Movie Review: The Green Hornet

Director: Michel Gondry
Starring: Seth Rogen, Jay Chou, Christoph Waltz
warning:  I don't think I am writing any spoilers but I still am saying that I may give small things away and would be unaware of it

I was able to see a sneak preview of upcoming film The Green Hornet which enters theaters January 14, 2011.  The film is about how Britt Reid changes from a privileged rich brat into a fugitive so that he can bring justice to the city after the death of his father.  There are a lot of things that happened in bringing this film to the screen and I would like to mention some of them now.

1. Kevin Smith was originally slated to direct and write.  He still wrote two drafts for the film but it seems that neither were used
2. Stephen Chow was attached in 2008 to direct and co-star as Kato but dropped out due to creative differences before Michel Gondry came on board but still was in talks to play Kato
3. James Wan was also considered as a director before Michel Gondry
4. Abbie Cornish was in talks to play Lenore before Cameron Diaz got the part

In the end when the dust all settled Michel Gondry was the director ( I do love his work), Seth Rogen was the lead, Jay Chou had the role of Kato and Cameron Diaz is the love interest.

      Jay Chou did pretty well in the role of Kato, the Green Hornet's sidekick/ butt saver.  From my understanding of the commentary of most Green Hornet fans is that Kato was always a way better fighter than Kato and this is how it played out in the film.   He played the role very smoothly, he was very like and his timing along side Rogen was great.
    The cinematography and special effects were great.  Everything was well polished off and seamlessly coordinated.  The only moment that seemed questionable was one scene that seemed like there was too much camera movement for a simple bonding scene.
    The one thing that I found questionable was the writing for the film.  I did laugh in all of the right places with the easy jokes that everyone gets but the dialogue for the main character and villain was really overdone.  If Rogen and writing partner/ friend Evan Goldberg had gone for more of a corny comic book feel throughout the film like Batman and Robin then Chudnofsky would have fit right in but he seemed to stick out like a sour thumb.  Also the character of Britt Reid wasn't completely really likable through most of the film. Because Britt lost his father and he was sad along with relationship he had with his father he was some one you could relate to but  personally for me I didn't really like him.
     In the end the movie was funny but didn't leave me completely happy in the end.  I would recommend waiting for it to come out on DVD but that is only my opinion.

 
information from list found on the imdb trivia section of the movie

Movie Review: True Grit

    Guns, death and a little girl that is "too big for her britches", no it is not The Professional (even though in the broadest terms it sounds exactly like that) it is the new Coen Brothers film True Grit.  The film which is widely discussed as a remake of a film by the same name from 1969 only actually credits the novel written by .
    Even though the film does share a name with the 60s version of the film I have a feeling that they are fairly different from one another, I have yet to see the other film.  Jeff Bridges stars at the U.S. Marshall Cogburn hired by a little girl named Maddy Ross hunt down the man that killed her father.  Also on the trail of the killer is a Texas ranger by the name of LaBeouf (pronounce La beef). Does the small ragtag team have what it takes to take down a killer or will they die trying?
     Jeff Bridges stars as the Marshall Cogburn, a sure of himself man that even though he upholds the law, some people aren't so sure of his methods. Bridges dazzles in this film which resembles somewhat a cowboy version of his Oscar winning performance as "Bad Blake" in Crazy Heart.
    Matt Damon continues to show his versatility as an actor and possible character actor when needed. As the character LaBeouf he is a bit of a story teller that is impressed by his position and puts much pride behind it.  With his Texan sounding accent and other incidents that come along his way to continue changing his personality and character traits.

     Even though the film didn't have any Golden Globe nominations I think that there is still a chance of seeing a Oscar nomination.

