Melanie Dishman's archive

Oscar nod likely for Oldman as LeCarre’s Smiley

This feature based on John Le Carre’s best-selling 1974 novel puts the chill back into the Cold War, a period of world history worth revisiting if only to put current global politics into perspective. It’s also worth a trip to the cinema to see Gary Oldman in one of the best roles he’s ever enjoyed as George Smiley, the wily MI6 operative who must ferret out the double agent on the British payroll.

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Expectations overturned by holiday turnout

Racing to the finish line this holiday season, “War Horse” was predicted as the winner. The family-oriented film with a heartwarming story was indeed a sentimental winner with Steven Speilberg at the helm, but not the true winner among the three biggest, mass audience releases in the past two weeks.

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Bad year at the movies still featured great films

As this year comes to a close, it’s clear the global economy isn’t the only thing in crisis. True to the nature of the business, moviemakers are trying to put a positive spin on what looks like a marked lack of interest in going to the movies. I’ve noticed it, too; just a couple of weeks ago in “New Year’s Eve,” there were no more than 20 seats filled. Halfway into it, though, I understood why.

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