In defense of the film itself several of the actors involved do give good performances. George Clooney plays the somewhat volatile Jacob Geismar, and Cate Blanchett really nails Lena Brandt. Clooney has been finding roles which not only suit him well, but allow him to showcase his variety. Blanchett has a somewhat over-the-top German accent, but considering the nostalgia trip it works well.

However, the film readily plays off of post WWII fears and anxieties, giving us an overall plot that seems somewhat cobbled together. There's the American officer engaged in black-market dealings, a untrustworthy Russian, the silent and observant German, and men seeking to perform their duties. Due to the fact that each camera-shot is so well-timed and thought out, the movie doesn't have a natural feel to it. Plot twists and story angles sometimes seem predictable, if nothing more than common-place. The Good German fails underneath the weight of its own cinematography; indeed of its own goals: to mimic a movie of the 1940s/50s. While it could be argued that it delivers such a goal, the storyline suffers - as does the film. Perhaps this might've worked if it was shot like any contemporary film, even if done in black and white it still could've been better.

An epic biopic depicting the early years of legendary director and aviator Howard Hughes' career from the late 1920's to the mid-1940's.

The Aviator (Two-Disc Special Edition) is available at Amazon for $5.49. To Order click here
Amazon Product Pages contain a lot of other details on this product as Customer Reviews, Sales Ranking, Special Offers, Alternate products that customers are going for and much more.Want to read these details? click here

Want to get some other Format / Binding / Version? You can search for them from here

Other Products of Interest

• Gangs of New York (Two-Disc Collector's Edition)
• Catch Me If You Can (Widescreen Two-Disc Special Edition)
• Million Dollar Baby (Two-Disc Widescreen Edition)
• Cast Away (Two-Disc Special Edition)
• The Untouchables

Hace ya bastante tiempo, en una de esas gloriosas sesiones cinéfagas que solía compartir con mis queridos Chico Viejo y Kitano, asistimos a la proyección del “último experimento” de Steven Soderbergh, director con tantos admiradores como detractores. Vaya por delante que no soy de esas personas que van a ver una película de Soderbergh con la escopeta cargada. Muy al contrario, es un director que me parece de lo más interesante y autor de varias películas presentes en mi colección particular. Por eso, y por la presencia de actores tan solventes como George Clooney o Cate Blanchett, me senté a ver ‘El buen alemán’ abierto a cualquier cosa, sabiendo de antemano que no sería una película al uso.

Para los que no lo sepan, ‘El buen alemán’ pretende ser un homenaje a los films de los años 40, con ‘Casablanca’ como referente. La historia nos presenta a un reportero de guerra que llega a un Berlín devastado por la contienda mundial para cubrir las rondas de negociación de Potsdam. En el desarrollo de su trabajo se reencontrará con su antigua novia y se verá envuelto en una trama en la que nadie es lo que parece.

Si algo hay que destacar de ‘El Buen Alemán’ es que como homenaje al cine clásico la película es todo un éxito, ya que cuida con esmero hasta el más mínimo detalle, empezando por el uso de un sobrio blanco y negro, el diseño de los títulos de crédito o la banda sonora. Como película, sin embargo, deja mucho que desear, ya que todos los esfuerzos se centran en construir una perfecta maqueta que, desgraciadamente, está destinada a coger polvo por carecer del más mínimo interés. Y es que si algo caracteriza a este experimento cinematográfico es que es infinitamente aburrido. Este tropiezo en la carrera de Soderbergh viene a sumarse a sus últimos y prescindibles trabajos como Full Frontal, la tomadura de pelo de 'Ocean’s Twelve' o ‘Bubble’, que ponen de manifiesto el deseo del director por hacer algo nuevo que, tal y como estamos comprobando, son películas hechas única y exclusivamente para su disfrute personal. Afortunadamente, la refrescante 'Oceans’s Thirteen' y las expectativas puestas en 'Che', su nueva película, me dan las suficientes buenas vibraciones para que recupere el toque con el que se hizo un nombre en el mundo cinematográfico.

Como hemos dicho, salvando el elaborado apartado técnico, el principal problema de ‘El buen alemán’ es su enorme vacío argumental. La película narra una historia que al principio se muestra algo enrevesada para acabar convirtiéndose en el acabóse de la falta de originalidad. Además, a lo previsible de su propuesta debemos sumarle unos personajes mal retratados y carentes de la fuerza necesaria para lograr una mínima empatía, con un George Clooney que se pasea por la cinta sin enterarse de la misa la media y recibiendo golpes hasta en el carné de identidad. Su acompañante, la cada vez mejor (en todos los sentidos) Cate Blanchett, se limita a poner pose de mujer fatal con oscuro secreto y no puede hacer más por enfatizar su ya de por sí arquetípico personaje. El otro actor en discordia sería Toby Maguire, que se quita el disfraz de hombre araña para interpretar a un militar violento y ambicioso, un registro que le viene pero que muy grande, y que no logra convencer en ningún momento.

