Movie of the Week...No...Year: Children of Men

If this isn't the best movie of the year, than tell me what is?

Part science fiction, part war movie, I don't even know if I saw a movie last year that was better than this.

This is why I go to the movies almost every week, for the hope that I will see something like this.

I don't even know where to begin...or end for that matter.

I appreciate cinematography but never really "notice" it but there are two amazing long takes, one involving an ambush and another a full out battle that it up there with Saving Private Ryan.

The world that director Alfonso Cuarón and cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki create is incredibly detailed. What happened in the future isn't directly told to us in some long drawn out speech. It's all in the background, on the news reports, newspaper clippings, graffiti, etc. It kind of reminds me of Brian Wood's Vertigo comic, DMZ, in that way. You see how civilization fell apart. The muted tones make bleak London look utterly hopeless. They create a future that seems a little too plausible. I can't imagine that they won't both be nominated for Oscars.

The acting is top-notch. Clive Owen's (Theo) transformation from a man who has nothing to live for to a man willing to sacrifice everything for the future confirms he's one of the best actors out (and I'm willing to forgive him for King Arthur but I guess everyone's got to pay the bills). Michael Caine adds levity and perspective as Theo's old friend and confidant, Jasper. I can't imagine that they won't both be nominated for Oscars.

I can talk about this movie all day.

The point is SEE THIS MOVIE. As angry as I was when Brokeback Mountain didn't win Best Picture last year, I will be devastated if Children of Men doesn't. Sorry, Marty. But I can live without you winning an Oscar another year for a masterpiece such as this.

***SPOILER***

There is a scene towards the end during the battle between the army, the immigrants, and FISH, when the baby starts crying and everything stops, the fighting, the screaming. Theo and Kee (Claire-Hope Ashitey) slowly make their way through the building and down the stairs and everyone has their own unique reactions - to cry, to try and touch Kee and the baby - and then the soldiers see the baby and they freeze and two of them kneel to pray and as they walk, no one moves. Whatever they were killing each other over, the safety of that child becomes everyone's priority. They just watch them walk away and you think that, "Wow, this baby may actually create some sense of peace and stability." and then the rocket fires from the building and the fighting starts up again.

That's when the seriousness of their world hits you.

Movie of the Week Part III: Dreamgirls

Good but not great.

Yes, Jennifer Hudson as Effie was amazing. I'll get that out of the way. When she sings "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going," it's over.

Also, it was great to see Eddie Murphy with the energy he had in the 80's. However, some songs I felt like I was watching a Saturday Night Live sketch. Sometimes it's hard to take him seriously but that's more my problem than his.

Beyoncé wasn't bad but she gave the role what it asked for so I'm not complaining about it. There's something about her voice. I think because she's so soft spoken that she has to dub over most of her takes because her voice always sounds like it's on a different audio channel (or whatever the proper term is) than everyone else's. That said, she can sing and damn, she's fine. I hate you, Shawn Carter.

Jamie Foxx was great too but his singing wasn't very good except for "When I First Saw You". Also, Keith Robinson's (Effie's brother, C.C.) signing also bugged me.

The movie felt longer than it needed. After Jennifer Hudson's solo, the movie definately dragged it's feet to the end with one too many songs but it was still enjoyable.

And everyone who didn't vote for Jennifer Hudson on American Idol, well, don't you feel stupid?

Movie of the Week Part II: Pan's Labyrinth

What an amazing, beautiful, sad movie.

I can't wait to see it again.

There are not enough adjectives to describe how great this movie was.

Everyone was great especially Ariadna Gil (Carmen), Maribel Verdú (Mercedes) and Sergi López (Capitán Vidal).

I don't know what Guillermo del Toro obsession with creating these stories centering around children with the Spanish civil war (The Devil's Backbone) as the backdrop, but I hope it never ends.

I knew this wasn't a children's flick per se but I was surprised at how graphic some of the violence was. Seriously, if someone took their kids to this film (like under 13) at best they'd have nightmares for weeks, at worst, therapy. It doesn't matter because the tale of a child escaping real life through imagination and fantasy never gets old at any age.

Movie of the Week: Notes on a Scandal

Doesn't it feel like every year Judi Dench is up for an Oscar nomination?

Well, guess what? She'll probably be getting another one.

Hopefully, Cate Blanchett, who only continues to strengthen my attraction to her, will get one too.

They were both great in this British/lesbian/May-December Fatal Attraction.

It was clearly melodramatic but I loved every second of it.

Why has Judi Dench only won a single Oscar and only for Best Supporting Actress (Shakespeare in Love)? She should have so many that she uses them for doorstops and paperweights.

