The Starting Lineup

Coming to a theatre near you today!

(An Aside: This is not a great weekend to take the kids to the movies.)


Saw (R)
Starring: Cary Elwes, Danny Glover, and Monica Potter
Director: James Wan

Two men awaken to discover they are chained inside a basement. One is a doctor (Elwes) who is instructed via microcassette to kill the other man within eight hours or his wife (Potter) and child will be murdered. They quickly discover that they are next in a line of victims of a serial killer known as the "Jigsaw." The killer has only left behind a few clues and two handsaws to aid them in their escape... if they so choose. As you can imagine, this is hardcore Halloween slasher flair and not for timid. Some have compared it to Se7en and The Silence of the Lambs but the gore factor is rumored to be significantly higher in this one.


Ray (R)
Starring: Jamie Foxx, Regina King, and Kerry Washington
Director: Taylor Hackford

Jamie Foxx, award winning actor? Stranger things have happened and if the trailer gives any indication of his performance Mr. Foxx just might be in the running for the little gold bald dude. Ray is a biopic based on the life and times of Ray Charles, a music legend. Its the kind or role that can make an entire career.

And to a theatre not so near you. (Limited Releases)

Birth (R)
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Cameron Bright, and Lauren Bacall
Director: Jonathan Glazer

Rumor has it this movie was booed at a very notable film festival because it contained of scene with Kidman kissing a ten year-old boy. But let's be clear here. The story is about a ten year-old who just happens to be the reincarnate of the widowed Kidman's dead spouse. The movie seems like a serious take Chances Are, an eighties flop that starred Cybil Sheppard, Robert Downey Jr., and Ryan O'Neal. Downey was much older than ten, however, if indie audiences booed the original cut it's a pretty good bet the flick's been recut to exclude the scene in question. Unfortunately, I can't say for sure. If it hangs around long enough to gain nationwide release I'll bet we'll be sure.


It's All About Love (R)
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Claire Danes, and Sean Penn
Director: Thomas Vinterberg

This one sounds like The Day After Tomorrow meets Ice Castles. Danes is a skater who comes to New York in troubled times to get Phoenix to sign some divorce papers. By troubled times I mean a world where ice ages come and go. And so does gravity in distant lands, or so I'm told. Big name stars don't necessarily guarantee a national release so we won't hold our breath waiting on this one.

A 5-4-3 Double Play

Spielberg and Lucas are about ready to send Indy on another adventure.

Bruce Willis has signed on to appear in the upcoming film Alpha Dog.

Jake Gyllenhaal will appear in Jarhead, a movie set during the 1st Gulf War.

Shaun of the Dead and Scarlett Johansson are among those nominated for the British Independent Film Awards.

Speaking of independent films, inside word has it that Andrew Bowen's The Haven will finally have a limited release in selected cities some time after the first of the year. The Haven was produced by Dreadnought Films based in Midland, TX and was included in the 2004 Desert Reel Film Festival.

USA Today comments on Ben Affleck's lackluster box office draw.

Howard Stern became a caller on another radio talk show to have a little chat with the guest who was none other than Michael Powell, the head of the FCC.

Nominees for The People's Choice Awards were announced today. Voting will begin next Tuesday at www.pcavote.com. Johnny Depp, Jim Carrey, Colin Farrell, Matt Damon, Hugh Jackman, Tom Hanks, Nicole Kidman, Natalie Portman, Jennifer Garner, and Kate Beckinsale are among those in the running this year.

With or without his head, Bill Nighy will join Beckinsale in the next Underworld movie scheduled to begin shooting sometime after the first of the year.

And That's A 5-4-3 Double Play!

More Mini Reviews

Dawn of the Dead 2004 (R)

Zack Snyder's remake falls well short of George Romero's classic. About the only thing that's been improved upon here are the Zombies and their makeup. The original touched on so many poignant issues of the day--blind consumerism, racism, and more--but,aside from the mall, the remake fails to strike the same meaningful cords. Ving Rhames and Mekhi Phifer play up the hood verses cop motif in the beginning of the story but this falls by the wayside when Phifer's girlfriend starts giving birth to... something. The film varies greatly from the original and for the most part these variations are not for the better. In the end, as the credits roll, the story simply reverts to genre cliche, offering us nothing new whatsoever. There were so many plot twists inherent to the story for the filmmakers to arrive at a creative ending but their failure to pounce of the obvious yields nothing but hardcore disappointment. CATV

Diamond Men (R)

In this surprisingly sweet tale of friendship, Robert Forester and Donnie Wahlberg play traveling diamond salesmen. Forester is being forced to retire from the business because a recent hear attack has left him uninsurable to transport the sample case he carries. The value of said case hovers somewhere between $1-2 million bucks at any given time. The company allows Forester to hang onto his job just a little while longer in order to train Wahlberg to take over his route. Eventually the two form a bond as the story builds to a nice resolution. Jasmine Guy joins the cast as the owner of a remote brothel who genuinely cares for both characters. RENTAL

A Cinderella Story (G)

Hilary Duff revisits the fairy tale with a modern spin. She meets her prince online and immediately they make the connection. Both long to go to Princeton but both are trapped in families that are less-than-supportive. The father of this young prince has big plans for his son, living vicariously through him as he pushes his son towards USC and a football scholarship. Meanwhile, Jennifer Coolidge makes for an amusing "wicked step-mother" seeking to keep Duff shackled inside her father's old diner forever and ever. The story has some moments and Duff's charm far exceeds that of most of her Hollywood counterparts which is refreshing. CATV

DVD Rundown

Here are today's new releases:


Dawn of the Dead-2004 (R)
Starring: Sarah Polley, Ving Rhames, and Mekhi Phifer
Director: Zack Snyder

I'm a bit cautious of this flick because the original Dawn of the Dead (1978) was far and away my favorite of the Zombie genre. The fact is that this film makes a cutting statement about our consumer-driven society while offering a some laughs and a little bit of horror in the process. It possesses a depth that few horror movies ever achieve. I've watched the original on late night CATV so many times I've lost count. Give it a MATINEE rating. On the other hand, I've yet to see this remake but I do look forward to watching it tonight!


