Appaloosa- Ed Harris and Aragorn from Lord of the Rings as cowboys? Sold. Renee Zellweger...well, I'm still gonna watch it.
Righteous Kill- The film might be fifteen years too late, I still want to see Al Pacino and Robert De Niro as two hardened NYC detectives.
Miracle at St. Anna- This seems to be a different Spike Lee joint as he tells the story about an all black American battalion trapped in a Tuscan village during WWII.
Choke- I loved the book by Chuck Paluhniak (the guy who wrote Fight Club) and the previews lead me to believe that this will be an entertaining, disturbing treat. I'm sure no one else in Florida would go see this film with me.
The Lucky Ones- Three strangers, all who happen to be US soldiers, are forced to share a rental car across the country as they resolve each of their personal missions.
Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist- A young man asks a stranger to pretend to be his girlfriend to feel less awkward around his ex-gf. However, when his faux girlfriend's drunken companion ends up missing, the two scramble across NYC to find her. Seems like a good date movie.
Religulous- Asshole comedian Bill Maher's documentary regarding faith in today's society. I'm intrigued to see if Maher has any good points to make or is just mocking people to feed his ego. It's directed by the same guy who did Borat, so I think it would end up being entertaining if nothing else.
How to Lose Friends and Alienate People- Simon Pegg burns every bridge he's ever built while working for a New York magazine. Based upon the memoirs of a former writer for Vanity Fair.
RocknRolla- Guy Ritchie + Gerard Butler + British underground = Gonna Watch It.
W.- It's Oliver Stone, so I expect some conspiracy and mistruth thrown into the story, but I want to see his take on our 43rd president. Plus, in the posters Josh Brolin looks so much like Bush it's creepy.
Zack and Miri Make a Porno- Kevin Smith's newest flick looks to be crass, funny, but heartwarming in this story about two platonic, longtime friends who make a porno in order to solve their financial problems.
007: Quantum of Solace- It's a James Bond movie. Sold.
Transporter 3- Same stuff, different movie, will watch it anyway because I like Jason Statham.
Now, the movie I am looking forward to the most this fall:
The Wrestler- Finally, a movie featuring professional wrestling that isn't a comedy. Not only that IT DOESN'T PORTRAY WRESTLING AS A REAL SPORT! I'm sick of films either insulting the movie audience's intelligence by making the world of wrestling "real" or insulting fans of wrestling by portraying them in the movie as idiots who buy into the fantasy. Darren Aronofsky, the man that directed the most depressing (in a good way) film I have ever seen Requiem for a Dream wrote and directed a film about a fictional aging 80's wrestling icon, Randy "The Ram" Robinson (played by Sin City's Marv, Mickey Rourke) a beaten, broken has-been who once was a great wrestling champion now struggling to stay in the spotlight in the independent wrestling scene. As he continues to abuse his body for the art that he loves, he tries to make amends with his lesbian daughter while courting an aging stripper (Marissa Tomei). The movie has already won many accolades at the Toronto Film Festival and may influence many non-wrestling fans on what current pro-wrestling is and the problems the industry and its performers face. Rourke has mentioned on how he has spoken to Greg "The Hammer" Valentine as a reference to his character which seems to have a life that is a mix of Hulk Hogan and Jake "The Snake" Roberts with The Ultimate Warrior's physique. I hope this movie will spearhead a change the wrestling industry for the better, not by exploiting the dark underbelly of it, but shedding light on flaws that need to be addressed. I know that I'm gonna Fandango the tickets as soon it's released country wide.
Peace out.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Barnes at the Movies: Burn After Reading
Burn After Reading is the latest film from the Brothers Coen after their uber-successful No Country for Old Men and it goes back to the Coen's love of quirky, "wha-huh?" comedic storytelling than drama.
A CD containing the memoirs of a recently fired CIA agent fall into the hands of two air-headed gym employees. Hilarity and grand misunderstanding ensues.
