Keep staring.

Stars Ewan McGregor, George Clooney, Jeff Bridges, and Kevin Spacey. Directed by Grant Heslov.

It’s more of a “journey of life” movie than a statement on a Top Secret program on remote viewing, but here goes:

Bob Wilton (McGregor) is a reporter for a newspaper in Ann Arbor, Michigan. In 2002 he interviews a “crackpot” named Gus Lacey (Stephen Root) who does two things: shows him a videotape where he causes a hamster to pass out for a few minutes by staring at it and informs him that he was part of a Top Secret, government-funded program on remote viewing. For the metaphysics-challenged, remote viewing involves a person sitting in a room to be able to see where and what someone in another locale, possibly thousands of miles away, is doing and describe it all in detail. Wilton doesn’t believe in it and shelves the idea in the back of his head.

Some time later Wilton’s world falls apart: his wife leaves him for his editor who happens to have a mechanical arm. Feeling about an inch tall and wanting, nay needing, to prove something to the world he travels to Iraq to get in and cover a story. And he sits. And waits.

Calvinism and destiny intertwine and he meets Lyn Cassady (Clooney). Cassady was mentioned by Lacey as the Numbero Uno Psychic of the Top Secret Program called New Earth. “We prefer to call ourselves Jedi warriors,” he tells Wilton. It seems that New Earth was began by another man, Bill Django (Bridges). Django was on tour in VietNam when he took a bullet to his chest. He dies, crosses to the other side, and comes back. Seeing how the soldiers in the field weren’t wanting to kill for Uncle Sam he proposes a study which takes him on a quest of sex, drugs, and enlightenment. Upon return he releases an instruction manual on how peace can be attained without actual fighting but by using the powers of the mind. This is further helped by a Brigadier General Dean Hopgood (Stephen Lang) who wants to see the program created because the Russians supposedly have a program already in place to psychically screw with the minds of our country’s leadership. The program is set in motion and Django begins.

Cassady becomes the star of the group, being able to remote view better than everyone else with the exception of Larry Hooper(Spacey), another “Jedi warrior” that holds dominance over everyone but Cassady. Problems begin when the remote viewers have wrong conclusions (one says that Angela Lansbury knew the location of Manuel Noriega) and one of Hooper’s experiments lead to an officer taking his own life, the project is shut down. Cassady is currently in the Middle East on a secret mission that Wilton is never sure what it is.

Wilton never knows quite what to make or believe from Cassady who seems more Jedi reject than Jedi warrior with the exception that Cassady knows how to fight. The two become well-enough friends and go from situation to situation never sure of what’s coming next. Whatever Cassady is expecting to do or to find, Wilton is along for the ride.

I liked the movie. This is one of those difficult to sell because while it does mention psychic research programs I have heard of, the overall objective for the story is for the main character to achieve something with his life. If the movie were just about the programs it would’ve been one thing but this has the New Earth information in flashbacks while Cassady and Wilton are doing whatever they’re doing and that structure leaves something missing from the movie. I wished it was more straight-forward than the journey it really was, but that’s probably a minor gripe.

McGregor is believable but not as much as Clooney. The again Clooney is the variable and McGregor is the “everyman” constant, so it does work better that way. Bridges doesn’t channel The Dude from “The Big Lebowski” as much as he shows a variant of that personality. Spacey doesn’t do a lot for me to really expound upon.

Did this research really happen? I’m inclined to believe that it did but not entirely in the manner shown in the movie. With truth often being stranger than fiction, I could be completely wrong. With a culture that had 9 seasons hinged on the fact that The Truth Is Out There, why not? Can someone stare at a goat and make its heart stop? Can someone thousands of miles away read my To Do list just by imagining it? Interesting stuff to think about.

There’s a big “inside joke” with the whole “Jedi warrior” thing. Cassady has to explain to Wilton what one is, etc. This is a play on the fact that McGregor was in the “Star Wars” prequels. Also, his newspaper editor had a mechanical arm, which may also have been a “joke” on the series.

Do I recommend this one? I liked it and there were a few really funny parts. I suggest “rental.” Or matinée on a slow weekend afternoon. I did like it but not enough to watch it more than once a year.

If you go, watch for Robert Patrick as an American contractor. Great bit.

My grade: B-

This review is not going to be that thorough and it will only be a review in the sense that I talk about a movie called ‘The Men Who Stare At Goats’ and occasionally mention something from the film. This movie isn’t terrible. It isn’t great. It just ‘is’, and depending on what ‘is’ means to you might determine how much you like the film. This is the way the film meanders. I get the general point that they were trying to make (they kind of spell things out with the bookends), but it seemed that it was more important to the  filmmakers to be quirky/zany than to make a good movie. The actual point wasn’t anything profound, either.

A goat makes it onto the poster before Stephen Root or Robert Patrick or...

The movie begins by telling the audience that the movie is more true than the government would care to admit and then we watch an officer rise from behind his desk and tries to run through a wall. Then we meet a reporter played by Ewan MacGregor, who wants to be a better reporter. His wife has left him for someone that he knows. His life is in semi crisis and takes a turn for the _______ when he meets a man that tells him of a secret government project that he was a part of that tapped into the powers of the mind called the New Earth Army. He also speaks of a very psychically talented man who owns a dance studio now. The reporter chalks this all up as nonsense and travels to the Middle East to hopefully get to do combat reporting and be a REAL reporter. Then he meets the man who owns the dance studio played by George Clooney.

