

Columns By Noah ForrestForrest@moviecitynews.com
The 2nd Annual Horrific State of the Horror Film
Last year, I wrote a column about the state of the present-day horror film and how it had been ages since I was truly scared by one. Not a whole lot has changed; here we are a year later and we’ve watched the fifth installment of theSaw series notch thirty million bucks in its opening…
Read the full article »How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Family Films
Reviewing a film targeted at younger audiences begs the question: how does an adult critic evaluate a film that’s targeted in every way at a demographic to which the reviewer finds it difficult to relate? And can film journalists who are unable to let go of their grown-up mindset and get into the headspace of…
Read the full article »Kurt Kuenne Director of Dear Zachary

“I wish that I had never had the opportunity to make this film. I wish that my friend Dr. Andrew Bagby was alive and well and that I was blissfully ignorant of the lessons I’ve learned along this journey. .” – Kurt Kuenne Listen to Noah Forrest Podcast with Kurt Kuenne
Read the full article »Slice and Nice
Weekend box office ballooned as two iconic vehicles found avid fan bases lining up in force. High School Musical 3 led the frame with an estimated $42.3 million and the runner-up slot fell to Saw Vwith a not too shabby $30.6 million. The third national launch was the cop meller Pride and Glory, which opened…
Read the full article »Noah Emmerich Star of Pride and Glory

“Your brother is in a bad hour here and the only way through this is you.” – Pride and Glory Listen to Noah Forrest Podcast with Noah Emmerich
Read the full article »Clint is a Changeling
I seem to be in the minority when it comes to Clint Eastwood over the past decade or so. The man is, of course, a living legend who has enormous talent both behind and in front of the camera. However, while his last few films have gotten lots of acclaim and awards attention, they just haven’t…
Read the full article »This Year’s Little Engine That Could
Published under Oscar Outsider. Every year over Labor Day weekend, film fans descend on the small mountain town of Telluride, Colorado for the Telluride Film Festival, a fest that’s rather like an early Christmas morning for cinephiles. We buy our spendy passes not knowing what we’re going to get in return, but trusting that, for…
Read the full article »Feel the Payne … George
While the press beat the Bushes, audiences marched to the multiplex to see the neo-noir Max Payne and the Mark Wahlberg vehicle led the frame with an estimated $18.1 million. W. — Oliver Stone’s rumination on the sitting U.S. president — ranked third overall with $10.5 million; just a heartbeat away from another new release,…
Read the full article »The Secret Life of Dakota Fanning
This is a difficult column to write because it’s about some delicate issues like exploitation of minors and minorities, but I definitely believe I’m giving these things more thought than the makers of The Secret Life of Bees. It’s a fine line when you’re making a film about exploitation and racism to not actually be exploitative…
Read the full article »For My Consideration
Published under Oscar Outsider. In the fall, a movie-obsessed writer’s thoughts turn, not so lightly, to thoughts of Oscar gold. We’re edging ever closer to the precipice that is awards season, and much as we on this side of things like to pretend awards don’t matter … they do. If you live in LA or…
Read the full article »Body Bags
Beverly Hills Chihuahua continued to bark up the right tree as it claimed the top weekend viewing choice with an estimated $17.4 million. However unless you were a high concept horror movie, the news was grim to disappointing for new movies. The bright light was Quarantine, which ranked second with $14.1 million. The anticipated weekend…
Read the full article »Blu-Ray

Finally, we’ve been given good reasons to go out and buy a Blu-ray player, and two of them are provided by animated films from a half-century ago. It’s taken far too long for studios to fulfill their promise of making the hi-def format something extraordinary. Until now, consumers have benefited mostly from the markedly better…
Read the full article »Mad Men
Opening in March of 1960, the outstanding AMC cable series, Mad Men, is a glorious period drama about the generation that parented the Baby Boomers. It is also an incisive analysis of the advertising business during one of its greatest growth spurts, and above all else, it is a superb analysis of the human condition achieved…
Read the full article »Penelope Cruz

“Beautiful women are invisible; we’re so dazzled by the outside that we never make it inside.” – Elegy Listen to Noah Forrest Podcast with Penelope Cruz
Read the full article »Mike Leigh Makes Me Happy (Go Lucky)
I’ve never been a particularly big fan of Mike Leigh’s work. While many cineastes worship at his altar, thoroughly engaged by his down and dirty realism tinged with blue-collar social anxieties, I found myself somewhat disengaged by his films. I distinctly remember a friend of mine recommended Naked to me, telling me it was one of…
Read the full article »Hounddog Redux
Hounddog‘s heavy baggage was wrought in large part, according to director Deborah Kampmeier, by a disgruntled “finder” who helped secure financing to get the film through post, then demanded his 5% before the film’s team even had money in hand to finish it. When I talked to Kampmeier by phone about what happened to the film…
Read the full article »Oy Chihuahua!
Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist displayed some promise with an $11.9 million debut that ranked third overall and Bill Maher’s holy screed Religulous was resolute with $3.5 million in limited wide release. However, there weren’t sufficient laughs in the $3.6 million gross of the political satire An American Carol, which marked the first wide opener…
Read the full article »Part Ten: 46… 47… 48… -30-
August 2, 1982 Redoing Nick’s side of the conversation on the phone to Elaine. Walter’s lack of interest in certain kinds of inferiority, leads him to have characters repeat themselves. Of course in the correctly woven fabric repetition can be sublime. Walter friendlier again today. When he lets an actor buddy come on for an…
Read the full article »