Joe Wright's Atonement premiered at the Venice Film festival to much acclaim, but failed to win any major awards. It went on to become one of the year's most nominated films, notably at the Golden Globes.

I think of Atonement as one of the best films of the year. It's a rare cinematic feat- a visual feast that satisfies on many levels- it's ambitious filmmaking from a talented director, has a terrific story,  with stunning visuals, and features amazing performances- especially from James McAvoy and Keira Knightley.

And I'm not the only one who thinks highly of this film.

Says Variety:

"Rarely has a book sprung so vividly to life, but also worked so enthrallingly in pure movie terms, as with “Atonement,” Brit helmer Joe Wright’s smart, dazzlingly upholstered adaptation of Ian McEwan’s celebrated 2001 novel. Period yarn, largely set in 1930s and ‘40s England, about an adolescent outburst of spite that destroys two lives and crumples a third, preserves much of the tome’s metaphysical depth and all of its emotional power. And as in Wright’s “Pride & Prejudice,” Keira Knightley -- echoed by co-thesp James McAvoy --proves every bit as magnetic as the divas of those classic mellers pic consciously references."

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The dynamic duo of Tim Burton and Johnny Depp is simply...awesome! In their latest project, they succeeded in bringing to the screen the magic and the horror of The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.

One film reviewer even went to the extreme and declared:

"Perhaps the greatest director and actor duo in film history, Burton and Depp again show us what can be achieved on the big screen."

Even Time has this to say: "Burton and Depp infuse the brilliant cold steel of Stephen Sondheim's score with a burning passion. Helena Bonham Carter and a superb supporting cast bring focused fury to this musical nightmare. It's bloody great."

Says the Hollywood Reporter: "The blood juxtaposed to the music is highly unsettling. It runs contrary to expectations. Burton pushes this gore into his audiences' faces so as to feel the madness and the destructive fury of Sweeney's obsession. Teaming with Depp, his long-time alter ego, Burton makes Sweeney a smoldering dark pit of fury and hate that consumes itself. With his sturdy acting and surprisingly good voice, Depp is a Sweeney Todd for the ages."

...but let us say the last word:

"Sweeney Todd is rare cinema that creates a world consisting of greed, love, vengeance, rivalries, obsession, evil, delicious pies and did I say it’s all wrapped up in a musical? I didn’t want this movie to end. "

Duris, regarded as one of the most exciting and talented actors today, has been a regular in Klapisch film- playing the lead roles in both The Spanish Apartment and Russian Dolls- two films highly successful at the box office. Now another collaboration.

Says european-films.net:

French director Cédric Klapisch wowed both French and international audiences with his quick-witted charmer L'auberge espagnole (The Spanish Apartment) from 2002, which introduced Romain Duris and Cécile de France to legions of new fans. The unsure student and his lesbian best friend returned for the sequel Les poupées russes (Russian Dolls), set -- though not filmed -- five years later, with all the characters hitting thirty. For his upcoming film Paris, a kaleidoscopic portrait of the French capital, Klapisch regular Romain Duris will play the pivotal role of a possibly terminally ill Parisian, while the director has also recruited some of France's finest talent to star alongside Duris, including Juliette Binoche, Albert Dupontel, François Cluzet, 2007 French Shooting Star Mélanie Laurent, Fabrice Luchini, Karin Viard and Gilles Lelouche. The film will premiere in France in February 2008.

"I've been out to LA a couple of times but, over there, the Grenouille in me always comes to the surface. I feel completely terrified, totally flummoxed, like I don't understand what the hell is going on. I've no desire at all to go back there," says the acclaimed British actor Ben Whishaw.

While many actors would do anything to become a Hollywood star, here we have someone who is, at most, reluctant to even go to Hollywood!

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His role in I'm Not There is so small that many of his fans (myself included) were simply disappointed. After playing the lead in Perfume, we expected to see him taking on more challenging roles. Perhaps we'll get that satisfaction in two of his upcoming films: Brideshead Revisited and Bright Star.

Oh and he got another film coming up: The Restraint of Beasts!

"A total of 106 leading North American film critics participated in the second indieWIRE Critics' Poll, surveying the best in film for 2007. Voting was conducted in nine categories during the first half of December. This poll was created to continue the tradition of a national survey of critics, by calling attention to the year's best -- and, in many cases, most overlooked -- films, providing a meaningful counterpoint to much of the year-end hoopla."

