Happy New Year!

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DVD and CD Releases - December 30th

Recent DVD Releases:

An American Carol
Baghead
The Duchess
Eagle Eye
Ghost Town
Surfer Dude
Towelhead

Click below for more DVD and CD releases.

DVD Special Editions/Other Releases:

TV Box Sets:

10 Items or Less: Seasons One & Two
Black Lagoon: Complete Series
Greek: Chapter Two
Kyle XY: Season Two
Nip/Tuck: Season Five, Part One
Secret Life of the American Teenager: Season One

Special Editions/Other Releases:

Battle for Haditha
Beethoven's Big Break
Hellbound: Hellraiser II
Resident Evil: Degeneration
Woman on The Beach

New CD Releases:

none this week. odd.

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Gervais on Culture

Ricky Gervais' monologue on fame (from the last year's season finale of Extras) on the current state of popular culture is amazing. Go here to watch it. Click below for the text of the monologue.

" I'm just sick of these celebrities living their lives out in the open all the time. Why would you do that? It's like these pop stars choose the perfect moment to go into rehab. They call their publicist before they call a taxi. Then they come out and do their second autobiography. This one is called 'Love Me or I'll Kill Myself.' Oh, go kill yourself then! And the papers lap it up. And they follow us round and that makes people think we're important and that makes us think we're important. If they stopped taking pictures of us, people wouldn't take to the streets going, 'Oh, quick! I need a picture of Cameron Diaz with a pimple!' They wouldn't care. They'd go on with something else. They'd get on with their lives. You open the paper and you see a picture of Lindsay Lohan getting out of a car and the headline is 'Cover Up, Lindsay! We Can See Your Knickers!' Well, of course you can see her knickers. Your photographer is lying in the road pointing his camera up her dress to see her knickers. You're literally the gutter press. And ... you, the makers of this show as well! You can't wash your hands of this . . . . "

. . . You can't say, 'Oh, it's exploitation, but it's what the public wants.' No! The Victorian freak show never went away. Now it's called 'Big Brother' or 'American Idol' . . . . And ... you for watching this at home. Shame on you. And shame on me because I'm the worst of all. Because I say, 'I'm an entertainer because it's in my blood!' Yeah, it's my blood because a real job's too hard. I would've loved to have been a doctor. Too hard to put the work in. I wanted to be a war hero. Too scared. So I go, 'It's what I do,' and I have someone bullocked if my cappuccino's cold or if they look at me the wrong way. Do you know what a friend of mine said? I'll never be happy because I'll never be famous enough."

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3 Recent Re-viewings

About Last Night . . . – (1986)
Based on David Mamet's one act play Sexual Perversity in Chicago, this film has more to offer than it would appear on the surface. Rob Lowe and a pre-augmentation Demi Moore play 20-something Chicago yuppies who fall in love, but find it hard to stay there. Jim Belushi and Elizabeth Perkins play their respective best friends, who constantly give horrible advice. The dialogue is frequently great (especially the opening sequence) but director Ed Zwick struggles with the pacing, especially in the second half. You feel that many things were tried in the editing room before they settled on the 8-9 montage sequences (complete with crap 80s songs – dig that, lawyer!). Lowe and Moore are surprisingly good, however, showing more depth than you’d expect from the surface beauty. B-

Brokeback Mountain – (2005)
A second look still has me confused about the unbridled passion for this movie. OK, it’s got the inevitable pretty scenery and the predictably great cinematography. Director Ang Lee lets the scenes play out at a leisurely but appropriate pace, frequently with minimal dialogue - which I respect. The acting is mostly great and I get the message about seizing the moment. But the music is tedious; the women (except Michelle Williams) are caricatures, and the overall arc of the movie is wildly uneven. Their first encounter lasts 45 minutes, then, it’s completely chopped together with scenes spanning decades that barely fit and have all the rhythm of someone losing their virginity. I’m glad people love it. Me? I just have a slight infatuation. B

Pretty Woman – (1990)
The complete opposite of Brokeback Mountain: heterosexual, urban, likable characters, uninspired direction. The first half is enjoyable as we watch the spunky Julia Roberts become a huge star. Then the movie tries to be about something and everybody becomes a better person for having met each other. Yuck. There are lots of nice little moments from the supporting roles, but Jason Alexander isn’t in any of them. George Costanza playing the aggressive asshole bad guy is, and always will be, unintentionally hilarious. B-

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Yes Man - C+

In theaters. Rated PG-13, 104 minutes. Trailer.

A sold out Valkyrie in snowy Leawood, Kansas led me and bride to Yes Man, which turned out much better than I expected. Starring Jim Carrey, the film is a mash up of the concepts of Liar, Liar and any 'coming out of a shell' movie. Carrey is a recent divorcee stuck in a dead-end job with Rhys Darby (Murray from Flight of the Conchords) as his geeky boss. He avoids going out and alienates his friends until an old acquaintance (the always funny John Michael Higgins) convinces him to go to a Terrence Stamp YES! seminar. Click below for more on YES!:

Carrey reluctantly gets on the program and has to say yes to every proposition. This leads us out of the schlocky, predictable movie and into a really enjoyable middle featuring my new fave Zooey Deschanel as the eccentric love interest. Her scenes with Carrey are enjoyable, naturalistic, interesting and well written. Both of them deliver funny and quality performances and I'd like to watch that segment again. The best scene is a suicide sing a long featuring Jumper from Third Eye Blind - funny, poignant and cool.

But, the movie has to finish up, so we're back to the premise and the stupid friend stuff which sucks out the marrow of my soul. I like Bradley Cooper, but Danny Masterson is terrible and apparently was born with sunglasses and facial hair. The Carrey 'stuff' is decently funny, but old. I enjoyed his interactions with Darby a lot, but mostly because of Darby. There are actually a couple of decent shots in Griffith Park in LA and some rural shots in Nebraska and walking in LA. The first and last of this movie is a solid C-, but the middle is a B+, so I'm giginv it a C+. Major point deductions for suffocating product placement: Dell, Red Bull, Capital One, and about 10 more. Beating.

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Happy Go Lucky - B

In theaters. Rated R, 118 minutes. Trailer.

As Doc has noted, British writer/director Mike Leigh is prone to the talky, about nothing film. Happy Go Lucky fits that mold, but his ability to give life to working class British characters makes the film enjoyable and it has stuck with me for the 5 days since I have seen it. Sally Hawkins is Poppy, a happy go lucky 30 year old teacher in London. As you might imagine, she has an irrepressibly positive disposition that belies a depth underneath the spunky exterior. Click below for more HAPPY:

Poppy isn't just happy herself- she engages others, even strangers, in pleasant conversations that are mostly ignored by the other party. She lives with her long time friend, the plaintive Zoe, and interacts often with her trashy, chavish younger sister. There are several annoying scenes and lots of happy interactions where Poppy fails to really engage the situation by making everything a joke. Nothing really happens in the film, but it shows her going out, working as a teacher in a primary school and taking driving lessions.

