Julie & Julia 
Drama – 12 anos

A história real de Julie Powell, nova-iorquina que, ao perder o emprego, decide cozinhar diariamente as receitas da renomada Julia Child e narrar suas experiências em um blog.
Amy Adams é ótima! E não posso esquecer de Meryl Streep que não desaponta na ayuação. Fiquei sabendo que é um bom filme.

EUA, 2009. Direção: Nora Ephron. Elenco: Amy Adams, Meryl Streep, Chris Messina. Duração: 124 min.

Planeta 51 
Animação / Livre

Os habitantes do Planeta 51 vivem aterrorizados pelo medo de um ataque alienígena. Sua paranóia se concretiza com a chegada de um astronauta da Terra.
Mas Shrek 4 não ia estrear só ano que vem? Oi?

(Planet 51) Espanha/Reino Unido, 2009. Direção: Javier Abad e Marcos Martinez. Com vozes de: Dwayne Johnson, Seann William Scott, Jessica Biel. Duração: 91 min.

Do Começo ao Fim 
Drama – 18 anos

Filhos de pais diferentes, os irmãos Francisco e Thomas têm uma relação muito forte desde a infância. Já adultos, passam a morar juntos e vivem uma intensa história de amor. É um filme polêmico! Mas eu não tiro da cabeça o fato de que Júlia Lemmertz só fez esse filme para aparecer…

Brasil, 2009. Direção: Aluízio Abranches. Elenco: Rafael Cardoso, João Gabriel Vasconcellos, Júlia Lemmertz. Duração: 100 min.

Cidadão Boilesen 
Documentário

Através da surpreendente vida de Henning Boilesen, o documentário revela a ligação política e econômica entre empresários e militares no combate à luta armada durante o regime militar brasileiro. ZZZZZZZZZ…

Brasil, 2009. Direção: Chaim Litewski. Duração: 92 min. Classificação: 92 min.

A Trilha
Terror – 16 anos

Dois casais de amigos passando férias no Havaí descobrem que um grupo de psicopatas está perseguindo e matando turistas.
Milla Jovovich é uma moça simpatica, canta bem (Oi?) e faz parte de uma das mais bem sucedidas adaptações de um jogo para os cinemas. Mas eu acho que tá na hora de mudar de agente.

(A Perfect Getaway) EUA, 2009. Direção: David Twohy. Elenco: Milla Jovovich, Steve Zahn, Timothy Olyphant. Duração: 97 min.

Entre a Luz e a Sombra (São Paulo e Belo Horizonte) 
Documentário – 10 anos

A História de pessoas que dedicam sua vida para humanizar o sistema carcerário, como a atriz Sophia Bisilliat, a dupla de rap formada por Dexter e Afro-X dentro do Carandiru e um juiz que acredita em um meio de ressocialização mais digno para os encarcerados.
Cadê Jennifer’s Body???? Ainda quero ver no cinema! #prontofalei

Brasil, 2009. Direção: Luciana Burlamaqui. Duração: 150 min.

Eliezer Batista – O Engenheiro do Brasil 
Documentário – Livre

Documentário sobre a vida de Eliezer Batista, ex-presidente da Companhia Vale do Rio Doce, duas vezes Ministro de Estado e um dos mais influentes personagens do Brasil moderno.

Brasil, 2009. Direção: Victor Lopes. Duração: 84 min.

Julie & Julia: A história real de Julie Powell, nova-iorquina que, ao perder o emprego, decide cozinhar diariamente as receitas da renomada Julia Child e narrar suas experiências em um blog.

Direção: Nora Ephron. Elenco: Amy Adams, Meryl Streep, Chris Messina.

Prestemos muita atenção neste longa. Possivelmente poderá estar concorrendo em alguma categoria do Oscar no ano que vem. Nora tem um estilo próprio e muito gostoso de filmas seus longas. Dá gosto de ver. Sobre Streep, é “A ATRIZ”.

Planeta 51: Os habitantes do Planeta 51 vivem aterrorizados pelo medo de um ataque alienígena. Sua paranóia se concretiza com a chegada de um astronauta da Terra.

Direção: Javier Abad e Marcos Martinez. Com vozes de: Dwayne Johnson, Seann William Scott, Jessica Biel.

Pela sinopse, dá para perceber que é uma história diferente. Dessa vez, nós terráqueos somos os intrusos. Acho que vou assistir.