Dr. Strangelove (PG)
Starring: Peter Sellers, George C. Scott, and Slim Pickens
Director: Stanley Kubrick

Contrary to popular pretentious belief, in my humble opinion, this is Stanley Kubrick's finest film. And the guy made some really incredible movies so that alone should say it all but this also happens to be Peter Seller's best film, too. What do you get when you two geniuses combine forces? You get a masterpiece that currently resides at number 36 on Bull Durham's All-Time List. The subtitle says it all: Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love The Bomb. While Sellers commands the show in multiple roles, look for outstanding performances by George C. Scott and Slim Pickens. If you look really close you will also find James Earl Jones. Perhaps the oddest thing about this film is that it made its way to the screen the same year as did Fail Safe. Fail Safe is a straight-forward dramatic presentation of the same type of dilemma starring Henry Fonda, Larry Hagman, and Walter Matthau based on Harvey Wheeler's novel of the same name. Fail Safe is outstanding in its own right, though not as brilliant as Dr. Strangelove. Dr. Strangelove--HOT DATE; Fail Safe--MATINEE


The Thing-1982 (R)
Starring: Kurt Russell, A Wilford Brimley, and Richard Dysart
Director: John Carpenter

I don't have much to say about this remake of the horror classic. I only watched it once many years ago and obviously it didn't make much of an impression on me. CATV


21 Jump Street: The Complete First Season
Starring: Johnny Depp, Holly Robinson, and Peter Deluise

I didn't jump onto Jump Street until the show virtually finished its run because when it debuted I was too busy enjoying my waning high school daze. After that I lived in a dormitory for two years that only had two televisions neither of which were ever tuned to Jump Street. But I caught enough of it to see the episode where Depp is so obsessed with the death of his girlfriend he just sits at home watching the video tape of the incident over and over again. I watched whenever I could, but those occasions were few and far between. I think I might just run over to the video store and rent a few discs.

Other notable series releases:


That 70's Show: Season One
Starring: Topher Grace, Laura Prepon, and Ashton Kutcher


The OC: The Complete First Season
Starring: Adam Brody, Mischa Barton, and Peter Gallagher

Weekend Sweep

Hope ya'll had a great weekend! Here's the Weekend Sweep...

Audiences everywhere held a Grudge to the tune of $40+ million. Ben Affleck seems to have lost all box office clout. Surviving Christmas couldn't even beat five incumbents.

Greg Kinnear will be joining Billy Bob Thorton in Richard Linklater's remake of The Bad News Bears.

I witnessed Ashlee Simpson's lip-synching mishap on SNL over the weekend. Regardless of what you might read elsewhere I can safely attest that she was busted. The vocal track for one song came on but the band was playing something completely different. It was so obvious she finally just walked off the stage and I knew the story would eventually get picked up by national media. She tried to play it off at the end of the show by blaming her band. Now the AP is calling it a "vocal aid." Look... I don't care what they call it! It still spells MILLI VANILLI. If she could actually sing it never would have happened in the first place.

The Starting Lineup

Now in a theatre near you:


Surviving Christmas (PG-13)
Starring: Ben Affleck, James Gandolfini, and Christina Applegate
Director: Mike Mitchell

Poor Ben. As you know, the Holiday's are the most depressing time of the year. So lonely is he this season he decides to go back to his childhood home, where he encounters the current family in residence and offers Gandolfini $250,000 to let him spend the yuletide season with them.


The Grudge (PG-13)
Starring: Sarah Michelle Gellar, William Mapother, and Clea DuVall
Director: Takashi Shimizu

Here's an interesting way to remake a film--use the original director. Based on the Japanese film Ju-On. The story is about a curse that can be passed from person to person like a virus. (That explains so much about my life! I knew it had to be something like that!) The cursis or virse or what have you originated because somebody died with a grudge in their heart. So let that be a lesson to you and never let the sun go down on your anger.


Woman Thou Art Loosed (R)
Starring: Kimberly Elise, Loretta Devine, and Michael Boatman

Director: Michael Schultz

Derived from T.D. Jake's novel of the same name, this film about a woman struggling to overcome abuse, addiction, and poverty gets a wider release this week.

And in theatres not so near you:


The Machinist (R)
Starring: Christian Bale, Jennifer Jason Leigh
Director: Brad Anderson

The story of an insomniac who works in a factory and begins to see things.


Sideways (R)
Starring: Paul Giamatti, Thomas Hayden Church, and Sandra Oh
Director: Alexander Payne

Wine, women, and song.

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Sorry I don't have more time to be my usual glib self, but we're in crisis mode today. Have a great weekend!

A 5-4-3 Double Play

The Red Sox pulled off the impossible last night by beating the New York Yankees. It's a wonderful day to be alive! Any time the Yankees lose its a good day to be alive!

Make sure you check out The Hot Corner's newest feature. I shall call them... Mini Reviews and they shall be compiled on a monthly basis in to one centralized, linkable post.

Van Helsing's success (or failure, depending on one's point of view)at the box office not withstanding, DVD sales will be huge this week according to early estimates.

Along Kate Beckinsale lines, check out Keira Knightley's new look as the two of them were caught together at the Hollywood Film Festival Awards.

Bridget Jones is coming back to make her life a mess once more.

It seems that Panama giveth and Panama taketh away. Sean Connery's passport issued by the Panamanians was revoked, which has triggered quite an interesting debate on the subject in main stream media.

Sam Raimi's off the web but he holds no Grudge concerning his latest transition.

But the biggest news of all, coming from many and various sources, including FOXNews, is that a relative unknown will be suiting up in blue tights and red booties sporting an S on his chest. The S no longer stands for Superman, it stands for Singer. As in Bryan Singer, director of the hugely successful X-Men franchise who will be taking yet another stab at resurrecting Lois, Clark, and his alter ego from developmental Hades.