En resumen, estamos ante una película que bien vale como ejemplo del buen hacer técnico de Soderbergh , pero ante una tomadura de pelo de proporciones descomunales. De este modo, ‘El Buen Alemán’ entraría por méritos propios en esa lista de películas “alimenta egos” como ‘Psycho’ de Gus Van Sant (por citar una…) o el reciente remake del ‘Funny Games’ de Haneke. Si lo que se nos pretendía hacer ver es que el cine de antes tenía más clase, ya hemos aprendido la lección. A ver si a la próxima también se le añade el pulso narrativo de los grandes clásicos.

Lo Mejor: que en alquiler puedes dormirte sin que te quede la mala conciencia de haber pagado una entrada de cine.

Lo Peor: encontrarte con los culturetas que la traten como una obra magna.

Fdo: Stan.

2- Apocalypse Now ReduxAdoro quando clássicos são relançados no circuitão, mas que caralho, gosto mesmo da edição de 1979 que era muito mais insana, esse lance de explicar demais as coisas só da certo com Proust, em cinema quero distância. Mas nada lima a sensação de afundar na poltrona ao ver um filme desses no cinema.

3- Moulin Rouge!Baz Luhrmann gostou tanto de ter feito aquela sua famosa montagem beatnik de La Bohéme (é, eu realmente assisto montagens de óperas completas e gosto) que resolveu fazer uma versão ainda mais pós-moderna para o cinema. Um dos filmes mais impressionantes da década, enquanto Ewan e Nicole nunca estiveram tão lindos, provando mais uma vez que é das ruivas e dos morenos que eu gosto mais. Azar de quem não gosta de musicais.

4- Os Excêntricos Tenenbaums (The Royal Tenenbaums)Gosto mesmo do Wes Anderson e seus asseclas. Nem que seja pela cena em homenagem ao curta The Big Shave do Scorsese, putz, a quem estou querendo enganar, o lance daquela cena é mesmo o meu big crush pelo Luke Wilson.

5- Vida Bandida (Bandits)Mais um filme de mulherzinha, uma espécie de Design for Living do Lubitsch, só que do mundo do crime e contemporâneo. O lance aqui é Cate Blanchett que nunca esteve TÃO linda e carismática, a mulher nos faz ter vontade de comprar uma coletânea da Bonnie Tyler, meu deus. É, eu comprei.

Real Melhor filme do Ano: A Professora de Piano (La Pianiste)

Perdas irreparáveis no top: O Diário de Bridget Jones e O Fabuloso Destino de Amélie Poulain.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0367882/

I could identify three major predictive programming themes in this movie.

1. The Cold-War-inspired hatred for the Russians is given a good jolt once again. The Russians are the bad guys and the Americans are once again the good guys. The leader of the Russian bad guys (Cate Blanchett!) is a psychopathic individual who has a habit of stopping at nothing in order to attain what she wants. The gullible viewer is therefore helped in being persuaded to regard the Russians with scorn and contempt again. Regarding the tense and volatile situation with Iran - Russia - China, this imposition of anti-Russian sentiment on Western viewers seems rather well-timed given the state of the current geopolitical arena.
   
2. The movie suggests that the development of human culture, and perhaps even humanity itself, at some point in the past experienced the presence of tangible alien beings from outer space. Indeed, the shape of the unearthed crystal skull is not traditionally human (unlike the actual genuine crystal skulls: http://www.crystalskulls.com/13-crystal-skulls.html) but seems to be rather like what is commonly referred to in Sci-Fi circles as that belonging to "Grey aliens." Thus the Grey aliens have meddled in our own evolution, the movie suggests. To help the viewer get on the right propaganda feed-track even better, the movie near the end features nothing short of a rotating flying disc of which the Grey alien featured in the movie supposedly is native of. Therefore, we have a scenario that is quite popular in the alternative media wherein Grey aliens have interfered with our culture, possibly even having created us and arrived here on Earth in 'flying saucers' (or UFOs). This theme of course adds fuel to the fire to the mind of the viewer that we were created by physical alien beings who travelled here in flying saucer-like physical vehicles.
   
   There's no room given to the possibility that there might be a more etheric or untangible factor responsible for the creation of humanity. The movie leaves untouched the possibility of spiritual beings (demons) being responsible for our creation and subsequent cultural evolution. Instead it seems to exclusively support the materialistic notion that physical or tangible beings (Grey aliens) created physical beings (=us humans without spirit). The alternative to this point of view would be, for instance, the Christian Gnostic ontological explanation that etheric beings (e.g. demons) created the physical part of our beings (humans minus spirit). I do not intend to ignite a debate on the ontology of our own existence and how we came to be but this is besides the point, the movie clearly favors the former exclusively physical interpretation. Propaganda is inherently one-sided, biased and uncompromising!It's remarkable to say the least, that the Roman Catholic Church is now publicly endorsing the possibility of the existence of tangible space aliens (http://www.ufodigest.com/vaticanufos.html http://www.ufodigest.com/balducci.html http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7399661.stm).
   

