Conspicuous Trailers of the Week: Ondine & The Joneses

I’m breaking tradition with posting TWO trailers this week, but I talked about these back in September ‘09 as one of TIFF’s buzz-worthy movies. While I’ve seen three of the movies I listed: Bright Star, The Young Victoria, and the Oscar nominated Up in the Air, a few others have not even been released, yet. I even sort of forgot about them until last week when their trailers surfaced. They both happen to be independent flicks but from two completely different genres.
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Ondine
The story of an Irish fisherman who discovers a woman in his fishing net who he believes to be a mermaid.
Director: Neil Jordan (Interview with the Vampire, Michael Collins, The End of the Affair)
Cast: Collin Farrell, Tony Curran, Stephen Rea, Alicja Bachleda

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The Joneses
A seemingly perfect family moves into a suburban neighborhood, but when it comes to the truth as to why they’re living there, they don’t exactly come clean with their neighbors.
Director: Derrick Borte (debut film)
Cast: David Duchovny, Demi Moore, Gary Cole, Lauren Hutton

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I think they’re both look interesting (read: worth-seeing), though Ondine looks kind of bizarre and Collin Farrell’s accent is a bit intelligible to get the real gist of what the movie is about. The Irish scenery once again makes it look forlorn, with a rather grim feel to it, similar to The Eclipse trailer that’s also set in Ireland.

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The trailer for Leaves of Grass has also been released, which I actually been anticipating since last July, where Edward Norton plays a dual character of twin brothers: One an Ivy League professor, and the other a small-time pot grower. Written and directed by Tim Blake Nelson, it also stars Richard Dreyfuss, Susan Sarandon, Keri Russell.

Unfortunately, the profanity-laden trailer of this dark comedy actually leaves me cold, though I have to admit Norton definitely pull off the dual roles really well. You can see it on YouTube if you’re interested.

DVD Picks: Football Edition – by guest blogger Marcus Anderson

Special thanks to avid sports fan Marcus A. for his generous contribution in honor of Superbowl Sunday. I’ve never seen a more passionate Vikings and Twins fan, check out his extensive blogs Vikingstailgate.com and Twinnin.com blogs for your enjoyment. Here are his picks of football flicks for each genre.

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Want to start a new Super Bowl tradition? Why not make a special night out of Super Bowl Eve and rent a football movie? So “get your popcorn ready” a day early, head to the rental store (does anybody still do that?) or queue up a tale from the gridiron.  There are so many movies about football, that hard-charging American pastime, that you might not know which one to pick?

Kid-friendly:

The Game Plan (2007)
My choice for a nice wholesome parent kid football movie would have to be “The Game Plan” starring Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson.   The Rock is hilarious in this one, playing the Joe Kingman. the Big Macho QB for a championship contending football team in Boston. He loves the nightlife, fame, glory and money,  that is bestowed to him.

But then, Peyton unexpectedly steps into his life. No, it’s not the Colts QB, Peyton Manning, it’s his 8-year old daughter, who teaches what being a real leader is all about.

I like everything about this flick. It’s hilarious, unique (sans the predictable clichés at times) and pretty well acted. The Rock shows a comedic side that is really endearing, entertaining and fun. I could watch this movie several times over and still laugh. It has Elvis impersonations, locker room hi jinx, ballet, decent football scenes, lugs, oafs, and very enjoyable moments.  Even the soundtrack good, featuring a memorable father-daughter-football team montage to ELO’s  “Mr. Blue Sky.”

Comedy:

The Best of Times (1986)
I have never been a big fan of Robin Williams, but this is fun role for him. Jack Dundee was that kid in high school who dropped the pass that lost the game, and only chance for a small town to ever win a championship.  Years later, that poor schlep still agonizes over that “butterfingers”moment and decides to do something about it.  Reno Hightower (Kurt Russell) plays the long forgotten High School QB who succumbs to the pressure and returns to help Taft High School reclaim its dignity.

There are many fun scenes in this movie, including breaking up with their wives, challenging the bully to a fight, mascot antics, mud, and a Monday Night Football game between the Vikings and Falcons.  The old saying, those that don’t know history are bound to repeat it applies in a unique way to this comedy.

Drama:

Friday Night Lights (2004)
I first heard about this “project” from a fellow classmate of mine at Macalester College back in 1983-84.  His name was Peter Berg, and when he told me of his cousin’s (H.G. Bissinger’s) project, writing a book about High School football in Texas,  I thought, “That sounds interesting,  maybe I’ll read it someday.” Years later, the book was made into a movie,  AND WHAT a movie it is.

This is the best movie about football I have ever seen. It’s bullet to the bone real, and captures the essence of football as a religion with all the tragedies intertwined within.  It captures the highs of winning and lows of losing that life can offer. It’s pressure in ecstasy as family traditions, bias, and stubbornness leak into the world of high school football.

