Poison works very quickly. It has worked its way to my heart… Zhensheng, promise me you won’t seek revenge. Revenge will only bring us more bloodshed. Please, that’s not what I want. We must strive to become triumphant… Nong Jinsun, I only understand wushu. I practiced for many years to understand what Wushu is, what is wushu’s real purpose. The competition must continue. One cannot choose how one’s life begins. It takes courage to finish the final step.

– Huo Yuan Jia

Billed as Jet Li’s swan song to the epic martial arts movie, Fearless retells the true-life story of Huo Yuan Jia. He is known as being the best martial artist in China at the turn of the 20th century. I learned about this after I watched the movie. I thought that this was another martial arts movie, but it was a little different not by much.

As I said in the introduction, the film is about the life story of Huo Yuan Jia (Jet Li) primarily focusing on the last ten years of his life. All of this life, Yuan Jia wanted to be a great martial artist like his father. His father didn’t want his son to fight because of the asthma that he had since he was a boy.

Yuan Jia wanted to prove everyone wrong to be the number one fighter in the land. Not hearing his mother’s warnings, he becomes very cocky. He fights scores of warriors until Master Chin (Chen Zhi Hui) challenges him. They get into an epic fight where Chin is defeated. As an added consequence, a follower from Chin’s clan slaughters Yunjia’s family.

Devastated from the turn of events, he leaves his life behind to find the true meaning of the martial art. After years of exile, Yuan Jia comes back to his hometown to find the Jin Wu Sports Federation that has expanded to over fifty countries today.

I understand that Jet Li wanted to portray the greatest hero in Chinese culture. He wanted to end his martial arts movie life with this person. It’s like poetic justice, but it was stale in some parts of the movie. The action sequences are great, of course. You can plainly see the stunt doubles from some of the actors. Also, there is a sequence where a Japanese fighter is interacting with Yuan Jia where he is clearl dubbed. That is a capital offense in my book. Everything else is blah.

Judgment: If you want to see a half-ass attempt of a biopic, watch this movie.

Rating: ***

Music biographies mesmerized me when I was a kid. Whether it was Glenn Miller or Elvis Presley, it was always the same fascinating formula: talent and tenacity leading to the precipice of success, with the artist always searching for that one elusive element to define his signature sound, to breakthrough. With Miller it was the addition of trombones. The proceedings always put me on the edge of my seat and the breakthroughs set me reeling. I guess it was in my blood.

It persists. Last night I watched two great documentary-style bios on TV, one on Johnny Cash, another on Willie Nelson. Willie, as many of his fans may not realize, was actually a Nashville songwriter, penning such classics as “Crazy,” which Patsy Cline etched into the music lexicon. Despite his pre-eminent status as a writer, Willie couldn’t get arrested as an artist in Music City. His quirky phrasing was way too off beat for the 60’s sound, which was infused with sweet strings and pop arrangements.

At the age of 40, Willie returned home to Texas. Such a move would have meant a life sentence selling insurance had history not intervened. As fate would have it, Woodstock Nation had opened the doors to multiple music movements by the early 70s, and Willie realized that Austin clubs were ready for a new kind of country artist. He enlisted his buddy Waylon Jennings, among others, and set about launching a novel sound to a new audience. His ultimate success turned country music, and the music establishment at large, on its head. Ultimately, he was responsible for redefining music, establishing its “outlaw” class, creating the Austin revolution and worldwide social activism that persists to this day.

Despite his huge outsider success, Nashville rejected this giant yet again. By the 1980s, you couldn’t find a Willie song on mainstream country radio, and forget about a major label deal.

Okay, let’s get right down to the hard part. Cash was just another music god to be tumbled unceremoniously from Olympus. By the 80s, he, too, was cast out like so much trash. His popularity was dwindling, and he was struggling to find an audience and make a living.

So these outlaw outcasts banded together, literally, forming the country supergroup The Highwaymen, along with Waylon and Kris Kristofferson. Talk about a Mount Rushmore of talent. They had taken fate into their own hands and, once again, set out to redefine the music scene, outside the establishment, all on their own.

A Bronx boy, I was still getting my country legs under me, when I hit Nashville in the late 80s. At the time, I couldn’t understand why the likes of Willie and Johnny weren’t getting mainstream air play, why I could eat lunch with Emmylou Harris but couldn’t hear her songs on country radio, why Nanci Griffith was considered a darling in all the clubs, to all the execs, but couldn’t get the chart toppers and eventually carped about it in interviews.

I was just getting introduced to the hard truth of the music industry: bitterness. Griffith was bitter, my friend Artie Traum (from back home in Woodstock) — one of the sweetest guys to ever grace the business — was expressing a degree of bitterness, too, in interviews of the day. I was just learning.

The songwriting trade in Nashville was rough. By year two, I was saying you had to learn to live on a diet of stones. Rejection was the blue-plate special everyday. It took me two years to get my first major song contract and more to get my first staff writing job and my first cut. Everyone who stuck with it had war stories: the song on hold that never happened, the artist cut that got dropped by the label or never got released as a single or didn’t make it above 20 on the charts. But, despite eventual successes and even industry support, I left after a decade to pursue to a career as an artist, packing scars and wisdom, love and hate.

But back to Johnny Cash. One of the greatest artists to “walk the line,” he faced the pure pain of artistry more deeply, more movingly than anyone before him. Late in his career, with the help of producer Rick Rubin, Johnny faced his inner darkness, his demons, his truth, his soul. With such albums as “American Recordings” and “Unchained,” he found a vast and vital new audience, just years before his death. His new material was so raw that family members had a tough time listening. They told him it sounded like he was saying goodbye. He told them he was.

