Archive for September, 2008
Director: Ryan Little
Stars: Sean Faris, Penn Badgley, Gary Cole
Studio: Crane Movie Company
The Plot: Talented-but-troubled rugby player Rick Penning (Faris) lands in jail for his reckless behavior, where he’s awarded the opportunity to join Highland Rugby, a team as unique and principled as its coach (Cole). Rick’s dedication and loyalty to more than just the game will be tested, when Highland charges toward the national championship; also heading toward the big match is the team coached by Rick’s father, perhaps the source of the young man’s angst.
THE BUZZ: Sean Faris (Never Back Down) is becoming the go-to actor when indie-minded projects need a rebellious teen. While I don’t think the latest from faith-based filmmaker Ryan Little (Saints and Soldiers) will crossover with mainstream audiences, he did wrangle a considerable cast for his rugby-themed movie, with Sean Astin, Arielle Kebble, and Neal McDonough in supporting roles. Co-star Penn Badgley is almost unrecognizable from his “Gossip Girl” self, while Neal McDonough’s eyes have never been more dreamy than in this trailer.
Director: Darren Grodsky Danny Jacobs
Stars: Jeremy Strong, Fairuza Balk, Peter Bogdanovich
Studio: HD Net
The Plot: An impromptu road trip plagued by car troubles leads to a disillusioned medical student (Strong) being stranded for the summer among a remote community of pot farmers, the last place in the world he imagines he might discover who he truly is.
THE BUZZ: Fairuza Balk co-stars as a drifter named “Bogart” who leads Jeremy Strong’s character into the fertile grounds of Northern California in the first film from writer-director duo Darren Grodsky and Danny Jacobs. Grodsky and Jacobs say their film is an homage to the character-driven movies of the 1970s, but it’s Humboldt‘s look that’s received better notices than its story; the idea of a protagonist coming of age in the midst of a crew of eccentric personalities is admittedly a cliche, but with a cast that includes France Conroy and Brad Dourif (the latter of whom has been called out for a great performance), I think any indie-minded moviegoer can find enjoyment here.
Director: Neil Burger
Stars: Rachel McAdams, Tim Robbins, Michael Peña
Studio: Roadside Attractions
The Plot: Three soldiers (McAdams, Robbins, and Peña) meet one another as they have all returned from Iraq, and circumstance unites them for a road trip across the country, in which they hope to fulfill different personal missions. As they travel, however, they soon realize the ways in which life has progressed without them in mind.
THE BUZZ: Though it has a comedic tone and it doesn’t graphically depict the war, the latest project from director Neil Burger (The Illusionist) is still suffering from post-Rendition stress syndrome, the new condition that makes movie execs nerves about making Iraq-related pictures — never mind marketing them. At least Lionsgate sounds sincere in their effort to find the right release strategy for these Lucky Ones, though I feel like, despite the appealing cast and apparent good vibes, audiences might take this as the Grace Is Gone of 2008.
Director: George C. Wolfe
Stars: Diane Lane, Richard Gere, Christopher Meloni
Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures
The Plot: A doctor (Gere) who is traveling to see his estranged son sparks with an unhappily married woman (Lane) at a North Carolina inn
THE BUZZ: After The Notebook became one the best recent examples of a sleeper hit, producers fought for the rights to the unoptioned novels of Nicholas Sparks. Superproducers Denise Di Novi and Bruce Berman secured Rodanthe and assembled an appropriate cast, as well as an interesting director pick in George C. Wolfe (Lackawanna Blues). Though we love Richard Gere, Diane Lane, and their Hollywood misses and hits, the question remains whether they can help reignite the romantic drama by pulling in a big audience on opening weekend or, a la The Notebook turning favorable word-of-mouth into staying power at the box office. If you listen closely to the trailer, after the part where Diane says, “We saved each other,” Richard whispers, “from career oblivion.” Meanwhile, we wish Diane’s hair was just a little longer here.
Director:
D.J. Caruso
Stars: Shia LaBeouf, Michelle Monaghan, Rosario Dawson
Studio: DreamWorks SKG
The Plot: Two strangers (LaBeouf and Monaghan) become the pawns of a mysterious woman they have never met, but who seems to know their every move. Realizing they are being used to further her plot for a political assassination, they must work together to outwit the woman before she has them killed.
Photos
THE BUZZ: How awesome is this teaser trailer?
When Disturbia surpassed everyone’s expectations last spring, DreamWorks execs quickly reunited Shia LaBeouf and director D.J. Caruso for a second project, and it’ll be interesting to see if all the kids who swooned for Shia in a retooled Hitchcock thriller will be as engaged by our hero (who lost his real life, real-world innocence this year) trying to prevent political terrorism. By the way, there are a lot of screenwriters present here — perhaps an indication of how quickly this was rushed into production, which is confirmed by the release-date slippage from August (summer vacation) to late in the back-to-school season.
Director:
Clark Gregg
Stars: Sam Rockwell, Anjelica Huston, Kelly Macdonald
Studio: Fox Searchlight Pictures
The Plot: An adaptation of the Chuck Palahniuk novel, in which sex-addicted con-man Victor Mancini (Rockwell) pays for his mother’s (Huston) hospital bills by playing on the sympathies of those who rescue him from choking to death. Victor’s mother’s attending physician, Dr. Paige Marshall (Macdonald), initially sinks into his morass, only to become his best chance for redemption.
