Posts from — February 2008

Harvey and Bob Weinstein have decided to create a dvd label that will rival Criterion Collection releases.

See excerpt below from Yahoo news:
“the former Miramax Films chiefs are bent on leaving their imprint on the DVD business as well, with a premium label they hope will rival the prestigious Criterion Collection or Warner Home Video’s extravagant collector’s editions” (source)

It’s called the Miriam Collection, named for their mother. The first release was for El Cid back in January. I mean there’s no way it’s going to be as good as Criterion, but their efforts for film preservation can’t hurt. And it’s looks like the Weinstein’s will still release new films under their Genius Products domestic distribution label.

An upcoming notable release is the telepic “The Deal”, which focuses on the UK PM Tony Blair’s rise to power. Stephen Frear’s film interlaces eighties news footage with a compelling dramatization of events.

Maybe after awhile they’ll work up to releasing indie movies made with basic level hd camcorders like Panasonic’s ProLine camcorder. With all the latest innovations in hd, it will become more than profitable to distribute all kinds of indie films from studios such as The Weinstein Company.

I saw this trailer after reading today’s Pajiba round-up. The film looks to be an interesting tale of love gone awry. At first, I was sorta skeeved out of the Chris Cooper/Rachel McAdams pairing. But Chris Cooper can make almost any movie work, so I’m sure it’ll pass when I see the finished product.

Wes Anderson’s The Darjeeling Limited came out on dvd this week. It’s the story of three brothers who travel through India together and finally connect.

Trailer Check:

Find a great review of the dvd release at DVDBeaver. The review includes screen captures of the dvd menu, a run-down of the special features, along with their personal take on the movie.

This year’s Oscar broadcast was the worst in recent history! I guess America doesn’t have the patience to sit through four hours of Hollywood self-congratulations. Or it’s more likely that the films nominated weren’t the most popular or highest grossing ones from 2007. No Country for Old Men, a film with a modest box office gross, swept the ceremony with four awards, including best picture.

Personally, I didn’t think they were all that bad. Jon Stewart did an alright job, especially if you consider the short time they had write the jokes. Sadly, the funniest thing I saw was Gary Busey bumping into Jennifer Garner and then snubbing her for Laura Linney. And that moment was just a happy accident of comedy caught by E! entertainment’s video cameras.

Find a full list of winners here.

The Independent Spirit Awards take place tomorrow, since they’re always the Saturday before the Oscars. This year’s host is Rainn Wilson from “The Office”. The ceremony will be broadcast on IFC at 5pm Eastern/2pm Pacific.

It seems I missed even more great movies from 2007, after looking at the nominee list. Of course, there’s a bit a of Oscar crossover, with No Country and Diving Bell. But that’s to be expected since Hollywood has been distributing and recognizing an increasing number of indie features.

I’m pulling for Parker Posey, since her performance in Broken English was perfect in every way. Broken English is a great example of a movie made with HDV camcorders that got released in a fair amount of theaters. The film’s director Zoe Cassavettes, daughter of John Cassavettes, probably helped the film garner recognition. But I’d like to think that the acting and substance of the film is what counts.

Check the trailer for Broken English: