The Starting Lineup
Now playing at a theatre near you!
The Aviator (PG-13)
Starring: Leonardo DeCaprio, Cate Blanchett, Kate Beckinsale
Director: Martin Scorsese
Kate Beckinsale as Ava Gardner? A Martin Scorsese Film? Cate Blanchett as Katharine Hepburn? Need I say more? I'll be there. Even if it has DeCrapio in it.
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (R)
Starring: Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, and Cate Blanchett
Director: Wes Anderson
Wes Anderson gives us a story about a guy who appears to be a mixture of Jacques Custeau, Captain Nemo, and Captain Ahab. Could be amusing.
Meet the Fockers (PG-13)
Starring: Robert DeNiro, Ben Stiller, and Dustin Hoffman
Director: Jay Roach
I didn't really like Meet the Parents, but apparently, that put me in the minority because here we go with a sequel. With the addition of Hoffman and Barbara Streisand to the plot, it certainly holds more promise than the first.
Fat Albert (PG)
Starring: Kenan Thompson and Kyla Pratt
Director: Joel Zwick
Bill Cosby is credited as a writer on this film, but the trailer looks so dreadful I have no desire to see Albert and his gang in this real life send up.
Darkness (PG-13)
Starring: Anna Paquin, Lena Olin, and Iain Glen
Director: Jaume Balaguero
I don't know too much about this film. I couldn't even find a poster that I could use for The Hot Corner. It looks like a story about a family that has purchased haunted house.
Phantom of the Opera (PG-13)
Starring: Gerard Butler, Emily Rossum, and Patrick Wilson
Director: Joel Schumacher
The guy who messed up the Batman franchise (Schumacher) takes a swing at the Broadway classic.
DVD Rundown
There are so many films making their way to DVD today I can't even begin to cover them all so today I'll just hit the highlights.
King Arthur (PG-13)
Starring: Clive Owen, Kiera Knightley, and Stellan Skarsgard
Director: Antoine Fuqua
The legendary king gets a Roman twist as this film explores the notion that there had to be a source behind the legend.
The Manchurian Candidate (PG-13)
Starring: Denzel Washington, Liev Schreiber, and Meryl Streep
Director: Jonathan Demme
Another classic gets remade with members of a Gulf War platoon getting their brains fried by the enemy this time around.
Napoleon Dynamite (PG)
Starring: John Heder, Efren Ramirez, and Jon Gries
Director: Jared Hess
The highlight of this weeks selections, Napoleon Dynamite is a must see flick. Check out my review! For me, this is a must-own flick so the daughter and I will be heading over to purchase a copy today.
Shaun of the Dead (R)
Starring: Simon Pegg, Kate Ashfield, and Nick Frost
Director: Edgar Wright
A sleeper hit largely adored by critics. I tried several times to catch this zombie flick at the theatre to no avail, but the word is it is clever, witty, and down-right hilarious. I plan on rushing to video store right now to fetch a copy! (After I buy a copy of Napoleon Dynamite, of course.)
Thunderbirds (PG)
Starring: Bill Pullman, Ben Kingsley, and Anthony Edwards
Director: Jonathan Frakes
The Thunderbirds get the Pinnocio treatment, but being transformed from puppets to live action didn't sway folks at the box office and this film bombed. However, it might be worth renting for the kiddies during the holidays.
Can't Miss Holiday Flicks
By M. Chad Durham
‘Tis the season to be jolly, and if there’s one thing a fat man like me knows all about, it’s how to be jolly. If you’re anything like me, you’re eating too much turkey, drinking too much eggnog (non-alcoholic, of course), and traveling all over Hades and half of Texas to celebrate this jubilant season. And, if you’re like this fat jolly balding elf, you’re so tuckered out from all the eating and drinking and driving you just don’t feel like playing 42 with Uncle Billy Bob, Aunt Edna, and that guy who happens to be seriously dating your cousin until January 2. And, if you’re like me, you’re just too fat and out of shape to join the teenagers for the 25th Annual Alfalfa Bowl behind the old junior high school. There’s really only one gig out there for a jolly old fat man with a graying beard like me, and that job is already spoken for so what’s boy to do?
How ‘bout a movie? DVD or VHS or streamed via the Internet, it really doesn’t matter. All that matters is that you keep your integrity by reaching your 36th birthday without having learned to play 42. All that matters is that you plant your happy self on a nice cushy sofa and stay warm while the young ‘uns brave the cold to play their annual grudge match. All that matters is that you have membership to a video store, or, if you’re like me, have an extensive library of films in your home.
Let me offer-up some Can’t Miss Holiday Flicks to help aid your digestion this holiday season.
