Spring 2010 Movie Preview, Part II

As Hollywood seems to have an insatiable desire to revisit its past, remakes of past films seem to be a growing trend. Take April’s movie release schedule as an example. With no fewer than three remakes (including one whose original was a mere three years ago), filling up the month, originality isn’t exactly flowing freely. But that doesn’t mean the films will be bad. They just won’t be fresh. The following is a few of the notable releases for the month.

APRIL
“Clash of the Titans”
Starring Sam Worthington, Gemma Arterton, Mads Mikkelsen, Alexa Davalos, Ralph Fiennes and Liam Neeson
Directed by Louis Leterrier
The seemingly action- and CGI-packed remake of the 1981 movie with Harry Hamlin and Laurence Olivier gets a big-budget (not to mention 3D) treatment. It follows a classic good vs. evil saga involving the son of Zeus and a bunch of gods arguing over the fate of mortals. Despite its cheesiness factor, the original was fairly entertaining. But can the new version make bigger better? (April 2)
Official Web site

“Why Did I Get Married Too”
Starring Janet Jackson, Jill Scott, Sharon Leal, Malik Yoba, Richard T. Jones and Tyler Perry
Directed by Tyler Perry
A group of longtime college friends gather in the Bahamas for a reunion, examining their relationships and marriages over the course of a week. This is a sequel to the 2007 film, which featured much of the same cast. (April 2)
Official Web site

“Date Night”
Starring Steve Carell, Tina Fey, Taraji P. Henson, Common and Mark Wahlberg
Directed by Shawn Levy
The stars of TV’s “The Office” (Carell) and “30 Rock” (Fey) team up for the first time as an average couple that get caught up in a case of mistaken identity, leading them to a night of danger and excitement. The film’s concept is certainly not what could be deemed inspired, but the stars should make the action enjoyable. (April 9)
Official Web site

“Death at a Funeral”
Starring Chris Rock, Martin Lawrence, Zoe Saldana, Regina Hall, Tracy Morgan, Peter Dinklage, Danny Glover, James Marsden, Luke Wilson
Directed by Neil LaBute
A huge cast filled with familiar faces heads up a movie about about a family gathering at a funeral and all the shocking secrets that get revealed at it. The original film, a British production, was just filmed in 2007 and garnered largely positive reviews. Plus, one of the cast members (Dinklage) is playing the exact same role he played in the original. (April 16)
Official Web site

“Kick-Ass”
Starring Aaron Johnson, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Chloe Grace Moretz, Mark Strong and Nicolas Cage
Directed by Matthew Vaughn
A new entry in the burgeoning superhero genre takes a different approach, by following the exploits of a comic book-loving teenager (Johnson), who decides to follow in the footsteps of some his heroes in print and become a superhero himself. His initial success inspires a few others to want to do the same, while also making criminals stand up and take notice. The film, a comic book adaptation, is already starting to pick up positive buzz at film festivals. This has sleeper hit written all over it, with a built-in fanbase that could spawn sequels. (April 16)
Official Web site

“The Back-Up Plan”
Starring Jennifer Lopez, Alex O’Laughlin, Eric Christian Olsen, Anthony Anderson and Linda Lavin
Directed by Alan Poul
Having kept a low-profile in recent years after getting married and having twins, Lopez is back headlining a film, starring as a woman who meets someone who just might be Mr. Right. Thing is, she meets him on the very day she’s artificially inseminated, which is typically an awkward thing to bring up on a first date. If nothing else, this story is a new twist in the overworked romantic comedy genre. It will also place the box-office appeal, or lack thereof, of Lopez, front and center. (April 23)
Official Web site

“A Nightmare on Elm Street”
Starring Jackie Earle Haley, Kyle Gallner, Rodney Mara, Katie Cassidy, Thomas Dekker, Kellan Lutz
Directed by Samuel Bayer
Horror fans (and even non-fans, for that matter) should have memories of Wes Craven’s original 1984 creepfest that introduced audiences to Freddy Krueger. With the “Friday the 13th” and “Halloween” franchises having been restarted in recent years, it seemed inevitable that “Nightmare” was going to go down the same path eventually. The casting of Haley (“Watchmen,” “Little Children”) as the crafty killer with an endless supply of one-liners was an inspired decision. But whether it can improve on Craven’s original vision remains to be seen. (April 30)
Official Web site

What's New in Blu? (Week of March 30)

“Collateral” (R)
Starring Tom Cruise, Jamie Foxx, Jada Pinkett Smith, Mark Ruffalo, Peter Berg, Javier Bardem, Bruce McGill, Irma P. Hall
Directed by Michael Mann
Having demonstrated that he has the directing chops to handle action with a little character study on the side in 1995’s great “Heat,” director Michael Mann is equally successful in “Collateral” of finding interesting people working inside and outside the law. Jamie Foxx took advantage of his first real dramatic role (earning an Oscar nomination, to boot) as Max, a cabbie who knows the streets of L.A. like the back of his hand. However, after a chance encounter with an intriguing lawyer (Jada Pinkett Smith), Max’s night becomes an increasingly tense affair as he drives around Vincent (Tom Cruise), a confident, focused and demanding fare. After their first stop reveals what Vincent does for a living, the remainder of the night challenges Max to find a way out of his predicament. Mann primarily films the movie with high definition cameras, providing a visually arresting L.A. as the film’s backdrop. Cruise, who also garnered an Oscar nomination for his performance, provides some layers to his role as a determined contract killer. The film seems to run out of steam a bit by the conclusion, but the ride is worth taking nonetheless.
Grade: A-

Other releases:
“Alvin & the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel” (PG)
Starring Zachary Levi, David Cross, Jason Lee, and the voices of Justin Long, Matthew Gray Gubler and Jesse McCartney
Directed by Betty Thomas

“The Baader Meinhof Complex” (R)
Starring Martina Gedeck, Moritz Bleibtreu, Johanna Wokalek, Nadja Uhl, Stipe Erceg
Directed by Uli Edel

“An Education” (PG-13)
Starring Carey Mulligan, Peter Sarsgaard, Alfred Molina, Rosamund Pike, Dominic Cooper, Olivia Williams, Emma Thompson
Directed by Lone Scherfig

“The Killer” (R)
Starring Chow Yun Fat, Danny Lee, Sally Yeh, Chu Kong
Directed by John Woo

“Sherlock Holmes” (PG-13)
Starring Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, Rachel McAdams, Mark Strong
Directed by Guy Ritchie

What's New In Blu? (Week of March 23)

“The Blind Side” (PG-13)
Starring Sandra Bullock, Tim McGraw, Quinton Aaron and Kathy Bates
Directed by John Lee Hancock
Showing the same knack for a true sports-oriented story well told that he did with 2002’s “The Rookie,” director John Lee Hancock crafted another hit with the Oscar-nominated film that focuses on Michael Oher and his adoptive family, the Tuohys. The story in and of itself is pretty compelling, with the physically gifted Oher (played by Quinton Aaron) having hopped around the foster care system, only to find himself taken in by an upper-class Tennessee family, headed up by a take-no-bull woman, Leigh Anne (Sandra Bullock, in an Oscar-winning performance). Their love and support of him leads him to football, where he eventually dominates as an offensive lineman and becomes a highly recruited college prospect. The movie was smartly promoted as a Sandra Bullock showcase, and her acting is the real engine for the story. It’s easily her meatiest role yet, and her best performance. The film kind of skims over the more recent years, but does manage to weave in some actual footage of the family at the 2009 NFL draft, where Oher was a first-round pick.
Grade: B+

