Sam Sparks (voiced by Anna Faris) and Flint Lockwood (voiced by Bill Hader)

Based on the 1978 children’s book by husband and wife team Judi and Ron Barrett, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs is about an aspiring young inventor named Flint Lockwood. Flint lives on the island sardine fishing town Swallow Falls, which is facing a deep economic depression ever since sardines were declared to be “super gross”. When Flint invents a machine that turns water into food and then accidentally launches that machine into the stratosphere, he inadvertently saves the town when it starts to rain food. However, just when things are looking up for Flint, the food starts to mutate, resulting in bigger and bigger portions falling from the heavens to threaten not only Swallow Falls but the entire world.

Bill Hader energetically provides the voice for Flint and after doing so many scene-stealing comedic supporting roles in films such as Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, Adventureland and Tropic Thunder it is nice to see Hader (well, his voice anyway) getting a lead role. Anna Faris (The House Bunny and The Scary Movie films) is also terrific voicing Sam Sparks, weather presenter and Flint’s love interest. After Princess Fiona’s transformation in Shrek, the moment in Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs when Sam drops her faux ditz act to reveal her inner nerd provides one of the more impressive statements in a family film about what qualities make somebody attractive. Other impressive voice-roles include James Caan as Flint’s distant yet endearing father, Bruce Campbell as Swallow Falls’s corrupt and inept mayor and Mr. T as an over zealous police officer.

The computer-generated animation nicely facilitates the rapid-fire humour and increasingly bizarre spectacle of giant items of food falling from the sky. A lot of attention has been paid to the characters’ facial expressions so that characterisation is not secondary to the action. The humour in Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs is often anarchic, wicked, random and very funny. This is a fun film with a lot of spirit. It is filled with wonderfully dreadful food puns and even effectively parodies disaster films. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs has a lot going for it and it is honestly very difficult to say anything bad about a film that includes a complete throw-away gag where a man rips his own beard off for no good reason.

© Thomas Caldwell, 2009

Read more reviews at MRQE

I could not have imagined these two as once being the best of friends.

In this buddy crime comedy, hard feelings must be set aside when undercover cop Rock Keats (Damon Wayans) is first shot by small-time crook Archie Moses (Adam Sandler), then forced to team up with the bungling oaf when both men are targeted by crime boss Frank Colton (James Caan). Upon Rock’s release from the hospital, he finds out that Colton’s hit men are after him and Archie. High jinks ensue when the dueling duo run from the baddies.

First of all this film’s premise is the same exact premise that I have seen over and over again. Two buddies pull crimes together and one’s actually a cop, oh what a time of inventiveness!

The whole film is not about this over-used premise though, it’s just basically a story that jokes can work out of. The jokes that happen in this movie are rarely ever funny, and are just put in to show if Sandler and Wayans can actually make a good comedy with just their own ad-libbing. However, it fails, with way too many sex and fart jokes this film started to really become an annoyance for me.

The one big problem with this film is that it’s leading actors are very funny in a lot of other material, but in this they don’t show one bit of good chemistry. I didn’t feel like these guys we’re ever once friends in their life. Sandler is funny in this at times, and I found him to be a lot better than Wayans, but really if you think about it Sandler isn’t that much of hard ass to be a drug dealing criminal.

There is one part that I actually thought was fresh when in the beginning of the film I think I saw Wayans accidentally slip up, and how they left it in there. This felt fresh and I wish there was more of this freshness to this film, but every time it get’s knocked back down with lame jokes and even lamer action.

There is one part that I really felt was great and showed how much of a superstar Sandler really is. But I can’t speak about it anymore and let me just show you:

Consensus: Bulletproof features some good stuff from Sandler, but is weighed down by a horrible script, bad chemistry, and an even worse premise.

2/10=SomeOleBullShitt!!!!!!

Photo: Ivan Petrov | Stock.xchng

Dragons love to punt. They love to take risks on relatively unknown entrepreneurs because they see beyond the stammering presentations and overblown financials. They see the person behind the business. Most often than not, their gambles rest solely on the being of the entrepreneur rather than on some tangible resource presented in the den.

