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MARLEY & ME (2008) (***)

This isn't your typical dog movie. It's not about a young kid learning responsibility by owning a pet. The dog of the title, Marley, was journalist John Grogan's pet from early in his marriage to after his three kids were born. He wrote about his pet many times in his daily column and eventually wrote a best-selling book about "the worst dog ever." But the film really isn't about the dog. Marley is just a witness to Grogan's life.

The film begins with Grogan, played by Owen Wilson (THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS), getting married to fellow reporter Jennifer (Jennifer Aniston, TV's FRIENDS). He lands a reporter's job at a Florida newspaper where he dreams of doing big international stories like his friend Sebastian (Eric Dane, TV's GREY'S ANATOMY). When Jennifer starts discussing children, John buys her a puppy. Marley turns out to be a handful, destroying everything that he sees. Marley eats everything he can chew. He howls during thunderstorms. And letting him off his leash at the park or beach is always a mistake. After a few years, when John has settled into his new role as columnist, he feels ready for kids. As Jennifer eventually says, Marley is easy compared to raising children.

Blogs

Getting Buzzed - I Want to Go Where the Wild Things Are

The buzz list this week is an eclectic mix of work from some great directors and actors. From the directors, their new films move them into new directions, tackling subject that are unexpected. There are two films that feature two of the breakout performers of last year. So get ready to get buzzed.

Melting Fast
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (July 1)
Trailer
ICE AGE 2, with its sitcom script, wasn't good, but it seems Fox is going to force Blue Sky to make these films until they aren't profitable anymore. What a shame, because HORTON HEARS A WHO showed they can cook up much more than stale leftovers.

Blogs

MONSTERS VS. ALIENS (2009) (**)

MONSTERS VS. ALIENS could have been called "It Came from Outta Every Other '50 Sci-Fi Spoof." Beamed down from the planet disappointment, this DreamWorks animated feature is like the cloned aliens that populate it. I've heard of companies going green these days, but recycling gags doesn't lessen energy consumption, only viewer enthusiasm. Following the fun promising turn DreamWorks made with KUNG FU PANDA, this film kicks them back to Planet SHARK TALE where an original voice is replaced with a stale sitcom hum.

Susan Murphy (Reese Witherspoon, WALK THE LINE) is about to marry self-centered weatherman Derek Dietl (Paul Rudd, I LOVE YOU, MAN) when she is hit by a meteorite. The space rock transforms her into a 49-foot 11-inch giant that the U.S. government dubs Ginormica. She is rounded up and put in a secret facility with other monsters. The Missing Link (Will Arnett, BLADES OF GLORY) is the de-facto leader of the captured creatures. Dr. Cockroach (Hugh Laurie, TV's HOUSE) is a mad scientist who can make anything out of spare parts. B.O.B. (Seth Rogen, KNOCKED UP) is a dimwitted gelatinous blob. Insectosaurus is a 350-foot mutated insect that was captured while devouring Tokyo. But when alien Gallaxhar (Rainn Wilson, TV's THE OFFICE) threatens to take over Earth, President Hathaway (Stephen Colbert, TV's THE COLBERT REPORT) is advised by General W.R. Monger (Kiefer Sutherland, TV's 24) to set loose the monsters on the alien's giant robots.

Blogs

This Weekend’s Film Festival Celebrates Bond, James Bond

With the second film in the rebooted Bond franchise now on DVD, This Weekend's Film Festival celebrates the iconic British spy with a collection of his greatest screen adventures. Some critics have argued that QUANTUM OF SOLACE took the fun out of the Bond series, but its gritty realism and continuing emotional center are something that was present in past installments. In the lineup we have Connery, Lazenby, Moore and Craig. We have Bianchi, Rigg, Bouqet, Green, and Kurylenko. After this look at 007, your impression of the legendary hero will be shaken and stirred.

