September 2010 Archives

What has been discussed more in DC this year?  The chances Democrats have for holding onto the House and Senate, the impact of the Tea Party on mid-term elections or when the Autobots and Decepticons would finally start invading the National Mall? 

We won't get the answer to the political questions until November, but, after many starts and stops and rescheduling on top of rescheduling, get ready to see Bumble Bee, Optimus Prime and Michel Bay racing up and down the streets of DC the week of October 11. 

And, after spending time shooting in Florida before they come to DC, everyone should be rocking some serious tans.

The Convention Center, DAR Constitution Hall and The Red Cross building near The White House have been mentioned as the primary filming locations, but we won't have a final confirmation until Production Alerts are issued by the DC Office of Motion Picture and Television Development.

Hopefully, the stars of Transformers will be as cool as Paul Rudd was while filming How Do You Know in Adams Morgan last year.  In between takes, Rudd would sign autographs and take pictures with people who were watching the excitement. 

Do you think Shia LaBeouf will be ready to say cheese?

  

Surf City is not located outside of Dublin, and you won't see The Beach Boys hanging ten in the Emerald Isle, but the documentary Waveriders is coming to DC to tell you all about the history, present and future of riding 50 foot waves just off the coast of Ireland.  How come U2 never wrote a song about this?!?!?!

Waveriders, narrated by Inception's Cillian Murphy, is the latest of six movie presentations by Solas Nua, which promotes contemporary Irish arts.  The group's Irish Popcorn!  series features a different Irish film every other month.   

If you want to be part of the fun,  Waveriders will be shown on Monday, October 4 at the Renaissance Washington DC Dupont Circle Hotel at 1143 New Hampshire Avenue, NW.

For more info, check out SolasNua.org. 
 

It's a film festival, a party and a chance for filmmakers to catch a break and get funding desperately needed to get their films made. 

National Geographic's All Roads Film Festival runs until Sunday and features indigenous and minority-culture film, photography and music. 

During the 6-day festival, filmgoers can see almost 30 movies representing 55 cultures from 21 countries, which is one of the reasons the All Roads has been popular with DC film fans. 

On Saturday, mixologist DJ Rekha will present her popular Basement Bhangra Dance Party, which melds the traditional Bhangra music of South Asia with hip-hop beats.  Opening up the evening, and the dance floor, will be local organizer Lunchbox Theory's monthly party Afrobeat for Ya Soul, featuring DJ Underdog. Tickets for this event are $20.

As far as movies go, keep your eyes open for Boy, the story of a young Maori boy who meets his long lost father, and thinks he will take him to see Michael Jackson in concert.  

Tickets for each All Roads film are $10 for the general public, and $8 for National Geographic members.

Festival passes, which include the Saturday concert, are $114 for the general public and $88 for members. To purchase, visit the National Geographic ticket office at 1600 M Street NW, or order online through www.tickets.com.

A full festival schedule is available at www.nationalgeographic.com/allroads.

Now that I have seen The Town, Secretariat and Social Network, True Grit is the next movie I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE!!!

Jeff Bridges playing the John Wayne role.

Josh Brolin and Matt Damon along for the ride.

The Coen Brothers directing (and they owe me for No Country for Old Men and A Serious Man).

The only way I would drool more was if Blake Lively was standing in front of me while holding a pint of Ben & Jerry's Peanut Butter Cup.

Gordon Gekko wants us to know Money Never Sleeps, but you might be the one enjoying a wonderfully refreshing nap if you buy a ticket to this one (Let The Waffle have one easy joke.  Sometimes, you have to deliver the obvious, but it can still be funny.  Right?).  I know it won't be a nap full of dreams of Oscar gold.

In this sequel to the classic 80's tale of money and greed set in 2008, Gekko (Michael Douglas) is out of jail, and walking around like a reformed man.  His book is a bestseller, and the former titan of Wall Street makes appearances on cable talk shows like the man of reason in a world gone mad.  However, he doesn't have a relationship with his only daughter, Winnie (Carey Mulligan), and her boyfriend, Jake (Shia LaBeouf), wants to change that.

