Movies

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Giamatti as Kruschchev? Genius!

July 29, 2010 , ι Lou Lumenick

It's not a theatrical movie, but I can't wait to see "K Blows Top,'' a planned HBO movie starring Paul Giamatti as Soviet Premier Nikita Kruschchev during his infamous 1959 visit to the United... Read on

It's not a theatrical movie, but I can't wait to see "K Blows Top,''
	 a planned HBO movie starring Paul Giamatti as Soviet Premier Nikita Kruschchev during his infamous 1959 visit to the United States. Tom Hanks' Playtone Productions is producing the flick based on Peter Carlson's book about the wacky 13-day state tour.
	 
Mr. Kruschev blew his top during a luncheon speech at the 20th Century Fox lot, where he had watched Frank Sinatra and Shirley MacLaine (with him here) film "Can Can.'' Kruschchev, who spoke before an audience that included Marilyn Monroe, was furious because a planned trip to Disneyland has been cancelled, supposedly because of Security reasons. It got worse from there; among the celebrities that will apparently be portrayed in the film is columnist Dorothy Killgallen, who attacked Mrs. K's clothes.
	 
The erratic Soviet premier, who was eventually ousted because of his behavior, was one of the most colorful world leaders of the 20th century but has rarely been portrayed on film. Bob Hoskins portrayed him during World War II in "Enemy at the Gates'' (2001).

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Russell mania

July 28, 2010 , ι V.A. Musetto

Ken Russell is here and Lincoln Center has him. Nine films directed by the eccentric 83-year-old Brit will unreel at the Walter Reade July 30-Aug. 5, with Russell attending some of the screening. If... Read on

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Toronto: Half a hundred titles listed

July 27, 2010 , ι Lou Lumenick

More than 50 new films, including 25 world premieres, were announced today for this year's Toronto International Film Festival, which runs from Sept 9 to 19. They feature the likes of Robert DeNiro and Edward Norton (pictured in "Stone''), Dustin Hoffman, Ben Affleck, Javier Bardem, Marion Cotillard, Clive Owen, Vera Farmiga, Colin Firth, Keira Knightley, James McAvoy, Carey Mulligan, Ewan McGregor, Helen Mirren, Christopher Plummer, Natalie Portman, Om Puri, Ryan Reynolds, Sam Rockwell, Amy Ryan and Hillary Swank. More titles will follow in coming weeks. Here's the list.

GALAS

"The Bang Bang Club'' Steven Silver, Canada/South Africa World Premiere The Bang Bang Club was the name given to four young photographers, Greg Marinovich, Kevin Carter, Ken Oosterbroek and Joao Silva, whose photographs captured the final bloody days of white rule in South Africa and the final demise of apartheid. The film tells the remarkable and sometimes harrowing story of these young men – and the extraordinary extremes they went to in order to capture their pictures. The film stars Ryan Phillippe, Malin Akerman, Taylor Kitsch, Neels Van Jaarsveld and Frank Rautenbach.

"Barney's Version" Richard J. Lewis, Canada/Italy North American Premiere From producer Robert Lantos, Barney’s Version is a film based on Mordecai Richler's prize-winning comic novel. Barney Panofsky (Paul Giamatti) is a seemingly ordinary man who lives an extraordinary life. Barney‟s candid confessional spans four decades and two continents, and includes three wives (Rosamund Pike, Minnie Driver and Rachelle Lefevre), one outrageous father (Dustin Hoffman) and a charmingly dissolute best friend (Scott Speedman).

"Black Swan" Darren Aronofsky, USA North American Premiere A psychological thriller set in the world of New York City ballet, Black Swan stars Natalie Portman as Nina, a featured dancer who finds herself locked in a web of competitive intrigue with a new rival at the company. Black Swan takes a thrilling and at times terrifying journey through the psyche of a young ballerina whose starring role as the duplicitous swan queen turns out to be a part for which she becomes frighteningly perfect. Black Swan also stars Vincent Cassel, Mila Kunis, Barbara Hershey and Winona Ryder.

"Casino Jack" George Hickenlooper, Canada World Premiere Based on a true story, Kevin Spacey stars as Jack Abramoff, the former high-powered lobbyist whose bribery schemes and fraudulent dealings with Indian casinos ultimately landed him in prison, and stunned the world. It remains the biggest scandal to hit Washington, D.C. since Watergate. The film also stars Barry Pepper, Kelly Preston, Rachelle Lefevre and Jon Lovitz.

"The Conspirator" Robert Redford, USA World Premiere While an angry nation seeks vengeance, a young union war hero must defend a mother accused of aiding her son in the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. Directed by Robert Redford, the film stars James McAvoy, Robin Wright, Kevin Kline, Evan Rachel Wood and Tom Wilkinson.