Tim McGraw deserves recognition for this role as an overbearing father, force feeding a son to play out his lost dreams. Billy Bob Thornton is the head coach of the team, delivering the best locker room speech I have ever heard in a movie. This movie is in my collection, as are all of the first 3 seasons of the NBC TV series.

The state of Texas is the most-represented state in this week’s Super Bowl with  a total of 16 players from the Indianapolis Colts and the New Orleans Saints hailing from the Lone star state. Most notable of these is Drew Brees, the starting at QB for the Saints.   Back in 1996, Brees lived the Friday Night Lights, leading  Westlake (Austin) to a 16-0 and being named the Texas Class 5A MVP.

Biopic:

Jim Thorpe: All American (1951)
My all-time favorite historical athlete who I never saw play live sports, was Jim Thorpe.  He was Bo Jackson before Bo Knew anything.  A professional football and baseball player, Thorpe  also won Olympic Gold Medals  in 1912. He was called the greatest athlete of the first half of the 20^th Century.

This movie stars Burt Lancaster (who  later played Dr. Archibald “Moonlight” Graham in the baseball movie “Field of Dreams”). If I could pick any sports character for Hollywood to write a new epic movie about,  it would be for the story of Jim Thorpe.  A runaway of child from an Oklahoma Indian Reservation, who became the greatest athlete in history,  (and an NFL Hall of Famer)  is a story that deserves more attention. Somebody write the script for this please!

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There are so many more football movies to recommend, but like the Super Bowl, only  a select few can make it to the finals.  If you have a Facebook account,  and want to find  out which Hollywood Football movie character you would select with a first round pick for your team, try this fun quiz.

Everyone’s a Critic: Sports Edition

In honor of Superbowl Sunday, I thought I’d enlist my friends for some of their picks of sports-related flicks, whether current or old favorites. In addition, I also receive some DVD picks of football movies that I decided to post separately due to its length. Special thanks to Corinne and Becky for their kind generosity!

The Wrestler (2008)
by Corinne Olson

I was never a big sports fan and up until this year I could have cared less about watching football. However, Brent Farvre was so fun to watch I found myself watching every Viking game this year. But when I was a wee 16 or 17 years old, my dad used to take my brother and I to the All Star Wrestling matches every once and a while. I got to see people like Jessie The Body Ventura (He was actually more obnoxious then) and Adorable Adrian Adonis, Andre the Giant, Ken Patera, Wahoo McDaniel, Verne Gagne (boring), and of course Hulk Hogan when he was young. Those were the days, hey. Boy, have things changed. So I was pretty geeked when I heard about The Wrestler starring Mickey Rourke. Mickey Rourke plays this character named Randy “The Ram”.

It’s a very good inside look at the highs and very lows of Randy’s life as he is now past his prime. He was once a very popular celebrity in the wrestling world where he could sell out huge arenas such as Madison Square Garden. Now, with his health declining, and living in a trailer park, he tries to survive on his past celebrity by signing autographs and working part-time at a grocery store. There are some real brutal scenes of how some real hardcore matches are done and a really interesting scene on how easy it is to get steroid’s. There’s also the behind-the-scenes rituals that include hair-bleaching, tanning, wound mending. I always thought it was fake and they really never got hurt. That’s not true. The hyped fights between the two wrestlers is faked. But the blood is real and people get hurt. Mickey Rourke does such a brilliant job playing Randy that I truly felt like a fly on the wall watching this poor guys life struggle. It seemed very personal, Like, I shouldn’t be watching this. But of course I couldn’t stop.

Heaven Can Wait (1978)
by Becky ‘Prairiegirl’ Kurk
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Overview from Netflix: Quarterback Joe Pendleton (Warren Beatty) is nearly killed in an accident when an overanxious angel takes his soul before its time. Reincarnated as a millionaire whose wife (Dyan Cannon) and secretary (Charles Grodin) have plotted his murder, Joe falls in love with environmentalist Betty Logan (Julie Christie) while leading his old football team back to the Super Bowl. This Oscar-nominated romantic fantasy marks Beatty’s directorial debut.

That being said, this is not a very deep movie–it is a pure fantasy comedy–but the film has great comedic energy, and also manages to touch the heart with its message. It is s a beautiful story wonderfully told. It keeps you smiling throughout, and laughing out loud in a good number of places. Warren Beatty’s subtle portrayal of the uncomplicated and naive Joe Pendleton is spot on. Dyan Cannon and Charles Grodin as the plotting wife and personal secretary are hysterically funny.

The plot sounds strange–and it is–but the script is well-written, the characters are believable and Warren Beatty, as the star of the movie, is in his prime. Football is the big underlying theme, but is not the main focus of the movie. From beginning to end, this was a fun film. The guys will like the football metaphor and the gals will like the romance. Amazingly, it had nine Oscar nominations (including Best Picture) and one win (Best Art Direction). A football fairy tale, and a classic, it stands up well to the test of time. The perfect movie to celebrate the Super Bowl with–see it!

Casting and Misc. News: FlixChatter’s Highlights

Happy Friday, everyone! I haven’t done a news post in a while and there have been some interesting developments of late, so let’s get to ‘em, shall we?

