http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9l12IQe98vE

It must be getting around to awards season for the motion picture industry. George Clooney’s bid for another Oscar this year rests with “Michael Clayton”. It seems the serious filmmakers are now jockeying for position for the big awards, Sean Penn’s directing bid, “Into The Wild”, Brad Pitt’s role as Jesse James, and now George throws his hat in the ring as Michael Clayton.

“Michael Clayton,” a well written piece by veteran screenwriter, Tony Gilroy, who wrote all three “Bourne” pictures. Gilroy also took the reins in his directing debut, saving this great script for himself. “Clayton” is a legal thriller, that requires the audience to pay close attention to a complicated story. It does not have the action that Gilroy brought to the Bourne series. Critics, however, are buzzing that he has written some of best dialogue in a recent movie, and nurtured several great performances from his cast.
“Michael Clayton” a twisty story, about a down on his luck lawyer who gets involved in a big case. The film reminds me of Sydney Lumet’s 1982 movie, “The Verdict”, starring Paul Newman. “Michael Clayton” has a similar feel in its overall tone, to the Lumet classic, screenplay by David Mamet. Tony Gilroy, has written directed an intelligent well crafted movie. Clooney continues to pick roles and filmmakers to work with that are winners. This is a very good movie for serious and intelligent movie goers.

No more uncomfortable Batman costumes for George. It seems like Steven Sodrbergh’s “Out of Sight” was a turning point for the quality in Clooney’s work. “Three Kings”,” “Syriana,” “Good Night, and Good Luck”, highlight some excellent work Clooney has done in recent years.
Looks like Georgie’s going to have to dust off the old tuxedo.
…going DEEP!

Technorati Tags: George Clooney, Oscar, “Michael Clayton”, Sean Penn, “Into The Wild”, Brad Pitt, Jesse James, Tony Gilroy, “Bourne”, legal thriller, Sydney Lumet, “The Verdict”, Paul Newman, David Mamet, Clooney, Batman, Steven Sodrbergh’s “Out of Sight”, “Three Kings”, “Syriana, ”, “Good Night, and Good Luck”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWMLGqtUoi0

We all had high hopes for the remake of th western film, “3:10 To Yuma”. The consensus from my crack staff of movie reviewers, was that “Yuma” fell short. Although it did pretty well at the box office, the Russell Crowe film disappointed a lot western fans. Before it was released based on the tailer and reviews, we all had high hopes for “Yuma” to be reminiscent of some Clint Eastwood or even John Wayne classic westerns. That was not the case in the opinion of some serious moviegoers that I’ve talked to.

Well western fans, you have another chance. “The Assassination of Jesse James”, starring Brad Pitt, looks like it could pay off. The reviews are all good and the trailer looks very good. Movies about Jesse James have been made over and over again for decades. Western film legends Audy Murphy and Tyrone Powers are two of many who have played the notorious outlaw in the movies. Brad Pitt’s portrayal in this film is a little bit of a different take on the character. Jesse has always been played heroically, a southern Robin Hood whose robberies targeted those capitalist carpetbaggers, the banks and the railroad. The legend was that he robbed from the rich and gave to the poor.

Director Andrew Dominik’s film of Ron Hansen’s novel, “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford,” begins late in Jesse James’ career. With 25 robberies and 19 murders under his belt, Jesse has a high price on his head, and he seems to sense the glory days are behind him. He’s not about to hand over any money to the poor either, nor is there any hint that he ever did.

“It’s all lies, you know,” Jesse gently chides his greatest fan, Bob Ford played by Casey Affleck. Ford had grown up reading the dime-store novels that had made a hero out of the outlaw when he was in his twenties. So this is Jesse James after all his adventures were done, about his time spent with Robert Ford, the last 2 years of his life. He was like an old rock star at this point, everyone knew who he was, and he walked around like a celebrity. An interesting take on an interesting time of the most famous American outlaw of all time. The film runs a little long, 160 minutes, but it seems worth it for a western film fan, certainly for a Jesse James fan, and of course for a Brad Pitt fan.
…DEEP!

