Push
Release Date: February 6, 2009
Push might seem like Heroes for the big screen, but instead of the characters' powers being dictated by an eclipse, it's a clandestine government agency called "The Division" that calls the shots. The organization has toyed with the genetic makeup of the characters to engineer warriors that can see the future, move things with their minds, create new realities and kill victims without touching them. Those who don't cooperate are hunted down and killed. If the F/X are as well done and the story is as fast-paced and coherent as it appears from the trailer, this flick could put the small-screen heroes to shame.
Watchmen
Release Date: March 6, 2009
Forget Spider-Man and Superman—2009 is the year of the Watchmen. This highly anticipated film adaptation of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons's groundbreaking 1986 graphic novel is such a hot property that two studios are squabbling over who owns it, which could delay its release (perish the thought). Director Zach Snyder has copped to amping up the action and removing The Black Freighter vignettes (a pirate aside that weaves throughout the graphic novel) to cut run time, but the 20 minutes of footage we screened in October was almost reverentially faithful to the source material—a fact that leaves us hopeful that the rest of the film will receive an equally great treatment. Whether the giant squid ending makes the cut remains to be seen, but based on Dr. Manhattan's CG rendering alone, this movie will still deliver thrills for diehard fans of the novel as well as for the uninitiated.
X-Men Origins: Wolverine
Release Date: May 1, 2009
What do filmmakers do when they finish a mega-successful trilogy about mutants-turned-heroes known as the X-Men? Figure out where those mutants came from—and start with the most mysterious mutant of all, Wolverine. The trailer for this first Origins film (a Magneto-based film is also in the works) details Wolverine's tragic childhood, his experience in various wars, the slaying of his true love and his involvement in (and subsequent rebellion from) the Mutant X program. The introduction of a slew of other mutants—Gambit, Silver Fox and Deadpool among them—as well as the fight scenes between Wolverine and his nemesis, Sabretooth, are enough to make this a hotly anticipated movie for any comic fan. And Wolverine taking on a helicopter? We're so there.
Star Trek
Release Date: May 8, 2009
Director J.J. Abrams's decision to initiate a Star Trek reboot was controversial among fans; so were his casting choices (lead actor Chris Pine, in particular). But Abrams has said he hopes this origin story will appeal to more than just Trekkies. The fast-paced action of the trailer, particularly that Cloverfield-esque beast and a newly developed Spock/Kirk rivalry, promise that even if Abrams hasn't made the next Wrath of Khan, he'll at least have made something better than Final Frontier—and that's something everyone can support.
Terminator: Salvation
Release Date: May 22, 2009
In Salvation, set in post-apocalyptic 2018, John Connor leads the resistance against Skynet and its army of Terminators as they attempt to wipe out the last survivors of the human race. Thanks to his tortured portrayal of Batman, Christian Bale as John Connor would have been enough to convince us to see Salvation, the fourth installment in the Terminator franchise. The blistering human-on-robot action from the trailer is an added bonus that will no doubt have film fans lining up around the block to see how the human race survives this time.
UP
Release Date: May 29, 2009
The premise of Up, Pixar's latest offering, speaks to the limitless imagination the studio continues to tap: 78-year-old Carl, a curmudgeonly old man who wants to visit the wilds of South America, attaches thousands of balloons to his house to get there. Take an enthusiastic 8-year-old wilderness explorer along for the ride, and you've got a quirky, loveable adventure story. It may not include robot love, but we have high hopes for this digitally animated kids' flick.
Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen
Release Date: June 26, 2009
Laugh at explosion-happy Michael Bay if you must, but it's undeniable that the guy knows how to bring the fun along with the dynamite. The first Transformers flick was a great popcorn movie with incredible special effects that have helped create buzz for the next in the series, Revenge of the Fallen. Speculation is running rampant about just what the title means. (Is Megatron coming back from his watery grave?) And details on the plot are scarce. But Bay's own personal tagline seems to be go big or go home. Expect cooler robots, crazier F/X sequences and, yes, bigger (and more!) explosions. The combination will, no doubt, create lines at the megaplex for a midnight showing, whether or not Bay makes it one explosion too many.
2012
Release Date: July 10, 2009
In Roland Emmerich's upcoming film, 2012, it's the end of the world as we know it—again. From the aliens in Independence Day to a wrathful Mother Nature in The Day After Tomorrow, Emmerich has made a name for himself directing F/X-laden films about mankind's demise. 2012 is the last year in the Mayan calendar, which some believers say signals the apocalypse. Say what you will about the quality of Emmerich's films, but his effects are always topnotch—check out the flood in the trailer—and geeks will certainly line up to see how he chooses to end it all this time around, and, of course, how the survivors triumph over catastrophic forces.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Release Date: July 17, 2009
By the time Half-Blood Prince hits theaters, rabid fans will have gone two years without a film adaptation of the spectacularly successful Harry Potter book series. (Warner Brothers cited the writer's strike as the reason it pushed the film from its original November 2008 release). This action-packed sixth film marks, among other things, another major character death, the beginnings of young love and the return of Quidditch. Fans are especially focused on seeing how director David Yates creates the Inferi—corpses reanimated by a Dark Wizard's curse—in the pivotal cave scene, where Harry and Hogwart's Headmaster Albus Dumbledore fight them with fire. If the creatures are anything like Prisoner of Azkaban's creepy, soul-sucking Dementors, viewers will be in for a treat.
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
Release Date: August 7, 2009
G.I. Joe has been an action figure and the star of a cartoon series—and now the soldier will attempt to conquer the multiplex in what many assume will be the first film in a franchise. As the title suggests, Rise of the Cobra is an origin story that centers around the formation of the nefarious Cobra Organization. Stephen Sommer—who directed The Mummy and The Mummy Returns—is at the helm, so expect killer action scenes and explosions truly befitting these Real American Heroes.
Avatar
Release Date: December 18, 2009
Technology has finally caught up to James Cameron's brain, and that's reason enough to be geeked out over the release of the 3D mega-project, Avatar. The director, who had the idea for the film in 1996, couldn't begin working on it until 2007 because the technology to fulfill his vision—photo-realistic CGI renderings of people, created using motion-capture technology—simply wasn't advanced enough. The shoot was more live action than previous mo-cap films, but now thanks to a new virtual camera, Cameron can observe on a monitor how the actors' digital characters interact with the movie's digital world in real time. Avatar was originally scheduled for a May 2009 release but was pushed back to allow more time for post-production and for more theaters to convert to 3D. Here's hoping it doesn't get pushed back again.
Monday, December 29, 2008
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
The 10 best of 2008
10. Hunger
Remember what I said about emotionally positive movies in my introduction? Forget that for just a little bit. Steve McQueen's stunning dissection of the human power to choose the mental or even the spiritual over the physical is one of the most riveting films of the year. Almost dialogue-free except for a 17-minute, unbroken conversation that sets up its final act, Hunger is the story of IRA prisoners led by Bobby Sands (Michael Fassbinder) and their decision to go on a hunger strike. The first half of the film ping-pongs protagonists from a cop in the prison to one of the physically-abused inmates to eventually Bobby himself. Seemingly disjointed but stunningly photographed scenes like the cop washing the wounds on his hands (from beating prisoners) to an amazing sequence visualizing the physically violent way the inmates are cut and cleaned add resonance to Sands' decision, which takes center stage in only the final act. But McQueen isn't mythologizing Sands or hunger strikes. Hunger may not be thematically "positive," but in seeing the striking visual sensibility of one of the best directorial debuts of the year, I certainly felt something close to elation at the use of the form.
9. Let the Right One In
Speaking of debuts, Tomas Alfredson made one of the best of the year with his riveting tale of vampire in love, Let the Right One In. I mistakenly gave the film only three-and-a-half “bones” the first time I saw it. Watching it again and letting it sink in from the first viewing, it deserves four. One of the things that struck me most both times I saw Let the Right One In is the way Alfredson and his cinematographer turn their snow-covered setting into a character in their brilliant blend of adolescence and blood-lust. Who's more emotionally isolated than the awkward pre-teen? The awkward, pre-teen vampire who literally can't be close to anyone. And the isolation of puberty is amplified by a cold, snow-covered setting that forces everyone indoors. Oskar is drawn to Eli partially because she's the only other child on the playground. Their love story is one of the best of the year, a beautiful tale of how much we are willing to forgive to keep the one person (or vampire) who has ever loved us close.
8. The Visitor
Walter Vale is one of the most full-realized, believable characters of the year and it's in the way that writer/director Thomas McCarthy and actor Richard Jenkins bring him to vivid life that gives The Visitor its beating heart. The Visitor is as full of life as any film in 2008, partially because it's about a man who discovers the passion for his own in the most unusual of places - his own apartment. I hate it when people try to classify The Visitor as a movie about our nation's ignorant and stupid immigration laws. Yes, that's part of the fabric of the story, but The Visitor is a much more complex film than that. It's a beautiful, heartwarming story of a man who opens his closed heart to music, friendship, and love. When Walter plays his drum in that final scene, he does so with anger at what happened to his friend Tarek, but also as a tribute to the man who changed his life by merely being a visitor to this country.
7. The Wrestler
The Wrestler is almost more remarkable for what it's not than for what it is. A film about an over-the-hill wrestling superstar who can find no happiness or stability outside the ring - and increasingly less inside of it - it could have been a melodramatic, soapy mess. There's even yet another stripper with a heart of gold, one of the most overdone clichés in movie history. But Darren Aronofsky, Mickey Rourke, and Marisa Tomei take the stereotypes and make them genuine again. The physical and emotional pain of Randy "The Ram" Robinson feels completely real in every single scene of The Wrestler. Rourke has been praised for giving one of those soul-baring, physically demanding performances that you only see every few years, but it's a part of the realism that Aronofsky is going for in the entire piece. Even the emotional confrontation with his estranged daughter, an underrated Evan Rachel Wood, which would have been pure
6. Happy-Go-Lucky
I can't shake Poppy. I think about her back story, what happens to her in Happy-Go-Lucky, and I wonder what she's up to now. Maybe she's been so memorable in part because I think she's been so miscategorized by people instantly turned off to a character whose main goal in life seems to be to try to make everyone happy. But Poppy is not naive. She's not blissful in ignorance. That's a misreading of the film. When she encounters the abuse of one of her young students, she doesn't ignore it. She doesn't believe in blind love with her new beau. She even knows that Scott, her sometimes violent driving instructor, is a little crazy. Like Walter and Randy, Poppy is fully three-dimensional and, in bringing her to life, Sally Hawkins gives the most memorable performance of the year. Happy-Go-Lucky is a hard movie to define. It has its comedic moments but also goes to some dark places. And what's the message of Mike Leigh's movie? I'm not sure there is one. I think it's just a classic character study and the one this year
5. Rachel Getting Married
Jonathan Demme's best film since Silence of the Lambs is one of his most personal. Surrounded by musicians, multi-cultural artists, and good friends, Rachel Getting Married is like Demme's dream wedding. How better for a filmmaker to capture what thematically needs to be an overwhelming declaration of love than to do so with music he loves (it's no coincidence that the groom sings Neil Young) and people he honestly cares about? Into this atmosphere of overpowering warmth comes a woman who can no longer feel love. She doesn't even think she's worthy of God's love. Hathaway's award-winning portrayal of Kym, the deeply damaged sister of the titular Rachel, provides the perfect counter-balance to the cinematic wedding of the decade, but the entire ensemble excels in Demme's creatively rewarding environment. Rachel Getting Married is one of the most unique movies of 2008 because it's filled with dichotomies. Slowly paced yet riveting. Painfully emotional yet not melodramatic. Loving and filled with self-loathing. And brilliant in every scene.
4. Slumdog Millionaire
When I was writing the introduction to this piece, I was looking for a word other than "triumph" to describe Slumdog Millionaire but nothing seems nearly as appropriate. Danny Boyle's best film is about the human will's ability to triumph over any kind of adversity. It's turned into the sleeper hit of the year because of its power to inspire every audience that sees it. Don't trust anyone who doesn't leave the theater for Slumdog Millionaire with a smile on their face. Simon Beaufoy's Oscar-worthy screenplay distills a book full of what were basically short stories into a study about the importance of life experience over purely intellectual pursuit. And with Boyle's masterful direction, they turn the story of a lucky young man on a crash course with destiny into an inspirational film that everyone can relate to around the world. We'd all like to think that the ups and downs of our life have an end-goal and that, even though we may not know every answer on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, our life experience has led us to where we are for a reason. Slumdog Millionaire is one of the best films of 2008 because it takes the amazing and makes it relatably inspirational.
3. Milk
Speaking of inspirational, just as you shouldn't trust anyone who's not smiling at the end of Slumdog Millionaire, stay away from anyone unmoved by the best film of Gus Van Sant's career and the best performance of Sean Penn's. Milk is a masterpiece. It's easy to write a movie about a martyr and, in lesser hands, that's exactly what Milk would have been. But Harvey himself would hate a movie that turned him into a martyr, so Van Sant and should-be-Oscar-winning writer Dustin Lance Black did something a lot more complicated and made a movie about a movement. Milk is a movie about the painful steps that the homosexual community has had to make just to be seen as equal. Black and Van Sant film every element of Harvey Milk's life in that context. So, we see the impact of his drive for gay rights on his lovers, most notably in performances by James Franco and Diego Luna. We see him run repeatedly for office, picking himself up and trying again when he loses. And we see the impact of Milk's movement on the damaged soul that would take this inspirational man's life because he couldn't get a grip on his own in Josh Brolin’s incredible portrayal of Dan White. As 2008 has painfully taught us, the gay rights movement is far from over, but no film has ever captured the importance of the continued struggle as vibrantly or brilliantly as Milk.
