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19 articles
The Twilight Saga: New Moon | Review
19 November 2009 3:13 PM, PST
Director: Chris Weitz Writer(s): Melissa Rosenberg (screenplay); Stephenie Meyer (novel) Starring: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattison, Taylor Lautner, Charlie Bewley, Jamie Campbell Bower, Daniel Cudmore, Christopher Heyerdahl, Dakota Fanning, Cameron Bright, Michael Sheen, Noot Seer, Chaske Spencer, Bronson Pelletier, Alex Meraz, Kiowa Gordon, Tyson Houseman, Peter Facinelli, Ashley Greene, Elizabeth Reaser, Kellan Lutz, Nikki Reedand, Jackson Rathbone Music: Alexandre Desplat New moon, new moon, new moon...what do we have to say to each other. If I were a 12 year old girl, I would be satisfied with your knowing glances, and disjointed (but perfectly sculpted) plot movements. But alas, I am not. I am a grown man, and you have robbed me of my innocence… My goodness, this was one of the more interesting screenings that I have attended in quite some time. I feel it necessary to set up my viewing experience in the theatre, as I’m »
- JP Chapman
Box, The | Review
19 November 2009 10:00 AM, PST
Director: Richard Kelly Writer(s): (short story "Button, Button") Richard Matheson, (screenplay) Richard Kelly Starring: Cameron Diaz, James Marsden, Frank Langella The Box begins with a CIA internal memo being typed out onscreen concerning a man named Arlington Steward who has suffered severe burn wounds. Next thing we know, it is 1976 and we find ourselves in Richmond, Virginia as Norma (Cameron Diaz) and Arthur Lewis (James Marsden) are awoken (at 5:45 am) by their doorbell. Norma notices a mysterious black sedan pulling away and she discovers a non-descript box wrapped in brown paper on their front step. Norma and Arthur open the box, it contains: a wooden box with a button protected by a glass dome, a key, and a note reading something along the lines of “Mr. Steward will come at 5:00 pm.” Later in the morning, their son Walter (Sam Oz Stone) leaves for school. Arthur drives »
- Don Simpson
Blind Side, The | Review
19 November 2009 8:00 AM, PST
Directed: John Lee Hancock Writer(s): (Screenplay) John Lee Hancock, (Book) Michael Lewis Starring: Sandra Bullock, Tim McGraw, Quinton Aaron, Kathy Bates Poor man’s Precious. The timing may be coincidental, but that’s where it feels Hollywood is going with The Blind Side. A little bigger budget, but also less of a contender to the academy than Lee Daniels current “it” movie, The Blind Side seems poised to hold its own commercially, but is treading less prestigious territory artistically. While telling a truly remarkable story, the literary origins it is derived from may be where the artistic line is kept somewhat subdued. Based on Michael Lewis’s book “The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game”, the film version of The Blind Side cuts the second half of Lewis’s title out of the story, as well as the first half of his book (a study on left »
- JP Chapman
Planet 51 | Review
19 November 2009 7:00 AM, PST
Director(s): Jorge Blanco, Javier Abad (co-director) Writer: Joe Stillman Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Jessica Biel, Justin Long, Gary Oldman, John Cleese, Seann William Scott It's the 1950s on Planet 51, and young Lem (Justin Long) is a budding astronomer. Lem is convinced there's more to the universe than what he's been spoon-fed by his elders, but pacifying the elders proves beneficial in furthering his dreams. Just when things are looking up for Lem, along comes Captain Charles T. Baker (Dwayne Johnson), 21st Century astronaut from Earth, and alien enemy to Planet 51. Lem finds himself caught between saving “Chuck” Baker and siding with the town, a sort of hapless group of vigilantes bent on seeing the alien on the dissection table. While Baker is amazed to find the planet inhabited by little green creatures, he is even more shocked to find himself running for his life through a very Mayberryesque alien landscape. »
- Dirk Sonniksen
Fantastic Mr. Fox | Review
18 November 2009 9:00 PM, PST
Director: Wes Anderson Writer(s): Roald Dahl (book), Wes Anderson, Noah Baumbach (screenplay) Starring: (voice) George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Jarvis Cocker, Owen Wilson, Willem Dafoe, Helen McCrory Once upon a time…we find Mr. Fox (voiced by George Clooney) and Mrs. 'Felicity' Fox (voiced by Meryl Streep) as they prepare to raid a local farm. The heist (orchestrated beautifully to the Beach Boys’ “Heroes and Villains”) is successful – that is until Mr. Fox’s overconfidence causes him to trigger a trap and the two foxes find themselves caught in a cage. Felicity reveals that she is pregnant, and Mr. Fox promises to find much more respectable employment…if they survive! (They obviously do.) Two human years later (14 years in fox years)…Mr. Fox is now a respectable yet poor newspaper man; he and Felicity now have a grown son named Ash (voiced by Jason Schwartzman). The family lives, »
