The Hunger Games vs The Last of the Mohicans

From the review of The Hunger Games in the NY Times: "There’s a short anxious scene in the new film “The Hunger Games” when its 16-year-old heroine, Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence), races through a deep, dark forest; falls down a hill; and rolls and rolls, only to rise up and thrust herself again into the unknown. Katniss, the lethally tough linchpin from Suzanne Collins’s trilogy and now a rather less imposing film heroine, is a teenage survivalist in a postapocalyptic take on a familiar American myth. When she runs through that forest, and even when she falls, there’s something of the American frontiersman in her, as if she were Natty Bumppo reborn and resexed. For as long as this brief scene lasts, it seems possible that Gary Ross, the unlikely and at times frustratingly ill-matched director for this brutal, unnerving story, has caught the heart-skipping pulse of Michael Mann’s “Last of the Mohicans” if not that film’s ravishing technique and propulsive energy." (See Below)



The Last of the Mohicans at the IMDb

Critics anticipating 2013 Oscar buzz

My Desert:  Critics anticipating 2013 Oscar buzz

So is director Steven Spielberg's “Lincoln” (December), says Scott Feinberg, awards blogger for The Hollywood Reporter. It's based in part on Doris Kearns Goodwin's best- selling book “Team of Rivals,” it's a period piece and it's about a real-life person, Abraham Lincoln as played by Daniel Day- Lewis — “every single thing that should bring you an Oscar,” Feinberg says.

Great Villians of Cinema

The Seattle PI: Great Villians of Cinema

In honour of St Paddy's Day, here's our picks for Hollywood's top Irish stars

Joe.ie: In honour of St Paddy's Day, here's our picks for Hollywood's top Irish stars  St Patrick's Day is a celebration of all things Irish so JOE looks at five Irish actors who are currently riding high in Hollywood.

The Method Man - At times we worry about his slightly deranged approach to getting into character but deep down we all love Daniel Day-Lewis. Luckily he resisted the urge to assassinate himself for his upcoming role as Abraham Lincoln and he'll probably pick up another roomful of awards for the film. The erratic genius shot to prominence as Christy Brown in My Left Foot and won the Oscar and every other award worth mentioning for his performance. Further success followed before he buggered off to Italy to become a cobbler. Luckily, Scorcese tempted him out of retirement for Gangs of New York and his subsequent performance in There Will Be Blood removed any hint of suspense from the Best Actor category at most of that year's award shows

DDL's Hands

I'm watching The Age of Innocence for the umpteenth time and I'm struck once again by DDL's hands. They have the longest fingers, and are beautifully formed. Look at his films again, and notice his hands. Add that grin... Wow, he is some handsome dude!!

'Emancipating Lincoln': A Pragmatic Proclamation

(Also posted at the Lincoln section) NPR: 'Emancipating Lincoln': A Pragmatic Proclamation by Harold Holzer 

Holzer offers a rethinking of the Emancipation Proclamation in his new book, Emancipating Lincoln: The Proclamation in Text, Context, and Memory.

Forget Lincoln Logs: A Tower Of Books To Honor Abe

NPR: Forget Lincoln Logs: A Tower Of Books To Honor Abe

The films that’ll be making an impact at Oscars 2013

Yahoo Movies: The films that’ll be making an impact at Oscars 2013

Related - Paul Dano in "Being Flynn"

NY Times review: Paul Weitz’s ‘Being Flynn,’ Starring Robert De Niro

Mr. Dano is a quiet, inscrutable presence, but has an odd charisma, a blend of sensitivity and bottled-up rage, that makes him an intriguing foil for Mr. De Niro, as he was for Daniel Day-Lewis in “There Will be Blood.”