After seeing the film 300 mere hours ago (read my review here), I find it difficult to understand how someone would be against it. But I have also come to recognize that very little that happens in this world should come as a surprise.

UK site Filmstalker, a site that usually has a wealth of interesting posts beyond your average movie news, posted an article about a petition filed by a Dr. Hamed Vahdati Nasab. In the petition, Dr. Nasab addresses Warner Brothers and Director Zach Snyder, making claims that the film 300 is “according to all historical documents, is fraudulent and distorted, and its broadcast guarantees the violation of undeniable international legal rights.”

Upon further investigation of the petition, I found that Dr. Nasab went on to talk about the “proven scholarly fact that the Persian Empire in 480 B.C was the most magnificent and civilized empire.” This is all, of course, in reference to the film’s depiction of the Persian people (and King) as a ruthless horde of savages who sought to enslave the nations of Greece.

But then again, isn’t that how it was told in Greek history books? I am sure the Persian side is a bit more rosy. It is the same way that if Islamic extremists describe the war in Iraq 10 years down the road, I am sure they will tell it a bit differently than a farmer from Arkansas would. That is the nature of conflict and societal differences — there are multiple sides. We see similarities in our own country, especially between the two political parties. But are Republicans with vested interests in big oil petitioning Paramount over An Inconvenient Truth and how global warming may or may not actually exist. No. It is a movie, based on the beliefs (or imagination) of at least 1 person.

The same can be said for 300, a film based on the vivid imagination and interpretation of Frank Miller (who, coincidentally is not mentioned in the petition despite the fact that the concept is completely his). Miller’s graphic novel was adapted into a film and distributed for the purposes of entertaining Americans and making copious box office grosses. It was not made to piss off 1803 (at time of publication) Persians who sign an online petition.

The real question — who cares? It is just a movie.

With that, I open up the floor to our faithful readers. Do you care about this? Please leave some love below…

They say that independent greatness is only enhanced through collaboration. In that light, I recently showed up on the online show Movie Zone with Kevin Carr over at 7m Pictures.

What would someone want to talk about with me, you ask? The how about the Best and Worst Movies of 2006. Kevin invited me on the show to talk up the Film School Rejects Honor Roll, which was recently released as the Official Year End awards as voted on by the writers of Film School Rejects. We also discussed the GAG Awards, recognizing the absolute worst of 2006. Organized by Mr. Carr himself and voted on by critics all over (including yours truly), the GAG Awards recognized such turds a Jessica Simpson’s performance in Employee of the Month, M. Night Shyamalan’s Lady in the Water and Tom Cruise as 2006’s most overexposed celebrity.

But I don’t want to give away everything, you should really just check out the entire show over at 7m Pictures.

Technorati Tags: Awards, GAG Awards, Film School Rejects, Honor Roll

There is no one film that I have been waiting for longer than this one…

Just in case you haven’t heard, Zach Snyder’s epic 300, based on the graphic novel of the same title by Frank Miller (Sin City) is set to be released this week! Like a young man about to finally make out with his first girl, I am excited as all hell that I will be seeing this film tomorrow night. My hope is that it will live up to all of what I have built it up to be and it won’t turn out to be more like kissing your sister.

One thing is for sure, the film looks to be on a level of cool that we, the fans of epically cool cinema, have not seen in a long while. Zach Snyder, whom I spoke with a few weeks ago, has crafted a film that takes the imagery right from the page and plops it on screen, giving audiences a welcomed look into the mind of the great Frank Miller (who unfortunately, bears no relation to yours truly). You are assured that when (not if) you see this film that you will see something new, which is something hard to find these days. Thus, I am instantly hooked.

So what do you need to know about 300 before Friday comes around and all of your “cool” friends are dragging you out to see it? For starters, you should take a peek at the pulse pounding trailer, check out the Official Film School Rejects 300 Preview or even make a play at some merchandise with my Exclusive-ish 300 Extravaganza Giveaway. None of these would be a bad place to start.

Thankfully, I have already started — this is a project I have been following for more than a year now, and it is finally here. I say let’s get it started!

Who’s with me?

Last year was a year that saw a great range of films hit the silver screen. From some epic popcorn flicks, such as Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, to great dramas like The Departed, to some welcomed surprises such as Little Miss Sunshine, it was truly a good year for movie fans. And while all of these films earned the spotlight (and some Oscars), there was no film that was more talked about than the story of a Kazakh journalist, a character whose previous exposure to the world was a mere 5-10 minutes at a time on a cult-ish TV show on HBO. Little did writer/star Sacha Baron Cohen know then that his character Borat would set the world of film ablaze in the winter of 2006.