2. The Dark Knight
What more is there to say about The Dark Knight? Is it the best superhero movie ever made? There's no contest. Seen outside of the blurry haze of the summer movie season, The Dark Knight looks even more accomplished than it did earlier this year. So much has been written about Heath Ledger's riveting portrayal of The Joker - and I'm certainly a part of the chorus calling for him to win Best Supporting Actor - but he's just one piece of the amazing puzzle that director Christopher Nolan put together for The Dark Knight. It's one of the most technically accomplished films in YEARS from Wally Pfister's gorgeous use of shadow and light in his award-worthy cinematography to the spectacular score by James Newton Howard and Hans Zimmer to the editing, costume design, etc. Leave Ledger's performance aside and The Dark Knight would still make this list. Perfectly conceived, paced, and executed, The Dark Knight not only raises the bar on superhero movies - that's a given - but it also raises the bar on what we should expect from our entertainment.
1. Wall-E
Believe it or not, even a critic as cynical as I am is really just looking for that theatrical experience that transcends what we do. The movies that I find most notable are almost always the ones that simply make me forget about the review I inevitably have to write. It's the rare film that a critic can just let wash over them and take them away from their profession. Most of us are sitting there in the dark taking notes, trying to grab quotes or ideas for our inevitable review. But when a movie can make a critic stop pre-planning their review and just enjoy the experience, well, that's rare indeed. Pixar has that power and never more so than in their best film, the masterpiece that is Wall-E. Director Andrew Stanton and the team at Pixar proved yet again that they are filmmakers truly willing to take the biggest risks that reap the biggest rewards. A movie with almost no dialogue, references to Hello Dolly, and set in the overdone genre of science fiction? Wall-E was a HUGE risk. They swung for the fences and they hit a home run for the ages, a movie that people will be watching for generations to come. It's one of the few films from 2008 that I can guarantee you will last throughout the years. The little robot that could is the star of not just one of the best movies of the year, but one of the best of the decade. 2008 may not have been a good year, but any that gives us a movie as treasured as Wall-E isn’t half-bad either.
Remember what I said about emotionally positive movies in my introduction? Forget that for just a little bit. Steve McQueen's stunning dissection of the human power to choose the mental or even the spiritual over the physical is one of the most riveting films of the year. Almost dialogue-free except for a 17-minute, unbroken conversation that sets up its final act, Hunger is the story of IRA prisoners led by Bobby Sands (Michael Fassbinder) and their decision to go on a hunger strike. The first half of the film ping-pongs protagonists from a cop in the prison to one of the physically-abused inmates to eventually Bobby himself. Seemingly disjointed but stunningly photographed scenes like the cop washing the wounds on his hands (from beating prisoners) to an amazing sequence visualizing the physically violent way the inmates are cut and cleaned add resonance to Sands' decision, which takes center stage in only the final act. But McQueen isn't mythologizing Sands or hunger strikes. Hunger may not be thematically "positive," but in seeing the striking visual sensibility of one of the best directorial debuts of the year, I certainly felt something close to elation at the use of the form.
9. Let the Right One In
Speaking of debuts, Tomas Alfredson made one of the best of the year with his riveting tale of vampire in love, Let the Right One In. I mistakenly gave the film only three-and-a-half “bones” the first time I saw it. Watching it again and letting it sink in from the first viewing, it deserves four. One of the things that struck me most both times I saw Let the Right One In is the way Alfredson and his cinematographer turn their snow-covered setting into a character in their brilliant blend of adolescence and blood-lust. Who's more emotionally isolated than the awkward pre-teen? The awkward, pre-teen vampire who literally can't be close to anyone. And the isolation of puberty is amplified by a cold, snow-covered setting that forces everyone indoors. Oskar is drawn to Eli partially because she's the only other child on the playground. Their love story is one of the best of the year, a beautiful tale of how much we are willing to forgive to keep the one person (or vampire) who has ever loved us close.
8. The Visitor
Walter Vale is one of the most full-realized, believable characters of the year and it's in the way that writer/director Thomas McCarthy and actor Richard Jenkins bring him to vivid life that gives The Visitor its beating heart. The Visitor is as full of life as any film in 2008, partially because it's about a man who discovers the passion for his own in the most unusual of places - his own apartment. I hate it when people try to classify The Visitor as a movie about our nation's ignorant and stupid immigration laws. Yes, that's part of the fabric of the story, but The Visitor is a much more complex film than that. It's a beautiful, heartwarming story of a man who opens his closed heart to music, friendship, and love. When Walter plays his drum in that final scene, he does so with anger at what happened to his friend Tarek, but also as a tribute to the man who changed his life by merely being a visitor to this country.
7. The Wrestler
The Wrestler is almost more remarkable for what it's not than for what it is. A film about an over-the-hill wrestling superstar who can find no happiness or stability outside the ring - and increasingly less inside of it - it could have been a melodramatic, soapy mess. There's even yet another stripper with a heart of gold, one of the most overdone clichés in movie history. But Darren Aronofsky, Mickey Rourke, and Marisa Tomei take the stereotypes and make them genuine again. The physical and emotional pain of Randy "The Ram" Robinson feels completely real in every single scene of The Wrestler. Rourke has been praised for giving one of those soul-baring, physically demanding performances that you only see every few years, but it's a part of the realism that Aronofsky is going for in the entire piece. Even the emotional confrontation with his estranged daughter, an underrated Evan Rachel Wood, which would have been pure
6. Happy-Go-Lucky
I can't shake Poppy. I think about her back story, what happens to her in Happy-Go-Lucky, and I wonder what she's up to now. Maybe she's been so memorable in part because I think she's been so miscategorized by people instantly turned off to a character whose main goal in life seems to be to try to make everyone happy. But Poppy is not naive. She's not blissful in ignorance. That's a misreading of the film. When she encounters the abuse of one of her young students, she doesn't ignore it. She doesn't believe in blind love with her new beau. She even knows that Scott, her sometimes violent driving instructor, is a little crazy. Like Walter and Randy, Poppy is fully three-dimensional and, in bringing her to life, Sally Hawkins gives the most memorable performance of the year. Happy-Go-Lucky is a hard movie to define. It has its comedic moments but also goes to some dark places. And what's the message of Mike Leigh's movie? I'm not sure there is one. I think it's just a classic character study and the one this year
5. Rachel Getting Married
Jonathan Demme's best film since Silence of the Lambs is one of his most personal. Surrounded by musicians, multi-cultural artists, and good friends, Rachel Getting Married is like Demme's dream wedding. How better for a filmmaker to capture what thematically needs to be an overwhelming declaration of love than to do so with music he loves (it's no coincidence that the groom sings Neil Young) and people he honestly cares about? Into this atmosphere of overpowering warmth comes a woman who can no longer feel love. She doesn't even think she's worthy of God's love. Hathaway's award-winning portrayal of Kym, the deeply damaged sister of the titular Rachel, provides the perfect counter-balance to the cinematic wedding of the decade, but the entire ensemble excels in Demme's creatively rewarding environment. Rachel Getting Married is one of the most unique movies of 2008 because it's filled with dichotomies. Slowly paced yet riveting. Painfully emotional yet not melodramatic. Loving and filled with self-loathing. And brilliant in every scene.
4. Slumdog Millionaire
When I was writing the introduction to this piece, I was looking for a word other than "triumph" to describe Slumdog Millionaire but nothing seems nearly as appropriate. Danny Boyle's best film is about the human will's ability to triumph over any kind of adversity. It's turned into the sleeper hit of the year because of its power to inspire every audience that sees it. Don't trust anyone who doesn't leave the theater for Slumdog Millionaire with a smile on their face. Simon Beaufoy's Oscar-worthy screenplay distills a book full of what were basically short stories into a study about the importance of life experience over purely intellectual pursuit. And with Boyle's masterful direction, they turn the story of a lucky young man on a crash course with destiny into an inspirational film that everyone can relate to around the world. We'd all like to think that the ups and downs of our life have an end-goal and that, even though we may not know every answer on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, our life experience has led us to where we are for a reason. Slumdog Millionaire is one of the best films of 2008 because it takes the amazing and makes it relatably inspirational.
3. Milk
Speaking of inspirational, just as you shouldn't trust anyone who's not smiling at the end of Slumdog Millionaire, stay away from anyone unmoved by the best film of Gus Van Sant's career and the best performance of Sean Penn's. Milk is a masterpiece. It's easy to write a movie about a martyr and, in lesser hands, that's exactly what Milk would have been. But Harvey himself would hate a movie that turned him into a martyr, so Van Sant and should-be-Oscar-winning writer Dustin Lance Black did something a lot more complicated and made a movie about a movement. Milk is a movie about the painful steps that the homosexual community has had to make just to be seen as equal. Black and Van Sant film every element of Harvey Milk's life in that context. So, we see the impact of his drive for gay rights on his lovers, most notably in performances by James Franco and Diego Luna. We see him run repeatedly for office, picking himself up and trying again when he loses. And we see the impact of Milk's movement on the damaged soul that would take this inspirational man's life because he couldn't get a grip on his own in Josh Brolin’s incredible portrayal of Dan White. As 2008 has painfully taught us, the gay rights movement is far from over, but no film has ever captured the importance of the continued struggle as vibrantly or brilliantly as Milk.
2. The Dark Knight
What more is there to say about The Dark Knight? Is it the best superhero movie ever made? There's no contest. Seen outside of the blurry haze of the summer movie season, The Dark Knight looks even more accomplished than it did earlier this year. So much has been written about Heath Ledger's riveting portrayal of The Joker - and I'm certainly a part of the chorus calling for him to win Best Supporting Actor - but he's just one piece of the amazing puzzle that director Christopher Nolan put together for The Dark Knight. It's one of the most technically accomplished films in YEARS from Wally Pfister's gorgeous use of shadow and light in his award-worthy cinematography to the spectacular score by James Newton Howard and Hans Zimmer to the editing, costume design, etc. Leave Ledger's performance aside and The Dark Knight would still make this list. Perfectly conceived, paced, and executed, The Dark Knight not only raises the bar on superhero movies - that's a given - but it also raises the bar on what we should expect from our entertainment.
1. Wall-E
Believe it or not, even a critic as cynical as I am is really just looking for that theatrical experience that transcends what we do. The movies that I find most notable are almost always the ones that simply make me forget about the review I inevitably have to write. It's the rare film that a critic can just let wash over them and take them away from their profession. Most of us are sitting there in the dark taking notes, trying to grab quotes or ideas for our inevitable review. But when a movie can make a critic stop pre-planning their review and just enjoy the experience, well, that's rare indeed. Pixar has that power and never more so than in their best film, the masterpiece that is Wall-E. Director Andrew Stanton and the team at Pixar proved yet again that they are filmmakers truly willing to take the biggest risks that reap the biggest rewards. A movie with almost no dialogue, references to Hello Dolly, and set in the overdone genre of science fiction? Wall-E was a HUGE risk. They swung for the fences and they hit a home run for the ages, a movie that people will be watching for generations to come. It's one of the few films from 2008 that I can guarantee you will last throughout the years. The little robot that could is the star of not just one of the best movies of the year, but one of the best of the decade. 2008 may not have been a good year, but any that gives us a movie as treasured as Wall-E isn’t half-bad either.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Worst of 2008
"The Love Guru" : Religious groups were worried about Mike Myers' film about a guru who helps a troubled hockey player, even before it opened. Don't bother - this film was so bad that people wisely stayed away. Besides, it wasn't offensive on religious grounds. It was offensive on comedy grounds. How bad? Elephant sex. That bad.
"Untraceable" : Diane Lane starred in what could have been a decent social commentary - a serial killer streams his deeds online - but is instead a nitwit caper film so ridiculous it makes CSI look like high art.
"Leatherheads" : Turns out George Clooney CAN do wrong. Certainly directing and starring in this madcap would-be comedy about the early days of professional football certainly did him no favors. A waste of John Krasinski, as well.
"Speed Racer" : If looks were all it took to make a movie great, this would be in the top 10, not the bottom. Unfortunately, there's a little more to it than that. The Wachowski brothers bring all the visual magic you'd expect from the Matrix guys, but things like acting and story got left by the side of the road.
"Jumper" : Decent premise - Hayden Christensen can "jump" from one place to another and finds out there are others like him who are hunted - that comes to nothing. The story doesn't make much sense, and, as it turns out, Christensen isn't much of an actor. Bad story, bad acting: bad combo.
"Street Kings" : Keanu Reeves stars as a detective mourning the death of his wife who must unravel all manner of police corruption, mostly by killing people. Violent, loud, stupid.
"Max Payne" : Maybe basing movies on video games isn't such a good idea? This would be Exhibit A. Mark Wahlberg plays a cop who runs afoul of just about everyone after his wife's death. All sorts of hallucinogenic images, very little else to care about.
"Death Race" : Could have been big dumb fun, in the manner of "Wanted" or the remake of "The Day the Earth Stood Still." Instead, it's just dumb, period, and a waste of Ian McShane, as well.
"What Happens In Vegas" : Ashton Kutcher and Cameron Diaz play a couple who drunkenly marry in Vegas, win millions and promptly hate each other (each wants all the money). A judge orders them to live together; yes, it's that stupid. And predictable. Whatever the opposite of chemistry is, it's on full display here.
