Friday Movies

Sorry folks, not much to say about this weeks movies. I am looking forward to The Wolfman with Benicio Deltoro, and Anthony Hopkins next week though!

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NEW RELEASES THIS WEEK

From Paris With Love

A mousey diplomatic assistant (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) is paired with a real-life super spy (John Travolta) for a hazily defined mission involving drug dealers and terrorists.

Dear John

Young lovers are separated by war but keep their romance alive through letters. Lasse Hallström blandly directs his low-heat stars in this romantic drama based on the Nicholas Sparks novel.

Frozen

The fears in this low-budget and intermittently suspenseful film, in which a trio of friends are stranded in a ski lift, are rooted in the seemingly mundane reality of nature inexorably taking its course.

Killing Kasztner: The Jew Who Dealt With Nazis

This documentary pores over the life and legacy of Rudolf Kasztner, a leader of a Hungarian organization in World War II that helped Jewish refugees escape from Nazi-occupied Europe.

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OPENING FRIDAY, FEB. 12 From Guidelive.com

Beeswax: Jeannie and her estranged business partner Amanda have a falling out leading Jeannie to bond more with her non-paralyzed twin Lauren.

Creation: Paul Bettany plays Charles Darwin as he wrestles with The Origin of Species. Real-life spouse Jennifer Connelly plays wife, Emma Darwin.

The Last Station: Christopher Plummer received an Oscar nomination for his role as Leo Tolstoy.

Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief: Greek god Poseidon’s half-human son Percy and his friends are caught between Mount Olympus’ warring factions in this film based on the popular young-adult novels.

Saint John of Las Vegas: A compulsive gambler (Steve Buscemi) faces temptation and meets an assortment of odd characters when he travels to Las Vegas to investigate an insurance claim.

Valentine’s Day: Julia Roberts and Jamie Foxx are just two of the actors in this star-studded movie about intersecting LA love stories on the titular day.

The Wolfman: Benicio del Toro and Anthony Hopkins star in the much-anticipated (read: delayed) remake.

BOX OFFICE (Jan. 29-31)

2010
02/05
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Friday Movies Releases

Once again, there is not much to recommend at the theater. Mel Gibson has a new film out but it is a remake of a British miniseries from the 80’s. (I can attest that remaking a classic does not always work – Example: The confusing remake of Patrick McGoohan’s The Prisoner. Even with a cast led by Ian McKellan, and Jim Caveziel, the new mini sucked!)

However, as usual I digress…

Here is this weeks disappointing list of releases:

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NEW RELEASES THIS WEEK

Edge of Darkness

Mel Gibson stars as a lone widower cop whose daughter is killed in what everybody assumes was a hit meant for him. Further investigation suggests otherwise in this thriller based on the 1980s British miniseries.

When in Rome

Kristen Bell plays a woman looking for love who falls for the wrong man. After a drunken dip in a fountain where she steals some coins, the men who tossed them are instantly smitten with her.

La Danse: The Paris Opera Ballet

Director Frederick Wiseman takes his camera into the Palais Garnier in Paris for a film that’s a feast for ballet lovers, as well as one of the finest dance movies ever made.

Preacher’s Kids
Tired of being a preacher’s daughter and longing to experience more of life, 20-something Angie King strikes out on her own and joins a traveling gospel show. This film did not screen in advance for critics.

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FILM FEATURES

New video, DVD and Blu-ray releases: Michael Jackson’s This Is It, Saw VI, Whip It and more

The Screening Room: Blogging views, news and nuggets on all things movies

More features: Find a theater | Festivals/screenings

OPENING FRIDAY, FEB. 5 From Guidelive.com

Dear John: Channing Tatum is a young soldier who falls in love with a college girl (Amanda Seyfried).

From Paris With Love: John Travolta puts on his U.S. intelligence agent face and tries to stop a terrorist attack in Paris. Jonathan Rhys Meyers also stars.

Killing Kasztner: This documentary examines assassinated Hungarian Jew Rezso Kasztner, who negotiated to save more than 1,600 Jews on a rescue train but was later accused of being involved in the deaths of thousands more.