This is the best part of the film, as possessed and psychotic driving instructor Scott (Eddie Marsan) shows the exact opposite way of living life. Her sessions with Scott are tense and scary at times, and the climactic scene between the two was one of the most riveting and intense scenes that I can recall this year. Marsan is masterful as the angry and lonely Scott, and should be getting mentioned as a Supporting Actor. The scene where the group visits Poppy's younger (but pregnant, married and mortgaged) sister is also very good, showcasing Leigh's great family dynamic writing (never better than in Secrets and Lies). Toward the end of the film, Poppy finds a boyfriend and appears happy, but is adrift in the world.

Hawkins is really good, rarely losing the big smile and making it count when it isn't there. I wasn't a big fan of the film as I left the theater, but I have been thinking about it over the last few days and the dialogue and characters are some of the best of the year, if only for their realism. Lots of bird symbolism and migration and journeys. Worth seeing in an especially weak year.

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Merry Christmas

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Man on Wire - B-

On DVD. Rated PG, 94 minutes. Trailer.

Director James Marsh's Man on Wire is a documentary about Frenchman Phillipe Petit's unauthorized tightrope walk between the Twin Towers in 1974. Using a combination of archival footage, present day interviews and re-enactments, the story is presented in a 'real crime' drama presentation like you would see on Court TV. Given all of the critical laurels the film has received this year, I was expecting something transcendental. Um, not quite. Click below for more on MOW:

Petit was a well known Parisian street magician and 'wire walker' when he pulled his first stunt, walking between Notre Dame's towers. The fame he gained and the experience and response of the people who saw it led him to conquer a bridge in Sydney and to his coup de grace, the Twin Towers. There is something undeniably fascinating about someone seemingly floating in the air so high, and in proximity to such landmarks. The filmmakers rely on this for the impact of the film, and it comes and goes, but not enough to make the film anything more than just kind of interesting. The images are amazing, but they don't add up to a good film.

The feat itself is captivating, but the 'suspense' of the clandestine activities leading up to it was very boring and the re-enactments were too close to the aforementioned Court TV to be effective. Plus, I didn't care for the 'age of aquarius' French countryside practice sessions.

There is something emotional about the 'space' between the Twin Towers. Petit's walking was made that much more fleeting when the Towers fell. There is lots of archival footage of the construction of the towers and it is eery to see the famous steel spires being hoisted up instead being a mangled mess. The attacks are not mentioned at all in the film, but their existence adds a level of gravity to the film and Petit's act. As the group plots their deed, it is eerily similar to the way a terrorist group would be inspired by the Towers and plan for such an event.

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Slumdog Millionaire - B-

Lawyer's original review is here.

18 year old Jamal Malik (Dev Patel) grew up in the Bombay slums, but has a chance to become a millionaire on the TV show Who Wants to be a Millionaire. The film is told with flashbacks as the police interrogate Jamal and he is forced to explain how he knew all the answers. Amazingly, the TV show questions correspond chronologically to Jamal’s childhood. Jamal grows up under the protection of his older brother Salim (both played by 3 different child actors). But when the story needs a little manipulative jolt and extra drama, Salim suddenly reverses motivations (twice!). The brothers also grew up with Latika but eventually separate from her. Jamal spends his entire childhood thinking about Latika, wanting to reunite. Because no one understands “eros” love like an uneducated 8 year-old orphan who has to scam and scavenge for food . . .

The versatile Danny Boyle has made some very good films this decade in the science fiction (Sunshine), horror (28 Days Later), and family (Millions) genres. Slumdog Millionaire wants to be a hard-hitting drama, a tough gangster film, and an inspiring romance all at the same time. Instead of the separate components building on each other, the lack of focus results in whiplash. The on location buildings (especially the Taj Mahal – wow!) and natural extras are beautiful, but the story and tone undermine the tragic existence of slum living. When Jamal jumps into a toilet and is covered in excrement, it’s shamelessly played for laughs. Alternatively, when one of the Jewish children jumps into the toilet to hide in Schindler’s List, it’s emotionally devastating:

Boyle masterfully used camera angles and first rate character placement and frame composition in Trainspotting (which accentuated his take on drug abuse), but unfortunately his technique in Slumdog Millionaire is far less unique and inspired. With the quick cuts and fast camera moves, Boyle seems to be channeling latter day Tony Scott, complete with useless subtitles. Even worse, an early chase through the slums seems to parallel the “Lust for Life” opening in Trainspotting, but here, the music is forgettable and without a character like Ewan McGregor’s Renton to draw the audience in, the viewer is kept at arm’s length. It’s not Dev Patel’s fault. He sits in the TV show chair with a really long face for much of the film. I’d be depressed too if I had to recall all the crap he does.

As the police interrogator, Irrfan Khan fares better than Anil Kapoor, the TV show host, who looks like a chubby George Michael with a slightly darker complexion. The undeniably beautiful Freida Pinto plays the oldest Latika well and she does have good on-screen chemistry with Dev Patel. The scene where she answers the phone is one of my favorites, but there is no reason why Salim would give her the phone other than to create this (ultimately false) moment. The movie also doesn’t have the guts to end in any other way other than a fairy tale. In isolation, the closing credits are great, with a Bollywood style dance routine at the train station and the older Jamal and Latika dancing their pants off. It's fantastic - in every sense of the word. But I’m not watching a 3-4 minute video on youtube. I’m watching a film, and this just added to the confused tone and undermined any strength the love story had just developed.

Last year, I took exception with that other overpraised indie Juno. But at least Diablo Cody was smart enough to include the Jason Bateman character that allowed the film to be about something (growing up). Slumdog Millionaire isn’t really about anything. Yes, I understood the plot, but there’s no underlying current and no through-line. I was never bored so C+ is too harsh, but I can’t really go with a B either mostly because Boyle and company gloss over the horrible slum environment. They also gloss over religion (Salim is Muslim) and ultimately don’t have the guts or teeth to really be about anything. It's as confused as its oxymoron-ic title. B-

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DVD and CD Releases - December 23rd

Recent DVD Releases:

American Teen
Burn After Reading
Death Race
Fanboys
Hamlet 2


Click below for CD releases.

New CD Releases:

Fear The State -Against The Ropes
Sterling Simms -Yours, Mine & The Truth
Stephanie Smith -Not Afraid
Various Artists -Revolutionary Road [OST]
Various Artists -Slumdog Millionaire [OST]

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Doubt - B

In theaters. Rated PG-13, 104 minutes. Trailer.