Do Começo ao Fim: Filhos de pais diferentes, os irmãos Francisco e Thomas têm uma relação muito forte desde a infância. Já adultos, passam a morar juntos e vivem uma intensa história de amor.

Direção: Aluízio Abranches. Elenco: Rafael Cardoso, João Gabriel Vasconcellos, Júlia Lemmertz.

Já estou vendo manchetes pela internet: “Filme polêmico”. Só sabem falar isso? O importante é que seja uma história bem contada. Não?

Cidadão Boilesen: Através da surpreendente vida de Henning Boilesen, o documentário revela a ligação política e econômica entre empresários e militares no combate à luta armada durante o regime militar brasileiro.

Direção: Chaim Litewski.

Vou dizer que parece interessante hein…Para quem gosta de História, é uma boa pedida. Documentários são sempre bons de assistir quando se quer  refletir um pouquinho.

A Trilha: Dois casais de amigos passando férias no Havaí descobrem que um grupo de psicopatas está perseguindo e matando turistas.

Direção: David Twohy. Elenco: Milla Jovovich, Steve Zahn, Timothy Olyphant.

Cá entre nós, este longa é bem diferente dos thrillers de ação convencionais. Se você está procurando um pouco de adrenalina ao sentar na poltrona de cinema, este aqui vale a pena. Um bom entretenimento.

Entre a luz e a sombra (São Paulo e Belo Horizonte): A História de pessoas que dedicam sua vida para humanizar o sistema carcerário, como a atriz Sophia Bisilliat, a dupla de rap formada por Dexter e Afro-X dentro do Carandiru e um juiz que acredita em um meio de ressocialização mais digno para os encarcerados.

Direção: Luciana Burlamaqui.

Não vi. Porém, esse é o tipo de documentário que deveria nos representar. Estamos perdendo tempo demais mostrando problemas. Está na hora do cinema mostrar como resolvê-los. Não na mesma moeda em que coisas ruins acontecem. Humanização. Seja lá como for, precisamos disso.

(…)

Guilherme Jr.

The Crazies trailer is now available on-line and the remake should be ready for a February 2010 release:

The original was a low-budget horror film Directed by the legend that is George Romero and was released in the years between Night of the living dead and Dawn of the dead. Although it wasn’t a complete success, over the years it’s gained a cult following and even though the acting wasn’t the best, the story of a small town under siege from the military and infected towns-folk was decent enough to warrant a remake.

Will it be any good though? Well, it stars Timothy Olyphant and it’s got zombie/ infected in it. Of course it’ll be good…

A Perfect Getaway

A Perfect Getaway (Theatrical/Unrated Director’s Cut) [DVD]

A Perfect Getaway (Unrated Director’s Cut) [Blu-ray]

Director: David Twohy
Writer: David Twohy

Starring: Steve Zahn, Timothy Olyphant, Milla Jonovich

Honeymoons, Killers, and plot twists oh my! A Perfect Getaway might be the one movie to come out this summer that most of the general public did not hear about. It appeared to have very low advertising for it, and just as quick as you could blink your eyes it was gone from theaters. Does this mean that A Perfect Getaway is a terrible movie? No, in fact this is so far from a bad movie it hurts to think that most people will not ever end up seeing it.

A Perfect Getaway stars Steve Zahn, Timothy Olyphant, and Milla Jonovich in what turns out to be a hell of a thrill ride. This thriller finds a couple on a Honeymoon in Hawaii where while on a hiking venture they end up hearing about a recent murder that occurred in the area. A young married couple on their honeymoon had been murdered by someone who was still on the loose.

The movie then becomes a who done it movie with subtle little clues being left throughout the movie to give us an insight in to who just may have been behind these murders. The acting from the cast is very well done and should not be taken for granted. I know there are a few things in the movie that prevent it from being a perfect movie but in a world where every type of thriller has already been done this movie just so happens to stand out a bit more amongst the crowd.

I have to say that this movie will go very under noticed by the movie going public and yet it should not do so. If you are in the mood for a movie that does the job it sets out to do then i recommend turning this movie on tonight. I know this one will manage to surprise some of you out there and that is just what we need sometimes when it comes to watching a movie.

A Perfect Getaway may at times be flawed, but I can look past the minor flaws of this movie and admire the good that it presents. Overall I recommend you all to at least give this movie a chance and let it speak for itself.

