The Playlist  News

Mark Boal Compares Storytelling Of 'Zero Dark Thirty' To 'All The President's Men,' 'Black Hawk Down' & 'The Social Network'

Whoever orchestrated a talk on "Zero Dark Thirty" to coincide with “First Amendment Week” at L.A.’s Loyola Marymount University must have been a switched-on and frankly audacious organiser indeed. The film, described with telling accuracy by Kathryn Bigelow as &ldquo...

The Playlist  News

Ex-CIA Director Leon Panetta Approves Of 'Zero Dark Thirty,' Says Torture Was Not 'Critical Element' To Bin Laden's Capture

Kathryn Bigelow's “Zero Dark Thirty” is an absolute compendium of blink-and-you'll-miss-them acting roles, from the narratively vital (Joel Edgerton) to the completely jarring (John Barrowman, what?). One of the most essential, though, comes from James Gandolfini as then-CIA dire...

The Playlist  News

BAFTA Unveils Great Illustrated Designs For Best Picture Nominees 'Argo,' 'Les Misérables,' 'Life Of Pi,' 'Lincoln' & 'Zero Dark Thirty'

The Oscars aren't the only major awards ceremony in February that will attract movie stars and airheaded red carpet commentators in equal measure. Across the pond, the BAFTAs will hand out their trophies a couple weeks earlier, and attendees will get something nice too, just for showing up.

Women and Hollywood  News

Michael Moore: Zero Dark Thirty is a Movie About 'How We Don't Listen to Women.'

Always controversial and rarely quiet political filmmaker and author, Michael Moore, has spoken out in defense of Kathryn Bigelow’s Zero Dark Thirty.

Thompson on Hollywood  News

Michael Moore, In Defense of 'Zero Dark Thirty' - A Movie 'About How We Don't Listen to Women'

There comes a point about two-thirds of the way through 'Zero Dark Thirty' where it is clear something, or someone, on high has changed. The mood at the CIA has shifted, become subdued. It appears that the torture-approving guy who's been president for the past eight years seems to be, well, gone.

Indiewire  Reviews

Critic's Notebook: The Biggest Oscar Snub Isn't Kathryn Bigelow; It's Jafar Panahi

When the Oscar nominations were announced on Thursday morning, pundits immediately centered on one notable omission: Kathryn Bigelow. While "Zero Dark Thirty" landed nominations for Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay, Bigelow's immersive account of the hunt for Osama bin Laden clearly took a ...

The Playlist  Reviews

Review: 'Zero Dark Thirty' Is A Dense & Intense National Security Procedural

Spanning two presidential administrations and approximately eight years, “Zero Dark Thirty” is as dispassionate, clinical and grindingly thorough as an obsessed tactical procedural can get. But at two and a half hours, the hunt for Al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden is also as gripping and...

Indiewire  Reviews

Critic's Notebook: With 'Unknown Pleasures,' A German Perspective On U.S. Indie Film

Thompson on Hollywood  Reviews

'Zero Dark Thirty' Review and Torture Debate - Senate Committee Probing Bigelow and Boal's CIA Contact [UPDATED]

UPDATE: The Senate Intelligence Committee has begun a review of the contacts between "Zero Dark Thirty" director Kathryn Bigelow and writer Mark Boal and CIA officials, following the committee chairwoman's "outrage" over the film's scenes that imply "enhanced interrogations."

Thompson on Hollywood  Reviews

Best Movie Posters of 2012: Retro, Sexy, Design-y, Scary, Striking and Stylish