Advertised as a complicated but riveting tale of religious struggles wihtin a 50's era Manhattan Catholic School, Doubt delivered on the basic plot points, but left out the complicated and the riveting. Phillip Seymour Hoffman stars as a Priest that is accused by the rigid school principal (Meryl Streep) of taking liberties with one a black student at the school. Caught in the middle is a timid but spirited Amy Adams as the cowering teacher caught in Streep's web. With its cast and pedigree (much of the There Will Be Blood team was on board here (Roger Deakins, Dylan Tichenor, Scott Rudin)) I was ready for a barn burner, but really just got the barn. Click below for more on DOUBT:

The film is based on writer/director John Patrick Shanley's Pulitzer prize winning play of the same name. The Hoffman and Streep characters evolve throughout the course of the picture, with the 'rooting interest' of the audience switchin about 80% of the way through. There are some interesting themes and juxtapositions (mostly about men and women and the dogmatic and the pragmatic), as well as subtle statements about order and discipline. I most enjoyed the fiery interactions between Hoffman and Streep, which were too few to keep the film interesting.

Viola Davis is mesmerizing in a very small role as the potential abused child's mother, showing motherly, gay-motherly, racist-victim, and working class realist emotions all in the course of about 5 minutes. She's a lock to get a best supporting actress nomination. I have never been a big fan of Death Becomes Her's Meryl Streep, but even I can't deny that she stole the film. She portrays a complicated woman fulfilling the 'doubt' sermon laid out by Hoffman in the first scene of the film. Hoffman is great, as usual, giving a textured performance that keeps the audience guessing.

This one is okay, but really drags at the beginning. Lots of pretty pictures and scenes using the gothic and retro-50's Bronx as a backdrop.

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3 Recent Re-viewings

Unbreakable (2000)
After reading some ridiculous opinions that this is M. Night Shyamalan’s best film, I thought I would check it out again since I hadn’t seen it in the better part of a decade. It is interestingly directed with long continuous takes, slow camera moves, and well-positioned props. But quarrelling married couples are never fun and the plot is too simple for a 2 hour film. It’s good for 1 hour max. Samuel L. Jackson thinks Bruce Willis has superpowers. Willis denies it, Jackson retorts, and Willis denies again. Back and forth for the entire running time with a ridiculous weight-lifting scene thrown in the middle. Shyamalan is a good director (and a good cameo role player), but he really needs to direct someone else’s script. B-

After Hours (1985)
Griffin Dunne works as a word processor during the day. After being allured by Rosanna Arquette at a diner, he travels to the SoHo district. But what begins as a midnight love rendezvous turns into a night of crazy characters and incredible coincidences. The eclectic cast includes Cheech and Chong, Linda Fiorentino, Teri Garr, Will Patton, John Heard, and Catherine O’Hara. But the real star is director Martin Scorsese. His trademark camera moves keep this Kafka-esque nightmare from sinking from the contrivances and overly colorful characters. You don’t have to be a Scorsese aficionado to like this film, but it helps. B+

Affliction (1998)
Paul Schrader’s unrelenting grim and unpleasant film has Nick Nolte investigating a deer hunting accident while battling personal demons about his abusive father. He’s in a custody battle with his ex-wife for his daughter and becomes increasingly crazed and abusive himself as the film progresses. Nolte, James Coburn (his father), Sissy Spacek (his girlfriend), and Willem Dafoe (his brother) give great performances and the wintry barren landscapes set the bleak mood perfectly. But like almost everything he does, Schrader seems unnecessarily intent on offending and alienating as many people as possible. I do love the “Jesus-freaks and candy-asses” line, though. B

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A.O. Scott's Seven Pounds review

. . . is here. Seven Pounds looks like the most spectacularly misconceived film in quite some time, as bad as Death to Smoochy or Twins. The spoiler-laden wikipedia page is here. Sounds like Pay it Forward meets Blink.Click below for a brief medical discussion on the major Seven Pounds spoiler.

Even if Will Smith is able to get his organs his chosen recipients, the odds of the organs surviving are extremely low. Most organ donors are close relatives, usually a brother or a sister. There's organ rejection, organ failure, and Graft-versus-Host disease (which Tobias Funke suffered after a hair transplant). Never mind the questionable viability of the organs after they have met a jellyfish.

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New Flight of the Conchords Episode Streaming

To watch it click here

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DFW and Houston Film Critics

DFW and Houston Film Critics Awards listed after the jump. (I promise, it'll be the last 2, unless OKC has a new group.) 5 of the top 6 match, with only best film different. Houston went with Benjamin Button.

Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics 2008 Awards

Top Ten Films of 2008
1. SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
2. MILK
3. THE DARK KNIGHT
4. THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
5. THE WRESTLER
6. THE VISITOR
7. FROST/NIXON
8. DOUBT
9. WALL-E
10. HAPPY-GO-LUCKY

Best Film
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE

Best Director
Danny Boyle, SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE

Best Actor
Sean Penn, MILK

Best Actress
Anne Hathaway, RACHEL GETTING MARRIED

Best Supporting Actor
Heath Ledger, THE DARK KNIGHT

Best Supporting Actress
Viola Davis, DOUBT

Best Foreign Language Film
TELL NO ONE

Best Documentary
MAN ON WIRE

Best Animated Film
WALL-E

Best Screenplay
Dustin Lance Black, MILK

Best Cinematography
Wally Pfister,THE DARK KNIGHT

******************************

Houston Film Critics 2008 Awards

BEST PICTURE
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON

BEST DIRECTOR OF A MOTION PICTURE
DANNY BOYLE, SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE.

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
SEAN PENN, MILK

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
ANNE HATHAWAY, RACHEL GETTING MARRIED

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
HEATH LEDGER, THE DARK KNIGHT

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
VIOLA DAVIS, DOUBT

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ENSEMBLE CAST
DOUBT

BEST SCREENPLAY
SIMON BEAUFOY, SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE

BEST ANIMATED FILM
WALL-E

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
CLAUDIO MIRANDA, THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
MAN ON WIRE

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
MONGOL

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
MIRACLE AT ST. ANNA BY TERENCE BLANCHARD

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
"DOWN TO EARTH" FROM WALL-E

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Best Films of the Decade (So far)

We're now 80% through the "aughts", and I think its worthwhile to see how the great movies of the decade (2001 - 2008) stack up so far.

1. There Will Be Blood
2. Mulholland Drive
3. Children of Men
4. City of God
5. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
6. No Country for Old Men
7. Adaptation
8. The Departed
9. Michael Clayton
10.Brokeback Mountain

Honorable mention: Memento, Royal Tennenbaums, About a Boy, Cinderella Man, Sideways, 21 Grams, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead, The Breakup, Old School and Once.