Burn After Reading is a great dark comedy. Much of the plot and feeling of the film is like a previous Coen Bros.' favorite, Blood Simple, but with a more wacky and light filter to it. There are moments in which you need to look around you and ask yourself, "If I laugh at this, does it make me a bad person?"
John Malkovich angry is funnier than it should be. George Clooney and Brad Pitt are goofy as hell which is refreshing since they are casted against their usual type of "sexy-cool man." Tilda Swinton is more of the White Witch in this film than she was in Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Frances McDormand does a grand performance as our quirky, misguided personal trainer.
J.K. Simmons' role as the CIA big-wig is great in that he reacts to the film's story like many of the movie goers would. The plot in this film circles around and around. Like other Coen films such as The Big Lebowski, as soon as you think you have a handle on the plot you lose it.
Bottom line: if you know the Coens and like their other stuff, this should be up your alley. If you don't know, give it a shot. However, if you don't like being jolted around and prefer a standard, smooth story with a sense of closure then you probably should venture elsewhere.
A CD containing the memoirs of a recently fired CIA agent fall into the hands of two air-headed gym employees. Hilarity and grand misunderstanding ensues.
Burn After Reading is a great dark comedy. Much of the plot and feeling of the film is like a previous Coen Bros.' favorite, Blood Simple, but with a more wacky and light filter to it. There are moments in which you need to look around you and ask yourself, "If I laugh at this, does it make me a bad person?"
John Malkovich angry is funnier than it should be. George Clooney and Brad Pitt are goofy as hell which is refreshing since they are casted against their usual type of "sexy-cool man." Tilda Swinton is more of the White Witch in this film than she was in Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Frances McDormand does a grand performance as our quirky, misguided personal trainer.
J.K. Simmons' role as the CIA big-wig is great in that he reacts to the film's story like many of the movie goers would. The plot in this film circles around and around. Like other Coen films such as The Big Lebowski, as soon as you think you have a handle on the plot you lose it.
Bottom line: if you know the Coens and like their other stuff, this should be up your alley. If you don't know, give it a shot. However, if you don't like being jolted around and prefer a standard, smooth story with a sense of closure then you probably should venture elsewhere.
Barnes at the Movies: Hamlet 2
Okay. I know this review is late, but it's because I did not feel like writing it. It's not worth it. Don't get me wrong, Hamlet 2 isn't the worst movie ever made. I don't think it's god awful. I feel that the movie is just like me writing this review...unnecessary.
Steve Coogan plays a failed actor turned drama teacher to a class full of street wise toughs. When he is informed that the theatre program is going to be cut due to costs, he writes and directs an unusual sequel to Hamlet that involves time travel, sex, and Jesus Christ with the class portraying the roles and doing the set design. After getting wind of the play's existence, it draws the ire of the public who threaten to shut the play down.
I'm not going to into individual performances because all the key actors are usually good, but seem to have been phoning it in this time around. Except for Elisabeth Shue who plays...well, Elisabeth Shue. The jokes are tired, tired, tired. I know that in Get Smart there were recycled gags from other films, but they at least put an original spin or tweak to make them their own. Hamlet 2 doesn't even try. The film's core audience are supposed to be shocked and appalled by the content, but the jokes seemed to be cut and pasted from various South Park scripts from three to five years ago.
Spoofing on Jesus has been done so much the past few years that even the most hardcore evangelicals don't even get annoyed by it anymore. It's not offensive because the line was already crossed to the point of being blurred away and it's not funny because we've already heard it before and better. It's like listening to that one douchebag at work do an entire Dane Cook comedy bit verbatim.
The pacing of the film was confusing. It seemed so slow, but the character development was WAY TOO FAST. It was like seeing an infant turn 34 years old within seconds while watching as a being outside of time. Much like Yahweh, "a day seems like a 1,000 years and a 1,000 years a day" when watching this movie.