• Terrence Malick’s Untitled Love Story
  The notoriously reclusive and meticulous director Terrence Malick is reportedly been gathering up a cast for his yet untitled love drama. And what an impressive cast that is. So far Christian Bale, Javier Bardem, Rachel McAdams and Olga Kurylenko have signed on to star in what’s been described as a “powerful and moving love story.” Malick is perhaps the opposite of the workaholic Ridley Scott, as he often goes for years in between films. He’s only got eleven movies under his belt, and was nominated for best director and adapted screenplay for The Thin Red Line.

  I confess I have never watched Bardem in anything, for some reason none of his movies interest me, yet, nothing against him personally. I’m most excited to see Bale here, as the first time he’s in a romantic drama under Malick’s direction was in the Pocahontas story The New World, it turns out to be one of my favorite role ever. He might be famous for his bad-ass roles where he’s either heroic or deranged, but his quieter, more vulnerable side is just as compelling, if not more so. He was great in the indie drama Metroland with Emily Watson, so a return to such a genre is definitely welcomed in my book.
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• Solaris meets Wall-E starring Keanu Reeves?
  That combo description is courtesy of /Film, which is the impression they got about this sci-fi project called Passengers and its potential director. Here’s the synopsis: Passengers is set in the future on a spacecraft making a centuries-long interstellar voyage to a new planet. Due to a computer glitch, a single passenger (Reeves) awakens from cryogenic sleep 90 years before anyone else. Faced with the prospect of growing old and dying alone, he, in turn, awakens a beautiful woman.

  Italian director Gabriele Muccino directed Will Smith in The Pursuit of Happyness and Seven Pounds, and was known for directing romance and family dramas in the home country. The first time I heard of Muccino was when there’s news circulating that Gerard Butler is interested in working with him in a baseball drama Slide. Not sure if that’d happen now that Butler’s signed to do Machine Gun Preacher. As for Passengers, the role of the beautiful woman hasn’t been cast, and the casting agent in me thinks someone like Eva Green, Romola Garai, Olivia Wilde or Emily Mortimer would be nice, instead of going with more famous faces.

• Did you know that John Malkovich – yes, that John Malkovich – has his own fashion label?
  I read about it a long while ago in CNN, in which he says “I’ve always had an interest in it and always loved doing it. I like design, I like details, to me it is just another form of self-expression.” His brand of eccentricity apparently also carries over to his fashion design, as this article by someone who knew him revealed “… [he] produce an elegant line in men’s clothing and also to name the collection after political tyrants or psychopaths. There is, for instance, the mini mullah coat, an ironic tribute to the former Taliban spokesman Abdul Salam Zaeef.” He was in Florence last month to promote his Technobohemian (say what?) fashion line in his Autumn/Winter 2010-11 collection. ”Technobohemian is a clothing line dedicated to the modern man,” he said to LifeinItaly.com. O-kay. If you’re curious what the heck his clothes look like, you can take a peek here, or as worn by Halle Berry’s gorgeous model partner Gabriel Aubrey.

  The 56-year old actor doesn’t stop there, he also owns a budget hotel called The Big Sleep Hotel in Eastbourne UK, because his friends and neighbor in Provence who’s a chocolate-heir-turned hotelier. Wow, I’d never guess that about Mr. Malkovich, but that’s cool!.
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• Carrie Underwood’s film debut in Soul Surfer
  The country singer is joining other singer-turned-actress in her film debut in an inspirational biopic about Bethany Hamilton. According to NY Daily News, the movie will tell the tale of how the Hawaiian native Hamilton, now 19, returned to professional surfing just months after losing her arm in a shark attack six years ago. Underwood plays Sarah Hill, a youth counselor at Hamilton’s church whose friendship and support played a huge role in the surfer’s unlikely comeback. Anna Sophia Robb (Race to Witch Mountain) will play the devout Christian teen surfer, with Dennis Quaid and Helen Hunt as her parents, and Jack Nicholson’s daughter Lorraine will play Hamilton’s best friend, who was with her at the time of the attack. Underwood will begin the shoot in the Hawaiian island of Oahu following her scheduled gig to sing the national anthem in this year’s Superbowl.
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• Johnny Depp back in the directing chair
  It’s well-known that Johnny Depp’s performance as pirate Jack Sparrow was inspired by the rock legend, and now he’s going to chronicle his life in a documentary. In the Fandango blog, he was quoted as saying: “Now that I’m wiser, and that enough time has passed, I can experience directing again. Already next week I’ll start working on a Keith Richards documentary. While I’m in Drvengrad, my editor is already working on kilometers of archive footage and footage of his concerts. I’m very touched that Keith agreed to show up in front of my cameras.”I didn’t know Depp directed a movie before, but according that blog, he not only directed but also wrote and starred (alongside Marlon Brando!) in The Brave, about an American Indian who is released from jail and given the opportunity to star in a snuff film. I’d be curious to see his directing skills, and how honest the documentary will be about the Rolling Stones’ guitarist’s drug abuse and other shenanigans.