"Rambo" : Why? Really, that's all this comes down to. Why would Sylvester Stallone co-write, direct and star in a fourth installment of his angry-vet films? There's just no telling. John Rambo helps rescue missionaries in Burma, killing whoever gets in his way. You expected anything less (or, maybe, more)? Scariest news: HE MAY MAKE ANOTHER.
"Untraceable" : Diane Lane starred in what could have been a decent social commentary - a serial killer streams his deeds online - but is instead a nitwit caper film so ridiculous it makes CSI look like high art.
"Leatherheads" : Turns out George Clooney CAN do wrong. Certainly directing and starring in this madcap would-be comedy about the early days of professional football certainly did him no favors. A waste of John Krasinski, as well.
"Speed Racer" : If looks were all it took to make a movie great, this would be in the top 10, not the bottom. Unfortunately, there's a little more to it than that. The Wachowski brothers bring all the visual magic you'd expect from the Matrix guys, but things like acting and story got left by the side of the road.
"Jumper" : Decent premise - Hayden Christensen can "jump" from one place to another and finds out there are others like him who are hunted - that comes to nothing. The story doesn't make much sense, and, as it turns out, Christensen isn't much of an actor. Bad story, bad acting: bad combo.
"Street Kings" : Keanu Reeves stars as a detective mourning the death of his wife who must unravel all manner of police corruption, mostly by killing people. Violent, loud, stupid.
"Max Payne" : Maybe basing movies on video games isn't such a good idea? This would be Exhibit A. Mark Wahlberg plays a cop who runs afoul of just about everyone after his wife's death. All sorts of hallucinogenic images, very little else to care about.
"Death Race" : Could have been big dumb fun, in the manner of "Wanted" or the remake of "The Day the Earth Stood Still." Instead, it's just dumb, period, and a waste of Ian McShane, as well.
"What Happens In Vegas" : Ashton Kutcher and Cameron Diaz play a couple who drunkenly marry in Vegas, win millions and promptly hate each other (each wants all the money). A judge orders them to live together; yes, it's that stupid. And predictable. Whatever the opposite of chemistry is, it's on full display here.
"Rambo" : Why? Really, that's all this comes down to. Why would Sylvester Stallone co-write, direct and star in a fourth installment of his angry-vet films? There's just no telling. John Rambo helps rescue missionaries in Burma, killing whoever gets in his way. You expected anything less (or, maybe, more)? Scariest news: HE MAY MAKE ANOTHER.
Monday, December 15, 2008
Nights in Rodanthe
If you look at this movie for nights in Rodanthe you will certainly be deluded.
I remember one and not so much of it.
What you will find is the perfect example of the perfect mother who sacrifices her private life and love for her children to the point that life will sacrifice her.
All movie is in waiting for the Real Love, which looks close, but will never realize.
Real Love is what makes you waiting for it.
Too bad sometimes is just that: waiting...
But then, it is much better a dream of a reality than the reality of a dream...
What is better and more pure, more sublime, than a love that dies before it becomes reality?
I remember one and not so much of it.
What you will find is the perfect example of the perfect mother who sacrifices her private life and love for her children to the point that life will sacrifice her.
All movie is in waiting for the Real Love, which looks close, but will never realize.
Real Love is what makes you waiting for it.
Too bad sometimes is just that: waiting...
But then, it is much better a dream of a reality than the reality of a dream...
What is better and more pure, more sublime, than a love that dies before it becomes reality?
Saturday, December 13, 2008
The Duchess
Women's only I would say.
But I bet most women will just love it.
Gorgeous clothes, mansions, love, intrigue, maternal love, all in one and doesn't last as long as a woman would like.
It could go on with grandchildren and be a saga.
But this great woman who even loves the children her husband fathered with other women, the children she cannot bring up, the friends who cheated her, is the hero (and she is not even unattractive, on the contrary).
I hardly believe that she is a little bit human, I mean the usual humanity, not what we would like humanity to be...
But I bet most women will just love it.
Gorgeous clothes, mansions, love, intrigue, maternal love, all in one and doesn't last as long as a woman would like.
It could go on with grandchildren and be a saga.
But this great woman who even loves the children her husband fathered with other women, the children she cannot bring up, the friends who cheated her, is the hero (and she is not even unattractive, on the contrary).
I hardly believe that she is a little bit human, I mean the usual humanity, not what we would like humanity to be...
Friday, December 12, 2008
Mamma Mia
If you are a nostalgic of old faces and old songs, this is the movie for you.
Without forgetting the incredible blue of the Greek sea and the charm of a wonderful Greek island, with its simple life, primitive plumbing and shabby chic buildings.
They have it all: love, past, present, future, sex, nostalgia, typical American wedding.
At the end the only one who doesn't get married is the only one who is supposed to, for whom the wedding is planned.
Happy and I would like to say unexpected end, but I was sure it would have finished that way: three middle age men and three middle age women...
Without forgetting the incredible blue of the Greek sea and the charm of a wonderful Greek island, with its simple life, primitive plumbing and shabby chic buildings.
They have it all: love, past, present, future, sex, nostalgia, typical American wedding.
At the end the only one who doesn't get married is the only one who is supposed to, for whom the wedding is planned.
Happy and I would like to say unexpected end, but I was sure it would have finished that way: three middle age men and three middle age women...
Monday, December 8, 2008
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
An old movie (1975) that, thanks to a magnificent (and quite young)Nicholson, you can still enjoy (a lot) looking at.
Crazy is all what doesn't comform to our actual view of what is being sane.
We are Nuts and so we can do what we like...
And he really does, whatever he can, in his limited way, what he likes...
At the end of the movie one could think that he has a much better way to treat nuts than doctors and nurses.
McMurphy (Jack Nicholson )is the false crazy who believes in himself (and he succeds in making the others believe in him too)and in life.
His optimism is contagious and probably the best cure against any illness of any kind, including mental illness.
A great movie, because of the main carachter, who conveys the essence of McMurphy to perfection.
A story which is so close to reality you do not believe it is a story anymore...
Crazy is all what doesn't comform to our actual view of what is being sane.
We are Nuts and so we can do what we like...
And he really does, whatever he can, in his limited way, what he likes...
At the end of the movie one could think that he has a much better way to treat nuts than doctors and nurses.
McMurphy (Jack Nicholson )is the false crazy who believes in himself (and he succeds in making the others believe in him too)and in life.
His optimism is contagious and probably the best cure against any illness of any kind, including mental illness.
A great movie, because of the main carachter, who conveys the essence of McMurphy to perfection.
A story which is so close to reality you do not believe it is a story anymore...
Saturday, December 6, 2008
The Graduate
I guess yesterday wars the third time I have seen it...
The film is always the same, but it looks different to me.
It is a forty years backward look.
It is "How we were" and what we "hoped" and how we saw the "future".
Luckily it is ages apart from what we are and what we hoped to be.
It is a society that has grown a lot, not always in the right direction, but in many ways yes.
It is a society that has widened its view of life and the part that has not will have to in a very near future.
How much easier life looked then, in that movie at least.
No worries for a job.
Richness and a granted future, so that the main concern is who am I going to marry and what is going against my will...
Love, of course, wins, but leaves quite a few unanswered questions.
And a few quite granted answers.
The film is always the same, but it looks different to me.
It is a forty years backward look.
It is "How we were" and what we "hoped" and how we saw the "future".
Luckily it is ages apart from what we are and what we hoped to be.
It is a society that has grown a lot, not always in the right direction, but in many ways yes.
It is a society that has widened its view of life and the part that has not will have to in a very near future.
How much easier life looked then, in that movie at least.
No worries for a job.
Richness and a granted future, so that the main concern is who am I going to marry and what is going against my will...
Love, of course, wins, but leaves quite a few unanswered questions.
And a few quite granted answers.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Changeling
Good story, in the right moment.
It gives hope that something can change also in America and Justice in the end prevails, even though leaving a sour taste in the heart of a mother.
The main character in the whole movie is hope.
Hope never dies; hope is what you are looking for, when everything else is lost.
Hope to have justice, hope to find back your way in life, hope to find forgiveness in the next life and hope to find your loved ones one day in the future.
Hope that helps you to live everyday life, and to go into death.
It gives hope that something can change also in America and Justice in the end prevails, even though leaving a sour taste in the heart of a mother.
The main character in the whole movie is hope.
Hope never dies; hope is what you are looking for, when everything else is lost.
Hope to have justice, hope to find back your way in life, hope to find forgiveness in the next life and hope to find your loved ones one day in the future.
Hope that helps you to live everyday life, and to go into death.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Bonneville
Jessica Lange has to dispose of her dead husband's ashes and wants to fulfil his will to spread them on the places they were together.
But it is either to bring the ashes to her husband's daughter or to lose the house she lives in.
Thus the trip to Santa Barbara to deliver them to his daughter.
This trip is the chance to see how beautiful America is.
Huge mountains, deserts, lakes, beaches.
You see it all. A new romance begins for her friend and the third one wins a big sum of money in Las Vegas.
She (Jessica Lange) ends up without any more ashes to bring to the daughter and her friend has the idea to collect some embers from the beach they were sleeping the last night before Santa Barbara.
As usual a terrible accident happens: the urn falls and all ashes are scattered on the floor revealing an unexpected beer top...
Arvilla doesn't own a house anymore, but still has a place in her friends' heart and home...
Nice movie, where the feelings are worth more than anything.
Ashes go back to ashes…
But it is either to bring the ashes to her husband's daughter or to lose the house she lives in.
Thus the trip to Santa Barbara to deliver them to his daughter.
This trip is the chance to see how beautiful America is.
Huge mountains, deserts, lakes, beaches.
You see it all. A new romance begins for her friend and the third one wins a big sum of money in Las Vegas.
She (Jessica Lange) ends up without any more ashes to bring to the daughter and her friend has the idea to collect some embers from the beach they were sleeping the last night before Santa Barbara.
As usual a terrible accident happens: the urn falls and all ashes are scattered on the floor revealing an unexpected beer top...
Arvilla doesn't own a house anymore, but still has a place in her friends' heart and home...
Nice movie, where the feelings are worth more than anything.
Ashes go back to ashes…
Friday, October 17, 2008
Top Ten Losers in Movies
Losers are everywhere. It’s a scientific fact and the silver screen has had its fair share over the years.
Last week How To Lose Friends and Alienate People was released in the cinemas, putting another loser on the big screen in the form of Simon Pegg’s Sidney Young. In a move that’s totally non-affiliated with that film, we here at hecklerspray have decided to compile together a list of a bunch of losers, that one way or another, have given us greats amount of joy over the years in the cinema.
Maybe it’s because we’re better than them, maybe it’s because it gives us hope or maybe they are just too cool in a world that doesn’t appreciate them, either way, here we go…
10. Ben Stone - Knocked Up
A relatively new loser, Ben Stone managed to be a perfect example of what we love about these guys: Funny, likeable, stupid and completely oblivious to it all. The smartest thing he managed to do was get an incredibly hot chick pregnant and therefore locking her down for life. Well played, old friend.
“If any of us get laid tonight, it’s because of Eric Bana in Munich.” - Ben Stone
9. Harry Dunne and Lloyd Christmas – Dumb and Dumber
Pumpkin haircut, chip on his front tooth, sellotaping a dead bird’s head onto its body and selling it to a blind kid. All of these are reasons why we love Lloyd Christmas, the stupidest idiot in cinema - or should that prestigious title go to Harry Dunne, who drives around in a giant dog car all day long? It’s a close call but these losers manage to screw up every chance they get but they make for one of the funniest modern comedy duos.
“I can’t believe we drove around all day, and there’s not a single job in this town. There is nothing, nada, zip!” - Harry
“Yeah! Unless you wanna work forty hours a week.” - Lloyd
8. Milton Waddams/Peter Gibbons – Office Space
This pair of losers both work in the colourful world of Initech, where each day is exactly the same as the last. Peter has no delusions about his position in life and just wants nothing more than to do nothing everyday for the rest of his life. Milton is worse for the fact he loves his job and tries hard but gets crapped on by everyone around him on a daily basis.
“Every single day of my life has been worse than the day before it. So that means that every single day that you see me, that’s on the worst day of my life.” – Peter Gibbons
“Excuse me, I believe you have my stapler…” – Milton Waddams
7. Shaun – Shaun of the Dead
We’ve all been there, sitting in the pub night after night drinking with our mate wondering why life is so boring. Shaun is like all of us, with nothing ever interesting happening to him day by day. That is until zombies take over the country and Shaun becomes his friends’ last chance for survival with a rifle in one hand and a pack of peanuts in the other. The ultimate English slouch becomes one of its best action heroes.
“You’re the one that’s gone from being a chartered accountant to Charlton Heston!” - Shaun
6. Willie - Bad Santa
Foul mouthed, down on his luck and a drunk. Willie is the perfect candidate for a in-store Santa Claus to entertain your children. When he starts forming an unlikely bond with a young child you would assume life lessons follow. Instead he carries on much the same - cursing, beating children up, punching a midget in the face - but we love him for it.
“Why don’t you wish in one hand, and shit in the other. See which one fills up first.” - Willie
5. Ash Williams – Evil Dead Trilogy
Another loser by day, zombie-killing machine by night; Ash just wanted to get away from it all with his girlfriend. Little did he know the terrors that awaited him in the woods. Everything tries to kill Ash and as he falls into trouble again and again he emerges the coolest geek this side of our dimension. He also looks kick-ass with a chainsaw for a hand.
