[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCTen3-B8GU]
Johnny Depp. Rebecca Hall. Paul Bettany. Kata Mara. Morgan Freeman. Cillian Murphy. And above them all, Wally Pfister.
After a terminally ill scientist downloads his mind into a computer, he discovers unimaginable powers. Depp sheds the heavy makeup for this sci-fi action pic, which doesn’t usually bode as well for his films’ box office receipts. However, this time he has Wally Pfister, the Oscar-winning cinematographer behind Christopher Nolan’s films, to guide him in Pfister’s directorial debut. After standing behind the camera for dozens of critical and box office favorites, it should be interesting to see how much of Nolan’s influence—if any—bears on Pfister’s turn in the director’s chair.
Transcendence is slated for an April 18 bow.
In light of the Olympic Winter Games and TCM’s 31 Days of Oscar, it seems appropriate to draw focus to the classic film Chariots of Fire. Set during the 1924 Olympic Games, one Jewish and one Christian track athlete—both British—compete against each other in this epic story of sportsmanship. Directed by Hugh Hudson, the 1981 film went on to capture four Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay, Best Costume Design, and its now Olympics-synonymous score. Other nominations were earned for the film’s directing, editing, and supporting performance by Ian Holm.
Transport yourself back to 1924 and the Olympic games and take a listen to this iconic, Oscar-winning score:
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RY3XiM7oGj0]
Straight from the fucked-up mind who brought us Pi (1998), Requiem for a Dream (2000), and Black Swan (2010), comes the epic Biblical story (which Biblical stories aren’t epic?) of Noah and his famous ark. Auteur Darren Aronofsky and his mustache take us back to the days when a storm could flood the earth with such apocalyptic might that only a monstrous boat could save a man and his family.
Russell Crowe and Jennifer Connelly reunite after 2001’s A Beautiful Mind, and along with Emma Watson, Ray Winstone, Anthony Hopkins, and rising star Logan Lerman, their characters will try to defy the impossible in Noah, which is due to surge into theatres this March 28.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OSaJE2rqxU]
a film blog by Daniel Quitério
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