3. The Russian commander is responsible for promoting the idea that the Hived Mind, a mind from a collective of interconnected beings, has a higher potency than the sum of its parts. She states that the Hived Mind defined by some group of people is "more powerful together than they [the group] can ever be apart." I expect this to be precisely consistent with the propagandistic future sales-gospel for the brain-chip. I anticipate it to be marketed as being no less than God's gift on Earth. The idea will be peddled to the public that it offers only benefits to you as you are being absorbed into a more supremely (read: divinely) intelligent collective. The viewer is thus drawn a little closer towards acceptance of the brain-chip, all the while not realizing that it will actually make him or her rather like an insignificant little workerbee, barren of any kind of mental, spiritual and physical freedom. The brain-chip is therefore nothing short of the death sentence for the individual human being. So take heed of any kind of propaganda slung in your way that would have you made believe otherwise!

Daniel Radcliffe revela novidades sobre Harry Potter

O astro de Harry Potter, Daniel Radcliffe respondeu uma entrevista para o TimesTalk do jornal The New York Times e revelou alguns detalhes sobre o mais novo filme da milionária franquia, Harry Potter e o Enigma do Príncipe (Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, 2009). Sobre a polêmica do estúdio Warner adiar o lançamento do filme de Novembro de 2008 para julho de 2009, Daniel soube da notícia 24 horas antes de ser anunciada e torceu para que os fãs não culpassem o ator pelo atraso. Sobre o filme, Daniel contou que as cenas com Dumbledore e Voldemort são as mais sombrias, enquanto as cenas com Ron são as mais engrançadas. Durante as filmagens, quando Rupert fez a cena de seu primeiro beijo com Jessie, Daniel tentou fazer graça nos bastidores para tirar a concentração do amigo. Daniel também revelou os receios de Emma Watson para assinar o contrato para os dois últimos filmes da franquia porque as filmagens atrapalham seus estudos. Os novos filmes vão ocupar os próximos três anos de suas vidas. A produção de Relíquias da Morte terão início em fevereiro de 2009 e as filmagens estão programadas para durar 14 meses. Para encerrar, Daniel sabe que Sirius estará em Relíquias da Morte. O ator espera poder contracenar com Gary Oldman.

###

Roteiristas de Senhor dos Anéis reunidos para O Hobbit

O trio vencedor do Oscar responsável pelo roteiro da trilogia Senhor dos Anéis (Lord of the Rings) reune-se oficialmente para iniciar os dois filmes previstos de O Hobbit. Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh e Philippa Boyens, que realizaram com sucesso a adaptação para as telas do épico de Tolkien e venceram o Oscar por O Retorno do Rei (The Return of the King, 2003), reunem seus talentos para preparar o prequel dividido em dois filmes a serem lançados em 2011 e 2012. A trama de O Hobbit acontece antes de Senhor dos Anéis e mostra como Bilbo Bolseiro encontra o Um Anel e tira de Gollum. Os filmes do Hobbit serão dirigidos pelo mexicano Guillermo Del Toro (Labirinto do Fauno e Hellboy).
###

Refilmagem de Poltergeist planejada, sem Spielberg

Os clássicos de terror dos anos 80 estão voltando da tumba como Sexta Feira 13, Hora do Pesadelo e Morte do Demônio. Nada mais natural saber que Poltergeist, será o próximo da lista a ganhar refilmagem. O original de 1982 tornou-se um clássico apesar de ser um filme B. O genial roteiro de Steven Spielberg e a direção de Tobe Hope (O Massacre da Serra Elétrica) garantiram a qualidade e o sucesso do filme que rendeu ainda duas continuações e uma série de TV (1996). Mas a dupla de criadores Spielberg e Hope não estão envolvidos no projeto. Dois roteiristas sensação do momento na onda das refilmagens, Stiles White e Juliet Snowden, também responsáveis pelo roteiro do novo de Alex Proyas, Knowing, e da refilmagem do clássico Os Pássaros (The Birds, 1963) de Hitchcock, vão assumir a tarefa de renovar Poltergeist.

###

Adaptação da peça Blackbird a caminho

O produtor Jean Doumanian prepara a adaptação de Blackbird para as telas, baseado na peça de teatro escrita por David Harrower que será responsável pelo roteiro do drama sobre o confronto de um homem de meia idade com uma jovem com quem ele teve um caso no passado. A peça foi lançada em 2005, no Festival de Edinburgo, depois estreou em Londres e venceu o prêmio Oliver de 2007. Foi produzida no mesmo ano para apresentação no Manhattan Theater Club de Nova Yorque, numa montagem dirigida por Joe Mantello com Jeff Daniels e Alison Pill no elenco. Em 2007, Cate Blanchett dirigiu a montagem na Austrália para a Sydney Theater Company e no próximo ano, o astro de CSI, William Petersen, vai atuar na peça em Chicago. Os protagonistas vivem um conflito emocional quando uma jovem de 20 anos aparece de repente no escritório de um homem mais velho com quem viveu um romance anos antes dele trocar de nome e de vida para manter distância do seu passado. O filme pode chegar nas telas em 2010.

