March 2006

So what’s out there this week.  Well today we’ll take a look at the films scheduled to be released this Friday including a comic love story with Matthew McConaughey and Sarah Jessica Parker, remakes of The Hills Have Eyes and The Shaggy Dog, and finally the wide release of Johnny Depp’s The Libertine plus more.  Read on…

N/A

Here’s what’s scheduled to hit theaters this Friday.  Want to know more, just click on the title for film info including a full cast list.  Want a closer look, just click on the poster to watch the trailer.

The Hills Have Eyes

Remake of Wes Craven’s 1977 horror film (Craven acts as producer for this one) about a suburban family gets stranded in the middle of nowhere and hunted by psychotic mutant savages through the desert.  This time around the cast includes Ted Levine (no not as serial killer Buffalo Bill but the dad of the family under attack).  Kathleen Quinlan, Aaron Stanford and Vanessa Shaw also star.  Wow even the horror genre is scraping the bottom of the barrel to make remakes these days.  Are there no original ideas left in Hollywood?

The Shaggy Dog

And the answer to my question is a resounding no.  Tim Allen stars as Dave Douglas who from time to time turns into a sheepdog and has madcap adventures.  Kristin Davis, Robert Downey Jr., Craig Kilbourne, and Jane Curtin also have roles in this updated and dimwitted remake that steals the name from the 1968 Disney film starring Fred MacMurray and Annette Funicello and story from 1976’s The Shaggy D.A.  Why remake one film badly when you can do two at once?

Failure to Launch

Matthew MacConaughey plays a single guy living at home with his parents (Terry Bradshaw and Kathy Bates).  Unable to get him to move out they decide to set him up and hire a dream girl (Sarah Jessica Parker) to get him to move out.  Contrived plot (even for romantic comedy standards) versus the charisma and chemistry of the cast.  Which will win out?  Directed by Tom Dey who gave us Shanghai Noon (yah!) only to follow it up with Eddie Murphy and Deniro in Showtime (eh?).

The Libertine

Johnny Depp stars as the 17th century poet John Wilmot the Earl of Rochester known in his time more for his whoring and drunken debauchery than his prose.  The film got a very limited release back in November with hopes of an Oscar run and met with indifference and a mixed critical response (to put it politely) that set the wide release back months.  Wait, I already saw this movie it was a comedy and starred Heath Ledger.  Ignored by every awards show the film was dumped in the cold winter open date of early March.  Still with stars like Depp, Samantha Morton, John Malkovich, and Rosamund Pike there has to be something worth seeing.  Right?

Evil (limited release)

Travel back to the year 2003 (the year this Swedish film was released).  Directed by Mikael Hafstrom (the man who gave us Derailed last year, oh you don’t remember it?  Don’t worry you’re not alone) the film is about a boy sent to a private boarding school where the younger students are at the mercy of the seniors.  Critics raved about the film’s cinematography but fond the plot less than original.  The film did earn itself an Oscar nomination for best Foreign Language Film in 2004.

Ask the Dust (limited)

Writer/director Robert Towne’s latest is an adaption of the John Fante novel starring Selma Hayek as a fiery Mexican beauty (what else?) who dreams of meeting a rich American, getting married and surviving the Depression.  Of course her plans get complicated when a pennyless Italian writer (Colin Farrell) falls for her.  Usually Towne’s work as a screenwriter where he doesn’t direct (Chinatown, The Firm, MI:2, Days of Thunder) turn out much better than when he tries to do both (see Tequila Sunrise).

The Zodiac (limited)

Emotional thriller about victims and impact of the Zodiac killings in San Francisco.  The first of two movies out this year about the Zodiac killer (the second hits theaters in September with Gary Oldman, Robert Downey Jr., Jake Gyllenhaal, Anthony Edwards, Bijou Phillips, Chloe Sevigny, and Ione Sky).  So what’s this one got?  Phillip Baker Hall, Justin Chamers, Rory Culkin, and Robin Tunney.  Yeah, I may wait until September.