Clooney staring at a goat...

Clooney repeatedly tells MacGregor’s reporter that he is a ‘Jedi Warrior’ and soon becomes convinced that MacGregor is one also (of course! He’s Ben Kenobi in the 3 Crappily Unfunny Star Wars movies). From there on, Clooney tries to convince MacGregor that he has psychic powers and they wander around and interact with people in seemingly random events until they….

Hippie officer Bridges with Clooney, Spacey and the New Earth Army

It sounds like a funny setup. I did chuckle throughout, but it wasn’t THAT funny. They didn’t put all the clever lines into the trailer, but there never are any real big laughs. This movie also wasted some great actors in this. Jeff Bridges plays an absurdly  flower child officer who sports a pony tail while guiding the team members of the New Earth Army. Kevin Spacey also makes an appearance, has a couple of funny lines  and then just stands around in the background and kind of looks at the other actors with more lines than him. They make you think that he’s going to be the villain, but no. There isn’t really a villain. There’s some drug use scenes in the film. there is the ’staring at goats’ which is in the title. Clooney gives a typically slapstick performance as he’s done in movies like ‘O Brother, Where Art Thou?’, Leatherheads, and Burn After Reading. MacGregor is a likeable actor, who seems to end up in less than stellar films for some reason. He’s a good actor (see his earlier films with Danny Boyle). I also was glad to see another movie with Stephen Root. He’s a top notch character that rarely gets mentioned when people talk about great actors… but they should.

He doesn't look like this in this movie....

The biggest sin of this movie is that it’s VERY predictable… I felt like I was the one writing the script  and from parts of  movies that I’ve already seen. I was even picking what songs they were going to use. The minute Clooney said his caharcter liked Boston (the 70s Rock band) I started humming “More Than A Feeling” and within a few minutes they were playing. I guess I laughed though.

The biggest saving grace of the film was that the characters of the film were likable, excluding Robert Patrick’s character in the movie and a few terrorists… But even some of the terrorists in the film were just being kept down by ‘the man’. In the film makers’ view, the terrorists don’t want to hurt anybody and they’re just VICTIMS, man (Say that like Jeff Bridges in the Big Lebowski)! Anyway… If I sound like I’m not sure what to write about this one; I’m not. This is one of those movies that as soon as we walked out of the film, we’re talking about anything but this movie. “Hey just killed 2 hours… Let’s go get something to eat…” I chuckled along with them for the most part, but it wouldn’t have been a big deal had I missed this one. It’s the kind of film that now that I’ve seen it, I don’t really care to seek it out again, but if I’m vegetating in front of the TV some night and it comes on some cable channel, I’d probably watch it. 3 of 5 whatevers….

A NBC anunciou semana passada o data de retorno da terceira temporada de ‘Chuck’. A season premiere irá ao ar no domingo, 10 de janeiro, a exibição normal da série se dará às segundas-feiras, a partir da semana seguinte, sempre às 20h.

Entre as participações especiais já confirmadas, temos os nomes de Angie Harmon, Brandon Routh, Kristin Kreuk, Armand Assante, Steve Austin, Robert Patrick e Vinnie Jones.

Confira um trailer da nova temporada da série:

Luego de varios meses en el limbo, y una gran campaña de renovación, esta mañana la cadena NBC sorprendió a todos los fanáticos al anunciar que la tercera temporada de Chuck comenzará el próximo domingo 10 de Enero.

Como detalle interesante tenemos que destacar que la nueva temporada comenzará con un episodio especial de dos horas, y al dia siguiente se establecerá en su horario tradicional acompañando a Heroes en la noche de los lunes.

Como todos saben, esta temporada estará llena de invitados sorprendentes, incluyendo a Superman, Lana Lang, el Terminator T-1000 y muchos más, que irán apareciendo en distintos personajes con el paso de los episodios.

Hasta el momento han sido confirmadas las apariciones de Angie Harmon (Law & Order), Brandon Routh (Superman Returns), Robert Patrick (Terminator 2: Judgment Day), Kristin Kreuk (Smallville), Armand Assante (Judge Dredd) y Vinnie Jones (Snatch).

Luego de los eventos de la temporada pasada, Chuck (Zachary Levi) se ha convertido en el Intersect 2.0, por lo que e el futuro no solo contará con secretos de gobierno, sino que también esta equipado con todo tipo de habilidades afectadas por sus emociones.

La temporada 3 de Chuck comienza el 10 de Enero por NBC.

That goat shouldn't have eaten George Clooney's script.

(Overture) George Clooney, Ewan McGregor, Jeff Bridges, Kevin Spacey, Stephen Lang, Robert Patrick, Waleed Zuaiter, Stephen Root, Rebecca Mader, Glenn Morshower, Nick Offerman, Tim Griffin, Jacob Browne, Todd La Tourette. Directed by Grant Heslov

The human mind is in many ways the truly final frontier. We know so little about it, yet our minds our capable of amazing things. Were we able to harness these abilities we could literally do anything we can imagine.

