If Green Zone looks a little bit like Jason Bourne in Iraq, you can credit director Paul Greengrass who directed the last two Bourne movies. However, other than star Matt Damon that is where the similarities end. Green Zone is "inspired" by the story of chief warrant officer Richard Gonzalez, who was in charge of finding WMD in Iraq back in 2003. Since this is a Greengrass flick, expect plenty of political corruption and backroom dealings, but also tons of gritty authentic action. Universal pushed this film back slightly to the early part of 2010, not because they don't have confidence in it, but because it's more action heavy than they initially expected. That, to me, is a plus.
It's not often that you hear a film being compared favorably to The Godfather 
or Goodfellas
. Those movies stand on their own as untouchable examples of the very best in crime thrillers. Un Prophete is being throw into that same category not just by one or two people, but by general consensus. A harsh, gangster epic following the rise to prominence by Malik, a Muslim who finds himself pulled into the Corsican Mafia while serving a 6 year prison sentence. Un Prophete was France's nominee in this year's Best Foreign Language film category in the Academy Awards.
or Goodfellas. Those movies stand on their own as untouchable examples of the very best in crime thrillers. Un Prophete is being throw into that same category not just by one or two people, but by general consensus. A harsh, gangster epic following the rise to prominence by Malik, a Muslim who finds himself pulled into the Corsican Mafia while serving a 6 year prison sentence. Un Prophete was France's nominee in this year's Best Foreign Language film category in the Academy Awards.
Man, there seems to be a ton of hate out there for this film before it ever even hit theaters. I found it to be a perfectly charming, often hilarious date comedy. Jay Baruchel stars as Kirk, an average dude who somehow manages to find love with Molly, who by all accounts is a perfect '10'. A funny film with a sweet message and an extremely likable cast. You can check out my review here.
Admittedly, this mellow drama only caught my eye due to the presence of Kristen Stewart, who I'm finding I can watch in pretty much anything good or bad. Even though I've now discovered her "acting tic", which is that she sucks on her lip anytime she needs to show genuine interest. It's kinda cute, actually. This film has garnered much buzz, but it's the story of a ex-con(William Hurt) who makes his way through post-Katrina New Orleans with a pair of young lovers. His goal is to get back to his ex-wife(Maria Bello) in hopes of making amends.
If there's time....
I'm not gonna hate on Robert Pattinson and his film choices in between Twilight shoots. Little Ashes, in which he starred as Spanish surrealist Salvador Dali, was a crashing bore but a bold choice. Remember Me, on the other hand, is the type of maudlin tripe I can't stand. He and Emilie de Raven(Lost) star as a pair of troubled, young lovers who's lives have been derailed by the death of loved ones. I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that someone in her family doesn't like him all that much, and it causes a rift. Y'know, this would be a helluva lot more interesting if they'd throw in a werewolf or two. This looks awful, but I have to admit I'm curious to see just how bad it might be.
Unless it's something truly amazing(Man on Wire for instance), documentaries I usually wait to see on Netflix. However, Prodigal Sons has the type of unique story that might just coax a few dollars out of my pocket. It's the story of a reunion of three brothers: Todd, a gay man; Kim, a former high school quarterback turned transgendered woman; and Marc, the adopted brother who discovers he's the lovechild of Orson Welles and Rita Hayworth. What the hell? It's just crazy enough to grab my attention.
No...a thousand times no!!
Is this what America Ferrera's post-Ugly Betty career is going to look like? Isn't there a Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants 3 script lurking about somewhere she can focus on? Is Forest Whittaker sick? He looks unhealthy thin. Carlos Mencia? Was George Lopez unavailable for comment? Or was even he appalled by how lousy this looks?Haven't we seen this story before? Two ethnic families that wage some sort of war against eachother based solely out of their distrust for other races? I have to confess, I forgot this movie even existed. I saw the trailer weeks ago, moaned openly, then blissfully wiped it from my mind. Fortunately, I'm not compelled to see it, and would gladly watch Robert Pattinson's angst in his film over this one anyday.
