Movies & TV - March 10, 2009
Lessons of "The Class" extend beyond Paris
Don't mistake actor and writer François Bégaudeau's "The Class" (or "Entre les murs" in French) for "Head of the Class" or Mr. Kotter's cast of lovable TV misfits. No, in this film of François Bégaudeau's book -- directed by Laurence Cantet -- in which the author stars as a version of himself, Mr. Marin -- is a hard-edged look at daily life in a French classroom that reflects the changing face of the country.
Tags: François Bégaudeau, The Class, Entre les murs, Paris, Cannes, Laurence Cantet, Palm d'or, Downer

Milwaukee Buzz - Sept. 6, 2006
"400 Blows" gets ace restoration
Recently, Criterion Collection turned its attention to Francois Truffaut's 1959 "The 400 Blows," an adolescent picture that is routinely highly-ranked on lists of the greatest films ever made. The result is a pristine restoration of a classic film.
Tags: Truffaut, Criterion, 400 Blows, Cannes

Movies & TV - June 25, 2004
Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11" will make your blood boil
Conservative, liberal or lefty; it's hard to imagine that anyone -- barring rich businessmen and the moneyed Saudis hanging out at the Texas ranch -- could see this film and not be really, really teed off.
Tags: Moore, Fahrenheit 9/11, Cannes, Disney, Iraq, Bin Laden, Ghraib, Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Negroponte, Condoleeza, Saudi