Bradley Cooper–a leading hotterson?

APPEARANCE: 4

I: Bradley Cooper is fine, dude! He’s so classically gorge with his sexy blondish hair and blue eyes. He’s very California to me, all tan and square-jawed and the like. And I like that he’s kind of been under the radar for a while so he’s fine without being on the cover of every People magazine or whatever. His nonsense with Scarlett Johansson in HJNTIY was almost forgivable he was so fine! I’d give him my number too.

L: I do NOT find Bradley Cooper attractive! He looks fake! I was surprised that Jennifer Connelly and Scar.Jo would fight over him in HJNTIY. He looks too short and preppy for me, and his face is too triangular. But I can see how people would be into his pointy face.

I: Wait a minute, WHAT?? I can’t belee your stern, matter-of-fact tone re: “I do NOT find Bradley Cooper attractive!” With an exclamation and all! OHEMGEE and you get all hot and bothered for Seth Rogen. I’m DYEENG here.

L: LOL – I will never live down Seth Rogen’s 4!

PORTFOLIO: 3

L: Wasn’t he Ben in Wet Hot American Summer? If yes, I approve of that. I want him to do more stuff like that that downplays his looks. Then I might find him more attractive. I definitely give him props for kissing Michael Ian Black.

I: Yes! He had sex with Michael Ian Black in WHAS and it was awesome. He’s buds with MIB and M.Show in real life, man! I think he was in one of their Stella sketches. That’s extra fine because that means he’s foxy AND funny/cool enough to hang out with those dudes. Ugh, I’m like orgasming all over the place. He really needs to take it up a notch with a classic romcom or something to really solidify him as a leading hotterson of 2009-2010.

CHOICES: 3

I: I think it’s inevitable that as his fame grows, he’ll become more sleazy with the ladies! He’s already rumored to be humping Jennifer Aniston, and of course, she didn’t deny it but HE made a John Mayer-esque public statement about how he’s NOT dating Jen.An. Why do dudes feel he need to publicly dismiss her left and right? Anyway, he’s kind of a flooz and has also been rumored to be with Cameron Diaz and Renee Zellweger. Meh. However! He’s from PA and has an English degree from Georgetown. E! Be in my study group, B.Coop!

L: Why are all these dudes hatin’ on J.An? They don’t know shit about fuck. That only loses him points. If he had stood, loud and proud, and screamed, “I love this woman and I don’t care who knows it!” about J.An on the screen at a baseball game, I would find him more attractive.

PERSONALITY: 3

L: Well, since you painted him as a hornball in the last section, I see him roaming the Ultimate Party, searching for young girls to snare with his charms and then tosses their number way post-whoopee, a la Troy Dyer. Those young girls = us! But I refuse to be caught up in his young, California George Clooney ways! Maybe if he brought J. An as his date and was devoted and true to her all night, I would find him more attractive.

I: What if you refused to invite B.Coop and then at the UP, M.Show and MIB are like, “Wait, wait… London didn’t invite B.Coop? What’s up with that?”? And then M.Show and MIB looked at each other and subtly rolled their eyes and nodded toward the door and were like, “We’re outta here!” and dropped their red plastic cups on the floor?? Bradley Cooper can use ME in the boudoir while you’re entertaining the rest of our guests and you’d be none the wiser! I say, let him stay, man.

L: OMG NO! I don’t want Michael Showalter and Michael Ian Black scoffing at me for scoffing at Bradley! Okay, fine, you take one for the team and do B.C. while I juggle for the rest of the fine-ass guests.

ROMANTIC POTENTIAL: 3.5

I: Maybe B.Coop denied dating Jen.An because they’re just good friends and he didn’t want to ruin his friendship with her? True, it would be foxier if these dudes said something, “I wish! I’m not that lucky!” when the media claimed they were dating Jen.An and charmed the masses with their humble ways. But still, I think he’d be foxy in bed even if he DID toss my number off the deck as he left my house. I’ll risk it!

L: I can see him being good in bed if you’re into him… Oh, me. I’m going to look at a series of B.Coop pics and try to picture it… Hmm. Okay, he’s not that bad looking when he appears rugged. He’s still too pointy for me. But it’s too late for this assessment! At any rate, I admit he does seem like he’d be a good boyfriend to whoever he’s with.

SUGGESTIONS

L: Look rugged more often. Get dumped by Jennifer Aniston. Have more sex with Michael Ian Black.

I: BWA. I suggest he really play up his leading man potential. Make me swoon!

FINAL GRADE: 16.5/25 B

Lucy Hill ist eine Karriere-Frau: In einem großen Unternehmen in Miami befindet sie sich als einzige Frau unter den Männern auf der Karriereleiter nach oben. Im Gegenzug lebt sie als Single allein in einem großen, luxuriösen Haus am Strand. Ihre Ungebundenheit ist dann auch Schuld daran, dass sie von einer auf die andere Minute nach Minnesota abkommandiert wird, um dort die ortsansässige Fabrik umzustrukturieren und Arbeitsplätze abzubauen. Halb so wild, denkt sich die zielstrebige Lucy, immerhin winkt nach getaner Arbeit eine Beförderung. Doch erstmal hat der Stadtmensch in Stöckelschuhen und Designerkostüm mit der Kälte und den Gepflogenheiten im verschneiten Örtchen New Ulm zu kämpfen. Während sie von einigen Bewohnern direkt herzlich aufgenommen wird, erntet sie von den Fabrikmitarbeitern nur Spott und Missgunst. Immerhin können die sich denken, warum Lucy hier ist. Doch im Laufe der Zeit gewöhnt sich die Stadtgöre an die Harmonie im ländlichen Minnesota, außerdem verguckt sie sich in Ted, den Gewerkschaftsvertreter. Mit dem hatte sie zwar alles andere als einen guten Start, aber mit der Zeit kommen sich die Beiden immer näher. Bei all dem gerät Lucys Job immer mehr in den Hintergrund, bis sie sich ihrer Aufgabe doch stellen muss.

Jemand kommt gezwungenermaßen in eine neue Stadt in die er überhaupt nicht passt. Erstmal kommt es zu allerhand skurriler Situationen die das unter Beweis stellen und dann merkt der Neue, dass doch alles halb so schlimm ist und er sich sogar wohl fühlt. Wem kommt das bekannt vor? Mir kam beim Anblick dieses Films jedenfalls sofort „Willkommen bei den Sch´tis“ in den Sinn. Was in diesem Erfolgsfilm aber total witzig war und richtig Tiefgang hatte, bleibt hier eine oberflächliche Sache mit Menschen ohne Charakterzeichnung. Das wird bereits zu Anfang deutlich: Schon nach wenigen Minuten reist die Hauptfigur – wie heißt die noch mal und was macht die genau in ihrem Job? Egal, wir wissen nur dass sie gerne Stöckelschuhe und schicke Kostüme trägt – ins kalte Minnesota. Damit geht es blitzschnell in die Geschichte rein und der Zuschauer hat kaum Gelegenheit Luft zu holen. Erst nach und nach schaffen es einige der skurrilen Szenen zu unterhalten. Doch Renee Zellweger, die mit ihrer schrecklichen Frisur und einem „War-die-nicht-mal-hübscher-Gesicht“ nicht gerade Sympathien weckt, schafft es nicht die Herzen zu erobern, wie sie es beispielsweise in „Bridget Jones“ getan hat. Die Handlung ist auch im Folgenden viel zu flach und unausgereift. Dementsprechend sind auch die Figuren ohne echten Tiefgang. Die Hauptdarsteller dürfen zwar in einer kleinen Szene ihre bewegte Vergangenheit zum Besten geben, aber das reicht leider nicht aus. Stattdessen nimmt die Geschichte einen vorhersehbaren, wenig originellen und erst recht nicht glaubwürdigen Verlauf. Aus all diesen Gründen halten sich die Lacher bei witzig gemeinten Szenen auch stark in Grenzen. Wie will man auch mit so lieblos gezeichneten Figuren herzhaft mitlachen? Bei so welchen ist es den Zuschauern nämlich einfach egal, was mit ihnen passiert. Meist setzen die Filmemacher auf das unpassende Stolzieren von Lucy trotz Kälte, Frost und Schnee, aber das vermag es nicht, über 90 Minuten bei der Stange zu halten. Das Einzige was diesem Film unterm Strich abzugewinnen wäre, ist die nette Idee, zu Zeiten der Wirtschaftskrise und des Stellenabbaus etwas – wenn auch zu süße und glatte – Hoffnung darauf zu geben, dass es auch anders kommen kann. Aber dennoch mangelt es diesem Streifen an einer Menge, das kann auch die frohe Botschaft nicht wirklich wettmachen.

New in Town startet am Donnerstag in den deutschen Kinos.

2 von 6 Sternen (**)

You’re going to have to excuse the rather frightful poster if there ever was one. It is however entirely relevant to its morbidity, Pandorum definitely lives up to the hype of its horror, especially with a tagline such as ‘Don’t fear the end of the world. Fear what happens next.’ The German/American sci-fi horror was one of the better films I’ve had the pleasure of seeing within the last couple of months, and definitely worth a look at. But why?

Pandorum is one of those fist-clenching, mind-warping, jump inducing films where you are literally on the edge of your seat for a good minute at a time. Directed by newcomer Christian Alvart, whose only earlier works include ‘Curiosity & The Cat‘ and ‘Antibodies‘, but who will also be directing the upcoming ‘Case 39‘ featuring Renée Zellweger. Filming staff also includes Paul W. S. Anderson, director and writer of ‘Alien VS Predator‘, and Jeremy Bolt, both the producers of the ‘Resident Evil‘ trilogy. Stick AVP and Resident Evil in a blender and what do you get? Pandorum. Throw in a little sprinkle of ‘Sunshine‘, and you have the complete movie smoothie. However, was it a good idea to put all of their eggs in one basket? I’m afraid it wasn’t entirely. Many gamers are calling it a Dead Space wannabe.

The plot of Pandorum, a rather nice one at that for sci-fi fans, is set around the human race overpopulating the Earth. As a result, the first sleeper ship to head for Earth’s replacement, Tanis, holds 60,000 humans, except as the film opens up… You can’t see any of them. It is notably a unique blend of psychological thrills combined with action packed sequences filmed in classic, sci-fi grated-floor corridors. At times, Pandorum forces you question your OWN sanity, and explores some of the deep-rooted fears within its viewers. Specifically some of the more frightening fears which often take host, such as; a fear of the dark, loneliness, claustrophobia, lack of memory and it definitely plays upon those fears throughout the film. However whilst it was excellent in provoking thought, it was not exceptionally well constructed, despite the fact there was a plot (unlike most films these days!). This, alongside its lack of publicity, marketing and such may have been why it didn’t even make half of it’s $40 million budget.

A good film if you’re a sci-fi-aholic, or even if you enjoy video games, harnessing a strange familiarity to a first person shooter. However if you’re not that into chasing and racing in space, this isn’t the film for you. A possible DVD buy.

You’re going to have to excuse the rather frightful poster, if there ever was one. It is however entirely necessary in its morbidity, Pandorum definitely lives up to the hype of its horror, especially with a tagline such as ‘Don’t fear the end of the world. Fear what happens next.’ The German/American sci-fi horror was one of the better films I’ve had the pleasure of seeing within the last couple of months, and definitely worth a look at. But why?

Pandorum is one of those fist-clenching, mind-warping, jump inducing films where you are literally on the edge of your seat for a good minute at a time. Directed by newcomer Christian Alvart, whose only earlier works include ‘Curiosity & The Cat‘ and ‘Antibodies‘, but who will also be directing the upcoming ‘Case 39‘ featuring Renée Zellweger. Filming staff also includes Paul W. S. Anderson, director and writer of ‘Alien VS Predator‘, and Jeremy Bolt, both the producers of the ‘Resident Evil‘ trilogy. Stick AVP and Resident Evil in a blender and what do you get? Pandorum, throw in a little sprinkle of ‘Sunshine‘, and you have the complete movie smoothie. However, was it a good idea to put all of their eggs in one basket? I’m afraid it wasn’t entirely. Many gamers are calling it a Dead Space wannabe.

The plot of Pandorum, a rather nice one at that for sci-fi fans, is set around the human race overpopulating the Earth. As a result, the first sleeper ship to head for Earth’s replacement, Tanis, holds 60,000 humans, except as the film opens up… You can’t see any of them. It is notably a unique blend of psychological thrills, which at times forces you question your OWN sanity, combined with action packed sequences filmed in classic sci-fi hallways. Pandorum explores some of the deep-rooted fears within its viewers. Specifically some of the more frightening fears which often take host, such as; a fear of the dark, loneliness, claustrophobia, lack of memory and it certainly plays upon those fears throughout the film. However whilst it was excellent in provoking thought, it was not exceptionally well constructed, despite the fact there was a plot. This, alongside its lack of publicity, marketing and such may have been why it didn’t even make half of it’s $40 million budget.

A good film if you’re a sci-fi-aholic, or even if you enjoy video games, harnessing a strange familiarity to a first person shooter. However if you’re not that into chasing and racing in space, this isn’t the film for you. A possible DVD buy.

]]> http://cinemacuts.com/2009/11/23/down-with-love/ Mon, 23 Nov 2009 14:29:09 +0000 cinemacuts http://cinemacuts.com/2009/11/23/down-with-love/ done

‘Can I help you out with that trash?’

I heard a voice over my shoulder and, sure enough, when I looked up it was Gwyneth Paltrow on a break from up-dating her website, GOOP.

I knew very well she was being ironic. Certainly, she seemed quite tickled by the notion of it. So I left my chore and invited her into my mouse house.

After I’d washed my hands I got some fish fingers out of the fridge. They can defrost together, I thought as I welcomed her warmly.

Gwynnie is a piece of alabaster perfection and she can do long and short hair, as she showed us in Sliding Doors. I asked for some beauty tips, which she surrendered gracefully.

Nevertheless, she roundly dismissed my offer to paint her nails, with a snort through her elegant nose.

‘Do you prefer Luke or Owen Wilson?’ I asked, referring to her roles in the Wes Anderson films.

‘Oh, I couldn’t possibly choose between them,’ she replied coyly.

‘I could,’ I revealed. ‘Owen. More chamomile tea?’

We went for a walk around Ravenscourt Park so she could get some air. She seemed to relax a little but I have to admit I was quite annoyed because she was wearing sunglasses so no-one knew who she was.

She told me about how she thinks shampoo gives children cancer and how she bounces on a trampoline to sculpt the fabulous skyscraper heel legs that tell the world she’s sexy even though she’s the mother of Moses and a piece of fruit.

‘And Chris- well, he’s so talented. He takes his music very seriously,’ she opened up.

‘Do you think he takes quite a lot of stuff seriously?’ I asked, trying to widen my eyes.

‘No, not at all,’ she replied very seriously. ‘Chris has got a fantastic sense of humour. Just this morning over breakfast he was saying something really funny… Now what was that?’

I let her flail around like a weighted puppy for what seemed like an eternity before blowing the whistle and diving in with a basic bacon and egg gag, at which she laughed so hard I began to wonder if she really does find Chris a bit of a card.