My Rating: 70%
Over 72, 000 DVDs for $24.95/month! Check out Canada’s Leading Online Video Service

A Perfect Getaway UNRATED Directors Cut

Aqui les dejo una simple trivia que he preparado para todos ustedes, se trata de que ustedes digan que actor o actriz participo en cada pelicula (facil no?), por favor traten de hacerlo sin ayuda de google, sean honestos ya que no ganaran nada solo un poco de entretenimiento.

Aqui estan los nombres de los actores y actrices:

George Timothy Clooney

Tobey Maguire

Daniel Radcliffe

Timothy Olyphant

Angelina Jolie

Ahora demuestra que tanto sabes sobre protagonistas!!

A Perfect Getaway with Timothy Olyphant, Steve Zahn, Mila Jovovich, Kiele Sanchez and Chris Hemsworth

for the trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGdcG76uyNc

Cliff (Steve Zahn) and Cydney ( Mila Jovovich) are newlyweds who are in Hawaii for their honeymoon. However the exotic backpacking/trekking vacation gets a little complicated when they learn that there is a couple who have been murdering people on the island. They have met two couples so far: Kale and Cleo – a hitchhiking couple they might have annoyed: the guy seems to be holding a grudge against them and Nick (Timothy Olyphant) & Gina (Kiele Sanchez)- who have actually joined their vacation plans. They seem fun and friendly, yet their eccentricities might be bordering on dangerous.

Now we as the audience know that there’s a murderous couple. We start to play a who- are- the-killers game. It is fun and it is not meant to be disturbing or scary. It is an intriguing movie with amazing scenery. It is more of an adventure than a thriller with interesting characters. I especially enjoyed Kiele Sanchez’s and Chris Hemsworth’s performances- though Chris doesn’t have that much screen time, he is good at arousing suspicion. He is a talented Australian who I hope we will see more in the future.

The movie is by no means perfect and it doesn’t have the potential to be a cult movie. I don’t mean to give spoilers but you might feel some dialogs could have been better structured. But…forget about what you might call plot holes and just enjoy.

Chris Hemsworth in A Perfect Getaway

Radha Mitchell in The Crazies

Radha Mitchell

By Franck Tabouring – ScreeningLog.com

Overture Films released a new photo of Radha Mitchell in action in Breck Eisner’s upcoming horror remake “The Crazies,” and you can check it out just above.

The film focuses on what happens to people in a small American town hit by a deadly virus that enters the local water supply and turns many of the town’s residents into freaks feeling the urge to kill and destroy.

Timothy Olyphant stars as the town’s sheriff and Radha Mitchell plays his wife. Danielle Panabaker, Preston Bailey, Justin Welborn and Joe Anderson co-star in the film written by Ray Wright and Scott Kosar.

“The Crazies” will open Feb. 26, 2010. A trailer for the remake of George A. Romero’s 1973 film debuted last month.

Amazon Specials!

Timothy Olyphant

Have you seen “The Girl Next Door” ? It is a fun comedy: a teenager (Emile Hirsch) falls in love with the girl next door (Elisha Cuthbert). The problem is she’s a porn star and her producer Kelly (Timothy Olyphant) doesn’t have any plans of letting her live a cute fantasy with her boyfriend. It’s a funny, harmless little movie and this is the first movie I have ever seen Timothy Olyphant in. The thing is I just thought Kelly was a nuisance and a morally corrupt character and didn’t think much of him. It wasn’t a difficult role. And I didn’t even find him remotely attractive.

Timothy Olyphant in The Girl Next Door

And I completely forgot about him. Then I saw Catch and Release.

CATCH AND RELEASE (2006)

Timothy Olyphant and Jennifer Garner in Catch and Release

I actually didn’t even recognize him. He didn’t look that different and it wasn’t like he had a wild change with his image. But this role was completely different.

Gray is barely hanging on. Her fiancé has just died, she is broke and his friends are basically are all she’s got. So she moves in with Dennis and Sam. And Fritz is sticking around for some reason, though he seems to be getting on everybody’s nerves. Gray has accidentally witnessed Fritz having sex at the funeral and she has been mad at him ever since. But as time passes, Gray discovers some truths about her dead fiancé and realizes that maybe he wasn’t as great as he thought he was. First she finds out he has a secret account she never knew about and has been regularly sending money to a person- and then she learns that person is the mother of his child. To make matter worse, he has been cheating on her. While Sam is lost in his own depression and Dennis seems way too considerate for a friend, it is Fritz that helps her cope with these new facts and helps her have fun. Fritz may not be perfect, but he is not the jerk she thought he was.