For instance, I loved it when Peter Jones punted for a dreadlocked singer and his Jamaican hot sauce; Duncan Bannatyne punted for a woman and her children’s acting school; James Caan punted for a lady and her dog treadmill; Deborah Meaden punted for a guy and his bacteria-killing shower head; and Theo Paphitis punted for a couple and their online gaming alerts. All investments, of course, are punts or gambles, but these particular examples are noteworthy because they seemed almost like lost causes. Other dragons had already declared themselves out. The ones who stayed and invested money into these businesses were the very last ones standing in the den, so they even seemed foolish in throwing money at these chosen businesses, after their fellow dragons’ fiery tirades against the entrepreneurs in question. But punt, they did. And for that, I really wish them a mountain of profits.

Sometimes, all an entrepreneur really needs is just a punt. Another dictionary definition of punt is to “propel with a pole”, which I equate to a slight shove. The truth is, there are so many people out there who could really use a proper punt, an investment into their being rather than into their numbers. I know because I’m one of them.

My current spreadsheets wouldn’t necessarily look attractive to potential investors, but they need to see beyond them. Every single one of my favourite business people swam against the tide. They had nothing going for them, but because of sheer chutzpah, they racked up their numbers in due time. What investors need to remember is that entrepreneurs like me give our loyalty and talent to them 100 percent, if only they’d give us a break. The loyalty and the talent certainly count for something, even when today’s business environment seems to be dictated by nothing more than the usual market conditions. Somewhere in the equation, they have to factor in the human will that will give its all just because it’s overjoyed to receive an affirmation of an investment when all else was lost. And the human will is certainly able to create the missing components of the balance sheet.

That’s why I love punts and the dragons that make them. Watching them strengthens my resolve to make it worth my dragon’s while to invest in CAN-DO!

CLICK HERE TO VIEW

Inspired by Ron and Judi Barrett’s beloved children’s book of the same name, CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS follows inventor Flint Lockwood (voice of Bill Hader) and brainy weathergirl Sam… Inspired by Ron and Judi Barrett’s beloved children’s book of the same name, CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS follows inventor Flint Lockwood (voice of Bill Hader) and brainy weathergirl Sam Sparks (voice of Anna Faris) as they attempt to discover why the rain in their small town has stopped while food is falling in its place. Meanwhile, lifelong bully Brent (voice of Adam Samberg) relishes in tormenting Flint just as he did when they were kids, and Mayor Shelbourne (voice of Bruce Campbell) schemes to use Flint’s latest invention–a device designed to improve everyone’s lives–for his own personal gain. Mr. T. voices by-the-books cop Earl Devereaux, and James Caan voices Flint’s technophobe father, Tim.

Santa’s not the holly jolly soul we all thought he was. He’s actually a demon who lost a bet with an angel, but that bet is over now and Santa’s back to what he does best, madness and mayhem!

Written and Directed by – David Steiman

Starring – Bill Goldberg, Douglas Smith, Emilie de Ravin, Robert Culp, Dave Thomas, Saul Rubinek, Rebecca Gayheart, Chris Kattan, Fran Drescher, Alicia Loren, Annie Sorell, Donna Zuk, Scott Francis Gibson, Tommy ‘Tiny’ Lister, James Caan

This was a great addition to my holiday viewing and a great way to combine my love of horror and Christmas. This is very much a black comedy and was giving me a solid 80’s vibe for some reason. I’m not sure what it was about this one but I really loved it. It was corny, cheesy, funny and full of holiday joy!

It seems that Santa is actually a demon who lost a bet with an angel. We learn that particular part of the story when there’s a stop motion flashback that brings up memories of classic Christmas specials like Rudolph. That was quite easily my favorite part of the film. There’s also a hilarious opening scene where Santa spreads his special kind of love with a very dysfunctional family. A family full of questionable popular stars like Chris Kattan and Fran Drescher. I’m giving James Caan the benefit of the doubt as he’s probably the one truly successful person pulling a cameo in the first scene.