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Random Thoughts and Observations

1. Listen to The Dark Knight score here.

2. The Dark Knight looks great on Blu-ray. The scenes for IMAX are presented in 1.77:1 and the non-IMAX scenes are 2.40:1. You can barely tell when it switches back and forth because it's so intense (as Jemaine would say). The extras for the disc are a little sparse and I wish Nolan did commentaries, but with a film this good, who cares? By the way, my Molly Sims-Jamie Lynn Sigler moment is the emergence (ahem) of the batbike.

3. Hugh Jackman has been tapped to host the Oscars. I guess I can no longer deny that the Oscars are the Super Bowl for women and gay men.

4. I'm through with The Office. It's off my weekly recording until someone tells me otherwise. It's been coming down the pike for the past few weeks, but Phyllis throwing baby Jesus in the drawer was the last straw. Too bad Jessica Alba and Jack Black are guest-starring on the show immediately following the Super Bowl.

5. Every film critic group in America is passing out awards. I'm going to limit further lists and discussions to Houston and the I-35 corridor. Click below for the 2008 Austin Film Critics Awards.

Top 10 Films
The Dark Knight
Slumdog Millionaire
Milk
Synecdoche, New York
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Wrestler
WALL*E
Frost/Nixon
Let the Right One In
Gran Torino


Best Picture
The Dark Knight

Best Director
Christopher Nolan, The Dark Knight

Best Actor
Sean Penn, Milk

Best Actress
Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married

Best Supporting Actor
Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight

Best Supporting Actress
Taraji P. Henson, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Best Original Screenplay
Charlie Kaufman, Synecdoche, New York

Best Adapted Screenplay
The Dark Knight, Jonthan Nolan & Christopher Nolan

Best Cinematography
The Fall, Colin Watkinson

Best Original Score
The Dark Knight, James Newton Howard and Hans Zimmer

Best Foreign Language Film
Let the Right One In (Låt den rätte komma in) - Sweden

Best Documentary Film
Man on Wire

Best Animated Feature
WALL*E

Breakthrough Artist Award
Danny McBride, Pineapple Express/The Foot Fist Way/Tropic Thunder

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DVD and CD Releases - December 16th

Recent DVD Releases:

Generation Kill
The House Bunny
In the Name Of The King: A Dungeon Siege Tale
Mamma Mia!
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor
Traitor

Click below for more DVD and CD releases.

DVD Special Editions/Other Releases:

TV Box Sets:

Aqua Teen Hunger Force: Volume Six
Petticoat Junction: Season One
Swingtown: Season One
Transformers Energon: The Ultimate Collection

Special Editions/Other Releases:

The Cheetah Girls: One World - Extended Edition
Chungking Express
Rise of the Footsoldier
Wild Country

New CD Releases:

All-American Rejects - When The World Comes Down
Keyshia Cole - A Different Me
Dave Matthews Band - Live at Mile High Music Festival
Dave Matthews Band - Live Trax Vol. 13
The-Dream - Love vs. Money
Fall Out Boy Folie a Deux
Jamie Foxx - Intuition
Piles - Da REAList
Soulja Boy - iSouljaboytellem

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Frost/Nixon - B

In theaters. Rated PG-13, 122 minutes. Trailer.

I feel like the Grinch this year. I seem to like nothing, akin to the infamous "If its not Goodfellas its crap" phase Doc went through in not so recent years. In any event, Frost/Nixon was yet another letdown. The film is based on the acclaimed Broadway play of the same and tells the story of Richard Nixon's first post-resignation interview with David Frost (the Ryan Seacrest of his day). Featuring a script from Peter Morgan (The Queen), direction from Ron Howard and great acting from Frank Langella (Nixon) and Michael Sheen (Frost), this movie should have been better. Click below for more on F/N:

Howard uses lots of archival footage to set the stage for Nixon's resignation, then moves swiftly into the story of how the interview was obtained (Frost paid for it) and the preparation for the interview. Ostensibly a think piece about Nixon's legacy and how the interviews helped shape Nixon and Frost in the years to come, it turns into a generally boring and uninspired rendering of this event. Langella is right-on with his rendering of the brazen and conflicted Nixon, and he will be nominated for it. I also enjoyed Sheen in the layered role of Frost - a driven and lightweight interview seeking legitimacy and fame through the interview.

The trouble is that Nixon and all of his traits and actions have been so analyzed and depicted onscreen that it renders the film largely moot. Morgan tries to make it about the two men and the impact of their intersection, but it doesn't work. At times interesting and funny, this film is just there. Another disappointment.

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SNL – Hugh Laurie & Kanye West 12/13/08

Hugh Laurie was one the best hosts last year and does an admirable job once again. The Blagojevich scandal was certainly milked (well) for all of its comic potential, but Fred Armisen’s impersonation of New York Governor Patterson was the best moment of the night for me.
Bronx Beat was OK, much less annoying than usual and served as one last hurrah for Amy Poehler and Maya Rudolph. The Christmas Dinner sketch was funny – love Kristen Wiig’s “angry” face. The Wedding Toast sketch was also inspired with lots of interesting characters. The Lamp skit looked disastrous as it started, but turned out OK. The “Cat Letter” and “Cookies” Digital Short were average. Could have used much more Bill Hader. Hey, Kanye, all the production values in the world can’t save your crappy songs. Overall, an improvement over the past several weeks, the best episode since Jon Hamm. B

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Last 5 Itunes Downloads

1. "Live Your Life" - TI (feat. Rihanna). TI's oddly parable-y lyrics and Rihanna's robotic but beautiful singing come together for a cool rap song. TI was the nephew (the pitcher with promise) of Denzel in American Gangster.

2. "The Wrestler" - Bruce Springsteen. This is from his forthcoming January album, and can't be bought yet. It is featured on the Wrestler trailer and works best there, showcasing the brilliance that can occur when the moving image is set to perfectly cast music.

3. "Just Like Heaven" - The Cure. From the opening drums, this is one I can listen to on a loop. Oddly hard and aggressive, this is my favorite Cure song. The Killers need to cover this ASAP.

I apologize in advance for the next two.

4. "Crush" - David Archuleta. Yes, that one. The American Idol alum has a soulful voice that turns this horrible song into something I like.

5. "If I Were a Boy" - Beyonce. I like the lyrics and concept of the song. Beyonce's sings the great melody perfectly.

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The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - B+

In theaters December 25th. Rated R, 167 minutes. Trailer.

