Category: Movie Dramas (Page 155 of 188)

Blu Tuesday: Gran Torino, The International and Fired Up

June 9, 2009 /

It may be another slow week in the world of Blu-ray, but while you won’t find too many titles worth owning on the New Release shelf, there are a few movies that are at least worth a rental. Today’s catalog selection is also pretty lackluster (“Predator 2,” really?), so just consider this week another welcome opportunity to save up for the months to come.

“Gran Torino” (Warner Bros.)

Of course, one movie definitely worth purchasing is Clint Eastwood’s no-frills drama about a Korean War veteran whose neighborhood has become overrun by a community of Asian refugees called Hmong. Easily one of the best films of 2008, “Gran Torino” also managed to become a surprise hit at the box office. I’m not sure how (it’s a great movie, but it doesn’t exactly scream “mainstream”), but it’s just nice to see audiences embrace such a low-key drama. The movie also features Eastwood in one of his best performances to date – somehow making an unapologetic racist seem remarkably charming – but is biggest contribution is in casting of Bee Vang and Ahney Her, two relative unknowns who do an incredible job standing toe-to-toe with the acting veteran. The Blu-ray is pretty low-key itself, but fans will enjoy “The Eastwood Way,” an exclusive featurette about the making of the movie.

“The International” (Sony Pictures)

Though I still have yet to actually see the lukewarmly received crime thriller, it’s hard not to recommend “The International” based solely on the involvement of Clive Owen and Tom Tykwer, director of the cult film “Run Lola Run” and the hugely underrated “Perfume: The Story of a Murderer.” Though it’s been called anti-climactic by many, it’s hard to deny the appeal of both men, not to mention the inclusion of Naomi Watts as Owen’s partner in crime. Still, movies don’t just get delayed or divide critics for any old reason, so you might want to approach “The International” with caution. If nothing else, at least you’ll get a decent collection of extras to browse through including a director/writer commentary, a making-of featurette and a look at recreating the Guggenheim for the film’s climactic shootout.

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External Movie DVDs, Movie Comedies, Movie Dramas, Movie DVDs, Movies

…And the Winner (Really) Is….

June 8, 2009 /

No, this is not a reference to last night’s Tonys. True, the movie-inspired “Billy Elliot” did take the night, continuing a “trend” for B-way musicals that go back to the classic film era, and it’s also true that host Neil Patrick Harris is a winner both for his show-closing/show-stopping musical summation, and because Empire Online has announced a couple of movie gigs for the still up-and-coming Doogie Horrible. (h/t Whedonesque).

However, it seems that the battle for the #1 box office spot discussed on my last post actually had a somewhat different result than we thought. It’s important to remember that those numbers I talk about on Sunday are really only estimates, though they are treated by press-sters as just this side of gospel. The upshot is Variety is reporting that both “The Hangover” and “Up” did better than expected business yesterday, but the former did just a little bit better better business, if you follow me. Sayeth the big V’s Pamela Mcclintock:

Final figures will show that “Hangover” grossed $45 million from 3,269 runs. “Up” should finish at $44.3 million to $44.4 million from 3,818 theaters.

I don’t suppose it really matters that much in the final analysis; nobody’s going broke here. (Well, I can’t speak for degenerate gamblers. Someone, somewhere, just lost a big bet.)

In other box office news I didn’t have time for yesterday, “Angels and Demons” cracked the $400 million mark over the weekend worldwide, sayeth the Finke. “Terminator Salvation” is not doing so badly overseas, actually. “Land of the Lost,” however, may be doing even less well than expected. Critics, you may step up your gloating.

Action Movies, Actresses, External Entertainment, External Movies, Movie Comedies, Movie Dramas, Movies, News, Sci-Fi Movies, TV Comedies, TV Dramas

Sunday Morning Movie Moment: “The Maltese Falcon” and More

June 7, 2009 /

Just five folks, having a little talk.

