Infidelity and vengeance intersect at the core of Malcolm Venville’s debut feature-film, “44 Inch Chest.” Expanding this weekend to New York, Washington D.C. and additional California venues, with more openings in the coming months, the film is written by the “Sexy Beast” screenwriting duo Louis Mellis and David Scinto. “44 Inch Chest” reunites “Sexy Beast” co-stars Ray Winstone and Ian McShane in a cast which includes John Hurt, Tom Wilkinson, Joanne Whalley, Stephen Dillane, and Melvil Poupaud. Steven Berkoff makes an appearance in a part which, undoubtedly, will not be spooky in the slightest.
Bob Grimm of Tucson Weekly believes “Jesus needs to step in and stop all these lame biblical films.”
Exploring themes of family and identity, the documentary “Off and Running” from director Nicole Opper has been crisscrossing North America at festival screenings for almost a year. Subtitled “An American Coming of Age Story,” the film focuses on a Brooklyn family with an inquisitive, adoptive teenaged daughter.
Dunno Y . . . Na Jaane Kyun promises Bollywood’s first gay kiss, reports The Times.
One Film Wonder: One of the most illustrious acting teachers of the 20th century, whose students are a roster of Hollywood’s greatest movie icons — James Dean, Marilyn Monroe, Montgomery Clift, Paul Newman, et al.– Lee Strasberg appeared in only 8 films as a credited cast member during a film career spanning 44 years. A foremost exponent of “Method Acting,” he co-founded the Group Theatre in 1931 and became director of the Actors Studio in 1951. In 1974, at the age of 73, he played Hyman Roth in “The Godfather: Part II” and received an Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actor. Following his unexpected success, he made several films in the decade, including “…And Justice for All,” “Boardwalk,” and “Going in Style.” But Strasberg’s delicate performance as the intelligent and honor bound Roth resonates most strongly, especially as he counsels Michael Corleone, played by former student Al Pacino, that “this is the business we’ve chosen.”
