Anchor Bay Films has send us information regrading their upcoming release, "Father of Intervention". The film boasts an all star cast that includes Kevin Spacey, Camilla Belle, Johnny Knoxville, John Stamos, Craig Robinson, Virginia Madsen and Heather Graham. "Father of Intervention" hits theaters in limited release on October 14th and DVD and Blu-Ray shelves on October 25th.
Press Release:
Academy Award® winning actor Kevin Spacey (American Beauty, The Usual Suspects), Camilla Belle (10,000 B.C, When A Stranger Calls) and Heather Graham (Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, The Hangover) lead an all-star cast in the “inventive” comedy Father of Invention, coming October 25th to Blu-ray™ and DVD from Anchor Bay Entertainment.
The Anchor Bay Films release also stars Johnny Knoxville (“Nitro Circus,” Jackass, The Ringer), John Stamos (“ER, “Glee, “Full House”), with Craig Robinson (“The Office,” Hot Tub Time Machine, Pineapple Express) and Virginia Madsen (Sideways, The Number 23), SRP is $26.98 for the DVD, and $29.99 for the Blu-ray™. Pre-book is September 28. Father of Invention will also have an exclusive theatrical engagement starting Friday, October 14th.
Once upon a time, Robert Axle (Spacey) was on top of the world. An eccentric inventor turned ego-driven infomercial guru, you couldn’t turn on a channel without seeing the latest Robert Axle “fabrication” being touted. But when one of his inventions – the “Ab-Clicker” -- maimed thousands of customers, a class-action lawsuit landed him in jail for the next 10 years. Newly released, Axle is now ready to redeem his name and hopefully rebuild his billion dollar empire. But first he must convince his estranged 22 year old daughter (Belle) to let him live with her and her quirky, over protective roommates as well as find that one “fabrication” that will redeem him.
“More of this is true than you would believe.”
You know, it’s really nice to see a movie use a phrase other than “based on a true story” or “inspired by true events.” Those descriptions have all but lost their meaning ages ago because even if what we’re seeing actually did happen, it has all been watered down into a formulaic feel good movie that we have seen over and over again to where we want to gag. Even worse, we keep getting suckered into seeing those same movies even when we should know better. Either that, or there’s nothing better to watch (or your latest rental fro Netflix hasn’t arrived yet). But this year has been great in subverting those worthless phrases with movies like “The Informant.” That one made clear that it was based on actual events but that certain parts had been fictionalized, and it ended by saying:
“So there!”
Now we have “The Men Who Stare At Goats,” one of the many George Clooney movies that we will be seeing this holiday season. It opens with the sentence at the top of this review. The story behind this one is so bizarre to where it’s almost impossible to believe that any of what we’re seeing could ever have happened. But it appears that a good portion of these happenings did take place, and it makes for what is truly one of the more unique war movies I have seen in awhile. The film is based on a (you’ve heard it) non-fiction book by Jon Ronson which looked at how US military forces used psychic powers against their enemies. They look at New Age concepts as well as activities of the paranormal to achieve these goals, and of how they worked to use these methods to their advantage (assuming of course that this is all true). The movie takes place in the backdrop if the
Jon himself serves as the inspiration for the character of Bob Wilton, an investigative journalist played by Ewan McGregor. Bob’s wife has just left him for his editor, and of course he is depressed and decides that he needs to do something more important with his life (in hopes he can get her back). As a result, he travels to
I love the irony of all the talk about “Jedi warriors” here, especially since Ewan McGregor played one in the “Star Wars” prequels.
Anyway, “The Men Who Stare At Goats” is really a cross between a war movie and a road movie as Lyn and Bob traverse the sandy dunes of the
Ewan McGregor is playing the main character here, but let’s face it, George Clooney steals the show right out from under his feet. His performance as Lyn Cassady is truly one of his most surprising in his creation of it. Despite how ridiculous he may seem Clooney plays him straight and never appears to be self-conscious. Seeing him trying to burst clouds with his mind, and trying to reach into his enemy’s mind by staring right at them has Clooney going through emotions ranging from serious to funny and to downright tragic. Having gone from playing roles in more dramatic movies like “Syriana” to “Michael Clayton” among others, George Clooney once again shows that he is also really good at comedy and never has to strive too hard for a laugh.
