Random Factoid #353

16 07 2010

To your left is a sight that I’ve been waiting to look at for nearly a year – my ticket for “Inception.”  In a little less than four hours, I will be basking in the glory of Christopher Nolan’s latest feature.  At the time this post is published, I would be in the theater at the midnight showing of the movie.  But life has a way of surprising us.  If everything went according to plan, it wouldn’t be life.

So I guess I’ll use this factoid to kind of wrap-up everything leading up to “Inception.”  Thanks to everyone this week that has been reading all of my reviews of Nolan’s films; I’ve been seeing the stats and reading the comments, and everything has just been incredible.

You may recall that back in April, I described my desire to avoid all things “Inception” leading up to the release.  I’ll quote that post, Random Factoid #275, here:

I am attempting to do the impossible: avoid the media blitz surrounding Christopher Nolan’s “Inception” and walk into the theater on July 16th without knowing anything about the plot.  I am not going to read plot summaries, watch trailers, or read any sort of specific review.

I am prepared to do whatever it takes not to have this movie spoiled.  I will start bringing either headphones or earplugs to tentpole summer movies where previews will most assuredly play.  If I see any feature on the movie, I will shield my eyes and go away.

First of all, I want to issue a blanket apology to any friend of mine who put up with my obsession for the last few months.  Particular apologies go out to anyone who has seen a movie with me, where during an “Inception” trailer, I would plug my ears, close my eyes, and hum to drone out the noise.  This was a good way to clear out the other folks on my row, but my friends never abandoned me.  Another apology to anyone who has watched TV with me because I would often demand a channel change when a commercial for “Inception” came on.

But hopefully my persistence pays off tonight.  I have not watched a trailer since the teaser, and I know next to nothing about the plot.  I avoided looking at posters and slogans, didn’t look at any plot descriptions, and have only seen about 10 stills from the movie.  I think that’s pretty impressive.

And I’m so ready to absorb the movie that I’ve bought several magazines with spotlights on “Inception,” including the American Cinematographer, which features a discussion with DP Wally Pfister.  (Trade tidbit: DP is short for “director of photography,” which is another way of saying cinematographer.)

And all my technology has been decked out in “Inception.”  Both my phone background and computer desktop are artwork from the movie.


Comments : 4 Comments »
Tags: , , ,
Categories : Random Factoids

Blogathon Alert: And you think I’m celebrating Nolan…

15 07 2010

Well, I’ve done it.  I have reviewed each and every one of Christopher Nolan’s movies leading up to “Inception,” which hits theaters in about 10 hours.  Rewatching and revisiting all the movies have reminded me of how truly visionary he is.

But as far as celebrations go, I have done nowhere near as much as Bryce over at “Things That Don’t Suck.”  He has put together a massive blogathon, compiling all sorts of reviews and features on Nolan and his movies.  It’s truly incredible to see all the great stuff that has been written, and trust me, there’s no dearth of it.  So click on the banner below to see not only everyone else’s work, but Brice’s own reviews and opinions on Nolan.

It’s time to get our minds blown, folks.


Comments : 3 Comments »
Tags: ,
Categories : Blogosphere, Marshall and the Movies

NOLAN REVIEW: The Dark Knight

14 07 2010

After the modest critical and financial success with “The Prestige,” Nolan returned to the Batman franchise and released a movie that riskily omitted the name of the Caped Crusader – “The Dark Knight.”

Two years later, how do you review Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight?”  What hasn’t been said?  There’s no one left to convince to see the movie; if anyone hasn’t seen it, they aren’t worth the effort.

After watching and rewatching Nolan’s films prior to this, it only made me realize more that “The Dark Knight” is a perfect realization of all the themes he loves to explore.  It’s about the extent of rules and limits, something he touched on in both “Following” and “The Prestige.”  It’s about the blurriness of morality, a theme he examined in “Memento” and “Insomnia.”  It’s about fear and what it can drive us to do and become, something that we saw a lot of in “Batman Begins.”

