Informers, The (2008)
★ / ★★★★

Set in the early 1980’s Los Angeles, “The Informers” based on the novel by Bret Easton Ellis, was about the emptiness of multiple characters who would rather try to escape their problems in hopes that they would eventually go away rather than tackling them head-on. Although there were five to six storylines, only about two or three worked for me. I wished that Gregor Jordan, the director, instead focused his energy on those three and really explored why the characters chose to make certain decisions. Kim Basinger, Billy Bob Thornton, Mickey Rourke and Winona Ryder are the big names who I thought would elevate this picture. However, their storylines were so uninteresting, they might as well not have appeared in it. What did work for me was Jon Foster as a rich twentysomething who seemingly had it all but he chose not to use his priviledges to his advantage. Instead, he decided to deal drugs and hang out with people who really did not care about him–people who only cared about drugs, sex and living the luxurious life. I was really engaged with his scenes because little by little he realized that he was just being used, especially how his girlfriend didn’t care about him as much as he cared for her. I also liked the dynamics between Foster and his sister and how they felt about their parents’ (Basinger and Thorton) decision to move in together after they’ve been separated. Unfortunately, that bit was very underdeveloped. Lastly, I thought the scenes in Hawaii with Chris Isaak and Lou Taylor Pucci–father and son, respectively–was pretty well-done. It was somewhat humorous to me because it was a classic desparate father-son bonding where everything pretty much went wrong. But it could also be seen through a dramatic lens because the son hid this true hatred toward his father since the father only cared about himself. I really believe that critical adjustments such as a different director, sharper and bolder writing, eliminating storylines and expanding others (like the rising unknown disease now known as AIDS), this movie could have become a totally worthwhile experience. After all, the material was based on the works of a writer a really enjoyed such as “American Psycho” and “The Rules of Attraction.” “The Informers” could have provided insight on how it was like to live life without any sort of internal locus on control and how that manner of living could drive us to the ultimate levels of boredom, unsatisfaction, and madness.

Billy Bob Thornton wants to be an astronaut when he grows up.

(Warner Brothers) Billy Bob Thornton, Virginia Madsen, Tim Blake Nelson, J.K. Simmons, Bruce Dern, Max Theriot, Mark Polish, Jon Gries, Bruce Willis. Directed by Michael Polish

For as long as he could remember, Charlie Farmer (Thornton) wanted to be an astronaut. The son of a Texas rancher, he joined the Air Force and became a test pilot, the better to join the space program, which he did. After his dad’s suicide, however, Charlie left the program to take care of his family, a decision he regretted the rest of his life.

Now, Charlie Farmer is building a rocket in his barn. His kids – including son Shepherd (Theriot) are behind him, his beautiful wife Audie (Madsen) supports him, even as she works as a waitress in a diner to help make ends meet. Even his father-in-law (Dern) respects him. Most of the rest of the people in town think he’s a whacko.

Unfortunately, the feds get wind of his scheme when he tries to buy 10,000 square pounds of rocket fuel and decide to shut down this amateur Buck Rogers. The bank, to whom Charlie has already fallen terribly behind in mortgage payments, has initiated foreclosure proceedings. Charlie is this close to losing everything. Still, he has his family dreaming together – and that in itself is a very powerful thing.

There can be some extreme corniness at times, with emphasis on family unity and pursuing dreams nearly at the expense of all else. You can see why it didn’t resonate with a younger audience, a virtual kiss of death at the box office today. That doesn’t mean this isn’t a good movie. It has all the elements of a family movie, but the character exposition might be a bit too much for younger audiences, who could conceivably be bored.

There are some moments that will wake you up, like most of the launch sequence scenes. Some nice visuals too, as early on Billy Bob in full spacesuit regalia chases a stray calf while riding a horse. Talk about cowboys and aliens.

Thornton excels at these kinds of roles, the low-key salt of the earth family man, and he doesn’t get to play them too often. He carries himself with great dignity, but loses his cool just often enough to put you a little bit on edge around him. Madsen as his long-suffering wife continues to be impressive with almost every role she plays. Willis, in an uncredited turn, plays an old friend of Charlie’s who made it on into “the program” after Charlie dropped out, and went on to fly the space shuttle.

I liked the underlying current of the role of civilians in space. I believe that you will start to see more civilians playing larger roles in future space missions especially as the commercial possibilities of space become more lucrative.

All that aside, I found this to be a charming movie that I became engrossed with. Occasionally, the writers strained credulity a bit – they painted themselves into a few corners and used some shall we say, novel approaches of getting out of them. However, those moments are few and far between. I was completely taken with Charlie Farmer’s story, and I think a lot more people will be too, once they give it a chance. For the record, the DVD is a little difficult to find in stores, but it is available generally on premium cable and video-on-demand services.

WHY RENT THIS: Unexpectedly charming. Low-key without being sleep-inducing. Message is one we rarely hear these days outside of the occasional Disney movie.

WHY RENT SOMETHING ELSE: Paints itself into corners plot-wise and doesn’t resolve every challenge in a satisfying manner.

FAMILY MATTERS: A little salty language and some perilous situations but otherwise suitable for all audiences.

TRIVIAL PURSUITS: Just as Farmer is about to launc h, Shepard says “Cleared for launch at zero hour, 9am” in an homage to Elton John’s “Rocket Man.”

NOTABLE DVD EXTRAS: None listed.