Timothy Olyphant as Fritz

The minute you see Fritz, you just want Gray to get over her fiancé’s death and her hatred for Fritz soon and well, hang out with Fritz so that he will have much screen time. He is good-looking, fun and whatever stupid things he might have done, it is not that easy to judge him since he has lost a close friend and everybody has a different way of coping. And you want her to stop mourning when you realize the guy was a tw0-timing liar and had been with another woman for years without her knowing it. And the more you know Fritz, the more like him. He is fun, sweet and well gorgeous. So it is weird falling for your fiancés friend and him falling for you, but it is a fun,emotional film. It is not original but then I don’t think it ever tried to be. It is also a question of how well we really know the people we think we know really well.

Below is the link to one of my favorite scenes. Gray has just found out that her fiancés kid is much younger than Fritz initially told him,which means he had been cheating on her for years. Fritz was just trying to soften the blow on her. Now, she is very mad at her fiancé- which is good, so she doesn’t really feel guilty about Fritz. The scene also happens to be one of the best kisses in a movie. Impulsive and passionate, and still managing to be gentle:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9lt4v04FTA&feature=related

DEADWOOD (2004-2006)

Timothy Olyphant as Seth Bullock in Deadwood

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guxNtlktMbU&feature=related

It’s a western/drama/thriller and Timothy Olyphant is one of the leads. If you have seen Deadwood after Catch and Release, it is a lot more surprising to see Timothy go all wild west on his audience. As Fritz, he was an advertising hotshot with a place in Malibu. Here, he is a much more complicated character as the Sheriff. He is not nearly as composed, and as a modern man for his time, he seems to have a hard time excepting the horrifying level of crime and violence going on in the town. He has 0 tolerance for betrayal and he prefers speaking his mind to acting diplomatically. The show has two seasons and it is highly rated.

The movie also uses a very free language, meaning: brace yourself for some R-rated dialogue. Note that one of the characters’ names is Swearengen and it is not a coincidence.

Live free or Die Hard

Timothy Olyphant as the villain in Live Free or Die Hard

There are two impressive things about Timothy, one about his looks and one about his acting. Now, Timothy is normally a young-looking actor. In Catch and Release, I just couldn’t believe he was 37! However a year later, he plays the villain in the 4th movie of the Die Hard series and he suddenly looks seasoned. He didn’t age overnight,of course. He is just really good at adapting to his role. He had to be a guy who seeked vengeance for what felt like wrong doing on his part and he just takes this revenge thing on everyone. It just wouldn’t look convincing if he looked like a man fresh out of college; his nemesis is Bruce Willis, for god’s sake! However, Tim’s character is one of the coolest, most cold-blooded villains seen on screen- and he brought the role facial expressions I had never seen him do before. I don’t know a lot of actors who can do that. Yes, there are a lot of good actors but their expressions/way of acting don’t really differ that much or cease surprising you at one point. The last time I was pleasantly surprised like this was by Robert De Niro’s performance in Stardust- I have seen his 3 decades of movies and it was the first time a role of his and his portrayal surprised me.

It is not just Tim’s performance though. Live Free or Die Hard is a solid action movie. It sure includes some physically impossible stuff but hey it is John McClane we are talking about, it is expected. The explosions and chasing and plotting are great. The villain is not just muscles, but brains- who doesn’t mind getting his hands dirty/bloody when he needs to. His smooth delivery and coolness make an impressive, chilly effect.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khwHUyt-CYQ&feature=related is the trailer.

HITMAN (2007)

Timothy Olyphant as Agent 47 in Hitman

Hitman is based on a very popular computer game. Agent 47 has been raised as a kid to be the perfect assassin. No emotions, no complications. Just get the mission, get it done, and get out. An impressive bank balance, no conscience and no emotions. He can get himself out of any danger and you seriously do not want to mess with him. However some people do, and things go awry. After all, the people who “programmed” him have forgotten that no matter how “mechanic” they trained him to be, he is still human. He is also surprised to see he has some feelings he can’t define, which starts after meeting his female target: a Russian hooker (Olga Kurylenko), whose political figure boyfriend might very well involved in the conspiracy.

