“Seven Psychopaths” is the latest film from director Martin McDouagh, the director of the 2008 film “In Burges” Going into this film, I was interested in this film after watching the film’s trailer. That also happened, when I was interested with “In Burges” and it turned out to be a very disappointing film. I was hoping that it wouldn’t be the same case with “Seven Psychopaths”.

The film is about a struggling screenwriter, who’s having a very hard time trying to finish his screenplay entitled “Seven Psychopaths”. He’s looking for inspiration, as he lacks focus. With the help of his best friend (Sam Rockwell) and his best friend’s partner in crime (Christopher Walken), they try to help him become more focused on his screenplay. But his problems get worse, as his friends steal a dog from a violent and psychotic mob boss (Woody Harrelson). Now, they are on the run trying to get away from the mob.

I was surprised that I enjoyed “Seven Psychopaths” a lot considering that I hated McDounagh’s last film “In Burges”. This film feels vastly better and stays on track for the entire time without turning into a completely different film.

McDounagh’s director and writing felt different compared to his last film. One of the reasons was that it doesn’t turn into a completely different. He does a very good job keeping the tone of the dark. Whether it’s the way that he directs the performance to how some of the film’s scenes gelled together, it never gets to that point that it’s going to do a 180 and turn into a different and unsatisfying film. Everything manages to stay on track through to keep you interested in the film. When the story and acting stays on track during a dark comedy, the film works well as a whole.

The other reason was that this film was different was the acting. The main cast was very good here. Colin Farrell wasn’t annoying like he was “In Burges”. He manages to keep his character very interesting instead of being fault annoying in his last film with McDounagh. It was also nice to see both Sam Rockwell, who’s last good performance was in “Iron Man 2”back in 2012 and Christopher Walken, who hasn’t had a good performance since 2005’s “Wedding Crashers” finally be on their game, as the performances were entertaining. They’re both finally are given some good material to work with. When both of these actors have good material to work with, they always bring their charisma to their performances and make their characters stand out.

Martin McDounagh’s screenplay is much better than his last film. One of the things that I liked about the screenplay was that the story stays on track throughout the course of the film. It helped make the action offbeat and quirky instead of feeling confused and wondering what the story is trying to be. The other thing that makes the screenplay good was the characters. The screenplay handles its characters very well, as they’re easily likable or hated. The reason for that was the way the characters were developed. They are developed fully and they were fit the film’s story. It helped made the crazy scenarios fit the tone of the story while not going off track.

“Seven Psychopaths” is what I was expecting when watching McDounagh’s last film. It’s a very quirky and crazy action with a story that doesn’t go off track and very entertaining performances.

Review Rating: Three and a Half Stars.

CBS Films recently released character posters for their upcoming dark comedy "Seven Psychopaths". The film is latest from "In Burgess" director Martin McDonagh and has an all star cast that includes Colin Farrell, Sam Rockwell, Christopher Walken, Woody Harrelson, Abbie Cornish, Tom Waits, Olga Kurylenko, Gabourey Sidibe. "Seven Psychopaths" hits theaters on October 12th.

For more information on this film, you can visit the film's official website at: http://www.sevenpsychopaths.com/

Plot Synopsis:

Written and Directed by Oscar®-winner Martin McDonagh, the comedy Seven Psychopaths follows a struggling screenwriter (Colin Farrell) who inadvertently becomes entangled in the Los Angeles criminal underworld after his oddball friends (Christopher Walken and Sam Rockwell) kidnap a gangster’s (Woody Harrelson) beloved Shih Tzu. Co-starring Abbie Cornish, Tom Waits, Olga Kurylenko and Zeljko Ivanek.

Iron Man 2
Year: 2010
Director: Jon Favreau
Studio: Paramount Pictures / Marvel Entertainment
Stars: Robert Downey Jr, Don Cheadle, Mickey Rourke
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Running Time: 124 Mins

This past weekend, the 2010 summer film season kicked off, with a film that I have been looking forward to all year. Yes, I’m taking about Robert Downey Jr’s latest film “Iron Man 2”. This is a film that I’ve been waiting for, since the end of the first film.

