Best Picture Nominee: Slumdog Millionaire (2008)

Jamal Malik, an 18 year-old orphan from the slums of Mumbai, is about to experience the biggest day of his life. With the whole nation watching, he is just one question away from winning a staggering 20 million rupees on India's "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?" But hilarity ensues when the show breaks for the night, police arrest him on suspicion of cheating; how could a street kid know so much? Desperate to prove his innocence, Jamal tells the story of his life in the slum where he and his brother grew up, of their adventures together on the road, of vicious encounters with local gangs, and of Latika, the girl he loved and lost. Each chapter of Jamal's increasingly layered story reveals where he learned the answers to the show's seemingly impossible quizzes. But one question remains a mystery: what is this young man with no apparent desire for riches really doing on the game show? When the new day dawns and Jamal returns to answer the final question, the Inspector and sixty million viewers are about to find out. At the heart of its storytelling lies the question of how anyone comes to know the things they know about life and love.

Trivia: Mercedes-Benz asked that its logos be removed in scenes taking place in the slums. The company, according to Danny Boyle, did not want to be associated with the poverty-stricken area, fearing that that might taint its image. Director Danny Boyle placed the money to be paid to the 3 lead child actors in a trust that is to be released to them upon their completion of grade school at 16 years of age. The production company has set up for an auto-rikshaw driver to take the kids to school everyday until they are 16 years old. The current exchange rate for 20,000,000 Rupees (the grand prize on "Who Wants to be a Millionaire") is USD$411,600. This movie was almost released straight to DVD instead of getting a theater release.

It is refreshing to see Hollywood respond to a movie that has no American Superstars in it, a movie that can survive and actually thrive on a well written story, a movie that is intelligent. Everyone in this movie did a great job. If you haven't seen it yet I highly suggest that you do. You might even be surprised come Sunday night.

Best Picture Nominee: The Reader (2008)

Middle aged German barrister Michael Berg (Ralph Fiennes) recollects to himself his lifelong acquaintance with Hanna Schmitz, (Kate Winslet) a relationship with whom he never disclosed to anyone close to him. Young Michael (David Kross) first met Hanna in 1958, when he was fifteen, she thirty-six. Hilarity ensued as the two had a turbulent summer long love affair, dictated by Hanna that their encounters would begin with him reading to her followed by lovemaking. Michael next encountered Hanna in 1966, when Michael, now a law student, attended the Nazi war crimes trial of five female former S.S. concentration camp guards, one of whom is Hanna. Through listening to the testimony, Michael comes to the realization that he is in possession of information which could save Hanna from a life in prison, information which she herself is unwilling to disclose. In deciding what to do, Michael is torn between his differing views of justice.

Trivia: Stephan Daldry's first choice for the lead role was Kate Winslet, who originally turned down the offer due to a scheduling conflict with Revolutionary Road. When Nicole Kidman accepted the role, the producers built in a hiatus in order to allow her to finish filming Australia. However, by the time Kidman was set to begin her scenes on the film, she withdrew because of her pregnancy, vacating the role. Winslet, who was now available, agreed to replace Kidman. Producers Sydney Pollack and Anthony Minghella both died before the completion of the movie. As the film was nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards, the Academy made an exception from their rules not to name more than three producers as nominees because of this rare circumstance. In the end the two producers Donna Gigliotti and Redmand Morris who took over duties were nominated as well as the posthumously honored Minghella and Pollack. The shooting took a break for David Kross to turn 18 so the love scene could be shot.

The movie is divided into two parts. The Affair, and The Trial. I think Winslet does a good job portraying Hanna in both parts of her life. Winslet is nominated for Best Actress which is curious because she was nominateed for a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress for the same role.

Best Picture Nominee: Milk (2008)

Upon moving to San Francisco from New York City in 1972, forty year old Harvey Milk (Sean Penn) gains focus in his life as a gay activist in the city's Castro district. Hilarity ensues as gay rights activism turns to political activism as Milk decides he can be a more effective voice for the gay community as a politician, elected or not. Through several elections and losses both for a city seat and a state assembly seat, Milk becomes the first openly gay man in the United States to be elected to political office when he wins a San Francisco supervisor seat in 1977. His many political battlefronts include one with the national anti-gay Save the Children crusade, led and fronted by singer Anita Bryant. Closer to home, Milk has a continuing struggle with his fellow supervisor, Dan White (Josh Brolin), a staunch social conservative.

Trivia: Thousands of people agreed to take part in the film as extras for free. The filming location for Harvey Milk's business, Castro Camera, was the real storefront where the actual business had once been. At the time of filming (mid-2008), it was a gift shop called "Given"; the film crew worked with the owner of the gift shop to recreate the look of Milk's camera store inside the space and restored it to its 2008 appearance after filming. It was widely reported that while filming a scene at the old Castro Camera, some of the actors claimed that they saw a man come in and sit on a couch. After the scene was filmed, nobody else claimed to have seen the man, and the actors themselves went on to claim that it was perhaps the ghost of Harvey Milk. The apartment that was used in the film is the real apartment Harvey Milk lived in on the Lower Haight in San Francisco.