Conspicuous Trailer of the Week: My Last Five Girlfriends

Valentine’s day is just ten days away, so naturally the cinema will be jam-packed with all kinds of rom-coms and chick flicks for those in the mood for love … well, if you’re into the type of clichéd, mawkish, schmaltzy, [insert similar adjective here] schlock that is. Castor @ Anomalous Material blog wrote this funny but spot-on rant about the state of rom-com (hint: it’s the opposite of alive). No doubt he’s not the only one exasperated by absurd premises and one dimensional characterization found in flicks such as Four Christmases, Leap Year, Couples Retreat, The Ugly Truth, Love Happens, and the recently released When In Rome. Basically anything by the three Jennifers: Aniston, Garner, Lopez, should be considered red flags.

So when I stumbled upon this trailer (thanks to HeyUGuys!), I just had to share it with you. It looks like a comedy about romance, but not exactly a romantic comedy. So it kind of promises to be the anti rom-com of sorts, and the trailer does look promising.

It was screened at Tribecca last April, 2009, and will be released in the UK later in March. Not sure when it’ll hit our shores, but I’ll be sure to check this out on dvd when it arrives.

Below is the synopsis and brief review from the Tribecca Festival film guide page:

After his latest failed relationship, Duncan has hit emotional rock bottom. He just can’t understand what, or who, has caused all of his relationships to fail. Was it something he did… or didn’t do? In a final attempt to find out where it all went wrong, Duncan takes a ride through the memories of his last five relationships. He’s pretended not to care about ex-boyfriends that haven’t quite disappeared, disastrously attempted to give fashion advice, and even been the first to utter those three special words—nothing seems to work out, but that’s all about to change.

Though its themes of love and relationships are as common and old as art itself, My Last Five Girlfriends is anything but ordinary. Julian Kemp’s adaptation of Alain De Botton’s international best seller On Love is a unique and wonderful story about love and our addiction to it. Its clever and innovative structure, like relationships themselves, can veer into unexpected places. Brendan Patricks handles Duncan’s roller-coaster journey with delicious wit and charm, and each of his five leading ladies bring interesting idiosyncratic nuances to their characters in this poignant and whimsical tale.

Musings on the 2010 Oscar nominations

Well, the biggest day of the movie biz has arrived, where the words ’snubbed’ or ‘robbed’ become a staple around cinephiles and those who give a hoot about what the Academy thinks. Anne Hathaway revealed the nominees of the 82nd Oscar Tuesday morning, and for the first time we have 10 Best Picture nominations instead of 5. I didn’t bother making predictions because for one, I’ve only seen half of the movies nominated, so that hardly makes me a good judge. I’m going to make it a flix-resolution to see the rest of the five by Oscar time, perhaps if I’m ambitious enough, to see the nominated performances of all the actors … which equals to twelve movies I’ve got to catch up on in about a month!

For a full list of nominees, check out MadHatter’s or Caz’s blog.

In the Best Picture category, I’m glad to see Avatar and District 9, though sci-fi films are usually snubbed so The Hurt Locker probably has a better chance of taking home the golden bald dude. It completely escaped me that The Hurt Locker’s director Kathryn Bigelow was once married to James Cameron! WOW, what a showdown that’ll be, as people have dubbed it the David vs. Goliath as the small art house flick about a bomb disposal unit in Iraq will vie against the behemoth blockbuster that is Avatar. Both of them are also up for Best Director, though with Bigelow already winning Best Director at Directors Guild Award gives her the upper hand here.

Sharlto Copley in District 9

I’m quite surprised to see The Blindside being singled out, though I’m not entirely averse to it like some bloggers out there. I just think that though it was good, it’s not exactly Oscar caliber. I thought that (500) Days of Summer would get a shot, and I would’ve liked to see Joseph Gordon-Levitt in the Best Actor noms, as opposed to George Clooney. I read somewhere earlier today that put this better than I ever could, “Clooney in Up in the Air is essentially playing himself… but he does it really, really well.” But if Gordon-Levitt didn’t even stand a chance, there’s no way District 9’s Sharlto Copley would get recognized. That’s too bad, I thought he easily gave one of the most memorable performance I’ve seen, and he was truly the heart of the movie. I’m going to hold my tongue, or fingers in this case, about Morgan Freeman/Matt Damon acting nod combo for Invictus as I haven’t seen the movie. It’s just they seem kind of obligatory if you will, given the characters they’re playing. Whilst carrying a movie entirely on your own like Sam Rockwell did as a forlorn astronaut in Moon is by no small feat by any means. MTV movie blog even went so far as calling the movie criminally-underrated, which could very well be the case.