I don’t want to take away from Ewan McGregor though, who does manage to pull off a convincing American accent. In many ways, his role is more of a reactionary one as he is subjected to conditions he could never have fully prepared for. As Bob Wilton, he is bewildered at what Lyn is telling him, and yet he still wants to journey further and further into this guy’s head. I also have to give Ewan a lot of credit because he could have made it look like he was consciously aware of all those “Star Wars” references, but he never did. Had he, it would have taken us out of this film completely. May the force be with him!
But one of the great delights of “The Men Who Stare At Goats” is watching Jeff Bridges channel that inner-dudeness that made him so popular after “The Big Lebowski.” Jeff plays Bill Django, a military leader who after being wounded in
Having been in
Kevin has great fun as he channels the inner smugness that has enveloped his character over time, and which some say he has become well known for off screen as well as on (I don’t hang out with him, so I can’t say for sure). While his role is a little more serious than the others, he still has great moments of comedy that remind us of what a talented actor he is (as if that could ever have been in doubt). Spacey does a great work of balancing out the serious and comedic aspects of his character without tilting too much in one direction.
The movie was directed by Grant Heslov, George Clooney’s business partner on many films including the brilliant “Good Night and Good Luck” which he co-wrote. Heslov has his work cut out for him here as he must find a balance between the humorous and dramatic aspects of the story. Granted, he doesn’t always succeed but he creates a most unusual war movie, and it is all the more entertaining because of that. Even more telling is the way he shows off the Iraqi people in certain scenes. They are not all portrayed as gun toting terrorists, and he captures the look of their helplessness in having to deal with a military occupation they did not ask for.
Like I said, there’s no serious politicizing of the
***½ out of ****
Moon
Year: 2009
Director: Duncan Jones
Studio: Sony Picture Classics
Stars: Sam Rockwell, Kevin Spacey
MPAA Rating: R
Running Time: 97 Mins.
Most recently, your truly managed to catch what I think is one of the top 3 films of the year, so far. It’s films like this that made me what want to write reviews, because it’s a film that people should see instead of the Terminator: Salvation’s and Transformers of the world. This sci-fi film actually has a story, unlike those films that only care about the big bucks that it’s getting at the box office.
“Moon” focuses on Sam Bell (Sam Rockwell), a guy who has been faithful employee, to his company, as he has been living in a moon base, for the last three years. He spends his day alone, as the only thing he has interaction with is a talking computer, known as GERTY. Two weeks before he is set to leave the moon base, one of his routine extractions goes wrong. When he gets back to the base, Bell finds out that the company that he works for wants to replace him. If matters aren’t worse, the new person at the base is very familiar. He soon finds out that his life may not be his own.
After watching “Moon”, I couldn’t help to compare it another under appreciated sci-fi film called “Primer”. Both film have different premises and concepts, but what both films have in common is the way that they go against the typical sci-fi film of robots destroying each other or having endless amounts of explosion, instead it becomes a film that you can appreciate for the story, direction, and performances.
“Moon” is in the discussion for the best film of 2009. If you can keep my interest with the premise this film has and not looking at my watch during the film. That’s what separates the great films from the good films. Moon was truly a great film.
There were three people that made this film, the film that was. Let me first start with the director Duncan Jones (son of David Bowie). It’s one of the best debut films that I’ve ever seen. His direction was amazing. One of things that he does very well, he directs a film that could be conceivably be described, as a film that doesn’t have a lot of action. But what keeps kept my interest, the way he moves the story though the scenes in space station, through the subplots and messages that this film brings up. Jones does that, by keeping the tension of the film at a high level, as the main character is figuring out these strange events that are taking place. That made it very entertaining. He also does a good job in the way that he directs Sam Rockwell and Kevin Spacey. Jones did a great job making both performances from Rockwell seem different from each other. It’s another thing that makes this film great. Also, I liked how he directed Kevin Spacey, as his performance just keeps you guessing to if you can trust the ship’s computer.
The film’s screenplay written by Nathan Parker is very imaginative and original. The screenplay does a very good job focusing on the issues of corporate greed, cloning and space exploration. The issues are used as a backdrop to the film’s story, so that it creates tension with everything that goes on in the ship. It does not become one of those films that let the message take center stage, before everything else. Parker lets the subtexts of these issues become part of the backdrop, so that he is able focus on the main character’s state of mind. That becomes a major part of the film, because you need to tell a story while bringing out various issues. He does effective, as my focus was on the story and the situation at hand. That what’s makes movies with issues more effective.