Tonight we have another multi-nominated film. Besides Best Picture, both Sean Penn and Josh Brolin were nominated as Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor respectively. Josh Brolin doesn't have a chance, he will be up against Heath Ledger, the almost certain supporting actor winner. But Sean Penn has a decent chance. I don't hide the fact that I dislike Sean Penn, mostly because of his politics, but he has had some good roles. I also think he gets more then his share of accolades for his work, basically he gets nominations like this because he is Sean Penn (See Meryl Streep). But his take of Milk is very engaging and is in my top three male performances this year. As with Frost/Nixon, I was alive when this true story actually happened, but I was under 10 and pretty oblivious to the news so it was interesting to see what was happening on that side of America coupled with my trip last summer to San Fransisco it was a pretty cool film to watch.

Best Picture Nominee: Frost/Nixon (2008)

Following the resignation of US President Richard Nixon (Frank Langella), television talk show host David Frost (Michael Sheen)wants to arrange a series of interviews with him to air on television. Part of the reason Frost thinks the interviews would be compelling to both the public and the television networks is that Nixon never admitted any guilt of or offered any apology for the Watergate scandal which led to his resignation. Nixon, with a few interview offers on the table, ultimately agrees to Frost's proposal partly because of the high $600,000 guaranteed appearance fee, and partly because he wants to take command of such an interview to show the world that he is still presidential so that he can resurrect his political career. Nixon believes he can railroad Frost, who is better known as a pop cultural entertainment styled interviewer than an investigative political interviewer. However, Frost has every intention on these interviews being hard hitting and pointed; in addition to his producer John Birt (Matthew Macfadyen), Frost hires two investigative reporters known for their previous exposés on Nixon: Bob Zelnick (Oliver Platt) and James Reston Jr. (Sam Rockwell). Nixon's chief adviser for the interviews is his current chief of staff, Jack Brennan (Kevin Bacon). Prior to the interviews, ground rules are negotiated, most importantly surrounding Watergate: the total percentage of time Watergate can be discussed and the definition of what constitutes Watergate. Hilarity ensues as the four interviews progress, each side trying to manipulate the interviews to his best advantage. Behind the scenes, Frost is having difficulty with the rest of his professional life: his regular talk shows are being canceled and he has not reached anywhere near the total $2 million financing for this project. Ultimately, Frost has to finance the project with much money out of his own pocket. It isn't until a chance telephone call that the tides turn on the interviews.

Trivia: Both Frank Langella and Michael Sheen repeat the roles they created on stage. Ron Howard would only agree to direct if the studio would allow both actors to appear in the film version. Frank Langella won a Tony Award in 2007 for playing Richard Nixon in the original stage production. Even while off-camera, all of the actors would remain in character and continue the Frost/Nixon rivalry by bickering and making fun of each other. Director Ron Howard admitted voting for Richard Nixon in the 1972-election. In 1977, the year of the actual David Frost and Richard Nixon's interviews, Ron Howard was directing his first feature film, Grand Theft Auto.

First off, let me say that I am reviewing the Best Picture Nominees in alphabetical order, so this should have been The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button, but I have already reviewed it, you can see the review below. So next up is Frost/Nixon. You know, it's funny. I was alive when Watergate happened and these interviews were shot, but I was 7 when they were so I have no recollection of the actual interviews. I do recognise the name David Frost, but I couldn't point him out in a croud. What made this movie good was the interaction between David Frost and Richard Nixon. I liked the games Nixon played on Frost trying to get him out of he comfort zone. It makes me kind of want to see the original interviews to see if they come across the same way. The movie kept me interested in what would come next. Frank Lagella did a great job as Nixon. Will he win the Best Actor catagory? Probably not, there is a lot of good competition there.

Oscar Month Twofer: Doubt (2008)

Hilarity ensues as a charismatic priest, Father Flynn (Philip Seymour Hoffman), is trying to upend St. Nicholas' strict customs, which have long been fiercely guarded by Sister Aloysius Beauvier (Meryl Streep), the iron-gloved Principal who believes in the power of fear and discipline. The winds of political change are sweeping through the community, and indeed, the school has just accepted its first black student, Donald Miller (Joseph Foster). But when Sister James (Amy Adams), a hopeful innocent, shares with Sister Aloysius her guilt-inducing suspicion that Father Flynn is paying too much personal attention to Donald, Sister Aloysius sets off on a personal crusade to unearth the truth and to expunge Flynn from the school. Now, without a shard of proof besides her moral certainty, Sister Aloysius locks into a battle of wills with Father Flynn which threatens to tear apart the community with irrevocable consequence.

Trivia: The Broadway play ran for over a year, with 525 performances. The play won four Tony awards: Best Play, Best Director (Doug Hughes), Best Actress (Cherry Jones), and Best Featured Actress (Adriane Lenox). Oprah Winfrey reportedly lobbied for the role of Mrs. Miller, but John Patrick Shanley refused to even give her a reading.

Hmmm, let's see, why am I reviewing this movie during Oscar Month? Did it get nominated for any Oscars? Oh yeah, three. One for Meryl "I always get nominated" Streep for Best Actress. One for Amy "See I can play dramatic roles" Adams for Best Supporting Actress and one for Viola "Whoo Hoo, two scenes one nomination!" Davis for Best Supporting Actress. Okay, let's take these one at a time. Viola Davis was in a total of two scenes. That's it, two. The first is an extended dialogue with Meryl Streep's character, Sister Aloysius. In the second, she appears only for about 10 seconds and does not speak. I don't mean to denegrate Ms. Davis (who plays the mother of the boy Father Flynn is accused of acosting) , but she was only in two scenes. They were nice scenes but really. I know Michael Shannon was nominated for Best Supporting Actor in Revolutionary Road and he was in two scenes, but he really made an impact on the movie. Viola Davis didn't have as much impact. Wasn't there anyone else? Next Amy Adams. She is okay in her role as the young nun who didn't know quite what to do or who to believe but not groundbreaking. Then there was Meryl Streep. The Mercedes of the bunch. The top dog. The queen of acting. The, well, you get my point. Sometimes I think the Academy falls back on what they know. They know Streep. Was she good? Yes. Was she scary? Yes. Was she imtimidating? Yes. Was this her best work? Nope. Of course a subpar performance from her could beat plenty of career performances by others, but not this year. I did like how the movie kept you guessing all the way through if the father was guilty or not.

