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ReelViews
James Berardinelli (born September 25, 1967) is an American film critic. His reviews are mainly published on his blog ''ReelViews.'' Approved as a critic by the aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, he has published two collections of reviews of movies on DVD and video. He is also a fantasy novelist, publishing a trilogy from 2015 through 2016 known as ''The Last Whisper of the Gods.'' Personal life Berardinelli was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey and spent his early childhood in Morristown, New Jersey. When he was nine, his family moved to the township of Cherry Hill, New Jersey, where he attended Cherry Hill High School East. Later he moved to Piscataway. He attended the University of Pennsylvania from 1985 to 1990, obtaining both a bachelor's and master's degree in electrical engineering. After graduating he worked for Bellcore Company, now Telcordia Technologies. He worked during the next 15 years "in a variety of fields, including fiber optics, video testing, and software systems ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Memento (film)
''Memento'' is a 2000 American neo-noir psychological thriller film written and directed by Christopher Nolan, based on the short story "Memento Mori" by his brother Jonathan Nolan, which was later published in 2001. The film stars Guy Pearce, Carrie-Anne Moss, and Joe Pantoliano. The film follows Leonard Shelby (Pearce), a man who suffers from anterograde amnesia—resulting in short-term memory loss and the inability to form new memories—who uses an elaborate system of photographs, handwritten notes, and tattoos in an attempt to uncover the perpetrator who killed his wife and caused him to sustain the condition. The film's non-linear narrative is presented as two different sequences of scenes interspersed during the film: a series in black-and-white that is shown chronologically, and a series of color sequences shown in reverse order (simulating for the audience the mental state of the protagonist). The two sequences meet at the end of the film, producing one comple ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hamlet (1996 Film)
''Hamlet'' is a 1996 British epic historical drama film serving as an adaptation of William Shakespeare's play '' The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', adapted and directed by Kenneth Branagh, who also stars as Prince Hamlet. The film also features Derek Jacobi as King Claudius, Julie Christie as Queen Gertrude, Kate Winslet as Ophelia, Michael Maloney as Laertes, Richard Briers as Polonius, and Nicholas Farrell as Horatio. Other cast members include Robin Williams, Gérard Depardieu, Jack Lemmon, Billy Crystal, Rufus Sewell, Charlton Heston, Richard Attenborough, Judi Dench, John Gielgud and Ken Dodd. The film is the first unabridged theatrical film version of ''Hamlet'', running more than four hours. The setting is updated to the 19th century, but its Elizabethan English text remains the same. Blenheim Palace is the setting used for the exterior grounds of Elsinore Castle, and interiors were photographed at Shepperton Studios. ''Hamlet'' was the last major ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Requiem For A Dream
''Requiem for a Dream'' is a 2000 American psychological drama film directed by Darren Aronofsky and starring Ellen Burstyn, Jared Leto, Jennifer Connelly, Christopher McDonald, and Marlon Wayans. It is based on the 1978 novel of the same name by Hubert Selby Jr., with whom Aronofsky wrote the screenplay. The film depicts four characters affected by drug addiction and how it alters their physical and emotional states. Their addictions cause them to become imprisoned in a world of delusion and desperation. As the film progresses, each character deteriorates, and their delusions are shattered by the harsh reality of their situations, resulting in catastrophe. Selby's novel was optioned by Aronofsky and producer Eric Watson. Selby had always intended to adapt the novel into a film, and he had written a script years prior to Aronofsky approaching him. Aronofsky was enthusiastic about the story and developed the script with Selby, despite initial struggles to obtain funding f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New Brunswick, New Jersey
New Brunswick is a city (New Jersey), city in and the county seat of Middlesex County, New Jersey, Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.New Jersey County Map , New Jersey Department of State. Accessed July 10, 2017. A regional commercial hub for Central Jersey, Central New Jersey, the city is both a college town (the main campus of Rutgers University, the state's largest university) and a commuter town for residents commuting to New York City within the New York metropolitan area. New Brunswick is on the Northeast Corridor, Northeast Corridor rail line, southwest of New York City. The city is located on the southern banks of the Raritan River in the heart of the Raritan Valley Region. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 55,266, an increa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Ebert was known for his intimate, Midwestern writing style and critical views informed by values of populism and humanism. Writing in a prose style intended to be entertaining and direct, he made sophisticated cinematic and analytical ideas more accessible to non-specialist audiences. Ebert endorsed foreign and independent films he believed would be appreciated by mainstream viewers, championing filmmakers like Werner Herzog, Errol Morris and Spike Lee, as well as Martin Scorsese, whose first published review he wrote. In 1975, Ebert became the first film critic to win the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism. Neil Steinberg of the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' said Ebert "was without question the nation's most prominent and influential film critic," and Kenne ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The War Zone
