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‘Maps to the Stars’ Movie Review – never quite comes together

Hollywood could easily be the perfect fantasy world of Cronenberg’s obsessions. The themes associated with body horror, from the fascination with decay to the battle between body and mind, are staples of the torrid extremes of Tinsel Town. In 2012, David Cronenberg’s son, Brandon, tackled these ideas with his feature debut Antiviral. That film explores a dystopian future in which the obsession with celebrity is taken to extremes of consumption. In Antiviral, the masses purchase meat grown from their favourite celebrity’s cells and head to a special clinic in order to be infected with the same venereal strain as their Hollywood Idol. The film externalizes the growing cultural obsession with fame, and concentrates that obsession through corporeality and sex.

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TADFF 2013, Days 5 and 6: ‘Odd Thomas’ and ‘The Last Days on Mars’

In Odd Thomas, the titular clairvoyant character (Anton Yelchin) can see dead people and bodachs (spirit creatures that alert him to future deaths). Working with the local police, headed by a chief played by Willem Dafoe, Odd goes around stopping people before they do bad things, but one potential criminal, a guy he lovingly dubs Fungus Bob, causes him all sorts of problems.

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‘Hyde Park on Hudson’ is ambitious, but a muddled and half-formed period drama

Hyde Park on Hudson Directed by Roger Michell Written by Richard Nelson United Kingdom, 2012 There’s been a debate brewing online lately over whether or not movies should stray beyond being roughly two hours. Those in favor of shorter films argue that there’s no discernible advantage in making movies so lengthy aside from filmmakers being …

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‘Anna Karenina’ is a mostly successful aesthetic treat

Anna Karenina Written for the screen by Tom Stoppard Directed by Joe Wright UK/France, 2012 For most of its running time, Joe Wright’s version of Anna Karenina takes place within interior confines, with nearly every scene occurring on a set of noticeable stages. There are no attempts to disguise the artificiality of the film’s appearance: …

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‘Anna Karenina’ Movie Review – An aesthetic marvel that mostly succeeds elsewhere

Anna Karenina Written for the screen by Tom Stoppard Directed by Joe Wright UK/France, 2012 For most of its running time, Joe Wright’s version of Anna Karenina takes place within interior confines, with nearly every scene occurring on a set of noticeable stages. There are no attempts to disguise the artificiality of the film’s appearance: …

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‘Collaborator’ throws everything into the mix…including the kitchen sink

Collaborator Directed by Martin Donovan Written by Martin Donovan U.S.A., 2011   What is it about those hard to define films that can earn the admiration of movie goers everywhere or get completely lost in the endless sea of small, medium and big budget releases? Some movies are simply beyond categorization, no matter how hard …

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‘Wild Bill”s crime genre characteristics are actually background dressing for an engaging family drama

Wild Bill Written by Dexter Fletcher and Danny King Directed by Dexter Fletcher UK, 2011 Two recurring tropes for many directorial debuts from established actors are to, firstly, work within the constraints of a genre you may already be associated with, and, secondly, enlist a few of your famous thespian friends to work for you. …

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