Mr. Brooks Trailer - Kevin Costner - William Hurt

I just saw the trailer for the upcoming Mr. Brooks, which stars Kevin Costner, William Hurt, and Demi Moore. Looks awesome. I've always liked movies where Costner play someone villainous (like A Perfect World or 3000 Miles to Graceland), and in Mr. Brooks, Costner gets really villainous. He plays an upstanding citizen who has a fetish for killing people. But he's trying to quit.

William Hurt plays Costner's alter-ego. Hurt's like a fine wine; he just gets better as he ages. (Did anyone else love his performance in The History of Violence?)

Anyway, you can watch the trailer here:

Richard Donner's Superman II - DVD Review

I wasn't sure what to expect from Richard Donner's version of Superman II on DVD. I'd seen a lot of buzz about how great it was, but I'd also seen some reviews that were less than favorable. But I picked it up last night and watched it with my daughters today, and I felt like a kid again. And honestly, if a movie can make me feel like a kid anymore, I think it's doing allright.

One criticism I'd read was that the scene where Jor El explained again about what the deal was with the Phantom Zone criminals was long and repetitive and boring, and I just didn't get that. It might have been unnecessary, but it just didn't seem like a big enough deal to warrant the criticism.

Another complaint some people had was about the use of the screen test footage. I noticed the difference in weight and hair that you could see with Christopher Reeve, but I'm not sure I would have noticed if I hadn't read about it beforehand.

But the music was great, and the changes to the film to make it less comedic and more dramatic were good changes, I think. The fight scenes between Superman and the Phantom Zone criminals were much improved by the deletion of all those funky powers that we'd never seen Superman use before or since.

Was it better than the version I saw in the theaters? It's hard to say, because I loved both Superman the Movie and Superman II so much at the theater. It's one of those golden childhood memories for me. So I think I'll say I'm undecided, but I am really glad I got to see this version.

New Movie Forum - Discuss Movies with Us

I just launched a new project, which is a forum where people can discuss movies. The name of the site is Cinema Threads, and you're invited to join us there for our irreverent but still somehow pithy commentary about movies, on dvd and in the theaters:

Movie Forums

Come talk about movies with me and my friends. It will be fun.

I promise.

Christmas Movies

I love Christmas movies. Always have. In fact, I would watch reruns of It's a Wonderful Life again and again when I was a teenager, and I'd sit there and cry at the same place in the movie every time. (It's the part where George's brother shows up at the end, and makes a toast to his brother, George Bailey, "the richest man in town".

So far this year, I've seen some new Christmas films that I hadn't seen before. The first one was The Polar Express. A girlfriend of mine in college turned me on to the book by Chris Van Allsburg, and it is indeed a beautifully drawn and written book, a classic to this day. It's unfortunate that the movie turned out so badly. I was hoping that with Robert Zemeckis and Tom Hanks doing it, and the magic that's possible with animation these days, that it would turn out to be an enduring Christmas classic.

The fact is, it didn't turn out to be a classic, or even particularly memorable. I think I read another review somewhere that said the movie was "creepy." I agree. Creepy and dull.

We also watched A Christmas Story, another movie that a friend of mine in college turned me on to. (This one a male friend.) We watch A Christmas Story every year at my house, and we never get tired of it. And for some reason, I manage to forget most of the plot every year, so I'm still surprised and laughing all the way through the movie.

Christmas Vacation is a family favorite around here, and we haven't gotten around to watching that one yet. We will though, for sure.

Finally, I want to write about Elf. I didn't see it at the theater, and I'm so mad at myself. Jon Favreau put together a brilliant classic movie, seemingly with no effort, and it's about as different from Swingers or Made as you can imagine. Will Ferrell is lovable as hell, Ed Asner shines as Santa, and Bob Newhart steals the entire show as Papa Elf. The only dull character in the movie is played by James Caan, who performs adequately. His character was supposed to be dull anyway.