Duck Season (New York and Los Angeles only)

Independent Mexican hit of 2004 tells the story of two best friends, a pair of 14 year-old boys, have an adventure that includes their neighbor, a pizza delivery man, and a painting of ducks on what was supposed to be a lazy Sunday afternoon.  The film won a record 11 Ariel Awards (Mexican Film Awards) and nominations and wins at the Independent Spirit Awards and the Paris Film Festival.  Will it be an art house hit with American audiences as well?

Okay, so the Academy of Motion Pictures, Arts and Sciences is about to give out their shiny awards this Sunday but there’s still a chance to get this right guys – just listen to me.  Please!!!  Yeah, maybe not, but here you guys go with my picks for Oscar night including mention of a few snubbed individuals and films that should be represented on Oscar night.

78th Academy Awards
N/A

Well here goes…

Best Picture

Brokeback Mountain
Capote
Crash
Good Night, and Good Luck
Munich
Deserves a spot on the list – A History of Violence was the most haunting film of 2005 and as good if not better than every film on this list.  Personally I would add the noirish comedy Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and Frank Miller’s bloody Sin City to the list but these aren’t the type of films the Academy acknowledges.
Doesn’t belong – Brokeback Mountain and
Capote are both fine films but neither is in the same category as the other nominees.
Who should win – With Violence ignored it’s a two man race between Good Night and Munich with Clooney’s baby coming out on top.  Good Night, and Good Luck is a remarkable film filled with great performances and an important message; for me it is the best film of 2005.
Who will win – Despite late pushes for Crash and Capote I don’t see either derailing the Brokeback train.  Sadly I expect the most flawed film of the five nominees, Brokeback Mountain, to take home the Oscar.

Best Director

Ang Lee, Brokeback Mountain
Bennet Miller, Capote
Paul Haggis, Crash
George Clooney, Good Night, and Good Luck
Steven Spielberg, Munich
Deserves a spot on the list – Joe Wright, Pride & Prejudice.  A remarkably refreshing interpretation of Jane Austen’s novel that is beautiful to look and impossible to not enjoy.
Doesn’t belong – Bennet Miller, Capote.  Much like the man, Capote never finds a true heart or message and never engages the audience in the way the material should.
Who should win – George Clooney.  Clooney infects his film with the same effortlessness he shows in his own on-screen performances.  An important moment in is well captured in black and white and never becomes preachy or or dull.  Amazing work by a still very young director.
Who will win – Ang Lee.  Write it down.  The Director’s Guild winner will take home the Oscar in the one definite lock of the night.

 

Best Actor

Philip Seymour Hoffman, Capote
Terrance Howard, Hustle & Flow
Heath Ledger, Brokeback Mountain
Joaquin Phoenix, Walk the Line
David Strathairn, Good Night, and Good Luck
Deserves a spot on the list – Mickey Rourke, Sin City and Viggo Mortensen, A History of Violence.  Two violent performances that are the heart of each film.  Mortensen has never been better and Rourke’s depth and range just blew me away.
Doesn’t belong – I’m okay with the list the Academy picked, though if I had to take one off it would be Phoenix’s portrayal as Johnny Cash not for fault in the performance itself but for the subject matter that never let us get close enough to the real man.
Who should win – Rourke, but as he’s not on the list I’ll go with my second choice David Strathairn for his portrayal of newsman Edward R. Murrow.  Much like Hoffman, Strathairn takes on the pressure of portraying a real life figure but where Hoffman shows us a one-sided manipulator Strathairn shows both Murrow’s angels and demons in a complete performance that’s just outstanding.
Who will win – Philip Seymour Hoffman.  Mark it down folks; he’s won at every award ceremony.  I don’t see any signs that this award show will be any different.