DVD Review

Stateside (R)

Mark Deloach (Jonathan Tucker) lived a charmed life of privilege until he seriously injured a priest and a friend driving while intoxicated. Deloach was shipped off by his father (Joe Mantegna) to join the Marines in an attempt to avoid prosecution where his drill sergeant (Val Kilmer) desperately tries to weed him out. Meanwhile, the incident has brought out all sorts of issues for his toothless friend Sue(Agnes Bruckner). She soon finds herself in a psychiatric hospital with a schizophrenic roommate named Dori Lawrence (Rachael Leigh Cook), a musician and actress of some note. She quickly falls in love with the Marine but between her mental illness and his pending deployment overseas, their love appears star-crossed to say the least. This story takes some time to develop, certain things don't really make much sense along the way, and towards the end you have to wonder why Deloach just doesn't sock one to Dori's group leader. (She's a really nasty character.) The movie drags in certain places and, frankly, it isn't very entertaining. CATV

Raising Helen (PG-13)

Cute is as cute does. Kate Hudson's comedic chops can't help but remind us of her mother's (Goldie Hawn) turn on Rowan and Martin's Laugh In. Hudson also possesses the same depth and breadth that help Hawn's career span decades. Garry Marshall, the director, makes the most of the material here by spinning a palpable tale into a something mildly endearing. The fact that this simplistic movie amuses is a testament to Marshall's innate ability both as a storyteller and comedian. While Raising Helen remains predictable throughout, Hudson and the kids (Spencer & Abigail Breslin and Hayden Panettiere) keep us entertained. The end result was more delightful than I anticipated but still short of something original. RENTAL

The Day After Tomorrow(PG-13)

Dennis Quaid and Jake Gyllenhaal camp it up in this preachy little cautionary tale replete with exaggerated calamity and outlandish cataclysm. This is pretty standard stuff, really; a typical disaster flick all the way. I was really getting perturbed by all the political jabs--a President that does nothing but resembles George W. Bush and a Vice President who strongly favors Dick Cheney and supposedly runs the country long before the President's motorcade gets frozen in ice (which we never get to see, by the way.) As if the global warming issue isn't political enough. There were times in this film where I felt like I'd been gagged and bound to a tree by some obscure leftist faction in the hopes that some stereotypically vicious, ferociously sadistic, money-hording conservative, Bush-voting logger from Hades wouldn't lower an axe to my pleasantly-plump trunk. I don't like my films to be so political and I didn't like much about this film at all. But... The effects are REALLY cool. So I watched it twice. RENTAL

DVD Rundown

Van Helsing (PG-13)
Starring: Hugh Jackman and Kate Beckinsale
Director: Stephen Sommers

No longer a vampire herself (See Underworld), Kate Beckinsale still manages to squeeze into a corset or two as she hooks up with Hugh Jackman in the title role to kill vampires, werewolves, and whatever else comes their way. It makes for a very cheesy story that is still just a whole lot of fun to watch. See this previous post for a full synopsis and review.


A Cinderella Story (PG)
Starring: Hilary Duff, Jennifer Coolidge, and Chad Michael Murray
Director: Mark Rossman

You recall the fairy tale? Then there's really no need for a synopsis then, is there? This flick gives Cindy-relly a modern send-up starring the last seemingly wholesome girl in Hollywood and a guy who comes dangerously close to pilfering my namesake. Cindy-relly! Cindy-relly! Cindy-relly!


The Hole (R)
Starring: Thora Birch, Desmond Harrington, and Keira Knightley
Director: Nick Hamm

Some British students discover a sealed hole one day while cutting class. They enter to explore what appears to be an old abandoned bomb shelter only to later discover that they have been trapped inside. This is a 2001 release so don't expect Keira Knightley to have a prominent part in this film. Her name is way down the list of official credits, but the plot offers some potential with or without her.

Van Helsing (PG-13)

A Review
By M. Chad Durham

Why is it critics praise movies the masses hate and cut-down those that are sure-fire crowd pleasers? I mean, who doesn’t want to see Hugh Jackman and Kate Beckinsale fighting werewolves, vampires, and monsters galore? In 2003, Jackman was Wolverine—now he’s getting hairy again and Beckinsale played a vampire hunting down lycans (that’s another name for werewolves) to the point of extinction—now she wants to kill her own kind as well? Oh, the humanity! Or, inhumanity as the case may be. As an avid movie fan I couldn’t wait to see them pair-up to take on some major literary foes. But, as a critic?

Van Helsing begins impressively with a black and white sequence set in Castle Frankenstein. How did the goodly, albeit psychotic, doctor transport his castle to Transylvania? Who cares! Maybe Marry Shelly lied to us all those years ago? Don’t bother with trifles because this film is the sort of flair that requires us to suspend disbelief and check our brain at the door. The creation and subsequent lynching of the monster reminiscences the glory days of silver screen; Friday night at the drive in, or Saturday afternoon at the matinee, take your pick. The entire sequence is homage to those who have gone before and I found myself giddy with anticipation.

At this point I should offer a friendly reminder: hype gleans disappointment. This movie was shamelessly plugged from the Super Bowl unto its initial theatrical release and my expectations continued to grow with each passing day. I love vampire movies. I love comics. I love literature.

I love Kate Beckinsale! Given the circumstances I was sure to come away with at least a measure of disappointment. Nonetheless there I was, sitting in that crowded theatre all the same delighted to be there.

After Castle Frankenstein, the movie shifts to Van Helsing’s final battle with Mr. Hyde. Yes, there is more to the story here. These two have fought before (see animated film Van Helsing: The London Assignment, available now on home video), and the CGI contrasts greatly from the throwback we’d been presented with only moments before. It became apparent then that this film is going to have a few problems.

Namely this: should Van Helsing spawn a sequel I really have to wonder what would happen next. By the end of the film everybody is dead including all the wrong characters.