The film picks up where the first film left off with Tony Starks (Robert Downey Jr) having to deal with the world knowing that he is “Iron Man”. The government isn’t helping matters by wanting the suit and technology for themselves and facing pressures from the press and the public that wants him to share the technology with the military. He also having trouble in his personal life as something strange is happening to him and he doesn’t want his friends to know about it. If matters weren’t worse, a Russian scientist (Mickey Rourke) find out that Starks is Iron Man and wants to exact revenge for what Starks’ father did his father and claim the technology for himself. In order to stop him, he must uncover the dark secrets of his father’s legacy and find out what’s happening to him, before something unthinkable happens. The film also co-stars Don Cheadle, Gwyneth Paltrow, Scarlett Johansson, Sam Rockwell and Samuel L. Jackson.

"Iron Man 2" picks up, where the processor left off. Jon Favreau’s direction was as good as the first film. Favreau does a good job keeping your interest considering that most of the big action scenes don't take place until final act. He’s able to keep your interest; by the way that he directs his actors. The performances were very good here. Robert Downey Jr. is still very good as the title character. He brings the energy that is needed to make Tony Starks very likable. I can't imagine anyone else playing the role, as Downey Jr has that it that is needed for the role. The supporting performances were also very good, as Mickey Rourke, Scarlett Johansson, Sam Rockwell, Don Cheadle, Gwyneth Paltrow were also good here as they brought a presence to their roles, which also makes this enjoyable.

What also makes Favreau's direction good was the fact that he didn't get too crazy with the use of special effects until the last act of the film. I liked, how he was able to let the film's story become one of the film's focal points as the material in the screenplay was good. He also goes a good job moving the film at a reasonable pace, so that you are drawn into the story and not the effects.
The screenplay this time around was handled by Justin Theroux, who only has one screenplay to his credit ("Tropic Thunder", in which he co-wrote with Ben Stiller back in 2008). If I had known this going in, I probably would have been feeling nervous considering how material like this is being handed to inexperience writers. Thankfully, I never knew that going in, because I expected a good time and enjoyed it.

For the most part, I liked how Theroux handled the characters in the Iron Man universe, even though I thought that Paltrow's character was a little bit under used here. I would have to have more tension between her and Downey Jr. Besides that little gripe; he does a good job making sure that each of the characters has their moment. It makes the material fun to watch. Theroux also does a good job exploring the trouble and backstory of Tony Starks and his corporation. It really makes the character more interesting and it gives material that Downey Jr can work with and make it as one of his own characters, Also, I liked about that script was the fact that most of the main action sequences were held back until the second half of the film. It doesn’t feel cramped in to that point that you're feeling like your watching an effects film. Overall, this is a very fun film and a good entry in the "Iron Man" series.

“Iron Man 2” isn’t a films that going to win on style points, but it’s sure to make fanboys like me happy with the material and the way the property is being handled. This is a fun start to the summer movie season, as “Iron Man 2” is fun and entertaining.

Review Rating Four Stars

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

“Everyone gets everything he wants. I wanted a mission, and for my sins, they gave me one. Brought it up to me like room service. It was a real choice mission, and when it was over, I never wanted another.
-- Captain Benjamin L. Willard from Apocalypse Now

“The way I see it, you have people who own lawns and people who mow them. And they’re never the same.
-- Trent Burns from Lawn Dogs

“Maybe our generation has found its Don DeLillo”
-- Bret Easton Ellis

Two colossal black holes have been created over the last two weeks-- the suicide of David Foster Wallace and the death of Paul Newman. It has been a year of painful losses. Yet the loss of these two titans amidst a brutal financial crisis in our country throws salt over an already gaping wound. No one will ever replace the talent, range, warmth and generosity of Paul Newman who will always be the very definition of a class act. We will always be grateful for his presence. The suicide of David Foster Wallace two weeks ago was shocking. I read Infinite Jest and a few of Wallace’s essays, but I took him granted. I thought that kind of genius would always be around. Reading Elizabeth Wurtzel’s appreciation of him in last week’s New York magazine made me realize how much I did not understand his battle with depression. And if anyone knows about depression, it is Ms. Prozac Nation herself, Elizabeth Wurtzel. Depression is the most belligerent bitch out there which shreds more inner flesh than I care to admit. I cannot say I totally relate to Mr. Wallace’s battle with it, but as someone who suffers from mild depression, I have a pretty decent idea. That is what makes it all the more difficult to accept the fact that it got the better of him. If David Foster Wallace finally surrendered to it, what hope do the rest of us have? That is the ultimate black hole of despair.