"The Debt" John Madden, USA North American Premiere Helen Mirren, Jessica Chastain and Sam Worthington star in this thriller about three Israeli Mossad agents on a 1965 mission to capture a notorious Nazi war criminal. Thirty years later, secrets about the case emerge.

"The Housemaid" Im Sang-Soo, South Korea North American Premiere In this erotic thriller, the housemaid of an upper-class family becomes entangled in a dangerous tryst. A satirical look at class structure, reminiscent of the work of Claude Chabrol, this sexy soap opera is a story of revenge and retribution.

"Janie Jones" David M. Rosenthal, USA World Premiere Aspiring recording artist Ethan Brand gets a stunning surprise on the opening night of a tour – a strung out former groupie appears unexpectedly, pleading with him to care for their daughter while she pulls herself together. Enter Janie Jones.

"The King's Speech" Tom Hooper, United Kingdom/Australia North American Premiere The King's Speech tells the story of the man who would become King George VI, the father of the current Queen, Elizabeth II. After his brother abdicates, George VI (Colin Firth) reluctantly assumes the throne. Plagued by a dreaded nervous stammer and considered unfit to be King, Bertie engages the help of an unorthodox speech therapist named Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush). Through a set of unexpected techniques, and as a result of an unlikely friendship, Bertie is able to find his voice and boldly lead the country into war.

"Little White Lies" Guillaume Canet, France World Premiere Despite a traumatic event, a group of friends decides to go ahead with their annual beach vacation. Their relationships, convictions, sense of guilt and friendship are sorely tested. They are finally forced to own up to the little white lies they have been telling each other. Directed by Guillaume Canet and starring: François Cluzet, Marion Cotillard, Benoît Magimel, Gilles Lellouche, Jean Dujardin, Laurent Lafitte, Valérie Bonneton and Pascale Arbillot.

"Peep World" Barry Blaustein, USA World Premiere On the day of their father‟s 70th birthday party, four siblings come to terms with the publication of a novel written by the youngest sibling that exposes the family's most intimate secrets.

"Potiche" François Ozon, France North American Premiere A bourgeois housewife (Catherine Deneuve) takes on a rough union leader (Gerard Depardieu) in François Ozon's sparkling comic war between the sexes, and the classes.

"The Town" Ben Affleck, USA North American Premiere The Town is a dramatic thriller about robbers and cops, friendship and betrayal, love and hope, and escaping a past that has no future. In the Boston neighbourhood of Charlestown, Doug MacCray is the leader of a crew of ruthless bank robbers. But everything changed on the gang‟s last job when they took bank manager Claire Keesey hostage. Questioning what she saw, Doug seeks out Claire. As their relationship deepens, Doug wants out of this life and the town, but now he must choose whether to betray his friends or lose the woman he loves.

"The Way" Emilio Estevez, USA World Premiere Martin Sheen plays Tom, an American doctor who comes to St. Jean Pied de Port, France to collect the remains of his adult son, killed in the Pyrenees in a storm while walking The Camino de Santiago. Driven by his profound sadness and desire to understand his son better, Tom decides to embark on the historical pilgrimage. Along the way he learns what it means to be a citizen of the world again and discovers the difference between “The life we live and the life we choose.”

"West is West" Andy De Emmony, United Kingdom World Premiere Manchester, Northern England, 1976. The now much-diminished, but still claustrophobic and dysfunctional, Khan family continues to struggle for survival. Sajid, the youngest Khan, is under heavy assault both from his father's tyrannical insistence on Pakistani tradition, and from the fierce bullies in the schoolyard. His father decides to pack him off to Mrs. Khan No 1 and family in the Punjab, the wife and daughters he had abandoned 30 years earlier. The sequel to East is East, West is West is the coming of age story of both 15-year-old Sajid and of his father, 60-year-old George Khan.

SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS

"Another Year" Mike Leigh, United Kingdom North American Premiere A happily married, middle-aged couple are visited by a number of unhappy and lonely friends who use them as confidantes. When an unmarried friend falls for their young son, they watch as events unfold. The film stars Jim Broadbent, Lesley Manville, Ruth Sheen, Peter Wight, Oliver Maltman, David Bradley, Karina Fernandez and Martin Savage.

"Beginners'' Mike Mills, USA World Premiere When his 71-year-old father (Christopher Plummer) comes out of the closet, Oliver (Ewan McGregor) must explore the honesty of his own relationships. From the director of "Thumbsucker.''

"The Big Picture" Eric Lartigau, France World Premiere Paul Exben is a success story. He has a great job, a glamorous wife and two wonderful sons, except that this is not the life he has been dreaming of. A moment of madness is going to change his life, forcing him to assume a new identity that will enable him to live his life fully. The Big Picture, an adaptation of the novel by Douglas Kennedy, is directed by Eric Lartigau and stars Romain Duris, Marina Foïs, Niels Arestrup and Catherine Deneuve. It is produced by Pierre-Ange Le Pogam.

