Movies I've Seen, SV Alums...
Smallville Alum News
*I think Michael Rosenbaum’s presence on the show was stronger than the Christian Slater curse. FOX has renewed “Breaking In” for another 13 episodes.
*Cassidy Freeman’s AMC pilot “Longmire” was picked up for series. The show also costars Lou Diamond Phillips, Katee Sackhoff and Robert Taylor. So that’s “Longmire” and a recurring role on “The Playboy Club” for Cassidy. What is Tom doing??
Cassidy with her “Longmire” costars
*Katee Sackoff, Adam Brantley and Greer Shephard
*Alaina Huffman is going to need a bigger nest. Alaina and her husband are expecting their fourth child.
*I hope she posts a new family photo when he or she is born.
*Kyle Gallner
took time out of his busy schedule to do a “Funny or Die” video with Sarah Paxton, “Wizards of Waverly Place”s David Henrie and Kyle’s buddy Jake “Lesser Winchester” Abel.
Hollywood Stands Up Against Planking
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKYahWg6dNY
Hollywood Takes a Stand Against Planking from Marielle Jaffe
I think planking is the second most ridiculous trend, just under owling,
but I have to give it to Anthony Anderson
He’s committed
He can’t ever tell his kids to take their feet off the table because he’s lying across everything.
~Movies I’ve seen
Fright Night
Enjoyable enough film. It deviates quite a bit from the original which was fine by me considering the first one isn’t that much of a beloved film to anyone that any change would trigger outrage with viewers.
Replacing William Ragsdale as Charlie Brewster is “Star Trek”s Anton Yelchin, replacing Stephen Geoffreys as “Evil” Ed is Christopher Mintz-Plasse, replacing Roddy McDowell as Peter Vincent is David Tennant, replacing Amanda Bearse as Amy is the unfortunately named Imogen Poots and replacing Chris Sarandon as Jerry the resident vampire is Colin Farrell.
The difference between the original and this remake is tonal Marti Noxon’s script is light where needed. Tennant’s tattooed, long haired Peter Vincent is a far cry from McDowell’s frightened, washed up Vincent and gives a much needed boost to scenes that he’s in (I don’t know if I was imagining it but I think the script plays at Peter being a bit flirty around Charlie. I think it’s a nod to McDowell’s sexuality), but it’s directed by Craig Gillespie in a very straight forward manner that avoid whatever comedic touches the script had. There is one really good scene that feels like a video game, but the unnecessary 3D was distracting. Farrell is good-very intense. There’s one scene where he actually frightened me, but Yelchin...seeing Yelchin’s performance makes me appreciate William Ragsdale’s performance in the original. Ragsdale conveyed the fear and uncertainty perfectly and Yelchin gave nothing. It was like watching a human shaped mashed potatoes.
And Mitz-Plasse, who I find more irritating than fleas, mosquitos and envelope being pronounce “in-velope” versus “on-velope” was surprisingly good.
There is a nice cameo by Chris Sarandon, but other than that this film is enjoyable but not great. It’s a good way to pass your time.
The trailer shown before “Fright Night” was Disney’s “John Carter”. One: I can’t believe it’s called “John Carter” and not “John Carter of Mars” because without the “of Mars” bit it makes everything about this movie all the more unremarkable.
Bland Poster
Bland trailer. I still don’t get what this film is about.
*featuring Peter Gabriel’s cover of The Arcade Fire’s “My Body is a Cage”
Contagion
Stellar film. Powerful, effective and affecting. Written by Scott Z. Burns (“The Informant”, “The Bourne Ultimatum” and directed by Steven Soderbergh (“Ocean’s Eleven” trilogy, “sex, lies and videotape” and “The Informant”), “Contagion” details the reactions of a group of people at the breakout of a mysterious, deadly virus. There’s Thomas Emhoff (Matt Damon) who is at the front of the upbreak when his wife (played by Gwyneth Paltrow) contracts the disease; there’s the CDC agents (Laurence Fishburne and Kate Winslet) who are tracking the disease, the scientist (Jennifer Ehle) who is trying to find the cure, there’s the international agent trying to figure out the ground zero of the outbreak (Marion Cotillard) and the conspiracy theorist (Jude Law) who takes to his website to alert the masses about the perceived government cover up.
Everyone was amazing in this film it’s only a question of by what degree. Damon with his quiet helplessness, Fishbourne and Winslet with their heartfelt earnestness and Cotillard with her detached, fixed attention to the case give these terrific subtle performances. Only Law as the wily conspiracy theorist, agitator plays it big, in a way that is perfectly fit for someone who behaves and believes they are a prophet for the masses.