But the key to this film’s success is the performance of Sam Rockwell. It has to be, as two of the three main characters, are played by one person. In order for this film to work, the performances had to be different and believable from each other. The performances are just great and convincing. It hard considering the roles that Rockwell played, as they felt like two different characters. The best thing about it was that both of performance gel very well with one another. It’s very tricky to pull off but this is definitely a testament to Rockwell’s abilities as an actor, as this is truly his best work yet. Hopefully it will get some consideration, come Oscar time.
I hope to see more from Duncan Jones, and Sam Rockwell in the near future, as they are both talents that people should keep their eye on. “Moon” is a very captivating film that will become a cult classic for years to come, as it’s the best science fiction film to come out, this decade.
Review Rating: Five Stars
Roadside Attractions presents a film that examines what happens when the people we count on to hold us together…are barely holding it together themselves? Jonas Pate's "Shrink" is a striking, fast-paced exposé of the “other” Hollywood, featuring folks living outside their comfort zone and the people who put them there. Henry Carter (Kevin Spacey) is a psychiatrist with an A-list clientele, including a once-famous actress (Saffron Burrows), an insecure young writer (Mark Webber), and a comically obsessive-compulsive superagent (Dallas Roberts). Henry is not in a good place, however. He has been asked to take his first pro bono case, a troubled teenage girl from a neighborhood far from the Hollywood hills. Considering his present state of mind, is he ready for the real-life troubles of a young woman who loves the world of movies he has become so jaded by? At its core, Shrink is a study of control and our endless need for it, even when it grows increasingly impossible to obtain. Writer Thomas Moffett uses classic archetypes in this modern Hollywood tale, but never pushes them over the edge of credibility. Performed by a well-matched cast at the top of their form, the result is both satisfying and exhilarating. Watching Shrink makes us feel like voyeurs looking through a window into the lives of people who look great, feel worse, and end up behaving badly.
A tart, funny, and uplifting drama about the courage it takes to achieve happiness, SHRINK stars Kevin Spacey, Robert Loggia, Pell James, Keke Palmer, Griffin Dunne, Saffron Burrows, Jack Huston, Dallas Roberts, Gore Vidal, Laura Ramsey, Mark Webber, Jesse Plemons, Joel Gretsch. It is directed by Jonas Pate (DECEIVER), written by Thomas Moffett, and produced by Michael Burns, Braxton Pope, and Dana Brunetti.
The film will be released July 24th. For more information on this film, you can goto:
http://www.shrinkthemovie.net/
How you view this movie might depend on what side of the political spectrum you see yourself on. I’m not sure how accurate this movie is to real events, but I imagine it is pretty close. Coming out of it, you may feel it values one candidate over the other. But in the end, “Recount” is not so much a movie about the fight to get candidates elected as it is about the fight for democracy. It is a fight for all the voters to be heard, and also a scary tale of how the fate of the Presidency can end up in the hands of a powerful few instead of America as a whole. Hopefully, this is something that we all collectively hope we never have to live through again.
“Recount” was directed by Jay Roach who is best known as the director of all the “Austin Powers” movies. Here, he directs a large cast of superlative actors who take the roles of many people we know well from the news, and gives us a strong case of why many still thank Al Gore was robbed of the Presidency (hence, it will probably alienate more conservative audiences). Both Gore and Bush are basically supporting players in this story, and we only see them from the backs of their heads (obviously portrayed by other actors) or in news footage of them during the campaign. The movie is more interested in what went on behind the scenes of the election, and of the different fights made to get to the truth of who won the Florida electoral votes.
Even though we all know how this ended up and who got elected, the movie is still riveting in the same way “Apollo 13” was. It is not so much interested in the general way things happened as it is the specifics of the issue. We see brilliantly shot examples of how chads in ballots could not be broken off as they were designed to be. The opening shot of the movie shows how easily confused some Florida residents are when they are trying to vote, and yet it is not altogether clear how to vote for Gore so that you don’t accidentally vote for Pat Buchannan. The moment where one of Gore’s campaign workers rushes up to him before he is about to make his concession speech on the night of that election is scary in that we all feel like we are running alongside him. This movie feels all the more stronger all these years later as we will finally be rid of Bush as President for once and for all. Even now, we have a strong emotional reaction to the thought of Gore conceding the election.