The Young Victoria

I also agree with Cinematical about (500) Days being left out in the Best Original Screenplay category. At least it didn’t lose out to Avatar, though I have yet to see The Messenger to see if it’s indeed a more deserving pick. The other one is District 9 for Best Makeup, at least one other nod the movie should’ve gotten besides Copley’s acting. It’s arguably ‘easy’ to make Emily Blunt look flawless in The Young Victoria, but Wikus’ shocking transformation in the South African sci-fi was one you won’t soon forget. I can see the period drama winning Best Costume Design though, whilst I wasn’t impressed at all by the frocks Abbie Cornish wore in Bright Star, though it’s hardly the movie’s biggest flaws.

Wow, lots of love for Up I see. I’m more in the Wall-E camp myself, though I’m not saying I dislike Up, I just think though the first part was so poignantly moving, the whole experience was rather underwhelming to me. Interesting how the Pixar flick is up for (pardon the pun) both Best Picture and Best Animated Feature.

Glad to see the dreadful Avatar song ‘I See You’ wasn’t in the Best Original Song category. The score is pretty good, though not as memorable as say Hans Zimmer’s work in Gladiator, at least it won’t give me migraines every time I hear it.

Anyway, it’s late so I’m going to wrap things up here. Here are a few other Oscar chatters from my blogger friends at Anomalous Material (Red over there apparently has an amazing crystal ball about the Oscar) and M. Carter @ The Movies ponders on who got snubbed (pre-rapper Joaquin for one) by the Academy.

Edit: The Huffington Post published this article title The Forgotscars, and I got to admit I like their picks far better.

Well, what do you think readers, any thoughts on the Oscar picks/snubs this year?

Upcoming Flix Spotlight: Ben-Hur TV Miniseries

I was just reading this Kristin Kreuk interview about her stint on NBC’s Chuck when she revealed a piece of info that hit me out of left field. Apparently a Ben-Hur TV remake is in the works and might be arriving in time for Easter. Why I haven’t heard about this until now is beyond me, as the 1959 Ben-Hur is easily one of my top five favorite classic movies of all time!

So my first reaction upon hearing this is: “Noooo!!! Don’t they have enough remakes in Hollywood?! Why can’t they just leave this grandeur epic well enough alone?!” And what’s with the 300-style poster here, since when is Ben Hur a bad-ass warrior? Last I checked he was a Jewish prince who’s betrayed and sent into slavery by his Roman friend-turned-nemesis Messala. In any case, I actually just learned that William Wyler’s epic is actually also a remake, too, it was based of the the 1925 silent version of Ben Hur: A Tale of the Christ. Obviously it’s one of the most successful remakes out there that clearly outdid the original. A very rare occasion indeed in the recycling bin that is Hollywood, as remakes usually equals dud. Last year ABC tried to do a similar miniseries-style remake of The Ten Commandments and it was nothing compared to the original, so why on earth would that same network think they can do justice to the mighty Ben-Hur??  Since tonight’s the eve of Oscar nomination announcement, it’s fitting to mention that in 1959, it won a record of 11 Oscars out of 12 nominations, which was later matched by Titanic (1997) and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2004). But Ben-Hur still remains the only one of the three with acting honors, one for Best Actor (Charlton Heston) and Best Supporting Actor (Hugh Griffith). With that said, I’m going to have to lower my expectation on this movie on all accounts, though I can’t deny the fact that I’m pretty curious about it nonetheless.

According to the TV Squad, the miniseries is produced by the late director Wyler’s own son David, with the budget of around $30 million. “… [the] production will be more faithful to the original Lew Wallace novel, Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ, which was written in 1880. It’s the story of Judah Ben-Hur, a Jewish prince who’s betrayed by his Roman best friend and forced into slavery. He later saves the life of his captor and is rewarded with his freedom. He resumes his former life, but is bitter. In time, he is converted along with many others to the ways of new prophet, Jesus Christ. “We’ve got a joke that this is the family business,” Wyler said as a news conference in Cannes. “In my mind this is dedicated to my dad and Chuck (Heston). We think it’s a great way to keep his memory alive.”

Joseph Morgan as Ben Hur

Unlike his father’s version, they’re casting a younger actor to play Ben Hur. Twenty-something Wales actor Joseph Morgan (who had a small role in the dreadful Alexander) nabbed the title role, compared to Heston who was in his 30s at the time. I’ve never heard of this guy before, though he looks a bit like young Mr. Heston in appearance, it remains to be seen if he’s got the charisma that the role requires. The most prominent actor of this production is Ray Winstone – who’s recently seen in Edge of Darkness and 44 Inch Chest – as Quintus Arius; whilst Hugh Bonneville (Notting Hill) whom I’m used to seeing in comedic roles will play against type as Pontius Pilate. TV actresses Alex Kingston (ER) and Kristin Kreuk (Smallville) play Judah’s mother and sister, respectively. Per Variety, HBO’s Rome director Steve Shill will helm the project based on the script penned by Rob Roy’s screenwriter Alan Sharp (who last I heard was going to work on the Rabbie Burns’ biopic with Gerard Butler). Shooting had begun since last May in Spain, Morocco and Canada. You can see some set photos here.

