Extract
Idiocracy is some kind of prescient cult classic craptastic masterpiece. This is Mike Judge’s follow-up which has Jason Bateman falling for Mila Kunis at his job while his marriage to Kristen Wiig falls apart. Ben Affleck, JK Simmons, and David Koechner provide comedic support. Looks unique and unusual enough to be worthwhile. Trailer is here.
All About Steve
Sandra Bullock immediately falls in love on a blind date with Bradley Cooper and chases him across the country as he tries to do his job as a cable news cameraman. Thomas Haden Church and Ken Jeong show up for some laughs. Terrible reviews so maybe I’ll catch up with it on cable. Trailer is here.
Gamer
In the near future, people can have their bloodthirsty revenge fantasies fulfilled on TV as they control people who kill prisoners for sport – like an interactive Running Man. Gerard Butler stars as one of the murderers who will no doubt break free of the oppressive society and win one for humanity. Trailer is here.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Fall Movie Releases 9/4/09
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
At the Movies
I watched Siskel and Ebert for many years, and Ebert and Roeper less so. Corporate suits replaced Roeper and a running list of guest critics with Ben Lyons and Ben Mankiewicz in 2008 who were then unceremoniously fired after a short few months. The retooled show returns this upcoming Saturday (9/5) with A.O. Scott (New York Times) and Michael Philips (Chicago Tribune) taking over. Both were great opposite Roeper, especially Scott, who I rarely disagree with (when it comes to American films at least - he loves some pretentious European crap!). Scott also has a running collection of short video reviews of classic movies that can be found on youtube or the NYT website. His most recent is The Big Lebowski - which is embedded after the jump.
Continue reading this postEddie Vedder - "Rise"
From the Into the Wild soundtrack, Vedder's quick mandolin lays the foundation for a terrific vocal line that jumps an octave just as he sings "rise up". But it's best not to overthink it and let the inspiring lyrics do their thing. So you've blown alot of chances and had alot of bad luck. Vedder argues (correctly) that another opportunity is always just around the corner. One of my favorite songs of the decade ...
Such is the way of the world
You can never know
Just where to put all your faith
And how will it grow
Gonna rise up
Burning black holes in dark memories
Gonna rise up
Turning mistakes into gold
Such is the passage of time
Too fast to fold
Suddenly swallowed by signs
Low and behold
Gonna rise up
Find my direction magnetically
Gonna rise up
Throw down my ace in the hole
HBO Sunday Night - 8/30/09
Entourage: The Sorkin Notes
Season 6, Episode 8
One of my least favorite things about the series is the Eric-Sloan relationship and that was front and center here. The other major story (Andrew Klein's brutal separation) was neither funny or interesting, nor did it inspire any sympathy. And does anyone really believe Aaron Sorkin would show up at the jail? Peter Stormare was surprisingly dull as a security expert Ari recommended to protect Vince from his new stalker. He was all accent, no personality. But watching Drama get thrown around by the bodyguards was pretty great. B-
Hung: This is America, or, Fifty Bucks, Episode 9
The next to last episode had Lenore (who turns out to be a genuine redhead - hide the kids) putting a rift between Ray and Tanya by offering to be his pimp so he can make more money. But Ray just admitted Tanya was his only real friend last episode. But Tanya is having trouble making any money without any connections. I'm really loving the real-world economic woes almost all the characters are experiencing. Real struggles and desperate times lead to erratic behavior and compromises. The closing bluesy song was a great, unexpected touch - it's nice to see a show have the confidence to slow down and know the audience will go with it. B+
Monday, August 31, 2009
DVD and Blu-ray Releases 9/1/09
Bring It On: Fight to the Finish - #
High Crimes - #
Sin Nombre
State of Play - #
Sugar - #
Brothers and Sisters: 3rd Season
CSI: The Ninth Season - #
Desperate Housewives: 5th Season
Heroes: Season 3 - #
Rescue Me: Season 5, Vol. 1
Supernatural: 4th Season - #
Two and Half Men: 6th Season
Click below for this week's Blu-ray Releases
Braveheart - *
Fire and Ice
The Girl Next Door
Gladiator - *
M*A*S*H - * (Doc's pick of the week)
Monster – *
# - also on Blu-ray
* - Doctor approved
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Weekend Box Office - 8/28-8/30/09
R-rated violent films took the top 4 spots. Inglourious Basterds's drop was surprisingly low, obviously benefitting from a positive word-of-mouth.