Oscar Month Twofer: The Visitor (2008)

Hilarity ensues when a widowed college professor Walter Vale (Richard Jenkins) returns from school to his home in New York and finds a couple living in his apartment. Tarek Khalil (Haaz Sleiman) and Zainab (Danai Jekesai Gurira) have been staying there for a few months. Tarek is a musician and street performer and Zainab makes jewlery. Vale lets them stay and Tarek starts to teach him how to play the African Drum. Tarek is stopped by police and detained on a missunderstanding but it turns out that they are illegal immigrants.

Trivia: The parking lot in which Walter parks is car after arriving in New York--on East 11th Street between 1st and 2nd Avenue--was torn down shortly after the film was released.

Richard Jenkins is nominated for Best Actor in this small film. He does a wonderful job of a professor just going through the motions until he meets Tarek and his love of music is awakened. Then his concern over Tarek's situation shows through. It is a touching film and Walter and Mouna (Tarek's mother played by Hiam Abbass) romance is tender. It is a nice quiet movie worth seeing.

Ocsar Month Twofer: The Wrestler (2008)

Randy "The Ram" Robinson (Mickey Rourke) is an aging professional wrestler, decades past his prime, who now barely gets by working small wrestling shows in VFW halls and as a part-time grocery store employee. As he faces health problems that may end his wrestling career for good he attempts to come to terms with his life outside the ring: by working full time at the grocery store, trying to reconcile with the daughter he abandoned in childhood and forming a closer bond with a stripper, Cassidy (Marissa Tomei), who he has romantic feelings for. Hilarity ensues as he struggles with his new life and an offer of a high-profile rematch with his 1980s arch-nemesis, The Ayatollah, which may be his ticket back to stardom.

Trivia: Darren Aronofsky revealed that Mickey Rourke wasn't the first choice to play Randy "The Ram" Robinson. First choice in line was Nicolas Cage, but he turned the movie down due to creative differences. Second choice was Sylvester Stallone. Aronofsky was trying to get Stallone back in the ring again but he has been too busy working on Rocky Balboa at the time. Only two days after its completion, "The Wrestler" was screened on Venice Film Festival and walked off with the Golden Lion award for Best Picture. Mickey Rourke also would have walked off as Best Actor if the Venice jury chairman, director Wim Wenders, had had his way but Wenders' vigorous campaigning could not topple a longstanding festival rule which insists that one film is not allowed to win both awards. Rourke happily contented himself with finally being the star of a prize-winning picture. The scene where a fan hands "The Ram" a prosthetic leg is based on an actual event from an ECW show where a fan repeatedly yelled "use my leg" and eventually tossed his prosthetic leg to Tommy Dreamer who in turn used it on his opponent. Darren Aronofsky and Marisa Tomei attended the same high school, Edward R. Murrow High School.

Today you are getting a Twofer so be sure to keep reading my review of Rachel Getting Married below. This movie is all about Mickey Rourke. I shudder to think of what it would have looked like if Nicolas Cage had played The Ram. Rourke deserves all the accolades he is getting, including the Best Actor nomination. Rourke's career actually parallels Ram's. Rourke's golden days are behind him and this movie is his comeback, just like Ram struggles to make his own comeback. This part is perfect for Rourke and I think he put a whole lot of his own life into the role. I would not be surprised if he won. Now I just said the movie was all about Rourke, well, most of it is. Marisa Tomei stole most of the scenes she was in from Rourke (It didn't hurt that she played a stripper, after all I am a guy). She provides a bright spark where most of the movie is a little depressing. She has also be nominated (For Best Supporting Actress).

Be sure to tune in tomorrow for another Twofer (Doubt and The Visitor)

Oscar Month twofer: Rachel Getting Married (2008)

Hilarity ensues when you realize the star of the picture Anne Hathaway is not Rachel and she is not getting married. She is actually Kym, Rachel's (Rosemarie DeWitt) sister and Kym just got out of rehab. Kym has had issues all her life which culminated in an accident and a death while she was inder the influence of Percocet. Kym has gotten out of rehab just in time for her sister's wedding. The wedding is being held at the family home so much choas abounds. Rachel just wants the wedding to be good and to have it be her day, but she feels Kym's selfishness is butting in. The family is pretty disfunctional to begin with but add the wedding plans, an over protective father following Kym's every move, the rehearsal dinners where Rachel meets her fiancee's family for the first time just adds to the drama. Friction builds between Kym and Rachel. Will it push Kym over the edge?

Trivia: Jenny Lumet spent about 7 weeks writing the script. It was her first to be made into a film, even though it was the writer's 5th screenplay. The dishwasher scene was based on an actual event involving Sidney Lumet and Bob Fosse.