Movie Review: The Fighter

Mark Wahlberg's new film The Fighter, hitting theaters nation wide this Friday December 17,  has gotten a lot of buzz about it already.  It has already won Best Ensemble from the Boston Society of Film Critics, Best Supporting Actor for Christian Bale from the Boston Society, National Board of Review, USA along with Washington DC Area Film Critics Association Awards (where Melissa Leo also won Best Suporting Actress) and at the the Palm Springs International Film Festival David O. Russell picked up the Director of the year award. Now as of yesterday the film was nominated for 6 Golden Globes.
     The film is based on the true story of the lives of Mickey Ward (Walhberg) and Dicky Eklund (Bale), brothers living and boxing in Lowell, Massachusett's.  Dicky is famous in the the town for having knocked down Sugar Ray Leonard during a 1980 match up and he is now training his brother Micky to be a professional fighter.   The only problem is that Mickey's family is so much as helping him but hurting his chances of really going professional.  Will he have to leave his family behind to make it big or will outsiders actually steer him in the wrong direction?
       The casting in the roles for each character was fantastic. Putting Wahlberg in the lead role of Ward was perfect because he was made for it.  Wahlberg formally known to many as Marky Mark,  for those who remember his 90s singing career, was born and raised in Boston to a large family that didn't have a lot.  He got into brawls and lots of controversy at the end of his rapping/singing career.  He actually used to look like a boxer back in the time when this film is set, early 90s.  Also before he did make it as Marky Mak he was the brother of a famous boy band member from New Kids on the Block, Donnie Wahlberg.  In this role he was probably able to recount how life was during those years of his life as well as what he has learned since then.
     Bale as the has been boxer brother was fantastic.  The character is a little off his hinges because of a lot of things going on in his life, I don't want to spoil it.  Bale, ever the character actor, lost a significant amount of weight to play the roles as well, not as much as he did for "The Machinist" but still a lot.  He also adopted the accent very well and it rolled fluidly through his performance of the character, not everyone can really do that when changing from the accent one nationality to another and then even adding on a regional trait.
   Melissa Leo who is known currently known for her work on the show Treme is fantastic.  As the over baring mother, matriarch and basic clueless person that is Alice Ward, she excels.  I didn't even recognize her in the role and I am an avid watcher of the series Treme.  She takes the idea of the bad momager, mostly out for herself, and really drives it home.  At times in the movie if I could have I would have slapped her, which means she is really doing her job.      
     And then there is the role of loving and supporting girlfriend Charlene played my Amy Adams. The character is a leap from the mousy, prissy or unsure of themself type roles that she is used to talking in her other films.  Charlene is a fighter herself and not afraid to speak her mind or back up what she says whether it be with word or fists (there is a scene that you gotta see).  This role really takes her out her type of character and I hope that it leads to more varieties of characters like this.

If you are planning on going to see a film this week end head for this one.  You will laugh, you won't cry, but it will get you pumped and you may get interested in boxing.

Golden Globe Nominations Released

The nominations are out for the up and coming 2011 Golden Globe awards which means that you may be looking at the list of potential Oscar nominees as well.  It has been a long standing tradition that often movies and actors nominated for the Golden Globe Awards will also be on the ballot for the Oscars.  Also the Golden Globes wins due tend to run along the same lines as the Oscar wins as well with one of the recent exceptions of Avatar winning best Dramatic Motion Picture and Best Director but it was later pointed out to me that to win at the Oscars usually you also have to have some nominees in the acting categories. Below is a list of the nominees.  Get out to the theaters, your local Redbox or hit Netflix to watch these films and make your determinations.

MOVIES
 Best Picture - Drama
"Black Swan"
"The Fighter"
"Inception"
"The King's Speech"
"The Social Network"
 
Best Picture - Musical or Comedy
"Alice in Wonderland"
"Burlesque"
"The Kids are All Right"
"Red"
"The Tourist"
 
Best Actor - Drama
Jesse Eisenberg, "The Social Network"
Colin Firth, "The King’s Speech"
James Franco, "127 Hours"
Ryan Gosling, "Blue Valentine"
Mark Wahlberg, "The Fighter"
 
Best Actress - Drama
Halle Berry, "Frankie and Alice"
Nicole Kidman, "Rabbit Hole"
Jennifer Lawrence, "Winter's Bone"
Natalie Portman, "Black Swan"
Michelle Williams, "Blue Valentine"
 
