http://www.btlnews.com Voice of the Crew Fri, 18 May 2012 18:49:52 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=abc http://www.btlnews.com/crafts/norwegian-director-morten-tyldum-blends-mystery-and-humor-in-headhunters/ http://www.btlnews.com/crafts/norwegian-director-morten-tyldum-blends-mystery-and-humor-in-headhunters/#comments Mon, 14 May 2012 14:48:53 +0000 Jack Egan http://www.btlnews.com/?p=28107 Headhunters, is a new Norwegian movie, stylishly helmed by Morten Tyldum, one of the country’s best- known directors. Blending suspense and violence with macabre humor, the movie has been compared to the quirky films of the Coen Brothers and Quentin Tarantino.]]> http://www.btlnews.com/crafts/norwegian-director-morten-tyldum-blends-mystery-and-humor-in-headhunters/feed/ 0 http://www.btlnews.com/commentary/director-series/greg-carter-resurrects-a-baseball-hero/ http://www.btlnews.com/commentary/director-series/greg-carter-resurrects-a-baseball-hero/#comments Mon, 23 Apr 2012 15:59:00 +0000 Scott Essman http://www.btlnews.com/?p=27507 The Natural, Bull Durham, Field of Dreams and others of the past several decades come to mind. But it might be a lower-profile film which tells a real baseball story about a fascinating figure which could trump them all.]]> http://www.btlnews.com/commentary/director-series/greg-carter-resurrects-a-baseball-hero/feed/ 0 http://www.btlnews.com/commentary/director-series/director-roger-donaldson-leads-us-down-the-dark-path-of-seeking-justice/ http://www.btlnews.com/commentary/director-series/director-roger-donaldson-leads-us-down-the-dark-path-of-seeking-justice/#comments Mon, 19 Mar 2012 15:58:31 +0000 Scott Essman http://www.btlnews.com/?p=26574 Roger Donaldson has been making Hollywood thrillers for the better part of three decades. From the political machinations of No Way Out and Thirteen Days, to more character-driven fare such as The Getaway remake, The Recruit and The Bank Job, Donaldson seems comfortable in creating tales that ratchet up the onscreen tension. His newest, Seeking Justice, forges ahead in similar territory, one that the Australian sees as a fresh attempt each time out. “I think the challenge of making a thriller is that you know instinctively that the story can play out by the characters in front of you,” he said. “You don’t know which way it’s going to go.”]]> http://www.btlnews.com/commentary/director-series/director-roger-donaldson-leads-us-down-the-dark-path-of-seeking-justice/feed/ 0 http://www.btlnews.com/crafts/director-taika-waititi-boy-comes-of-age-in-1980s-new-zealand/ http://www.btlnews.com/crafts/director-taika-waititi-boy-comes-of-age-in-1980s-new-zealand/#comments Mon, 12 Mar 2012 15:59:29 +0000 Mary Ann Skweres http://www.btlnews.com/?p=26435 Boy, by writer-director-actor, Taika Waititi, is a comedy-drama, interspersed with full-on fantasy sequences, Michael Jackson-inspired musical numbers and child-like animation.]]> http://www.btlnews.com/crafts/director-taika-waititi-boy-comes-of-age-in-1980s-new-zealand/feed/ 0 http://www.btlnews.com/awards/irans-best-foreign-film-nominee-asghar-farhadis-a-separation/ http://www.btlnews.com/awards/irans-best-foreign-film-nominee-asghar-farhadis-a-separation/#comments Tue, 31 Jan 2012 16:58:36 +0000 Jack Egan http://www.btlnews.com/?p=24750 A Separation, a highly lauded film from Iran that has captivated reviewers and moviegoers and garnered two Oscar nominations. The beautifully photographed movie tells a multi-layered story of a modern-day couple in Tehran who are on the verge of a divorce. The wife wants to move abroad for a better life for their daughter but the husband wants to stay, in part because he won’t leave his father who has advanced Alzheimer’s.]]