Release Date: August 29, 2006

Everyone seems to want to make their movie that “speaks out” in some way against the government, or the establishment, or the President for that matter. The past few years have seen an onslaught of politically charged films about problems faced in our society. Most get caught up in the good versus evil, red state/blue state battle rather than dealing with the issue at hand; but a precious few have been able to rise about, giving audiences a frightening look at the reality that surrounds them in America today. American Gun is the latter - a film that deals with the issue, not the politics around the issue.

Gun, the virgin directorial effort by Aric Avelino, is a sharp film that tells four distinct yet troublingly similar stories of people whose lives have been affected by guns. There is the single mom (Marcia Gay Harden), struggling to make ends meet for her and her youngest son years after her elder son shot up his high school, killing many students and teachers; the high school principal (Forrest Whitaker) who gave up a comfortable Midwestern life and moves to the inner city with hopes of helping kids stay away from violence and making a life for themselves; and the first year college student (Linda Cardellini) who works with her grandfather (Donald Sutherland) in his gun shop as she adjusts to college life and her discomfort around firearms. Each of the story lines carries with it differences, but ultimately they all come around to exude the same message: that when a gun is fired, more than silence is shattered.

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Release Date: August 15, 2006

There is absolutely no denying that Francis Ford Coppola is one of the greatest directors of all time. I mean, he did make The Godfather, which is heralded by many as possibly the greatest film ever made. That would make it safe to say that he is pretty good. But after making The Godfather and The Godfather II, Coppola took 5 years off from directing to make another film. That film, in this critic’s opinion, would be his crowning achievement. That film was called Apocalypse Now.

Apocalypse Now is the story of rogue colonel Walter Kurtz, played by Marlin Brando, who has set himself up in the Cambodian jungle as a God among a local tribe and is a “threat” to the United States as they proceed with the war in Vietnam. The order to “Terminate with extreme prejudice” is given to Captain Willard, played by Martin Sheen, along with a small team of soldiers must travel up the Nung River to attempt to eliminate Kurtz.

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Release Date: September 5, 2006

There is nothing that I love more than the movie theater experience; the smell of popcorn, the overpriced sodas whose astronomical size is heightened by spending on a quarter more, and the feel of loving (or loathing) a new film with a group of strangers. But as much as I enjoy being out in the world, seeing movies as the come out, I do still have great affection for being at home and discovering a film that I would not previously have been able to enjoy. That is the beauty of the DVD, the fact that films whose theatrical release is not wide enough, or critically acclaimed enough can get a second chance – or a first chance in the case of some foreign films. It allows a person to be more well rounded in their film experience, and that is a beautiful thing.

One such discovery that I made very recently was a British film that has been getting a lot of Press internationally, but not quite enough here in the states. The film, Dead Man’s Shoes is directed by native Brit Shane Meadows. It stars the very up and coming – and rightfully so – actor Paddy Considine as Richard, a disaffected soldier who has returned to his home town to seek revenge upon 6 local bullies who had terrorized his mentally handicapped younger brother, Anthony. He employs a series of scare tactics, then cuts the bullies down to size one by one in a brutally terrifying manner. To be honest, it sounded like a great film to watch over dinner.

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Release Date: July 14, 2006

There is something that is just unsettling about the thought of Danny DeVito in any state of undress. It becomes a completely more uncomfortable situation when you know that you will be seeing Danny DeVito half naked in a movie. I don’t mean any disrespect for Mr. DeVito, as he is a great actor, but he is probably one of the actors in Hollywood whose nude figure I can do without. Thankfully even though he gets a little frisky and ends up in a state of undress in the film The OH in Ohio, it didn’t spoil my appetite for the rest of the film.

