MTV staple and Mr. Mariah Carey, Nick Cannon and Neil Abramson director of the infamous Jerry Springer vehicle Ringmaster, might not exactly inspire confidence when audiences hear the two made a film about the Iraq war. Surprisingly though, American Son, nominated for The Grand Jury Prize at the 2008 Sundance film festival is an affecting film.
American Son is not a film about what goes on in combat but rather what a soldier goes through in those last remaining hours before he ships off to the war zone. Written by first time scribe Eric Schmid, this is a tight character study of one young man's attempts to connect with loved ones before he faces an uncertain future. While the central love story comes across as weak, American Son still manages to present an interesting story about a young man essentially caught between two worlds; dedication to family and the dedication to serve his country.
Don't be fooled by the trailers; despite evidence to the contrary, Adventureland is not Superbad II. Instead, director Greg Mottola has crafted a humorous, rather sweet, coming-of-age story with an emotional edge. Gone is the rampant vulgarity, in its place is a more nuance humor and believable characters. Like Juno, Adventureland is a slice of life comedy but Mottola takes the unusual step of taking the story of high school and placing it in an amusement park, where the main attraction for young James Brennan (Jesse Eisenberg, The Squid and the Whale) is a co-worker named Em (Kristen Stewart, Twilight), who also doesn't seem to fit in with the other employees.
Once in awhile, along comes a genuinely stupid movie that's just too funny to hate. You know the kind; dumb premise, little plot but along the way they provide so many laughs, you can't help but enjoy them. Further, to your astonishment, what you thought seemed like a terrible film at first, turns out to be one of the best comedies you've seen in a long time. Confusing I know, but that was my experience with I Love You, Man. For some reason, the trailers I'd seen in the theaters didn't appeal to me, so I never went to see it. As a result, I popped the blu-ray into my player not expecting much but hoping for something bearable. What I got was an original story and lots of laughs.
Like much of his writing, Bret Easton Ellis' 1994 book The Informers, is a collection of loosely connected vignettes about unsupervised, unmotivated wealthy teens. In this case, it's 1983 Los Angeles; the money and drugs are flowing. Everyone is having sex (both heterosexual and homosexual), with whomever they please. Knee deep in early eighties kitsch, the film is awash in Ray-Bans, Calvin Klein, shoulder pads and bad blonde highlights. Things begin at a trendy L.A, house party, where a gaggle of pretty people are indulging in casual drugs and casual sex. Within minutes, we see someone get hit by a car and die.
The fable of catching a tiger by the tail only to be bitten back serves as a wry allegory for the modern day booming economy of Ireland, dubbed the Celtic tiger, in John Boorman's The Tiger's Tail. A modern retelling of The Prince and The Pauper, the film centers on Liam O'Leary (Brendan Gleeson) a millionaire property developer who has his once perfect life taken over by a doppelganger. O'Leary becomes obsessed with finding out who the intruder is, as the double raids his bank account, moves into his home and takes his place in bed with his wife (Kim Cattrall). Now the pauper to the imposter's prince, O'Leary is forced to revaluate his life.
I was curious about Delgo when I saw it included voice work by the legendary Anne Bancroft who passed away back in 2005. Upon doing some research about the movie, I found out that the independently produced animated film took over eight years to reach movie screens. Fathom Studios began development on Delgo in 1999; animation work began in 2001. In 2004, there was a spate of articles claiming the film was due out in the spring of 2005. Obviously, that didn't happen. I wish I could say that all those years of work resulted in a fabulous film but Delgo is just a CGI fantasy squarely stuck in mediocrity.
Hannah Montana: The Movie, is another vehicle for Disney, Miley Cyrus and the others involved in the franchise to cash in on the "Hannah" phenomenon. The first big screen film for the pop teen superstar after the big, unexpected success of her 3-D concert film last year, Hannah Montana: The Movie is pure Disney fluff from beginning to end. Filled with music, slapstick and a bit of G-rated teen angst, this big screen adventure is everything fans have come to expect from their teenager by day, pop star by night, hero. While those not swept up in "Hannah Mania" will recognize this film as strictly assembly line fare, it's hard not to Marvel at Disney's ongoing ability to get the most out of its popular franchises; It seems no studio does it better.
John Cassavetes was never interested in being a part of the Hollywood system. His first directorial effort, 1959's Shadows, is considered by many to be an integral piece in the birth of American independent cinema. Shot with a handheld 16mm camera on the streets of New York City, much of the dialogue was improvised, and the crew was class members from his method acting class, or volunteers. His stated purpose was to make a film about little people, different from Hollywood studio productions. That goal was something Cassavetes seemed to strive for each time he stepped behind the camera; always in search of the human soul and emotional truth, there's no denying that he always brought something original to the table.
Zac Efron is everywhere these days. As the biggest star of the High School Musical franchise, Efron is the latest young Disney star to position himself for a shot at more than pre-teen superstardom. Yes, he's still gracing the cover of Bop, Tiger Beat and Cosmo Girl among others but at age 21, he may be getting a little old for strictly teeny bopper fare. That being said, in April of this year, Efron starred with Friends alum Matthew Perry in 17 Again. The film did a more than respectable $127,870,187 at the box office despite its rather formulaic and predictable storyline. Right now, the buzz saw that is Zac Efron seems unstoppable.
With three seasons in the books, Dexter remains one of the most intriguing television programs on the air. Michael C. Hall continued his skilled portrayal of the title character as the series writers and producer's brought in characters and created twists and turns that left fans of the show clamoring for the new season. In Assistant District Attorney Miguel Prado (Jimmy Smits), Dexter is given a protégé, a best friend, and a nemesis. Miguel's introduction forces Dexter to further explore his innermost feelings as the introduction of both a friend and a rival causes all sorts of unexpected emotional turmoil. Though only twelve episodes, the third season of Dexter continues to effectively explore Dexter's longing for a place in the real world as he deals with his need to kill.
From the late 1980's through the early 1990's, it seemed like the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were everywhere--from toys to food to clothes, if the Turtles likeness could be put on it, you can bet it was. One of the most successful endeavors during the Turtle craze was a series of movies, which Warner Bros. has recently released on blu-ray in a box set. Given the comic books, animated series, the late '90s live-action TV show, Japanese OVAs, animated spin-offs, Fox Network rebirths, and the many multi-platform video games that have appeared over the years, it's impossible to deny that the Ninja Turtles have a devoted fanbase, one that will be more than happy to finally see these films in the high definition format.
As the creator of popular television shows Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel and Firefly, Joss Whedon has built a rather rabid fan base. Despite his devoted following, some would argue his work hasn't gotten its proper due. Though Buffy the Vampire Slayer ran on the WB and UPN for seven seasons, the series only reached between four and six million viewers per week and was largely ignored by Emmy voters. The Buffy spin-off Angel lasted five seasons but its demise was a shock, leading Whedon to compare the series' cancellation to a "healthy guy falling dead from a heart attack." Whedon's 2002 Fox series, Firefly, never really got a chance to get off the ground and was cancelled after just fourteen episodes.