Of course Van Helsing, “The Left Hand of God,” still remains. This is the very heart of the problem with the film—there are too many monsters and players in this extravaganza. Mr. Hyde; at least three werewolves; Dracula, his three brides, their devilish offspring, and countless minions; Dr. Frankenstein, his monster; The Valarious Clan, The Knights of the Holy Order, and The Vatican come together to make this a very busy film. In this case, more is less. Stephen Sommers’ script breaks just about every rule in the book and this grand spectacle is precisely the kind of thing that eventually sent Batman on hiatus at Warner Brothers. If you put all the bad guys together in one film, who does the good have left to fight?

Oh but what fun it is to break the rules! The chaos of this story, the cheesy dialogue, and the fact that only Van Helsing’s character is essential and sacred to sequel makes watching this film a fun, if not bumpy, ride. Van Helsing is a giant garbled mess but that’s the very thing that makes Van Helsing a tad-bit unpredictable. I find myself feeling guilty for bashing it simply because it’s the kind of special effects-laden escape from reality we’ve all been waiting to see. In spite of its shortcomings, Van Helsing thrills and from that standpoint alone it will not disappoint.

Nor do Jackman and Beckinsale leave us wanting. They deliver every line, every blow, every wire-hanging moment with Shakespearean grace even though the material is lacking.

I’ve come to expect no less from Beckinsale. She’s a rising talent of note who can play just about any role sporting any accent you please.

Richard Roxbourgh is campy as Dracula, but he’s always campy and I’m sure that’s why Sommers gave him the part—he is just too much fun.

Van Helsing deserves its PG-13 rating, although not necessarily for gore. Audiences have come to expect gruesomeness in its monster movies, but not in a Stephen Sommers’ film. The violence and creature effects are comparable to his other films—The Mummy and The Mummy Returns. If you’ve seen these then you’ll have a pretty good idea of what to expect in Van Helsing.

Otherwise the film earns this rating based on a few choice words, some sexual innuendo and tension between the two main characters (Jackman and Beckinsale), and more cleavage than I’ve seen on film in at least dozen years.

Between Ana Valarious (Beckinsale) and Dracula’s three brides (Elena Anaya, Josie Maran, and Silvia Colloca), Van Helsing is an extremely bouncy affair. Leave the little ones at home for this one.

RENTAL

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This copyrighted article was also published in Grace-Centered Magazine - A daily publication for Christians that examines tradition and aspects of living the Christian life.

It also appeared at ibelieve.com.

Weekend Sweep

Shark Tale held tightly to the number one slot for third weekend in a row while Friday Night Lights maintained its respectable hold of second place. Team America: World Police debuted in the number three spot.

Van Helsing, starring Hugh Jackman and Kate Beckinsale, hits DVD shelves tomorrow. More on this to follow, but my review of this film can currently be found at ibelieve.com and here at Grace Centered Magazine. I'll be posting it on The Hot Corner with publicity stills later today.

Johnny Depp doesn't like the whole heartthrob thing.

Shrek will get the musical treatment.

I Shall Call Them... Mini Reviews

Aladdin (G)

Aladdin and The Lion King are the last two decent animated films Disney has produced. Robin Williams kind of steals the show but I think that's what makes this movie so much fun to watch. MATINEE

Alien Vs. Predator (PG-13)

How in the world can you bring these two alien species together in a PG-13 atmosphere. Fundamentally, that decision sent this movie way off course right from the very beginning. There's no way this film could live up to the hype with a PG-13 rating. The studio stuck to the formula right down the line so AVP offers no surprises, zero chills, and not a single thrill. CATV

A Cinderella Story (G)

Hilary Duff revisits the fairy tale with a modern spin. She meets her prince online and immediately they make the connection. Both long to go to Princeton but both are trapped in families that are less-than-supportive. The father of this young prince has big plans for his son, living vicariously through him as he pushes his son towards USC and a football scholarship. Meanwhile, Jennifer Coolidge makes for an amusing "wicked step-mother" seeking to keep Duff shackled inside her father's old diner forever and ever. The story has some moments and Duff's charm far exceeds that of most of her Hollywood counterparts which is refreshing. CATV

Coffee and Cigarettes (R)

The original short film Cigarettes and Coffee starring two of the funniest men alive--Steven Wright and Roberto Benigni--originally aired on Saturday Night Live in 1986. Very funny stuff. Another short came 'round in 1989 featuring Steve Buscemi. Then came a whole bunch more. They have been compiled into this one feature film aptly entitled Coffee and Cigarettes which features extraneous conversations over... you guessed it! Coffee and Cigarettes. Bill Murray, Alfred Molina, and Kate Blanchett our outstanding in their respective featurettes. RENTAL

Dawn of the Dead 2004 (R)

Zack Snyder's remake falls well short of George Romero's classic. About the only thing that's been improved upon here are the Zombies and their makeup. The original touched on so many poignant issues of the day--blind consumerism, racism, and more--but,aside from the mall, the remake fails to strike the same meaningful cords. Ving Rhames and Mekhi Phifer play up the hood verses cop motif in the beginning of the story but this falls by the wayside when Phifer's girlfriend starts giving birth to... something. The film varies greatly from the original and for the most part these variations are not for the better. In the end, as the credits roll, the story simply reverts to genre cliche, offering us nothing new whatsoever. There were so many plot twists inherent to the story for the filmmakers to arrive at a creative ending but their failure to pounce of the obvious yields nothing but hardcore disappointment. CATV

The Day After Tomorrow(PG-13)

Dennis Quaid and Jake Gyllenhaal camp it up in this preachy little cautionary tale replete with exaggerated calamity and outlandish cataclysm. This is pretty standard stuff, really; a typical disaster flick all the way. I was really getting perturbed by all the political jabs--a President that does nothing but resembles George W. Bush and a Vice President who strongly favors Dick Cheney and supposedly runs the country long before the President's motorcade gets frozen in ice (which we never get to see, by the way.) As if the global warming issue isn't political enough. There were times in this film where I felt like I'd been gagged and bound to a tree by some obscure leftist faction in the hopes that some stereotypically vicious, ferociously sadistic, money-hording conservative, Bush-voting logger from Hades wouldn't lower an axe to my pleasantly-plump trunk. I don't like my films to be so political and I didn't like much about this film at all. But... The effects are REALLY cool. So I watched it twice. RENTAL