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The top 20 films, according to IndieWire:

1. There Will Be Blood
2. Zodiac
3. No Country for Old Men
4. Syndromes and a Century
5. 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days
6. I’m Not There
7. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
8. Colossal Youth
9. Killer of Sheep
10. Offside
11. Black Book
12. Once
13. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
14. Eastern Promises
15. I Don’t Want to Sleep Alone
16. Regular Lovers
17. The Host
18. Southland Tales
19. Into the Wild
20. Ratatouille

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The report further says: Still unseen by the general public as the year comes to a close, Paul Thomas Anderson's "There Will Be Blood" dominated indieWIRE's annual survey of more than 100 North American film critics. Set for a limited U.S. release starting next week, the exceptional fifth feature by P.T. Anderson was named best film of the year in indieWIRE's poll of 106 film critics.

One of Australia's rising star, Khan Chittenden in one of his most important films, WEST.

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What's the Movie About: Pete (Khan Chittenden) and Jerry (Nathan Phillips) are cousins and best friends, going nowhere in the west of Sydney. They are unemployed and shiftless – bored, drunk and stoned most of the time. When Jerry gets a girlfriend and a job at a fast food chicken outlet, Pete moves from selling small amounts of marijuana to selling harder drugs, supplied by an older friend Steve (Tim McCunn). Jerry’s new girlfriend Cheryl (Gillian Alexy) responds to Pete’s obvious interest; they begin an affair behind Jerry’s back. All of them are now using Pete’s free drugs.

One of the most awaited film (in my list, anyway and I guess in many film lovers) is The Kite Runner and I absolutely looked forward to seeing the review at the NY Times. To my big disappointment, the reviewer Ms. Darghis failed to impress.

"In both novel and film form, “The Kite Runner” recounts a simple yet shrewd story about that favorite American pastime: self-improvement. Amir’s childhood mistake isn’t a careless juvenile offense; it’s a human stain that must be scrubbed out through self-abnegation, confession and personal transformation. Yet, watching this film, you are left to wonder whom precisely is all this suffering for — is it for Amir? Hassan? Afghanistan? Or do Hassan and the story’s other sad children — especially those hollow-eyed boys and girls glimpsed during the preposterous climax in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan — suffer because it’s possible to package other people’s pain and turn it into a commercial diversion? It’s no surprise that for all its foreign trappings, “The Kite Runner” tells the same old comforting story. We wouldn’t have it any other way."

Having read the book and having seen the movie, I have experienced something I have not felt in years- an intense emotional roller-coaster ride and a sense of belonging. I can identify with this film and I am utterly impressed. Just like many of the readers at NY Times I needed to react and many others did too.

This comment hits the target:

"Ms. Dargis’ review is, as others said, quite off the mark. I saw the movie last night. I have visited Peshawar and I have also worked on Afghanistan. The movie is very credible and the portrayal of the characters is mostly excellent, in my view. The visual beauty of the boys' kites flying magically in the sky 'cutting' off the contestants' kites relieves the extreme tension of the boy-rape scene (which is crucial to this story) and the later violence. The sets are not banal. The scenes of Peshawar and Kabul looked like those locations then -- and today. They are what they are -- dusty poverty, irregular shaped rooftops, and decapitated animal heads in the market. The violent scene in the football stadium in the name of "Taliban justice" shows what has been widely reported to have occurred. The three respective portrayals by the child actors are authentic and very well done. I think Ms. Dargis should go see the movie again and view it from the perspective of someone who is not necessarily trying to write a provocative review. It is fine to be provocative, but one needs to balanced also."

For those who have watched the movie, it's about time you say your piece and perhaps share it here...

By the slimmest of margins! James McAvoy is our big winner in the recent tMF poll where we asked our viewers to choose the best young actor for 2007. One vote away are Ryan Gosling (Lars and the real Girl) and Sam Riley (Control). Earlier on it was Sam Riley who led the pack.

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McAvoy, who starred in a number of awesome movies this year, won for Atonement, one of the year's biggest contenders for Best Picture.The Scottish actor also made waves in a number of other high-profile movies this year, including Becoming Jane with Anne Hathaway, and Starter for 10.

The 2008 edition of the European Shooting Stars has been launched! From the European Film Promotion:

"Nine of the best young actors in Europe have been named as the SHOOTING STARS of 2008 by European Film Promotion (EFP). Chosen by a jury of prominent industry personalities from a possible 22 promising actors – each carefully identified by EFP’s member organisations – the nine SHOOTING STARS that have been named represent the best of the best. "

tMF is thrilled to feature these young talents in exclusive profiles soon, among them: Italy's Elio Germano, Romania's Anamaria Marinca, Switzerland's Joel Basman and France's Nicolas Cazalé. We've already featured the talented Andrew Garfield in our hotlist section. More coming up!

