From Paris With Love
It looks to be a big weekend for the movies as early reports are Dear John toppled Avatar from the top spot after a seven week run by the James Cameron mega-hit. I couldn’t decide what to see today and finally settled on From Paris with Love due to my own personal love for John Travolta. He is not the best actor by any means, but he is definitely entertaining.
From Paris With Love opens with a glimpse at the life of James Reece (Jonathan Rhys Meyers), the personal aide to a U.S. Ambassador in France. After receiving a mysterious phone call, it quickly becomes evident that the young Mr. Reece has a secret going on. We also find he has a beautiful French girlfriend,Caroline (Kasia Smutniak), that he is devoted to. Life is perfect until he gets another phone call instructing him to go pick up his new “partner” who is being detained at the airport by the French authorities. If he succeeds the mission with this new partner then he is “in the club”, the CIA.
Enter Charlie Wax (Travolta), brash, crude, and a definite loose cannon. As Wax drags Reece on one violence heavy “job” after another, we go from searching for a drug dealer that sold bad cocaine to a diplomats daughter to terrorists. As the story unfolds, Reece grows more confused and you have to start questioning if Wax is truly on the up and up. The movie heats up to the boiling point in the last thirty minutes with a plot twist that was out of the blue.
It is a typical John Travolta shoot-em-up movie where the acting takes back seat to the fighting, shooting, and one liners. Travolta and Rhys Meyers play well off of each other, complete with Rhys Meyers giving off totally confused looks frequently as he tags along on the mission. Entertaining movie for a Saturday matinee.
And one I give
of 5 reels to, mainly due to the fact that John Travolta entertains regardless.
Short Circuit Traveling Film Festival Visits Clayton NC
OK, I will be the first to admit, I knew Short films existed but only because if the category was presented at the Oscars each year, I’d learn who won the Oscar for such a film. And then I worked for NBC 17, our local NBC affiliate, and as a major component of my job description, I was asked to work with the community leaders who were in charge of a traveling film festival that was scheduled to come to the area in 2008. Since that time, I have come to appreciate the art that is the film short.
Whether a documentary, an animation piece, or a fictional tale, the artists who create the Short Film, engage the viewer with, well, their artistry. Think about it. Some Shorts are 3 minutes long, some 5, and others even 15 minutes (or a bit longer). It takes a special skill to create something that’s worthy of engaging the movie-goer in that short period of time.
Tomorrow, Saturday February 6th beginning at 1pm, the Short Circuit Traveling Film Festival makes its stop at The Clayton Center in downtown Clayton, North Carolina followed by a film makers panel discussion with local area film makers, Todd Tinkham and Ken Peterson of soon to be released, Southland of the Heart, the first full length feature film from Tinkham Town Productions, and Camden Watts, 
documentary film maker of the 2010 highly anticipated, Abandoned Allies, a story about the Montgnard’s people of Vietnam. It’s a unique opportunity to see some of the best Shorts selected by the Southern Arts Federation as well as to hear from our local artists how they create their pieces.
Tickets for the Festival are just $2.50 plus a small service fee and are available at The Clayton Center Box Office. You get 3 hours of Shorts followed by the expert film panel and if you are so inclined, an opportunity to mix & mingle with those same folks for dinner at local eating establishment, Mulberry on Main after the day is finished.
For those of us here in the Triangle that have been dealing with the crazy winter weather of late and have a bit of cabin fever as a result, the Festival is a great reason to get out of the house for some really inexpensive entertainment. I know I plan to take advantage of it. But, then again, I’m working a video camera on behalf of The Clayton Center as well. Personally, I can’t wait to document what fun the audience members will have, find out what their favorite films were (& what were their least favorites), and just overall provide a synopsis of the entire day. Wanna give your two cents? Come find me. I won’t be that hard to spot!
Come out and join us tomorrow at The Clayton Center for a film making experience like none other. Hope to see you there! In the meantime, here’s a sampling the types of film you’ll see. The Farm Team is one of the selections at this year’s Festival.
Avatar: Discovering Pandora
Seven weekends in a row as the number one movie, breaking records world wide, and poised to be the biggest movie in motion picture history. Not a bad place to be if you are James Cameron and his monster blockbuster, Avatar. I have though about going to see it numerous times over the last few weeks and just never got around to actually doing it, until today. I decided it was time to go see what the fuss is and tackle the 3-D glasses. (I am not a big fan of the 3-D movies as the glasses give me a headache.) It was interesting to me that after being out for seven weeks that the movie was still pretty much packed. The lady taking tickets at the AMC counter said that all showings have been half full at the minimum. I got my seat, watched some previews (and there are some good ones coming up), and put the glasses on, ready to see the world of Pandora open up on screen.