I actually laughed when some people commented that Timothy’s acting was flat. Did they pay attention to anything going on in the movie? 47 was raised to show and feel no signs of emotion. He is based on a computer character. He is supposed to be flat. But later with the Russian girl, he starts to feel a variety of mixed emotions and he portrays the different levels of reaction perfectly. The movie is fast and it is entertaining as hell. We go to different places in the world, including Russia and Turkey with the characters. There’s lots of action- both with weaponry and fighting. There is also a subtle sense of humor and it is fun to watch Agent 47 begin to change and how he deals with himself. A scene where she’s trying to seduce him and he gives her a sedative shot to get her off him is just plain hilarious. There is also a fun nod at the computer game. I like mindless action. Bring it on!!!

Trailer for the Hitman: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUAURAgF2Kc&feature=related

A link for one of the best scenes: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0z9EyP38SIM&feature=related

A PERFECT GETAWAY (2007)

A Perfect Getaway with Timothy Olyphant

Timothy is featured in the show Damages, but I already wrote about it. So I am gonna end the post with one of his latest movies, a thriller called A Perfect Getaway. I just got my hands on the movie and haven’t seen it yet but am quite looking forward to it. With this, Timothy is back to his familiar gorgeous look- which suits the exotic and dangerous vacation theme of the movie.

The great thing about him is that he is a very versatile actor. I could only feature some of his films here. He has had no problems playing a bisexual character falling for his gay boyfriend’s female best friend (Advice from a Caterpillar), a cold-blooded villain (Live Free or Die Hard), a highly professional killer (Hitman), a misunderstood nice guy (Catch and Release); an annoyingly slick TV reporter with no moral principles (Bill), a sheriff in the old west (Deadwood), a drug dealer (Go)….Well the list speaks for itself. It is great that he is very good-looking, and that he doesn’t show his 41 years- which gives him the opportunity to play more kinds of roles.

It is also impressive that he is married with 3 kids and that he has been married since 1991. He has been around for a while and it seems like the movie-makers seem are smart enough to take advantage of this skilled actor. Hope he gets the credit he deserves.

Timothy Olyphant, 90s. I don't really see much of a difference...

my post about Timothy in Damages: http://inthenameofmovies.wordpress.com/2009/11/02/damages-when-your-favorite-big-screen-actors-go-tv/

Damages cast featuring Rose Bryne, Ted Danson, Timothy Olyphant, William Hurt, Glenn Close and Marcia Gay Harden

I love legal dramas. I love them even more if they use their thriller potential to the maximum. Up to now, I have been a big fan of The Practice ( starring Dylan McDermott) and Shark (starring the amazing James Woods), along with the absurdly humorous Boston Legal (with James Spader) – where the judges and the juries have to be won with wit,brains and some drilling cross-examinations of the witnesses. So my friend recommended Damages. It turned out to have the most impressive cast of actors I have ever seen on television:

GLENN CLOSE

Glenn Close as Patty Hewes in Damages

I like Glenn Close as an actress. She may not be your typical screen beauty but she has an exceptional cool screen presence and she will make you buy whatever character and have you rooting for her, even though the character might be a villain,like the seductress she plays in Dangerous Liaisons. And she is no stranger to playing a lawyer. She has co-starred with Jeff Bridges in Jagged Edge. However this role is quite different. She is a smart, no-bullshit type who never fully trusts a person. She is also not the most honest and ethical person she is going to meet. She rarely loses a case. What sets this show aside though, it doesn’t concentrate what goes on in the courtroom but rather what happens at the law firm her character Patty Hewes runs and owns. Behind the scenes involve enough action and deceit to keep you glued to your seat.

So knowing Close can very well make a great show on her own, I started watching. But when I saw the cast, I was more than pleasantly surprised.

WILLIAM HURT

Glenn Close as Patty Hewes in Damages

I’ve been a fan of William Hurt since I have seen Eyewitness, a really good thriller from 1981. I can’t wait to get my hands on its DVD and watch it again. My second favorite movie with Hurt is Dark City, by the director Alex Proyas- who got himself a much-deserved cult status with The Crow in 1994. Hurt’s acting is mostly subtle and he delivers perfect performances all over. So when I saw Damages and realized he had one of the most vital co-starring roles, I got even more addicted to Damages. He plays Daniel Purcell, a scientist who is an old acquaintance of Patty Hewes (Glenn Close) and asks for her help when he suspects the firm he works for is altering some crucial information to manipulate the energy industry. To make matters worse, his wife is killed. Now, you can never be exactly sure if his character is an imperfect but generally nice man or a sociopath who is just a really good actor or just someone in the grey area, neither entirely evil nor good. Hurt is perfect for this role that keeps you guessing and plays with your perception of him.