But there’s plenty unique to “The Dark Knight.”  It’s a rumination on terrorism as the anarchistic Joker seeks to cause madness in the streets of Gotham.  Batman, the only person with any hope of stopping him, has to consider how far he is willing to go to eliminate the Joker before he himself becomes the villain.  As their fight escalates, Bruce Wayne becomes more and more uncertain that he is the hero in his own story.  Some have read into this undertones of George W. Bush waging war on terrorism against Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda.  That’s a rather extreme way to look at it, but it’s not too much of a stretch to say that this storyline did tap into the zeitgeist.  We ourselves have wondered where to draw the line in our fight on terrorism as to aggression.  How much counter-aggression does it take before we ourselves become the aggressors?

Of course, you can’t discuss the movie without heaping superlative after superlative on Heath Ledger’s The Joker.  It’s a role that deserves to take its place among the most iconic characters in cinematic history, something Ledger’s unfortunate passing sealed.  His complete immersion and stunning transformation overshadowed pretty much every other performance in the movie, which says a lot because there were some other fantastic turns.  Forget the deep, raspy Batman voice and Christian Bale is flawless, delivering a subtle portrait of Bruce Wayne’s affliction and inner torment.  Aaron Eckhart is compelling as Harvey Dent and Two-Face, as good at being the hero with a face as he is at being the villain with half a face.  There’s solid foundational performances from veterans Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine, but the movie’s true unsung hero is Gary Oldman.  As the only truly noble man in the movie, he’s a figure to be admired and respected, and there’s a good chance you won’t even notice it.  But that doesn’t stop Oldman from putting any less sensitivity or emotion into it, nor does he try to overdo anything to make himself stand out more.

Still, it wasn’t Heath Ledger alone that drove the movie to extreme critical acclaim and some of the most enormous box office receipts in history.  Nor was it the look of the film – which, by the way, was spectacular, particularly Wally Pfister’s breathtaking cinematography.  It was Nolan’s script, full of intelligence and insight, that won audiences over.  Such intellect was so unconventional for a movie of the genre, and we had generally allowed ourselves to think that action movies don’t require us to engage our brains.  Yet Nolan challenged our assumption and delivered a movie that successfully blended smarts with action, and we loved the exciting and refreshing change of pace.  Now, we want every action movie to be more like “The Dark Knight.”

So call it a masterpiece.  Call it the most thematically rich and relevant movie in recent memory.  Call it the first shot in a revolution for the comic book, superhero, and action genres.  Call it the movie to define a decade not just of moviegoing but also of American life.


Comments : 2 Comments »
Tags: , , , ,
Categories : Blog Events, Movie Reviews, Nolan Marathon

NOLAN REVIEW: The Prestige

13 07 2010

After great critical and commercial success with “Batman Begins,” Nolan went back to the familiar territory of complex storylines and plot twists with “The Prestige.”

Whoever said cinema was magic was clearly foreseeing “The Prestige.”  Christopher Nolan uses his sorcery to conjure up a truly enchanting moviegoing experience, one that draws you in close at the beginning and keeps you gripped for the entire ride.  And it just so happens that the movie is about magic, so the comparison is perfect.

It’s all about the competition as Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman play rival magicians in early 1900s England, both of whom vie for the greatest success.  But they soon realize that the only way to come out on top is to eliminate the other, so their rivalry becomes dangerous as they work to destroy each other.  Stealing tricks as the only the beginning; they make decisions that affects life away from the stage as well, throwing friends and loved ones into the middle.

The beauty of the Nolans’ script (Christopher and brother Jonathan collaborated on the movie) is that it picks no favorite magician.  There is no set hero or villain, and Bale’s Borden does as many despicable deeds as Jackman’s Angier.  Thanks to their impartiality, we really just get to watch the events without worrying about the protagonist pulling through.

The movie’s slogan of “Are you watching closely?” is perfectly fitting as Nolan lures us in as if performing his own magic trick.  And indeed he is, following the traditional setup of a magic trick as Michael Caine’s John Cutter says at the beginning of the film.  The pledge, which in magic consists of showing us a normal object, is very much the film’s first act as we see the developing competition between the two magicians.  And just like the turn in magic, which makes the normal abnormal, the tension escalates.  We are looking for the reason, not wanting to be fooled by Nolan’s wizardry.

