Gazette film blog

PLEASE GO TO OUR NEW ADDRESS!!!!

2008-07-31T15:46:00.000-07:00

We're now at

gazettefilmblog.freedomblogging.com/

Hope to see you there.

The X-Files: I Want to Believe

2008-07-24T23:37:00.000-07:00

Over the past several months, the cast and crew of The X-Files: I Want to Believe considered it a badge of honor to be as tight-lipped about the plot of their film as possible. Internet searches met with futility. Spoiler sites were useless. The film’s trailers were little more than a jumble of unintelligible images. As it turns out, the tremendous secrecy was not to hide the film’s plot until the last minute, but rather hide the fact that The X-Files: I Want to Believe is arguably the dullest film to hit theater screens this year.

Somewhere in the frozen West Virginia hinterland (who knew West Virginia had a frozen hinterland that looked so remarkably like the Canadian Rockies) someone is abducting women and subjecting them to freakish experiments. At a loss to explain the abductions, much less solve them, the FBI, led by Special Agents Dakota Whitney (Amanda Peet) and Mosley Drummy (Alvin “XZibit” Joiner) enlists the help of two former Bureau employees who have experience with the abnormal: Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson), now employed as a pediatric surgeon and Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) who apparently spends his days cutting out newspaper clipping referencing paranormal events.

Together with Father Joseph Crissman (Billy Connolly), a defrocked priest who claims to receive psychic visions from God about the locations of the abducted women, Mulder and Scully (who have obviously lived a lot of profound history in the past six years since we last saw them, much of which is dealt with in casual, throwaway lines) find themselves right back where we left them — a battle of wits between reason and faith. As Mulder and Scully get closer to the truth, more than just their lives are in danger; perhaps their very friendship is at stake.

The X-Files: I Want to Believe would not even be considered a good episode much less a good film. There is utterly no sense of dread or tension, just as there is no sense of inertia or momentum. The X-Files: I Want to Believe is a profoundly boring film. To say the film was languidly paced would be to admit to the contributions of an editor and I am unconvinced one ever existed. While the characters appear to move in real time, the film seems to be stuck in slow motion, as if all the action is taking place underwater or within wet cement. All this leads up to one of the most anti-climactic, underwhelming resolutions ever set to film.

There are films that purposely conclude in ambiguity and then there are films that end without ever addressing the supposed central premise of their plot. The X-Files is the latter. A disjointed, unintelligible mess that makes no sense, The X-Files never once bothers to explain itself and worse, doesn’t even care to try. The X-Files thinks it’s saying something significant and insightful about the intersection of faith and science and the despair of losing one’s most profound beliefs, but as with so much else in the film, it is all talk and no action.

While Duchovny and Anderson slip comfortably back into the roles that made them 90’s icons, the movie itself is not so lucky. Why in the world was this film made? It’s not as if fans were clamoring for another installment, no matter how enjoyable the first film, which came out even before the series ran its course, turned out to be. Does anyone even care anymore? The X-Files is about six years too late and now completely pointless. There is nothing here to attract new fans. Die-hard X-Philes should prepare themselves for one heck of a disappointment. This time, X does not mark the spot.

GRADE: D+

YOU BE THE CRITIC

2008-07-17T12:58:00.000-07:00

Can the bat be that good?

I know other critics are also liking "The Dark Knight," but Gazette critic Brandon Fibbs sings four-part harmony in his praises.

His review, which is in tomorrow's GO! section, says:

To call “The Dark Knight” the greatest superhero movie ever made is an understatement of titanic proportions. And yet, conversely, the film is so devoid of camp and superhero trappings and is presented with such assured realism, that it hardly feels like a superhero movie at all. The most eagerly anticipated popcorn blockbuster of the summer is, in fact, one of the greatest crime epics ever made, taking its place beside such films as “The Godfather,” “The Untouchables” and “Heat.”

Wow!

The movie opens midnight Friday, (which is tonight). I want to know what you think. Please place your reviews under comments here.

Hancock rocks!

2008-07-10T10:17:00.000-07:00

I'd been disappointed with the early summer movies.
"Iron Man" was fun, although the climax was a bit too reminiscent of "Transformers."
"Indiana Jones" disappointed.