FINAL RATING: 6/10

TOMORROW: Australia

Título: La conspiración del pánico
Título original: Eagle Eye
País: USA
Estreno en USA: 26/09/2008
Estreno en España: 10/10/2008
Productora: DreamWorks
Director: D.J. Caruso
Guión: John Glenn, Travis Adam Wright, Hillary Seitz y Dan McDermott
Reparto: Shia LaBeouf, Michelle Monaghan, Rosario Dawson, Billy Bob Thornton, Ethan Embry, Eric Christian Olsen, Michael Chiklis

Sinopsis:

Jerry Shaw y Rachel Holloman son dos desconocidos que se encuentran por culpa de una misteriosa llamada de teléfono de una mujer a la que no conocen. Amenazando sus vidas y a sus familias, consigue que Rachel y Jerry se metan en situaciones cada vez más peligrosas, utilizando la tecnología de la vida cotidiana para seguir todos y cada uno de sus movimientos. A medida que las cosas se complican, estas dos personas normales y corrientes se convierten en los fugitivos más buscados de USA, y tienen que colaborar para averiguar qué está pasando en realidad y, lo que es aún más importante, por qué.

Opinión:

¿¿¿¿Comorrrrrr???? ¿Que el malo malisimo de la película es un ordenata al que se le va la pinza de mala manera y se quiere cepillar a todo el gobierno de los USA, presidente incluido? Buajajajajajjajaja, pero que despropósito hombre, ¿y esta es la famosisima idea que le rondo en la cabeza a Spielberg durante años y que no tuvo cojones de rodar? Ahora entiendo el porque…

¿Y ahora?

Eso si, la cosa esta rodada de cine, y cuenta con una de esas escenas que se te queda grabada en las retinas, me refiero a la persecución en coches de la policía a Shia LaBeouf y Michelle Monaghan, realmente espectacular y con un ritmo increíble. Así mismo, las interpretaciones son muy solidas, tanto por parte del nuevo chico de oro de Hollywood, LaBeouf, como del resto de secundarios, aunque para mi gusto Rosario Dawson esta muy desaprovechada.

Todo el santo día corriendo...

El problema base es que el guión es un atentado contra la inteligencia, plagado de absurdeces varias, y con un final de traca, cuando se revela todo el pastel. Pero hasta ese momento la película se muestra como un poderoso film de suspense que te mantiene en tensión constante. Una pena porque la cosa prometía.

Puntuación:

6 / 10

The Boxmasters are an American country rock/rockabilly band founded in Bellflower, California in 2007. It features actor Billy Bob Thornton on drums and vocals with J.D. Andrew on bass, guitars, and vocals as well as Michael Wayne Butler on guitars and lap steel. The group has released three albums on Vanguard Records, the first being the eponymous The Boxmasters and the second being the holiday album Christmas Cheer, in 2008. Their latest album, Modbilly, was released on April 21, 2009.

Ryan Seacrest and Simon Cowell should top this list, for playing ‘Hollywood guys’ who are ‘qualified’ to find America’s next top singing talent.

(Jokes) but Forbes Magazine has released their list of the ten most overpaid actors in the Hollywood film industry for 2009. The findings are based on what actors got paid by studios and what they returned per dollar back to the studio via the box office.

The findings weed out the older talent posturing themselves as big stars and make room for the newbies like the Efrons, Lautners, Pattinsons of Hollywood’s rising stars.

Here’s the list of most overpaid actors:

1. Will Ferrell ($3.29)
2. Ewan McGregor ($3.75)
3. Billy Bob Thornton ($4.00)
4. Eddie Murphy ($4.43)
5. Ice Cube ($4.77)
6. Tom Cruise ($7.18)
7. Drew Barrymore ($7.43)
8. Leonardo DiCaprio ($7.52)
9. Samuel L. Jackson ($8.59)
10. Jim Carrey ($8.62)

Ouch! Sucks to be Will Ferrell. In fairness to these blokes on this list, it was a recession so they can’t be held entirely to blame for low box office returns. For a woman to even appear in this list, like Drew Barrymore is an achievement, not an embarrassment when competing against the blokes. So go Drew Barrymore!

[image courtesy of TopNews]

~Posted by Horiwood.Com, Hollywood California USA. 11.19.09~

La revista Forbes, puñetera ella, acaba de publicar la lista de los actores menos amados en Hollywood. En realidad, lo que recopila esta publicación es la relación de los intérpretes menos rentables. Pero tal y como está el patio, con Hollywood más en plan industria que nunca, mirando cada céntimo invertido en una producción, no resultar rentable equivale a no ser querido… o, directamente, a ser odiado. He ahí el pecado de estos hombres (y una mujer): sacarle poco jugo a sus sueldos, más o menos generosos, pero soñados por cualquier mortal.

Se lleva la palma Will Ferrel, actor ¿cómico? que no deja de embarcarse en proyectos a cual más fallidos y que recauda 3,29 dólares por cada uno que se embolsa. Esta cifra, así, sin ponerla en contexto puede dejarnos fríos, pero acudamos a la socorrida comparación que nos proporciona la propia Forbes: en el extremo opuesto, la antítesis de Ferrell, el tierno Shia LaBeouf, gracias a sus dos Transformers, genera 160 dólares por película. ¡Casi 50 veces más que Ferrell! Tremendo.

Aquí se puede consultar ambas listas, la de los losers y la de los winners. Para los que sientan pereza ante el trámite, vaya por delante que a Ferrell, entre los menos rentables, le siguen Ewan McGregor, Billy Bob Thornton, Eddie Murphy y Ice Cube. Menudo plantel. Salvo Billy Bob, y en menor medida Ewan, el resto son para echarles de comer aparte (Ice Cube no debe ser siquiera considerado actor). En el otro extremo de la balanza, a LaBeouf le siguen James McAvoy, Michael Cera, Daniel Radcliffe y Robert Downey Jr.