Weekend total / % Change / Cumulative total
1. Final Destination: 28.3 mil / (-)
2. Inglourious Basterds: 20.0 mil/(-47%)/74 mil
3. Halloween II: 17.4 mil / (-)
4. District 9: 10.7 mil / (-41%) / 91 mil
5. G.I. Joe: 8.0 mil / (-34%) / 132 mil
6. Julie & Julia: 7.4 mil / (-16%) / 71 mil
7. Time Traveler’s Wife: 6.7 mil / (-31%) / 48 mil
8. Shorts: 4.9 mil / (-24%) / 14 mil
9. Taking Woodstock: 3.7 mil / (-)
10. G-Force: 2.8 mil / (-31%) / 112 mil
The Goods - C-
In theaters. Rated R, 89 minutes. Trailer.
What a cast - Jeremy Piven, Ed Helms, Buster Bluth, Kristen Schaal, Ken Jeong, Will Ferrell cameos, Craig Robinson, Ving Rhames, and more. How they signed onto this movie, I'll never know (but it probably has something to do with producers Adam McKay and Will Ferrell). Don Ready (Jeremy Piven) is a mercenary car salesman with a team of salespeople that travel the country as free agents helping car lot owners sell their cars. Ben (James Brolin) is the aging owner of a family dealership in Temecula, California who calls in the team to save the dealership. There are about 20 funny minutes enveloped by another 69 minutes of cinematic throw-up. Click below for more on the funny stuff:
The film's plot plays out as you would expect, with a small dramatic arc related to selling all of the cars on the lot and then one of the dumbest, most ridiculous 'romantic' subplots in cinematic history between Piven and Ben's daughter.
Remembering that the film is terrible, there are some really funny parts: Brolin's running gay comments are all hilarious, the old racist veteran is funny, Ken Jeong is really funny (watch out for his eyes during the Japan talk), Ed Helms as a member of a 'manband' called BigUps is great, nice cameo from Alan Thicke, and Rob Riggle as a 10 year old with a pituitary problem is funny. Piven was almost visibly struggling with several of his lines (they were so stupid) and his character is nothing but a dumbed-down Ari Gold. The film has several witty one-liners that must have been ad-libbed because the script is horrific. Should be a D, but I laughed too much, so it got bumped up.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Oasis Breaks Up
A day late with this. Liam and Noel Gallagher got in a fistfight backstage in Paris and cancelled the show 1 minute before their set - Noel has left the band. For all the details, go here. For some old DLP Oasis love, go here.
The Burning Plain - B
On Video on Demand (In theaters 9/18). Rated R, 111 minutes. Trailer.
The Burning Plain tells the non-linear story of Sylvia (Charlize Theron), a woman living in Oregon in pain and without solace. She appears fine on the surface, but is clearly on the brink of a breakdown or worse as she recklessly carries on her life. The film also flashes back to the story of Gina (Kim Basinger), a mother cheating on her husband and her kids with a Mexican man (Joaquim de Almeida - aka the Mexican Phil Hartman) and the story of a Mexican cropduster and his daughter. The film packs a strong emotional punch but has too many uneven spots and irrelevant scenes to rise above a B. Click below for more on BURNING:
As you can tell from the trailer, there are 3 seemingly divergent storylines that are actually connected. Charlize is shown as Basinger's daughter, being torn apart by her mother's indifference and infidelity. This leads to unintended tragedy and an unrequited pain in Charlize's life. The film is resolved nicely as the storylines converge realistically in a satisfying manner.
I love Guillermo Arriaga's nihilistic and gritty view of the world. Three of his previous scripts, Amores Perros, 21 Grams (A), Babel, have been made into great movies by collaborative director Alejandro González Iñárritu. The two had a falling out and this is Arriaga's first directorial attempt. He gets big points from me for the scenes with the ocean outside the restaurant - the raging seas framing Charlize couldn't be a better (or more obvious) metaphor. Mostly, though, I am just on the same wavelength as Arriaga - his stark perspective and keen eye for the realistic impact of people's actions remains his biggest draw.
Charlize is great in a tough, exposed (literal and figuratively) role - same for Basinger. Worth watching.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Summer Movie Releases - 8/28/09
Final Destination
And now the weekend I was dreading as I began this weekly post previewing upcoming movie releases. I've only seen a few minutes of one the Final Desinations on cable and they looked like they were having a great time killing young people in creative ways. Congratulations on making money in one of the most depraved ways possible.