Santa (Bill Goldberg, yeah the former wrestler) has never looked more cool. Dressed more like Viking than seasonal good guy, he tears through the small town on his sleigh pulled by his hell deer causing mayhem and destruction and even stooping as low as smashing a nativity display! I’m not really sure if he was on the hunt for something in particular but he winds up finding it in the angel that had made the original bet with him. This all builds to an over the top finish to the film involving a curling match, some gun-toting townsfolk and a bazooka.

In orasul ChewAndSwallow ploua cu hamburgeri si ninge cu inghetata. Mana cereasca? Nu tocmai: din nori incep sa curga friptane uriase si gogosi-gigant. Sa mori strivit de un carnat, ce soarta cruda si nedreapta. In timp ce personajele se indoapa cu junk food, regizorul ne baga pe gat lectii moralizatoare despre lacomie, reciclare, super-tehnologizare, frumusetea tampa vs. uratenia cu creier. Altminteri animatia e funny & apetisanta, buna de vazut in 3D. Interzis persoanelor la cura de slabire.

imdb

Regia: Phil Lord

Cu: Bill Hader, Anna Faris, James Caan

“Invest in a great person with a great concept, you can always modify the product you can’t modify the entrepreneur.”

So said infamous Dragons’ Den investor James Caan at the Make it Big in 2010 event last weekend. He gave a wonderful speech, charming a captive audience with his quiet humility and gentle self-deprecating humour both of which belie a razor-sharp business mind and a killer instinct for good investments!

This is great advice for investors but what does it mean to you as an entrepreneur?

It means that to attract a potential investor you need two things, a terrific concept and a genuinely affable and credible personality that entices people to believe in you and to want to work with you.

So firstly what constitutes a great concept?

James Caan’s fellow speaker and Rockstar Group MD Jonathan Pfahl put the point very succinctly. He said that in order to determine whether you have hit upon a valuable and investable concept, you should ask yourself the following 2 questions and be able to answer “yes” to both:

1. Does my product create a solution to a problem that is being experienced by a large number of people or businesses right now?
2. What do my competitors have to offer and does my product have 3 unique and beneficial selling points by comparison?

This is an excellent litmus test for every business idea that comes to the mind of any entrepreneur and one that was compounded by the advice of all the speakers over the course of the weekend.

James Caan’s second rule is to only invest in a great person. Being perceived as a great person in business is a twofold affair.

On the one hand you must possess the likeability factor and be charming, calm, focussed, flexible and inspiring.  On the other hand in practical terms you must have an excellent business plan, know your product, niche market and competitors inside out, be able to produce genuine and appealing financial projections and give eloquent answers to any questions from potential investors.

This is a pretty tall order, particularly if, like most people, you are the kind of person who’s natural charm and credibility desert them as soon as they have to stand up and speak in public and the nerves set in!

So, how do you overcome this?

Well the good news is you CAN MODIFY THE ENTREPRENEUR, as long as you do it before you put him in front of the investor!

The prevailing advice from all the speakers from Property Investor and one of Channel 4’s secret millionaires Kevin Green to James Caan himself was, before you even consider pitching your business to an investor, “get a Business Mentor to help you.”

As Jonathan Pfahl said in his speech, a mentor can offer you 4 invaluable assets:

• Experience – they have been there before and made the mistakes for you.
• Guidance – you can use their proven strategies and they will keep you accountable to yourself and your business.
• Contacts – they can give you access to an established network of business contacts who all provide help to one another.
• Honesty – they will tell you if your business idea is worth pursuing or not and save you a lot of time, money and energy!

All the world’s most successful entrepreneurs have a mentor, Bill Gates has Warren Buffett, Richard Branson has Freddie Laker and James Caan’s has his Father.  Who will yours be?