"Biutiful'' Alejandro González Iñárritu, Spain/Mexico North American Premiere This is a story of a man in free fall. On the road to redemption, darkness lights his way. Connected with the afterlife, Uxbal is a tragic hero and father of two who's sensing the danger of death. He struggles with a tainted reality and a fate that works against him in order to forgive, for love, and forever. The film stars Javier Bardem.

"Blue Valentine" Derek Cianfrance, USA Canadian Premiere Blue Valentine is the story of love found and love lost, told in past and present moments in time. Flooded with romantic memories of their courtship, Dean and Cindy use one night to try and save their failing marriage. Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams star in this honest portrait of a relationship on the rocks.

"Brighton Rock" Rowan Joffe, United Kingdom World Premiere Based on Graham Greene's 1938 novel, we follow the odd relationship between a young thug on the rise in the British underground and a tea room waitress who witnesses a crime he has committed.

"Buried" Rodrigo Cortés, Spain/USA Canadian Premiere When Paul Conroy (Ryan Reynolds) wakes up six feet underground with no idea who put him there or why, life for the truck driver and family man instantly becomes a hellish struggle for survival. Buried with only a cell phone and a lighter, poor reception, a rapidly draining battery and a dwindling oxygen supply become his worst enemies in a tightly confined race against time.

"Conviction" Tony Goldwyn, USA World Premiere Conviction is the inspirational true story of a sister's unwavering devotion to her brother. When Betty Anne Waters (two-time Academy® Award winner Hilary Swank) older brother Kenny (Sam Rockwell) is arrested for murder and sentenced to life in 1983, Betty Anne, a Massachusetts wife and mother of two, dedicates her life to overturning the murder conviction.

"Cirkus" Columbia Danis Tanovic, Bosnia and Herzegovina International Premiere After twenty years of exile, a husband returns to his hometown in Herzegovina to settle some scores with his ex-wife, armed with a new Mercedes, a sexy new girlfriend and a mangy black cat. Dhobi Ghat Kiran Rao, India World Premiere In the teeming metropolis of Mumbai, four people separated by class and language are drawn together in compelling relationships. Shai, an affluent investment banker on a sabbatical, strikes up an unusual friendship with Munna, a young and beautiful laundry boy with ambitions of being a Bollywood actor, and has a brief dalliance with Arun, a gifted painter. As they slip away from familiar moorings and drift closer together, the city finds its way into the crevices of their inner worlds.

"Easy A" Will Gluck, USA World Premiere After a little white lie about losing her virginity gets out, a clean-cut high school girl (Emma Stone) sees her life paralleling Hester Prynne's in The Scarlet Letter, which she is currently studying in school – until she decides to use the rumour mill to advance her social and financial standing.

"Henry's Crime" Malcolm Venville, USA World Premiere After serving three years in prison for a bank robbery he did not commit, an amiable but aimless man decides to rob the bank for real. His plan involves infiltrating a local theatre company, but his scheme gets complicated when he falls for the company's lead actress. The film stars Keanu Reeves, Vera Farmiga, James Caan, Fisher Stevens, Peter Stormare, Danny Hoch and Bill Duke.

"The Illusionist" Sylvain Chomet, United Kingdom North American Premiere From the director of The Triplets Of Belleville comes a film of grace and unique beauty. Working from a never-produced script written by Jacques Tati for his daughter, Chomet tells the story of a magician who was pushed aside by rock and roll, yet finds one young girl who appreciates his magic. The film stars Jean-Claude Donda and Eilidh Rankin.

"In A Better World" Susanne Bier, Denmark/Sweden International Premiere The story traces elements from a refugee camp in Africa to the grey humdrum of everyday life in a Danish provincial town. The lives of two Danish families cross each other, and an extraordinary but risky friendship comes into bud. But loneliness, frailty and sorrow lie in wait. Soon, friendship transforms into a dangerous alliance and a breathtaking pursuit in which life is at stake.

"I Saw the Devil" Kim Jee-woon, South Korea North American Premiere A hard-boiled thriller from Korean master Kim Jee-woon, I Saw the Devil is a tale of bloody vengeance against a dangerous psychopath who has committed a gruesome series of murders.

"It's Kind of a Funny Story" Ryan Fleck, Anna Boden, USA World Premiere Stressed-out teenager Craig checks himself into a mental health clinic – where he finds himself in the adult ward. Sustained by friendships on both the inside and the outside, Craig learns more about life, love and the pressures
	 
of growing up. The comedy-drama stars Keir Gilchrist, Emma Roberts and Zach Galifianakis.

"Jack Goes Boating" Philip Seymour Hoffman, USA International Premiere Adapted from Bob Glaudini's acclaimed Off Broadway play, Jack Goes Boating is a tale of love, betrayal, friendship and grace centered around two working-class New York City couples. The film stars John Ortiz, Daphne Rubin-Vega, Amy Ryan and Philip Seymour Hoffman, with Hoffman making his feature directorial debut.

