ben Wade. Shortly thereafter, Wade is captured by the law in Bisbee and Evans finds himself one of the escorts who will take Wade to the 3:10 to Yuma train in Contention for the reward of $200. Evans’ effort to take Wade to the station is in part an effort to save his land but also part of an inner battle to determine whether he can be more than just a naive rancher in the eyes of his impetuous and gun slinging son William Evans. The transport to Contention is hazardous and filled with ambushes by Indians, pursuits by Wade’s vengeful gang and Wade’s own conniving and surreptitious demeanor that makes the ride all the more intense.
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
Russell Crowe and Christian Bale deliver “fiery performances” in this Western remake, according to Fresh Kernels.
 

 
James-Mangold.jpg

 
Production Company(ies)
Columbia Pictures, Pascal Pictures, Marvel Studios,
 
Distributor
NA
 
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Wide)
 
Filming Location(s)
Baltimore, Maryland, USA
 
MPAA / Certificate
Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, language and a brief sexual situation
 
Year of Release
2007
 

 
Genre(s)
Drama
 
Keyword(s)
Chop Shop, drama, Ramin Bahrani, Jeb Brody, Bahareh Azimi, Alejandro Polanco, Isamar Gonzales, Ahmad Razvi, Carlos Ayala, Laura Patalano, Nick Jasprizza, neorealist, New York City, low-budget, auto-body repairman, siblings, underbelly, Queens, criminal enterprises, Third World America, verite style, hand-held cameras, natural dialogue, docu-feel, gritty, resourceful, low-level, idle dreams, hope, heartfelt, excellent performances, box office, gross USA, $123.7K, MPAA rating, reviewed by David Fear, Ben Kenigsberg, Noel Murray, Andrew O’Hehir, Michael Phillips, Steven Winn, Piers Marchant, Matt Brunson, Norman Wilner, Douglas Davidson, David Walsh, Mattie Lucas, directed by Ramin Bahrani, produced by Jeb Brody, written by Bahareh Azimi and Ramin Bahrani, drama genre, 1h 24m runtime
 

Cast & Crew

Alejandro Polanco

Isamar Gonzales

Ahmad Razvi

Carlos Ayala

Laura Patalano

Ale

Isamar

Ahmad

Carlos the Pigeon Worker

Laura

Alejandro Polanco – Ale
Isamar Gonzales – Isamar
Ahmad Razvi – Ahmad
Carlos Ayala – Carlos the Pigeon Worker
Laura Patalano – Laura
Nick Jasprizza – The “John”

 

Ramin Bahrani

Bahareh Azimi

Jeb Brody

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
Ramin Bahrani
 
Writer(s)
Bahareh Azimi, Ramin Bahrani
 
Producer(s)
Jeb Brody

 

Film Festivals

 
Awards & Nominations
3 wins & 16 nominations
 
Academy Awards

Top Reviews

David Fear

Ben Kenigsberg

Noel Murray

Andrew O’Hehir

Michael Phillips

Time Out

AV Club

Salon.com

Chicago Tribune

San Francisco Chronicle

CHOP SHOP
 All Critics (59) | Top Critics (27) | Fresh (57) | Rotten (2)
 November 18, 2011 | Rating: 4/5
 
 David Fear
 Time Out
 TOP CRITIC
 November 17, 2011 | Rating: 4/5
 
 Ben Kenigsberg
 Time Out
 TOP CRITIC
 All these low-level criminal enterprises and idle dreams aren’t happening in Mexico City or Kandahar; they’re just outside Queens.
 
 October 18, 2008 | Rating: B+
 
 Noel Murray
 AV Club
 TOP CRITIC
 It’s a near-masterwork of low-budget precision and improvisation, constructed and rehearsed over many months in collaboration with the actors and the entire Willets Point community.
 
 July 9, 2008
 
 Andrew O’Hehir
 Salon.com
 TOP CRITIC
 It’s a sharp mixture of neorealist grit and lyricism.
 
 July 9, 2008 | Rating: 3.5/4
 
 Michael Phillips
 Chicago Tribune
 TOP CRITIC
 In this clear-eyed, quietly absorbing film, director Ramin Bahrani opens up a wedge of Third World America that operates, all but invisibly, in plain sight.
 
 June 27, 2008 | Rating: 3/4
 
 Steven Winn
 San Francisco Chronicle
 TOP CRITIC
 Bahrani shoots the film in classic verite style, all hand-held cameras, and natural dialogue, capturing a docu-feel for a story as gritty and resourceful as its young protagonist.
 
 June 1, 2021
 
 Piers Marchant
 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
 Its protagonist hopes to avoid leading a life of quiet desperation.
 
 March 12, 2021 | Rating: 3/4
 
 Matt Brunson
 Film Frenzy
 Ramin Bahrani’s low-budget studies of people on the margins of American society.
 
 February 27, 2021
 
 Norman Wilner
 NOW Toronto
 That’s what’s fantastic about Chop Shop, and even Man Push Cart, Bahrani doesn’t look down. He captures the stories with sincerity, bestowing a kind of grace on his characters.
 
 February 23, 2021 | Rating: 4/5
 
 Douglas Davidson
 Elements of Madness
 In his Chop Shop, co-written with Bahareh Azimi, director Ramin Bahrani has chosen to treat a world and individuals that are invisible to the people who “count” in New York City.
 
 February 14, 2021
 
 David Walsh
 World Socialist Web Site
 It never feels artificial or created, it feels raw, earthy and urgently immediate.
 
 July 6, 2019 | Rating: 3.5/4
 
 Mattie Lucas
 From the Front Row…

 

Plot
When someone hacks into the computers at the FBI’s Cyber Crime Division; the Director decides to round up all the hackers who could have done this. When he’s told that because it’s the 4th of July most of their agents are not around so they might have trouble getting people to get the hackers. So he instructs them to get local PD’S to take care of it. And one of the cops they ask is John McClane who is tasked with bringing a hacker named Farrell to the FBI. But as soon as he gets there someone starts shooting at them. McClane manages to get them out but they’re still being pursued. And it’s just when McClane arrives in Washington that the whole system breaks down and chaos ensues.
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
The film features Alejandro Polanco in the lead role as Ale, a young man working as an auto-body repairman to provide for his younger sister.
 