When I first went in to screen and review Borat: Cultural Learning of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan in late October, there were no expectations to be had other than the fact that I had seen Da Ali G Show and enjoyed it. Upon exiting the screening, I was still in tears. It was a film that caught myself (and so many others) completely off guard with its rampage of inappropriate and devious humor. From moment one when Borat declares that he likes you and sex, then proceeds to show off his country, you are captivated in a state of constant laughter. Not in a long time has a film been so raw, so offensive and so smart. Loaded with gratuitous male nudity, Antisemitism and homages to an increasingly ignorant American culture, this film packs a punch that transcends its gags and moves into the realm of being a razor sharp cultural observation.

So now, in a week when one of the most anticipated flicks of early 2007 (Zach Snyder’s 300) is to be released, Borat’s movie-film will go from being the most talked about film of 2006 to the most sought after DVD of 2007. If you haven’t seen Borat yet, then you are selling yourself short of a very hilarious 84 minute experience. And if you have seen Borat… well, then you are probably ready to run out to your local retailer and get this tomorrow morning or you’ve already pre-ordered it from Amazon. Yeah, it is one of those DVD’s.

Also in stores this week: Richard Linklater’s anti-Whopper fest Fast Food Nation; Dax Shepard’s tragically unfunny Let’s Go to Prison; and a 2 Disk Platinum Edition of the Animated Disney Classic Peter Pan.

Technorati Tags: Borat, DVD, New Release, Sacha Baron Cohen

Borat is out on DVD tomorrow. Very nice! And if you have not yet seen Borat and are going to run out and buy it, just be prepared for the fact that there is a scene involving a large, hairy naked man in the film. That large, hairy naked man is Ken Davitian, as Borat’s producer Azamat Bagatov.

Davitian is also making news today as he joins the all-star cast of Warner Brothers’ and Village Roadshow’s adaptation of the hit TV show Get Smart. The film has been all over the movie news wire lately, adding some large names to a list that includes Office star Steve Carell as Maxwell Smart, Prada wearing Anne Hathaway as Agent 99, and most recently announced, Academy Award Winner Alan Arkin as the Chief of CONTROL. Just the thought of Steve Carell talking into his shoe to Alan Arkin makes me giggle, so this looks to already be a comedic winner.

Also among the cast are Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Terrence Stamp (he of Bowfinger fame). Davitian will play the evil assistant to Stamp, the head of the nefarious organization known as KAOS.

For more on Get Smart, check out IMDB.

Here in Columbus, March came roaring in like a lion (or Olive from Little Miss Sunshine) with some heavy rains that, just like snow, could threaten to shut down the entire city. Thankfully all of my movie screenings were earlier in the week and I was able to get the scoop for you, my lovely readers, before mother nature had her say. In March there is much to anticipate as we may finally break free of the slump that was January and February at the movies. This week brings with it a few decent releases, which made it tough for me to make a pick, but next week promises to be even better with the release of 300. But before we get ahead of ourselves, let’s look at what you should or shouldn’t be braving the weather for this weekend…

Pick of the Week

Wild Hogs
Running Time: 99 min. Rated PG-13 for crude and sexual content, and some violence.
A ha! I bet I had you fooled this week. Everyone and their brother (and my brother, for that matter) though that Zodiac would easily be my pick of the week. But despite the fact that I enjoyed Zodiac (see below), Wild Hogs turned out to be the surprise comedy of the year thus far. While that may sound big, remember that we have drudged through some of the worst flicks of the year in the past 2 months. Wild Hogs has a decent cast, is intelligently written and gets enough laughs to be pretty entertaining. Go in expecting nothing and you will walk out with a smile on your face.
Read my entire review
Grade: | Trailer

Also out this Week

Zodiac
Running Time: 160 min. Rated R for some strong killings, language, drug material and brief sexual images.
Director David Fincher is good, damn good at creating an intense experience leading up to a killer ending. But what happens when he takes on a subject that has no clear ending? The result is a film that still has tension, and despite the fact that it is the longest film I have seen since The Good Shepherd, I found it to be interesting. Fincher’s cast is solid, his style is in full force and his attention to detail make Zodiac something fresh and exciting, despite a its length.
Read my entire review
Grade: | Trailer

Full of It
Running Time: 93 min. Rated PG-13 for sexual content, drug references, teen partying and crude humor.
I left the screening of this film smiling — and salivating at the thought of tearing it to shreds. Full of It is only 2 letters away from being the most honestly titled film of the past 10 years. I will allow you to draw your own conclusions from there. Let’s just say that this flick gets my stamp of disapproval. If you go and see it, then I will no longer accept you as my beloved reader.
Read my entire review
Grade: | Trailer

