rosalie is an mgm film adaptation of the 1928 stage musical of the same name .

the film was released in december 1937 .

the film follows the story of the musical , but replaces most of the broadway score with new songs by cole porter .

the story involves the romantic entanglements of a princess in disguise and a west point cadet .

rosalie ( film )

rosalie ( 1937 ) directed by w . s . van dyke • reviews , film + cast • letterboxd
looney tunes golden collection 8 - film mega pack looney tunes musical masterpieces / . . .
“the sweetest , most delightful film you will see all year . ” rod quinn , abc radio
with the headline : review / film ; a queen - sized material girl loose at the mall .
alice isaaz and kyan khojandi in a scene from rosalie blum . picture : supplied
rosalie was another film in the same style of the broadway melody films , the busby berkeley films such as gold diggers , dames , etc . , and others such as . . .
★★★★ “intriguing and tantalising . the film quickly exerts a grip on you . ” david stratton , the australian
celebrate the start of the alliance française french film festival 2016 with a screening of the enchanting and witty comedy rosalie blum . ticket - holders are invited to attend the opening night 45 minutes before the screening time * at participating cinemas . includes a glass of complimentary wine from official wine sponsor clos henri and film screening .
rosalie ' s activities would look strictly larcenous if they weren ' t also rather sweet . transplanted from west germany to the rural backwater of stuttgart , ark . , rosalie is , according to the film maker percy adlon , simply trying her best to understand , practice and master the american way .
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rosalie blum is a film in three parts . in the middle section , told from the point of view of blum’s niece , we realise that the title character is not , as it first seemed , oblivious to vincent’s presence .
the biggest hit in the 27 - year history of the alliance française french film festival , julien rappeneau’s enchanting directorial debut rosalie blum is a witty and ingeniously crafted comedy about a random encounter that has unexpected and life - changing consequences .
the big , big , production number comes at the seventy - minute mark . it ' s worth sticking with the film for .
review : rosalie blum is a sweet but far - from - sugary french comedy about three appealing misfits .
this film ' s supposed to be a fantasy , and i bet the people who hated it are the ones trying to take it literally .
with its themes of fraternity , love and the need for human connection , rosalie blum is a joy to watch .
the difficult , adventurous , happy life of rosalie sorrels : the record during her remarkable life , rosalie sorrels ' was adored by hunter s . thompson and studs terkel , was backed by jerry garcia at woodstock and an early supporter of townes van zandt .
we ' re an independent , family - owned australian film distribution company , representing films across australia and new zealand since 1965 , & the sister division of palace cinemas .
' ' rosalie goes shopping ' ' is rated pg ( ' ' parental guidance suggested ' ' ) . it has some sexual references .
also contributing to the film ' s offbeat , merrily unpredictable mood are rosalie ' s visiting parents ( erika blumberger and willy harlander ) , who hardly approve of rosalie ' s new life as a mall dweller but are soon reduced to visiting a local duck museum and buying the souvenir sweatshirts . judge reinhold , presiding over the sacred heart of the prairie church , is amusingly dumbfounded and also furtively intrigued by the confessions rosalie insists on making , all as part of her little game . he can smell her coming even when he can ' t see her , since she often has a new perfume .
★★★★★ “a small jewel of tenderness , emotion and intelligence . really clever and skillfully led from start to finish , to its great outcome , rosalie blum takes you in its arms in a kind of melancholy sweetness tinged with a touch of humour and emotion . go discover this beautiful film in theatres . ” jean - christian hay , gala
this a a cool film with eleanor powell who is visiting the united states , meets a football player and serviceman she is the daughter of a king who talks to a puppet for help .
this minute he is served by the dowdy shopkeeper , rosalie blum ( noemie lvovsky ) , vincent is struck by a powerful sense of déjà vu .
contributing greatly to the blithe , high - rolling mischief of ' ' rosalie goes shopping ' ' are songs by bob telson , one of them a prayer imploring the lord to ' ' turn my debts into debts of gratitude . ' ' in a more sharply satirical film this might be overkill , but here it ' s light as air .
julien rappeneau’s enchanting directorial debut rosalie blum is a warm , witty and impeccably performed comedy about a random encounter that has unexpected and far - reaching consequences .
julien rappeneau’s enchanting directorial debut rosalie blum is a warm , witty and impeccably performed comedy about a random encounter that has unexpected and life - changing consequences .
“a joy ! fresh and engaging . a feel - good film which combines humour and eccentric touches with surges of genuine emotion . light and life - affirming . ” boyd van hoeij , the hollywood reporter
originally to be filmed with marion davies in 1928 . the production was abruptly halted when mgm converted its studio to sound . the 1936 film incorporated footage from the unfinished 1928 production , mostly exterior shots .
i met rosalie about fifteen years after that , staying with one of those friends in saratoga springs . lena spencer , who ran the caffè lena , had provided one of the family ' s havens , and now rosalie and holly were returning the favor . i came through to play the caffè , rosalie cooked one of her amazing meals , everyone traded songs till well after midnight , and the next morning i woke up on the couch to hear her whistling as she swept the kitchen . she was a good whistler , and a great singer — the best description came from her mother , nancy stringfellow , who used to cook chicken basted in
rosalie sauce ,
so called because
it is made of wine and honey and cayenne , like my rosalie ' s voice .
we ' ve come to expect a french feelgood movie for christmas every year . this time , it ' s rosalie blum , a wistful comedy cleverly built on a chain of happy coincidences . well , they eventually turn out to be happy . watching them gradually reveal their nature to the benefit of all players is one of the film ' s major pleasures .
based on camille jourdy’s graphic novels , rosalie blum is a sweet but far - from - sugary comedy about three misfits who bring out the best in each other .
merrily exploring the american way - rosalie goes shopping , directed by percy adlon ; screenplay by mr . adlon , eleonore adlon and christopher doherty ; director of photography , bernd heinl ; edited by jean - claude piroue ; music by bob telson ; production designer , stephen lineweaver ; produced by the adlons ; released by four seasons entertainment . running time : 94 minutes . this film is rated pg .
i forgot to mention , how at the end of rosalie ' s number dancing on the different sized drums , that there was that overhead shot of maybe somewhere . . .
urltoken rosalie : eleanor powell , nelson eddy , frank morgan , edna may oliver , ray bolger , ilona massey , w . s . van dyke ii : movies & tv
though the film debuted with a rather modest 143 , 000 admissions in france in its first week , numbers are down just over 25 % in its second week , suggesting this rosalie will have gorgeously long legs . it’s already been scooped up for several international territories , including australia , and should do well with the middlebrow segment overseas who like their french films light and life - affirming but not stupid .
★★★★★ “poignant , original , full of surprises , julien rappeneau’s debut film is reminiscent of amelie in his original way to re - enchant the everyday , finding the extraordinary in its ordinary , realistic characters . the performers are all wonderful . ” valérie beck , femme actuelle
most of us , if we made it to the carnival at all , avoided some of the scarier rides , and much as we admired rosalie for taking them , we ' ll never know that feeling .
dick thorpe , playing football for west point in the big game against navy , is the hero when the game ends in a tie . rosalie , a vassar student who tells no one that she is the princess of a small country , thinks dick is conceited , but makes plans to meet him later in the year in europe . meanwhile , rosalie has been promised to prince paul in an arranged marriage . dick , who flies his own plane , lands and learns that rosalie ' s country is in chaos . dick doesn ' t know that rosalie is a princess , and thinks she ' s just a peasant . the king greets the lindbergh - type pilot and agrees to help him find the woman he loves . the couple is eventually re - united , but are separated again when the people revolt and the royal family must flee to the us . dick and rosalie meet again in the us , have a few love problems at west point , work things out , and sing of their love to each other in a huge finale .
aude is shown using a minolta x - 300s slr film camera and what is seen when looking through the viewfinder . the viewfinder displays a range of available apertures and the selected one highlighted . however , the real viewfinder shows only the selected aperture , through a window .
indeed , with its themes of the importance of altruism , forgiveness and the value of compassion , rosalie blum delivers an ever - timely reminder of the best that french cinema has to offer . it’s a joy to watch .
in ' ' rosalie goes shopping , ' ' co - written by the director and his wife , eleonore adlon , rosalie manages for a long time to coexist cheerfully with small - town bankers and shopkeepers who surely must flinch when they see her coming , with creditors who send her so many notices that even the mailman is impressed , and with a family so wholeheartedly on her wavelength that they all sit around parroting television commercials in unison ( ' ' oh , i can ' t believe the difference ! ' ' ) . then , finally , getting an extra boost from her home computer , rosalie hooks herself up with local industry and makes it into the financial big league .