Overall this was a good little film. Anne Hathaway has been nominated for a Best Actress Oscar and the performance deserves it. This could be her break out role. Most of her filmography involves bubblegum Disney type roles with little ability needed to accomplish. (See The Princess Diaries, Ella Enchanted, Get Smart, The Devil Wears Prada, Bride Wars). In this she plays an addict with a tormented past struggling to cope with something she did. Nice job. Also I was relieved to see that the film did not fall into the cliche of the Maid Of Honor falling for the Best Man and living happily ever after.

Oscar Month: Changeling (2008)

The year was 1928, Los Angeles. As Christine (Angelina Jolie) said goodbye to her son, Walter, and departed for work, she never anticipated that this was the day her life would be forever changed. Upon returning home, Christine was distressed to discover that Walter was nowhere to be found. Over the course of the following months, the desperate mother would launch a search that would ultimately prove fruitless. Yet just when it seemed that all hope was lost, a nine-year-old boy claiming to be Christine's son seemed to appear out of thin air. Overcome with emotions and uncertain how to face the authorities or the press, Christine invites the child to stay in her home despite knowing without a doubt that he is not her son. As much as Christine would like to accept the fact that her son has been returned to her, she cannot accept the injustice being pushed upon her and continues to challenge the Prohibition-era Los Angeles police force at every turn. As a result, Christine is slandered by the powers that be, and painted as an unfit mother. In this town, a woman who challenges the system is putting her life on the line, and as the situation grows desperate, the only person willing to aid her in her search is benevolent local activist Reverend Briegleb (John Malkovich). Not much hilarity there to ensue.

Trivia: Based on the true story of the Wineville Chicken Coop Murders, also known as the Wineville Chicken Murders. There is a roadside café named "Bummy's" which appears early on in the film. This is possibly in memory of Clint Eastwood's long time collaboration with Production Designer Henry Bumstead, who passed away in 2006. His nickname was "Bummy". Both Hilary Swank and Reese Witherspoon lobbied for the role of Christine Collins. Clint Eastwood cast Angelina Jolie at the suggestion of Executive Producer Ron Howard, who noted that Jolie's "look" would fit best with the time period. J. Michael Straczynski first learned of the story of Christine Collins from an unnamed source at Los Angeles City Hall. The source had stumbled across case files regarding the Wineville Chicken Coop Murders among other discarded documents scheduled for destruction. Straczynski took the files himself and became obsessed with the case, doing extensive research over the course of a year. Virtually every event depicted in the film appears as cited in legal documents, with dialog often taken verbatim from court transcripts. The exception is the insane asylum sequences which are based more on conventions of the time than documented events. Straczynski wrote his first draft of the screenplay in only eleven days.

Angelina Jolie is nominated in the Best Actress catagory for this period crime drama, and she does a good job as the mother wondering what happened to her child and fighting against the police. The movie is nice a simple and beautifully shot as most of Eastwood's movies are. It is worth seeing. But I am going to talk about movie posters. The one at the top of the page is the American version. The one to the left is Spanish (at least I think it is, it is written in Spanish). (click on the posters to see larger versions of them.) The second one is a powerful poster with a woman looking in on a child that might be her son or it might not be. You can see the concern on her face. The face is instantly recognizeable as Jolie, so you get the star power on the poster. It is a nice poster. The American one on the other hand. What the heck is up with that? Jolie looks huge. She also looks hungry. Hungry enough to eat the small bite size kid in front of her? Maybe. The picture is not enven that flatterying of her. I think the second poster is a much prettier picture of her. It also gives the impression of being in the past. If I saw the first poster without knowing what the film was about I couldn't even start to guess what it was about. No clue. And what is with the solid white background? There are many times when the foreign posters are superior to the domestic versions. Why is that? Because they think we can't understand it? Because they think if the poster doesn't have the stars full face promenantly shown we will fail to recognize them, no half hidden face, no reflections? They think that if the poster is to artsy that we will not watch it? Dear Hollywood, we are not idiots, (well at least some of us aren't. See Meet The Spartans: $38 million dollars at the boxoffice.)

Oscar Month: Revolutionary Road (2008)

It's 1955. After seven years of marriage Frank (Leonardo DiCaprio) and April Wheeler (Kate Winslet) have fallen into a life that appears to most as being perfect. They live in the Connecticut suburbs with two young children. Frank commutes to New York City where he works in an office job while April stays at home as a housewife. But hilarity doesn't seem to ensue, and they're not happy. April has given up her dream of becoming an actress. Frank, on the other hand, has never found his dream, he hates his job and puts very little effort into it. One day, April suggests that they move to Paris as a means to rejuvenate their life and get out of their unhappy existence. April's plan: she would work, you would be amazed at how much money a secretarial job in an embassy makes. Frank would then have free time to find himself and discover his passion. Initially skeptical, Frank ultimately agrees to April's plan. When circumstances change around the Wheelers, April decides she will do whatever she has to to get herself out of her unhappy existence.

Trivia: This is the first film collaboration between Kate Winslet and husband Sam Mendes. First movie Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet have worked on together since Titanic (1997). Kathy Bates is also a Titanic veteran. The rights to adapt the book into a movie were bought in 1967. Child actors Ryan Simpkins and Ty Simpkins, who play Frank and April's children, are real-life siblings.