Coraline de Neil Gaiman ganha vida em animação stop motion

Henry Selick, diretor da adaptação da premiada graphic novel de Neil Gaiman, Coraline, revelou detalhes sobre seu filme de animação tridimensional em stop motion numa entrevista para o site SCI FI Wire. A animação, com lançamento previsto para fevereiro de 2009, será finalizada em seis semanas. Selick, diretor de O Estranho Mundo de Jack (The Nightmare Before Christmas, 1993), escolheu uma das poucas obras em quadrinhos vencedora do prêmio Hugo. Dakota Fanning dubla a protagonista que atravessa uma porta dimensional e descobre uma versão alternativa de sua própria vida com outros pais. Para o diretor, a trama é um sombrio, perfeito e moderno conto de fadas. Gaiman colaborou com Selick no roteiro da animação na intenção de fazer uma adaptação fiel para as telas, mantendo o espírito e o tom da trama original. O atual uso de computação gráfica e técnicas de animação stop motion renderam diversos sucessos como Fuga das Galinhas (Chicken Run, 2000) e Noiva-Cadáver (Corpse Bride, 2005).

Rápidas

- Patrick Swayze celebra 56 anos feliz e saudável, apesar de ter recebido em março o triste diagnóstico de câncer pancreático, doença considerada terminal. A festa ocorreu em Chicago nos sets da série do canal de TV Paga A&E Mundo, A Fera (The Beast). O astro de Dirty Dancing celebrou junto com amigos e fãs que o desejaram feliz aniversário. Depois, Swayze foi comemorar junto a esposa Lisa Niemi.

- David Fincher corre para finalizar a montagem de O Curioso Caso de Benjamin Button (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) atualmente com 163 minutos. Fincher tenta encontrar a duração certa que o deixe satisfeito para encerrar o trabalho em outubro. Baseado num conto de F. Scott Fitzgerald, a estranha trama mostra um homem que nasce velho e com o passar do tempo vai ficando jovem e reune um elenco estelar. Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Tilda Swinton e Julia Ormond. O lançamento está previsto para dezembro de 2009.

- O ator Clifton Collins Jr. (Babel) revela que ele e Eric Bana (Munique) interpretam romulanos no próximo Jornada nas Estrelas (Star Trek) como se fossem piratas espaciais. Eles também precisaram trabalhar com linguistas para criar uma língua própria da raça romulana.

- Em entrevista sobre o longa metragem He-Men, o roteirista Justin Marks prometeu apresentar um filme mais realista, incluindo origens mais coerentes dos personagens, mesmo aqueles fantasiosos demais.

Ya hemos hablado alguna vez de la próxima película de David Fincher (Seven, El Club de la Lucha, Zodiac...). Se trata de The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, donde veremos una historia de amor basada en la historia corta escrita por F. Scott Fitzgerald.

A continuación más información de la película y un nuevo trailer que ha salido a la luz....

La historia cuenta como un hombre nace con 80 años y de manera progresiva va rejuveneciendo (su cuerpo viaja en el tiempo -1 segundos por cada segundo que transcurre), causandole esto serias complicaciones cuando se enamora. El elenco actoral lo conforman Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Julia Ormond, Elle Fanning y Tilda Swinton. Su estreno se esperá para el 23 de Enero de 2009.

El trailer no está en Youtube, así que no podemos colgarlo automáticamente, pero aquí tenéis el enlace directo al video (no tiene mucha calidad)

http://www.traileraddict.com/trailer/curious-case-benjamin-button/olympic-tv-spo

Via | Cinerama

Dirty, dingy, smelly, and repulsive.

Human excrements have now evolved, bearing with them eight legs, and Velcro.  It can attach, and detach at will; reattaching itself to another vagabond’s anus.

Will the real Alfredo Lim please stand up?

Heed this factoid Alfredo:

People of all ages have begun shitting on streets and sidewalks. As proof of your incompetency, we, your concerned denizens shall rally, signaling the start of another holiday—poop day.

**

Blast from Cate Blanchett’s Vagina?   

The three hundred thirty one time Academy Award winner has done it again.

Dilatory of watching Elizabeth: The Golden Age last year, it was only yesterday that I had opted to watch the damned film—out of boredom of course.

Infuriated with the film’s surfeit use of dramatic license, I reached through the Teli’s screen and chopped off a quarter of Cate’s left boob (No, I ain’t no Sadako…I’m writing metaphorically here).

Don’t take my obvious dissatisfaction with the film personally; I still love Cate Blanchett and am indebted with an apology…supposing she reads this of course, which I’m hoping she won’t, because if she will, then it’s off to planet hoosegow for me.