based on the award - winning series of graphic novels by camille jourdy , julien rappeneau’s enchanting directorial debut rosalie blum is a warm , witty and impeccably performed comedy about a random encounter that has unexpected and far - reaching consequences .
the third and last chapter , in which rosalie finally takes center stage , ties up all of the loose ends when blum happens to make an appointment to get her hair done in vincent’s salon . rappeneau , who also wrote the adaptation , allows the film’s more emotional undercurrents to surface more clearly here as it emerges that the story’s really about the characters’ daily battle against loneliness and their very human need for a connection . refreshingly , rappeneau and the always pitch - perfect lvovsky never make rosalie into a saint or manic pixie fortysomething . quite the contrary , actually , as her backstory turns out to be rather dark , the better to tie in with the important ( if not exactly original ) message that everybody not only craves a connection but also deserves a second chance .
the film ' s star is kyan khojandi , a chunky , balding and rather hangdog figure who is now one of france ' s most popular comics . director julien rappeneau cast him after seeing his work on the canal + sketch comedy series bref , which can be sampled on youtube if you speak french .
rosalie greenspace ( marianne sagebrecht ) is a queen - sized woman with a heart to match , and she can ' t help being generous to a fault . each of the important people in rosalie ' s life seems to need something , something that person can sometimes describe right down to the brand name and list price and serial number . it just so happens that rosalie keeps a secret stash of bad credit cards and bouncing checks , toying with these things in the privacy of her bedroom as if they were illicitly satisfying - as indeed they are . using these hidden resources , she does her best to supply the computer , the crop - duster or the 16 1 / 2 - pound catfish that would warm some family member ' s heart .
but it is such a preposterous plot with ageing football star eddy falling in love with princess powell and flying half way across the world to her little country ( ruled by frank morgan and edna may oliver who seem to have wandered in from another film altogether ) , that it becomes rather tedious and feels a lot longer than its two hour running time .
he also thinks of himself as having a girlfriend even though he ' s seen little of her since she moved to paris . clearly , he needs shaking up , although this seems highly unlikely until the day he sets eyes on rosalie blum ( noemie lvovsky ) , a local shopkeeper .
rosalie craig and michelle terry will perform in becoming : part one , a piece they have written together about their memories of giving birth six months ago . having both become mothers at the end of 2016 , they will share the personal experiences which they say they are already starting to forget .
i saw it at the french film festival in sydney 2016 . it is everything i love in a film : well written , original ideas , quirky , humorous , great character development , affirming relationships , satisfactory resolution but not saccharine . each of the characters has moved on to a new place in their lives , and there is more to come . france pumps out films of very high quality with great regularity . . . . and the rom - com genre is a favourite . this one s a cut above the rest because it contains pathos without being clichéd . the plot is divided into chapters , re - telling events from the point of view of the three main characters . i love this . . . . each re - telling provides reveals which move the story along , and provide laughs .
…then returned to musicals with rosalie ( 1937 ) , a laboured production starring eddy and eleanor powell , with songs by cole porter . marie antoinette ( 1938 ) was an overlong but solid biopic about the austrian princess who became queen of france . the lavish drama was a showcase for norma shearer , though robert morley’s
it would be difficult to say where mr . adlon would be without the incomparable ms . sagebrecht , the star of his earlier films ' ' sugarbaby ' ' and ' ' bagdad cafe ' ' and the shrewd yet beatific center of this one . with her doll ' s features and her feisty , oversized body , this actress is as physically startling as she is temperamentally unique . someone else might have made rosalie more abrasive or her motives more identifiably anti - establishment , thus heightening the faint element of cultural condescension at the heart of this west german - born film maker ' s vision of desolate , merchandise - mad americana . but ms . sagebrecht is so disarming , so serenely tough and so utterly unclassifiable that her presence works real magic .
when i published a book , riding with strangers , i planned a hitchhiking tour from portland to boston and asked rosalie if she could recommend a bookstore in boise . other friends did that for me in other towns , but rosalie responded with four stores , scattered across idaho , and the suggestion that she drive me around and trade songs at the readings . it was a ridiculously generous offer and a wonderful week . we traveled her favorite roads , listened to her stories and stayed with her friends . at every reading she sang
hitchhiker in the rain ,
the song she wrote for her older son , david , who committed suicide in 1976 , and it tore the room apart .
it doesn ' t take her long to discover that vincent is stalking her . then she takes a decision that will change both their lives . she asks her niece , aude ( alice isaaz ) , to follow him and find out what he ' s up to . naturally , aude ' s friends , cecile ( sara giraudeau ) and laura ( camille rutherford ) want in on the assignment and suddenly the film takes on a screwball quality . inspector clouseau has nothing on these three .
i was surprised to see that quote — she counted more - famous writers among her fans and friends . hunter s . thompson and ken kesey were particularly close — thompson wrote the liner notes to her 1972 travelin ' lady lp , declaring ,
some of rosalie ' s songs are so close to the bone that i get nervous listening to them .
studs terkel wrote notes to another , and in a 1969 piece for cosmopolitan magazine , nat hentoff called her
an uncommonly personal and probing singer and composer
and promised ,
she ' s not well known yet , but she will be .
a film clip from the woodstock festival that year , below , shows her singing in a field , backed by jerry garcia and david bromberg . the next year , hentoff included her if i could be the rain in a list of his favorite albums .
fortunately , along with the music , rosalie had a talent for friendship .
one of the things i ' ve always found so incredible about my mother ,
shelley says ,
was that with all the challenges , her friends were always there for her . there aren ' t many people that will take in a folk singer with five children , but she had incredible friends .
if hentoff ' s prediction never quite came true , that was because rosalie ' s life included a lot more than music . after making three albums back in utah with her husband jim on guitar , including the first recorded songs by her friend utah phillips , she went eastward in 1966 for the newport folk festival , before deciding to end the marriage and strike out on her own . as she sang in
travelin ' lady
:
thirty - something vincent machot ( indelibly played by kyan khojandi ) is a hairdresser , like his father before him . life rotates around work , his overbearing mother who lives in the apartment upstairs , and a womanising cousin constantly trying to set him up . but one morning vincent experiences a powerful déjà - vu when he meets the gaze of a grocery store clerk , rosalie blum ( the fabulous noémie lvovsky ) . intrigued by this mysterious woman , he begins following her…
★★★★1 / 2 “a wistful comedy cleverly built on a chain of happy coincidences… watching them gradually reveal their nature to the benefit of all players is one of the film’s major pleasures . it’s funny , it’s melancholy and it’s sometimes both at once . much of what makes it work is in the playing . lvovsky is full of the spirit of mischief – in a benign sense – and the fun in khojandi’s performance springs from his reading of vincent’s character . isaaaz , too , has no difficulty finding the pathos in aude’s shambolic way of life . they all make terrific company . ” sandra hall , sun - herald / the sunday age
rosalie could be cranky about the path of her career , though more about the finances than the fame . she would have liked to be able to provide a better cushion for her children and not to have to worry about her health care . she couldn ' t help noticing that most of the men who had been rambling folksingers along with her in the ' 60s had younger wives taking care of them , while she had her son and daughters and didn ' t want to burden them .
thirty - something vincent machot ( indelibly played by kyan khojandi ) is a hairdresser , like his father before him . life rotates around work , his overbearing mother who lives in the apartment upstairs , and a womanising cousin constantly trying to set him up . but one morning vincent experiences a powerful déjà - vu when he meets the gaze of a grocery store clerk , rosalie blum ( the fabulous noémie lvovsky ) . intrigued by this mysterious woman , he begins a search to uncover the truth behind their connection…
it ' s rappeneau ' s script but his chief talent lies in the balance that he brings to its disparate moods and points of view . it ' s funny , it ' s melancholy and it ' s sometimes both at once . for aude , who ' s at odds with her wealthy family , life has stalled , as it has for vincent . and rosalie , too , is shadowed by events from her past . they ' re all reluctant to take the next necessary step , whatever that might be , until chance brings them together .
vincent machot knows his life by heart . he shares between his hairdressing salon , his cousin , his cat , and his too invasive mother . but life sometimes surprises even the most cautious - he meets up with rosalie blum , a mysterious and lonely woman , he is convinced to have already met her . but where ? intrigued , he decides to follow her everywhere , hoping to learn more . he did not suspect that this spinning takes him on an adventure full of surprises , where he will discover fantastic characters as endearing . one thing is certain : vincent machot ' s life will change .