Conclusión: para ser rentable hay que saber actuar (un mínimo), elegir bien el proyecto y, a poder ser, caer en una de esas superproducciones que hacen muchos dólares. Claro que a estas listas tampoco hay que concederles más importancia de la necesaria: si tu caché es bajo, es fácil que salgas bien parado en términos de productividad, y viceversa. Lo grave para Ferrell y compañía es que, a buen seguro, los ejecutivos de Hollywood sí se toman estas cosas muy, pero que muy en serio.

click the image for the original size picture

- TEXT -
Typewriter dialogue from “Body Heat” (1981)
Lyrics from The Platters‘ hit “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes” (1933)

- IMAGES -
Bogie in “The Maltese Falcon” (1941)
Joan Bennett in “Scarlet Street” (1945)
Billy Bob Thornton in “The Man Who Wasn’t There” (2001)
Scene from “The Big Combo” (1955)

—
Thanks to Brian from the Drive-In Theater

Billy Bob Thornton has signed on to star the leading role, that will star alongside, Dwayne Johnson. This film will be an action drama film titled, “Faster”, in which Johnson plays an ex-con out to avenge the death of his brother, while Billy Bob plays a veteran police officer who tries to race against Johnson to find the murderer before he does.

An actor for the murderer (or villain of the film) has not been casted yet.

Variety Reports:

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118010480.html?categoryid=13&cs=1

It’s great to see Billy Bob finally back in the movies. He hasn’t had a leading role in a film since 2007’s, “Mr. Woodcock”.

He did say he was going to concentrate on music with the Boxmasters more than movies, so this explains why he’s been staying away from movies more.

Kev

Billy Bob Thornton va a acompañar a Dwayne “La roca” Johnson en la película que George Tillman tiene a su cargo como director.

La película es del género de acción y drama con el título de “Faster”, según los reportes del Variety, Johnson será Driver, un ex-convicto que ha salido de la cárcel para buscar y darle en la torre al asesino de su hermano, Billy Bob Thornton será “Cop” un policía veterano que busca a “Driver” ya que éste anda tratando de encontrar a alguien para matarlo y en la revolcadera está “Killer” quien es un asesino egocéntrico que siendo perseguido por “Driver”. Ese papel todavía no tiene un actor asegurado. Como ven, el guión anda todavía en proceso.

Los guionistas serán Joe y Tony Gayton y comenzarán a filmarla a partir del siguiente año.

Billy Bob Thornton is set to star opposite Dwayne Johnson in the George Tillman-directed action drama Faster according to Variety.

Johnson plays Driver, an ex-con out to avenge his brother’s murder. Thornton plays Cop, a veteran policeman who trails Driver as he races to settle with those responsible for the murder. Also in the mix is Killer, an egocentric hitman who’s after Driver.

Killer is still to be cast. Now I am not sure whether the characters will have actual names mentioned in the film, but the fact that they are just Cop, Driver and Killer makes me think that this film could well be a little different to other action films.

We’ll have to wait and see.

Joe and Tony Gayton wrote the script.

Production will begin early next year.

Diana (Demi Moore) and David Murphy (Woody Harrelson) are a married couple who have been together for a long time, they have money problems and find themselves in Las Vegas trying to win the money they need in order to keep their house. John Gage (Robert Redford) spots Diana and offers to buy her a dress, but she says she is not for sale. Then he makes them a very strange and unreal offer of $1 million for her to have sex with him. Diana and David decide to go ahead with it as they really need the money. But will it really be the end of it once they leave and go back home? At first yes that is all fine, but after a while when David starts asking questions and wants to know exactly what happened it is bound to go wrong. Diana going and trying to have a relationship with John, was that really the best idea in the world. I mean after the way they met and started out was it really going to work out? The answer to that was always going to be no, it could never work out. Although I did actually like the way he started going on about a million dollar club in order to stop it form hurting him more than it actually did, that kind of changed my mind about John and that he did actually want to be with Diana. But we have a decision to make at the ending whether or not Diana and David really gave it another go after sitting in the place he had proposed 7 years earlier.

One of the first lines in this movie is “If you ever want something badly, let it go. If it comes back to you, then it’s yours forever. If it doesn’t, then it was never yours to begin with.” This was obviously after the dead had been done and they were either no longer together anymore or trying to work through it and totally put it behind them and forget about it. But can you really forget about it?

Performance wise Woody Harrelson gave a decent performance as David but his character was a bit annoying in the fact that he was just rather weak and not very manly. Robert Redford is always quite irresistable so a good choice for John in my opinion. Demi Moore was pretty good as Diana but something rather annoyed me about her character as well. But I suppose none of the character’s were really supposed to be likeable.

While this is not the best movie in the world, I certainly think that it is a very interesting situation to be put in for a lot of money. As it might seem fine and it’s just sex but women do struggle more to separate feelings and sex. Would you ever really be able to forget about something like this and just go on with everything like it had never happened? I really don’t think if it was in the manner in which it happened in this movie that the man would be able to forget about it so easily.

So would you be willing to do this with your partner if you were offered a lot of money?

O Homem Que Não Estava Lá

Acho que este era o único filme dos irmãos Coen que heu nunca tinha visto… Agora “completei a página do álbum de figurinhas!”

O barbeiro Ed Crane sabe que sua esposa o trai com o seu chefe, então resolve chantageá-lo para investir o dinheiro, mas o plano dá errado e as coisas saem do controle.

A fotografia do filme, em preto e branco, é muito bonita; e a reconstituição de época é muito bem feita. Os personagens também são muito bem construídos, assim como o desenvolvimento da trama – como aliás acontece sempre nos filmes dos irmãos Joel e Ethan Coen.