The movie opens up with Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) waking up in a cryogenic chamber and shipping out to Pandora, offering a little back story up that it was actually his twin brother, Tom, who was supposed to be going to Pandora as part of a scientific team. Jake, however, is a Marine with no scientific training and we discover he is a paraplegic. On Pandora he notes that the military there are actually in it for the money; mercenaries for hire. After a military briefing with the power hungry Colonel Quaritch(Stephen Lang) , he meets up with Norm Spellman (Joel Moore), the scientist that was to be partnered with his brother and we meet the Avatars, clones of the native people known as the Navi. They are controlled by using the brain power of their human counterparts in an attempt to find out all about the Navi. Dr. Grace Augustine (Sigourney Weaver) makes her appearance at this time, the lead scientist who is more concerned with learning about the planet they are on instead of robbing it of the resources that have lead Parker Selfridge’s company to Pandora.
Jake and his Avatar “meet” and at this point the story starts to move forward. Jake accidentally is separated from the rest of the mission and meets Navi princess, Neytiri (Zoe Saldana), who rescues him from a pack of viperwolves. Jake is taken to meet her people, where he convinces them to give him a chance to learn their ways and show he can be one with them, while he is reporting back to both the scientists and the military. Unfortunately what he is reporting back to the military is how they will be able to defeat the people that he has now asked to live among. The story is predictable as to what will happen as both humans and Navi move to war and Jake is caught in the middle, torn between his loyalty to his human race and to the people that his Avatar is accepted by.
Visually, this movie is absolutely stunning. The colors, the imagery, the attention to the littlest detail will lead this movie into history. Worthington, Saldana, and Weaver are strong actors that keep you into the story from start to finish. At almost three hours long, it went fast up until about the last thirty minutes and then I felt the length. The battle sequence seemed to drag on and I found myself shifting around in my seat, hoping it would end soon.
The lesson is loud and clear about the reckless way that we abuse our planet and it showed the ugly, greedy side of the human soul – determined to have riches and power, no matter what is destroyed in the process. I don’t regret going to see this movie, but I don’t think that I would pay to see it again in the theater. (And I don’t think it was as entertaining overall as “Sherlock Holmes” was.) However, all accolades that James Cameron is going to receive are worthy and he did an incredible job of putting together an entertaining movie.
of 5 reels is deserved for the CGI contributions made in this movie. You won’t believe what you see.
Be Richard Gere or Diane Lane For A Weekend!
And I’m not talking about portraying them as characters starring in films about themselves either. I’m talking about spending the weekend in the home they once “shared” in the 2008 romantic film, Nights in Rodanthe, based on the Nicholas Sparks novel of the same name. Now, I gotcha thinking, haven’t I? I hear the collective What?’s coming from each of you reading this right now.
The northern most private home, affectionately known as “The Serendipity House”, on Hatteras Islands in the Outer Banks of North Carolina was once the backdrop to the Hollywood production. Owners, the Creasy’s (of Champion, PA), have sold it to Newton, NC couple Ben and Debra Huss. While the house is actually in fairly good condition, the beach surrounding it has eroded away so greatly that it needs to be moved.
The Huss family plans to relocate the home just a mile from where it currently sits and renovate it with as much of the same decor as seen in the film. They plan to open it up as a B&B, preferably just in time for Easter.
For more on this story, visit – http://hamptonroads.com/2009/12/nights-rodanthe-house-sold-bail-bondsman.
This past October, I had the chance to see the home up close as I vacationed 
on the Outer Banks with my family. The pictures you see here were taken during that trip.
Congrats to the Huss family for their purchase! I hope they have a room waiting for me.
Until next time, see YOU at the movies!
Lisa 
Box Office Results (12/31/09-1/3/10)
Avatar is kicking some serious butt at the box office and it’s only in its 3rd week of release! It must be those incredible technological advances in the art and future of film-making or perhaps it’s the option of watching it in 3D or in regular format (though I hear 3D also kicks some collective butt as well)? Whatever it is, it’s doing “it” right!
Coming up a close 2nd and 3rd were the latest Robert Downey Jr/Jude Law flick, Sherlock Holmes, and the latest installment in The Chipmunks series – The Chipmunks: The Squeakuel, respectively. Notice how close the numbers were for these two. Wonder what would’ve happened if Avatar wasn’t playing? Would these films still be neck-in-neck or? Hmm…thoughts to ponder.