What is so earthshaking that it would cause DeVito, playing Cleveland’s celebrity pool guy Wayne, to disrobe and transform into Rico Suave? The answer is a frigid, sexually numb woman named Priscilla, played by the lovely Parker Posey. You see, Priscilla’s 10 year marriage to husband Jack (Paul Rudd) has been marred by the fact that she has been unable to reach the point of climax between the sheets – a fact that deteriorates her marriage and almost destroys Jack’s sense of manhood altogether. In an effort to save her marriage, Priscilla turns to a looney sex doctor (a very over-the-top Liza Minnelli) and discovers masturbation. Little does she know that she would soon become addicted to her vibrator, all but putting the final axe on her marriage. With their marriage seemingly caput, Priscilla and Jack attempt to move on and find their way – both sexually and spiritually. And by moving on, I mean that Priscilla meets happiness in the form of the very goofy Wayne, and public school teacher Jack slides between the sheets with an intelligent and budding young student, played by Mischa Barton.

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Release Date: August 11, 2006

I have grown very tired of these movies in recent years. What movies am I referring to, you may ask? All of these teeny-bopper 16 year old girls acting like adults and dancing their way into the arms of a love they can’t have. Dirty Dancing was one of the only enjoyable films of this type, but that is almost solely due to the fact that it was the most original. And unfortunately for me, the lack of originality has been flowing more and more copiously in recent years, with releases like Save the Last Dance, Take the Lead, Drive Me Crazy, Honey – the list goes on and on. And why does Hollywood continue spewing out these haphazardly crafted regurgitations? Because the teenage girls of America, the MTV generation, just eat them up. I can’t blame them for making these flicks, but that doesn’t mean that they are making quality films.

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Release Date: August 25, 2006

I have always been skeptical of musicians that attempt to make the cross-over to making films. Some have a little bit better luck than others; for instance, Ice Cube has had a long and successful film career. Jon Bon Jovi, not so much. It is truly something that is hit or miss. So you can understand that I was both skeptical and excited when I discovered that the very talented duo of Andre 3000 and Big Boi, better known as Outkast, were making a film together. I was even more enamored when I heard that their film, titled Idlewild, would include a soundtrack completely composed by one of my favorite musical pairings of all time. But that skepticism still lingered.

Set in 1920s Georgia, Idlewild tells the story of two friends as they grow up and try to survive in a world of bootlegging, womanizing, music and mobsters. Percival (Andre Benjamin) is the soft spoken, musically gifted piano player by night, mortician by day who yearns to find his destiny and take care of his aging father (Ben Vereen). Rooster (Antwan A. Patton, aka Big Boi) is the reckless, money minded character of the pair, always out to score a quick dollar or a lovely lady, all while providing for his wife and 5 kids. When the owner of the club where Percy and Rooster play their gigs is slain, Rooster is forced to take over the business and contend with a smooth, stone cold gangster (Terrance Howard) who wants control of the entire town.

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Release Date: August 25, 2006

Oh those poor Philadelphia Eagles fans… No championships since 1960. Needless to say I do not feel that sorry for them, as I am from Cleveland – which is far worse than any other city’s sports woes, especially now that the Red Sox have won a World Series. But if the City of Brotherly love has anything, it is a real love for their football team, and an immense amount of character – two things that are clearly exuded in Disney’s new film Invincible.

Another thing that was clear to me as I screened this film was that I was in Columbus. The film is set in 1976, when coach Dick Vermeil took over the Eagles after a few abysmal seasons that made those lovable Philly fans a little less than civil. Early in the film there is a scene where they are having a press conference to announce Vermeil (played by Greg Kinnear) as the coach and they mention that he had just defeated Woody Hayes and The Ohio State Buckeyes in the Rose Bowl the previous year as the coach of the UCLA Bruins. At that moment, there at the AMC Lennox theater on the Ohio State campus, the crowd of Buckeye faithful let out a low groan in unison. But somewhere before and after that moment, there was a movie that all enjoyed – I assure you.