"L'Amour Fou" Pierre Thoretton, France World Premiere Yves Saint Laurent built one of fashion's most celebrated empires. This moving documentary chronicles his rise, his lifelong partnership with Pierre Bergé and their decision to auction off a lifetime of precious art and objects.

"The Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen" Andrew Lau, Hong Kong North American Premiere In 1920s Shanghai, hero Chen Zhen single-handedly avenges his mentor‟s death by killing all the Japanese at a dojo in Hongkou, only to be showered with bullets while making his legendary flying kick. Now, years later, Chen Zhen, who is believed dead, returns in disguise to infiltrate a criminal empire and to dismantle the evil collusion that plagues the country.

"Lope" Andrucha Waddington, Brazil/Spain World Premiere Andrucha Waddington brings famed Spanish playwright Lope de Vega's passionate life to the screen. The young poet returns to Madrid from war and gets his foot in the door of Madrid's most important theatre troupe – quickly charming his boss's daughter. His childhood friend, Isabel de Urbina, also falls under the spell of his poems. So much seduction eventually brings misfortune and he must flee Madrid.

"Love Crime" Alain Corneau, France International Premiere Dangerous Liaisons meets Working Girl in this deliciously caustic tale of office politics. Starring Kristin Scott Thomas and Ludivine Sagnier as mentor and ingénue, Love Crime is a remorseless clash of two competing egos.

"Made in Dagenham" Nigel Cole, United Kingdom World Premiere Sally Hawkins stars as Rita OGrady, the catalyst for the 1968 Ford Dagenham strike by 187 sewing machinists which led to the advent of the Equal Party Act. Working in extremely impoverished conditions for long, arduous hours, the women at the Ford Dagenham plant finally lose their patience when they are reclassified as “unskilled.” With humour, common sense and courage, they take on their corporate paymasters, an increasingly belligerent local community, and finally the government itself. The film also stars Bob Hoskins, Miranda Richardson, Geraldine James and Rosamund Pike.

"Miral" Julian Schnabel, United Kingdom/Israel/France North American Premiere From the director of The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, Before Night Falls and Basquiat, comes Miral, the visceral, first-person diary of a young girl growing up in East Jerusalem as she confronts the effects of occupation and war in every corner of her life. Schnabel pieces together momentary fragments of Miral's world – how she was formed, who influenced her, all that she experiences in her tumultuous early years – to create a raw, moving, poetic portrait of a woman whose small, personal story is inextricably woven into the bigger history unfolding all around her.

"Never Let Me Go" Mark Romanek, United Kingdom World Premiere Kathy (Carey Mulligan), Tommy (Andrew Garfield) and Ruth (Keira Knightley) spent their childhood at a seemingly idyllic boarding school. When they leave the shelter of the school, the terrible truth of their fate is revealed and they must confront the deep feelings of love, jealousy and betrayal that threaten to pull them apart.

"Norwegian Wood" Tran Anh Hung, Japan North American Premiere Adapted from Haruki Murakami's bestselling novel. Watanabe, a quiet and serious college student, becomes deeply devoted to Naoko, a beautiful and introspective young woman with whom he shares the tragedy of their best friend‟s death. When Naoko suddenly disappears, Midori, an outgoing, vivacious and supremely self-confident girl marches into Watanabe's life. The film stars Kenichi Matsuyama, Rinko Kikuchi and Kiko Mizuhara.

"Outside the Law" Rachid Bouchareb, France/Algeria/Tunisia/Italy/Belgium North American Premiere Bouchareb's follow-up to Days of Glory is an epic French gangster movie in the tradition of Once Upon a Time in America. The film follows three brothers from childhood in Algeria through turbulent years in Paris, as their paths diverge towards radical politics and violent crime.

"Rabbit Hole" John Cameron Mitchell, USA World Premiere A family navigates the deepest form of loss in John Cameron Mitchell's screen adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize winning play by David Lindsay-Abaire. Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart deliver captivating performances as a husband and wife who fight to save their marriage in the life that begins again after tragedy.

"A Screaming Man" Mahamat-Saleh Haroun, France/Belgium/Chad North American Premiere One of Africa's preeminent film artists, Haroun returns to themes of family and loyalty in war-torn Chad. A father and son work together at the pool of five-star hotel, but the civil war forces life-and-death choices upon them.

"Stone" John Curran, USA World Premiere Robert De Niro and Edward Norton deliver powerful performances as a seasoned corrections official and a scheming inmate whose lives become dangerously intertwined. Stone weaves together the parallel journeys of two men grappling with dark impulses, as the line between lawman and lawbreaker becomes precariously thin. The film also stars Milla Jovovich and Frances Conroy.

