A more uplifting (and real-life) girls coming of age tale than Tideland, The Heart of the Game focuses on the passion and energy of a girls' high school basketball team in Washington state. "An exhilarating story of loyalty and perseverance, The Heart of the Game succeeds as both inspiration and social commentary," wrote Kevin Crust in the LA Times. Adds The Oregonian's M.E. Russell: "Intimate, funny, moving and incredibly rousing -- even if you're allergic to sports movies."

Update! James Van Maanen reviews the film for GreenCine: The Heart of the Game (and the bigger picture, too).

Continue Reading The Heart of the Game

" In the midst of a tribute presented by the Documentary Film Institute last year, Jonathan Marlow had the opportunity to speak with D.A. Pennebaker about his remarkable fifty-year career. Best known for his music films, such as Monterey Pop and Down from the Mountain, Pennebaker is also responsible for a number of exceptional political documentaries -- The War Room, as director, Al Franken: God Spoke, as producer..." Pennebaker's outstanding documentary Don't Look Back starring Bob Dylan has been re-released with some spectacular extras, including 20 hours of never before seen footage accompanied by a 168 page booklet. Don't miss this re-issue!

Continue Reading D. A. Pennebaker: Looking Back?

Tideland. The reviews for Terry Gilliam's dark fantasy were insanely all over the map - from rather hateful ("tiresome...and creepy" thought the NY Times' AO Scott), to more flattering ("crazy, dangerous and sometimes gorgeous" wrote the Chicago Tribune's Michael Wilmington). Most critics scratched their head at it. Audiences on Metacritic gave "10"s and "0"s. We think it could make a good double-bill with Pan's Labyrinth. It's on DVD now. What do you think?

Continue Reading Tideland: What to make of it?

Never mind the Oscars. Why not focus on 2006's worst films? While the Golden Rasberries missed out on quite a few other bad films (what no love, or hate, for The Wicker Man? And where's All the Kings Men, Saw III or Poseidon for that matter?), their list is a good starter kit for anyone's home Bad Movie Film Festival (maybe they're a little hard on M. Night here, but I guess he can take it).

Herewith, the Razzies:

What would make your own Razzies, your own Worst of '06 list?

Continue Reading The Razzies: Worst of '06

A little celebration called The Oscars happens every year in Hollywood, California or thereabouts.

Here are the winners for the 79th such ceremony.

Continue Reading 79th Annual Academy Award Winners

"It can, and should, be argued that you can make a bad movie out of a good script but you cannot make a good movie out of a bad script. If the screenplay has such impact on the resulting film, why does the preponderance of credit go to the director of the picture while the writer gets mentioned as an afterthought, if at all?" Jonathan Marlow spoke with screenwriter David Koepp about his craft and some of the films he's worked on including but not limited to; Spider-Man, Apartment Zero (now on DVD) and War of the Worlds.

Continue Reading David Koepp: The Preeminent Scribe of the Screen

The much lauded film drama Babel has made it's way to DVD, so let's take the opportunity to revisit our interview with screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga. Michael Guillen spoke with Arriaga this past October.

Continue Reading Babel: Bringing it All Together

Czech filmmaker Jan Svankmejer's latest film Lunacy is now on DVD. Jonathan Marlow attended a roundtable discussion with Svankmejer at the International Film Festival Rotterdam last year. That transcript is featured here for your reading pleasure.

Continue Reading Lunacy as Auto-Therapy

GreenCine is giving away copies of the new-to-DVD film Apartment Zero to five lucky winners of our new trivia contest. The 1988 black comedy/erotic thriller, directed by Argentinian Martin Donovan (no, not that one), is set in Buenos Aires and centers around two disturbed roommates (played by Brit Colin Firth and Canadian Hart Bochner). "Creepy and original," wrote Christopher Null on Filmcritic.com. "Donovan's direction recalls Polanski and his and [David] Koepp's script exudes Hitchcock. A better combo I couldn't give you."

To be eligible for the prize, send an email with the correct answer to contest@greencine.com, including your name, email address and, if you're a GreenCine member, your username in the email, and "Apartment Zero" in the subject header. Winners will be selected at random from all correct entries. The deadline is Friday, February 23, at 12PM PST. Winners will be notified by e-mail and announced in future editions of the GreenCine Dispatch newsletter, and right here on this space.

The Question: What epic 80s mini-series did Hart Bochner star in?

Continue Reading Win a DVD! Apartment Zero trivia contest

The French erotic thriller, Wild Camp, directed by Christophe Ali and Nicolas Bonilauri is wonderfully cast, starring Isild Le Besco with Denis Lavant. The two are dangerously attracted to one another much to the dismay of Le Besco's on screen family and friends. Jonathan Marlow interviewed Le Besco back in November.

Read On >>

Continue Reading Wild Camp: Sexy, Scary Sojourn in the Woods