“Groovy” - Ash
4. Max Fischer – Rushmore
Max is a loser who thinks he’s the ultimate winner. Nothing stands in his way, he gets what he wants and thinks everyone loves him. It turns out though that everyone thinks he’s a spotty wee skidmark at Rushmore Elementary. Charismatic he may be but with a pretentious elitist attitude and flunking every class he is one guy who punches above his weight.
“Oh my God, I wrote a hit play!” – Max Fischer
3. Spinal Tap – This Is Spinal Tap
The world would be a less sexier place if it wasn’t for these rock and roll stars. These guys just can’t seem to get anything right, whether it be replacing their manager, just getting out of a prop onstage or keeping a drummer that doesn’t die. Their Stonehenge re-enactment is the most stupidly brilliant live performance of all time and this trio of David St. Hubbins, Nigel Tufnel and Derek Smalls are cemented in rock history for ever.
“It’s such a fine line between stupid, and clever.” – David St. Hubbins
2. Jay and Silent Bob/ Dante and Randall – Clerks, Clerks 2, The View Askewniverse
These four are bundled together for their respective charms, they are a ying and yang foursome. Jay and Bob stand outside the Quick Stop store, selling weed and dancing like loons everyday all their lives. They’re content with how they live and aren’t going anywhere fast. Dante can’t stand being anywhere near the Quick Stop he’s working at and only has Randall to pass the time with. These guys have the ultimate ‘do nothing and hope something will come my way’ attitude. For their failures all four are totally likeable and relatable in different ways. Long live the Clerks!
“I’m not even supposed to be here today!” – Dante
“That guy’s being awfully forward with that donkey.” - Jay
1. The Dude – The Big Lebowski
Here he is, numeral uno, The Dude. Never before has someone who has exerted so little been forced into doing so much. He was a man who does few things bowling, driving around, the occasional acid flashback. When his life gets pissed on he gets tangled into a dark mystery he has to get to the bottom of, all for the sake of a rug! Rarely losing his cool, he is one guy who can be on our bowling team any day.
“That rug really tied the room together!” – The Dude
The Dude was the only one who could be at the top but what do you make of the list? Anyone you think deserves to be on there who isn’t? Strike back below and let us know.
[story by David Scarborough]
Last week How To Lose Friends and Alienate People was released in the cinemas, putting another loser on the big screen in the form of Simon Pegg’s Sidney Young. In a move that’s totally non-affiliated with that film, we here at hecklerspray have decided to compile together a list of a bunch of losers, that one way or another, have given us greats amount of joy over the years in the cinema.
Maybe it’s because we’re better than them, maybe it’s because it gives us hope or maybe they are just too cool in a world that doesn’t appreciate them, either way, here we go…
10. Ben Stone - Knocked Up
A relatively new loser, Ben Stone managed to be a perfect example of what we love about these guys: Funny, likeable, stupid and completely oblivious to it all. The smartest thing he managed to do was get an incredibly hot chick pregnant and therefore locking her down for life. Well played, old friend.
“If any of us get laid tonight, it’s because of Eric Bana in Munich.” - Ben Stone
9. Harry Dunne and Lloyd Christmas – Dumb and Dumber
Pumpkin haircut, chip on his front tooth, sellotaping a dead bird’s head onto its body and selling it to a blind kid. All of these are reasons why we love Lloyd Christmas, the stupidest idiot in cinema - or should that prestigious title go to Harry Dunne, who drives around in a giant dog car all day long? It’s a close call but these losers manage to screw up every chance they get but they make for one of the funniest modern comedy duos.
“I can’t believe we drove around all day, and there’s not a single job in this town. There is nothing, nada, zip!” - Harry
“Yeah! Unless you wanna work forty hours a week.” - Lloyd
8. Milton Waddams/Peter Gibbons – Office Space
This pair of losers both work in the colourful world of Initech, where each day is exactly the same as the last. Peter has no delusions about his position in life and just wants nothing more than to do nothing everyday for the rest of his life. Milton is worse for the fact he loves his job and tries hard but gets crapped on by everyone around him on a daily basis.
“Every single day of my life has been worse than the day before it. So that means that every single day that you see me, that’s on the worst day of my life.” – Peter Gibbons
“Excuse me, I believe you have my stapler…” – Milton Waddams
7. Shaun – Shaun of the Dead
We’ve all been there, sitting in the pub night after night drinking with our mate wondering why life is so boring. Shaun is like all of us, with nothing ever interesting happening to him day by day. That is until zombies take over the country and Shaun becomes his friends’ last chance for survival with a rifle in one hand and a pack of peanuts in the other. The ultimate English slouch becomes one of its best action heroes.
“You’re the one that’s gone from being a chartered accountant to Charlton Heston!” - Shaun
6. Willie - Bad Santa
Foul mouthed, down on his luck and a drunk. Willie is the perfect candidate for a in-store Santa Claus to entertain your children. When he starts forming an unlikely bond with a young child you would assume life lessons follow. Instead he carries on much the same - cursing, beating children up, punching a midget in the face - but we love him for it.
“Why don’t you wish in one hand, and shit in the other. See which one fills up first.” - Willie
5. Ash Williams – Evil Dead Trilogy
Another loser by day, zombie-killing machine by night; Ash just wanted to get away from it all with his girlfriend. Little did he know the terrors that awaited him in the woods. Everything tries to kill Ash and as he falls into trouble again and again he emerges the coolest geek this side of our dimension. He also looks kick-ass with a chainsaw for a hand.
“Groovy” - Ash
4. Max Fischer – Rushmore
Max is a loser who thinks he’s the ultimate winner. Nothing stands in his way, he gets what he wants and thinks everyone loves him. It turns out though that everyone thinks he’s a spotty wee skidmark at Rushmore Elementary. Charismatic he may be but with a pretentious elitist attitude and flunking every class he is one guy who punches above his weight.
“Oh my God, I wrote a hit play!” – Max Fischer
3. Spinal Tap – This Is Spinal Tap
The world would be a less sexier place if it wasn’t for these rock and roll stars. These guys just can’t seem to get anything right, whether it be replacing their manager, just getting out of a prop onstage or keeping a drummer that doesn’t die. Their Stonehenge re-enactment is the most stupidly brilliant live performance of all time and this trio of David St. Hubbins, Nigel Tufnel and Derek Smalls are cemented in rock history for ever.
“It’s such a fine line between stupid, and clever.” – David St. Hubbins
2. Jay and Silent Bob/ Dante and Randall – Clerks, Clerks 2, The View Askewniverse
These four are bundled together for their respective charms, they are a ying and yang foursome. Jay and Bob stand outside the Quick Stop store, selling weed and dancing like loons everyday all their lives. They’re content with how they live and aren’t going anywhere fast. Dante can’t stand being anywhere near the Quick Stop he’s working at and only has Randall to pass the time with. These guys have the ultimate ‘do nothing and hope something will come my way’ attitude. For their failures all four are totally likeable and relatable in different ways. Long live the Clerks!
“I’m not even supposed to be here today!” – Dante
“That guy’s being awfully forward with that donkey.” - Jay
1. The Dude – The Big Lebowski
Here he is, numeral uno, The Dude. Never before has someone who has exerted so little been forced into doing so much. He was a man who does few things bowling, driving around, the occasional acid flashback. When his life gets pissed on he gets tangled into a dark mystery he has to get to the bottom of, all for the sake of a rug! Rarely losing his cool, he is one guy who can be on our bowling team any day.
“That rug really tied the room together!” – The Dude
The Dude was the only one who could be at the top but what do you make of the list? Anyone you think deserves to be on there who isn’t? Strike back below and let us know.
[story by David Scarborough]
The Visitor
This is one of the movies I like.
It actually draws the side effects of what happens in today's society.
"In a world of six billion people it only takes one to change your life".
In an era which they define as "communication era" people were never so loneley.
And loneliness can be overcome in many ways.
One of them could be playing the African drum with a Syrian man.
This leads a teacher who has lost his passion for teaching, working, living, to an unexpected situation and love.
But once again life divides what bounded: he is an American, not welcome in Syria.
She is Syrian not welcome in America.
And most important she is a mother who has to rescue her son and HAS to be with him in Syria.
In a global world, you are not allowed to be where you heart would bring you.
Life is mostly this: a long series of Good byes to the dead ones and to the living ones.
It actually draws the side effects of what happens in today's society.
"In a world of six billion people it only takes one to change your life".
In an era which they define as "communication era" people were never so loneley.
And loneliness can be overcome in many ways.
One of them could be playing the African drum with a Syrian man.
This leads a teacher who has lost his passion for teaching, working, living, to an unexpected situation and love.
But once again life divides what bounded: he is an American, not welcome in Syria.
She is Syrian not welcome in America.
And most important she is a mother who has to rescue her son and HAS to be with him in Syria.
In a global world, you are not allowed to be where you heart would bring you.
Life is mostly this: a long series of Good byes to the dead ones and to the living ones.
The Visitor
This is one of the movies I like.
It actually draws the side effects of what happens in today's society.
"In a world of six billion people it only takes one to change your life".
In an era which they define as "communication era" people were never so loneley.
And loneliness can be overcome in many ways.
One of them could be playing the African drum with a Syrian man.
This leads a teacher who has lost his passion for teaching, working, living, to an unexpected situation and love.
But once again life divides what bounded: he is an American, not welcome in Syria.
She is Syrian not welcome in America.
And most important she is a mother who has to rescue her son and HAS to be with him in Syria.
In a global world, you are not allowed to be where you heart would bring you.
Life is mostly this: a long series of Good byes to the dead ones and to the living ones.
It actually draws the side effects of what happens in today's society.
"In a world of six billion people it only takes one to change your life".
In an era which they define as "communication era" people were never so loneley.
And loneliness can be overcome in many ways.
One of them could be playing the African drum with a Syrian man.
This leads a teacher who has lost his passion for teaching, working, living, to an unexpected situation and love.
But once again life divides what bounded: he is an American, not welcome in Syria.
She is Syrian not welcome in America.
And most important she is a mother who has to rescue her son and HAS to be with him in Syria.
In a global world, you are not allowed to be where you heart would bring you.
Life is mostly this: a long series of Good byes to the dead ones and to the living ones.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
August
If you still do not know how a "bubble" works, you will learn it, just looking at this movie.
LandShark well represents all the artificially created bubbles of our time. It could have many other names, but as in mathematics, you can change the addends, the result is the same.
You create a company, give it credit and potential.
Make a success out of nothing, sell its shares and later just forget it ever existed.
Who cares about losers?
They are just dreamers, naive, and gullible people.
The smart ones are the ones who earn selling dreams and illusions.
This is the elegant way to call crooks and cheated people. That is life and it ain't gonna change, at least for now.
But predators will die the moment their preys, their food will be scarce and hard to get, and that moment is closer than everybody believes.
LandShark well represents all the artificially created bubbles of our time. It could have many other names, but as in mathematics, you can change the addends, the result is the same.
You create a company, give it credit and potential.
Make a success out of nothing, sell its shares and later just forget it ever existed.
Who cares about losers?
They are just dreamers, naive, and gullible people.
The smart ones are the ones who earn selling dreams and illusions.
This is the elegant way to call crooks and cheated people. That is life and it ain't gonna change, at least for now.
But predators will die the moment their preys, their food will be scarce and hard to get, and that moment is closer than everybody believes.
Henry Poole (was) is here
The message of the movie: if you really believe, then you get it.
If you like positive, unrealistic movies, this is for you.
I am too sceptical, probably I do not believe enough, or I am too negative, but I never got it.
At least not in the easy way.
I always had to fight to get what I got, and sometimes I fought hard for nothing.
I am of the opinion that movies like this do not help.
It is the wrong message.
First, because you can believe as much as you like, but if you do not work, you won't get anything.
Second because the real goal, the real result, is not in getting, but in fighting for it.
All life is about struggling, hope and dream.
The successful reality never brings what you think it should.
Once you learn this lesson, life will be much more interesting, not for what it offers, but for what you can do.
If you like positive, unrealistic movies, this is for you.
I am too sceptical, probably I do not believe enough, or I am too negative, but I never got it.
At least not in the easy way.
I always had to fight to get what I got, and sometimes I fought hard for nothing.
I am of the opinion that movies like this do not help.
It is the wrong message.
First, because you can believe as much as you like, but if you do not work, you won't get anything.
Second because the real goal, the real result, is not in getting, but in fighting for it.
All life is about struggling, hope and dream.
The successful reality never brings what you think it should.
Once you learn this lesson, life will be much more interesting, not for what it offers, but for what you can do.
Monday, March 17, 2008
Griffin and Phenix
Cancer is what is looming ahead of ALL of us.
Who didn't suffer a loss of a loved one thanks to a tumour?
In this particular movie IS VERY ACTUAL.
The non actual is the story behind.
Can we still find friendship and love in this everyday life?
If we can, then also death won't be that terrible as it can look.
What matters is life and living.
Death is unavoidable and sooner or later we have to face it.
But living as if we knew we have, and still be able to enjoy life, that is the secret recipe of this movie.
Don't live as if everyday you live was the last one.
Live as somebody who knows that the joy of life is in what you can reach and in love and friendship.
We are born alone, we die alone, that is why we should succeed in sharing our loneliness, at least for the time we live...
Who didn't suffer a loss of a loved one thanks to a tumour?
In this particular movie IS VERY ACTUAL.
The non actual is the story behind.
Can we still find friendship and love in this everyday life?
If we can, then also death won't be that terrible as it can look.
What matters is life and living.
Death is unavoidable and sooner or later we have to face it.
