News

Festival line-up includes 84 world premieres.

Elizabeth, the feature documentary directed by the late Roger Michell, heads the programme of the 53rd edition of Switzerland’s Visions du Réel (VdR) film festival.

The film will play as a special screening out of competition at the non-fiction festival in Nyon. Elizabeth looks at the life of Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-serving female head of state in history.

Elizabeth comes to VdR following a world premiere at Belgium’s Ostend Film Festival earlier this month.

It is produced by Kevin Loader for the UK’s Free Range Films, with Embankment Films handling sales...

Festival line-up includes 84 world premieres.

Elizabeth, the feature documentary directed by the late Roger Michell, will have its world premiere at the 53rd edition of Switzerland’s Visions du Réel (VdR) film festival.

The film will play as a special screening out of competition at the non-fiction festival in Nyon. Elizabeth looks at the life of Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-serving female head of state in history.

It is produced by Kevin Loader for the UK’s Free Range Films, with Embankment Films handling sales and Signature distributing in the UK and Ireland.

It is one of 84 world premieres on the VdR line-up,...

Chicago – The feel bad movie of 2010 has finally arrived in stores. Pardon me for withholding my enthusiasm. Although Alejandro González Iñárritu’s fourth feature has its share of indelible images, its familiar themes and unrelenting solemnity causes the senses to become numbed rather than engaged. The film offers 147 minutes of pure bleakness with a couple booger jokes thrown in for last-minute levity.

Only the shattering performances from Javier Bardem and Maricel Álvarez make “Biutiful” function as something more than a gorgeously lensed dirge. This is the first Iñárritu film I’ve seen that feels too long. Without the Rubix cube-like structure of his previous features, this linear descent into despair feels naggingly one note, perhaps illustrating that Iñárritu’s fractured editing was primarily what kept his viewers’ attention rapt during cumbersome dramas such as “21 Grams” and “Babel.”

Blu-Ray Rating: 3.0/5.0

Bardem won the Best Actor award at Cannes and scored a...

We have an exclusive featurette from the upcoming home video release Biutiful, which will hit shelves on Blu-ray and DVD May 31. Click on the video player below to watch this featurette with star Javier Bardem, which delves deeper inside Alejandro Gonz&#225lez I&#241&#225rritu's Oscar nominated drama.

Click to watch Exclusive: Javier Bardem Featurette!

Uxbal (Bardem) is a man living on the wrong side of the law who struggles to provide for his children on the dangerous streets of Barcelona. As fate encircles him, Uxbal learns to accept the realities of life, whether bright, bad - or biutiful - in this unforgettable film.

Special Features:

"The Making-of Biutiful" featurette

Theatrical trailer

Biutiful was released December 29th, 2010 and stars Javier Bardem, Maricel Álvarez, Hanaa Bouchaib, Guillermo Estrella, Eduard Fernández, Cheikh Ndiaye, Diaryatou Daff, Cheng Tai Shen. The film is directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu.

Weekend Box Office

The Roommate $15.6 million}Sanctum $9.2 millionNo Strings Attached $8.4 millionThe King's Speech $8.3 millionThe Green Hornet $6.1 millionThe Rite $5.5 millionThe Mechanic $5.3 millionTrue Grit $4.7 millionThe Dilemma $3.4 millionBlack Swan $3.3 million

The new horror film The Rite, starring Oscar winner Anthony Hopkins, took control of the box office last week earning $15 million in its opening weekend. The new movie took down reigning champ, No Strings Attached starring Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher, and beat out the weekend's other new release The Mechanic starring Jason Statham. But with two new films hitting the charts this week including the college based thriller The Roommate, and the James Cameron produced 3D action-thriller Sanctum, it looks like we will be crowning a new box office champion this weekend.

Debuting at number one this week is the new thriller The Roommate. The film stars an excellent cast of young actors and seasoned veterans including, Leighton Meester (Country Strong), Minka Kelly...

Weekend Box Office

The Rite $15 millionNo Strings Attached $13.6 millionThe Mechanic $11.5 millionThe Green Hornet $11.5 millionThe King's Speech $11.1 millionTrue Grit $7.6 millionThe Dilemma $5.4 millionBlack Swan $5.1 millionThe Fighter $4 millionYogi Bear $3.1 million

The new romantic comedy, No Strings Attached starring Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher, debuted at number one last week, knocking down reigning box office champ, The Green Hornet starring Seth Rogen. But with two new releases this weekend, including The Rite with Oscar winner Anthony Hopkins, and The Mechanic starring Jason Statham, the romcom was unable to successfully defend its crown.

Debuting at number one this week is the new horror film, The Rite. The movie stars Oscar winner Anthony Hopkins (Red Dragon), along with Ciar&#225n Hinds (Miami Vice), Alice Braga (Predators), Toby Jones (Amazing Grace), and Rutger Hauer (Batman Begins). The film made $5,027 on each of its 2,985 screens for an opening weekend total of $15 million. The movie was just short of...