Other releases:
“The African Queen” (NR)
Starring Humphrey Bogart, Katherine Hepburn, Robert Morley, Peter Bull
Directed by John Huston

“Brothers” (R)
Starring Tobey Maguire, Jake Gyllenhaal, Natalie Portman, Sam Shepard, Clifton Collins Jr. and Mare Winningham
Directed by Jim Sheridan

“Days of Heaven” (PG)
Starring Richard Gere, Brooke Adams, Sam Shepard, Linda Manz
Directed by Terrence Malick

“Fantastic Mr. Fox” (PG)
Starring the voices of George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Willem Dafoe, Owen Wilson
Directed by Wes Anderson

“The Men Who Stare at Goats” (R)
Starring George Clooney, Jeff Bridges, Ewan McGregor, Kevin Spacey, Robert Patrick
Directed by Grant Heslov

“Red Cliff” (R)
Starring Tony Leung, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Zhang Fengyi, Chang Chen, Chung Lin
Directed by John Woo

“Toy Story” (G)
Starring the voices of Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Don Rickles, Jim Varney, Wallace Shawn, John Ratzenburger, Annie Potts
Directed by John Lasseter

“Toy Story 2” (G)
Starring the voices of Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, Kelsey Grammer, Don Rickles, Jim Varney, Wallace Shawn, John Ratzenburger, Annie Potts
Directed by John Lasseter

A Lost Boy no more

OK, you might be thinking initially that I’m just getting clued in that actor Corey Haim is dead. But oh no, I knew. I just wanted to kind of sit back, watch and listen to some of the reaction in the days following his death last week of an apparent accidental drug overdose. (Yes, Corey Feldman, I used the overdose word. I’m sorry. But come on dude, you know people are going to go there.)

Well, now that the poor guy is dead and buried back home in Toronto, it seemed like as good a time as any to comment. There’s a lot of sadness in a story such as this, but hardly anything too surprising. Drugs among the Hollywood community and the struggles that entertainers have with them are about as old as the entertainment industry itself, it would seem. At times like this, there always seems to be the friends that show up on TV to say that (enter name here) seemed like he/she was in a good place and was starting to turn their life around. So they can’t understand what happened.

Perhaps that was the case here with Haim. No one will ever really know for sure, which is another sad facet to his story. By all accounts, he was barely making ends meet and staying with his mom, who is battling cancer. Acting work wasn’t exactly pouring in, at least not in any projects that you or I would have heard of. A glance at his filmography on IMDB.com will give you an idea of what his work has been over the past two decades. I’m a big-time movie buff, but I’d be hard-pressed to tell you anything about the vast majority of them. Several of them over that period were co-starring Feldman, his longtime friend, with whom he seemed to share a bizarre love-hate relationship. Most of them looked god-awful just by their description, but I did manage to see a trailer to “Dream A Little Dream 2.” What’s that, you ask? Well, it just happens to be the sequel to the duo’s cinematic classic from 1989 that was the 137th during the late ‘80s to focus on the body switching concept. And yes, I’ll admit to having seen it. One of them (let’s face it, it doesn’t matter which one) switches bodies with Jason Robards (and is now an older person in a young person’s body). OK, it’s Feldman and he does an unusual amount of Michael Jackson imitating in it. I know he and Jackson were friends and all, but still ...

All right, back to my discussion of Haim. The point is, the guy hasn’t made a good movie since “The Lost Boys,” which was a legitimately entertaining movie. Still is, for that matter. Sure, some of that had to do with the strong overall cast (Dianne Wiest, Jason Patric, Kiefer Sutherland, Edward Herrman, and heck I’ll even give Jami Gertz and Feldman credit for being good in it). But in the film, Haim showed he had the potential for a decent career, displaying some good comic timing and just the right combination of heroism and fear.
He was also good as a geeky teenager in “Lucas,” which also featured Charlie Sheen and Winona Ryder.
Some might be saying, “Wait a minute, he was also good in ‘The Goonies.’ But you’d be wrong, as that was Feldman among the young actors starring in that entertaining ‘80s flick. Haim actually auditioned for the same role that Feldman ended up getting and would star with another “Goonie” cast member, Kerri Green, in “Lucas” the very next year. (How’s that for some useless information?)

After the miserably unfunny and stupid “License to Drive,” which I remember at the time tastelessly had a running gag with a seriously drunk driver in the film, roles in mainstream movies dried up and Haim essentially disappeared from Hollywood’s (and audience) radars. Then, lo and behold, he and Feldman pop up in 2007 on A&E’s reality TV show, “The Two Coreys,” which I will label as one of the worst guilty pleasures I’d have to admit to seeing. I watched most of the episodes, actually, as I saw their friendship as something like a train wreck. It’s something you shouldn’t want to look at, but you can’t help it.

The premise seemed to focus on Haim returning to L.A. to recharge his listless movie career, and reconnecting with Feldman (who was happily married at the time; his wife filed for divorce last fall and is seeing sole custody of their son). The show lasted two seasons (which is probably longer than most would have put money on) and the two even went to couple’s counseling in a few episodes (I’m talking the Coreys, not Feldman and his wife). But like all good things, the show came to an end when it was canceled in 2008, with the Coreys all but fading back into obscurity.

It seems unfortunate and definitely sad that the by far the biggest news that Corey Haim has made since his late ‘80s heyday is pretty much the last news he’ll ever make.

What's New In Blu? (Week of March 16)

Here’s a rundown on some of the new Blu-ray releases coming out for the week of March 16.
“Did You Hear About the Morgans?” (PG-13)
Starring Hugh Grant, Sarah Jessica Parker, Sam Elliott, Mary Steenburgen, Elizabeth Moss, Michael Kelly, Wilford Brimley
Directed by Marc Lawrence

“The Fourth Kind” (PG-13)
Starring Milla Jovovich, Will Patton, Elias Koteas
Directed by Olatunde Osunsanmi

“Ninja Assassin” (R)
Starring Rain, Naomie Harris
Directed by James McTeigue

“The Princess and the Frog” (PG)
Starring the voices of Anka Noni Rose, Bruno Campos, Keith David, Michael-Leon Wooley, Jennifer Cody
Directed by Ron Clements and John Musker

“The Twilight Saga: New Moon” (PG-13)
Starring Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner, Ashley Greene, Michael Sheen and Dakota Fanning
Directed by Chris Weitz

What's New in Blu? (Week of March 9)

“Up in the Air” (R)
Starring George Clooney, Vera Farmiga, Anna Kendrick, Jason Bateman, Amy Morton, Melanie Lynskey, Danny McBride
Directed by Jason Reitman
George Clooney has built a solid career on playing confident men, who border on the edge of cocky at times. His latest lead role, as Ryan Bingham, a veritable one-man corporate downsizer, fits comfortably into that list of characters. But naturally, his character’s confidence, even his very way of life, is challenged in “Up in the Air,” a well-crafted comedy-drama from director Jason Reitman (who adapted the screenplay with Sheldon Turner, based on the book of the same name). The current economic times we live in provides an undercurrent of truth to the film’s journey of a man who fires people for a living. He’s aided along the way by a young, new employee (Anna Kendrick) and a potential budding love interest (Vera Farmiga) he crosses paths with on the road. The acting is uniformly great across the board (Clooney, Kendrick and Farmiga all deservedly earned Oscar nominations for their performances) and Reitman, in just his third film (“Thank You for Smoking” and “Juno” are his other two), is crafting quite an impressive start to a career.
Grade: A-

Other releases:
“Capitalism: A Love Story” (R)
Starring Michael Moore
Directed by Michael Moore