But living as if we knew we have, and still be able to enjoy life, that is the secret recipe of this movie.
Don't live as if everyday you live was the last one.
Live as somebody who knows that the joy of life is in what you can reach and in love and friendship.
We are born alone, we die alone, that is why we should succeed in sharing our loneliness, at least for the time we live...
The Lake House
Very unusual story.
Unusual because impossible, but nevertheless intriguing.
Good sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves.
Dramatic romance, love story without the story, just the written love.
The king of the film is the Glass House on the lake.
No privacy, but like living on the lake with all the comfort of a house.
Who wouldn't like it?
When it snows, you see the snow falling on your head and it stops just a few centimters before falling on you.
You see the stars from your bed and also the first rays of light.
The sudden death frees the Director to explain how you could live in two different years.
But a dream doesn't need to have an explanation, does it?
Unusual because impossible, but nevertheless intriguing.
Good sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves.
Dramatic romance, love story without the story, just the written love.
The king of the film is the Glass House on the lake.
No privacy, but like living on the lake with all the comfort of a house.
Who wouldn't like it?
When it snows, you see the snow falling on your head and it stops just a few centimters before falling on you.
You see the stars from your bed and also the first rays of light.
The sudden death frees the Director to explain how you could live in two different years.
But a dream doesn't need to have an explanation, does it?
Saturday, March 8, 2008
A Good Year
I love old mansions, a little less old mansions in France.
But nevertheless if I had had to choose between London and that mansion (even thought I love London too) I wouldn't have needed much to decide for France.
But an investment broker addicted to fast money, born crook, grown up bastard, had just one choice: a fast and profitable sale.
Well, at this point, there wouldn't have been any need to make a movie out of it.
A movie is like wine, you have to sip slowly to appreciate the colour, the bouquet and the taste.
A then, just then, you can say I like it or not.
You learn nothing from winning, very often something from losing, the important you do not make a habit of it.
Max lost half property to the unexpected arrival of a cousin, but gained wisdom and may be happiness with a new love....
But nevertheless if I had had to choose between London and that mansion (even thought I love London too) I wouldn't have needed much to decide for France.
But an investment broker addicted to fast money, born crook, grown up bastard, had just one choice: a fast and profitable sale.
Well, at this point, there wouldn't have been any need to make a movie out of it.
A movie is like wine, you have to sip slowly to appreciate the colour, the bouquet and the taste.
A then, just then, you can say I like it or not.
You learn nothing from winning, very often something from losing, the important you do not make a habit of it.
Max lost half property to the unexpected arrival of a cousin, but gained wisdom and may be happiness with a new love....
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Something's Gotta Give
Nicholson plays his usual part of a half misanthropist who is an old age playboy and Diane Keaton the prude mother that surprisingly rediscovers sex at 56, but it is not sex, it's love.
A little bit confusing with mothers and daughters who swap boy friends and fathers that marry their wife's college friend's daughters and young men (doctors) who fall in love for twenty years older women.
But in the end, nature prevails and people come to terms with their age (and illnesses) and choice of partners.
Lesson of the movie: do not mix up with too young partners and do not abuse Viagra.
Technology is good, but abused could kill you (heart attack).
Love is what makes the world go on and people sleep eight hours.
Between sex and love, love is , as usual, the winner and Something's Gotta Give.
A little bit confusing with mothers and daughters who swap boy friends and fathers that marry their wife's college friend's daughters and young men (doctors) who fall in love for twenty years older women.
But in the end, nature prevails and people come to terms with their age (and illnesses) and choice of partners.
Lesson of the movie: do not mix up with too young partners and do not abuse Viagra.
Technology is good, but abused could kill you (heart attack).
Love is what makes the world go on and people sleep eight hours.
Between sex and love, love is , as usual, the winner and Something's Gotta Give.
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Little Miss Sunshine
Hard to find in reality a family so unblessed.
The grandfather is a drug addict, the wife's brother a broken gay who tries suicide, the son mute since years for reaching the goal to become a pilot and later finds out he will never be able to because he is colours blind, the father who tries desperately to prove that losing in life is just a matter of not believing in oneself and inconsequentially goes bankruptcy.
All together they travel 800 miles in an old family van to bring the daughter into the finals of a beauty pageant "Little Miss Sunshine".
Hard to believe the van breaks on the road, the father dies for an overdose, while they manage to arrive a few minutes later, when the admission to the contest is closed.
In the name of the strength of the "winning spirit" the father, on his knees, manages to be able to admit the small daughter, who, trained by the sex obsessed grandpa performs in an indecent dance.
Conclusion: they have to agree to "no any more pageant in California" to get out free of charges.
It is a true elegy to the "in spite of", and the proof that, whatever you believe, life is hard and luck or no luck, it is not enough to believe to fulfil your dreams.
Defeat of goals, but victory of family's love.
The grandfather is a drug addict, the wife's brother a broken gay who tries suicide, the son mute since years for reaching the goal to become a pilot and later finds out he will never be able to because he is colours blind, the father who tries desperately to prove that losing in life is just a matter of not believing in oneself and inconsequentially goes bankruptcy.
All together they travel 800 miles in an old family van to bring the daughter into the finals of a beauty pageant "Little Miss Sunshine".
Hard to believe the van breaks on the road, the father dies for an overdose, while they manage to arrive a few minutes later, when the admission to the contest is closed.
In the name of the strength of the "winning spirit" the father, on his knees, manages to be able to admit the small daughter, who, trained by the sex obsessed grandpa performs in an indecent dance.
Conclusion: they have to agree to "no any more pageant in California" to get out free of charges.
It is a true elegy to the "in spite of", and the proof that, whatever you believe, life is hard and luck or no luck, it is not enough to believe to fulfil your dreams.
Defeat of goals, but victory of family's love.
Happiness is in enjoying everyday's life
The true challenge of technology is how to get the most out of it without letting it overwhelm us. How to keep things simple but powerful. How to master technology without letting it become our master.
Here are some tips how to:
Focus on the essential. It’s important to take some time to think about what’s essential to your tech work (and play). What do you really need? What gives you the most benefit for your time? What’s not so essential? What takes up a lot of time without making much of an impact?
Do one thing at a time. I know. This is super hard when it comes to tech. Browser’s on, a dozen tabs open at once, switching between reading and email and work and IM and Twitter … we live in a multitasking world. But it doesn’t have to be this way. While there’s nothing wrong with having multiple tabs open, it can be very helpful to focus on one task at a time.
Have periods of disconnectedness. While I do most of my work online, I find it extremely useful (and calming) to close my browser and just work offline for awhile.
Don’t live in your inbox. Email is everything to many people. It’s communication, it’s a task list, it’s where you do your work, it’s your organization system. But if you work from your inbox, you are constantly being interrupted by new messages.
Schedule your IM time. If IM is important to your work, then schedule IM meetings, or have certain times of the day when you’re available for IM and tell your colleagues and friends about it. And have it for a limited amount of time and then end it.
Set limits on what you do. For example, check email just twice a day. Write emails of only 5 sentences or less.
Liberally taken by Zenhabits
I guess the secret is not in imposing limits, it is enjoying what you do.
Your life is yours, your day is yours, all the rest is just technology.
Here are some tips how to:
Focus on the essential. It’s important to take some time to think about what’s essential to your tech work (and play). What do you really need? What gives you the most benefit for your time? What’s not so essential? What takes up a lot of time without making much of an impact?
Do one thing at a time. I know. This is super hard when it comes to tech. Browser’s on, a dozen tabs open at once, switching between reading and email and work and IM and Twitter … we live in a multitasking world. But it doesn’t have to be this way. While there’s nothing wrong with having multiple tabs open, it can be very helpful to focus on one task at a time.
Have periods of disconnectedness. While I do most of my work online, I find it extremely useful (and calming) to close my browser and just work offline for awhile.
Don’t live in your inbox. Email is everything to many people. It’s communication, it’s a task list, it’s where you do your work, it’s your organization system. But if you work from your inbox, you are constantly being interrupted by new messages.
Schedule your IM time. If IM is important to your work, then schedule IM meetings, or have certain times of the day when you’re available for IM and tell your colleagues and friends about it. And have it for a limited amount of time and then end it.
Set limits on what you do. For example, check email just twice a day. Write emails of only 5 sentences or less.
Liberally taken by Zenhabits
I guess the secret is not in imposing limits, it is enjoying what you do.
Your life is yours, your day is yours, all the rest is just technology.
The Golden Land
A testimony of the journey to the New Golden Land, where rivers have milk instead of water and trees grow money.
The reality is different from what expected and promised, the farewell to Sicily painful.
But the family Mancuso will have to be divided: the mother and the mute son will have to go back, following the strict selection of Ellis Island.
Good reproduction of the experience of the immigrants and of what they went into.
But what I felt lacking is a true story, something to feel for.
A good documentary, great pictures and scenes, but nothing more.
The reality is different from what expected and promised, the farewell to Sicily painful.
But the family Mancuso will have to be divided: the mother and the mute son will have to go back, following the strict selection of Ellis Island.
Good reproduction of the experience of the immigrants and of what they went into.
But what I felt lacking is a true story, something to feel for.
A good documentary, great pictures and scenes, but nothing more.
Sunday, March 2, 2008
A shortcut to happiness
Success is like women: when you get it, is just normality, and in most cases normality gets boring and sometimes a burden.
This movie shows the dilemma we confront everyday: how to reach happiness, what is happiness.
Happiness is what we do not have.
Stone wanted success so badly he was even willing to give his soul for it.
But, once reached fame and fortune, he realizes they do not bring happiness and wants back his soul.
"He was cheated" Hopkins says, "into believing that richness and fame would bring him happiness" "the contract has no value".
"There is no shortcut to happiness".
"Change in expectations is a generational thing, experts say. People who grew up during the Depression were happy to have a job and stuck with one for a lifetime. Many members of generations X and Y were raised in a different light. They expect a buffet of opportunities and are peeved when they don't materialize."
But if they do it is even worse.
They are not what expected.
There are two tragedies in life: one is not being able to get what we want and the second, even greater is getting it...( I do not remember the exact words of Oscar Wilde)
The contract is declared invalid, for the happy ending's sake.
In reality there is a shortcut to happiness, the fault is NOT SEEING IT.
This movie shows the dilemma we confront everyday: how to reach happiness, what is happiness.
Happiness is what we do not have.
Stone wanted success so badly he was even willing to give his soul for it.
But, once reached fame and fortune, he realizes they do not bring happiness and wants back his soul.
"He was cheated" Hopkins says, "into believing that richness and fame would bring him happiness" "the contract has no value".
"There is no shortcut to happiness".
"Change in expectations is a generational thing, experts say. People who grew up during the Depression were happy to have a job and stuck with one for a lifetime. Many members of generations X and Y were raised in a different light. They expect a buffet of opportunities and are peeved when they don't materialize."
But if they do it is even worse.
They are not what expected.
There are two tragedies in life: one is not being able to get what we want and the second, even greater is getting it...( I do not remember the exact words of Oscar Wilde)
The contract is declared invalid, for the happy ending's sake.
In reality there is a shortcut to happiness, the fault is NOT SEEING IT.
Saturday, March 1, 2008
The Brave one
Jody Foster struggles to recover from a brutal attack by setting out on a mission for revenge.
The perfect mirror of today's society.
The legal illegality and the not working justice has brought to this.
The illegal that becomes and is accepted as legal, at least morally.
The problem is that we invented civilisation and democracy to avoid that justice was on the side of the physically strong, we accomplished to create a society where justice is still on the strong's side.
Where the strong is usually not the one who carries a gun, but the one who carries power (money and political power).
Big corporations lose just in movies.
In reality the weak is still the weak, with nothing at his side.
Out of anger, poverty, distress, lack of hope in a better future, we have seen our big cities becoming the concentration camps of violent, aggressive, ready to everything (because they have nothing to lose) people.
And the only way to survive is very often a gun.
The one who pulls the trigger first is the winner.
Providing he knows how to shoot.
A perfect Jody Foster (one of my favourite actress) makes a good movie out of an original story.
Unusual because it legalizes what hypocrisy denies.
Are we going into this?
I guess the answer is yes. From a virtual world we will slowly arrive to reality.
May be next generation.
Then, of course, after going backward to un civilisation, we will come back to a civilized society, where Courts should take the place of guns.
It could work, if it wouldn't be a farce.
But, I am sceptical about it, because Historia is NEVER magistra vitae.
The perfect mirror of today's society.
The legal illegality and the not working justice has brought to this.
The illegal that becomes and is accepted as legal, at least morally.
The problem is that we invented civilisation and democracy to avoid that justice was on the side of the physically strong, we accomplished to create a society where justice is still on the strong's side.
Where the strong is usually not the one who carries a gun, but the one who carries power (money and political power).
Big corporations lose just in movies.
In reality the weak is still the weak, with nothing at his side.
Out of anger, poverty, distress, lack of hope in a better future, we have seen our big cities becoming the concentration camps of violent, aggressive, ready to everything (because they have nothing to lose) people.
And the only way to survive is very often a gun.
The one who pulls the trigger first is the winner.
Providing he knows how to shoot.
A perfect Jody Foster (one of my favourite actress) makes a good movie out of an original story.
Unusual because it legalizes what hypocrisy denies.
Are we going into this?
I guess the answer is yes. From a virtual world we will slowly arrive to reality.
May be next generation.
Then, of course, after going backward to un civilisation, we will come back to a civilized society, where Courts should take the place of guns.