Halloween 2
John Carpenter's original film is genuinely tense and thought-provoking (but unfortunately spawned the slasher genre). Rob Zombie "directs" his second Halloween film after a moneymaking reboot. If the trailer is any indication, there are lots of jolts from the sound design and lots of dumb movie characters. There really hasn't been an interesting "horror" film since the Scream series ended.
Taking Woodstock
Ang Lee uses Woodstock as a backdrop for a coming of age story. I've been sick of baby boomers shoving this event down our throats since I was a kid. It's a shame that Lee is wasting his time with such thin material. He has been great and hopefully will again. Mixed reviews at best. Liev Schreiber appears in drag in case you were tempted to see this at all.
Pearl Jam/Cameron Crowe
Pearl Jam has a new video out for The Fixer, directed by Cameron Crowe. Here is a behind the scenes look at its filming. I like the song, which is extremely 'pop music' for PJ. New album to be released September 20.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
HBO Sunday Night - 8/23/09
Entourage: No More Drama
Season 6, Episode 7
Eric starts his new job which brings the glourious return of Bob Saget. Drama begs for his job (great perf, Mr. Dillon). Vince's place gets broken into and someone steals his dirty undies. Kate Mara is a nice addition as Eric's secretary (Did Wahlberg use his Shooter connection?). A perfectly enjoyable, relaxed episode with some OK one-liners (Lloyd's response to Eric's "gift" to Ari). But not nearly enough Ari to be great. B
Hung: Thith ith a Prothetic, Episode 8
There's really something special going on with this show. The major characters become increasingly sympathetic with every episode. Tanya, looking for love in all the wrong places and Ray, longing for the "glory days" of his youth. Even the side characters are incredibly developed with just a few scenes, most notably Jemma, where you can see an entire life of romantic disappointments and heartbreak. Great music, great writing, great performances - people may have been expecting a wacky sex comedy, but the casting of Thomas Jane and Jane Adams should have been an indicator that the creators of the show were going for something much more substantial - they got it. B+
If you haven't been able to get into Hung yet, I'll raise a red flag when it's released on DVD.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
My 5 Favorite Bruce Springsteen Songs
All apologies to Doctor, but I have a love/hate relationship with the Boss. Dancing in the Dark makes me homicidal, while The River breaks my heart. Anyway, here are my 5 favorite Bruce Springsteen songs (in no particular order):
My Hometown. As someone with 4 generations of family that has lived in my part of Texas for nearly 50 years, I have a strong connection with this song. Best version is sung with Vedder, but I can't find a legal link.
Atlantic City. A haunting and visceral song. American songwriting at its best.
Glory Days. I know, I know, not a cool pick. But, I can't help but succumb to thinking about moments in my life as the Boss paints the pictures. Worst video of all time.
The River. Ditto my Atlantic City comments. "and for my 19th birthday I got a union card and a wedding coat".
Streets of Philadelphia. A moody, serious song with great music and lyrics.
Top 500 Singles of the Aughts
It seems a little early, but Pitchfork has released its Top 500 Singles of the Decade. It's a tad indie-rock heavy (and Eminem has NOTHING in the Top 100 but a collaboration with Dre), but you can listen to every song, and these lists were made for arguing. Check it here.
Monday, August 24, 2009
New Trailers
Inception - Crime/Mindbender from director Christopher Nolan starring Leo DiCaprio, Michael Caine, Marion Cotillard, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Cillian Murphy.
Avatar - Supposedly revolutionary film from James Cameron. Never have understood the hype for this film or its trailer. It looks neat for a sci-fi movie. Again, fantasy film is a crappy genre.
Youth In Revolt - Michael Cera stars in a funny coming of age story with a Cera bad-boy doppelganger. Looks funny.
Wolfman - What!? Benicio Del Toro, Anthony Hopkins and Emily Blunt star in this likely horrible remake. Funny to see the dogfaced boy from Pee Wee's Big Top (Del Toro) grow up into wolfman.
More New Radiohead
The band is being coy about whether they're about to release an EP entitled Wall of Ice, opting instead to release two songs in 2 weeks, the previously mentioned Harry Patch (In Memory Of) and last week's These Are My Twisted Words (listen at that link, download for free here).
Continue reading this postNew Curb Your Enthusiasm
Its been too long. The 7th season begins Sunday, September 20. The season will revolve around trying to organize a Seinfeld reunion and will feature all of the Seinfeld cast. Preview 1. Preview 2.