Bob Wilton (McGregor) is lacking somewhat in the cojones department. A journalist, he takes a job at a small town newspaper, marries his college sweetheart (Mader) and interviews quack psychics (Root) who claim they were part of a military program to develop psychic super soldiers, whose mental powers would allow the military to spy on “the enemy” psychically.

Shortly after this, Bob’s life goes to hell in a handbasket. His wife leaves him for his editor (La Tourette) and Bob falls apart. He decides to prove his manhood to his wife to go to Iraq to cover the war as a truly macho war correspondent but true to form he can’t get clearance to cover anything in the war zone, so he sits in a hotel in Kuwait, enviously watching the other journalists swap stories from the front lines while they totally ignore the inexperienced Bob.

This is when he meets Lyn Cassady (Clooney), a ramrod-straight retired soldier whose name Bob remembers from his interview with the psychic, who mentioned Lyn admiringly as “the best psi in the outfit.” He is reluctant to talk to Bob at all but when he sees something that Bob was doodling in his notebook, he does an about face and becomes willing to have Bob accompany him into Iraq on a “black ops” mission.

It turns out that Lyn has recently been re-activated to go on a mysterious mission into Iraq. When they drive into Iraq, Lyn practices his psychic skills to “keep sharp” by cloudbursting. He becomes so distracted by this he runs right into the only boulder in hundreds of miles of sand.

The two seem to be rescued by a passing truck but it turns out to be militants who capture Lyn and Bob. Lyn tells Bob a little more about the history of his outfit, “Project Jedi” (a not-so-subtle jibe at McGregor’s previous role as Obi-Wan Kenobi) and the man who created it, Lt. Col. Bill Django (Bridges), a free-spirited sort who embraced the new age and proto-hippie movements in California in the ‘70s a little too closely after a near-brush with death in Vietnam. When he returns to the Army, he does so with claims that he can create soldiers who can walk through walls, find missing persons through psychic means, and influence the minds of others. He captures the imagination of a somewhat unrealistic General (Lang) who is concerned that the Soviets are conducting a similar program.

The self-described Jedi Knights undergo unorthodox training methods, experiment liberally with psychotropic drugs and have mixed success in the psychic warfare department. Lyn has the most promise and becomes Django’s apprentice while another soldier named Larry Hooper (Spacey) seethes with jealousy, wanting to be the pre-eminent psychic on the planet. He takes matters into his own hands and when a young recruit dies during an experiment that Hooper clandestinely conducts using the methods of the notorious MK Ultra project, Hooper manages to shift the blame to Django who is shown the door, discharged and disgraced.

The two escape the militants along with an Iraqi civilian (Zuaiter) but run into a firefight between competing security contractors. As the pair travels further and further into the heart of enemy territory, Bob begins to suspect that he is not hearing the whole truth – and that Lyn might just be insane.

This is based on what is reputedly a non-fiction book written by an actual British journalist and makes no bones that not everything in the story is 100% factual. In fact, the opening screen tells you that much with a graphic that reads “more of this is true than you might believe.” Let’s just say that my cynic-meter was registering some pretty high numbers despite the disclaimer.

In the hands of someone like the Coen Brothers, this might have been a terrific movie. Unfortunately, first-time director Heslov (Clooney’s long-time production partner) seems to be trying too hard to make this funny and quirky all at once. The quirk far outweighs the funny percentage-wise, never a good thing.

That doesn’t mean there aren’t some nice moments here. Some of the scenes in which the would-be Jedi Warriors attempt to use their psychic powers unsuccessfully are nicely done, as is some of the satire, particularly Robert Patrick’s turn as a security contractor. It’s too bad that those moments aren’t more plentiful.

The cast is pretty solid, with Clooney and McGregor doing good, solid jobs in the leads, while Bridges and Spacey are dependable as always. Bridges in particular seems to be channeling his character from The Big Lebowski which isn’t as bad as it sounds since that character was so memorable (I don’t name him because I refuse to – as everyone from AOL and MiniPlanet knows I am the Dude).

There is an awful lot of drug humor here and those who are offended by such things might want to skip on by this one. I haven’t read the book this was based on but based on the subject matter I do think there was a good movie to be had. Sadly, this wasn’t it.

REASONS TO GO: Clooney and McGregor are appealing leads while Bridges and Spacey always do good work. Some genuinely funny scenes stand out here.

REASONS TO STAY: Far too quirky for its own good, the movie tries too hard to be funky and funny. The drug humor may offend some.

FAMILY VALUES: Some brief nudity (some of which is Clooney’s for all you ladies out there), some scenes of violence, a lot of drug use and some rough language. A lot of “somes” equals leave the kids at home for this one.

TRIVIAL PURSUIT: The scenes in Kuwait and Iraq were actually filmed in New Mexico.

HOME OR THEATER: Strictly for home viewing. There are lots of movies far worthier than this one in the multiplex right now, so you have plenty of cinematic options.

FINAL RATING: 5/10

TOMORROW: Star Trek

A reporter(McGregor) attempting to head into Iraq might just have the story of a lifetime when he meets Lyn Cassady (Clooney), a guy who claims to be a former member of the U.S. Army’s First Earth Battalion, a unit that employs paranormal powers in their missions.

