Dangerous Liaisons TV series to film outside Prague from April
Czech Republic is hosting several big international films and TV series, including a Wonder prequel, produced by Julia Roberts, as the country battles to contain Covid-19 Author: Chris Evans
Published: 3 Feb 2021
Starz’ long-planned Dangerous Liaisons TV series is set to film outside Prague, from 6 April for 25 weeks.
Written and “reimagined” by
Call the Midwife writer Harriet Warner, the eight-part series will be inspired by the 18th century French novel
Les Liaisons Dangereuses, about ex-lovers Merteuil and Valmont in the court of Louis XVI – also the basis for Christopher Hampton’s 1985 stage play and Stephen Frears’ 1988
After an extraordinary year which temporarily closed cinemas, Damon Smith chooses his top 10 films of 2020 Parasite: Choi Woo-shik as Kim Ki-woo, Song Kang-ho as Kim Ki-taek, Chang Hyae-jin as Kim Chung-sook and Park So-dam as Kim Ki-jeong Damon Smith
Soul: Soul 22 (Tina Fey) and Joe (Jamie Foxx)
1. PARASITE (15, 132 mins) Thriller/Comedy/Horror/Romance. Song Kang-ho, Chang Hye-jin, Choi Woo-shik, Park So-dam, Lee Sun-kyun, Cho Yeo-jeong, Jeong Ji-so, Jung Hyeon-jun, Lee Jung-eun. Director: Bong Joon-ho.
WRITER-director Bong Joon-ho mines a mother lode of deliciously cruel intentions in his wickedly entertaining, genre-bending satire, which won Best Picture at the Academy Awards. Careening wildly from slapstick and scabrous social commentary to full-blooded horror, Parasite gleefully inhabits the cavernous divide between South Korea s haves and have-nots.
December 27, 2020
Despite having to search and watch movies differently this year, 2020 has offered a wealth of storytelling in film with independent and often-marginalized voices receiving more time to shine through limited release strategies. It’s allowed for some stunning films to receive the accolades they deserve, such as Lee Isaac Chung’s
Minari, Kelly Reichardt’s
First Cow, and Chloé Zhao’s
Nomadland. What has been even greater to discover are the superb films directed by first-time filmmakers released this year.
There’s no shortage of variety here, from coming of age stories to some of the most unsettling horror this year. Their respective debuts all have been exciting to watch and gave viewers a group of newcomers worth looking out for in the future. Here are 12 of our favorite 2020 films directed by first-time filmmakers.
“
Thank you for the days / those endless days, those sacred days you gave me” So begins the classic 1968 single by the Kinks, and Tsai Ming-Liang has an apposite poster tagline here if he needs it. But altering any one element of this immaculate comeback feature––say, putting this very track against the closing credits––would be heresy, especially when it already contains a beautiful use of diegetic music in the theme from Chaplin’s
Limelight. I was lucky enough to see his tender, spellbinding new film at BFI London’s in-person, distanced screenings, and strongly hope others are afforded that pleasure when things open again in 2021––when it will most certainly appear on TFS’s list for the second year running. –
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In a year when cinema fragmented in all directions, very few of us would have seen all the best films of 2020.
Some were high-profile Oscar contenders; others had low-key releases on one of the many streaming services.
High-profile directors Sam Mendes, Alex Gibney and, yes, even Woody Allen, delivered strong, engaging films; others came from emerging talents including Chloe Zhao, Ben Lawrence and Shannon Murphy.
So our list - compiled from the top picks of five
Herald and
Age film writers and critics - is a great guide for viewing during the holidays. And just because nothing was normal in 2020, we have gone for a top 11 and listed them alphabetically rather than in order.