Animal Kingdom

Rating: 3.0/5.0

CHICAGO –There is a profound interest in impulse within the work of Australian filmmaker David Michod, whose number of features finally reaches two with his anticipated followup to “Animal Kingdom,” “The Rover.” Even his co-writing work for Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s life-crasher movie “Hesher” is indicative of a storytelling force jazzed by that which is abrupt and unexplainable, and without worry of how polarizing these weirdo choices may be.

CHICAGO – While some television fans (including myself) continue to mourn the absence of “Community” from the NBC lineup, the network has announced that they have picked up not one…not two…but ten new pilots, eight of which are listed as comedies. The list of new shows has some known names attached to them as well, including Jason Ritter and Roseanne Barr.

CHICAGO – Tuesday morning brought a great sigh of relief to movie lovers jaded by last year’s problematic Oscar nominees, which unforgivably included two major nods for the dreadful “The Blind Side.”

CHICAGO – One of the most wonderful nominations on Oscar morning this year was that of the great Jacki Weaver for the movie that most “E!”-watchers probably had never even heard of — “Animal Kingdom.” This searing crime thriller barely found an audience when it was released in art houses but should get a nice boost from the Academy and was just released on DVD last week, Jan. 18, 2011.

CHICAGO – David Fincher’s “The Social Network” leads the 2010 nominations of the Chicago Film Critics Association with eight nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Supporting Actor.

CHICAGO – The thin line between anarchy and social peace is shriveling into a microscopic blur as sentencing and incarceration become increasingly less effective as a deterrent. The human side of this perspective is explored with an artistic elegance, featuring Guy Pearce in writer/director David Michôd’s “Animal Kingdom.”

CHICAGO – The gangster movie gets a nice Freudian twist in director David Michôd’s new film, “Animal Kingdom.” This Australian import focuses on a family of bank robbers whose mother is the glue that holds their criminality together. Guy Pearce (”Memento,” “The Hurt Locker”) lends his talent as Leckie, a pursuing police officer.