Author Archives: Zac Petrillo

D.A. Pennebaker to Receive Honorary Oscar

Perhaps the Academy took a step closer to taking non-fiction films seriously on a larger scale today. Legendary filmmaker, D.A. Pennebaker, creator of such films as Dont Look Back, War Room, and Monterey Pop will be the first documentarian ever awarded … Continue reading

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The Criterion Collection in 2.5 Minutes

If you are like me, you can’t get enough of the Criterion Collection. They have single-handedly restored my faith in film as well as the potential for big businesses that operate with integrity. If only I could name all the … Continue reading

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OSCAR FORECAST: Best Actor 2013

Current Predictions (09/05/12): John Hawkes, THE SESSIONS Denzel Washington, FLIGHT Daniel Day-Lewis, LINCOLN Joaquin Phoenix, THE MASTER Richard Gere, ARBITRAGE Word out of the Venice Film Festival is that Hoffman and Phoenix give dual lead performances of equally stunning proportions … Continue reading

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REVIEW: Lawless

John Hillcoat has carved out a place in contemporary cinema that speaks to a bygone era where manhood and violence was a product of meditative poetry. Every straight-forward gush of blood in The Proposition or cold, desperate murder in The … Continue reading

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Considering Louie

Quickly becoming one of the most talked about comedies on television, Louie uses a unique fractured style of storytelling, most similar to life’s absurdities themselves. With its cult status growing, one sees this as fast becoming the comedic version of … Continue reading

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John Hawkes in The Sessions

With two recent, staggering performances in Winter’s Bone and Martha Marcy May Marlene, John Hawkes has emerged as one of the most important, if still somewhat unrecognized, actors working today. His newest film, The Sessions, has Oscar material written all over … Continue reading

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Anticipating The Master

Just for kicks, in anticipation of the film I’m most looking forward to this year… Download – The Master Script (Unspecified Draft)

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Can a Doc Compete for Oscar?

When former Academy president Tom Sherak announced that the Oscars would move to a ten-film format, he stated the reasoning was to include “other types of films,” such as “animated films, blockbusters, and documentaries.” The former was immediately awarded a … Continue reading

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OSCAR FORECAST: Best Picture 2013

Best Picture Predictions (08/27/12): Lincoln Les Miserables Anna Karenina Promised Land Beasts of the Southern Wild Argo Life of Pi We’re on the precipice of another awards season and the system has started to syphon out its usual contenders. You … Continue reading

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REVIEW: Cosmopolis

In David Cronenberg’s wildly imagined, but eerily familiar, version of New York City, the streets are filled with limousines that cart around billionaires and taxicabs driven by formerly impoverished immigrants. Cosmopolis, a faithful adaptation of brilliant social critic, Don Dellilo’s … Continue reading

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