Rounding out the Top 5 this weekend were two Golden Globe nominated films – the Meryl Streep comedy, It’s Complicated, and Sandra Bullock’s The Blind Side (which really shouldn’t be a surprise).
Some more Golden Globe buzz
To continue with the nominees for the 2010 Golden Globe Awards, we’ll look at the Best Motion Picture comedy/musical categories, supporting roles, and screenplay nominees.
Let’s start with Best Motion Picture – Musical Or Comedy
With two of these movies just coming out by years end (Nine and It’s Complicated), I am not sure if either one will get enough attention to pose strong competition. The Hangover was definitely one of the best comedies of the year, but will the HFP go for a comedy that was strictly for adults? I think it will come down to the remaining two movies. Julie & Julia was regarded as a warm, inspiring movie while (500) Days of Summer was considered the indie movie of the summer to see.
Next up in the musical/comedy category, we have Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical Or Comedy
Sandra Bullock in The Proposal
Marion Cotillard in Nine
Meryl Streep in Julie & Julia
Meryl Streep in It’s Complicated
Meryl Streep definitely has the edge with two movie nominations and she is a solid actress that has deserved every award she has ever won. Julia Roberts return to the romantic comedy scene was not met with much reaction so I was a little shocked to see her nominated. While she is loved, I don’t know if I think she has a chance of winning in this category against the strong contender of Meryl Streep. Marion Cotillard has the buzz going on with her musical opening this weekend in limited markets, but will she stand out against the other powerhouse in this category named Sandra Bullock. Arguably, Sandra Bullock is having one box office gold year with nominations in both comedy and drama. Her performance in the comedy The Proposal was her best this year and I feel this is where she has a big chance of taking home the statue.
The final group for the musical/comedy category is Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical Or Comedy
Daniel Day-Lewis in Nine
Robert Downey Jr. in Sherlock Holmes
Joseph Gordon-Levitt in (500)Days of Summer
Michael Stuhlbarg in A Serious Man
Michael Stuhlbarg and his movie are unknown to me. It is a Coen Brothers Film and they are highly respected by the HFP and have solid films so he could be a strong contender. Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Daniel Day-Lewis are incredible actors in their own right, but I have a feeling it comes down to Matt Damon and Robert Downey Jr. in this category. Damon, like Sandra Bullock, is a double nominee with nods in both the drama and comedy categories. Damon is generally stronger in his dramatic roles, but had good reviews for The Informant! with the media. Robert Downey Jr. is offering up the much anticipated Sherlock Holmes on Christmas Day and all buzz surrounding him is good.
Moving on to the Supporting roles, we have Best Performance by an Actor In A Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
Matt Damon in Invictus
Woody Harrelson in The Messenger
Christopher Plummer in The Last Station
Stanley Tucci in The Lovely Bones
Christoph Waltz in Inglorious Basterds
I have to be honest and say that I haven’t seen any of these five movies. In asking a couple of people about the movies, I was told that Woody Harrelson’s performance in The Messenger is extremely powerful and shows that he is not just the dumb goofball that he plays so often. Matt Damon generally nails his performances in dramatic roles and this could prove to be his year.
Next up we have Best Performance by an Actress In A Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
Penélope Cruz in Nine
Vera Farmiga in Up In The Air
Anna Kendrick in Up In The Air
Mo’nique in Precious
Julianne Moore in A Single Man
While Julianne Moore turns in a good performance in her movies, the other four actresses nominated quite possibly turn in stronger performances that will draw the attention of the HFP. Particularly Mo’nique with the gripping drama Precious.
Last, but not least, we have Best Screenplay – Motion Picture
District 9 written by Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell
The Hurt Locker written by Mark Boal
Inglorious Basterds written by Quentin Tarantino
It’s Complicated written by Nancy Meyers
Up In The Air written by Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner
All five nominees are much talked about movies, written by some of the best writers out there. Blomkamp and Tatchell had an innovative movie with their screenplay for District 9, but I’m not sure if it is enough to garner the award for them. Tarantino and Meyers are always a good bet to win. Up In The Air is raking in the nominations and by all accounts could be the big winner of all. But I think that Mark Boal’s The Hurt Locker could shock everyone.
