Movie News Today

Johnny Depp will play Dr. Seuss in an upcoming bio-pic which he'll also produce. Sounds interesting enough.

The Washington Post has an excellent article on the life of Steve Jobs with particular attention paid to his work with Pixar. Very cool.

Director Peter Travis has been kicked out of post-production work on his Judge Dredd film. So, basically, we can go ahead and write this one off a full year before it hits theaters.

John Likes Movies gives us five movie politicians worthy of your vote. Co-signed, though I'd add Matt Damon in The Adjustment Bureau to the list.

Weekend Box Office Returns
1. Real Steel - $27.3 million
2. The Ides of March - $10.4M
3. Dolphin Tale - $9.16M ($49.07 million total)
4. Moneyball - $7.5M ($49.25M)
5. 50/50 - $5.5M ($17.3M)
6. Courageous - $4.6M ($15.89M)
7. The Lion King - $4.55M ($85.96M)
8. Dream House - $4.5M ($14.5M)
9. What's Your Number? - $3.05M ($10.31M)
10. Abduction - $2.9M ($23.37M)

The trailer for next year's The Raven came out this weekend and it looks...yeesh...not so good. I want good things for you, John Cusak.

Weekend Movie Guide - 10/7

"The Ides of March" - Ryan Gosling, George Clooney, Paul Giamatti
A young staffer (Gosling) on the campaign trail with a big shot presidential candidate (Clooney) struggles with the dirty choices that must be made to win an election. You can't ask for a better pedigree than Ides of March has given the film's A-list cast and director (Clooney). Politics in general do nothing for me either in real life or on screen but the trailers have painted this as a thriller and it looks darn good. Early reviews haven't been as overwhelmingly positive as I might have expected but I can't imagine this film could be anything less than at least "good."

Value: $8 Might not be the Oscar bait it was billed as but Gosling and Clooney alone should be enough to make this worthwhile.

"Real Steel" - Hugh Jackman, Evangeline Lilly, Dakota Goyo
A decade in the future, boxing has become a sport for sparring robots controlled by users outside the ring. Searching for a way to connect with his son (Goyo), a former contender (Jackman) refurbishes and trains an aging battle robot, turning it into a nationwide sensation. The studio has pushed this film HARD with ads dating back to the last holiday season. I was fairly resolute in my feelings that Real Steel would be a waste of time but the early reviews have been relatively decent. Personally, I'm shocked. I mean...this can't be good, right? Jackman has his moments but he'd need to be incredible to make this work. I'm not sold.

Value: $5 A week ago I would have said $3 but a few critics I trust seem to really enjoy this film. I'm confused.

"The Way" - Martin Sheen, Emilio Estevez (Limited)
After coming to Spain to retrieve the remains of his adult son (Estevez), a man (Sheen) decides to complete the cross country trek that cost his son his life as a form of both tribute and therapy. Sheen doesn't hold much sway these days and I'd honestly forgotten that Estevez is a person, but I must say, The Way sounds very intriguing. It has won over critics and audiences around the world through the festival circuit and its Rotten Tomatoes score is solid. Way to get it done, Gordon Bombay! (That's a Mighty Ducks reference, by the way.)

Value: $3 Most of us won't have an opportunity to see this in theaters but you can count me in when this hits DVD shelves.

"Dirty Girl" - Juno Temple, Jeremy Dozier, Milla Jovovich (Limited)
In the late '80s, a smalltown bad girl (Temple) runs away from home accompanied by her gay friend (Dozier). I saw the trailer for this a few weeks ago and it really looks terrible. Also, I don't get the appeal of Juno Temple. A number of critics seem to appreciate her work but I've never seen her do anything that's really worth all the buzz. Meh.

Value: $1 There are probably much better things you can do with that $10.

"Blackthorn" - Sam Shepard, Eduardo Noriega, Stephen Rea (Limited)
An aging Butch Cassidy (Shepard) joins up with a young gunman (Noriega) for one last shot at seeing home. Fun fact about me: if you want to get me interested in your film, just tell me it has anything to do with Butch Cassidy, Robin Hood, or Chewbacca. I'm in no matter what. (All three together?! Even better!) Blackthorn is a new take on the Cassidy story (or at least how it ends) and Shepard is perhaps the best choice to play the man outside of the ghost of Paul Newman. Really think this could be good.

Value: $5 I'll be viewing Blackthorn this weekend and you can too without even leaving your home. It has been playing on HDNET this week (some viewings may still be scheduled) and it's available On Demand with pretty much any cable service.

(Yes, I am pretending that Human Centipede 2 isn't a real thing. You should, too.)

A Personal History of "Arrested Development" and Why New Episodes Matter

For those who missed it entirely, Arrested Development was a sitcom that ran on Fox from 2003 to 2006. It was utterly brilliant, my pick for the funniest show of all-time, and a trend-setter that was unfortunately a few years ahead of its time. Over the years, its fan base has grown to an incredible size and for years, rumors have run rampant concerning an Arrested Development movie. This weekend, series creator Mitchell Hurwitz announced that not only would the movie happen, he also planned to shoot a short (10 episode) fourth season that would update audiences on where the characters have been since the end of the third season. I am absolutely giddy over this news. Arrested Development is my favorite show of all-time and one that I take ownership of as I was one of the VERY few people who watched it religiously from the very beginning. What this column amounts to is an ode to the show and its impact on television and maybe a dash of, "please, please, please get excited about this project" mixed in for good measure. Enjoy. 