Go to the Rockstar Group website now and book a FREE mentoring session with the Rockstar Mentor of your choice so you can get your business ready for invesment.

http://www.rockstargroup.co.uk/

Laura Hillman

Social Media Consultant

With the upcoming release of director Ti West’s latest horror flick, The House of the Devil, and with all these signs of the upcoming apocalypse, (balloon hoaxes, A-Rod hitting in the post season and David Letterman having sex) we thought it would be a great time to give a few pointers for when Satan actually does take over; so let’s give the devil his due as we come to grips with Beelzebub returning to this plane of existence.

7. Who You Gonna Call?

6. PETS

5. NOISE

4. DÉCOR

3. HOUSEGUESTS

2. PARKING SPOTS

1. OTHER PROBLEMS

También el Variety nos cuenta de que Vera Farmiga y James Caan se unirán con Keanu Reeves en la cinta de “Henry’s Crime”. Esta cinta es una comedia romántica que será dirigida por Malcom Venville (de la cinta 44 inch Chest).

El guión fue hecho por Sacha Gervasi (Anvil! The story of Anvil).

La cinta es el producto de Keanu con su socio Stephen Hamel.

En la cinta, Reeves la hará de un hombre de gran corazón que falsamente es acusado de robar un banco en Buffalo. La película va a comenzar a filmarse en la parte alta de Nueva York a finales de este año.

Farmiga será la chica a conquistar por parte del personaje de Keanu Reeves. Aún no queda claro de que papel tendrá James Caan.

New York, I Love You (2008)
★★ / ★★★★

I’ve been waiting for this movie to be released in theaters for more than a year so I was really excited to see it when it finally was. Unfortunately, out of the ten segments (presented in order of appearances on screen–directed by Jiang Wen, Mira Nair, Shunji Iwai, Yvan Attal, Brett Ratner, Allen Hughes, Shekhar Kapur, Natalie Portman, Fatih Akin and Joshua Marston) only about five worked for me–the second (starring Natalie Portman and Irrfan Khan), the third (Orlando Bloom and Christina Ricci), the fourth (Ethan Hawke and Maggie Q), the fifth (Anton Yelchin, Olivia Thirlby, James Caan and Blake Lively), and the tenth (Eli Wallach and Cloris Leachman).

I really wanted to love this movie as much as “Paris, je t’aime.” What made the first one so great is the fact that even though we encounter so many different genres and tones throughout the picture, it felt cohesive because we truly get a sense of who the characters were in under five to seven minutes. In “New York, I Love You,” it all feels a little bit too commercial. I felt as though it wanted to impress all kinds of people so much to the point where it held back emotionally and avoided taking risks. I’m also astounded by the fact that there were no homosexual storylines, barely any segments consisting of African-American or Latino characters, and most of clips consisted of a person falling in love or lust with another person. There are many dimensions of love (love for the city, love for a pet, love for oneself…) but it didn’t quite think outside the box. Those missing qualities are crucial to me because New York is supposed to be a melting pot of ethnicities, sexualities and mindsets yet we got to see the same kinds of people time and again. With “Paris, je t’aime,” we get diversity and in more than half of them, there was not a happy ending, which I thought was closer to real life than the stories presented in this film.

The five segments that I thought were standouts had a certain passion in every single one of them, whether it’s about a woman who doesn’t quite feel comfortable about getting married; an artist struggling to read one of Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s books and whose curiosity of a woman he’s only met through the phone bothered him to the core; a man who thinks one way about a woman turning out to be someone completely different than we all expected; a teenager who goes to prom with a blind date unknowing of the fact that his date is unlike anyone he expected; and a couple celebrating their marriage that lasted for more than sixty years. Those are the kinds of stories I want to tune into and dissect because hidden layers are embedded in them. What I don’t want to see is someone supposedly falling in love unless he or she has something truly significant or different to contribute. The other five segments that I didn’t quite like should have been taken out and replaced by stories from other genres such as horror or science fiction, or they could have had a different mood or perception such as in a black-and-white reality or featuring a person so wasted in drugs–a way in which we could see the world through their eyes. That would have made more sense to me because we are essentially a drug culture. Or it could have featured at least one fashion model or a fashionista because New York is one of the biggest fashion capitals in the world. Instead of really embracing to tackle issues mentioned previously, the movie was way too safe with those other segments.