It’s worth noting that David Wyler is apparently fond of Ridley Scott’s Gladiator which no doubt resurrected the swords & sandals genre with its massive success, “It’s been 50 years since my father’s version, and we think we can bring something new and contemporary to it in the same way that ‘Gladiator’ did for that genre.” Now a half a century later we certainly have all the technology to easily recreate the famous chariot race scene. I share the same sentiment with the TV Squad writer that all that CGI ability doesn’t necessarily mean they can make it better. In fact, forget about topping that one, I challenge the filmmakers to simply match the breathtaking spectacle of the chariots race in the pre-CGI era. Even today, with all the 3D stuff all around us, watching this very scene still makes my jaw drop like few modern scenes could. Judging from the still photo on the right, I’m afraid they’d also mess up another crucial scene where Ben Hur met Jesus when he almost died of thirst. What made that part so heart-wrenching and powerful was the fact that the face of Jesus was not shown, but we felt His significant presence from the almost hypnotic reaction of both Judah and the Roman soldier. It’s such a tremendous scene and definitely a daunting one to replicate.

Anyway, for what it’s worth, you can judge for yourself from the trailer below.

I’ll probably watch it just out of curiosity sake, but my gut says what it’ll do is compel me to reach my dvd shelf and re-watch the Heston version once again.

Five Favorite Movies of 2009 … and My Top 25 picks of the Decade

I realize I might be rather late in posting this kind of list, but I figure since it’s technically still the first month of the year, I think I can get away with it. No? Oh well, I don’t live by your rules!

I can’t judge whether 2009 is a good or bad year for movies, as I haven’t really been paying so close attention to previous years prior to this blog. However, I think it’s safe to say that though it’s not exactly the ‘most stellar’ year in movie history, quite a few movies released last year made 2009 a pretty memorable one.

Anyhoo, I titled this post ‘favorite’ because this kind of list is personal in nature, so I didn’t want to say ‘best of’ because these might not necessarily be the most excellent quality or ‘perfect’ cinematic pieces, but for one reason or another, they either made a big impression on me or were hugely entertaining despite their flaws.

So with that in mind, I give you my Top Five Favorites of 2009:

1. Avatar
   The movie that dethroned Cameron’s previously unbeatable Titanic is still going strong in its seventh straight week. I’m in the camp that totally dig this movie, though when I first saw it at Avatar day, I wasn’t sure how successful it was going to be given the somewhat poor reactions to its first trailer. But Avatar lives up to the hype in a big way. Its visuals is so mind-blowing spectacular it gave me such an immersive cinematic ride like no other, and it’s one of those rare movies that’s still rewarding in its second viewing, which is really no small feat. As for the story? Well, it’s not as ‘original’ as one expect, but it’s quite an engaging one. As to those criticism that call the storyline ‘loathsome,’ MadHatter says it best: hogwash! I guess it’s easy to criticize other people’s work, but seriously, those naysayers should ask themselves, given the opportunity, would they actually be able to top this one?
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2. District 9
   Looking back, I’m still quite surprised how much I enjoyed this movie and the impression it left me days after. Truthfully, I wasn’t anticipating to see this movie, I only saw one trailer and didn’t know much about it, but the highly-favorable reviews intrigued me and so I went. Suffice to say, I was impressed by the innovative way this story was told, and especially by newcomer Sharlto Copley’s bravura performance. Despite being quite squeamish, I wasn’t too disturbed by the gritty and stomach-churning scenes as they served the story and the payoff was worthwhile. This was by far one of the most memorable movies I’ve seen in a while and the ending left me wanting more. As I said in my review, it’s such a distinctly moving, poignant and provocative film that makes you ponder long after the end credits roll.
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3. (500) Days of Summer
   This movie was embraced by critics and average moviegoers alike and it’s easy to see why. I’ve long believed that Joseph Gordon-Levitt is a fantastic young actor, but his performance here again reached a pinnacle in his already impressive body of work. The credit doesn’t belong entirely to Gordon-Levitt though, as first-time director Marc Webb is also to be praised for making an anti rom-com with such an innovative and refreshing story-telling style. The clever and witty script, combined with memorably quirky and vividly surreal scenes, makes the love story of a regular guy so deeply affecting and real. Though I said in my review that I wasn’t as excited about Zooey Deschanel, I still have to commend her for portraying Summer with a certain depth and novelty that’s as far away from a caricature desirable ‘it’ girl that’s ubiquitous in Hollywood.
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4. Watchmen
   I’m a sucker for superhero movies and am a fan of Zack Snyder’s style ever since 300, but Watchmen is not your typical superhero ‘good guys’ with savior-complex. Sure they wear costumes, but these ‘heroes’ are as flawed as they are vulnerable (well except for Dr. Manhattan with his god-like powers), and definitely not the kind of characters kids should aspire to. Despite being too violent and raunchy for my taste — not to mention bizarre (or even retarded as one of my friends call it) — this movie is memorable for its spectacular visuals, as well as terrific performances from the cast, most notably Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s The Comedian, Patrick Wilson as Night Owl Jr. and Jackie Earle Haley as Rorschach. Snyder jam-packed it with breathtaking and edgy scenes, creative camera angles, and one of the coolest opening sequences ever. Beneath the wildly exhilarating madness though, the story is thought-provoking and surprisingly deep. As this article says, “Who watches the watchmen?  In this sense, this is less a theoretical pondering and more a deeply profound political philosophical question… [it] is not about the super heroes at all.  It is about us.  Can our self governance actually work?  Has it worked?  Does it work?” It perhaps raises more questions than it answers, especially for someone like me who isn’t familiar with Alan Moore’s graphic novel it’s based on, but it’s still a bold and inspired piece of work that makes for an extraordinary and riveting movie-going experience.
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5. Up in the Air
   A gem of a movie, director Jason Reitman takes a subject so pertinent in today’s society and creates a story that’s deeply engaging and wonderful to watch. The movie’s ‘CGI’ comes in the form of kudos-worthy performances of his three main actors: George Clooney, Vera Farmiga and Anna Kendrick. I feel even more compelled to say that the two female characters are as instrumental in the movie’s success as Clooney’s was. The incredibly smart script spits out witty dialog that offers a perfect blend between tragic and humor, whilst the quieter moments still speak volumes. The opening scenes where we see Clooney’s character Ryan Bingham’s travel routine (packing, going through security, etc.) are fascinating and takes the audience in who this man is and what matters to him. I overheard someone explaining the plot of this movie recently where he said ‘it’s a movie about someone who goes on firing people‘ and I winced at such oversimplification. This movie is definitely much more than that, and much deeper than even its marketing campaign makes it out to be (as a romantic comedy of sorts). I like movies that make me ponder about them long after it’s over. Up in the Air unquestionably delivers in that regard, and then some.