Technorati Tags: western film, “3:10 To Yuma”, box office, Russell Crowe, western fans, Clint Eastwood, John Wayne, “The Assassination of Jesse James”, Brad Pitt, Jesse James, Audy Murphy, Tyrone Powers, Robin Hood, capitalist carpetbaggers, Andrew Dominik, Ron Hansen, “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, ”, Casey Affleck, Robert Ford

With all that went on this weekend, all the OJ developments and the Emmys, the weekend box office winner was overlooked. Warner Bros. captured the top spot with the vigilante thriller “The Brave One” last weekend grossing $13.5M. Jodie Foster’s film topped the charts bumping last weeks champ “3:10 to Yuma” to the runnerup spot. Billy Bob Thornton’s new comedy “Mr. Woodcock” opened respectably in third while the fantasy actioner “Dragon Wars” bowed to weak results in fourth place. “Superbad” showing long legs, hung in at #5.
“The Brave One” was the first number one hit of the year to be anchored by a woman. It could be followed by another next weekend when Milla Jovovich’s action sequel “Resident Evil: Extinction” attacks.

My favorite Jodie Foster movie is “Taxi Driver”, she was about 15 years old when she did that one, but for me it was still her best. “The Accused” was also very good along with “Silence of the Lambs” and “Contact”, but the rest of her movies kind of sucked. This one looks only OK, a vigilante on the loose fighting crime on the streets, and it’s a woman. “Death Wish” with a chick, I don’t think this one will be around long. Foster has a great reputation as being a top professional film making actress. I expect this movie, if anything is well acted by her and has some quality to it. I don’t think, however, that she always makes good script choices. She constantly seems to want to play these tough girl roles, I think her fans may be a bit tired of them.
It was nice to see “3:10 to YUMA” hang tough though, with a second place showing, losing only about 35% of its audience from last weekend. Might bode well for Brad Pitt’s JESSE JAMES, another Western that is getting good buzz.

To be honest last weekend was tough for the box office, the week after Labor Day. Look for more quality films, critically acclaimed, but not huge box office hits, to be released as the awards get closer.
…DEEP!

Weekend Box Office

1. “The Brave One”, $13.5 million
2. “3:10 to Yuma”, $8.9 million
3. “Mr. Woodcock”, $8.8 million
4. “Superbad”, $5.1 million
5. “Dragon Wars”, $5 million

Full Weekend Box Office click here

“Resident Evil Extinction” Theatrical Trailer

Technorati Tags: OJ, Emmys, Warner Bros., “The Brave One”, Jodie Foster, “3:10 to Yuma”, Billy Bob Thornton, “Mr. Woodcock”, “Dragon Wars”, “Superbad”, Milla Jovovich, “Resident Evil: Extinction”, “Taxi Driver”, “The Accused”, “Silence of the Lambs”, “Contact”, “Death Wish”, “3:10 to YUMA”, Brad Pitt, JESSE JAMES, Labor Day, “Resident Evil Extinction” Theatrical Trailer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UA8cUdmyvMc

“3:10 to Yuma”, helmed by “Walk The Line” director James Mangold, based on the short story by Elmore Leonard. It’s a remake of “3:10 To Yuma” (1957), one of the great westerns of the 1950s. In the original, a ruthless outlaw (Glenn Ford) and the decent, hard-working rancher (Van Heflin) is determined to deliver him to justice. The new version revisits the basic Elmore Leonard story, with Russell Crowe and Christian Bale starring.
The original film is a classic western, that still holds up.

To think about doing a remake of a classic, it better be good. The trailer seems like it has the feel of some of Clint Eastwood’s westerns, like “Outlaw Josey Whales” and “Unforgiven”, maybe even a bit of some John Wayne western style. Great casting, Russell Crowe always turns in an “A” list performance and Christian Bale is solid. I like the idea of Crowe in a Western, it fits him. I love Elmore Leonard, and consider him one of the top American novelists of our time. He wrote a short story in 1952, and the 1957 film, compared to “High Noon”, as a standard in the genre. I worked on a film based on a Leonard book, “Out of Sight”, he was an interesting character to meet. An imaginative writer, who’s stories always translate well to film.

Being a fan of the the original classic I hope these filmmakers have done it justice. Costing $50 million to make, and the western always ify with todays audience, it could be uphill at the box office.
…DEEP!