Life and its moments are fleeting, appreciate them while you can. Such is the theme of Director David Fincher's new film, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Starring a nimble Brad Pitt in the title role and a resplendent Cate Blanchett as his life-long love, the film follows the life of a man that is aging in reverse - born as a baby that looks and has the body of a little old man - as he gets older, his body gets younger. The film is based on the F. Scott Fitzgerald short story of the same name which was adapted for the screen by Eric Roth (Forrest Gump, The Insider, Munich). The film is a marvel to watch, both technically perfect and beautiful in its soft hues and soft lighting. Click below for more on a disappointing BUTTON:

Trouble is, there's no 'there' there - it feels sentimental for the sake of sentimentality. Through all its melodramatic music and calculated teargusher moments, the film fails to strike a chord deep enough to justify its efforts. It has been said that Eric Roth lost his parents while writing this script and that his grief and sense of loss are imbedded therein. Apparently, he also lost his memory and incorporated 40% of Forrest Gump into this screenplay. An isolated young boy (with trouble walking) growing up with only a mother to raise him in a house full of strangers in the South? Check. An eccentric and colorful ship captain that tells a naive young man about the world? Check. A far-flung life long love that spurns him at most every turn? Check. Touchstone moment set to an iconic 60's musician's appearance on tv? Check. Use of hokey catchphrase to put the thesis of the film out there as clearly as possible (FG: "Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get" - TCBB: "You never know what's comin'"). And the list goes on and on. These and the other similarities bugged me the whole time and really handicapped the film.

My favorite part of the film is at the very beginning - the sequence describing the grieving clockmaker that made a clock that ran backwards. It is heartfelt and involves bravura filmmaking from Fincher with reverse frames and war scenes. The first third of the film shows Benjamin as a child growing up and getting slowly younger, all along being told he could die at any minute. After his mother died during childbirth (on the last day of WWI) he is abandoned by his father. This experience, along with growing up in an old folks home, allows him to have a perspective on life that sucks the marrow out of the bones of life and live every minute to the fullest. He is always on an even keel, never being flustered or extremely emotional. The 'old' character is Pitt's face CGI'd onto another actors body, and it works very well. I did not notice any of it and the whole thing is pulled off expertly. It is at this stage of his life that he meets the 7 year old Daisy and their connection is immediate.

As Pitt gets into adolescence, he looks like a 65 year old man (instead of the 80 year old he looked like at birth) and he starts to explore the world. He starts working, 'meeting' women and unknowingly befriends his father, Mr. Button. He joins the crew of a working ship and travels the world with a rag-tag crew led by a colorful captain. They end up in Russia for a long stint, where the ever changing Benjamin has an interesting and fleeting affair with a married woman (Tilda Swinton). Their scenes are interesting, tender, and shot with amazing beatuy (especially the shot with the beaded lamp). Benjamin and Daisy start to realize their attraction and the closing age gap makes it within their grasp. Two of my other favorite scenes are when Daisy is home from New York and the two are on a late night walk (the photo at the beginning is from this night) and the unannounced visit by Benjamin to New York to visit Daisy - her reception and his response are the best snapshots of the ignorance and vitality of youth and the cirumspection of old age.

As Fincher bring the movie home, it wobbles. Benjamin gets younger and everybody gets teary as the age gap begins to grow again after it goes away for a brief moment. There are several emotional moments that even I was affected by - but my feelings were produced by my parental inclinations and not necessarily the power of the film.

Fincher/Roth use a clunky narrative device showing Daisy on her deathbed in New Orleans on the eve of Hurricane Katrina being comforted by her daughter, First Knight's Julia Ormond. Ormond reads Benjamin's diary (for the first time) to Daisy and the story plays out.

All that said, I was disappointed with the film. My expectations were sky-high and the film did not meet them. I found the writing lazy and hammy and the aformentioned Gump similarities bothered me too much. There are some funny moments (lightning strikes) and lots of pretty pictures and sequences (my other favorite is the "chaos theory" sequence involving an accident Daisy is in) that will blow you (especially Fincher-phile Doc) away.

Other random thoughts and observations: The make up in the film is the best I've ever seen - for both Pitt and Blanchett. Blanchett gives a great lived in, dancerish performance. She moves like a dancer throughout and feels her character. I loved the nighttime fireworks for its cinematography and the battle at sea scene is intense and will have you ducking bullets. The hummingbird device at the end rang VERY hollow for me and gave one last Gump-ism - Feather dropping in Gump, Hummingbird flying in Button. A must see, but don't get your hopes up.

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5 Great Movie Monologues

“Man, I see in fight club the strongest and smartest men who've ever lived. I see all this potential - and I see squandering. G@ddamm!t, an entire generation pumping gas, waiting tables - slaves with white collars. Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy sh!t we don't need. We're the middle children of history, man. No purpose or place. We have no Great War. No Great Depression. Our Great War's a spiritual war. Our Great Depression is our lives. We've all been raised on television to believe that one day we'd all be millionaires and movie gods and rock stars. But we won't. And we're slowly learning that fact. And we're very, very pissed off.”

Fight Club (1999)
Brad Pitt as Tyler Durden
Screenplay by Jim Uhls (Chuck Palahniuk – novel)

“It was one of those days when it's a minute away from snowing and there's this electricity in the air - you can almost hear it, right? And this bag was just dancing with me. Like a little kid begging me to play with it. For fifteen minutes. And that's the day I realized there was this entire life behind things, and this incredibly benevolent force, that wanted me to know there was no reason to be afraid, ever. Video's a poor excuse, I know. But it helps me remember - I need to remember. Sometimes there's so much beauty in the world - I feel like I can't take it, and my heart is just going to cave in.”

American Beauty (1999)
Wes Bentley as Ricky Fitts
Screenplay by Alan Ball

“You like boats, but not the ocean. You go to a lake in the summer with your family up in the mountains. There's a long wooden dock and a boathouse with boards missing from the roof, and a place you used to crawl underneath to be alone. You're a sucker for French poetry and rhinestones. You're very generous. You're kind to strangers and children. And when you stand in the snow, you look like an angel.”

Groundhog Day (1993)
Bill Murray as Phil Connors
Screenplay by Danny Rubin and Harold Ramis

“You know something? For years I've been listening to all these idiots on barstools with all their pet theories on Dallas. How it was the Cubans, or the CIA, or the white supremacists, or the Mob. Or whether it was one weapon or whether it was five. None of that's meant too much to me. But Leary - he questioned whether I had the guts to take that fatal bullet. God, that was a beautiful day. The sun was out, been raining all morning. Air was . . . First shot – sounded like a firecracker. I looked over and I saw him – I could tell he was hit. I don’t know why I didn’t react. I should have reacted. I should have been running flat out. I just couldn’t believe it. If only I would have reacted, I could have taken that shot. That would have been alright with me.”

