Monthly Archives: October 2009

'Nowhere Boy' lacks Lennon's spark of originality

Aaron Johnson as John Lennon in Sam Taylor-Wood’s bio ‘Nowhere Boy’ 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 … Continue reading

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‘Fish Tank’ leads BIFAs with eight nominations

Nominees Katie Jarvis and Michael Dassbender in best film nominee ‘Fish Tank’ Great to see so many terrific movies among the British Independent Film Awards nominees. Very pleased to see “Fish Tank” and “Moon” so well received, especially the excellent … Continue reading

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'44 Inch Chest' tackles misogyny with poetic obscenity

Ian McShane, Tom Wilkinson, Ray Winstone, John Hurt, Stephen Dillane; UK Jan. 22 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 … Continue reading

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Hilary Swank flies high in 'Amelia', Yared's music soars too

Hilary Swank as Amelia Earhart, film opens in the US Oct. 23 and the UK Nov. 13 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” … Continue reading

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Desplat, Hamlisch honored at World Soundtrack Awards

WSA award winner Alexandre Desplat, left, with lifetime achievement honoree Andy Garcia By Ray Bennett GHENT, Belgium — French Golden Globe winner Alexandre Desplat was a double honoree at the ninth World Soundtrack Awards on Saturday as he was named … Continue reading

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An 'Ishtar' treat from Williams at the ASCAP awards

Oscar-, Grammy- and Golden Globe winner and sometime actor Paul Williams 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 … Continue reading

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Hare's 'Power of Yes' lacks drama but asks right questions

Examination of the financial meltdown is at the National through January 10 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 in London is … Continue reading

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'Pocketful of Sunshine' tops BMI London Awards

BMI Icon honoree Donovan performs his first hit song, ‘Catch the Wind’ 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 … Continue reading

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Top-notch performances in Old Vic's 'Inherit the Wind'

Kevin Spacey and David Troughton clash over the age of rocks through Dec. 20 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 … Continue reading

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There's always a Ray in the movies, best of all, Blu-ray

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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