I avoided reading reviews for this movie before seeing it, but could not help but seeing a lot of low ratings in the stars and scores it had been given on reviews. But still I went in with an open mind not really sure what to expect from it and have to admit that I was rather disappointed. It was not as funny as the trailer had made it out to be, and most of the funniest moments were those in the trailer (not really a surprise anymore, as that seems to be the deal with comedies now we show you the funniest parts to get you to see the movie).

The performances from the leading/supporting actors were still very good despite the very weak and strange story. Kevin Spacey really stole the scenes he was in, he is definitely one of my favorite actors and I just love seeing him on the big scene. In quite a bad guy role again which is great, I thought in the limited number of scenes he was in with Clooney they bounced off each other very well.

The main story of the “men who stare at goats” was a special branch in the US Army who were trained to use their minds and referred to as Jedi’s because of this. It was an attempt to encourage a more peaceful army and make things better with peace and love. That they could pinpoint people without even having to leave a room. Lyn (Clooney) was the best Jedi, this made him look totally psycho to Bob (McGregor) a reporter who had heard his name mentioned in an interview before he left in an attempt to get a story from Iraq.

What exactly was wrong with this film, you may ask. It has to be the whole Jedi mind tricks thing they have going on. You cannot help but just think its way to off the page to even believe in a movie. That the soilders picked to be in the group when it was first developed had to be different and be able to use their minds more than most people. Being able to influence other people by “getting into their minds”. See I told you if was off the page . . .

Don’t get me wrong though some of the lines are rather amusing with some quite slapstick funny moments thrown in too. But the lines were funny because what they were saying was so stupid that you had to laugh. But hey its a comedy afterall imagine the disappointment if you came out of the movie and did not laugh? The actual moments which were funny involved falling off things and running/crashing into things, again if you have seen the trailer you have already seen a few of these moments.

I thought Clooney’s performance was also rather good, he was the main focus throughout the movie and pretty much ends up mainly about his rise and fall through the army and the new unit he was asked to join. But he can carry a movie, we all know that its Clooney!

Jeff Bridges really does amuse me, although does he always seem to be playing the same character with very slight differences? Or is that just me who thinks of him as “the Dude”?

I will not spoil why exactly it has the title of “The Men Who Stare at Goats” but I bet the title alone pulls people in to see it as it is so random, and I guess that the whole movie can go under the title of random . . .

A série Chuck terá uma grande participação na terceira temporada, o ator Robert Patrick, famoso por ter interpretado o T-10000 no clássico filme Exterminador do Futuro 2.

Patrick interpretará o Coronel Keller, personagem que tem grande importância no passado de Casey, ele aparecerá no episódio intitulado “Cuck Versus The Tic Tac.

A nova temporada de Chuck deve estrear em janeiro de 2010.

Un film del 2009, regia di R.W. Goodwin, con Eric McCormack / Jenni Baird / Robert Patrick / Jody Thompson. Prodotto da (90min)

Commedia / Drammatico / Fantascienza / Thriller

Nel 1957 un oggetto volante non identificato atterra nel deserto della California e si schianta su una roccia. dalla navetta escono terribili creature assassine il cui compito è quello di distruggere tutte le forme di vita sul Pianeta Terra.

by The Great White Gypsy

The Box – Written and Directed by Richard Kelly
The premise of this film sounds like a bad teenage horror story. A strange man gives a box to a couple having money problems. They will get money every time they push the button, but every time, someone they don’t know will die. Though it’s riding on Cameron Diaz’s acting skills (um…), if anyone can make it cool, writer/director Richard Kelly (Donnie Darko, Southland Tales) will have no problem.
Cameron Diaz, James Marsden, Frank Langella, James Rebhorn
November 6

Endgame – Directed by Pete Travis, Written by Paula Milne
Another slow, patient South African political film? Meh. I mean, I really like Hurt and Ejiofor, but Pete Travis directed Vantage Point, which sucked asshole. I really, really want it to be good, I’m just scared it’s going to be really, really bad.
William Hurt, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Johnny Lee Miller, Mark Strong, Derek Jacobi
November 6

The Men Who Stare at Goats – Directed by Grant Heslov, Written by Peter Straughan
Actor Grant Heslov hasn’t done much directing. Same goes for Peter Straughan and writing. But if you look at this cast, you really can’t go wrong in a story about Telekenisis/Psychic programs in the army. Hell yes.
George Clooney, Ewan McGregor, Jeff Bridges, Kevin Spacey, Robert Patrick, Stephen Root
November 6

Precious – Directed by Lee Daniels, Written by Geoffrey Fletcher
I hate the fact that the full title of this film is “Precious: Based on a novel by Sapphire”. I also hate the fact that Tyler Perry and Oprah Winfrey are “presenting” this one. However, cliché and cheesy as it most likely is, I seriously almost cried watching the preview. This has the potential for two hours of raw emotion that leaves you speechless. Or two hours of horrible acting and bullshit storyline. I’ll wait for cable.
Gabourey Sidibe, Paula Patton, Mariah Carey, Lenny Kravitz
November 6

