Thousands of people have enjoyed his books or the full visual parables journal. Pieces of april has been my annual thanksgiving movie for the past 10 years. To mark the fifth anniversary of his passing, heres a look at some of his best pieces of writing. The movie is an enjoyable calling card that will set the stage, i suspect, for a new hedges movie made with more resources and under less time pressure, and that is a movie. Rent pieces of april 2003 starring katie holmes and patricia clarkson on dvd and bluray. The movie has a lot of sentimental value in that i can relate to some of the story. The title of five easy pieces refers not to the women its hero makes along the road, for there are only three, but to a book of piano exercises he owned as a child. Roger ebert simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Watch pieces of april movie trailers, exclusive videos, interviews from the cast, movie clips and more at. Before a concert, the orchestra members warm up by playing snatches of difficult passages from familiar scores.
If it isnt april hauling her bird from oven to oven, its. This way instead of april showing up with some new piercing, tattoo, and, god forbid, staying overnight, this way we get to show up. Maybe for me it was the character april portrayed by katie holmes or just the overall entertainment value in the movie which has playful humor, little bit of emotion, comedy, drama all combined in right balance giving you that nice movie watching experience which does not force you to skip or feel bored wanting for the movie to end. A lot has been written about eberts passing but i wanted to highlight a couple of pieces that show the range of eberts. Poignant and funny, pieces of april is an upclose look at an extraordinary day in the life of the notsoordinary burns family.
A thanksgiving family movie, dysfunctional or otherwise, needs a good ensemble cast, and hedges has a. The camera timmy is using is a modern nikon autofocus slr which has an electrically controlled selftimer that doesnt make any noise during operation. And then it flies to pieces with unmotivated scenes, inexplicable dialogue, and sudden. The guests were allowed to try out their wits with roger ebert. I agree 100% with ebert, and this movie is especially dear to me since i grew up in the john hughes suburbs of chicago and am now stuck in the 3rd world country known as south florida. Memorable quotes and exchanges from movies, tv series and more.
Countless families have heard eds ideas echoed from pulpits and in newslettersthanks to clergy and newsletter editors who subscribe to either the journal or the monthly film capsules. Peter hedges pieces of april, this years thanksgiving movie, ends prematurely and has a side plot thats a distraction and a cheat, but it. When april s mother, dad, grandmother and sister stop at the christmas shop and at the very end of the movie the sound of an old manual selftimer is inserted in the sound track. The film is shot on digital video, which gives it intimacy and a little messiness. Its a movie of corny dialogue, terrible dubbing, mediocre performances and even worse emotional. Pieces of april transcends its smallscale setting and budget with endearing performances, playful humor, and genuine sweetness, resulting in a touching holiday. Virtually the first third of the april fools takes place at a trendy party held by sharkish executive ted gunther peter lawford. The film, one of the best american films, is about the distance between that boy, practicing to become a concert pianist, and the need he feels twenty years later to disguise himself as an oilfield rigger. Pieces of april is a movie that does more than trust its audience. Saddled with a handful of sitcomy plot contrivances that leave it struggling with its own mediocrity, the films quirkiness. Roger eberts favorite thanksgiving movie of all time fark.
The result is a ranking of the best fiction movies. Its a fascinating portrayal of sibling rivalry carried to destructive proportions. Pieces of april 2003 rotten tomatoes movie trailers. Wow, i bought pieces of april on dvd and unusually for me let the film play thru the credits. The cast is very inspired, highlighting the performances of katie holmes and patricia clarkson. Now a dozen years old, pieces of april is one of the most endearing films in the. Ebert continued the show with a series of guest critics. The cotton club encore will open this years roger eberts film festival. Pieces of april is built around the tired premise of a dysfunctional familys thanksgiving gettogether, butsurpriseits fresh. Oct 24, 2003 pieces of april was a success at sundance 2003, where patricia clarkson was honored for her acting. It adds racial tension, and the bulldog detective work of a veteran police detective. Jan 14, 20 pieces of april 1012 movie clip nice april memories 2003 hd duration.
Marking hedges directorial debut, the film stars katie holmes, derek luke, sean hayes, alison pill, oliver platt and patricia clarkson. Released october 17th, 2003, pieces of april stars katie holmes, patricia clarkson, oliver platt, derek luke the pg movie has a runtime of about 1 hr 21 min, and received a score of 70 out. Pieces of april is about the danger, and the necessity, of hoping against hope in a troubled situation, of taking the risk of trying to make it work when there is ample reason to foresee failure. Firsttime director peter hedges, who cowrote the scripts. Watch pieces of april online stream full movie directv.
I feel this is also quite possibly katie holmes best role to date. The first film skips along superficially at 66 minutes. When erratic alternagirl april burns katie holmes finds out that her mother is grappling with a serious illness, she invites the entire uptight burns clan to her new york city apartment for a makeshift thanksgiving feast. If you like pieces of april you are looking for realistic, emotional and intense movies about with marijuana, neighbor, thanksgiving, road trip, reconciliation, holiday and eccentric family themes of comedy and drama genre shot in usa. It does not take much time, although you will feel as though you have been through a journey after watching it. The ice storm takes place as an early winter storm descends on connecticut, casting over thanksgiving a shroud of impending doom. As far as im concerned, this movie is a cant miss, and one of the best of the year to date. The film follows april holmes, as she attempts to prepare a thanksgiving dinner for her estranged family. Roger joseph ebert was the all time bestknown, most successful movie critic in cinema history, when one.