In November of 2003, I was a college junior living in Themiddleofnowhere, Arkansas. I watched exactly three TV shows that did not involve sports:

1. Friends - Nearing its end, Friends was still must-see-TV for about 100 billion people;

2. Late Night with Conan O'Brien - Conan was the only talk show host that I or any of my friends watched (a fact that still holds true);

3. Reruns of The Simpsons - I can't tell you when the last time was that I watched a new episode of The Simpsons but from 2001-2005, I watched at least one rerun every weekday.

Within the next year, I would add shows like Lost, 24, and Scrubs to my viewing schedule but in 2003, that was the extent of it. And really, what else would you expect? I had classes, friends, social activities, and a list of other things to get to each week; I was never in my apartment during primetime hours, there was no such thing as a DVR (top five invention ever, by the way) and besides that, there was nothing on network television that appealed to me. The truth is, in 2003 there was very little that television had to offer that was aimed at me, the 20-25 year old, white, educated, male. I was too old for teen dramas (though I would have totally watched Boy Meets World if it was still on the air at the time) and too young for the various C.S.I. and Law and Order-type shows. Sitcoms were in bad shape, not so much dying as simply stale. Sure, people watched shows like 8 Simple Rules, Yes Dear, and According to Jim but no one really cared and young viewers were almost non-existent. Friends, Frasier, and Everybody Loves Raymond had all long-since peaked and would all finish their runs within the next two seasons. Reality TV had taken over and whereas these days, most of the really awful reality shows are relegated to vh1 and Bravo, 2003 was a different story. (Seriously, go look at the lineup from that year. DISGUSTING.) I wanted nothing to do with network television and sitcoms in particular and that was the general consensus among almost everyone I knew.

At some point that year, I started seeing advertisements for a new comedy called Arrested Development. Even in the ads, you could tell that something was different here. I can't remember if they ran trailer-like ads for the show or just the typical, "Watch Arrested Development" blurbs but whatever Fox did, it worked on me. As its debut date neared, I found myself becoming genuinely excited for the premiere though I was completely unsure of what to expect. That was part of the allure then and it's a component of what would make the show so great: you never knew what to expect. For perhaps the first time ever, I made a personal appointment to sit and watch the show's pilot.

Very few TV shows have the ability to suck you in from the first episode. I generally make a point to not judge a show based on the pilot because pilots are inherently flawed and often terrible. Arrested Development, however, was the exception. The pilot is a perfect introduction to the world of the Bluths, the large family at the center of the show, and by the end of the episode, I was completely hooked. It was funny, witty, and above all, exceptionally smart. The characters were well-defined, each of them complex in their own right yet resolute in their various absurdities. I'm not sure I've ever seen a sitcom that didn't have at least one character that wasn't quite as likeable or that got on my nerves. Arrested Development was that show. If you put a gun to my head and forced me to choose my least favorite character from the show, I'd probably just end up breaking down and weeping because they're all INCREDIBLE. It would be a Sophie's Choice for me and I'm only half kidding.

The writing was even better than the characters and the amazing actors who played them. The jokes flew left and right but unlike any other sitcom I'd ever seen, they weren't left sitting out there for the studio audience to pick like so much low hanging fruit. Rather, they were thrown out at a rapid pace, layered one over the other so that it was very possible to miss them if you weren't paying close attention. There were plenty of jokes that anyone could get but the best ones, the ones that really stuck with you, forced you to think for a second before laughing. Arrested Development was the first show that actually respected me, that treated me like I was smart. Whereas Friends took each joke 95 percent of the way toward the audience (not to bash on Friends; best sitcom of its type in my opinion), Arrested Development only went half-way, beckoning the audience to jump in and make the rest of the trip on their own. I felt smarter when I caught a tiny joke that CLEARLY the censors hadn't understood and it was if the show's creators and cast gave me a tiny wink each time, a "knowing nod" or a kudos for catching on.

Somehow, though, the show never became pretentious or so cool that it was no longer cool. That's a vital and often overlooked part of what makes Arrested Development so special. We live in a society that makes a routine out of propping up something that we consider to be "underrated" so much that we eventually get sick of it and turn, calling it "overrated." It happened with The Office, not to mention almost every band that has ever had a crossover hit. Something is cool until it realizes that it is cool and then it gets douchy, losing its coolness. That never happened with Arrested Development because no matter how "inside" the jokes became, the show was never condescending or snobby in its coolness. Maybe more importantly, it never missed. Three seasons brought us 53 episodes and not once was there a misfire. At times, the showed seemed to toy with jumping the shark and then somehow made a joke out of jumping the shark (this actually happened in an episode and it's one of the most glorious moments in the history of television) and kept right on truckin'. If I were to draw the "career" trajectory of Arrested Development on a line graph, the line would start with the pilot episode somewhere around "95 Percent Awesome" and never drop below that mark. (It would actually be a pretty boring graph, come to think of it.) 53 episodes, all of them incredible. No other show has ever or most likely will ever do that.

Each and every week, I would think the show had peaked and each and every week they'd come back with a better, more absurd episode that blew me away. If I had to do something on Sunday night, I'd record the new episode on my VCR (that really was a thing at one time; Google it) and run home to watch it as soon as I could. I annoyed the crap out of everyone around me about how good Arrested Development was and literally begged my friends to watch it. When the first season came out on DVD, I immediately purchased it and threatened bodily harm on the family members of two friends until they both agreed to watch it. We ran through the entire season in less than a weekend and they were both hooked.

And that is perhaps the most frustrating part of the Arrested Development experience: everyone who watched it loved it...but no one watched it.