In the Line of Fire (1993)
Clint Eastwood as Frank Horrigan
Screenplay by Jeff Maguire

“Hello, little man. Boy, I sure heard a bunch about you. See, I was a good friend of your Dad's. We were in that Hanoi pit of hell together over five years. Hopefully, you'll never have to experience this yourself, but when two men are in a situation like me and your Dad were, for as long as we were, you take on certain responsibilities of the other. If it had been me who had not made it, Major Coolidge would be talking right now to my son Jim. But the way it turned out, I'm talking to you. Butch, I got something for you. This watch I got here was first purchased by your great-grandfather during the First World War. It was bought in a little general store in Knoxville, Tennessee - made by the first company to ever make wristwatches. Up until then, people just carried pocket watches. It was bought by private Doughboy Ryan Coolidge on the day he set sail for Paris. This was your great-grandfather's war watch, and he wore it every day he was in the war. Then when he had done his duty, went home to your great-grandmother, took the watch off, put it in an old coffee can. And in that can it stayed until your granddad Dane Coolidge was called upon by his country to go overseas and fight the Germans once again. This time they called it World War II. Your great-grandfather gave it to your granddad for good luck. Unfortunately, Dane's luck wasn't as good as his old man's. Dane was a Marine and he was killed along with all the other Marines at the battle of Wake Island. Your granddad was facing death. He knew it. None of those boys had any illusions about ever leaving that island alive. So three days before the Japanese took the island, your granddad asked a gunner on an Air Force transport named Winocki, a man he had never met before in his life, to deliver to his infant son, who he had never seen in the flesh, his gold watch. Three days later, your granddad was dead. But Winocki kept his word. After the war was over, he paid a visit to your grandmother, delivering to your infant father, his Dad's gold watch. This watch. This watch was on your Daddy's wrist when he was shot down over Hanoi. He was captured and put in a Vietnamese prison camp. Now he knew that if the gooks ever saw the watch, it'd be confiscated, taken away. The way your Dad looked at it, this watch was your birthright. He'd be damned if any slope’s gonna put their greasy yellow hands on his boy's birthright. So he hid it in the one place he knew he could hide something - his ass. Five long years, he wore this watch up his ass. Then he died of dysentery, he’d give me the watch. I hid this uncomfortable hunk of metal up my ass for two years. Then, after seven years, I was sent home to my family. And now, little man, I give the watch to you.”

Pulp Fiction (1994)
Christopher Walken as Captain Koons
Screenplay by Quentin Tarantino

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Golden Globes Nominations

Confusing the Oscar race even more, the Hollywood Foreign Press gave the most nominations (5) to The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Frost/Nixon. Doubt also received 5 nominations, 4 of which were for acting. Slumdog Millionaire still looks like the Oscar favorite with 4 nominations. It's good to see Robert Downey, Jr. and Tom Cruise get recognized for Tropic Thunder and the nominations for In Bruges are great. Click below for the full list, including the television nominations.

BEST MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
FROST/NIXON
THE READER
REVOLUTIONARY ROAD
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA
ANNE HATHAWAY – RACHEL GETTING MARRIED
ANGELINA JOLIE – CHANGELING
MERYL STREEP – DOUBT
KRISTIN SCOTT THOMAS – I'VE LOVED YOU SO LONG
KATE WINSLET – REVOLUTIONARY ROAD

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA
LEONARDO DICAPRIO – REVOLUTIONARY ROAD
FRANK LANGELLA – FROST/NIXON
SEAN PENN – MILK
BRAD PITT – THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
MICKEY ROURKE – THE WRESTLER

BEST MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
BURN AFTER READING
HAPPY-GO-LUCKY
IN BRUGES
MAMMA MIA!
VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
REBECCA HALL – VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA
SALLY HAWKINS – HAPPY-GO-LUCKY
FRANCES MCDORMAND – BURN AFTER READING
MERYL STREEP – MAMMA MIA!
EMMA THOMPSON – LAST CHANCE HARVEY

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
JAVIER BARDEM – VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA
COLIN FARRELL – IN BRUGES
JAMES FRANCO – PINEAPPLE EXPRESS
BRENDAN GLEESON – IN BRUGES
DUSTIN HOFFMAN – LAST CHANCE HARVEY

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
BOLT
KUNG FU PANDA
WALL-E

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
THE BAADER MEINHOF COMPLEX (GERMANY)
EVERLASTING MOMENTS (SWEDEN/DENMARK)
GOMORRAH (ITALY)
I'VE LOVED YOU SO LONG (FRANCE)
WALTZ WITH BASHIR (ISRAEL)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE
AMY ADAMS – DOUBT
PENELOPE CRUZ – VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA
VIOLA DAVIS –DOUBT
MARISA TOMEI – THE WRESTLER
KATE WINSLET – THE READER

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE
TOM CRUISE – TROPIC THUNDER
ROBERT DOWNEY JR. –TROPIC THUNDER
RALPH FIENNES – THE DUCHESS
PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN – DOUBT
HEATH LEDGER – THE DARK KNIGHT

BEST DIRECTOR – MOTION PICTURE
DANNY BOYLE – SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
STEPHEN DALDRY – THE READER
DAVID FINCHER – THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
RON HOWARD – FROST/NIXON
SAM MENDES – REVOLUTIONARY ROAD

BEST SCREENPLAY – MOTION PICTURE
SIMON BEAUFOY – SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
DAVID HARE – THE READER
PETER MORGAN – FROST/NIXON
ERIC ROTH – THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN
JOHN PATRICK SHANLEY – DOUBT

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE – MOTION PICTURE
ALEXANDRE DESPLAT –THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
CLINT EASTWOOD – CHANGELING
JAMES NEWTON HOWARD – DEFIANCE
A. R. RAHMAN – SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
HANS ZIMMER – FROST/NIXON

BEST ORIGINAL SONG – MOTION PICTURE
“DOWN TO EARTH” — WALL-E
Music by: Peter Gabriel, Thomas Newman, Lyrics by: Peter Gabriel
“GRAN TORINO” — GRAN TORINO
Music by: Clint Eastwood, Jamie Cullum, Kyle Eastwood, Michael Stevens
Lyrics by: Kyle Eastwood, Michael Stevens
“I THOUGHT I LOST YOU” — BOLT
Music & Lyrics by: Miley Cyrus, Jeffrey Steele
“ONCE IN A LIFETIME” — CADILLAC RECORDS
Music & Lyrics by: Beyoncé Knowles, Amanda Ghost, Scott McFarnon, Ian Dench, James Dring, Jody Street
“THE WRESTLER” — THE WRESTLER
Music & Lyrics by: Bruce Springsteen

BEST TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA
DEXTER (SHOWTIME)
HOUSE (FOX)
IN TREATMENT (HBO)
MAD MEN (AMC)
TRUE BLOOD (HBO)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA
SALLY FIELD – BROTHERS AND SISTERS
MARISKA HARGITAY –LAW AND ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT
JANUARY JONES – MAD MEN
ANNA PAQUIN – TRUE BLOOD
KYRA SEDGWICK – THE CLOSER

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA
GABRIEL BYRNE – IN TREATMENT
MICHAEL C. HALL – DEXTER
JON HAMM – MAD MEN
HUGH LAURIE – HOUSE
JONATHAN RHYS MEYERS – THE TUDORS