Best Actor - Musical or Comedy
Johnny Depp, "Alice in Wonderland"
Johnny Depp, "The Tourist"
Paul Giamatti, "Barney's Version"
Jake Gyllenhaal, "Love and Other Drugs"
Kevin Spacey, "Casino Jack"
 
Best Actress  - Musical or Comedy
Annette Benning, "The Kids Are All Right"
Anne Hathaway, "Love and Other Drugs"
Angelina Jolie, "The Tourist"
Emma Stone, "Easy A"
Julianne Moore, "The Kids Are All Right"
 
Best Supporting Actress
Amy Adams, "The Fighter"
Helena Bonham Carter, "The King's Speech"
Mila Kunis, "Black Swan"
Melissa Leo, "The Fighter"
Jacki Weaver, "Animal Kingdom"
 
Best Supporting Actor
Christian Bale, "The Fighter"
Michael Douglas, "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps"
Andrew Garfield, "The Social Network"
Jeremy Renner, "The Town"
Geoffrey Rush, "The King's Speech"
 
Best Director
Darren Aronofsky, "Black Swan"
David Fincher, "The Social Network"
Tom Hooper, "The King's Speech"
Christopher Nolan, "Inception"
David O. Russell, "The Fighter"
 
Best Screenplay
Danny Boyle and Simon Beaufoy, "127 Hours"
"Lisa Cholodenko, "The Kids are All Right"
Christopher Nolan, "Inception"
David Sieber, "The King's Speech"
Aaron Sorkin, "The Social Network"
 
Best Animated Feature
"Despicable Me"
"How to Train Your Dragon"
"The Illusionist"
"Tangled"
"Toy Story 3"
 
Best Foreign Language Film
"Biutiful"
"The Concert"
"The Edge"
"I Am Love"
"In a Better World"
 
Best Original Song
"Bound to You," "Burlesque"
"Coming Home," "Country Strong"
"I See the Light," "Tangled"
"There's a Place For Us," "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader"
"You Haven't Seen the Last of Me," "Burlesque"
 
Best Original Score
Alexandre Desplat, "The King's Speech"
Danny Elfman, "Alice in Wonderland" 
A. R. Rahman, "127 Hours"
Hans Zimmer, "Inception"
Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, "The Social Network"
 
TELEVISION
 Best Television Series - Drama
"Boardwalk Empire"
"Dexter"
"The Good Wife"
"Mad Men"
"The Walking Dead"
 
Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Drama
Steve Buscemi, "Boardwalk Empire"
Bryan Cranston, "Breaking Bad"
Michael C. Hall, "Dexter"
Jon Hamm, "Mad Men"
Hugh Laurie, "House"
 
Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Drama
Julianna Margulies, "The Good Wife"
Elisabeth Moss, "Mad Men"
Piper Perabo, "Covert Affairs"
Katey Sagal, "Sons of Anarchy"
Kyra Sedgwick, "The Closer"
 
Best Television Series - Comedy
"30 Rock"
"The Big Bang Theory"
"The Big C"
"Glee"
"Modern Family"
"Nurse Jackie"
 
Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Comedy
Toni Collette, "The United States of Tara"
Edie Falco, "Nurse Jackie"
Tina Fey, "30 Rock"
Laura Linney, "The Big C"
Lea Michele, "Glee"
 
Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Comedy
Alec Baldwin, "30 Rock"
Steve Carell, "The Office"
Thomas Jane, "Hung"
Matthew Morrison, "Glee"
Jim Parsons, "The Big Bang Theory"
 
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Scott Caan, "Hawaii Five-0"
Chris Colfer, "Glee"
Chris Noth, "The Good Wife"
Eric Stonestreet, "Modern Family"
David Strathairn, "Temple Grandin"
 
Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Hope Davis, "The Special Relationship"
Jane Lynch, "Glee"
Kelly MacDonald, "Boardwalk Empire"
Julia Stiles, "Dexter"
Sofia Vergara, "Modern Family"
 
Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
"Carlos"
"The Pacific"
"Pillars of the Earth"
"Temple Grandin"
"You Don't Know Jack"
 