I could tell right from the get-go that she wasn’t going to dish the dirt- she’s not desperate enough, having been born into fame and privilege.

So I took the liberty of switching off and playing ’shag, marry, cliff’, teaming her up with Jennifer and Angelina, seeing as they all like a bit of Brad Pitt.

It was a no-brainer she was ‘marry’- hell, I’d already managed to spend a few hours in her company without really listening. The other two were easy as well: ’shag’ Jen and ‘cliff’ Angelina (playing the rules by my original understanding of them, whereby ‘cliff’ is the person you are so crazy about you would be willing to jump off one with them).

When I came round, Gwynnie was talking about Anna Wintour and I regretted not paying attention. She said Anna started inviting her to lunches with John Galliano after her Oscar win and reckoned it was because the Queen of Vogue admired her work.

I let it slide. But it got me thinking about Shakespeare in Love.

‘Joseph Fiennes is quite intense but don’t you think his eyes are too close together?’ I asked, hungry for her professional opinion.

‘I was so blessed to work with Jo. He’s a giant of an actor,’ she replied.

‘Wow. Taller than Tim Robbins?’ I asked.

I think I got the wrong end of the stick but I knew she was relieved I didn’t allude to her acceptance speech debacle.

Instead, I praised her English accent and told her she was much better than Renee Zellweger, who sounds like she’s being goosed by the President but can’t let on.

Gwynnie found this remark distasteful. Angelina had warned me that she was a cut above but did I listen? No.

‘Have some of my Mum’s fruit cake with a thin layer of Lurpak butter on it,’ I suggested as she gathered her mobile phones to leave.

In reply to which- and oh, please God, may I never feel so wrong again- she gave me a look that still sends shivers down my spine.

‘I’m not sure I get you, Sophie,’ she said eventually, as she let two bodyguards help her on with her trainers. ‘But probing characters is my vocation so I’m going to take you to bed with me for a few nights to see what I can figure out.’

O.K, I thought.

As long as you don’t mind Jennifer Aniston joining us.

Cuando uno piensa en George Clooney generalmente uno piensa en actor, sin emabrgo si uno es atento y revisa bien los créditos de las pelis se puede dar uno cuenta que Clooney igualmente es productor, generalmente, de las pelis en las que él actúa y una que otra peli independiente (generalmente son pelis bien entretenidas), es escritor de una (Good Night, and Good Luck) y también es director.

Hoy estuve revisando y resulta ser que me he visto las tres pelis de Clooney y en su orden cronológico. Confessions of a Dangerous Mind de 2002 basada en la novela de Chuck Barris y con el guión de Charlie Kaufman, Good Night, and Good Luck de 2005 que lo llevó incluso a varias nominaciones al Oscar de La Academia y Leatherheads de 2008.

Como actor es garantía de una peli entretenida, a veces con humor fino y otras veces con dramas bastante crudos. Como escritor se toma demasiado serio las cosas y no lo hace naturalmente entonces se siente un poco acartonanado o ladrilludo y como director pues ha sido una loma en bajada. Su primera peli, de la mano de Kaufman me pareció un éxito como producto, su segunda es interesante, es contestataria pero repito un poco muy seria y acartonada. En esta su tercera, vuelve a relajarse un poco, haciendo comedia junto Renée Zellweger, Jonathan Pryce y John Krasinski pero no es una peli que uno vaya a destacar mucho en el futuro.

La banda sonora es impecable, así como el vestuario y los parlamentos que hacen una ambientación de excelente factura. Un detalle de fina coquetería fue usar la marca de Universal Pictures de la época, sin embargo los créditos estuvieron más bien mediocres.

La peli aguanta un domingo pero seguro Clooney es mejor actor y productor ejecutivo que director hasta ahora con lo que ha venido mostrando. No conozco más proyectos en el futuro que no sean actorales. Yo le pongo fé para que ojalá le vuelva a sonar la flauta.

The cast of "Nine"; image courtesy of newsinfilm.com

I saw Precious today and want to talk about it length, but need to process what I saw. I’d also like to get to Push, Sapphire’s book on which the movie was based at some point before the end of the year. For now, I’ll say this. I didn’t love it but I did like it, thought Gabourey Sidibe and Mo’Nique were great, was heartened that my matinee screening had a good and diverse turnout, and think you should see it. But you may want to see it with someone and encourage your local theater to have a safe space where people can go if the movie becomes too intense or touches on frought emotions or horrible memories.

For the time being, I thought I’d mention the preview of a coming attraction. Nine, Rob Marshall’s screen adaptation of Arthur Kopit, Mario Fratti, and Maury Yeston’s musical (itself an adaptation of Federico Fellini’s 8 1/2), comes out next week. You can view the trailer here.

So, I know very little about this musical. I only recently discovered the origins of its source material, which I haven’t seen (though, based on my less-than-enthusiastic viewings of La Dolce Vita and I Vitelloni don’t hold high hopes for it, unless Fellini allowed for self-deprication in his autobiographical film the way that Bob Fosse did in All That Jazz, a movie of a similar mold that I love). Beyond that, I knew Raul Julia starred in its Broadway debut back in 1982, the original production won many Tonys, and once heard someone sing “Unusual Way” at a family friend’s wedding, which is a really cryptic song choice for such a ceremony.

As for the film adaptation, I know the players. Rob Marshall directed Chicago and is at the helm here. Daniel Day Lewis plays Guido Contini, a tortured director. The women who populate his life are considerable — Marion Cotillard plays his wife, Penélope Cruz his mistress, Nicole Kidman his muse, Stacey Ferguson (aka Duchess Fergie Ferg) a whore he once knew, and Kate Hudson a fashion writer whose character has a song that was written for the movie. Oh, and Judi Dench is Contini’s costume designer and confidant.

So, I totally suspect a two-hour version of Julio Iglesias’s “To All The Girls I’ve Loved Before” with generous dashes of love for the authorial presence of male film directors. Also, I think this trailer gives you virtually no insight into what this story is about.

That said, I totally want to see this movie because:

1) I’m always interested in film musicals, whether they are good, bad, screen adaptations of stage musicals, or screen adaptations of stage musicals of feature films. Yes, this means I saw Hairspray and didn’t hate it as much as many of my movie geek friends did. But those matters should be saved for another post. 

2) Unlike many people who hated Chicago (several of whom I suspect feel Marty or Roman got robbed out of a Best Picture Oscar for Gangs of New York or The Pianist), I actually enjoyed it. I felt the adaptation stayed true to the source material, deftly staged sequences that are actually going on in the protagonist’s mind, and felt like Catherine Zeta Jones, Queen Latifah, and John C. Reilly were great. I even enjoyed Renée Zellweger and Richard Gere, actors whom I otherwise would rather not watch in a movie. My only real complaint (which Jon Stewart shares), was that Bebe Neuwirth, who won a Tony for her portrayal of Velma Kelly was replaced by Zeta Jones. Otherwise, bring it.

