I'm Back...

Sorry for the long absence...

To be honest, I haven't been jazzed about films lately...there's nothing playing now that makes me want to dish out several dollars to see it...

So, i'll still be posting here but, it will be for films that interest me or I've been curious about...

But, do expect reviews of these films for May and June 2008:

Prince Caspian (May 2008)
Iron Man (May 2008)
Savage Grace ( May 2008)
The Strangers (May 2008)
The Happening (June 2008)

Of course, indie films will be profiled here also...and DVD reviews also (I am determined to sit through David Lynch's Inland Empire and accurately review the ridiculous visual narrative assault--that was FUCKING BRILLIANT--one of the most underrated and little seen films of 2006. LAURA DERN WAS ROBBED OF AN OSCAR!!!!! GRRRRRRRR!!!! :( )

Also, I have my own life and writing is a major part of it so i haven't been watching much films, but have been creating my own....

But, do come back often...There will be reviews of summer films coming out this year here....just dont expect one or two a week...

TROPIC THUNDER ( 15 AUGUST 2008)

Tropic Thunder is an upcoming 2008 action comedy film directed by Ben Stiller and starring Stiller, Jack Black, and Robert Downey Jr. as a group of actors filming a Vietnam War movie when their fed-up director and writer decide to dump them in the middle of a real war. It is due 15 August 2008.

I don't know. This should be an interesting movie. It's written by Ben Stiller (Zoolander, among other films) and Justin Theroux (1/3 of the talented actors {Naomi Watts and Laura Elena Harring being the other two stars in the film} in the UNDERRATED and UNDERWATCHED David Lynch surrealistic and intense classic film Mulholland Drive (2001)). I know the laughs and satire will be there--though not always consistent throughout the movie.

However, Robert Downey Jr. in blackface? I don't care how satirical people may think that is, but in 2008 and Hollywood is still giving us Step and Fetchit/Amos and Andy faux racial hijinks?

Tropic Thunder: satire skewering stereotypes in Hollywood or mishandled and ridiculous caricatures of Blackface? We'll find out when it comes out in August.

Doomsday (2008)

The third film from Neil Marshall, director of the under-rated DOG SOLDIERS (2002) and the unexpected success hit THE DESCENT (2005), he returns with this messy homage to such sci-fi/horror/fantasy films like THE ROAD WARRIOR, ALIEN, and MAD MAX.

Basically, the film is about Eden Sinclair, a flinty female cop (RHONA MITRA) who is tasked to go in and find the human survivors of a virus that decimated most of Scotland in 2008 and has now crossed the border into LONDON, 25 years later (2033). The virus renders those who are infected as undead zombies (DAMN, can we get off the undead zombie virus as a plot point. Um, HI, Danny Boyle wore this OUT in 28 Days Later (2003), and executive produced the solid, critically ravaged, yet profound 28 Weeks Later (2007). Why are folks copying? And copying BADLY?) and London government higher ups believe that the blood of these human survivors is the key to saving London.

Nothing to say about the film: The entire cast was wasted, the writing was poor, and the attempts at a self-indulgent, "edgy" sci-fi update of such classic sci-fi films fell FLAT.

Memo to Neil Marshall: regroup, and give us unrestrained brilliance in sci-fi/horror with the sequel to THE DESCENT you are executive producing (woo hoo! Allegedly, this one will start six weeks after the end of the first film and Sarah will be forced to go BACK to the caves to investigate the species of creatures she narrowly escaped from. The new cavers will find the creatures--and an unexpected survivor from the first film. WOO HOO! JUNO is coming back to kick Sarah's ASS for leaving her to die! LOVE THIS STORYLINE IF IT HAPPENS!) and the Hugh Jackman project (supposedly) post Wolverine called DRIVE (2009/2010)

Grade: C-/NE

STOP-LOSS (2008)

Stop-loss, in the United States military, is the involuntary extension of a service member's enlistment contract in order to retain them beyond the normal end term of service (ETS) or the ceasing of a permanent change of station (PCS) move for a member still in military service.

This is basically the idea behind STOP-LOSS, the new movie out this weekend by Kimberly Peirce, the director of Boys Don't Cry (2000). In the film, Ryan Phillippe is Brandon King, a decorated Iraq war hero and Sargeant who makes a celebrated return to his hometown from his second tour of duty in Iraq.