TIMOTHY OLYPHANT

Timothy Olyphant as Wes Krulik in Damages

I find him to be one of the most talented actors of his generation ( born in 1968, he is about the same age as Gerard Butler, Hugh Jackman, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, and such). He really can get into character- and he can get into it so well that the next time you see him in a movie, you might think it is the first time you have seen him. Yeah, he can be that diverse. I am not going to get much into his career, I’ll be writing a post on him soon. But let’s say that one of his recent appearances has been in the 4th part of the Die Hard quadrilogy Live Free or Die Hard, where he plays Bruce Willis’s and actually the country’s worst enemy. He does well as smart and cool criminal. He can also just go and shave his heat and bring a video game character to life as he did in Hitman. Some of his other roles include a bisexual falling in love with his boyfriend’s best gal pal (Advice from a Caterpillar), the “manager” of a porn star (The Girl Next Door) and the misunderstood bestfriend of a girl’s recently deceased fiancé (Catch and Release). The role of Wes Krulik in Damages is not his first TV role, however. He made quite an impression in the western thriller Deadwood with his leading role.

Here he plays the confidant to Ellen Parsons (Rose Bryne). A guy she knows from the grief counseling group she goes to, trying to deal with her fiancé’s death. Wes appears to be dealing with the death of his girlfriend and becomes one of the few people Ellen trusts. But then again, this is tv show that we can be sure of the intentions of one character only, and that is Ellen. Wes does seem too good to be true, in deed.

ROSE BRYNE

Glenn Close as Patty Hewes in Damages

It is fun to see a familiar face on a show. Rose Bryne previously played Archilles’ love interest in Troy. Ellen is probably the only really good character in the show. She is by no means perfect but it is so easy to empathize with her and understand what she is doing and why.

TED DANSON

Ted Danson in Damages

Ted Danson is fun. He makes really enjoyable movies and he can be funny and charming at the same time, which is essential for comedic performances. Of course he has been on TV a lot: Cheers was really popular, and as was Becker. I especially loved him in Becker, where he plays a doctor whose bedside manners are not that different from Gregory House ’s (from the medical drama House). I had seen him as clumsy,charming, grumpy, witty and /or clueless but I hadn’t quite seen him as a bad guy. Here he plays a billionaire (Arthur Furbisher) not so concerned with other people until something drastic happens to him. But it doesn’t seem like he can get away with it, since Ellen is onto him.

BRETT CULLEN AND MARCIA GAY HARDEN

Bret Cullen

Marcia Gay Harden

It can be hard to catch these two in leading roles but no matter how big or small their parts are, their perfomances are solid. Brett Cullen plays an executive with good ties and you wouldn’t want to mess with him. He is Daniel Purcell’s (William Hurt) boss. Harden plays Claire Maddox, legal consultant to one of the biggest firms in the energy sector. However you can’t exactly tell where her loyalty lies. Since everyone is in a complicated relationship with each other and true loyalty is very scarce.

The show is good. There’s enough suspense and drama to catch you on the edge. So I did cheat a little and started with season 2. But it is good and until season 3 premieres, I have a whole season to catch up with the characters’ pasts. Looking forward to it.

Perfect Getaway, A (2009)
★★ / ★★★★

“A Perfect Getaway” tells the story of three couples in Hawaii–Steve Zahn and Milla Jovovich; Timothy Olyphant and Kiele Sanchez; Chris Hemsworth and Marley Shelton–and two of them happen to be killers. It’s the audiences’ jobs to guess who the real killers are but it’s actually less than fun it sounds because the journey to get to the revelation is pretty generic. Three-quarters of the film was funny because of all the misfortunes and suspicions of Zahn and Jovovich. While the two did not exactly have chemistry, they were interesting enough as stand-alone characters for comic relief and some sensitive moments. I just wished that the movie had more thrills than comedy because half-way through it, I constantly wondered where it was going (or even if it was going anywhere). David Twohy, the writer and director, did not shape the picture’s tone to a level that rises above tried-and-true formulas of false alarms and supposed twist endings. Speaking of the twist, I’ve read on some message boards that the picture did not quite cheat. I cannot disagree more. There were some unexplained (and ultimately unjustified) scenes that did not at all make sense when one takes the time to look back on what was happening as a whole. I believe that the movie was designed primarily to trick the audiences and the glaring inconsistencies were just too unforgivable for me to believe that it could happen in real life. After the revelation, although I did expect it in some way, it really took me out of the experience and the suspense involving the mystery immediately dissipated into thin air instead of giving me the chills like a really good suspense/thriller movie does. Still, I did enjoy the chase sequences while they lasted. In a nutshell, “A Perfect Getaway” was a highly uneven film but there were some good laughs and exciting chase sequences (when they finally happened). It’s a good DVD rental but definitely not worth seeing in theaters.