Not to be forgotten is Bill Nighy as the betrayed husband who somehow made every line he said hilarious no matter how much sadness or anger was behind it.

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer Teaser Trailer

I didn't care much for the first movie but this looks great...

Sorry, Nas

De La Soul pronounced Hip Hop Is Dead a decade ago...

Stakes is High
by De La Soul

POS:
The instamatic focal point bringing damage to your boroughs
Be some brothers from the east with some beats that be thorough
Got the solar gravitation so I'm bound to pull it
I gets down like brothers are found ducking from bullets
Gun control means using both hands in my land
Where it's all about the cautious livin'
Migrating to a higher form of consequence, compliments
Of strugglin', that shouldn't be notable,
Man every word I say should be a hip hop quotable.

DOVE:
I'm sick of bitches shakin' asses
I'm sick of talkin' about blunts,
Sick of Versace glasses,
Sick of slang,
Sick of half-ass awards shows,
Sick of name brand clothes.
Sick of R&B bitches over bullshit tracks,
Cocaine and crack
Which brings sickness to blacks,
Sick of swoll' head rappers
With their sicker-than raps
Clappers and gats
Makin' the whole sick world collapse
The facts are gettin' sick
Even sicker perhaps
Stickabush to make a bundle to escape this synapse

POS:
Man life can get all up in your ass baby you betta work it out
Let me tell you what it's all about
A skin not considered equal
A meteor has more right than my people
Who be wastin' time screaming who they've hated
That's why the Native Tongues have officially been re-instated

(Vibes....vibrations)
Stakes is high
(Higher than high)
You know them stakes is high
(Higher than high)
When we talkin' 'bout the
(Vibes....vibrations)
Stakes is high, you know them stakes is high
When we dealin' with the
(Vibes....vibrations)
Stakes is high
(Hey yo, what about that love?)

POS:
Yo, it's about love for cars, love for funds
Loving to love mad sex, loving to love guns
Love for opposite, love for fame and wealth
Love for the fact of no longer loving yourself, kid
We living in them days of the man-made ways
Where every aspect is vivid,
these brothers no longer talk shit
Hey yo, these niggas live it
'Bout to give it to you 24/7 on the microphone
Plug One translating the zone
No offense to a player, but yo, I don't play
And if you take offense, fuck it, got to be that way
J.D. Dove, show your love, what you got to say?

DOVE:
I say G's are making figures at a high regard
And niggas dying for it nowadays ain't odd
Investing in fantasies and not God
Welcome to reality, see times is hard
People try to snatch the credit, but can't claim the card
Showing out in videos, saying they cold stars
See, shit like that will make your mama cry
Better watch the way you spend it
'Cause the stakes is high

Y'all know them stakes is high
When we talkin' 'bout the
(Vibes....vibrations)
Stakes is high

I think that smiling in public is against the law
'Cause love don't get you through life no more
It's who you know and "How you, son?"
And how you gettin' in, and who the man holding
Hey yo, and how was the scams and how high
Yo what up, huh? I heard you caught a body
Seem like every man and woman shared a life with John Gotti

POS:
But they ain't organized!

DOVE:
Mixing crimes with life enzymes
Taking the big scout route
And niggas know doubt better
Than they know their daughters
And their sons
(Oh boy)

POS:
Yo, people go through pain and still don't gain
Positive contact just like my main man
Who got others cleaning up his physical influence
His mind got congested
He got the nine and blew it
Neighborhoods are now hoods cause nobody's neighbors
Just animals surviving with that animal behavior
Under I who be rhyming from dark to light sky
Experiments when needles and skin connect
No wonder where we live is called the projects
When them stakes is high you damn sure try to do
Anything to get the piece of the pie
Electrify
Even die for the cash
But at last I be out even though you wantin' more
This issue is closed like an elevator door
But soon re-opened once we get to the next floor where the

(Vibes....vibrations)
Stakes is high
Y'all know them stakes is high
When we talkin' 'bout the
(Vibes....vibrations)
Stakes is high
Stakes is high, come on

Grind House Trailer

What I've Learned: Jack Bauer

From Esquire Magazine



WHAT I'VE LEARNED: Jack Bauer
Counterterrorism Expert, Los Angeles
By Nicole Ranadive and Matt Michnovetz

Fuck diplomacy.

Actions speak louder than words. Though shouting can also be effective.

If you shoot a man's wife in the knee and he still doesn't give you the information, he's bad.

Revenge is the cruelest trick. I've seen it taken out on others, I've been victim to it, I've even done it myself. But it doesn't change anything, and it doesn't bring comfort.

Trust is the key to survival. And by trust, I mean getting out of the way and letting me do what I need to do.