“Old Dogs” (PG)
Starring John Travolta, Robin Williams, Kelly Preston, Seth Green, Ella Bleu Travolta, Lori Laughlin and Matt Dillon
Directed by Walt Becker

“Planet 51” (PG)
Starring the voices of Dwayne Johnson, Jessica Biel, Justin Long, Gary Oldman, Seann William Scott and John Cleese
Directed by Jorge Blanco, Javier Abad and Marcos Martinez

“Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” (R)
Starring Gabourey Sidibe, Mo’Nique, Paula Patton, Mariah Carey, Sherri Shepherd, Lenny Kravitz
Directed by Lee Daniels

What's New In Blu? (Week of March 2)

“2012” (PG-13)
Starring John Cusack, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Amanda Peet, Woody Harrelson, Thandie Newton, Oliver Platt, Danny Glover
Directed by Roland Emmerich

“Gentlemen Broncos” (PG-13)
Starring Michael Angarano, Jemaine Clement, Jennifer Coolidge, Mike White, Sam Rockwell
Directed by Jared Hess

“The Neverending Story” (PG)
Starring Barret Oliver, Noah Hathaway, Tami Stronach, Moses Gunn
Directed by Wolfgang Petersen

“Ponyo” (G)
Starring the voices of Matt Damon, Tina Fey, Cate Blanchett, Liam Neeson, Betty White, Lily Tomlin, Cloris Leachman
Directed by Hayao Miyazaki

“Where the Wild Things Are” (PG)
Starring Max Records, Catherine Keener, Mark Ruffalo
Directed by Spike Jonze

Spring 2010 Movie Preview, Part 1

With spring just around the corner as the month begins, March usually holds some promise for movie studios to find a few hits in the mix. This month’s releases look to contain some fresh options, along with the overly familiar.

MARCH
“Alice in Wonderland”
Starring Johnny Depp, Anne Hathaway, Helena Bonham Carter, Crispin Glover, Matt Lucas and Mia Wasikowska
Directed by Tim Burton
Director Burton has long been a very visual director, so his taking on the Lewis Carroll classic seems a no-brainer. Reteaming with his frequent star Depp (playing the Mad Hatter), coming out in 3D, “Alice” has hit written all over it. This film picks up several years after Alice’s first visit through the looking glass, as she teams up with her friends to try to take down the Red Queen (Carter). (March 5)
Official Web site

“Brooklyn’s Finest”
Starring Richard Gere, Don Cheadle, Ethan Hawke and Wesley Snipes
Directed by Antoine Fuqua
This crime drama follows three policemen (Gere, Cheadle and Hawke) as they arrive at pivotal moments in their careers and lives. The cast and the director are certainly good here, but they’ve all certainly been down this road before. In fact, Hawke has played a cop before with Fuqua behind the camera, to great results (“Training Day”). (March 5)
Official Web site

“Green Zone”
Starring Matt Damon, Greg Kinnear, Brendan Gleeson, Amy Ryan, Khalid Abdalla and Jason Isaacs
Directed by Paul Greengrass
Following the huge success of the “Bourne Identity” series, Damon and Greengrass team up once again in an action-thriller about a U.S. Army warrant officer looking for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, prior to the U.S. surge into the country. The film, while not crowd-pleasing subject matter, could be helped by the success of another Iraq-based film, “The Hurt Locker.” (March 12)
Official Web site

“The Bounty Hunter”
Starring Jennifer Aniston, Gerard Butler, Jason Sudeikis, Dorian Missick
Directed by Andy Tennant
An ex-couple, one a bounty hunter (Butler), the other a bail-jumping reporter (Aniston) looking into a murder case, are forced to depend on each other when their lives are threatened. But can the constantly bickering duo find that being on the run together might rekindle their romance? If you don’t know the answer to that question, you obviously haven’t seen many romantic comedies. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, by the way. (March 19)
Official Web site

“Season of the Witch”
Starring Nicolas Cage, Ron Perlman, Stephen Campbell Moore, Claire Foy and Christopher Lee
Directed by Dominic Sena
The seemingly always working Cage stars as a 14th century knight looking to bring in a suspected witch to a monastery. The monks there believe she is responsible for the Black Plague and wish to put an end to their country’s misery. A movie set during the Black Plague probably isn’t going to generate much laughter, and it remains to be seen if this part is just another paycheck for Cage. He’s certainly been guilty of selecting quantity over quality in recent years. (March 19)
Official Web site

“Hot Tub Time Machine”
Starring John Cusack, Rob Corddry, Craig Robinson, Clark Duke, Crispin Glover, Lizzy Caplan and Chevy Chase
Directed by Steve Pink
This certainly is no high-concept movie, with the story of four guys unhappy with their lives finding themselves transported via a hot tub back to 1986 with the chance to rewrite history. But for those who grew up in the 1980s, there is some undeniable appeal here. Cusack himself starred in several comedies from the ‘80s, so it’s interesting to see him in another as an adult. Hopefully, this isn’t a case of the trailer revealing all the best jokes. (March 26)
Official Web site

“How to Train Your Dragon”
Starring the voices of Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, America Ferrara, Craig Ferguson, Jonah Hill
Directed by Dean DeBlois and Chris Sanders
DreamWorks Animation has had a good track record, and the makers of “Lilo and Stitch” are on board for a tale of an awkward teenage Viking who befriends a dragon that leads he and his village to reexamine their adversarial relationship with the winged creatures. Heavy publicity for this 3D movie will begin during the Winter Olympics, which should build anticipation. (March 26)
Official Web site

What's New In Blu? (Week of Feb. 9)

“The Running Man” (R)
Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Maria Conchita Alonso, Richard Dawson, Yaphet Kotto, Jim Brown, Jesse Ventura
Directed by Paul Michael Glazer
OK, this 1987 Schwarzenegger flick is packed full of cheesy dialogue (some of it intentional), and certainly wouldn’t fall into the category of an action classic. But it has a likability to it, and some truly wild casting, including musicians Mick Fleetwood and Dweezil Zappa. As an unjustly imprisoned inmate, Arnie’s forced to compete in a highly-rated live “game show,” where the contestants are pursued by hunters out to kill. Loosely based on a short story by Richard Bachman (a pseudonym of Stephen King), some of the action seems fairly dated today, but the casting of an entertaining Richard Dawson (“Family Feud”) as the show’s host (and movie’s villain) was an inspired decision.
Grade: B

Other releases:
“Bronson” (R)
Starring Tom Hardy, Matt King, Amanda Burton, James Lance
Directed by Nicholas Winding Refn

“Couples Retreat” (PG-13)
Starring Vince Vaughn, Kristen Bell, Jason Bateman, Malin Akerman, Kristen Davis, Jon Favreau
Directed by Peter Billingsley

“I Hate Valentine’s Day” (PG-13)
Starring Nia Vardalos, John Corbett, Judah Friedlander, Zoe Kazan
Directed by Nia Vardalos

“The Phantom” (PG)
Starring Billy Zane, Kristy Swanson, Treat Williams, Catherine Zeta Jones, James Remar
Directed by Simon Wincer

“A Serious Man” (R)
Starring Michael Stuhlbarg, Richard Kind, Fred Melamed, Aaron Wolf
Directed by Joel Coen and Ethan Coen

“Serious Moonlight” (R)
Starring Meg Ryan, Timothy Hutton, Kristen Bell, Justin Long
Directed by Cheryl Hines

“The Stepfather” (PG-13)
Starring Dylan Walsh, Sela Ward, Penn Badgley, Amber Heard and Jon Tenney
Directed by Nelson McCormick

“The Time Traveler’s Wife” (PG-13)
Starring Eric Bana, Rachel McAdams, Arliss Howard, Ron Livingston
Directed by Robert Schwentke

And The Nominees Are

With television ratings always playing a consideration into its annual telecast, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences made the decision that its field of contenders for Best Picture would expand from five to 10 for the 2010 Academy Awards. This marks the first time since 1943 that so many contenders will vie for the top prize at the award show, set for March 7 on ABC.