Following on with a horror theme for Halloween, it has been 36 years since famed zombie lover George A. Romero created one of his most loved films to date, The Crazies. It seems that Inevitably, along with many other old school horror movies, such as ‘Halloween‘ and ‘The Nightmare On Elm Street‘, having been made into remakes, with fairly successful reputations. The Crazies is no exception, with a theatre release set for February 26th, 2010, one can only hope; much like with other films mentioned, that it is equally, if not more popular than the original of it’s franchise.

The plot focuses on the inhabitants of a small Iowa town suddenly plagued by insanity and then death after a mysterious toxin contaminates their water supply. The 2010 version seems more like a reinvention than a remake where in the original the military attempts to contain a manmade combat virus that causes death and permanent insanity in those infected, as it overtakes a small Pennsylvania town.

Of course Mr. Romero is known for his influence in zombie culture over the last few decades, it may seem like his influence in the film may be irreplaceable, but is it really? New director Breck Eisner, aged 39 attended USC where other notable alumni include; Neil Armstrong, Will Farrell, George Lucas and Forest Whitaker, so it’s not like he wasn’t around an aura of success at a young age. From his previous work on the unappreciated film ‘The Sound Of Thunder‘, I expect good things from him. On a equally as important note, the cast members! Timothy Olyphant (The Girl Next Door, Hitman, Live Free Or Die Hard) will play the protagonist David Dutton, with Danielle Panabaker (Sky High, Yours, Mine and Ours, Friday The 13th) and Radha Mitchell (Phone Booth, Silent Hill, Surrogates) also making appearances within the film. What do you think will come of this remake?

Flicking through the channels on Austar (not my subscription nor my tv, as I am sadly too poor for such luxuries) I noticed an advert on the W channel for season 2 of Damages. I never really followed the careers of Glenn Close or Ted Danson with any interest, but them tearing up the screen in season 1 made the show one of the most fun legal crime thrillers I have seen in an age.

Better yet, it featured a glimpse of the enticing Timothy Olyphant engaged in some kind of vaguely devious behaviour towards (my compatriot) Rose Byrne. Not only did I have no clue that season 2 was finally on, but Timothy Olyphant was again gracing the small screen in these post-Seth Bullock times! How much I have to catch up on.

Browsing HuffPo, I came across this recently written article by Glenn Close entitled Mental Illness: The Stigma of Silence. She writes about aspects of some of her most notorious characters with great clarity and knowledge. Better yet, she recommends the work of Kay Redfield Jamison, whose memoir An Unquiet Mind: A Memoir of Moods and Madness is up there with William Styron’s Darkness Visible: A Memoir of Madness and Andrew Solomon’s longer The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression (whose shorter piece in The New Yorker prior to the publication of was read by Naomi Watts when preparing for her devastating performance in David Lynch’s masterpiece, Mulholland Drive).

Originally published in Rip-In Magazine, Issue 038, 2007.

Genre: Action Drama
Starring: Bruce Willis, Timothy Olyphant, Justin Long, Maggie Q, Cliff Curtin, Jonathan Sadowski, Andrew Friedman, Kevin Smith, Yorgo Constantine, Mary Elizabeth Winstead
Director: Len Wiseman

My grandma always said, “If you want a good action drama, there’s a few things that is a must-have: 1) People must die (preferably in agony), 2) Someone must always triumph (and the hero’s always soiled by the end of the show), 3) Cars and/or planes must explode (hopefully taking with it an entire suburb), and 4) They’re fighting for justice and loved ones (family pets included).”