Sure enough, in the prestige, we get it.  In typical Nolan fashion, there’s a twist, and what we’ve been watching turns out to be something entirely different.  Yet we are willing to be fooled by a magician, and being fooled by Nolan’s “The Prestige” turns out to be quite thrilling in retrospect.


Comments : 6 Comments »
Tags: , , ,
Categories : Blog Events, Movie Reviews, Nolan Marathon

Oscar Moment: “Inception”

13 07 2010

Countdown to “Inception” is at T-minus 3 days.  I haven’t bought my ticket to go at midnight yet, but I plan on doing so today.

But some people don’t have to wait.  There are plenty of critics and Oscar pundits who have seen Christopher Nolan’s latest film, and I hate them all.  Just kidding!  Judging from their reactions, we have a serious Oscar contender on our hands.  The movie currently sits at a very healthy 97% on Rotten Tomatoes.  The one rotten review as of yet comes from New York Magazine‘s David Edelstein, who even concedes, “Nolan, who wrote the script, thinks like a mechanical engineer, and even when you can’t follow what’s happening, you can admire in theory the multiple, synchronized narrative arcs…”  Edelstein’s review brings down the Metacritic rating for “Inception” down 20 points, from a 97 to 77.

Although it may be too early to call, I think the critics are going to ga-ga for this movie.  All of Nolan’s movies have been certified fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, and I don’t think this will be any different.  Even if a sudden onslaught of negative reviews comes out of nowhere, as I talked about in my Oscar Moment on “Shutter Island,” there have been non-certified fresh Best Picture nominees.

It was only two years ago that “The Reader” with a disappointing 61% managed to steal a Best Picture slot from Nolan’s own “The Dark Knight,” which scored an impressive 94%.  Redemption will definitely be on voters’ minds as massive backlash to the Best Picture snub was very vocal.  So vocal, in fact, that it may be the biggest catalyst in the Academy’s decision to expand the field of Best Picture nominees from five to ten.  Even AMPAS President Sid Ganis said, “I’d be lying if I said ‘The Dark Knight’ didn’t come up in the discussion [to change the number of nominees].”  So a Best Picture nomination for “Inception” would be the first step in healing the wounds caused by their omission.

I think a Best Picture nomination is in the bag.  Judging from what I’ve read, the movie is good enough to get it on its own merit; the atonement factor only helps.  Film School Rejects today went as far as to predict the film’s victory in Best Picture.  Here’s some of what Cole Abaius wrote:

… In addition to being a better film than The Dark Knight, it’s also more traditionally Oscar-worthy while still being cutting edge. Theoretically, TDK was choked out of the running because it was “just a Superhero movie,” but there’s no similar sentiment here. It’s a classic-style hero’s journey featuring five Oscar nominees and two Oscar winners in front of the camera …

Kris Tapley at In Contention was a little more cautiously optimistic:

The first thing that comes to mind when I think of the history of Best Picture nominees is the fact that, on some level, they are fairly undemanding efforts.  There’s a pattern of simplicity of narrative, regardless of genre.  Now, most seem to think the general positive assessment Nolan’s film has received should be enough to get it into a field of 10 nominees, but I’m a touch skeptical.  “Inception” is anything but undemanding …

We all remember Nolan’s superhero epic did not make the cut with five slots.  And the thought process for some is, well, it’s time for AMPAS to kiss and make up.  Except that’s not the typical AMPAS thought process, and certainly not for a still youngish talent like Nolan.  I’m not here to piss in anyone’s cornflakes, but I just don’t think anyone can simplify the argument to, “It’s sure to get in with 10.”

And given that people will undoubtedly chalk up the success of “Inception” to writer/director Christopher Nolan, he will probably go along for the ride and receive a Best Director nomination.  Even if Best Picture hopes fade over the next few months, Nolan could easily stay in the discussion for director based on the visual style the movie possesses.  The decade has seen plenty of lone director nods for stylistic triumphs – David Lynch for “Mulholland Drive,” Pedro Almodovar for “Talk to Her,” Fernando Mierelles for “City of God,” Julian Schnabel for “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” – although it’s probably less likely with the expanded field.

The screenplay should find a home in the Best Original Screenplay based on the originality and creativity of its premise, even if Best Picture and Best Director fail.  Nolan wrote “Inception” himself, and he has a prior nomination from the writer’s branch for “Memento.”  And that was Christopher Nolan before he was Christopher Nolan.