I think most people will compare this film to “Outbreak” (the 1992 film starring Kevin Spacey, Renee Russo and Cuba Gooding Jr. about an Ebola virus outbreak), but unlike “Outbreak” which didn’t try to be anything more than a dramatic thriller, “Contagion” IMO is more focused on the real-life repercussions of an outbreak of this kind. The tension comes from the fact that this film will have you examining how one can proceed in the face of a virus outbreak. What happens to a society where touch can be deadly? What does that do to us as individuals? And what about those in charge of stemming an outbreak: how much information should be given out? If/when there’s an antidote who gets it first in a global pandemic? It’s these heady questions which illuminates the one small flaw in the film. The score is a throwback to Seventies alarmist films and it’s screeching and discordant strikes of the piano keys nearly overshadows the subtlety of the film. It doesn’t need overbearing music to inform the emotion the film is trying to provoke.
Complete aside: It was like Reunion!Town in this film. Jude, Gwyneth and Matt were in “The Talented Mr. Ripley” together. Matt and Elliot Gould (who has a small role as a local scientist that Jude Law keeps following for answers) were in the Oceans films. Winslet and Jude were in “The Holiday” together. And not a reunion, but Marion’s scenes were mostly with Chin Han who played Lau in “The Dark Knight”
Official Trailer
The trailers shown before it were “The Dark Knight Rises”, “Valentine’s Day”, which to paraphrase Roger Daltrey I won’t be fooled again. I loved “New Years’ Eve” but I refuse to break down and watch “Valentine’s Day’ with its “Love, American Style” cast of returning “New Years’ Eve” cast members Ashton Kutcher, Jessica Biel and Hector Elizondo along with Halle Berry, Zac Efron, Michelle Pfeiffer, Lea Michele and “Saturday Night Live’s” Seth Meyers.
The other trailer was “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows” featuring Robert Downey Jr. in drag.
He can’t beat Jude though
Whether in drag or all hirsute manly man, Jude is a wonder.
Too bad he can’t take some of that hair off his thighs and implant it in his scalp.
Jude with Ruth Wilson (“Luther”) in their play “Anna Christie”
His buddy Jonny Lee Miller is mocking him.
Jude with ex-wife Sadie Frost and their children
RDJ assembled the Avengers at Disney’s D23 two weeks ago
Warrior
I don’t care much for sports films and I’d rather that the underpinning of the family drama would be incorporated better or fully encompassed, but it is a really good film with strong, solid performances.
“Warrior” is a tale of two estranged brothers: Brendan (Joel Edgerton), the family man who takes on MMA (mixed martial arts) fights to keep his home from being foreclosed on and Tommy (Tom Hardy), his estranged brother who breezes back into their father Paddy’s (Nick Nolte) life after a fourteen year absence and falls into MMA fighting.
Joel in VMan...I think
Along with other rising stars
Dominic Cooper
"Sucker Punch"s Oscar Isaac
And Armie Hammer
The film is predictable, but all sports films are IMO, but what I was invested in was the family dynamics and I don’t think the film touched on it too much. Joel Edgerton was really good as the loving husband/father whose focus is on his family and their survival and Tom Hardy was all too real at the hulking, ball of anger with pouty lips, practically rabid Tommy whose pain and hurt over his relationships with his family burns through him (Hardy says his motivation was “self will run riot”, an AA recovery term about the selfishness of an addict) It’s this blind rage and hurt that makes Tommy not a very likeable character. By the time we get to see fissures in the concrete cage of pain that Tommy is in, the movie is nearly ending.
This could’ve been Nick Nolte’s “Wrestler”, a chance to redeem him in the eyes of the film community like “Wrestler” did for Mickey Rourke. I think it would’ve been that case if his role was better crafted and if his voice didn’t sound like soundpaper over gravel. I wanted to force him to drink hot tea with lemon.
Jennifer Morrison as Edgerton’s wife and Frank Grillo as Edgerton’s trainer were really good.
Tom loving up Frank Grillo
And it was cool seeing Patrick ‘P-Nut’’ Monroe’s name in the credits as Tom’s trainer.
*In Tom Hardy news: the UK get to have him even more than they already do. His upcoming film “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy” will be released in the UK on September 16th as scheduled but its US release has been delayed until from November to December 16th so it can get out of the way of “Twilight: Breaking Dawn”. I had no idea there was that much crossover between a twee vampire film and a British espionage flick.
Till Then
*Tom’s “Tinker, Tailor, Solider, Spy” costar Gary Oldman talks the hotness that is Tom Hardy.
Tom is gorgeous, that is true.
But you’re not bad yourself, Gaz
Here's the S2 trailer for "Sherlock" starring T,T,S,S costar Benedict Cumberbatch
~I leave you with
That guy Henry Cavill
and
Flasher!Tom
*I think Michael Rosenbaum’s presence on the show was stronger than the Christian Slater curse. FOX has renewed “Breaking In” for another 13 episodes.