Then came "WAL-E"-- the most important animated film of our time. I agree with Brandon that this is Pixar at it's best, and that's something to behold.

But the biggest surprise of the summer so far has been "Hancock." I'm so glad that not only did the previews not give the twist away, but even though I knew there was a twist coming, it didn't hurt the film at all. This is a movie that starts as one thing and rises to a higher level. See it.

Did Brandon give away too much of 'Sex'?

2008-06-02T16:33:00.000-07:00

A reader recently complained that Brandon had given away too important a plot point in his review last Friday.

After seeing the film, I have to agree. Even though trailers had given away as much, the fact that the turn in plot happened more than an hour in should have led to more sensitive treatment.

When I wrote the movie reviews, I was always giving away too much. Comedies, especially. I wanted to share all the best gags, all the funniest lines.

Sometimes, we have to stifle that urge to share, that urge that drives us to be in this business.

But I have to say, I agreed with Brandon's review. It was a fun, sexy movie.

Sex and this City

2008-06-02T16:23:00.000-07:00

Gloss, the fashion boutique at the Promenade Shops in Briargate, threw an amazing "Sex and the City" party on Friday.

Women decked out in their high heels and Carrie dresses to nibble on phenomenal food at the store provided by Plate World Cuisine, and then the group took a series of limos, provided by Audi, to the new Hollywood Theatres to see the movie.

It was the kind of innovative, classy parties you usually find in bigger cities.

The only slight tarnish on the gloss was the new theater. The generic-feeling Hollywood Theatres seem a bit of a step down from Cinemark... although I love the all-digial projectors. And the chairs are comfy, if arranged with too-tight aisles.

When the new Cinemark opens, I imagine Hollywood's going to be hurting. Maybe they'll cut their prices.

'Indy' -- the long, spoiler filled version

2008-05-21T14:54:00.000-07:00

WARNING: Since Producer George Lucas and Director Steven Spielberg have been extraordinarily tight-lipped about any plot details whatsoever for “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,” it is inevitable that a review of this film will contain what some may consider to be spoilers. Consider yourself warned.

BY BRANDON FIBBS
THE GAZETTE
If you take away nothing else from this review, please remember this: do yourself a favor and dampen your expectations. “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” cannot possibly be as good as you dream it will be. Even if — especially if — every critic in the nation gushed in unbridled adoration, it still cannot stand up to the ferocity of your fevered imagination.

The truth is, the latest addition to one of the most beloved movie franchises of all time is not an abomination. But it is, unquestionably, superfluous and arguably needn’t ever have been made.

“Crystal Skull” opens with Elvis, poodle skirts and drag races. We’re not in the 40s any more Toto. The year is 1957, almost two decades after we last saw Indy in “The Last Crusade.” If you’re concerned that the 65-year-old Harrison Ford is the weak link in this film, think again. The buff sexagenarian may throw fewer punches these days, but the film does a good job of addressing his age without dwelling on it. Ford’s face doesn’t age, it just gathers a few more lines here and there. Rest assured, Indy is the same as when we left him.

The Nazi’s are long gone and the Cold War is hot. Only a few minutes into the film, Indy finds himself stranded in the New Mexico desert, having just escaped from Soviet officer Irina Spalko (Cate Blanchett), a military researcher obsessed with the paranormal, and a convoy of Russian soldiers posing as American Army troops. Spalko would feel equally at home in a James Bond film, a devilishly smart villain who wields a silver rapier and peers out from beneath a Louise Brooks haircut with blue eyes as piercing as her blade. Using an impending nuclear test as their cover, the Russians break into a remote desert base in search of a coveted object that could end the Cold War the hard way.

Little does Indy know that his run-in with the Russians has everything to do with a visit from Mutt (Shia Labeoff), a young man who has patterned his persona down to the last detail on Marlon Brando in “The Wild One,” complete with the motorcycle, leather-jacket and switchblade. Mutt tells Indy of the discovery of a mysterious, otherworldly crystal skull by Indy’s old college pal, Professor Oxley (John Hurt) who is now in the hands of the Ruskies. Spalko and her comrades believe Oxley is the key to discovering a golden South American city that houses a psychic weapon of devastating power.

Riding a telltale red line across the map, Indy and Mutt find themselves tromping around Peru, where they engage in some familiarly eerie cave spelunking. It isn’t long before they are reunited with the Russians, a mentally unstable Ox, Indy’s old pal Mac (Ray Winstone), a mercenary who is on the side of whomever has the upper hand, and Mutt’s mom who turns out to be none other than Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen), Indy’s feisty flame from “Raiders.” If Marion is Mutt’s mom, who is his pops? Like Ford, time has been good to Karen Allen who is largely unchanged from the last time we saw her nearly three decades ago.

The plot, sparse and convoluted as it is, is just preamble for rip-snortin’ chase sequences through the jungle, saber duels while balanced precariously atop moving vehicles, monkey ambushes, voracious giant ants, plummets over the side of waterfalls and, of course, snakes. The jaw-dropping climax of the film goes into otherworldly territory unexplored by the strictly terrestrial Indy, but is certainly familiar to Spielberg and Lucas.

More a prequel to Spielberg’s “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” than a sequel to “The Last Crusade,” “Crystal Skull” taps the 50s zeitgeist and comes away with a story involving none other than Area 51, pyramid-building extraterrestrials and enormous flying saucers. While the topic makes sense, given the franchise’s pulp roots and the decade’s sci fi obsession, aliens don’t pack the same historical wallop as the other films, creating a far-fetched implausibility even this sort of escapist entertainment can’t possibly make convincing.

Some have derided the plot as formulaic. Sure. But what did you expect? “Indiana Jones” is patterned after the popular, larger-than-life Saturday matinees of yesteryear, not the Complete Works of William Shakespeare. That said, “Crystal Skull” is an uneven, mixed bag that feels far less polished and holistically complete than its predecessors. Sure, Spielberg is nothing if not competent and consummately talented. However, while the film is always entertaining, it can’t help but smell musty from time to time and appear to be as an exercise in going through rote motions.

Half the time you want Indy to shut up and stop delivering lengthy expository diatribes and the other half you’re exhausted to sit through yet one more thoughtless chase, repurposed from the earlier films. It’s great to see Indy and Marion back together, but all too often their relationship teeters dangerous close to a parody of its former glory. And LaBeouf, a fine, young actor, has difficultly gaining emotional traction.

Extraordinary as the visual effects are, the digital era has robbed the franchise of much of its magic. There is far too much reliance on CGI and artificial looking sets.

“Crystal Skull” is pervasively playful but only occasionally fun. And a lack of fun is a failure of the highest magnitude in a film of this nature. In fact, much of the over-the-top comedy is misplaced and completely inappropriate. Several moments induce laughter at, not with the action onscreen.

“Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” is like bumping into an old friend you said goodbye to years ago and thought you’d never see again. The reunion is undeniably pleasant but somewhat cheapens the meaningful and eloquent goodbye you once shared.

The final moments of the film are too perfect. If you thought riding off into the sunset as the gang did in “Last Crusade” was ideal, “Crystal Skull” goes for a powerfully sentimental, if slightly less iconic send-off.

“Crystal Skull” feels like an extraordinarily well-funded fan film of the sort you can find on the Internet. It duplicates much of the look and feel of the previous installments, but little of the magic. In the end, “Crystal Skull” simply isn’t memorable.

New Hollywood Theater at Interquest opens for Indiana May 21

2008-05-12T15:24:00.000-07:00

The new Hollywood Theaters Interquest Stadium 14 on Interquest Boulevard will open May 21 (technically, midnight May 22) for "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull."

Winners at the Indie Spirit Film Festival

2008-04-27T19:16:00.000-07:00

Best horror film - “13 Hours in a Warehouse”
Best foreign language film - “Punch”
Best student film - “First Memories”
Best foreign-produced film - “The Stone Angel”
Best Native American film - “Standing Silent Nation”
Best short film - “English Language (With English Subtitles)"
Best documentary - “Vaccine Nation
Directors choice award - “The Bilbee Boys
Best feature film - “Minotauro"

Indie Spirit Film Festival

2008-04-27T16:57:00.001-07:00

I've had a pretty busy weekend, but I did manage to catch a few flicks at the new Indie Spirit Film Festival. Although I only saw one film on Saturday, that seemed like the fun day to me - a bunch of strange films in strange locations scattered around the Springs. Sunday was all at the Pikes Peak Center, which was fine, but kind of huge for the size of the event. I didn't make it to the opening film on Friday, "Everyone But You," but director/star Eric Shiveley did bake me some cookies. Tasty!

- Saturday night, we went to the freediving documentary "Sink Faze" (I wanted to see the horror flicks, but my wife wasn't into it). Actually, calling this a documentary is pushing things a little - this is to freediving (scuba diving without an air tank) what a Warren Miller flick is to skiing. It didn't really try to explain the sport, or much about who the people were, it just presented the 2006 record-setting freedives. Still, the filming was pretty good and the sport itself is offbeat enough to make for compelling footage.

- Sunday, I went to "305," a "300" spoof by David and Dan Holechek. I'd been talking to the twin brothers, both Air Academy grads now living in Los Angeles, for the last couple months (I actually saw a link to the Youtube short the movie was based on and posted it to the TV Talk blog before I knew there was any local connection). I was interested to see whether the feature film would be as funny as the short. It wasn't, but it came pretty close. For a low-budget, green-screen spoof, I thought they did a pretty good job. The audience was laughing, which, as David Holechek said afterward, is the most important thing. "305" is out July 7 on DVD.

- Lastly, I saw "Minotauro," on the strong recommendation of festival co-founder Matt Stevens. This is, I swear to god, "El Mariachi" meets "Like Water for Chocolate." Wrap your mind around that one! It's not nearly as silly as "Mariachi," or as affected as "Chocolate," but there's some nice cinematography, good performances, and I found the final scenes moving. Now that I think of it, "Pan's Labyrinth" is probably a better comparison. The mixture of shoot-'em-up and family relationship drama was uneven in places, but on the whole it was well worth seeing.

Three films ain't much given that they screened more than 80 at the festival. If you saw something you liked, post a review in the comments section and I'll tack it onto this list.

Win Ben Stein's money

2008-04-18T08:13:00.000-07:00

I saw an early screening of the new don't-call-it-creationist movie "Expelled" up at Focus on the Family last fall. It wasn't the final version, so I couldn't properly review it, but I'm guessing it was pretty close to what's in theaters today.

So I've been reading all the reviews of the movie and they all seem to be missing the point to me. All the reviewers are trying to weigh in on whether Ben Stein and company make a compelling argument for intelligent design - or at least make a compelling case against evolution.

But that, it strikes me, is not really the point of the film. "Expelled" is simply a right-wing version of "Fahrenheit 911" and "An Inconvenient Truth." There are even a bunch of scenes that are lifted whole from those films.

So the proper question, in my mind, is not how convincing it is to people who are unconvinced, it's how forcefully it speaks to the faithful.

Michael Moore's movies were never designed to win an argument - they were built to rouse the believers (in fairness, that may be less the case with Al Gore's "Inconvenient Truth," although a lot of right-wing blogs would argue the point).

And viewed by those lights, I'd say "Expelled" works pretty well. It's over-the-top, it's relatively funny, it's righteously indignant. Michael Moore would be proud, assuming he has a sense of humor about these things.

I thougt the section equating evolutionists to Nazis was over over-the-top (I believe that's called Godwin's law). And the interview sections dragged at times. I think the producers have been desperately trying to gin up controversy about the film as a promotional tool, which is right out of the Moore playbook, too.

But will "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed" entertain folks inclined to agree with its premise? I think it probably will. And, just as importantly, will it enrage folks who don't agree with it? Definitely.

Kimballs Twin Peak changes formats

2008-04-01T10:46:00.000-07:00

Matthew Stevens, general manager for Kimballs Twin Peak Theater, sent out an announcement today that the theater would be changing its format, moving away from the indie and arthouse fare for which it's known and focusing on the more commercially viable horror, slasher and zombie flicks:

Dear Movie Fans,

It is my duty to inform you that as of this Tuesday, we will be saying goodbye to independent and foreign films in Colorado Springs. Kimball’s Twin Peak will be closing its doors to re-open on Friday, April 4 with some revisions to our format.

To counter the lag in ticket sales, we have decided to turn to more mainstream tastes and to that end we have decided to focus our energies on horror, zombie and high action slasher films. You can count on us to provide the very best in alien abductions, the walking dead and escaped convicts. As always, we will endeavor to bring you the best this genre has to offer.