2010
01/29
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Friday Movies 1/22/10

Slim pickings this week on the movie front. We have a movie that Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson must have lost a bet to star in, an apocalyptic story with Paul Bettany as the Archangel Michael. Remember him as the sinister hit man  Silas in DaVinci Code? He was working for a secret order connected to the Catholic Church, and now he’s playing an Angel?

The only film that even looks remotel interesting is Extraordinary Measures with Harrison Ford, Brendon Fraser, and Kerri Russell. It’s bound to be a tearjerker with Fraser and Russel as parents of two children with a rare medical condition who get Ford as a research doctor to help. Based on a true story, it probably would have been better as a TV disease of the week movie.

Yes, folks, I know I am a little late on this one. Here you go.

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NEW RELEASES THIS WEEK

Tooth Fairy

Dwayne Johnson plays a cynical bruiser on a minor-league hockey team who is infamous for knocking out bicuspids. He is summoned to Fairyland, where he’s sentenced to two weeks of Tooth Fairy duty.

Extraordinary Measures

A sometimes moving, solid if unsurprising account of a father’s tireless efforts to use his business acumen to develop a cure for his children’s fatal genetic disorder.

35 Shots of Rum

A beguiling and keenly observational domestic drama from director Claire Denis in which a family on the outskirts of Paris copes with an unidentified tragedy. In French with English subtitles.

Legion
Paul Bettany plays the archangel Michael, who helps strangers turned compatriots in a battle to save humanity from God.
This film did not screen in advance for critics.

More movie reviews

FILM FEATURES

New video, DVD and Blu-ray releases: Gamer, The Invention of Lying, Pandorum and more

The Screening Room: Blogging views, news and nuggets on all things movies

More features: Find a theater | Festivals/screenings

OPENING FRIDAY, JAN. 29 From Guidelive.com

Edge of Darkness: Mel Gibson stars in director Martin Campbells film version of his BBC miniseries.

La Danse: Using footage from the rehearsals and performances of seven productions, director Frederick Wiseman explores all aspects of the Paris Opera Ballet Company.

When in Rome: Kristen Bell takes a trip to Rome and finds many men fighting for her heart.

The White Ribbon: Germanys Michael Haneke delivers a World War I mystery.

2010
01/25
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Friday Movies

NEW RELEASES THIS WEEK

The Lovely Bones

Director Peter Jackson’s adaptation of Alice Sebold’s acclaimed novel stars Saoirse Ronan as the adolescent girl who narrates from a perch just shy of heaven after she is murdered by a creepy neighbor.

The Book of Eli

Don’t let the post-apocalyptic setting fool you. What co-directors Albert and Allen Hughes have made is a 21st-century samurai film in which warrior hero Eli is on a quest to complete an urgent but elusive task.

The Spy Next Door

A mild-mannered pen salesman (Jackie Chan) is actually a superspy. He is courting a woman whose bratty kids look down on him for not being cool.

Black Dynamite

This is the story of 1970s African-American action legend Black Dynamite (Micheal Jai White), who is fighting “The Man.”

The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond

Bryce Dallas Howard plays a rich heiress in Tennessee whose father has done something criminal and scandalous. A party turns into an agonizing series of humiliations for her.

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OPENING FRIDAY, JAN. 22 From Guidelive.com

35 Shots of Rum: A drama surrounding a suburban French family.

Extraordinary Measures: Harrison Ford stars in this story ripped from the headlines about a couple trying to cure their children of a rare fatal disease.

Legion: Paul Bettany plays the archangel Michael, who helps strangers turned compatriots in a battle to save humanity – from God.

The Tooth Fairy: Ex-wrestler Dwayne Johnson is an ex-hockey player who is now a tooth fairy.

2010
01/15
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Friday Movies…Yes it’s the weekend again!

Here are a list of movies opening today. Ho hum. I can’t wait for the spring blockbuster season.

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NEW RELEASES THIS WEEK

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

The leader of a traveling show traded the soul of his daughter to the devil. Now the devil has come to collect his prize and a wager is made to save her. Terry Gilliam directs Heath Ledger’s final film.

Daybreakers

Edward Dalton, a bloodsucker who doesn’t want to feed on humans, falls in with humans who have found a way to change vampires back to friendly mortals in 2019, when most of the world has already turned.

Leap Year

Amy Adams plays a woman with an elaborate plan to propose marriage to her noncommittal boyfriend in this romantic comedy. Matthew Goode shows up to throw a hitch in her plans.