Leonardo DiCaprio could be a contender in Best Actor.  He’s had a great year between this and “Shutter Island,” and particularly if the field is weak, he could sneak in with a nomination as a reward for a good body of work in 2010.  The voters would probably have to rally around this movie, though, to get him in and prevent vote splitting.

But the movie’s surest bets are easily in the technical categories.  Best Visual Effects should be a slam dunk, as should nominations in the sound categories.  I can see Best Film Editing being a very strong possibility, and Wally Pfister’s cinematography, which has earned three nominations for work on Nolan’s past movies, could easily be nominated.

In three days, we will be able to discuss “Inception” and its chances, not just speculate.  Until then, we wait, some more eagerly than others.

BEST BETS FOR NOMINATIONS: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Visual Effects, Best Film Editing, Best Cinematography, Best Sound Mixing, Best Sound Editing

OTHER POTENTIAL NOMINATIONS: Best Actor (Leonardo DiCaprio)


Comments : 3 Comments »
Tags: , , ,
Categories : 2010 - Oscar Moment, Oscar Moment

NOLAN REVIEW: Batman Begins

12 07 2010

Nolan rose to a whole new level of notoriety by taking on the rebooting of the “Batman” franchise, taking the series in a new, exciting, and grittier direction.

Although I was alive in the 1990s, I wasn’t consciously aware of the rapid descent of the “Batman” franchise at the time.  Trying to brush up on my knowledge of the series before the release of “Batman Begins” in 2005, I watched these movies that had audiences cringing.  The Tim Burton/Michael Keaton collaborations had some sense of artistic vision, albeit in a fairly corny kind of way.  The Joel Schumacher/Val Kilmer teaming was pretty dreadful, but it doesn’t get much worse than 1997’s “Batman and Robin.”  George Clooney is a fantastic actor, but with his smug, pissy attitude, he was totally the wrong person to play the Caped Crusader.  Plus, the Batsuit had nipples, just a horrific manifestation of how far the series had sunk.

Then along came Christopher Nolan, who was still all the rage from “Memento,” with a darker vision for Bruce Wayne and Batman.  He based his approach to the movie on “humanity and realism” to make the rise of a hero all the more extraordinary.  Rather than delve into exorbitant villains like Poison Ivy and Mr. Freeze, whose credibility rests on fantasy, he chose to have Batman fight the kind of men who might actually be on the streets striking terror into the hearts of citizens.

What Nolan delivered was nothing less than astounding.  He built not only a hero but a man, the oft-neglected part of superhero movies.  The priority with the movie was to develop the character of Bruce Wayne, to show what made him tick and why he would become a masked vigilante patrolling the streets of Gotham at night.  Nolan, who also wrote the movie, develops a highly effective psychological profile of Wayne (Christian Bale), who decides to done the guise of Batman to overcome the fear that has come to define his life since the murder of his parents at a young age.  He takes on the symbol of the bat, a fear of his since childhood, to share this fear with his enemies.

And it’s not just Wayne that Nolan goes to painstaking lengths to rebirth.  He also gives Gotham a facelift or rather, makes it a whole lot less glamorous.  I think that the city is one of the few things “Batman Begins” does better than its sequel.  It’s a dirty, graffiti-filled environment that looks like the breeding ground for criminals that it is.  The streets provide a great place for Batman to begin, taking down the mob and other organized crime.  They don’t really spawn much of a villain so much as someone with a threatening voice, Tom Wilkinson as boss Carmine Falcone.

We all know how great “The Dark Knight” is, and it’s easy just to bask in the glory of that.  But for Batman to start fighting a higher class of criminal, he had to learn to take care of the guys below.  In “Batman Begins,” we see just that.  Yet upon watching the movie post-“Dark Knight,” we realize that it has so much more to offer than just setting up a sequel and providing background.  It’s a fantastic movie for both character development and action that’s smarter than your average blockbuster.


Comments : 2 Comments »
Tags: , ,
Categories : Blog Events, Movie Reviews, Nolan Marathon

Random Factoid #349

12 07 2010

Viral websites.  Aren’t they fascinating?