Aliás, por falar nisso, vale ressaltar o grande talento dos Coen em extrair ótimas performances de seus atores. Billy Bob Thornton encabeça um elenco cheio de atores legais, como Frances McDormand, James Gandolfini, Richard Jenkins, Tony Shalhoub, Michael Badalucco e uma Scarlett Johansson ainda adolescente.

Confesso que não gostei muito do fim do filme. Achei que a trama poderia ter se resolvido de maneira diferente.

Não é uma obra prima, mas definitivamente merece estar na prateleira ao lado dos outros filmes dos irmãos Coen.

Last night I had a really strange dream. Okay, so everybody has really strange dreams, but I’m going to tell you about this one. It was oddly vivid.

As with most dreams, as vivid as it may have been, I can only remember certain aspects of it. I remember it was set up like a movie… but it wasn’t so much as I was IN the movie, but more like I was the camera. Like, it was like I was watching it, but I was also THERE on the scene… does that make sense? Nobody interacted with me, though. I was just watching.

I remember Billy Bob Thornton. I guess he was the bad guy in the movie. I don’t even remember why. I also remember a little girl… I think it was one of the Olsen Twins, like Michelle from Full House. She was about that very young age, too. Young but smart. There were many others but I cannot remember them clearly enough. I remember a scene where the girl was in a room, and I think she was being held as a prisoner of some sort… or something… some kind of oppression. Billy Bob was in there, and he was yelling at her or maybe just talking, but it wasn’t nice. I’d say the strangest part was that he was totally naked. Yeah.. and you could see everything. I averted my eyes but it was like one of those surprise scenes in a movie where once you realize what’s on the screen and look away, it’s too late… you saw it. Scarred for life.

So there were many, many scenes in different places with lots of different people, but I only remember scenes where someone was trying to get the little girl to say something about that guy being naked in front of her, so as to get him in trouble with the authorities. It’s weird though, because for some reason she couldn’t just GO to the authorities, she could only talk to him and she’d have to say it when someone important was in the room listening. She’d have to say something like “I wonder what they would think if they knew you were in the room naked with me!” and then I guess someone would have to be like “OMG” and then he’d get in trouble or something. Anyway, eventually she did say something like that but unfortunately all of the other people in the room were his henchmen or something and didn’t care…

I also saw Will Smith and I was able to say hi to him but he was not a major part of this movie. He was just sitting at a table.

I think I should be careful what combination of meds I take before going to sleep.

If Steve Martin…

and Billy Bob Thornton…

had a child together, it would look like…

Atlanta Falcons coach Mike Smith!

The Cowboys played a great game yesterday, including Tony Romo. Kathy said that when he got hit in the head at the beginning of the game, it must have knocked some sense into him!  By no means will I stand up to agree with Jerry that we will be taking the Cowboys to the Superbowl with Romo, but I can at least see the light again. Of course, he had a little help from my (boy)friend, Miles Austin, who shined once again. In other good sports news, my Aggies BTHO Tech on Saturday night – we are always good for a surprise win! Maybe it has to do with the fact that the game wasn’t televised, because like the Jessica Simpson-era Tony Romo, the Aggies crack under pressure.

Can football season go to being year-round? What will my weekends consist of when the season is over??

  On Wednesday October 28th Direct TV will begin airing Season 4 of Friday Night Lights.  Those of you who have to wait for NBC to get off their respective asses and wait til next year to watch.  I am so sorry for you guys because I for one will be spending every Wednesday night with East Dillon.  OMG did I just say East Dillon?  Whoa that was weird.  For all of you who have not watched this gem of a show your are missing one of the best acted, directed, produced, and written shows, ever.  And no I am not jsut saying that because I am a fan of the show.  I am saying it because it’s true.  Don’t believe me?  Watch it, go ahead I’ll wait for you to see I am right. 

Ok so I won’t wait, but I’m still right.  The usual reaction I get when people find out that I wath FNL is one of shock because it seems the general public has the impression that it is just another high school football show.  To that I say has there ever been another high school football show?  Yes I know that back in the 90s Ben Affleck starred in a little known show on NBC called Against The Grain but even that wasn’t a high school football show.  So I really would like to know what show these people are referring too and where was I when it was on.  In fact the only football show I remember was on HBO called 1st & 10 and that was definitly not a high school show. 

Now some of you may remember a movie by the same name that was directed by Peter Berg and this show would be a continuation of that movie without actually being that movie.  Instead of Billy Bob Thornton (who did a wonderful job in that role by the way) as the lead character we have the horribly underrated Kyle Chandler as Eric Taylor.  And reprising her role as the coaches wife (albeit with a different name) Connie Britton brings a realism that is just not seen on television or hell even movies any more.  Now most shows that feature a high school delegate the adults to background cameo roles that show up only when a lesson needs to be learned, but FNL wouldn’t be the same without Eric and Tammy Taylor.  They are in essence the heart and soul of the show.  When they hurt, we hurt.  When they are frustrated, we are just as frustrated.  Their joys are ours and well you get the point.  Here is a couple that the audience can relate to on more than just a will they or won’t they scenario.  They argue, they fight, and they love better than any couple I have seen. 