We have an exclusive featurette for the Academy Award nominated drama Biutiful, which will expand to theaters nationwide today, January 28. Click on the video player below to hear from director Alejandro Gonz&#225lez I&#241&#225rritu, who takes us deeper inside this movie, which stars Javier Bardem in an Oscar-nominated performance:

Click to watch Exclusive: Alejandro Gonz&#225lez I&#241&#225rritu Featurette!

Biutiful is a love story between a father and his children. This is the journey of Uxbal, a conflicted man who struggles to reconcile fatherhood, love, spirituality, crime, guilt and mortality amidst the dangerous underworld of modern Barcelona. His livelihood is earned out of bounds, his sacrifices for his children know no bounds. Like life itself, this is a circular tale that ends where it begins. As fate encircles him and thresholds are crossed, a dim, redemptive road brightens, illuminating the inheritances bestowed from father to child, and the paternal...

Nine films will advance to the next round of voting in the Foreign Language Film category for the 83rd Academy Awards. Sixty-six films had originally qualified in the category.

The films, listed in alphabetical order by country, are:

Algeria, Hors la Loi (Outside the Law), Rachid Bouchareb, director

Canada, Incendies, Denis Villeneuve, director

Denmark, In a Better World, Susanne Bier, director

Greece, Dogtooth, Giorgos Lanthimos, director

Japan, Confessions, Tetsuya Nakashima, director

Mexico, Biutiful, Alejandro Gonz&#225lez I&#241&#225rritu, director

South Africa, Life, above All, Oliver Schmitz, director

Spain, Tambien la Lluvia (Even the Rain), Ic&#237ar Bolla&#237n, director

Sweden, Simple Simon, Andreas Ohman, director

Foreign Language Film nominations for 2010 are again being determined in two phases.

The Phase I committee, consisting of several hundred Los Angeles-based members, screened the 66 eligible films between mid-October and January 13. The group's top six choices, augmented by three additional selections voted by the Academy's...

This month has been one of the best that I can remember for trailers. All the studios were desperate for their trailer to get released before the Christmas holidays and we were inundated with posts. Since I love trailers so much, the inundation was most welcome. In what I am considering making a monthly post, here’s a roundup of all the trailers so far for December which I have embedded below for your viewing pleasure!

I’ve embedded them in the order in which they were released start December 1st to 31st and if I miss any, please let me know and I’ll update the post.

I really want this to be intereactive so make sure you tell us which trailers you liked the best and which you think will be great or terrible movies from what you’ve seen! So, let’s go!

—————–

Title: Cuckoo

Cast: Richard E. Grant,...

Title: Biutiful Director: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu Starring: Javier Bardem, Maricel Alvarez, Hanaa Bouchaib, Guillermo Estrella, Eduard Fernandez, Cheikh Ndiaye, Diaryatou Daff, Cheng Tai Shen, Luo Jin It just so happens that there isn’t anything beautiful found in a flick titled Biutiful. Tragedy and despair fill the lens in just about every scene. Attempts of showing compassion between characters is as coarse as sandpaper. Even the atmosphere is cold and callous. Basically, this one is a real downer. However, if one is able to process and handle all of the dark emotions, they will be able to appreciate the beauty in the storytelling along with the steady performance of Javier Bardem. If you reach [...]...

Optimum Releasing have just sent us the brand new trailer and poster for Javier Bardem’s latest movie, Biutiful. The movie is directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu and also stars Maricel Álvarez, Hanaa Bouchaib, Guillermo Estrella, Eduard Fernández and Cheikh Ndiaye. It’s set for release January 28th.

Simon actually got to see the movie when he went to Cannes Film Festival earlier this year and you can read his review of the movie here.

Synopsis: Biutiful is a love story between a father and his children. This is the journey of Uxbal, a conflicted man who struggles to reconcile fatherhood, love, spirituality, crime, guilt and mortality amidst the dangerous underworld of modern Barcelona. His livelihood is earned out of bounds, his sacrifices for his children know no bounds. Like life itself, this is a circular tale that ends where it begins. As fate encircles him and thresholds are crossed,...

Second trailer for Alejandro González Iñárritu's 'Biutiful' starring Javier Bardem, Maricel Álvarez, Hanaa Bouchaib, Guillermo Estrella, Eduard Fernández, Cheikh Ndiaye, Diaryatou Daff, Taisheng Cheng and Jin Luo.

'Biutiful' is a love story between a father and his children. This is the journey of Uxbal, a conflicted man who struggles to reconcile fatherhood, love, spirituality, crime, guilt and mortality amidst the dangerous underworld of modern Barcelona. His livelihood is earned out of bounds, his sacrifices for his children know no bounds. Like life itself, this is a circular tale that ends where it begins. As fate encircles him and thresholds are crossed, a dim, redemptive road brightens, illuminating the inheritances bestowed from father to child, and the paternal guiding hand that navigates life's corridors, whether bright, bad - or biutiful.

It opens in the Us on December 29 2010.

