Amph Preview of Coming Attractions: 21 Jump Street

Quick answer: No.

Smart Answer: Yes.

You don't have to have seen Firefly, but it will clue you in a little better to some of the characters and back story. I'd highly recommend picking up the boxed set and watch as many episodes as possible.

 

Thanx. I ordered the box set through my library.

 

Excellent. Let us know what you think in the serenity thread!

 

I've seen the first 2 trailers and both of them got me highly amped for "Serenity" to come out NOW!

Hee hee!

I so can't wait, trailer shows all of the same fun from the show. I do wish they'd show Kaylee though. Where is she? And where's Inara?

Bah Ok, Guess I can wait 13 days to find out

 

I have a friend who's an incredibly fan of the series, so I might see it, just so I can tell her that I saw it. I never saw the series, but from what she's said, it's intriguing. So if I can find the series, I'll also give it a look

 

Next: "Separate Lies"

Release date: 16 September 2005; 23 September 2005 wide

Rated: R

Starring: Tom Wilkinson; Emily Watson; Rupert Everett

Director: Julian Fellowes (debut)

Plot: What the film publicist says: "On the surface, Anne and James enjoy a perfect marriage. They slip easily between their two homes - one in London, convenient for James's city job, the other in idyllic rural countryside. James believes their life is happy and fulfilled, but is blinkered to Anne's happiness and when Anne meets the enigmatic and carefree Bill Bule her world shatters and she realizes she can never be truly happy with James again.

Anne's affair with Bill comes to light when James discovers the pair were involved in a tragic accident, which killed a local man. Faced with the shocking reality of Anne's revelations, a bereft James responds with a loving resolve to protect Anne. But as he becomes embroiled in the accident investigation, life's unpredictability once more alters the course of their Lies."

What I say: This is adaptation of Nigel Balchin's "Way Through the Wood" of all things. Balchin wrote a series of well-regarded thrillers: "The Small Back Room" and "Darkness Falls From the Air" are the two most famous. After WWII, the popularity of his work began to decline, but this is held to be his best post WWII effort. But it dates from the 50's, so an adaptation now seems odd.

Trailer: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/separate_lies/trailers.php

Reviews: Mixed, but more good than bad.

Pro: Wilkinson is almost insanely well cast;

Con: The story has dated a good bit.

Neutral: Fellowes and the rest of the cast; Watson, for example, is not actually well cast, though she is a fine actress.

Verdict: I know the plot twist, so probably DVD.

 

Eh. It moved pretty slowly, which is nice to be slightly different, but it doesn't work too good for this trailer. Acting looks good, but it's nothing that I'm going to watch this.

 

Next: "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang"

Release date: Originally 16 September, 2005; now 21 October, 2005

Starring: Robert Downey, jr.; Val Kilmer, Michelle Monaghan

Directed & Written by: Shane Black

Plot: Thief (Downey) stumbles into an acting gig as a PI and teams up with a genuine PI (Kilmer) to solve a mystery.

Trailer: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/kiss_kiss_bang_bang/trailers.php

Reviews: Positive v. the plot is hard to understand

Pro: You have to give Black marks for courage, since he cast the two most uninsurable actors in Hollywood; He is a famous screenwriter, and he wrote this.

Cons: Downey and Kilmer are, to put it politely, variable. I think this is Black's first directing job. Don't know Monaghan.

Verdict: This is either a future cult film or a giant mess. Or both.

 

I saw the little blurb for this in my paper and I actually laughed out loud. Downey Jr. and Kilmer. And the title is Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.

This is going to be the most absurd film of the year. Which makes it a must see.

 

This is going to be great. Just great. I'll probably see it more than once.

 

Apparently Kilmer plays a gay private detective. Oh, to be a fly on the wall while that movie was being made...


Next: "The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio"

Release date: 30 September 2005

Starring: Julianne Moore, Woody Harrelson, Laura Dern

Directed by: Jane Anderson

Produced by: Robert Zemeckis

Based on: Book of the same name

Reviews: Not much yet.

Plot: Working class 50's woman keeps her family of ten children together by entering contests.

Trailer here: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/10005372/trailers.php

Pros: The cast; I assume Zemeckis will try to keep things from getting too trite.

Cons: Moore is probably miscast; and this the potential to be a movie-of-the-week chick flick.

Verdict: I've read on the book on which this is based, and it's a wry, sometimes funny memoir. I fear Hollywood will leech out the wry and lay on the ham, not to mention sugar. It absolutely depends on the treatment.

 

I get the distinct impression that this will be very syrupy.

And Moore, Harrelson and Dern, while all fine, are just starting to wear on me. This looks like they're all playing to type, which irritates me.

 

Hmmm...I'll be living not too far from Defiance in the near future. Not that that has much relevance to the discussion.

It could be an entertaining enough flick depending on what is done with the subject material.

 

Next: "Everything is Illuminated"

Release date: 23 September, 2005

Starring: Elijiah Wood

Directed by: Liev Schreiber

Plot: The film's publicist: "Based on the critically-acclaimed novel by Jonathan Safran Foer, "Everything is Illuminated" tells the story of a young man's quest to find the woman who saved his grandfather in a small Ukrainian town that was wiped off the map by the Nazi invasion.

What starts out as a journey to piece together one family?s story under the most absurd circumstances turns into a surprisingly meaningful journey with a powerful series of revelations -- the importance of remembrance, the perilous nature of secrets, the legacy of the Holocaust, the meaning of friendship and, most importantly, love."