BEST TELEVISION SERIES – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
30 ROCK (NBC)
CALIFORNICATION (SHOWTIME)
ENTOURAGE (HBO)
THE OFFICE (NBC)
WEEDS (SHOWTIME)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES –COMEDY OR MUSICAL
CHRISTINA APPLEGATE – SAMANTHA WHO?
AMERICA FERRERA – UGLY BETTY
TINA FEY – 30 ROCK
DEBRA MESSING – THE STARTER WIFE
MARY-LOUISE PARKER – WEEDS

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
ALEC BALDWIN – 30 ROCK
STEVE CARELL – THE OFFICE
KEVIN CONNOLLY – ENTOURAGE
DAVID DUCHOVNY – CALIFORNICATION
TONY SHALHOUB – MONK

BEST MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
A RAISIN IN THE SUN (ABC)
BERNARD AND DORIS (HBO
CRANFORD (PBS)
JOHN ADAMS (HBO)
RECOUNT (HBO)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
JUDI DENCH – CRANFORD
CATHERINE KEENER – AN AMERICAN CRIME
LAURA LINNEY – JOHN ADAMS
SHIRLEY MACLAINE – COCO CHANEL
SUSAN SARANDON – BERNARD AND DORIS

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
RALPH FIENNES – BERNARD AND DORIS
PAUL GIAMATTI – JOHN ADAMS
KEVIN SPACEY – RECOUNT
KIEFER SUTHERLAND – 24: REDEMPTION
TOM WILKINSON – RECOUNT

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
EILEEN ATKINS – CRANFORD
LAURA DERN – RECOUNT
MELISSA GEORGE – IN TREATMENT
RACHEL GRIFFITHS – BROTHERS AND SISTERS
DIANNE WIEST – IN TREATMENT

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
NEIL PATRICK HARRIS – HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER
DENIS LEARY – RECOUNT
JEREMY PIVEN – ENTOURAGE
BLAIR UNDERWOOD – IN TREATMENT
TOM WILKINSON – JOHN ADAMS

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New York Film Critics Circle

The last major critics group (before the Golden Globes) announced their picks today. The National Society of Film Critics matter in terms of influence on Oscars, but don't meet until early January. I've never understood the critical love for Brit Mike Leigh who makes talky, frequently pointless, plotless films that'll cure your insomnia. Obviously, the New York and Los Angeles Film Critics have more patience and time than I do. Click below for the full list.

Best Film: Milk
Best Actor: Sean Penn, Milk
Best Actress: Sally Hawkins, Happy-Go-Lucky
Best Director: Mike Leigh, Happy-Go-Lucky
Best Supporting Actress: Penelope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Best Supporting Actor: Josh Brolin, Milk
Best Screenplay: Jenny Lumet Rachel Getting Married
Best Cinematographer: Anthony Dod Mantle Slumdog Millionaire
Best Animated Film: WALL-E
Best First Film: Courtney Hunt, Frozen River
Best Foreign Film: 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days
Best Documentary: Man on Wire

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Los Angeles Film Critics Awards

Best Picture
Wall-E
Runner-up: The Dark Knight

Director
Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire
Runner-up: Christopher Nolan, The Dark Knight

Actor
Sean Penn, Milk
Runner-up: Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler

Actress
Sally Hawkins, Happy-Go-Lucky
Runner-up: Melissa Leo, Frozen River

Supporting Actor
Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight
Runner-up: Eddie Marsan, Happy-Go-Lucky

Supporting Actress
Penelope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona and Elegy
Runner-up: Viola Davis, Doubt

Screenplay
Mike Leigh, Happy-Go-Lucky
Runner-up: Charlie Kaufman, Synecdoche, New York

Foreign-language Film
Still Life
Runner-up: The Class

Documentary
Man on Wire
Runner-up: Waltz With Bashir

Animation
Waltz With Bashir

Cinematography
Yu Lik Wai, Still Life
Runner-up: Anthony Dod Mantle, Slumdog Millionaire

Production Design
Mark Friedberg, Synecdoche, New York
Runner-up: Nathan Crowley, The Dark Knight

Music/score
A.R. Rahman, Slumdog Millionaire
Runner-up: Alexandre Desplat, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

These guys often go popular, having given the Best Picture Award to Star Wars and E.T. in the past. They also like Mike Leigh (Happy-Go-Lucky) way too much as seen by past major wins by Secrets and Lies and Vera Drake.

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Backdraft: B, Apollo 13: A-

Ron Howard’s Frost/Nixon hasn’t been released wide yet, but has been getting respectable, if not spectacular, reviews. Recently, I was able to catch two of Howard’s earlier films. They share themes of male bonding, man triumphing over nature, and lost innocence . . .

After making slight comedies and family films in the 1980s, Howard’s first try at more adult subject matter was Backdraft, the best firefighting, sibling-rivalry, murder mystery of 1991. Howard’s creates sufficient tension and excitement in the firefighting scenes and occasionally allows his camera to stand back from the action, allowing the Chicago landscapes to participate. This is a surprising jump in directorial achievement from Howard’s previous works. The acting by brothers Kurt Russell and William Baldwin are good and OK, respectively. Donald Sutherland is terrific as the super-creepy pyromaniac and Robert De Niro gives his standard, great, lived-in performance as an arson investigator. But while the story is interesting and engaging, the dialogue is average at best. Besides Backdraft, screenwriter (and former fireman) Gregory Widen has mostly dealt in the horror and sci-fi genres (Highlander, The Prophecy) where dialogue doesn’t matter as much as concepts and action. But if you’re film is part family drama, you need better dialogue – and a lead with a little more depth than Alec’s little brother. Hanz Zimmer gives the film a superior score, much better than it deserves.

Interestingly, it is James Horner’s score that doesn’t feel quite up to the challenge in Apollo 13, a beautifully acted, tightly constructed, perfectly realized account of the troubled 1970 mission to the moon. Howard deftly combines and fuses a seemingly unwieldy, complicated story into a coherent, interesting, tense film. He might not knock your socks off with camera angles or movements, but he doesn’t need to: the unbelievably true story does the heavy lifting. William Broyles Jr. (Cast Away) fills the script with humorous tidbits and appropriate character development - and lots of classic lines (“Failure is not an option.”). The cast is uniformly superb, with Ed Harris as the standout. Tom Hanks, Gary Sinise, Kevin Bacon, Bill Paxton, Loren Dean, and Kathleen Quinlan all give Howard strong performances. Great cinematography and special effects round out the cinematic experience. Backdraft: B, Apollo 13: A-

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DVD and CD Releases - December 9th

Recent DVD Releases:

The Dark Knight
Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who
Man on Wire

Click below for more DVD and CD releases.