> http://www.btlnews.com/awards/irans-best-foreign-film-nominee-asghar-farhadis-a-separation/feed/ 0 http://www.btlnews.com/awards/danish-director-nicolas-windng-refn-pushes-drive-into-high-gear/ http://www.btlnews.com/awards/danish-director-nicolas-windng-refn-pushes-drive-into-high-gear/#comments Mon, 23 Jan 2012 16:51:14 +0000 Jack Egan http://www.btlnews.com/?p=24336 Nicolas Windng Refn, director of Drive, doesn’t himself drive. He has failed his driver’s license test eight times. Yet the heralded Danish director came to Los Angeles, the city of cars, to make a film filled with some of the most authentic and exciting car chase sequences seen on the screen in years.]]> http://www.btlnews.com/awards/danish-director-nicolas-windng-refn-pushes-drive-into-high-gear/feed/ 0 http://www.btlnews.com/awards/stephen-daldrys-extremely-loud-and-incredibly-close/ http://www.btlnews.com/awards/stephen-daldrys-extremely-loud-and-incredibly-close/#comments Fri, 13 Jan 2012 16:57:59 +0000 Mary Ann Skweres http://www.btlnews.com/?p=24017 Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, it was "very simple" for Academy-Award nominated director Stephen Daldry to immediately say yes to directing the film for producer Scott Rudin, who he had worked with on The Hours. The first decision scriptwise was to see the story primarily through the boy Oskar's point of view, a character with a form of high functioning autism that makes those with the condition experience the world in unusual ways. ]]> http://www.btlnews.com/awards/stephen-daldrys-extremely-loud-and-incredibly-close/feed/ 0 http://www.btlnews.com/awards/rupert-wyatts-rise-of-the-planet-of-the-apes/ http://www.btlnews.com/awards/rupert-wyatts-rise-of-the-planet-of-the-apes/#comments Thu, 05 Jan 2012 16:59:18 +0000 Mary Ann Skweres http://www.btlnews.com/?p=23534 Rise of the Planet of the Apes tells an origin story that lays the foundation for the mythology of the first Planet of the Apes film, which takes place 3,000 years in the future. The success of the current film hinges on the believability of the main character, Caesar, a chimpanzee played by a human, that has been visually and audibly created using the most advanced techniques in filmmaking.]]> http://www.btlnews.com/awards/rupert-wyatts-rise-of-the-planet-of-the-apes/feed/ 0 http://www.btlnews.com/awards/director-j-c-chandor-makes-an-auspicious-debut-with-margin-call/ http://www.btlnews.com/awards/director-j-c-chandor-makes-an-auspicious-debut-with-margin-call/#comments Tue, 20 Dec 2011 16:59:49 +0000 Scott Lehane http://www.btlnews.com/?p=22590 Margin Call is an entangling thriller involving the key players at an investment firm during the first 24-hours of the 2008 financial crisis. Writer/director J.C. Chandor’s enthralling first feature is a stark portrayal of the financial industry and its denizens as they confront the decisions that shape our global future.]]> http://www.btlnews.com/awards/director-j-c-chandor-makes-an-auspicious-debut-with-margin-call/feed/ 0 http://www.btlnews.com/commentary/director-series/brazils-entry-for-best-foreign-film-jose-padilhas-elite-squad-the-enemy-within/ http://www.btlnews.com/commentary/director-series/brazils-entry-for-best-foreign-film-jose-padilhas-elite-squad-the-enemy-within/#comments Thu, 08 Dec 2011 03:18:00 +0000 Jack Egan http://www.btlnews.com/?p=22039 Elite Squad: The Enemy Within is Brazil’s official entry in this year’s competition for the best foreign film Oscar. The often-violent action movie has a reality-based and politically explosive plot – an insider’s pursuit and exposure of deep-seated corruption in the top ranks of the country’s police and government. It has become Brazil’s all-time box office champ, taking in some $70 million to date, more than even Avatar.]]> http://www.btlnews.com/commentary/director-series/brazils-entry-for-best-foreign-film-jose-padilhas-elite-squad-the-enemy-within/feed/ 0