Honorable mentions:

• The Young Victoria
• Law Abiding Citizen
• The Blindside

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And looking back, here are Twenty-Five Favorites of the Decade (2000 – 20009, in order of release):

1. Chicken Run (2000)
   
2. Moulin Rouge (2001)
3. Finding Nemo (2003)
4. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
5. Phantom of the Opera (2004)
6. Hotel Rwanda (2004)
7. Unbreakable (2004)
8. Batman Begins (2005)
9. Casino Royale (2006)
10. Dear Frankie (2005)
11. Gladiator (2005)
12. Children of Men (2006)
13. The Painted Veil (2006)
14. Pan’s Labyrinth (2006)
15. Stranger than Fiction (2006)
16. 300 (2007)
17. Atonement (2007)
18. Bourne Ultimatum (2007)
    
19. The Visitor (2007)
    
20. 3:10 to Yuma (2007)
21. Bella (2008)
22. The Dark Knight (2008)
23. The Incredible Hulk (2008)
24. District 9 (2009)
25. Avatar (2009)

P.S. I shall try to write a one-sentence reasoning behind each of my picks later this week.

The End of a Studio – My Ten Favorite Miramax Films

Today Hollywood mourns the death of a movie studio. The Walt Disney Co. shut it down today, leaving its 80 employees jobless and remaining projects in development limbo. I’m no film historian, but I’m guessing this doesn’t happen very often, especially to a film company as prominent as Miramax, which some call a cultural force of the 90s. I don’t claim to know much about the company, only the fact that it was started by brothers Harvey and Bob Weinstein in New York (hence the NY skyline logo animation), and that they named it after their parents Max and Miriam.

Well-known for being brash and bullying even by Hollywood standards, Miramax is also known for distributing independent movies considered financially risky by major studios. Unlike other major studio honchos, the Weinsteins seem to genuinely love movies as much as the business side of it, as this article alluded: “They discovered new directors. They carefully built actors’ careers. They imported and promoted foreign films.” Per Wikipedia, Disney bought the company for $70 million in 1993, but granted creative freedom to the Weinsteins who still operated the business. But they relinquished their power in 2005 after years of butting heads with then Disney CEO Michael Eisner over creative & financial differences, and the brothers in turn formed The Weinstein Company. It’s been reported that they want to buy back the Miramax name back from Disney, and naturally the name is very personal to them.

Bob and Harvey Weinstein

Many of their films were commercially successful (7 of them gross more than $100 million), and perhaps one of the most successful one was Chicago, which earned $300 million worldwide. Their films were also Oscar favorites, as The Wrap article says, “Over the past 25 years, no studio has dominated the Oscars the way Miramax did, in ways both good and bad.” Nobody campaigned for Oscar noms like the Weinsteins did, treating the Academy Awards as golden marketing opportunity that’d boost the commercial value of their smaller, quirkier fares against major studios domination. You can take a peek at The Independent article that list their record Oscar nominations and winnings, or saunter over to their official site (before it’s taken down) that boast a plethora of Oscar-winning films, such as The English Patient, Shakespeare in Love and Chicago. Many, many actors partly owe them their Oscars, as the likes of Michael Caine, Daniel Day-Lewis, Quentin Tarantino, Anthony Minghella, Gwyneth Paltrow, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Renee Zellweger, Billy Bob Thornton, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck — all got their golden statues for starring in a Miramax movie. No doubt this news will continue to be the water-cooler topic as Oscar nominations are to be revealed February 2nd and during the big event itself in March.