While I had been preaching the show's merits from the beginning, no one seemed to care. The ratings were poor and Fox (in their infinite wisdom) had no idea how to market a show that was smarter than anything that had EVER been on network television. Make no mistake, this was a tough sell but Fox still botched it. Arrested Development could have been the cornerstone of a comedy lineup but Fox couldn't figure out how to make that work, nor could the network surround it with the right shows. The excruciating thing is that no other network at the time would've taken a chance on a show like Arrested Development and yet Fox was the worst network when it came to allowing a show to grow an audience. That's kind of a nasty catch-22 there; Arrested Development would have had an opportunity to thrive at NBC but at the time, NBC would never take a chance. In its three seasons, Arrested Development received 22 Emmy nominations, winning six. That would have been enough to give it some breathing room at another network but Fox didn't care about Emmys. In the third season, the show was given "one last chance" to draw ratings (which the show again played off of beautifully) and then promptly put the remaining new episodes up against the opening ceremonies of the 2006 Summer Olympics. It was then promptly cancelled. I cried for a week.

The truth is Arrested Development was the guinea pig, the first of a new brand of sitcoms that paved the way for everything to come but couldn't survive the fight. It was innovative in a way that neither the masses nor the networks were ready for. It was simply ahead of its time. The Fox network of today probably would give the show a real chance to find an audience rather than backing away from it so quickly and moreover, more viewers are primed for the show's brand of comedy, due in large part to the number of shows that can trace their origins directly to it. There is no Office, Modern Family, Big Bang Theory, or (especially) 30 Rock without Arrested Development. That may seem like an opinion but I'd be willing to claim it to be scientific fact because it's the absolute truth in my mind. All of these shows (and many others) belong to a new brand of sitcom that has the audacity to treat the audience like they might actually have brains capable of thinking through a particularly clever joke. That doesn't happen without the influence of Arrested Development.

Since it went off the air, Arrested Development has gone from an unseen show that a small group of us complained about being cancelled to a cult favorite to a show that reaches across a wide subsection of television viewers. In college, I knew four other people who watched the show. Now my extended group of friends is full of those who have caught on through the magic of re-runs and Netflix. "If only they'd come along sooner!", I often think. Sports people often compare Arrested Development to the career of Michael Jordan, saying that the show ending after three seasons was like Michael Jordan's last shot against the Jazz in '98, hinting that if it had been able to stay on the air, perhaps it would have ended like Jordan's run with the Washington Wizards. But I have always been quick to remind these people that Jordan had another comeback, too, in which he returned from his baseball (read: "gambling") hiatus and promptly won another three championships. We are now about to find out whether Arrested Development will come back to win championships or to look fat in a Wizards jersey. But either way, I'm just grateful for the possibility of experiencing greatness one more time.

Movie News Today

Robert Downey, Jr. is attempting to get a Perry Mason film franchise off the ground with himself attached to star. Personally I probably could have just written "Robert Downey, Jr. will act" and I'd be in.

Thanks to the success of The Lion King, Disney has announced it will re-release some other classics, including Finding Nemo and The Little Mermaid. Re-releases are all well and good but man, I wish this 3D thing would die.

Famed director Werner Herzog will play the villain in Tom Cruise's upcoming Jack Reacher film, One Shot.  That's kind of cool, right?

Jason Statham is in talks to join the cast of the sixth Fast and Furious film which... sounds... AWWWWESOME!!! I'm not even kind of kidding.

Movie Muse has a guest column on 50/50 written by a cancer survivor. Excellent review of a film that could very well be my favorite of the year when it's all said and done. Read it.

Ruth over at Flix Chatter reviews Machine Gun Preacher which I unfortunately missed out on a couple of weeks ago. Check it out!

In Home Viewings: "Conan O'Brien Can't Stop"

In 2010, Conan O'Brien famously resigned from The Tonight Show after Jay Leno stabbed him in the back and NBC gave him (and the show) the time slot run around. As part of his agreement with the network, Conan was prohibited from appearing on any television or Internet program for six months. While his return to the airwaves was inevitable, the idea of sitting around and doing nothing for a half a year wasn't an option for Conan, a known workaholic. With that in mind, Conan and his team set out on a 40 city comedy tour with his star-studded "Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on TV" showcase. Filmmaker Rodman Flender rolled tape on the entire affair, recording over 140 hours of footage that was whittled down to the contents of Conan O'Brien Can't Stop.

In my mind, there are three types of documentaries:

1.) Informative/investigative documentaries - These are the documentaries that generally get the most attention. The idea is to bring light to the truth of a given situation or event and usually involves background information and often interviews with the subjects. Joan Rivers: Piece of Work would be a recent example. Another would be my favorite documentary of all-time and my pick for best film of 2009, It Might Get Loud.
2.) Faux-umentaries - A documentary that is clearly scripted, at least in part. Think Catfish, I'm Still Here, or even some parts of Waiting For Superman.
3.) "Turn the camera on and see what happens" documentaries - To be clear, this is an element of almost every documentary. Perhaps the best part of It Might Get Loud is when Jimmy Page, Jack White, and The Edge sit around in front of a camera and simply talk about music. But whereas other docs might take it a step further and delve into the details of the subjects past or a given event, this category of films stays at home and lets the subject do the storytelling, so to speak.