Academy President Sid Ganis said last summer when the decision was made that expanding the field would allow Academy voters to recognize great movies that get nominated in other categories, but get squeezed out of the most prestigious category. But don’t think for a second that TV ratings weren’t on the Academy’s mind, as well.

The Oscars have seen relatively meager ratings for a number of years – hitting a record-low in 2008 – that getting more popular films competing for Best Picture seemed an easy decision. After all, “The Dark Knight” was shut out of the race last year, but would have certainly garnered a nomination if 10 candidates were allowed. As a huge box-office hit, its inclusion likely would have led to more viewers.

It’s a situation that the Academy won’t have to worry about this year, as it would appear to be in a similar position as it was heading into the 1998 Oscar telecast. In that one, “Titanic,” directed by James Cameron, had already become the highest-grossing film in history, and received an armful of nominations (14). That translated to record-high ratings (57 million people), with viewers witnessing the film take 11 Oscars home.

This year, “Avatar,” also directed by Cameron, has already surpassed “Titanic” as the highest-grossing movie ever, and received nine Oscar nominations, tying it for the most with “The Hurt Locker.” Ratings should be huge, and could possibly surpass 1998’s numbers, with the expanded field of Best Picture nominees including the hit films, “Up” and “The Blind Side.”

The following is a roundup of some of the major categories and a peek at the prospects for some of the nominees when the awards are announced March 7.

Best Picture
• “A Serious Man”
• “An Education”
• “Avatar”
• “The Blind Side”
• “District 9”
• “The Hurt Locker”
• “Inglourious Basterds”
• “Precious”
• “Up”
• “Up in the Air”
With so many nominees, it would seem possible that a dark horse might be lurking, but “Avatar” and “The Hurt Locker” are generally considered the top possibilities.

Best Director
• Kathryn Bigelow, “The Hurt Locker”
• James Cameron, “Avatar”
• Lee Daniels, “Precious”
• Jason Reitman, “Up in the Air”
• Quentin Tarantino, “Inglourious Basterds”
Cameron has won in this category before (“Titanic”), but Bigelow has had a lot of film critics and people within the movie industry rooting for her. She could make history here as the first female winner.

Best Actress
• Sandra Bullock, “The Blind Side”
• Helen Mirren, “The Last Station”
• Carey Mulligan, “An Education”
• Gabourey Sidibe, “Precious”
• Meryl Streep, “Julie & Julia”
An Oscar would cap off the best year of Bullock’s career, but she’s got some stiff competition, most notably from Streep (with her truly impressive 16th Oscar nomination).

Best Actor
• Jeff Bridges, “Crazy Heart”
• George Clooney, “Up in the Air”
• Colin Firth, “A Single Man”
• Morgan Freeman, “Invictus”
• Jeremy Renner, “The Hurt Locker”
With a career that has spanned four decades, Bridges has been pulling in a lot of awards leading up to the Oscars for his performance as a down-on-his-luck country singer. But, like in the Best Actress category, the competition is strong.

Best Supporting Actress
• Penelope Cruz, “Nine”
• Vera Farmiga, “Up in the Air”
• Maggie Gyllenhaal, “Crazy Heart”
• Anna Kendrick, “Up in the Air”
• Mo’Nique, “Precious”
Portraying a bitter, abusive mother of a pregnant teen in “Precious,” Mo’Nique has been cleaning up at pretty much every award show. This might be the best shot for the drama to pick up an Oscar in a major category.

Best Supporting Actor
• Matt Damon, “Invictus”
• Woody Harrelson, “The Messenger”
• Christopher Plummer, “The Last Station”
• Stanley Tucci, “The Lovely Bones”
• Christoph Waltz, “Inglourious Basterds”
Like Mo’Nique, Waltz has been getting a lot of awards for his supporting work in the World War II film, making him the odds-on favorite. Anybody else getting the award in this category might serve as the biggest upset of the night.

What's New In Blu? (Week of Feb. 2)

“The Music Man” (G)
Starring Robert Preston, Shirley Jones, Buddy Hackett, Hermione Gingold, Paul Ford
Directed by Morton DaCosta
Although it’s certainly old-fashioned by today’s standards, the big screen adaptation of the Tony Award-winning musical is a thoroughly entertaining affair. Robert Preston (by no means the studio’s top choice – the thought was to go with a more recognizable name) recreates his onstage leading role as Prof. Harold Hill, a smooth-talking con man who arrives with his associate in River City, Iowa, with the intent of swindling the townsfolk out of money. But his plan is complicated when he falls for the town’s librarian. This is clearly Preston’s most memorable film role and Shirley Jones matches him scene for scene here. Look for a small, yet memorable supporting performance from a young Ron Howard.
Grade: A-

“Walk the Line” (PG-13)
Starring Joaquin Phoenix, Reese Witherspoon, Ginnifer Goodwin, Robert Patrick
Directed by James Mangold
It would be hard to not emerge a bit of a fan of the music of Johnny Cash, after watching this bio-pic about the Man in Black. The movie doesn’t really focus on the later years of his life, instead choosing to center on the beginning of his music career and his dogged determination to win the heart of fellow musical performer June Carter. Director James Mangold does a very good job capturing the music in the film (no doubt assisted in no small part by musician T-Bone Burnett). But it’s the performances of stars Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon (who won an Oscar for Best Actress) that really distinguishes “Walk the Line” from the run-of-the-mill biography.
Grade: B+

Other releases:
“Amelia” (PG-13)
Starring Hilary Swank, Richard Gere, Ewan McGregor, Christopher Eccleston, Joe Anderson
Directed by Mira Nair

“Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” (R)
Starring Johnny Depp, Benicio Del Toro
Directed by Terry Gilliam

“The House of the Devil” (R)
Starring Jocelin Donahue, Tom Noonan, Mary Woronov, Greta Gerwig, AJ Bowen and Dee Wallace
Directed by Ti West

“The Last King of Scotland” (R)
Starring Forest Whitaker, James McAvoy, Kerry Washington, Simon McBurney and Gillian Anderson
Directed by Kevin Macdonald

“Love Happens” (PG-13)
Starring Aaron Eckhart, Jennifer Aniston, Dan Fogler, Judy Greer, John Carroll Lynch and Martin Sheen
Directed by Brandon Camp

“Mystic River” (R)
Starring Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, Kevin Bacon, Laurence Fishburne, Marcia Gay Harden, Laura Linney
Directed by Clint Eastwood

“Ong Bak 2: The Beginning” (R)
Starring Tony Jaa, Sorapong Chatree, Sarunyu Wongkrachang
Directed by Tony Jaa, Panna Rittikrai

“Zombieland” (R)
Starring Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone, Abigail Breslin
Directed by Ruben Fleischer

Winter 2010 Movie Preview (Part II)

Movie releases in February are typically a mixed lot, as big hits rarely emerge from the month. But the quality of this year’s offerings for the month (at least at first glance) appears promising.