- Don Simpson
2009 Austin Film Festival Wrap-up
17 November 2009 12:18 PM, PST
The 16th annual Austin Film Festival opened with a true screenwriting gem, Serious Moonlight. Penned by the late Adrienne Shelley around the same time she created Waitress – Shelley was murdered shortly after wrapping Waitress, before she had the opportunity to direct Serious Moonlight. I loved Waitress, and have been a fan of Adrienne Shelley since seeing her act in Hal Hartley’s The Unbelievable Truth and Trust. Serious Moonlight | Review "...the script is chock-full of clever Hitchcockian twists along with a impeccably strong (and mysterious) conclusion. Serious Moonlight is very conservatively directed by first-timer Cheryl Hines (who acted in Waitress with Shelley)." ____________________________________________________ I have long been curious about C.D. Payne’s 1993 epistolary novel Youth in Revolt: The Journals of Nick Twisp, and unfortunately I did not have the opportunity to read it prior to the Aff screening of Miguel Arteta’s film. Nonetheless, into the Paramount I went… I must »
- Don Simpson
Up in the Air | Review
16 November 2009 12:04 PM, PST
Director: Jason Reitman Writer(s): Walter Kirn (novel) Jason Reitman, Sheldon Turner (screenplay) Starring: George Clooney, Vera Farmiga, Anna Kendrick, Jason Bateman, Danny McBride Very loosely based on Walter Kim’s 2001 novel Up in the Air, the protagonist of Reitman’s film Ryan Bingham (George Clooney) is a career transition counselor; in other words, corporations hire him to fire their staff. The position not only requires an emotionless cold as ice personality but it also requires a lot of travel – thus Ryan spends a majority of his life up in the air, and is quickly approaching a milestone of ten million frequent flyer miles with American Airlines (a landmark reached by only six others in the history of aviation). Ryan relishes his relationship-free life – estranged from his family and with no friends or significant other to hold him down (the condo he owns, yet rarely frequents, looks more like »
- Don Simpson
Road, The | Review
16 November 2009 11:40 AM, PST
Director: John Hillcoat Writer(s): Cormac McCarthy (novel), Joe Penhall (screenplay) Starring: Viggo Mortensen, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Robert Duvall, Guy Pearce, Charlize Theron The world exists only in various shades of gray after an unexplained calamity many years ago. This is a world without a biosphere; deplete of vegetation, animal life, natural resources (fuel), and food. Only some humans remain, aimlessly wandering the abandoned roads on a path towards imminent death. Humans are facing extinction via starvation – some resort to cannibalism, but they are only extending the torture. Truly a manifestation of hell on earth the humans are being punished for their plentitude of ecological sins. Knowing that they cannot survive another winter in their present location, a protective father (Viggo Mortensen) leads his son (Kodi Smit-McPhee) east across the bleak ash-covered landscape towards the ocean in the hopes of eventually heading south. The boy’s mother (Charlize Theron), whom we see in various flashbacks, »
- Don Simpson
Young Victoria, The | Review
16 November 2009 11:23 AM, PST
Director: Jean-Marc Vallée Writer(s): Julian Fellowes Starring: Emily Blunt, Miranda Richardson, Jim Broadbent, Paul Bettany, Mark Strong, Rupert Friend, Thomas Kretschmann, Julian Glover, Michael Maloney, Rachael Stirling This costume drama, directed by Jean-Marc Vallée (C.R.A.Z.Y.), is just that – a costume drama about Queen Victoria’s (Emily Blunt) courting of, and eventual marriage to, Prince Albert (Rupert Friend). Rife with historical inaccuracies, The Young Victoria focuses more on costume and set design than dialogue or character development. Though the costume and set design is magnificent, the cinematography primarily relies upon overtly tight focuses which blur everything but one actor’s face at a time – a technique that is both distracting and frustrating. The scenes are purposefully chopped short, as the film barnstorms through the Cliff Notes of Victoria’s late teens. This is a mere outline of a plot, rather than a fleshed out story. As a result, there »
- Don Simpson
Messenger, The | Review
16 November 2009 11:02 AM, PST
