AWN Blogs

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.

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.

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.

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.

It's been a month since the last Getting Buzzed column appeared and there has been a solid release of trailers creating buzz in the movie world. Here are 20 films that look promising.

20) Big Man Japan (May 15)
Trailer
You could also file this under the WTF file as well. This crazy looking modern Japanese monster movie looks like it's so bad, it's brilliant.

19) Orphan (July 24)
Trailer
I'm a sucker for horror flicks. I watch the trailer and say to myself, "hey, that one might not be too bad." Then when I see it, it's crap. Here's a new take on the demon child genre, starring Peter Sarsgaard and Vera Farmiga. Good actors with director Jaume Collet-Serra, who helmed the stylish passable HOUSE OF WAX remake, should it be given a chance?

PINOCCHIO is a classic because it combines tight storytelling with gorgeous classic animation for a story that has a purpose. Lessons are common to films intended for children, but this animated adventure never preaches, but never shies away from its message. The world is full of temptation, so how can a naïve puppet not go bad?

Geppetto (Christian Rub, SWISS FAMILY ROBINSON) is a lonely puppetmaker who wishes upon a star for his new marionette Pinocchio (Dickie Jones, DESTRY RIDES AGAIN) to come to life. That night, the Blue Fairy (Evelyn Venable, ALICE ADAMS) arrives and makes his dream come true. She promises the naïve puppet that if he is brave and honorable, he will become a real boy. To give him guidance, she makes the wisecracking Jiminy Cricket (Cliff Edwards, HIS GIRL FRIDAY) his official conscience. However, on the way to school, Pinocchio is easily lured off the right path by huckster fox Honest John (Walter Catlett, BRINGING UP BABY) and his dimwitted, mute cat accomplice Gideon (Mel Blanc, LOONEY TUNES).

I am a WATCHMEN comic fan. I think it's important to say that right from the start, because it informs my perspective on Zack Snyder's film rendition. The material works better as a comic, where it finds a perfect middle ground between the visual and the literary. On the screen, it doesn't have the visceral drive that made THE DARK KNIGHT a thrill ride as well as a work of pop art. That doesn't mean WATCHMEN isn't a work of pop art. Those unfamiliar with the original material might be quite perplexed with this heady superhero drama. This isn't Bang! Boom! Whomp! material. It's superheroes going through an existential crisis, wrapped around a murder mystery. A murder mystery that might just involve all of mankind.

Following SUPERMAN DOOMSDAY and BATMAN: GOTHAM KNIGHT, WONDER WOMAN is the latest animated feature from DC Direct, and their best thus far. I'm not the first person to say it, but it is nevertheless true — those planning a live-action feature based on the Amazonian princess should check this out. Much is made of the PG-13 rating, but in addition to harder violence, the film deals with more mature subject matters. As an origin story, this version of Wonder Woman will be quite different to those whose only reference to the character is Lynda Carter.

The film begins with a vicious battle between Wonder Woman's mother Hippolyta (Virginia Madsen, SIDEWAYS), the queen of the Amazon women, and Ares (Alfred Molina, SPIDER-MAN 2), the god of war. The feud between the former lovers leads to the Amazonians secluding themselves from all men on a hidden island where they keep Ares a prisoner. On the island, the god queen Hera (Marg Helgenberger, TV's CSI) gives Hippolyta a daughter made from clay. Her name is Diana (Keri Russell, WAITRESS), who grows up to be the greatest Amazon warrior. When pilot Col. Steve Trevor (Nathan Fillion, WAITRESS) crashes on the island, a series of events unfolds leading to the escape of Ares. Diana, in her classic Wonder Woman grab, is sent on a mission to accompany Trevor back to the outside world and stop Ares, who has made a deal with Hades (Oliver Platt, FROST/NIXON), the god of the underworld.

After a week off for the annual Oscar Showcase tour, This Weekend's Film Festival is back with a great lineup of some of the best documentaries from 2008. We have the Oscar winner and fellow nominees. If you saw the Oscar ceremony and saw, Philippe Petit balance the statuette on his chin, you know a bit of what you have in store. The films this week take us to great heights to Antarctica and around the globe to debate religion. Other films look at real lives — one about a famous movie director and the other about a baby boy whose mother murdered his father. The cliché is right — life is stranger than fiction. Find out why.

Oscar winner MAN ON WIRE begins the lineup with a real-life story that plays like the most amazing caper movie. Petit's accomplishment that is captured in this film "was a precursor to David Blaine’s large public tricks mixed with a more French and less crude Jackass stunt and Christo scale artwork," to quote my original review. James Marsh's film uses re-enactments, interviews and archival films and photos to show the planning and execution of Petit's highwire walk between the towers of the World Trade Center. While Petit comes off mischievous, he is the consummate professional; he knew the dangers and unbelievable obstacles he was facing, but that was part of he fun. Though we know the ending of the story going in, it doesn't mean the viewer knows the whole story. The details are what make the tale gripping and inspiring and often humorous. When you discover what Petit and his collaborators had to do to succeed, you'll view this public performance piece in a new light. Great success stories are uplifting, and Petit's story is just that.

Clint Eastwood's Oscar winner took the sheen off the Wild West, at least how the Wild West was depicted on screen. That being said, the film holds to many of the traditions of classic Westerns. Eastwood seems to be balancing between classic Western mythology and the revisionist work he did in the '70s. Based on David Webb Peoples' script, the film challenges the noble legends of the Western genre, showing cowboys and outlaws as savage killers. The West was a rough and lawless place. Even the law was rough and lawless. As the aging assassin, Bill Munny, Eastwood shines in the role he seemed destined to play.

Munny was a notorious killer. But he met a woman and settled down, started pig farming. When his wife died, he was left to raise his two children alone. Then one day, the Schofield Kid (Jaimz Woolvett, ROSEWOOD) rides in. The kid has heard all the tales about Munny and wants his help with an assassination job. A couple of cowboys cut up a prostitute and her friends have pooled their money to pay for revenge. Their town sheriff Little Bill Daggett (Gene Hackman, HOOSIERS) let the cowboys go in exchange for seven ponies to be given to the brothel owner Skinny Dubois (Anthony James, IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT), who paid good money for Delilah (Anna Thomson, BIRD), who cut up won't earn a cent. Munny isn't interested at first, but the money seems better than he can fetch for his sick hogs. He recruits his partner Ned Logan (Morgan Freeman, MILLION DOLLAR BABY) to help.