Much Ado About Nothing...

If you go along for the ride this movie is hilarious. If you want to try to figure out story plots and find a deeper meaning of life from a film, try something else. The Coen brothers have once again taken the ordinary and given it a quirky twist in their latest film, Burn After Reading.

The premise: Linda (Frances McDormand) and Chad (Brad Pitt) are two fitness trainers who find what they believe to be top secret CIA files in the gym and try to use the information as blackmail to get money for Linda's plastic surgery. Once they have set plans in motion with the rightful owner of the disk, Osbourne Cox (John Malkovich), several others find themselves being pulled in, including Cox's wife, Katie (Tilda Swinton) and her lover Harry (George Clooney). Trying to keep things from escalating are the gym manager (Richard Jenkins) and CIA Superior (J.K. Simmons).

This could have been played out as a simple act of mistaken identity and fraud. However, the plot forms circles upon circles to show that nothing is as it first appears and while things are discovered, nothing is understood. There might not be a lot of sense to what you see, but it is enjoyable to just sit back and watch.

Forecast: Occasional Bursts of Laughter

Ben Stiller is not afraid to take on Hollyweird in his latest pic, Tropic Thunder. Co-written with Justin Theroux and Etan Cohen, Stiller also produced, directed, and stars in this comedy about the making of a Vietnam film that goes awry. The movie brilliantly introduces the main characters through mock trailers of the stars previous films.

Stiller plays Tugg Speedman, an action star in serious need of a box office success after his last couple of films were flops. Jack Black plays comedic actor Jeff Portnoy, whose portrayal of every character in films about an overweight family with serious flatulence problems is an obvious take on Eddie Murphy's Nutty Professor films. Jay Baruchel (Knocked Up) plays newbie Kevin Sandusky and Brandon T. Jackson plays rapper turned actor Alpha Chino, whose audacious ad for the energy drink "Booty Sweat" begins the film. While each of these characters have their moments, the real star of the film is Robert Downey Jr. as Kirk Lazarus, an 5-time Academy Award winning Australian actor who undergoes a controversial procedure to darken his skin to play the African-American Sergeant.


Over-his-head director Damien Cockburn (Steve Coogan) takes the advice of the writer of the book the film is based on (played with perfect gruffness by Nick Nolte) to drop his group of spoiled actors into the middle of the jungle and film them through hidden cameras in order to get a more realistic portrayal of soldiers. Through a serious of missteps, the actors soon find themselves lost in a jungle surrounded by Viet Cong heroin dealers with no way to get back to their cushy lives on set.

Of course with so many self-absorbed actors together friction ensues and with it some hilarious scenes between the characters. The most controversial scene involves an extended use of the word "retard" during a conversation between Stiller and Downey's characters about the Academy's lack of giving Oscars to actors that go "full retard." While many disability advocate groups protested the use of the word, the writers are satirizing Hollywood more than making fun of mentally-challenged people. There is plenty of the usual Stiller shtick throughout, but there is also a higher level of satire hidden below the surface.

The film is able to make fun of big Hollywood productions while being one; the cinematography is top notch, and the high production costs don't go unnoticed. There are several funny cameos throughout the film, the biggest being Tom Cruise as the foul-mouthed, gangsta dancing (it alone is worth the price of the movie), malicious studio exec. While the action sometimes overtakes the comedy, and the film is a tad too long, it is an enjoyable way to bid farewell to the summer blockbuster season and get ready for the heavyweights of fall.

Rise of the Great Pumpkin

Here is last year's entry into the Boulder Shoot Out 24 Hour Filmmaking Festival. I edited a few things and added extra sound than what my entry had, but for the most part this is what was submitted.