The only thing harder than racing to stop a madman from releasing a deadly virus that will kill thousands of people is doing it while simultaneously trying to kick heroin.

I've been beaten, kidnapped, gassed, and shot at, but the most terrifying thing I've ever been through was facing my daughter after I made her believe I was dead.

I eat a lot of bananas. They're a good source of vitamin B and potassium. They're also easy to take on the move.

Love is a privilege.

If you have to trust someone, make it a quirky computer genius.

If I say "dammit," either something bad just happened, something bad is about to happen, or I'm going to do something drastic.

Any man can make a mistake. It's what he does to remedy that mistake that shows his character.

You better know who you are before you go undercover. If you don't, you could easily lose yourself.

Always carry at least one spare fully charged cell-phone battery.

So many times when I thought there was no more time, there was.

When interrogating a suspect, I've often found it effective to ask the question loudly and repeat it several times.

Remember, terrorists use the phone as much as we do.

In the event of a highway landing, always fasten your seat belt and return your chair and tray table to their upright and locked positions.

It's all key cards and thumb drives these days.

If the president of the United States ever orders you to shoot your boss in the head at point-blank range in cold blood, take a deep breath, ask God to forgive you, and just do it.

Without conscience, a man becomes his worst enemy.

Sometimes it's necessary to create a believable diversion, even at the risk of others thinking you're an asshole.

A cell phone can sometimes be used to activate a secondary detonator on a terrorist's explosive vest regardless of how many minutes are left on your plan.

Dead terrorists can often be effectively used as human shields. So can live ones.

Bureaucrats want results but never want to get their hands dirty.

The safety of the people I love is worth any sacrifice. Even their trust.

Some people don't deserve to die, but that's not my call.

Serbs have a different word for everything.

If you don't have a Taser gun, the wires from a lamp will deliver the current needed to shock your subject just enough to get him to give up the information you need without doing any permanent damage.

Sometimes you have to do the wrong thing for the right reasons.

You can't save everyone.

If you see me running down the street, it's probably a good idea to take cover.

Don't piss off the Chinese.

Nicole Ranadive is the staff writer of 24. Matt Michnovetz is the show's story editor.

Transformers Trailer

Don't Fuck It Up, Michael Bay!!!!

Movie of the Week Part III: The Painted Veil

Why do people act like dicks at free screenings?

I've been to a bunch of free screenings this year and there is one constant.

People act like they are not AT THE MOVIES.

I don't care if it was free. It's still a movie. Turn off your cell phone and shut the fuck up.

Because this was the last screening I'll probably go to in 2006, it was like God gave me a "Best of the Worst Moviegoers"

We had...

• Two cell phones ringing
• A couple sitting in front of us talking in Spanish every three minutes
• A woman in a down coat who kept shifting in her seat against her coat making that annoying sound that down coats make.
• A couple who came in 30 minutes late and walked into the middle of the theater blocking views because for some reason they thought that there would still be some prime seating real estate left
• A woman sitting right in front of me who had a hearing aid with a little red light flashing that was hypnotic.
  
• An old man who kept making loud comments to the movie.
• A woman who got out of her seat to let someone out to go to the bathroom/concessions and decided to take this opportunity to STRETCH and block the view.
• Some guy who chose the quietest parts of the movie to crumple his paper bag
• These old people who yelled at someone who stood in front of them during the credits saying that, "the movies not over for us."
  

Anyway, how was the movie? Not sure. I think it was okay. It felt the best scenes from a book as opposed to a seamless movie. The acting was great. I felt like we needed to know more about why Walter (Ed Norton) was the way he was. The ending was VERY anticlimactic. Not that every ending needs to be climatic but it shouldn't feel like we just ran out of story.

Then again, I was so distracted that under different circumstances I might have enjoyed it more.

Movie of the Week Part II: For Your Consideration

Probably, my least favorite of the Christopher Guest movies

It was still funny but it felt less structured than the others and the last 20 minutes feels kinda tacked on.

The best parts were Fred Willard and Jane Lynch's spoof of Access Hollywood/The Insider/Entertainment Tonight.

Movie of the Week: The Pursuit of Happyness

Eh, it was cute.

Will Smith was great and will possibly get an Oscar nomination and his son was good as well. Strangely, he looked like Thandie Newton could be his mother which weirded me out (good casting).

However, if you saw the full trailer, you pretty much know what's going to happen.

If was a really short movie but it felt too long.

But it had enough "Aww" moments to keep the ladies and the old folks happy.

They Finally Topped Lazy Sunday

Don't Question The Answer

Probably one of the best articles written about one of the greatest MBA players of all-time.