the film’s first of three chapters — which mirror the three tomes of the graphic novel — centers on vincent ( khojandi ) , a shy hairdresser in a provincial french town whose overbearing mother ( mono - monikered veteran actress anemone ) lives one floor up in the same building . needy and not the type to ever actually listen , his mom asks him for lemons on a sunday so he’s forced to bike into a part of town he doesn’t normally frequent to find a corner shop that’s open . this is where vincent first spies the titular heroine ( lvovsky ) and perhaps because he has a girlfriend in paris who keeps cancelling her visits back home to see him , he becomes obsessed with blum , to the point where he obsessively ( if secretively ) starts following her around .
interviewed in 2005 for a television tribute , way out in idaho , rosalie explained she was starting concerts with a reynolds song ,
this world ,
because
things are really bad right now , and i ' ve been through what i think is rotten at least four times that i can think of – which is hopeful to me , because i made it through all those things , and i want to communicate that to other people , that even though things get really rotten , you actually can survive them , and that the world is a beautiful place , and it ' s worth doing .
rosalie sorrels died this week , at her daughter holly ' s house in reno , nevada , with her daughter shelley and son kevin at her side . she was 83 years old , and had crammed a lot of living into those years . the new york times quoted an old piece of mine in its obituary :
she traveled around the country while raising five children . she drinks strong men under the table and is the first one up in the morning , bright and cheery and planning one of her famous dinners . and she can make the noisiest barroom crowd shut up and listen when she sings .
as for the songs , some were her own , but many were by friends ; she did an album of malvina reynolds compositions , and was an early supporter of townes van zandt and jimmie dale gilmore . in particular , she sang the songs of bruce
utah
phillips , first
rock salt and nails ,
which he sang privately in her salt lake kitchen and she spread to all the other people who have done it over the years . then
if i could be the rain
and dozens more . though phillips eventually became better known than she was , for many years his reputation was as the guy who wrote rosalie ' s songs .
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rosalie was a fighter — and she had a lot to fight against . but the dark moments were balanced by her deep love of life and of the people around her . if she read this she would immediately point out that mostly she was fighting for , not against . she really did believe the world was a beautiful place , and tried to show people that beauty , onstage and off . the hard times were part of that , but in that documentary she countered a suggestion that she hadn ' t been a great success , by asking ,
what do you mean i ' m not successful ? i do what i like to do . . . i have the respect and the friendship of my peers . i live in a house my father made with his hands . i have a damn good life .
the early going establishes the picturesque small - town decor and the tone of the material , which combines humor and eccentric touches with surges of genuine emotion ( the fact belle and sebastien’s
get me away from here , i’m dying
is on the soundtrack pretty much says it all ) . but narratively , nothing much seems to be out of the ordinary until part two starts , which focuses on the twentysomething aude ( alice isaaz ) , who was just a bystander in one scene in part one . her precise connection to the story of vincent and rosalie is a joy to discover for those unfamiliar with the novels , while rappeneau and isaaz also manage to flesh out the undecided aude’s own character , even though her girlfriends ( camille rutherford , sara giraudeau ) and middle - aged roommate ( philippe rebbot ) never quite spring loose from their overly familiar quirky - best - friends / oddball - roommate molds .
rosalie always considered herself a singer more than a songwriter . her heroes were people who had what she called
the heartfelt tone
– the brazilian soprano bidu sayão , billie holiday , edith piaf , patsy cline , sam cooke , david hidalgo of los lobos . it had nothing to do with genre and everything to do with feeling . she treasured traditional folklore and made her first professional reputation singing songs she had collected in utah and idaho , but would also tell of late - night dinners cooked for count basie ' s musicians when they came through salt lake . she liked any music that related directly to people ' s lives . in later years , her performances were autobiographical one - woman shows , the songs interspersed with stories , poems , and readings from her mother ' s report from grimes creek after a hard winter or the musings of gino sky , her beat poet friend and sometime - housemate .
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leonard maltin ( whom i usually agree with ) writes :
living proof that money alone can ' t make a good movie .
true , the stars lack chemistry . . .
leonard maltin classic movie guide , copyright 2005 , 2010 . used by arrangement with penguin group ( usa ) inc .
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a metro - goldwyn - mayer release ( december 1937 ; 122 minutes ; b & w ) produced by william anthony mcguire directed by w . s . van dyke cinematography by oliver marsh art direction by cedric gibbons set design by edwin b . willis costumes by dolly tree music director : herbert stothart choreography by albertina rasch
billy gilbert ( oloff ) , reginald owen ( chancellor ) , virginia grey ( mary calahan ) , jerry colonna ( joseph ) , william demarest ( army coach ) , ilona massey ( brenda ) , tom rutherford ( prince paul ) , george zucco ( general maroff ) , clay clement ( captain banner ) , and oscar o ' shea ( mr . calahan )
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west point cadet dick thorpe falls in love with a girl , who turns out to be a princess from an european kingdom .
( based on the play by ) ( as wm . anthony mcguire ) ,
lakeith stanfield and his sorry to bother you crew reveal their most soul - crushing jobs in our freewheeling interview .
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sailor ted meets at the lonely hearts club of his friend gunny ' s wife , jenny , a girl , nora paige , and falls in love . nora wants to become a dancer on broadway . ted rescues the pekinese of . . . see full summary »
acrobat eddie marsh is in the army now . his first act is to become friendly with kathryn jones , the colonel ' s pretty daughter . their romance hits a few snags , including disapproval from her . . . see full summary »
bob gordon is staging a new broadway show , but he is short of money . he gets an offer of money by the young widow lillian , if she can dance in his new show . bert keeler , a newspaper man , . . . see full summary »
wanting a break from his overzealous fans , a famous movie star hires a hawaiian plantation owner to switch places with him for a few weeks .
johnny brett and king shaw are an unsuccessful dance team in new york . a producer discovers brett as the new partner for clare bennett , but brett , who thinks he is one of the people they lent money to gives him the name of his partner .
miss winters is a dancer with the tommy dorsey orchestra and is asked to secretly transport a prototype magnetic mine to puerto rico . she thinks that she is working for the us government , . . . see full summary »
steve raleight wants to produce a show on broadway . he finds a backer , herman whipple and a leading lady , sally lee . but caroline whipple forces steve to use a known star , not a newcomer . . . . see full summary »
chicago reporter p . j . mcneal re - opens a ten year old murder case .
an aspiring actress is offered the lead in a major new play , but discovers that her mother , a more seasoned performer , expects the same part . the situation is further complicated when they both become involved with the same man .
an incognito opera singer falls for a policeman who has been assigned to track down her brother , who has recently escaped from prison .
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metro - goldwyn - mayer studios - 10202 w . washington blvd . , culver city , california , usa
studio chief wanted newly hired cole porter to write a song for eddy similar to
rose marie
for this picture . porter turned out five versions before composing a sixth that mayer liked . porter did ' t like the version although it sold a half million copies of sheet music , and although eddy had misgivings about the song being right for him , mayer pressured him to sing it .
during the ' drum dance ' sequence there are three rows of huge drums all sounding together . the drum sticks on the front row are synchronized so that they all hit the drum at the same time . the drum sticks in the second and third rows are out of synch with the first row yet their sound is in synch .
: we ' re in america . we have to act like the americans do . besides , i like it . come on , navy !
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french actors noemi lvovsky , alice isaaz and kyan khojandi headline julien rappeneau ' s adaptation of the eponymous graphic novel .
rappeneau has assembled a top - drawer technical crew that includes costume designer isabelle pannetier ( intouchables ) , who telegraphs a lot of information about each character in her designs ; editor stan collet ( zulu ) , whose nimble cuts allow new angles and insights on the same story to emerge organically throughout ; and the director’s brother , martin rappeneau ( the tuche family ) , who composed the glowingly temperamental score .
to reveal more would only spoil the surprises of rappeneau’s ingeniously structured tale , other than to say that a series of coincidences – both hilarious and dramatic – memorably brings together a group of lost souls in a manner reminiscent of claude berri’s wonderful hunting and gathering .