Youth in Revolt

To win his true love, Nick Twisp (Michael Cera) dreams up an evil twin, Francois Dillinger, who dares to say and do everything Nick can’t.

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OPENING FRIDAY, JAN. 15 From Guidelive.com

35 Shots of Rum: A drama surrounding a suburban French family.

Black Dynamite: Michael Jai White (Spawn!, Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married) stars as Black Dynamite, who fights “The Man” as only a blaxploitation hero can.

The Book of Eli: Denzel Washington (with kung fu action) is a man on a mission in this apocalyptic tale.

The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond: Bryce Dallas Howard and Chris Evans flame on! star in a film based on a screenplay by Tennessee Williams.

The Lovely Bones: Peter Jackson tackles Alice Sebold’s best-seller, narrated by a young girl who has been raped and murdered. Saoirse Ronan stars.

The Spy Next Door: Jackie Chan defends neighborhood children from spies.

BOX OFFICE (Jan. 1-3)

1. Avatar
2. Sherlock Holmes
3. Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel
4. It’s Complicated
5. The Blind Side
2010
01/08
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Last Friday Movies of 2009

Here is is. The last weekend of 2009.  One or two look promising.  “Sherlock Holmes” starring Robert Downey Jr, and Jude Law for example, and “It’s Complicated” with Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin.

At any rate, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

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NEW RELEASES THIS WEEK

Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel

The singing pre-teen chipmunk trio return to contend with the pressures of school, celebrity, and a rival female music group known as The Chipettes.

Sherlock Holmes

Purists may take offense at the down-and-dirty portrayal of Arthur Conan Doyle’s master detective, but director Guy Ritchie has crafted a rip-roaring action-adventure film of high order.

It’s Complicated

Meryl Streep and Alec Baldwin show the whippersnappers how it’s done in this breezy, tension-free comedy of infidelity and second chances.

Nine

Daniel Day-Lewis plays an Italian director struggling to make a new film with major distractions coming from the many women in his life. A remake of Federico Fellini’s masterpiece 8 1/2.

A Single Man

Fashion magnate Tom Ford makes an impressive directorial debut with this tale of George Falconer, a closeted gay man adrift in the ’60s.

Crazy Heart

Jeff Bridges plays a dissolute, overweight, alcoholic country singer trapped on a dead-end concert circuit. Oscar-worthy Bridges makes this potentially repellent character both fascinating and endearing.

Broken Embraces

Director Pedro Almodóvar extends the riff from 2004’s Bad Education: the filmmaker as agent of both redemption and doom, returning to settle unfinished business. In Spanish with English subtitles.

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2009
12/26
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New Movies

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Here are the movies which were released on Friday, December 18th. James Cameron’s “Avatar” took the box office as expected. Opening weekend take: $72 Million! Not bad, but it’s getting mixed reviews. a friend who is a Pastor saw it and was repelled by the film making humankind the heavies… I have not seen the film yet, but the theme seems a valid one to me. We find a planet with gentle natives, and exploit them, or kill them. Sound familiar anyone?

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NEW RELEASES THIS WEEK

Avatar

Writer-director James Cameron’s story of a faraway planet populated by a tribe of peaceful blue creatures that is infiltrated by a human corporation with evil plans.

Did You Hear About the Morgans?

Unfunny, tone-deaf comedy follows a separated husband and wife who are forced from their upscale urban comfort zones into a witness protection program in rural Wyoming.

The Beaches of Agnès

A captivating autobiographical documentary from French new wave director and artist Agnès Varda. It delights in playing with cinematic form, to the point that Varda’s life becomes a work of art in itself.

The Young Victoria

The story of the teenage princess who was caught in a tug-of-war between her scheming, power-hungry uncles is aided by an excellent ensemble and visual and verbal wit in this costume drama.

More movie reviews

OPENING WEDNESDAY, DEC. 23 From Guidelive.com

Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel: The Chipettes join Alvin, Simon and Theodore for what will probably be another hit.

OPENING FRIDAY, DEC. 25 From Guidelive.com

Broken Embraces: This color noir stars director Pedro Almodóvar’s most popular muse, Penélope Cruz.

Crazy Heart: Jeff Bridges plays a down-on-his-luck country singer in this film.