Can't Stop falls into that third group of docs. At the outset, a few simple sentences are splashed across the screen describing the events that led to the "Legally Prohibited" tour and from there on out, it's just Conan and his team going through their day-to-day lives on tour. And what very strange lives they live! One minute Conan pitches the idea of a tour, the next the shows are all sold out (the one in Dallas was sold out before I could log into Ticketmaster) and he's taking dancing lessons, fine tuning his guitar chops, and developing new bits with his team of writers. Before long, they're on the road, jumping from place to place taking shots at Jay Leno and working with a litany of celebrity guests from Eddie Vedder to Jim Carrey. It is the behind-the-scenes footage, however, that Flender focuses on the most.

Above all else, Can't Stop is incredibly honest. It does not pull any punches or attempt to paint Conan in a positive light. In fact, there are plenty of moments in which Conan comes off as a jerk and a demanding one at that. Much of Conan's humor is of the self-deprecating variety and his work ethic is legendary and the truth is, those two traits often make one a sarcastic and sometimes harsh employer. It isn't that he's mean-spirited but rather that he's made a living for 20 years making fun of others and pushing himself to be funny all the time. That doesn't happen without making a mark on your life. To their credit, you get the impression that all those around him know this and have accepted it. And as an audience, you must remember that when Can't Stop was being filmed, Conan had only just been booted from the network where he'd worked for almost two decades. There is an undercurrent of depression and anger that runs through the film and while it never boils over or becomes the center of attention, it is a pretty big supporting player that has a little more to do with the man's mood than might seem readily apparent.

At the same time, Conan's affection and understanding for his fans shines through throughout the film's runtime. He takes the time to sign every item that is pushed in front of him and heads out into the masses even when his handlers tell him not to. In his trailer he complains about the toll all the handshaking and storytelling has taken on him but when push comes to shove, he jumps right back into it on each and every leg of the tour. Conan has built a rapid fan base over the years and what sets him apart from Letterman, Leno, and the rest is his endearing understanding and appreciation for those who have made him popular. As a lifelong and loyal Conan fan, it is this quality that keeps me coming back for more, whether he's at NBC, TBS, or BET and a big part of what makes Can't Stop so engrossing.

And while there is certainly some creative editing at work, Can't Stop does a wonderful job of displaying Conan's greatest strength (and maybe his biggest weakness): he cares. He cares what his friends think, what his family thinks, and perhaps most of all, what his fans think. It is this caring that drives him, that pushes him to the edge of sanity at times. It is also what makes him successful and what will probably kill him at some point, hopefully many years in the future. Like so many performers, the stage, whether it be a late night television program or a tent at Bonnaroo, is where he gets affirmation and at least part of his self-worth. While neither he nor anyone involved with Can't Stop comes right out and says this, it becomes clear that in many ways, Conan needs his fans as much if not more than his fans need him. This is why the title of the film is Can't Stop rather than Won't Stop or Doesn't Want to Stop. It is an excellent, well-made film and its subject rivals even the best documentaries in terms of complexity and intrigue.

Grade: A-

DVD Roundup - 10/4

Fast Five (2011) - Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, The Rock, Jordana Brewster
After breaking Dom (Diesel) out of prison, Brian (Walker) and Mia (Brewster) head to Brazil where they take a job stealing from a local cartel leader while being chased by a hardcore government agent (The Rock). The key to Fast Five and the rest of the films in this series, essentially, is to get busy livin' or get busy dyin'. Nothing that happens in this film could ever happen in real life. If you acknowledge that going in and you'll find this to be an insanely fun action film; try to bring realism to the table and you'll be wasting two hours of your life. I'm a fan of this series as a whole and this is the best of the bunch. Incredible tongue-in-cheek fun.

In Home Viewing Recommendation: Fast Five is one of the best ridiculous action films of the last few years but make no mistake: it is completely and totally ridiculous. Know what to expect before you buy or rent.

Scream 4 (2011) - Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox, David Arquette
Ten years after the latest round of Ghostface killings, Sidney (Campbell) returns home on a book tour just in time for a repeat of the horrible crimes that wrecked her teenage years. I have to hand it to Wes Craven and the rest of the people behind Scream 4: if you're going to make a sequel to a film ten years after it was last relevant, this is the way to do it. The original cast was brought back, some fresh new faces were added, and more critics than I would have thought provided decent reviews. I'm still not sure that this was completely necessary but it made a stink-load of money so you can bet Scream 5 will make its way to theaters shortly.

IHVR: Fans of horror movies or late twentysomethings (like me) who want to relive their own teenage years could probably do worse than this.

Buck (2011) - Buck Brannaman, Robert Redford
A documentary that examines the methods of the real-life horse whisperer Buck Brannaman. Buck received very positive reviews (88% on Rotten Tomatoes) but didn't find much of an audience (as documentaries are prone to doing). I'm not a fan of horse movies but you could probably talk me into watching this.

IHVR: A lot of documentaries find their way to Netflix Instant so I wouldn't spend any extra money to see Buck but it could be worth a look.

Friday Night Lights: The Complete Series (2006-2011) - Kyle Chandler, Connie Britton, Taylor Kitsch
I'm only about half-way through the Friday Night Lights series and I feel like I failed myself, my family, and my country by not watching it while it was on the air. This coming-of-age football show might very well be the best network drama of the decade (and quite possibly more than that). The characters are magnificent and it really bums me out that I wasn't smart enough to buy in from the beginning. I'm going to go lash myself with a belt now.

IHVR: All five seasons of FNL are on Netflix Instant so you can (and should) catch up there but the extras and special content could make this worth purchasing regardless.

Boy Meets World: Season 7 (2000) - Ben Savage, Danielle Fishel, Rider Strong
There's no question that I talk about Boy Meets World more than anyone in the world who was not actively involved in the series' production but I can't help it. I loved BMW when I was a kid and I love it still so deal with it. Also, there is no question that Mr. Feeney (William Daniels) is the greatest teacher character in the history of American television. BOOM.