The second Bond film, FROM RUSSIAN WITH LOVE, may be the best balanced of the series. It contains many of the great conventions like Q, and the bad ones like the talking villain. Bond archnemesis Blofeld is introduced as an unseen mysterious figure. In this adventure, SPECTRE wants to start a war between the U.S. and Russia and uses Russian agent and beauty Tatiana Romanov (Daniela Bianchi) as a trap for Bond, played with suave skill by Sean Connery. The heated adversarial relationship between the male and female spies is a quintessential element of the series and works rarely better than here. The plot gives them reasons to put aside their differences and fall in love… or lust. A unique element of this entry, especially for one coming in 1963, is the crucial character of Kerim Bey, a smart, brave and sexually appealing Turkish spy. Before Bourne upped Bond and then Bond tried to up Bourne, the vicious fight sequence between Bond and SPECTRE thug Red Grant, played wonderfully by Robert Shaw, was as raw as any modern fight gets. And unlike modern fight choreography, the audience can make out what is happening, giving it real tension. This edition really set the bar high for the series. To quote my original review, "Being a spy can be a rough job, between murderous assassins and femme fatales, but James Bond is the man that can handle all elements with strength and smarts."

Blogs

Tonight is the REUNION of the Ballyers

Tonight is the 20th year reunion of the animation program at what one was Senior College Ballyfermot- now called Ballyfermot College of Higher and Further Learning...really, truly.

Actually it is not a reunion as we know it in the States but rather a 20th ANNIVERSARY of the program! I was there for 4 years as Course Coordinator (Chair) and an instructor.

We had a wonderful time with some truly gifted students and faculty.

It was one of the landmarks of my career.

After a while, the program was on EVERY feature studio's "A" list. I googled the IMDB to see what just a small portion of the former students has achieved and came up with 29 pages of credits.

Blogs

TALES OF THE BLACK FREIGHTER (2009) (***1/2)

For those who enjoyed WATCHMEN, Warner Bros. Home Ent. has new treats in store. One of the parallel stories in the comic WATCHMEN was a comic within the comic, titled TALES OF THE BLACK FREIGHTER. The bloody pirate tale tells the story of a mariner who after being shipwrecked rides a raft of corpses to his homeport in an effort to save his family from the evil Black Freighter. In this animated version of the tale, Warner hasn't skimped on the gruesome details.

In a graphic style that's a cross between DC Direct animated titles like SUPERMAN DOOMSDAY and AEON FLUX, BLACK FREIGHTER captures the essence of the original. Animation seems to be the perfect medium to capture the extreme tale, because live-action would be excessive and hard to watch. The otherworldly nature of animation always us to accept a man floating out to sea on the dead bodies of his comrades and battling a giant shark who tries to eat them.

Blogs

UNDER THE HOOD (2009) (***1/2)

For those whom felt WATCHMEN was too much a literal adaptation of the comic, they may want to watch the new short based on the UNDER THE HOOD material from the original graphic novel. In the original WATCHMEN story, the original Nite Owl, Hollis Mason, wrote an autobiography, which was excerpted for the comic. Instead of filming a "based upon" sequence, director Eric Matthies and writer Hans Rodionoff craft a 1970s news program called "The Culpepper Minute" to chronicle the origin of Nite Owl and the superhero team called the Minutemen.

The TV news magazine style is reminiscent to 20/20 and even features vintage period commercials. Stephen McHattie gets a chance to shine as Mason, the first masked superhero to reveal his identity after previously keeping it secret. McHattie's performance makes one wish he had been more prominent in the feature. The short serves as a fascinating prequel to the WATCHMEN feature, giving a deeper insight into his Hollis Mason character, as well as other key characters such as Sally Jupiter (Carla Gugino, SPY KIDS). Through seeing the story told prior to the events of the feature film, the short contains wonderful irony, especially for fans of the comic. I loved when Rorschach's prison psychologist says he'd love to get into the mind of one of the masks.

Blogs

Back in the Saddle

After much thought, I have decided to turn on the "comments" section of this blog. It may take a little while for that to actually happen. I cleaned out some 20,000 spam thingys - they were like slugs sticking to my entries. To that end, I deleted many entries that had the "slugs" attached.
As always, I have been drawing and animating, directing and so on.

It has been and continues to be a VERY busy time - but you know what - I love it that way!
Here are some recent drawings...

Ty B. Bear is still a favorite - his musings have become a bit more expansive...

And I have some watercolors, too.