Three words sum up my grandmother’s sagacious and astute perceptiveness: “Yipee-Ki-Yay!” That is John McClane’s (Willis) infamous, signature expression that has traversed the Die Hard series and even etched itself within pop-culture etymology. Wiseman’s film trails behind the dogmatic wake of action movie scripts and cheers itself for being visually and cinematically stunning. While the audience might “Yipee-Ki-Yay” the skyward catapult of McClane’s patrol car into a helicopter, or perhaps grip one’s seat in an explosive freeway chase sequence, the plot and narrative are painfully conventional.

The beaded storyline of Die Hard 4 is woven predictably. McClane has a fight with daughter Lucy (Winstead) and leaves discontented to a mission to apprehend some hacker criminal. Matt Farrell (Long), the star computer genius, is head-hunted by both a secret criminal organisation and the police. McClane finds Gabriel and is inevitably siphoned into the web of deceit, terrorism and techno-war. As the duo dangerously progress to uncover the truth of events, Gabriel (Olyphant) scratches through the scenes to reveal his plans to conquer the virtual communications of the United States and then, we also assume, the world. The old and feisty cop coupled with the bedraggled and naïve computer nerd finally disrupts Farrell’s ambition for inscrutable autocracy. In the last bid to bend the fates, Farrell abducts McClane’s daughter to force the surrender of the anti-hero. Of course, in the end Farrell dies, McClane lives with scratches, Lucy gets a bit traumatised and forgives her father’s impudence, and the computer nerd transcends his hermit life to become the dare-develling successor of the Die Hard series. The audience leaves their seats and wonder if the cinema would consider a discount on the ticket.

I tip my hat to some of the quirky lines and quip of Willis’ character. At certain scenes the audience were up and roaring with laughter and we could see the continuity of that comedy through Long’s dry wit (whom I assume would be the next McClane in Die Hard 5). While I would not discount the visual spectacular of the film, it would be tautological to state that action movies are now prescribed to CGI magnificence. The Hollywood mantra exclaims that if a story sucks then don’t hold back on the blue-screen effects. Die Hard 4 is but a clichéd fold in the ever proliferating ripple of mainstream, action films. Fans would not be disappointed as Die Hard 4 levels with an archaic plot and formula, which adheres to the idiom: “if it’s not broken, don’t fix it”. However, critics and general audience might find the over-rehearsed banter and adventure to be banal and outmoded.

NOTA : 6

Download subtitrare A Perfect Getaway

Trailer A Perfect Getaway :

Recently I wrote a post about the upcoming February release of The Crazies directed by Breck Eisner and starring Timothy Olyphant and Radha Mitchell.  The movie is a remake of the 1970’s verision, of the same title, directed by George Romero. 

At first I was very skeptical about this film seeing as  remakes often ruin classics.  But, although Romero is a horror legend and his movies have stood the test of time, this particular film is one of his least known.  That’s why I am also pretty excited about its release.  The Crazies, in short, is a bout a town that literally goes crazy due to a toxin released into their community. 

I expect a lot of gore, a lot of violence, and probably some political storyline involving government coverups and illegal testings, etc.  Recently, the trailer (which you can watch below) was released and I have to say I’m impressed by the advertisment.  It gives us a sampling of the characters, setting and the overal violence and carnage we can expect on the screen.  It is still too early to tell how it will stand on the remake scale.  Most of the time remakes tend to fall way short of the originals.  But I have a good feeling about this one.

The Crazies – Trailer 2010 

Jeg ELSKER zombie-film og i The Crazies ser det ud til vi får en rigtig nasty en.. Filmen er en remake af George A. Romero’s originale fra 1973, hvor en dødelig gift får indbyggerne i en lille by til at gå amok.

The Crazies est le remake d’un film de George Romero datant de 1973, racontant l’histoire d’une petite ville de Pennsylvanie affectée par un virus qui rend les gens complètement tarés. Et à voir la bande-annonce, on peut au moins dire que ça a été fait décemment. Et vu qu’en plus on a Timothy Olyphant en mode shériff (ce qui le meilleur mode pour Timothy Olyphant (Deadwood)) et Radha Mitchell en mode survie (le meilleur mode de Radha Mitchell (Pitch Black)) en train de défourailler du péquenaud zombifié, ça peut être très sympa.

Le remake nous vient de Breck Eisner, à qui l’ont doit Sahara, mais à qui l’ont devra aussi le très attendu Flash Gordon, qui doit sortir en 2012, et le non-moins attendu (quoique) La Créature du Lagon Noir.