“Sci-fi for beauties, not geeks - Owen Sound Sun Times” plus 4 more |
- Sci-fi for beauties, not geeks - Owen Sound Sun Times
- MOVIE REVIEW: District 9 - N-Philes
- Circle Cinema adds movie extras - Tulsa World
- 'Hannah Montana The Movie' stars Miley Cyrus, Billy Ray Cyrus - WHO-TV
- Author Julie Powell hopes book, movie will inspire people - Tacoma News Tribune
| Sci-fi for beauties, not geeks - Owen Sound Sun Times Posted: 15 Aug 2009 10:18 PM PDT Posted By KEVIN WILLIAMSON, SUN MEDIAPosted 1 day agoTurns out being a time traveler is a lot like being Amy Winehouse. You black out. You wake up naked in strange alleys. Maybe you're arrested. Maybe you're chased by dogs. Or you find yourself having a conversation with a dead relative. And after you've stumbled and swayed home, you still have to face your significant other. That pretty much sums up life as well for "chrono-impaired" Henry DeTamble (Eric Bana), who we meet when he's a boy about to discover -- in the wake of a fiery car crash -- he is blessed/cursed with the ability to be hurled through time. Trouble is, he has no control over when or where he winds up, although he's most frequently pulled to seminal people, places and events in his life -- "like gravity." For instance, there's grown-up Henry's first exchange with soulmate/enabler Clare Abshire (Rachel McAdams), who he meets when she walks into the Chicago library where he works. She recognizes him instantly -- because, she tells him, he has been visiting her since she was a child. Henry is skeptical, but smitten -- who wouldn't be? Sure enough, as their romance develops, he finds himself transported decades earlier to the meadow located behind her family's home, where he meets a six-year-old Clare. This is the crux of Henry's out-of-sync existence: While he's incapable of fixing his past, he's unintentionally shaping his future. Confused yet? You will be only if you puzzle over all the loopholes in logic -- something this emotional, effective adaptation of Audrey Niffenegger's 2003 best-seller avoids in lieu of doe-eyed sentiment. Rather, like The Lake House or Somewhere in Time, this is strictly a science-fiction fantasy for beauties, not geeks -- more concerned with its impossible love affair than space-time continuum conundrums. Female filmgoers feeling besieged by this summer's big-screen testosterone should find it a welcome respite from the rampant, reigning machismo. The Time Traveler's Wife may not be as charming as 500 Days -- it's comparatively humourless -- but it does have warmth and energy thanks to Bana and the reliably radiant McAdams. Together, they anchor the film amid the kind incredulities that would turn Doc Brown's hair a paler shade of white. As Henry and Clare figure out for themselves, it's best not to overthink things. Audiences seeking escapist date fare are likewise advised. - - - Advertisement  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| MOVIE REVIEW: District 9 - N-Philes Posted: 16 Aug 2009 12:41 AM PDT MOVIE REVIEW: District 9Posted 1 hour, 18 minutes ago by Frankie Aguilar.
Summer films are always hard to gauge. If they're not an action packed popcorn movie, or another lazily written chick flick, they tend to not be worth watching. Does the fact that a movie has a Triple-A acting roster, non-stop action and a gigantic budget automatically make it a good movie? The way this summer, like most summers, has gone you might be forced to believe so. Rarely do we get a film with substance amongst the hugely budgeted blockbuster movies gunning for our summertime dollars. And so few of these movies make it to a wider audience. But if you attach Peter Jackson's name to a project it's bound to stir up some interest, even if he's only producing. Jackson arose from the ashes of an abandoned Halo film, and with his directing protege Neil Blomkamp, set out to create what would become District 9. Expanded from the short film Alive in Johburg which was what brought Blomkamp to Jackson's attention, District 9 is much more than your standard sci-fi film. Set in Johannesburg, South Africa, District 9 opens with interviews of people about our first contact with alien life. A large alien craft has landed over Johannesburg, and the fear brought about by its prolonged inactivity mobilizes the South African military into breaching the space ship. What they find inside shocks and surprises them. Inhabiting the ship are thousands of sick and starving aliens, and pressure from the rest of the world forces the Johannesburg government into housing and caring for these creatures. They are placed in an area the becomes known as District 9, and what was supposed to be a safe haven quickly becomes slum. The people that surround the housing come to despise the aliens and begin to call them "prawns", derived from their appearance; a name that quickly becomes their sole description. Sprinkled in with the interviews and news footage that creates the setting and plot of this movie is documentary footage of a man that becomes the focal point of this situation. Wikus Van De Merwe (Sharlto Copley) is a field official at MNU tasked with serving eviction notices to the residents of District 9. He brings the film crew with him for some on the job shots, and this serves as the first part of the movie. Wikus is our link to this world so much like ours, and though Copley's acting resume is one movie longer than mine, his exceptional portrayal of Wikus makes it all the easier to understand that world.