"Submarine" Richard Ayoade, United Kingdom World Premiere British comic Richard Ayoade delivers his hotly-anticipated feature debut Submarine. One boy must fight to save his mother from the advances of a mystic, and simultaneously lure his eczema-strafed girlfriend in to the bedroom, armed with only a vast vocabulary and near-total self-belief. His name is Oliver Tate.

"That Girl in Yellow Boots" Anurag Kashyap, India North American Premiere Ruth is searching for her father – a man she hardly knew but cannot forget. Desperation drives her to work without a permit, at a massage parlour, where she gives „happy endings‟ to unfulfilled men. Torn between several schisms, Mumbai becomes the backdrop for Ruth's quest as she struggles to find her independence and space even as she is sucked deeper into the labyrinthine politics of the city's underbelly.

"Tamara Drewe" Stephen Frears, United Kingdom North American Premiere Based on Posy Simmonds‟ beloved graphic novel. When Tamara Drewe returns to the village of her youth, life for the locals is thrown upside down. Tamara – once an ugly duckling – has been transformed and is now a minor celebrity. As infatuations, jealousies, love affairs and career ambitions collide among the inhabitants of the neighbouring farmsteads, Tamara sets a contemporary comedy of manners into play.

"The Trip" Michael Winterbottom, United Kingdom World Premiere Follow two good friends in this hilarious road movie as they embark on a tour of the Lake District and the Yorkshire Dales of Northern England, eating, chatting and driving each other crazy. The film stars Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon.

"Trust" David Schwimmer, USA World Premiere Safe and sound in their suburban home, Will and Lynn Cameron (Clive Owen and Catherine Keener) used to sleep well at night. When their 14-year-old daughter, Annie, made a new friend on-line – a 16-year-old boy named Charlie – Will and Lynn didn‟t think much of it. But when Annie and Charlie make a plan to meet what happens in the next twenty-four hours changes the entire family forever. Charlie is really a 40-year-old serial pedophile (Tom McCarthy) and, once Annies rape comes to light, it becomes a touchstone event that reverberates through the entire family.

"You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger" Woody Allen, United Kingdom/USA/Spain North American Premiere Woody Allen's latest comic ensemble piece follows a group of Londoners struggling with failing marriages, restless libidos, the perils of aging and desires that drive a series of decisions with unforeseen consequences. The film stars Antonio Banderas, Josh Brolin, Anthony Hopkins, Gemma Jones, Lucy Punch and Naomi Watts.

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Oscar Watch: Will Stone sequel get pushed again?

July 27, 2010 , ι Lou Lumenick

You'd better believe our corporate cousins at Twentieth Century Fox are reaching for the Maalox and praying the public forgets Oliver Stone's Mel Gibson-like outburst before the scheduled Sept. 24 opening of "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps.'' Our sympathies to whoever is handling the film's Oscar campaign.
	 

	 
Stone yesterday himself tried to apologize and explain his comment in an interview blaming "Jewish domination of the media'' for the Holocaust getting more ink than millions of deaths in Russia during World War II -- comments that had the Anti-Defamation League and the American Jewish Committee comparing the writer-director to anti-semitic celebrity Gibson.
	 

	 
This probably wasn't the kind of publicity that Fox was hoping for six weeks before the opening of the "Wall Street'' sequel, which premiered in Cannes and stars Michael Douglas, Shia LaBeouf and Carrie Mulligan.
	 

	 
If it stays on the Sept. 24 date -- it was already postponed from April when the Cannes invite came in -- "Money Never Sleeps'' will be competing for media attention with David Fincher's heavily buzzed-about "The Social Network'' starring Jesse Eisenberg as Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. That one opens the New York Film Festival on that very same date and arrives in theaters one week later.
	 

	 

	 
 
	 
Update:After rejecting Stone's first apology as insufficent, the ADL has accepted his second one.
	 Details here.

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DVD Extra: Webb's Paramount noirs, Raft's consolation prize, Altman's flying oddity, here comes Kay

July 27, 2010 , ι Lou Lumenick

Paramount, which bailed out of releasing new pre-1980 titles on DVD even before the economic turndown (except for the long-delayed "The African Queen''), has thankfully continued licensing select deep catalogue offerings to other distributors like The Criterion Collection and Legend Films. Joining the parade today is longtime specialty distributor Olive Films, which is releasing five Paramount oldies including three relatively obscure but highly entertaining noirs.

William Dieterle's "Dark City'' (1950) is a tough little crime film that's less interesting for introducing producer Hal Wallis' latest discovery, Charlton Heston, to the big screen as a gambling boss with a proverbial past than for the two actors who are working for him.
	 
They are played by none other than Jack Webb and Harry Morgan -- 16 years before Morgan became Webb's partner in the second iteration of TV's "Dragnet'', and 26 years before Morgan joined the cast of TV's "M*A*S*H'' (The versatile and prolific Morgan, whose screen credits stretched back to 1942 and earned his noir bona fides in 1948's "The Big Clock,'' also starred in the sitcom "Pete and Gladys,'' a spinoff of the series "December Bride'').
	 