* rialto cinemas newmarket : event start time listed in screening schedule . special ticket prices will apply ( see ticketing info ) .
please note that no official opening night will be held in timaru , new plymouth or berkeley cinemas takapuna , auckland .
ticket links will be added as they become available note that in arrowtown tickets are only available from the cinema .
wellington wed 17 feb 6 . 30pm e * * selling fast sat 20 feb 6 . 30pm e tue 23 feb 12 . 45pm d fri 26 feb 6 . 15pm e sun 28 feb 2 . 15pm d wed 2 mar 3 . 30pm d sun 6 mar 1 . 30pm e ( now screening in main auditorium )
auckland – rialto cinemas thu 25 feb 8 . 30pm * * selling fast sat 27 feb 6 . 20pm tue 1 mar 2 . 15pm fri 4 mar 6 . 20pm sun 6 mar 5 . 30pm thu 10 mar 4 . 30pm sun 13 mar 3 . 00pm
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classic musicals - 50 movie pack : royal wedding - second chorus - stage door cantee . . .
christian yoga classic power dvd with courtney chalfant - a musical journey with ch . . .
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hungarian rhapsody : queen live in budapest + queen : the making of a night at the op . . .
perfectly delightful movie of the 1930s golden age of musicals from the
hollywood dream factory
. totally improbable , practically laughable , mindlessly romantic plot , along with pretty weak acting - but who cares ! with all that stunning dancing by the beautiful
goddess of dance
, eleanor powell , and all that magnificent singing of the
stout - hearted
man of song , nelson eddy ! ! ! take a break from real life ! ! ! for 120 minutes , forget your cares , along with any need for realism , plausibility , or worldly problems , and simply enjoy this pure and delicious musical extravaganza from a bygone era of indulgent escapism .
nobody , but nobody , could tap dance like eleanor powell . fred astaire said that he could barely keep up with her .
fun movie , great back and forth between a few
wizard of oz
actors . the plot is very similar to
the student prince
, but in a musical who cares .
even eddy is tolerable . eleanor powell is as usual magnificent . a very lively and fun piece of enjoyable work !
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this is a directory page . britannica does not currently have an article on this topic .
the only reason this gets three and a half stars are for the songs , the jaw - dropping musical routines , and the lead stars nelson eddy and eleanor powell .
it ' s such a pity eleanor powell , who was one of the screen ' s best dancers , gave up her career on her marriage to glenn ford , as she was a sunny personality with the longest legs in musicals ( ok , until ann miller came along ! ) .
a jaw - droppingly opulent mgm musical - from the dream factory at the peak of its powers - boasting nelson eddy ' s vocals , eleanor powell ' s dancing and a clutch of new cole porter songs .
and for three - quarters of an hour , it ' s utterly charming - as soldier and football hero eddy romances incognito princess powell - then it falls off a cliff , consisting of little but gloomy back - biting and bloody awful comedy from ray bolger and the usually reliable frank morgan . it tanked at the box office and helped put pay to powell ' s hopes of being a leading lady - a shame when you see how well she handles the battle - of - the - sexes stuff early on .
eleanor powell ' s feet and cole porter ' s songs struggle valiantly but vainly against an insipid plot , an insufferable nelson eddy , and frank morgan ' s unsettling obsession with a ventriloquist dummy .
nelson eddy with another woman then jeanette macdonald feels like cheating . even if it is eleanor powell he ' s flying over the ocean to court . a singing romance lasting over two hours . way too long for such a limited plot as a princess and a cadet pilot falling in love .
the comedy really needed trimming . most of it didn ' t work . this was the first big role for stage performer ray bolger , you know the scarecrow in wizard of oz ( 1939 ) . he was supposed to be the comic relief to the serious leading guy , but most of bolger ' s comedy missed its mark . just about the only one i laughed at was king frank morgan talking to his hand - puppet . he was on form…
vincent machot knows his life by heart . he shares between his hairdressing salon , his cousin , his cat , and his too invasive mother . but life sometimes surprises even the most cautious - he . . . see full summary »
trippy indie madeline ' s madeline is the movie that lakeith stanfield and boots riley from sorry to bother you want to see the most .
following the breakdown of his marriage , a self - involved man begins to embrace fatherhood .
when is recently widowed , it is difficult to get used to his new life - this is the case of hubert jacquin , who spends most of his time in his huge apartment to depress front of his tv . one . . . see full summary »
three students of a french business school attempt to apply their academic outlines to their sex lives .
after a doctor is diagnosed with cancer , a new doctor joins him to help him treat his rural patients .
charming thirty - year - old hanna belkacem has inherited the gene from her parents : she is unable to say no . and as she is the director of human resources of a big firm such infirmity is not . . . see full summary »
stéphanie , a french architect in her early forties , has to return to her mother after loosing her job . conflicts with her mother and her siblings ensue .
mathieu has never known his father . his mother has always told him he was the fruit of a one - night - stand . one morning , in his parisian flat , he receives a call from quebec telling him his . . . see full summary »
an engaging drama about the less known aspects of the trading activity inside one of the biggest banks in the world - société générale . the movie tracks the rise and fall of anonymous . . . see full summary »
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vincent machot habite une petite ville de province . sa vie partagée entre son salon de coiffure , sa mère possessive et les obsessions sexuelles de son cousin laurent , lui semble de plus en plus morne… un dimanche , après avoir enfourché son vélo à la recherche d’une supérette ouverte , il éprouve un sentiment étrange de déjà - vu lorsqu’il croise le regard de l’épicière . où l’a - t - il déjà rencontrée ? irrésistiblement , vincent se met à suivre cette femme à travers la ville…
it would be hard to imagine a stalker any less threatening than vincent machot ( kyan khojandi ) , the shy , prematurely balding hairdresser at the centre of this whimsical french comedy .
when his manipulative , domineering mother ( anemone ) , who lives in an apartment on the floor immediately above him , guilts vincent into procuring her crab and lemon for dinner , he winds up cycling to a new neighbourhood in search of a store that is still open .
but although he feels certain he has met her before , blum assures her accidental customer that he is mistaken .
the chance encounter and surrounding mystery begins to haunts vincent to the point of obsession and he starts to follow the lonely middle - aged woman — from her shop to her house , the cinema , choir practice and even a bar .
one gets the sense , as vincent enthuses over his first japanese movie , that tailing blum has introduced him to a richer world than the one he has previously inhabited .
curious rather than frightened by his attention , she enlists the help of the lovely aude ( alice isaaz ) , who is also something of a lost soul .
part three , told from blum’s perspective , fills in many of the dots ( although the connection between blum and vincent is revealed only in the final shot . )
in a remarkably assured directorial debut , julien rappeneau draws nuanced performances from each of his key cast members .
and the elliptical narrative structure keeps audiences guessing for much longer than one might expect .
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dark matter is a 2007 american drama film and the first feature film by opera director chen shi-zheng , starring liu ye , aidan quinn and meryl streep .

it won the alfred p. sloan prize at the 2007 sundance film festival .

liu ye plays a young scientist whose rising star must confront the dark forces of politics , ego , and cultural insensitivity .

the film is based on the university of iowa shooting .

dark matter ( film )

director roland emmerich is circling a film adaptation of blake crouch’s alternate reality sci - fi novel dark matter .
dark matter by blake crouch 342 pp . crown . $ 26 . 99 .
“dark matter” has been cancelled after three seasons at syfy , variety has learned .
urltoken dark matter trailer ! a trailer for a new film called dark matter has appeared online . according to it ' s official synopsis , dark matter follows a chinese science student in the united states in the early 1990s . driven by ambition , yet unable to navigate academic politics , then , drama un - folds .
since nearly everything on the show is equally derivative , nothing stands out as egregiously bad or egregiously good . dark matter doesn ' t matter .
we’d love your help . let us know what’s wrong with this preview of dark matter by blake crouch .
meryl streep and ye liu in
dark matter
ran on : 04 - 27 - 2008 janet yang , whose parents were born in china , is the producer of & quo ; dark matter . & quo ;
sony bought the movie rights to “dark matter” in 2014 . andrea giannetti is overseeing the project for the studio .
dark matter is published by macmillan ( £12 . 99 ) . click here to buy it for £10 . 65
we need more three - dimensional leading ladies interacting on our screens , and dark matter has them in spades .
this article explores the relationship between film and international law by reference to the feature film zero dark thirty ( 2012 ) . the authors examine this film in the context of international law , while also considering related questions of genre , torture , gender and targeted killing .
yesterday evening i went to see the new film dark matter , which opened here in new york this weekend . in many ways , it’s very good , much better than i was expecting .
if only
dark matter
weren ' t based on a true story . it might have been a good movie .