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Release Date: August 25th, 2006

Oh the humanity! What a great month it has been for those of us capable of displaying such an infantile sense of humor! First we are treated to the mindless yet refined antics of Will Ferrell with Talladega Nights, then we file in with groups of our closest and most like-minded friends to behold the camp-fest that was Snakes on a Plane, and now we round out the month with the return of one of the most heralded comedic troupes of our generation: the boys of Broken Lizard. And when I say “return”, I am not inferring that they have been gone by any means, but that they have been striking out lately.

2001’s Super Troopers was an instant classic and had a viral cult following, especially once it hit DVD. We (all the college aged hooligans of America) were treated to a very quirky, unabashed look at a group of Vermont State Troopers who had nothing better to do than wreak havoc on the roads of the state that brought us Phish; and we loved it! But since then Broken Lizard (Jay Chandrasekhar, Kevin Heffernan, Steve Lemme, Paul Soter and Erik Stolhanske) have not been living up to the expectations that Super Troopers set forth with their fans; Club Dread was a mild bust, and their involvement in Dukes of Hazzard was noticeable but it didn’t save the film. So then what are fans to do? I guess the answer was that we were to hold tight and wait… Wait for Beerfest!

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Release Date: August 8, 2006

I find it difficult sometimes to review movies on DVD. Why? Because I believe that I have ADD, that’s why. While at home I generally shift from one task to another at a whim and without regard for whether I have finished the previous task. This type of behavior makes it very difficult to focus in and analyze a film that does not capture my attention. The benefit of this is that I know when I am not interested in a film – I do not finish it. Unfortunately this only happens with DVDs, as I have never walked out of a movie in a theater.

So it is safe to say that Andy Garcia’s first major release as a director, The Lost City, was at a significant disadvantage when I sat down to view it in the comforts of my living room. Just to throw salt on the already open wound, I decided to watch it with my lovely lady friend, another tough situation for a young guy like me who has always raging hormones. So it doesn’t surprise me that I did not get more than about 35 minutes into the movie before I lost interest and began other activities. And lets just say that those other activities were far more interesting than the plot of this film.
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Release Date: August 19, 2006

Are you frickin’ kidding me?

Those were the first thoughts that popped into my head once the credits were rolling on the long awaited and highly over-hyped Snakes on a Plane. But it wasn’t an “Are you kidding me? This movie was terrible” as much as it was an “Are you kidding me? I can’t believe they actually made this movie. And to make it worse, I can’t believe I enjoyed it this much!”

In reality I didn’t pay my money to see a film about a South Pacific gangster who tries to off a potential witness by putting deadly snakes from all over the world on the plane upon which said witness is traveling to Los Angeles to put the afore mentioned gangster in prison for murder. Nay, I paid my money to see one thing – Samuel L. Jackson fighting off poorly computer generated snakes and spouting off one (maybe two) memorable bits of bad ass dialogue. For my money though, we got at least three memorable quotes from Hollywood’s original BAMF, and that is worth it in and of itself! But Jackson isn’t the only notable character actor who shows up to add some value to this deviously enjoyable film. David Koechner, who is most recognizable from his performance as Champ Kind in Anchorman, plays the perverted and uninhibited co-pilot Rick. His addition to the movie proves to be one of the more memorable lines; as he nurses a traumatic snake bite wound, he very matter-of-factly explains to Sam Jackson that if the snakes it the wrong wire somewhere, the plane will be “going down faster than a Thai hooker.” Such dialogue can only be realized in a film that just doesn’t take itself that seriously, which is part what people will love about Snakes.

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Release Date: August 18, 2006

If there is one thing that I have picked up along the way of becoming a “real” film critic over the past few months, it is that it is very important to take good notes during a film. For me it helps keep me focused, making it easy to keep my thoughts in order. So now for every screening I smuggle in my notebook and take a few notes as I screen the movie. But last night something completely odd happened. As I was leaving the theater my lovely girlfriend pointed out to me that I had not once taken my notebook out of my pocket during the entire film. I was put into an instant state of shock; why didn’t I take any notes? After a moment of reflection, it came to me – the movie I had seen was an indie flick that was gathering some rave reviews from my peers – Little Miss Sunshine. And for Little Miss Sunshine, there were no notes to be taken, because for the first time in a long time I was absolutely consumed by a film.

