Sunday, December 07, 2008

Now Playing: Nixon Interviewed, Milk Assassinated

Several new films in the marketplace and one week old Best Picture Nominee to be that's significantly expanding (in ascending order of screen count). Links go to trailers

<---Ciao I really meant to write about this rather unusual gay film which is about the hesitant meeting between a grieving man and his late best friend's would be lover. Damn. Perhaps tomorrow I'll buckle down, stop blogging and start churning out reviews proper. Hey, stop snickering out there at your computer.

Let Them Chirp Awhile an indie relationship comedy about 20somethings in NYC

Frost / Nixon
Ron Howard hits a middlebrow bulls-eye of a sort. I think the subject matter and source material, a compressed look at David Frost's historic 1970s television interview with disgraced ex-president 'tricky Dick' is straightforward enough that it's hard to mess up. Entertaining if not particularly resonant... I probably wouldn't even include that modifier but for the abundant Oscar nominations it will soon receive, thereby giving it a lasting place in history which is, you know, overdoing it a little a lot. [geez, somebody woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. -ed.]

Black Balloon An Aussie film which Glenn @ Stale Popcorn has been covering a bit about a teenager with a mentally disable brother whose family has relocated. With Toni Collette, Rhys Wakefield and Gemma Ward.

Milk Another one I keep meaning to write about. You know what it's about. Is it in your city yet? If not probably next week when it expands again.


Cadillac Records Beyoncé plays/sings Etta James in this musical set in 1950s Chicago. I hear it's TV movie ish but hopefully the music alone makes a ticket worthwhile. Adrien Brody, Jeffrey Wright and Gabrielle Union.

Nobel Son A kidnapping comedy/thriller with an all star cast which happens to be the sophomore effort from Bottle Shock director Randall Miller. Starring Alan Rickman, Mary Steenburgen, Bill Pullman, Shawn Hatosy, and Danny DeVito. But can we talk for a minute about Bryan Greenberg (the kidnapee) ...first he gets to bed Uma Thurman in Prime and now he gets nookie from Eliza Dushku? What did he do to deserve this?

Punisher: War Zone Ray Stevenson takes over for Thomas Jane in the role of the vengeful antihero. Will people care? I mean... more than they did the first time?

How is/was your weekend?
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12 comments:

Catherine said...

There is absolutely nothing out in Irish cinemas that I want to see, so I've been trying to do some Christmas shopping and general chores in between long stretches of lying on the couch reading. Ahhhhhhh.

Rob said...

"Punisher: War Zone" is one of the most delightful, self-aware, gratuitously violent/gory films I've seen in quite some time. Wildly dumb and over-the-top, but it knows it, and revels in it.

Kurtis O said...

I saw "Frost/Nixon" about a month ago with low expectations (the trailer doesn't exactly do it any favors). And low, I was glued to it. I loved how it built up the confession/climax and used it as such a clear directive. Sure, it's historical and well-known, but I was born in '84 and was thrilled with this dramatized history lesson (Langella also exceeded expectations). Such as my experience with "Doubt," I went into this one Broadway-free, and believe my viewing pleasure was all the better for it.

Hayden said...

Ahhh I really wanna see Ciao.

gabrieloak said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
gabrieloak said...

Please write about Ciao. We can read about Frost/Nixon on dozens of other web sites.

Anonymous said...

i saw milk. i thought sean penn was amazing in it, he has a very good chance of winning an oscar. josh brolin and james franco were great but of the supporting players i thought emile hirsch was the best, he stole every scene. i want to know if you thought the same. defenitely one of the best of the year if not the best.

Hayden said...

I have a hunch that Franco will be my favorite supporting actor in Milk. Just a hunch. :)

Glenn said...

I sat down and watched all four and a half hours of Spike Lee's When the Levees Broke in a cinema on Sunday. And on Sunday night I watched the terrifying [rec]. So, all in all, a good weekend for me and the movies.

Film Knower said...

God I don't even care about the oscars - I'm so unbelievab;y keen for the FB awards.

Anonymous said...

I finally saw Rachel Getting Married. Anne was good , but overall it was disappointing.

Seeing_I said...

That newspaper mockup looks totally wrong - definitely not a product of moveable type / printing press. I wish film maker would pay more attention to that. Not ever document in the history of the world came out of Microsoft Word!