The story is a new way of looking at a timeless flaw in human nature, the fear of things different. Wikus is a willing part of a machine that perpetuates this fear for its own profit, and not until he begins to understand the cruelty brought down upon these beings does he begin to change. This is what makes this character relatable, unlike most sci-fi characters that tend to be super heroes or something along those lines; Wikus is an ordinary guy just trying to move up in the world. And Copely plays the character to a T. He begins the movie as a nervous yes man who gets excited when he's handed a bit of power, and by the end of the movie is a completely re-invented more in the mold of a classic sci-fi hero. Playing co-protagonist to Wikus is the alien race as a whole. These "Prawns" are characterized as animalistic drone-like creatures with no aim or purpose. But Blomkamp feeds enough character into a few of these aliens to truly show the depth of there race. The aliens, which are completely computer generated, are modeled and rendered perfectly. For those of you who judge a summer flick solely on its special effects, or pray at the altar of Industrial Light and Magic, don't let the understated commercials you've seen on TV sway you. Until you've seen the aliens in motion interacting with each other and the environment you can't truly appreciate their subtle excellence. The aliens' eyes are amazing and convey a wide variety emotions, and I know that sounds like something corny you'd say to a girl, but one of the best shots in the movie is centered on a set of aliens' eyes. The pacing of this movie might catch some people off guard. Like I mentioned earlier, this summer hasn't been filled with movies that intend to make you think. Even those of you who have never heard of apartheid will recognize that this movie is hinting at something more real life than aliens. At times the movie suffers under this crutch because truly it's an action film with a wonderful story, and the allusions and metaphors tend to stagnate the flow.
The action sequence will keep those of you who were interested in the story on the edge of your seat, and re-awaken your friends that thought Transformers 2 was the greatest movie of all time from their dialogue induced sleep. It's throughout this sequence that you can see the true extent of the special effects work done by Peter Jackson's effects team. Much like the CGI in the Lord of the Rings movies, the models and environmental effects are toned down and realistic. This along with the use of hand-held style camera shots, and the interweaving of interviews attempt to keep this movie as believable as a movie with aliens can be. Blomkamp also used footage from real life African conflicts to create greater cohesion, and added the aliens into the footage when applicable. This movie has a message, there is not doubt about it, but don't let the critics trick you into believing that this is a self-righteous reminder of apartheid by Blomkamp, a South African himself. This is more of an examination of our fear of others in general than any specific event. Regardless, the message whether you get it or not is presented wonderfully. We are represented by a good natured but flawed man who rises from his misconceptions to redeem himself through understanding and sacrifice. This film has a little bit of everything in it wrapped in a neat sci-fi package. Hopefully this does well at the box office because if a movie like this can stand with the rest of the summer giants, maybe more studios will take chances on fresh original ideas. Conversely, I hope that the studio doesn't seek to cash in on the success of this movie and make a sequel, because while this movie left a lot unanswered, I believe that's part of what makes it so awesome. This movie has a running mystique that keeps you from getting settled in the a normal movie watching groove. It's a little graphic at times, and you will hear the F-word pretty constantly, but it's not gratuitous because if you were in that situation you'd probably say the same things. All this makes for a must see film, and makes Neil Blomkamp a director to watch for.  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Circle Cinema adds movie extras - Tulsa World Posted: 16 Aug 2009 01:46 AM PDT
A pair of films showing at Circle Cinema this week will feature valued-added programs with the filmmakers attending on Sunday and Monday nights.
The documentary "Bloodline" screens at 7 p.m. Sunday, while the comedy "Weather Girl" plays at 7 p.m. Monday at the Circle, 12 S. Lewis Ave. What if the greatest story ever told was a lie? That's the tagline for "Bloodline," a documentary by Bruce Burgess, who becomes something of a filmmaking Robert Langdon as he tracks down some of those "Da Vinci Code" mysteries for himself. Burgess previously filmed "Bigfootville" about hunting for a Sasquatch in Oklahoma. Rene Barnett, producer of "Bloodline," will be at the Circle for the 7 p.m. Sunday screening. Afterward, she will take part in a question-and-answer session with the audience. On Monday night, "Weather Girl" will play at 7 p.m. at the Circle. In this comedy, a young, local TV weather forecaster must move in with her brother after a stormy on-air meltdown regarding her boyfriend's infidelities. The film stars Tricia O'Kelley, Ryan Devlin and Patrick J. Adams. Co-stars include Mark Harmon, Jon Cryer, Jane Lynch and Kaitlin Olson. Director Blayne Weaver, a Bossier City, La., native who appears in his film, will speak at the Circle about 8:30 p.m. Monday, after the "Weather Girl" showing, to answer audience questions.More information is available about these programs by calling 585-3456.
