Category Archives: Film

RIO FILM REVIEW: Selton Mello’s ‘December’

Posted on October 11, 2008 by admin

By Ray Bennett RIO DE JANEIRO – Melancholy bordering on morose, Selton Mello’s Rio de Janeiro International Film Festival Competition film “December” follows a reformed wastrel who goes to visit his nightmarishly self-indulgent family for Christmas. It’s original title, “Feliz … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Reviews | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on RIO FILM REVIEW: Selton Mello’s ‘December’

RIO FESTIVAL: ‘Should Nothing Else Work Out’ wins top prize

Posted on October 10, 2008 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – The top feature film prize at the 10th Rio International Film Festival, which wrapped Thursday night, went to Jose Eduardo Belmonte’s droll thriller “Should Nothing Else Work Out” (Se Nada Mais der Certo) and its … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, News | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on RIO FESTIVAL: ‘Should Nothing Else Work Out’ wins top prize

RIO FILM REVIEW: Theodore Thomas’s ‘Walt & El Grupo’

Posted on October 10, 2008 by admin

By Ray Bennett RIO DE JANEIRO — Theodore Thomas’s engaging documentary “Walt & El Grupo” tells of a 1941 goodwill tour of South America undertaken by Walt Disney and a group including some of his top animation filmmakers. It screened … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Reviews | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on RIO FILM REVIEW: Theodore Thomas’s ‘Walt & El Grupo’

RIO FILM FESTIVAL: Bright spots in spite of the rain

Posted on October 7, 2008 by admin

By Ray Bennett RIO DE JANEIRO – They say that Rio de Janeiro sparkles in the sunshine but the sun has been in scarce supply this week with cloudy skies and often torrential rain and the city’s Rio’s Copacabana Beach remains impressive … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, News, Notes, Places | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on RIO FILM FESTIVAL: Bright spots in spite of the rain

Paul Newman dies

Posted on September 28, 2008 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – One of the frequent disappointments in meeting film stars is realizing how much their charisma and star power depend on the power of the movie screen. In my experience, only a few stars retain that aura … Continue reading →

Posted in Comment, Film | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Paul Newman dies

Headed to the Rio de Janeiro film festival

Posted on September 25, 2008 by admin

  By Ray Bennett LONDON – The Hollywood Reporter has assigned me to cover the Rio de Janeiro International Film Festival in the first week of October. The 10th Rio festival kicks off Thursday with Brazilian director Bruno Barreto’s “Last … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, News, Places | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Headed to the Rio de Janeiro film festival

FILM REVIEW: James Watkins’s ‘Eden Lake’

Posted on September 18, 2008 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – British director James Watkins’ “Eden Lake” has the trappings of a low-IQ thriller but it’s really a contemptible tract that feeds the prejudices of the U.K.’s rightwing tabloids who claim the country is overrun by … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on FILM REVIEW: James Watkins’s ‘Eden Lake’

Walter Salles has it right about violence and silence

Posted on September 17, 2008 by admin

By Ray Bennett Walter Salles, whose new film “Linha de Passe”, about a mother and her four sons struggling to get by in Sao Paulo, Brazil, opens in the U.K. Friday, says there are two things that bother him about … Continue reading →

Posted in Comment, Film | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Walter Salles has it right about violence and silence

FILM REVIEW: ‘The Boy In the Striped Pajamas’

Posted on September 11, 2008 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – The home life of the Nazi commandant of a World War Two concentration camp appears bizarrely serene in Mark Herman’s grave and powerful drama “The Boy In the Striped Pajamas,” but the innocent are bound … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on FILM REVIEW: ‘The Boy In the Striped Pajamas’

London Film Festival to have 15 world premieres

Posted on September 10, 2008 by admin

By Ray Bennett The 52nd London Film Festival will feature 15 world premieres and just as many international and European debuts after it kicks off with Ron Howard’s screen version of Peter Morgan’s hit play “Frost/Nixon” on Oct. 15 including … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, News, Places | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on London Film Festival to have 15 world premieres