FEBRUARY
“From Paris with Love”
Starring John Travolta, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Kasia Smutniak, Richard Durden
Directed by Pierre Morel
After the critically-panned “Old Dogs” limped into theaters late last year, it’s good to see Travolta back doing something with at least some edge – and sporting a new look, to boot. He’s sans hair in this action pic from the director of “Taken,” playing an aggressive FBI agent on the hunt for terrorists in Paris. “Taken” was a surprise hit last year, and some of the same elements that made that film successful seem to be in place here. (Feb. 5)
Official Web site

“The Wolfman”
Starring Benicio Del Toro, Anthony Hopkins, Emily Blunt, Hugo Weaving
Directed by Joe Johnston
The 1941 horror classic gets a remake, retaining a similar storyline of a man (Del Toro) reuniting with his estranged father (Hopkins) in England following the disappearance of his brother. A vicious creature is discovered to be behind the deaths of a number of villagers and a Scotland Yard detective (Weaving) arrives to investigate. Despite having its release date moved around several times, Universal has been aggressively marketing the film in recent weeks. (Feb. 12)
Official Web site

“Valentine’s Day”
Starring Jessica Alba, Jessica Biel, Bradley Cooper, Patrick Dempsey, Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Garner, Ashton Kutcher, Julia Roberts, Taylor Swift
Directed by Garry Marshall
An all-star cast assembles for a comedy looking at relationships and love for a group of people in Los Angeles. With such a gigantic cast fighting for screen time, it’ll be interesting to see how director Marshall (“Pretty Woman”) can juggle the multiple story arcs. This would seem to be this year’s “He Just Not That Into You,” which also featured a relatively young and attractive cast dealing with love. (Feb. 12)
Official Web site

“Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief”
Starring Logan Lerman, Brandon T. Jackson, Alexandra Daddario, Jake Abel, Rosario Dawson, Steve Coogan, Uma Thurman
Directed by Chris Columbus
Based on the popular book by Rick Riordan, “Percy Jackson” involves a teenager (Lerman) finding out that the gods of Mount Olympus truly exist and are now a very real part of his life. They battle over Zeus’ missing lightning bolt, while Percy looks to find his missing mother. Columbus has generated big hits from youth-oriented material before (the first two “Harry Potter” movies, “Home Alone”), so this potential film franchise might be in trustworthy hands. (Feb. 12)
Official Web site

“Shutter Island”
Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley, Michelle Williams, Patricia Clarkson and Max Van Sydow
Directed by Martin Scorsese
This thriller was bumped from its fall release date, presumably because of the lack of availability of DiCaprio to do publicity for it. It would be hard to imagine the studio feels they have a bomb on their hand. It can’t be with these stars and a director who is among the most consistently good in Hollywood. DiCaprio (in his fourth film with Scorsese) and Ruffalo are federal marshals who visit a mental institution to investigate the mysterious disappearance of one of the residents. (Feb. 19)
Official Web site

“Cop Out”
Starring Bruce Willis, Tracy Morgan, Adam Brody, Kevin Pollak, Guillermo Diaz and Seann William Scott
Directed by Kevin Smith
For the first time in his career, Smith is directing a script that he didn’t write. This is the tried and true (some would say tired) buddy cop genre at work here, with Willis and Morgan (“30 Rock”) as the mismatched partners on the beat. Based on his background, it would stand to reason that Smith won’t be making the standard issue cop movie. Still, the trailer isn’t an instant confidence booster. (Feb. 26)
Official Web site

What's New in Blu? (Week of Jan. 26)

Here’s a look at some of the Blu-ray releases coming for the week of Jan. 26.
“Atonement” (R)
Starring James McAvoy, Keira Knightley, Romala Garai, Saoirse Ronan and Vanessa Redgrave
Directed by Joe Wright

“Fame” (R)
Starring Irene Cara, Eddie Barth, Lee Curreri, Laura Dean, Paul McCrane, Barry Miller, Gene Anthony Ray
Directed by Alan Parker

“Michael Jackson’s This Is It” (PG)
Directed by Kenny Ortega

“Paris, Texas” (R)
Starring Harry Dean Stanton, Natassja Kinski, Dean Stockwell, Aurore Clement, Hunter Carson
Directed by Wim Wenders

“Pride and Prejudice” (PG)
Starring Keira Knightley, Matthew Macfayden, Brenda Blethyn, Donald Sutherland, Jena Malone, Judi Dench
Directed by Joe Wright

“Saw VI” (R)
Starring Costas Mandylor, Shawnee Smith, Tobin Bell, Betsy Russell
Directed by Kevin Greutert

“Soul Power” (PG-13)
Directed by Jeffrey Levy-Hinte

“Surrogates” (PG-13)
Starring Bruce Willis, Radha Mitchell, Rosamund Pike, Boris Kodjoe, James Francis Ginty, James Cromwell, Ving Rhames
Directed by Jonathan Mostow

“Whip It” (PG-13)
Starring Ellen Page, Marcia Gay Harden, Kristen Wiig, Drew Barrymore, Juliette Lewis, Jimmy Fallon, Daniel Stern
Directed by Drew Barrymore

What's New in Blu? (Week of Jan. 19)

Here’s a look at some of the Blu-ray releases coming for the week of Jan. 19.

“Magnolia” (R)
Starring Julianne Moore, William H. Macy, John C. Reilly, Tom Cruise, Philip Baker Hall, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jason Robards, Melora Walters
Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson
Assembling yet another great ensemble cast, many of whom are familiar from “Boogie Nights,” Paul Thomas Anderson has weaved a tapestry of stories about a very busy and very stressful day in the life of a group of Los Angeles residents. There’s some levity to be found in the movie here and there, but many of the stories take on a darker edge, with some great acting on display. There’s a reason why Anderson attracts so many standout actors to his material, as he writes some great dialogue. This marks Cruise’s best performance, having garnered an Oscar nomination as the slick and smug Frank T.J. Mackey.
Grade: A-

“Smokin’ Aces” (R)
Starring Ben Affleck, Andy Garcia, Alicia Keys, Ray Liotta, Jeremy Piven, Ryan Reynolds
Directed by Joe Carnahan
After having displayed some true talent with the gritty cop drama, “Narc,” wrter-director Joe Carnahan takes a little bit of a step backwards with the loud, violent and over-the-top action flick, “Smokin’ Aces.” Granted, the majority of the chaos in the film was likely scripted, as a group of assassins converge on a Lake Tahoe hotel, attempting to collect on a $1 million contract put out on a mob informant (Piven). Three’s some fun to be had here, as the action moves swiftly, but most of the characters in the film feel just like that – characters, not real people.
Grade: C+

Other releases:
“Che” (R)
Starring Benicio Del Toro, Benjamin Bratt, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Franka Potente
Directed by Stephen Soderbergh

“Gamer” (R)
Starring Gerard Butler, Amber Valetta, Michael C. Hall, Logan Lerman and Kyra Sedgwick
Directed by Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor

“The Invention of Lying” (PG-13)
Starring Ricky Gervais, Jennifer Garner, Jonah Hill, Louis C.K., Rob Lowe and Tina Fey
Directed by Ricky Gervais and Matt Robinson

“Pandorum” (R)
Starring Dennis Quaid, Ben Foster, Cam Gigandet, Antje Traue, Cung Le, Eddie Rouse
Directed by Christian Alvart

“Weeds: Season Five”
Starring Mary-Louise Parker, Elizabeth Perkins, Justin Kirk, Hunter Parrish, Alexander Gould and Kevin Nealon

“Whiteout” (R)
Starring Kate Beckinsale, Gabriel Macht, Columbus Short and Tom Skerritt
Directed by Dominic Sena

What's New in Blu? (Week of Jan. 12)

As movie studios are seeing an increase in consumers of Blu-ray, the available titles on the format should continue to grow considerably in 2010. But as for reasonable prices on said available titles ... well, that’s a discussion for another time. At any rate, here’s a look at some of the releases that have rolled out the week of Jan. 12.