That's enough. You get the point. Don't bother watching it. You've either already seen it or would be bored.
Steve Coogan plays a failed actor turned drama teacher to a class full of street wise toughs. When he is informed that the theatre program is going to be cut due to costs, he writes and directs an unusual sequel to Hamlet that involves time travel, sex, and Jesus Christ with the class portraying the roles and doing the set design. After getting wind of the play's existence, it draws the ire of the public who threaten to shut the play down.
I'm not going to into individual performances because all the key actors are usually good, but seem to have been phoning it in this time around. Except for Elisabeth Shue who plays...well, Elisabeth Shue. The jokes are tired, tired, tired. I know that in Get Smart there were recycled gags from other films, but they at least put an original spin or tweak to make them their own. Hamlet 2 doesn't even try. The film's core audience are supposed to be shocked and appalled by the content, but the jokes seemed to be cut and pasted from various South Park scripts from three to five years ago.
Spoofing on Jesus has been done so much the past few years that even the most hardcore evangelicals don't even get annoyed by it anymore. It's not offensive because the line was already crossed to the point of being blurred away and it's not funny because we've already heard it before and better. It's like listening to that one douchebag at work do an entire Dane Cook comedy bit verbatim.
The pacing of the film was confusing. It seemed so slow, but the character development was WAY TOO FAST. It was like seeing an infant turn 34 years old within seconds while watching as a being outside of time. Much like Yahweh, "a day seems like a 1,000 years and a 1,000 years a day" when watching this movie.
That's enough. You get the point. Don't bother watching it. You've either already seen it or would be bored.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Don't Forget
Do something today to show your appreciation to the local police department, fire department, and your neighbor. NYC and everyone else needed all three elements to pick ourselves up after 9/11. Those relationships need to be nurtured. Hopefully for nothing like what happened that day, but we need to stand together. Peace.
Thursday, September 04, 2008
Barnes at the Movies: Pineapple Express
I've been meaning to do this review for a while, but I was delayed due to a trip to Ohio, Tropical Storm Fay coverage here in Orlando, moving to a new apartment, and dealing with bullshit regarding my car and computers among other frustrations. But enough about me.
Pineapple Express is the latest comedy from the Apatow clan and is this summer's stoner comedy. Seth Rogen plays Dale Denton, a court-process clerk with a girlfriend still in high school and a strong affection for weed. Dale visits his dealer, Saul (James Franco), and purchases this new, exclusive bud called Pineapple Express. After the purchase and a little taste of it, Dale witnesses a cop killing by a drug lord and drops his roach en route to an escape. The drug lord (Bill Lumbergh himself, Gary Cole)picks up the joint and recognizes the weed being his exclusive Pineapple Express and goes on a hunt to get anyone with contact with the weed to kill off any potential witnesses.
Pineapple Express as a comedy is definitely not one of the best. A good stoner comedy is one that mainstream audiences can enjoy but potheads will appreciate more since they identify with the culture (I give you Half Baked as an example). This film is one that potheads would like, but those who don't pray to the Gods of Ganja will leave the theater with a slight "meh." The jokes are either not over-the-top enough to work or non-existent. The funniest part of the film is a long fight scene inside a California home and even I don't recall a distinctive part of it.
The mood of the film is confusing. It is a comedy, but there are so many scenes with gunfights and serious action that an average film goer might think they are watching outtakes from Bad Boys II. There is blood and serious drama so the movie has a hard time deciding what it's goal is. I assume that the serious, straight delivery was used in order to achieve comedic effect (think Airplane), but it goes too serious and thus no laughs achieved.
Seth Rogen is essentially playing the same character he was in Knocked Up, except without the audience rooting for him to grow up and be a man. This sucks because I think Rogen has the ability to do other characters but just chooses not to.
James Franco does a great job as Saul. While a dirty, dingy, dumb drug dealer (say that three times fast), the audience can enjoy his good-natured attitude and the love of his grandmother. Franco also does a good job of making the most of the mediocre material he was given. Since he is a pretty boy in most of the films he's been in, it's refreshing to see him cast against his type.