 
Ramin-Bahrani.jpg

 
Production Company(ies)
Paramount Pictures, Skydance Media, Jerry Bruckheimer Films,
 
Distributor
Universal Pictures
 
Release Type

 
Filming Location(s)
Knott’s Berry Farm – 8039 Beach Boulevard, Buena Park, California, USA
 
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for sexual content, drug use and language
 
Year of Release
2007
 

 
Genre(s)
Comedy/Romance
 
Keyword(s)
starring Seth Rogen, Katherine Heigl, Paul Rudd, Leslie Mann, Jay Baruchel, Jonah Hill, directed by Judd Apatow, written by Judd Apatow, produced by Judd Apatow, Shauna Robertson, Clayton Townsend, comedy, romance, R rating, $148.7M box office, reviewed by Candice Frederick, Bob Mondello, Joe Williams, Derek Malcolm, Anthony Quinn, Sukhdev Sandhu, Rising journalist, one-night stand, pregnancy, father material, courtship, child-rearing, raunchy script, ably acted, directed
 

Cast & Crew

Seth Rogen

Katherine Heigl

Paul Rudd

Leslie Mann

Jay Baruchel

Ben Stone

Alison Scott

Pete

Debbie

Jay

Seth Rogen – Ben Stone
Katherine Heigl – Alison Scott
Paul Rudd – Pete
Leslie Mann – Debbie
Jay Baruchel – Jay
Jonah Hill – Jonah
Judd Apatow – Director/Writer/Producer
Shauna Robertson – Producer
Clayton Townsend – Producer

 

Judd Apatow

Judd Apatow

Judd Apatow

Shauna Robertson

Clayton Townsend

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
Judd Apatow
 
Writer(s)
Judd Apatow
 
Producer(s)
Judd Apatow, Shauna Robertson, Clayton Townsend

 

Film Festivals

 
Awards & Nominations
8 wins & 26 nominations
 
Academy Awards

Top Reviews

Candice Frederick

Bob Mondello

Joe Williams

Derek Malcolm

Anthony Quinn

Reel Talk Online

NPR.org

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

London Evening Standard

Independent (UK)

KNOCKED UP
 All Critics (253) | Top Critics (64) | Fresh (226) | Rotten (27)
 … Seth Rogen and Katherine Heigl have great chemistry onscreen and they are hysterical together.
 
 September 12, 2017 | Rating: B+
 
 Candice Frederick
 Reel Talk Online
 TOP CRITIC
 [A] very funny Peter Pan-and-Wendy- get-preggers story.
 
 October 18, 2008
 
 Bob Mondello
 NPR.org
 TOP CRITIC
 Although this story about a mismatched couple expecting a baby strains credibility and sometimes pushes the limits of good taste, it delivers plenty of belly laughs.
 
 September 15, 2007
 
 Joe Williams
 St. Louis Post-Dispatch
 TOP CRITIC
 Funny, rude and with a heart of gold that surprisingly doesn’t grate.
 
 August 24, 2007 | Rating: 4/5
 
 Derek Malcolm
 London Evening Standard
 TOP CRITIC
 If the essence of great comedy is truth then Knocked Up falls some way short.
 
 August 24, 2007 | Rating: 3/5
 
 Anthony Quinn
 Independent (UK)
 TOP CRITIC
 Judd Apatow’s follow-up to The 40-Year-Old Virgin is snort-all-over-the-person-in-front-of-you funny, hand-over-mouth filthy, and as exhilarating as inhaling from a 10-ton oxygen tank.
 
 August 24, 2007
 
 Sukhdev Sandhu
 Daily Telegraph (UK)
 TOP CRITIC
 A decade-and-a-half after its release, Judd Apatow’s 2007 comedy Knocked Up is mostly known for a few controversies… All of those controversies have some merit. But that doesn’t mean the film itself deserves to be written off. (15th anniversary)
 
 June 16, 2022 | Rating: 4/5
 
 Stephen Silver
 Tilt Magazine
 Fifteen years after its release, Knocked Up is a time capsule of comedy filmmaking from over a decade ago.
 
 June 1, 2022 | Rating: 4/5
 
 Danielle Solzman
 Solzy at the Movies
 Judd Apatows gags are strewn with crude language and extreme behavior but his humor is all grounded in character and relationships and prickly moments of self-realization and guilt, and his cast mixes it up wonderfully.
 
 March 19, 2022
 
 Sean Axmaker
 Stream on Demand
 There are comic moments and some freshness in certain scenes, likeable bits, even satiric touches …, but overall, this is a weak effort.
 
 February 14, 2021
 
 David Walsh
 World Socialist Web Site
 Knocked Up crafts pathos and spit-takes from the truism that life will invariably make adults of us all whether we like it or not.
 
 January 30, 2020
 
 Felicia Feaster
 Creative Loafing
 Knocked Up works thanks in large part to a strong cast and Apatow’s ability to stretch a seemingly razor-thin premise into a well-developed (OK, maybe too developed) final product.
 
 November 21, 2019
 
 Micheal Compton
 Bowling Green Daily News…

 

Plot
When Alison Scott is promoted in E! Television, she goes to a night-club to celebrate with her older married sister Debbie. Alison meets the pothead reckless Ben Stone and while having a small talk with Ben, Debbie’s husband Pete calls her to tell that their daughter has chicken pox. Debbie leaves the place but Allison stays with Ben, drinking and dancing along all night; completely wasted, they end up having a one night stand. Ben does not use a condom and eight weeks later, Allison discovers that she is pregnant. She calls Ben and they decide to try to stay together and have the baby. However, Ben needs to grow up first to raise a family of his own.
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
No goofy or funny or odd comments were found in the Fresh Kernels review for Knocked Up.
 