Pure Johnny Cash

In the Cash bio, artists such as Sheryl Crow, John Mellencamp and Vince Gill expressed the true painful tumble that all artists must face. Mellencamp himself recently penned a telling if rambling article on the biz in HuffPost, a blog post that established a wellspring of conversation in the social media sector.

So, this little Bronx boy, who reeled from the Glenn Miller story and cut and broke his teeth on Music Row, finally came to understand bitterness and the role it plays in any music career. No one is exempt. It may be (excuse me) a bitter pill to swallow, but I recommend downing it to develop a good artist-immune system. Another words, one has to learn to deal with it, to embrace it, pain and all, and find a way to move on, carry it on your back, in your suitcase, in your heart, on your skin — the rose tattoo of the music artist.

Fa poc, ja comentava “Monster’s ball”, una exitosa pel·lícula de Marc Forster. Però l’altre dia vaig poder gaudir de “Descubriendo nunca jamás”. Un film meravellós protagonitzat per Johnny Depp i Kate Winslet i nominada a 7 òscars. La pel·lícula explica la vida de Jamie Barrie, un autor de teatre que, tot i escriure i dirigir obres d’èxit, no està content amb la seva feina. I és que ell no ha deixat mai de ser un nen, i l’infant que porta dintre lluita desesperadament per sortir.

Al final, aquest nen interior veu una escletxa de llum quan coneix una dona, mare de quatre fills, amb els quals comencen una relació d’amistat i tendresa. A través de les anècdotes i de les experiències d’aquesta família, en Jamie s’anirà inspirant per crear la seva obra més coneguda: “Peter Pan”. Els adults, lògicament, pensen que s’ha tornat boig per voler escriure una obra tant dement i imaginativa; però ell continua encaparrat a termianar-la, tot i les complicacions que puguin anar sorgint.

Per als actors, un excel·lent d’interpretació. No és la primera vegada que en Depp ens ofereix una actuació bona, però en aquesta pel·lícula supera al mateix Jack Sparrow. Cal destacar l’actuació dels quatre nens protagonistes, sobretot el del petit Peter, interpretat per l’entranyable Charlie de “Charlie i la fàbrica de xocolata” de Tim Burton.

Perr la música, un altre excel·lent amb una fletxa cap amunt. Preciosa i nostàlgica. I és que la nostalgia té un paper molt important durant tota la apel·lícula, ja que l’escriptor, tot i sentir-se com un nen, no pot deixar de sentir que ja no ho és, que ha madurat i que es va fent vell com la resta de la gent. No oblidem que el cocodril del conte del Peter Pan s’havia empassat un rellotge i cada cop que estava a prop s’escoltava el tic-tac d’un rellotge. El temps passa, ens amenaça, i només l’obra que està escrivint podrà perdurar per sempre. La seva empremta en aquest món.

Per tant, no dubteu en veure-la. Una magnífica obra d’un gran director; amb molt bons actors; amb una història inoblidable i nostàlgica apta pels més sensibles (amb mocador, sobretot que no falti) Una barreja de realitat i fantasia desbordant molt ben equilibrada. Molt i molt recomanable!!

Every war is different, every war is the same.

– Anthony ‘Swoff’ Swofford

During my subscription of Details magazine circa 2003, I passed by a blurb for Anthony Swofford briefly discussing his memoir about his time in the Persian Gulf War called Jarhead. Sam Mendes directed the big screen adaptation of his story. I loved that the story is not a war movie, but a movie about young soldier’s journey.

Swofford (Jake Gyllenhaal) is a Marine recruit that is trying to find himself. He thought that the military was the best decision, but he regrets it. He is introduced to his platoon, Gulf Company. His initial reception does not turn out why the way that he thought. They tried to initiate him with a mock branding of the USMC.

Pretending that he has a stomach virus, he meets Staff Sgt. Sykes (Jaime Foxx) in the crapper. Seeing that Swofford is not as dumb as he thinks he is, Sykes wants Swofford to train as a scout sniper. Swofford jumps at the opportunity. He is teamed up with Troy (Peter Sarsgaard).

As the Iraqis invaded Kuwait, Second Platoon is deployed to the battle zone. The Marines think that they would be there a maximum of two weeks, but things changed. As part of Operation Desert Shield, their orders from their battalion leader Lt. Col. Kazinski (Chris Cooper) are to guard the oil fields that are a constant target of the Iraqi militants.

The platoon has to learn is about to the harsh conditions of the desert, how to survive the insurmountable boredom of non-combat conditions. As the days turn into months, Swofford’s mind begins to unravel as he learns that his girlfriend is cheating and he is not seeing any action.

Everybody knows how much of a “Gyllenhaalic” I am. I remember taking my ex-boyfriend to see this movie in the theaters. I was engrossed in the movie and I looked over to see that he was sleeping. That’s why he became an ex-boyfriend.

Sam Mendes has a way to make a monochromic setting into a thing of beauty. You see sand blackened with soot and ash from fireballs or burning oil wells in the distance. It’s like the screen is inverted.

Judgment: If you are the kind of person that doesn’t like gory war movie, you would enjoy

Rating: ****

Basada en fets reals i en la novel·la autobiogràfica de Marttin McGartland, “50 hombres muertos” reflexa la vida d’aquest home que va viure en les seves pròpies carsn els conflictes que van agitar Belfast els anys 70 i 80. En una societat dividida entre les societats catòliques i protestants, el grup terrorista de l’IRA es pren la justicia per la seva mà alhora de castigar a tots aquells irlandesos que no mereixin ser-ho. Per un altre cantó, la policia i l’exèrcit tracten d’aconseguir la pau amb més pena que gloria. Un jove Martin es troba envoltat per aquesta delicada situació sense posicionar-se en cap bàndol. Ell és irlandés i, per tant, odia la repressió policial i l’estat en el qual es troba la seva terra; però per una altra banda, destesta la violència i els assassinats a mans de l’IRA.