*Cassidy Freeman’s AMC pilot “Longmire” was picked up for series. The show also costars Lou Diamond Phillips, Katee Sackhoff and Robert Taylor. So that’s “Longmire” and a recurring role on “The Playboy Club” for Cassidy. What is Tom doing??
Cassidy with her “Longmire” costars
*Katee Sackoff, Adam Brantley and Greer Shephard
*Alaina Huffman is going to need a bigger nest. Alaina and her husband are expecting their fourth child.
*I hope she posts a new family photo when he or she is born.
*Kyle Gallner
took time out of his busy schedule to do a “Funny or Die” video with Sarah Paxton, “Wizards of Waverly Place”s David Henrie and Kyle’s buddy Jake “Lesser Winchester” Abel.
Hollywood Stands Up Against Planking
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKYahWg6dNY
Hollywood Takes a Stand Against Planking from Marielle Jaffe
I think planking is the second most ridiculous trend, just under owling,
but I have to give it to Anthony Anderson
He’s committed
He can’t ever tell his kids to take their feet off the table because he’s lying across everything.
~Movies I’ve seen
Fright Night
Enjoyable enough film. It deviates quite a bit from the original which was fine by me considering the first one isn’t that much of a beloved film to anyone that any change would trigger outrage with viewers.
Replacing William Ragsdale as Charlie Brewster is “Star Trek”s Anton Yelchin, replacing Stephen Geoffreys as “Evil” Ed is Christopher Mintz-Plasse, replacing Roddy McDowell as Peter Vincent is David Tennant, replacing Amanda Bearse as Amy is the unfortunately named Imogen Poots and replacing Chris Sarandon as Jerry the resident vampire is Colin Farrell.
The difference between the original and this remake is tonal Marti Noxon’s script is light where needed. Tennant’s tattooed, long haired Peter Vincent is a far cry from McDowell’s frightened, washed up Vincent and gives a much needed boost to scenes that he’s in (I don’t know if I was imagining it but I think the script plays at Peter being a bit flirty around Charlie. I think it’s a nod to McDowell’s sexuality), but it’s directed by Craig Gillespie in a very straight forward manner that avoid whatever comedic touches the script had. There is one really good scene that feels like a video game, but the unnecessary 3D was distracting. Farrell is good-very intense. There’s one scene where he actually frightened me, but Yelchin...seeing Yelchin’s performance makes me appreciate William Ragsdale’s performance in the original. Ragsdale conveyed the fear and uncertainty perfectly and Yelchin gave nothing. It was like watching a human shaped mashed potatoes.
And Mitz-Plasse, who I find more irritating than fleas, mosquitos and envelope being pronounce “in-velope” versus “on-velope” was surprisingly good.
There is a nice cameo by Chris Sarandon, but other than that this film is enjoyable but not great. It’s a good way to pass your time.
The trailer shown before “Fright Night” was Disney’s “John Carter”. One: I can’t believe it’s called “John Carter” and not “John Carter of Mars” because without the “of Mars” bit it makes everything about this movie all the more unremarkable.
Bland Poster
Bland trailer. I still don’t get what this film is about.
*featuring Peter Gabriel’s cover of The Arcade Fire’s “My Body is a Cage”
Click to viewContagion
Stellar film. Powerful, effective and affecting. Written by Scott Z. Burns (“The Informant”, “The Bourne Ultimatum” and directed by Steven Soderbergh (“Ocean’s Eleven” trilogy, “sex, lies and videotape” and “The Informant”), “Contagion” details the reactions of a group of people at the breakout of a mysterious, deadly virus. There’s Thomas Emhoff (Matt Damon) who is at the front of the upbreak when his wife (played by Gwyneth Paltrow) contracts the disease; there’s the CDC agents (Laurence Fishburne and Kate Winslet) who are tracking the disease, the scientist (Jennifer Ehle) who is trying to find the cure, there’s the international agent trying to figure out the ground zero of the outbreak (Marion Cotillard) and the conspiracy theorist (Jude Law) who takes to his website to alert the masses about the perceived government cover up.
Everyone was amazing in this film it’s only a question of by what degree. Damon with his quiet helplessness, Fishbourne and Winslet with their heartfelt earnestness and Cotillard with her detached, fixed attention to the case give these terrific subtle performances. Only Law as the wily conspiracy theorist, agitator plays it big, in a way that is perfectly fit for someone who behaves and believes they are a prophet for the masses.