 
Judd-Apatow.jpg

 
Production Company(ies)
Nouvelles Éditions de Films,
 
Distributor
Palm Pictures
 
Release Type

 
Filming Location(s)
Arafura Swamp, Northern Territory, Australia
 
MPAA / Certificate
Unrated
 
Year of Release
2006
 

 
Genre(s)
Adventure
 
Keyword(s)
Ten Canoes, Adventure, Aboriginal, Folk Tale, Rolf de Heer, Peter Djigirr, Julie Ryan, David Gulpilil, Jamie Gulpilil, Peter Minygululu, Crusoe Kurddal, Box Office, Limited Release, Dolby Digital, Scope, Palm Pictures, Anthropology, Comedy, Mythmaking, Ethnographic Document, Humor, Indigenous Australia, Yolngu, Arafura Swamp, Ramingining, Arnhamland, Nonlinear Timeline, Ian Jones, Cinematography, Black and White, Vibrant Color, Patience, Honor, Bravery, Goose-Egg Hunt, Lust, Conflict, Dire Consequences, Universal Humanity, Metaphoric, Unprecedented, Philosophical, Wise, Methuselah, Adventure-Comedy-Anthropology, Aboriginal Languages, Narrator, Critic Reviews, Audience Reviews, Top Critics, Fresh, Rotten, Tomatometer, Audience Score, Streaming, Theaters, MPAA Rating, Produced by, Directed by, Written by, Reviewed by
 

Cast & Crew

David Gulpilil

Jamie Gulpilil

Peter Minygululu

Crusoe Kurddal

Rolf de Heer

Narrator

Dayindi

Minygululu

Ridjimiraril

Director

David Gulpilil – Narrator
Jamie Gulpilil – Dayindi
Peter Minygululu – Minygululu
Crusoe Kurddal – Ridjimiraril
Rolf de Heer – Director
Peter Djigirr – Director

 

Rolf de Heer

Rolf de Heer

Rolf de Heer

Julie Ryan

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
Rolf de Heer, Peter Djigirr
 
Writer(s)
Rolf de Heer
 
Producer(s)
Rolf de Heer, Julie Ryan

 

Film Festivals

 
Awards & Nominations
17 wins & 9 nominations
 
Academy Awards

Top Reviews

Luke Buckmaster

Ben Walters

Ben Kenigsberg

Desson Thomson

Josh Rosenblatt

Guardian

Time Out

Washington Post

Austin Chronicle

Arizona Republic

TEN CANOES
 All Critics (66) | Top Critics (30) | Fresh (65) | Rotten (1)
 Both ethnographic document and high-spirited flight of whimsy: a curious mixture of entertainment and anthropology.
 
 January 2, 2016
 
 Luke Buckmaster
 Guardian
 TOP CRITIC
 November 18, 2011 | Rating: 5/5
 
 Ben Walters
 Time Out
 TOP CRITIC
 November 17, 2011 | Rating: 3/5
 
 Ben Kenigsberg
 Time Out
 TOP CRITIC
 Sometimes all it takes to bridge the chasm of eons is a little humor.
 
 October 27, 2007
 
 Desson Thomson
 Washington Post
 TOP CRITIC
 A new and different kind of cinematic mythmaking.
 
 August 4, 2007 | Rating: 3/5
 
 Josh Rosenblatt
 Austin Chronicle
 TOP CRITIC
 Gulpilil is the canny, subtle and funny narrator of 10 Canoes, a film of unutterable beauty, hypnotic fascination and universal humanity.
 
 August 2, 2007 | Rating: 4.5/5
 
 Richard Nilsen
 Arizona Republic
 TOP CRITIC
 The raw power of the story – rife with myth, magic and misadventure – blends brilliantly with an earthy, universally appealing sense of humour.
 
 November 17, 2020 | Rating: 4.5/5
 
 Leigh Paatsch
 Herald Sun (Australia)
 A beautifully told story, which captures indigenous Australia with warmth and humour.
 
 September 15, 2017
 
 Keeva Stratton
 Rescu (Australia)
 A unique and entertaining blend of anthropology and cinema.
 
 July 24, 2009 | Rating: 3/4
 
 Mike Scott
 Times-Picayune
 The fable is a fascinating ethnographic document that satisfies just like any well told story.
 
 June 22, 2009 | Rating: A-
 
 Dennis Schwartz
 Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews
 Really a fairly amazing achievement: an engrossing, witty cultural document that doesn’t feel staid in the least. All this, plus spear fights.
 
 October 31, 2007
 
 Andrew Wright
 The Stranger (Seattle, WA)
 A study of community and ritual, Ten Canoes celebrates as it contemplates, emphasizing the fact that this collection of stories, Gulpilil’s story in its many layers, is seen.
 
 September 15, 2007
 
 Cynthia Fuchs
 Nitrate Online…

 

Plot
A story within a story. In Australia’s Northern Territory, a man tells us one of the stories of his people and his land. It’s a story of an older man, Minygululu, who has three wives and realizes that his younger brother Dayindi may try to steal away the youngest wife. So, over a few days and several trips to hunt and gather, Minygululu tells Dayindi a story set in the time of their ancestors when a stranger came to the village and disrupted the lives of a serious man named Ridjimiraril, his three wives, and his younger brother Yeeralparil who had no wife and liked to visit his youngest sister-in-law. Through stories, can values be taught and balance achieved?
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
The film features David Gulpilil, one of Australia’s most renowned actors.
 

 
Rolf-de-Heer.jpg

 
Production Company(ies)
Bryna Productions,
 
Distributor
First Look
 
Release Type

 
Filming Location(s)
Eiffel Tower, Paris, France
 
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for language and brief drug use
 
Year of Release
2007
 

 
Genre(s)
Romance
 
Keyword(s)
starring Sergio Castellitto, Miranda Richardson, Leonor Watling, Willem Dafoe, Juliette Binoche, Natalie Portman, Steve Buscemi, Nick Nolte, Bob Hoskins, Bruno Podalydès, directed by Bruno Podalydès, Gurinder Chadha, Gus Van Sant, Joel Coen, Ethan Coen, Walter Salles, Daniela Thomas, Christopher Doyle, Isabel Coixet, Nobuhiro Suwa, written by Bruno Podalydès, Gurinder Chadha, Paul Mayeda Berges, Gus Van Sant, Joel Coen, Ethan Coen, Walter Salles, Daniela Thomas, Christopher Doyle, Isabel Coixet, romance, R-rated, box office gross, $4.9M, reviewed by Dave Calhoun, Cliff Doerksen, Alan Morrison, Paul Arendt, David Fear, Marrit Ingman, Carrie R Wheadon, Chris Bumbray, Mattie Lucas, Kelly Vance, Fernando F Croce, Steve Buscemi as Le touriste, Nick Nolte as Vincent, Juliette Binoche as Julie, Bob Hoskins as Bob, Natalie Portman as Francine, Bruno Podalydès as L’automobiliste, produced by First Look
 