A través de les seves amistats, anirà endinsant-se en el món del grup terrorista fins formar-ne completament part. Però està allà dina amb una segona intenció, delatar tots els seus moviments a l’MI5 a través d’un tal Fergus, que fa d’enllaç entre el talp i el govern. Tot un dilema moral i ètic en un argument trepidant i addictiu que fan d’aquesta pel·lícula una molt bona opció per anar al cinema un d’aquests dies.

La interpretació de Jim Sturgess i Ben Kingsley són genials i donen una credibilitat a la història que gairebé la fan un documental. Un conjunt d’imatges i moments que reflexen perfectament la situació política i social del moment i que ajuda a entendre els conflictes que es van poder viure aquells anys a l’Irlanda més dividida que s’ha pogut veure mai.

Parlant de pel·lícules sobre talps, també vull recomanar “Lobo”. Una pel·lícula espanyola similar a “50 hombres muertos” amb la diferència que l’infiltrat aconsegueix arribar a la mateixa cúpula d’ETA en plena dictadura de Franco. Dues pel·lícules d’infiltrats basades en fets reals. Llàstima que, al contrari que l’IRA, ETA encara no hagi deixat les armes.

1989, Pre-war Baghdad: the playground for the idle, rich and infamous. Everything goes, everyone can be bought…for a price. This is the hunting ground of Iraq’s Black Prince, Uday Hussein.

Your new flashy Ferrari, your wife, your daughter, your blood. Nobody refuses Uday Hussein and lives to tell the tale. He has a depraved lust for debauchery and corruption, and helps himself to whatever turns him on.

When the war hero lieutenant Latif Yahia is summoned in Uday’s realms, he is offered the devil’s bargain: he must become Uday’s fidei, his body double, or condemn his family to death.

No longer Latif Yahia, he is now Uday Hussein. As Uday’s double, Latif spirals into the giddy excesses of Uday’s monstrous underworld of self-indulgence and shameless violence; until one day he looks in the mirror and does not recognize the man staring back at him.

In a world built on corruption and deceit, knowing who to trust becomes a matter of life or death for Latif as he battles to escape from his forced existence as The Devil’s Double.

Sarab, Uday’s whore and Baghdad’s most notorious concubine, is the unlikely ally who will help Latif escape from his hell.

Based on Latif’s own bestselling books, “The Devil’s Double” and “I Was Saddam’s Son”, The Devil’s Double provides a chilling insight into the House of Saddam through the eyes of the man who knew too much.

Directed by Lee Tamahori (Next)

Des de fa un temps, alguns diaris de la premsa espanyola han trobat la gallina dels ous d’or amb la venda de pel·lícules per un euro. Público, el País o la Vanguardia engreixen els seus ingressos oferint-nos bones pel·lícules (i no tant bones) a un baix cost que és difícil de rebutjar. Una cosa és certa, però, s’ha d’escollir bé quina vols comprar, ja que sinó et pots acabar deixant una part del sou considerable al llarg de tot el mes. Per això aquesta setmana vaig escollir “El hundimiento”.

Quan la vaig anar a veure al cinema, em va sorprendre molt. És una gran pel·lícula, un reflex (pel que sembla) molt fidel del que va ser el final de Hitler, que no va quedar exempta de polèmica. I és que molts detractors de la pel·lícula defenien que en aquesta s’enaltia a Hitler i se’l deixava com un heroi i un personatge que va fer coses molt importants i positives. Res més lluny de la realitat. Hitler queda com el que realment va ser, un assassí de masses sense escrúpols però amb una intel·ligència desbordant que es va anar apagant i deixant caure en la bojeria en els seus últims dies de vida, quan veia que tot s’havia acabat i que la guerra no hi havia forma de guanyar-la.

No oblidem, però, que anem a veure una pel·lícula de cinema, i això vol dir que ens hem de trobar un cert dramatisme. I més en un film d’aquestes característiques. És per això que a la mort del dictador se li dóna una força narrativa i dramàtica especial i pot quedar més o menys bella, estèticament parlant. Però si realment es mostrés com un heroi, no estaries desitjant durant la pel·lícula que arribi el moment del seu suïcidi.

“El hundimiento” ens deixa algunes imatges contundents i dures que reflexen la vida (i mort) que es va poder viure aquells dies de caos i desconcert al cor de Berlín. Amb una fotografia molt ben buscada, l’argument gira al voltant de la última secretària de Hitler; un personatge real i que apareix entrevistada al final de la pel·lícula poc temps abans de morir. Pel que fa als actors, destacar l’actuació de Bruno Ganz com el propi Hitler en els dies més durs, estèrics i agressius de la seva vida. Però per gaudir-ho, val més veure la versió original, ja que el doblatge deixa força a desitjar.

Resum, molt bona pel·lícula històrica i clarificadora del que va ser la mort d’un dels personatges més importants de la història (malhauradament). Si la trobeu demà als quioscos us recomano que us gasteu un euro per tenir-la. Val la pena.