In A Perfect World, We'd All Be Watching 'The Wire'

When I watch good television, do you know what I do the next day?

Well, since you asked...

I spend my morning going to my favorite television-related sites and blogs like TV Squad, EW's TV Watch and Chicago Tribune's The Watcher to read what they thought about last night's episode.

I do it with Lost, Battlestar Galactica, Heroes, Veronica Mars...

I especially do it with The Wire.

It's such a moving, powerful and incredibly bleak show that I love reading a variety of opinions about it.

But I also find it frustrating because EVERYONE isn't talking about it.

"...after watching the season finale of "The Wire" this week, I wrote up an extended rant about the show and how much it means to me -- both as a writer and a human being -- and how I believe it's the most important show of my lifetime, how I can't remember being more attached to four TV characters than the four school kids from Season 4, how I simply can't fathom why more people wouldn't give it a chance ... but it ended up sounding too preachy, so I'm just going to say that it's my favorite TV show of all-time and leave it at that. Name another show that could peak during a season in which its best character (McNulty) basically disappeared for 12 of the 13 episodes?"
-- Bill Simmons, "The Sports Guy" at ESPN.com

TV Guide, whose columnists recognize, don't cover it in their daily TV recap page, The Watercooler, but cover pretty much every other garbage show this side of reality.

I don't know anyone who could watch one season of this show and not think it was one of the top five dramas they have seen in their lifetime.

It's not immediately gratifying like most dramas. It's like reading a perfect novel. Each episode is a chapter. Some chapters are more exciting than other. Some chapters are quiet but give hints and clues of things that are lurking in the background waiting to make their way to the front. But all of the chapters serve a purpose. When you get to the end, you won't be happy because the world is not a happy place but you will be glad you read the book and will look forward to the next in the series.

It's frustrating that America doesn't watch it and it doesn't win Emmys because of it's predominantly African-American cast and it's urban setting. I find that argument laughable because apparently America can identify with a bunch of amoral mobsters because despite their nature, we find their Italian accents entertaining. Unlike Law & Order, The Wire is the real "ripped from the headlines" television drama. I don't even like when people refer to it as a "cop drama" anymore because it's really a societal drama. It's a show about the breakdowns of society at every level - politically, socially, scholastically, etc.

I'm going to keep trying to convince people to watch this show but I know for the most part, it's for naught.

Fuck it, I'm not going to give up. Join Netflix and put the first three seasons at the top of your Netflix queue right now!

Update: Here's an great interview with David Simon, the co-creator from Slate.

300 Theatrical Trailer

Movie of the Week: Blood Diamond

I really wanted to hate on this movie.

I mean how many time can Edward Zwick
(Glory and The Last Samurai) direct movies with white guys in foreign countries who learns something about himself and then risks his life for the foreigners who have helped him discover the "real him."

Also, I hate when movies take real-life tragedy, in this instance conflict diamonds in Sierra Leone, and turn it into an action movie which is what this turns into.

But damn, was Leonardo DiCaprio good in this movie.

When I first saw the trailer, it was his little "Bling Bang" line and his accent that turned me off from seeing this movie at all.

I'm glad I did because this may go down as one of his best performances ever.

Djimon Hounsou was great as well but can someone cast him in a movie where he doesn't have to scream at the top of his lungs at least 2-5 times.

The movie was too long and pretentious at parts (the very end was pure fantasy) and there were times were Leo's character, Danny Archer, turned into Jack Bauer but those two performances really made this movie, and the generalexposure of Sierra Leone in the 90's makes it worthwhile.

Hot Fuzz Trailer

From the geniuses who brought you Shaun of the Dead...

Movie of the Week: Casino Royale

Well, that's going to be a hard one to top...

Anyone who has seen Daniel Craig in Layer Cake and, to a lesser extent, Munich shouldn't be surprised that he makes a great James Bond.

This was definitely a different, less smooth Bond and I liked it. Hopefully, future movies will show the transition to shaken and stirred Bond.

The movie was a little long, especially during the romance between Bond and Vesper. I know they had to establish the connection between them so that we can see how this affects Bond's demeanor and attitude in the future but it definitely hurt the movie.

I hope they get quality directors for the rest of the franchise or just keep Martin Campbell who has now directed two of the best Bond movies in the series - Goldeneye and Casino Royale. He has definitely raised the bar.

Great ending though.

Chris Rock Called It Almost A Decade Ago!

This is from the very first episode of The Chris Rock Show on HBO in 1997



Beat that, Miss Cleo

Random Thoughts Part III

Another day of ranDUMBness...