I think most people will compare this film to “Outbreak” (the 1992 film starring Kevin Spacey, Renee Russo and Cuba Gooding Jr. about an Ebola virus outbreak), but unlike “Outbreak” which didn’t try to be anything more than a dramatic thriller, “Contagion” IMO is more focused on the real-life repercussions of an outbreak of this kind. The tension comes from the fact that this film will have you examining how one can proceed in the face of a virus outbreak. What happens to a society where touch can be deadly? What does that do to us as individuals? And what about those in charge of stemming an outbreak: how much information should be given out? If/when there’s an antidote who gets it first in a global pandemic? It’s these heady questions which illuminates the one small flaw in the film. The score is a throwback to Seventies alarmist films and it’s screeching and discordant strikes of the piano keys nearly overshadows the subtlety of the film. It doesn’t need overbearing music to inform the emotion the film is trying to provoke.
Complete aside: It was like Reunion!Town in this film. Jude, Gwyneth and Matt were in “The Talented Mr. Ripley” together. Matt and Elliot Gould (who has a small role as a local scientist that Jude Law keeps following for answers) were in the Oceans films. Winslet and Jude were in “The Holiday” together. And not a reunion, but Marion’s scenes were mostly with Chin Han who played Lau in “The Dark Knight”
Official Trailer
The trailers shown before it were “The Dark Knight Rises”, “Valentine’s Day”, which to paraphrase Roger Daltrey I won’t be fooled again. I loved “New Years’ Eve” but I refuse to break down and watch “Valentine’s Day’ with its “Love, American Style” cast of returning “New Years’ Eve” cast members Ashton Kutcher, Jessica Biel and Hector Elizondo along with Halle Berry, Zac Efron, Michelle Pfeiffer, Lea Michele and “Saturday Night Live’s” Seth Meyers.
The other trailer was “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows” featuring Robert Downey Jr. in drag.
He can’t beat Jude though
Whether in drag or all hirsute manly man, Jude is a wonder.
Too bad he can’t take some of that hair off his thighs and implant it in his scalp.
Jude with Ruth Wilson (“Luther”) in their play “Anna Christie”
His buddy Jonny Lee Miller is mocking him.
Jude with ex-wife Sadie Frost and their children
RDJ assembled the Avengers at Disney’s D23 two weeks ago
Warrior
I don’t care much for sports films and I’d rather that the underpinning of the family drama would be incorporated better or fully encompassed, but it is a really good film with strong, solid performances.
“Warrior” is a tale of two estranged brothers: Brendan (Joel Edgerton), the family man who takes on MMA (mixed martial arts) fights to keep his home from being foreclosed on and Tommy (Tom Hardy), his estranged brother who breezes back into their father Paddy’s (Nick Nolte) life after a fourteen year absence and falls into MMA fighting.
Joel in VMan...I think
Along with other rising stars
Dominic Cooper
"Sucker Punch"s Oscar Isaac
And Armie Hammer
The film is predictable, but all sports films are IMO, but what I was invested in was the family dynamics and I don’t think the film touched on it too much. Joel Edgerton was really good as the loving husband/father whose focus is on his family and their survival and Tom Hardy was all too real at the hulking, ball of anger with pouty lips, practically rabid Tommy whose pain and hurt over his relationships with his family burns through him (Hardy says his motivation was “self will run riot”, an AA recovery term about the selfishness of an addict) It’s this blind rage and hurt that makes Tommy not a very likeable character. By the time we get to see fissures in the concrete cage of pain that Tommy is in, the movie is nearly ending.
This could’ve been Nick Nolte’s “Wrestler”, a chance to redeem him in the eyes of the film community like “Wrestler” did for Mickey Rourke. I think it would’ve been that case if his role was better crafted and if his voice didn’t sound like soundpaper over gravel. I wanted to force him to drink hot tea with lemon.
Jennifer Morrison as Edgerton’s wife and Frank Grillo as Edgerton’s trainer were really good.
Tom loving up Frank Grillo
And it was cool seeing Patrick ‘P-Nut’’ Monroe’s name in the credits as Tom’s trainer.
*In Tom Hardy news: the UK get to have him even more than they already do. His upcoming film “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy” will be released in the UK on September 16th as scheduled but its US release has been delayed until from November to December 16th so it can get out of the way of “Twilight: Breaking Dawn”. I had no idea there was that much crossover between a twee vampire film and a British espionage flick.
Till Then
*Tom’s “Tinker, Tailor, Solider, Spy” costar Gary Oldman talks the hotness that is Tom Hardy.
Tom is gorgeous, that is true.
But you’re not bad yourself, Gaz
Here's the S2 trailer for "Sherlock" starring T,T,S,S costar Benedict Cumberbatch
~I leave you with
That guy Henry Cavill
and
Flasher!Tom
