Gran Torino will open nationwide tomorrow (January 9th).

Before I tear into this film with all the reasons why you shouldn’t go see it, let me first just mention that you should definitely go see this film*.  It may be the typical inspirational ballad of a stubborn old-timer that reaches salvation through an unlikely friendship, but a little cheese can be good once in a while; even if it is from Hollywood.

The fact of the matter is that this is a Clint Eastwood picture, so if you like Clint, you’ll probably like this film.  The message is all wrong, but who cares, when Clint’s at the helm.  Basically Dirty Harry retired, moved to Detroit, and changed his name to Walter Kowalski.

*Addressed to those who are not minorities..read on for plot summery & critical breakdown

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With more than 10 hours of footage and over five years in the making, Planet Earth will blow you away.  You could travel the globe for the rest of your life and never witness the beauty and wonder found on this five disc set.  Having a party?  Throw one of the Planet Earth DVD’s in as background noise and your guests will think you spiked the punch with LSD.   This DVD collection redefines natural history filmmaking and gives me a new found respect for the Discovery Channel and their ability to provide the highest quality programming on the planet.

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Kevin Smith is at it again, in his most recent film, Zack and Miri Make a Porno.  The film is not pornographic in nature, despite the adult film stars, the title and the fact that Smith had to fight for the R rating (initially rated NC-17). 

Everything Seth “Midas” Rogen (Zack) touches turns to comedy gold, so it’s no secret that this film is chalk full of funny.  With wonderful comedic acting skills refined by her days on Scrubs, costar Elizabeth Banks (Miri) solidifies her recent Hollywood ascent to movies such as W. and The H-Man Cometh.
As expected we have seasoned Smith vets with the acting of Jason Mewes (Lester) and Jeff Anderson (Deacon).  What we don’t have is the old school unilateral Kevin Smith diction coming out of every actors mouth; a character development feat he matched only in Jersey Girl and to some extent Chasing Amy. 

Spoiler alert, Elizabeth Banks does not get naked : (

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Did O-Stone jump on the Bush Bashing Bus or is W. a fair crack at the 43rd President of the United States?

For those of you that don’t know, Oliver Stone, the mastermind behind JFK and Nixon has fired out a new Presidential film with what he describes as "a fair and true portrait…" of the highly criticized George W Bush. 
It’s true that Stone doesn’t dwell on the overplayed topics of cocaine, Halliburton, 911 or Katrina, but he doesn’t exactly paint Bush as the most apt president in U.S. history.

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Can someone get Shia LaBeouf’s agent working for me?  This kid is everywhere, and rightfully so, he’s a pretty good actor.  But how about his new IMax flick “Eagle Eye“? 

The movie is steeped in action, with more than a dash of drama and a tinge of comedy, overlayed on a plot that sucks you in quickly and doesn’t spit you out until the very end.  As far as action films go Eagle Eye is 20/20.

I’m not a fan of movies that exceed believability within their own context.  If Aliens are taking over the world, it doesn’t mean a cop car can hit a pile of dirt and fly 600 yards over a building. 
Eagle Eye pushed the envelope a couple of times, but not so much that I didn’t enjoy it.  There are of course some major flaws, that could have been abated during the aftermath debriefing. 

Read on to learn more about what makes Eagle Eye worth or not worth seeing.

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  Does anyone like a single theme song from a James Bond movie?  If there was an Oscar for worst lead-in to a film, the psychedelic double O7 bounce-around intro’s would have the longest running streak in cinematic history.  Maybe number 22 is a charm and the first musical duet in Bond history will likewise be the first JB theme that doesn’t require mushrooms and peyote to enjoy.   

The eccentric guitarist/vocalist and the Princess of soul have recorded the theme song “Another Way to Die” for the most recent James Bond adventure titled  “Quantum  of  Solace,”.  The soundtrack will be released by J Records on October 28th, 2008, while the movie is set to début on the 7th of November.

*Is it double O seven or double zero seven? 

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Step Brothers would be a pretty descent film if there was no script, dialog, actors, or sound; at least then I could have fallen asleep instead of idly watching as my brain cells committed suicide.
  
If you don’t value your time, then by all means go check out this film. 
If you’re a Will Ferrell and John C. Riley fan, you’ll be sure to get more than a few chuckles from this completely senseless movie. 

It’s more than apparent that Will and John got together over a bag of Doritos and said lets make another movie where we bounce around like boiled sea-monkey’s with underdeveloped hamster brains shouting obscenities at each other.  They then finished their bag of chips along with the entire movie script.
On a positive note, the tacitly deficient duo does nail the emotional self-absorbed pubescent boy routine, sometimes delivering an unassuming laugh or two, but I’d still stick it right below Talladega Nights on the laugh-o-meter.  Boats and Hoes!

*Spoiler alert! Will Ferrell acts like an idiot, again.

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Let me preface this review by saying that anyone who found either of Burton’s Batman adaptations better than Nolan’s “Batman Begins” doesn’t meet the minimum brain cell requirement for this Blog; kindly finish your Spaghetti-O’s and log out.
Oh, and if you enjoyed any of Schumacher’s monstrosities, fear not, there may be help on the horizon.

Blah, Blah, Blah, lets get to the good stuff.  Everyone wants to know what’s going on with the latest Heath Ledger hype. Is his performance Oscar worthy or is everyone blowing it up because he passed away earlier this year? The short answer (and only answer) to this question is YES!
Yes some people are Heathcliff obsessed because this brilliant young actor has unfortunately passed on.  However, before doing so, Ledger succeeded with ferocious veracity in transforming an already iconic comic book villain into the most terrifying yet intriguing villain of ALL TIME; without a doubt Oscar worthy. 

To prepare for the role, Ledger locked himself in a hotel room for six weeks formulating the character’s voice, posture, and psychology.  He recorded the Joker’s thoughts and feelings in a diary to help guide his performance during the filming.

I ask myself, would I like this movie as much if Heath Ledger wasn’t in it?  The answer is a resounding “NO”.  He brought too much to the table.  Ledger reshaped not only the persona of the Joker, but raised the bar, perhaps too high for anyone within the superhero genera to ever reach again.  I’m the first to admit that to even find an equivalent role where someone could hope to touch the quality of Ledger’s work would be difficult, but styles and formats change, so we’ll all have to just wait to see what the future brings. 

WARNING, Spoilers ahead: Bruce Wayne is Batman!

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Personally I’m a fan of the prequal: “Yes City for Young Women”. 

If you’ve seen No Country for Old Men and didn’t like it, you didn’t understand it.  If you understood it but didn’t like it, you have horrible taste; either way you’re a massive loser and should immediately take your own life along with any offspring you’ve produced.
Even though you’ve never seen or heard of Javier Bardem before this, his chilling portrayal of the embodiment of fates evil hand was an unmitigated display that can only be defined by Bardem’s personification of the concept of what his character represents; easily on par with Anthony Hopkins representation of Hannibal Lector.  

Tommy Lee Jones plays the Yin to Javier’s Yang; “Ed Tom” and “Anton”  (pronounced almost the same throughout the movie) was not a mistake my friends.

*Warning: The Read On section contains a synopsis spoiler

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