Best Performance by an Actress in a Mini-Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television
Hayley Atwell, "Pillars of the Earth"
Claire Danes, "Temple Grandin"
Judi Dench, "Return to Cranford"
Romola Garai, "Emma"
Jennifer Love Hewitt, "The Client List"
 
Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television
Idris Elba, "Luther"
Ian McShane, "Pillars of the Earth"
Al Pacino, "You Don't Know Jack"
Dennis Quaid, "The Special Relationship"
Edgar Ramirez, "Carlos"

Best of Brouhaha program selected for Florida Film Festival 2011

After many filmmakers submitting their films and a weekend of screenings that official selection has been made for the "Best of Brouhaha" short program for the 20th Florida Film Festival.  Brouhaha was held last weekend at the Enzian theater in Maitland and of the 49 films that were screened at the showcase 11 films were picked for the honor of being screen at the Florida Film Festival.  These films are from:

• Florida State University
• BAD INFLUENCES by Kate Emery, 
• CITY OF MURALS by Ricky Rose
• I’M IN LOVE WITH KIMBERLY JOHNSON by Adam Johns,
• UNDERGROUND by Akil DuPont; 

• University of Central Florida
• A COINCIDENCE OF SORTS by Edgar Jorge; 

• Full Sail University
• AFTER: THE KELLIE GREEN STORY by Lavado Stubbs (September FilmSlam winner)

• Ringling College of Art and Design
• NO SOLICITING by Bohdon Sayre, 
• FLIP by Jill Hackett, DILLA by Stanley Moore, Michael Sauls, Michael Klim & Dominic Pallotta, 
• DEPARTURE OF LOVE by Jennifer Rae Bors; 

• Independent Filmmaker 
• Carl Knickerbocker’s A DOG GOES FROM HERE TO THERE (January FilmSlam winner).  

All of these films I personally saw myself and no two are alike and they are all entertaining.  Unfortunately you have to wait until April during the festival to see all of them.  So I would advise you to buy your tickets now.


Tickets are already on sale for the Florida Film Festival at floridafilmfestival.com
You can also find out more information about the festival at the website.  The festival is still finalizing films to be shown at the festival but you will want to be tickets because there is always something amazing to watch during the festival.

An interview with Chiefland Director Gabriel Tyner

Picture courtesy Gabriel Tyner

I attended the Brouhaha Film and Video Showcase this past weekend and was privy to a variety of films from up and down the state of Florida.  One of the films that interested my was a short documentary about a man that had returned to the bull riding after a ten year absence due to an accident.  The name of the film was call Chiefland and I was able to get a hold of the director, Gabriel for his thoughts about how the story came together, some of his general thoughts about filmmaking and his producer.

Why did you want to make films?
I make films, especially documentaries, with hopes of changing the way people think and hopefully inspiring them to act.  For example, Chris Wilson's story is about never giving up on your dreams.  His dreams were much bigger than anything I have ever wanted to do.  I believe I can overcome lots of obstacle because Chris Wilson's obstacles were tremendous, daunting, and death defying.  I think that my dreams of making movies are easier to obtain than Chris' bull riding career. 

Is this your first film working together (with Christopher Ramsey your Producer) or have you two worked together before?
This is the first film that Christopher Ramsey and I have worked on together.  We worked together at Fox News in Lake Mary.  There are plenty of people who work in news, but there are few people who actually do much outside of work.  I pursued a meeting with Christopher outside of work because I knew he was involved in documentaries.  In the end, it was serendipitous that I met Christopher and he has been a mentor to me ever since.

How did you hear about Chris Wilson? What made you want to do a short about him?
It all started in 2006 when I got a phone call from a friend of mine who had recently entered the sub-culture known as Professional Bull Riding, or PBR. He told me that a guy who had gotten hit by a train was going to be bull riding in Chiefland. So I grabbed the only camera that I could get a hold of and left for Renegade Rodeo in Chielfand Florida that very afternoon. When I got there I was greeted by cowboys, trucks, and bulls. Right away I met the cowboy Chris Wilson and I knew I had a star on my hands. His strong cowboy personality and infectious southern candor made for great content. I pushed REC and started filming.
I had been working on the story of Chris Wilson since 2006.  I originally wanted to make a feature out of it, but eventually gave that up and started showing a rough version at film festivals.  Then I hooked up with Christopher and his great storytelling abilities.  He formed the story into what we see today at the film festivals.