Well, the Oscars are fast approaching so for the next couple of weeks, we are Oscar talk all the time. All of the movies this month will be Oscar Nominees. Today's film is Revolutionary Road. To say this film is depressing is an understatement. There are no likable characters in it. April is a stilted unsatisfied housewife who feels like she is being imprisoned in her own home. Frank is an angry unsatisfied man having to work at a job he hates at the same company his father languished in for 20 years just so he can take care of his obligations (also known as his wife and children). They fight constantly. The neighbor has a secret crush on April. The real estate agent (Kathy Bates) looks to the couple as a way to revitalize the neighborhood. The lone bright spot is Bates's son John (played by Michael Shannon). John is mentally ill. He also doesn't sugarcoat anything and acts as the conscious of the film pointing out how everybody is pretending to be happy while in reality they can't stand each other. Shannon parleyed this 5 to 10 minute role into a Supporting Actor Oscar Nomination. Too bad he will be up against Heath Ledger.

Gran Torino

Walt Kowalski (Clint Eastwood) is a widower who holds onto his prejudices despite the changes in his Michigan neighborhood and the world around him. Kowalski is a grumpy, tough-minded, unhappy an old man, who can't get along with either his kids or his neighbors, a Korean War veteran whose prize possession is a 1972 Gran Torino he keeps in mint condition. Hilarity ensues when his neighbor Thao (Bee Vang), a young Hmong teenager under pressure from his gang member cousin, tries to steal his Gran Torino, Kowalski sets out to reform the youth. Drawn against his will into the life of Thao's family, Kowalski is soon taking steps to protect them from the gangs that infest their neighborhood.

Trivia: Open casting calls for Hmong actors were held in Hmong communities in Detroit, Michigan; Saint Paul, Minnesota; and Fresno, California. None of the Hmong actors in the cast had acted in a film before except Doua Moua. Clint Eastwood encouraged the Hmong actors to ad-lib in the Hmong language. A Gran Torino was also the car used in the 70s cop show Starsky & Hutch.

This is a typical Eastwood movie if you compare it with his last several movies in which he appears as well as directs. And by that I mean 1) it is pretty good, 2) Eastwood plays a sour old guy set in his ways that changes a little through the story but still comes out as a sour old man, and 3) We are bound to see Eastwood glare into the camera with his trademark scowl. I am not sure good a message it is though. Kowalski teaches Thao some things and you think he is grooming him to take care of himself but when it actually comes time for the confrontation at the end of the movie, Kowalski leaves Thao behind. I know that is the only way to come to the conclusion the film does come to but still it feels like a betrayal. Still its a good movie.

Yes Man (2008)

Carl Allen (Jim Carrey) is in a funk. His girlfriend left him and now he is afraid to interact with anyone. He even misses his best friend's engagement party. Hilarity ensues when one day he meets an old friend who invites him to a siminar stressing that to truly live you need to stop saying "no" and say "yes"...to everything. Once he starts doing this his life changes, his job gets better and he meets Allison (Zooey Deschanel). But not everything is going the way he hopes when his friends start taking advantage of him and Allison questions whether he really loves her or if he just can't say no.

Trivia: Based on a biographical book written by Danny Wallace, a British author, producer, and journalist who spent six months answering "yes" to any given question or proposal and recording the results. Jim Carrey performed his own bungee jump stunts. Speaking of stunts the day before Zooey Deschanel had to get on the scooter for the first time, her stunt double fell off and shattered her hip. Zooey was told that the stunt woman would have about a nine month recovery, so she was asked to get on the bike for the shot herself. Even though one of the movie's main posters has Jim Carrey running through a field of flowers gracefully (see above left), he does not run through a field of flowers once throughout the film. There are multiple references to Harry Potter in the film. David Heyman, one of the film's producers, also produces the Harry Potter films. While Carl is in the video store you can see another Jim Carrey movie, The Number 23, playing out of focus in the background. He also picks up The Cable Guy to rent.

For me Jim Carrey movies are interesting and mildly funny, this one is no exception. Is it a good movie? Yes. Did it make me laugh? Yes. Is Zooey Deschanel totally awesome? YES! I admit I am a little biased when it comes to Ms. Descahnel (Zooey, if you are reading this, call me.) since I have a pretty major crush on her (a 10 year age difference isn't that much, really). She is at her ultimate cuteness in this movie and she sings! How awesome is that? As for the rest of the movie. It is fun but it is formulaic, I kept wondering when something was going to happen to sour the relationship and it hit right on cue, then it was "He's got to do something her to win her back." Ahh, there it is. Not every movie has to be Oscar calibur to be good, not every movie has to be perfect. This is a fun movie to see.

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seusne ytiraliH. (okay okay, I'll go back to normal) "I was born under unusual circumstances." That is how Benjamin Button (Brad Pitt) describes his birth. You see, when he was born his body was that of an 80 year old. The thing about Benjamin is that as time went by he grew younger, but like all of us, he is not able to stop the passage of time. The story follows his diary as he lives his life in New Orleans (abandoned by his father and taken in by Queenie (Taraji P. Henson) who runs an old folks home), and his adventures into the world. Along the way he meets a lot of people, including Elizabeth Abbott (Tilda Swinton) the wife of a diplomat and spy in Minsk, Russia, Captain Mike (Jared Harris) a tug boat Captain, and Daisy (Cate Blanchett) the young granddaughter of a resident of the old folks home, and his life long love.