Having said all of that, I have to admit that I’m particularly hard on this picture. Since I don’t do half-star ratings, it must be said that I consider this a solid two-and-a-half star movie. When I came out of the theater, I was certain that I was going to give it three stars out of four but after thinking about it a little bit, it made me realize how much potential it didn’t use to create a truly magnificent project. For such a fascinating place like New York City, you just can’t play everything safe and get away with it. At least not with me because I’m big on seeing diversity and reality in certain kinds of films, especially in slice-of-life cinema. I’m not saying at all to not see this in theaters. By all means, please do to support a film released only on limited release. But what I want you to take away from this review is the awareness that what’s being presented on this film is not the gritty and dirty New York but the clean, nice New York we see on a prime time television shows.

Hopefully, the next project from this film series would not be as afraid to branch out.

Wes Anderson start’s out, with the Wilson brothers.

After charismatic but naïve Dignan (Owen Wilson) persuades his pals Bob (Robert Musgrave) and Anthony (Luke Wilson) to rob a bookstore, the trio takes it on the lam. While holing up in a border-town motel, they bungle their way into a big heist orchestrated by a glib gangster (James Caan).

So to start it off I didn’t know what to think of this film at first. I love all Wes Anderson films, and I always put The Royal Tenenbaums as one of my favorite films, and I just wanted to see where Anderson got his start.

This film is basically a heist film, but not really because if you see Wes Anderson films you’ll see why, and how anti-serious his films can get. I felt like the film’s comedy sometimes bordered on sarcastic and dark but overall made some very serious situations funny.

Bottle Rocket has got a lot of Anderson’s charms and wit with the usual corny soundtrack, and very quirky scenes but nothing really connects. I didn’t feel myself connected to a lot of these characters and their situations. I liked Owen Wilson’s character but the central theme and message that lie within all of Anderson’s others doesn’t really come out here.

The film is incredibly talky throughout. In most films I like it when the characters talk and interact with one another, as I feel it sort of humanizes them. However, Bottle Rocket doesn’t really have much thought about it’s dialogue. A lot of stuff is given to Owen Wilson and it’s used pretty well, but these conversations aren’t very witty or important at all, and I didn’t find myself interested in them talking as much.

Bottle Rocket gets saved from it’s cast however. Owen Wilson does a great job at playing this kind-of slacker guy who doesn’t want to always stay home and do nothing, but go out and do stuff, only that stuff happens to robbing places. He creates a character that is not very likable but soon starts to win you over, as he continues to show more character in a lot his desperate situations. Luke Wilson does a very exceptional job at playing the recently crazy brother as well.

Consensus: Bottle Rocket isn’t very likable but features an impressive debut from Director Wes Anderson and the Wilson brothers.

5.5/10=Rentalll!!!

It’s my pleasure to invite you to attend this prestigious event featuring experts and entrepreneurs who are charged to speak on the topic “How To Make It Big In 2010″.
Included in the line-up is James Caan (Dragons Den), Mike Harris (Egg, Firstdirect), Roger Hamilton (Wealth Dynamics), Kevin Green (Secret Millionaire), Penny Power (Ecademy), Feisal Nahaboo (ProBiz), Steve Bolton (Platinum Property Partners) and many others too.
The first 300 tickets are for sale at £59 each. After the hundred tickets have sold, you will still have access to the early-bird rate of £79 for one more week.
Click here to book your tickets: http://tinyurl.com/yz5fscl

The speaker line-up is world class and the topics that they will address are the questions that entrepreneurs are asking right now – How to Make It BIG In 2010 and In The New Economy.
Best Regards,
 
Trevor Aird
 
 
P.S The last event (Dan Bradburys Super conference), I went to was incredibly inspiring and really gave me a lift. Also you meet some incredible people there that share your vision and could help you fulfill your dreams.
 