Now, the demise of the studio also means several movies awaiting distribution face uncertain future. Cinematical pondered what will happen to those, two of which I’ve blogged about before, coincidentally starring Avatar star Sam Worthington: One is Last Night, a romantic drama with Keira Knightley and Eva Mendes; and the other called The Debt, an Israeli-themed thriller with Helen Mirren and Tom Wilkinson. Oh, I hope these don’t end up being straight-to-dvd flicks, especially the later, it sounds like one worth-seeing on the big screen.

Well, looking back at hundreds of movies under their belt in the last 30+ years, here are ten of my favorites (in order of release):

1. Working Girls (1986)
2. The English Patient (1996)
3. Mrs. Brown (1997)
4. Mansfield Park (1999)
5. Chocolat (2001)
6. Finding Neverland (2004)
7. Dear Frankie (2005)
8. Cinderella Man (2005)
9. Hollywoodland (2006)
10. Gone Baby Gone (2007)

edit: Thanks to Samantha who pointed it out to me, I’m adding Dear Frankie to my top ten, as well as a few honorable mentions:

• Emma (1996) – mainly for Jeremy Northam as Mr. Knightley!
• Shakespeare in Love (1998)
• The Queen (2006)
• The Cider House Rules (1999)
• The Aviator (2004)
• Extract (2009)

What about you, readers? What are some of your favorite Miramax films?

Chat-Worthy Thespian: Clive Owen

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This past Monday, IMDb homepage featured Clive on its actor spotlight section. As he ranks pretty high up there in my favorite actors list, I thought I’d put him on the spotlight here, too. The dashing Brit is one of those actors who despite a few lousy flicks (i.e. the preposterous Shoot ‘Em Up and the dull Duplicity), still comes out practically unscathed. IMDb’s description of him is quite fitting: Whether performing Shakespeare, driving a speeding BMW, or holding his own against mega-stars, Clive Owen has established himself as one of the most versatile actors in theater, television, and film.

Looking at his filmography, he’s got some great movies under his belt. Children of Men is destined to be a classic sci-fi drama, and Inside Man, King Arthur, Beyond Borders, Gosford Park, Elizabeth: The Golden Age and The International are all pretty good, solid flicks. Though his attempt at comedy in Greenfingers didn’t fare as well as his action/dramatic ones. His latest movie The Boys Are Back promises to showcase his tender side as a single parent raising two young boys, I’ve added that to my Netflix queue (I love being able to say that now!). He’s also going to play a dad again alongside Catherine Keener in the David Schwimmer-directed indie Trust.

The first time I saw Clive might’ve been in those BMW short films The Hire, which I thought is a pretty shrewd marketing campaign that truly flaunt those coveted German automobiles. This series of eight short films (which you can watch on youtube) was released online back in 2001, featuring popular filmmakers such as John Frankenheimer, Ang Lee, Wong Kar-Wai, etc., and starring Clive as the “Driver.” Sure Jason Statham is cool in The Transporter, but Clive adds a dose of sophistication and class to his ‘cool factor.’ Despite his nonchalant demeanor, he projects a certain brand of pathos with his soulful eyes that I find incredibly attractive.

All that always brings me to this theory: Clive would make a terrific James Bond. Whenever I watched him in action flicks (and there are quite a lot of ‘em) or even the way he talks with that deep, raspy voice (always a plus!), I kept thinking how Clive would’ve fit that 007 role like a glove. He not only looks the part (tall, dark and British), he somehow epitomizes what I think the text book super spy ‘model’ is supposed to be. Ok, I know, I know, it’s really a moot point now as the actor himself don’t even want the job. He did do a parody of Bond in The Pink Panther though, which I thought is pretty amusing. On his IMDb trivia, he’s quoted as saying: “Bond was the best thing that never happened to me. I was never in the running but the more I said so, the more people thought I had it in the bag. What’s so funny about it all is my career in Britain was in really bad shape at the time, but my agents pretty much built me a new one in America by playing up all the Bond stories. All I had to do was keep on telling people I was never going to be Bond. I’d like to think I made it on talent, but it’s really just dumb luck. If I hadn’t worn that tux in Croupier, I’d still be begging for the parts Robson Green turned down on cop shows.”

Oh well, at least we have those BMW films to watch Clive looking very Bond-like and wish I could take a ride with him in those ultimate driving machines… well, then again maybe not. Just take a peek at this one called Star and you’ll know what I mean. Directed by Guy Ritchie and starring his own ex-missus Madonna, I bet he’d get a kick out of this one even more now.

Now, this action-packed one called Ticker with Don Cheadle and Ray Liotta is also worth checking out, it’s easily my favorite one of the series:

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