Michael Smith 581-8479 michael.smith@tulsaworld.com  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| 'Hannah Montana The Movie' stars Miley Cyrus, Billy Ray Cyrus - WHO-TV Posted: 15 Aug 2009 11:44 PM PDT " Hannah Montana The Movie" is a title that needs neither introduction nor punctuation. The film stars 16-year-old Miley Cyrus—16, but with the showbiz wiles and Brenda Vaccaro voice of a 40-year-old—in a big-screen stretchy-pants expansion of the Disney Channel TV series. The idea, in case you don't have members of the H.M. fan club where you live, is that Ms. Cyrus splits herself in two and nearly goes mad trying to be both down-home Miley Stewart from Tennessee and, in disguise, Hannah Montana, L.A. rock star adored by millions, with only a dirty-blond wig to conceal her identity. Fame is a bear! It's hard! And in this film, fame is not very funny! Millions of kids will disagree, and that's OK. This is their film, not mine. But they deserve better. I'm not saying this character's a lousy role model, but it's too bad the film isn't more interested in ... well, things other than Miley catfighting with Tyra Banks over a pair of shoes, or coping with her publicist, played by Vanessa Williams, or negotiating the demands of family and fans with the help of her dad, Robby Ray ( Billy Ray Cyrus, the Robert Cummings of country). Early on, her sometime-Vanity Fair-photo-shoot partner calls her "baby doll," which is troubling for anyone who has seen Elia Kazan's "Baby Doll" lately. Miley/Hannah must save her hometown of Crowley Corners, Tenn., from a developer (Barry Bostwick) who wants to build a mall and ruin the scenery. (Maybe Miley and the gang will take on Wal-Mart in a sequel.) This, at least, requires the pop phenom with the double life to use her song stylings for a community fundraiser instead of the usual career advancement. We all want to be rock stars, I guess. As a preteen I entertained vague desires either to be Groucho Marx or Dean Jones (twitchy though he was) or Duke Ellington or Dan Rowan or Dick Martin. "Hannah Montana The Movie" asserts that we can have it all: the drug of fame and the respite of normal life—at one point, Dad refers to putting his pop star daughter on "Hannah Montana detox"—as long as the fan base maintains its love. The picture was directed by Peter Chelsom, who did "Funny Bones," though he did not bring much of the funny from that project to bear on this project, scripted by Dan Berendsen. The movie's only mission is to further a brand, and it exists specifically to prop up its song list, which includes the latest dance craze, "Hoedown Throwdown," in which Miley exhorts us to pop it, lock it and, to the best of our abilities, "polka-dot it." Miley was on "Leno" the other night, trying to teachhim that one. Cyrus certainly is something; there's talent there, though her steely, bleached-teeth glare of determination obscures it. The movie packages both sides of the personality coin. Can this paragon of fabulousness reconnect with her roots and keep it real, while keeping the British tabloid snoop (Peter Gunn) off her tail? Can Miley sense a spark between herself and her old school chum, Travis, played by likable Lucas Till? I believe she can. In fact she'll sing a song about him, inspired by his favorite axiom: "Life's a climb." I like the end-credits sequence best, which has nothing to do with hoary complications or the miseries of stardom or the magical spellbinding powers of a cheap wig. It has everything to do with learning—in case you came in late—the Hoedown Throwdown. MPAA rating: G (all ages admitted).  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Author Julie Powell hopes book, movie will inspire people - Tacoma News Tribune Posted: 16 Aug 2009 12:05 AM PDT Author Julie Powell, 36, says her world was changed "profoundly" in some ways by the success of "Julie & Julia," her book about cooking every recipe in Julia Child's "Mastering the Art of French Cooking." "I went from being a very unhappy and unfulfilled secretary to someone who's doing just what she loves for a living," she said while on a book and movie promotional visit to Michigan late last month. She has finished a book, "Cleaving," about her attempt to learn meat-cutting, and she still blogs (juliepowell.blogspot.com). "But day to day, my life is like the shiny, happy version of the life I had before." She and her husband, Eric, have a nicer apartment in New York down the street from their old place, and she gets to stay home and write, walk the dog, shop for groceries and fix nice dinners for the two of them. She doesn't make many dishes from "Mastering" anymore; she's still trying to lose the weight she gained doing them the first time. Explaining why she plunged into the Julia Project in 2002 is difficult, she admits. Mostly it was her desperation for change and purpose. "All I was thinking was, 'I am so stuck and miserable and so lost and I have so little, how am I ever going to get out of this?' … I wanted something in my life that was mine." Readers told her the book gave them the courage to try things they thought were impossible. She hopes the movie, too, "will inspire people to do whatever it is they want to do."  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
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