Que c’est stressant d’attendre un film comme ça. J’ai beaucoup de mal avec l’acteur qui interprète John Lennon parce que physiquement, malgré les efforts de coiffure notamment, j’ai du mal à voir en lui John Lennon. Rien que sa voix me choque. Et je ne préfère pas parler de celui qui joue Paul McCartney. Enfin, il n’empêche que le film va sortir et que le scénario est certainement bien écrit pour mettre en avant des passages clés de la jeunesse de cette icône, du coup ce sera un film à voir absolument. Peut-être même en mettant en avant un visage moins violent que celui qui est souvent décrit puisque le film semble vouloir décrire le besoin affectif de John Lennon. Regardez ce teaser pour vous donner une idée :

La vie et l’oeuvre de Serge Gainsbourg font à nouveau l’événement, avec un film et un spectacle de danse.

Une vie héroïque

Johann Sfar est un auteur de BD talentueux.

Il est aussi courageux. Pour son premier film en tant que scénariste-réalisateur, il s’attaque à un sujet particulièrement casse-gueule : un biopic consacré à “la vie héroïque” (?) de Serge Gainsbourg.

Après la bluffante première photo de Eric Elmosnino, les photos du casting prestigieux abondamment diffusées, voici enfin la bande-annonce.

Alors, que penser de ce premier aperçu ?

Un “teaser” efficace, alléchant, plutôt convaincant, mais aussi hyper classique, surtout pour ce que son auteur qualifie lui-même de “conte“. “Gainsbourg. Une vie héroïque” sera-t-il un biopic de plus ou le fruit d’une vision personnelle et originale sur l’un des plus grandes personnalités françaises du XXe siècle ? Il faudra attendre la sortie du film le 20 janvier 2010 pour le savoir.

En attendant, on peut se rabattre sur le site officiel du film, qui contient ce passionnant journal de tournage dessiné par Mathieu Sapin.

Dans un prochain billet, comment “L’homme à la tête de chou” a été transformé en spectacle de danse.

It seems that Jennifer Hudson has been off of the radar since having son, David Daniel Otunga Jr.  Rightfully so though!  Now, Jennifer is slated to play Winnie Mandela in an upcoming biopic about the former South Africa President’s wife.

“I was compelled and moved when I read the script,” Hudson said. “Winnie Mandela is a complex and extraordinary woman and I’m honoured to be the actress asked to portray her. This is a powerful part of history that should be told.”–I completely agree!

Bonham Carter as Enid Blyton

When I was a child, Enid Blyton was my favorite author. She was beloved of most children: a wonderful storyteller whose stories kept you entranced. But what was she like as a person? Helena Bonham Carter was, at first glance, a surprising choice, to play Blyton in this BBC 4 biopic, but – then so was Trevor Eve who played Hughie Green, in the last series and I thought he was absolutely great!

Enid Blyton

The young Enid gets into storytelling to distract her siblings from the furious arguments which are going on between their parents. Her father eventually leaves for another woman (or so her mother says, though all her life Enid won’t believe this). It is easy to see why Enid starts escaping into her own world. She leaves home as soon at the first opportunity (Enid never stops running all through her life). She trains to become a schoolteacher, though her real ambition is to be an author. Rejected many times, she keeps trying, until eventually a door opens. Not one to hang around, she marries her publisher.

the very famous Five books

Their early days seem idyllic. What a blow it must have been to her to be told she couldn’t have children.. But despite these problems, she does have a child (in fact two,) but motherhood does not come easily to her. She seems more work inspired, than nurturing. Time for a nanny. But although she is honest about her failings, she does have some odd ideas about how to handle week old babies….

Enid Blyton bedtime story book

It is strange the way Blyton is different with other children than her own, and a bit baffling really. She seems more relaxed whilst in the company of children she doesn’t know. To an extent, she seems to shun anything that doesn’t fit into her world of fiction, such as the War. It’s as if in her refusal to be distracted, it will just go away. When her husband starts drinking, she banishes him into the spare room!

Noddy a popular Blyton character

Blyton is the ultimate escapist, and does not like the banalities of motherhood: writing comes first. When Blyton finally comes to terms that we are at war, she contributes by digging for victory with her children and entertaining officers whilst her husband is away (escapism again). Eventually of course, she takes a lover ‘Uncle’ Kenneth Waters.

the magical land of Enid

The acting was really good and the attention to period detail wonderful. Bonham Carter makes a great Blyton, showing all her contradiction. She is both hardened and yet vulnerable in her reluctance to face reality. The way that Blyton deals with harsh reality is through her children’s tales, where a happy ending is assured and cake is distributed with lashings of Ginger Beer She has such a hard unfeeling edge to her to her personality though and is able to compartmentalise her life skillfully, dismissing her children. Poor Hugh (ex husband) gets the treatment time and time again, and very cruelly. It is incredulous the way that she can turn her back on anything she doesn’t want to deal with, including her mother and her siblings. A very complicated, emotionally damaged but talented person, whose end was indeed tragic.

Watch it HERE　

I really did give this movie an honest shot but I just couldn’t get all the way through it. I watched about 2 of the 4 hours of the movie and then took a break. But I have not returned to it and don’t think I ever will. I can appreciate the film that is for sure, but practically speaking it is an absolute chore to watch. It was rather hard to follow and the montage techniques used were a little too artsy for me. I guess I can’t say for sure, but I don’t think I’m missing much by not finishing this movie. It would probably proceed along in a similar manner as the first half ultimately leading to me not even really remembering what happened.