"Moon" (R)
Starring Sam Rockwell, Dominique McElligott, Rosie Shaw, Benedict Wong and Kevin Spacey
Directed by Duncan Jones
This sci-fi film has drawn comparisons to Stanley Kubrick’s classic “2001.” But while “Moon” doesn’t reach those heights, it is a quite effective psychological drama on the effects of isolation in outer space. Sam Bell (played by Sam Rockwell in a great, versatile performance) works for a large corporation, mining an energy source on the surface of the moon. Working with just a computer named Gerty (voiced by Kevin Spacey) to keep him company, Sam’s becoming a little stir crazy as his three-year contract is coming to an end. Then, after crashing his lunar rover, things get strange for Sam. To say more would spoil some of the interesting plot developments of this impressive debut from co-writer and director Duncan Jones (son of rock star David Bowie). This is one of those small budget films worth seeking out.
Grade: B+

“Cliffhanger” (R)
Starring Sylvester Stallone, John Lithgow, Michael Rooker, Janine Turner, Rex Linn, Caroline Goodall
Directed by Renny Harlin
A pair of mountain climbers (Stallone and Rooker) are forced at gunpoint by thieves to use their skills to find suitcases filled with $100 million lost in the Colorado Rockies. Director Renny Harlin has experience with this kind of film (“Die Hard 2: Die Harder”), so the action sequences are well-executed and exciting to watch. And the actors, particularly Stallone, were put through their paces in filming the action. But the script is certainly intellectually lacking for stretches, with little suspense in the eventual outcome. Still, as far as Stallone action films, you could certainly do worse.
Grade: B

Other releases:
“8 1/2” (NR)
Starring Marcello Mastrioanni, Claudia Cardinale, Anouk Aimée
Directed by Federico Fellini

“The Burning Plain” (R)
Starring Charlize Theron, Kim Basinger, Jennifer Lawrence, Joaquim de Almeida, John Corbett
Directed by Guillermo Arriaga

“Fame” (PG)
Starring Thomas Dekker, Kay Panabaker, Kristy Flores, Paul Iacono, Debbie Allen, Charles S. Dutton, Kelsey Grammer, Bebe Neuwirth, Megan Mullally
Directed by Kevin Tancharoen

“Halloween II” (R)
Starring Tyler Mane, Sheri Moon Zombie, Chase Vanek, Scout Taylor-Compton, Brad Dourif, Malcolm McDowell
Directed by Rob Zombie

“The Hurt Locker” (R)
Starring Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, Ralph Fiennes, Guy Pearce, Brian Geraghty, David Morse, Christian Camargo, Evangeline Lilly
Directed by Kathryn Bigelow

“I Can Do Bad All By Myself” (R)
Starring Taraji P. Henson, Adam Rodriguez, Brian White, Mary J. Blige, Gladys Knight, Pastor Marvin Winans and Tyler Perry
Directed by Tyler Perry

“In the Loop” (NR)
Starring Peter Capaldi, Tom Hollander, Gina McKee, James Gandolfini
Directed by Armando Iannucci

“Last Action Hero” (PG-13)
Starring Arnold Schwartzenegger, F. Murray Abraham, Charles Dance, Tom Noonan, Austin O'Brien, Art Carney
Directed by John McTiernan

“Post Grad” (PG-13)
Starring Alexis Bledel, Zach Gilford, Michael Keaton, Jane Lynch, Carol Burnett, Rodrigo Santoro
Directed by Vicky Jenson

Best Films of the Decade

Well, as it’s now 2010, I’m sure you’ve been eagerly anticipating another in a long line of lists dedicated to the best of the decade. You might have run across one in print or on TV sometime over the past few weeks.

But I’ll spare you from ranking this following list of cinema standouts between 2000-09. Frankly, it’s kind of arbitrary when it comes to determining which one’s worthy of sixth place vs. seventh place. Plus, to be perfectly honest, I don’t know if I could accurately rank them. Heck, I couldn’t even filter my list down to 10 (this one’s 21, folks). Why 21, you ask? Well, evidently, I can't count. (Yeah, that's right. By the time I finished this behemoth, I realized I had 21, not 20. So consider this a bonus gift from me to you. You're welcome.)

Now, keep in mind, this isn’t any definitive compilation of all of the superior films over the past 10 years. I’m sure I haven’t seen every film that would deserve consideration for the list. So, if you see one of your favorites missing from the 20 on my chart, I simply might not have seen it or else it just didn’t quite make it into this illustrious field of cinematic greatness.

With that said, here’s the 20 (in alphabetical order) I believe merited this prestigious honor. Hold your applause until the end.

“Almost Famous”
Now, in fairness, the only version I’ve seen of this movie is the director’s cut DVD, which went by “Untitled,” the original name that writer-director Cameron Crowe wanted. It’s a longer version by about 36 minutes, and is pretty spectacular. Crowe always makes great use of music in his films, and centering it in the music scene of the 1970s was right in his comfort zone. After all, Crowe was writing about real bands for Rolling Stone during the period, much like the central character, teenager William Miller (Patrick Fugit). So, you know there’s some autobiographical stuff in here.

And what a cast on hand for the proceedings: Billy Crudup, Frances McDormand, Kate Hudson, Jason Lee, Zooey Deschanel and Philip Seymour Hoffman. I could go on, but you get the point.

Now if Crowe would only make movies a little more frequently ... (I mean, three in a decade?! Come on!)
Trailer

“Borat”
Clearly, America didn’t know what to expect when Sacha Baron Cohen’s creation took to the big screen in this surprisingly successful 2006 comedy. Having originated from his “Da Ali G Show” on HBO, it certainly pushes the envelope in good taste. But his intrepid reporter from Kazakhstan is generally so good natured in his putdowns or cultural misunderstandings, it’s a little easier to not take offense. Of course, try telling that to the Kazakhs.

The film is consistently funny throughout, with Cohen disappearing into his role so fully, you forget you’re watching an actor at work. The story, such as it is, is really secondary to the interactions that Borat has with an unsuspecting public. Their reactions to him are priceless. How he was able to remain in character without cracking up (which continued all the way through the promotion campaign of the film), I’ll never know.
Trailer

“Capturing the Friedmans”
With the original intent of being a short film about a children’s entertainer, director Andrew Jarecki fell into much more compelling and disturbing subject matter when his research into the family discovered convictions of child sexual abuse. A 1980s investigation and subsequent court case would center on Arnold Friedman and his son, Jesse, on child molestation charges.

What makes this story really stand out is the director’s access to the family, who are featured prominently in home videos that they themselves shot. Some of the videos were filmed during the preparation for trial and while it was in progress. It provides some exceptional insight into the emotional trauma this family was going through at the time, while maintaining a largely objective view on the guilt or innocence of the accused.
Trailer

“City of God”
With the Olympics coming to Brazil in 2016, it’s safe to say this movie won’t be promoted by the country’s board of tourism, as it tells a tale of crime and poverty in a particularly violent suburb over parts of three decades. Adapted from a novel by Paulo Lins, director Fernando Meirelles’ crime drama pulsates with energy and eye-catching visuals.

It features a cast mostly made up of local Brazilians, some from the very neighborhoods where the filming takes place. It could be seen, in part, as a Brazilian version of “Goodfellas.” But the locale itself differentiates it from that Oscar-winner, making it a rare glimpse into making tough life choices when the options and opportunities are scarce.
Trailer

“The Dark Knight”
Pulling off the rare feat of a sequel that surpasses the film it follows, “The Dark Knight” is able to step away from the origin story and character introductions to become what may well may be the best movie of all time based on a comic book. Featuring a top-notch cast, including a seamless recasting move (Maggie Gyllenhaal replaces Katie Holmes), the story is fast-paced, yet doesn’t skimp much on character development – a rarity for summer movies.

