Movies

Miami's best cinema gets new digs

We'll have plenty more on this over the coming months, but, for starters, the announcement has finally been made: This summer, Miami Beach Cinematheque will move from its cozy but cramped location on Espanola Way to a renovated space in historic City Hall. A new projector, surround sound system, and stadium seating are but a few of the cinematheque's coming attractions.

Movies

Opening this week

Jeff Bridges breaks hearts and guitar strings, Mel Gibson gets his angry on (there's a stretch), Liz Taylor and Katherine Hepburn engage in a sexy standoff and more. After the jump, trailers for all!

Movies

Crazy Heart. Woo! Woo!

I don't get school girl-excited about a movie very often, but Crazy Heart is just the right mix to make me want to hit the theater opening day. It's a small film (the best kind) starring Jeff Bridges (an underrated genius), Robert Duvall and Maggie Gyllenhaal (three of my favorite actors), about a busted-up singer-songwriter (the best kind of songwriter) with a soundtrack my T-Bone Burnett (also a genius). Rene Rodriguez's feature (hit the jump) just makes me want Friday to come all the sooner.

Movies

The future is now

From Minority Report-like multi-touch interfaces to full body scanners and using your iphone like Captain Kirk's tricorder, life is imitating art or is it the other way around? Have the movies presaged technology or does technology take its cues from Hollywood? Either way, my brain hurts. Hit the jump for seven sci-fi flicks that featured tech that was non-exsistent at the time, but is now in everyday use.

Movies

MBC rescreens Antichrist this weekend

Miami Beach Cinematheque's Art Basel week screenings of director Lars Von Trier's controversial film Antichrist were all sell-outs. If you were one of those turned away at the door or missed it all together, MCB is giving you another crack at it tonight through Sunday at 7 p.m.

Movies

Sundance returns to its roots

With the tanking of the economy and Hollywood studios increasingly less inclined to take risks, financing and distribution for independent film has all but dried up over the past couple years. It's too soon to tell if we are looking at a possible resurgence but the success - both critically and at the box office - of this year's Precious and new Sundance head John Cooper taking the fest back to basics offers some glimmer of hope.

Movies

Golden Globe Scorsese tribute video

If you missed Sunday's Golden Globe's you didn't miss much. What is typically the most jovial and entertaining award show was subdued in the wake of the Haiti earthquake and host Ricky Gervais' semi-casustic humor did little to ease the tension in the room. The unquestioned highlight of the night was the tribute video for Martin Scorsese, who was honored with the Cecil B. DeMille award. Hit the jump to watch.

Heist movie

While I disagree with the judges on a few choices of last night's Golden Globe winners, there was only one that made me choke on my salt and cracked pepper popcorn. It's hard to imagine how the Hollywood Foreign Press could get it so right in categories like best actor (Jeff Bridges), best animated feature (Up) and best TV drama (Mad Men) and then hand Ms. Congeniality (Sandra Bullock) the award for best actress. Gabourey Sidibe was robbed. Hit the link for the full list of winners.

The numbers are in and they aren't pretty

With a reported 20% reduction in production days and a $10 million loss in economic impact against last year, 2009 indicates a disconcerting trend for the South Florida film industry. Our paltry and uncompetitive state film incentives are sending major productions elsewhere, siphoning away needed dollars for the local economy and Miami's production service providers. City of Miami Beach's Graham Winick says revenue is down 100% since '02. Hit the jump for more ... if you can stomach it.

Movies

Inside the envelope: how Oscar nominations work

Screenwriter and first-year academy member John August has a blog that is subtitled "a ton of useful information about screenwriting" and such is indeed the case, but it also hits tangential topics as well, like the recent post about how Academy award nominations work. Its short but interesting and nice to know screenwriters are the only ones who vote for the writing awards.