**

Quote of the Day:

Coward. One who in a perilous emergency thinks with his legs

--Ambrose Bierce

Todd Haynes (VELVET GOLDMINE, FAR FROM HEAVEN) delivers this dazzling, experimental take on the life of popular music's most revered and enigmatic artist: Bob Dylan. In keeping with the impossible-to-pin-down nature of Dylan himself, Haynes chose to cast six different actors to portray... Todd Haynes (do ótimo drama Longe do Paraíso) resolveu fugir do estereótipo de filmes biográficos com atores se passando num melodrama. O resultado é um filme experimental forçado e, às vezes, brilhante, inspirado na vida e obra de Bob Dylan. Todo mundo já ouviu falar da narrativa fragmentada, dos seis super atores fazendo papel do cara, etc. Falando em atores, doru  principalmente o ator black mirim, achei a interpretação do Christian Bale muito forçada,  fiquei ainda mais revoltado com a morte do Heath Ledger na vida real, as partes da Cate Blanchett são as mais legais mas às vezes ela lembra mais uma sapa que o Dylan em si. Ainda tem super participações especiais tipo as pontas inúteis de Julianne Moore e da rockeira Kim Gordon num falso documentário, e a parte mais comovente do filme com a horrorosa Charlotte Gainsbourg.  Destaque ainda pela montagem ousada e super fotografia. Só acrescento que não é um filme pra assistir qualquer hora. Só assisti completo lá pela sétima tentativa. .PPP

Genre : Epic
Director: Shekhar Kapur
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Geoffrey Rush, Clive Owen

Yeah, film ini mengangkat tema sejarah kerajaan Inggris di jaman Ratu Elizabeth yang diperankan dengan apik oleh Cate Blanchett. Not bad.

Alurnya mudah diikuti, hanya saja perlu konsentrasi kalau ingin mengikuti dengan baik. Tokoh-tokohnya banyak dan penuh konspirasi politik. Tapi sejauh saya nonton, hal ini bukan masalah.

Ceritanya ringan, malah agak tipikal. Untuk alur tentang peperangan Inggris dan Spanyol itu lumayan. Tapi ada kisah cinta yang sudah -basi- biasa, yaitu perselingkuhan.

Yang saya suka dari Elizabeth: The Golden Age ini settingannya. Yah, seperti film sejarah umumnya sih. Ada istana supermegah, ada kostum superjadul, dll, dll.

Tapi enjoy banget nontonnya, kombinasinya perfect dan pas.

Apalagi mentengin wajahnya Cate Blanchett yang sayu-sayu-pucat. Pendalaman karakter Ratu Elizabethnya saya acungin tiga-setengah jempol dah!

Saya suka sekali posenya yang berdiri dengan posisi tangan terbuka, waktu scene penembakan di gereja, kayak hantu siang bolong. Putih Bersih bersinar sunlight!

Overall, nggak ada salahnya nonton Elizabeth ini. Selain dapet pengetahuan sejarah, kita juga bakal dihibur dengan ceritanya yang beda dengan film sejarah lainnya. Lebih thrilling dan emosional.

Unfolding as a sort of snatch-and-grab through Dylan’s life, the movie begins several times; first with the story of a young Dylan hitch-hiking; second with an older Dylan getting recognition as a folk singer in Greenwich Village; third as an actor; fourth as a poet; fifth as an jaded icon; sixth as Billy the Kid. Different actors portray Dylan in each incarnation and the idea is to get a picture (or pictures) of the man the way the world saw him: as schizoid. There is no attempt made at realism. The movie is more about haiku-truth; the essence of Dylan (here I go again…) It seems like he was an asshole, to me.

The best take on Dylan is when he’s played by a black kid (Marcus Carl Franklin). Carrying a guitar-case that’s bigger than he is (inscribed: Kill Fascists), the kid gives the least mannered performance of anyone in the movie. He doesn’t make the slightest attempt to sound like Bob Dylan (there’s nothing of the half-drunk impression Christian Bale gives), but he does get the look of someone with Big Things on their mind. If we’d followed this kid for two hours, the journey would be worth it. As it is…Christian Bale looks like he’s stepped on something sharp; Ben Whishaw is all tics; Richard Gere looks like he’s wandered away from a costume party and…

Two of the other five are pretty good. Heath Ledger seems to be playing Heath Ledger when he does Dylan. There’s a weird parallel between their lives (failed marriage, dark side, spats with the press) that Ledger draws on. So sometimes his accent slips but what he says feels awkwardly real. There’s a great scene where he asks Charlotte Gainsbourg to write down the worst thing she can think of. And he’s trying to end his marriage to her and we know she’s tired of stopping him… Ledger is like a man with a knife in his chest, torturing friends with the sight of the handle.