“dark matter” is rated r ( under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian ) for language , some sex and a scene of violence .
like its crew , dark matter has the opportunity to potentially erase some of the sins of sci - fi ( and syfy ) series past , and become something better . whether or not it will is another matter entirely .
roland emmerich is in early negotiations with sony pictures to direct the science - fiction thriller “ dark matter , ” based on the blake crouch bestseller .
dark matter succeeds despite its derivative elements . . . because as the season progresses interesting back stories build on questions about nature , nurture and choice .
undeterred after the relatively disappointing commercial response to last summer’s independence day : resurgence , director roland emmerich is heading back to science fiction for his next film , dark matter ( it ' s not related to the tv show of the same name ) .
blake crouch ' s novel dark matter released to the masses in july , leaving us to wonder what ' s going on with the movie adaptation that ' s in development . we ' re keeping a close eye out for updates on the project , and will add whatever news breaks on the dark matter movie here .
syfy space opera dark matter caught many off - guard with just how interesting its first season became . here ' s why you should watch it . . .
* this post originally stated that a terrorist attack in khobar depicted in the zero dark thirty occurred in 1996 , six years prior to the action in the film . in fact , the film depicts an attack in khobar that happened in 2004 . we regret the error .
unlike shows burdened with such labels as “much - anticipated” , dark matter arrived on syfy under the radar , its cloak engaged and its silent running protocol fully implemented .
xing ' s mentor is the great professor jacob reiser ( aidan quinn ) . he puts xing into the cosmology group , where xing quickly develops an interest in dark matter . this stuff , a hypothetical type of matter whose presence can only be inferred , not measured , is supposed to form the organizing metaphor for the film . it ' s an obvious trick , and makes for tedious scenes , as xing stares up into the cosmos and tries to explain dark matter magic to a rather dim - witted girl at the coffee shop .
there are two ugly interrogation scenes in the opening minutes of zero dark thirty that haunt the rest of the experience , and that have come to haunt critical reception of the film itself .
it is easy to see the film as two movies crammed together , neither of them being very good .
review : guardians of the galaxy vol . 2 is marvel’s funniest film , and much braver than the original
wonder woman is currently warner bros . ’ best - reviewed superhero movie since 2008’s the dark knight . and if its early critical reception holds as more reviews are published and the movie hits theaters this week , the film has the chance of surpassing the dark knight altogether .
there is nothing wrong with taking inspiration from actual events , but it ' s a tricky business , and dark matter does no one right by sticking to the shocking conclusion .
roland emmerich is in early negotiations with sony pictures to direct the science - fiction thriller “dark matter , ” based on the blake crouch bestseller . matt tolmach is producing the movie version of “dark matter , ” which was published in july by crown publishing group . the story centers on a college physics professor in chicago with a warm family [ … ]
dark matter is madly fast - moving , made even more so by crouch’s not un - irritating habit of breaking his narrative up into single - line paragraphs . like so :
but first things first . dark matter portraits an ordinary , middle aged professor , jason dessen , having a peaceful evening with his wife and his teenage son . after his decision to m
don ' t take anything for granted in the world of dark matter . . . . . . . solve the problem , and enjoy a great read full of mystery and true love .
after enduring weeks of criticism for the zack snyder - directed superhero film
batman v superman : dawn of justice ,
warner bros . is shuffling the executive ranks in charge of its key dc comic book - based film business .
when dark matter returns next year , we’ll most certainly review it here on den of geek , so we can chew over the answers to some of its many outstanding questions together . until then .
reviewed at sundance film festival , jan . 24 , 2017 . mpaa rating : r . running time : 104 min .
the tomatometer score — based on the opinions of hundreds of film and television critics — is a trusted measurement of critical recommendation for millions of fans . it represents the percentage of professional critic reviews that are positive for a given film or television show .
the film does a fine job of displaying the contrasts between these tense , formalized chinese students and the faux populist american academics .
in case you wandered into this article thinking this had something to do with the syfy tv series of the same name , it does not . dark matter is a recent novel from wayward pines scribe blake crouch .
buttressed by outstanding , unpredictable performances and a beguiling mood of raw nerve collegiate ambition , matter develops erratically but intelligently .
the title of “dark matter , ” a melodrama set in academia , is both a scientific concept and a blunt metaphor . technically , it refers to a form of matter that makes up most of the universe but can’t be directly observed . applied to human affairs , it evokes the unconscious mind and the hidden , destructive forces within relationships .
this article contains mild to moderate book spoilers about blake crouch ' s dark matter . we ' ve put appropriate warnings throughout . ( if you haven ' t read it yet , you can purchase the book here . )
exclusive : roland emmerich is in early talks with sony pictures to direct an adaptation of the blake crouch bestseller dark matter . matt tolmach is producing the large - canvas project . crouch , also the author of the wayward pines trilogy , has another hot property in dark matter , which was published to critical acclaim by crown in july . the sci - fi thriller is about choices , paths not taken and how far we’ll go to claim the lives we dream of .
according to deadline , sony pictures are in early talks with roland emmerich to have him direct a film adaptation of blake crouch’s novel dark matter – not to be confused with the current syfy series or any of the other films that have brandished that title . while crouch’s novel was only just released in july 2016 , sony and producer matt tolmach have been circling an adaptation since 2014 , reportedly dropping $ 1 . 25 million for the preemptive rights . that is what you call industry pull ! dark matter is an intriguing science - fiction exploration of fate and the radically divergent paths of a person’s life created from the simplest of choices .
poignantly and sympathetically gets inside the confused head of an asian immigrant rarely seen in film , a grad student flummoxed by american culture and academic politics .
so , how true is it ? it was a mistake for those involved in the film to suggest that zero dark thirty is
journalistic ,
and to have touted their access to seal team members and cia field officers . no matter how remarkable their research and access , the film spills no state secrets . no movie can tell a story like this without aggressively condensing characters and events , fictionalizing dialogue , etc . boal ' s script is just 102 pages : fewer than 10 , 000 words , the length of a longish magazine article .
sony pictures got the jump on the movie rights for dark matter back in 2014 , well before the book hit shelves . they picked it up based on a 150 - page manuscript , and deadline says that matt tolmach was lined up to produce it . whether or not that ' s still the case is unknown . tolmach has a number of credits lined up as of summer 2016 , including spider - man : homecoming and the jumanji
not - a - reboot
followup starring the rock . there ' s no mention of dark matter on his imdb page right now , so it ' s unclear if he ' s still attached to the project . and the place - holder imdb page for dark matter is presently looking pretty bare .
the ballad of narayama
is a japanese film of great beauty and elegant artifice , telling a story of startling cruelty . what a space it opens…
back in the real world , david harris is reporting from the big april aps meeting on the new symmetry magazine blog symmetry breaking . in a blog entry entitled dark matter discovered ? he reports a rumor that the dama collaboration will report on wednesday that they have detected dark matter in the latest run of their experiment . this story just appears on slashdot , “slashdotting” whatever unfortunate web - server is running the symmetry breaking blog , so it is inaccessible for the moment [ i take that back , it just reappeared ] .
in the technical sense of the term , blake crouch’s “dark matter” is definitely a book . even the advance galley i just read ( in one sitting ) was printed on actual paper , with an artfully designed cover and everything . but rather like the mysterious cubelike chamber invented by the physicist jason dessen in crouch’s novel — well , let’s say by at least one version of jason and perhaps by several ; indeed , perhaps by an infinite or incalculable number of jasons — “dark matter” is a portal into other dimensions of reality .
as dark matter ’s characters don’t know their names , they give each other number designations based on the order that they awoke , and with the help of an equally amnesiac android , set off in search of the true about themselves and their ship , the raza .
else the film is a few years off yet . emmerich is said to be in early talks with sony pictures about the project , that matt tolmach is producing .
it also , and unashamedly so , appears to be very much aimed at film adaptation . some scenes go so far as to read like stage setting and direction : “the lighting is soft and unthreatening , like a movie theatre moments before the film begins . there are two straight - backed wooden chairs , and on the small table a laptop , a pitcher of water , two drinking glasses , a steel carafe , and a steaming mug that fills the room with the aroma of good coffee . the walls and ceiling are made of smoked glass . ” et cetera . and indeed crouch , known for the million - plus selling wayward pines trilogy , which was adapted by fox , has already seen film rights optioned by sony pictures for dark matter , for $ 1 . 25m .
update : there are now reports from the talk by tommaso dorigo and alexey petrov , and the slides are here . sounds like this experiment is definitely seeing a signal with yearly variation , but it’s controversial whether this is due to dark matter or something else much less interesting .
for roland emmerich , the story of dark matter might render this adaptation as one of his more grounded films . however , the veteran blockbuster director of classics such as 1996’s original independence day and 1994’s stargate , as well as more recent efforts such as 2013’s white house down and 2009’s 2012 , will be back to his world - wrecking ways soon enough . emmerich will be getting to work on a project for universal sporting a very literal title called moonfall and is also booked for historical action film maya lord . plus , despite his sequel’s anemic earnings , a third independence day film is still not off the table .