At first glance, it seems like a sweet story.  However, like almost everything on the internet, it possibly possesses an evil, nasty, nefarious dark side (that might lead to porn).

In this documentary, Nev Schulman, an up-and-coming, young photographer, is living the life in New York City.  He just published a photo in a major magazine, and hangs out with his movie director brother, Ariel, and their pal, Henry Joost, like it's an episode of Friends.

After seeing the photo, 8-year old Michigan-based artist Abby paints a portrait of the work, which Nev finds very touching.   They become Facebook friends, but Abby has a hottie of a half-sister, Megan, who attracts more of Nev's attention.  As Nev and Megan hit it off, Ariel and Henry decide to film the growing and deepening relationship. 

Yep, that's where things take a turn for ... you have to see it for yourself.

Part of me feels bad for writing this review because everyone involved is trying so hard to make a good movie.  They just fail.  I should have known it would be a long day when even the Road Runner cartoon before the movie started was a disappointment.

Throughout his young life, owl Soren (voice by Jim Sturgess) has been fascinated with stories of the legendary Guardians - a group of brave owls that have protected all owls from an evil group of owls known as The Pure Ones (Lots of owls in this movie). 

One night, Soren and his older, less talented brother, Kludd (voice by Ryan Kwanten) defy their parents' orders and leave the nest to stretch their wings and attempt to fly.  Of course, they aren't quite ready, and that is when the evil Pure Ones find them and haul them away to some sort of Owl Prisoner of War camp.

One guy fell asleep in the theater when I saw You Again the other night.  I call him "The Lucky One."

Kristen Bell stars as Marni - the former ugly duckling who grew up to become an overachieving public relations wunderkind in Los Angeles.  Even though she just got a big fat promotion and life is looking good, Marni's world is about to get rocked (we wouldn't have a movie without some big twist like that).

Her beloved older brother, Will (Jimmy "Star of Lone Star" Wolk), is getting married, but Marni has never met the bride to be, at least, she doesn't think so.   Upon arriving back home for the big day, Marni discovers her sister-in-law-to-be is none other than the evil harlot who tormented her throughout high school, Joanna (Odette Yustman).

Can Marni break up the wedding and save her brother?

Has Joanna changed her ways?

After acting all crazy for a year and a half, then admitting it was all a hoax, I thought Joaquin Phoenix would have trouble getting his next role.  I was wrong.  So so wrong.  

According to various reports, Phoenix is on Clint Eastwood's most wanted list for his bio-pic of J. Edgar Hoover starring Leonardo DiCaprio. 

While Leo will be filling the shoes of Hoover, Phoenix is at the top of the list to play Hoover's lifelong pal (and who knows what else), Clyde Tolson.

I don't about you, but I am about ready to put on the crazy to help my career, too.  If I grow a beard and act like a hobo, will I get a chance to be on Roger Ebert's new show?  If I pretend to be a hip hop artist, will Big Tigger have me on Direct Access?

May whatever deity you believe in keep me safe and sound until I see the greatest movie ever made!  Yes, Martin Scorsese is trying to make the Italian-American version of The Expendables. 

According to Deadline Hollywood, the best source for insider news anywhere, Al Pacino and Joe Pesci are interested in joining Martin Scorsese's latest venture with Robert De Niro, The Irishman.

For all of you people who made fun of Gigli, mocked Daredevil and fell asleep during Pearl Harbor, you need to buy a ticket to see The Town, then apologize to Ben Affleck.  He has gone from being the butt of jokes to being the next Clint Eastwood.

In The Town, Affleck plays Doug MacRay - the leader of a group of ruthless, but talented bank robbers being hunted by the FBI.  They come from a part of Boston that produces bankrobbers the way Connecticut produces investment bankers. 

However, the group slips up on their latest job by taking a hostage, Claire (Rebecca Hall), who just happens to be a beautiful local gal who lives four blocks from Doug and his crew.  Even worse, Doug falls in love with Claire, when he's supposed to be figuring out how to get her out of the picture.