 

Best Actress

Judi Dench, Mrs. Henderson Presents
Felicity Huffman, Transamerica
Keira Knightly, Pride & Prejudice
Charlize Theron, North Country
Reese Witherspoon, Walk the Line
Deserves a spot on the list – Joan Allen, The Upside of Anger.  How the single best female performance of the year by a well respected actress like Allen was completely ignored is inexcusable.
Doesn’t belong – I can’t argue with this list which is easily the most competitive this year.
Who should win – With Allen left off the list this is the hardest category for me as I think every performance is Oscar worthy.  Huffman and Witherspoon are the two favorites and both have picked up awards for their wonderful performances and Dench was perfect as Mrs. Henderson.  But on Oscar night I’m going to be pulling for dark horse Knightly who gave two of the best performances of the year (Pride and Domino).
Who will win – Reese Witherspoon pulls out the close win over Huffman.

 

Supporting Actor

George Clooney, Syriana
Matt Dillon, Crash
Paul Giamatti, Cinderella Man
Jake Gyllenhaal, Brokeback Mountain
William Hurt, A History of Violence
Deserves a spot on the list – Jesse L. Martin and Wilson Jermaine Heredia for RENT, Val Kilmer for Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Donald Sutherland for Pride & Prejudice, and Alexander Siddig for Syriana
Doesn’t belong – The entire list except for Gyllenhaal, and the possible exception of Hurt playing completely against type, give fine but not really noteworthy performances.
Who should win – Since Gyllenhall’s performance is best role from Brokeback Mountain, and since no one was nominated who I think deserves it, I guess I’ll take one of the gay cowboys here.
Who will win – Paul Giamatti will take home the gold in a classic Oscar moment of rewarding great acting a year late.

 

Supporting Actress

Amy Adams, Junebug
Catherine Keener, Capote
Frances McDormand, North Country
Rachel Weisz, The Constant Gardener
Michelle Williams, Brokeback Mountain
Deserves a spot on the list – Maria Bello for A History of Violence, Rosario Dawson for RENT, Jennifer Carpenter for The Exorcism of Emily Rose, and Shirley MacLaine for Rumor Has It...
Doesn’t belong – Frances McDormand is terrific but seriously this is a role she could have done in her sleep.
Who should win – Bello deserves the award with Dawson coming in a close second and MacLaie third but again the Academy didn’t recognize these tremendous performances.  Out of this list I’m inclined to vote for Catherine Keener who gives a much fuller performance than Hoffman’s celebrated one in Capote though I’d be fine with Weisz taking home the award for a very fine performance in an incredibly predictable so-so film.
Who will win – Rachel Weisz is the favorite and I don’t see Michelle Williams beating her out or enough voters to have seen Junebug to push Amy Adams over the top.

Early Review.  Fan Collective – Borg is a fan picked episode collection of the nasty half-man/half-machine collective intent on assimilating all species of life as part of their own.  The collection has some gems like the two-part “The Best of Both Worlds”  often voted the best STNG episode and the ethical delimma of “I, Borg.”  It’s also more than half filled with Voyager episodes and an Enterprise episode.  So how does the full collection measure up?  Well, depends on what you think of Voyager.  Frankly I think it’s a much weaker show than either STNG or my fav DS9 (not included in this collection) which is a problem for me as more than one half of the set is made up of Cap’n Janeway and her bland crew.  Still, for fans of the villains who haven’t picked up the season sets these shows are available on (and don’t have my distaste for the Voyager crew) it’s a cheap way to add them to your collection with this handsomely packaged set.  It will be availale on March 7.  Read on…

Star Trek Fan Collective – Borg
3 Stars

If there was ever a niche DVD set I guess this would be it.  The set collects the fans’ ten favorite Borg episodes.  All of these episodes are already available on the various season sets of the different Star Trek shows.  So this group is for those not willing to put down the cash for those expensive collections or who only like Borg episodes.  I could have used a little less Voyager though the episode introducing the character of Seven of Nine and the two-hour time travel series finale have some interesting moments.