It was really Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight” that revolutionized their use in a movie’s advertising campaign.  I remember there was a site for just about everything in Gotham – the newspaper, the bank, the police, even the pizzeria.

Sure enough, “District 9” carved out a nice audience for itself using a similar campaign the next summer with the “Humans Only” signs on bathrooms and benches and such.  And Nolan’s own “Inception” is doing the same now.

I slap myself for not getting more involved with “The Dark Knight” viral sites.  They really did reward the people who stuck with them.  I remembered hearing that the people who put their names in had been sent free advanced screening passes to see the movie in IMAX.  Of course, only then did I scour the websites looking for a way to get my hands on the passes.  It was to no avail; I even called the number on the pizza site.

And for the record, my self-imposed moratorium on intake of “Inception” has kept me from joining their viral site.


Comments : 3 Comments »
Tags: , , , , , ,
Categories : Random Factoids

NOLAN REVIEW: Insomnia

11 07 2010

After the smashing success that was “Memento,” Nolan went mainstream and made a movie for Warner Bros. – a remake of the Danish film “Insomnia.”

“Insomnia” is definitely the most conventional and least Nolanesque movie that Christopher Nolan has made in his career, but even that doesn’t stop it from being one great movie.  It’s a great psychological thriller and murder mystery that is well plotted and paced, plus it features three great performances from Oscar champs Pacino, Williams, and Swank.

Tough-as-nails cop Dormer, played by Pacino of course, is sent along with his partner to investigate a murder in summertime Alaska – where the sun doesn’t set.  And the disturbing beating and death of the teenager doesn’t get to Dormer so much as that sun does, which causes him to grow restless.  As if that isn’t enough, his partner is willing to throw him under the bus for personal gain, and he has to put up with a zealous hometown cop (Swank) who learned how to do her job from the lessons he preached.

It’s got that same kind of eerie, psychological vibe as “Shutter Island” gave off this year.  But what makes the pendulum swing in favor of Scorsese’s latest over Nolan’s film is the directorial control.  Scorsese slowly leads us into the mental anguish of Leonardo DiCaprio’s Teddy Daniels, making us grow more and more anxious until we almost can’t take it anymore.  Nolan in “Insomnia” only hints at Dormer’s torment by giving the occasional visual clue.  At the end, he goes all in and uses the cinematography and quick editing to make us feel nauseous and overwhelmed like the character.  It’s very effective, but the power might have been even greater had it been more present throughout the movie.

In fact, I’d like to see Nolan remake his own movie here in a decade or so.  Not necessarily “Insomnia” itself, but with more filmmaking expertise, he could revisit this genre and give it a masterpiece.


Comments : 2 Comments »
Tags: , , , ,
Categories : Blog Events, Movie Reviews, Nolan Marathon

NOLAN REVIEW: Memento

10 07 2010

After “Following,” Nolan adapted his brother’s short story to create one of the most gripping psychological thrillers of our time, “Memento.”

I can’t tell you enough to see “Memento.”  And then see it again.

I’ve only seen it once, but I can easily foresee multiple re-viewings in the near future.  It’s a movie so brilliantly crafted by the fearless Christopher Nolan that it surely can’t be fully comprehended at once.  Plus, I get the feeling that I’ll appreciate how intricate it really is more and more with each time I see it.

I won’t claim to be any sort of expert on the movie, but there’s plenty that I can tell you from one viewing.  The trick is how to describe it without giving too much away.  Nolan adapted “Memento” from one of his brother’s short stories, and he uses ingenious plot devices to tell the story of amnesiac Leonard Shelby, played by Guy Pearce, who lost his memory after witnessing his wife’s murder.  He’s left with almost no ability to store new memories, something that greatly impairs his ability to hunt down his wife’s killer.  Leonard has to leave himself little clues and notes to remember key facts in his hunt, which he does mainly by tattooing them all over his skin.

We get to see his hunt through two different storylines that run perpendicular.  Nolan keeps us guessing until the very end as we feel there’s a twist coming but still manage to wind up completely dumbfounded and stupefied by the conclusion.  I don’t think I’m spoiling the fun for you first-time watchers because I was aware of the presence of a twist ending and was still caught completely off-guard.  It’s too genius to see coming, and if you do, kudos because you are clearly smarter than me.