''The War Zone'' is a 1999 British drama film written by Alexander Stuart, directed by Tim Roth in his directorial debut, and starring Ray Winstone, Tilda Swinton, Lara Belmont, Freddie Cunliffe, and Colin Farrell in his film debut (in a credited role). The film is based on Stuart's 1989 novel of the same name and takes a blunt look at incest and sexual violence in an English family. Plot 15-year-old Tom is upset after his family moves from London to a rural house in Devon. He misses his friends, and family dynamics are strange. His Mum is in the late stages of pregnancy, his Dad is in the home-furniture industry. Tom and his 18-year-old sister Jessie are unusually close to each other, and everyone helps Mum during her pregnancy. One night, Mum goes into labour and Dad drives the whole family to the hospital. The car crashes, but nobody is badly injured and a baby girl is born while Mum is trapped in the car. They all go to the hospital to get stitched up and they see Mum a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saving Private Ryan
''Saving Private Ryan'' is a 1998 American epic war film directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Robert Rodat. Set in 1944 in Normandy, France, during World War II, it follows a group of soldiers, led by Captain John Miller ( Tom Hanks), on a mission to locate Private James Francis Ryan (Matt Damon) and bring him home safely after his three brothers have been killed in action. The cast also includes Edward Burns, Tom Sizemore and Jeremy Davies. Inspired by the books of Stephen E. Ambrose and accounts of multiple soldiers in a single family, such as the Niland brothers, being killed in action, Rodat drafted the script, and Paramount Pictures hired him to finish writing it. The project came to the attention of Hanks and Spielberg, whose involvement, due to their previous successes, secured the project's development. Spielberg wanted to make ''Saving Private Ryan'' as authentic as possible and hired Frank Darabont and Scott Frank to do uncredited rewrites based on re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Sweet Hereafter (film)
''The Sweet Hereafter'' is a 1997 Canadian drama film written and directed by Atom Egoyan, adapted from the 1991 novel by Russell Banks. It tells the story of a school bus accident in a small town that kills 14 children. Survivors and grieving parents file a class-action lawsuit. This proves divisive in the community and becomes tied with personal and family issues. The ensemble cast includes Ian Holm, Sarah Polley, Maury Chaykin, Bruce Greenwood, Tom McCamus, Gabrielle Rose, Arsinée Khanjian and Alberta Watson. The book was set in a small upstate New York Town. The film was set in a Canadian town, and was filmed in British Columbia and Ontario. The film score had medieval music influences and references to the story of the Pied Piper of Hamelin. Although ''The Sweet Hereafter'' was not a box office success, it was critically acclaimed and won three awards, including the Grand Prix, at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival, along with seven Genie Awards, including Best Motion Pic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pulp Fiction
''Pulp Fiction'' is a 1994 American independent crime film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino from a story he conceived with Roger Avary.See, e.g., King (2002), pp. 185–7; ; It tells four intertwining tales of crime and violence in Los Angeles. The film stars John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Bruce Willis, Tim Roth, Ving Rhames, and Uma Thurman. The title refers to the pulp magazines and hardboiled crime novels popular during the mid-20th century, known for their graphic violence and punchy dialogue. Tarantino wrote ''Pulp Fiction'' in 1992 and 1993, incorporating scenes that Avary originally wrote for '' True Romance'' (1993). Its plot occurs out of chronological order. The film is also self-referential from its opening moments, beginning with a title card that gives two dictionary definitions of "pulp". Considerable screen time is devoted to monologues and casual conversations with eclectic dialogue revealing each character's perspectives on several su ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Schindler's List
''Schindler's List'' is a 1993 American epic historical drama film directed and produced by Steven Spielberg and written by Steven Zaillian. It is based on the historical novel '' Schindler's Ark'' (1982) by Thomas Keneally. The film follows Oskar Schindler, a German industrialist who saved more than a thousand mostly Polish–Jewish refugees from the Holocaust by employing them in his factories during World War II. It stars Liam Neeson as Schindler, Ralph Fiennes as SS officer Amon Göth, and Ben Kingsley as Schindler's Jewish accountant Itzhak Stern. Ideas for a film about the '' Schindlerjuden'' (Schindler Jews) were proposed as early as 1963. Poldek Pfefferberg, one of the ''Schindlerjuden'', made it his life's mission to tell Schindler's story. Spielberg became interested when executive Sidney Sheinberg sent him a book review of ''Schindler's Ark''. Universal Pictures bought the rights to the novel, but Spielberg, unsure if he was ready to make a film about the Ho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fantasy Novel
Fantasy literature is literature set in an imaginary universe, often but not always without any locations, events, or people from the real world. magic (paranormal), Magic, the supernatural and Legendary creature, magical creatures are common in many of these imaginary worlds. Fantasy literature may be directed at both children and adults. Fantasy is considered a genre of speculative fiction and is distinguished from the genres of science fiction and horror fiction, horror by the absence of scientific or macabre themes, respectively, though these may overlap. Historically, most works of fantasy were in literature, written form, but since the 1960s, a growing segment of the genre has taken the form of fantasy films, fantasy television, fantasy television programs, graphic novels, video games, music and art. Many fantasy novels originally written for children and adolescents also attract an adult audience. Examples include ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'', the ''Harry Potter' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