The Fantastic Mr. Fox – Written and Directed by Wes Anderson
I hate, I hate, I hate Wes Anderson. However, there are always a couple elements of his films that impress me, and his attempts at stop motion animation intrigue me. Will I like it? Probably not. Will I see it? Of course.
George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Bill Murray, Jason Schwartzman, Willem Dafoe, Owen Wilson, Michael Gambon
November 13

Pirate Radio – Written and Directed by Richard Curtis
When I saw the preview for this, I thought, “Hey, that looks exactly like that movie advertised last year called “The Boat that Rocked”. Wait… I have no idea why this film took so long to release, or why they changed the title, but after waiting so long, I’ve built it up to possible “Almost Famous” level in my head. I really hope I’m not disappointed.  About a boatful of radio DJ’s who broadcast banned music over British airwaves in the ‘60’s. Curtis directed Love Actually.
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Bill Nighy, Rhys Ifans, Emma Thompson, Kenneth Branagh, Nick Frost
November 13

The Messenger – Written and Directed by Oren Moverman
Foster and Harrelson play a very overlooked part of the military in this new drama about the officers who deliver the horrible news to KIA soldiers’ families. Foster starts to care too much…you see where this is going. Moverman’s first film, looks good.
Ben Foster, Woody Harrelson, Samantha Morton, Jena Malone
November 13

2012 – Directed by Roland Emmerich, Written by Roland Emmerich and Harald Kloser
When I want to see an action packed explosion film with weak story, I’ll catch the new Michael Bay flick. When I want to see a really entertaining film with great special effects that will leave me dumber for having watched it, I’ll go see a Roland Emmerich film (Independence Day, Stargate, Godzilla, 10,000 BC). If you don’t know what this film is about, you should probably look into it, cause we’re kinda running out of time, dude…
John Cusack, Amanda Peet, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Thandie Newton, Woody Harrelson, Danny Glover, Oliver Platt
November 13

That Evening Sun – Written and Directed by Scot Teems
I think Clint Eastwood had a scheduling conflict playing a grumpy old man in Gran Turino, so Holbrook stepped in. This is a perfect example of a cookie-cutter Midwest drama starring a senior citizen afraid of change that might not be very good, but will definitely get nominated for at least 2 Oscars. Don’t get me wrong, Hal is great, but the story has the potential to be full of holes.
Hal Holbrook, Ray McKinnon, Mia Wasikowska, Carrie Preston
November 13

Uncertainty – Written and Directed by Scott McGehee and David Siegel
At the risk of sounding like a douchebag, I am very uncertain about this movie. Part romantic comedy, part drama, part action thriller? So confused. McGehee and Siegel have written and directed three other films together, and I’ve never heard of any of them. But Gordon-Levitt hasn’t let me down so far, and Thirlby and Collins are sexy. I’ll flip a coin.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Lynn Collins, Olivia Thirlby
November 13

Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans – Directed by Werner Herzog, Written by William M. Finkelstein
Controverial old-school director Werner Herzog (Encounters at the End of the World, Grizzly Man) is remaking the 1992 drama (starring Harvey Keitel) about a gambling/drug addict cop, and he’s setting it in post-Katrina New Orleans. They say it’s Cage’s best performance since Leaving Las Vegas (not really hard), and Kilmer’s presence is reassuring. Looking forward to it.
Nicholas Cage, Val Kilmer, Eva Mendes, Michael Shannon, Fairuza Balk, Xzibit, Shawn Hatosy
November 20

Chi Bi (Red Cliff) – Directed by John Woo, Written by John Woo and Khan Chan
This is an epic film in the style of Hero and House of Flying Daggers. John Woo started out with some good films (A Better Tomorrow, Killer, Hard Boiled), he even had some good American movies (Hard Target, Face/Off), though there were bullshit ones too (Windtalkers, Paycheck). However, his dramas, like Last Hurrah for Chivalry, have gone largerly unnoticed by American audiences. And, of course, it’s been out in China for two years, and we’re just getting it now. Tarantino needs to step his game up.
Tony Leung, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Wei Zhao
November 20

Fix – Directed by Tao Ruspoli, Written by Charles Castaldi and Paul Duran
Documentary filmmaker Ruspoli blends styles in this fictional documentary about a convicted drug dealer and his friends, who are attempting to raise enough money to put him in rehab before 8pm so he can avoid jail time. I can already tell that Andrews’ over-the-top personality is going to steal the show, and Wilde is kinda cute. When’s it coming to Netflix?
Olivia Wilde, Tao Ruspoli, Dedee Pfeiffer, Shawn Andrews
November 20

The Missing Person – Written and Directed by Noah Buschel
Modern noir about a private detective (Shannon in a lead role…nice) searching for a missing person after 9/11. Elements of drama and comedy make it appear a little disjointed, but Shannon and Ryan are solid. Kinda surprised it didn’t go straight to DVD, but whatever.
Michael Shannon, Amy Ryan, Frank Wood
November 20