It could work, if it wouldn't be a farce.
But, I am sceptical about it, because Historia is NEVER magistra vitae.
88 minutes
In 88 Minutes, Al Pacino stars as Dr. Jack Gramm, a college professor who moonlights as a forensic psychiatrist for the FBI.
It would take 88 minutes to Al Pacino to die, it takes just 5 minutes to understand he won't.
In the best TV movies style, the plot is more or less the same.
On one side the bad who desperately tries to involve the good (who usually lost a wife or a sister in a dramatic way) and almost succeeds to frame him with the aid of a psychological weak partner.
The guilty is known since the beginning, the accomplice usually is the person you would and could least suspect.
Well, it ends, of course, with the bad's death and the good's rehabilitation.
If Al Pacino was not the main character, it would be a good episode of a discreet TV series.
It got difficult to find good movies lately.
The problem is that the number of good stories and good actors is almost the same, while the number of movies has dramatically increased.
It gives the (true) impression the most of the latest films are rubbish.
Good is rare, if it was common it wouldn't be good, it would just be normal.
We are always at the same: The Good, The Bad, and The Successful.
It would take 88 minutes to Al Pacino to die, it takes just 5 minutes to understand he won't.
In the best TV movies style, the plot is more or less the same.
On one side the bad who desperately tries to involve the good (who usually lost a wife or a sister in a dramatic way) and almost succeeds to frame him with the aid of a psychological weak partner.
The guilty is known since the beginning, the accomplice usually is the person you would and could least suspect.
Well, it ends, of course, with the bad's death and the good's rehabilitation.
If Al Pacino was not the main character, it would be a good episode of a discreet TV series.
It got difficult to find good movies lately.
The problem is that the number of good stories and good actors is almost the same, while the number of movies has dramatically increased.
It gives the (true) impression the most of the latest films are rubbish.
Good is rare, if it was common it wouldn't be good, it would just be normal.
We are always at the same: The Good, The Bad, and The Successful.
Becoming Jane
Whoever is fond of Jane Austen's novels will love this.
It explains why she wrote what she did.
Every novel had seeds in her own life, which was less happy ending than what she wrote.
But then, writing, as reading, is living the life you would like.
That is exactly what a novel, a movie is for.
To show you something you have known all your life, but in a different way.
And a movie is worth if it leaves something in your mind or in your heart.
Otherwise is not even pure entertainment.
How can you enjoy what doesn't involve you?
It explains why she wrote what she did.
Every novel had seeds in her own life, which was less happy ending than what she wrote.
But then, writing, as reading, is living the life you would like.
That is exactly what a novel, a movie is for.
To show you something you have known all your life, but in a different way.
And a movie is worth if it leaves something in your mind or in your heart.
Otherwise is not even pure entertainment.
How can you enjoy what doesn't involve you?
Friday, February 29, 2008
Juno
"Ellen Page stars as Juno (also the film’s title), a whip-smart teen confronting an unplanned pregnancy by her classmate Bleeker (Michael Cera).
With the help of her hot best friend Leah (Olivia Thirlby), Juno finds her unborn child a “perfect” set of parents: an affluent suburban couple, Mark and Vanessa (Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner), longing to adopt.
Luckily, Juno has the total support of her parents (JK Simmons and Allison Janney) as she faces some tough decisions, flirts with adulthood and ultimately figures out where she belongs."
An unthinkable situation fifty years ago, when being pregnant out of wedlock was a shame, even more as a teenager.
More an educational movie than a succesful story.
The end is not exactly the one one would love and forecast.
But then, life is unpredictable and the mother of today can be again a teenager tomorrow and it is right: let be a mother the one who wants to be a mother...
With the help of her hot best friend Leah (Olivia Thirlby), Juno finds her unborn child a “perfect” set of parents: an affluent suburban couple, Mark and Vanessa (Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner), longing to adopt.
Luckily, Juno has the total support of her parents (JK Simmons and Allison Janney) as she faces some tough decisions, flirts with adulthood and ultimately figures out where she belongs."
An unthinkable situation fifty years ago, when being pregnant out of wedlock was a shame, even more as a teenager.
More an educational movie than a succesful story.
The end is not exactly the one one would love and forecast.
But then, life is unpredictable and the mother of today can be again a teenager tomorrow and it is right: let be a mother the one who wants to be a mother...
Movies Review
Starting tomorrow, 20 years of movie reviews will be searchable by movie title, director or actor.
The website AtTheMoviesTV.com will offer a library of some 5,000 reviews searchable by movie title, director or actor.
With the launch of this new online viewing tool, people can now search for and watch a review before heading down to their local movie theatre, or they can research a classic title before deciding to rent or purchase it on DVD.
So too can users watch a movie review from these celebrated critics before downloading the movie form your favorite P2P or file-sharing network.
"For years this was a dream," said Roger Ebert. "Now I am exhilarated that it is a reality, thanks to the enormous effort of digitizing something like 1,000 programs. It is always fascinating to go back and see what was being said about a film before it opened. The disagreements, between me and Siskel and Roeper, will be fun to revisit, and even more exciting will be our sense of discovery when we find something like 'Boyz N the Hood,' 'Fargo,' 'Hoop Dreams,' or 'Monster.' I may start searching around in this archive and never stop!"
To be honest, "Ebert & Roeper" are the only movie critics that I ever really trusted, that never have a hidden agenda or reason to placate movie studios and producers, and whose I tended to agree with more often than not. Thus, I found it interesting to find out that their entire catalog of reviews is about to became accessible with a few clicks of the mouse, and that it would be easier than ever to see what they had to say about a movie before I invest the time and effort to watch it.
I just wish the site had already been available before I dared to watch "Soul Plane" last night. Let's just say I did a lot of fast-forwarding and probably should've taken heed of my brother's amazement when I told him what I was watching. Dam you Snoop dog, aka "Capt. Mack."I want my 2 hours back!
The website AtTheMoviesTV.com will offer a library of some 5,000 reviews searchable by movie title, director or actor.
With the launch of this new online viewing tool, people can now search for and watch a review before heading down to their local movie theatre, or they can research a classic title before deciding to rent or purchase it on DVD.
So too can users watch a movie review from these celebrated critics before downloading the movie form your favorite P2P or file-sharing network.
"For years this was a dream," said Roger Ebert. "Now I am exhilarated that it is a reality, thanks to the enormous effort of digitizing something like 1,000 programs. It is always fascinating to go back and see what was being said about a film before it opened. The disagreements, between me and Siskel and Roeper, will be fun to revisit, and even more exciting will be our sense of discovery when we find something like 'Boyz N the Hood,' 'Fargo,' 'Hoop Dreams,' or 'Monster.' I may start searching around in this archive and never stop!"
To be honest, "Ebert & Roeper" are the only movie critics that I ever really trusted, that never have a hidden agenda or reason to placate movie studios and producers, and whose I tended to agree with more often than not. Thus, I found it interesting to find out that their entire catalog of reviews is about to became accessible with a few clicks of the mouse, and that it would be easier than ever to see what they had to say about a movie before I invest the time and effort to watch it.
I just wish the site had already been available before I dared to watch "Soul Plane" last night. Let's just say I did a lot of fast-forwarding and probably should've taken heed of my brother's amazement when I told him what I was watching. Dam you Snoop dog, aka "Capt. Mack."I want my 2 hours back!
The Simpsons
"It's been 18 years and 400 episodes since The Simpsons first appeared on Fox, and although the idea of a film has been mooted since round about season three, it's taken until now to materialise. Yet with the TV show generally agreed to be a teensy bit past its best and a weensy bit surpassed in recent years by Family Guy, Baker wasn't all that far off the mark - this has as much potential to go wrong as a ballsed-up Beatles reunion.
Don't worry, though: unless these were literally the only 10 fun minutes out of 90, The Simpsons Movie seems as brilliant as it should be. Where the sublime South Park movie Bigger, Longer and Uncut depicted a gay affair between Saddam Hussein and Satan, Al Jean claimed last night that the theme of their movie was basically "that a man should listen to his wife".
Yet even 10 minutes were enough to tell that The Simpsons Movie riffs on global society's two biggest moral panics: religion and the environment."
We are used to the other way around.
It usually begins with a successful movie and goes on as a more or less successful TV series.
But then: who watches TV now a days?
Easier to go to the movies, better, easier to download the Movie from a P2P and watching it on your computer screen.
This is definitely the victory of the Internet over TV.
Movie on demand, or whatever you want to call it.
Everything but TV.
One thing more: the Internet and Movies Shouldn’t really be a BAD COPY of TV.
Don't worry, though: unless these were literally the only 10 fun minutes out of 90, The Simpsons Movie seems as brilliant as it should be. Where the sublime South Park movie Bigger, Longer and Uncut depicted a gay affair between Saddam Hussein and Satan, Al Jean claimed last night that the theme of their movie was basically "that a man should listen to his wife".
Yet even 10 minutes were enough to tell that The Simpsons Movie riffs on global society's two biggest moral panics: religion and the environment."
We are used to the other way around.
It usually begins with a successful movie and goes on as a more or less successful TV series.
But then: who watches TV now a days?
Easier to go to the movies, better, easier to download the Movie from a P2P and watching it on your computer screen.
This is definitely the victory of the Internet over TV.
Movie on demand, or whatever you want to call it.
Everything but TV.
One thing more: the Internet and Movies Shouldn’t really be a BAD COPY of TV.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Take the lead
Interesting movie.
First: if you think dancing was for sissies, may be you can change your mind.
Second: great men can use anything to teach life. Also dancing lessons. And this proves what I always knew and said: you can be a real "entertainer" and even more, if you know and love what you are supposed to teach.
"Amor che a nullo amato amar perdona" Dante's words, true almost one thousand years ago and true know.
If you really love something you can make others loving it.
Third: this could be the classic example of how commercial will be in the future.
Do you need to promote Ballroom dancing? Don't use a spot, use a movie like this.
There is no commercial product that couldn't be widespread better than entertaining people and suggesting the real value of it.
How many will suddenly realize that there is no better exercise than learning ballroom dancing?
You acquire grace, fitness, you can control and develop your muscles and more than anything: you will enjoy it...
First: if you think dancing was for sissies, may be you can change your mind.
Second: great men can use anything to teach life. Also dancing lessons. And this proves what I always knew and said: you can be a real "entertainer" and even more, if you know and love what you are supposed to teach.
"Amor che a nullo amato amar perdona" Dante's words, true almost one thousand years ago and true know.
If you really love something you can make others loving it.
Third: this could be the classic example of how commercial will be in the future.
Do you need to promote Ballroom dancing? Don't use a spot, use a movie like this.
There is no commercial product that couldn't be widespread better than entertaining people and suggesting the real value of it.
How many will suddenly realize that there is no better exercise than learning ballroom dancing?
You acquire grace, fitness, you can control and develop your muscles and more than anything: you will enjoy it...
Because I said so
At Jane Austen's times a non married woman of three and twenty was a spinster.
Now a days she is a "happy single" where happy can be seen as ironical, because it looks like not so much has changed.
The goal of today's girls is the same: to find a husband.
Not as a feminist, but as a clever woman (as I humbly describe myself) I didn't like it and I hope many won't.
Nevertheless it could anyway make profits.
It could be used as a commercial for those multi usage electronic devices which are mostly real time communication tools: the cell phones.
The whole movie is an eulogy to them, and 90% of the time the people acting spend, is on their portables.
The only thing they should add is some nice and original ringtones, which I found lacking and are a due accessory to them.
The end is too much granted, but most of the people wouldn't like a different way.
And customers are king, since they pay for it.
Nevertheless I made it to the end, and if I did, I guess most would.
Now a days she is a "happy single" where happy can be seen as ironical, because it looks like not so much has changed.
The goal of today's girls is the same: to find a husband.
Not as a feminist, but as a clever woman (as I humbly describe myself) I didn't like it and I hope many won't.
Nevertheless it could anyway make profits.
It could be used as a commercial for those multi usage electronic devices which are mostly real time communication tools: the cell phones.
The whole movie is an eulogy to them, and 90% of the time the people acting spend, is on their portables.
The only thing they should add is some nice and original ringtones, which I found lacking and are a due accessory to them.
The end is too much granted, but most of the people wouldn't like a different way.
And customers are king, since they pay for it.
Nevertheless I made it to the end, and if I did, I guess most would.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Legoland: a mirror of life
I am not a teacher, but I am a mother and I live in the society, so I am interested in education as what will make tomorrow's society where I will (for a part of it) live and my children will live.
I guess the Lego experiment was a very good one, and it could also be very helpful to study children's behavior.
I do not believe in interacting with "worldviews" and I do not believe in the right or duty to "instill the values of equality and democracy" from people who would instill "their" "values of equality and democracy".
I still believe in "free will" and in the possibility of every human being to understand and build its own "values of equality and democracy".
"Children absorb political, social, and economic worldviews from an early age. Those worldviews show up in their play, which is the terrain that young children use to make meaning about their world and to test and solidify their understandings. We believe that educators have a responsibility to pay close attention to the themes, theories, and values that children use to anchor their play. Then we can interact with those worldviews, using play to instill the values of equality and democracy."
Our school-age childcare program — the "Big Kids" — involves 25 children and their families. The children, ages 5 through 9, come to Hilltop after their days in elementary school, arriving around 3:30 and staying until 5:30 or 6:00. Hilltop is located in an affluent Seattle neighborhood, and, with only a few exceptions, the staff and families are white; the families are upper-middle class and socially liberal. Kendra is the lead teacher for the Big Kid program; two additional teachers, Erik and Harmony, staff the program. Ann is the mentor teacher at Hilltop, working closely with teachers to study and plan curriculum from children's play and interactions.