IHVR: Yes, this final season is ridiculous and a classic example of when the actor's in a kid's show get too old for their target market but as a whole, BMW holds up surprisingly well.

Lie to Me: Season 3 (2011) - Tim Roth, Kelly Williams, Brendan Hines
If you never watched Lie to Me while it was still on the air at Fox, that's okay, because neither did anyone else. It only made it through three seasons because it was on during the summer/replacement show and really, does anyone even care about those ratings? It's a crime procedural that features a facial and body language expert (Roth) who "reads people" in order to solve FBI cases. I agree with you, it's a dumb premise or at least something that should be reserved for Friday nights on CBS. What makes LTM a worthwhile endeavor is Roth who is just awesome in everything he does, this being no exception. I watched the first two seasons pretty much only because of Roth and I was never disappointed.

IHVR: I probably wouldn't spend my money to buy or rent this season but the first two seasons are on Netflix Instant and if this go-round winds up on that service as well, it's worth a look.

New to Blu Pick of the Week
The Lion King (1994) - Matthew Broderick, Jeremy Irons, James Earl Jones
It almost seems a little weird that my Pick of the Week is a film that just spent two weeks dominating the box office but that's the way of re-releases. My second favorite Disney film of all-time, The Lion King is a modern classic aided by an outstanding soundtrack. There are approximately 27 different editions of this film hitting shelves today but I'll probably just stick with the standard Disney Blu-Ray-DVD Combo Pack. Can't wait to see this film again.

Pulp Fiction (1994) - John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Uma Thurman
I'm of the INCREDIBLY unpopular opinion that Pulp Fiction is a bit overrated. It's good; very good, even. But it would not make my "Pantheon of Great films" were I to create such a list. Now, this must be noted under two conditions: 1. I'm biased against Pulp Fiction because it often comes up in conversation as a potential "best movie ever" while I vehemently argue that this title unquestionably belongs to The Shawshank Redemption. 2. I'm biased against Pulp Fiction because I hate John Travolta with the passion of almost any genocidal dictator and I refuse to accept a film that features him to be considered anything above the level of "good." I'm nothing if not ruled by exceptionally opinionated and stubborn.

Jackie Brown (1997) - Pam Grier, Samuel L. Jackson, Bridget Fonda
Would be my pick for "worst Tarantino film." That is all.

Space Jam (1996) - Michael Jordan, Bugs Bunny
Is Space Jam a good movie? No. But is it a fun movie? Well...sort of. Truth be told, Space Jam is pretty lame and pointless but as a basketball junkie, I have a soft spot in my heart that won't allow me to throw this film down at the bottom of the list in the "Also New" category.

The Walking Dead: Season 1 (2010) - Andrew Lincoln, John Bernthal, Sarah Wayne Callies
There are exactly three zombie-related pieces of pop culture that attract my interest: Zombieland, the book World War Z, and The Walking Dead. Simply put, this is just good television. How great, you ask? I watched this series in standard definition (because AMC doesn't have an HD channel on my cable package), something I have taken a harsh stance against since HD came into my life a couple of years ago. The second season will debut shortly and this is a great chance to catch up.

Almost Famous: The Bootleg Cut (2000) - Kate Hudson, Patrick Fugit, Billy Crudup
The only reason I didn't pick Almost Famous as my Pick of the Week is that it technically came out on Blu-Ray at the beginning of the year as a Best Buy exclusive. In my mind, this is a criminally under-seen and under-appreciated film that definitely holds a place on my top 10 list and should be considered the greatest rock movie of all time. It is perfect. It's also one of the rare films that is actually better as a director's cut than a theatrical cut. If you haven't seen this film then I hate you. Okay, that was too harsh. How about, please go see this film now.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005) - Johnny Depp, Charlie Highmore, Helena Bonham Carter
Like most of you, I accept that Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory is the superior film in the battle of chocolate factories. But setting aside for the moment the supremacy of Gene Wilder, Charlie is quirky, fun, and well put together. It is, of course, super Tim Burton-y but for me, that works in this film whereas it fails in others (The Corpse Bride).

Also New
Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985) - Paul Reubens, Elizabeth Dailey (Blu Ray)
Life is Beautiful (1997) - Roberto Benigni (Blu Ray)
The Cider House Rules (1999) - Tobey Maguire, Charlize Theron, Michael Caine (Blu Ray)
African Cats (2011) - Samuel L. Jackson
Submarine (2010) - Craig Roberts, Sally Hawkins
The League: Season 2 (2010) - Mark Duplass, Nick Kroll
In Treatment: Season 3 (2010) - Gabriel Bryne
Bored to Death: Season 2 (2010) - Jason Schwartzman, Zach Galifianakis, Ted Danson

Movie News Today

I haven't been Movie News Todaying much lately for which I apologize. So much busyness right now but I'll be making more effort to get back to doing these posts two or three times a week. Bear with me in the meantime!

This broke on Sunday afternoon and I'll have a much bigger follow up later this week but in case you missed it: Arrested Development will be returning for a fourth season and a movie, all of which will start production sometime next year. Can't even begin to describe how happy this makes me. More to come later.

Kurt Russell will replace Kevin Costner in Tarantino's upcoming western, Django Unchained. Really bummed that Costner bowed out but Russell could be a good addition.