Continue reading this postDVD and Blu-ray Releases 8/25/09
Adventureland - #
Duplicity - #
Fighting - #
Goodbye Solo
The Informers - #
The Last Days of Disco (Criterion)
Rudo y Cursi - #
Sunshine Cleaning - #
Click below for this week's TV and Blu-ray releases
Californication: Second Season
House, M.D. – Season Five
NCIS: Sixth Season
Life: Season Two
One Tree Hill: Sixth Season
Scrubs: Eighth Season
Smallville: Eighth Season - #
Thirtysomething: First Season
Wiseguy: First Season
Blu-ray:
Children of the Corn
Screwballs
# - also on Blu-ray
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Inglourious Basterds - A-
In theaters. Rated R, 152 minutes. Trailer.
Just when I thought there was no more mileage in the World War II genre, Writer/Director Quentin Tarantino unleashes a bloodspattered revenge fantasy film allowing Allies and Jews the benefit of seeing their wildest dreams come to life. In 1944 Lieutenant Aldo Raines (an inspired Brad Pitt) leads a covert group of American and German Jews on an Apache-like mission in France whereby they kill and maim German soldiers in horrific manner in order to scare them and end the war. The film tells us about this group and adds a few other wild storylines in classic Tarantino fashion. Click below for more BASTERDS:
The film begins with a 20 minute scene on a French dairy farm whereby Nazi Colonel Hans Landa (a guaranteed nomination for Christoph Waltz) aka "The Jew Hunter" interrogates the man of the house regarding local Jew protection. We then move on to the Basterds, with Pitt leading the rag tag crew (BJ Novak, Eli Roth, etc) as they wreak havoc on Germans in horrific manner, including lots of graphic scalpings. The third plot is that of a beautiful young Jewish woman that owns a cinema in Paris. The fourth plot involves Winston Churchill, a very British Mike Myers and a film critic turned soldier turned double agent. Through happenstance, the youn Jewish woman's cinema is chosen as the place for Herman Goerrings next movie premiere, and then all of the storylines converge in a fantastic climax. That's all the plot I will give up, as I can't say much more without ruining things.
Tarantino's gift for dialogue and scene structure is on display throughout the film, especially with Landa. Many of them are thick with anticipation, but there are a few duds along the way. I found the scene in the basement bar to be too long and tedious, but the finale was great, as was anything involving the film critic character. I could have watched that character for hours.
The basterds' killing and carousing is routinely hilarious, with Pitt delivering a basketful of instant classic one liners. It is also cathartic and a big guilty pleasure - they are living out the ultimate fantasy revenge plot on one of history's great villains, which certainly appeals to my lesser angels. There is a lot of cartoonish gore, and 3 or 4 scalpings shot at close range that I closed my eyes on. At times the group feels like a wartime Oceans 11, especially at the Goerring premiere as they talk with Landa. The storyline involving the Jewish woman owning the cinema was also very enjoyable, but I felt like QT left some potential greatness on the table here, failing to explore her character more. She and Landa are the two intellectuals of the film, with each of them connected from start to finish.
Some (including Manohla Dargis at the NY Times) have been offended by QT's lack of respect for the horrors of WWII and the use of certain offensive references to the Jewish people. I think they're overanalyzing the film and missing the underlying assumptions held by the characters. No one is trivializing anything - this film doesn't try to heal wounds or give Schindler's List competition for the touchstone film of the genre. This is a fun, interesting and (at time) poignant film that will certainly be one of my favorite of the year. I love inventive, riveting filmmaking even if it has flaws.
Weekend Box Office 8/21-23/09
Weekend total / % Change / Cumulative total
1. Inglourious Basterds: 37.6 mil / (-)
2. District 9: 18.9 mil / (-49%) / 73.5 mil
3. G.I. Joe: 12.5 mil / (-44%) / 120.5 mil
4. Time Traveler’s Wife: 10 mil/(-46%) /37.4 mil
5. Julie & Julia: 9.0 mil / (-25%) / 59.3 mil
6. Shorts: 6.6 mil / (-)
7. G-Force: 4.2 mil / (-39%) / 107 mil
8. Harry Potter 6: 3.5 mil / (-32%) / 290 mil
9. The Ugly Truth: 2.9 mil / (-36%) / 82.9 mil
10. Post Grad: 2.8 mil / (-)
Quentin has his biggest opening to date and the movie looks well-loved by the online geeks, making $100 million a possibility. District 9's drop is not too bad. And $5 million for each Bana butt cheek.