Brandon assumes he is "getting out" and is looking forward to life as a civilian. However, as all people know, war veterans have extreme difficulty returning to "regular" life. Brandon has nightmares about a routine mission of finding insurgents in an Iraqi turning foul as members of his squad are killed or badly injured while in the line of duty; Steve Shriver (Channing Tatum) digs ditches in his front yard every night, fighting imaginary insurgents, and hasn't yet realized that he's back at home in Texas. Brandon and his fellow war buddies slowly adjust to life at home.

Yet, that ends when Brandon is sent back to Iraq for a third tour of duty and is "stop-lossed"--essentially sent back to the war without his consent. Rather than go back, Brandon attempts to find a way to fight the stop-loss rule and takes a determined trip to Washington, DC to get help from the Texas Senator (Josef Sommer, criminally under-used here) who offered to give him anything he needed now that he is at home. The film chronicles a three day journey Brandon takes with Michelle (Abbie Cornish), Steve's girlfriend and Brandon's best friend, to find a way to get out of this policy and somehow manage to live his life.

Stop-Loss fictionalizes a policy most Americans dont know anything about, yet it is a policy that has affected the lives of over 80,000 soliders since the war began over six years ago. It is Peirce's details and determination to show the murky ambiguity this policy has for soliders fighting in the war is very evident in the film.

Kimberly Peirce is in top form, as usual. The film is well written and shot. The opening scenes of Brandon's last tour of duty in Iraq are powerful, graphic, and cinematically beautiful. You can't help but feel the tension the soliders are experiencing when tracking the insurgents who shoot at them during a routine checkpoint. Also, Peirce captures the small town feel of America in Texas, where the majority of the movie was shot.

However, the performances were uneven and all over the place and took away from the film as a whole. I will say that I am not a fan of Ryan Phillippe's: save for some exceptional work in Crash (2004), Gosford Park (2001), and Breach (2007), he hasn't shown a lot of range in his choices of film roles. However, he is spot on as Brandon King. Phillippe nails the anger and confusion King has in trying to do the "right thing" for himself. Phillippe managed to show much depth and complexity as the main character. Also, relative Australian newcomer Abbie Cornish (Candy, Sommersault, and Elizabeth: The Golden Age) is one of the few real standouts here. As Michelle, she conveys the kind of quiet strength and power one would have as a young woman who is holding down the fort, waiting for her man to come back from war, knowing full well she will never have her husband because he is married to the Army. Cornish gives a restrained, yet full-bodied performance--one that really should be remembered come awards season.

Joseph Gordon-Leavitt, who has become quite the adult actor these days, gives an equally award worthy turn as Tommy Burgess, a fellow war veteran in Brandon's squad who never fully recovers from life in Iraq. His downward spiral is quick, and the viewer is left watching this ticking time-bomb of a person eventually explode. As always, Leavitt gives a great performance.

The rest of the cast: Rob Brown, Ciaran Hinds, Victor Rasuk, Mamie Gummer, Linda Emond, etc. all give fine, supporting performances.

Unfortunately, the one dark spot on this film was Channing Tatum as Steve Shriver. Woefully miscast, he was wildly uneven the entire film. It was hard for me to fully invest and believe that he was this man who was blindly devoted to being a solider. When he had clear moments of dramatic heft (the funeral scene near the end of the film), I found myself laughing at his attempts to bring forth the emotions necessary. I don't know if he hasn't had chances to flex some dramatic chops or if he can't fully commit in his performances, but he came off as ridiculously wooden and flat. It is a shame, because in the hands of someone more experienced (ala Colin Farrell, etc.), that role could have been great. But, I am sure with his upcoming roles in GI JOE (2009), The Stanford Prison Experiment (2008 TBD), Fighting (2008/TBA), Tatum will get the chance to flex. Sure he will.

Overall, STOP-LOSS is a very good film that will hopefully encourage people to do more research about this murky policy and hopefully have a better understanding of what our soliders face when coming from Iraq.


GRADE: B+

The 25 Most Important Films On Race?

I have to admit, this is a thorough list. But, I feel like there were some omissions:

Julie Dash Daughters of The Dust (1991)
Haile Gerima's Sankofa (1993)
Spike Lee's Malcolm X (they included Do The Right Thing and Bamboozled,but should have included this)
John Sayles Brother From Another Planet (sorry, but this film SHOULD be included for it's very direct and on point handling of race)

I wonder what their criteria was, or should there have been a criteria at all?

But, I am happy CRASH (2005) was not on the list.

Check the article out: 25 Most Important Films On Race

Any thoughts?