Since we don't have snow in Savannah (thank goodness!!!) This was the first time I painted considering snow. By the way, the watercolor artwork at the Old Avon Farm Inn was all original. I just walked the halls - studying the watercolors. "Security, get that wandering artist!"

Blogs

NO RESERVATIONS (2007) (**)

This dramedy about a workaholic chef who is given her dead sister's kid has no flavor. It's like a microwave meal — parts of it smell good, but as is, it's very bland and leaves you feeling hungry when you're done. Some of the ingredients are good, especially the cast, but its script is canned.

Kate (Catherine Zeta-Jones, TRAFFIC) is the top chef at the restaurant of Paula (Patricia Clarkson, THE STATION AGENT). When Kate's sister dies, the snooty cook is given custody of her niece Zoe (Abigail Breslin, LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE). This puts a crimp in her busy lifestyle, and Paula decides she needs to hire another chef. In comes Nick (Aaron Eckhart, ERIN BROCKOVICH), a free-spirited cook whose flashy style clashes with Kate's anal-retentiveness. Of course, they will fall for each other, and Zoe will love Nick, but will they be able to get past Paula wanting Nick to be head chef?

Blogs

Getting Buzzed - A Buzz in the Air, Is It Summer?

Five new trailers hit this week that got the buzz-o-meter buzzing. A hitman romance directed by an actor. A doc about an infamous boxer. A new vampire film from a Korean master. A new drama from a Spanish master. And a quirky-looking romance with two wonderful young stars. See what piqued my interest this week.

On the Bubble
Cloudy with the Chance of Meatballs (Sept. 18)
Trailer
With March Madness kicking off this week, I thought it fitting to have a film listed as on the bubble. With the release of the first trailer for Sony's CLOUDY WITH THE CHANCE OF MEATBALLS, I'm lukewarm. As an animation fan, I hold onto hope that every animated feature will be good, but nothing in CLOUDY looks promising. The children's book seemed to have a subtle subversive comment on gross consumerism, but from the trailer MEATBALLS seems like an average outcast makes good story. Judge for yourself.

Blogs

I LOVE YOU, MAN (2009) (***1/2)

Starring Judd Apatow regulars Paul Rudd and Jason Segel, John Hamburg's comedy feels like an Apatow film, much like 40-YEAR-OLD VIRGIN and KNOCKED UP. But it's even closer to Segel's hit from last year, FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL. Like those films, I LOVE YOU, MAN combines original characters, raunchy humor and genuine heart.

Peter Klaven (Rudd) is about to get married to Zooey (Rashida Jones, TV's THE OFFICE), but he doesn't have anyone to be his best man. Unlike his fiancée who has to choose between her two best friends Hailey (Sarah Burns, TV's DAMAGE CONTROL) and Denise (Jaime Pressly, TV's MY NAME IS EARL), Peter has no close guy friends. His brother Robbie (Andy Samberg, TV's SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE) advises him that he has to go out on man-dates to find someone. In addition to this stress, Peter, a realtor, is trying to sell the million-dollar home of HULK star Lou Ferrigno, who you don't want to get angry about selling his home. At an open house, Peter meets Sydney Fife (Segel), who trolls open houses for free food and hot divorcees. Peter likes Sydney's openness. Could this be the guy?

Blogs

LOVE IN THE TIME OF CHOLERA (2007) (**1/2)

Director Mike Newell (FOUR WEDDINGS AND A FUNERAL) attempts a screen adaptation of Gabriel Garcia Marquez's magical realism classic and translates it into a marginal romance novel. In the transition, the story lost all its nuance, making the grand romance feel stiff instead of passionate. All the pieces are there and a good movie often breaks through, but it lacks the spark that would have given it life.