Webb was a relative newcomer to the screen who had seemingly broken through as Marlon Brando's wisecracking, wheelchair-bound compatriot in "The Men'' (1950) and also played William Holden's happy-go-lucky assistant director pal in "Sunset Blvd.''
	 
In "Dark City,'' he and Ed Begley (Sr.) are cardsharps who help Heston separate out-of-towner Don DeFore (a former Warner contractee who had been groomed for stardom that never came by Wallis and is best remembered for the TV series "Hazel'') from his employer's $5000 in a crooked card game.

Though Dieterle delivers it with expressionist panache, the somewhat credulity-straining plot has DeFore committing suicide (off camera) and his deranged brother (played by a well-known character actor who in no way resembles DeFore and is not seen until the climax) stalking the increasingly nervous gamblers.
	 
Morgan plays a punch-drunk former boxer who suffers much verbal abuse from Webb, who finally gets slugged by Heston (see the lobby card at the top of the post, which includes a rare "not suitable for children'' disclaimer). 
	 
Swedish actress Viveca Lindfors is improbably cast as the dead man's widow who Heston falls for after stringing along singer Lizabeth Scott (yet another Wallis regular who had appeared with DeFore in the immortal soaper "You Came Along''). Dean Jagger is a philosphizing cop reluctantly protecting Heston and Webb.

Webb's future longtime screenwriting collaborator Richard Breen co-wrote "Appointment With Danger'' (1951), an Alan Ladd vehicle that opens with Webb and Morgan killing a postal inspector in Indiana. Unfortunately for them, there's a witness -- this is the only noir I know of where the central female character is a nun, played by British actress Phyllis Calvert ("Madonna of the Seven Moons'') in her sole Hollywood outing.

It's up to Ladd, as a cynical postal inspector, to track down Webb, Morgan and their boss Paul Stewart -- who are bent on stealing a $1 million postal shipment.
	 
"Appointment With Danger'' is well directed by Lewis Allen ("The Uninvited'') and makes good use of actual midwestern locations. ("Dark City,'' shot just a year earlier, has scenes set in Chicago and Las Vegas but the actors never get any further from Hollywood than Farciot Eduoart's fabled process plates).

Webb, who appaently decided he's rather do the slugging than take it from leading men, had moved onto to the first TV version of "Dragnet'' (with Ben Alexander) by the time his "Sunset Blvd'' co-stars William Holden and Nancy Olson were reunited for 1951's "Union Station,'' which under Rudolph Mate's taut direction runs a mere 81 minutes. Again, there's extensive location shooting in Chicago -- with L.A.'s Union Station admirably standing in for the interior of its Chicago counterpart.
	 
The story depends on the sort of wild coincidence that '50s audiences apparently routinely accepted. On a trip into the city, Olson spies a couple of suspicious characters on the train and reports them to the chief of security, Mr. Holden. Wouldn't you know they've kidnapped the blind daughter of Olson's wealthy employer and are holding her for $300,000 ransom?
	 
That "Union Station'' works as well as it does is largely due to veteran western heavy Lyle Bettger, memorably nasty in only his second film, as the head of the kidnaping gang. Jan Sterling ("Ace in the Hole'') is his icy moll, a duty she also briefly performs in "Appointment With Danger.''
	 
I really wish they'd kidnapped the garrilous Chicago police inspector on the case, played by Barry Fitzerald, who reverts to the annoying mannerisms that Jules Dassin had persuaded him to drop in "The Naked City.''
	 
Olive Films, which reportedly has another 20 Paramount titles in the pipeline with five more scheduled for next month, has two other Paramount releases out today. Andrew Marton's "A Crack in the World'' (1965) with Dana Andrews, is an Irwin Allen-style disaster flick in which the danger of global warming comes from the Earth's core; and Burt Kennedy's neo-western "Hannie Caulder'' (1971) stars Raquel Welch, Ernest Borgnine, and the recently deceased Robert Culp.

Over at the Warner Archive Collection, the custom-manufactured DVD service continues rolling out its new line of remastered titles. "Background To Danger'' (1943) is one of the better wartime adventures that Warner Bros. rushed out in the wake of "Casablanca.'' It stars a trench-coated George Raft, who had unsuccessful lobbied for Bogie's role in "Casablanca,'' and was instead indulged with this Eric Ambler spy caper.
	 
Raft's an American "businessman'' who tangles with a Nazi agent (Sydney Greenstreet) trying to compromise Turkey's neutrality as well as a Russian spy amusingly played by Peter Lorre. All are in fine form, even if it's hard to believe that Brenda Marshall (then Mrs. William Holden) is supposed to be Lorre's sister, and eventually Raft's love interest.
	 