Trivia: Filmmakers worked closely with Levi's to obtain clothing items from their Levi's Vintage Clothing collection to authenticate various time periods captured throughout the film. Principal photography was targeted to last a total of 150 days, excluding the time it would take to create the visual effects for the metamorphosis of Brad Pitt's character to the infant stage. Brad Pitt stated it took 5 hours each day to complete the make-up required for the role. The second Hollywood feature film, after Denzel Washington's Deja Vu, to film in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.

Well this is the first and maybe only shoo-in for a Best Picture Oscar nomination this year. It definitely is the type of movie that Oscar loves, a dramatic and romantic love story that stretches over years and years. But does it have a chance? Well, in a word, yes. This is a solid movie with a solid cast. Brad Pitt. He does a great job with the different ages that he plays, you feel his struggle to live his life. Cate Blanchett. She is at her loveliest in this role, and she gets to dance. Tilda Swinton. She is only in the movie for about 10 minutes out of almost 3 hours but she ends up stealing her scene from Pitt. The makeup and special effects. They were awesome. We all have seen age makeup where an actor looks older then they really are, but it was the younger look that was so impressive. At one point Pitt looked like he had just finished Thelma and Louise the day before not 17 years before. Blanchett also gets the youth treatment. It is a good film and is considered by most as the Oscar frontrunner. We shall see.

The Fall (2006)

At a Los Angeles hospital in the 1920s, Alexandria is a child recovering from a broken arm. She befriends Roy Walker, a movie stunt man with legs paralyzed after a fall. Hilarity ensues as at her request, Roy tells her an elaborate story about six men of widely varied backgrounds who are on a quest to kill a corrupt provincial governor. Alexandria's imagination starts to run wild as her vision of the story gets more and more vivid and the line between fiction and reality begins to blur. But Roy has his own motives for befriending Alexandria that include procurement of Morphine.

Trivia: The film was shot on 26 locations over 18 countries. The director claims that there are no special effects in the film despite its surreal looks. Everything was shot on real locations. A miscommunication between the casting agent and Catinca Untaru (Alexandra) led her to believe that Lee Pace (Roy) was a real-life paraplegic. Director Tarsem Singh found that this brought an added level of believability to their dialogue, so he decided to keep almost the entire cast and crew under the same impression. Singh had to speak to the actor playing Alexandria's father and explain that his role was smaller than it appeared, since the script implied that he played the role of the bandit (actually played by Pace) in the fantasy scenes. Apparently it was hard to keep up the lie - a makeup artist walked into a room to find Pace standing and almost passed out from shock. The cinematic poster for this movie is based on the Salvador Dali painting, "1935_03_Face of Mae West Which May Be Used as an Apartment", circa 1935.

I saw Bedtime Stories this weekend (the review will be up in a couple of days) that had a man tell a story to two children and the story was acted out by the three of them and included other people in their lives. It was okay, a fun little romp. This movie blows it out of the water. It was a lot sadder then Bedtime Stories which is a comedy, and it deals with a lot of heavy issues including suicide, but it is still a lot better movie. Alexandria's imagination of the story is so vivid and full of color it is like a painting. It truely has no bounds. This picture was just so lush and beautiful. The thing I like the most is that the story was told by an American man about a native indian, a bandit, an explosives expert, a runaway slave, an East Indian swordsman, and Charles Darwin, but instead of just having Alexandria imagine the cliches that we associate with these name, her vision was of far away places and had a distinct far east feel. Her imagination was allowed to roam free. This is a gorgeous film, you should find it and see it.

Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008)

An evil elf, Prince Nuada (Luke Goss) breaks an ancient pact between humans and the magical creatures, as he declares war against humanity. He is on a mission to release The Golden Army, a deadly group of fighting machines that can destroy the human race. As Hell on Earth is ready to erupt, Hellboy (Ron Perlman), our favorite red hero, Liz (Selma Blair), firestarter and Red's girlfriend, Abe Sapian (Doug Jones), the fishy brains of the outfit and the rest of the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense set out to defeat the evil prince before The Golden Army can destroy humanity's existence. Their only hope lies with Princess Nuala (Anna Walton), Nuada's twin sister. Hilarity ensues.

Trivia: Peter Jackson approached Guillermo del Toro to direct Halo, and even though del Toro considered it, he turned the offer down so he could direct this sequel. Del Toro also turned down I Am Legend, One Missed Call, and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince for the same reason. This is actually the second time del Toro opted for a Hellboy movie over a Harry Potter movie. He also turned down Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban to direct the first Hellboy. As in the first movie, the agents that accompany Hellboy are named for things found while digging in the earth, albeit decidedly tougher than the first group: Marble, Flint, Steel (true, this is an alloy that is mostly iron, but Iron is not a common last name). The movie mentions Bethmoora, a city in the fiction of the early 20th century visionary writer Lord Dunsany. Also note that the Golden Army is hidden in Ireland, Dunsany's homeland. The term "glamour" used for the fairies' cloaking skill also originates in Dunsany's "The King of Elfland's Daughter". Just like the first film, none of the cast member's names are written on the posters, mentioned in the trailers or shown in the opening credits. The number 7 appears throughout the movie, most notably when it is stated that the Golden Army consists of "70 times 70", but also during the scene in the auction house, where the crown piece is listed as lot 777, with a starting price of $7,000,000. As the Angel of Death, Doug Jones could only see out of the crack across the mask he wore. Also, the mechanical wings he was wearing weighed about 40 pounds. Doug was originally supposed to walk around the set, but when it was discovered that he could barely stand, they instead hung him from a wire. This is why The Angel of Death floats. The Angel of Death's voice is done by Doug Jones doing each line twice, once in a higher pitched voice and then in a lower pitch, and then the two takes were blended together.