   Now like any show that features high school kids FNL has its own cast of diamonds in the making.  Seriously did anyone see Taylor Kitsch coming?  Or could have possibly guessed that Adrianne Palicki would turn, along with the awe-inspiring Jesse Plemmons, a story that had all the possibilty of going horribly wrong into one of the most touching storylines ever.  And who’s heart didn’t break when the perpetual underdog Matt Saracan (played with such heart by Zach Gilford) finally brokedown and yelled at his coach for all the disappointment he had had to endure from the people who were supposed to love him.  Now I will be honest that Aimee Teegarden’s character Julie Taylor irritated the hell out of me, but that was more because I remember being just as selfish and juvenile as she was at fifteen.  FNL also has a way of introducing new characters in such a way that you don’t feel as if they are replacing our old favorites, but instead they are folded into the show so quietly that after a while you feel as though they have been there all along.  That isn’t to say that when a character leaves you feel as though they were never there in the first place, but instead you feel as though that character has just moved on with life as if it were the normalist thing in the world.  And in truth that is exactly the way it is in real life.  People come and go from our lives but for the time that they are there they were important and they meant something. 

  When the lights finally do go out on FNL (and trust me that will be a sad day) Peter Berg,Jason Katims, and yes even NBC can sit back and be proud that even though it was a show that was loved by few it was loved and deserved more than it received.  And although we fans of the show will be sad to see it end atleast we will be able to believe that in some part of the world life in Dillon, Texas goes on and our beloved coach is telling a new crop of football players “Clear Eyes Full Hearts Cant Lose.”

I first heard about the film Precious: Based on the novel called “Push” by Sapphire while covering New York Fashion Week’s in February 2008. Director Lee Daniels, producer Sarah Siegel-Magness and newcomer actress Gabourey Sidibe were backstage at one of the shows I covered and we were introduced. I already knew Lee from Monster’s Ball, not that he remembered me. His new project didn’t interest me much. Instead, I wondered if Mariah Carey, who is in the film and a good friend of Sarah’s, would show as I had been told she would. Little did I know that the movie I didn’t give a darn about would turn in to what will undoubtedly become one of the most talked about films this year. I attended a screening last night (thank you neighbor Angela) and tell you that this is one you don’t want to miss.

I went into the theater thinking the movie would be too sad and wondering if it would be a box-office flop like Beloved because moviegoers don’t often rush to see depressing films — especially one dealing with incest, physical and mental abuse and a character, frankly, as unattractive as Gabby. We want to feel good, especially when our portfolios no longer do thanks to the economic downtown, and look at pretty people. I never saw a trailer for the film. I just knew what it was about and saw a clip on Oprah when Mariah was a guest recently. And I knew that Lee was the director. He directed Halle Berry in her Oscar-winning (and steamy sex scene with Billy Bob Thornton) performance in Monster’s Ball.  I could only imagine what lengths he would go to to illustrate Precious’ story. But I was shockingly and pleasantly surprised by what I saw on the big screen. I didn’t expect humor to be laced throughout the film. What a relief it was. But in the end, you can’t tie a bow on this disheartening package with humor. It is what it is. An illiterate, no self-esteem having teenage girl pregnant by her father for the second time who lives with a mother who beats the hell out of her and curses her like she is her worst enemy. Their dismal living conditions in Harlem. The smell of no hope that permeates throughout.

When the film ended, a lady in front of me turned around to say how different the film we saw was from the one she saw four or five months ago. That one, she said, was so raw and vivid that it left everyone speechless at the end. She walked out and went right to McDonald’s to get her two Happy Meals to cheer her up. She needed it, she said, after seeing a film that showed more of the rapes than what we saw. I won’t write what takes place but it’s safe to say I was enthralled. It’s a good sign (and a rarity) that I never reached for my BlackBerry to check the time during the screening and that I didn’t want it to end when it did. But you’ll have to check it out for yourself when it opens on Nov. 6.

I will say Mo’Nique should receive an Academy Award nomination for her portrayal of the abusive mother. If you think she looks scary in this photo, just wait until you see her on the big screen. I hope that what I’ve read about Mo’Nique demanding money to promote the film is not true. Usually when an actor signs a contract to make a movie, they also agree to promote the film.

It wasn’t until after the film was in the works that heavyweights Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry signed on as executive producers. Their power will undoubtedly help marketing efforts by Lionsgate.

What would you do with 4 million dollars?

When two brothers (Bill Paxton and Billy Bob Thornton) find a body and a bundle of cash in a downed plane, they plot to hide the loot and split it later. It’s a simple plan, until things go murderously awry.

Like the Coen brothers’ FARGO, Sam Raimi’s A SIMPLE PLAN is an ice-cold neo-noir as chilling and bleak as its snow-covered Minnesota locale.This a fine suspense thriller that digs deeper and deeper into the values and dreams of these small town characters. A Simple Plan is suspenseful, powerful, and as merciless as Fargo. Its very great to see how all these characters seem so real and you can tell their motives at every moment so every moment that happens seems to have a reason.

The most significant thing about this film is that you can see what leads them to the next step. Each of their ideas are shown at the right amount of pacing so they don’t go to quickly in showing these characters reactions but also don’t take too long in showing. The mood is something else of extraordinary, as you can feel just through the music and the expressions of the characters that this is how you should feel if this was happening to you right then and there.

Director Sam Raimi does a wonderful job at creating the right pace, mood, and overall right script. Much of the movie’s script is very similar to the novel’s script as well. Though some motives and character traits are changed Raimi still sticks close too the novel without getting too obvious. A great directing job from a guy who would later go on to direct the Spider Man movies.

The heart of this movie lies within the strong performances from its trio of leads. Bill Paxton is great as a man who just wants what’s best for his family and Bridget Fonda is his wife who just wants get out of her ordinary miserable life. Much of the acting credit goes to Billy Bob Thornton who’s understated and profoundly moving performance is what gave this movie its heart. Each stars have a chance to show their acting skills and each do very well and fully make this film as effective as it was.

The only problem I had with this film is not that bad at all really. The film being much like Fargo did not have as much comedy in it, if any at all. To be realistic in any depressing situation there will always be comedy to lighten things up and since this was such a realistic movie I wondered where the comedic tone to it was. In my opinion the film was way too dark without any light tone whatsoever.

