Two brand new looks as well as some updates today in my “The Contenders” section.
The pages for Appaloosa and The Burning Plain both now feature complete opinion pieces and the pages for Slumdog Millionaire and The Wrestler have been updated quite extensively as reviews have come out of Venice and Toronto.
In the case of Appaloosa and The Burning Plain it appears Burning Plain doesn’t stand much of a chance following mixed responses out of both Venice and Toronto despite a quick jolt of buzz after the early going in Venice. Appaloosa has received a couple of ho-hum reviews from a pair of bloggers, but Kirk Honeycutt at The Hollywood Reporter is sold on it calling it a “terrific Western that re-examines how things might have gone down in the Old West.” Complete recaps of both those films have been posted.
The big news comes from The Wrestler and Slumdog Millionaire.
First, The Wrestler took the top prize at the Venice Film Festival and came with several glowing reviews touting Mickey Rourke as the season’s first major Best Actor contender. Marisa Tomei is also getting early buzz as a supporting actor. Featured below is an AP feature for the film as well as an early clip. The Wrestler hasn’t been picked up yet, but early mumblings are saying we should expect a December release.
As for Slumdog Millionaire Tom O’Neill and Jeff Wells have posted the video you see just below as they both say Danny Boyle’s latest will be “one of Oscar’s five best-picture nominees.”