Cate Blanchett got all the press for her role, and casting as woman as a man – let alone as Dylan – was always going to be a canny publicity move. She’s the most iconic of the Dylan’s. She gets the shades and the crisp black-and-white photography (Whishaw’s bits are in black-and-white too, but his are grainy). She gets into a fight with a smarmy (but astute) British journalist, who sees her for what she is (a bullshit artist) and calls her bluff, even as she prats about with The Beatles. Blanchett is sly, vulnerable and ratty as a Dylan who’ll say anything, excluding explanations.

The movie is, ultimately, less interesting than it seems to be. It catches your eye like a record cover, but it doesn’t go anywhere. You start watching with the idea that Dylan is an enigma, and you end-up bored. It’s all standard fair for director Todd Haynes (Far from Heaven, Velvet Goldmine), he: always with the good ideas and the movies that feel like listening to your friends’ poems. For the first twenty minutes you think he’s re-invented movies; then another twenty minutes goes by… You just can’t invest in a character this self-conscious. I’m Not There is like watching Bob Dylan as he is now (in that scuzzy cowboy outfit); too many allusions, not enough heart.

My Top 5 for 2008 So Far:

1. The Dark Knight
2. Wall-E
3. American Teen
4. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
5. Iron Man

That said, I'm really looking forward to Oscar season this year. I have a feeling that the Academy Awards are going to be insane with competition. Last year was good, but this will probably be better. This afternoon I hunted down the upcoming films for the rest of the year.

My Top 11 Must-Sees:

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Directed By: David Fincher
Starring: Brad Pitt / Cate Blanchett / Tilda Swinton

Zodiac was royally shafted at the Academy Awards this year. I thought it should have been nominated for picture, adapted screenplay, supporting actor (Robert Downey Jr) and visual effects. It probably wouldn't have won any, but it should have had some recognition.

That said, I think Benjamin Button is going to get Fincher back in the game.

(Apple Trailers)

Burn After Reading
Directed By: Ethan Coen / Joel Coen
Starring: Brad Pitt / George Clooney / John Malkovich / Tilda Swinton / Frances McDormand

After the amazing No Country for Old Men last year, it looks like the Coens are back in action with a dark screwball comedy (their forte) with a great ensemble cast. It will be nice to see Frances McDormand in a Coen film again.

(Apple Trailers)

Revolutionary Road
Directed By: Sam Mendes
Starring: Leondardo DiCaprio / Kate Winslet / Kathy Bates

Looks like a Titanic cast reunion. Add in the director of American Beauty and Road to Perdition and you have an awesome combination.

The Soloist
Directed By: Joe Wright
Starring: Robert Downey Jr. / Jamie Foxx / Catharine Keener

Robert Downey Jr. has been in an insane number of films the last few years. That's all.

Australia
Directed By: Baz Luhrmann
Starring: Hugh Jackman / Nicole Kidman / David Wenham

Quite simply, this looks epic, and I do not want to miss seeing it on the silver screen. It may end up being the next Lawrence of Arabia for all we know. And you can't go wrong with Hugh Jacman.

(Apple Trailers)

Appaloosa
Directed By: Ed Harris
Starring: Viggo Mortensen / Renée Zellweger / Jeremy Irons / Ed Harris

As long as it's better than Hidalgo. Solid cast, and the amazing Ed Harris.

Lakeview Terrace
Directed By: Neil LaBute
Starring: Patrick Wilson / Kerry Washington / Samuel L. Jackson

What can I say? The preview sold me. This looks to be quite the tense film.

(Apple Trailers)

Body of Lies
Directed By: Ridley Scott
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio / Russell Crowe

Since 2002, DiCaprio hasn't disappionted me once as an actor. He just keeps plugging away. With 8 films in the next two years, he's going to be a busy man. And to top it off, the preview reminded me a little bit of Michael Mann's Heat, which is never a bad thing.

Doubt
Directed By: John Patrick Shanley
Starring: Meryl Streep / Philip Seymour Hoffman / Amy Adams

I've heard really good things about the Shanley's play, which this is based on. And what a great cast.

The Reader
Directed By: Stephen Daldry
Starring: Kate Winslet / Ralph Fiennes

Defiance
Directed By: Edward Zwick
Starring: Daniel Craig / Liev Schreiber / Jamie Bell

You can't go wrong with Edward Zwick.

What films are you looking forward to the most?

WHAT I'M WATCHING ON DVD:

"The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou"

Read my review HERE.

On a side note, when I first heard the names of The Golden Children I immediately thought to myself, "Self, Angelina totes named Vivienne, and Brad is responsible for the UBERMASCULINE name of Knox. Angieface wouldn't think of such a testosterone laden name as Knox." And you know what? I was right! Immediately reports came out saying that Angieface named Vivienne after her mom, and Knox is some name in Brad's fam. ESP bitches!

Anyways, let's get on to today's celebrity ridicule.