A group of about eight children conceived and launched Legotown. Other children were eager to join the project, but as the city grew — and space and raw materials became more precious — the builders began excluding other children.
Taking the Legos out of the classroom was both a commitment and a risk. We expected that looking frankly at the issues of power and inequity that had shaped Legotown would hold conflict and discomfort for us all. We teachers talked long and hard about the decision. We shared our own perspectives on issues of private ownership, wealth, and limited resources. One teacher described her childhood experience of growing up without much money and her instinctive critical judgments about people who have wealth and financial ease. Another teacher shared her allegiance to the children who had been on the fringes of Legotown, wanting more resources but not sure how to get them without upsetting the power structure. We knew that our personal experiences and beliefs would shape our decision-making and planning for the children, and we wanted to be as aware as we could about them.
We also discussed our beliefs about our role as teachers in raising political issues with young children. We recognized that children are political beings, actively shaping their social and political understandings of ownership and economic equity — whether we interceded or not. We agreed that we want to take part in shaping the children's understandings from a perspective of social justice. So we decided to take the Legos out of the classroom.
We had an initial conversation with the children about our decision. "We're concerned about what was happening in Legotown, with some kids feeling left out and other kids feeling in charge," Kendra explained. "We don't want to rebuild Legotown and go back to how things were. Instead, we want to figure out with you a way to build a Legotown that's fair to all the kids."
This brief exchange raised issues that we would revisit often in the weeks ahead. What is a fair distribution of resources? Does fairness mean that everyone has the same number of pieces? What about special rights: Who might deserve extra resources, and how are those extra resources allotted?
After nearly an hour of passionate exchange, we brought the conversation to a close, reminding the children that we teachers didn't have an answer already figured out about Legotown. We assured them that we were right there with them in this process of getting clearer about what hadn't worked well in Legotown, and understanding how we could create a community of fairness about Legos.
few days after we'd removed the Legos, we turned our attention to the meaning of power. During the boom days of Legotown, we'd suggested to the key Lego players that there was an unequal distribution of power giving rise to conflict and tension. Our suggestions were met with deep resistance. Children denied any explicit or unfair power, making comments like "Some-body's got to be in charge or there would be chaos," and "The little kids ask me because I'm good at Legos." They viewed their power as passive leadership, benignly granted, arising from mastery and long experience with Legos, as well as from their social status in the group.
Now, with Legotown dismantled and the issues of equity and power squarely in front of us, we took up the idea of power and its multiple meanings. We began by inviting the children to draw pictures of power, knowing that when children represent an idea in a range of "languages" or art media, their understandings deepen and expand. "Think about power," said Kendra. "What do you think ‘power' means? What does power look like? Take a few minutes to make a drawing that shows what power is."
As children finished their drawings, we gathered for a meeting to look at the drawings together. The drawings represented a range of understandings of power: a tornado, love spilling over as hearts, forceful and fierce individuals, exclusion, cartoon superheroes, political power.
During our meeting, children gave voice to the thinking behind their drawings.
Marlowe: "If your parents say you have to eat pasta, then that's power."
Lukas: "You can say no."
Carl: "Power is ownership of something."
Drew: "Sometimes I like power and sometimes I don't. I like to be in power because I feel free. Most people like to do it, you can tell people what to do and it feels good."
Full Article
I guess the Lego experiment was a very good one, and it could also be very helpful to study children's behavior.
I do not believe in interacting with "worldviews" and I do not believe in the right or duty to "instill the values of equality and democracy" from people who would instill "their" "values of equality and democracy".
I still believe in "free will" and in the possibility of every human being to understand and build its own "values of equality and democracy".
"Children absorb political, social, and economic worldviews from an early age. Those worldviews show up in their play, which is the terrain that young children use to make meaning about their world and to test and solidify their understandings. We believe that educators have a responsibility to pay close attention to the themes, theories, and values that children use to anchor their play. Then we can interact with those worldviews, using play to instill the values of equality and democracy."
Our school-age childcare program — the "Big Kids" — involves 25 children and their families. The children, ages 5 through 9, come to Hilltop after their days in elementary school, arriving around 3:30 and staying until 5:30 or 6:00. Hilltop is located in an affluent Seattle neighborhood, and, with only a few exceptions, the staff and families are white; the families are upper-middle class and socially liberal. Kendra is the lead teacher for the Big Kid program; two additional teachers, Erik and Harmony, staff the program. Ann is the mentor teacher at Hilltop, working closely with teachers to study and plan curriculum from children's play and interactions.
A group of about eight children conceived and launched Legotown. Other children were eager to join the project, but as the city grew — and space and raw materials became more precious — the builders began excluding other children.
Taking the Legos out of the classroom was both a commitment and a risk. We expected that looking frankly at the issues of power and inequity that had shaped Legotown would hold conflict and discomfort for us all. We teachers talked long and hard about the decision. We shared our own perspectives on issues of private ownership, wealth, and limited resources. One teacher described her childhood experience of growing up without much money and her instinctive critical judgments about people who have wealth and financial ease. Another teacher shared her allegiance to the children who had been on the fringes of Legotown, wanting more resources but not sure how to get them without upsetting the power structure. We knew that our personal experiences and beliefs would shape our decision-making and planning for the children, and we wanted to be as aware as we could about them.
We also discussed our beliefs about our role as teachers in raising political issues with young children. We recognized that children are political beings, actively shaping their social and political understandings of ownership and economic equity — whether we interceded or not. We agreed that we want to take part in shaping the children's understandings from a perspective of social justice. So we decided to take the Legos out of the classroom.
We had an initial conversation with the children about our decision. "We're concerned about what was happening in Legotown, with some kids feeling left out and other kids feeling in charge," Kendra explained. "We don't want to rebuild Legotown and go back to how things were. Instead, we want to figure out with you a way to build a Legotown that's fair to all the kids."
This brief exchange raised issues that we would revisit often in the weeks ahead. What is a fair distribution of resources? Does fairness mean that everyone has the same number of pieces? What about special rights: Who might deserve extra resources, and how are those extra resources allotted?
After nearly an hour of passionate exchange, we brought the conversation to a close, reminding the children that we teachers didn't have an answer already figured out about Legotown. We assured them that we were right there with them in this process of getting clearer about what hadn't worked well in Legotown, and understanding how we could create a community of fairness about Legos.
few days after we'd removed the Legos, we turned our attention to the meaning of power. During the boom days of Legotown, we'd suggested to the key Lego players that there was an unequal distribution of power giving rise to conflict and tension. Our suggestions were met with deep resistance. Children denied any explicit or unfair power, making comments like "Some-body's got to be in charge or there would be chaos," and "The little kids ask me because I'm good at Legos." They viewed their power as passive leadership, benignly granted, arising from mastery and long experience with Legos, as well as from their social status in the group.
Now, with Legotown dismantled and the issues of equity and power squarely in front of us, we took up the idea of power and its multiple meanings. We began by inviting the children to draw pictures of power, knowing that when children represent an idea in a range of "languages" or art media, their understandings deepen and expand. "Think about power," said Kendra. "What do you think ‘power' means? What does power look like? Take a few minutes to make a drawing that shows what power is."
As children finished their drawings, we gathered for a meeting to look at the drawings together. The drawings represented a range of understandings of power: a tornado, love spilling over as hearts, forceful and fierce individuals, exclusion, cartoon superheroes, political power.
During our meeting, children gave voice to the thinking behind their drawings.
Marlowe: "If your parents say you have to eat pasta, then that's power."
Lukas: "You can say no."
Carl: "Power is ownership of something."
Drew: "Sometimes I like power and sometimes I don't. I like to be in power because I feel free. Most people like to do it, you can tell people what to do and it feels good."
Full Article
2009's movies
We haven't seen all 2007 and already talk about 2009.
Why not?
Usually the dream of a reality is much better than the reality of the dream...
"Yeah, yeah, we know - it’s 2008. So why talk about the movies of 2009 so soon?
With the advent of viral marketing and extremely early teaser trailers being leaked eons before a movie is scheduled for release, you can never be too early to start talking about films. Hell, you’re lucky this list isn’t about the most anticipated movies of 2010, which could’ve been done just as easy - and it still would’ve been way behind the internet’s buzz schedule.
Some of these movies will be sure fire hits, while others are doomed to flop.
Brave New World: Ravaged Planet (2009)
Plot Outline: After super-villains obliterate Chicago in 1976, those Americans fortunate enough to have powers must either work for the US government or go underground. Today, the legendary Patriot leads the rebellious Defiance against his former masters, the sanctioned super-powered operatives known collectively as Delta Prime. When the Primers capture Patriot, his friends must find a way to break into the toughest super-prison ever created-or watch him be executed before the entire world.
Coxblocker (2009)
Plot Outline: William Cox (Grace) meets his ideal woman, only to find his advances continually blocked by her ex-boyfriend/current best friend (Scott), who is trying to find a way to win her back.
Cast and Crew: Seann William Scott, Topher Grace
COED’s Take: Being that we’ve all had it happen to us the plot seems catchy, but there is a 99% chance the movie is going to blow. If Sean William Scott can bring the heat and find a way to make this thing work it could be a hot dorm room DVD similar to Just Friends.
Angels & Demons (2009)
Plot Outline: Angels and Demons was the reclusive author’s third novel after he gave up his job as an English teacher. It tells the story of Langdon’s brush with a shadowy secret society, the Illuminati, and his frantic quest for the world’s most powerful energy source, in the company of a beautiful Italian physicist whose father, a brilliant physicist, has been murdered.
Cast and Crew: Tom Hanks, Naomi Watts
COED’s Take: Most people that have read Dan Brown’s books feel Angels and Demons (the book) is better than The Da Vinci Code. If this movie is written and directed well it has the cast, plot and setting to be a legendary adventure film.
Friday the 13th (2009)
Plot Outline: Looking to reopen a camp for special need kids a group of councilors encounter a snag in their plans when an unknown person begins to pick them off one by one.
Cast and Crew: Odette Yustman
COED’s Take: What?! Friday the 13th is included in the list of most anticipated movies of 2009?! We included Friday the 13th because it will be a bust or a classic, nothing in between. Odette Yustman (Cloverfield) is a rising star, and if they choose to make it a traditional roll-em-out slasher film it will end up cheesy and flop… but if they go the direction of Batman Returns and make it a dark introduction to the classic character the movie could do well.
G.I. Joe (2009)
Plot Outline: An elite military unit comprised of special operatives known as G.I. Joe, operating out of The Pit, takes on an evil organization led by a notorious arms dealer.
Cast and Crew: Channing Tatum, Sienna Miller, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Dennis Quaid, Rachel Nichols, Ray Park, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Marlon Wayans (rumored)
COED’s Take: I am very, very nervous to see how G.I. Joe, a staple of my young childhood, ends up. Transformers was decent at best (why does every Michael Bay movie resort to Armageddon-esque “the world’s gonna end” type storylines?), and a live action version of the show has me skeptical.
Still, if the powers that be listen to the fans instead of simply rebranding old product, we could have a straight-up killer. Cooooooooobraaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!
Halo (2009)
Plot Outline: After they crash-land on an artificial ring-world called “Halo”, a navy captain, his surviving marines, and a chemically-and-surgically-enhanced supersoldier named John-117 “Master Chief” must find out what the Covenant, the genocidal alien race they are at war with, are looking for on the ring. However, Halo holds more secrets than either side imagined.
Old School Dos (2009)
Plot Outline: Mitch, Beanie and Frank return for more laughs as they open the fraternity doors to a new generation of college students.
Cast and Crew: The original cast is back for more.
COED’s Take: Frank the Tank. There’s nothing more to be said…other than it being a worthy sequel or shameless cash in. Still…Frank the Tank! Here’s hoping that Blue’s ghost makes a cameo.
X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)
Plot Outline: Wolverine lives a mutant life, seeks revenge against Victor Creed (who will later become Sabertooth) for the death of his girlfriend, and ultimately ends up going through the mutant Weapon X program.
Playboy (2009)
Plot Outline: A biography of the life of Playboy magazine founder Hugh Hefner.
Cast and Crew: Leonardo DiCaprio…Hugh Hefner (Rumored), Brett Radner - director
COED’s Take: John Hoffman is writing the scripti and Brett Radner will direct what I feel could be a smash hit in 2009. Hugh Hefner is a living media legend, but not many people know how he got to where he is today. The movie will have its fair share of hardships and inspiring moments but we all know it’s gonna have a $50 million opening weekend because of the boobs.
But seriously - if Leo signs on, it’s a wrap.
The Brazilian Job (2009)
Plot Outline: Charlie Croker and his fellow crew of expert thieves head to Rio de Janeiro to pull off another heist in this follow up to The Italian Job.
Cast and Crew: Charlize Theron, Mark Wahlberg, Jason Statham, Seth Green, Mos Def
Conquistador (2009)
Plot Outline: The story of 16th century explorer Hernan Cortes (Banderas) and his mission to bring about the demise of the Aztec empire.
Cast and Crew: Antonio Banderas
COED’s Take: Historical movies will be a major theme of 2009 and this one should be the best of the breed. The budget will allow it to be shot on location so expect many scenic shots and plenty of Banderas’s patented romantico flare.
Sin City 2 (2009)
Plot Outline: In the dark bowels of Sin City, Dwight plans to have his vengeance against the woman who betrayed him, Ava Lord, while Nancy is trying to cope with Hartigan’s death.