The Borg are half-man/half-machine creatures that assimilate any useful technology and culture they come across and destroy anything they cannot control.  The collection collects the fans favorite Borg episodes including their first appearance in “Q Who?” to the rewriting history episode of Enterprise.  Some of the episodes are pretty good and some are Voyager episodes so they’re only so-so.  Yeah I’m not a fan of Captain Janeway and her wayward crew who couldn’t find their way out of the Delta quadrant with a map and a warp drive. 

Here’s a breakdown of the episodes found on the disc:

Enterprise
“Regeneration” – Takes place a hundred years after events in Star Trek: First Contact were excavators find the frozen remains of the Borg invasion force that tried to stop Zefram Cochrane’s warp flight.  An interesting riff on The Thing as scientist allow the Borg to come back to life only to need Captain Archer (Scott Bakula) and his group to show up to save the day.  End result does create some continuity problems as the Federation had never heard of the Borg a couple of hundred years later in…

Star Trek: The Next Generation
“Q Who” – Annoyed by Picard and his crew and wanting to teach them a lesson Q (John de Lancie) sends the Enterprise hundreds of light-years away into the path of the Borg, a cyborg organism with a hive consciousness.  Great new villains for the show who would return in…

“The Best of Both Worlds” – Two part episode marking the return of the Borg, the assimilation of Captain Jean Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart), and the attack on Earth.  Often voted the favorite STNG episode; this two-parter is the gem of the collection.

“I, Borg” – Great ethical episode (a strength of STNG) involves the Enterprise saving a Borg, disconnecting him from the collective, teaching him about individuality, and the plan to use him as a carrier to plant a genocidal virus into the hive mind.  What is right?  What is wrong?  Is Hugh (Jonathan Del Arco) an individual or merely a weapon?

“Descent” – Two-part episode involving Lore (Brent Spiner) using the Borg for his own ends who have fractured due to the integration of individualism when Hugh rejoined them.  Spiner does a good job in double duty here as the show deals with the consequences of the crew’s decisions in “I, Borg.”

Star Trek: Voyager
“Scorpion” – Two-part episode involving the wayward Voyager entering Borg space on their way home and encountering a species that are even more deadly who are waging war with the Borg.  Species 8472 looks more at home on Babylon 5 and the show never really explains “fluidic space” very well but the second episode is noteworthy because it introduces series regular Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan).

“Drone” – Yet another transporter accident episode ends up creating a futuristic Borg (J. Paul Boehmer).  Not much of interest here and a rather bland rehash of events in DS9‘s “The Abandoned.”

“Dark Frontier” – Two-part episode looking at the hubris of the Voyager crew going toe-to-toe with the Borg and Seven of Nine’s return to the collective.  Interesting scenes between the Borg Queen (Susanna Thompson) and Seven, but they don’t really fit into how the Borg should act in such situations.

“Matrix Zero” – Dreadful two-part episode about a special place some Borgs go when they dream and live as individuals.  The complete lack of logic aside the episode is still laughingly bad.  Also of interest here the Borg Queen states she was assimilated into the hive when she was young.  So…did the Borg not have a Queen until then?  How did she become the Queen?  Does this even make sense?

“Endgame” – Final two-hour episode of Voyager as the crew battles the Borg and gets help and technology from a future Janeway (Kate Mulgrew).  Different view on temporal law and time travel than Roddenberry’s (I wonder what he would have thought of the episode) but the issues are dealt with and the battles with the Borg and discussions of returning home are done well.

Most likely if you like these episodes enough to buy them you’ve already plunked down the heavy cash for the season sets.  You don’t get any extras here that would make a must have to be added this to your collection.  For fans who enjoy the Borg that haven’t picked up the season sets it is a cheaper alternative but then again you’re getting stuck with an awful lot of Voyager episodes who wasted years of the show unable to come up with any good villains of their own they had to steal them from STNG.  I’m also not too fond of the Borg Queen (introduced in First Contact) who totally changes the Borg from a collective computer-like intelligence to a collection of mindless drones under a single leader and all the Voyager episodes put her in the forefront as a Q like villain instead of dealing with the Borg collective.