What I say: Sounds like yet another movie-of-the-week plot when it's reduced to these essentials.

Trailer: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/everything_is_illuminated/trailers.php

Reviews: If they have read the book, the reviewers are less likely to approve of it;

Pros: I can't think of any;

Cons: Wood was great child actor, but a zero in LOTR (none of the hobbits worked except Sam), and now has a nebbishy air which sets my teeth on edge. I rarely like films directed by actors, because the qualities that make a good actor seldom make a good director, IMO. And actors generally make the same type of movies: dull cinema designed to be award winners. (See the oeuvre of Robert Redford)

Verdict: I'm not interested; YMMV.

 

I've already saved it on Netflix. So, obviously, I'll watch it on DVD.

 

Wood is really riding the LotR wave.

This sounds like a movie that could either be very good or very dull.

I'll let the reviews trickle in and maybe catch it on DVd.

 

Next:

"Capote"

Release date: 30 September 2005

Starring: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Catherine Keener & Chris Cooper

Directed by: Bennett Miller

Plot: the story of the writing of "In Cold Blood"

Reviews: Mixed

Trailer: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/capote/trailers.php The trailer is too long & gives away too much of the plot

Pros: Hoffman does a surprisingly convincing turn as Capote; Catherine Keener is playing Harper Lee, author of "To Kill a Mockingbird". She was a childhood friend of his, and helped him research the book.

Cons: There is already a good movie version of "In Cold Blood", which starred Robert Blake and Scott Wilson as the murderers, Perry Smith and Dick Hickcock, a pair of lowlife drifters. To judge by the trailer, the actor cast as Smith this time can't compare; Blake was absolutely convincing (and I'll leave it there), as well as being charismatic in the role. It was a great *cough* performance. Hoffman is good as Capote, but Capote was--to put it mildly--very, very strange; it's like seeing Michael Jackson in the middle of a murder mystery.

Verdict: This is a movie about "In Cold Blood". Capote called it a 'non-fiction novel.' It actually was the first non-pulp true-crime book, a genre that has become commonplace since then (see: "The Onion Field"; "Blood and Money"; "Fatal Vision"; "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil", etc. etc.) I have read the book, and it is good, so I might see this on DVD.

 

Hoffman is a fantastic actor and I think any movie that has him playing Truman Capote is worth seeing just for that.

Chris Cooper is a positive too.

Probably check it out on DVD.

 

Next: "A History of Violence"

Release: 23 September 2005 (limited); 30 September 2005 (wide)

Starring: Viggo Mortensen; Maria Bello & Ed Harris

Plot: An ordinary happily-married guy who owns a diner foils violence and is made a hero. Unfortunately, violence in his own past comes back to haunt him.

Directed by: David Cronenberg

Trailer: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/history_of_violence/trailers.php

Reviews: Generally very good.

Rating: R (well, it's a Cronenberg film, folks)

Pro: There are always people who say: [so-and-so] can't make a bad movie. (It's usually Scorsese fans). They brand themselves as idiots with this statement, because even the best directors are capable of it. Cronenberg is generally interesting, right back to the days when he was bargain basement, but he is also often very variable.

Con: The cast is a good one, but Mortensen as a diner owner? (Most diner owners I know don't look like leading men). Married to a professional who dresses like a cheerleader to seduce him on their sex nights and looks like Maria Bello? A suspicion raises its head that Cronenberg has fallen victim to Kubrickitis; that is, he's so far into his own fantasy, he has no idea what 'ordinary' life is like anymore. Which rather defeats the point that this movie wants to make.

Verdict: DVD

 

Capote I'm interested in seeing. I find it interesting that Hoffman's never read any Truman Capote.

History of Violence, we'll see.

 

I'm interested in this one, but not excited about it. Mortenson is generally pretty good and he can look distinctly unlike a leading man when he wants too . . . not seen the trailers so perhaps he doesn't do that for this movie, but he can certainly be unglamorous.

As far as Cronenberg . . . I'm praying he'll go back to his Dead Zone days and actually show a little restraint. No exploding heads this time, thanks.

 

A History of Violence seems to have potential. I think I'll sit back and see how the reviews and audience reactions pan out, decide from there.

 

No, no, no. You NEED to see this. I saw it at a press screening last night. Easily Mortensen's best role, and possibly Cronenberg's best movie. It's not worth missing. William Hurt's performance alone was worth my money.

 

It's based on a comic book so if you want a point of refernce, you shoul look there first.

 

It's not a 'comic book.' It's a 'graphic novel.' Heh. Pretentiousness is always stupid.

Okay...next: "Roll Bounce"

Release date: 23 September 2005

Starring: Lil Bow Wow; Chi McBride

Directed by: Malcolm Lee (cousin of Spike)

Plot: The Summer of...movie, set in the 1980's, featuring roller dancing. I am not kidding.

Trailer: http://movies.yahoo.com/shop?d=hv&cf=trailer&id=1808617696&intl=us It's one of those pernicious trailers that tells you the entire plot...twice.

Reviews: Lightweight nostaglic comedy v. hackneyed misfire

Pros: It's not too deep, if you're still looking for an obvious summer movie.

Cons: The plot looks hackneyed, and the villains of the piece look impossibly lame;

Verdict: On television.