It’s Complicated: Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin form a comedic love triangle.

Nine: Daniel Day-Lewis and fellow Oscar winners Penélope Cruz, Marion Cotillard, Nicole Kidman and Judi Dench star in a musical based on Fellini’s 8 1/2.

Sherlock Holmes: Robert Downey Jr. plays the titular detective in this Guy Ritchie film. Jude Law is dear Watson.

A Single Man: Designer (and Texan) Tom Ford’s directorial debut features Colin Firth and Julianne Moore in a movie adapted from the 1964 novel by Christopher Isherwood.

2009
12/24
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Getting a life!

It has been a while since I wrote a real post up here. I have gotten fairly busy. Some of you know that I have been writing freelance for a few months now, and that has just gotten busier. That’s actually a good thing. I have gotten a couple more clients. So now I have to get up in the morning and pretend to work.  Sometimes it is hard to get motivated, probably because I have not worked at a real job in a long time.

This is different, however, I am working for me now.I am not making butt-loads of  bucks, but I am making enough that we can actually do some thing now and then.

Add this to the fact that we are beginning to get a life. Sue and I went to Pirate Days here in The Colony a bout three weeks ago.  Pirate Days is a themed activity that was started at a local park two years ago. You show up dressed in pirate garb, there are bands, shows, and booths selling and displaying various things. Sue had recently started at Curves, which is a low impact exercise program for women. They work on several different machines for about 5 minutes each, and do this for 3o minutes a day. Sue goes 3 times a week. Curves had a booth at Pirate Days, and any member that showed up in costume got $30.00 in Curves Cash (Which is not really cash at all, rather money that can be spent on Curves goodies, shirts, and other Curves themed items. )

So that is what prompted us to go to Pirate Days in the first place. We had to show up at the Curves booth with Sue in costume to get the Curves Cash, so we made up some costumes (sort of) and went.

After we went to the Curves booth, we wandered around. There was a booth for The Colony Christmas Spectacular. This is the annual light show that The Colony puts on at one of the fire stations, with the lights timed to music. They were asking people going by to volunteer. We explained to them that we could not get up on ladders, and do a lot of heavy lifting, and they said not a problem. There were plenty of things that could be done that didn’t involve ladders and lifting. So we signed up.

They had a stage set up at one part of the park that had some kids doing gymnastics, so we sat down on some hay bales that were set out for seats, and watched them. The kids were pretty good. Then they had an act come up called “Cut, Thrust, And Run!” These guys did a sword fighting show with a lot of comedy. They got a volunteer out of the audience and did a take off on Treasure Island. They tossed a lot of fruit into the air, and skewered it on their swords. At one point they tossed a pineapple up, and got it. One of the guys commented, “Got him right in the Sponge Bob!”

The next show was called Steel: The Show. This was another comedy stage combat show. This one did a Butchered version of Romeo and Juliet. Sue and I got picked to go up and be Romeo and Juliet.

The show lasts about twenty minutes, is punctuated with sword fights, and a lot of humor. I’m not really sure what the Bard would have to say, but somehow I think he would have laughed his ass off!

When the show was over, as they were leaving the stage, I asked one of the performers if they were looking for any new members. She referred me to their Fearless Leader. He told me they would be willing to have us join. They were not planning to rehearse the following week, but the week after that we would.

So we gave him our information, and when rehearsal time rolled around we were there. Pat, the leader started by showing Sue and I some very basic sword moves, and got us going, and then left us to work, while he worked with the others inside. Periodically he would check on us, and give us other things to do.

He recommended we get some wooden dowels to use for practice, as well as gloves. We got what we needed at Home Depot the next day. Sue and I worked all week in our back yard. (Our ceiling is too low to practice inside!) We were learning the rule of fives. In a nutshell there are five basic attack/parry positions in sword combat. We needed to learn the location for the targeting. According to FL, that is more important than which five you are at.

The following Sunday, we practiced again and worked with most of the troupe. We also learned the beginnings of footwork. All in all we are having a lot of fun, and will end up being folded into the troupe in various roles, so that we can be at more than one location or give people a break so not everyone is doing all four shows at a festival or something like that.

Stay tuned!

2009
11/13
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Friday Movies

We have suddenly gotten a life, which causes me to sometimes miss a few posts up here. At any rate here are this weeks movies. Comments will be posted eventually!