And my favorite scene in the movie is when the leading lady and Will Ferrell are singing "Baby It's Cold Outside" together. Beatiful stuff, that.

Merry Christmas everybody!

Review of Land of the Dead

I've been eagerly waiting to see Land of the Dead for a couple of years now, ever since I first heard about the project. (That was back when George Romero had a different name for the project; I think Dead Reckoning and Twilight of the Dead were two of the titles under consideration.) Having finally seen it on DVD tonight, I have to report that it was a major disappointment.

I loved all of Romero's other zombie movies, but this one lacked charm. More importantly, it also lacked any kind of emotional punch. The situations were so predictable and cliched, and the characters were so predictable and cliched, that it was just plain hard to care about what happened.

Dennis Hopper has never phoned in a role to the extent that he did in this movie. It was like he wasn't acting at all, just reading his lines. It's a shame too, because I like Hopper quite a bit. But I could have portrayed that role more convincingly myself.

If you like zombie movies, check out the remake of Dawn of the Dead or watch Shaun of the Dead instead of Land of the Dead. You'll have a better time, and you'll enjoy the characters more. Heck, you might even care about what happens in the movie.

Review of Win a Date with Tad Hamilton

My wife and I watched Win a Date with Tad Hamilton on HBO in a room at the Menger Hotel day before yesterday. I'd heard good things about the movie, but wasn't sure if I wanted to watch it or read Dan Brown's Angels and Demons. I'm glad that I watched this movie though, because it turned out to be very good indeed, actually.

My wife was a huge fan of Legally Blonde when it came out, and Win a Date with Tad Hamilton was directed by the same guy. I did not enjoy Legally Blonde as well as Tad Hamilton, however, and I don't think that a film being directed by Robert Luketic is going to instantly hurl it onto my must-see list. But he did a nice job on this film.

Basically, Rosalee, played by Kate Bosworth, wins a date with a Hollywood super-hunk named Tad Hamilton, and Tad and she start falling for each other. Rosalee's best friend, played by Topher Grace, also has feelings for her though, and the resulting love triangle is what propels this movie forward. What's interesting about this movie though is the Topher Grace character. He's an excellent actor for one thing, and his character is delightfully quirky for another.

And the other interesting thing about the movie is that Tad Hamilton turns out to be a pretty good guy. A lot of times in this kind of movie, the Tad Hamiltion character would have been shallow and unlikable, but in this movie, you might argue that he's a little on the shallow side, but he's too likeable a guy to hold that against him.

Another cool thing to look for in Win a Date with Tad Hamilton is Gary Cole's performance as Rosalee's father. It's a small part, but he's fantastic and very dry in the role.

The movie also features from great one liners, my favorites being: "Guard your carnal treasure." and "Sometimes Goliath kicks the shit out of David. It's just nobody bothers to tell that story."

M. Night Shyamalan's The Village

I saw M. Night Shyamalan's The Village tonight. I'd read reviews and heard buzz that the third act of this movie was a "What the f---?" kinda moment, but I didn't think that was the case at all. In fact, I'd figured out the inevitable ending about 40 minutes into the movie. At any rate, I thought the movie was excellent, and my wife enjoyed it too, which is a rare thing, since her idea of a good movie invariably involves Adam Sandler, Rob Schneider, and/or Drew Barrymore. (Just kidding, honey.)

William Hurt's performance was absolutely stellar, as usual. Hurt's been one of my favorite actors since I saw The Accidental Tourist at the theater years and years ago. (The Accidental Tourist is still one of my favorite novels and one of my favorite movies.) I even liked William Hurt in Lost in Space, although I liked Mimi Rogers even more. (Hot!)

Anyway, so now I've seen two M. Night Shyamalan films. Unbreakable with Bruce Willis and Samuel Jackson was the other one, and I loved it too. I still haven't seen The Sixth Sense or Signs. But they're definitely on my list.

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