Florentino Ariza is smitten by Fermina Daza (Giovanna Mezzogiorno, 2001's ONE LAST KISS) upon laying eyes on her for the first time. Florentino is played as a tortured teen by Unax Ugalde (GOYA'S GHOST) and as an adult by Oscar-winner Javier Bardem (NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN). As a teen, Florentino's every thought is consumed by Fermina, but her rich father Lorenzo (John Leguizamo, SUMMER OF SAM) can't have a clerk marrying his daughter, so he sends her away to live with her cousin Hildebranda Sanchez (Catalina Sandino Moreno, MARIA FULL OF GRACE). Florentino saves himself for her, but when she returns, she rejects him and marries the doctor Juvenal Urbino (Benjamin Bratt, TV's LAW & ORDER). Now Florentino, played by Bardem, becomes an unassuming ladies man, who keeps a journal of all his sexual conquests, but secretly longs for his soul mate Fermina. So when Juvenal dies, which we see at the start of the film, Florentino goes to Fermina on the day of the funeral to declare his love once again, and is rejected once again for his insensitivity.

Blogs

This Weekend’s Film Festival Celebrates Young Vampires

With the TWILIGHT about to descend on DVD, This Weekend's Film Festival looks at good young vampire films. I guess young vampire is an oxymoron though. Young-looking vampires would be a more accurate statement. The opening film made my best films of 2008 list. There's also a tightly written anime tale. A twist on the vampire genre from horror master George A. Romero. The quintessential '80s young vamp film, which originated the term "vamp out." And we close with one of the best child vampires in movie history. So put your feet up and pour yourself a glass of red wine, but if you don't drink wine then you might be too young or just right for this week's lineup.

The horror film, LET THE RIGHT ONE IN, was one the premiere films of last year. As I said in my original review, "This Swedish gem becomes one of the best vampire movies ever made because it deals with all the standards of vampirism in a surprisingly sweet coming of age story." Oskar is a young boy who fantasizes about stabbing the bullies at school. The lonely boy tries to make friends with the new girl at his apartment complex, but Eli seems a bit odd, making Oskar even more attracted to her. And the stranger she gets the more repulsed and attracted he becomes. Despite looking like a preteen, Eli has the maturity of a girl who has lived for decades. So why would she befriend Oskar? By the end of the story, the title becomes more of a question than a statement. Tomas Alfredson's haunting film presents a dark young love story mixed with a subtle twist on the vampire myth. Like INTERVIEW WITH A VAMPIRE, this thoughtful film contemplates the pain and loneliness of being an immortal creature who must feed on the blood of humans to survive. Written by John Ajvide Lindqvist, the story sees the depths of its characters and uses the conventions to the vampire genre as a metaphor for dark places in the human psyche.

Blogs

THE LOST BOYS (1987) (***1/2)

Movies love affair with the vampire stretches back to the earliest days of the cinema. Various directors have put their stamp on the horror subgenre and when it comes to pop culture vamps few films exceed THE LOST BOYS in popularity. So why does Joel Schumacher's fairly standard vampire flick have such staying power? Why does it float above so many others like it? The cast. They were good then and now the film stands as a time capsule for a period in film history.

Michael Emerson (Jason Patric, RUSH) moves with his recently divorced mother Lucy (Dianne Wiest, HANNAH AND HER SISTERS) and little brother Sam (Corey Haim, LUCAS) to live with his hippie grandpa (Barnard Hughes, TRON) in Santa Carla, the murder capitol of the U.S. On the boardwalk, he is smitten by Star (Jami Gertz, 1992's JERSEY GIRL), a street kid who hangs with a gang of punked out lost boys, lead by David (Kiefer Sutherland, TV's 24). Not wanting to look like a wuss, Michael takes David's increasingly dangerous challenges. In the meantime, Sam meets the Frog Brothers, Edgar (Corey Feldman, DREAM A LITTLE DREAM) and Alan (Jamison Newlander, 1988's THE BLOB), at comic book shop, where they warn the new kid in town to read up on vampires, because it could save his life. At first Sam doesn't believe in bloodsuckers, but when it turns out that Michael has been tricked into drinking blood, he might have Dracula living in the next room.

Blogs

URBAN COWBOY (1980) (***)

Coming at the height of the first wave of John Travolta's career, the hit romance made line dancing, rodeo, cowboy hats and country music popular. Travolta's character Bud could be a cousin of his Tony Manero character from SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER. They're both working class young men who find self worth in their public hobbies. Their treatment of women is questionable at best. And when is comes to clearing a dance floor few are better.