Cast & Crew

Steve Buscemi

Nick Nolte

Juliette Binoche

Bob Hoskins

Natalie Portman

Le touriste

Vincent

Julie

Bob

Francine

Steve Buscemi – Le touriste
Nick Nolte – Vincent
Juliette Binoche – Julie
Bob Hoskins – Bob
Natalie Portman – Francine
Bruno Podalydès – L’automobiliste
Sergio Castellitto – Man
Miranda Richardson – Wife
Leonor Watling – Mistress
Willem Dafoe – Cowboy
Isabel Coixet – Director/Writer
Gurinder Chadha – Director/Writer
Gus Van Sant – Director/Writer
Joel Coen – Director/Writer
Ethan Coen – Director/Writer
Walter Salles – Director/Writer
Daniela Thomas – Director/Writer
Christopher Doyle – Director/Writer
Nobuhiro Suwa – Director/Writer

 

Bruno Podalydès

NA

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
Bruno Podalydès, Gurinder Chadha, Gus Van Sant, Joel Coen, Ethan Coen, Walter Salles, Daniela Thomas, Christopher Doyle, Isabel Coixet, Nobuhiro Suwa
 
Writer(s)
Bruno Podalydès, Gurinder Chadha, Paul Mayeda Berges, Gus Van Sant, Joel Coen, Ethan Coen, Walter Salles, Daniela Thomas, Christopher Doyle, Isabel Coixet
 
Producer(s)
NA

 

Film Festivals

 
Awards & Nominations
3 wins & 2 nominations
 
Academy Awards

Top Reviews

Dave Calhoun

Cliff Doerksen

Alan Morrison

Paul Arendt

David Fear

Time Out

Empire Magazine

BBC.com

Austin Chronicle

IONCINEMA.com

PARIS, JE T’AIME
 All Critics (112) | Top Critics (39) | Fresh (96) | Rotten (16)
 November 18, 2011 | Rating: 3/5
 
 Dave Calhoun
 Time Out
 TOP CRITIC
 November 17, 2011 | Rating: 3/5
 
 Cliff Doerksen
 Time Out
 TOP CRITIC
 A connoisseur’s delight: two hours of short films celebrating the most romantic city in the world.
 
 June 29, 2007 | Rating: 4/5
 
 Alan Morrison
 Empire Magazine
 TOP CRITIC
 Taken as a whole, Paris Je T’Aime slips down easily enough and offers a few whimsical smiles, but you may find yourself craving more substantial nourishment before the end.
 
 June 26, 2007 | Rating: 3/5
 
 Paul Arendt
 BBC.com
 TOP CRITIC
 You expect quality to vary from segment to segment, but the misses outweigh the hits by a depressingly high margin.
 
 June 23, 2007 | Rating: 2/6
 
 David Fear
 Time Out
 TOP CRITIC
 A slam-dunk for cineastes, romantics, and Francophiles.
 
 June 22, 2007 | Rating: 3.5/5
 
 Marrit Ingman
 Austin Chronicle
 TOP CRITIC
 Paris Je T’aime is a bit of a fiasco. Boasting an obviously large budget — judging by the sharp production values and international cast — the film does little to capture the magic of Paris, and rather comes off as a pretentious bore.
 
 November 21, 2020 | Rating: 2.5/5
 
 Chris Bumbray
 IONCINEMA.com
 A wonderful film – it is a vibrant, shimmering love letter to Paris that warms the heart in ways that few films can.
 
 June 6, 2019 | Rating: 3.5/4
 
 Mattie Lucas
 The Dispatch (Lexington, NC)
 18 shorts about love for mature art house fans
 
 June 14, 2012 | Rating: 4/5
 
 Carrie R. Wheadon
 Common Sense Media
 The most resonant moments in Paris, Je T’Aime happen to be the bleakest, and they’re about immigrants and other outsiders.
 
 May 5, 2010
 
 Kelly Vance
 East Bay Express
 Alluring, all in all, and unfulfilling
 
 August 27, 2009
 
 Fernando F. Croce
 CinePassion
 Considering just how many cooks there were in the kitchen, Paris, je t’aime came out with a pretty even feeling
 
 August 25, 2008 | Rating: 6/10
 
 Heather Huntington
 ReelzChannel.com…

 

Plot
Paris, Je T’aime] is about the plurality of cinema in one mythic location: Paris, the City of Love. 20 filmmakers have five minutes each; the audience must weave a single narrative out of twenty moments. The 20 moments are fused by transitional interstitial sequences and also via the introduction and epilogue. Each transition begins with the last shot of the previous film and ends with the first shot of the following film, extending the enchantment and the emotion of the previous segment, preparing the audience for a surprise, and providing a cohesive atmosphere. There’s a reappearing mysterious character who is a witness to the Parisian life. A common theme of Paris and love fuses all.
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
The star-studded cast of Paris Je T’aime includes Natalie Portman, Willem Dafoe, and Juliette Binoche.
 

 
Production Company(ies)
Paramount Pictures,
 
Distributor
Weinstein Co.
 