DeLovely (PG-13)

In this biographical musical about the life, loves, and sexcapades of Cole Porter, Kevin Kline and Ashley Judd render solid performances. Songs and appearances by Alanis Morressette, Cheryl Crow, and Elvis Costello keep this film mildly interesting. I could see what the filmmakers were going for here, but I just didn't buy into it. RENTAL

Diamond Men (R)

In this surprisingly sweet tale of friendship, Robert Forester and Donnie Wahlberg play traveling diamond salesmen. Forester is being forced to retire from the business because a recent hear attack has left him uninsurable to transport the sample case he carries. The value of said case hovers somewhere between $1-2 million bucks at any given time. The company allows Forester to hang onto his job just a little while longer in order to train Wahlberg to take over his route. Eventually the two form a bond as the story builds to a nice resolution. Jasmine Guy joins the cast as the owner of a remote brothel who genuinely cares for both characters. RENTAL

The Girl Next Door (R)

Hit and miss. I really dug the homage to Risky Business early on--the outlandish dreams and the music--and to be honest I really could relate to the the lead character in this film. His sense of quiet desperation at the thought of graduating high school without having done anything he really wanted to do. Surprisingly this story is quite touching through certain sequences but once the homage became cliche (lets face it, it is virtually a remake of Risky Business with porn stars in lieu of prostitutes sans Joe Pantilliano) I became disappointed. Still, Elisha Cuthbert and Emile Hirsch performances elevate this one a cut above standard teenage hormone overload flair. MATINEE

Goodfellas (R)

After watching this film you will never listen to Layla the same way again. Maybe that's why Clapton released another version a few years back. GoodFellas has stood the test of time and is one of the greatest gangster movies of all time. The performances are outstanding and this flick even gave birth to one of my favorite cartoons--The GoodFeathers on The Anamaniacs. HOT DATE

Mean Girls (PG-13)

Tina Fey (Saturday Night Live) penned this sordid little cat fight. The story begins strong, but resorts to cheap theatrics in the end. Very clever though. The biggest problem with the script is that it was obviously rewritten to accommodate MPAA sensibilities and grab that precious PG-13 rating. The movie would have been a lot smarter with a R-rating. Regardless, McAdams steals the show. She can act circles around Lohan any day of the week and she's twice the looker (without the dye job). Bull Durham's rating: RENTAL

Man on Fire (R)

The performances of Denzel Washington and Dakota Fanning rescue their respective characters from the pit of cliche. Tony Scott's directorial style gives a simple story some complexity. The film runs a little long. Don't expect Washington to become that proverbial Man on Fire until the movie is half-way over, but from there on out it is a heckuva ride. RENTAL

The Notebook (PG-13)

Another tear-jerker adapted from a Nicholas Sparks novel, The Notebook leapfrogs through time in a vain attempt to hide the obvious. It doesn't take much to see where this movie is going and what's going on. Even so, the performances are outstanding, especial James Garner and Rachel McAdams. Not many movies make for a better date--just in time for Valentine's Day. MATINEE

p.s. (R)

Aside from some mildly amusing moments from Topher Grace and a surprisingly sexy supporting role by Marcia Gay Harden, there's just nothing really special here. Laura Linney plays a middle aged college dean who stumbles across a student who reminds her of an old flame. CATV

The Prince and Me (PG)

This horrible film is back to terrorize us again. If not for her five minute appreances in the last two Bourne films, I wouldn't even know Stiles could act. Her choice of roles lacks something to be desired and this awful flick drags on and on and on until you really don't want her to be with that idiotic prince anymore. The film would have been more aptly titled, The Dullard and Me. FORGEDABOUDIT!

Raising Helen (PG-13)

Cute is as cute does. Kate Hudson's comedic chops can't help but remind us of her mother's (Goldie Hawn) turn on Rowan and Martin's Laugh In. Hudson also possesses the same depth and breadth that help Hawn's career span decades. Garry Marshall, the director, makes the most of the material here by spinning a palpable tale into a something mildly endearing. The fact that this simplistic movie amuses is a testament to Marshall's innate ability both as a storyteller and comedian. While Raising Helen remains predictable throughout, Hudson and the kids (Spencer & Abigail Breslin and Hayden Panettiere) keep us entertained. The end result was more delightful than I anticipated but still short of something original. RENTAL

Shark Tale (PG)

This film offers much in the way of laughs for the avid moviegoer. Not only does it spoof mobster movies and Titanic, it poke targets its own actors as well and their previous films, including Ali and Jerry Maguire. Martin Scorsese is brilliant in a film type-cast right down the line to Angelina Jolie as the bad girl. This one is just a whole lot of fun. MATINEE

The Shawshank Redemption (R)

Number 53 on Bull Durham's All-Time list is this film based on a Stephen King short story. This drama is genuinely heartfelt and moving. It delivers a message of hope. Everything came together in this film to make it something very special... worth watching over and over and over again. HOT DATE

Stateside (R)

Mark Deloach (Jonathan Tucker) lived a charmed life of privilege until he seriously injured a priest and a friend driving while intoxicated. Deloach was shipped off by his father (Joe Mantegna) to join the Marines in an attempt to avoid prosecution where his drill sergeant (Val Kilmer) desperately tries to weed him out. Meanwhile, the incident has brought out all sorts of issues for his toothless friend Sue(Agnes Bruckner). She soon finds herself in a psychiatric hospital with a schizophrenic roommate named Dori Lawrence (Rachael Leigh Cook), a musician and actress of some note. She quickly falls in love with the Marine but between her mental illness and his pending deployment overseas, their love appears star-crossed to say the least. This story takes some time to develop, certain things don't really make much sense along the way, and towards the end you have to wonder why Deloach just doesn't sock one to Dori's group leader. (She's a really nasty character.) The movie drags in certain places and, frankly, it isn't very entertaining. CATV

