Telluride 40th Film Festival Lineup

The Telluride Film Festival starts tomorrow and for the past few months the lineup was a complete mystery. Telluride has a tradition of keeping critics and attendees in the dark until the last moment and today they revealed their slate of this year's contenders.

Top mentions include: Cannes winner Abdellatif Kechiche‘s Blue Is The Warmest Color, Alfonso Cuaron's Gravity, Jason Reitman‘s Labor Day, Asghar Farhadi’s The Past, Ralph Fiennes‘ The Invisible Woman, Jonathan Glazer’s Under the Skin and documentaries from Errol Morris (The Unknown Known), Werner Herzog (Death Row: Blaine Milam and Robert Fratta). With the aforementioned list of films, I think it's safe to say that this is a solid group, most notable among the pictures being J.C. Chandor's All Is Lost, the Coens' Inside Llewyn Davis and Alexander Payne's Nebraska — all big coups for Telluride considering those three pictures will not be making it to Toronto International Film Fest this year.

Along with the screenings offered, special presentations include tributes to Robert Redford, Iranian director Mohammed Rasoulof and the music/movie collaborations of T Bone Burnett and the Coen brothers.

The 40th Telluride Film Festival is proud to present the following new feature films to play in its main program, the ‘SHOW’:

“All Is Lost,” J.C. Chandor

“Before the Winter Chill,” Philippe Claudel

“Bethlehem,” Uyval Adler

“Blue Is the Warmest Color,” Abdellatif Kechiche

“Burning Bush,” Agnieszka Holland

“Death Row: Blaine Milam and Robert Fratta,” Werner Herzog

“The Invisible Woman,” Ralph Fiennes

“Fifi Howls From Happiness,” Mitra Farahani

“The Galapagos Affair: Satan Came to Eden,” Dan Geller and Dayna Goldfine

“Gloria,” Sebastian Lelio

“Gravity,” Alfonso Cuaron (in 3D)

“Ida,” Pawel Pawlikowski

“Inside Llewyn Davis,” Joel and Ethan Coen

“La Maison de la Radio,” Nicolas Philibert

“Labor Day,” Jason Reitman

“The Lunchbox,” Ritesh Batra

“The Missing Picture,” Rithy Panh

“Nebraska,” Alexander Payne

“Palo Alto,” Gia Coppola

“The Past,” Asghar Farhadi

“Slow Food Story,” Stefano Sardo

“Starred Up,” David Mackenzie

preceded by “Three Two,” Sarah-Violet Bliss

“Tim’s Vermeer,” Teller

“Tracks,” John Curran

“Under the Skin,” Jonathan Glazer

“The Unknown Known,” Errol Morris

The Best of the Decade

Over the last ten years, the cinema has given us a great deal to be thankful for: a rebirth of the Batman franchise, a series of examinations of what it means to live in this particular decade, and a mass of character studies whether they be animated or popcorn thrillers. As much as I have enjoyed the offerings, a list must be culled together for the end of the year. Except this year is different, this year ten films must be selected from hundreds. Below are some of the best of the aughts. Enjoy! 10) There Will Be Blood Paul Thomas Anderson's magnum opus, a scathing look at extremism in America and the evils of greed and profiteering from religion. It also features the best performance of the decade with Daniel Day-Lewis as oil-man Daniel Plainview. 9) Up A beautiful tale that entrances all ages, Up managed to captivate children and tell a tale that adults cherish as well. 8) The Dark Knight Maybe just a comic book film, but it is the best comic book film

Paprika vs. Inception

Months before Inception hit the theaters forums were alive with rumors that Christopher Nolan either accidentally or intentionally stole some details from another film, the Japanese anime Paprika. The biggest point of comparison for some bloggers and forum runners was the fact that both of the films featured a device that allowed a person, or people, to travel into another’s dreams and delve into their subconscious. Minor points of comparison include scenes in Paprika where the character Paprika breaks through a mirrored wall by holding her hand to it, as well as a scene where a police detective falls his way down a hallway. Claims have been made that Inception abounds with imagery similar to or exactly like the anime movie, but with the recent release of the film on DVD and Blu-Ray, and with Paprika available for several years now, an examination of the two plots can be made more fully. Let us begin with the primary claim— Inception stole the idea of a dream

Armond White or: How I Learned to Stop Caring and Ignore the Troll

Whether it is his glowing review of Norbit , his thrashing of Toy Story 3 , or just his general pompousness, you are aware of Armond White. His dismissal of Toy Story 3 came at a convenient time when the film was sitting pretty with a perfect score on Rotten Tomatoes. "But Toy Story 3 is so besotted with brand names and product-placement that it stops being about the innocent pleasures of imagination—the usefulness of toys—and strictly celebrates consumerism." A claim that could have been taken at face value had he not followed it with this sentiment " Transformers 2 already explored the same plot to greater thrill and opulence." I am sure if one were inclined to interview Michael Bay at his most enlightened he would have never crafted an answer that insightful regarding hidden parables in his Transformers vehicle. White was at his most incensed when forced to sit down and type out his thoughts regarding Precious , but praised Norbit for its reflection o

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