Just like any movie Nolan directs, the tension in the air can be cut with a knife.  It’s masterfully made, told with a visually arresting style that will have you completely engrossed from the first Polaroid flash.  “Memento” is like a giant puzzle, and it’s one you almost certainly can’t have entirely pieced together once the movie is over.  It may take many, many viewings before all the pieces come together … and that doesn’t bother me in the slightest.


Comments : 5 Comments »
Tags: , , , ,
Categories : Blog Events, Movie Reviews, Nolan Marathon

F.I.L.M. of the Week (July 9, 2010)

9 07 2010

As the countdown to “Inception” hits seven days and the nail-biting stage begins, I think it’s a perfect time to look back on the career of Christopher Nolan.  Today is the kick-off for a week long celebration of the director.  I’ll review all of Nolan’s movies leading up to Friday, where I will offer my take on “Inception.”  In addition, I hope to take a look at some of Nolan’s influences, reviewing those movies with particular attention to how they shaped one of the most influential directors of our time.

And it all starts here with the “F.I.L.M. of the Week,” Nolan’s first film, “Following.”  It’s a very modest debut in terms of scale; it stars no one you know and is nowhere near as flashy as “The Dark Knight.”  To put Nolan’s success in perspective, “Following” was budgeted at $6,000.  “Inception” cost $175 million to make.  Yet it’s interesting to watch this movie now, twelve years after its release, and see how it set the stage for some of the themes Nolan would choose to explore as a filmmaker.

The film follows a young writer in London, so desperate to find a story that he begins following random people for inspiration – yet another Nolan character living outside the lines.  He begins to set rules to avoid being pulled into darkness and obsession, but eventually these rules begin to fade away as he follows a fascinating and wealthy man.

The man, Cobb, confronts him and introduces him to a world of burglary for a more psychological than material effect.  Before long, the young writer is completely drawn in, consistently accompanying Cobb for robberies.  In typical Nolan fashion, nothing is really as it seems.  Much like “Memento” and “The Prestige,” the movie leads you in one direction and then yanks the rug out from under you in the climactic moments.

It’s amazing how Nolan’s artistic vision and commitment to keeping suspense so taut can still shine in such a small movie.  I hadn’t even heard of “Following” before today, but it packs as much power in its 70 minutes as any of Nolan’s other movies.  Because it is incredibly obscure, the only way I was able to watch it was online.  I want you all to experience Nolan as well, so I took the liberty of embedding the Google Video below.  You can enjoy “Following” without even leaving this blog.


Comments : 2 Comments »
Tags: , ,
Categories : Blog Events, F.I.L.M. of the Week, Movie Reviews, Nolan Marathon

Random Factoid #337

30 06 2010

I love a good surprise.

Some of my favorite movies are ones with twist endings.  It’s always such a thrilling feeling to be headed one direction for an entire movie and then have filmmakers pull the rug out from under you.  We celebrate plot twists, and they have made two directors with huge movies coming out in July – M. Night Shyamalan and Christopher Nolan.

But as I watched “Memento,” which I knew had a plot twist, I felt strange.  I was expecting the unexpected, which obviously makes the twist much more … expected and less effective.

Ditto for “The Sixth Sense,” which did actually get me though, and “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” whose plot twist I managed to call because I knew it was coming.

So is it really fair for us as bloggers to say that a movie has a twist?  Do we rob the thrill from the next moviegoer, who would be caught much more off-guard had they not been alerted?

Should I have even mentioned “Memento” and the movies that I did?


Comments : 2 Comments »
Tags: , , , , ,
Categories : Random Factoids

What To Look Forward To in … July 2010

10 06 2010

People are already calling summer 2010 one of the worst seasons in history.  Ouch.  Does July hold anything in store to turn the tide late in the game?  Let’s take a look.