Tiptoes (R)

Yeah... I know... There's a sucker born every minute but when Kate Beckinsale is the closest thing I have to mistress, what's a boy to do? I only thought Gigli was bad. Gigli just happened to be a national release. This flick would have been better off remaining in distribution limbo forever. I have no idea what Beckinsale, Oldman, and McConaughey were thinking when they inked on for this hunk of junk. Granted, it portrays little people (aka Dwarfs, not midgets) in a regular vein and I guess that's noble, but I just really can't think of much to say good about that movie. Maybe I'll rip it apart in a review some day. Right now, I just want to forget I ever saw it... Except for the fake tattoo on Beckinsale's back. I'm just flabbergasted. Every brilliantly acted scene was ruined by the director, by the props, or by... Something. McConaughey had at least three scenes that were as good, if not better, than anything I've ever seen him do but the scenes are overshadowed by little quirks... Gremlins if you will. There's one scene in particular, after the birth of the child and they discover that he is indeed a dwarf, McConaughey and Beckinsale put on a powerful show--they just blew me away with their talent. But... BUT!!! She's sitting here holding this THING that looks nothing like a baby. And it's stuff like that throughout the film. How bad is it? Tiptoes is a real stinker. And this is coming from a guy who adores Beckinsale, thinks Texan coolness begins and ends with McConaughey, and believes Oldman is a brilliant actor. Oldman, McConaughey, and Beckinsale give it their very best and that's about the only thing laudable about the whole flick. I'll give it a CATV rating, but only recommend if you have crush on McConaughey or Beckinsale. Otherwise, FORGEDABOUDIT!

The Untouchables (R)

Number 10 on the Bull Durham All-Time list is The Untouchables, Brian De Palma's rendering of the battle between Al Capone and Elliot Ness and his small band of Untouchables. Every performance in this film is top-notch, including Connery's and Costner's very best to date. You have to see this film in widescreen format and if you haven't, then buying this DVD just might be a great idea. HOT DATE

When Will I Be Loved (R)

An erotic vignette masquerading as a feature film, When Will I Be Loved isn't even titled correctly. When Will Something Happen? Or, better still, When Will I Have Intercourse. This movie is short on plot and substance so its overly artistic presentation comes across as pretentious nonsense. Only Neve Campbell's acting stands apart, but not even that can overshadow the fact that she appears nude in the film, which seems to be about the only reason some folks could excuse watching this train-wreck on film. FORGEDABOUDIT!

Young Adam (NC-17)

Sexually charged and driven movie about a morally reprehensible guy. The movie unfolds the only way it could to give the story any shot at an element of surprise and I guess the plot twist that this guy is just a first-class jerk. The entire thing kinda defies the notion of what story is supposed to be. Robert McKee's not gonna be happy with this one. I hope it wasn't penned by one of his students. Yikes. Who cares if the performances are good? I didn't care for the story or the characters. FORGEDABOUDIT!

Highlight Reel w/a DVD Review

The Day After Tomorrow

This morning's Highlight Reel begins with a micro-review of the latest DVD release, The Day After Tomorrow. Dennis Quaid and Jake Gyllenhaal camp it up in a preachy little cautionary tale of exaggerated calamity and cataclysm. This is pretty standard stuff, really; a typical disaster flick all the way and I was getting really tired of the political jabs along the way--a President that does nothing who resembles George W. and a Vice President who strongly favors Dick Cheney and supposedly runs the country long before the President's motorcade gets frozen in ice (which we never get to see, by the way.) As if the global warming issue isn't political enough. There were times in this movie when I felt like I had a front-row seat at a Greenpeace convention. I don't like my films to be so political and I didn't like much about this film at all. It's just that... The effects are REALLY cool. So I watched it twice. RENTAL

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Here are two more articles about Friday Night Lights--Filmmakers Descend and USA Today's Review of the film.

Chris Rock will be hosting the next Oscar-party.

Sandra Bullock won a $7 million settlement over her home in Lake Austin, TX that has never been fully completed.

Ben Affleck plans on Surviving Christmas sans J-Lo. Just further proof that the Lord is merciful indeed.

The Starting Lineup

New releases at a theatre near you:

Team America: World Police (R)
Starring: Trey Parker and Matt Stone
Director: Trey Parker

Puppet superheroes provide this weekend's primary weapons of mass distraction. The irreverent dynamic duo of Parker/Stone (South Park) lead their new creation into battle against Kim Jong Il. Team America is called upon to save the world from this evil menace. Needless to say these puppets aren't for kids.


The Final Cut (PG-13)
Starring: Robin Williams, Mira Sorvino, and James Caviezel
Director: Omar Naim

In a world laden with microchips, now comes one that can be installed inside a human being that records the very events of their lifetimes. Highlights can be lifted from the chip and edited to provide loved ones with a final first-person home movie. Robin Williams is a guy that puts together these final-cuts. Plot and conflict are certain follow this sci-fi premise in some fashion.


Shall We Dance? (PG-13)

Starring: Richard Gere, Jennifer Lopez, and Susan Sarandon

Director: Peter Chelsom

Gere is tired of his same old dull routine so he makes a pit stop one night on his way home to see Lopez at her dance studio to learn how to... dance, I suppose.

New releases probably not so near you:

Eulogy (R)
Starring: Hank Azaria, Jesse Bradford, and Zooey Deschanel
Director: Michael Clancy

Michael Clancy also wrote this story about a family that puts the "fun" back into the word dysfunctional. There seems to be a funeral theme going on here this weekend.


P.S. (R)
Starring: Laura Linney, Topher Grace, and Gabriel Byrne
Director: Dylan Kidd

Dylan Kid (Roger Dodger) pulls double duty for this limited release as well, having adapted this screenplay from a Helen Schulman novel. The story has something to do with divorce and reincarnation.

A 5-4-3 Double Play

Of course we're all still saddened by the loss of Christiopher Reeve but the film he was working on prior to his death will be finished in spite of his departure.