Director: Oren Moverman Writer(s): Alessandro Camon, Oren Moverman Starring: Ben Foster, Woody Harrelson, Samantha Morton, Jena Malone After recovering from wounds inflicted during a tour of duty in Iraq, the heroically decorated Will (Ben Foster) is assigned to the Army’s Casualty Notification Office in the drab environs of suburban New Jersey. Upon his return stateside, Will is greeted with some flowers and a shag by Kelly (Jena Malone) – the girl he left behind. Unfortunately, this hello is also goodbye as Kelly is engaged to another man. Despite his cool expression we know that Will is emotionally devastated. Will’s superior officer, Tony (Woody Harrelson), is a recovering alcoholic carrying other apparent psychological baggage as well. Tony catholically abides by the casualty notification manual – meaning that he avoids any gestures of sympathy (most importantly he does not touch the next of kin) – and his goal is to get »
- Don Simpson
Alabama Moon | Review
16 November 2009 10:52 AM, PST
Director: Tim McCanlies Writer(s): Watt Key (novel, screenplay) Starring: Jimmy Bennett, Gabriel Basso, Uriah Shelton, Clint Howard Moon (Jimmy Bennett) and his Pap (J.D. Evermore) are living the Libertarian dream – Ayn Rand and Ron Paul would be proud of this duo – illegally homesteading in the backcountry of rural Alabama. Pap raises Moon to never trust anyone, especially the government. That’s all well and good until Pap dies, leaving eleven year old Moon all alone in the wilderness. Moon opts to foot it towards Alaska (the Libertarian, survivalist and secessionist Mecca). It is not long before the local constable (Clint Howard) – who must have learned everything he knows about policing from Roscoe P. Coltrane – and his hound dog are hot on Moon’s trail. Moon is apprehended and sent to a boy’s prison called Pinson, but his inner wild child cannot be held by any cage. Moon »
- Don Simpson
Tenure | Review
16 November 2009 10:37 AM, PST
Director: Mike Million Writer(s): Mike Million Starring: Luke Wilson, David Koechner, Gretchen Mol Charlie Thurber (Luke Wilson) is an English professor at Gray College; he is up for tenure this year and, after recently witnessing his good friend and Anthropology professor Jay’s (David Koechner) tenure hopes get trampled, Charlie is concerned. Charlie’s worriment increases when the English department hires a hot blond English professor from Yale, Elaine Grasso (Gretchen Mol). Still smarting from his failed attempt at tenure, Jay pitches in to help Charlie in his quest for tenure; however most of Jay’s plans (toilet-papering the Dean’s house, going to a student party while on ecstasy, chasing after Bigfoot) only prove to damage Charlie’s chances. Charlie’s personal life is also in turmoil. He and his sister, Margarette (Sasha Alexander), recently put their forgetful father (Bob Gunton) in a nursing home; but their »
- Don Simpson
Vicious Kind, The | Review
16 November 2009 10:11 AM, PST
Director: Lee Toland Krieger Writer(s): Lee Toland Krieger Starring: Brittany Snow, Adam Scott, J.K. Simmons, Alex Frost The Vicious Kind finds the men of the Sinclaire family at odds. Caleb (Adam Scott) is a highly volatile personality who hates and distrusts all women (having just been dumped by his girlfriend). Peter (Alex Frost), the younger Sinclaire brother, is the complete opposite of Caleb – he is meek, gentle, kind and loving. The film starts with Caleb driving Peter to their childhood home (in rural Connecticut) from college for Thanksgiving break (because train service is shut down due to a terrorist threat); but before going home they first have to pick-up Caleb’s college girlfriend, Emma (Brittany Snow donning jet black hair), from her parents’ house (I’m still confused why Emma was at her parents’ house, rather than on campus if she went to school with Peter). Not only »
- Don Simpson
Passenger Side | Review
16 November 2009 10:01 AM, PST
Director: Matt Bissonnette Writer(s): Matt Bissonnette Starring: Adam Scott, Joel Bissonnette, Robin Tunney, Gale Harold, Penelope Allen, Vitta Quinn, Mickey Cottrell Michael (Adam Scott) is a frustrated writer living alone in Los Angeles. His younger brother, Tobey (Joel Bissonnette), needs to embark on a wild goose chase to find something; the problem is that his car is broken down, so he asks Michael to be his chauffeur. Tobey is a recovering drug addict, so most of his requests are greeted with suspicion by his older brother. Michael eventually gives in to Tobey’s pleading, and their entire day is spent driving around Los Angeles (as well as out-lying areas) in Michael’s car. Every location that they stop at, Michael remains in the car and is frequently subjected to absurd events, as Tobey acquires another clue sending them to another location. 90% of the film takes place within the »
- Don Simpson
Love & Tambourines | Review
16 November 2009 9:40 AM, PST