DVD Special Editions/Other Releases:

TV Box Sets:

Deadwood: Complete Series
Get Smart: Complete Series
Gunsmoke: Season Three
Happy Days: Season Four
Lost: Season Four
Rawhide: Season Three, V2
The Wire: Complete Series

Special Editions/Other Releases:

Elephant Tales
I Am Legend: Ultimate Collector's Edition
It Happened One Night
The Man Who Came Back
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Murnau, Borzage and Fox
Netherbeast Incorporated
Open Window
Sex and the City: The Movie - The Wedding Collection
You Can't Take It With You

New CD Releases:

Avant -Avant
Ken Block -Drift
Brandy- Human
Busta Rhymes -B.O.M.B.
Common - Universal Mind Control
Music Soulchild -On My Radio
Stereophonics -Word Gets Around

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Favorite Scenes: Bottle Rocket

Dignan: Bob Mapplethorpe – potential getaway driver. Go. Go!

Bob: Well, I think there’s a real air of mystery about me . . .

Dignan: (interrupting) Don’t complicate it. Your number 1 strength is that you have a car you can provide. Sell yourself. Start over. You ready? Go.

Bob: OK. Alright. I’m a risk taker. I’m growing an entire crop of marijuana in my parents’ backyard. I think that shows a little . . .

Dignan: (interrupting) Wait a second. You’re growing an entire crop of marijuana in your backyard?

Bob: Dignan, look. I’m just not that good at this “selling yourself” stuff, OK? So I’m going to tell you the truth: I really want to be part of this team. And I’m the only one with a car.

Dignan: That’s good. That’s good. ‘Cause that hits me right here.

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SNL - John Malkovich 12/6/08

The Malkovich episode was mostly disappointing. His opening monologue with the kids was OK, but the rest of it was instanstly forgettable. I've been tough on Andy Samberg of late, but his SNL Digital Short this week is the funniest thing this season. It's the best thing he's done since D**k in a Box, which seems to serve as a template.

Pretty sure that's Jamie Lynn Sigler as the checkout gal and maybe Molly Sims as the nightclub gal. Not sure who Samberg's partner in prematurity is. Is that Timberlake as the grocery store cleanup guy?

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Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

Runnin' Down a Dream

It took awhile to put together the second and final part of this 4 hour documentary. Part 1 is here.

1. Tom Petty’s first solo album Full Moon Fever caused a lot of hard feelings with the some of the Heartbreakers. Benmont Tench (with Mike Cambell, the only 2 guys who’ve been with Petty since the early 70s) visited the FMF recording sessions and said thought the song playing was terrible. “That was ‘Free Fallin’’”, Petty says with a grin.

2. “I Won’t Back Down” has great lyrics about persistence and dedication, much more applicable 15+ years down the road.

3. "Mary Jane’s Last Dance" was mostly written during the Full Moon Fever era, but completely when Petty was contractually obligated to deliver a Greatest Hits album.

4. Drummer Stan Lynch comes off as a petulant punk, showing off how rich he is and how disgusted (jealous) he was with Petty’s new friends (the Wilburys). He also disliked the new way of recording (which made him feel like a “cover” drummer). He forced Petty to fire him in 1994. Petty is gracious discussing Lynch, acknowledging Lynch’s subsequent success with acts such as Tim McGraw and the Eagles.

5. Lynch’s replacement Steve Ferrone is a better drummer, steadier and more relaxed. His first track, “You Don’t Know How It Feels” has the best percussion of any Petty song.

6. Dave Grohl was a substitute drummer on a Petty SNL appearance in 1994. He has nothing but admiration and awe for Petty on the doc.

7. Bassist Ron Blair was replaced by Howie Epstein in 1982. In 1993, Blair joked on camera he would rejoin the band in 2001. After Epstein died of a heroin overdose in 2002, Blair did indeed rejoin the group (after a recent appearance with the group for a Rock N Roll Hall of Fame induction).

8. 2002’s “The Last DJ” has sentiments I completely agree with. It attacks the soulless music industry and shallow "popular" singers who are only in it for fame and money. Favorite lyrics: As we celebrate mediocrity/All the boys upstairs want to see/How much you'll pay for/What you used to get for free

9. Petty is very humorous throughout. While discussing how addictive drugs are, he jokes to director Bogdanovich, “You don’t have any on you, do you?” It’s reminiscent of the cigarette smoker at the old folks home in Citizen Kane, whether Petty intended it or not.

10. Thanks again to lawyer for providing tickets to the Tom Petty concert earlier this year.

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Milk - B+

In theaters. Rated R, 128 minutes. Trailer.

Milk is a rags-to-riches political tale layered with characters and situations that create a nearly messianic profile of San Francisco City Supervisor and all around gay activist Harvey Milk. First elected in the late 70's, Milk was the first openly gay elected official in America, and he was shot and killed by fellow Supervisor Dan White at SF City Hall (along with the Mayor) just two years later. Such a fascinating story combined with the involvment of Sean Penn (as Milk) and Director Gus Van Sant put this one at the top of my list despite a less than enticing subject matter. Click below for more MILK:

Van Sant tends to be hit or miss, with lots of esoterica that I can't sit through, but also greatness like Good Will Hunting. He opens his film with lots of grainy 60's and 70's footage of gays being arrested, etc, setting up one of the foundations of the film: gay rights are the same as civil rights for blacks. We then see Milk making a tape recording to be played in the event of his assassination - this serves as the narration device for the film. After a random subway pickup with Scott (James Franco), Harvey heads to SF to start again as a camera shop owner in the famed Castro district. He quickly rises as the leader of the gay community there through his charisma and hard work. After several unsuccessful (but informative) runs for various offices, fate smiles on him and he wins election to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. There he plays politics with every gay issue and has an odd relationship with Dan White, which ends tragically.

The film is entertaining, but not particularly stirring. Granted, I am on the exact opposite side of the whole theme of the movie, but even the 90% gay audience (you read that right, doc) I saw it with didn't appear very shaken or moved, with nary a tear of clap of applause at the end. There is WAY too much sexual content for my liking, and it seemed a little in your face, even for a film of this kind. Penn is a revelation as Milk, embodying his controlling, charismatic style - he is a lock for a best actor nomination. The other impressive performance is from Emile Hersch as Cleve Jones, a smarmy and smart political activist. He was funny and added a spark of life to the film every time he came around. Brolin is also excellent as the enigmatic White. The previews lead you to believe he is a gay-hater, but the films bears out that he was just a normal family guy. This is part of the film's major weakness. Anyone that disagrees with the gay rights movement is painted as either a bigot or an idiot. I was able to laugh off the caricature, but it really diluted the impact of the film (see: Moore, Michael).

The script is well done and Van Sant's direction and pacing all work, but the bottomline is that the film is a decent bio-pic with some interesting political subplots.

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