At the head of this star studded cast is Kevin Spacey who gives one of his best performances in quite some time as Ron Klain, Al Gore’s legal advisor on the campaign trail. The day before the election, it is presumed that Gore is going to win it, and Klain is offered a job in Gore’s new administration. Ron ends up turning it down, feeling that it is not the way he wants to spend the next 8 years of his life. But when it becomes clear that there are clear inconsistencies in the voting in certain Florida counties, Ron goes right into action to make sure that all the votes are recounted, as the margin of victory is only off by just over a thousand votes. Ron is aided by a large team of political strategists from Michael Whouley (Denis Leary) to Warren Christopher (John Hurt).
Spacey makes it clear from the start that Ron Klain is an idealist more than anything else about the way the political system works. What he does throughout the movie is not motivated by his desire to see Gore become President (he even admits in one scene that he is not even sure he likes Gore) as it is by the desire to see all the votes counted and to not have any of them thrown for different reasons like those rejected votes of people with similar names of convicted felons. Because the election was so close, we can see in Spacey’s eyes that this election is just much too important for certain votes to be cast aside.
We also get great performances from other actors like Ed Begley Jr. who plays David Boes who passionately fought for the recount to continue when testifying at the Supreme Court. Another great performance comes from the always reliable Tom Wilkinson (“Michael Clayton”) who plays James Baker who fights on behalf of George W. Bush to turn the election his way. Wilkinson plays Baker as being idealistic in his own way, and is almost as idealistic as Klain is for the democrats. Bruce McGill is also great here as Republican lobbyist Mac Stipanovich who is brought in to persuade Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris to stop the recount.
Speaking of Katherine Harris (who by the way wanted nothing to do with this film), she is played here in a brilliant performance by Laura Dern. With makeup to bring up harsh memories of Faye Dunaway from “Mommie Dearest,” Laura gives us a Katherine Harris who is not dumb, but who is oblivious to what is going on around her. She says she is following the law, but never really questions those around her as to what their true motives really are. Laura is one of the best actresses working today, and this movie is a good reminder of that. Her performance is frightening in how it shows
The other thing I wanted to note about “Recount” is that the actors do a great job of inhabiting their roles as opposed to impersonating people we have known for a long time in the political world. That is always the trap of playing characters we know from really life; many end up playing these people from the outside in instead of inside out. It takes a group of well trained actors to play these roles, and who are not mere impressionists or mimics. Mimicry is a cool art, but it doesn’t work in movies like this.
Director Jay Roach does a great job of literally putting you back in the year 2000, and he makes you're a witness to all the goings on to where even though you know how this race ended, you still hope and pray for a different outcome. Jay also shows how each Presidential candidate has to be grateful for all the dozens of people and hundreds of supporters who helped their candidate to where he (or eventually, she) is in the political landscape (and landmines) of America. Aside from “The West Wing,” we haven’t had too many movies that have looked at these people who work so hard for the politician they support, and this movie is a reminder of how those people need to be thanked for all that they do. They can’t stay behind the scenes forever. They need to be seen for who they are.
In the end, “Recount” is not so much a movie about how Gore got screwed out of an election he won the popular vote on. It’s not about if Gore lost the election. It is about how democracy was lost in that election, and of how many voices were rendered irrelevant for reasons that were not altogether justified. The final scene of the warehouse where all those uncounted votes is haunting, and it almost feels like an outtake of the scene from “Raiders Of The Lost Ark” where the Ark of the Covenant is being stored in a factory holding hundreds of boxes that all look alike. The real victim of that election was that all the voters were not heard, and that ended up leaving a shadow over George W. Bush’s Presidency that will never fully be erased.
It also serves as an important document of a moment of history that we can never forget. We need to remember what happened so that it never happens again. We have already seen history repeat itself, and now it’s time to learn from it so that it never happens again.
“Recount” shows how HBO continues to make some of the best and most important movies today. It’s one of the best movies I have seen in 2008.