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Release Date: September 22, 2006

If you aren’t “really” into film (you know, the kind of person who could sit around an urban coffee shop for hours and talk about the French New Wave like it just happened), then you may have trouble “getting” the hubbub about director Michel Gondry. And even though you may have liked Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, his most mainstream effort, you may not really understand why. It is safe to say then, that you have an equally difficult time wrapping your entertainment driven psyche around why writer Charlie Kaufman is so brilliant. These two masterminds of originality and quirk seem to go hand in hand – right into the realm of odd for the average moviegoer.

But even though you may not understand why they make films like they do, you are still willing to try. If for nothing else, but because people who do “get it” say so. The good news with Gondry’s latest gem, The Science of Sleep – you only have to fight have the battle, as Gondry has broken away from Kaufman and taken on a daring project all to his own. The result, good or bad, will undoubtedly leave some interested parties lost in the continually eccentric mind of the filmmaker.

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Release Date: August 8, 2006

I have been on the Brick bandwagon for months now; and ever since seeing it at the Columbus alive Deep Focus Film Festival in May I have been absolutely engrossed in the astounding brilliance of this film. It is so hard these days to find films that are so original, so daring and so faithful to a genre.

Rian Johnson’s modern day high school crime drama dashed in a world that noir built sets the stage for a story that keeps us guessing as much as it pins our asses to our seats. As with classic noir, the film sets its main character, played by Joseph Gordon Levitt, in a cynical world, trapped in the midst of turmoil and mystery. Levitt’s Brendon is a loner, a self inflicted reject of the mass populous of his high school – but he loves Emily (Emilie De Raven). And when Emily turns up dead, Brendon buries himself in the underground world of drugs and corruption that claimed the life of his sweetheart.

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Release Date: August 11, 2006 (limited)

Every so often a film comes along that really just blows me away. A timeless and original love story, an engaging drama, or even a ruckus comedy may do the trick. And it is this reason that I try to see as many movies as humanly possible without losing my real job. It is this reason that I have decided to pursue my dream of becoming a film critic; this reason that I work so hard at it; and that all leads to where we are right now… You, reading this review. Those are the movies for which I hold a special place in my heart. And every once in a while I think that I have sniffed one out – a film that just may be the next great thing.

I thought that I had one in the little indie Waltzing Anna at first, but as I progressed through the film I found that I was sadly mistaken. What I thought was going to be a potentially heartwarming and fresh experience was anything but, and it turned into just another flick that I only desired to see once.

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Release Date: August 4, 2006

Robin Williams is one of my all time favorite actors. In fact, I love him in a very non-sexual critic-to-actor sort of way. But let’s face it, the box office has not been kind territory of Robin as of late. Earlier this year he starred in RV, which was meant to do for him what Christmas Vacation did for Chevy Chase, revive his comedic career. That did not quite happen, as RV failed to catch on and barely turned a profit.

I also have a similar type of love for Toni Collette, who is one of the most effortlessly spectacular actresses in Hollywood today. Her characters are always so dynamic and she has fantastic range as an actress. Her year has gone a little different with huge Oscar buzz around indie sensation Little Miss Sunshine and a solid hit late last year with In Her Shoes.

So with my afore mentioned non-sexual affection toward these two stars, why wouldn’t I be attracted to a film like The Night Listener. In this film, Williams stars as a late night radio celebrity in New York who comes across a book by a young boy who had a troubled childhood. The boy (played by Rory Culkin) has fallen into the care of Donna (played by Collette), who has kept him hidden from the world so that which haunts his past does not catch up with him. After developing a long-distance relationship with both the boy and Donna, Gabrielle (Williams) begins to get suspicious about the existence of the young boy and goes in search for the truth.

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