The film kept me on the edge of my seat and with every twist and turn in the story, I felt myself hooked even more. A Simple Plan is a very simple movie to get used to just don’t watch this after King of Queens myself.

9/10=Full Pricee!!

Directed By: Craig Gilliespie
Written By: Michael Carnes & Josh Gilbert
Cinematography By: Tami Reiker
Editor: Kevin Tent & Alan Baumgarten

Cast: Seann William Scott, Susan Sarandon, Billy Bob Thornton, Ethan Suplee, Amy Poehler, Tyra Banks, Brent Briscoe, Melissa Sagemiller, Melissa Leo, Sarah Chalke, M.C. Gainey

Why oh why?  This film involves actors I usually like but they seem wasted in this film

This is pretty much a one joke movie about what if not only was the biggest bully in your life your high school gym teacher who made your life hell but then years later he is dating your mom and going to become your step-dad. Now imagine your whole career has been made being a self-help guru from bettering yourself to not be the person you once were and then you are forced to face the person who makes you feel bad about yourself. Now this is great for a skit or tv-sitcom but for a 90 minute movie is torture.

Seann William scott seems sedated in this movie as almost every other actor goes over the top the only other actor who seems to match him is billy bob thornton who seems to either be sleepwalking or bored to death in his quest for his paycheck. Amy poehler is funny as usual but wisely she is hardly in the movie. Ethan suplee acts like he wants to make his character a breakout star.

There were only rally two funny scenes one involves mr. woodcock thinking sean William scott is a burglar and beats him the other is a supposed homemade video of mr. woodcock abusing one of his students. That’s really it other scenes try hard but the harder they try the more humor they drain form the scene and situation.

The film tries to make us feel for mr. woodcock towards the end by making him human and sympathetic in his own way the only problem is it doesn’t make sense since we have seen his behavior before and that is not so forgiveable like admitting he picked on these kids for no real reason. He says making them real men but many seem messed up except for one student who was successful. Telling Sean William scott’s character about his and his mother’s sex life.

The ending feels rushed and tacked on like they didn’t know how to end the film. This is another example of a film that didn’t need to be made or at least needed to be worked on before it was fast tracked and filmed there is a reason this was kept on a shelf for two years there was no way to save this film just like there is no way you should watch it.          

 GRADE:  F

Fermeris Čārlzs Fārmers (B.B.Torntons) braši drasē zirga mugurā pār saviem īpašumiem ietērpies mirdzošā kosmonauta skafandrā. Daudz lielāku interesi kovbojam izraisa nevis liellopu ganāmpulks, bet gan sen iecerētais projekts uziet augšā kosmosā kā vīram pienākas – šim mērķim šķūnī atrodas no metāllūžņiem sanaglota īsta kosmiskā raķete, bet vagoniņā uzstādīta vadības kontroles iekārta. Pie pusdienu galda famīlija dzīvesbiedres, sievastēva un trīs bērnu sastāvā tā vietā, lai domātu, kuri medikamenti ģimenes galvam tagad būtu visnepieciešamākie, apspriež, kurš ko ņems līdzi speisā. Mazpilsētas iedzīvotāji Čārliju neuzskata par īpaši normālu, taču klusībā fano par savu psihoastronautu (labāk tā, nekā dzert) atšķirībā no valdības, FIB un NASAs pārstāvjiem, kuri nezkāpēc diezgan asi nosoda nelikumīgu pārvietošanos stratosfērā. No pēdējās organizācijas pat ierodas pārstāvis Brūss Villiss (armagedonkosmonautikas speciālists!!), lai ar aliņu rokās mēģinu iestāstīt, ka nu nevar taču tā.

Šķiet, skatītāji ir atraduši savu autoru – brāļiem Polišiem neviens joks nav uzspiests vai pārspīlēts, morāle “bez sapņa tu esi fekālija” skaidra kā pagale, viņi ir tāda kā Koenu antimatērija, nekāda cinisma, nekādas mizantropijas, filcs, pleds un čības. Tāpat astoņdesmit procenti idillisko kadru izskatās kā paņemti no barojošā jogurta reklāmas – vietām, šķiet, ka šīzīgā ģimene tūlīt sadosies rokās un sāks dziedāt kompozīcijas no “Mūzikas skaņām”. Tajā pašā laikā tēma ir oriģināla, autoriem jau ir sadota kaudze ar naudu jauniem projektiem (šogad finišē divi).

in 2009 martcore says
apm. ņurd

Depp como William Blake

Es difícil imaginar a Johnny Depp como protagonista de un western, salvo que se trate de uno muy especial. Y especial tenía que ser la película del director de “Ghost Dog” (1999) y “Night on Earth” (1991), el singularísimo Jim Jarmusch. Esta película (Dead Man, 1995), que además tiene un reparto de lo más variado (Robert Michum, Gary Farmer, John Hurt, Gabriel Byrne, Lance Henriksen, Billy Bob Thornton, Alfred Molina, Iggy Pop y Michael Wincott), inicia con el viaje de William Blake (Depp) hacia el pueblo de Machine donde lo ha llevado una oferta de trabajo en la empresa de un tal señor Dickinson (un decrépito Mitchum). Sin embargo lo único que consigue el tímido Blake es conocer a una vendedora de flores de papel llamada Thel con quien pasa la noche. El problema es que Thel tiene un pasado con Charlie Dickinson (Byrne) que los sorprende en la cama -y en el acto trata de matar a Blake- pero solo consigue herirlo pues Thel se interpone entre ambos. Blake responde con el arma de la chica. Charlie cae muerto. Blake huye como puede. Se podría decir que este es el fin del primer viaje que la película relata. El segundo viaje comienza cuando Blake emprende la huída en compañía del indio “Nadie (Nobody)” (Farmer) que lo halla moribundo. Al saber el nombre del desgraciado que acaba de ayudar Nadie confirma que habla con un muerto viviente (ni más ni menos que el autor del poderoso The Tyger y sobretodo de los Proverbs of Hell).  Mientras tanto Dickinson padre contrata a tres matones para que persigan al forastero por el asesinato de Charlie y su “novia”, pero sobretodo por el robo del “pinto” de su hijo. Adentrándose en el territorio Blake y Nadie se dirigen a una cita cuyo término es fácil de adivinar. Blake se convierte en otra persona, una que responde: “¿Conoces mi poesía?” antes de disparar contra un oficial que le apunta. Una persona que escribe con sangre. Cuando Nadie le advierte que lo siguen, Blake responde:

- ¿Estás seguro? Es decir, ¿cómo puedes saberlo?

Y Nadie dice:

- A menudo el hombre blanco es precedido por su hedor maligno.

Blake es ahora un forajido acusado de asesinar a siete personas. Luego de una escaramuza con un taimado predicador (Molina) y sus acompañantes Blake recibe otro impacto de bala. Débil y siguiendo el curso de un río Blake le pregunta a Nadie:

- ¿Es este el bote que me llevará a través del espejo de agua?

- No, le responde su amigo -Este bote no es lo suficientemente fuerte, William Blake.

Al final de la película vemos como uno de los matones de Dickinson, un sanguinario asesino llamado Cole Wilson (Lance Henriksen) los alcanza a la orilla del mar. Blake está preparado para un entierro ritual. Cole y Nadie se disparan. Detrás de ellos la canoa ritual de Blake -el hombre muerto- se aleja. Como en otros momentos de la película la guitarra de Neil Young acompaña la secuencia.

Nadie preparando a Blake

Aho, William Blake!

De vuelta al lugar de donde provienen todos los espíritus

Chopper Chicks in Zombie Town

“Blind kids, a midget, dykes on bikes… we could start a side-show!”

Ignore reviews on IMDB (as if you need me to tell you that), ignore Amazon, especially ignore the middle bit of that idiotic Variety quote on the cover- it isn’t a spoof (I don’t think they know how to do a spoof), ignore pretty much everything, and trust me- your guide to the darker recesses of the vault. Would I lie to you?

This is possibly the easiest film to review that I’ve done so far. It’s a slice of deep fried Troma gold, and stands up with their best low rent work. There is absolutely nothing (provided you’ve got a sense of humour) in this film to dislike. It’s gloriously insane from start to finish and defies any rational criticism. This review is spoiler heavy, so if you care about things like that (which I doubt) then stop reading.

To begin with: it doesn’t “star” Billy Bob Thornton. This is classic Troma revisionism. It has a young and desperate Billy Bob Thornton in it, but he’s very much in a supporting role and it’s only since he rose to prominence that Troma have reprinted the cover with him on it-. The original (and I much prefer it) packaging looked like this:

See, he’s nowhere in sight. It also has a pre-MTV Martha Quinn in it (and it’s conspicuous by it’s absence from her Wikipedia page, the fucking elitist snob), but you don’t see them changing the packaging to include her. It’s as crass a cash in as I’ve seen since the legendary Leprechaun Pot of Gore that has “Starring Coolio” on the cover. If you’ve seen those masterpieces, then you’ll get how amazingly inaccurate and inappropriate this is.

It actually stars Jamie Rose as Dede and Catherine Carlen as Rox- the 2 most prominent members of the Cycle Sluts. The erstwhile Billy Bob plays Dede’s ex husband. He’s not on screen very long, just enough to nail her then get eaten by a zombie.

Anyway, on to the plot. A badass group of biker girls (they aren’t lesbians, well, Rox is: “I’M THE DYKE”, but the rest of them aren’t- and lesbianism is my tenuous link to Red Sonja) pitch up in the one horse town of Zariah. They go off to find men to shag (or for one of them, to call her children in one of the most incompetent pieces of forced characterisation I’ve ever seen) and to get drunk. Little do they know that a mad scientist turned mortician, and his tame midget have been murdering the townsfolk so that he can implant something or other in their head and reanimate the corpse. The newly made zombies are then set to work in the radioactive mine outside of town. Needless to say, the zombies get out, carnage ensues and the chicks kick some undead ass. Not forgetting that there’s a busload of snarky blind orphans that need rescuing. For no reason in particular, they’re just there.

So what’s good about this film? Nothing. Of course there’s nothing of actual quality in it- it is Troma, after all.

But, more importantly, what’s awesome in this film? Fucking everything. It’s wonderful, but let me break it down for you. I’m going to seriously spoil here, although spoil may be the wrong word, perhaps “point you in the direction of things to look out for”, would be better.

Firstly, the dialogue is incredible- I’m not sure if it’s tongue in cheek or not, but it’s both funny and offensive. Some of it is absolutely inspired, for example, the evil mortician tortures his dwarf on a pretty much constant basis (including putting him in a miniature coffin and floating him on a pond), and justifies this by making the midget say: “If GOD had wanted me to be like normal people, he would have made me look like normal people…” There’s no criticising things like this, but if that hasn’t convinced you, then the exchange between the blind orphans and their carer is absolutely priceless- the carer, having swapped insults with the kid, wins the argument with “Go and cry to your parents”.