P.P.S. I will be there! Wouldn’t miss it. I’m going to try and get my photo taken with James Caan.
Topher Morisson is a good friend of mine (and a great speaker by the way) , so hopefully I will get introduced.
 
Click here to book your tickets: http://tinyurl.com/yz5fscl 
Let me know if you are going!

En el Nueva York de los años 40, el negocio del hampa sigue su curso. La familia Corleone, comandada por su Don, Vito, controla a los políticos y los jueces. Bien lo sabe Sollozzo, ‘El Turco’, un narcotraficante con ganas de insuflar aire en el mercado de la droga, pidiéndole a Don Vito su alianza en tal negocio.

El rechazo de Don Vito, un hombre demasiado clásico para meterse en ese mundo, desembocará en un enfrentamiento directo entre Sollozzo y la familia que lo secunda, los Tattaglia, y los Corleone. ¿El plan? Eliminar a Don Vito para que su hijo, Santino y su Consigliere Tom Hagen, más dados al negocio de la droga, acepten el trato. Craso error, tras el ataque al Don, su hijo Santino, el más impulsivo de todos, tomará el mando de la familia y lanzará todo su poder contra los Tattaglia y ‘El Turco’, materializando el plan en la figura de Michael.

La cena entre Szozsa y Michael Corleone, ese inocente muchacho héroe de guerra, abrirá un antes y un después en el transcurrir del film. Nos trasladaremos a los orígenes sicilianos con el destierro de Michael, y a lo cruel de la guerra con Santino en Nueva York. Se entrará en una espiral de violencia en la que los Corleone se sentirán solos, enfrentándose a todas las familias y con un instigador oculto, Barzini y su familia, quiénes tratan de arrebatar ese poder político y judicial a los Corleone.

La vuelta de Michael tras la muerte de Santino servirá para solucionar las viejas rencillas. Don Vito, ejercerá de Consigliere, le informará a Michael de lo que se le viene encima. Y Michael trazará y planificará. Todo diseñado. Punto por punto. Sin ningún cabo suelto. Con sus miras en Las Vegas, lejos de Nueva York, pero poniendo los puntos sobre las íes antes de marchar.

No hace falta decir que es el mejor final de la historia del cine. También es la mejor película de la historia del cine. Por ello, quizás resulta vacuo tratar de hablar sobre ella. Sobre una Diosa del Olimpo, sobre algo no terrenal. Imposible hablar sobre su perfección. No he nombrado a Connie ni su desgarrador lloro, ni de su marido, Carlo. Tampoco del débil de Freddo. Poco del siempre correcto Tom. Nada de la Mamma, ni de Johnny Fontana. Tampoco de Clemenza y Tessio. Ni de Kay, esa mujer que ve nacer el monstruo con lentitud. Simplemente, es imposible, hay que verla y dejarse llevar. Coppola nos ha retratado el mundo de la mafia tal como es. Se ha metido de lleno, no dejando ni un sólo punto a la imaginación. Calco tremendo de lo que es una familia de la cosa nostra.

Dicen que ‘El Padrino’ es puro sentimiento. Y es verdad. Es el mejor estudio sociológico que se ha hecho sobre una familia, sobre el amor, la fraternidad, el cariño, el honor, la nobleza, la sed de venganza, la serenidad, la supervivencia, la calma, la tormenta, la ira, el engaño y que se yo que cosas más.  Todo ello visualizado desde la perfección narrativa, desde la mano de Coppola en la dirección pasando por lo sublime del guión de Mario Puzo o lo excelso de la fotografía. Qué decir de la música de Nino Rota. En fin, vean ‘El Padrino’. Imposible arrepentirse.

Here is the link to secure your place http://tinyurl.com/MIB2010C-S

If you are the type of person who is already looking forward to the year ahead and making plans and setting goals this event is a must see.