El cinema ens ha deixat moltes pel·lícules dedicades a la cuina. “Dieta Mediterrania”, “Fuera de carta” (totes dues españoles); i ara des d’Amèrica ens arriba aquest film de cuina francesa a la americana. La pel·lícula ens mostra les vides paral·leles de dues dones en dos moments històrics diferents. Per una banda Julia Child, una dona inusualment alta que troba en la cuina francesa la seva felicitat. Des d’aquest moment, lluitarà per aconseguir escriure un llibre de cuina francesa per a les dones americanes (sí, només per a les dones. Hem de pensar que ens situem al 1974, quan només cuinaven les dones) Amb el pas del temps es convertirà en un ídol i el seu llibre serà llegit arreu del món; serà la presentadora d’un programa de televisió digne d’Arguiñano i de l’Isma Prados; i es convertirà en l’exemple a seguir de Julie Powell, qui es proposa cuinar totes les receptes del seu llibre i anar-les comentant en un blog. Això últim passa al 2004, quan la Julia Child ja tenia 90 anys. La pel·lícula està basada en la història real d’aquestes dues dones, no ho oblidem.

El paral·lelisme entre les vides de les protagonistes està molt ben mostrat. Totes dues amb parella estable, amb els seus alts i baixos; amb les seves il·lusions i les seves ganes d’escriure (ja sigui un llibre o un blog); i la seva passió per la cuina.

La pel·lícula es pot considerar llarga. No tant com “El senyor dels anells”, però llarga igualment. Són una mica més de dues hores de metratge, però he de reconeixer que no se m’han fet pesades. I fins i tot per algú com jo, que sóc molt primmirat a l’hora de menjar, aquesta pel·lícula fa entrar la gana d’una manera horrible. Una recomanació, mirau-la amb una bossa de crispetes, de patates xips i de pollastre a l’ast, posats a fer.

En definitiva, una història molt maca i entranyable, amb una Meryl Streep genial i optimista (gairebé no perd el somriure en tota la pel·lícula) i una demostració de com, encara que les noves tecnologies avancin a un ritme tant trepidant com el d’avui en dia, les il·lusions i les metes de cadascun poden ser les matexies en el present, en el passat i, de ben segur, en el futur.

Bon Appétit!!

Ça circule depuis hier déjà, mais voici le traileur tout neuf du film Gainsbourg, vie héroïque, à paraître en janvier 2010 chez nos cousins.

Vite de même, comme son titre, le film semble sirupeux et mélodramatique.

Sinon, l’acteur principal nous fait croire à une résurrection tant la ressemblance est frappante, l’actrice qui a été choisie pour jouer Jane s’est pendue en mai chez elle, Laeticia Casta fait Bardot, et le réalisateur Joann Sfar, un gars de Nice qui a d’abord basé un roman illustré sur l’homme à tête de chou, a l’air très porté sur la bédé…

Ça pourrait expliquer sa volonté de faire de Gainsbourg un superhéros à cape et épée. En revanche, la direction photo a l’air géniale.

Well, gee, vote for me

Most film protagonists, especially of the sort with which viewers are supposed to sympathize, are neither morally perfect nor totally evil. Exceptions tend to fit into the former category, however, as is the case with John Ford’s film Young Mr. Lincoln. It’s the sort of film that a stranger to the planet Earth might watch and wonder just what its point is. Anyone else, especially a born and bred American, knows intuitively all too well what a film like this is doing. If it were a simple fiction, Young Mr. Lincoln would seemingly have little appeal in terms of its creating a character who challenges the viewer to think critically and evaluate Abe Lincoln’s ideas, passions, words, and deeds. A black-and-white good guy, the alien viewer would likely see this film as a moral propaganda piece, something to show classrooms of youths in order to put a friendly face on justice, goodness, and determination.  Since the days of Superman: The Movie, even the comic book superhero genre has stuck to the convention of a protagonist who is flawed, who sometimes acts in her, but usually in his, best interests at the expense of the people he is supposed to protect.

Man of the earth

Henry Fonda plays Lincoln with a moral aloofness and John Ford shoots the film keeping the hero at an untouchable distance. Sometimes Lincoln’s attitude is sort of well-golly-I-don’t-know, and other times he preaches his convictions like a Baptist minister. He’s presented as unassuming and gentle, a man of nature with limited learning but an unlimited capacity for pure knowledge, the kind that can only be used for good. He is tall, of course, and his opponents tend to be short. Intellectually he towers above everyone else even more than he does physically. Though education is illustrated through Lincoln as something that builds moral character, he makes some interesting statements about a little old woman (not that old, really) whose lack of education makes her all the more pure, innocent, and, of course, womanly.

Two-fistin'

Technically speaking, this film is in the neighborhood of perfect. Even in 1939, John Ford knew well what he was doing, how to point a camera, and, even in a sometimes-unsubtle film, how to say a lot with a little. The idea of depicting the early life of one of the great American legends must have been fairly novel at the time, the sort of thing that filmmakers nowadays love doing. For example, see Che Guevara in The Motorcycle Diaries. (Most of the time now, however, filmmakers give into the pressure to film the rest of the person’s life. Examples abound.) Depicting only the early life can be an easy way to make a biopic, since the filmmaker is under much less pressure to take a position about the individual. This way, the film can wax Freudian about what made an otherwise questionable character do what s/he did. Ford is at an advantage here, having chosen as his subject the image of a man universally loved at least in the 1930s northern US, if not universally in the South. Ford hones in a little closer than, say D.W. Griffith did in Birth of a Nation, although a similar respect keeps both directors from even remotely or suggestively tainting Lincoln’s image. In the era of the Depression and on the even of the US entrance into WWII, it makes sense that Ford’s Lincoln would be exactly the image to encourage and inspire Americans to see their own humble existence as only the beginning of something that would later be remarkable.

Point blank

Man of the people?

The man. The myth. The hat.

Ending on a pedestal

Radha Mitchell and Jonathan Rhys Meyers open the door to a new life.