Wow, has it really been over a month? Anyway, Hellboy. This is one of the few times the sequal is better then the original. Guillermo del Toro pulls out all the visual magic for this one. Visually the movie is absolutely beautiful. The magical creatures seen and wonderful, especially Prince Nuada, Princess Nuala, and the Angel of Death (which could have easily stepped out of Pan's Labrinth). The Prince and Princess were beautiful and ethereal, while the Angel of Death was disturbingly beautiful. While the story will never seriously contend for a screenwriting award, it was still a good story and better then the first. Ron Perlman is solid and Selma Blair pulls liz off a lot stronger then before. Good solid movie.

Kataude Mashin Garu (The Machine Girl) (2008)

Ami (Minase Yashiro) is a typical college girl. She's bright, friendly, popular and athletic, with nothing to set her apart from other girls her age other than the fact that she is an orphan, left to care for her younger brother when her father committed suicide after being falsely accused of murder. But while there is tragedy in their past, the siblings' future looks good, except for one thing. Ami's brother has racked up a considerable debt to another boy at school, and that boy just happens to be the heir to a clan of vicious ninja-yakuza. Ami's brother can't pay, violence breaks out and in the course of trying to avenge her brother, Ami is captured by the clan. They torture her and hack her arm right off. Ami escapes, barely alive, and is taken in by the owners of a machine shop who build her a customized, bullet-spewing arm. From that point, hiarity ensues as the quest for revenge is on in earnest.

Trivia: The yakuza family preys to Hanza Hattori, in Kill Bill: Vol. 1, Hattori Hanzo is a highly regarded maker of swords.

I have no idea what brought me to this movie but it was very funny. Let me tell you up front. This movie is not subtle and doesn't pretend to be. It was over the top grusome with blood spraying everywhere like a fire hose. But it is so over the top that you laugh. Of course Minase Yashiro is very pretty and she spends 90% of the movie in that little school girl outfit so that is all good. And with that I think I will leave you with two words...Drill Bra.

The Spiderwick Chronicles (2008)

Upon moving into the run-down Spiderwick Estate with their mother (Mary-Louise Parker), twin brothers Jared and Simon Grace (both played by Freddie Highmore), along with their sister Mallory (Sarah Bulger), find themselves pulled into an alternate world full of faeries and other creatures. Hilarity ensues when mysterious noises start to appear while everyday object start to disappear, the family blames Jared. When Jared finds a hidden room belonging to his great uncle Arthur Spiderwick, he finds Spiderwick's Field Guide and uncovers the fantastic truth of the Spiderwick estate and of the creatures that inhabit it.

Trivia: Film prints were shipped to some theaters under the fake title -- "Widow". The movie contains plotpoints from all 5 Spiderwick novels but most of the fouth novel is left out.

Okay, let me get this straight. You took 5 novels, right? 5 Novels to pull information out of, according to Amazon.com, 672 pages and all you got was a measly 97 minutes? What is up with that? You spend the money to invest in cutting edge special effects dozens of CGI characters and you can only come up with 97 minutes of movie? Yes, it is a children's movie but still, who said children's can't be engaging? Did you ever think that the reason children are all supposedly inflicted with very short attention spans is because we are forcing them into it? I have not read the Spiderwick books so I can only go with what I saw so I recommend renaming this movie The Undiscovered Country because that is what it is. There is a whole new world out there that looks really promising but you only get a glimpse. Like I said, there are literally dozens of fantasy characters but only 4 of them talk. The rest are basically soldier trolls that run around. Thimbletack, a little mouselike creature pretty much just shows up and with one or two sentences is excepted into the family so to speak. Hogsqueal is rescued by Jared Grace and the next thing you know, they are bosum buddies. And speaking of Jared. He finds the Field Guide left by his great uncle and 3 hours into reading it, he has a full and complete knowledge of this new world and can navigate through it easily. We get to a point where the hero's quest is revealed. Now we are getting somewhere, right? Adventure, perils, struggles? Nope. He pulls the book out, flips it open to a page in less then a second, reads some words outloud and poof, quest complete. Then there is Simon. He didn't even read the book and he can grasp the concepts and fashion pretty devestating weapons to use against the bad guys. That is pretty devestating to the bad guys, completely harmless to the good guys. Whoo Hoo! Oh yeah, there is a "Wait a minute, who are those guys and when did they come from" moment added in for good measure. If you want the wonder this movie provides AND prefer a good story, watch The Bridge To Teribithia. Way better movie.

An American Crime (2007)

Based on a true story that shocked the nation in 1965, the film recounts one of the most shocking crimes ever committed against a single victim. Sylvia (Ellen Page) and Jennie Fae Likens (Hayley McFarland), the two daughters of traveling carnival workers are left for an extended stay at the Indianapolis home of single mother Gertrude Baniszewski (Catherine Keaner) and her six children. Times are tough, and Gertrude's financial needs cause her to make this arrangement before realizing how the burden will push her unstable nature to a breaking point. What transpires in the next three months is both riveting and horrific, leaving one child dead and the rest scarred for life. Hilarity is far from ensuing in this tragic tale.

