Monthly Archives: October 2009

FILM REVIEW: Sam Taylor-Wood’s ‘Nowhere Boy’

Posted on October 29, 2009 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – Sam Taylor-Wood’s “Nowhere Boy” is a passable look at the early life of John Lennon when he was estranged from his mother and raised by his aunt. Fans who hope to discover more about the … Continue reading →

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FILM REVIEW: Ray Winstone in ’44-inch Chest’

Posted on October 22, 2009 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – When a man’s wife breaks the news that she has met someone else after 21 years of marriage, the husband and four friends kidnap her lover while they decide if they should kill him in Malcolm … Continue reading →

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FILM REVIEW: Hilary Swank in ‘Amelia’

Posted on October 19, 2009 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – Freckle-faced, prairie-voiced and fiercely independent, Hilary Swank’s depiction of aviator Amelia Earhart in Mira Nair’s biographical film “Amelia” is of a high order. It ranks with recent real-life portrayals of Ray Charles by Jamie Foxx … Continue reading →

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World Soundtrack Awards: Wins for Desplat, Rahman, Hamlisch

Posted on October 18, 2009 by admin

By Ray Bennett GHENT, Belgium – French Golden Globes Award-winner Alexandre Desplat (above right) was a double honouree at the 9th World Soundtrack Awards on Saturday as he was named film composer of the year and picked up the prize … Continue reading →

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An ‘Ishtar’ treat from Paul Williams at the ASCAP awards

Posted on October 15, 2009 by admin

By Ray Bennett I know quite a few songwriters and one of their guilty secret favorite movies, and mine too, is the colossal flop 1987 movie “Ishtar” in which Warren Beatty and Dustin Hoffman play inanely bad songwriters caught up … Continue reading →

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McCartney, Coldplay winners at ASCAP London awards

Posted on October 15, 2009 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – Paul McCartney was named songwriter of the year at the 29th annual ASCAP Awards in London on Wednesday night, as Coldplay’s “Viva La Vida” won song of the year and Universal Music collected the publisher … Continue reading →

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THEATRE REVIEW: David Hare’s ‘The Power of Yes’

Posted on October 12, 2009 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – Not so much a play as a staged documentary, David Hare’s insightful “The Power of Yes” at the National Theatre is the result of the playwright acting as a journalist in search of the reasons … Continue reading →

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Donovan, Natasha Bedingfield win BMI London Awards

Posted on October 7, 2009 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – “Pocketful of Sunshine” performed by Natasha Bedingfield, written by Bedingfield and Danielle Brisebois and published by EMI Music, won the Robert S. Musel Award for song of year at the annual BMI London Awards Tuesday … Continue reading →

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THEATRE REVIEW: Kevin Spacey in ‘Inherit the Wind’

Posted on October 5, 2009 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – Director Trevor Nunn brings vividly to life a famous courtroom clash between two idealistic heavyweights in the Old Vic production of “Inherit the Wind,” with unforgettable performances by Kevin Spacey and David Troughton as the … Continue reading →

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There’s always a Ray in the movies, now there’s Blu-ray

Posted on October 4, 2009 by admin

By Ray Bennett There’s always a Ray in the movies. Scriptwriters really like the name. Michael Keaton, Dan Aykroyd and Gregory Hines each played a guy named Ray three times, Harvey Keitel twice. Kevin Costner was Ray in “Field Of … Continue reading →

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