In the strangest piece of entertainment news I've read about in a long time, Richard Linklater is being sued by a trio of his high school classmates claim they have endured pain and suffering because Linklater used their namesakes over ten years ago in his film Dazed and Confused. They had to go to New Mexico to file their lawsuit because the statute of limitations had run out everywhere else.

Friday Night Lights had a strong weekend but still finished second to Shark Tale, which held the number one slot for the second week in a row.

Team America is coming to a theatre near you this weekend. So far, the movie has been called anti-Bush but they still managed to recieve some hate mail from leftist Sean Penn. If you ask me, Stone and Parker are just anti-everything.

"Is nothing sacred to you people?" he asked while pondering the notion that somebody is trying to bring a movie version of Dallas to the big screen.

Macaulay Culkin proclaimed his innocense in Oklahoma.

Jim Carrey is now a U.S. citizen.

And That's A 5-4-3 Double Play!

The Desert Reel Film Festival's Official Web Site

The newly revamped web site for The Desert Reel Film Festival is finally up thanks to Jeffrey Johnson and his partners in crime. We had to skip our meeting last month so I know I'm not up to speed on all that I need to be in order to assist our lovely Chairperson Melanie Nicholas the way I should be as her co-chair but that's all about to change as we start getting serious about things. If you are from Odessa or Midland and are even remotely interested in helping us out in some compacity, feel free to drop me an Email. Or zip one over to Melanie. We can use all the help we can get as the weekend approaches. Entries are due December 5th and this years festival is scheduled April 21-24th. Make plans to enter and make plans to attend!

DVD Rundown

The Day After Tomorrow (PG-13)
Starring: Deenis Quaid, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Sela Ward
Director: Roland Emmerich

Global Warming takes a megadose of methamphetamine and the world tilts or turns upside down that dinosaurs race southward as the ice age pushes through New York, trapping my wife's favorite Jake Gyllenhaal in the process. Fear not, daddy Dennis Quaid won't go the way of the DoDo bird. In fact, he'll come to rescue you. Sounds like a lot of cheap, low-brow fun!

Stateside (R)
Starring: Rachael Leigh Cook, Jonathan Tucker, Joe Mantegna, and Agnes BruknerDirector: Reverge Anselmo

A marine falls in love with a woman while home on leave and he must choose to between his sense of duty and their fledgling romance. The only problem is she just might be totally bonkers. Reminds me of one of my ex-girlfriends, but with Rachael Leigh Cook heading the cast, I know what I'd choose... Beyonce's path: "Got me so crazy in love."

Raising Helen (PG-13)
Starring: Kate Hudson, John Corbett, and Joan Cusack
Director: Garry Marshall

A career-minded gal gets motherhood thrust upon her sister and brother-in-law make her the guardian of their three kiddos. Time to learn that there are more important things in life than a career and money.

Breakin' All The Rules (PG-13)
Starring: Jamie Foxx, Morris Chestnut, Gabrielle Union, and Jennifer Esposito

Director: Daniel Taplitz

A dumpee writes a "how-to" book on dumping that becomes a best seller. He also dispenses free advice to his friends who seem intent on becoming dumpers. This one sounds mildly amusing.

Jingle All The Way (PG)
Starring: The Gubernator and Sinbad
Director: Brian Levant

Arnold Schwarzenegger struggles to secure that one all-too-hard to find toy of the season. CATV

Friday Night Lights (PG-13)

View Tralier and Clips

A Review
By M. Chad Durham

How often does a small-town writer get to sit down and write a review about a film detailing events that actually took place in his hometown? My house is just blocks away from Odessa Permian High School with Ratliff Stadium looming on the horizon just up the road. In my living room I notice my wife’s decorative train with individual cars that spell out the word: M-O-J-O, a constant reminder that I married a Permian grad.

The wife and I watched Friday Night Lights in one of four jam-packed theatres here in Odessa. Sitting right behind us were some boys that had acted as football players in the film. When the credits rolled at the end the entire audience erupted in applause; but truth be told, this town hasn’t always felt this good about the exposure Friday Night Lights has brought to the community.

A mutual friend introduced me to Coach Gary Gaines one summer at a church youth gathering. Gaines was the head football coach in Monahans at the time and I was just a junior-varsity quarterback from rival Fort Stockton. Gaines looked down at me and said, “So you’re Durham. I hear we’re gonna have our hands full with you next year.” While I’m sure Gaines has long since forgotten me, and our brief meeting, I never did because it had such lasting effect. Gaines offered me more positive encouragement in our subsequent five-minute conversation than the entire coaching staff at Fort Stockton did in all of 1985. I had to wait for another year and a whole new set of coaches before I got my chance to give Monahans a real handful in 1986 but by the time I did, Gaines had already moved on to bigger and better things at Odessa Permian. Success at Permian is judged in terms of State Championships, not playoff appearances. During Gaines inaugural season Permian missed the playoffs altogether and in 1987 they were knocked out in the state semi-finals by Plano.

Things weren’t so great in West Texas back in those days. The oil bust sent everybody reeling in 1986. I had a job with an oil company that summer, which was more than I could say for the thirty or so men I passed each and every morning sitting in the yard hoping for even a few hours work. Little did they know that my task was to compile an inventory of corporate assets so the owner could turn around and sell-off his company piece by piece.

Just four years earlier U.S. federal courts put an end to segregation in Odessa by ordering the closure of Ector High School in 1982. Ector was the last all-black high school in the entire country. Naturally, when H.G. “Buzz” Bissinger showed up in Odessa in 1988 to write a book about that mystical (mythical?) thing called Mojo football, he had an abundance of off-field material. This town was steeped in racism; half the town had gone broke in the oil bust, and while Permian High School was still used to winning football games back then, they hadn’t won a state championship since 1984. Bissinger’s book really exposed the fundamental nature of our fair city. Consequently, once it hit the stands, Bissinger instantly became the most hated man in the history of Odessa. But the real story, the story covered by the motion picture Friday Night Lights, was all about the players.