Secondly, it’s actually a bit smarter than it pretends to be. There are many clever nods to biker films such as Hell’s Angels on Wheels. It works brilliantly on an ironic level- I’ve had many a giggle looking for where it outright steals from.

Thirdly, the score. I would love to have been in the room when this score was pitched. It’s got more in common with Teddy Bear’s Picnic than a zombie movie. Every time the undead are on the move, they stop the soundtrack and play the ill advised “zombie theme”, and (words almost fail me here) it’s both completely inept and staggeringly inappropriate. If you’re not laughing by the time they appear, then when this dreadful piece of music first plays, you will be. The rest of the score is OK. Well, it isn’t shit.

Next, it’s a mean film: no-one is safe. The zombies get loose because they eat a blind kid. Which is funny by definition. The dwarf is treated like shit all the way through, and when he hooks up with the Cycle Sluts nobody seems to mind that he killed half the town’s population. One of the sluts breaks in to a nerd’s house and practically rapes him on the sofa- he certainly doesn’t seem to have a lot in the way of alternatives (even if he is enjoying himself). Unsurprisingly, his mother walks in, and instead of (as you’d expect) throwing a tantrum, is ecstatic that her useless son is getting laid. The whole film is full of touches like this.

The Sluts themselves are also brilliantly one-dimensional, in that they’re all exploitation archetypes- Rox is the leather clad dyke with aggression problems- she’s constantly going on about how she’s a badass because she’s just trying to make them tough, and, hell, somebody’s got to kick them into shape., Dede is the bored small town housewife that’s riding with the Sluts looking for kicks- but still secretly loves her husband. Jewel, Jojo and Rusty are emotionally damaged for nebulous and stupid reasons. When they go “looking for meat” in the town, they just pitch up and nail their various targets in seconds. Not to mention the catfight, the presence of which would elevate the dullest material up to genius level. More films should have catfights in them. It’s obvious that none of the actresses could deliver hard boiled dialogue if their lives depended on it, instead opting to turn in performances that are fabulously sleazy, and the film is all the better for their failings.

Finally, the ending is one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen. Having saved the town from the marauding Zombie Horde, the Sluts decide to bugger off into the sunset. But not before they’re presented with a big sack of cash, steal a few of the male population as their new “bitches”, and making a few of the blind kids and the dwarf into honorary Sluts. It’s an obvious attempt to parody westerns, and true to form the Sluts throw the cash in the air before riding out.

Overall, if you have a sense of humour then you’ll like this. If you own a sense of irony then you’ll like this. If you have a sense of the absurd, and an appreciation for the over-the-top values that Troma specialise in then you’ll like this. If you’re a po-faced wanker masquerading as a serious critic by posting pseudo intellectual drivel on imdb (“Overall, anyone watching Troma films should be ready for the low standards and lack of spark that generally come with them. I was ready for something poor but even still I was caught off guard by just how poor the whole thing was. Worth watching if you’ve never seen a Troma film, but other than that it’s not worth the bother and is about as sh*t as you’d expect.”- No, mate, you clearly weren’t ready for it. Stick to Bambi) then this film is not for you. If you’re reading this, then chances are it will be right up your alley. Get a copy, (it’s only £2 in the UK), get some beer and laugh until your sides split.

Highly recommended.

Have we really ran out of Middle Eastern sand traps to bomb?  How many bombs do we build a year that we have to now start randomly bombing the moon?  Tonight we are preparing to shoot a rocket into the moon to explode a bomb in order to crash the surface to see if we can find ice.  The Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) project is going to cost us 79 million.   Could we not just save a few bucks and drop some bottle rockets in Sarah Palin’s front yard?  I am guessing that Obama is not going Letterman on an intern or discovered oil on the moon.  There is no need to shoot off any bombs.  This is sounding more and more like a bad Bruce Willis flick.  Are we sure that the giant hunk of rock that I can see from my backyard is going to stay up there?  This is sounding more like an idea from an Oklahoma 4th of July drunkfest than a NASA experiment.  Finally, did anybody see Armageddon with a straight face.  Ben Affleck, Billy Bob Thornton, Bruce Willis and Owen Wilson all save the world?  Good job Hollywood.

Intolerable Cruelty (2003)
★★ / ★★★★

Joel Coen directs this story about a gold-digger (Catherine Zeta-Jones) and a divorce lawyer’s (George Clooney) mind games. The two seemingly like each other despite their bickering but it is really difficult to define their relationship because they always have something up their sleeves (sometimes with the aid of lucky coincidences). I did enjoy the first half of this picture because it was silly and it embraced its screwball nature. However, somewhere in the second half, I grew tired of it mainly because the once astute two lead characters became simple caricatures not worth liking. I kept trying to convince myself there was something more about them other than their scamming ways but I was disappointed that there wasn’t. I know that the Coen brothers have a proclivity for irony but there is such a thing as too much irony. This film is a fine example of the latter so it became convoluted instead of focused, smug instead of welcoming, unfunny instead of dryly funny. I did, however, enjoy the supporting actors such as Cedric the Entertainer, Edward Herrmann, Richard Jenkins, Billy Bob Thornton and Geoffrey Rush. But their presence alone did not save this heavy-handed movie about two bickering infantile adults who have nothing better to do than to make each other’s lives miserable. I liked Zeta-Jones and Clooney’s acting during the first half because it was easy to tell that they were having fun with their characters. However, in the second half, I believe they crossed the line between being funny and trying too hard to be funny but actually failing at it. In the end, I wondered what happened to the power the Coen brothers usually had in their films. But I suppose great directors have their failures as well. Don’t get me wrong, this is not a bad movie. It’s simply a mediocre product given the expectations that usually come in a Coen brothers picture. It was too quirky for its own good when it really should have been working on its substance.