Kiefer Sutherland says that the script for his 24 movie is nearing completion. I'm currently rewatching the series right now and I've been reminded of the giant Jack Bauer-sized hole in my life. Hope this happens.

Slate has an outstanding article on the impact HBO has had on the quality of television programming. I co-sign this and will touch on it a bit in my upcoming Arrested Development love-fest.

Cinema Blend gives us a list of 10 great films that each had at least 5 Oscar nominees in the cast. Very cool.

John Likes Movies has begun a countdown of his 20 favorite scenes from the last 10 years with a clip from The Bourne Ultimatum and another from Road to Perdition (a favorite of mine). Check these out!

Matt, my colleague over at Cinema Slants, has joined the ranks at I Eat Films! We're very excited to have him aboard and hope you'll check out the work we're doing over there.

Weekend Box Office Results
Because I didn't get to it yesterday. I must admit I'm not surprised but I am very disappointed that no one went to see 50/50 this weekend. If you've got nothing going on during the week, I hope some of you will check it out. Very, very good film.

1. Dolphin Tale - $13.91 million ($37.18 million total)
2. Moneyball - $12.03M ($38M)
3. The Lion King - $10.61M ($79.21M)
4. Courageous - $9.06M
5. 50/50 - $8.64M
6. Dream House  - $8.13M
7. Abduction - $5.61M ($19.1M)
8. What's Your Number - $5.42M
9. Killer Elite - $4.92M ($17.5M)
10. Contagion - $4.91M ($64.57M)

The first trailer for Contraband has dropped. It opens in January...so you know it's good.

Weekend Movie Guide

"50/50" - Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen, Anna Kendrick
A health-conscious 27 year old guy (JGL) has his world turned upside down when he is diagnosed with a rare form of cancer. I had the opportunity to see 50/50 about 6 weeks ago and it is, to date, one of the three best films I've seen this year. Outstanding acting, smart writing, and an overall tone that combines the right blend of dark humor, seriousness, and feelgoodery (yes, I invented that word and yes, I think it's awesome) to create a truly brilliant film. This makes the haphazard marketing campaign behind it quite infuriating to me. 50/50 has been advertised as a drama, a slapstick comedy, and a buddy comedy; the studio clearly has no idea what to make of this film. As a result, it's probably going to struggle at the box office and be overlooked when Award Season rolls around and that, dear readers, would be a travesty.

Value: $10 Should be a sleeper pick for a Best Picture nomination and a Best Actor nod for JGL if the studio would just get out of the way. 50/50 is R-rated for a reason but I think it has a wide ranging appeal if viewers will give it a chance.

"What's Your Number" - Anna Faris, Chris Evans
With the help of her neighbor (Evans), a young woman (Faris) attempts to track down the men of her past relationships to determine if one of them was "Mr. Right." The first film to capitalize on the R-rated, feminine power of Bridesmaids, the trailers for What's Your Number attempt to highlight the best of this film but I'm not buying it. Faris cannot carry a movie (at least a good movie) and the supporting cast is deceptive: lots of known faces pop up here and there but you can bet none of them will be given much screen time. Never trust a trailer that puts so much prominence on what amounts to a number of cameo appearances.

Value: $2 The girls-night-out crowd should enjoy this but that's where it should end. Early reviews have been pretty bad.

"Dream House" - Daniel Craig, Rachel Weisz, Naomi Watts
After moving into a new house, a family man (Craig) learns that the home was the site of a brutal murder. I've watch this film's trailer a dozen times and I'm still not sure what to think. It has a solid pedigree and an interesting twist but then again, if it's that great of a twist, why let the cat out of the bag in the trailer? With some good writing, I think Dream House has the potential to be a solid thriller but I could also see it falling into the typical traps that seem to always come along with this type of film.

Value: $4 I'm just not confident enough to put out a recommendation but if nothing else, I find Dream House to be intriguing.

"Take Shelter" - Michael Shannon, Jessica Chastain, Shea Whigham
Troubled by horrible visions of the future, a man (Shannon) makes moves to lock his family in a bomb shelter, though his reasoning may have less to do with an apocalypse and more to do with self-awareness.  Michael Shannon takes on some interesting roles, doesn't he? He's one of those guys who'll do a major studio release so he can afford to do an indie film or two. I'm interested in Take Shelter and the early buzz has been quite positive. Done right, this could be a very good film

Value: $4 I'm not headed to the theater to see this anytime soon but when it hits DVD shelves, there's a solid chance I'll check it out.

"Tucker and Dale Vs. Evil" - Alan Tudyk, Tyler Labine, Katrina Bowden
Two hillbilly best friends (Tudyk, Labine) have their vacation ruined when they are attacked by a group of college kids who assume they must be Deliverance-like deviants. A buddy comedy with chainsaws! Don't be fooled by how stupid this movie sounds: it is supposedly much smarter, similar to the wittiness of Zombieland. You can never go wrong with Alan Tudyk, too.

Value: $3 Tucker and Dale will look really good on my Netflix Instant Queue.

Review: "Moneyball"

NOTE: The core concept at the heart of Moneyball is a term that is used more than once in this review: “sabermetrics.” To avoid any confusion later, let it be stated up front that sabermetrics are, simply put, statistics that go beyond the standard statistics that you might see on the back of a baseball card. Sports nerds often call them “deep stats”, another term that may be used in this review, because they are much more complex and sometimes controversial than the traditional stats that have been used in baseball since the Civil War. While even the most apathetic baseball watcher knows the basic concept behind a batter’s average, sabermetrics (and the ideas behind Moneyball) measure things like OPS (on base plus slugging percentage) and various other stats that give a more complete view of what’s actually happening on a baseball diamond. Also, if this paragraph interested you in the least and you haven't read Moneyball, I recommend picking up a copy right now.