July 2

M. Night Shyamalan give us his most mainstream movie yet with “The Last Airbender.”  Due to James Cameron’s mildly successful film “Avatar,” the Nickelodeon series opted to use only the last part of its name to avoid confusion (although you could make some good money from dumb moviegoers under the impression they’re seeing “Avatar 2”).  It got the quickie 3D conversion slapped on in the past months, which means I’m sticking to 2D here if I even see it at all. I’m worried that some backlash against the conversion could wind up really hurting this movie. But even before I knew about the added dimension, I couldn’t get myself too excited. No matter how extravagant and enormous they make it look, it’s still a Nickelodeon series. I have mixed feelings for Shyamalan; the only movie of his I actually liked was “The Sixth Sense.” I don’t know anyone in the cast save for Dev Patel, better known as Jamal Malik from “Slumdog Millionaire,” and he may end up being what draws me in to see it.

Sometimes I don’t catch everything when it is initially released, particularly indies.  I want to give them their fair shake, so I’m going to feature movies when they open in my hometown if I missed them before.  The first of these movies is “Solitary Man” starring Michael Douglas and thank heavens it’s not Michael Cera (that’s code for Jesse Eisenberg).  In her glowing review of the movie, Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly called this, not “Wall Street 2,” Douglas’ best shot for Oscar glory.  The story seems friendly enough and the character seems an Oscar type.  Rounding out the ensemble are Jenna Fischer (“The Office”), Susan Sarandon, Danny DeVito, and Mary-Louise Parker, so it seems pretty audience friendly too.

July 9

I’ll get to the mainstream fare later.  First, I must cover the indie comedy hit of the summer, “The Kids Are All Right.”  More to come later in an “Oscar Moment,” but expect it to make a splash a la “Little Miss Sunshine” and “(500) Days of Summer.”

Adrien Brody steps back into the horror arena after … let’s just say, going places in “Splice.”  This time, he’s rebooting the “Predator” franchise along with Laurence Fishburne and Topher Grace.  “Predators” proudly flashes the name of producer Robert Rodriguez.  But here’s what I want to know – will sequel/reboot/remake fatigue catch up with moviegoers by July and kill this movie?

I’m so excited for the release of “Despicable Me.”  Not because I want to see it, but because I’m so tired of seeing the stupid trailers with every movie I have seen for the past year.  My guess is families will still be choosing “Toy Story 3” over this.  Not even Julie Andrews can save a movie that proudly boasts the participation of an executive producer from the “Ice Age” series as if they had Steven Spielberg.

If you are looking for some shaky-cam horror, “[Rec] 2” comes out.  Strangely enough, I must have missed “[Rec]” 1.  But I did know about the predecessor to “The Girl Who Played with Fire,” the big indie of 2010 so far, “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.”

Opening in Houston on July 9 is “Restrepo,” the winner of the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance for documentary features.  It takes a look at the grittiest and most intense location of fighting in Iraq and its effect on the soldiers who fight there.

July 14/16

Inception INCEPTION Inception INCEPTION Inception INCEPTION Inception INCEPTION Inception INCEPTION Inception INCEPTION Inception INCEPTION Inception INCEPTION Inception INCEPTION Inception INCEPTION Inception INCEPTION Inception INCEPTION Inception INCEPTION Inception INCEPTION Inception INCEPTION Inception INCEPTION Inception INCEPTION … AHHHH!!!!!

Meanwhile, opening two days earlier to get out the way is “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice,” Jerry Bruckheimer’s latest blockbuster.  It starts Nicolas Cage as the sorcerer and Jay Baruchel as his apprentice.  I’ve been saying for quite a while now that Baruchel needs a big breakout; maybe he will get it with this once people match his face to the voice in “How to Train Your Dragon.”  On the Nicolas Cage front, the role seems kind of kooky.  Perhaps this is his Jack Sparrow?  I may end up seeing this solely for villain Alfred Molina, who rocked Doc Ock in “Spider-Man 2.”

Officially released on June 18 but not hitting Houston until July 16 is “The Killer Inside Me,” starring Casey Affleck and Kate Hudson.  Apparently it’s based on one of the most brutally violent and disturbing stories ever.  I’ll trust Kubrick here.

July 23

I’m hoping “Salt” becomes this summer’s “Wanted.”  Just an enjoyable, action-packed movie that doesn’t try to wow you, only entertain you.  Angelina Jolie makes one BA action heroine … or villain, depending on what happens in this movie.