While Christian Bale as the Caped Crusader gets some moments to shine, the movie is at its best when Oscar-winner Heath Ledger is on screen. His portrayal of the Joker is one of the all-time great villain performances. This is a film franchise that is thrillingly alive after seemingly facing death a mere decade ago.
Trailer

“Deliver Us from Evil”
With so many reports in recent years about sexual abuse of children involving priests, it would seem only a matter of time before a filmmaker would document the taboo topic. Thankfully, director Amy Berg handles the weighty subject matter with a deft touch, largely focusing the spotlight on one Catholic priest, Oliver O’Grady, who committed sexual abuse against more than 20 children between the mid-1970s and early 1990s.

The Irish priest, who was deported back to his native Ireland after serving seven years in prison, is remarkably candid about some of his past transgressions, sometimes to chilling effect. The documentary also includes some staggering videotaped depositions involving others in the hierarchy of the church who were knowledgeable about abuse allegations, yet chose to essentially sweep it under the rug.

Through Berg’s interviews with a few of the victims and their families, you’re left with the feeling that some wounds will never truly heal. And as a result of what has happened, a sense of betrayal from the institution they should be able to trust the most permeates their lives. “Deliver Us From Evil” will (and should) leave you angry and disturbed.
Trailer

“House of Flying Daggers”
A true feast for the eyes, director Yimou Zhang’s film makes great use of costumes, cinematography and set design to craft a martial arts epic that also doubles as a very effective romance.

The story, which centers around a rebel faction operating in the declining days of the Tang Dynasty in 859 AD, involves a romantic triangle between a blind dancer and two police captains. Sometimes the story seems to be at the service of the visuals, but when the look of a film is as spectacular as this, you can hardly mind.
Trailer


“The Incredibles”
With the veritable glut of superheroes movies released over the past decade, the folks at Pixar also got into the act in 2004, creating “The Incredibles,” a fast-paced and highly entertaining animated adventure.

By this point, Pixar had already established itself as an animation powerhouse, and this film, written and directed by Brad Bird, might just be its most fun offering. Lots of humor and action is interjected throughout, serving up a winning mix for both children and adults alike.
Trailer

“Inglourious Basterds”
Quentin Tarantino’s revisionist and fictional World War II-era film is a bloody good time that is right up among the director’s best. As with pretty much all of his movies, Tarantino receives little studio interference, allowing him to cast and film his script as he sees fit. Of course, having a big movie star such as Brad Pitt heading up your cast can’t hurt the bottom line.

As Lt. Aldo Raine, a gruff, take-no-prisoners leader, Pitt has some quite funny moments heading up a highly motivated band of Jewish-American soldiers. Still, he and most of the cast take a back seat to the stellar work on display by Christoph Waltz, playing a supremely confident Nazi colonel with a bit of a mean streak. The film is thrillingly alive whenever he’s on screen, building to a memorable showdown among many of the characters at a Parisian movie theater.
Trailer

“The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers”
The middle chapter of the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy is able to move past some of the protracted exposition of the first film, with the quest to destroy the ring fully engaged. By now, most of the characters have been established, allowing the actors and director Peter Jackson to build on the solid foundation set before them.

Picking the best of what was a wonderfully realized trilogy might seem a bit arbitrary, and the more obvious choice would be to go with “Return of the King,” as it won the Best Picture Oscar. But “The Two Towers” was a slight standout over the other films, deepening the drama, and fully revealing the fantastic CGI creation of Gollum. The character, as fully realized in motion capture and voice of Andy Serkis, felt as real as any actor on the screen, giving the story an obsessed and tragic figure to showcase.
Trailer

“Maria Full of Grace”
This harrowing tale of a pregnant Colombian teenager becoming a drug mule out of pure desperation is a triumph not only for writer-director Joshua Marston, but for star Catalino Sandino Moreno, who was nominated for an Academy Award in her film debut.

Marston generally lets the power of the material speak for itself, rather than using flashy visuals or action sequences to pick up the pace. It’s a straightforward story that isn’t based on any particular true story per se, but its gritty realism certainly makes it feel like it is.
Trailer

“Memento”
A thriller with more twists than a pretzel, “Memento” isn’t one of those movies with an ending that pulls the rug out from under you. It openly does that from the first scene, keeping viewers mentally engaged as they try to decipher the investigation that Leonard Shelby (Guy Pearce) conducts.

The film, written by Jonathan and Christopher Nolan, puts you in Leonard’s head – a scary place to be, as he suffers from short-term memory loss. Like him, you’re unsure of what the truth is and what people’s true motivations are. Few movies engage the mind as fully as this one does, with a narrative structure that makes pretty much everything open for interpretation.
Trailer

“Munich”
Offering various moments of pensive examination into the worth of retribution as well as the violence associated with its pursuit, "Munich" is a brutal, yet conscientious movie. Director Steven Spielberg dramatizes the events involving the killing of 11 Israeli athletes at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich and the violent response from Israel.

Spielberg doesn't aim for the film to choose sides in the conflict. But it does effectively question the worthiness of revenge. Is killing people responsible for terrorism, as Israel chooses to do in this film, a morally acceptable response? "Munich" works not only as a strong historical drama, but an effective and tightly wound thriller.
Trailer

“Oldboy”
Winning the Grand Jury prize at the Cannes film festival in 2004, “Oldboy” is the kind of film you can’t easily forget. In what had to be a grueling experience, Choi Min-sik delivers a powerful performance as a man hellbent on revenge after 15 years of captivity for reasons unknown. His character undergoes emotional and physical exhaustion in his unwavering obsession to discover who decided to ruin his life and why.

Director Park Chan-wook shows a real eye for striking visuals with a story mixing violence, sex and humor into a concoction that shows the true toll that vengeance can take on all parties involved. Undoubtedly, the film has got aspects that are sure to be polarizing to audiences (those with sensitive stomachs need not apply). But for those willing to press on through its tough to watch sequences might just discover a film that actually has an emotional payoff. True, its conclusion is a bit drawn out, but it most certainly packs a wallop. That’s more than can be said for many of the more predictable denouements to American movies nowadays.
Trailer

“Pan’s Labyrinth”
Fantasy and brutal realities of war come crashing together to amazing effect in “Pan’s Labyrinth,” easily one of the most visually creative movies to come along in years. However, the story doesn’t take a back seat to the special effects, as some big-budgeted Hollywood releases tend to do. The screenplay by Guillermo del Toro (who also directed) is endlessly inventive, but doesn’t pull punches. The central character is a young girl, who falls into mortal danger at times in the film, which takes place in 1944 war-torn Spain.

While the film’s great success hasn’t really done much to vault the cast into American consciousness, del Toro has benefitted greatly, having landed writing and directing duties for the highly anticipated “The Hobbit.”
Trailer

“Requiem for a Dream”
With only one film under his belt at the time, it was hard to predict that director Darren Aronofsky would produce such a devastating piece of cinema as he did with “Requiem for a Dream,” the adaptation of Hubert Selby Jr.’s book. Few, if any movies have done such a sensational job of depicting the vice-like grip that drug addiction can have on people.