In addition to the change in films, we have initiated changes in the wine bar as well. We will no longer be stocking micro brewed beers and will instead be offering a wide variety of canned, domestic products including, but not limited to, Pabst Blue Ribbon, Budweiser, Coors and Miller Genuine Draft.

In honor of the occasion, we will be kicking off the weekend with a marathon of classic films in the style to which you can all become accustomed:

Witchcraft 8: Salem’s Ghost
Terror at Tate Manor
A Feast of Flesh
Big Foot
Voyeur.Com

Vampires vs. Zombies
I, Zombie: The Chronicles of Pain
Zombie Prom

Polterchrist: The Movie about Jesus and Murder
Sleepaway Camp 3: Teenage Wasteland

We look to your continued loyalty to help us in this transition. Thank you for the years of patronage and we look forward to seeing you all in the future.

Thanks and see you at the movies,
Kimball and Matt

P.S. – April Fool!

No Movies for Middle America

2008-03-05T08:43:00.000-08:00

Just got this interested letter to the editor from movie fan Ted Beckett:

I did not not go to see "No Country for Old Men" because it won the Best Picture Oscar: I went because I believed reviewer Brandon Fibbs knew what he was talking about when he rated it A+, "...a flawless film," etc.

Indeed, it is a brilliantly shot movie that accurately depicts a fascinating period of Texas history half a century ago. Unfortunately, what would have been a great film was ruined by its fascination with a homicidal maniac (Javier Bardem) who went around shooting people with a souped-up air gun. My wife had to get up halfway through the 14th senseless murder to go to another movie to protect her sanity. She did well, as there were 23 more brutal killings to follow.

After wading through all the carnage, the pointless ending left me wanting to locate an air gun and go hunting the producers.

For the Academy to give this 2007 version of "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" the Best Picture award shows the depth of depravity the group represents. From now on, please show the A+ move rating with an asterisk.

Ted Beckett

You know, I'm a Coen bothers fan, but after that slice of brutality that was "There Will be Blood," I'm a bit gun shy on this one. And I think Beckett does represent much of the middle American audience, which longs for movies that are at least partially pleasant. So far "Juno," "Michael Clayton" and the last Bourne film are my favorites of the year.

There Will Be Popcorn

2008-03-04T15:55:00.000-08:00

So, I served my time Friday. I lost that Oscar duel with Kimball, and so I worked at his theater for a few hours. It actually was kinda fun. The girls working there taught me how to work the register, how to open the popcorn bags, how to evenly distribute the butter and how hard it is to sweep popcorn on carpet.

Afterward, I sneaked into "There Will Be Blood," and I was disappointed.

I got what Brandon loved about it. The opening, especially, had this cool, desperate "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre" feel about it. The cinematography is amazing. Daniel Day Lewis is amazing, as always.

But the ending left me cold. As I told Brandon, I don't mind having my face shoved in a bit of mud and oil, but I'd like to have some of it rinsed off with a few drops of redemption.

What an ugly piece of work that film is.

Now, I'm really hesitant to see "No Country for Old Men."

Brandon loads up on tomatoes

2008-02-28T11:09:00.001-08:00

Brandon Fibbs, our movie critic, just got on Rotten Tomatoes.

I met Brandon at UCCS, where he was a film student of mine when I taught a sci-fi class (that was fun!), and we later hired him at The Gazette as a summer intern.

He went off to NY a few years ago to get his graduate degree in film studies from NYU. He just graduated and moved to D.C., where he joined the critics association.

So, now, I guess, he has the clout to throw tomatoes. Way to go, Brandon.

By the way, he also write reviews for Christianity Today.

See 'Across the Universe'

2008-02-27T15:14:00.000-08:00

Don't listen to our critic, Brandon, on this one.

He kept vacillating between B- and C+, and the more he thought about it, the lower his grade went.

This isn't a movie meant to be thought about. It's meant to be experienced.

I'll admit that you get the sense that there were a behind-the-scenes battle between the writers and the design team and the design team won in a TKO. (I had a similar sense about the newer "Star Wars" trilogy.)

The characters are thin and the story is thinner. But, man, is it a thing of beauty.