Release Type

 
Filming Location(s)

 
MPAA / Certificate
TV-MA
 
Year of Release
2007
 

 
Genre(s)
Drama
 
Keyword(s)
starring Andrew Garfield, Peter Mullan, Katie Lyons, Shaun Evans, Jeremy Swift, Anthony Lewis, Lynn Horsford, directed by John Crowley, written by Mark O’Rowe, drama, R rating, box office gross $106.4K, reviewed by David Fear, Owen Gleiberman, Amy Biancolli, Christy DeSmith, Kamal Al-Solaylee, J R Jones, Joanne Laurier, Kelly Jane Torrance, Nick Rogers, Jeff Vice, MaryAnn Johanson, forgiveness, guilt, second chance, child killer, juvenile detention center, deliveryman, local celebrity, newspaper, safety of children, Manchester, England, provocative, career-making performances, carefully crafted characters, small in scale, large in impact, anchored performance, sympathetic character, thought-provoking, intriguing, contrived conclusion, complex ideas
 

Cast & Crew

Andrew Garfield

Peter Mullan

Katie Lyons

Shaun Evans

Jeremy Swift

Jack Burridge

Terry

Michelle

Chris

Dave

Andrew Garfield – Jack Burridge
Peter Mullan – Terry
Katie Lyons – Michelle
Shaun Evans – Chris
Jeremy Swift – Dave
Anthony Lewis – Steve

 

John Crowley

Mark O’Rowe

Lynn Horsford

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
John Crowley
 
Writer(s)
Mark O’Rowe
 
Producer(s)
Lynn Horsford

 

Film Festivals

 
Awards & Nominations
NA
 
Academy Awards

Top Reviews

David Fear

Owen Gleiberman

Amy Biancolli

Christy DeSmith

Kamal Al-Solaylee

Time Out

Entertainment Weekly

Houston Chronicle

Minneapolis Star Tribune

Globe and Mail

BOY A
 All Critics (59) | Top Critics (28) | Fresh (52) | Rotten (7)
 November 17, 2011 | Rating: 4/5
 
 David Fear
 Time Out
 TOP CRITIC
 September 7, 2011 | Rating: C-
 
 Owen Gleiberman
 Entertainment Weekly
 TOP CRITIC
 It makes us feel sympathy for the devil.
 
 September 12, 2008 | Rating: 3.5/4
 
 Amy Biancolli
 Houston Chronicle
 TOP CRITIC
 Director John Crowley, a veteran Irish theater director now working in film, is deliberate with every last element of his film.
 
 September 5, 2008 | Rating: 3/4
 
 Christy DeSmith
 Minneapolis Star Tribune
 TOP CRITIC
 Even its structurally weaker moments give Garfield an opportunity to expand on Jack’s physical and mental dislocation. Given Boy A’s final floating reel, it’s an anchoring performance in every sense of the word.
 
 August 29, 2008 | Rating: 3/4
 
 Kamal Al-Solaylee
 Globe and Mail
 TOP CRITIC
 The movie is taut with suspense but culminates in wise resignation as the hero comes to understand he’s running from a part of himself.
 
 August 12, 2008
 
 J. R. Jones
 Chicago Reader
 TOP CRITIC
 Overall, the film is very strong and compassionate.
 
 September 2, 2020
 
 Joanne Laurier
 World Socialist Web Site
 Those behind Boy A invite us to ponder whether outrage might also have a statute of limitations.
 
 December 13, 2018 | Rating: 3/4
 
 Kelly Jane Torrance
 Washington Times
 Andrew Garfield nailed an assignment many actors would avoid or, worse, botch in “Boy A” – embody a grown, traumatized man experiencing emotional honesty, transparent kindness, sexual intimacy and genuine appreciation from others for the first time.
 
 September 25, 2010 | Rating: 4/4
 
 Nick Rogers
 The Film Yap
 The material is thought-provoking and features some very good performances.
 
 October 23, 2008 | Rating: 3/4
 
 Jeff Vice
 Deseret News (Salt Lake City)
 The limits of redemption and forgiveness get challenged ruthlessly in this haunting drama…
 
 October 21, 2008
 
 MaryAnn Johanson
 Flick Filosopher
 Efficiently directed by John Crowley, Boy A avoids exploitation while never soft-selling its thorny subject matter.
 
 October 17, 2008 | Rating: B+
 
 Stan Hall
 Oregonian…

 

Plot
After being released from a juvenile detention center, convicted child killer Jack Burridge tries to start a new life as a deliveryman and begins dating a co-worker, but his past is revealed when he becomes a local hero after rescuing a distressed child.
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
There is no goofy or funny or odd comment about the film Boy A on Fresh Kernels.
 

 
John-Crowley.jpg

 
Production Company(ies)

 
Distributor
Warner Bros.
 
Release Type
Theatrical
 
Filming Location(s)
Iwo Jima, Japan
 
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for graphic war violence
 
Year of Release
2007
 

 
Genre(s)
Drama
 
Keyword(s)
Letters from Iwo Jima, Ken Watanabe, Kazunari Ninomiya, Tsuyoshi Ihara, Ryô Kase, Shido Nakamura, Yuki Matsuzaki, War, Clint Eastwood, Steven Spielberg, Robert Lorenz, Iris Yamashita, R, Graphic War Violence, Warner Bros., Dolby Digital, DTS, SDDS, Scope (2.35:1), $13.8M, 204 Reviews, 91% TOMATOMETER, 86% AUDIENCE SCORE, reviewed by Brian Tallerico, Derek Malcolm, Anthony Quinn, Tim Robey, Peter Bradshaw, James Christopher, David Walsh, Mike Massie, Mattie Lucas, directed by Clint Eastwood, starring Ken Watanabe as Gen Tadamichi Kuribayashi, Kazunari Ninomiya as Saigo, Tsuyoshi Ihara as Baron Nishi, Ryô Kase as Shimizu, Shido Nakamura as Lt Ito, Yuki Matsuzaki as Nozaki, produced by Clint Eastwood, Steven Spielberg, Robert Lorenz, written by Iris Yamashita
 

Cast & Crew

Ken Watanabe

Kazunari Ninomiya

Tsuyoshi Ihara

Ryô Kase

Shido Nakamura

Gen. Tadamichi Kuribayashi

Saigo

Baron Nishi

Shimizu

Lt. Ito

Ken Watanabe – Gen. Tadamichi Kuribayashi
Kazunari Ninomiya – Saigo
Tsuyoshi Ihara – Baron Nishi
Ryô Kase – Shimizu
Shido Nakamura – Lt. Ito
Yuki Matsuzaki – Nozaki

 

Clint Eastwood

Iris Yamashita

Clint Eastwood

Steven Spielberg

Robert Lorenz

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
Clint Eastwood
 
Writer(s)
Iris Yamashita
 
Producer(s)
Clint Eastwood, Steven Spielberg, Robert Lorenz

 

Film Festivals

 
Awards & Nominations
Won 1 Oscar
24 wins & 39 nominations total
 
Academy Awards
Oscar Best Achievement in Sound Editing Winners, Oscar Nominees, Oscar Winners
 

Top Reviews

Brian Tallerico

Derek Malcolm

Anthony Quinn

Tim Robey

Peter Bradshaw

UGO

London Evening Standard

Independent (UK)

Daily Telegraph (UK)

Guardian

LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA
 All Critics (204) | Top Critics (59) | Fresh (186) | Rotten (18)
 Instead of showing us the differences between the three men, Eastwood chooses to illustrate how much they were alike and, more importantly, how much they resemble you and me.
 