Courtesy of Entertainment Weekly....

Okay, so I'm not sure if I'll be able to see ALL of these movies, but I can tell you which ones I have seen though: No Country For Old Men, Juno, There Will Be Blood, Michael Clayton, A Mighty Heart, Eastern Promises (have it from Netflix..will be watching it this weekend), Hairspray, Gone Baby Gone, Away From Her (taught my 12th graders the Alice Munro short story this film was adapted from and its in my netflix queue), The Assassination of Jesse James, 3:10 To Yuma, and La Vie En Rose (i need to rewatch it though). I am planning to catch a few others before the end of the month, and Persepolis (which isn't on this list), is playign in theatres out here in Pittsburgh.

Any other films on the list you think I should check out on DVD? Let me know....

The 25 Movies You Need To See Before Oscar Night

Check out nominated films like ''Juno,'' ''No Country for Old Men,'' and ''Atonement''

By Dave Karger

Dave Karger

Dave Karger, a senior writer at EW, also reports on box office and other movie- related matters on NBC's ''Today''

(Ranked in order of their likelihood to be nominated)

1. No Country for Old Men

2. Atonement

3. Juno

4. Michael Clayton

5. There Will Be Blood

6. Into the Wild

7. American Gangster

8. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

9. Sweeney Todd

10. Charlie Wilson's War

11. The Kite Runner

12. Away From Her

13. Eastern Promises

14. La Vie en Rose

15. I'm Not There

16. A Mighty Heart

17. Gone Baby Gone

18. The Assassination of Jesse James...

19. Lars and the Real Girl

20. Hairspray

21. 3:10 to Yuma

22. The Savages

23. Enchanted

24. Before the Devil Knows You're Dead

25. Ratatouille

Oscar Nomination Picks

Best Picture:
There Will Be Blood 5
Juno 4
No Country For Old Men 3
The Diving Bell And The Butterfly 2
American Gangster 1

Best Director
Joel & Ethan Coen No Country For Old Men 5
Ivan Reitman 4
Paul Thomas Anderson There Will Be Blood 3
Julian Schnabel The Diving Bell And The Butterfly 2
Sarah Polley Away From Her 1

Best Actress
Julie Christie Away From Her 5
Ellen Page Juno 4
Marion Cotillard La Vie En Rose 3
Angelina Jolie A Mighty Heart 2
Jodie Foster The Brave One 1
Nicole Kidman Margot At The Wedding 1*

Best Actor
Daniel Day Lewis There Will Be Blood 5
Josh Brolin No Country For Old Men 4
George Clooney Michael Clayton 3
Ryan Gosling Lars and The Real Girl 2
Phillip Seymour Hoffman Before The Devil Knows Your Dead 1*
Denzel Washington American Gangster 1

Best Supporting Actress
Cate Blanchett I'm Not There 5
Amy Ryan Gone Baby Gone 4
Tilda Swinton Michael Clayton 3
Jennifer Jason Leigh Margot At The Wedding 2
Jennifer Garner Juno 1*
Ruby Dee American Gangster 1

Best Supporting Actor
Javier Bardem No Country For Old Men 5
Casey Affleck The Assassination of Jesse James 4
Tommy Lee Jones No Country For Old Men 3
Philip Seymour Hoffman Charlie Wilson's War 2
Ethan Hawke Before The Devil Knows Your Dead 1
JK Simmons Juno 1*

Best Adapted Screenplay
No Country For Old Men 5
There Will Be Blood 4
Atonement 3
Away From Her 2
Sweeney Todd 1

Best Original Screenplay
Juno 5
I'm Not There 4
Michael Clayton 3
Lars And The Real Girl 2
The Savages 1
Margot At The Wedding 1*

Here are my picks. The ones with stars next to them are dark horse picks...the nominations are in several hours, and these performances and films could slip in and take a spot given their buzz or star power , i.e. Margot At The Wedding was savaged by critics, but Kidman gave a ridicilously on point, severely comic turn as Margot. And, Noam Baumbach wrote and directed a, for the most part, a very good film (I loved the movie, even if it disturbed me in some places)

Let's see how this plays out in the morning. Will Ellen Page best Julie Christie at the awards? Will Jennifer Garner slip in as a Dark Horse candidate?

Will the Coen Brothers FINALLY get their just due with awards for adapted screenplay, best picture, and best director?

Will Diablo Cody bring home the gold for Juno in the best original screenplay category?

Will the awards even HAPPEN??? What do you think?

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