The event is headlined by James Caan from Dragons Den and Kevin Green from The Secret Millionaire.

There are 10 speakers over 2 days who will each give their expert opinions on “How to Make it Big in 2010” and “How to Make it Big in The New Economy”

These speakers have access to the best advisors in the UK as well as decades of experience.  They all have consistent track records in making it big in their field.

The first 300 tickets for this incredible 2 day event (7th – 8th November) will be discounted to £59 (from £128) and will be available from Monday 5th October

El Dorado (Howard Hawks, 1967)

* ½

If you like movies where a bunch of old people stand around and talk and talk and talk, you should check this out.  There is a sheriff (Robert Mitchum) and a cowboy (John Wayne) and a man with a knife (James Caan) and a lot of other people.  The cowboy shoots a boy, and then all of the people talk about how he shot the boy and what they should do about it.  Then a girl shoots the cowboy and everyone discusses it for longer than a nap.  The sheriff drinks too much milk and gets a tummy ache which makes him forget to shave and take a bath and change his clothes.  An old man shoot at the bell that makes the bad guys cry and then the sheriff remembers to take a bath.

Mom was sleepy and went to bed.  Dad stopped the movie twice because I was hungry.  There are no babies, some horsies, and a lot of talking about doing things.

In the city that never sleeps, love is always on the mind. Those passions come to life in New York, I Love You – a collaboration of storytelling from some of today’s most imaginative filmmakers and featuring an all-star cast. Together they create a kaleidoscope of the spontaneous, surprising, electrifying human connections that pump the city’s heartbeat. Sexy, funny, haunting and revealing encounters unfold beneath the Manhattan skyline. From Tribeca to Central Park to Brooklyn the story weaves a tale of love as diverse as the very fabric of New York itself

Por Verônica Gonçalves

Título: Dogville

Em um cenário semelhante a um palco em que as determinações dos espaços são feitas por riscos no chão, Lars Von Trier começa a fazer sua crítica ao estilo de vida vendido pelo capitalismo. Tanto o espectador quanto a protagonista Grace vão se surpreendendo com a capacidade do ser humano de explorar as desgraças do outro.

O ritmo lento do filme faz com que mergulhemos na narrativa e o cenário se torna uma metáfora para o descaso do homem para com o seu semelhante, ou seja, aquela história de fingir que não sabe de nada quando o assunto é sério, um comodismo.

O diretor explora o que existe de pior no ser humano. Para alcançar seu objetivo constrói os personagens carregados de simbolismos que variam desde os nomes até os livros que lêem (como Tom Sayer no começo do filme).

Sinopse: Primeiro volume da série “EUA – Terra das oportunidades”. Nos anos 1930 a jovem Grace tenta escapar de um grupo de gângters e pede abrigo na cidade de Dogville. Os moradores aceitam a moça porque ela se dispõe a trabalhar, mas quanto mais intensa fica a busca por ela, mais a cidade exige dela. Ideologia: Crítica ao estilo de vida capitalista.

Diretor e Roteirista: Lars Von Trier

Nascido em 1956 na Dinamarca desde os dez anos ele se interessava por cinema. Fez seus primeiros curtas na década de 1970 em um grupo de diretores de cinema amadores.

Os longa-metragens vieram após a conclusão do curso de Cinema, em 1984. A preocupação com a estética norteia o diretor, que utiliza os recursos técnicos de maneira até milimétrica.

No começo da carreira estava tão centrado em suas idéias que lidava com os atores como se eles fossem peças de um jogo de xadrez (“Elemento do crime”, “Epidemia”, “Europa”). Cansado disso, Trier passou a usar câmeras de mão nas filmagens (“Ondas do destino”, “Os idiotas”) até o aparecimento das digitais (“Dançando no escuro”, “Dogville”, “Manderlay, “Anticristo”).

Localização de tempo e espaço: Durante a Grande Depressão (anos 1930), numa cidade fictícia, pequena e isolada localizada nas Montanhas Rochosas chamadas Dogville.