3) Daniel Day Lewis can sing? The same guy who apparently prepared for There Will Be Blood by recording his character’s voice using early 20th century phonographic technology? I am there.

d) I’m fascinated by the presence of female pop stars in contemporary film musicals. As the golden age of film musicals has long since passed, it seems like the ones that do make it to the screen need a familiar face and voice, and they are almost always women with celebrated recording careers. Just as I wondered what Madonna brought to Evita, Queen Latifah brought to Chicago, and Beyoncé and Jennifer Hudson brought to Dreamgirls, so too am I curious what Fergie is going to bring to Nine. While detractors might snigger that it’s fitting for the woman who sang “My Humps” and “London Bridge” to play a whore, I’ll counter that she’s the only singer we hear in the trailer. Yes, that’s her singing “Be Italian.”

e) In the movie, I’m interested in seeing a whore play a teacher to our genius director protagonist man. In real life, I advocate the decriminalization of prostitution and would like sex workers to get worker rights and benefits.

f) While I worry that these women are going to be portrayed as long-suffering, one-dimensional objects of Condini’s affection, I want to see a movie that boasts so many actresses. I haven’t seen this many women in an ensemble since I saw Cruz in Pedro Almodóvar’s Volver (note: Cruz is also starring in Almodóvar’s Broken Embraces and I can’t wait for it to start playing in Austin). 

As an aside, the gossip enthusiast in me is also curious about Cruz and Kidman starring in a movie together. Ever since Tom Cruise split with Nicole Kidman and dated Cruz, I always wonder what their interactions are like every time they show up on a magazine cover together. It’s a catty curiosity, but a curiosity nonetheless. I wonder how they would be portrayed in a movie about Tom Cruise’s life, but want very much for this movie not to be made.

Vogue cover girls Nicole Kidman, Marion Cotillard, Penélope Cruz, and Kate Hudson; image courtesy of latimesblogs.latimes.com

Nicole Kidman and Penélope Cruz bookending Vanity Fair's 2001 Hollywood Issue cover; image courtesy of abc.net.au

Whether this movie is good or not remains to be seen. That said, I’ll see you at the multiplex.

Los Acusados: The Others (2001), Case 39 (2009), 100 Feet (2008).

 La Evidencia:

Análisis del Caso: No sólo se parecen a madres estos materiales promocionales, sino también sriven de publicidad a tres filmes del mismo género: terror/suspenso. Dos de ellas giran alrededor de seres del más allá, y la otra es sobre una niña (típico) que resulta no ser tan inocente como se pensaba. Peor aún, los tres mentados one-sheet (que realmente son one shit), son protagonizados por mujeres, una con más talento que las otras, por supuesto, y otra, con menos belleza.

Pero vámonos al grano. Los tres posters involucran una fuente de luz que alumbra entre la oscuridad, reflejando por excelencia una premisa de suspenso y misterio. Dos de estas luces provienen de lámparas o velas visibles (The Others, 100 Feet), mientras que la otra surge de una puerta entreabierta. Gracias a esta luz es que podemos visualizar las caras asustadizas de Nicole Kidman y Famke Janssen, ambas mirando hacia nuestra derecha, como si acabaran de ver algo pasar. La otra, Reneé Zellweger sólo asoma un ojito. Para recalcar que estamos viendo a estas actrices, dos de los posters nos ponen su nombre en la parte arriba (Case 39, 100 Feet), mientras que el otro lo hace tan sólo encima del título del filme que es otro claro ejemplo de gran imaginación. Los tres con letras grandes y algo borrosas, y, al menos, en inglés, de dos palabras. Por útlimo y para rematarla, las tres utilizan mediocres taglines que acompañan, y disque le dan sentido a la imagen. Já, cómo no.

1. “Tarde o temprano, ellos te encontrarán”
2. “Algunos casos nunca deberían ser abiertos”
3. “Quédate en casa, bajo tu propio riesgo”

Veredicto: El jurado declara culpables a todas por seguir diseños tan formulaicos y hasta clichélados, pero al menos exonera a The Others (2001) por gozar de un producto que vale la pena checar, teniendo en cuenta que la otras nunca tuvieron siquiera un buen estreno. Al menos los estudios se dieron cuenta de la calidad de aquéllas.

• 1900-1909

Lo irreal: La chica Gibson      

Dibujo creado por Charles Dana Gibson, pronto se convirtió en el ideal femenino de entonces y se transformó en todo un patrón de vida. Continúa…

Lo real: El vintage

El término era utilizado en las bodegas para señalar los vinos de las mejores cosechas, y derivó al mundo de la moda a partir de 1900 utilizándose en los diseños clásicos o retro. Como ejemplo actual tenemos los Oscar 2001 en los que Renee Zellweger y Julia Roberts lucieron uno de esos diseños vintage. Continúa…

1910-1919

Lo irreal: Fotografías de Hoyningen Huene para Vogue

Lo real: ‘La edad de la Inocencia’

Obra publicada por Edith Wharton en 1920, que recibiría el Premio Pulitzer un año después y que marcó un hito en el mundo de la moda, pues supuso una revolución para las mujeres que se vió reflejado en su forma de vestir. Continúa…

Lo real:

1920-1929

Lo irreal: ‘La Garçonne’

Publicada en 1922 supuso un gran eco a un nuevo estilo de vestir entre las mujeres de la época: pelo corto, pantalones y silueta tubular que masculinizan a la mujer creando una nueva feminidad. Continúa…

Lo real: Les Années Folles

A lo largo de los años 20′ la alta costura francesa vive su mejor momento. Son los años dorados de la moda, Vionnet, Poiret, Lanvin o Chanel liberaron a la mujer provocando un cambio en su manera de vestir y de pensar. Es una época para la exhibición del cuerpo femenino, la diversión y el consumismo. Continúa…

 1930-1939

Lo irreal: Greta Garbo y Marlene Dietrich

Son las máximas representantes de los años dorados del cine de Hollywood; años en los que la sensualidad, la provocación y el erotismo eran las máximas para toda creación filmográfica. Y no era menos en el mundo de la moda, en 1930 el modelo a seguir fueron las actrices como Greta Garbo y Marlene Dietrich, mujeres de hombros anchos y caderas delicadas, altas y delgadas. En este período el punto erótico se centró sobre todo en la espalda, resaltada por pronunciados escotes que provocaban más de un suspiro en el ámbito masculino. Las prendas de la época envolvían a la mujer en un halo de encanto, sensualidad y misterio. 

Lo real: Coco Chanel es quien lleva los pantalones

Su gran personalidad y su particular estilo a la hora de vestir marcaron un antes y un después en el pensamiento de la mujer. Después de que Poiret les quitase el corsé, Coco Chanel fue más allá en su provocación y les puso pantalones. Toda una revolucionaria. Continuar…
 

1940-1949

Lo irreal: Caldeando el ambiente

Pese a la austeridad reinante en toda Europa en estos años, Nueva York y París se meten de lleno en una lucha por ser consideradas capital del arte contemporáneo. La moda se concibe como un arte en su máxima expresión y los escaparates no se utilizan sólo para vender objetos, sino también para contar historias a través de fotografías. Continúa…

Lo real: El New Look de Christian Dior

Fue todo un acierto que le consagró a lo más alto en el mundo de la moda. Tras los oscuros años de la II Guerra Mundial, la Línea Corola presentada por el diseñador en 1947 y más conocida por New Look, pretendía reencontrar a la mujer femenina y coqueta con faldas con mucho vuelo, cintura ceñida y hombros redondeados. Continúa…

1950-1959

Lo irreal:  American Way of Life

Tras una época gris de austeridad y reserva, en los años 50′ las pasarelas empiezan a reflejar unas ganas enormes de vivir y,  por supuesto, de consumir. Es el momento de salir de casa, tomarse un tiempo para el ocio y divertirse, dejando todo lo malo en el pasado. Y eso lo saben reflejar muy bien las revistas que presentan la moda como un juego, el juego de jugar a ser la deportista, la chica sweater, la pin-up, la chica ‘Greace’; incluso ser ama de casa tiene su punto. 

 Lo real: La Jolie Madame

La colección otoño–invierno presentada por Balmain en 1952, que recibió el mismo nombre que uno de sus perfumes, Jolie Madame fue una propuesta que definió el estilo de la mujer moderna, “que debe vestirse de acuerdo al momento del día y a la actividad social que desempeña”. El estilo de los vestidos es: corte medio, talle marcado y decoraciones.

Renee Zellweger 3 kere Oscar adayı olmuş, bu 3 adaylığından birinde evine altın heykelcikle dönmüş Amerikalı bir aktris.Bridget Jones’s Diary ve Chicago ile 2002 ve 2003 senelerinde aday olan aktris, 2004 senesinde Cold Mountain ile turnayı gözünden vurmuştu.Peki 2004 yılından beri Zellweger ne yapıyor? Bana göre kendini tekrar etmekten başka hiçbir şey yapmıyor.Hatta kariyerini Bridget Jones ve diğerleri olarak ikiye ayırmak mümkün.Her seferinde aynı kırmızı yanaklar, yarıçapı 1 cm’den küçük olan ağız ve şaşkaloz bakışlar.Bence üç sene Oscar’a aday olması da şimdi düşününce insanlara mantıksız geliyordur.Cold Mountain için ise aksandan kazandığını düşünüyorum.Biraz acımasız olsam da her izlediğim filminde bir kez daha kanıtlıyor sanki haklı olduğumu.Şimdiki konumuz ise Leatherheads ve New In Town‘daki oyunculuk numaralarını tekrar kullandığı My One and Only.

Filmin konusu açık ve net.Kadın kocası tarafından aldatılır.Kadın bunu olgun bir şekilde karşılar, iki oğlunu alır ve şehir şehir gezmeye başlar.Misyon ise paraları bitmeden yeni bir koca bulmaktır.Bir kere film konudan zaten sınıfta kalıyor.Bir de bu senaryoyu en sevdiğim film Music From Another Room‘un yazarı Charlie Peters‘ın kaleme aldığını görünce iyice hayal kırıklığına uğradım.İşin bitmiş Charlie!

Filmin yönetmeni ise televizyondaki işleriyle DGA, BAFTA, Emmy gibi kıdemli ödüllere aday olmuş bir yönetmen, Richard Loncraine.Loncraine‘in atmosfer yaratma konusundaki başarısı bariz.Ama filmin geneli pek iç açıcı olmadığından kendisinin başarısı da gölgeleniyor tabi.Çok da izlenmeyecek türden bir film olmasa da izledikten sonra size yeni bir şey katmadığı kesin.

Renee Zellweger‘ın başını çektiği kadro ise oldukça zengin.Filmin anlatıcısı konumundaki Logan Lerman rolüne cuk oturanlardan.O dönemlerin insanlarını andırıyor fiziksel olarak.Zellweger‘ın diğer oğlu rolündeki Mark Rendall da fena değil.Filmi özetlemek için yeterli olan vasat kelimesinin karşılığı gibi.Will & Grace‘in tanıdık siması Eric McCormack yan rollerden gözüme çarpan ilk isim.Mr. Big olarak tanıdığımız Chris Noth da şöyle bir gözükmüş.Carnivale dizisi sebebiyle hafızlarımızda yer edinen Nick Stahl ise bir şekilde Zellweger‘ın hayatından geçen bir başka erkek olarak karşımıza çıkıyor.Kemikli suratı sebebiyle benim için hep hastalıklı bir adam olarak kalacak Kevin Bacon ise kilit karakterlerden birini canlandırmış.Konuyu o başlatıyor, o bitiriyor diyebiliriz.Tekrardan başa dönüp Zellweger‘a döner isek kendisini tekrar ettiğinden başka bir şey söyleyemeyeceğim.Artık o kadar tahmin edilebilir hale geldiki mimikleri ne zaman ağlayacağını, ne zaman ağlarken güleceğini, ne zaman güleceğini ve tabi ne zaman şaşkaloz bakışını atacağını biliyorsunuz.Kabus!

Çoğu yerde tahmin edilebilir hale gelen diyalogları, Renee Zellweger‘ın illet olduğum oyunculuğu sebebiyle My One and Only ortalamının altında vasat bir film olmaktan öteye gidemiyor.Ne yazık ki 2009′un izlense ne olur izlenmese ne olur dediğim filmlerinden biri oldu.

D

Appaloosa è un film Americano del 2008 basato sul romanzo omonimo del 2005 dello scrittore Robert B. Parker. Il film è stato diretto da Ed Harris e co-scritto da Harris e Robert Knott. Il film è uscito nel 2008 al Toronto International Film Festival, è stato rilasciato in altre città il 19 settembre 2008

Leggi altre notizie su: | Western | Drammatico | Viggo Mortensen | Ed Harris | Renée Zellweger

Pra não dizer que mulheres não são boas, estou fazendo a versão feminina da minha lista “Os 10 melhores atores“. Como já disse, melhor não quer dizer “mais bonita”, então não fiquem achando que vão aparecer gatonas aqui – claro que algumas são realmente bonitas, mas nem todas.

10 – Evanna Lynch. Essa mocinha é muito interessante, ao meu ver. Saindo de apenas uma garotinha estranha que adorava Harry Potter para uma atriz estranha que adora Harry Potter e que interpreta uma personagem estranha em Harry Potter, Evanna mostrou todo o seu talento como atriz atuando como a digníssima Luna Lovegood, em Harry Potter e a Ordem da Fênix, e em Harry Potter e o Enigma do Príncipe. Tendo um rosto exótico e uma beleza única, Evanna cativou milhões de espectadores – pelo menos EU – com seu jeitinho meigo e carismático.

9 – Julia Stiles. Adoro essa garota. A primeira vez que a vi foi no super conhecido “10 Coisas que odeio em você”, com o perfeito – que Deus o tenha – Heath Ledger. Ela tem um jeito de atuar tão singelo e único, e ela tem uma expressão tão perfeita que você se sente no lugar dela em quase todos os papéis que a mocinha interpreta. Sim, eu tiro meu chapéu para Julia Stiles.

8 – Maggie Smith.  Desde que assiti “O Jardim Secreto” amo essa senhora. Muito boa atriz, impressiona com seus trejeitos, sua expressão decidida, seus papéis sempre são firmes e, na minha opinião, ela os executa com precisão e vontade. Ficou mundialmente famosa como a Professora Mcgonagal, de – onde, mesmo? – Harry Potter, e, como em todos os seus papéis, mostrou que pode ser a melhor, mesmo num papel tão simples.

7 – Meryl Streep. Uma mulher que dou valor. Não assisti muitos filmes com ela, mas é incrível como ela consegue interpretar qualquer papel sem perder a pose. Hoje, ao pensar em fashion, você pensa em Meryl, depois de “O diabo veste prada”. A mulher é um gênio, e também uma das minhas atrizes favoritas, mesmo loira, cantora, tirana ou desesperada, Meryl é uma das melhores. Ah, se é.

6 – Drew Barrymore. Quem não gosta da Drew? Ela é bonita, simpática, tem um sorriso meigo e gentil, e ela atuou em E.T. É, a menininha loirinha e linda É a Drew Barrymore com 6 anos. Além desse filme super legal, a Drew tbm atuou em “As Panteras”, o que a deixou BEM famosa, já que o filme foi um arraso. Adoro a Drew simplesmente porque ela é uma boa atriz, trata as pessoas bem, é fofa e ainda por cima atuou em E.T. A Drew merece a lista, merece sim.