**** out of ****
“21”
2008
***½ out of ****
Director: Robert Luketic
Cast: Jim Sturgess, Kevin Spacey, Kate Bosworth
You can never go wrong with a movie like “21.” No matter how bad it is, it will always been enjoyable. If you bring two hundred dollars with you to Vegas to gamble away and come home with nothing, there is a good chance that you will be either depressed or say that you had a fun time. It goes without saying that if you take a trip to Vegas in “21,” you will either be disappointed or you will have fun. Hell, maybe both.
I’d hate to say that “21” is a perfect movie, because it is the farthest thing from it. Lord knows how biased this review is. My favorite actor of this day of age (Jim Sturgess), the new and improved Lois Lane (Kate Bosworth, one of the greatest actors that are breathing today (Kevin Spacey), and Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) could always get a great kick out of me. Imagine them all in ONE whole movie? It’s like a splitting fucking orgasm!
And “21” is a splitting fucking orgasm. An orgasm of FUN. I don’t think that anyone can have as much fun as I had with this film. I expected a lot from this film, and I sure as hell wasn’t disappointed. “21” gave me a lot of enjoyment, enjoyment that I didn’t receive from “Superhero Movie,” and just a little bit more enjoyment from “Run Fatboy Run.” All I asked for in this movie was enjoyment. It is something that a movie hasn’t given me since “The Signal” – complete satisfaction.
“21” tells the tale of Ben Campbell, (Jim Sturgess) a gifted student at MIT. He has a way of numbers, and he is definitely the kind of guy that you want to be doing your homework. His problem is that he dreams about going to Harvard Medical School, but there is no way that he can get three-hundred thousand dollars for his tuition. Ben is invited to be a part of a group of card-counters that go to Las Vegas on weekends to make money. What these people do isn’t to gamble, but to make money. The group, ran by Mr. Rosa, (Kevin Spacey) is shown the ins and outs to the game of blackjack, but how much is enough?
“21” is based on the book written by Ben Mezrich. The film was originally based on a true story where a few Asian men would go down to Las Vegas and count cards to become rich. Unlike these guys, Ben keeps insisting that once he makes his three-hundred thousand dollars, he’ll be leaving the group, but as Mr. Rosa and the super hot Jill (Kate Bosworth) keep informing him, that is what everyone says. They don’t know when to stop and gamble all of their winnings away. After he keeps winning and winning, Cole Williams, (Laurence Fishburne) the enforcer of all casinos, counts the cards and realizes what Ben is doing. Mr. Williams has a reputation of kicking ass. Whether or not it’s because he has anger issues isn’t really stated in the movie. I’d guess that, after watching that “Assault on Precinct 13” remake.
But anyway, “21” isn’t nearly the perfect movie that I may make it out to be. It’s just a lot of fun. Some people are going to hate it for the same reasons I like it. It’s slick, it’s hip, and it’s cool. It is the “Ocean’s Eleven” without actually being illegal. And I loved it. But there are a few faults here and there.
It’s going to kill me to admit this, but Jim Sturgess, probably one of the best actors working today, is strongly miscast. The man is English, and he is playing an American character. He does a good job at his role, but he can’t do an American accent. He’s tried it here, and he only falters. Traces of an English accent are accidentally used in the film. He does a good job here and I’ll respect him for that, but why cast an English actor in an American role is beyond me. But that’s Hollywood for you.
Another problem is that the climax isn’t as strong as the rest of the movie is. Thankfully, it picks up at the end of the movie with its very own clever twist but the climax doesn’t really help. By the time that Fishburne and Sturgess meet each other for the first time (or shall I say, Sturgess and Fishburne’s fist), it becomes insanely dull. It picks up in the last fifteen minutes, Maybe it’s too late, but I wasn’t paying attention. I was just having fun, like everyone else in the theater.
But “21” certainly has likeable characters. If you have all seen “Across the Universe,” you know how Jim Sturgess can play a likeable character. Kate Bosworth does an equally great job fitting in with her character, with an insanely hot new look that is oozing me out of the world. Kevin Spacey, while equally devilish in his own right, is likeable for most of the movie. The same can be said about Aaron Yoo, who won’t be receiving credit from anyone. Everyone is overlooking him, and that is truly a damn shame. He’s not the best in the film, but he has fun whenever he is on screen.
I don’t know if it is just me, but I had a lot of fun with the movie. It’s the kind of film that I would wait for DVD, but if you must see it in the theaters, bring tons of friends. It’s sure to be a movie that you will be talking about for a good time after it is over.