Kiddie fare comes for the third straight weekend with “Ramona and Beezus,” starring Disney Channel sweetheart Selena Gomez.  This could do well because it’s an adaptation of the beloved series that has been around for decades, and it has an impressive adult cast including Sandra Oh, Bridget Moynahan, John Corbett, and Josh Duhamel.  Then again, it could also just fade into the mist of the other kids movies.

Opening on the indie side of things is “Life During Wartime” starring Allison Janney.

July 30

I’m honestly scared of “Dinner for Schmucks.”  I love both Paul Rudd and Steve Carell to death, and the plot here just reeks of a bomb.  My worst fear is that this and “The Other Guys” become the “Land of the Lost”/”Year One” comedy flop combo of 2010.  Maybe Zach Galifianakis can save it…

But what reeks of a stinker even more is “Cats and Dogs: Revenge of Kitty Galore,” a sequel that no one really wants.  And “Charlie St. Cloud” reeks of Zac Efron.

Meanwhile, there’s some good indie drama with “Get Low,” starring Robert Duvall.  See my Oscar Moment for further commentary.

Can July save the summer?  Will “Inception” rule the roost?  What will be the BEST movie of the month?  Let me know by taking the poll … DEADLINE IS JUNE 25.


Comments : 5 Comments »
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Categories : What To Look Forward To

REVIEW: Iron Man 2

10 05 2010

“Iron Man 2” may not have all that much to offer us as a movie, but it provides significant fodder for conversation about what it means to cinema in general.  In my mind, it marks the first comic book movie of the post-“Dark Knight” era.  Filmmakers have seen what made Christopher Nolan’s film such a hit on multiple fronts, and they are trying to strike gold using the same tools: namely, character development and strong plot over explosions and action.  Jon Favreau and the other minds behind “Iron Man 2” had time to adapt their series in an attempt to replicate that success.

One thing this sequel gives us is confirmation of a theory that many have been advocating for almost two years: “The Dark Knight” really does mark a revolution in the way we watch movies and the way they are made.  As soon as we saw it, we knew that we would never watch comic book or action movies the same way.  We instantly scorned “Transformers 2” and other movies that only emphasized the visuals.  But now, similar movies are trying to shift the focus to plot.  That’s a really good thing for the average moviegoer because it means that studios are recognizing our intelligence!

But “Iron Man 2” also reminds us of an unfortunate reality: some revolutions are only revolutionary once.  Some are meant to repeated; the American Revolution, for example, inspired similar uprisings in France, Haiti, and all over Latin America.  “Iron Man 2” incorporates many elements used in “The Dark Knight,” hoping to continue the pattern of success.

But its inability to recreate what made Nolan’s film so incredible signals the dawning of an era in comic book movies not favorable to anyone.  From now on, there will be “The Dark Knight” and every other movie who wishes they were “The Dark Knight.”  These movies cannot simply try to concoct their own version as if there is some sort of a formula.  Nolan’s movie worked for so many reasons.  Now, filmmakers have to find their own way if they want to make a movie that doesn’t play like a cheap ripoff of “The Dark Knight.”  A key factor to the success of Nolan’s film was originality.  Any movie that tries to use that originality will end up creating banality.

Read the rest of this entry »


Comments : 1 Comment »
Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
Categories : Movie Reviews

What to Look Forward To: “Inception”

25 08 2009

I won’t normally do this, but I just have to now.  At the moment, “Inception” is my most anticipated movie of 2010.  It is Christopher Nolan’s first movie since he lit the world on fire with “The Dark Knight,” which he directed and wrote.  He has gathered a superb cast for the project, including Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard, Ellen Page, and Michael Caine. He has kept the plot of his latest outing shrouded in secrecy … until today, when a very detailed plot summary was released.  I beg you, PLEASE DO NOT LET ME READ THEM!  And if you tell me, I will unleash my wrath on you.  I cannot accurately put into words my euphoria for the release of this movie.  I do not want it to be tainted by knowing the intricacies of the plot before I step into the movie theater!  Yes, I am using exclamation points because I really do feel that strongly!  Watch the teaser trailer that played before “Inglourious Basterds” below … the best since “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.” It sets up the movie perfectly and without giving away anything about the plot.


Comments : 2 Comments »
Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
Categories : What To Look Forward To

Next Entries »