5 – Renee Zellweger. Sim, todos que assistiram “O diário de Bridget Jones” amam a Renee. Aqueles que assistiram “A Enfermeira Betty” também. E, incrivelmente, quem assistiu “Jerry Maguire” também! Então, a Renee tem que ser uma atriz boa, não é verdade? Eu acho que sim. A Renee é uma ótima atriz, que faz sacrificios para fazer um bom filme. Vê a Renee magrinha ai? Pois é, ela teve que engordar MUITO para fazer a nossa querida Bridget. É por isso que ela boa, porque tem que ser muito boa pra agradar todo mundo mesmo sendo gordinha. :*

4 – Molly Ringwald. Chegou a vez da ícone teen anos 80, Molly! Pra quem assistiu “A garota de rosa shocking”, “O Clube dos Cinco”, ou qualquer outro filme que essa moça tenha feito, com certeza gostou – e eu estou falando das meninas, nessa hora. A Molly era o tipo de garota que TODA menina queria ser. Criativa, decidida, e às vezes impulsiva, suas personagens sempre caracterizavam as adolescentes, ou o que elas queriam ser. A Molly ainda é atriz, claro, e lógico, ainda é MUITO boa, mas nunca, nunca vai deixar de ser nossa querida “Claire”

3 – Nicole Kidman. A super Nicole. Essa mulher, definitivamente, não existe. Não é possível que uma mulher seja tão boa atriz, tão bonita e tão … incrível. Um de meus filmes preferidos que a senhorita Kidman atuou foi o famosíssimo Moulin Rouge, onde a mesma interpreta uma prostituta que deseja ser atriz e se apaixona por um escritor. Recentemente, fez outro filme maravilhoso com o maravilhoso Hugh Jackman, chamado Australia. Muito bom, o que só mostra que ela é genial.

2 – Anne Hathaway. Fofa demais. Anne conseguiu fazer, com seu primeiro papel mais famoso, que todo mundo lhe adorasse. Ao interpretar a princesa Mia em O Diário da Princesa, uma legião de meninas desejou ser ela, enquanto outra de meninos desejou TER ela. Ou ser, quem sabe. O fato é que, mesmo depois disso, Anne ainda fez outro filme de estrondoso sucesso, o já dito “O diabo veste prada”. Sempre linda e perfeita, suas personagens são sempre interessantes e divertidas. Sim, a Anne, na minha opinião, merece o segundo lugar.

1 – Liv Tyler. Finalmente, minha diva. Todos aqui que frequentam o blog sabem que amo a Liv. Ela é uma ótima atriz, é linda, e apesar de estar meio gordinha ultimamente, ainda assim é uma moça muito bem apessoada. Depois de fazer muitos filmes que não a mostraram para o mundo, Liv despontou como a querida Arwen Undómiel, em Senhor dos Anéis. Como o esperado, Liv não decepcionou e mostrou que era uma atriz excelente e que se tornou uma das mais amadas atrizes de quase todo nerd.

Essa é minha listinha, e a sua?

Feeling emboldened by the efficiency of our Middlefield trip, this past weekend Emme and I set out to tackle not just one, but TWO towns.  Inspired by a suggestion from the Official Connecticut State Vacation Guide, the girls of OneSixNine decided to head out to Route 169 and visit the towns of Brooklyn and Pomfret.

As it turns out, we’re not nearly as efficient as we thought. Emme and I didn’t make it up to the Quiet Corner until about 1:30, which left us with little time to really explore two towns because, as you can imagine, the Quiet Corner isn’t exactly jumping after 5:00 PM on a Sunday. Also, Brooklyn’s Golden Lamb Buttery, which we were quite keen on visiting, is closed on Sundays. So we decided to leave Brooklyn for another day and turn our full attention to the town of Pomfret.

Fun Fact: Aside from being a town in Connecticut, there is also a borough of New York City called Brooklyn. It’s true.

Anyway – Pomfret!

Pomfret was incorporated in 1713 and features a few interesting historic places – such as the alleged site of General Israel Putnam’s slaying of the last wolf in Connecticut. In case you were wondering, we did not visit the historic wolf cave. Screw that, man, I’ve seen The NeverEnding Story, I’m not messing with the ghosts of angry wolves.

Anyway, Pomfret residents include UConn basketball coach and famed Comcast pitch man Jim Calhoun as well as Oscar-winning actress Renee Zellweger. (I wonder how our Art Carney-hating friend feels about Ms. Zellweger’s Oscar. I bet he feels that was also undeserved. I can’t believe this guy. He’s trying to deny Connecticut residents glory left and right.  He probably thinks Israel Putnam’s wolf died of natural causes, too.) An estimated population of only about 4,000 places Pomfret 137^th out of the  proud 169. This is some serious small-town Connecticut here. Turns out, however, Pomfret is big on fun!

Fun Fact: Aside from being a town in Connecticut, a Pomfret is also a perciform fish found in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans.

Eat Something

Apparently the place to be in Pomfret is the Vanilla Bean Cafe (or at least it was when we visited, as a large group of bikers had made a stopover there.) According to Wikipedia, the Vanilla Bean Cafe is where Coke launched its Vanilla Coke flavor in 2002, but we decided to go there anyway. The cafe is in an old barn, and the interior is cute and quirky.

Inside the Vanilla Bean

The Pomfret Village Bicycle

Emme and I particularly enjoyed their “award-winning chili” and I got to try some of their Kentucky pie, which was fabulous. They also serve local Hosmer Mountain beverages which get a big thumbs up from the 169 girls. (Cream soda, mmmm.)  (Note from Emme:  The Birch Beer was also totally delicious, if you’re into that.  I’m thinking this warrants a Hosmer Mountain v. Foxon Park soda-off when we make our way to New Haven County!)

Do Something

After the Vanilla Bean Cafe we set off to the Sharpe Hill Vineyard. I punched the address into Aonghus, our trusty GPS, and he took us on such a long, winding tour of Pomfret’s back roads that Emme began to lose faith in our Irish navigator. Then, all of a sudden, there was a vineyard! Sharpe Hill is absolutely gorgeous. Emme and I took a walk around the grounds and checked out the scenery.  (Emme firmly believes that this is the most romantic thing we’ve done yet.)

Gorgeous Panoramic Views!

Emme Makes Friends

Also, the bathroom at Sharpe Hill is the quaintest bathroom you’ll ever see. I’m serious. If you go there, use the bathroom. You won’t be disappointed.

Drink Something

Sharpe Hill, of course, has wine tastings – $5 for your choice of 5 wines or $10 for all 11. Emme and I decided to practice a little temperance and go for the $5 tasting.  Also included is this lovely glassware:

Emme and I recommend their much-heralded Ballet of Angels wine (as mentioned in Connecticut Magazine’s “50 Dishes to Try Before You Die“) as well as their Select Late Harvest dessert wine. We got to enjoy these beverages in Sharpe Hill’s lovely outdoor wine garden, which comes complete with adorable terrier.

See Something

Pomfret’s historic district is really quite beautiful.  It includes the very pretty Congregational Church and Christ Episcopal Church (which apparently contains several windows designed and constructed by Louis Comfort Tiffany, making me disappointed we didn’t go inside.) It also features the beautiful campus of The Pomfret School, where I once experienced a horrific Cuba Gooding Jr.-in-Jerry Maguire-type field hockey injury…. or I just got knocked to the ground and the risk averse athletic trainer made me lay there for an awkwardly long time.

Fact: Every four hours, a New England prep school student dies from a field hockey injury… okay, that’s not a fact at all.