“ batman ” isn’t a comic book anymore . christopher nolan ’s “the dark knight” is a haunted film that leaps beyond its origins and becomes an engrossing tragedy . it creates characters we come to care about . that’s because of the performances , because of the direction , because of the writing , and because of the superlative technical quality of the entire production . this film , and to a lesser degree “ iron man , ” redefine the possibilities of the “comic - book movie . ”
dark matter : drama . starring liu ye , meryl streep and aidan quinn . directed by chen shi - zheng . ( r . 90 minutes . at bay area theaters . for complete movie listings and show times , and to buy tickets for select theaters , go to urltoken . )
the question of whether
enhanced interrogations
work is separate from whether they ' re moral—a distinction kathryn bigelow ' s film , but not all of its critics , understands .
screenwriter seth grahame - smith , who was set to make his directorial debut with
the flash ,
slated for 2018 , left the film in april over creative differences with the studio . warner bros . ' s next dc film ,
suicide squad ,
centering on a group of villains , recently underwent additional shooting ahead of its summer release date .
we ' ll add updates about the development of the film if and when we hear word . in the meantime , check out the book if you haven ' t already ! as a fan of stories involving alternate timelines , i found dark matter to be a great read . and i wouldn ' t hate it if blake crouch decided to write some kind of followup . if not a direct sequel , then maybe a spinoff . there are certainly enough directions it could go .
sony and tolmach have been high on dark matter since 2014 , when it made a pre - emptive $ 1 . 25 million deal for the book based on crouch’s 150 - page partial manuscript . at the time , publishing rights for north america sold to crown for more than $ 1 million .
it is stimulating to hear these ideas in a movie with an academic setting that shows genuine respect for learning . “dark matter , ” with its view of cutthroat politics and competing egos inside a university , is also laudable in its refusal to soft - pedal the viciously petty side of the academic fishbowl .
loved it ! ! ! this book is insanity in a box ! 5 stars ! believe the hype ! do not read many reviews ! if you like sci fi or want something different and can suspend disbelief read or listen to this book ! this is the audio version review ! the audio narrated by actor , jon lindstrom , is as good as it gets ! he was the perfect narrator for
dark matter
. this man was born to narrate books ! he ' s that good !
dark matter
starts out pretty simple and then very quickly it turns insane and just keeps getting cra
it ' s terrifying when you consider that every thought we have , every choice we could possibly make , creates a new world . dark matter , to be blunt , is miles and miles away from the line that marks my ‘‘comfort zone . ’’ i never , or very , very seldom , read books such as this one . but the truth is , i never read a book like dark matter before . it’s a love story , it’s a thriller , it’s a science fiction book . it’s thought - provoking , gripping , action - filled . it makes you think about life and family and what
bi didn’t really hold out much hope for dark matter on first viewing . it used a simple idea , and worked around it familiar tropes mostly from western movies , but also some well - worn sci - fi notions . an early story was a version of the magnificent seven , and then there was a zombies - in - the derelict - starship plot , and in another they needed to rely on the android to take a spacewalk to fix the ship . seen all this before ? these weren’t bad stories , though they didn’t really break away from the initial derivative feel that anyone coming to dark matter cold might rapidly assume .
cinema’s onscreen auteur of apocalyptic annihilation roland emmerich is keeping a steady backlog of film projects . while this past summer’s decades - in - the - making sequel independence day : resurgence proved to be a financially disappointing entry in the nostalgia driven film market , a prospective directorial gig might see him adapt the latest novel by blake crouch , author of the recently television - adapted wayward pines trilogy .
the management shuffle is the the latest sign that warner bros . is tweaking its approach to the franchise as it tries to ramp up competition with walt disney co . ' s marvel studios . for example , ben affleck , who played batman in the new film and directed the oscar - winning film
argo ,
was recently revealed as an executive producer for
justice league .
already ,
dark matter
has been criticized by iowa newspapers for making xing so likable , when the actual grad student he ' s based on was anything but . there is nothing wrong with taking inspiration from actual events , but it ' s a tricky business , and
dark matter
does no one right by sticking to the shocking conclusion . it ' s a shame because the alienation of xing ' s character is real enough without the violent ending , and a college campus is a great setting to examine cultural confusion . xing ' s character could have gone in any number of interesting directions . total psycho isn ' t one of them .
some [ information leading to bin laden ] came from detainees subjected to enhanced techniques , but there were many other sources as well ,
he wrote .
and , importantly , whether enhanced interrogation techniques were the only timely and effective way to obtain information from those detainees , as the film suggests , is a matter of debate that cannot and never will be definitively resolved .
the criticism is unfair , and its reading of both the film and the actual story seems willfully mistaken . torture may be morally wrong , and it may not be the best way to obtain information from detainees , but it played a role in america ' s messy , decade - long pursuit of osama bin laden , and zero dark thirty is right to portray that fact .
the burbank - based film company is giving two of its executives increased oversight of the key superhero movie franchise , which is seen as an important pillar of the time warner inc . - owned studio ' s movie strategy .
“dark matter” has been cancelled after three seasons at syfy , variety has learned . the third season finale , which aired last week , will now serve as the series finale . the series centered on an intergalactic crew who awaken on a derelict spaceship with no memories of who they are or how they got there . it starred marc bendavid , melissa o’neil , [ … ]
dark matter demonstrates just what syfy can achieve with the right creative team . it’s not like stargate or battlestar galactica , and is very much evolving to become its own independent thing . if you’ve not checked out this show i recommend you do catch it , and i’d also suggest you don’t take the variable nature of the early stories as any indication of how this show plays out .
syfy is also developing a follow - up series to the c ult classic movie “tremors” with original film star kevin bacon , and have ordered a pilot for “nightflyers , ” based on the novella by george r . r . martin .
something fundamental seems to be happening in the upper realms of the comic - book movie . “spider - man ii” ( 2004 ) may have defined the high point of the traditional film based on comic - book heroes . a movie like the new “hellboy ii” allows its director free rein for his fantastical visions . but now “iron man” and even more so “the dark knight” move the genre into deeper waters . they realize , as some comic - book readers instinctively do , that these stories touch on deep fears , traumas , fantasies and hopes . and the batman legend , with its origins in film noir , is the most fruitful one for exploration .
more spoilery description : including the mentioned kidnapping introduction above , dark matter ' s plot involves the multiverse , sending its lead character into alternate realities where events played out very differently . after he figures out what ' s happened to him following his kidnapping , jason ' s main objective is to find his way back to his original life . to say that the story gets complicated from there would be an understatement . dark matter delves just enough into the science and technology side of the story to allow the reader to understand the logic behind the multiverse . the rest is about jason getting back to his wife , and the challenges he encounters on his way . it poses a lot of interesting what - if scenarios , that add a nice layer of drama to the plot .
so dark matter is not sensible , but sensible is overrated . it is proud and joyful in its absurdity , and having a lot of fun with it too . it also might be the most helter - skelter , race - to - the - finish - line thriller you’ll read all year , with such a clever , mind - boggling final twist that sony’s adaptation could just be worth it .
blake crouch is a bestselling novelist and screenwriter . he is the author of the forthcoming novel , dark matter , for which he is writing the screenplay for sony pictures . his international - bestselling wayward pines trilogy was adapted into a television series for fox , executive produced by m . night shyamalan , that was summer 2015’s # 1 show . with chad hodge , crouch also created good behavior , the t
on rotten tomatoes , wonder woman has a 93 percent rating as of friday morning — a hugely positive number that easily surpasses batman v superman : dawn of justice ’s 28 percent , suicide squad ’s 25 percent , and man of steel ’s 55 percent . it also ranks just below christopher nolan’s the dark knight , which sits at 94 percent , and beats every film in the entire marvel cinematic universe except for the first iron man movie .
former fox executive hutch parker , who produced fox ' s upcoming superhero film
x - men : apocalypse ,
sees value in both that kind of filmmaker - driven approach and what is widely seen as marvel ' s producer - driven one .
the unraveling begins when liu innocently challenges reiser’s theories about dark matter and the big bang theory , foolishly imagining that reiser will be impressed by his originality of thought . reiser , offended by what he views as liu’s disloyalty and feeling his own career threatened by liu’s radical theories , angrily lectures him about waiting for his turn and being a team player . then he sets about sabotaging his protégé’s future . the consequences are dire .
it seems really logical ,
said jason e . squire , a film business professor at the university of southern california .
they are adjusting their internal reporting structure for it to be more efficient and — in the case of dc films — branded .
yet surely , the grace of a good tv show isn’t to dot every ‘i’ and cross each and every ‘t’ , but to tell a good story and get the audience to emotionally invest in the characters . dark matter does that rather well , and it got better at it as the season progressed . some of the characters haven’t reached their full potential yet , and their nemesis , alex rook ( wil wheaton ) , needs to be developed too .