Confession: Once upon a time, I hated Brad Pitt. Hated him. I’d like to say there was some hardened reason behind my hatred but alas that was not the case. No, I hated Brad Pitt because every girl, ever, loved Brad Pitt and I felt it was my duty to hate the guy that every girl loved. (I also hated Leonardo DiCaprio if that makes you feel any better, Brad.) In my defense, I wasn’t alone in this hatred; the vast majority of guys in my middle school also hated Brad Pitt and we all gathered together, jocks and nerds alike, to wish ill will upon him while our would-be girlfriends (not really) all carried mini posters for Legends of the Fall in their binders. Somewhere along the line that feeling changed. I found myself begrudgingly admitting that Pitt “wasn’t awful” in various films and slowly coming to the realization (somewhere around Ocean’s Eleven) that this guy was legit. Again, it wasn’t just me. An entire generation of males woke up one day after having hated Brad Pitt for years and suddenly it was acceptable to admit the dude was a baller. These days, Pitt is one of my very favorite actors and someone who I trust implicitly to provide quality films and stellar performances. Moneyball is no exception.

In 2002, the Oakland Athletics rode an unprecedented winning streak (20 games in a row) to propel themselves into the Major League Baseball playoff picture and the national consciousness. A 20 game winning streak would be impressive enough but what made the A’s really special was that their roster was made up of a rag-tag group of has-been veterans and haven-yet-been youngsters. Their cumulative payroll was around $38 million dollars, the second lowest in all of baseball, and leagues away from that of the New York Yankees who spent over $120 million that year (a number that has only gone up, by the way). At the center of their unexpected success was Billy Beane (Pitt), the general manager who had embraced a system that other teams once scoffed at. Moneyball is the story of what it takes to win when the odds are stacked against you.

Authored by Michael Lewis (who also wrote The Blind Side), the book Moneyball made a huge splash when it came out in 2004. Hardened baseball people hated this book in the exact same way I hated Pitt in middle school: they hated it because they didn’t understand it, because they didn’t want to admit that someone had something they didn’t. For me, that something was the bad-boy good looks and sheer charisma that Pitt had and I never would. For baseball people, that something was an advantage that Billy Beane had and they didn’t. The kicker is that while there wasn’t much I could have done about securing Pitt’s looks or his fame, baseball people had access to the tools used in Moneyball but shunned both the statistical evidence that sabermetrics provided and the proprietors of these newfangled ideas. It is important to understand this because these feelings are a big part of the dramatic tension which drives the film. Beane and his aides, particularly Peter Brand (in the film)/Paul DePodesta (in real life) who is played by Jonah Hill, were laughed at by their colleagues, questioned by the media, and cursed by the A’s fans. And that’s exactly why the Moneyball system worked: because no one else was doing it. If every other team bought into the principles of Moneyball, it wouldn’t matter how smart Beane and his team were, they wouldn’t be able to fill out a competent roster. But no one thought this would work. “You can’t win baseball games like this” was the general sentiment around the league and that’s an overriding theme within the film. Director Bennett Miller does an excellent job of bringing the criticism and stress, as well as the satisfaction that came afterward, from the time period into the tone of Moneyball and creates a compelling narrative through it.

Moneyball is a true human interest story wrapped up inside a sports movie. Baseball is only a conduit for the profiling of an interesting man with a radical idea. Beane is more than a little haunted by his past life in which he did not live up to his promise as a highly touted baseball prospect. At the same time, he is keenly aware of the pressure he is under to see his system through to success. Add in the stress of providing for a young daughter and you get the perfect recipe for someone who is willing to take chances. The most interesting thing about Beane (both in real life and as depicted in this film) is that he is not a genius who came up with the Moneyball system; these concepts come from others. But he gets an incredible amount of credit for embracing a philosophy that everyone else rejected. Pitt does a remarkable job of painting the appropriate portrait of the man, of blending the toll of stress with a healthy amount of bravado. It is a much more subtle performance than playing, say, a man who ages in reverse or a muscled-up figment of another man’s imagination, but it might be his best yet. He receives solid support from Hill (a much different role than we’re used to for him), Phillip Seymour Hoffman (who isn’t give just a whole lot to do), and particularly Chris Pratt, who steals every scene he is in. But the cinematic vale of Moneyball rests on the shoulders of Pitt and he comes through with flair.

My complaints about Moneyball are few and pertain solely to the desire to see more of the behind-the-scenes strategy and the building of the Moneyball system. I am borderline obsessed with sabermetrics and their usage and I personally think that what Billy Beane did in Oakland (during his heyday) was nothing short of brilliant. I would have loved to see the development of the system laid out in greater detail but then again, that’s not interesting to 90 percent of the moviegoers on a Friday night. I also thought that the baseball action, while solid, was too drawn out at times. Too much time and melodrama is spent on a single, solitary baseball game that will stretch the A’s win streak to 20 games. It was an important game, sure, but as a viewer, it is much more difficult to get truly invested in the drama of a mid-season game than, say, the last game of the regular season which will decide if our heroes will make the playoffs or not (Major League). I’m all for historical accuracy but I felt it was an odd place to stop down for dramatic emphasis. Still, Moneyball is a good, quality film headlined by one especially strong performance that could very well be the highlight of an outstanding career.