THE BUZZ: I’m still waiting to see if the planned film version of Invisible Monsters, Palahniuk’s most-out-there novel, actually happens, it’s exciting to ponder the effect of his prose on the movie-going public almost ten years after Fight Club’s notorious, end-of-the-century reign. Palahniuk fans probably have heard already how well actor-turned-director Clark Gregg (who’s always reminded me of a younger Richard Jenkins) molded the author’s mania into something that’s been described by many as slimy, weird, and oddly lighthearted to boot. And yes, the characters played by Rockwell, Macdonald, and supporting player Brad William Henke are as sexually obsessed as they are in the novel. Take a couple minutes to watch one of the best trailers of the year.
Director:
Spike Lee
Stars: Derek Luke, Michael Ealy, Laz Alonso
Studio: Touchstone Pictures
The Plot: A murder committed by post-office worker Hector Negron in 1984 sets in motion an investigation that ties back to the experiences of a battalion of black American soldiers who became trapped in a Tuscan village during WWII.
THE BUZZ: The Emmy-winning “When the Levees Broke” and the box-office topping Inside Man have made Spike Lee one of the busiest independent director/producers on either coast (Lee has sequels to both projects in mind, too; in fact, IM 2 is being written right NOW!), and now he’s bringing a different WWII perspective to the big screen with Miracle at St. Anna. And he’s not stopping for air while taking swipes at Clint and the Coens and angering Italians for revising bits of their WWII history. So will some other sort of miracle earn Lee his first-ever Oscar? Well, I imagine he has a better chance than, say, Oliver Stone this year, but a lot is riding on how Disney will market the film and how much of a push it will receive. (We hear Disney had to put the kibosh on Lee’s Eastwood comments, however, if he wants to make a good impression on the Academy — a move which might cause the director to abandon studio filmmaking for a spell?) Another factor not helping his campaign: The fact that Anna didn’t exactly stir audiences at its Toronto Film Festival premiere.
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That’s the answer to the big lingering question about Desperate Housewives, which returns Sunday at 9 p.m. on ABC. Did the five year jump the show took in the fourth season finale work?
I’ve seen the first two episodes of the season and I’m so relieved to report that the show is back on track. The time travel corrects some of the core problems that had stymied the series and returns the series to its season one entertaining combination of mystery, camp, humor and wit. Gabrielle (Eva Longoria Parker) and Susan (Teri Hatcher) benefit the most from the flash forward.
My main complaint with Gabby had been that she needed a purpose in life. Constantly watching her go shopping and get her nails done had turned her into a character that was so shallow it had become challenging to care about what was happening with her. Now a makeup-less Gabby has two children and is adjusting to a life without a social status. In the premiere, Gabby is struggling with the fact that her daughters are overweight. Longoria Parker hits the exact right note of a mother who loves her children but is somewhat selfishly concerned with their appearance. The story line lets Gabby evolve while keeping her true to her character.
Susan’s more serious story line (which I won’t spoil here) strips her of her silly pratfalls but you still feel like you’re watching Susan. And I think that holds true for all the characters. This reset of the timeline propels them forward but does not totally forget their past or make them into completely new characters.
The best best news is the arrival of Neal McDonough’s Dave. He sweeps into Wisteria Lane and brings this season’s mystery right along with him. By now we’ve learned that the season long mystery makes or breaks the show and Dave’s looks like it is going to be a doozy.
The return of ‘The Office’ was everything I wanted it to be. Jim finally proposes to Pam and all is right with the world. I was afraid that when he decided not to propose during Tobey’s going-away party that they would somehow break up. But my fears were for naught as Jim got down on his knee and asked Pam to marry him at a rainy rest stop not-so-halfway between New York and Scranton.
The rest of the episode was great too but that moment was a long time coming.
Okay, so good moments aside, what is the deal with Pam’s college friend? Are they going to turn that into a ‘thing’? And what is up with her taking ceramics and what sounded like a Biology class? I thought she was just there for a 3 month quick course in graphic design. Maybe the writers just didn’t think about that. Or maybe they know very little about graphic design, which was evident by Pam’s Typography teacher’s joke that didn’t make sense about the font Zapf Chancery.
Something that irked me towards the end was that no one called out Jim for being soaking wet when they were weighing themselves on the giant scale. I was really expecting them to force him to take his clothes off. Part of me even thought they might all take their clothes off to trick the scale. Oh well, ‘The Office’ isn’t really about people being naked all the time unlike other shows (‘Grey’s Anatomy’).
I thought this was a great premiere and I can only hope the entire season is this good. Though, really, when has ‘The Office’ ever let us down?
What did you think about ‘The Office’ season 5 premiere? Did you get teary eyed when Jim proposed? Did you laugh out loud at Dwight hammering fruits into the vending machine? Were you shocked at the return of Ryan, the ‘fired-guy’?
Season: 4
Episode: 11
First Aired: 10/1/2008
A new series of ten Webisodes will air during the extended hiatus between Season 4.0 and Season 4.5. The two- to three-minute serialized chapters will be available on the official SciFi.com website in the fall of 2008.
Download Battlestar Galactica: Season 4.5 Webisodes for Free