What were some of the complications that occurred during the filming of the short?
Sound was one of the biggest issues I had when I filmed the documentary.  I only a consumer grade video camera with an onboard mic.  I had no headphones either, so I was sure to get as close as I could during the interview.  I believe the "closeness" of the camera really paints an intimate picture of our bull riding hero.

Where else has the short appeared?
So far, our short has played at FILMSLAM, it was the opening film at Indie Grits, and it played at one of the oldest documentary film festivals in the world The Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival.

What will be next for the short film?
We are still in the process of entering it into film festivals.  We do not like to talk about which festivals because we believe it is bad luck.

What is next on your agenda film wise?
Christopher and I are both working on separate projects.  For over a year now, I have been working on a documentary about gangs in schools.  Specifically gangs in Gainesville, FL where we have a growing number of gang members and violence is on the rise.  Florida is leading the way for gangs and they are targeting our schools.  Kids are easy to use for selling drugs or stealing because the cops don't look for kids and kids do not do a lot of jail time.   It is a passionate project of mine that is still seeking funding.  For more info check out our website at www.chasing-ghosts.com

Would you work together again or is that just a bad idea?
Great Question.  Of course I would work with Christopher again.  He is an excellent storyteller and I would jump at the chance to weave another documentary with him.

What would you say to a novice filmmaker as words of encouragement? Are there any words of warning that you have to share?
Chiefland is a great example of how important the story is and how unimportant the equipment can be.  Nowadays you can make a documentary with a cell phone and I completely encourage that.  I have been filming documentaries since I was 14 and probably would not be where I am today if I had not had all that time to make mistakes.  It's so important that you just start filming whenever you can so you can get your video and editing chops up to par. 
As far as a warning is concerned, If you can, always collaborate with someone.  It always helps to have another set of eyes to look at your work.  In my case, it was Christopher who saw the full potential of CHIEFLAND and made it what it is today.  Without his expertise, I would not be where I am today.

For more information on Gabriel Tyner you can check out his production company: www.filmsbygt.com
The production company facebook page: www.facebook.com/gtproductionsvideo
Also there is his imdb page:www.imdb.com/name/nm3068189/

The film's webpage is: www.chieflandthemovie.com  

Brouhaha great place to see the locals

Today I went to the first and second programs of the 19th Annual Brouhaha Film & Video Showcase that is held at the Enzian Theater is Maitland.  The Brouhaha Showcase is two about eight hours of short films spread out into four, two hour programs over two days. Residents and students studying insider the state of Florida are encouraged to submit their films to the showcase by the middle of October to be screened by a selections committee for entrance into the showcase and screened on a full length theater screen.  Also films can gain entrance by winning one of the monthly FilmSlams that are held at the Enzian on the second Sunday of each month (there is no Slam in April [Florida Film Festival] or December [Brouhaha])*.  

So far the Showcase has had a wide variety of films from February FilmSlam winner Crooked to Cheap Shot an animated short from Ringling College of Art and Design to the short documentary Chiefland.  It is a great pleasure to go and see these films and the great part is that there is still one more day left to enjoy some short films.  Sunday, December 5 (Tomorrow)  are programs three and four which end out the small showcase.  There promises to be more films that won at the monthly FilmSlams, independent films and Universities, I almost forgot that there were some from local high school Dr. Philips High.  The tickets to go see the program are $5 per program ($10 for both programs) and you may not get to see these films again on screen or you may be able to catch a quarter of the films in the Best of Brouhaha at the Florida Film Festival in April.  So come out and support local film.

Enzian Theater

1300 South Orlando Avenue  Maitland, FL 32751

Brouhaha tickets $5 per program

Program #3 starts at 11AM

Program #4 starts at 1:15PM