Talk to Someone

This is an area where the 169 girls really need work. And it’s a shame, because the gentleman pouring in the wine garden at Sharpe Hill Vineyard was quite cute. (If you’re reading this, Wine Garden Guy, Tweet me.) Despite our best efforts to strike up a conversation, I’m awful at flirting and Emme is not much of a wingwoman. Maybe we should have opted for the $10 wine tasting. I’m sure that would have helped.  But we did learn from cute Wine Guy that the Select Late Harvest is great over vanilla ice cream, and we managed to make 45 seconds of small talk about that.  Emme should have gone with her instincts and talked up the bikers at the Vanilla Bean.

Lessons in Connecticuting

1. Being in Jim Calhoun’s town does not guarantee a Jim Calhoun sighting, despite Emme’s best efforts.
2. We should have gone to high schools with cooler alumni (no offense to Emme’s illustrious Taunton High School, home of Baltimore Ravens college scouting coordinator Eric DeCosta).
3. Elle should grow a set and talk up some of these cute guys we meet, since Emme’s dating status prohibits her from doing it.
4. Towns with fewer people than most colleges are cuter than  most colleges.
5. We need to start visiting municipalities where people live.

I waited for a while on this one.

Down With Love is like a bad date that goes horribly wrong three quarters of the way through.   A good time is had until a terrible faux pas is made, or someone gets food poisoning or your date turns out to be a recently released convict or something that totally derails the good time you’re having.

I desperately wanted to like Down With Love.   Ewan McGregor is a damn joy to watch in almost everything he does, and God bless us everyone that the good Lord saw fit to create McGregor in the first place.   Handsome he is, but save this movie he cannot.   Even Renee Zellweger, who normally relies on an obnoxious squint and something passing for sass to sail her way through movies, really tries here.   She’s very likeable and very sweet in a way I had never realized was possible for her.

It’s a shame that the actual story sinks the movie.

I get the guilty pleasure aspect of this one.  The supporting cast is equally as fun to watch as McGregor and Zellweger, David Hyde Pierce in particular.   The costumes and set design are brilliant and beautifully, tongue-in-cheek retro and it looks like everyone had a good time.

Zellweger’s Barbara Novak is an author who comes to Manhattan to promote her book, Down With Love.  It’s a book that advocates career promotion and happiness with self before falling in love with a man.  She and her editor concoct a scheme to promote her book by setting up an interview with Catcher Block, a playboy writer for a fashionable men’s magazine.   After Block repeatedly blows her off, Novak goes another route and becomes internationally famous, leading Catcher Block to have no dates and surrounded by women more interested in chocolate bars and their careers than him.   He swears vengeance on Novak by pretending to be someone else and romancing her in order to expose that Miss “Down With Love” is really all about love with some unintended consequences.

I’ve only seen bits and pieces of Pillow Talk, the movie that heavily influenced this one, but I’m fairly sure it was done with a little more finesse than this.  Certainly it had to rise above a late twist that’s absurd and unbelievable, breathlessly monologued by Renee Zellweger.    I can’t find much fault with Zellweger and McGregor at all, as they’re both effortlessly charming and the whole ’60’s sex comedy thing is sent up to great hilarious effect at times (although I have never confessed to be a connoisseur of ’60’s sex comedies, you know).    The whole thing feels weak, and it feels like a sham.

It feels like the investment you put into the movie is threefold what you get out of it and no amount of charm can squeeze Down With Love wholly into one’s heart, even if that’s where the movie desperately wants to go.   Instead, the faulty plot and contrivances, even if they’re send ups, send it straight to the discount DVD bin.

A disappointing waste of McGregor, Pierce and Zellweger is what this movie is.

Come on now.  Really?  I mean really?  Haven’t you been forced to watch enough humorless romantic comedies with Katherine Heigl or vapid t.v. sitcoms to know what you’re suppose to say in this situation?  Couldn’t you pull out that second Twix Bar and stuff it into your mouth to stall until you came up with a better answer?  Have Meg Ryan, Julia Roberts, Sandra Bullock, Drew Barrymore, and Renée Zellweger taught you anything?  Apparently not, because you just told your wife that yes, those jeans do make her butt look fat.

How to answer a question like that is the first thing you are ingrained with when you enter into a relationship or get married.  When you are handed your man card, you also get a complimentary copy of the “Man-ual”.  If you took the time to glance through the table of contents, you would have known you could have skipped straight to Chapter Seven which is titled “How to Answer Questions you are bound to be asked.”  In addition to informing you that you should never say the first answer that pops into your head, you are also given pointers and stock answers for other common questions such as “What are you thinking?”, “Am I as attractive as the day we met?”, “Don’t you want to help out more around the house?”, “Am I prettier than her?”, “Did you just check her out?”, “Did you just say something?”, and “Do you think I should get a boob job?”  All you had to do was memorize a few simple fill-in-the-bank stock responses and you would have been money.  But no, of course you didn’t want to take the time to memorize a few key cya phrases.  Are you crazy – you look great in anything.  If anything, those jeans are slimming.  Where’d you go {insert her name here} – a super model just walked in.  If you can memorize all the lines to Caddyshack or the lyrics to White Snake’s “Here I Go Again”, then you can certainly remember a few key lines to help avoid a sex embargo that will last longer than it takes for Hugh Grant to bulk up, undandify himself, and take over Christian Bale’s role in the Batman franchise.

NOTA : 6

Download subtitrare My One and Only

Trailer My One and Only :

Haz click en la imagen para verla al detalle

A últimas fechas, se ha vuelto bastante común el cliché de los niños aparentemente inocentes, pero que resultan ser demasiado peligrosas. Esta situación se lleva un paso más allá en la cinta Caso 39, en donde Renée Zellweger interpreta a una trabajadora social que recoge a una niña que, al parecer, había sido amenazada de muerte por sus padres, sólo para descubrir que hay mucho más tras de la pequeña que lo que había imaginado. Interesante historia de terror que, si bien un poco fuera de lugar en esta temporada, pero que seguramente atraerá una gran cantidad de espectadores. Vale la pena dedicarle un tiempo.

Prompted to rescue ten-year-old Lillith Sullivan (Jodelle Ferland) from her parents after allegations of abuse suggest that the child is not safe in her own home, kind-hearted social worker Emily Jenkins (Renée Zellweger) discovers to her horror that the situation is far deadlier than she ever suspected. Ian McShane and Bradley Cooper also star in the thriller from Antibodies director Christian Alvart.

Capstonians, just two years ago, Nick Saban was hired to bring the then-disappointing football team to their current championship caliber position. A climb to dominance, like the one we are currently witnessing, can happen quickly with a new and aggressive coaching staff, an enthusiastic fan base, and lots of money set aside for the athletic department.

But another Tide sports team is in a similar situation as the football team was two years ago. The only difference is the lesser degree of fervor. They almost resemble the National Hockey League in a sense that we know it exists but just need to be reminded of it.

Our men’s basketball team has underwhelmed the past few years, to say the least. Now the former coach, who deserves some credit for his successes, is gone, and a new legacy begins.

Earlier this year, Athletic Director Mal Moore hired Anthony Grant to lead our team into the Promised Land.

Followers of college basketball should have lost their minds in the most positive connotation on hearing the news. Everyone else probably wondered why we put our faith in a man with two first names. I’m looking at you John Kerry.

As an assistant coach at the University of Florida, Grant achieved something the University of Alabama men’s basketball team has never quite grasped – a national championship.

From there, he coached at Virginia Commonwealth University, not to be mistaken for a school you actually know.

He helped the VCU Rams dominate the Colonial Athletic Association for three years, winning it twice. Thus, in those two years, they qualified for the Big Dance (the nickname for the NCAA Basketball Tournament, not the dance competition in “Saturday Night Fever”).

One of those years, they knocked off the evil empire that is the Duke Blue Devils in the first round. This fact alone should help sell Grant to students.