Me and Orson Welles – Directed by Richard Linklater, Written by Holly Gent Palmo
I can’t see Efron’s name on anything without thinking Highschool Musical, which makes me want to punch everyone under the age of 17 in the eye. However, this film is a little more dramatic, a lot less musical, and Christian McKay looks like the best Orson Welles since D’onofrio in Ed Wood. And if that still doesn’t convince you to see this period film about Welles directing stage plays, I have three words for you: Richard motherfucking Linklater (Scanner Darkly, Waking Life, Dazed and Confused). There you go.
Zac Efron, Claire Danes, Christian McKay, Ben Chaplin
November 25

Ninja Assassin – Directed by James McTeigue, Written by Matthew Sand and J. Michael Straczynski
The directors of The Matrix are producing this balls-to-the-wall violence-fest about…are you ready? A Ninja Assassin. Crazy right? Just think blades, bullets, blood, and nonstop special effects. I can’t freaking wait.
Sung Kang
November 25

The Road – Directed by John Hillcoat, Written by Joe Penhall
I must admit, I didn’t care for Cormac McCarthy’s award winning novel. The fact that writer and director are inexperienced worries me. Whether the acting, cinematography and effects can save it or not, the story makes me think no one will like this no matter what.
Viggo Mortensen, Charlize Theron, Robert Duvall, Guy Pearce, Garret Dillahunt
November 25

KEEP YOUR EYES OPEN

Metropia – Directed by Tarik Saleh, Written by Fredrik Edin
Anything with Vincent Gallo attatched generally gets my attention (Buffalo 66 was fucking weird). In this animated social commentary, Gallo’s character goes nuts when he starts hearing voices in the expansive underground tunnels Europe was forced to build after gas prices went too high. The animation looks pretty damn cool, so we’ll see.
Vincent Gallo, Udo Kier, Juliette Lewis, Stellan Skarsgard, Alexander Skarsgard
November 6 (Sweden)

Harry Brown – Directed by Daniel Barber, Written by Gary Young
Michael Caine hasn’t really been a badass since Get Carter, but this one may change that. Granted, it’s another cranky old man pissed off at street hooligans, but they did kill his friend…and he is ex-military. Comes out in the UK this month, possible limited releases in US.
Michael Caine, Emily Mortimer, Iain Glen
November 11 (UK)

Los abrazos rotos (Broken Embraces) – Written and Directed by Pedro Almodovar
Almodovar is huge in Spain, and the last time he teamed with Cruz was Volver, which was damn good. This film is about a writer/director telling a young man the story of why he changed his name after an accident took the life of his true love 14 years prior. Limited release this month, but expect it to be everywhere in time for the Oscars.
Penelope Cruz, Lluis Homar
November 20 (Limited)

Mammoth – Written and Directed by Lukas Moodysson
Husband and wife with a “perfect” life are put to the test when he takes a business trip to Thailand and decides to let loose a little. It looks very similar to parts of Babel, but more focused. Bernal and Williams have grown on me the last couple years, and Moodysson has done good work in Sweden.
Michelle Williams, Gael Garcia Bernal
November 20 (Limited)

servizio di LUCA SVIZZERETTO

Vorrebbe essere divertente e coinvolgente la pellicola diretta da Grant Heslov con protagonisti George Clooney, Ewan McGregor e Jeff Bridges. In realtà l’ironia all’inglese che pervade il film lascia il pubblico spesso perplesso e ancor più spesso freddo.
Cosa però ancora più strana è che non si riesce a capire dove la sceneggiatura voglia andare a parare. Quale è lo scopo della trama anche piuttosto complessa? Quale l’insegnamento che sembra sia necessario trarne?
Dopo aver visto ‘L’uomo che fissa le capre’ ancora non siamo giunti alla giusta conclusione e temiamo purtroppo di non riuscirci mai.
Cosa ci resta nella memoria? Clooney che dimostra di essere bravo anche nel non recitare la parte del bello e tenebroso ma nell’assumere le caratteristiche di uno strano ex militare svitato. Ma delle sue abilità già sapevamo.
Bob Wilton (Ewan McGregor) è un giornalista di mezza tacca che dopo la fine del suo matrimonio, si reca in Medio Oriente affamato di scoop. Lì incontra Lyn Cassidy (George Clooney), da oltre vent’anni membro di un reparto segreto dell’esercito statunitense che si prefigge di utilizzare facoltà paranormali in campo bellico. Scopre così che l’esercito e il modo di combattere sono cambiati: il bizzarro reparto si prefigge di utilizzare poteri psichici per poter leggere i pensieri del nemico, passare attraverso solide mura e perfino uccidere una capra semplicemente fissandola. Quando il fondatore del reparto Bill Django (Jeff Bridges) sparisce, Cassidy intraprende una missione per trovarlo e Bob si unirà a lui incuriosito dalle sue inverosimili storie.

]]> http://moviesoothsayer.wordpress.com/2009/11/08/retro-review-firewall/ Sun, 08 Nov 2009 07:15:39 +0000 soothsayer767 http://moviesoothsayer.wordpress.com/2009/11/08/retro-review-firewall/

Okay, Harrison Ford is 63 and they are still talking about doing another Indiana Jones film. His last film, 2003’s “Hollywood Homicide” was probably the worst film of his career and it has taken him three long years to headline another film.