The visuals, the singing, the originality ... they were intoxicating.

The little kid singing "Let It Be" sitting in a burned-out-car in the middle of the Detroit riots ... his chorus picked up by an amazing gospel singer at a funeral. I absolutely LOVED that stuff.

So what if the whole doesn't quite equal the sum of its parts. Those parts are so transcendent.

For Beatles fans, especially, the movie is a must.

Oscar reflections

2008-02-25T09:17:00.000-08:00

I have to disagree with Dave Germain's assertion in today's Oscar story that winning Best Picture puts the Coen brothers into the center of the mainstream.

Living in LA has given David a skewed view of America. Look at the box office. Most of middle America hasn't seen "No Country for Old Men." In fact, most of middle America hasn't seen any of the Oscar contenders.

The Coen brothers were closer to the mainstream when they made "Fargo."

About my Oscar picks: Damn! Kimball just edged me out.

So, I will be serving popcorn and cleaning his theater some time this week. Probably Friday, I think. Feel free to heckle.

Is Oscar out of touch

2008-02-20T13:34:00.000-08:00

OK, who -- besides Brandon, the guy we pay to go to screenings -- saw all the big Oscar nominated films?

Few of you, I'm sure.

This isn't the first year in which the slate of contenders were movies few people have actually seen. But I wonder if the gap between the Oscars and the public is widening.

I long for the days of "Titanic" or "Lord of the Rings" ... when the big blockbuster we all saw and took our kids to see also took the lion's share of statues.

It made us all care more about the Oscars.

So, why is it that we're not seeing these nominated movies? For me, and I'm sure a lot of you, it's about the ratings. It's a heck of a lot easier for me to go to a movie with the kids than sneak off alone or just with my wife. So, I'm more likely to see the "National Treasure" sequel (PG) than "There Will Be Blood" (R).

I blame Hollywood and the way films are sold to studios. If it's sold as a "family film" or an "adventure film," the bar is set high for star power and special effects and low for script and artistry.

The R-rated flicks, on the other hand, are marketed for either exploitation or quality.

That's not to say that there weren't great films this year that weren't rated R. "Juno" was a terrific PG-13 comedy. G-rated "Ratatouille" was funny, clever and visually sumptuous. But those are the exceptions, and although "Juno" is nominated for Best Picture, it'll probably lose to a film that fewer people have actually seen.

My brother almost killed Roy Scheider

2008-02-12T09:28:00.000-08:00

Scheider had been living on borrowed time for the past 20 years.

He nearly died in a fiery car crash in the '80s, compliments of my brother, Arthur Epstein.

Back then, Arthur was a struggling actor/limo driver in Manhattan.

One day, his fare happened to be Scheider. Arthur was thrilled. He'd been a prominent extra in "All that Jazz," (He bumps into Scheider in the hospital hallway.) He was reminiscing with Scheider about how much fun he'd had on the set, when Sheider leaned over, looked at his ID and said, "Arthur?"

"Yeah."

"I think you're going the wrong way in a one way street."

Arthur noticed the headlights heading his way and spun into a wild U turn.

Hurray for Hannah!!!!!!!

2008-02-05T12:50:00.000-08:00

My sons didn't get it. We went this weekend to see "The Eye" (a mid-level horror flick that was better than I expected ... and really should have been screened for critics), and my boys wondered why we had to wade through a sea of little girls to get to the concession stand.

The reason, of course, was Hannah Montana, who's concert film is dominating the box office. Here's an observation from our Day Desk Editor Carmen Boles:

My 7-year-old daughter and I showed up at the Cinemark at 7 p.m. for the sold-out 8 p.m. show Saturday night. (I had purchased the tickets days earlier online.) At least 100 people – mostly moms and daughters but also some unlucky dads – were already queued up waiting to snag seats, some with blond wigs and almost all wearing HM apparel.

When they gave the signal to go in the theater, everyone ran to get seats. Those at the end of the line had to sit in smaller groups or in single seats throughout the theater – every single seat was occupied. A manager type told everyone to stay seated during the concert. For the most part they did, but there was a lot of clapping and swaying and singing along. People in the audience even whipped out their cell phones and swayed them in the air during the one slow song.