“3:10 to Yuma”, original poster

Technorati Tags: “3:10 to Yuma”, , James Mangold, Elmore Leonard, Glenn Ford, Van Heflin, Russell Crowe, Christian Bale, Clint Eastwood’, “Outlaw Josey Whales”, “Unforgiven”, John Wayne, Western, , top American novelists, “High Noon”, “Out of Sight”, “3:10 to Yuma”, original poster

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sw65CFrL1MY

“Resurrecting the Champ”, with Samuel Jackson and Josh Harnett looks very interesting. Jackson plays an ex championship boxer, who is punch drunk and homeless on the street. Harnett plays a reporter who finds him and brings him back into the public eye.
I’m always a sucker for sports themed movies, especially films that revolve around boxing. My favorite movie of all time is Martin Scorsese’s “Raging Bull”. The film featuring Robert DeNiro as Jake LaMotta, is clearly the best sports movie ever. Next on the list for me was a more recent release, that also was based on a boxers life. Ron Howard’s “Cinderella Man”, based on the life of Heavyweight Champ James J. Braddock, was superb. “Resurrecting the Champ”, will not approach those films. The quality of the acting seems to be there, Samuel Jackson, playing the down and out boxer, has been reviewed as an Oscar quality performance. Jackson, who is always very good in any role, perfects a sort of hoarse voiced tone and realistic make up, transformed Jackson completely into this character.
This film is worth seeing, just for Jackson’s performance. Throw in fine actors Alan Alda and Josh Harnett, and this is and interesting actors piece. Summer movie goers be warned, it’s not high action adventure, not a thrill a minute type of film. It’s not slapstick comedy, it’s a movie that takes some thought and patience. I’m rooting for Jackson and this film, it’s based on a true story, and an issue that continues to happen in the sport. Punch drunk fighters who were once kings of the world, and then fall to the lowest levels of society, is always interesting subject matter for a movie. All the great boxing movies have had this story thread, “Raging Bull”, “Rocky”, “Cinderella Man”.

Technorati Tags: “Resurrecting the Champ”, Samuel Jackson, Josh Harnett, Martin Scorsese’s “Raging Bull”, Robert DeNiro, Jake LaMotta, Ron Howard’s “Cinderella Man”, Heavyweight Champ James J. Braddock, Alan Alda, “Raging Bull”, “Rocky”, “Cinderella Man”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URzC3LyNlxM

“Invasion”, starring Nicole Kidman, comes out this weekend. The trailer looks pretty good, and I like Nicole Kidman. It seems like the story has been done in different ways before.“Invasion of the Body Snatchers”, is the classic science fiction, about aliens invading the earth. “Invasion” is not a remake, but a modern day science fiction with a similar story. The last successful movie in the science fiction invasion genre was, “War of the Worlds”. Interesting that Kidman and Tom Cruise now have both done an aliens invading earth movies. Maybe, it’s a scientology thing, the religion is based on L. Ron Hubbard’s science fiction novels. I personally do like science fiction movies when presented in a current day setting. Projecting how the media would cover an alien event, and how people on the street might react. I find that to be interesting subject matter. I look forward to seeing this film.

Also I met Nicole once years ago, I was introduced to her by Naomi Watts, on the set of “Mulholland Drive”. It was before Naomi hit it big and her friend Nicole came to the set a few times to support her. She was really sweet and pleasant to be around. She was a big star at that point, and was not pretentious at all. She was also really beautiful in person. With her marriage to Keith Urban recently however, she has continued to show terrible taste in men.
…DEEP!

Technorati Tags: “Invasion”, Nicole Kidman, “Invasion of the Body Snatchers”, “War of the Worlds”., Tom Cruise, L. Ron Hubbard, Naomi Watts, “Mulholland Drive”, Keith Urban

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tcoTCTGqEI

“Superbad” Trailer

“Superbad” is the tale of three goofy teen guys who scheme to buy booze and get girls, making dirty jokes all the while. For Judd Apatow, the writer-director behind “Knocked Up” and “The 40-Year-Old Virgin,” it was love at first read. But for years, he couldn’t get the movie made. He got the script (by “Knocked Up” star Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg) in 2000, before he had any real success. Then came a string of hits. Apatow produced the 2004 Will Ferrell comedy, “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy.” “Virgin” was a 2005 sleeper success (featuring Rogen as a lovable instigator), followed by the Apatow-produced 2006 film, “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby.” Those successes opened the door for “Superbad”.
Between “The 40-Year-Old Virgin”, “Knocked Up”, and now “Superbad”, these guys have proven they are a comedy force in Hollywood. I am a believer the hardest thing to do in entertainment is to make people laugh and keep them laughing. Apatow, Rogen, and Goldberg movies are a throw back to some young wacky comedies I grew up with. Like “Porky’s”, “Fast Times at Ridgemont High”,“Sixteen Candles”, and maybe a little “Animal House”. They are a good Hollywood story, they collaborated together for years, producer/director, actor, writer. Now it’s paying off for them, with this amazing string of funny films. They offer a certain brand of comedy that while it is a throwback, it is refreshing. I love the Richard Pryor t-shirt, I had the same one in the 80’s.
Who ever even heard of these guys before last year. Now they are up there, with the funniest guys in town.