We're about to close our poll this coming weekend (Saturday, the 15th) and we have a 4-way tie! I'm sure these 4 young actors have a following, and they've been trying to keep their guys at the top. So continue voting for your favorite and invite your friends too! This is how it looks just a few minutes ago...

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It's an awesome bunch and I wouldn't mind if any of them wins! Hirsch is getting a lot of buzz in Sean Penn's Into the Wild, while Sam Riley already got some accolades for his role in Control. Of course, Ryan Gosling is well-regarded for his role in Half-Nelson and in Lars, he got another winner! Finally, James McAvoy is incredible in Atonement, and you really need to see this arthouse spectacular!

And hey, Jake Gyllenhaal is just 2 votes away!

[ See Latest Results! ]

What a shocker! I went to see the top 100 sexiest stars from Empire Online only to find some of the really really sexy stars languishing in the bottom 50! Monica Belllucci is not in the top 10??? Gael Garcia Bernal, Cillian Murphy, Heath Ledger???

The List: Angelina Jolie takes the number 1 spot as the sexiest star in Empire's latest list. But we're more interested in seeing Natalie Portman at no.2! One of the most talented young actresses today, Portman has both substance and form, talent and charm.

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Says Empire:

Sexy, but in a ladylike ‘doesn’t flash her gusset at the paparazzi’ way, Portman is the pin-up for those who like their women as smart as they are slinky. Plus, she’s beautiful enough to make even baldness hot in V For Vendetta.

Sexiest Moment : There’s no denying the appeal of pole dancing in Closer. But the moment in Attack of the Clones when the Nexu revealed some toned royal midriff was Princess Leia and the gold bikini for a new generation.

"I was a disaffected teenager growing up in New Haven, and I used to rent obscure foreign films. I was a lot of fun (laughs). And Wim’s films always caught my eye. As I realized that I was going to do this nearly impossible thing, I had a short list of directors that satisfied my sensibility- which lies somewhere between “French Lieutenant’s Woman” and “Star Wars.” You figure it out," says Gabriel Mann.

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If you're not yet familiar with the guy, then you might recall seeing him in the first two Jason Bourne movies. Or better yet, if you're into indie films, you might remember him for his role in Wim Wender's Don't Come Knocking. Mann also happens to be a former male fashion model.

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tMF favorite Keira Knightley made it known that she's not interested in another Pirates movie. Says cinematical:

"At the press junket for Atonement in Manhattan on Tuesday, one brave soul piped up during the roundtables to ask Keira Knightley if she was or was not interested in returning for a fourth Pirates of the Caribbean film. You may remember that the third one ended on that rather ambiguous note, but then sort of doubled-back with a pretty definitive, boxed-into-a-corner end-credit teaser. Knightley seemed to be ready for this question and had a very definitive answer. She quickly responded, with a tone of sadness and seriousness in her voice, “I can’t imagine doing another one. That was an amazing experience, really was, totally extraordinary, but I think three for me is probably enough.”

That's good news, actually. The first Pirates really made such an impression and people just loved it. But the next 2 sequels seem to be not at par with the original and Keira's character never really connects with the audience. She is such a terrific actress and to see her look so tired and uninterested, is simply not fair.

Brothers Ben and Casey Affleck are a study of contradiction. There seems to be no striking resemblance between the two, even the way the media looks at them. But they have been working together in various film projects from the start. While Casey seems to be the 'brooding, silent' type, Ben is the exact opposite. Hugging the limelight early on, Ben Affleck is best known not only for his roles in some amazing films, but also for being part of a number of box office failures of recent years. But let's concentrate on the younger Affleck for now...

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Casey began his acting career almost quietly. He was amazing in The Last Kiss with Zach Braff, and in Gerry with Matt Damon. But in two recent features, he was simply outstanding.

If there is any news about Ryan Gosling, expect tMF to be one of the first to put it on the headlines. After the buzz surrounding his exit from the new Peter Jackson film, The Lovely Bones, Gosling is the subject of an interview for GQ Magazine (see photo below) and an awesome article about the young actor was recently launched.

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Says Michael Giltz

"When does an artist begin to matter? When do they become someone you know you'll be following for years to come, someone you're going to watch in any movie (good or bad) to see what they're doing and what they're becoming?

For Ryan Gosling, it happened with his Oscar-nominated turn in "Half Nelson," an indie film in which he played a crack-addicted schoolteacher and did it with such style, such grace and with so much of the performance embedded in his eyes that even a fool (ie Oscar voters) could see this was the start of something wonderful. [ read complete article ]