Recomendação de idade: A classificação etária é a partir de 16 anos.

Elenco:

• Nicole Kidman (Grace)

• Ben Gazzara (Jack McKay)

• Philip Baker Hall (Tom Edison Sr.)

• Siobhan Fallon (Martha)

• John Hurt (Narrador – voz)

• Udo Kier (Homem de casaco)

• Chloë Sevigny (Liz Henson)

• Stellan Skarsgard (Chuck)

• Miles Purinton (Jason)

• Harriet Andersson (Gloria)

• Lauren Bacall (Ma Ginger)

• Jean-Marc Barr (Homem com grande chapéu)

• Paul Bettany (Tom Edison)

• Blair Brown (Sra. Henson)

• James Caan (Homem grande)

• Patricia Clarkson (Vera)

• Jeremy Davies (Bill Henson)

Assista também:

• Manderlay (continuação de Dogville)

• Beleza Americana

• Foi apenas um sonho

Fontes: Biografia Lars Von Trier / Wikipedia 

Alien Nation 1988 Movie Poster

 

Alien Nation is a 1988 science fiction film written by Rockne S. O’Bannon and directed by Graham Baker. It stars James Caan, Mandy Patinkin, Terence Stamp, Leslie Bevis and Kevyn Major Howard.

Tagline: Prepare Yourself.

The following year, the film’s plot concept was used as the basis for a television series of the same name, which premiered in 1989 and ran for a single season. A comic book series and book series were started when it looked like it might never return to television. Finally in 1994, the first of five television movies was produced as a continuation of the series.

Syfy is planning a new Alien Nation television series.

Mandy Patinkin and James Caan

Trivia:

• The alien character played by Mandy Patinkin was originally going to be named George Jetson but Hanna-Barbera wouldn’t give the rights to the name. The decision to call his character ‘George’ in the movie was kept as an in-joke.
• Jerry Goldsmith’s synthetic and score was rejected early in post production for being “too weird” and replaced with music by Curt Sobel. Jerry Goldsmith’s rejected score was released in Spring 2005 as a Varese Sarabande CD Club Release limited to 3000 copies.
• The October 1987 draft of the screenplay credits a rewrite to James Cameron. He is not credited in the final film.
• The trailer shows a portion of a fight scene between George and Rudyard Kipling with a burning car in the background, meaning that in an earlier edit Kipling exits the car before it explodes (you see him regain consciousness at one point with a groan) and then fights with George. This would also explain why it is that Sykes compliments George on showing “some good moves back there”.
• When George is comforting the old woman a poster of former boxing champion Sugar Ray Leonard can be seen hanging next to the Pepsi cooler.

Amazon Specials

Make Up Department
  Janice Alexander … hair stylist
  David Anderson … alien makeup effects
  Grant Arndt … sculptor: Stan Winston Studios
  John Blake … alien makeup effects
  Roger Borelli … alien makeup effects
  Katalin Elek … makeup artist
  Zoltan … alien makeup applier
  Zoltan … makeup artist
  John Elliott … alien makeup applier
  John Elliott … makeup artist
  John M. Elliott Jr. … makeup co-department head
  Greg Figiel … alien makeup effects
  Steve Frakes … alien makeup effects
  Mark Garbarino … alien makeup effects
  Emilio M. Gonzales … alien makeup effects
  Jeff Kennemore … alien makeup effects
  Makio Kida … alien makeup effects
  Eryn Krueger … alien makeup effects
  Richard J. Landon … alien makeup effects
  Karen Mason … alien makeup effects
  Michael Mills … makeup artist
  Brian Penikas … alien makeup effects
  John Price … alien makeup effects
  Matt Rose … prosthetic painter
  Russell Seifert … alien makeup effects
  Michael Spatola … alien makeup effects
  Michiko Tagawa … alien makeup effects
  Mike Trcic … alien makeup effects
  Monty Westmore … makeup artist
  Kenny Myers … makeup artist (uncredited)