 March 24, 2007
 
 Brian Tallerico
 UGO
 TOP CRITIC
 The whole is a more satisfactory entity than Flags of Our Fathers – and the final scene, which has veterans and relatives scouring the tunnels and caves for the buried letters, is a suitably moving coda.
 
 February 23, 2007 | Rating: 4/5
 
 Derek Malcolm
 London Evening Standard
 TOP CRITIC
 Eastwood and his cinematographer Tom Stern have done a superb and possibly unique job in showing both sides of this dreadful battle, and the pair of films together already look monumental.
 
 February 23, 2007 | Rating: 3/5
 
 Anthony Quinn
 Independent (UK)
 TOP CRITIC
 Eastwood has made one of the most quietly devastating war movies of our time.
 
 February 23, 2007
 
 Tim Robey
 Daily Telegraph (UK)
 TOP CRITIC
 High-minded and generous, but lacking in real passion and flair.
 
 February 23, 2007 | Rating: 3/5
 
 Peter Bradshaw
 Guardian
 TOP CRITIC
 The moral is hardly original. The scale certainly is. Only a director of Eastwood’s standing could possibly terrify enough producers into financing this decidedly foreign, but impressively chunky, white elephant.
 
 February 23, 2007 | Rating: 3/5
 
 James Christopher
 Times (UK)
 TOP CRITIC
 One must give Eastwood a good deal of credit … To make a film about the suffering “your” soldiers endure is one thing, to make one about the horrors inflicted on the “enemy” is something else again.
 
 February 14, 2021
 
 David Walsh
 World Socialist Web Site
 Infinitely more compelling than its predecessor, yet equally lengthy and ill-paced.
 
 November 21, 2020 | Rating: 6/10
 
 Mike Massie
 Gone With The Twins
 A subdued masterpiece with a unique perspective on war.
 
 November 21, 2019 | Rating: A-
 
 Micheal Compton
 Bowling Green Daily News
 In coming to understand the point of view of the opposing side, Eastwood has crafted two masterful and distinct films who are still inexorably intertwined that speak to the simple humanity in all of us.
 
 June 6, 2019 | Rating: 4/4
 
 Mattie Lucas
 The Dispatch (Lexington, NC)
 You realize how very young many of these men were, and how ill-suited to be turned into killing machines.
 
 August 23, 2018
 
 Ian Buruma
 The New York Review of Books
 Modern-day echoes of being snookered into a bad war aren’t lost on Clint Eastwood, and “Letters from Iwo Jima” delivers an overwhelmingly powerful eulogy for the death of righteousness in combat on either side of the line.
 
 September 19, 2010 | Rating: 4/4
 
 Nick Rogers
 The Film Yap…

 

Plot
The island of Iwo Jima stands between the American military force and the home islands of Japan. Therefore the Imperial Japanese Army is desperate to prevent it from falling into American hands and providing a launching point for an invasion of Japan. General Tadamichi Kuribayashi (Ken Watanabe) is given command of the forces on the island and sets out to prepare for the imminent attack. General Kuribayashi, however, does not favor the rigid traditional approach recommended by his subordinates, and resentment and resistance fester amongst his staff. In the lower echelons, a young soldier, Saigo (Kazunari Ninomiya), a poor baker in civilian life, strives with his friends to survive the harsh regime of the Japanese Army itself, all the while knowing that a fierce battle looms. When the American invasion begins, Kuribayashi and Saigo find strength, honor, courage, and horrors beyond imagination.
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
Nothing to add here about Letters from Iwo Jima.
 

 
Clint-Eastwood.jpg

 
Production Company(ies)
Lucasfilm,
 
Distributor
Universal Pictures
 
Release Type
Theatrical
 
Filming Location(s)
Montevideo, Uruguay
 
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for strong violence, language, some drug use and brief nudity
 
Year of Release
2007
 

 
Genre(s)
Mystery & Thriller/Sci-Fi
 
Keyword(s)
starring Clive Owen, Julianne Moore, Michael Caine, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Charlie Hunnam, Danny Huston, directed by Alfonso Cuarón, written by Alfonso Cuarón, David Arata, Timothy J Sexton, Hawk Ostby, Mark Fergus, mystery, thriller, sci-fi, box office, budget, reviewed by Christopher Orr, Ryan Gilbey, Anthony Quinn, Nigel Andrews, Tim Robey, Jim Schembri, Brian Eggert, Graeme Tuckett, Jason Adams, Fico Cangiano, David Walsh, Michael Caine, Marc Abraham, Eric Newman, Hilary Shor, Iain Smith, R-rated, violence, infertility, bureaucrat, extinction, human drama, societies, survival, Earth’s population, demons, hope, Dolby SRD, DTS, SDDS, Flat (1.85:1), limited release, streaming, Universal Pictures
 

Cast & Crew

Clive Owen

Julianne Moore

Michael Caine

Chiwetel Ejiofor

Charlie Hunnam

Theo

Julian

Jasper

Luke

Patric

Clive Owen – Theo
Julianne Moore – Julian
Michael Caine – Jasper
Chiwetel Ejiofor – Luke
Charlie Hunnam – Patric
Danny Huston – Nigel
Self – Alfonso Cuarón (Director/Writer)
Self – Marc Abraham (Producer)
Self – Eric Newman (Producer)
Self – Hilary Shor (Producer)
Self – Iain Smith (Producer)
Self – David Arata (Writer)
Self – Timothy J. Sexton (Writer)
Self – Hawk Ostby (Writer)
Self – Mark Fergus (Writer)