(Sony Classics) Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Radha Mitchell, Chow Yun Fat, Michelle Yeoh, Guang Li, Matt Walker, Ping Su, David Wenham. Directed by Roger Spottiswoode

War brings out the worst in us. Greed, bloodlust, cowardice, brutality, all of these things surface once the shooting starts. However, war also can bring out the best in us, and in the most unlikely of people.

George Hogg (Rhys Meyers) is a confirmed pacifist and a British reporter with a yen for adventure but not a ton of experience. He travels to China to report on the Japanese invasion there in 1938. China had been in the midst of a civil war between the communists and the nationalist regime, but all that was put aside when a common energy emerged.

Along with fellow reporters Andy Fisher (Walker) and Eddie Wei (Su), Hogg manages to finagle their way into a medical supply transportation mission from the Red Cross into the besieged city of Nanking (called Nanjing more properly in the film). There, he witnesses first hand the atrocities of the Japanese army against the Chinese citizenry and captures it on film before he himself is captured. The Japanese commander seems inclined to release his prisoner back to Britain until the contents of his camera are discovered. Hogg is then marched off to be executed, but is saved by communist intelligence agent Chen Hansheng (Fat). During their escape, he witnesses the execution of his colleagues and in his shock, gives away their position. He is wounded and Hansheng only just manages to get them away in the nick of time.

Hansheng leaves him in the care of American nurse Lee Pearson (Mitchell) who has become a de facto caregiver to the displaced refugees of Nanjing. His wounds are not fatal but severe enough that he can’t travel back to England and tell the world what is going on in China, as Hansheng wants him to do. Instead, she sends him to the tiny village of Huang Shi where there is an orphanage, forgotten in the panicked exodus before the Japanese military invasion. She leaves him there to look after the children, who have almost no food and less learning. He is charged to provide them with both.

At first Hogg is uncomfortable with his new position and the children are none too happy with the situation either. In fact, they lead him out and attempt to beat him to death with sticks until a timely return by Pearson who admonishes the kids that if they don’t leave him alone and let him take charge, she will never return leaving them without medicine and food. Reluctantly, the kids agree to the deal.

There is a great deal of mistrust on both sides but as they warm to each other, Hogg proves to be resourceful. He manages to get a rusty old generator working, providing the orphanage with light. He strikes a deal with black marketeer Mrs. Wang (Yeoh) to provide seeds so that the orphanage can grow their own food. In return, he gives her half the harvest to sell on the black market.

Their little community is thriving when the news comes that the nationalist army is coming through and intends to conscript all of the older male children to fight in their army against the Japanese and the communists (talk about ambitious). Hogg, realizing that he can no longer stay in their little sanctuary, determines to move the children to safety. He finds a place on the edge of the Gobi desert so obscure, so out of the way that it is almost a sure thing that nobody will bother them there. The trouble is that the site is 700 miles away and they have no transportation. They must get there on foot.

Director Spottiswoode, whose resume includes Tomorrow Never Dies and The 6^th Day, makes good use of the Chinese locations and even better use of Chinese cinematographer Xiaoding Zhao. Zhao, the man behind the camera for such Chinese epics as Curse of the Golden Flower, Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles and House of Flying Daggers, is well able to capture the gorgeous vistas of the Gobi and the hills, forests and plains around Nanjing, but also the horrors of the war. The two make for a jarring counterpoint.

Rhys Meyers, so good as Henry VIII in the Showtime series “The Tudors,” is solid as Hogg. A man with the courage of his convictions but lacking the experience to know when he’s in over his head, he nonetheless changes from a plucky adventurer more consumed with making a mark on the world into a man of resourcefulness and responsibility who realizes that when you make a mark on a child, you’ve made a mark on the future just as indelibly as he wished to in his previous life. Mitchell is likewise solid as the hard-as-nails Pearson.

I was more taken with Fat and Yeoh. The two have a natural chemistry as you may remember from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and their all-too-brief time onscreen together here is memorable. They have very different roles; Fat as an agent who is James Bond on the outside but has deep convictions about his cause and a great deal of love for people. Yeoh is the opposite – somewhat cool and reserved on the outside but similarly soft on the inside. These are simply put two of the finest actors on the planet and it’s a shame they don’t get the props they deserve on this side of the Pacific.

The problem I have with this biopic, as I do with most biopics, is the unnecessary license the filmmakers take with history. One of the major historical characters in the film, for example, is shown dying heroically of wounds suffered in an aerial attack but history show that the character died instead of tetanus incurred when the character stubbed their toe playing basketball after which the toe became infected. Also, the orphans tend to be more stock characters than anything else; if they had been fleshed out more, it would have made for a more interesting dynamic.

Don’t get me wrong; this is a solid bit of filmmaking. Despite the license taken occasionally here, most of the events actually happened. George Hogg was a real guy and he did lead a group of orphans on a 700 mile journey. He also wrote a book about his experiences called “I See a New China” that is worth a read. His story translates well cinematically, although it doesn’t appear that the movie used his book extensively to fact check. Because of that, this isn’t a movie you need to see urgently, but it is still a movie worth seeing.

WHY RENT THIS: It’s a tremendous story from a historical event relatively unknown in the West. Gorgeous cinematography and outstanding performances from most of the cast make this a worthwhile endeavor.

WHY RENT SOMETHING ELSE: As is usual with Hollywood biopics, much historical misrepresentation, some of it fairly unnecessary.

FAMILY VALUES: Violence and brutality are everywhere in this representation of the Rape of Nanking; definitely not for more impressionable sorts.

TRIVIAL PURSUIT: The role of Lee Pearson is loosely based on Rewi Allen and Kathleen Hall, two nurses from New Zealand who were close to Hogg during this period.

NOTABLE DVD EXTRAS: None listed.