• Why the hell do I keep a blog? Or why do I still keep one? When I started out this little exercise in procrastination, I was more of a social being and, as a result, had more people actually reading the crap I was spewing. Now that I'm more or less a physical* recluse, this seems really stupid. And yet, it doesn't. It's like talking to myself. "Hey Sean, what did you think of that movie?" "Why, I'll tell you, Sean." Aside from talking to myself, it also allows me to never have to repeat myself when discussing a movie. And, the best thing, is when I start a dialogue with someone and then at some point, I send them the link to this bad boy, it pretty much gives them an idea of who they are dealing with and they can bring their social tape measure to determine how close I'm allowed to get.
• "You know that point in your life when you realize that the house that you grew up in isn't really your home anymore?"(Andrew Largeman, Garden State)
  That quote perfectly describes how I feel anytime I go my parents' house in Long Island. My mother has completely redone the house since I moved out. Actually, it started as I was getting ready to leave. This isn't the first time she's done this but this time, it's like House 3.0. The floors are different, the carpet was removed, the kitchen replaced. There are even new TVs. It always felt weird but yesterday I was walking around this place I called home once and it felt like I had no childhood, like any evidence that I ever lived there has been systematically removed. It's weird to go to the same address you called your own for the better part of your life and having no memories.
• The Onion AV Club's 9 Recent Attempts to Save the Romantic Comedy. I was just saying to my brother who Love Actually is like the new classic romance movie. Not that it's a four star movie that will be studied in film classes ten years from now but it's one of those universally loved movies. I don't know a single soul who dislikes it.
• The Giants are NEVER winning a Super Bowl with Eli Manning at Quarterback. NEVER. I can't imagine what he can do to win back his team but it's clear that his receivers are done with him.
• I love Lost and 24 but The Wire really is the best show on television.
• R&B is a useless genre if you're not with someone. Funny how I don't feel that way about hip-hop even though I'm not rich and I don't or have never sold cocaine.
• Scrubs returns this Thursday...up against Grey's Anatomy and C.S.I. Is it just me or does it feel like every year NBC tries to find a new way to kill this show?
• Speaking of Grey's Anatomy, when I first started watching this show, the only character with unquestionable moral fiber was Preston Burke (Isaiah Washington)**. Who knew that wouldn't last? It's only fitting considering he's the only person who had proven to be a dick in real life.
  

* I saw "physical" because I still keep in touch with many people via Instant Messenger, MySpace and e-mails.
** George was a close second with that whole sleeping with Meredith thing being the only blemish on his character.

Movie of the Week Part II: Stranger Than Fiction

I don't think I will ever be able to accept Will Ferrell (Harold Crick) as a serious actor

Not that this was a serious movie because it was a comedy.

It's not because I don't think he's a good actor because he is.

But there were stretches during this movie where I thought to myself that this feels like a great Saturday Night Live sketch.

Or maybe SNL is that bad that I'm thinking of ways to make it better during my not watching SNL time?

I feel the same way about Mike Myers.

Anyway, this was a good movie. Not great. Cute even.

I still don't know how I feel about the end though. I kinda wanted it to end the way it was intended to end* but Kay Eiffel's (Emma Thompson) reasoning about her book's ending (and the movie as a whole) was true so what does that say about me as a person?

* This will make sense when you see the movie.

Movie of the Week: The Fountain

This is probably the hardest movie I've ever tried to review.

I can totally understand someone seeing this movie and hating it. I mean, not just hating but possibly walking out of it.

The movie is not perfect. Some of the script is hokey and some, you can argue alot, of the movie is conceptually silly.

But I loved this movie.

I think I loved this movie more than this movie was actually good.

I see (I think) what Darren Aronofsky was trying to achieve. This movie is grand and ambitious. The cinematography was amazing and you would expect no less.

I think what it comes down to is how you feel about the 26th-century parts of the movie. The present day and the 16th-century Spain are pretty straightforward when all is said and done. But the future, much like life, is definitely left up to interpretation. At first, I thought it was a metaphor and then I thought it was real but as the credits rolled, I didn't know what to think. It didn't take away from how I felt about the movie.

Hugh Jackman was amazing in this film. He really carried this movie alternating pain and passion for his "quest". I think he should be nominated for an Oscar but the critical reception this movie has gotten might hinder that cause. Brad Pitt was originally cast as he lead until he dropped out. I don't know if he could have done what Jackman did but it would have been interesting to see him try.

In my heart, I want to give this movie but I cannot deny its imperfections.

This is one of those movies I wouldn't recommend or at least I would selectively recommend because it's not easily accessible and requires an OPEN mind. Regardless, you are unlikely to see a movie like it in a long time.