 

Alfonso Cuarón

Alfonso Cuarón

Marc Abraham

Eric Newman

Hilary Shor

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
Alfonso Cuarón
 
Writer(s)
Alfonso Cuarón, David Arata, Timothy J. Sexton, Hawk Ostby, Mark Fergus
 
Producer(s)
Marc Abraham, Eric Newman, Hilary Shor, Iain Smith

 

Film Festivals

 
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 3 Oscars
49 wins & 89 nominations total
 
Academy Awards
Oscar Nominees
 

Top Reviews

Christopher Orr

Ryan Gilbey

Anthony Quinn

Nigel Andrews

Tim Robey

The Atlantic

New Statesman

Independent (UK)

Financial Times

Daily Telegraph (UK)

CHILDREN OF MEN
 All Critics (256) | Top Critics (65) | Fresh (235) | Rotten (21)
 Children of Men founders in its latter moments — not a lot, but enough. Its failure is less one of plot than of something deeper, a composing idea to undergird the plot.
 
 April 1, 2015
 
 Christopher Orr
 The Atlantic
 TOP CRITIC
 A film that has much to recommend it, not least the proof it offers, as if any more were needed, that Alfonso Cuarón is one of the most visually inspired directors working today.
 
 April 1, 2015
 
 Ryan Gilbey
 New Statesman
 TOP CRITIC
 Alfonso Cuaron stages some terrific set-pieces, and the production designers deserve credit for making London in 2027 look like the grunge capital of the world, ie, like now, only more so. One small problem: I didn’t believe any of it.
 
 April 1, 2015 | Rating: 3/5
 
 Anthony Quinn
 Independent (UK)
 TOP CRITIC
 P.D. James’s novel must have made more sense than Cuarón’s cheerful but incoherent screen adaptation.
 
 April 1, 2015
 
 Nigel Andrews
 Financial Times
 TOP CRITIC
 For all Cuarón’s expertise in whipping up his film’s elements into a pungent and frightening stew, the movie’s technical brilliance can be blinding. The story and characters remain all but skeletal.
 
 April 1, 2015
 
 Tim Robey
 Daily Telegraph (UK)
 TOP CRITIC
 If you thought the battle scenes in… Saving Private Ryan were tough going, the final 20 minutes of Children of Men will not only shake you, they’ll have you revising your expectations about just how realistic cinematic portrayals of combat can get.
 
 April 1, 2015 | Rating: 3.5/5
 
 Jim Schembri
 The Age (Australia)
 TOP CRITIC
 Children of Men is an achingly, almost dreamily optimistic film in the face of such brutally cynical conditions, offering a humanist message that neutralizes political debate.
 
 February 12, 2022 | Rating: 4/4
 
 Brian Eggert
 Deep Focus Review
 Cuaron takes this dense material and fashions an exceptional film.
 
 January 7, 2022
 
 Graeme Tuckett
 Stuff.co.nz
 Best Movie of the year. Cuaron just went to a whole new level with me. The class of filmmaking – the extended shots! those shots! my god! – here is astonishing.
 
 July 6, 2021 | Rating: A
 
 Jason Adams
 My New Plaid Pants
 Alfonso Cuarón delivers a masterpiece that explores humanity and love in a world that’s scarce of hope. [Full review in Spanish]
 
 May 25, 2021 | Rating: 5/5
 
 Fico Cangiano
 CineXpress Podcast
 It’s good to be hopeful, but it’s even better to be hopeful on the basis of something substantial and fully thought out. The difficulty is that the film’s various elements do not fully cohere.
 
 February 14, 2021
 
 David Walsh
 World Socialist Web Site
 As always, Michael Caine manages to steal every scene he’s in with effortless, offbeat comedic charm.
 
 November 18, 2020 | Rating: 9/10
 
 Mike Massie
 Gone With The Twins…

 

Plot
In the dystopian world of 2027 London, humans have been incapable of reproducing for 18 year for an unknown reason, meaning the imminent extinction of the species. Britain is the one remaining civilized society on the planet, which has resulted in people wanting to migrate there, so it has become a police state to handle the immigrants, who are placed into refugee camps. Lowly government bureaucrat Theo Faron, once an activist, is approached by the Fishes, deemed a terrorist group, led by his ex-wife Julian Taylor, whom he hasn’t seen in almost 20 years, since their marriage disintegrated after their infant son Dylan’s death during the 2008 flu pandemic. Although the Fishes did use terrorist means in their on-going revolution against the state in the fight for immigrant rights, Julian vows that they now garner support solely by speaking to the people, and she wants Theo to use his connections to get transit papers for a young immigrant woman named Kee who needs to get to the coast. Although initially reluctant to do it because of the difficulty, Theo is able to grant Julian this favor, however with the change that he now needs to accompany Kee on her journey. As Theo and Kee progress on that journey, Theo learns more and more about what’s going on, including the reason that Kee needs to get to the coast, the fact that no one in the group knows if their end destination even exists, and that his and Kee’s lives are in greater danger than he believed when they started the journey. But Theo’s sole mission becomes to help Kee at any cost for the survival of the species.
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
Nothing to add here about Children of Men.
 