Javier Bardem stars in "Biutiful" from Roadside Attractions. The Alejandro González Iñárritu drama opens on December 29th in limited areas. Also in the cast are Maricel Álvarez, Hanaa Bouchaib, Guillermo Estrella, Eduard Fernández, Cheikh Ndiaye and Diaryatou Daff. Iñárritu wrote alongside Armando Bo and Nicolás Giacobone. "Biutiful" is a love story between a father and his children. This is the journey of Uxbal, a conflicted man who struggles to reconcile fatherhood, love, spirituality, crime, guilt and mortality amidst the dangerous underworld of modern Barcelona. His livelihood is earned out of bounds, his sacrifices for his children know no bounds. Like life itself, this is a circular tale that ends where it begins. As fate encircles him and thresholds are crossed, a dim, redemptive road brightens, illuminating...

Roadside Attractions has released the the official domestic trailer for crime drama Biutiful, starring Javier Bardem who stars as Uxbal, a man involved in illegal dealing is confronted by his childhood friend, who is now a policeman. Co stars Maricel Álvarez, Hanaa Bouchaib, Guillermo Estrella, Eduard Fernández, Cheikh Ndiaye, Diaryatou Daff, Taisheng Cheng and Luo Jin.

Synopsis:

Biutiful is a love story between a father and his children. This is the journey of Uxbal, a conflicted man who struggles to reconcile fatherhood, love, spirituality, crime, guilt and mortality amidst the dangerous underworld of modern Barcelona. His livelihood is earned out of bounds, his sacrifices for his children know no bounds. Like life itself, this is a circular tale that ends where it begins. As fate encircles him and thresholds are crossed, a dim, redemptive road brightens, illuminating the inheritances bestowed from father to child, and the paternal guiding hand that navigates life’s corridors,...

Roadside Attractions has unveiled the domestic trailer for Biutiful from director Alejandro Gonz&#225lez I&#241&#225rritu, starring Javier Bardem, Maricel &#193lvarez, Hanaa Bouchaib, Guillermo Estrella, Eduard Fern&#225ndez, Cheikh Ndiaye, Diaryatou Daff, Taisheng Cheng and Luo Jin. The drama opens in theaters December 29th.

Biutiful Trailer

Biutiful is a love story between a father and his children. This is the journey of Uxbal, a conflicted man who struggles to reconcile fatherhood, love, spirituality, crime, guilt and mortality amidst the dangerous underworld of modern Barcelona. His livelihood is earned out of bounds, his sacrifices for his children know no bounds. Like life itself, this is a circular tale that ends where it begins. As fate encircles him and thresholds are crossed, a dim, redemptive road brightens, illuminating the inheritances bestowed from father to child, and the paternal guiding hand that navigates life's corridors, whether bright, bad - or biutiful.

Biutiful comes to theaters December 29th,...

Roadside Attractions has released the domestic trailer for Alejandro González Iñárritu's Biutiful , starring Javier Bardem, Maricel Álvarez, Hanaa Bouchaib, Guillermo Estrella, Eduard Fernández, Cheikh Ndiaye, Diaryatou Daff, Taisheng Cheng and Jin Luo 2. Opening in limited theaters on December 29, Biutiful is a love story between a father and his children. This is the journey of Uxbal, a conflicted man who struggles to reconcile fatherhood, love, spirituality, crime, guilt and mortality amidst the dangerous underworld of modern Barcelona. His livelihood is earned out of bounds, his sacrifices for his children know no bounds. Like life itself, this is a circular tale that ends where it begins. As fate encircles him and thresholds are crossed, a dim, redemptive road brightens,...

This is the Pure Movies trailer for Biutiful, directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu (Amores Perros, Babel) and starring Javier Bardem, Maricel Álvarez, Hanaa Bouchaib, Guillermo Estrella, Eduard Fernández and Cheikh Ndiaye. After having globe-trotted with Babel, I thought I had explored enough multiple lines, fractured structures and crossing narratives. Each of the films I have made has been shot in a different language, in a different country, with different structures and scales. At the end of Babel, I was so exhausted that I joked my next film would be about just one character, in one single city, with a straight narrative line and in my own original language . . . and here I am. Biutiful is all that I haven’t done: a character-driven, linear story.

I haven’t much cared for any of Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s films, since his assured debut, Amoros Perros, a film I loved! His last 2 titles, Babel and 21 Grams, were pretentious, bleak bores… to me anyway… albeit pretty, pretentious, bleak bores that mimicked the structure of Perros, but lacked its revelatory punch.

4 years post Babel, he’s back with a film called Biutiful, whick looks like another pretty picture, with an international cast that includes Senegalese actors Cheikh Ndiaye & Diaryatou Daff, Nigerian George Chibuikwem Chukwuma, and others, all starring alongside Javier Bardem. The film divided critics when it debuted at Cannes earlier this year, with Focus Features picking up USA distribution rights to it.

The film’s synopsis, courtesy of Cannes: Biutiful is the story of Uxbal. Devoted father. Tormented lover. Mystified son. Underground businessman. Friend of the disposed. Ghost seeker. Spiritual sensitive. A survivor at the invisible margins in today’s Barcelona.