Now to get to one of the points of this essay, if Bret Easton Ellis says that you are the Don DeLillo of your generation, that is pretty high praise indeed. Some would rest on that laurel alone and then fall into an abyss of mediocrity. After reading Choke when it was published in 2001, I decided that maybe it was time that Chuck Palahniuk deserved to be his own man. It is the same when people used to describe Takashi Miike as a Japanese version of David Lynch. It is neither fair to Lynch or Miike. There is no one quite like David Lynch in this world. Takashi Miike is his own brilliant beast. I am sure the womb he came from never quite recovered. He had proven himself with Fight Club, Survivor and Invisible Monsters. After Choke, he is no one’s bitch. He is an institution with a legion of loyal fans who will read whatever he writes. The writing has yet to become bland or mediocre. One of the many tragedies of Wallace’s suicide is there will never be anymore words from his beautiful mind. Chuck Palahniuk is still cranking out great work. Rant and Snuff are the works of a man who refuses to slow down or settle for mediocrity. He has rightfully earned his place on the bookshelf along side David Foster Wallace and Don DeLillo. Palahniuk, like DeLillo and Wallace before him, can make sense of the insane times we live in right now.

Clark Gregg’s adaptation of Choke is one of the better directorial debuts I have seen recently. Clark Gregg is an actor who has done a lot of television work such as The New Adventures Of Old Christine and The West Wing plus some feature films such as Iron Man and In Good Company. Gregg also wrote the screenplay based on Palahniuk’s Choke and he retained many of the elements that made the book so memorable and disturbing to me seven years ago. That is the beauty of Chuck Palahniuk’s work; it evokes a variety of emotions that stay with you long after you put his books down. It is those same emotions that make you want to pick and read those books again every couple of years. Walking into Choke, I did not expect to see something like Fight Club-- not at all. That is not fair to compare Clark Gregg to David Fincher. These are two very different interpretations of the author’s work. David Fincher is a visionary; his take on Fight Club will always be one of the great masterworks of our time. Having said that, I really like what Mr. Gregg brought to the table with Choke.

It would have been all too easy to say that you wanted to see Ed Norton or Brad Pitt portray Victor Mancini, but that would be a cop out. The part of Victor Mancini was meant to be played by Sam Rockwell. It is the second part of a one two punch of self-destructive roles that Mr. Rockwell has perfected this year. To truly appreciate his performance in Choke, you need to watch his devastating performance as Glenn in David Gordon Green’s Snow Angels earlier this year. In many ways, Victor and Glenn are the same type of character. Both men are in a recovery process for different kinds of addictions. Victor Mancini is sex addict who attends a sex addicts anonymous group led by Joel Grey’s Phil. Glenn is a recovering alcoholic who has found Jesus; he is on the wagon. It is to Sam Rockwell’s credit that he is able to portray these twin engines of self-destruction to absolute perfection. These two performances taken together reveal an enormous talent. This should not come as a surprise to anyone who watched Sam Rockwell’s performances over the years. He is a very talented actor. Confessions Of Dangerous Mind, Welcome To Collinwood, Safe Men, Galaxy Quest, The Green Mile and Matchstick Men were all very entertaining films that showed that Mr. Rockwell had screen presence. Yet to me, Sam Rockwell truly lit the screen up as Trent Burns in Lawn Dogs, one of those gems that got lost in the shuffle in the late Nineties. It is where I first noticed him, where he stood out. It was the role to judge all future roles by. With Snow Angels and Choke, he has certainly exceeded all expectations. He is allowed to shine in these roles. Victor Mancini in Choke allows for the more scoundrel aspects of Rockwell’s other characters. Yet the two characters display the dynamic range of the actor. At times, Mr. Rockwell displays a demented, dysfunctional Jimmy Stewart crossed with a pre-West Wing Martin Sheen. There is a crazed gleam in Mr. Rockwell’s eyes that suggest the Martin Sheen of Badlands, Apocalypse Now and The Dead Zone. It is this channeling that makes his role as the father in Joshua so intense to watch. His intensity is on full display in Choke. He is the glue that keeps the film together. His voice over narration is some of the freshest since Martin Sheen’s Willard from Apocalypse Now.