There you have all the big nominees for the The Golden Globes that air on January 17th, 2010 on NBC. Is there a nominee that you are hoping pulls off the major upset and wins where they are considered to be an underdog? Or is there a movie or actor that you think should have been nominated instead of who got the nod? Would love to know your thoughts.
Until next time, see YOU at the movies!
The REEL Box Office Buzz Team
Nothing Blind About The Blind Side
Nope. No, it’s pretty clear cut.
Virtually homeless teen (Michael Oher played by newcomer Quinton Aaron) is plucked out of the cold as a nice family gesture from a family (the Touhy’s played by Sandra Bullock and Tim McGraw) that won’t turn a blind eye to his plight. What started out as “just one night” turns into a lifetime as the Touhy’s take on the responsibility and care for this young man in obvious need. What they learn from him and, equally as important, what he learns from them is truly a beautiful story.
It’s what makes The Blind Side and what brings in the bucks. As of today, it’s garnered $150 million in box office revenue. It only fell to #2 this past weekend thanks to Disney’s release of it’s latest animated feature, The Princess and the Frog. Yet, even with the touching story and the Box Office revenue, I was not entirely impressed with this film overall.
Perhaps it’s because I’m comparing Blind Side to the likes of two of my very favorite feel-good football flicks – Remember the Titans (I affectionately refer to the “I am the law” film) and Radio, the heart-warming story of a developmentally challenged man and his love for high school football. For me, The Blind Side didn’t make me want to rate it as a “must see” film of the year, nor did I cry as it ended. Don’t get me wrong. I liked it; just not THAT much.
What I will say is this really was Sandra’s role. She took on Leigh Anne Touhy with complete authenticity. She was true to her role and for that I wanted to root for her – Leigh Anne and Sandra. Sandra deserves her recent Golden Globe nomination for Best Performance by An Actress in a Motion Picture Drama. Gotta give her credit where credit was due.
As for the other major players – Kathy Bates (as tutor, Miss Sue) did as Kathy Bates does. Does anyone compare to her?
Quinton Aaron did a phenomenal job for his first starring role. I believe he captured the essence that is Michael Oher with complete believability. Kudos to him for a job well done!
I really enjoyed the Touhy siblings, Collins and S.J., played by Lily Collins and Jae Head respectively. Although I have to admit, Jae stole the scene each time he was in it. That kid is going places!
As for Tim McGraw, I absolutely love him. He’s probably one of my favorite male film actors which includes an impressive list of the likes of Tom Hanks, Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Daniel Day Lewis, Liam Neeson. Yeah, Tim is usually right up there.
But, in this film, not quite sure it was the best role for him. I agree with Alison Bonaguro at CMT.com and I refer you to her review of Tim’s role – http://blog.cmt.com/2009-12-14/tim-mcgraw-turns-me-off-in-the-blind-side/. She’s dead on and there’s nothing I could add to it. I miss rugged, tough Tim. Those are the roles I enjoy seeing him play.
I give this film
out of 5 reels
Until next time, see YOU at the movies!
Lisa
Our Take on the 2010 Golden Globe Nominations
Yesterday the Hollywood Foreign Press Association announced their nominees for the 2010 Golden Globe Awards. While I have not yet had the privilege of seeing each film nominated in the major categories, I do have my own thoughts on selections.
Let’s start with Best Motion Picture: Drama. The nominees are:
Precious: Based on the novel Push by Saphire
While the technology behind the film Avatar is enough to grant it a nomination, I don’t think it’s the deciding factor. I love James Cameron. His film’s are usually very entertaining and his last big project, well, we know where that went (to the tune of 11 Oscars – HELLO!). But, I don’t think (based on what I’ve heard anyway) that this film deserves THE major nod.
I honestly think it’ll come down to The Hurt Locker and Precious. The buzz behind these two films alone, not to mention the multiple award nominations solidifying its appeal, are two major reasons why either the war story or the drama about the girl on the other side of the tracks will take home the Globe.
And then we have Best Performance by an Actress – Drama:
Emily Blunt for The Young Victoria
Sandra Bullock for The Blind Side
Helen Mirren for The Last Station
Carey Mulligan for An Education
Gabourey Sidibe for Precious
Dissecting this one I would have to say it’ll be a toss up between Gabourey, Sandra, and Emily. To be honest, I have never heard of An Education or Carey but looking at the others – I’m sure Helen Mirren did outstanding work in her role but I think Hollywood’s going to either lean toward the break out star in Gabourey or the Hollywood girl that hasn’t gotten her due yet (for a dramatic role), Sandra…or perhaps, Emily Blunt will surprise us all. While her film is a period piece, I’m sure her acting will outweigh probably the thoughts of many on the style of the film. So, this one is really hard to call. We’ll have to wait and see.
