Fracture (2007)***

Since there has been a lot of hype about Ryan Gosling, I decided to check out this film. Gosling was good, but I haven’t figured out yet if the young baby faced actor was miscast for the role. Anthony Hopkins was great, his acting always seems so effortless. Overall, I thought the storyline was good and the characters were interesting, but the film was a little slow and perhaps overly melodramatic. It is worth renting, or in my case, worth checking out at the local library. I am really looking forward to seeing Gosling’s performance in Half-Nelson, it’s just so far back on my queue.

Director Syndey Pollack dies

Director Syndey Pollack recently died at the age of 73. He was easily among the top ten contemporary directors of our day.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24832016

For those of you who are unfamiliar with his work, here is a selection of some of the most famous films he directed (he acted in and produced countless others):

The Interpreter (2005)

Random Hearts (1999)

Sabrina (1995)

The Firm (1993)

Out of Africa (1985)

Tootsie (1982)

Absence of Malice (1981)

Three Days of the Condor (1975)

The Yakuza (1974)

The Way We Were (1973)

Jeremiah Johnson (1972)

They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969)

Jimmy Stewart

This article in the SF Chronicle is about the Great Jimmy Stewart, one of my favorite classic film actors. I thought those of you who appreciate the classics might find it interesting.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/05/14/DD6I10DRTS.DTL&hw=Jimmy+Stewart&sn=001&sc=1000

Star Wars: The Clone Wars

There is a link to the latest Star Wars installment - Star Wars: The Clone Wars Theatrical Trailer
http://movies.yahoo.com/summer-movies/Star-Wars-Clone-Wars/1809991325/trailers/133/880

The graphics look fairly cheesy, but it's Star Wars, you have to see it.

3:10 to Yuma (2007)*****

This is a remake of the 1960’s western written by Elmore Leonard (Get Shorty, Out of Sight, Jackie Brown). This is by far the best western since Unforgiven, which was released over 15 years ago. Christian Bale has come a long way since Little Women, hasn’t he? He does a wonderful job of playing the anti-hero who is fighting to redeem himself and save his family. Cast against type, Russell Crowe does a great job of playing the villain. Incidentally, a lot of great actors have played against type in westerns (Gary Cooper – High Noon, Henry Fonda – Once Upon a Time in the West, Gene Hackman – Unforgiven). For those of you who know your westerns, you’ll notice that subplots in this film are reminiscent of other great westerns, including Shane and Winchester ’73. 3:10 has been described as a “classic modern western,” which is an accurate description because it has a postmodern feel that is most akin to the darker westerns that began appearing in the 60’s and 70’s. Unlike earlier westerns, this film isn’t afraid to show flawed multidimensional heroes. 3:10 goes one step further by showing the humanity of its villains too, which makes this a great film.

The Notebook (2004)***

I tried to put off this movie as long as I could, but there is only so much I can do when my wife has control of our netflix account. I had feared The Notebook would be the cinematic equivalent of a Thomas Kincade painting, overly sentimental and without substance (I don’t know how that guy makes a living). Anyway, I was surprised. The Notebook was actually fairly good. I guess I do have a bit of a sentimental side. [Spoiler Alert] I have to say that I think the film romanticized Alzheimer’s disease a bit by not placing more focus on how unbelievably difficult it can be for families. I guess they were worried about making it even more of a tear-jerker.

Speaking of tear-jerker movies, what would you say is the saddest movie of all time? House of Sand and Fog tops my list by far. I watched it once alone when my wife was out of town and it really messed me up.

Family Guy – Blue Harvest (2007)****

This is an hour long episode of the Family Guy that was recently releases on DVD. I am not typically a fan of the show, it is typically too offensive for my taste, but I decided to watch it after a friend’s recommendation. I am glad I did. The entire episode is a spoof of Star Wars IV- A New Hope. It is almost entirely redone frame by frame and you can tell the crew really geeked out when they put this episode together. If you are a fan of Star Wars, I highly recommend this film.

Flightplan (2005)***

This is one of a handful of movies that has capitalized on post-911 aeronautic angst (e.g. Red Eye, Snakes on a Plane). Nevertheless, this is an enjoyable thriller. It has a Hitchcockian flavor as the film leads you to question the sanity of the heroine played by Jodie Foster. The filming of the movie is excellent considering that the majority of the scenes are confined to the set of an oversized jumbo jet. If you rent this, I highly recommend watching the special features to give you an appreciation of the challenges they faced in filming in such tight quarters.

I am Legend (2007)**

I decided to wait to see this movie after reading the reviews. Watching it a few nights ago and I though that it was visually amazing, set in post-zombiefied New York. Will Smith’s acting was overall very strong. I couldn’t figure out why the reviews were so bad, that was until I came to the last 10 minutes of the film. It’s interesting how an ending can really make or break a film. As much as hate the late Charleston Heston’s support for the NRA, I think his version of this film titled Omega Man is better, simply because it has a tighter ending. It is a shame. Had they added another half hour to Legend, drawing out the ending and adding to the character development, this could have been a great film.

Watch the bonus feature if you can stomach the clips from a gruesome promotional graphic novel based on the film that was written by Orson Scott Card.

For a Few Dollars More (1965)***

With a weaker storyline that its predecessor, A Fist Full of Dollars and the capstone of the trilogy, The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, A Few Dollars More is a mildly entertaining shoot-em-up western (many people get shot in this film, including a crazy-eyed hunchback named Wild). Eastwood is as cool as ever but A Few Dollars More doesn’t have the psychological complexity of these other films. The cinematography is good though and if you have seen any of Sergio Leone films, you’ll know that the musical score is an interesting one. The composer, Ennio Morricone, won a lifetime achievement award from the Academy, but that doesn’t seem to make his scores any less strange. I would like to see the films re-released with a score from the White Stripes. Now that would be awesome.