FINAL RATING: 7/10

TOMORROW: The Syrian Bride

Impossible de me faire une idée bien arrêtée en voyant le trailer de “Serge Gainsbourg : vie héroïque” réalisé par un descendant du comic strips, le dessinateur Joann Sfar. Certes, on retrouve les traits de l’homme à tête de chou et de ses poupées de cire ou de son. Mais le ton paraît un brin mélo et surjoué par instants, sans pour autant aller piocher dans les méandres aquoibonistes ou black trombone de l’ intoxicated man. Non pas d’ailleurs que son parcours semble avoir été dénaturé, à première vue, dans ce biopic aux initiales S.G. Mais un tel film se justifie-t-il après avoir lu la bio, et ses différentes actualisations, de Gilles Verlant ? Question sans réponse pour l’instant.

Patience jusqu’au 20 janvier pour savoir si ces images s’envoleront comme volutes Gitanes ou, au contraire, se graveront sur les plaques sensibles de la mémoire…

GAINSBOURG VIE HÉROÏQUE – BANDE-ANNONCE (le film)
envoyé par baryla. -

It’s easy to mock celebrities, actors in particular, who stress to the public how difficult and important their lives are and how much fame belabors those facts. Especially when we see them living such pampered and extravagant lives. I’m here to discuss five men in Hollywood who actually DO live rather industrious existanses and yet fail to ever complain about them. In fact, most are as hard-working as they are do to their love for what they do, and wouldn’t have it any other way. Now, check all your false pretenses at the door, this list takes NO monetary statistics into account to tabulate this list. I’m simply conducting an opinionated grouping of five actors who I feel have taken on more than most men can handle in the show biz…biz, and I’m compiling this list in relation to this point in time, Autumn of 2009. Yes, Seth Rogen has appeared in MULTITUDES of films over the last five years, but after Funny People and Observe and Report of this year, the guy has been laying pretty low. This list tabulates the mainstreamers who have been racking up leading role credits in muliple expansive flicks. So, without further ado…

5. Johnny Depp

To say that I respect this man would be an intense understatement. His acting prowess is some of the best of our time, so it makes me EXTREMELY happy to see him inundated with work. If you’ve been living under the sea (visions of The Little Mermaid just popped into my head. Walt Disney prevails) for the past year then you probably haven’t heard of Depp’s numerous forays into film he has recently undertaken. Public Enemies was the only work he appeared in that was released in ‘09, however, he has been fast at work on massive cinematic staples of the 2010 movie-going season that will almost-assuredly dominate the market. The first being Tim Burton’s reiteration of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland. Depp plays The Mad Hatter in Burton’s CGI-laden could-be-wonderful-could-be-terrible still up-in-the-air retelling of the classic story. Headlining next to Anne Hathaway, Helena Bonham Carter, Matt Lucas, and Alan Rickman, the film has all the makings of a complete cinematic win, the screenshots and trailers, however, leave doubt in my mind, as CGI-laden, as I said before, is putting it nicely. Time will tell. Depp also was involved in Terry Gilliam’s The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus, filling one of the three roles created after lead actor Heath Ledger’s passing. Depp, along with Colin Farrell and Jude Law, will stand in for Ledger as alternate versions of Ledger’s character, to help the stroy along despite the events that took place prior to the film’s completion. The next chapter in the Hunter S. Thompson chronicles, The Rum Diary, is also in post, in which Depp will reprise his role as the gonzo-journalist.
In addition to these films that Depp has finished, the newest film in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise is slated for a 2011 release date and is currently in the earliest stages of pre-production. Sin City 3, which Depp has been rumored to be involved with basically from its inception, is also geared up for a 2012 release (funny considering Sin City 2 is still stuck in developmental hell).
And here’s the kicker. IMDB lists Depp as in development with FOURTEEN new titles, as well. Among them, a Dali biopic and The Lone Ranger. Wow, simply wow. While these developmental deals can fall through at any time, they can also usually indicate desire and co-involvement between the parties of the actors and the producers. It will be interesting to see where Depp’s career goes looking towards these titles.

4. Brad Pitt

Here’s another guy with developmental deals in spades. The ‘ole rusty, trusty IMDB has Pitt pegged with sixteen deals, the most I could find. In addition to being attached to The sequel to Downey Jrs Sherlock Holmes vehicle, Pitt is also listed with World War Z and a Steve McQueen biopic. Goo.
Pitt tore up the screen in Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds this summer, and has currently been attached to the fledgling project Moneyball, which is listed as being in the earliest stages of production, despite the fact that it has no director. Pitt is further attached to The Tree of Life and The Lost City of Z, as well as providing a voice to the upcoming animated flick Oobermind. He’s also rumored to be apart of 2012’s upcoming The Odyssey and The Sparrow.

3. George Clooney

The former Sexiest Man in America has never slowed down since his rocket-propelled rise to fame in the mid-to-late 90’s as well. Clooney most recently has released The Men Who Stare at Ghosts, a loosely based adaptation of the book of the same name which regards a 1970’s to 1980’s military experiment that documented telepathic phenomena. In addition to this recent film, though, Clooney finished up providing voice work for the titular role in Wes Anderson’s upcoming The Fantastic Mr. Fox, alongside Bill Murray, Meryl Streep, and Jason Schwartzman, as well as polishing off his role in the Jason Reitman-helmed Up in the Air, which is also currently in post. These are merely his acting credits for 2009, though, the man also executive produced the Matt Damon vehicle The Informant! and Playground, a movie I honestly couldn’t find too much on. As far as his queue list goes, IMDB has him cited with ten in-development deals.