Cast and Crew: Johnny Depp (rumored), Jessica Alba, Mickey Rourke, Rachel Weisz, Clive Owen, Dwight McCarthy, Brittany Murphy, Rosario Dawson, Antonio Banderas (rumored), Michael Clarke Duncan, Michael Madsen
1776 (2009)
Plot Outline: A look at how General George Washington led the war of independence against the powerful British army in 1776.
Cast and Crew: Tom Hanks - Producer
COED’s Take: Another historical winner for 2009. Expect 1776 to portrayed the American Revolution in a a way that has yet to be seen. The book by David McCollugh is one of the best I’ve ever read and although its being released through HBO we can expect this one to have a huge following.
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009)
Plot Outline: A traveling theater company gives its audience much more than they were expecting.
Cast and Crew: Heath Ledger, Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell and Jude Jaw.
COED’s Take: Heath Ledger died during the filming of this movie and it’s rumored that Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell and Jude Jaw will fill in for the fallen actor. Due to its unfortunate circumstance, it should be successful for the right reasons, hopefully.
Inglorious Bastards (2009)
Plot Outline: A band of US soldiers facing death by firing squad for their misdeeds are given a chance to save themselves - by heading into the perilous no-man’s lands of Nazi-occupied France on a suicide mission for the Allies.
Cast and Crew: Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, Babe Buchinsky, Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Tarantino has been working on Inglorious Bastards since Jackie Brown and Kill Bill were in production, and during his publicity rounds for Grindhouse stated the script is the best he’s ever done. Strong words from a strong personality - but if anybody can deliver inappropriate zingers in a war movie, or (gasp!) hard-hitting dialog that doesn’t let up, it would be Tarantino.
Arrested Development (2009)
Ever since the epilogue of Arrested Development, where Ron Howard, the show’s narrator, revealed a tantalizing pun (did “Maybe a movie” mean Maeby, a Movie?), fans of The Best F***ing Show of All Time Ever have wanted - nay, demanded - more hot Bluth action. And it’s on the way…maybe.
Rumors have been flying about an Arrested Development movie, and it couldn’t start production at a better time: Superbad and Juno have propelled Michael Cera to stardom while many of the shows’ alumni not only remain successful, but enthusiastic about revisiting the project - if it happens. Mitch Hurwitz, creator of Arrested Development, has blown hot and cold on the subject since the show was canceled back in 2006. We can only hope that fans and AD newbies rally up and let it be known that yes, an Arrested Development is wanted. Can you hear us, Mitch? Hello? Annyong?
Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins (2009)
Plot Outline: After Skynet has destroyed much of humanity in a nuclear holocaust, a group of survivors led by John Connor (Bale) struggles to keep the machines from finishing the job.
Cast and Crew: Christian Bale, Josh Brolin, Sam Worthington; Director - McG.
COED’s Take: Christian Bale in a big budget reassessment of a dying franchise? Say it ain’t so! If it worked for Batman it will work for Terminator.
Full Article, Photos, Poll
Why not?
Usually the dream of a reality is much better than the reality of the dream...
"Yeah, yeah, we know - it’s 2008. So why talk about the movies of 2009 so soon?
With the advent of viral marketing and extremely early teaser trailers being leaked eons before a movie is scheduled for release, you can never be too early to start talking about films. Hell, you’re lucky this list isn’t about the most anticipated movies of 2010, which could’ve been done just as easy - and it still would’ve been way behind the internet’s buzz schedule.
Some of these movies will be sure fire hits, while others are doomed to flop.
Brave New World: Ravaged Planet (2009)
Plot Outline: After super-villains obliterate Chicago in 1976, those Americans fortunate enough to have powers must either work for the US government or go underground. Today, the legendary Patriot leads the rebellious Defiance against his former masters, the sanctioned super-powered operatives known collectively as Delta Prime. When the Primers capture Patriot, his friends must find a way to break into the toughest super-prison ever created-or watch him be executed before the entire world.
Coxblocker (2009)
Plot Outline: William Cox (Grace) meets his ideal woman, only to find his advances continually blocked by her ex-boyfriend/current best friend (Scott), who is trying to find a way to win her back.
Cast and Crew: Seann William Scott, Topher Grace
COED’s Take: Being that we’ve all had it happen to us the plot seems catchy, but there is a 99% chance the movie is going to blow. If Sean William Scott can bring the heat and find a way to make this thing work it could be a hot dorm room DVD similar to Just Friends.
Angels & Demons (2009)
Plot Outline: Angels and Demons was the reclusive author’s third novel after he gave up his job as an English teacher. It tells the story of Langdon’s brush with a shadowy secret society, the Illuminati, and his frantic quest for the world’s most powerful energy source, in the company of a beautiful Italian physicist whose father, a brilliant physicist, has been murdered.
Cast and Crew: Tom Hanks, Naomi Watts
COED’s Take: Most people that have read Dan Brown’s books feel Angels and Demons (the book) is better than The Da Vinci Code. If this movie is written and directed well it has the cast, plot and setting to be a legendary adventure film.
Friday the 13th (2009)
Plot Outline: Looking to reopen a camp for special need kids a group of councilors encounter a snag in their plans when an unknown person begins to pick them off one by one.
Cast and Crew: Odette Yustman
COED’s Take: What?! Friday the 13th is included in the list of most anticipated movies of 2009?! We included Friday the 13th because it will be a bust or a classic, nothing in between. Odette Yustman (Cloverfield) is a rising star, and if they choose to make it a traditional roll-em-out slasher film it will end up cheesy and flop… but if they go the direction of Batman Returns and make it a dark introduction to the classic character the movie could do well.
G.I. Joe (2009)
Plot Outline: An elite military unit comprised of special operatives known as G.I. Joe, operating out of The Pit, takes on an evil organization led by a notorious arms dealer.
Cast and Crew: Channing Tatum, Sienna Miller, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Dennis Quaid, Rachel Nichols, Ray Park, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Marlon Wayans (rumored)
COED’s Take: I am very, very nervous to see how G.I. Joe, a staple of my young childhood, ends up. Transformers was decent at best (why does every Michael Bay movie resort to Armageddon-esque “the world’s gonna end” type storylines?), and a live action version of the show has me skeptical.
Still, if the powers that be listen to the fans instead of simply rebranding old product, we could have a straight-up killer. Cooooooooobraaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!
Halo (2009)
Plot Outline: After they crash-land on an artificial ring-world called “Halo”, a navy captain, his surviving marines, and a chemically-and-surgically-enhanced supersoldier named John-117 “Master Chief” must find out what the Covenant, the genocidal alien race they are at war with, are looking for on the ring. However, Halo holds more secrets than either side imagined.
Old School Dos (2009)
Plot Outline: Mitch, Beanie and Frank return for more laughs as they open the fraternity doors to a new generation of college students.
Cast and Crew: The original cast is back for more.
COED’s Take: Frank the Tank. There’s nothing more to be said…other than it being a worthy sequel or shameless cash in. Still…Frank the Tank! Here’s hoping that Blue’s ghost makes a cameo.
X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)
Plot Outline: Wolverine lives a mutant life, seeks revenge against Victor Creed (who will later become Sabertooth) for the death of his girlfriend, and ultimately ends up going through the mutant Weapon X program.
Playboy (2009)
Plot Outline: A biography of the life of Playboy magazine founder Hugh Hefner.
Cast and Crew: Leonardo DiCaprio…Hugh Hefner (Rumored), Brett Radner - director
COED’s Take: John Hoffman is writing the scripti and Brett Radner will direct what I feel could be a smash hit in 2009. Hugh Hefner is a living media legend, but not many people know how he got to where he is today. The movie will have its fair share of hardships and inspiring moments but we all know it’s gonna have a $50 million opening weekend because of the boobs.
But seriously - if Leo signs on, it’s a wrap.
The Brazilian Job (2009)
Plot Outline: Charlie Croker and his fellow crew of expert thieves head to Rio de Janeiro to pull off another heist in this follow up to The Italian Job.
Cast and Crew: Charlize Theron, Mark Wahlberg, Jason Statham, Seth Green, Mos Def
Conquistador (2009)
Plot Outline: The story of 16th century explorer Hernan Cortes (Banderas) and his mission to bring about the demise of the Aztec empire.
Cast and Crew: Antonio Banderas
COED’s Take: Historical movies will be a major theme of 2009 and this one should be the best of the breed. The budget will allow it to be shot on location so expect many scenic shots and plenty of Banderas’s patented romantico flare.
Sin City 2 (2009)
Plot Outline: In the dark bowels of Sin City, Dwight plans to have his vengeance against the woman who betrayed him, Ava Lord, while Nancy is trying to cope with Hartigan’s death.
Cast and Crew: Johnny Depp (rumored), Jessica Alba, Mickey Rourke, Rachel Weisz, Clive Owen, Dwight McCarthy, Brittany Murphy, Rosario Dawson, Antonio Banderas (rumored), Michael Clarke Duncan, Michael Madsen
1776 (2009)
Plot Outline: A look at how General George Washington led the war of independence against the powerful British army in 1776.
Cast and Crew: Tom Hanks - Producer
COED’s Take: Another historical winner for 2009. Expect 1776 to portrayed the American Revolution in a a way that has yet to be seen. The book by David McCollugh is one of the best I’ve ever read and although its being released through HBO we can expect this one to have a huge following.
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009)
Plot Outline: A traveling theater company gives its audience much more than they were expecting.
Cast and Crew: Heath Ledger, Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell and Jude Jaw.
COED’s Take: Heath Ledger died during the filming of this movie and it’s rumored that Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell and Jude Jaw will fill in for the fallen actor. Due to its unfortunate circumstance, it should be successful for the right reasons, hopefully.
Inglorious Bastards (2009)
Plot Outline: A band of US soldiers facing death by firing squad for their misdeeds are given a chance to save themselves - by heading into the perilous no-man’s lands of Nazi-occupied France on a suicide mission for the Allies.
Cast and Crew: Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, Babe Buchinsky, Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Tarantino has been working on Inglorious Bastards since Jackie Brown and Kill Bill were in production, and during his publicity rounds for Grindhouse stated the script is the best he’s ever done. Strong words from a strong personality - but if anybody can deliver inappropriate zingers in a war movie, or (gasp!) hard-hitting dialog that doesn’t let up, it would be Tarantino.
Arrested Development (2009)
Ever since the epilogue of Arrested Development, where Ron Howard, the show’s narrator, revealed a tantalizing pun (did “Maybe a movie” mean Maeby, a Movie?), fans of The Best F***ing Show of All Time Ever have wanted - nay, demanded - more hot Bluth action. And it’s on the way…maybe.
Rumors have been flying about an Arrested Development movie, and it couldn’t start production at a better time: Superbad and Juno have propelled Michael Cera to stardom while many of the shows’ alumni not only remain successful, but enthusiastic about revisiting the project - if it happens. Mitch Hurwitz, creator of Arrested Development, has blown hot and cold on the subject since the show was canceled back in 2006. We can only hope that fans and AD newbies rally up and let it be known that yes, an Arrested Development is wanted. Can you hear us, Mitch? Hello? Annyong?
Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins (2009)
Plot Outline: After Skynet has destroyed much of humanity in a nuclear holocaust, a group of survivors led by John Connor (Bale) struggles to keep the machines from finishing the job.
Cast and Crew: Christian Bale, Josh Brolin, Sam Worthington; Director - McG.
COED’s Take: Christian Bale in a big budget reassessment of a dying franchise? Say it ain’t so! If it worked for Batman it will work for Terminator.
Full Article, Photos, Poll
Sleuth
"An old crime writer and the young actor who's having an affair with his wife spar in deadly cat-and-mouse games. A radical remake of the 1970s play and film, starring Michael Caine and Jude Law, directed by Kenneth Branagh and adapted by Harold Pinter"
A movie to see.
It looks like teather, it smells like teather, but it is actually a movie.
The typical example how to make a high level movie out of almost nothing, with two actors, one scene and a lot of suspense.
Of course you need actors like Michael Caine and Jude Law, and some brain...
A movie to see.
It looks like teather, it smells like teather, but it is actually a movie.
The typical example how to make a high level movie out of almost nothing, with two actors, one scene and a lot of suspense.
Of course you need actors like Michael Caine and Jude Law, and some brain...
The World's Fastest Indian
"Herbert J 'Burt' Munro, a plucky pensioner who repeatedly broke the world land-speed record in the 60s on his modified Indian Scout motorbike. As played by Anthony Hopkins, he emerges as a likeable eccentric whose refusal to see out his days quietly will strike a chord with geriatrics everywhere."
A movie to see.
Not because of the story, but for the power and life's lessons of the main character Anthony Hopkins ( 'Burt' ).
How to follow and reach your goals with the strenght of your will.
If you are determined enough people cannot do anything else than following you and liking you.
A breath of youth coming from an old aged person.
Nothing more adrenaline creating than that.
It's the revised "American Dream", where a nobody can create his bright future, providing he wants it enough.
Hopkins is, as usual, at his best.
A movie to see.
Not because of the story, but for the power and life's lessons of the main character Anthony Hopkins ( 'Burt' ).
How to follow and reach your goals with the strenght of your will.
If you are determined enough people cannot do anything else than following you and liking you.
A breath of youth coming from an old aged person.
Nothing more adrenaline creating than that.
It's the revised "American Dream", where a nobody can create his bright future, providing he wants it enough.
Hopkins is, as usual, at his best.
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