Don't be fooled, this story is only about 1/8 factual, not that it matters. Richard Curtis' comedy about a band of rogue DJs broadcasting that evil satan's music, rock 'n roll, via a pirate radio station in a ship in the middle of the ocean looks like a ton of fun and has a brilliant cast. Philip Seymour Hoffman, Bill Nighy, Nick Frost, and Rhys Ifans ensure that the mood will be light and the jokes fast and furious. Reviews have been sorta mixed. The film's been out for awhile and re-jiggered a little for the American audience, but if it's half as good as Curtis' other directorial effort, Love Actually, then we could be in for quite a treat.
"Some men just want to watch the world burn." I'm convinced Roland Emmerich is one of those directors, since he can't make a movie without the world being destroyed in some way. Too bad he can't get swept up in one of those tidal waves of his own creation. The buzz around 2012 is pretty bad, which comes as no surprise to me, a loyal Emmerich hater who counts the man as a pock mark on the ass of Hollywood. I expect I'll get some awesome special effects, and a story that includes horsecrap like people getting chased down hallways by cold breezes(my favorite unintentionally funny scene evah!!).
So we're finally gonna be allowed to see this thing, eh? Troy Duffy's vigilante justice sequel looks a lot like the first one, which is a good or bad thing depending on which side of the aisle you come down on. The first Boondock Saints was a polarizing flick, you either loved it or wanted to lump Duffy in with any number of one-hit wonders biting off Quentin Tarantino. I don't necessarily subscribe to that theory. I just know I really want to see this, not necessarily for the main stars but for Clifton Collins and Julie Benz, who I'm sure will help cheese this baby up a little bit.
I can think of few jobs worse than being the guy who informs military families that their son or daughter has been killed in the line of duty. Oren Moverman's directorial debut tells that story, of two soldiers(Ben Foster and Woody Harrelson) who bear that grim duty. But when one of them falls in love with the widow of a recently fallen soldier, ethical and moral questions begin to swirl. I've been wanting to see this ever since I caught the buzz on it from Sundance, and it features a cast that I can only salivate over(Samantha Morton and Jena Malone also star).
I've heard some horrible things about the hardships endured by Precious, the title character of Lee Daniels' highly acclaimed film, but what struck me is that by all accounts the film isn't half as disturbing as the book. I'm hoping things weren't lightened up to make the movie more palatable. I've been swamped with questions and comments about this movie for weeks, most of them surrounding Monique's performance as Precious's conniving mother. Hey, I dunno. I ain't seen it yet, okay? But I'll rectify that soon enough. I have a hard time believing she's as good as everyone is saying. I saw Phat Girlz. I saw Welcome Home, Roscoe Jenkins.
If there's time....
I feel bad because this should've been on the list last week, and now it might get pushed to the back burner. Sophie Okenedo(Hotel Rwanda) stars in the true story of Sandra Laing, a woman classified as black even though she was born to two white South African parents(Sam Neill and Alice Krige) during apartheid. I guess you could call it The Human Stain, only in reverse and hopefully a lot better acted. Anthony Hopkins as a brotha? Inconceivable.
No...no...a thousand times no...
Wow, nothing so objectionable that it need be openly shunned! Congratulations, Hollywood!