If you really think about it, it has been six years since Ford has done anything really interesting and that probably was 2000’s “What Lies Beneath” which was quite a good little thriller. And before that was probably 1997’s “Air Force One” which was the last time Ford has done an action film.

The plot for Harrison Ford’s latest film, “Firewall”, loosely revolves around a techno-suave bank robber (Paul Bettany) who breaks into a bank manager’s house and holds his family hostage until the manager digitally removes $100 million dollars from the bank’s richest clients.

Ford plays the manager and Oscar nominee Virginia Madsen plays his wife. Some of the key supporting players include Robert Patrick, Robert Forster and Alan Arkin.

From start to finish this film feels like a lot of other movies. The home invasion tactic, the likeable but evil villain, the stalwart hero, the ultra-slick computer gimmickry are all part of what makes this film another run-of-the-mill modern thriller.

Some of the sequences in this film reminded me of the 2004 Robert Redford film, “The Clearing” especially the conflict between Bettany and Ford.

I liked the performances of Ford and Bettany but really never felt anything for any of the supporting cast. Because this dynamic never flourished it is hard to say if this thriller succeeded in what it was trying to do.

There have been so many ransom films over the years that “Firewall” just falls among them. It isn’t any worse, good as or better than any of those films. It is just one of them and it is good for what it is.

It is a by-the-book thriller but it sure is nice seeing Ford back to his old tricks as the hero and having a couple nice action scenes even if he’s 63.

3.5 out of 5

So Says the Soothsayer.

2009: The men who stare at goats di Grant Heslov

Presentato fuori concorso all’ultima Mostra Veneziana, il film ha avuto una buona accoglienza da parte della critica.

Filmora “Quando la realtà è più assurda della fantasia”, Liberal “…una commedia divertente e ricca di trovate”, MyMovies “…una commedia demenziale, nera e dissacrante verso quei monumenti intoccabili dell’autorità trattata spesso con reverenza”, Il Sole 24 Ore “È una commedia brillante e una satira piuttosto gustosa”.

Tratto dal libro di Jon Ronson “Capre di guerra”, il film (che parla di fatti assurdi ma incredibilmente reali… «questa storia è più vera di quanto possiate credere» avverte una didascalia prima dei titoli di testa) è interessante e certamente da apprezzare sia per la vena ironica che per il lodevole messaggio antimilitarista. Ma non convince del tutto. Troppi personaggi, troppi flashback, troppe digressioni… spezzano l’unitarietà del racconto e danno l’impressione di non assistere a una “storia cinematografica” ma ad una inchiesta televisiva ben orchestrata, godibile ma non coinvolgente (è evidente che il film è tratto da un’opera non narrativa). Colpa della sceneggiatura o della regia, non si entra in sincronia con quanto si vede nello schermo. Si sorride, si rimane sbigottiti che qualcosa del genere sia potuto accadere… ma nulla più.

Benché il pericolo noia sia in agguato, L’uomo che fissa le capre (che vede l’esordio alla regia di Grant Heslov, sceneggiatore di Good Night, and Good Luck, la cui fonte di ispirazione sono certamente i fratelli Coen) è da vedere per il coraggio di dire e mostrare certe cose (come la prenderanno gli Americani la cui politica non appare certo encomiabile?) e per la prestazione del cast stellare. Una vera e propria gara di bravura tra George Clooney, Kevin Spacey e Jeff Bridges: arduo stabilire chi sia più bravo. Meno convincente Ewan McGregor, ma probabilmente per l’impostazione data al suo personaggio (monocorde e non molto attendibile nel suo essere così candido e fiducioso).

Splendide la fotografia e la colonna sonora.

p.s.

Scrive Valentina D’Amico: “Prima o poi era inevitabile che l’esistenza del brillante libro di Ronson giungesse alle orecchie di George Clooney, attore che unisce lo status di star glamour di Hollywood a quello di artista politicamente impegnato, particolarmente sensibile alle magagne del governo made in USA. Non per nulla le sue prime due regie sono dedicate, rispettivamente, all’ascesa e caduta di un conduttore televisivo assoldato come spia dalla CIA (Confessioni di una mente pericolosa) e al crollo del maccartismo (Good Night, and Good Luck)”.

scheda

sito ufficiale

Remember remember the fifth of November
Gunpowder, treason and plot.
I see no reason why gunpowder, treason
Should ever be forgot…

Be careful with the fireworks.

Hmm, Hugo Weaving wore a mask for the whole of this film. Would he make a good Judge Dredd?

Oh and remember, remember the flux capacitor was invented on this day.

Happy Birthday to Sam Rockwell, Famke Janssen, Corin Nemec, Robert Patrick, Armin Shimerman, Tilda Swinton and whoever else had a birthday today.

Apart from being the greatest title ever conceived by man, The Men Who Stare at Goats also has an ensemble of genuine Hollywood talent which should see it opening strong at the box office next week. The Coenesque film is an adaptation of Jon Ronson’s book covering ‘the apparent madness at the heart of U.S. military intelligence’ and merges quick-wit satire with military operandi. This is the liberal movie of the year with a post-modern stamp of ironic approval.

You’ll be guffawing over skinnies on November 6th, Here’s the trailer.

