Best Picture Nominee "Call Me By Your Name" Hits DVD & Blu-Ray

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment recently released information for the upcoming DVD and Blu-Ray release of  "Call Me By Your Name". The film recently nominated for 4 Academy Awards® including Best Picture and Best Actor. "Call Me By Your Name" stars Armie Hammer (The Social Network), Timothée Chalamet (Lady Bird), Michael Stuhlbarg (The Shape of Water), Amira Casar (Saint Laurent) and Esther Garrel (Camille Rewinds).

Special features on the DVD and Blu-Ray includes “Snapshots of Italy: The Making of Call Me By Your Name, “In Conversation With Armie Hammer, Timothée Chalamet, Michael Stuhlbarg & Luca Guadagnino”, Commentary with Timothée Chalamet & Michael Stuhlbarg and Music Video for “Mystery of Love” by Sufjan Stevens.

"Call Me By Your Name" hits retail on March 13th.

Press Release:

One of the year’s most acclaimed films, nominated for four Academy Awards®, including Best Picture and Best Actor and named the #1 best reviewed limited released movie on Rotten Tomatoes for 2017 with an adjusted 105.9% score, CALL ME BY YOUR NAME debuts on digital February 27 and on Blu-ray™ and DVD March 13 from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. Directed by Luca Guadagnino (A Bigger Splash), the romantic drama stars Armie Hammer (The Social Network) and Timothée Chalamet (Lady Bird) in a sensual and transcendent tale of first love, based on the bestselling novel by André Aciman. CALL ME BY YOUR NAME also stars Michael Stuhlbarg (The Shape of Water), Amira Casar (Saint Laurent) and Esther Garrel (Camille Rewinds).

In addition to its four Oscar® nominations, CALL ME BY YOUR NAME was named one of the Best Movies of the Year with an AFI Award from the American Film Institute. It was also nominated for three Golden Globes®, including Best Picture, and received a nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role (Chalamet) at the Screen Actor Guild Awards®. The film also received the most nominations of any film at the Film Independent Spirit Awards with six nominations, including Best Feature, Director, Male Lead and Supporting Actor.

The digital, Blu-ray and DVD releases of CALL ME BY YOUR NAME include the music video for the Oscar nominated song “Mystery of Love,” by Sufjan Stevens as well as audio commentary and two featurettes. In the insightful commentary, Timothée Chalamet and Michael Stulhbarg give a master class in the actor’s process as they discuss bringing their characters to life and their fond memories of making the film. Armie Hammer, Timothée Chalamet, Michael Stuhlbarg and Luca Guadagnino discuss the film’s artistic mastery and superb storytelling in the featurette “Snapshots of Italy: The Making of Call Me By Your Name.” Spend an evening with the exceptional cast for a candid Q&A about their experiences in telling this moving, beautiful and thought provoking film in “In Conversation with Armie Hammer, Timothée Chalamet, Michael Stuhlbarg & Luca Guadagnino.”

Synopsis:
It’s the summer of 1983 in Italy, and Elio Perlman (Timothée Chalamet), a precocious 17-year-old, spends his days in his family’s villa transcribing and playing classical music and reading. Elio’s sophistication and intellectual gifts suggest he is already a fully-fledged adult, there is much that yet remains innocent and unformed about him.

One day, Oliver (Armie Hammer), a charming American scholar arrives as the annual summer intern tasked with helping Elio’s father, an eminent professor. Amid the sun-drenched splendor of the setting, Elio and Oliver discover the heady beauty of awakening desire over the course of a summer that will alter their lives forever.

Based on the novel by Andre Aciman, CALL ME BY YOUR NAME was directed by Luca Guadagnino with a screenplay by James Ivory. The film was produced by Peter Spears, Luca Guadagnino, Emilie Georges, Rodrigo Teixeira, Marco Morabito, James Ivory and Howard Rosenman and executive produced by Derek Simonds, Tom Dolby, Margarethe Baillou, Francesco Melzi d'Eril, Naima Abed, Nicholas Kaiser, Sophie Mas and Lourenço Sant'Anna

"Foxcatcher" Review - Written by Jim Herling

The role of John du Pont that Steve Carrell plays in the new movie Foxcatcher is one of those "departure" roles comedians play from time to time that are really special to watch. It's the kind of thing that gets someone some Oscar buzz. I mention that up front in the interest of not burying the lead, because with the exception of some truly fantastic acting, Foxcatcher (directed by Bennett Miller, screenplay written by E. Max Frye and Dan Futterman based on the book written by Mark Schultz) is a pretty boring movie.

Carrell is buried under makeup for the role, a pronounced nose and other things applied to make him closely resemble the wealthy, wrestling aficionado-turned-murderer he plays here. With the exception of one scene where he's under the influence of cocaine, all traces of the lovable comedian we know are gone, replaced by something truly creepy. From the minute he spoke his first line, I was freaked out by him. Part of that is because of how good Carrell's performance is. Part of it is how good the makeup is. The last part of it is how good of a cast he has to play against : Channing Tatum (who also sports some makeup work to make him look like an Olympic wrestler done by a makeup team that deserves their own awards attention) carries the lion's share of that burden as Mark Schultz, the gold medal winner who is taken in by du Pont. Despite the tough guy he's playing, there's a vulnerability to Tatum's performance that is impressive, and it creates a wonderful dynamic with Carrell. Also on board is Mark Ruffalo as Schultz's older brother Dave, himself a gold medal-winning Olympian wrestler; unfortunately there's no makeup work on him, just a beard. The cast is rounded out by Vanessa Redgrave, Anthony Michael Hall, and Sienna Miller in small but strong roles.