“Superbad” Trailer UNEDITED VERSION- R rated

Technorati Tags: “Superbad” Trailer, “Superbad”, Judd Apatow, “Knocked Up”, “The 40-Year-Old Virgin, ”, Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, Will Ferrell, “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy.”, “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby.”, “Porky’s”, “Fast Times at Ridgemont High”, “Sixteen Candles”, “Animal House”, Richard Pryor, “Superbad” Trailer UNEDITED VERSION- R rated

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTm7JBk4NNA

Bourne Ultimatum Trailer

I’m not the biggest fan of the Bourne series, or Matt Damon as an action star. I did like the original Doug Liman movie, Bourne Identity. The last one totally sucked, I can’t believe they made another one, after that. The trailer for “Bourne Ultimatum” looks pretty good, however. I’m still not sure about Damon as an action hero, I just don’t feel like he’s dynamic enough, and certainly not physically cut out for it. Summer and an action movie, does add up, it will make some money. “Live Free or Die Hard”, is classic summer action, almost like a cartoon, the audience can just sit back, not think too much, laugh a little, and have fun watching the action scenes. Ultimatum, ultimately will make them think too much, that plus Damon will bore action fans. Bourne fans will go see it, I don’t think it will beat out “The Simpson’s Movie” for the number one slot, but it will do pretty well.
…Totally!

Technorati Tags: Bourne Ultimatum Trailer, Bourne series, Matt Damon, action star, Doug Liman, Bourne Identity, “Bourne Ultimatum”, Damon, “Live Free or Die Hard”, “The Simpson’s Movie”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OL50ddCSJmo

The “Simpsons Movie” Trailer

Another funny, “The Simpsons Movie” Trailer. The Movie comes out this week, and it should do huge numbers, it will for sure out earn Chuck & Larry. The show has been so funny for a long time, a hard thing to do on network television. With the same cast, writers and producers, I expect The movie to be hilarious. I’ll be going to see it.
As far as animated movies go, I’m not the biggest fan. Adult themed animated movies, however, are funny. “Team America” is one of the funniest movies I’ve seen in the last 5 years. I expect that “The Simpsons Movie” will rival it.
Duhh…DEEP!

Technorati Tags: “The Simpsons Movie” Trailer, Chuck & Larry, “Team America”, “The Simpsons Movie”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIvdBJRfkhI

“The Simpsons Movie” Trailer

The Simpsons producers had entertained the thought of a film since early in the series, but things never came together. For a long time the project was held up for different reasons. There was trouble finding a story that was right for a film, and the crew did not have enough time to complete a film project, as they already worked full time year-round on the show. Matt Groening and James L. Brookes finally pulled it together. The voice cast was signed on to do the film in 2001, and work then began on the script. Work continued on the screenplay through 2003 until we now finally have The Simpsons Movie. The film stars the regular television cast of Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith, Hank Azaria, Harry Shearer, Pamela Hayden, and Tress MacNeille. Albert Brooks plays a character attempting to take over the world.
The trailer looks funny, it seems like they did it the right way. The producers waited until everything fell into place to make the movie. The cast, the script, the timing, was all right for The Simpsons Movie, this summer. It’s box office will never beat Harry Potter this summer, but The Simpsons huge loyal fan base, and cult following should bring in big numbers. The lack of good comedies so far this summer could give The Simpsons a boost. Knocked Up is probably the best comedy of the summer so far. License to Wed is only marginally funny and we’ll see how Adam Sandler and Kevin James in “I Now Pronounce You Chuck And Larry”, does in coming weeks. So far it been the summer of Harry Potter, Science Fiction, and Action. I think The Simpsons Movie, will be a comedy homerun.

“I Now Pronounce You Chuck And Larry” Trailer

Chuck & Larry- Review

…DEEP!

Technorati Tags: “The Simpsons Movie” Trailer, The Simpsons, Matt Groening, James L. Brookes, Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith, Hank Azaria, Harry Shearer, Pamela Hayden, Tress MacNeille, Albert Brooks, Knocked Up, License to Wed, Adam Sandler, Kevin James, “I Now Pronounce You Chuck And Larry”, Harry Potter, “I Now Pronounce You Chuck And Larry” Trailer