Monthly Archives: July 2007

Cannes hit ‘El Violin’ deserves another bow

By Ray Bennett Francisco Vargas’s finely crafted story of peasant rebellion, “El Violin,” which screened in London Sunday as part of BAFTA Goes to Mexico, warrants a full U.K and U.S. release for its rich texture and powerful filmmaking. The film … Continue reading

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Alfonso Cuaron was shaken by Bond, but not stirred

By Ray Bennett LONDON – Mexican filmmaker Alfonso Cuaron (pictured) says he was going to make a James Bond picture until Joel Coen talked him out of it. Speaking in a Q&A at BAFTA in London on Friday, the director … Continue reading

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FILM REVIEW: Laurent Tirard’s ‘Moliere’

By Ray Bennett Laurent Tirard’s splendid “Moliere” starring Romain Duris (pictured), just released by Pathe in the U.K., is for everyone who loved “Shakespeare in Love,” but those who found that Oscar-winning picture smarmy, smug and overrated will enjoy it … Continue reading

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MUSIC REVIEW: Live Earth Concert at Wembley Stadium

By Ray Bennett LONDON — A lack of focus and constant lectures on the dire state of the world meant that the 70,000-plus crowd at Wembley Stadium for the nine-hour London Live Earth concert had to cherry-pick its pleasures. There … Continue reading

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MUSIC REVIEW: Thumbs up for the Concert for Diana

By Ray Bennett By some strange alchemy the disparate elements of the Concert for Diana, ranging from P Diddy to Andrew Lloyd-Webber, Tom Jones to the English National Ballet, and Kanye West to Take That, meshed into a memorable six-hour … Continue reading

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