Dré

This really is possibly one of the saddest movies I have watched, even though it is pretty clear from the start of the movie what is going to happen at the end. But the way in which it is done is just so heartbreaking, especially with the song “Shine Your Light” by Robbie Robertson playing in conjunction with it.

Jack Morrison (Joaquin Phoenix) is a firefighter who is trapped in a burning building. While he is trapped we get flashbacks of his life since first became a fireman as a rookie. When he first met the love of his life, from dating to the wedding and marriage, having children and how close friends he was to other firemen, who became his best friends. All of the up and downs of his life are shown in order in long flashbacks from showing him trying to get to safer grounds to be rescued.

I think the most interesting thing with the story is the point that life is very short when it comes to the end, and how you should appreciate everything and make the most of life. The relationship which is the main one in the film has to be between Jack and Captain Mike Kennedy (John Travolta) who shows the leadership and father like figure becoming a friend and part of Jack’s family as he grows up as a fireman and family man.

While this film contains a lot of quite serious issues and moments, it also contains some very amusing moments involving pranks they play on each other. Such as the priest scene when Jack first goes into the firehouse.

Joaquin Phoenix puts in a very good performance as Jack Morrison showing that he can do a much softer character, I just loved the way he was in the scene when he explains his ring, and depending on which way it’s pointing it means you are free or belong to someone. While turning it round when telling Linda this, I thought it was a very lovely dovey moment (yes I must have been in a loving mood when I watched this). But also showing different emotion when things happened to his friends, losing one of them and the other being in an accident.

John Travolta was also very good, I thought he looked genuinely upset at the funeral at the end of the movie. But the scene in which one of the firefighters had died and the rest of them are fighting in the house, he comes in and shouts and sorts it all out and I just thought it was very good acting on his part. Plus a very moving and emotional part of the movie.

 I thinking point of this movie is how difficult at times it must be for firefighters when they have a young family. Being able to risk their lives to save people who are in danger and need saving themselves. Yes, I know it is there job but I do not think they are given enough credit. The events in this movie, could and possibly to happen so often in everyday life around the world without much mention at all.

Overall, I do enjoy watching this movie despite it having a sad ending it still has some very heart warming, nice and funny moments along with the sad and upsetting. I thought good performances were put into it.

When Lex Luthor becomes President, he begins a campaign to frame Superman for murder in another attempt to bring down the Man of Steel.

Directed by – Sam Liu

Written by – Stan Berkowitz, Jeph Loeb, Ed McGuinness

Starring – Eric Bauza, Xander Berkeley, Clancy Brown, Corey Burton, Levar Burton, Ricardo Chavira, Kevin Conroy, Tim Daly, Grey DeLisle, Michael Dorn, Hector Elizondo, Jennifer Hale, Allison Mack, John C. McGinley, Jerry O’Connell, Robert Patrick, CCH Pounder, Susan Roman, Fred Tatasciore, Tony Todd, Thomas F. Wilson, Chiara Zanni

Oh DC, where have I gone wrong with you? You were making these great animated movies with a slight adult slant and now you’ve reverted back to general kiddie fare! I thought we had a good thing going.

Yes, unfortunately, Superman/Batman doesn’t live up to all the previous movies that fall under the direct to DVD market that DC has ventured into. It’s not bad by any means, but it’s lacking something that made Green Lantern, Wonder Woman and especially Justice League, so great. The animation is well done and really holds true to the comic interpretation this story is based on. There’s a couple of moments where CG for the background really clashes with the animated characters in the foreground but beyond that it’s well done.

Even Batman has to unwind now and again.

The plot goes like this, Lex Luthor has become the President and is trying to get costumed heroes to fight for him. One way to hold his power over them, and he wants nothing more than to have Superman under his control. Superman isn’t having any of that of course, so Lex Luthor frames him for murder. At the same time, there’s a giant meteorite made of kryptonite hurtling towards Earth. Lex Luthor plans to destroy it to show the public what a great hero he is and is hoping that it will help him gain control over Superman, since Superman can’t destroy it himself.

His whole plan goes down the crapper and he ends up reverting back to the psychotic villain that he is. And we all live happily ever after. I guess that’s typical comic book action anyway so I won’t knock the plot. I just really hoped for something more out of this. There is plenty of action though, with Superman and Batman having to stand against hero and villain alike. Lex Luthor has put a 1 billion dollar bounty on Superman and that gets all the villains to crawl out of the sewers and try to take him on. On top of that, the heros that work with Luthor are trying to bring Superman to justice.

It's a bad day when even the heroes are against you.

This means about the last half of the movie, maybe even more actually, is one fight after another. That works out well because that’s what I was really hoping to see. And while that’s all good, I still couldn’t figure out what was missing from this one that left me wanting more. Maybe it’s the fact that the film doesn’t challenge how we think about Superman and Batman. They do exactly what they always do, stand for justice in the world, and that’s kinda boring. Green Lantern had a humour to it, Wonder Woman had plenty of violence (they are Amazons ya know!) and Justice League was a different look at the history of the DC Universe. Superman/Batman is just another animated movie featuring DC Characters. At least they managed to fit a ton of characters in there.

Under the marquee – Will