Will Claire find out Doug is one of the robbers?

You know you are watching a movie when the sexy, sassy, smart, smoking hot redhead is complaining that no one pays attention to her.  That redhead would be Emma Stone, the only woman who might be able to steal my heart from Blake Lively.

Stone stars as Olive - the girl who doesn't get any attention.  However, all of that changes when she fibs to her best pal, Rhiannon (Aly "Go Hellcats!" Mischalka).  Instead of admitting she had a boring weekend doing nothing, Olive makes up a story that she had a date with a college dude, and they went all the way.  

As the story spreads, and Olive becomes the most talked about girl in school, she helps others who want to boost their reputation as well by saying they also have done the dirty with her.  The duds start to look like studs, and Olive enjoys all of the new found attention.  

Will it all spiral out of control?

He was Invincible, which was Rocky on the football field.

Now, he's The Fighter, which is Rocky.

Say what you want about the familiarity of the story and the plot, but Wahlberg has enough soul to make it feel real and compel you to root for the underdog. Plus, we get to see the mindblowing Christian Bale and the amazing Amy Adams. 

The Fighter could be the surprise holiday hit this December.

If you could determine how much to pay to see a movie, would you be handing over Lincolns, Hamiltons or Benjamins?

I think all of us have walked out of a movie thinking it was not worth the ten or fifteen bucks you shelled out at the ticket counter (and fantasized about approaching the manger and demanding your money back in a scene that could only be straight out of Larry David's Curb Your Enthusiasm), but you are about to get the rare opportunity to pay what you want to attend a showing of Freakonomics. 

I already paid $9.99 to see the movie on iTunes, but what is a ticket to Freakonomics worth to you?

It looks like Michael Bay and Shia LaBeouf fans will have to wait an extra week before watching their heroes in action in the Nation's Capitol. 

Transformers 3 shooting in DC has been delayed an extra week to the week of October 4, but we now know the shooting will not only take place around The Mall and its monuments as originally reported, but also around the DAR Constitution Hall and the American Red Cross Headquarters.

Anybody have an office near those sites who would like to host an intrepid movie critic trying to get a good look at the production?

Clint Eastwood directs Matt Damon as a psychic who walks away. That's all we know. Without giving anything away, the trailer keeps the story as secret as Eastwood has been keeping it.

I can't wait!!!!!!!!

I am recruiting you into the war to save good movies because one of the sweetest and most charming movies of the year is struggling to survive.

Set in the late 1950's and early 1960's, Madeline Carroll stars as Juli Baker - an emotional, smart girl who has been crushing on Bryce (Callan McAuliffe) ever since his family moved in across the street and she saw his baby blue eyes. 

However, Juli has been chasing Bryce in vain for several years, and starts to realize her crush on him will never be returned, and, frankly, he's kind of a jerk who doesn't deserve her heart and soul.  Of course, that's when Bryce starts to realize Juli is very special.

Has Juli gotten over her crush?

As Joaquin Phoenix announced to the world he was retiring from acting to become a hip hop star, rumors about all of it being an elaborate hoax spread like wildfire, and we find those flames being stoked as I'm Still Here debuts at the Venice Film Festival and theaters around the country this weekend. 

It better be a hoax, because, if it is not, Phoenix needs serious mental and emotional therapy and, possibly, rehab as the audience is given a front row seat to the biggest meltdown in Hollywood history, or the greatest Andy Kaufman-esque stunt since Kaufman and wrestler Jerry Lawler caused a riot on Letterman.

I want you to see this movie On Demand to witness the most underrated actor in all of the world, Sam Rockwell.  That way, he won't have to make another movie like this ever again.

In A League Of Their Own meets Hoosiers, Rockwell plays Bill - a washed up formerly successful boys high school basketball coach and legend who burned out, started drinking, and finds himself divorced and working as a busboy.  However, his buddy, Terry (Rob Corddry), knows Bill is a basketball genius, and hires him to coach the local girls high school basketball team (yep, they are a female version of The Bad News Bears).