2. Jim Carrey

Jim Carrey is a man of many faces. The actor became famous for his rubber-faced persona that landed him a slew of comedic work in the mid-to-late 90’s and a career launching pad that ANY actor would be proud of. By the turn of the century, however, Carrey was becoming far more versatile as an actor. Already dabbling in the dramatic with The Truman Show, Liar Liar,, and the INCREDAMAZING Andy Kaufman biopic, Man on the Moon. Carrey then went on to tackle the serious side of life full-tilt in Charlie Kaufman’s magnificent Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, opposite Kate Winslet, The Majestic, and the box office blunder The Number 23. He has returned to comedy in recent years, however, and, as always, has fully immersed himself in his roles. Recently released is the Zemeckis-penned adaptation of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol in which Carrey provided the movements and voices to Scrooge at all ages of life AND the three spirits that visit him! Encompassing multiple accents, multiple ages of life, and multiple SPIRITUAL BEINGS, Carrey tackled the project head-on while keeping busy with multiple other projects, such as I Love You, Philip Morris, the tale of an escaped homosexual convict who goes on a quest to find his lover that was released from prison before he was. The film has been receiving stellar reviews and co-stars Ewan McGregor opposite Carrey in this bold and self-titled dark comedy. All the while that these two flicks have been in post, Carrey has both been bulking up and studying up to play Curly Howard in the upcoming Three Stooges revamp with Paul Giamatti and possibly Benecio Del Toro. This was all considered fact for the longest time and was referenced multiple times by Carrey’s apparent weight gain in the tabloids and public citings, but, as of late, Carrey has been described as withdrawing from the project. It doesn’t negate the fact that the man was taking on multiple roles immediately after finishing his previously mentioned two. Further, IMBD.com has Carrey listed in FOUR different upcoming development deals. Which may seem normal for a star of his status, but when you consider the work load he will indefinitely take on with these upcoming roles, it makes a profound statement on his desire to never be bored.
In addition to his films and the launch of a fully-functioning personal website that has actually made the rounds and received a warm/geeky reception from the film/internet blogosphere, Carrey and his wife Jenny McCarthy have consistantly maintained their involvement in the charity Generation Rescue, which strives to find alternative ways to treat autism in children. Not bad for a man who was talking with his butt a little over 10 years ago.

1. Nicolas Cage

Go ahead and laugh (you’ve earned it) but the man has yet to produce a dull movie (I said ‘dull’ not ‘bad’) and his work output is something for ANY actor to admire, regardless of how badly he phones roles in. Before I continue, most of you know, but for those who don’t, everything I joke about Nicolas Cage comes from a place of sincere reverance. Yes, the man takes part in AWFUL movies (which, given his current economic situation could just be to keep the lights on) but in each film he’s in he is always FULLY committed to the story being told. And I’m sorry, but I’d rather watch Cage run around in a Bear suit any day FULLY EMBRACING THE ROLE than see Tom Hanks win ANOTHER Oscar for appearing in some adaptation of a story set in the 1940’s. ALL TANGENTS ASIDE, Cage has kept himself QUITE stacked as of late. In early 2009 the CGI-Fest known as G-Force dropped with Cage providing a voice as well as Cage’s vehicle Knowing, in which he played the lead. Throughout the remainder of the year he has worked on The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, Matthew Vaughn’s Kick-Ass, Season of the Witch, and Werner FOOKING Herzog’s Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans. Did I mention the voice that he provided for Astro Boy? No? Well, lump that in there as well.
IMDB has him attached to 4 deals in development, one of which being (GET READY!!!) Ghost Rider 2! Which creators have said will distance itself from the original as a revamp, not a sequel. Yet, it still stars Cage as the lead. Oh, how I LOVE this man! It simply amazes me what Hollywood will greenlight.

And speaking of hard working, (and by hard-working, I mean shameless self-promotion!) visit my sketch troupe’s Youtube or Facebook and comment/subscribe/hate/love/befriend/never talk to us again/enjoy our attempts at making you laugh!

Things are going to be a little different around here… without Don.

– Brian Clough

The Damned United was not on my radar whatsoever. I never heard of the film until Mike from Big Mike’s Movie Blog reviewed it. I heard that people were digging this movie. Typically, I don’t like sports films, especially soccer. This movie tries to delve into the genius of England’s greatest soccer coach, Brian Clough, but it barely scratches the surface.

In July 1974, Leeds United fail to make the World Cup that year. The most successful manager of the club’s history, Don Revie (Colm Meaney) leaves his post to manage English National Football Team. His successor is the opinionated Brian Clough (Michael Sheen), who has some choice words about Leeds in the past. His new team does not like the new guy.

The action flashes back six years earlier, the days that he was with a fledging team of Derby County with his assistant manager Pete Taylor (Timothy Spall). During random drawing of which teams would square off, second division Derby is selected to play first division Leeds. The Derby team is humiliated by a loss when Leeds team implements dirty tactics to win their games.

This begins a rivalry between the two clubs. If Derby wants to be the best, they have to beat the best by any means necessary. Brian wants to have a player that could help them reach the top of the second division. The management goes with the over the hill, Dave Mackay (Brian McCardie). This swift action causes strife with chairman of the team, Sam Longson (Jim Broadbent).

His new strategy works as the club move up the second division to capture the cup. The nation takes notice about his accomplishment. Revie wants to humiliate Clough as much as he can.

Michael Sheen gave a very good performance in this movie. Some parts of the movie were very good with the self-realization that we good. I wish that the movie focused more on that. It mainly focused on Clough’s obsession with getting back at Revie. When the movie was over, I thought, “That’s it.” It felt like a hanging chad.

Judgment: There is a good movie here. You have to fish for it.

Rating: ***1/2