Black Snake Moan
Running Time: 116 min. Rated R for strong sexual content, language, some violence and drug use.
Of course the film that I was most looking forward to was also the only one of this weekend’s releases that I did not see. Samuel L. Jackson’s second movie in as many years with the word “Snake” in the title seems to be a step up in maturity and quite possibly a step towards more real critical acclaim. It is the sexy story of a nympho (Christina Ricci) who lands on the doorstep of a God-fearing bluesman (Jackson) who aims to cure her of her “wickedness”. The trailer alone is delicious, with a scantily clad Christina Ricci writhing around, chained to the wall. It is one of those movies that you have to see to understand, and I aim to understand it some time this weekend. I would suggest you do the same.
Trailer

And there you have it, once again. Plenty of nymphos, serial killers and middle aged biker wannabes to keep you occupied this weekend. Just take my advice and stay away from the trite teen flick. As always, which movies you see is up to you, but don’t say I didn’t warn you…

Director David Fincher has delivered some of the more intensely dramatic movies of the last 10 years. Se7en, The Game, Fight Club and Panic Room all come to mind. This fact alone would be enough to lead us to believe that his latest serial flick, like Se7en before it, would be a rollercoaster of twists and turns leading up to a shocker of an ending. It turns out that Zodiac, based on the real life killer that plagued San Francisco in the 1970s, is anything but a shocker. In fact, we already know how it is going to end, but that doesn’t mean that we won’t want to watch it anyway.

Zodiac stars Jake Gyllenhaal (Brokeback Mountain) as Robert Graysmith, the San Francisco Chronicle cartoonist who would eventually go on to write a few best selling books about the infamous Zodiac killer. The story follows Graysmith’s journey from looking over the shoulder of crime beat reporter Paul Avery (Robert Downey Jr.) to working with Inspector David Toschi (Mark Ruffalo) years later as he worked to uncover the true identity of elusive Zodiac. The elusiveness of the Zodiac was only heightened by the fact that he would taunt the public of the Bay area by writing letters to the papers or calling into television talk shows to profess his love for murder. The spectacle was enough to put the entire city of San Francisco into a state of terror for over a decade, its denizens cautiously awaiting the next sign of the Zodiac, or worse yet, the dead body.

It seems odd to make a film about a real life serial killer whose case is still open and to this day remains unsolved, but David Fincher pulls it off as only he can. The tension of the film continues to build from one letter to the next, one murder to the next, and while we know it doesn’t lead to anything we are intrigued nonetheless. Fincher’s style is also unmistakable in the film. Visually he uses long, slow pans over the city and some cool camera angles (birds-eye view in some spots) to give the film a constantly fresh feel, helping to dilute the fact that the flick is almost 3 hours long. Also complimentary is the score, which has a funky, light beat that gives the film a much needed rhythm. These things are signs of Fincher’s immaculate attention to detail, a trait that sets him apart from your average director.

Another sign of his attention to detail and ultimately another reason why the film succeeds is some superb casting. Robert Downey Jr. steals much of the film despite the fact that his character fades away toward the end. He is as erratic as ever, displaying a sharp wit that gives the audience something more than just Jake Gyllenhaal’s boyish good looks. Gyllenhaal, an actor of whom I am not normally a fan, plays the naïve Robert Graysmith quite well. Graysmith was the boy scout to Avery’s spastic attention whore, and Gyllenhaal nails it with a sense of innocence that seems natural even though it is at times a bit of an annoyance. The rest of the cast falls into place very well, including Mark Ruffalo and Anthony Edwards, who have great on screen chemistry as the pair of inspectors tasked out to find the Zodiac.

Ultimately my only problem with a film like this is a two-fold affair. On one side, the film is painfully long at 2 hours and 40 minutes. If you have an self diagnosed case of ADD like myself you will find your eyes burning and your mind wandering as the film wears on. But despite the length of his film, Fincher pieces together a story that does not loiter, it just has a lot to say. Sadly based on much of the story, this film could have been longer. Heaven forbid they ever come out with a Director’s Cut a la Oliver Stone’s Alexander.

The other inherent problem I found with Zodiac is that it is hard to get behind a film which you know has no real ending. We know that they are not going to catch the killer, we know that the case is still a mystery today and yet we are somehow interested in it anyway. Could it be that we are so enamored with real life serial killers, or is it that we just want to freak ourselves out that the real Zodiac may still be out there? No matter what your reason, I would recommend giving this one a look. Just don’t plan on being home early.

Final Grade:

Zodiac is in theaters March 2, has a running time of 160 minutes and is rated R for some strong killings, language, drug material and brief sexual images.