The girls loved Miley/Hannah, but the biggest screams from the audience were for The Jonas Brothers, who toured with Hannah/Miley. You really start to feel old when you’re sitting in a theater full of pre-teen girls going crazy for 3 mop-headed boys in skinny jeans with mediocre voices.

As a parent, it was probably much less painful than attending an actual concert (and WAY cheaper) but I still said no when Natalie asked if we could go again next weekend.

Kimball's seats going fast

2008-02-04T09:55:00.000-08:00

Kimball's Twin Peak owner Kimball Bayles just called in to report that they've now "sold" about 40 seats in their quest to upgrade the theaters' seating.

Here's the Gazette story about the sale, if you missed it.

Strange synergy

2008-02-01T09:43:00.000-08:00

Has anyone noticed that the plot for the new spiritualist comedy "Over Her Dead Body" sounds exactly like the plot for "Blithe Spirit," the Noel Coward comedy that's playing right now at TheatreWorks?

Just an observation.

Raving about Brandon

2008-01-25T12:33:00.001-08:00

this letter just in ... and it's not from Brandon's mom.

Brandon,

I just wanted you to know how much I love your movie reviews! Your passion for movies really shines through and your reviews are so fun to read. Your review today of “There Will Be Blood” made me want to run out the door to see that movie (which I’m going to do) J As a writer and author myself, and it takes a lot for me to be so moved by someone else’s work that I’m compelled to reach out and tell them. You have moved me. Keep up the great, eloquent reviews and thanks for taking the “GO” to the next level.

Your fan,

Sarah Michel, CSP

Oscar nominations are out

2008-01-22T09:07:00.001-08:00

I was glad to see "Juno" getting so much love from Oscar.

I'm planning some kind of Oscar prediction face-off against Kimball Bayles of Kimball's Twin Peak fame, so I better go out and see more of these movies.