Grade: A-

Sorry for hating on you Brad,

Brian

Review: "Drive"

NOTE: I left a LOT out concerning Drive. To be honest, I probably could have gone on and on about this film for 3,000 words and turned this into a critical essay rather than an "average moviegoer" review which is what I strive for. It's very near to a masterpiece and that's a word I save for only the most special of occasions.

Coming into 2011, I have to admit that Ryan Gosling wasn’t anywhere near the top of my list of actors who could get me to the theater just by being involved with a given film. Oh, he’s an outstanding actor, to be sure, but most of his films (and his performances therein) are purposefully off-putting and difficult to connect with. He has essentially shunned mainstream films, choosing instead to take on the weirdest roles that come his way. Even in his most commercially successful film, The Notebook, he plays a character that is difficult to engage. As such, I’ve treated him much the same way I treat Paul Giamatti: I know his movies are good and his work within them is stellar but they’re not for me. Basically, I’ve admired his ability from afar up to this point. 2011, though, is a turning point for me and I would imagine many other average moviegoers. Crazy, Stupid, Love was a completely different turn for Gosling and one that showed he had a much wider range than you might think (or at least much wider than he’d allowed us to see). Ides of March will debut in a few days and it is a near lock to receive some award attention, at which Gosling may well be the center. But Drive will be the film that I remember, the one that takes the display of his talent to an entirely new level, and the one that puts him on the list of actors whose movies I will see no matter what.

 A man of few words, Driver (Gosling) makes his living fixing cars at Shannon’s (Bryan Cranston) auto-shop and working as a stuntman for big Hollywood productions. On his downtime, however, Driver is a freelance wheel man, a get-away driver with an excellent reputation. He is guarded and has limited human interaction. Just as he begins to develop a relationship with his neighbor, Irene (Carey Mulligan), her husband, Standard (Oscar Isaac), returns from prison and brings with him a problem: he owes some bad dudes a lot of money. Against his better judgment, Driver agrees to drive Standard and help him pull a heist that will erase his debt. When the deal goes south, Driver finds that he’s gotten himself mixed up in a much bigger mess than he could have ever dreamed and sets out to insure the safety of Irene and exact a little revenge in the process.

Drive is very close to a perfect film, a seamless blend of summer blockbuster action and art-house drama. Honestly I have no idea how this got a wide release but I’m sure glad it did. (To me, the success of Drive should signify to Hollywood that there is an audience for lower budget, independent films if they would just give us an opportunity to see them. But I digress.) It is beautifully shot, incredibly well written, and completely secure in its identity. It is a truly intelligent action film like I’ve never seen before. Director Nicolas Winding Refn has made a number of films that were well received critically but unseen by audiences. That should all change now. What Refn has done behind the camera here is impeccable; every element, from casting to the choice of the hypnotic synthesizer beats of the background music, fits the story and more importantly, the main character. It is almost impossible to properly describe how well Drive flows and how everything that happens fits together. From one line to the next, one scene after another, everything works in perfect harmony to create a film that is truly outstanding. The narrative is slow and the film really only features a handful of traditional action sequences and yet it is thrilling and tense even when nothing much seems to be happening. The best action films are able to keep you enthralled when there are no explosions or gun fights taking place on screen. Drive does this so well that I was almost disappointed when the proverbial crap hit the fan and the film moved from a character piece into the action realm; it was that good on the narrative side of the equation. But then again, the quiet and balanced pace of the film outside of the action sequences make Driver’s hyper-violent confrontation more shocking and hard-hitting than they might have been otherwise.

My only complaint about Drive is the excessive “blood and guts” that come along with each “fight” scene. It isn’t that I’m offended by the violence or the gore (as it were); on the contrary, not only did I expect some violent confrontations, what happens to those around Driver dictates such actions. The problem is that the shocking, bloody nature of these scenes actually detracts from the overall realism of Drive. This is an incredibly realistic, gritty film but the horror movie-like blood that comes along with Driver’s physical destruction of an opponent is over-the-top and doesn’t gel properly. Refn’s style is excessively bloody (see: “Valhalla Rising”) but in this case, a muted approach would have served his film better.

The real power of Drive, though, is in its protagonist and Gosling’s portrayal. All of the remarkable work behind the camera would be for naught if the headlining star wasn’t able to carry the load. Driver is an exceptionally complex character masquerading as a simple man. He is extremely well-defined, a no nonsense kind of guy who wears an '80s style satin white jacket all the time and yet somehow makes that cool. He speaks in short sentences and says even less with his facial expressions and mannerisms. But his body language says it all; from cautious hope with Irene to clear disgust for those he works with right down to the rage he feels over being betrayed. What Gosling is able to do without speaking is immensely impressive. When he wants to be, Driver goes beyond intimidating and borders on becoming downright menacing. You do not want to mess with this cat and everyone else around him seems to know it (they just realize this too late). Yet even when he’s on the rampage he is calm and collected, as if his quiet nature feeds his violent side and vice versa. There is a scene in which Driver puts on his driver gloves and delivers a smack to a traitor who is withholding something. It is in this moment that Drive switches gears and instantly transitions from a romantic drama to violent action film and in this moment, I was genuinely afraid not just of Driver but of Gosling himself. If you’d have told me 12 years ago that the scrawny kid from Remember the Titans would be able to send a ripple of fear through my body, I would have laughed in your face (and then punched you, as I’m prone to doing). This is just a microcosm of the brilliant performance Gosling delivers and a sign of all the things to come in his career. This would be a good film if Paul Walker was the lead (I already regret typing that) but Gosling makes it GREAT.

Grade: A+

I retract what I just said about Paul Walker,

Brian