“dark matter , ” directed by chen shi - zheng from a screenplay by billy shebar , is a movie of ideas that does an exemplary job of translating scientific speculation into layman’s language . the filmmaking style of mr . chen , an internationally renowned opera director ( still best known for his 20 - hour “peony pavilion” at lincoln center in 1999 ) , is considerably more formal than american audiences are accustomed to . and that formality keeps you at a distance .
johns is a respected comic book writer - turned executive , who was a key player in the success of dc television properties such as showrunner greg berlanti ' s
the flash
and
arrow .
johns is also co - writing the next standalone
batman
movie with ben affleck . berg , also a film producer , is known for his role in guiding movies such as
the dark knight rises ,
argo
and
american sniper
to the big screen .
the critical reception for
batman v superman
was decidedly negative , with reviewers and fans highlighting its dark and gloomy tone and questioning snyder ' s handling of the two most widely known superheros . batman v superman
grossed $ 870 million at the worldwide box - office since its march debut . yet marvel studio ' s competing film
captain america : civil war
is expected to hit the $ 1 - billion box office mark this week , less than a month after its debut in theaters .
or at least into other dimensions of media . crouch’s wayward pines trilogy became the basis for a fox television series whose pilot episode was directed by m . night shyamalan , possibly because crouch’s episodic tale about a rural idaho town that is not what it appears to be was more like a shyamalan film than anything the director has made in years . “dark matter” is surely destined for a similar fate , and as you read it on paper it inhabits a state of quantum transubstantiation , or “superposition , ” to use jason dessen’s lingo . it’s a novel right now , one that barely qualifies as beach reading because you’ll gulp it down in one afternoon , or more likely one night . but the next time you look , it will have metamorphosed into some other form .
review : winner of the alfred p . sloan prize at the 2007 sundance film festival - - an award given to films featuring scientific themes - - this hypnotic , culturally pertinent drama is based on the troubling real - life story of gang lu , a promising chinese student in t… ( more )
rose’s advice : relax . their ill - timed visit coincides with a big annual gathering , which brings a bunch of rich people over for a picnic — all of them white , except for a token asian and one other “brother” ( lakeith stanfield ) , whom audiences have seen abducted in the film’s tone - setting opening scene . the armitages’ friends also seem far more accepting of chris than he would have anticipated , though their questions leave him feeling uncomfortable , and when he presses stanfield’s character for his take on the situation , the guy snaps , uttering the unheeded warning of the film’s title .
click here to watch a video review of on my booktube channel , from beginning to bookend . to describe this book would be to distract from the elements of surprise , mystery and thrilling confusion found within its pages . dark matter is best picked up with as little knowledge of the story as possible and its events explored with the same sense of vulnerable astonishment as the protagonist , jason dessen . the pacing and structure of this novel are brilliant . events unfold in evermore enticing ways , a
the film ' s protagonist is a bright and adorable chinese physics grad student named liu xing , played gamely by liu ye . xing is a strong believer in the american dream , a pure soul who knows nothing of campus politics . he is ill equipped to deal with the actual terrain of academia .
as a long term star trek fan , i can recognise the value of discord . because , and i’m sure lots of people will disagree with me on this , that’s what made deep space nine really interesting . on all the other trek shows , the characters generally got on very well , pulling towards a common objective . that wasn’t always the case in ds9 , and it made for a much more exciting character dynamic . after a short while , dark matter started to exhibit exactly that sort of friction .
alternative universes , alternatives realities , a better or worse or a completely deferent version of yourself , and the choices that make you “you” , are the main topics that blake crouch is attempting to elaborate in his book “dark matter” . i ought to confess that blake managed to play a severe game with my mind as i’ve got to the point considering about my sanity , after losing myself into the story , the infinite of the universe and the “what if” scenarios . all in all , it was a mind blender .
matt tolmach is producing the movie version of “ dark matter , ” which was published in july by crown publishing group . the story centers on a college physics professor in chicago with a warm family life . the teacher is knocked out by a masked abductor and wakes up in a world he doesn’t know in which his wife is not his wife , his son was never born , and he’s a celebrated genius who has achieved something remarkable and impossible — his theory has become a fully - realized technology for inter - dimensional transfer .
the subsequent saudi attacks occur . daniel accepts responsibility for the failure , along with his new associate , the film ' s heroine maya . this is all in the first minutes of the movie . torture has been tried , and it has failed . it is maya then who then proposes something different . why not trick him ?
while we wait for updates about the movie , it seems only natural to consider the tv series alternative . it ' s not just because blake crouch ' s wayward pines took the tv route , earning positive reviews . dark matter seems prime to be a tv show , or at the very least , a limited series . in the book , jason visits various alternate realities , and there are others referenced that we don ' t actually get to experience with him . it ' s impossible to avoid sliders flashbacks when thinking about a tv show that centers on a guy taking a spin around the multiverse , just trying to get back to his own reality . but a dark matter tv show would not only have time to explore even more realities than what we saw in the book , but it could also explore other jasons ' perspectives , perhaps picking a few alternate jasons ( including jason - 2 ) to serve as supporting characters . or maybe breaking the story up to focus on a few jasons , and forcing the viewer to try to figure out which one to root for .
warner bros . has named executive vice president of development and production jon berg and dc comics chief creative officer geoff johns to lead dc films , a recently designated brand for company ' s movie business , according to a person familiar with the matter who was not authorized to speak publicly .
spoiler - free description : dark matter poses the question
are you happy with your life ?
as it relates to the story ' s protagonist , jason desson , an ordinary physics professor who is kidnapped by a masked man , and later wakes up to find himself in a life that ' s somewhat different than the one he had . in this reality , he ' s no longer married , and no longer has a son , and his career as a physicist is much more successful . the mystery of his circumstances unfolds from there .
and while
batman v superman
was not a commercial failure by any means , analysts have described it as a mildly disappointing start for the franchise . the $ 250 - million film was intended to set up a series of pictures including
wonder woman ,
aquaman
and the two - part
justice league .
the fact that crouch barely pretends to answer this — the jason with a wife and kid who narrates the story is the “real” one , of course ! — won’t slow you down much as you plow through “dark matter . ” but higher - order speculation about the nature of identity amid the quantum science of uncertainty is by no means new to science fiction , and i couldn’t help reflecting on the various ways genre masters less concerned with forward momentum — ursula k . le guin , neil gaiman , peter f . hamilton — have tangled with such things .
dark matter by blake crouch was a very addicting read ! it was mostly a science fiction novel with a little bit of romance and some suspense to make it a most enjoyable read . all three of those components is what i really liked about this novel . i was hooked from the very first chapter ! while the story started out really strong for me there were some portions of this novel that i just didn ' t get and it was a little hard to follow the mechanics of it all . i think that if there was less of the scien
dark matter is a book that thrills , horrifies and asks deep philosophical questions . it begins with jason , a physics professor surrounded by his beloved wife , daniela , and his teenage son , charlie , cooking supper . he steps out to meet with a long time friend , ryan , who has been awarded a prestigious prize . on his way home , jason is abducted , after which life as he knew it shatters . i found myself seeing the book through the lens of the band , the talking heads . . . their album titles , song titles and
while some have interpreted the dc executive shifts as an effort to more closely emulate the marvel decision - making model , warner bros . has always maintained its commitment to a director - driven approach that resulted in christopher nolan ' s blockbuster
dark knight
trilogy .
the film is divided into five chapters , each titled after a different element . the ethereal voices of the beijing angelic choir , singing a cappella chinese - language renditions of songs like “beautiful dreamer , ” become a kind of greek chorus underscoring the cross - cultural divide . excerpts from “tosca” and “madama butterfly” are incongruously used as explicit plot pointers .