Grant’s VCU team succeeded using an up-tempo style of basketball, which he has implemented here at the Capstone. Remember the Mike Anderson years at UAB and Anderson’s recent success at the University of Missouri? Yes, it will be something like that. Commence salivating.

Alabama’s main weakness the past years rested in the fact that the team lacked any style or scheme. Now we can electrify the Coleman Coliseum, which I assume will count as a renewable energy source and help power the new Jumbotron.

The chance of seeing a team turn itself around doesn’t happen often, just ask any of the few Pittsburgh Pirates fans left.

We here at Alabama are already experiencing one such feat with Saban and the football team, and now we can watch our basketball team grow in prosperity and height.

The student section has undergone changes as well. Mark’s Madness will probably become Crimson Chaos, even though it should be Coleman Chaos to relate more with basketball. This is where the students come in.

The team can’t succeed alone, so we need this student section to “Bring the Noise” on a nightly basis and become the opposing team’s Public Enemy.

It may take a few years for Grant and company to hit their stride, but we need to cheer them on the entire way.

Obviously, I have already sipped the Anthony Grant Kool-Aid (sugar-intense strawberry flavored, if you were wondering). Can you blame me though? He can only improve our over-shadowed and historically non-competitive program.

On November fourth, we can watch the start of a new and exciting transformation.

Students, we are the Renee Zellweger in “Jerry Maguire” while the basketball team is Tom Cruise (no offense meant). We complete them.

Anthony Grant, you shouldn’t need to say anything. You had us at “Roll Tide.”

VERDICT:
7/10 Secret Gardens

Wasn’t a big fan of this the first time I saw it, but gave it another look this past weekend and, whaddaya know, I liked it. Good weekend.

Jerry Maguire is about a big time sports agent that experiences a change of heart about the way he does business, prompting him to write a memo to his co-workers about how agents should be closer with their clients instead of treating them like paychecks. He gets fired for the memo, loses all his clients except for one endearing, eccentric football player that’s disliked by the general public, and tries to get back on his feet thanks to the help of a single mother from his old job that he falls for.

Even though this has pretty much become the “‘Show me the money!’ movie” over the years, and that’s pretty much the reason I gave it another shot on my lazy Sunday afternoon, Jerry actually has a lot more going for it than just a laundry list of quotable lines that gradually became the bane of everyone’s existence back in ‘96.

The first noteworthy mention is the script by Cameron Crowe. Sure, he’s had some duds here and there, but Crowe is the man. The guy knows how to write great characters that have great, complex relationships with one another and back it all up with great dialogue that audiences gravitate towards. Almost Famous, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Say Anything…, come on, awesome movies. Anyway, Crowe delivers and he gives his actors a lot of good material to work with.

The whole dynamic of Jerry trying to find a way to redeem his personal and professional lives ends up working because the characters feel real and there’s a lot of heart to go around. Everybody’s helping each other grow and develop through each new hurdle and it feels genuine when certain things go wrong and others go right. It’s almost hard to call this a sports movie because it’s about succeeding at life far more than it is about succeeding financially. Maybe I’m getting ahead of myself here, but I was pretty surprised by how human it all felt. Wasn’t expecting that.

Now, I’ve had my issues with Tom Cruise over the years, but his performance here is helping to ease my troubled mind. He’s actually really good as Jerry Maguire, you can tell he wants to see the money, you believe it when he tells you that he loves black people, and despite all the golden opportunities he has to overact, he resists the temptation for the most part and does well to come off as a normal guy instead of a pretty boy sports agent. Tom Cruise made me like Jerry Maguire, I’d sign with him any day.

And what the fuck happened to Cuba Gooding Junior? You’d think that Oscar on his mantle would be a “Get Out Of Jail Free” card from ever having to do shitty movies again. I thought Men of Honor was alright, but damn, dude, I don’t get it. But then again, he could keep on making sequels to Boat Trip for the rest of his life and he’d still be remembered for this awesome performance along with his acceptance speech/jumping frenzy at the Oscars. Cuba kicks ass as Jerry’s client, Rod Tidwell, and definitely earned all the praise he got.

This was also the breakout role for Renee Zellweger, and even though I’m not her biggest a fan, she’s quite charming as Jerry’s main squeeze and also comes off as refreshingly normal. One of the better roles of her career, right up there with Cold Mountain and Nurse Betty (good movie). And while the whole “You had me at ‘hello’” and “You complete me” stuff probably wouldn’t work in real life like it does in the movies, hearing it in context, it’s surprisingly not as corny as you might remember.

And good luck to Jonathan Lipnicki in his efforts to be remembered as anyone but this kid for the rest of life. Just accept it already, you will always be that kid.

So, yeah, I dug Jerry Maguire. It’s got something for the guys, something for ladies, good acting, and a solid script. Who knew the life of a sports agent had so much potential going for it? Well done, Mr. Crowe.

Drygt två timmars drama, stundtals våldsamt, om längtan och drömmen om en bättre framtid.
Förpackad i bedövande vackra bilder av den amerikanska södern på 1800-talet.Kan det verkligen hålla?
Svaret blir ett tveklöst ja.

I 1860-talets USA står inbördeskriget för dörren när den vackra prästdottern Ada kommer till den lilla bergsbyn Cold Mountain i NordCarolina.Nästan genast förälskar hon sig i den tystlåtne Inman, men de hinner knappt utdela filmens första kyss förrän kriget bryter ut och den stilige unge mannen försvinner iväg för att göra sin plikt på slagfälten i federationens tjänst.
Men en episk film vore inte just episk om det inte är nu som själva storyn tar fart, utmaningarna börjar.Inman såras och bestämmer sig för att desertera för att ta sig hem till Ada som i sin tur inget hellre önskar än att han ska dyka upp igen.
Dessutom behövs en man i huset efter att hennes far prästen plötsligt gått bort.

Regissören Anthony Minghella (Den engelske patienten) har satsat allt på snygga miljöer, bedårande filmfoto, våldsamheter och hinkvis med kärlek.Kanske tanken är att närma sig Borta med vinden-känslan.
Dit kan det vara svårt nog att ta sig, men faktum är att Cold Mountain håller mig i ett fast grepp under sina drygt 140 minuter. Nicole Kidman gör ännu ett snyggt porträtt av en till början hjälplös kvinna som växer med den förestående uppgiften och till slut lär sig både hur man nackar höns och lagar gårdsstaket, Jude Law´s rättrådige Inman gör allt för att ta sig hem till Ada.

På vägen hinner han träffa underliga, trasiga, illvilliga och ibland behövande figurer.Inman gör sitt bästa för att behålla livhanken eller göra en avstickare för en god gärning om så behövs, dock aldrig utan att tappa fokus på sin uppgift, att återse sin hemby och kärleken som han hoppas väntar där.Halvvägs in i filmen dyker filmens stora behållning, Ruby, upp.En bonddotter, uppväxt i bergen och med en svada värt namnet.
Hon tar plats på Adas nu förfallna gård och hjälper henne att komma på fötter igen.Ruby är på något sätt filmens comic relief, som skyddar den från att bli alltför tung och överpretto. Reneé Zellweger som Ruby har aldrig varit mer klockren, och här satt oscarsstatyetten som gjuten.

Lägg till allt detta en grymt bra uppställning på birolls-listan (kolla in Philip Seymor Hoffman!) och framför allt ett makalöst bra soundtrack och man är liksom hemma.
Åter till Cold Mountain torde vara en historia som tilltalar både män och kvinnor. Här finns hinkvis med episk kärlek och längtan varvat med rejäla western-tilltag.

Din nästa lördagsfilm?