By The Associated Press
Complete list of 80th annual Academy Award nominations announced
Tuesday:
1. Best Picture: “Atonement,” “Juno,” “Michael Clayton,”
“No Country for Old Men,” “There Will Be Blood.”
2. Actor: George Clooney, “Michael Clayton”; Daniel Day-Lewis,
“There Will Be Blood”; Johnny Depp, “Sweeney Todd the Demon
Barber of Fleet Street”; Tommy Lee Jones, “In the Valley of
Elah”; Viggo Mortensen, “Eastern Promises.”
3. Actress: Cate Blanchett, “Elizabeth: The Golden Age”; Julie
Christie, “Away From Her”; Marion Cotillard, “La Vie en Rose”;
Laura Linney, “The Savages”; Ellen Page, “Juno.”
4. Supporting Actor: Casey Affleck, “The Assassination of Jesse
James by the Coward Robert Ford”; Javier Bardem, “No Country for
Old Men”; Hal Holbrook, “Into the Wild”; Philip Seymour Hoffman,
“Charlie Wilson’s War”; Tom Wilkinson, “Michael Clayton.”
5. Supporting Actress: Cate Blanchett, “I’m Not There”; Ruby
Dee, “American Gangster”; Saoirse Ronan, “Atonement”; Amy Ryan,
“Gone Baby Gone”; Tilda Swinton, “Michael Clayton.”
6. Director: Julian Schnabel, “The Diving Bell and the
Butterfly”; Jason Reitman, “Juno”; Tony Gilroy, “Michael
Clayton”; Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, “No Country for Old Men”;
Paul Thomas Anderson, “There Will Be Blood.”
7. Foreign Film: “Beaufort,” Israel; “The Counterfeiters,”
Austria; “Katyn,” Poland; “Mongol,” Kazakhstan; “12,” Russia.
8. Adapted Screenplay: Christopher Hampton, “Atonement”; Sarah
Polley, “Away from Her”; Ronald Harwood, “The Diving Bell and
the Butterfly”; Joel Coen & Ethan Coen, “No Country for Old
Men”; Paul Thomas Anderson, “There Will Be Blood.”
9. Original Screenplay: Diablo Cody, “Juno”; Nancy Oliver,
“Lars and the Real Girl”; Tony Gilroy, “Michael Clayton”; Brad
Bird, Jan Pinkava and Jim Capobianco, “Ratatouille”; Tamara
Jenkins, “The Savages.”
10. Animated Feature Film: “Persepolis”; “Ratatouille”;
“Surf’s Up.”
11. Art Direction: “American Gangster,” “Atonement,” “The
Golden Compass,” “Sweeney Todd the Demon Barber of Fleet
Street,” “There Will Be Blood.”
12. Cinematography: “The Assassination of Jesse James by the
Coward Robert Ford,” “Atonement,” “The Diving Bell and the
Butterfly,” “No Country for Old Men,” “There Will Be Blood.”
13. Sound Mixing: “The Bourne Ultimatum,” “No Country for Old
Men,” “Ratatouille,” “3:10 to Yuma,” “Transformers.”
14. Sound Editing: “The Bourne Ultimatum,” “No Country for
Old Men,” “Ratatouille,” “There Will Be Blood,”
“Transformers.”
15. Original Score: “Atonement,” Dario Marianelli; “The Kite
Runner,” Alberto Iglesias; “Michael Clayton,” James Newton
Howard; “Ratatouille,” Michael Giacchino; “3:10 to Yuma,” Marco
Beltrami.
16. Original Song: “Falling Slowly” from “Once,” Glen
Hansard and Marketa Irglova; “Happy Working Song” from
“Enchanted,” Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz; “Raise It Up”
from “August Rush,” Nominees to be determined; “So Close” from
“Enchanted,” Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz; “That’s How You
Know” from “Enchanted,” Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz.
17. Costume: “Across the Universe,” “Atonement,”
“Elizabeth: The Golden Age,” “La Vie en Rose,” “Sweeney Todd
the Demon Barber of Fleet Street.”
18. Documentary Feature: “No End in Sight,” “Operation
Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience,” “Sicko,” “Taxi to
the Dark Side,” “War/Dance.”
19. Documentary (short subject): “Freeheld,” “La Corona (The
Crown),” “Salim Baba,” “Sari’s Mother.”
20. Film Editing: “The Bourne Ultimatum,” “The Diving Bell
and the Butterfly,” “Into the Wild,” “No Country for Old Men,”
“There Will Be Blood.”
21. Makeup: “La Vie en Rose,” “Norbit,” “Pirates of the
Caribbean: At World’s End.”
22. Animated Short Film: “I Met the Walrus,” “Madame
Tutli-Putli,” “Meme Les Pigeons Vont au Paradis (Even Pigeons Go
to Heaven),” “My Love (Moya Lyubov),” “Peter & the Wolf.”
23. Live Action Short Film: “At Night,” “Il Supplente (The
Substitute),” “Le Mozart des Pickpockets (The Mozart of
Pickpockets),” “Tanghi Argentini,” “The Tonto Woman.”
24. Visual Effects: “The Golden Compass,” “Pirates of the
Caribbean: At World’s End,” “Transformers.”

Blair Godzilla Project

2008-01-21T16:41:00.001-08:00

"Cloverfield" took in more than $40 million this weekend. Wow.

I took the kids on Friday and I have to agree with Brandon's assessment. Interesting concept, nice stylistic flair. Bad movie.

The problem is in trying to do what "Blair Witch" did. Narratives with handheld cameras are almost necessarily limited. ("Sex, Lies and Videotape" used footage well, but that was only part of the narrative.)

The camera's narrow point of view helps some parts of the giant monster movie as it helped "Blair Witch." It creates tension about the things outside of your frame.

The weakness comes in with your ending ... which is almost sure to disappoint.

"We didn't learn a single thing about the monster that we didn't know from the trailer," my son Eli said.

That's pretty much what Brandon had said.

ON A SIDE NOTE:

We had an interesting discussion in the newsroom about whether giant creatures are as interesting as smaller ones.

I don't think they are. Think about how much scarier the veloceraptors were than the T-Rex in "Jurassic Park." We relate to things more that are our size. And when things get too big, like, say, Godzilla, they're too big to care about us as individuals. They're mayhem, then, comes from clumsiness or angry fits... which aren't really scary.

ALSO SAW THIS WEEKEND: Bucket List
It had an important message: If you're dying, you want to make sure you bunk up with a rich guy with access to a private jet. The movie was actually fine, a nice choice for the whole family.

But my favorite film this year: "Juno"
what a delight that film is.