Alan Rapp

This Week in Independent Film

/ / Film News & Trailers
  • Title: The Brothers Bloom
  • IMDB: link

Con artist brothers (Adrien Brody, Mark Ruffalo) target a wealthy woman (Rachel Weisz) for one last big score before retiring.  Rinko Kikuchi, Robbie Coltrane, Nora Zehetner, and Andy Nyman also star in the latest film from writer director Rian Johnson (Brick).  Check out the official site.  The con begins in limited release in select cities on Friday.  Larger trailer available in the Full Diagnosis.

This Week in Independent Film Read More »

This Week in Independent Film

/ / Film News & Trailers
  • Title: Nothing But the Truth
  • IMDB: link

Kate Beckinsale stars as a reporter who goes to jail rather than give up the name of her source who happens to be a covert CIA operative.  Matt Dillon, Angela Bassett, Vera Farmiga, Alan Alda, David Scwimmer, Erin Dangler, and Noah Wyle also star.  Check out the official site.  The film opens exclusively in New York and Los Angeles on Friday.  Larger trailer available in the Full Diagnosis.

This Week in Independent Film Read More »

Slumdog Millionaire

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Slumdog Millionaire
  • IMDB: link

The film takes place over a period of many years through a series of flashbacks.  In the present we see Jamal Malik (Dev Patel) interrogated for supposed cheating on the Indian version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire by a Police Investigator (Irfan Khan) and his subordinate (Saurabh Shukla) who simply can’t believe an uneducated street kid like Jamal could actually know the answers.

In his attempts to prove his innocence we are granted glimpses at Jamal’s early life as a child (played by Ayush Mahesh Khedekar) with his older brother Salim (Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail) through his performance on the show the night before.

What director Danny Boyle and screenwriter Simon Beaufoy give us is a thoroughly engaging and slowly unfolding tale as Jamal relates his story and the events which led to him learning the answers to the trivia questions he was given.  Along the way we learn more about his life, his first love, and his tempestuous relationship with his brother.

…

Slumdog MillionaireRead More »

Slumdog Millionaire Read More »

Doubt

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Doubt
  • IMDB: link

“You haven’t the slightest proof of anything!”
“But I have my certainty.”

At the heart of the film written and directed by John Patrick Shanley, who adapted his play for the screen, is the issue of change vs. the status quo.  Set in the Bronx during the 1960’s the film deals with the conflict between the more liberal priest, Father Flynn (Philip Seymour Hoffman), and the older Sister Aloysius Beauvier (Meryl Streep).

Set between the pair is the good-natured Sister James (Amy Adams) who is the catalyst for the story when her observance of events causes Sister Aloysius to believe, with certainty, that Father Flynn has taken improper advances with a young black student (Joseph Foster).

Is the accusation real, or is it simply an excuse for the traditional nun to get rid of the crazy priest and his new-fangled ideas?  Is there room, for doubt?

…

DoubtRead More »

Doubt Read More »