This action-filled 80-minute thriller, knocked off by Raoul Walsh between Errol Flynn pictures, climaxes with a rather amazing scene set in the composing room of a pro-Nazi newspaper -- followed by another visit to the Burbank airport deployed so memorably at the end of "Casablana.''
	 
A more recent addition to WAC is "Brewster McCloud'' (1970), the first of many box-office flops that followed the one huge hit of Robert Altman's career, "M*A*S*H.'' It's probably the most watchable of Altman's misfires, though.
	 
MGM's trailer misleadingly tries to sell it as a thriller -- and indeed, one of the the subplots has detective Michael Murphy looking for a serial killer whose victims include wealthy eccentric Margaret Hamilton, who is wearing ruby slippers (in homage to her famous role as Glinda in "The Wizard of Oz'').
	 
But this satirical experiment really defies such easy description. Suffice to say that Bud Cort, in his film debut, is a strange young man who lives in the Houston Astrodome, where he's building a pair of strap-on wings he plans to take for a spin.
	 
The oddball cast includes Sally Kellerman and Rene Auberjonois from "M*A*S*H''; Shelley Duvall (her debut), an unrecognizable Stacy Keach, Jennifer Salt and Bert Remsen -- most of whom appear in the circus finale.

Coming attractions: I don't yet have the full lineup for next Tuesday's Warner Archive Collection, but I'm told that Frank Borzage's "Living on Velvet'' (1935) with Kay Francis, George Brent and Warren William is confirmed. Might we expect more soap operas featuring the lisping clotheshorse -- the hilarious trailer has her boasting she wears 20 new dresses in "Living on Velvet'' -- who is currently represented at WAC only by the notorious Al Jolson musical "Wonder Bar''? Stay tuned for details.
	 
Also confirmed for its WAC debut next week is Michael Apted's "Agatha'' (1979) starring Vanessa Redgrave as mystery writer Agatha Christie and Dustin Hoffman as an American reporting investigating her disappearance. Two titles are already available for pre-order: Gordon Douglas' "Yellowstone Kelly'' and James Keach's "The Stars Fell on Marietta'' (1995) with Robert Duvall, produced by Clint Eastwood. Does this mean we'll eventually see Sondra Locke's Eastwood-produced "Ratboy'' (1986) at the archive?
	 
Olive Films has announced the third wave of titles from the Paramount catalogue will arrive on Oct. 26. Among them are Joseph Strick's "Tropic of Cancer'' (1970), an NC-17-  (originally X-) rated adaptation of Henry Miller's controversial novel starring Rip Torn and Ellen Burstyn; and Peter Glenville's "Summer and Smoke'' (1961) based on a Tennessee Williams play with Laurence Harvey and Oscar nominees Geraldine Page and Una Merkel.
	 
Francis Coppola's "Apocalypse Now'' (1979) and its extended 2001 version "Apocalypse Now Redux'' will make their Blu-ray debut on October 19 via Lionsgate, which acquired the rights when Paramount's lapsed.
	 
There will be both a two-disc edition and a three-disc edition that reportedly includes nine hours of newly-produced material, plus the feature-length documentary "Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse'' (1991), which was released as a separate title on DVD by Paramount.

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The Diva is Back!

July 26, 2010 , ι V.A. Musetto

Great news for fans of Faye Wong, the Queen of Mandopop. She'll be making her long-awaited comeback in a series of concerts in Beijing and Shanghai in October and November. Reuters reports that the... Read on

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Venice: Taymor's 'Tempest' is closer

July 26, 2010 , ι Lou Lumenick

Julie Taymor's "The Tempest'' will close the Venice Film Festival on Sept. 11 -- wanna bet it will turn up in Toronto a few days later? Helen Mirren, Russell Brand, Djimon Hounsou and Alfred Molina... Read on

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Vic Ziegel (1937-2010)

July 26, 2010 , ι Lou Lumenick

Vic, the legendary sports writer and editor who died Friday, was the only person who ever fired me. It was towards the end of my unhappy summer of 1970 in The Post's sports department, where I had been assigned for a promised summer job despite my protests that I knew nothing about any sport except harness racing (which is still true, except that I haven't followed harness racing in decades).

Vic, who was the night sports editor at the time, was sympathetic to my plight. My main responsibility was taking dictation from The Post's sports writers, and Vic tried hard not to wince when I asked them, probably for the first time ever, to spell out names. Some of them, like the genial Dick Klayman -- who I worked with again many years later when I returned to The Post and he was assistant sports editor -- were bemused by this. Others, most notably the self-important Larry Merchant, were offended at the very idea that a 21-year-old who wasn't a sports fan was working in the sports department.

Early on a Saturday morning in early August, after our shift, we were both traveling on the LIRR -- he to the Hamptons, me to my parents then summer house in Shirley. It was there that Vic gently broke the news that the sports editor, Ike Gellis, had given the order that this nutty experiment was going to end sooner rather than later. I was actually rather relieved at not having to make sense of sports terminology and names and went back to working for the news department the day after I was officially let go by sports.