A Couch Vacation That Will Have You Tripping

This weeks featured rental, Wes Anderson's meandering road trip through India, The Darjeeling Limited, might not make a lot of sense, but it is interesting. Combined with some take-out Indian food, this will make for a relaxing beginning to another stressful week. Owen Wilson plays Francis Whitman, the oldest of the 3 Whitman brothers, who decides after a near fatal motorcycle accident to take a religious journey through India and asks his estranged siblings, Peter (Adrian Brody) and Jack (Jason Schwartzman) to come along. The brothers have not spoken since their father's funeral, a year ago, and Francis has a goal to have them become brothers again, like they used to be. In order to do this he brings along an assistant with a computer, printer, and laminate machine.

Each morning the brothers are to find a laminated itinerary in their train compartment that they are to follow in order to successfully complete their enlightened spiritual journey. Soon enough they discover that these kind of journeys cannot be planned and the real enlightenment begins once they encounter unforeseen obstacles on their path.

There is a lot of symbolism throughout the film, as well as an in-depth look at the nature of sibling rivalries and human behavior. If you are looking for a film with a lot of structure, this is not it. If you have not been a fan of Anderson's previous films (Rushmore, The Royal Tenebaums) you will probably find this to be more of the same. However, if you are looking for something a little different, pop this movie into your DVD player and enjoy a trip to India sans Bollywood hype. Oh, and be sure to watch the short film Hotel Chevalier before the main film, it will give you a good preview of what to prepare for and is the most (quite literally) that you will see of Natalie Portman.

Traveling Pants Work Their Magic Again

This summer The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants is back with a sequel that will satisfy those that loved the original and most readers of the novels the movies are based upon. The movie opens with a montage of what has happened since we first met the girls three years ago and catches us up to date with what is going on as they embark on the summer after their first year of college.

Carmen (America Ferrera) can not wait to catch up with her friends and spend the entire summer together, only to find out everyone else has other plans. Lena (Alexis Bledel) will be taking a figure drawing class at her Rhode Island art school, Bridget (Blake Lively) was accepted to take part in an archaeological dig in Turkey, and Tibby (Amber Tamblyn) will be repeating her screenwriting class at NYU due to her romantic comedy couple breaking up. With everyone heading their separate ways, Carmen follows new college friend Julia (Rachel Nichols) to Vermont for a theatre festival.

Of course all sorts of romantic and life entanglements pursue and director Sanaa Hamri and screenwriter Elizabeth Chandler do a superb job weaving in and out of the girls' separate storylines with relative ease. This movie is a combination of the last three books in the series and so book followers will have a little more insight into each character, but may be slightly distracted by the rearranging of the time events take place when comparing it to the novels. While this shift helps the film flow more naturally, it may be frustrating to readers who know the lives of each girl as much as their own.

This film is rated PG-13 and deservedly so. As the girls are about to leave their teenage years behind, they are approaching adulthood and the maturity that goes along with that. However, the mature themes throughout the film are tasteful, never gratuitous, and are issues that most teenage girls and young adults can relate to and empathize with. Each actress proves that they are the next big talents to come out of Hollywood with the in-depth portrayal of their characters. Amber Tamblyn does a particularly good job portraying Tibby's fear of letting people in that lies beneath her sarcastic attitude and quick wit.

Friendships are not always as comfortable as a worn pair of jeans and this friendship is no exception. However, the love each girl has for each other is strong and true; just the kind of friendship every one wishes for and some truly lucky already have. Take a friend or two to see it, and you are guaranteed an enjoyable time. Take an acquaintance and you might just find yourself at the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Oh no, here he goes again!

That was the cry of audience members at a screening of Mamma Mia! anytime Pierce Brosnan began to sing again...and again...and again. While most of the actors were able to handle their renditions of ABBA songs, Brosnan brought a longing for old film adaptations of musicals a la West Side Story or The King and I; where the leading ladies might have had the right look, but not the right voice and so were dubbed during musical numbers. It became downright comical whenever the former Bond began to sing; unfortunately for him, those were the few serious moments of the film.