While some movies depict drug use as hip and trendy, “Requiem” goes in quite the opposite direction, showing how the lives of seemingly decent people can be completely unraveled by their poor choices. Credit has to also go to stars Jared Leto, Ellen Burstyn, Jennifer Connelly and Marlon Wayans for their fearless performances in this memorable, yet difficult-to-watch drama.
Trailer

“The Royal Tenenbaums”
After hitting comedy gold in 1999 with the great “Rushmore,” writer-director Wes Anderson had to have found himself in casting heaven when he got such a stellar collection of actors on board for his follow-up, “The Royal Tenenbaums.” A truly dysfunctional family comes back together to live under the same roof when their self-absorbed father (Gene Hackman) comes back into their lives.

There’s laughs aplenty in the well-written screenplay by Anderson and Owen Wilson (who co-stars). But there’s also some poignancy about the importance of family and desire to right wrongs of the past. Hackman as the self-absorbed patriarch of the family delivers one of his best performances of his illustrious career.
Trailer

“There Will Be Blood”
Paul Thomas Anderson’s movie about an obsessed oil prospector is of a truly singular (and sensational) vision. It’s a bleak, yet undeniably fascinating character study of a man’s pursuit for fame and fortune – at any cost. With his portrayal of Daniel Plainview, Daniel Day-Lewis has crafted an indelible performance that can be paired with Charlize Theron’s work in “Monster” as the decade’s best.

“There Will Be Blood” certainly doesn’t toe the line with convention (witness the opening portion, which features no dialogue and only Jonny Greenwood’s haunting and mesmerizing musical score as accompaniment). That can make the film a bit polarizing for audiences. But the audacity and meticulous craftsmanship of Anderson makes him one to watch every time he steps behind the camera.
Trailer

“Up”
The latest offering from Pixar is another standout and its most poignant to date, focusing on 78-year-old Carl Fredricksen (voiced by Ed Asner), who decides to fulfill a lifelong ambition to travel to South America. Being a longtime balloon salesman, he decides to go there in an unconventional fashion, by tying thousands of balloons to his house. In the process, Carl finds an 8-year-old stowaway named Russell, a plucky, young wilderness explorer who helps him rediscover his heart.

Few live-action movies center around senior citizens, so for an animated film to do so is a real rarity. But the combination of the older Carl with the younger Russell is a winning one, and while the film becomes a little more conventional in its second half, its execution is spot-on throughout. One would assume Pixar will eventually make a bad movie, but it sure wasn’t going to happen this time out.
Trailer

“WALL-E”
In its most ambitious film to date, Pixar centered a story around a hardworking, yet lonely robot, who finds love in the unlikeliest of places. “WALL-E” is a triumph of sight and sound, with the story going without dialogue for long stretches of time.

The filmmakers obviously had faith that audiences would respond to the storytelling risk, and the fact that you get invested in the fates of a pair of robots is a real testament to the work of director Andrew Stanton and the sound design team led by Oscar-winner Ben Burtt.
Trailer

“Zodiac”
Serial killer movies have seemed to have taken on a genre all their own, in large part due to the success of “The Silence of the Lambs.” But no film since then has been as sensational at depicting the pursuit of one until 2007’s “Zodiac.” Headlined by a great cast featuring Jake Gyllenhaal, Mark Ruffalo and Robert Downey Jr., the crime drama is based on the true story of the Zodiac killer, who terrorized nouthern California in the 1960s.

The killings and subsequent investigation by police are meticulously recreated, with David Fincher directing a expertly crafted screenplay by James Vanderbilt. It would have been easily to sensationalize the material, but Fincher has a much better idea of revealing just how painstaking and exhaustive the investigation became as time wore on. To be sure, Fincher has covered serial killer territory before (“Se7en”), but hits a new high here by letting the already compelling true story unravel with minimal embellishment.
Trailer

Winter 2009 Movie Preview (Part 1)

As the big holiday movie season wraps up, January is often used by movie studios as a spot in the schedule to place films that didn’t fit anywhere else. The quality of the month’s roster can certainly vary from year to year, but gems can still be discovered.

JANUARY
“Youth in Revolt”
Starring Michael Cera, Portia Doubleday, Jean Smart, Mary Kay Place, Justin Long, Steve Buscemi
Directed by Miguel Arteta
Adapted from a series of books by C.D. Payne, “Youth” stars Michael Cera (“Juno”, “Superbad”) as a youth who creates an imaginary alter ego to help him win the heart of his dream girl (newcomer Portia Doubleday). Cera’s got a little bit of a fanbase, but it’s tough to see this appealing to a wide audience. (Jan. 8)
Official Web site

“Leap Year”
Starring Amy Adams, Matthew Goode, Adam Scott and John Lithgow
Directed by Anand Tucker
With a string of quality films under her belt in recent years, Amy Adams takes on what looks to be her most conventional role yet. Hopefully, the movie can rise above what sounds like a tired premise of a woman secretly following her longtime boyfriend to Ireland to propose to him on Leap Day. She meets up with an innkeeper (Goode) to help execute her plan. (Jan. 8)
Official Web site

“The Book of Eli”
Starring Denzel Washington, Gary Oldman, Mila Kunis, Michael Gambon, Malcom McDowell
Directed by Albert and Allen Hughes
The Hughes brothers have returned to directing after nearly a decade of silence (their last film was 2001’s “From Hell”). Their film focuses on a post-apocalyptic world, in which a mysterious loner (Washington) makes his way across America with a sacred book that could save humanity. Naturally, some unsavory characters (led by Oldman) desire the book as well. Washington can play the tough guy well (see “American Gangster” and “Man on Fire” for examples), so this might just work. (Jan. 15)
Official Web site

“Tooth Fairy”
Starring Dwayne Johnson, Ashley Judd, Julie Andrews, Stephen Merchant
Directed by Michael Lembeck
A rough and tumble hockey player (Johnson), nicknamed “The Tooth Fairy” for his ability to knock opponents’ teeth out, runs into trouble and is forced to serve one week as an actual tooth fairy as punishment. If the idea of “The Rock” dressed up in a tutu and wings is your idea of hilarity, then this comedy should have some appeal for you. If not, keep on moving. (Jan. 22)
Official Web site

“Extraordinary Measures”
Starring Brendan Fraser, Harrison Ford, Keri Russell, Dee Wallace
Directed by Tom Vaughn
Based on a true story, “Measures” involves the desperate search by John and Aileen Crowley (Fraser and Russell) to find a cure for a disease threatening the lives of two of their children. Ford plays a unconventional scientist tasked with taking on the difficult challenge. Films like these can tend to lean towards the melodramatic, but the true facts of the story and the solid cast will hopefully resist going in that direction. (Jan. 22)
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“When in Rome”
Starring Kristen Bell, Josh Duhamel, Will Arnett, Jon Heder, Dax Shepherd, Danny DeVito and Angelica Huston
Directed by Mark Steven Johnson
A young woman (Bell), unlucky in love, goes to Rome for her younger sister’s wedding. While there, she takes several coins from a fountain, which mysteriously makes her the subject of romantic pursuit by four wildly different suitors. The cast is certainly appealing, but the plot seems quite hokey. Still, as far as winter time diversions in the theater, you’d could probably do worse. (Jan. 29)
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“Edge of Darkness”
Starring Mel Gibson, Ray Winstone, Danny Huston, Bojana Novakovic
Directed by Martin Campbell
As hard as it might be to believe, this action-thriller marks the first starring role for Gibson since 2002’s “Signs.” He plays homicide detective Thomas Craven, who witnesses the murder of his only child. He begins to investigate, first uncovering his daughter’s secret life, then the shady people that had reason to have her killed. Suffice it to say, Craven gets all kinds of angry at these people. Gibson has a good track record in films as a determined man seeking the truth (“Payback” and “Ransom” among others). But will audiences embrace him after so much time away and less than flattering off-screen publicity? (Jan. 29)
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