Jesse McCartney: Talk about a blast from the past. This former tween flame emerged from the depths of OneHitWonderdom and graced us with his presence. He left Aaron Carter and Ryan Cabrera behind to cry with each other and braid each other's sort-of-emo-but-mostly-pop girl hair. Jesse and his pallid skin look a little worse for the wear. OneHitWonderdom is no Wonderland. Your once plentiful and healthy bank account plummets drastically as you buy ridiculously expensive clothes, and convince yourself that you can take your 23rd vacation of the year. The coke habit also totally pulverizes what few thousand dollars you had left. Take a look at Exhibit A below. Jesse is sporting some mysterious white powder stains on his pants, which I daresay is cocaine. He obviously is trying to be with the "in" crowd by doing coke. All the cool kids do. I heard it's really good for the body and soul. Check out Amy Winehouse if you don't believe me.

I've actually heard that Jesse is a huge cokehead. A friend of a cousin of a friend (did you get that all?) apparently dated Jesse, and he was all sorts of effed up. Mostly cuz of the effects of coke on his brain. Obvi his brain is working a little slowly if he didn't check for coke stains before he existed his limo that maxed out his Visa.

Cate Blanchett: All I really have to say is MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RANGERS! Seriously, there is nothing lamer than dressing up in a 7 year old's Halloween costume when you are an adult, and it's not Halloween. She really just needs some boots to complete the vibe.

Ed Westwick: Just thought I'd post a FULL length picture of Eddie's lilac pants for you to ogle at. Fierce. Christian Soriano from Project Runway would be proud. Or revolted.

Hayden Panettiere: The OCD troll is in trubs with the po po! Evidently she thinks her boobless and whorish self is above the law because she parked in a "No Parking" zone when she went to pick up a mattress with her little bro. But the po po busted her ass and gave her a ticket! Here she is looking aghast, and probably about the rip up the ticket in a temper tantrum.

Teri Hatcher: What is in Hollywood's water?! Do they add fertilizer and steroids to help the youngins turn in to 30-something year olds as fast as possible?! Check out Teri Hatcher's 10 year old daughter! By the time she reaches Ali Lohan's age of 14, she will look 39 as well! When I was 10 I had baby fat and was still wearing Limited Too, and Adidas sandals. I also brushed out my hair so it looked like a huge puff, akin to the post before entitled "Separated at Birth?" I was naive, innocent, and adorable. This kid looks like she's in the making to become a baby prostitute! I blame Miley Cyrus! She is tainting the minds of impressionable children! Slut!

I just saw Todd Haynes' docudrama on Bob Dylan "I'm Not There" for the first time yesterday and I was completely blown away.  The way he was able to split apart one man into six different, complete characters with their own stories, their own angst, their own freedom, sharing the same burden of being something great was an incredibly stimulating experience to watch in completion, though Richard Gere's early 20th century farmer seems to only hold hands with the rest of the film by the earthy confusion.  

Bob Dylan, specifically Cate Blanchett's Bob Dylan, the diamond facet who forsakes his folk fans for rock n roll, spins a whole new freshness into my skepticism.  I had seen the original interviews that have been played over the years for a tribute to Bob or a mash-up of rock moments in Americana spoken by the actual Bob, but I had never really understood them for their clarity until this film.  Haynes succeeded in changing my perspective of Bob Dylan's persona.  

I've also realized just how differently I judge the same words coming out of different faces and mouths with different accents and voices.  When watching the original Time Magazine interview where Dylan is asked, "Do you care about what you say?" and he responds with "How dare you even ask me that?!  Do you ask the Beatles that?"

I didn't understand his true anger behind his words, as I could only see the deadpanned musician with poofy hair mimic someone angry before.  Now I truly understood what he was angry about.

His musings and prophetic voicings of a generation, of art, of fighting the establishments by conforming and not conforming are just so raw and complete in his nature that I don't think I've ever heard someone speak so flatly about the way things are.  At least, I now can hear things differently.  I find myself listening closer to the harshness in the biting skepticism of my father, in the sardonic wit of my friends.  I have often run from that which I do not like to hear, but now I sit still when I find myself uncomfortable and just listen.  

I can't wait to watch the movie on my father so I finally get the chance to listen to his words coming out of a an instrument that can interpret what I cannot see through.

Fui na segunda assistir ao filme "Eu não estou lá" (I'm not there) do Todd Haynes. Para quem não sabe, o filme retrata o cantor Bod Dylan em seis personagens (Cate Blanchett, Richard Gere, Ben Winshaw, Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Marcus Carl Franklin) , não necessariamente relacionado à sua vida ou à sua carreira. Bom, pelo menos foi o que eu entendi. As histórias são loucas - para não dizer sem sentido de algumas - e, até onde meu cérebro quis prestar atenção, alguns personagens se entrelaçam, apesar de não terem nenhuma relação. Enfim, pode-se perceber que eu não gostei do filme. Primeiro porque eu não gosto do Bob Dylan - e nunca me interessei em gostar dele ou das músicas dele; segundo porque a sessão era da Cultura Inglesa, ou seja, sem legenda. Considero meu inglês fluente, consigo entender, conversar e escrever numa boa, mas convenhamos que, mesmo se eu fosse nativo, é impossível entender dialetos locais - mais precisamente os caipiras (hello, Texas!). A Cate Blanchett é a que mais aparece, seguido do Heath Ledger e do Chrstian Bale. Richard Gere, coitado, aparece no começo e fecha o filme com o que parecia inacabado - e continuou imcompreendido - desde o início. Para falar a verdade, Cate e Winshaw foram os únicos atores que eu tive êxito ao entender o que falavam. Para o Christian, a gente dá um desconto porque ele aparece tocando violão e gaita.  Quanto ao menino... é melhor eu nem comentar - aquilo era inglês? E, para finalizar (e não justificar minha completa falta de compreensão da língua original do filme), mesmo que tivesse legenda, meu interesse seria o mesmo pelo filme: zero.

