ON DVD TODAY: Metal superheroes, Apatow hi jinks and one heartbreaking documentary
1. “Iron Man” (PG-13):
Comeback kid Robert Downey Jr. plays an egocentric-billionaire-turned-superhero in the biggest second biggest movie of the summer. Maybe it was a little overhyped, but it truly is one of the most insanely entertaining movies in years. The Special Edition DVD is packed with as many fantastic features as you would expect. Grade: A
2. “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” (R):
Probably the funniest comedy to come out of camp Apatow yet. Stars Jason Segel as a musician who gets his heart roundhouse kicked by the titular She Devil (“Veronica Mars’” Kristen Bell) and decides to vacation in Oahu to clear his head. Turns out his ex is also there. Can Jackie from “That ’70s Show” mend Jason’s broken heart? Grade: A-
3. “Taxi to the Dark Side” (R):
From Alex Gibney (the guy who made “Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room”), this Oscar-winning documentary charts the suspicious death of an Afghani taxi driver at Bagram air. The innocent civilian’s story is intercut with loads of footage about how D.C. and the Bush administration have reacted to such reports. This doc’s thorough and angry. Really, really angry. Grade: A-
Also this week, Jared Leto got fat to play the role of Mark David Champan in the critically reviled film about the murder of John Lennon, “Chapter 27.” And director Christopher Bell and his brothers explore the scary world of steroids in “Bigger, Stronger, Faster.” If you’re a Blu-Ray devotee, “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre,” “The Sixth Sense,” “The Thing” and several other classic horror movies are flowing out on the format right in time for Halloween.
The Jodie Foster Effect: Why Iron Man may outlast The Dark Knight
Sure it sounds crazy. Who would actually state that Iron Man is better than The Dark Knight? That’s just stupid/crazy/asinine. And I would agree with you. It seems incorrect. But let me play devil’s advocate for a minute.
Sure The Dark Knight is a much better film from start to finish. It’s cleaner, flows better, resonates in the real world better than Iron Man. It’s downright scary, action-packed and thought-provoking. Not to mention there is that Heath Ledger performance. Ledger may have put to film one of the greatest performances ever, easily best comic-book supervillian. He manages to be paradoxically terrifying and joy-inducing. The film is just a tour-de-force. And it is a film, not just a summer blockbuster. It deserves a place alongside the likes Citizen Kane, The Godfather, (insert film classic title). The direction of the film is flawless, the moral and ethical questions it examines give it complex layers missing from Iron Man. That’s how good The Dark Knight is. Iron Man can’t compete, right? Read more…
New ‘Seven Pounds’ trailer. What’s next, Will Smith, guest appearances on ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ and ‘Heroes’? Plus, line graph!!!
Daily Motion just added the trailer for Will Smith’s latest schmaltz vehicle. I watched the trailer twice and couldn’t figure out what it’s about, something about Will Smith helping people and learning about life. It’s from the director of “The Pursuit of Happyness,” so I suspect a Rubik’s Cube is going to show up at some point in this film.
.
Confusing right?
The film’s imdb page says Will Smith is an IRS agent who wants to redeem himself by helping sick people. Fair enough.
One question, though. When did the most promising box office star of his generation become so boring?
To quantify my disappointment in Mr. Smith, I made this line graph:
CLICK TO ENLARGE:
What I imagine Ryan Reynolds and Scarlett Johansson’s first baby will look like …
After the jump …
Can’t get Ballast off my mind.
Before looking it up on Wikipedia, I had no clue what upcoming film Ballast was about. Its trailer instead chose to be furtive and surreptitious. Mixing stark, evocative images with massive amounts of praise, the Ballast trailer is as baffling as it is compelling.
After a quick search of the film, I found out it is about how a man’s suicide affects three people’s lives. That just made those images and the film all the more gripping.
Check out the trailer.
Why Diane? Why?
Diane Keaton is spiraling out of control. What was once a respectable career, has now become a laughingstock. Except no one’s laughing. Actually, lots are, and that’s disappointing. She’s sold out, replacing real talent with stupid, idiotic role after stupid idiotic role.
Her newest film Smother is just another in a long line of LCD comedies. She plays, surprise, an overprotective, clingy mother who has a marriage falling apart so she moves in with her married son and begins to ruin his. Now this movie shows flashes of promise. If only it would be a little more mature. How old is Keaton? Can’t she act her age instead of the prat-fall happy teenager she’s become in recent years.
Anyway, there is a plus to Smother. The poster is amazing. Using bold yellow and a vintage movie poster kind of look. It reminds me of her work with Woody Allen. Too bad it isn’t.
Australia Trailer Mesmerizing
I couldn’t care less about Australia. At least, I couldn’t have cared less until last night. I can’t fault Baz Luhrmann for making bold cinematic choices, but Romeo + Juliet seemed like a waste of his talent and Moulin Rouge seemed like an overextension of it. Nicole Kidman has never really impressed me as an actress and even when she did, it was years ago. And outside of Wolverine, Hugh Jackman seems hammy. So the combination of the three didn’t do much for me.
Until last night’s episode of Desperate Housewives. Set to an Explosions in the Sky tune, Australia’s beautiful, mesmerizing images grabbed hold of me and wouldn’t let go. I knew this was Australia, the movie I had no interest in. Still, I couldn’t take my eyes off of it, and I am now excited for Baz Luhrmann’s next visual feast.
Paul Newman dies at 83
© Peter Schroeder/drr.net
American actor, film director, entrepreneur, humanitarian and auto racing enthusiast Paul Newman died of complications from lung cancer yesterday… and can you honestly say that you’ll have that many titles once you hit 83?
The consummate antihero, he shot his way through Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and won an Academy Award for Best Actor in 1987 for The Color of Money. His last onscreen performance was in 2002’s Road to Perdition, starring opposite Tom Hanks as the conflicted mob boss. Retiring from acting just five years later, he seemed hesitant to continue as his abilities declined. “You start to lose your memory, you start to lose your confidence, you start to lose your invention. So I think that’s pretty much a closed book for me.”
I think it may be time to pick up a can of Newman’s Own salsa tonight.
‘Nick and Norah’ are cute. So why do I want to kick their movie in the face?
Movie Review: “Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist”
Starring: Michael Cera, Kat Dennings
Director: Peter Sollett
In Brief: Nick’s a lovelorn sad sack mending a broken heart. Norah’s a college-bound beauty with cunty friends. And during one wild and crazy night in NYC, they might just find their Infinite Playlist!
So …: “Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist” boasts two cute, substantial, really endearing stars (Cera and Dennings). They have loads of chemistry and their scenes together are sweet, earnest, funny and natural.
Too bad the filmmakers aren’t all that interested in them.
More ‘Valkyrie’ goodness
Since we’ve been waxing poetic about “Valkyrie,” I thought it’d be good to highlight the new poster that’s making the rounds. Love the design, but it sort of makes the German resistance look like the “X-Men.”