Victor Mancini, not to be confused with Vincent Mancini from The Godfather Part III, is a sex addict who works as an “historical interpreter” at a colonial theme park. He is a con artist who specializes in pretending to choke at upscale restaurants in order to have the person who saves him feel responsible for the rest of his life. The scam is all part of a plan to keep his mother in a very expensive private mental hospital. His Mother, Ida, is played by Angelica Huston. She suffers from Alzheimer’s disease. You can trace Victor’s sexual compulsions to his complicated relationship with his mother. The relationship between mother and son is told vividly through a series of flashbacks. Ida did a real number on Victor. Ida has no idea who he is most of the time. Huston plays the part to perfection. She is a Huston and she earned her last name long ago in Prizzi’s Honor. There is no denying that as you watch the demented Lothario in action, you see his problems. He has no problem attracting the women. Choke is the ultimate apocalyptic satire of sexual obsession-- it may be the ultimate satire of the romantic comedy. Victor has no problem finding a sexual partner at his weekly Sex Addicts Anonymous meetings. All of this takes a drastic turn when he meets his Mom’s new doctor, Paige Marshall, played by Kelly MacDonald. Naturally he wants to have sex with her. She resists at first, but she soon succumbs to his charms in order to help his Mother get better-- too insane to describe here. As luck would have it, he cannot get it up for her. For Victor, the real trouble begins when Ida mentions his paternity. He finds her diary written in Italian and Paige says she can translate it. Nothing is ever the same ever again. The film has a momentum that never lets up. As with the book, the revelations are still surprising, even if we have a hint at what they might be. Chuck Palahniuk on the page and on the screen packs a pretty mean punch to the gut.

In addition to Sam Rockwell’s and Angelica Huston’s performances, there are several standout performances in the film. As Denny, Brad William Henke, shines as Victor’s best friend and co-worker. He is a sex addict, too. They have very good chemistry in their scenes together. The two of them are the perfect foils to Clark Gregg’s Charlie who is their boss in the colonial theme park. Jonah Bobo is very good as the young Victor in the flashbacks. I developed a lot of empathy for the older Victor watching him in the flashbacks. Kelly MacDonald takes charge as Dr. Paige Marshall. Pay attention to her and all her mannerisms. As an actress, MacDonald is a brilliant con artist. Her great performances in The Girl In The Café and No Country For Old Men cannot prepare us for her portrayal of Paige Marshall. As with Helena Bonham Carter’s Marla Singer in Fight Club, you will never look at her in quite the same way ever again. Although, I do wish Bijou Phillips’ Ursula and Gillian Jacobs’ Cherri Daiquiri had more to do in the film.

Choke does not hit you all at once. When it does, it soaks into your subconscious and refuses to leave. That is power of Chuck Palahniuk’s work. I am glad that Clark Gregg offered us his vision of Choke. So far we have two visions of his work onscreen. There is no denying that Fincher and Gregg have visualized unique versions of Palahniuk’s worlds. The parallels between Tyler Durden and Victor Mancini are there. I dare to say there are parallels between Ida Mancini and Tyler Durden. As Mancini, Rockwell is an excellent Captain to have for this journey. What he gives us is honest and straight. When he describes “the circuit” to his Sex Addicts Anonymous group, it seems we are hearing it for the first time. As far as “the circuit” is concerned, you will never look at a vacant sign on an airline bathroom door in the same manner ever again. Choke works incredibly well as a satire. We are a society of addicts. It is sex in this film and consumerism in Fight Club. Is it the addiction or the recovery that Mr. Palahniuk finds so interesting? He has enormous fun satirizing both. Is he laughing with us or at us? At times, he seems like a social anthropologist. Choke works as film much better than I originally thought it would.

Jesse Peyronel is directing Invisible Monsters. I would love to see Harmony Korrine direct Rant. I would love to see Sam Mendes direct Survivor. I would like to see Christopher Nolan direct Lullaby. Diary would be perfect for Mary Harron. And everyone can come back and do stories from Haunted. As for Snuff, you are looking at the perfect person to direct it (more than anyone else). Choke, like Fight Club before it, will not have a long theatrical life, but it has the potential to develop a cult following like Fight Club. Choke is a smaller film than Fight Club. The canvas is not as wide, but that does not lessen the impact of the film. It is not for everyone, but it is there for those ready to embrace it.