La acción se inicia en 1585 en una Inglaterra gobernada por una protestante y con la mitad de una población que aún profesa la fe católica. El Papa había declarado una guerra santa contra Isabel I mientras Felipe II de España, conductor del el imperio más poderoso de entonces, estaba decidido a asesinar y sustituir a la reina virgen por su prima María Estuardo, reina de Escocia, fervorosamente católica. El complot falla y el monarca español opta por lanzar su legendaria Armada Invencible para acabar con la Inglaterra protestante. No obstante, sorpresivamente, las fuerzas navales de Isabel I destrozaron la flota de Felipe II. La gran victoria significó su consolidación en el trono. La soberana inglesa estaba en lo que se llamó su época dorada. Este es el escenario histórico donde se desarrolla Elizabeth, la edad de oro. A partir de estos elementos se levanta un guión con bastantes licencias que combina la política de Estado, las conspiraciones palaciegas y una especie de triángulo amoroso entre Isabel I, una mujer que según la historia tenía 52 años en aquel momento, sir Walter Raleigh, que apenas cruzaba la treintena, y una de las jóvenes damas de la corte, con quien el político y marino inglés tuvo una hija. Con estos elementos William Nicholson y Michael Hirst pretendieron escribir una especie de historia épica con rasgos románticos que, por sobre todas las cosas, debería dejar muy bien parada a la hija de Enrique VIII y Ana Bolena.

Sin embargo, esta Isabel I parece más un personaje de ficción que de la realidad histórica. Al comienzo del film la reina virgen ya está consolidada en el trono, aunque los sectores católicos siguen siendo una amenaza para su vida y para la subsistencia del Estado. El guión trata de mostrar a la reina como una elocuente defensora de la libertad de fe, mientras que presenta a Felipe II como “la voz sibilina del mal”. Este planteamiento esquemático deriva en un maniqueísmo excesivo que resta credibilidad a la historia, más allá del manejo de cierta espectacularidad sentimental y patriota. Mientras tanto se construye otra línea dramática con la aparición de Walter Raleigh, quien regresa del Nuevo Mundo y lleva, entre otros presentes, el tabaco y las papas a la Corte inglesa, producto de su actividad como pirata contra la Corona española. Guapo, galante y arrojado, se convierte en el objetivo afectivo y sexual de una reina que es aún famosa por su virginidad. Pero Raleigh se fija en una de sus cortesanas, en una especie de sublimación de los deseos de la monarca. En cambio, la relación de Estado que Isabel I establece con su consejero sir Francis Walsingham, a todas luces más importante desde el punto de vista político e histórico, es apenas mostrada como una intriga de palacio. Un desequilibrio que parece originarse en las ambiciones comerciales de esta coproducción entre el Reino Unido y Francia.

El principal problema de Elizabeth, la edad de oro reside en su afán magnificente para narrar una suerte de epopeya mítica para los ingleses, al menos para los que creen en la monarquía. La puesta en escena de Shekhar Kapur es grandilocuente, excesiva, sin mesura, de gran belleza plástica, pero más atenta a lo formal que a la importancia de lo narrado. Las actuaciones de Blanchett, Geoffrey Rush (Walsingham), Clive Owen (Raleigh) y Abbie Cornich (la chica de la corte) poseen fortalezas expresivas evidentes y plausibles que, no obstante, son insuficientes apara elevar el nivel de ligereza del film.

ELIZABETH, LA EDAD DE ORO ("Elizabeth, the gholden age"), Reino Unido y Francia, 2007. Dirección: Shekhar Kapur. Guión: William Nicholson y Michael Hirst. Producción: Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner y Jonathan Cavendish. Fotografía: Remi Adefarasin. Montaje: Jill Bilcock. Música: Craig Armstrong y A.R. Rahman. Dirección de arte: Guy Hendrix Dyas. Elenco: Cate Blanchett (Elizabeth I de Inglaterra), Geoffrey Rush (sir Francis Walsingham), Clive Owen (sir Walter Raleigh), Abbie Cornish (Bess Throckmorton), Samantha Morton (María Estuardo), Jordi Mollà (Felipe II), Rhys Ifans (Robert Reston). Distribución: The Walt Disney Company.