I didn't run into Vic again until last year, at the annual dinner given by the Communications Alumni of the City College of New York. By this point, both of us were in the group's Hall of Fame (along with Daniel Shorr, who also died Friday).

I reminded Vic that he had fired me almost 40 years earlier. "Well, you did good anyway,'' he said with a laugh.

Vic Ziegel was a terrific, idosyncratic writer and editor -- and an even better human being.

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Box Office: 'Inception' licks 'Salt'

July 25, 2010 , ι Lou Lumenick

A better-than-expected second-week hold for "Inception'' allowed Christopher Nolan's mind-bending thriller to hold off the heavily-buzzed-about "Salt,'' which opened at the lower end of expectations. The estimated numbers are $43.5 million and $36.5M respectively. Based on advance tracking, there were predictions that "Salt'' could open closer to the $50 million three-day-figures for Angelina last two action flicks, "Wanted'' and "Mr. and Mrs. Smith.''
	 
Still, it's doubtful that Tom Cruise, who was originally going to star in what was then called "Edwin A. Salt'' before he changed his mind, could have done better. There was speculation that the real-life Russian spy case that broke two weeks before "Salt'' opened would boost grosses, but history shows offscreen events rarely, if ever, influence the box-office take positively.
	 
Still, $36.5M is nothing to sneeze at, particularly since Jolie (like Cruise and her partner Brad Pitt) is considered to be a bigger draw outside North America. As for Sony's claim that they brought this elaborate production, with street shooting in NYC including at St. Bart's, in for "just over $100 million'' because of tax breaks, I'd take that with a barrel of...you know what.
	 
The weekend's other wide opener, also bowed at the lower end of expectations. "Ramona and Beezus,'' based on a series of novels that's been popular for more than half a century, collected around $8 million from Friday to Sunday, finishing in sixth place behind three other films in the crowded family market: "Despicable Me,'' "The Sorceror's Apprentice'' and "Toy Story 3'' -- all of them, unlike "Ramona,'' "Salt'' and "Inception,'' in 3-D on many screens. Even so, $8 million is a good showing for a little movie that Fox allegedly managed to bring in for just $15 million.

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Box Office: Will Jolie kick 'Inception's' butt?

July 23, 2010 , ι Lou Lumenick

Another interesting weekend at the box office, pitting Sony's "Salt'' in what's forecast to be a tight race against the second weekend of "Inception.'' Experts are predicting both flicks will end up... Read on

Personally, I think the much buzzed-about "Salt'' will do better than that. As I said last week, I think this delivers pure popcorn thrills and should catapult Angelina Jolie to the top of action-star ranks. It's hardly a critical darling, however, rating a mediocre
	 55 percent positive reviews at Rotten Tomatoesand
	 two stars from Kyle Smith.

How well "Inception'' holds may well determine whether Warner Bros. and Legendary Films will get their reported $150 million investment back.

Box office prognosticators agree that another holdver, Universal's "Despicable Me,'' has a lock on third place with around $20 million.

Fourth place is a battle between the debut of Fox's "Ramona and Beezus'' and the second weekend of Fox and Jerry Bruckheimer's flop "The Sorceror's Apprentice.''
	 
Both are looking at a figure of around $10 million or less, say the experts. I think they're underestimating the appeal of "Beezus,'' which is based on a series of novels that have been hugely popular for more than half a century and has popular Disney Channel star Selena Gomez as Beezus to boot.
	 I give this three stars;it's rating a 63 at RT.

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About the Authors

LOU LUMENICK Lou Lumenick is The Post's chief film critic. He has been reviewing here since 1999, after a stint as metropolitan editor, and covered films for the Bergen Record going back to 1981. A native of Astoria, Queens, who attended the City College of New York, he lives in Manhattan and has attended the Sundance, Toronto and Cannes film festivals, as well as events closer to home. Lou co-created "Shadows of Russia,'' a film series for Turner Classic movies. Columnist Archives

KYLE SMITH Kyle Smith has been a film critic for the Post since 2005. He also contributes book reviews and columns on current affairs to the Sunday Post and is the author of the novels "Love Monkey," which was adapated into a CBS TV series, and "A Christmas Caroline." He is a graduate of Yale University. Columnist Archives

V.A. MUSETTO V.A. Musetto is film editor and a film critic. His specialty is indie and foreign movies, with an emphasis on Asian. He is a member of the New York Film Critics Circle and frequents film festivals from Tokyo to Rotterdam to Transylvania.

REED TUCKER Reed Tucker writes movie features for the Sunday paper. He didn't like "The Love Guru" either. He is a graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill.

SARA STEWART Sara Stewart is a features writer who majors in movies and minors in books, women's issues, health, fitness, science, music and any sort of participatory journalism that doesn't involve being on a boat.