Trivia: The film is based largely on actual court transcripts from the case. Ellen Page literally starved herself for her role as Sylvia. When director Tommy O'Haver noticed she was looking thinner, he asked her if she was eating and she replied "No, because Sylvia wasn't being fed." Most of the cast were completely unaware of the real Likens murder until after they read the script. Released the same year as The Girl Next Door, which was based on a novel inspired by the Sylvia Likens murder.

I really like Ellen Page. She is such a solid actor. Most people know her from Juno but I first saw her in Hard Candy. Both amazing movies that I highly recommend, although Hard Candy is very much and adult movie so keep the youngsters away. Every movie I have seen her in has been amazing. As a movie this was as good as any of hers but The Girl Next Door was closer to the full story of this devastating murder. Usually a movie embellishes true crime giving it an intensity and terror through dramatic license. This movie actually pulled way back from the actual chilling atrocities Gertrude Baniszewski and her family committed on this girl. It even made Gertrude seem tragic instead of the evil that she was if you read the actual accounts of the torture. Most of this is from Catherine Keener who played Gertrude. So would I recommend this one? Yes, and The Girl Next Door (the one from 2007, not 2004). Both are chilling.

Balls Of Fury (2007)

In the unsanctioned, underground, and unhinged world of extreme Ping-Pong, the competition is brutal and the stakes are deadly. Down-and-out former professional Ping-Pong phenom Randy Daytona (Dan Folger) is sucked into this maelstrom when FBI Agent Rodriguez (George Lopez) recruits him for a secret mission. Randy is determined to bounce back and recapture his former glory, and to smoke out his father's killer - one of the FBI's Most Wanted, arch-fiend Feng (Christopher Walken). But, after two decades out of the game, Randy can't turn his life around and avenge his father's murder without a team of his own. He calls upon the spiritual guidance of blind Ping-Pong sage and restaurateur Wong (James Hong), and the training expertise of Master Wong's wildly sexy niece Maggie (Maggie Q), both of whom also have a dark history with Feng. All roads lead to Feng's mysterious jungle compound and the most unique Ping-Pong tournament ever staged. There, Randy faces such formidable players as his long-ago Olympics opponent, the still-vicious Karl Wolfschtagg (Thomas Lennon). Can Randy keep his eye on the ball? Will he achieve the redemption he craves while wielding a paddle? Is his backhand strong enough to triumph over ensuing hilarity?

Trivia: Jason Scott Lee who plays the role of Eddie also played the role of Bruce Lee in Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story which included a scene where Bruce Lee has to fight to defend his teaching of martial arts to white people. The scene is recreated when Daytona has to play the Dragon because Wong is teaching him, a white man, ping pong.

For some reason I thought this movie would try to be funnier. In saying this I mean, I thought they would pack it full of site gags and stuff like that ala The Naked Gun (which was good) or Meet The Spartans (which was not). It didn't. It was a straight up parody of Enter The Dragon with Ping Pong taking the place of Martial Arts. As with all parodies, it really helps the movie if you have seen the original, you get a lot more out of it if you do. I have and it was very funny. Two of the actors really stand out to me. James Hong has been in a ton of stuff. Wong's charatcer was written specifically to Hong's unique style and cadence. It was hilarious. And then there is the one and only Christopher Walken. This man could probably carry a whole movie be himself. He definitely stole every scene he was in.

Tropic Thunder (2008)

When a group of actors decide to make the ultimate war movie hilarity is bound to ensue. Meet Tugg Speedman (Ben Stiller) an aging action star trying to recapture his stardom, Academy Award Winning Kirk Lazarus (Robert Downey, Jr.), Alpa Chino (Brandon T. Jackson) a rap star turned actor, and Jeff Potney (Jack Black) comedic star of such films as The Fatties and The Fatties Fart 2 but with a drug problem, and Kevin Sanduskey (Jay Baruchel) the guy whose name noone remembers. This ensemble is retelling the story of "Four Leaf" Tayback (Nick Nolte) and his unit's daring rescue mission in the jungles of Veitnam. After production delays and cost overruns producer Les Grossman (a bald Tom Cruise) threatens to scrap the project so director Damien Cockburn (Steve Coogan) decides to send the unit into the jungle by themselves to get a grittier feel and promptly steps on a mine. Can this group of actors make it through the jungle and back to civilization? Can they work as a team? Will they ever figure out that this isn't a movie anymore?

Trivia: The poster for "The Fatties" behind Jeff Portnoy (Jack Black) in the trailer features the names of a few of the film's actual crew members: costume designer Marlene Stewart, editor Greg Hayden, director of photography John Toll, and screenwriter Justin Theroux. In addition, the poster contains the DreamWorks Pictures logo, the Dolby Stereo logo, and a fictional composite of several MPAA ratings (reading "PG - Parental Guidance - under 11 requires accompanying parent or guardian"). The title is a play on "Tropic Lightning," nickname of the 25th Infantry Division which did see action in Vietnam.

I am pretty much neutral on Ben Stiller. He can be funny or not, it's hard to tell. There's Something About Mary was hilarious but some of his later stuff was pretty blah. It works better when he is more of a straight man (Night At The Museum, Meet The Parents) as opposed to full on comedic character (Zoolander). This time he directs the movie so this is his baby. It was a good movie when it came to making fun of the movie industry and the actors. Robert Downey, Jr. keeps being good. This time he plays the prototypical method actor. Instead of getting makeup every morning he undertakes a controversial skin pigment procedure to become black for his role. Tom Cruise steals some scenes as the producer. Over all it was a pretty good average movie.