If that suave, portly fellow with the deep voice and the little short one with the German accent bargaining with the ultra-cynical Bogie and poor Mary Astor look familiar, here’s a great, great post about two of Hollywood’s greatest character actors from the mysterious Self-Styled Siren, and from “Hollywood Canteen,” a World War II propaganda cameo-fest from Warner Brothers, another clip with the famed pair having some fun at the expense of their respective images (the good stuff starts at about 0:30).

Actors, Actresses, External Movies, Movie Dramas, Movies

“…Fresh insights into the collaborative effort of filmmaking…”

June 6, 2009 /

I’ve been going back and forth all day about how to deal, if at all, with the more sensational/embarrassing aspects of the ongoing story of David Carradine’s death.

I’m not doing a gossip column here. Ethical issues aside, on a day to day basis, I have little interest in it. However, there are times when I’m just as fascinated by the more dramatic details of other people’s lives as anyone, particularly if they were interesting people, and David Carradine certainly qualified. In any case, if you’re a cinephile and you deny being a bit of a voyeur, you’re probably no fun to spend time with.

Also, how can anyone ignore a possible auto-erotic asphyxiation, a morality tale about what can happen when self-described recovering alcoholics apparently return to drinking, and even an apparent suspicion of the possibility of foul play? Considering my linking to the stories above, I’d be a huge hypocrite to deny my own interest in this stuff, but as Will Harris’ memorial piece from the morning of reminds us, this was a human being and there’s a good chance I might well find myself dying in some embarrassing way. (Perhaps choking on a pastrami sandwich, clad only boxers and a mustard-stained Astro-Boy t-shirt, while watching “Once More With Feeling” for the 200th time.)

In any case, I don’t have much to add to it except for one more link, from close to where I live in the heart of American Cinephilia. It’s writer Chris Willman‘s account of a post-screening Q&A involving Carradine and legendary cinematographer Haskell Wexler — an important filmmaker and a complex dude in his own right — gone seriously weird. I don’t know how I missed hearing about this event when it actually happened. I’ve been to hundreds of such post-screening discussions and while things have occasionally gotten slightly prickly under the surface when former coworkers reunite to discuss eventful productions, I’ve never seen anything rivaling this. But, as the putative host of the event, a screening of Hal Ashby’s epic biopic, “Bound for Glory,” implied in the comment I lifted for the title of this post, it does kind of a give us a peak inside the hairier side of picture-making, which may have been just a bit hairier in the 1970s.

Actors, External Movies, Movie Dramas, Movies, News

Gekko’s Pals, Pooh, and Cozzalio, Too

June 2, 2009 /

* Nikki Finke has some big casting news, and perhaps bit of minor spoilage, on Oliver Stone’s real-world news inspired sequel to his long ago hit, “Wall Street.” It seems that Shia LaBeouf and Javier Bardem will be helping Michael Douglas — as an ex-con Gordan Gekko — illustrate the updated fiscal morality play. No mention if Charlie and Martin Sheen are going to scream at each other in an elevator again. (The great Sheen family act-off of ’87, I calls it.) As usual with Finke’s posts, avoid the comments if you don’t feeling like saying “meow” under your breath every two seconds.

* Good news for fans of 2-D animation, and parents and kids, over at Disney. Per the Hollywood Reporter, a traditional style animated edition to the “Winnie the Pooh” franchise is in the works. Aside from the fact that a CGI Pooh would be an atrocity, this is good news because 2-D animation is simply more appropriate for some projects than others – especially considering that only Pixar seems to have the knack for computer animating humans at this point.

* Around the cinephile blogs…Sergio Leone and the Infield Fly Rule’s Dennis Cozzalio, who likes his horror at least as much as he likes his spaghetti western baseball, talks about “Drag Me to Hell” at length — and not only about his swell drive-in movie soiree last week — including some intriguing thoughts about that PG-13 rating (and an ensuing colloquy in comments, featuring…me).

Actors, External Movies, Horror Movies, Movie Dramas, Movies, News

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