Release Date: September 26, 2006

There is a bit of genius in the formula that Producer Neal H. Moritz has found. That formula is where he has found a way to take a mediocre story, slap some hot cars and a hot cast in for good measure and come out the other end with a film that is entertaining and appealing – something that has created the Fast and the Furious series.

Of course, the formula has worked to varying degrees over the past years; the original Fast and the Furious was a surprising success to everyone except – well, the film’s producer. It combined a hot action star (Vin Diesel) and an up and coming soap opera heartthrob (Paul Walker) and some of the best street racing action seen on film – ever. It appealed to the young boys who wanted to drive their cars fast and the young girls who wanted – well, Paul Walker or Vin Diesel. It was a smash hit both in theaters and subsequently on DVD – so much so that I can remember being a retail store employee and that film being one of the first films to only be released to DVD and not VHS. So many bought DVD players just for that movie – that is power!

Read the rest of this entry »

Release Date: September 15, 2006

Brian De Palma is no slouch when it comes to delivering stylish, captivating films that keep his audiences entertained and yearning for more. Of that, we can be certain. Scarface is quite possibly the second greatest gangster movie ever and The Untouchables was – to say the least – spectacular among modern westerns. De Palma’s latest offering, The Black Dahlia, falls short of his resounding legacy. It is an under articulated, long winded and tiresome attempt at telling the story of possibly the most famous unsolved murder mystery in Southern California history – and I don’t mean the O.J. Simpson trial.

Based on the fictitious book by James Ellroy, The Black Dahlia begins in Los Angeles in the late 1940’s telling the tale of two cops, Bucky Bleichert (Josh Hartnett) and Lee Blanchard (Aaron Eckhart). The unlikely combo are united by their pasts as boxers and hoisted up on a pedestal to become publicity monkeys for the LAPD, winning over the hearts of Los Angelinos in order to gain support for a bill that would give the PD a sizeable raise. After knocking the crap out of each other and becoming the heroes of the day, publicity whore Lee and the quiet boy scout Bucky team up as partners and hit the streets, catching felons left and right.

Read the rest of this entry »

Release Date: September 22, 2006

You don’t have to be a psychic by any means to understand how a movie like this comes about. Probably about 2 or 3 years ago, a script was making its rounds within the Columbia Pictures organization. Within the script was a story about an outrageous, but loved Louisiana Governor who rose from his humble roots to challenge the corrupt government and fight for the rights of the working farmers. The story had its share of deceit, loyalty and political relevance, making it a sure winner. At that point, someone looked to someone else and said, “We are going to make this film, and it is going to win Oscars.” Or at least, that is how it may seem once you see the film.

The script was an adaption of a Robert Penn Warren novel by Steven Zaillian (not a re-write of the 1949 film with the same name, coincidentally.) The higher-ups then went to work, enlisting Zaillian to direct, James Horner and T-Bone Burnett to provide the score, and Avy Kaufman to put together an A-List cast that included the likes of Sean Penn, Jude Law, Anthony Hopkins, Kate Winslet, and others. The end result would be All the King’s Men, a film that seems to have been made with award winning in mind.

Read the rest of this entry »

Release Date: August 29, 2006

I believe Josh Tyler from Cinema Blend said it best when he said that there are just some movies that you want to be good. In fact, there are some movies for which I don’t even need to see a trailer in order to yearn for excellence – just the involvement of certain people can get me excited about a film. One particularly good example is Lonesome Jim, a film produced and directed by one of my favorite Hollywood denizens, Steve Buscemi. This led me to be very excited about the film, no matter the outcome. Unfortunately being excited about a film does not guarantee that the film will be great, in fact it can easily set you up for a painful letdown, which is ultimately the case with Lonesome Jim.

The story, which is an adaption of the real life of writer James Strouse, is centered around a writer named Jim (Casey Affleck) who has moved back home to live with his parents after failing to make it on his own. Shamefully Jim drudges through his present, fighting off his past and attempting to put off having to deal with his future. Along the way he is forced to deal with his suicidal brother (Kevin Corrigan) and his crazy uncle (Mark Boone Junior) who is selling drugs out of their family owned factory. Jim also meets Anika (Liv Tyler), a single mom who attempts to bring Jim out of his slump with her constant positivity.
Read the rest of this entry »

Release Date: September 15, 2006

Let me begin with a statement that may come as a surprise: The Last Kiss was not written, nor was it directed by Zach Braff. I understand that this will be difficult for many to accept; the film has that Braff charm and it feels eerily like Garden State 2. But alas, Braff may be the guy whose face made it to the poster, but this is not completely his film. In fact, The Last Kiss was directed by actor turned director Tony Goldwyn (the bad guy from Ghost) and written by the ever busy Paul Haggis – you remember him, right? He is the guy who has cleaned house at a small awards ceremony known as the Academy Awards over the past few years.

And while the film is not completely his baby, Braff is excellent as the very conflicted, can’t figure out which way to go unlikely hero type named Michael. He is about to have a baby with a woman that he loves (Jacinda Barrett) while being pursued by a woman that he wants (Rachel Bilson). And with the relationships of his friends all falling apart around him, he is forced to decide what he wants to do with his life, and ultimately whether or not he is ready to become an adult. It is something that we have seen before, yes; but it is also something to which so many of us can relate.
Read the rest of this entry »

Release Date: September 26, 2006

Gee – I wondered quietly to myself – this is much like Braveheart; only, instead of Mel Gibson and a phony Irish accent I got Gerard Butler and his undoubtedly Irish dialect playing – a Viking warrior? Go figure, right? But Mel Gibson aside, there is always something interesting about these epic stories set in the dark ages of human civilization; back when Kings ruled by having noble heroes who protected their good names, and mythical creatures constantly stood in between a hero and his destiny. In that same light comes a story of one hero and his unlikely foe, the story of Beowulf and Grendel.

The film is about – well, exactly who I just mentioned: Beowulf and Grendel, hero and monster. Beowulf (Gerard Butler) is the norse hero who comes from a far away land to help King Hrothgar (Stellan Skarsgard) rid his kingdom of a murderous troll. The troll is Grendel (Ingvar Sigurosson), who as we the audience know (thanks to a well laid out opening scene), is not just acting on beastly rage but fighting to avenge the death of his father. It is this fact that causes him to not want to engage in battle with Beowulf, who has not wronged him, which frustrates our hero. But even with the beast not interested in fighting him, Beowulf chooses to move forward for the cause of helping his dear friend free his people from the fear that Grendel has caused.

Read the rest of this entry »