And their coach; Gaines is now the head football coach at Abilene Christian University. He’s never been particularly fond of the attention Friday Night Lights brought his way. In fact, he’s on record saying he’s never even read the book and that he hasn’t spoken to Bissinger since the book was published.

I’ve read the novel cover-to-cover more than once. I always thought that while the book exposed the Odessa community and Permian football for what it really was at the time, it still managed to paint Gaines in a favorable light. The film does so even more. Gaines doesn’t utter a single curse word in the movie, which clearly depicts him as a devoted family man of character who genuinely cares for the kids he coaches. He tries to instill confidence in his team but struggles to find confidence himself in the face of overwhelming pressure to win. It was important to me both as a film critic and a Christian that the filmmakers got his character right because that’s precisely how Gaines came across to me in real life—a good Christian man who genuinely cares about others and Billy Bob Thornton renders a splendid performance as Gaines, possibly the best of his noteworthy career.


He’s not the only one. Director Peter Berg has put together some of the finest young actors in the business with each one raising the bar.

Derek Luke (Antwone Fisher) portrays Boobie Miles, the superstar running back who was injured during the course of the 1988 season. Luke swaggers and struts his way through the first half of the film. Later, he turns it around smoothly to show Boobie’s anger and anguish when faced with the reality that he will never be able to recover enough to perform at his former level.

Lucas Black (Sling Blade) plays the brooding Mike Winchell, heavily burdened by the weight of a sick mother and a community that asks the 17 year-old to be their leader on the gridiron every Friday night as the quarterback.

Garrett Hedlund (Troy) tackles the most difficult roll of all as Don Billingsley, the blocking-back who was sent by his mother in Oklahoma to live with his alcoholic father in Odessa just so he could play Mojo football. In each case, these young performers exceed expectations as do the remainder of the cast: Connie Britton (The Brothers McMullen, Spin City) as the coach’s wife, Jay Hernandez (The Rookie) as Brian Chavez, and relative newcomers Lee Jackson and Lee Thompson Young as Ivory Christian and Chris Comer, respectively.

So does Berg. He utilizes a documentary approach layered by a somber, surreal soundtrack. Methodical pacing, radical jump cuts, and rapid camera moves inundate the film. Much is shot handheld. The off-field scenes are heavily filtered lending a dreamlike quality to these sequences. I found this effective because when I think back on my own football days those memories do seem to have an otherworldly quality. Berg relies heavily on the old filmmaking adage—show, don’t tell. Several scenes seem to say it all without even a single line of dialogue. The result is a dark, ominous, and gritty approach to the game and players. It is truly nothing we’ve ever seen before in the sports genre.

Friday Night Lights is not a story that lends itself to entertainment. Face it! There’s nothing much entertaining about watching these young men struggle to overcome adversity both on and off the field while pushing themselves further into the playoffs. Inspiring perhaps, but far from entertaining. Berg isn’t afraid to fictionalize things when needed for dramatic purposes—Permian met Dallas Carter in the semi-finals, not the state finals—but Carter did go on to win the State Title the next week. Of course, they were stripped of it later for having used an ineligible player. It also wasn’t a high-scoring affair. Even so, such fictionalizations do little to make the movie more enjoyable to watch. In fact, most of it is downright painful to watch. As Mike Winchell told a local news reporter last week, “Watching some of the family stuff was really hard.” I imagine he understated it somewhat because it all comes across so real. It must’ve been heart breaking for these young men to watch it all unfold once more on the big screen because even the most detached movie-goer will find themselves squirming in their seat at various points in the film.

While a few things were exaggerated in the course of the flick they aren’t necessarily the things you might think. Gaines really did come home to a yard filled with “For Sale” signs, Ratliff Stadium is routinely filled to its 20,000-seat capacity, Billingsley’s dad (Tim McGraw in a surprising turn) really was that crazy, the Dallas Carter football team was that big and that fast, and they really did have a coin-flip televised live from a then-undisclosed truck stop that determined which two teams would advance to the playoffs after the regular season ended in a three-way tie.

Some things you just can’t make up. Fact is stranger than fiction in West Texas, especially back in those days, and that’s why the facts all too frequently sound fictitious. Berg even manages to address the more taxing issue of racism without laying it on the kids or the coaching staff. Odessa isn’t the bastion of racism it once was but the revolving door on the Permian coaches office is a true sign that the win-at-all-costs mentality still exists here even though Permian hasn’t even made the playoffs since 1998. So adequately was this echoed by the film you really don’t want the kids to win because you want Permian to lose. That’s pretty much how everybody besides Permian fans feel about it to this day.

True to the actual participants, true to the story, and true to real life, don’t expect miracles. Feel-good movie fans will hate this film because there’s nothing to feel good about. There’s very little humor because there’s just nothing much humorous about what these kids (and their coach) went through. The Mighty Ducks and Varsity Blues it ain’t and the movie is the better for it.

Friday Night Lights is hands-down the best football film ever made. Of course, that’s not saying much when the competition consists of The Longest Yard, Any Given Sunday, North Dallas Forty, The Program, and Varsity Blues. It seems like every attempt at capturing the game on film has failed miserably whether professional, college, or high school. To date, the only football movie of any merit is All the Right Moves. Writing a great novel about football? It’s been done many times over, but translating that novel to film? Just ask Peter Gent about his woes in getting North Dallas Forty on the big screen. All the more reason to give Peter Berg the recognition he so deserves for pulling it off.

This film is a HOT DATE all the way. It’s so good I’m shelving my notion of penning a football screenplay indefinitely. Nobody has ever captured football action like this on film and somewhere along the way Berg has managed to grab hold of the very essence that is West Texas football, which is by no means a tangible thing. This story is so realistic it brings back personal nightmares. Friday Night Lights is genuine, gut wrenching, and most of all, heart-felt.

For more information about Friday Night Lights visit this previous post.

This copyrighted article was also published in Grace-Centered Magazine - A daily publication for Christians that examines tradition and aspects of living the Christian life.