From there we have Best Performance by an Actor – Drama:
George Clooney in Up in the Air
My first impression – Tobey Maguire? Brothers? This intrigues me to see the film now. I wasn’t going to thinking that it appears to be a glorified soap opera, in my opinion anyway. But, now I think I just may have to see what it was that the HFP saw in Tobey’s performance. I like Tobey. Don’t get me wrong. Just didn’t see this particular film or a role like that worthy of nomination. I could be wrong and I can’t wait to find out!
As for the others, I’d kinda like to see Jeff Bridges or Colin Firth in the running for the Globe. Jeff…it’s been a long time since he’s portrayed a role worthy of nomination. Colin…well, I just love him and I don’t think he’s gotten his due yet from the HFP. Besides, knowing him, he most likely nailed his part too.
Finally, for this post - Best Director:
Kathryn Bigelow for The Hurt Locker
James Cameron for Avatar
Clint Eastwood for Invictus
Jason Reitman for Up in the Air
Quentin Tarratino for Inglourious Basterds
While I have not seen the movie yet, I think I’m already pulling for Kathryn Bigelow. Again, The Hurt Locker has gotten such a buzz that I have a feeling it’s a really GOOD film and by the looks of things, the HFP agrees as they have given it several nominations. There’s gotta be a reason for that!
On the flip side, it wouldn’t suprise me if the HFP recognizes James Cameron for his ingenius for Avatar. Could technology out rank everything else? it’s possible. I wouldn’t close the books on that one just yet.
In our next post, we’ll break down the Supporting Roles, Comedy/Musical, and Screenplay categories.
What do you think? Any favorites that you’re pulling for? Would love to hear your thoughts on this year’s nominations.
Until next time, see YOU at the movies!
The REEL Box Office Buzz Team
Box Office Results (12/4-12/6)
The Blind Side overtook The Twilight Saga: New Moon as theatergoers hit the theaters for the second weekend of the Holiday Season. Perhaps the Twilight buzz is finally starting to wear off?
The two Disney films – A Christmas Carol (2009) and Old Dogs flip-flopped from their respective positions the previous week with the former moving into the #4 spot while the latter dropped to #5.
In the middle of the weekend mix at #3 was the newly-released soap opera-like drama Brothers starring three of today’s hottest young stars – Tobey Maguire, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Natalie Portman.
What I like about this week’s results – (1) The Blind Side finally got the recognition it deserves and (2) I personally like seeing “feel good” movies in the top 5 during the Holiday Season and there were 3 of them in the Top 5.
I took in the new Robert De Niro/Drew Barrymore flick, Everybody’s Fine this weekend with a friend. Interestingly enough, it only topped out at #10 and I completely understand why. A review will be up soon! In the meantime, here are the official results as listed on the site Box Office Mojo:
The Blind Side $20.4 mil
New Moon $15.7 mil
Brothers $ 9.7 mil
A Christmas Carol $ 7.5 mil
Old Dogs $ 6.9 mil
To get you in that feel-good Christmas spirit, here’s the trailer from Disney’s A Christmas Carol (2009) with Jim Carey.
Until next time, see YOU at the movies!
The REEL Box Office Buzz Team
Box Office Results (11/25-11/29)
Watching the stats as the dollars rolled in this LONG Thanksgiving holiday weekend was almost as nail-biting as last night’s Steelers/Ravens match up right up until the very end.
All weekend long the latest Sandra Bullock flick, The Blind Side, competed neck and neck with the latest Twilight saga, New Moon. At one point, I thought for sure Bullock’s heartwarming tear-jerker was going to stay the course & break #1 status. Nope. I was wrong.
Results were as follows -
The Twilight Saga: New Moon grossed $42,500m
The Blind Side grossed $40,125m
2012 grossed $18,000m
Old Dogs grossed $16,846m
A Christmas Carol (2009) grossed $16,003m
(source: Box Office Mojo – http://www.boxofficemojo.com/weekend/chart/)
Interesting factoid though – it seems that the appeal for New Moon has slipped -70% since its release. With an interesting variety of releases slated for December, I wonder how long the sequel to Twilight will stay atop the charts. Hmm….
I saw The Blind Side and will be reviewing it in an upcoming post so check back later in the week for that.
Until next time, see YOU at the movies!
The REEL Box Office Buzz Team
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