• Happy New Year!
• Here’s a very cool new teaser promo for season 4 of Battlestar
• Speaking of Battlestar, there’s finally some actual info (and artwork even) for the delayed release of the season 3 DVD set.
• Here’s a semi-techie article about the death of high fidelity. I’ve seen more than enough examples of what they are talking about. ‘Tis sad.
• Excellent. Sony has put Gattaca back on the release schedule for Blu-Ray release. Definitely picking that one up.
• Speaking of high-def discs, HighDefDigest.com has put up their list of best and worst high def discs of 2007. A good list that I can’t argue with. I definitely agree with his choice of Blade Runner as release of the year. Boy do I agree with that. Close Encounters is also deserving. I’ve been wanting to pick up 2001, but have been waiting for it to fall into one of the many 2-for-1 deals of late, but it hasn’t. I might just pick it up at shelf price anyway. It’s been getting rave reviews. I’m anxious to check it out.
• And speaking of Close Encounters, both it and Back to the Future were accepted into the national film registry this year. Neato. Then again, so did Dances With Wolves…
• Hurray! Another major label drops DRM from their catalog.
• Here’s a cool archaeological discovery in Russia
• Another amusing Dilbert Blog post by Scott Adams
• Pregnancy: The next major outsourced industry?
• RIP: Netscape
• Old news by this point, but looks like karma continues to catch up with Paris Hilton

A fairly run-of-the-mill action movie with a few unique aspects. The Russian surroundings give it a welcome, different flavor. And the under appreciated Timothy Olyphant helps boost the otherwise stale goings on.

Writing: Not a lot to praise here. Most of it is fairly obvious, despite the possibilities setup by the underdeveloped back story. You have the loner action movie star with a plot that takes him from one fight/action scene to the next with the unexpected (to positively nobody) romantic interest. Then again, who expects much more from video game adaptations? Admittedly, I expected a bit more from Skip Woods, who wrote the overlooked Swordfish.

Production: To help make up for the limited writing, we are treated to a fairly slick production. Both fluid and gritty in style, it’s an enjoyable blend. Most aspects of the production are solid with little to complain about.

Cast: Timothy Olyphant is definitely the highlight here, shaved head and all. He gives the role a calm, aggressive vibe without trying to oversell it. Dougray Scott is passable as the adversary. Olga Kurylenko does a nice job as the romantic interest, providing one of the better Russian performances. The rest of the cast is adequate enough, including actors like Robert Knepper (one of the more fun cast members of Prison Break).

Music: Geoff Zanelli has toiled away as a filler composer for Hans Zimmer’s stable of composers for a while now, and has only recently gotten to take primary composer credits on main stream productions. His score for this film is kinda what you would expect. It has its moments, but I don’t recall it standing out as great in particular.

• Hope y’all had a merry Christmas
• Aaaack! How did I miss this news? Today’s brand new Christmas special of Doctor Who featured a dedication in memory of Verity Lambert. Somehow, I missed seeing the news of her passing last month. It’s a name most any self respecting Doctor Who fan knows immediately. The “mother” or Doctor Who, as it were. Sad news, indeed.
• Speaking of today’s Doctor Who special, it was pretty good. For somebody who’s a sucker for disaster films, like me, it was good fun. A bit uneven, and not quite up to the production task, but certainly great fun. Certainly fun for us Doctor Who fans.
• I’m in no way surprised by this, but USA has canceled The Dead Zone. I’m a fan of the show, and after seeing them cut pretty much ever corner possible for the last season, I figured cancellation was coming. I struggle to remember the last show to retool their production in a mad effort to stay on the air that succeeded past that first retooled season. Ah well, it’s hard to say that a show that survived 6 seasons didn’t enjoy its success.
• Is it just me, or does the new KITT look particularly lame?

This sequel effortlessly recaptures the goofy magic of the first film. I’m a bit of a sucker for these kinds of adventure films, of which the National Treasure films are nice modern entries (along side others like the fun Sahara).

Writing: The goal of writing one of these films is not just the labyrinthine plotting but energy and character interaction. Like the first film, the plotting is ambitious and clever enough to work. Sure, it strains believability, but that’s OK. There no problem with the energy of the story, as it bounces along with its exuberant drive. Then there’s the light and charming character interactions, which feel natural and fun.

Production: Plenty of excellent production quality to be found here. From the well staged traditional action scenes to the very cool set pieces, this is a well made movie. There’s one scene in particular that I quite liked, with 4 of the main cast stuck atop a giant spire, on a big stone square delicately balanced on a point in the middle. There’s some fun logistical staging for that sequence. Visual effects work is fairly sparse, favoring more traditional set and stunt work. Cinematography and sound do an excellent job. And editing is particularly good, keeping thing moving along to the point where the movie certainly doesn’t feel as long as it’s 2+ hour run time. Director Jon Turteltaub has recently been making the TV series Jericho, which also features some nice production quality and a preference for physically staged sequences as opposed to big effects sequences.