Travolta's Bud gets married young to Sissy (Debra Winger, TERMS OF ENDEARMENT), but Sissy isn't the kind of wife he imagined. She doesn't cook or clean and doesn't like being told what to do. Bud works the oil refinery during day and hangs out at the county bar at night. When their favorite watering hole gets a mechanical bull, Bud gets hooked, but he doesn't like it when Sissy wants to ride too. Ex-con Wes (Scott Glenn, THE RIGHT STUFF) has no problem showing Sissy how to ride and soon Bud and his wife are on the rocks and Bud's in the arms of the slumming rich girl Pam (Madolyn Smith Osborne, FUNNY FARM). When the bar announces a bull-riding contest, Bud decides to train with his uncle Bob (Barry Corbin, TV's NORTHERN EXPOSURE) to beat the arrogant Wes, who has now made Sissy his woman.

Blogs

NEVER BEEN KISSED (1999) (*1/2)

Movie nerds are supposed to be misunderstood, awkward people, but likeable. Drew Barrymore plays her lead character in NEVER BEEN KISSED with awkwardness to spare, but also with a huge dose of annoying. There are reasons why some nerds are not liked, Barrymore's Josie Geller reminds us of them all.

Josie is a copy editor at the Chicago Sun-Times. I wonder if this was done to try and butter up Roger Ebert for a good review? I guess, it worked; it's the only thing that explains his three star review of this junk. Anyways, Josie really wants to be a reporter, but Gus the editor (John C. Reilly, CHICAGO) doesn't think she has the strength to be a hardnosed journalist. But then in an editorial meeting, unpredictable publisher Rigfort (Garry Marshall, A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN) randomly picks Josie to go undercover as the high school student to discover what the modern teen is really like. When Josie tells her slacker brother Rob (David Arquette, SCREAM) what her assignment is, he reminds her that high school was hell for her. And sure enough, Josie has the same set of social skills she had back then. A threesome of popular girls ridicules her and the big man on campus Guy (Jeremy Jordan, BIO-DOME) makes joke out of her, until Rob poses as a student and makes her popular.

Blogs

DEFINITELY, MAYBE (2008) (***)

I saw this at about the same time I saw the 2008 political thriller VANTAGE POINT and am surprised at the similarities. They both have gimmicks in how they structure their story and they both deal with politics. But what's even more surprising is that the romantic comedy DEFINITELY, MAYBE executes both of those elements better than the other movie. Romantic comedies are usually slavish to conventions, and thrillers are supposed to throw new twists at us each time out. While DEFINITELY, MAYBE isn't perfect, it respects its audience enough to know what its talking about when not in romance mode.

Will Hayes (Ryan Reynolds, BLADE TRINITY) is getting divorced. His young daughter Maya (Abigail Breslin, LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE) wants to know how her father and mother met, and why they're splitting, so Will begins to tell her his dating-life story since college — only changing the names to protect the innocent (and add a bit of mystery to who is Maya's mom). The first suspect is Emily (Elizabeth Banks, W.), Will's hometown sweetheart. Maya isn't convinced it's her because in romances the guy never stays with the original girl. Next is April (Isla Fisher, THE LOOKOUT), a vivacious woman who isn't big on commitment, which often casts Will in the role of boy friend not boyfriend. The third and final suspect is journalist Summer (Rachel Weisz, THE CONSTANT GARDENER), who turns out to have a lot in common with Will.

Blogs

INTERVIEW WITH A VAMPIRE (1994) (***1/2)

Neil Jordan followed the success of THE CRYING GAME with this adaptation of Anne Rice's bestselling horror novel. It actually wasn't his first foray into horror having made the fairy tale-infused chiller THE COMPANY OF WOLVES in 1984. While INTERVIEW doesn't have the scares of a typical horror film, it does contain some of the existential dread that classic horror contained, as well as the best romanticized version of the vampire myth to hit the screen.

In the 1700s, Louis de Pointe du Lac (Brad Pitt, 12 MONKEYS) was already a successful plantation owner at the age of 24. However, his wealth was unable to ease the pain of the death of his wife and child; he longed for death. This is when Lestat de Lioncourt came into his life and offered him "the choice he never had." Lestat said he could ease Louis's pain by making him a vampire, but in losing his life, Louis doesn't lose his humanity, and struggles with drinking the blood of humans.

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