For the entire family
It’s a Wonderful Life
One the reasons I’m so fat and jolly these days is in no small part due to spending the holidays with my late grandmother. Man! She could cook. But she also had this television in the bedroom my brother and I shared and there, on some obscure cable channel, we would stay up all night watching “It’s a Wonderful Life” over and over again. To this day, George Bailey is one of the greatest characters ever penned. Jimmy Stewart and Donna Read make Frank Capra’s film a timeless classic. Remember. No man is failure who has friends. HOT DATE
For the boys
A Christmas Story
What did I want for Christmas when I was growing up? Why, an official Red Ryder, carbine action, two-hundred shot range model air rifle with a compass on the stock and this thing, which tells time. And what did I get? A chorus singing, “You’ll shoot your eye out! You’ll shoot your eye out!” (I got a Daisy BB Gun instead, sans compass and this thing, which tells time.) “A Christmas Story” taught us that the word “fragile” was actually Italian, that we should never stick our tongue on a flagpole in subzero weather, that Palmolive has a nice, piquant after-dinner flavor - heavy, but with a touch of mellow smoothness, and that icicles have been known to kill people. For some gut-busting laughs, and a trip down memory lane, I highly recommend this film. HOT DATE
For the girls
Miracle on 34th Street
This movie has been remade at least a dozen times, but nothing tops the original story about Kris Kringle, his intervention in the dreaded Macy/Gimble feud, his battle with our wonderful judicial system, and his efforts to give one little a girl a home of her own. MATINEE
For the guys
Die Hard
Not only is Die Hard the greatest action film ever made, it’s also one the greatest Christmas movies of all time. There really is no way to measure just how much this movie changed the action genre but, this time every year, it’s the story that gets me going. John McClain (Bruce Willis), a hardnosed cop from New York travels to Los Angeles to visit his estranged wife Holly (Bonnie Bedelia). Holly happens to be a major player in a huge multi-national, but when Hans Grueber (Alan Rickman) and his European pals crash the party, McClain must take them down one-by-one all on his own in order to save the woman he still loves. Man, if this is their idea of Christmas, I gotta be here for New Year’s. HOT DATE
For the gals
Serendipity
I’ve debated long and hard about this movie. Is it a holiday film, or isn’t it? It begins on a holiday and ends on a holiday but nothing in between has anything to do with Christmas. Even so, I decided to put in on my list anyway because, by gibers, I dig Kate Beckinsale. Serendipity is a relatively clean romantic comedy about two people who leave their future to fate after a chance meeting on Christmas Eve. It’s the kind of romantic comedy even a guy’s guy can enjoy because John Cusack and Jeremy Piven are an absolutely brilliant comedy team. They should work together more often. MATINEE
For adults
National Lampoons Christmas Vacation
I grew up in a home where my father would actually ponder, “What would Clark W. Griswald do in a situation like this?” Chevy Chase is phenomenal as Clark, another brilliant character and, although he wasn’t created specifically for the holidays, he certainly makes it special in his own twisted way. The “Vacation” films aren’t for everybody but I think every Dad has a tendency to pull “Clark W.” from time to time. At least, I hope that’s normal. Don’t watch this one on a full stomach and make sure the kiddies are snug in their beds with visions of sugarplums in their heads. MATINEE
No wonder I’m such a jolly fat man. I’m always thinking about food. Oh, well. ‘Tis the season.
Idle Threats
Okay! I'll admit it! My promise to return to blogging has become an idle threat. At this point, I'm going to set a goal for my full return next week. It's been hard catching up with things since I got back into town.
But I do have some Permian Basin Movie News!
I have a good reason for blowing off the blog last week. I was working on another draft of one of my screenplays last week. It's called LDR. (I won't elaborate on what that means because you can't copyright a title and I don't want somebody taking my idea.) Of course, I've written nine screenplays so far so what's the big deal, right? Well, all but a few of them are still in rough draft or first draft form. LDR is now just a final proof away from copyright and registration.
The Desert Reel Film Festival has extended its deadline for entries to January 17th. If you know of any independent filmmakers out there let them know about us. We really want to double the amount of entries we've received so far.
A friend has officially completed his film called The Minds Eye. In fact, it was the fact that he actually completed his film that got me rolling again on my screenplay last week. Go check it out at his web site.
Tonight I will be attending the premiere of another local flick called Unnoticed. I'm looking forward to being a part of this event because it truly is my first invite to a premiere as a critic and it came directly from the director, Sean Stringer. I hope to report on this even in the near future.
Have a great one!
Back to Blogging
Hey gang! Well, I'm back from Big D so it's back to blogging. Sorry for the time away. I'll try not to let it happened too often. Today's big release is The Bourne Supremacy, an outstanding film to which I gave my HOT DATE rating over at GCM.