Director: Jeremy Cohen Writer(s): Jeremy Cohen, Stephanie Hunt Starring: Troy Gonzales, Arsene Dupin, Gopal Bidari, Dominic James, Danny Malone, Cyril Neville As you would expect by film titled Love & Tambourines, it is a self-proclaimed postmodern essay on the topics of love and tambourines. The film alternates between “man on the street” interviews (of which the one with Tyler Womak, of the Austin band Hollywood Gossip, is the most entertaining) and the story of two close friends – Stephanie (Stephanie Hunt) and Troy (Troy Gonzales) – celebrating Valentine’s Day together. It is a highly simplistic “day in the life” concept told in a thoughtful, yet teetering between absurd and surreal, manner. The alternating between “real” and “fiction” while reminiscing about the meaning of love is nothing new to 2009 – the tactic was also used in Paper Heart (which was also written by a female lead). It would be difficult not to »
- Don Simpson
Harmony and Me | Review
16 November 2009 8:48 AM, PST
Director: Bob Byington Writer(s): Bob Byington Starring: Justin Rice, Kevin Corrigan, Pat Healy, Kristen Tucker, Alex Karpovsky, Allison Latta, Nick Offerman Harmony (Justin Rice) is not recovering very well from being dumped by Jessica (Kristen Tucker). We find him misanthropically moping through life, hating his job and constantly arguing with his family. Even piano lessons (with an unnamed character played by Jeremy Pollet) can’t clear the foggy haze from around Harmony. This is probably because Harmony is surrounded by depressed and/or mean-spirited personalities, from his friends Mike (Alex Karpovsky) and Carlos (Kevin Corrigan) to his brothers Jim (Bob Byington) and Wes (Keith Poulson). As you can imagine from the premise, there isn’t much happiness to be found within Harmony and Me; in fact, I cannot remember one pleasant or uplifting character in Harmony and Me. Harmony and Me features occasional glimpses of brilliant dialogue, but »
- Don Simpson
Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire | Review
16 November 2009 8:35 AM, PST
Director: Lee Daniels Writer(s): Sapphire (novel), Geoffrey Fletcher (screenplay) Starring: Gabourey Sidibe, Mo'Nique, Paula Patton, Mariah Carey, Lenny Kravitz Set in Harlem, Precious is the heart-wrenching tale of Clareece “Precious” Jones (Gabourey Sidibe) – an obese, illiterate, abused and molested 16-year-old African-American girl. Impregnated for the second time by her otherwise absentee father, Precious is expelled from high school; but her principal, who recognizes Precious’ true potential, refers her to an alternative school (Each One Teach One) with an intimate student-to-teacher ratio and teachers and counselors who are appropriately trained to work with troubled students. As things improve at school, matters at home spin ferociously out of control. Precious’ welfare queen mother (Mo’Nique) has relentlessly treated her as a slave and a human punching bag; but the abuse escalates ten-fold once Precious brings her second child home from the hospital. (Her first “Lil Mongo” has Down syndrome and »
- Don Simpson
Youth in Revolt | Review
16 November 2009 8:16 AM, PST
Director: Miguel Arteta Writer(s): C.D. Payne (novel), Gustin Nash (screenplay) Starring: Michael Cera, Portia Doubleday, Jean Smart, Mary Kay Place, M. Emmet Walsh, Zach Galifianakis, Justin Long special appearances by: Fred Willard, Ray Liotta, Steve Buscemi Nick Twisp (Michael Cera) is a 14-year old going headstrong through puberty. Equal parts a derivation from J.D. Salinger, Daniel Clowes, François Truffaut and Wes Anderson, Nick is obsessed with girls and enjoys great literature, foreign cinema and Frank Sinatra – which means, of course, that he is still a virgin. Nick’s parents are divorced. He lives with his mother (Jean Smart) and her white trash boyfriend, Jerry (Zach Galifianakis doing what he does best). Jerry rips off some sailors – thus Jerry, Nick’s mother and Nick thrust forward into the narrative as they go on vacation (into hiding) at a Christian trailer park. This is where Nick falls instantly head-over-heels for »
- Don Simpson
Serious Moonlight | Review
16 November 2009 8:02 AM, PST
Director: Cheryl Hines Writer(s): Adrienne Shelly Starring: Meg Ryan, Timothy Hutton, Kristin Bell, Justin Long Serious Moonlight begins with Ian (Timothy Hutton) as he travels to a quaint vacation home in the country. Where Ian is going, people leave items for sale alone by the side of the road with the unwavering trust that their customers will leave the proper cash on the table in exchange for the goods; and the inhabitants of the town leave their doors unlocked even when they are not home. (Other than in the movies, do places like this still exist?) Ian purposefully arrives a day earlier than his wife, Louise (Meg Ryan), in order to rendezvous with his youthful mistress Sara (Kristen Bell) for a trip to Paris. Ian plans on being halfway to Paris before Louise arrives – he intends to leave a note behind for Louise to break off their marriage. »
- Don Simpson
19 articles