sci - fi ' s track record on tv is probably more miss than hit in recent years , but the potential for this novel to work as a tv show really shouldn ' t be ruled out , especially if the right writer or team of writers took an interest in tackling what could be an incredibly complicated , but equally compelling tv series . just a thought . but it may all be moot , because as of now , dark matter is lined up for the movie treatment . if that changes anytime soon , we ' ll be sure to let you know .
i suppose we’re both just trying to come to terms with how horrifying infinity really is . this book made me feel tiny . it was overwhelming and scary , but oh so very gripping too . dark matter is the kind of compelling
i must know wtf is going on
book that makes you forget about everything else you had to do that day . you step into this world - this absolute mind fuck of a world that will tug at both your heart strings and your brain cells - and you don ' t want to come out until you know how it
i don’t mean that as disparagement , or mostly i don’t . “dark matter” is far too cheerful and indeed too earnest to feel cynical , even as crouch pilfers material from dozens of sources and mixmasters together multiple genres of popular fiction . this book is alternate - universe science fiction bolstered by a smidgen of theoretical physics . it’s a countdown thriller in which the hero must accomplish an impossible task in constrained circumstances to save his family . under deeper cover , it might also be a fantasy novel shaped by c . s . lewis’s “chronicles of narnia” or lev grossman’s postmodern “magicians” series .
berg and johns had already been considered part of an unofficial
brain trust
for the dc comics franchise that was also said to include snyder ; his producer - wife , deborah ; and charles roven , producer of director christopher nolan ' s
dark knight
trilogy .
these are facts . critics of these practices , and of the film , now find themselves in the curious position of arguing that torture played no role in the intelligence - gathering that led to abbottabad . this is presumably because if the opposite were true , then the hunt ' s successful outcome might lead weak minds to conclude that torture has been proved effective .
dark matter follows jason dessen , an ordinary physics professor at a small chicago college who , after being mysteriously abducted , awakens in an alternate version of the present in which he never married his wife or had his son . in this version of reality , dessen focused on his groundbreaking scientific endeavors , yielding an exceptional life with great accomplishments . despite the personal accolades in this timeline , dessen’s love for his family drives him to find a way to return to the timeline he knows . however , in signature crouch manner , the layers of intrigue slowly peel , revealing a sinister conspiracy and unfathomable truths .
what on earth can i say about this book ? i don’t even know how to describe it . i’m just going to say it was totally awesome ! ! ! it ' s an incredibly unique page - turner and i couldn ' t put it down . this was my first read by blake crouch and dark matter was literally an action packed roller coaster ride ! i was thoroughly engaged and engrossed by the story . i went into this book totally blind and had no idea of the plot . also , there were surprises along the way - - the book is unpredictable - - and i remaine
but first things first . dark matter portraits an ordinary , middle aged professor , jason dessen , having a peaceful evening with his wife and his teenage son . after his decision to meet one of his accomplished friends , who had won a prize on a scientific achievement , his life changes dramatically . during his mind - altering adventure he faces madness , danger , and choices that have to be made . but purely , he receives and realizes that “the knowledge” of our existence in the universe is both a burden and a blessing that can either improve or destroy our heathen , in so many ways , civilization .
winner of the alfred p . sloan prize at the 2007 sundance film festival - - an award given to films featuring scientific themes - - this hypnotic , culturally pertinent drama is based on the troubling real - life story of gang lu , a promising chinese student in the u . s . who , in 1991 , went down in flames , taking several innocent people with him .
in the crew of lovable chinese grad students , who like to sit in the sun and drink beer and talk about girls , like most self - respecting college dudes , one man stands as a foil to xing . zhang ming , played by tsao lei , exerts great effort to assimilate . he speaks clear english even among his chinese colleagues , goes to church , dresses up in the lab and tailors his doctoral work to support the
reiser model .
the intellectual dishonesty of ming ' s modest thesis proposal horrifies xing . as xing digs into his research on dark matter , ming supplants xing as reiser ' s pet .
stargate sg - 1 ' s joseph mallozzi and paul mullie are behind syfy ' s new series , debuting june 12th , based on their dark horse comic . the show follows the crew of a derelict spaceship who are awakened from stasis with no memories of who they are or how they got on board .
that is not the choice our nation made back in 2001 , when this story begins . the fear that contaminated our military prisons in subsequent years became a scandal . it would be very neat to conclude that it was not only wrong , but useless . zero dark thirty doesn ' t do that , nor should you .
winner of the alfred p . sloan prize at the 2007 sundance film festival - - an award given to films featuring scientific themes - - this hypnotic , culturally pertinent drama is based on the troubling real - life story of gang lu , a promising chinese student in the u . s . who , in 1991 , went down in flames , taking several innocent people with him . having completed . . . read more
blake crouch is a bestselling novelist and screenwriter . he is the author of the forthcoming novel , dark matter , for which he is writing the screenplay for sony pictures . his international - bestselling wayward pines trilogy was adapted into a television series for fox , executive produced by m . night shyamalan , that was summer 2015’s # 1 show . with chad hodge , crouch also created good behavior , the tnt television show starring michelle dockery based on his letty dobesh novellas . he has written more than a dozen novels that have been translated into over thirty languages and his short fiction has appeared in numerous publications including ellery queen and alfred hitchcock mystery magazine . crouch lives in colorado with his family .
but quinn has fun with reiser . he ' s the archetype of the good - looking , morally questionable professor , whose bright blue eyes and jocular manner - he ' s constantly trying to make xing call him jake , much to the polite student ' s horror - barely conceal a bitterly competitive spirit . after he takes the eager xing to a conference , and another scientist counsels xing to focus on the possibilities of dark matter , reiser ' s paternal gestures become unpleasant . quinn is such an able actor that it takes only a few movements , a hand placed a little too tightly on xing ' s neck , a couple of callous words at a dinner party , to establish reiser ' s fear of actual talent .
“guess who’s coming to dinner” meets “the stepford wives” in “get out , ” in which a white girl brings her black boyfriend home to meet her parents , whose superficially warm welcome masks an unthinkably dark secret . blending race - savvy satire with horror to especially potent effect , this bombshell social critique from first - time director jordan peele proves positively [ … ]
the first film from famed chinese theater and opera director chen shi - zheng sets the scene of cloistered american collegiate life beautifully . the geometric lines of the buildings , the rolling grass , the dingy grad student housing , the petty dramas of students , professors and donors and the grotesque posturing at academic conferences are instantly recognizable . unfortunately , the well - honed mise - en - scene crumples as the plot follows the events of a 1991 iowa state campus tragedy .
the key performance in the movie is by the late heath ledger , as the joker . will he become the first posthumous oscar winner since peter finch ? his joker draws power from the actual inspiration of the character in the silent classic “ the man who laughs ” ( 1928 ) . his clown ' s makeup more sloppy than before , his cackle betraying deep wounds , he seeks revenge , he claims , for the horrible punishment his father exacted on him when he was a child . in one diabolical scheme near the end of the film , he invites two ferry - loads of passengers to blow up the other before they are blown up themselves . throughout the film , he devises ingenious situations that force batman ( christian bale ) , commissioner gordon ( gary oldman ) and district attorney harvey dent ( aaron eckhart ) to make impossible ethical decisions . by the end , the whole moral foundation of the batman legend is threatened .
meryl streep ' s character , a university donor named joanna silver , provides another parental model for xing . she appears early on in the film to befriend the chinese students , taking them on field trips and offering her large house for a cocktail parties . her character often doesn ' t seem necessary , but streep ' s acting is superb : silver skirts the line between being a genuine friend to xing and indulging in orientalist stereotypes , making chinese culture one of her hobbies .
clearly , “get out” will play very differently to black and white audiences — and if the film doesn’t rile a significant contingent of the latter , it simply isn’t doing its job . but there’s something telling in the underlying anxiety that peele’s script exploits , from the opening scene ( in which an uneasy black man walking alone in a predominately white suburb recalls the fate of trayvon martin ) to the last , when the arrival of a police car suggests a near - certain turn for the worse .
in the movie the real life space physics at iowa has been transposed to cosmology at a university in utah . it remains set in the early 1990s , with protagonist liu xing recently arrived in the us from mainland china . his advisor , jacob reiser , is a cosmologist with a model called the “reiser model” which is based on cosmic strings . liu xing comes up with what he considers a breakthrough , a new model based on using superstrings to explain dark matter . this doesn’t meet with reiser’s approval , and he is failed at his dissertation defence for a bogus reason ( this is one of the ways the movie sadly departs from a realistic plot or the true story ) . the scientific advisor for the movie was david h . weinberg , a cosmologist at ohio state , and lee smolin is thanked among many others in the credits .