Despite the great performances, Foxcatcher (which claims to be based on a true story but, with the exception of the ending, almost none of the events are supported by facts) is really just a unsatisfying film. Part of that is due to the movie's nebulous relationship with time; except for the dates involving the wrestling competitions, time goes completely unmarked. The final scenes, which occurred a good seven years apart in reality seem like they were separated by the span of a week. Only the falling snow marks any kind of difference. The other problem with the screenplay is that it leaves a lot of the emotional beats either up for interpretation or skips them completely in favor of just showing fallout. I realize that's a style and some folks might appreciate it but for me it seriously detracted and, despite the really great acting, earned Foxcatcher just 2.5 stars out of 5.

"Whiplash" Review - Written by Tim Hellman

'WHIPLASH': Five Stars (Out of Five)

A critically acclaimed (and Oscar hopeful) jazz musician character study that plays more like a psychological thriller than a heartwarming drama. It was written and directed by Damien Chazelle and stars Miles Teller and J. K. Simmons. The film tells the story of a young jazz drummer studying to become great at an acclaimed music school, under the obsessive guidance of an abusive instructor. It also features Melissa Benoist and Paul Reiser, in supporting roles. I found it to be nothing short of great and a true masterpiece.

Andrew (Teller) is 19-years-old and just started school at the Shaffer Conservatory, which is widely known as the best music school in the country. He really wants to be one of the great jazz drummers and to do so he'll need to gain the approval of a highly respected conductor, at the school, named Terence Fletcher (Simmons). Fletcher is determined to find the next great musician and his tactics for bringing out the best in students are highly questionable, and border on psychological abuse (and torture). Andrew is just as determined to become a great musician though, and the two engage in a battle that turns into one of the most epic showdowns in cinematic history.

Simmons is great in the movie (and he's now seen as the Best Supporting Actor frontrunner, at this year's upcoming Academy Awards). I've been a fan of his, as a character actor, for years and it's great to see him taking on a lead role that he's this powerful and memorable in (it showcases all of his best talents). Teller is just as good as the main character though, he's a new actor but he's already shown an amazing gift for acting. The two very flawed but inspired characters, these actors bring to life in this film, are classic. It's a great story but what's even more impressive is how visceral a film going experience it is; Chazelle's directing is always breathtaking and beautiful to watch. I don't think a character study could possibly be more intense and thoroughly involving than this (and it does feel like a thriller or fast paced sports drama). It's one of the best movie experiences I've had this year!

Official Trailer from Jim Jarmusch's Latest Film "Only Lovers Left Alive"

Sony Pictures Classics recently released the official trailer for Jim Jarmusch's upcoming film "Only Lovers Left Alive". The upcoming film stars Tilda Swinton, Tom Hiddleston, Mia Wasikowska and John Hurt. "Only Lovers Left Alive" hits theaters in limited release on 4/11.

Plot Synopsis:

Set against the romantic desolation of Detroit and Tangier, an underground musician, deeply depressed by the direction of human activities, reunites with his resilient and enigmatic lover.

Their love story has already endured several centuries at least, but their debauched idyll is soon disrupted by her wild and uncontrollable younger sister.

Can these wise but fragile outsiders continue to survive as the modern world collapses around them?

"Only Lovers Left Alive": Official Trailer

Official Trailer for One of the Most Anticipated Action Films of the Year "The Raid 2"

Sony Pictures Classics recently release the official trailer for one of the most anticipated action films of the year "The Raid 2". Gareth Evans(The Raid: Redemption, V/H/S 2) returns to the director's chair along with Iko Uwais starring. "The Raid 2" hits theaters in limited release on 3/28.

For more information on this film, you can visit the film's official website at: http://www.sonyclassics.com/theraid2.

Plot Synopsis:

Immediately following the events of the original, The Raid 2 tracks Officer Rama as he is pressured to join an anticorruption task force to guarantee protection for his wife and child. His mission is to get close to a new mob boss, Bangun, by befriending his incarcerated son, Uco. Rama must hunt for information linking Bangun with corruption in the Jakarta Police Department while pursuing a dangerous and personal vendetta that threatens to consume him and bring his mission—and the organized crime syndicate—down around him.

"The Raid 2": Official Trailer 

 

Sundance 2014: First Still and Screening Info for the Highly Anticipated Action Film "The Raid 2"

There has been a lot of changes in last weeks with having to get a new domain and trying to the site back up and running. We've done that and now ready to go full steam ahead with coverage of the films playing at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival which takes place from 1/16 - 1/26.

The first film on our coverage is one of the most anticipated action films of the year "The Raid 2". Gareth Evans (The Raid: Redemption, V/H/S 2) returns to the directors chair for this installment along with star Iko Uwais for this film. "The Raid 2" will be having its world premiere out of competition at the festival on 1/21 at Eccles Theater in Park City, UT.

For other screening times for the film, you can go to the bottom of this post. 

Plot Synopsis:

Immediately following the events of the original, The Raid 2 tracks Officer Rama as he is pressured to join an anticorruption task force to guarantee protection for his wife and child. His mission is to get close to a new mob boss, Bangun, by befriending his incarcerated son, Uco. Rama must hunt for information linking Bangun with corruption in the Jakarta Police Department while pursuing a dangerous and personal vendetta that threatens to consume him and bring his mission—and the organized crime syndicate—down around him.

Screening Times:

1/21/2014 9:45 pm - Eccles Theatre, Park City
1/22/2014 8:00 am -The MARC, Park City
1/25/2014 3:00 pm Salt Lake City Library Theatre, Salt Lake City