While her father oliver platt struggles to drive her family into the city, april an. Driving into the city are jim burns oliver platt, wife joy patricia clarkson, daughter beth alison pill, son timmy john gallagher jr. The april fools 1969 rotten tomatoes movie trailers. April burns has never been on good terms with her mother, but in a burst of goodwill shes volunteered to host her family for thanksgiving at the apartment she shares with her boyfriend. Roger joseph ebert june 18, 1942 april 4, 20 was an american movie critic. Prince, tom petty, steve winwood, jeff lynne and others while my guitar gently weeps duration. It is here that howard brubaker jack lemmon, one of gunthers.
Pieces of april is rated pg parents strongly cautioned. Chicago roger ebert had the mostwatched thumb in hollywood. Pieces of april posted on february 12, 2004 august 8, 2019 by chris thilk in media, writing fitting in with ones own family is tougher than it would seem at first glance. I was rewarded with the song you you you you you by the 6ths. Pieces of april 412 movie clip white girl problems 2003 hd duration. Ebert film fest to feature remastered cotton club, farrelly brothers. April has the wonderful turnonadime drollery found in the delivery of come on home, by everything but the girl.
Roger ebert, who died last week at 70, wasnt only a successful film critic. Pieces of april is a song written by dave loggins and performed by three dog night. Picking up the pieces is a 2000 black comedy film directed by alfonso arau and starring woody allen, david schwimmer, maria grazia cucinotta, kiefer sutherland, cheech marin, and sharon stone. A year after that films release, hedges directed his first feature, pieces of april, a sublime thanksgivingset vignette that led patricia clarkson to earn an academy award nod for her portrayal of a cancerstricken matriarch. Pieces of april is an enjoyable and very delightful thanksgiving tale. Enchanted april 1992 rotten tomatoes movie trailers. Freedomland assembles the elements for a superior thriller, but were the instructions lost when the box was opened. It begins with a compelling story about a woman whose car is hijacked with her 4yearold son inside. Casino you can either have the money and the hammer or you can walk outta here you. Ebert handpicked writers from around the world to contribute to the website. Pieces of april 2003 cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. But when she discovers that her mother patricia clarkson has a fatal form of breast cancer, she invites the clan to her place for thanksgiving. See what the critics had to say and watch the trailer.
Watch pieces of april 2003 full movie free online streaming. Like that song, which deals with petitbourgeois suffering during the holidays, this film is worth a few plays. Written over a period of three years, picked upand shut down three times before it wasfinally greenlit. Its on a thursday, a day not associated with any belief system. Pieces of april was a success at sundance 2003, where patricia clarkson was honored for her acting. Thanksgiving is not a religious or patriotic holiday, and its not hooked to any ethnic or national group. Roger ebert gave the film three out of four stars, praising its humor and quirkiness and describing it as wellintentioned in its screwy way, with. Roger joseph ebert was the alltime bestknown, most successful movie critic in cinema history. With the net so good for researching the trackartist i was surprised to find this cd as i hadnt noticed much music during the film and indeed i was right as there are a few added extras. Oct 17, 2003 quirky and rebellious april burns katie holmes lives with her boyfriend in a lowrent new york city apartment miles away from her emotionally distant family.
Previously filmed in 1935 with ann harding, enchanted april, a romantic novel by elizabeth, was remade in 1992. The oven in the apartment did not work so they had to go door to door in the building, trying to find an oven in which to cook their. At only one hour and fifteen minutes, pieces of april is very short, which is another reason to see it. To mark the fifth anniversary of his passing, heres a look at some. I decided to buy the movie pieces of april because it is a great film about a disfunctional family that has to put aside their differences to enjoy thanksgiving together. Pieces of april doesnt cover new ground and the long time conflict between mother and daughter is all wrapped up perfunctorily and in a tidy package by the end of the film. Quirky and rebellious april burns katie holmes lives with her boyfriend in a lowrent new york city apartment miles away from her emotionally distant family.
In this trailer for the 2003 film pieces of april, katie holmes plays the misfit of an otherwise normal family who attempts to make thanksgiving dinner in her grungy, new york apartment. Their teenage children have started experimenting with the same forms of escape. One of the inspirations for the movie came from a story peter hedges had heard about a group of young adults who had borrowed an apartment so they could celebrate their first thanksgiving in manhattan together. Pieces would not be an entertaining film if it werent so goddamn bad. Its a national celebration of the fact that we have survived for another year, eat turkey to observe that fact, and may, if we choose, thank the deity of our choice. June 18, 1942 april 4, 20 was an american film critic, historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. Pieces of april is a 2003 american comedydrama film written and directed by peter hedges. The movie is an enjoyable calling card that will set the stage, i suspect, for a new hedges movie made with more resources and under less time pressure, and that is a movie am looking forward to seeing. The two stars, holmes and clarkson, play apart for nearly the entire film and each is fully in. Pieces of april 212 movie clip salt and pepper 2003 hd duration. Pieces of april is a murphyslaw thanksgiving comedy in which both the meal and the movie have a hard time coming together. He was a film critic for the chicago suntimes from 1967 until his death in 20. Ebert was born on june 18, 1942 in urbana, illinois to a catholic family.