Mamma Mia! is not a film to see if you don't want snippets of ABBA songs stuck in your head for days. That is about all you can take from this film; the contrived plot may be successful for the live stage show, but falls extremely flat given the abilities of film. Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) is about to be married on the small beautiful island where she was raised by her single mother, Donna (Meryl Streep), when she decides she wants her unknown father to give her away. Going through her mother's old diary, she discovers that there are three possible fathers. Sam (Brosnan), Bill (Stellan Skarsgard), and Harry (Colin Firth) all receive wedding invitations and show up unbeknownst to Donna until she falls through a roof to find them all standing together like a Greek version of "This Is Your Life".

It takes Donna a long time to figure out why the guys are there after a twenty year absence. The guys are just as clueless as to why they were invited to Donna's 20-year-old daughter's wedding; everyone is so clueless about the obvious that it makes you wonder just how many brain cells they killed while they were hippies together all those years ago. It is then no surprise when all three think they are the father and never suspect why the other men are there.

Comic relief from all this stupidity comes from Donna's two best friends who have also arrived for the bridal festivities. Rosie (Julie Walters) and Tanya (Christine Baranski) try to bring back a little bit of fun and mischief to Donna's life (for all the "fun" she seemed to have in her younger days, she now seems to be striving for sainthood), and bring a refreshing take on women beyond their 30's having a wonderful time that is far too absent from most movies of today.


The Greek isle that plays background to all this silliness is absolutely breathtaking; when you can see it. Director Phyllida Lloyd is unable to make the most of the movie set, instead filling the screen with silly dance numbers from a massive ensemble of supporting cast that seem to come to the tiny island villa for a chorus of "Dancing Queen" before disappearing again into a mysterious void.

In the end, if the movie is given as much thought as the character's give to their own devices, the audience should be able to mind-numbingly tap along to the disco beat. For a night out with the girls (and guys of the dancing queen variety), I'm sure this film could be a fun way to start the evening festivities. However, if you are a fan of ABBA and would rather see a film with some substance, might I suggest renting either The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert or Muriel's Wedding followed by a sing-along to ABBA's greatest hits. Preferably while you are home alone.

Forget About Voldemort, Greed is Latest Potter Enemy

As reported on MSN.com:

"Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," the sixth installment in the blockbuster film franchise about boy wizard Harry, is moving from its planned Nov. 21 release to July 17, 2009, distributor Warner Bros. said Thursday.
The move was made to take advantage of an open weekend in Hollywood's busy summer season, said Alan Horn, Warner Bros. president and chief operating officer. The film had been on schedule, and the change was not due to any production snags, he said.
"The picture is completely, absolutely, 100 percent on schedule, on time. There were no delays," Horn told The Associated Press. "I've seen the movie. It is fabulous. We would have been perfectly able to have it out in November."
The switch will mean a two-year lag between the film adaptations of books five and six in J.K. Rowling's fantasy series. But it will shorten fans' wait between "Half-Blood Prince" and the final two installments, which are being shot simultaneously next year.

Based on book seven, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," the last two movies are due out in close order, in November 2010 and summer 2011. Horn said the later release of "Half-Blood Prince" will not affect the schedule for the final two movies.
Horn said the studio has had success with past summer "Harry Potter" releases, including the fifth movie, which was released in 2007 and became the second-highest grossing in the franchise.
The recent Writers Guild of America strike also had affected Hollywood's lineup next summer, leaving a key date open for Warner to slot in "Half-Blood Prince," Horn said.
The July 17 release will be over the same weekend that Warner debuted this year's blockbuster "The Dark Knight," which had a record-breaking opening weekend and is on its way to $500 million domestically and the No. 2 spot on the all-time box-office charts behind "Titanic."
"Half-Blood Prince" finds Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) returning to his wizard classes with a clandestine assignment to root out dark secrets about the early years of his archenemy, the dark Lord Voldemort.
The film is directed by David Yates, who made the fifth movie and also is shooting the final two.
Last February, another big Hollywood film, Paramount's "Star Trek," was bumped from a December release to May 8, 2009. Paramount executives said that move also was intended to take advantage of an open weekend in the summer lineup.