Gary Cole's character of Ted Jones, drug lord, was so underutilized that it's a crime. His screen time was minimal as was his love connection to a corrupt cop (Rosie Perez). I spent most of the movie wanting to know what they were doing while watching Rogen and Franco run around.
Technically the film looks good, but when watching a comedy everyone pays attention to the jokes and the story rather than the cinematography. As long as you don't make a scene too dark or overblown with light than you have done your job. They did their job here.
I guess with Pineapple Express, the verdict would be this: Seth Rogen has done better movies worth renting in the past and there are better pothead comedies worth renting as well. May I suggest Half Baked, Dazed and Confused, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, and anything with Cheech and Chong in it. Pineapple Express is just like a night full of marijuana: an experience that no one will remember.
Pineapple Express is the latest comedy from the Apatow clan and is this summer's stoner comedy. Seth Rogen plays Dale Denton, a court-process clerk with a girlfriend still in high school and a strong affection for weed. Dale visits his dealer, Saul (James Franco), and purchases this new, exclusive bud called Pineapple Express. After the purchase and a little taste of it, Dale witnesses a cop killing by a drug lord and drops his roach en route to an escape. The drug lord (Bill Lumbergh himself, Gary Cole)picks up the joint and recognizes the weed being his exclusive Pineapple Express and goes on a hunt to get anyone with contact with the weed to kill off any potential witnesses.
Pineapple Express as a comedy is definitely not one of the best. A good stoner comedy is one that mainstream audiences can enjoy but potheads will appreciate more since they identify with the culture (I give you Half Baked as an example). This film is one that potheads would like, but those who don't pray to the Gods of Ganja will leave the theater with a slight "meh." The jokes are either not over-the-top enough to work or non-existent. The funniest part of the film is a long fight scene inside a California home and even I don't recall a distinctive part of it.
The mood of the film is confusing. It is a comedy, but there are so many scenes with gunfights and serious action that an average film goer might think they are watching outtakes from Bad Boys II. There is blood and serious drama so the movie has a hard time deciding what it's goal is. I assume that the serious, straight delivery was used in order to achieve comedic effect (think Airplane), but it goes too serious and thus no laughs achieved.
Seth Rogen is essentially playing the same character he was in Knocked Up, except without the audience rooting for him to grow up and be a man. This sucks because I think Rogen has the ability to do other characters but just chooses not to.
James Franco does a great job as Saul. While a dirty, dingy, dumb drug dealer (say that three times fast), the audience can enjoy his good-natured attitude and the love of his grandmother. Franco also does a good job of making the most of the mediocre material he was given. Since he is a pretty boy in most of the films he's been in, it's refreshing to see him cast against his type.
Gary Cole's character of Ted Jones, drug lord, was so underutilized that it's a crime. His screen time was minimal as was his love connection to a corrupt cop (Rosie Perez). I spent most of the movie wanting to know what they were doing while watching Rogen and Franco run around.
Technically the film looks good, but when watching a comedy everyone pays attention to the jokes and the story rather than the cinematography. As long as you don't make a scene too dark or overblown with light than you have done your job. They did their job here.
I guess with Pineapple Express, the verdict would be this: Seth Rogen has done better movies worth renting in the past and there are better pothead comedies worth renting as well. May I suggest Half Baked, Dazed and Confused, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, and anything with Cheech and Chong in it. Pineapple Express is just like a night full of marijuana: an experience that no one will remember.
Tuesday, September 02, 2008
New Blog! From Me! Read It!
Along with this randomly-write-whatever-I-feel-like blog, I have started a new blog for people to read. It's called Pop Culture Religion and you can access it via the link on the side of this blog or at http://popculturereligion.blogspot.com/
Check it out. Have fun. More later this week.
Check it out. Have fun. More later this week.
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