Can Bill get it together and lead this ragtag motley crew to glory?

Forget about DC Housewives parties and Real World housemates trying to become rock stars, DC's hottest event each year is The Kennedy Center Honors, and they kicked it up a notch with the announcement of this year's honorees.

Ladies and gentlemen, Oprah Winfrey, Merle Haggard, and Sir Paul McCartney are coming to town. 

I know most of you take a bathroom break or restock the guac on Oscar night when they award the Best Documentary Short Film award, but you have a chance to see it and 96 other short films this week during The DC Shorts Film Festival. 
 

Does Michaele Salahi need to eat a sandwich or two?  It appears all of us are about to find out.

According to TMZ.com, the (alleged) White House Crasher  is about to do a spread for Playboy where she will appear naked, nude, in the buff. 

The pictorial supposedly is set to take place later in September.  Will she be posing all over the Oasis Winery?  Will naked grape stomping be in order?

Do I really want those images in my mind?  Do you?

Going The Distance is such a dirty little tease.  It wants to get my attention and win me over with its constant references to 80's movies and music just like Katy Perry "just happens" to lean over in front of the TV camera while barely wearing a top that covers only 25% of her bodacious body.  And, I can't look away.  What a tart!  

Drew Barrymore (another reason I cannot look away) stars as Erin - an intern who dreams of becoming a newspaper reporter.  She's spending the summer in NYC, but meets the perfect guy, Garrett (Justin Long), just a few weeks before heading home to California.  The two decide they'll just go with the flow and keep it light, but, upon parting, decide to make a go of having a long distance relationship.  

Can Garrett and Erin keep the flames of passion alive across the country and three different time zones?

Couldn't they give the character a better name than Garrett?

It started off as the greatest faux trailer on the planet when co-writer/co-director Robert Rodriguez contributed Machete to Quentin Tarantino's Grindhouse.  Crowds cheered and laughed.  We all walked out thinking this would be a great movie if they decided to make it, and they did!  OK.  It turns out it's not great, but it is good.  

Danny Trejo stars as Machete - a former Mexican Federale who saw his family killed in front him by his arch nemesis and Mexico's leading crime lord, Torrez (Steven Seagal).  Left for dead, Machete crosses the border and gets hired to assassinate a Texas State Senator, John McLaughlin (Robert DeNiro), running on an anti-illegal immigration platform.  Of course, it turns out to be a double cross, and Machete wants revenge on those who have wronged him.

Will Machete find the people responsible?

What grand conspiracy is he about to uncover?

What's a bigger deal to us DC folks?  Transformers 3 shooting for 3 days on The Mall (and the possibility Abraham Lincoln is an Autobot?), or George Clooney directing Farragut North?  DC Ladies, let the swooning commence! 

Cinematical is reporting Clooney will start shooting the movie next February in hopes of getting it into theaters by Fall 2011.  Farragut North, the story of an idealistic campaign worker who gets sickened by the system, is set to star Paul Giamatti and Philip Seymour Hoffman.

If you believe the Hollywood spinmeisters, this was the best summer movie season ever! 

Disney has become the first studio to release two $1 Billion movies in one year (Alice in Wonderland and Toy Story 3). 

Box office take was $4.35 Billion for the summer, up 2.4% from last year, and setting a record.  However, the money lies.

I know many people think George Clooney is a walking talking special effect all by himself, but we need more than his bare chest and rugged jaw to make The American interesting.

Clooney stars as Jack - an assassin on the run.  His boss, Pavel (Johan Leysen), has sent him to a remote Italian town where he can quietly build a specialized rifle to be used by another hitwoman, Mathilde (Thekla Reuten).  However, Jack's life gets complicated as he befriends a local priest (Paolo Bonacelli), develops a relationship with a lady of the evening, Clara (Violante "the woman who makes me want to learn Italian" Placido), and finds himself consumed by paranoia and fear thinking danger is around every corner.  

Will Jack be able to stay safe?

Can he escape this life for a better one?