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NEW RELEASES THIS WEEK

Disney’s A Christmas Carol

A solid if noisy take on the Dickens classic, enhanced by the ever-improving 3-D Motion capture experience.

The Box

A stranger presents a couple with a mysterious container and a moral dilemma: Press a button on the box, they’ll get $1 million, and someone they don’t know will die.

The Men Who Stare at Goats

Odder-than-odd farce follows a small-town reporter who stumbles across the graduates of an Army “psychic” soldier program.

The Fourth Kind

This is a gimmicky, “Yes, this really happened” alien-abduction horror hooey, a film whose writer-director is so heavily invested in making us buy into it as fact, but it still manages a few good frights.

Skin

True story of Sandra Laing, a girl born with dark skin to two white parents in Apartheid-era South Africa.

(Untitled)

This very funny satire of the art world doesn’t do the easy things that a typical satire might do. It delivers some of the best conversations about art and its function and significance.

Crude

Powerful and powerfully upsetting documentary tracks the devastating effects of pollution on Ecuadorian Indians living along the Amazon and the ongoing civil suit filed on behalf of the Indians against Chevron.

More movie reviews

 

OPENING FRIDAY, NOV. 13 From Guidelive.com

2012: Roland Emmerich gets his apocalyptic mojo working. Among the victims: the Washington Monument.

The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day: The MacManus brothers are back on the hunt in this sequel to the cult favorite.

Pirate Radio: Philip Seymour Hoffman spins tunes in ’60s England.

Precious: Comedian Mo’Nique burns a hole in the screen as the mother from hell, an abusive monster who drives her daughter (excellent newcomer Gabourey Sidibe) to search for a better life.
2009
11/06
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Friday Movies

Here we go again. (I know I have not been here for a couple of weeks… Writing my little buns off!)

This week we have another installation of the Saw Franchise. I think they’re up to # 27 (actually this is Saw VI)I mean how many times does Tobin Bell’s character get to come back? What is he Jason, Freddy, and Michael Meyers rolled into one?

Hillary Swank is famed Aviatrix Amelia Earhart in the biopic about one of the most famous disappearances in history.

Also Chris Rock has a new comedy out, and next Wednesday the Michael Jackson love fest resumes with “This is it” I sure as hell hope it is!

Have great week, and don’t forget the popcorn! (You don’t think the theaters make money on the movies didja?)

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NEW RELEASES THIS WEEK

Saw VI
Special Agent Strahm is dead, and Detective Hoffman has emerged as the unchallenged successor to Jigsaw’s legacy. The studio declined to screen this film in advance for critics.

Good Hair

In untangling the issues of identity, sex, culture and commerce surrounding the styling of black hair, Chris Rock has made his funniest film ever.

Amelia

Director Mira Nair motors through a neatly packaged but mostly disappointing depiction of famed pilot Amelia Earharts lofty but ultimately doomed career.

Astro Boy

This big-screen animated adaptation of the wildly popular Japanese manga and television series from the 1960s tells a complex tale of a robot boy.

Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant

Teens deal with issues of eternal life and eternal damnation when a freak show comes to town looking for recruits for a vampire war.

Trucker

Michelle Monaghan delivers a riveting performance as a struggling single mom and trucker who is forced to reconnect with the 11-year-old son she hasnt seen since he was a baby.

The Damned United

A finely crafted retelling of the feud between English football managers Brian Clough (Michael Sheen) and Don Revie (Colm Meaney) set against the backdrop of early-’70s England.

More movie reviews

OPENING WEDNESDAY, OCT. 28 From Guidelive.com

This Is It: The late Michael Jackson rehearses before his planned tour.

OPENING FRIDAY, OCT. 30 From Guidelive.com

An Education: A student (Carey Mulligan) in swingin ’60s London falls for an older man (Peter Sarsgaard). Novelist Nick Hornby co-wrote the screenplay, based on Lynn Barbers memoir.

The Canyon: A mysterious guide turns a couples honeymoon in the Grand Canyon into a fight for survival.

Tony Manero: A serial killer is obsessed with Saturday Night Fever.

Somers Town: A black-and-white study of a social environment in London, concentrating on a pair of unlikely new friends and the girl they both fancy.

2009
10/23
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