 
Alfonso-Cuarón.jpg

 
Production Company(ies)
Warner Bros., Heyday Films, 1492 Pictures,
 
Distributor
NA
 
Release Type
Theatrical
 
Filming Location(s)
Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA
 
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for drug content throughout, language and some sexuality
 
Year of Release
2006
 

 
Genre(s)
Drama
 
Keyword(s)
Half Nelson, Ryan Gosling, Shareeka Epps, directed by Ryan Fleck, written by Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden, drama, R-rated, box office gross $2.7M, reviewed by Bob Mondello, Sandra Hall, Tim Robey, Andrew Pulver, James Christopher, Angie Errigo, Kathy Fennessy, PJ Nabarro, Anton Bitel, Felix Vasquez Jr., Charles Cassady, 1h 46m, history teacher, Brooklyn school, drug addiction, mentorship, female student, dealing drugs, addiction struggles, teacher-student friendship, lonely people, unsentimental portrait, powerful performances, Anna Boden, Lynette Howell Taylor, Rosanne Korenberg, Alex Orlovsky, Jamie Patricof, MPAA rating, English language, drama genre, Ryan Gosling as Dan Dunne, Shareeka Epps as Drey, Anthony Mackie as Frank, Deborah Rush as Jo, Jay O Sanders as Russ, Nicole Vicius as Cindy, produced by Anna Boden, Lynette Howell Taylor, Rosanne Korenberg, Alex Orlovsky, Jamie Patricof
 

Cast & Crew

Ryan Gosling

Shareeka Epps

Anthony Mackie

Deborah Rush

Jay O. Sanders

Dan Dunne

Drey

Frank

Jo

Russ

Ryan Gosling – Dan Dunne
Shareeka Epps – Drey
Anthony Mackie – Frank
Deborah Rush – Jo
Jay O. Sanders – Russ
Nicole Vicius – Cindy
Anna Boden – Producer
Lynette Howell Taylor – Producer
Rosanne Korenberg – Producer
Alex Orlovsky – Producer
Jamie Patricof – Producer
Ryan Fleck – Director, Writer
Ryan Fleck – Writer
Anna Boden – Writer

 

Ryan Fleck

Ryan Fleck

Anna Boden

Lynette Howell Taylor

Rosanne Korenberg

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
Ryan Fleck
 
Writer(s)
Ryan Fleck, Anna Boden
 
Producer(s)
Anna Boden, Lynette Howell Taylor, Rosanne Korenberg, Alex Orlovsky, Jamie Patricof

 

Film Festivals

 
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 1 Oscar
29 wins & 48 nominations total
 
Academy Awards
Oscar Nominees
 

Top Reviews

Bob Mondello

Sandra Hall

Tim Robey

Andrew Pulver

James Christopher

NPR.org

Sydney Morning Herald

Daily Telegraph (UK)

Guardian

Times (UK)

HALF NELSON
 All Critics (158) | Top Critics (47) | Fresh (143) | Rotten (15)
 Ryan Gosling’s self-destructive teacher is easily the year’s most mesmerizing character study. And he’s hardly the only reason to see this film. Shareeka Epps anchors her scenes as Drey with a self-possession way beyond her years.
 
 October 18, 2008
 
 Bob Mondello
 NPR.org
 TOP CRITIC
 It’s hardly a film which trumpets its virtues but that’s part of the pleasure to be had from it. It doesn’t know how good it is.
 
 April 27, 2007 | Rating: 4/5
 
 Sandra Hall
 Sydney Morning Herald
 TOP CRITIC
 It’s impressively adult, sure-footed filmmaking, and that Best Actor nod was definitely deserved.
 
 April 20, 2007
 
 Tim Robey
 Daily Telegraph (UK)
 TOP CRITIC
 Dunne [Gosling] is an enjoyable and impressive creation, justifiably recognised with an Oscar nomination for Gosling earlier this year.
 
 April 20, 2007 | Rating: 3/5
 
 Andrew Pulver
 Guardian
 TOP CRITIC
 It’s the gritty script and sheer quality of the performances that distinguish this parable.
 
 April 20, 2007 | Rating: 4/5
 
 James Christopher
 Times (UK)
 TOP CRITIC
 An original work that is moving, not without humour, fly-on-the-wall realistic and uplifting.
 
 April 20, 2007 | Rating: 4/5
 
 Angie Errigo
 Empire Magazine
 TOP CRITIC
 …the final scene is so lovely–so subtle, yet funny–that it makes up for any missteps that have come before it.
 
 September 16, 2021 | Rating: 4/4
 
 Kathy Fennessy
 Seattle Film Blog
 The more interesting aspects of the film come in its less pre-determined margins. And maybe the drama is highly strategised, but the acting is real and genuine.
 
 March 22, 2021 | Rating: 3/5
 
 PJ Nabarro
 Patrick Nabarro
 High ideals clash with Bush-era realities in this class debut – well balanced, wonderfully performed, and refreshingly free from cliché.
 
 March 9, 2019
 
 Anton Bitel
 Projected Figures
 A fantastic merging of talents into a pure piece of art…
 
 April 12, 2014
 
 Felix Vasquez Jr.
 Cinema Crazed
 Indie inner-city drama with drug-addict teacher.
 
 December 15, 2010 | Rating: 4/5
 
 Charles Cassady
 Common Sense Media
 “Half Nelson” elegantly tiptoe around its elephant in the room: Dan’s most compelling instruction to not let Drey enter the drug trade is his own destruction. That point of panic turns into something approaching penance.
 
 September 24, 2010 | Rating: 4/4
 
 Nick Rogers
 The Film Yap…

 

Plot
Young Caucasian Dan Dunne teaches history and coaches the girls basketball team at a Brooklyn high school populated primarily by black and Hispanic students. To the chagrin of his superiors, Dan bucks the outlined curriculum of historical facts in favor of the philosophy of historical events, generally discussing the concept of dialectics. As such, he captures the imagination of his students, at least in the classroom. Outside of the classroom, Dan’s life is in shambles. He has a distant but cordial relationship with his family. He uses illicit drugs rampantly. Although his former girlfriend Rachel was able to clean up her drug habit, Dan believes that rehab will not work for him. Due to a combination of these issues, he treats women poorly. Thirteen-year-old Drey is a student in his class and a player on his basketball team. Drey has her own problems. Her parents are divorced, with her father a virtually non-existent figure in her life and her EMT mother generally absent as she is always working to provide for Drey. Her older brother Mike is incarcerated for selling drugs for a local dealer named Frank. Mike took the fall for Frank, who in turn protects Drey whether she wants to be associated with him or not. Dan and Drey’s relationship changes when Drey catches Dan, believing he is alone, smoking crack in the girl’s locker room bathroom. He is totally stoned. Their resulting friendship, which is seen as inappropriate by the few who know, is based on each being unable to deal with their own life, but feeling like they can be at least a minor salvation in the other’s life.
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
Fresh Kernels praises Ryan Gosling’s “mesmerizing” performance as the self-destructive teacher in Half Nelson.
 

 
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