Cast: The main cast reprise their roles perfectly, able to slip into them effortlessly. Nic Cage is his typically fun and goofy self, ably pulling off all the historical jargon and obsession with puzzles. Justin Bartha is again great fun as his sidekick. He gets a nice hook for this sequel, as the nameless assistant that nobody takes seriously. Diane Kruger again plays off Cage nicely as the romantic lead. Though I had a bit of a problem buying the “seperation” between the character that happened between the first film and this. Still, it causes some fun tension so I guess I can figure out why they decided to add that to the story. But they better not go back to that well for the next film, of which I’m sure will happen thanks to their fun way of working in a setup for the next film (btw, any of you fellow Alias fans out there wondering about the “page 47″ usage?). Jon Voight reprises his role as the father, and as a bigger part of the story this time. Added to the mix is no-less-than Helen Mirren as his estranged wife. Then there’s the great addition of Ed Harris to the cast. While his character might have been the most uneven in the writing, Harris manages to make it work. And I can’t believe somebody talked him into a big action sequence under water dump tanks again. After surviving The Abyss, anyone who goes back into the water for a production gets bonus points. Harvey Keitel returns as the now-friendly FBI agent. And as an amusing bit of casting, Bruce Greenwood gets to play the president again (he’s done it before as JFK in Thirteen Days). Greenwood is always great, no matter what, and this is no exception. Director Jon Turteltaub brought over one of his main cast members, Alicia Coppola (no relation to the famous Coppola family), from Jericho for a small role as one of the FBI agents.

Music: Like the first film’s score, I have mixed feelings about Trevor Rabin’s music score to this film. I like his main theme and some of the more adventurous cues, but his action material leaves a heck of a lot to be desired. It falls apart quite a bit when I stop to think of what many of the other talented composers out there could have done with the scores to these films. If you gave them to Bruce Broughton, Joel McNeely, Alan Silvestri, Marco Beltrami, Christophe Beck or a host of other choices, you have an extremely fun adventure score. Still, there’s some nice cues in this score. I do like it a bit better than his score to the first film.

A surprisingly crude parody, which works pretty well in most scenes. Though there’s a bit too much “wink-wink-nudge-nudge” kind of parody, where the cast is too in on the joke to make it work. Most parody films these days forget what the Zucker films knew how to do back in the early years when they were back at their peak - write the material funny, but play it serious.

Writing: With the primary target being Walk The Line, this movie nails most of the comedic potential of that biopic. It touches on a great many other films of the genre. Some of the best humor is found in running gags (a particularly favorite kind of humor for me). There’s also some fun with the music industry in general, and some of the legendary acts over the decades. Of particular amusement is a scene featuring a fun assortment of cameos playing The Beatles.

Production: Director Jake Kasdan is, frankly, better than this material. And while it may be his weakest film, he still manages to make something of it. Extra effort is given to hitting many of the stylistic marks of the music biopic, and as expect, Walk The Line in particular. Cinematography features some gritty and contrast heavy lighting, lensed quite well in anamorphic scope. Editing is well done, playing the jokes with pretty good timing.

Cast: John C. Reilly is somebody who has spent most of his acting career as a supporting actor, in both drama and comedy. After his hilarious work in Talladega Nights, I wasn’t surprised to find out somebody had given him a comedic lead. And he works well in the role, though like much of the film hits the comedy a bit too on-the-nose. Jenna Fischer is charming and funny as his on-again off-again, June Carter inspired romantic interest. Supporting performances are fun. Tim Meadows is quite funny as the band member responsible for starting all of Dewey’s vices (in my favorite running joke). And David Krumholtz is fun as his agent. Then there are the countless cameo appearances, most of which are quite funny. I won’t mention them, as it’s more fun to be surprised by them. Let’s just say that The Beatles aren’t quite what you remember them to be.

Music: Michael Andrews does a nice job with the material. Being a movie that features songs heavily, the score tends to function mostly as the glue to hold together the songs. It does that and works on a core scoring level as well. Not a spectacular score, or one worth raving about, but it’s certainly good enough.

“Yeah, I’m a legend. You know, they call me the cautionary whale.”

Favorite movie of the year, plain and simple. What higher praise can I give? I’d be thrilled to see a movie like this get Oscar attention.

Writing: First time screenwriter (and former stripper…) Diablo Cody (real name: Brook Busey) pulls off a strikingly smart and amusing character drama. With casually sharp dialog and a carefully restrained sense of eccentricity, it’s hard to not be engaged and entertained.

Production: In recent years, I’ve found it interesting how many second generation directors of prominent industry vets have not only shown themselves as good as their parent, but have surpassed them. There has been the likes of Sofia Coppola and Jake Kasdan (and brother Jon Kasdan is a possibility as well). But if there’s a prime example of such, it would be Jason Reitman, son of legendary comedy director Ivan Reitman (Ghostbusters, Stripes, etc). It was hard to say for sure about Jason after just one movie, his absolutely fantastic Thank You For Smoking, but now that there’s a track record of two films to judge, it’s clear that he’s got more directing chops than his father. This movie is beautifully shot, with a goal towards simplicity. It’s brilliantly edited, with a pitch-perfect sense of timing and narrative. And it’s got a sense of irony and comedic timing like few others.

Cast: Ellen Page - performance of the year. The remarkable thing about that (aside from her young age) is that it’s not for an overtly dramatic performance. This is a dramatic performance hidden inside a comedic and eccentric delivery. I have to believe this is one of the hardest performances to pull off so perfectly. With a character that’s endearingly so off-center, you have to be careful to not take it too far. I mean, to announce the news of her pregnancy to the father, she sets up a discarded easy chair and a throw rug outside his house with a smoking pipe in her mouth, delivering the news with quirky confusion and flippant casualness. Her performance is simply perfect. It took me a bit to figure out where I recognized her from, until I realized she had played Kitty Pride in the third X-Men film (she’s the third actress to play the role in the films, and I was impressed with her in the role). Incidentally, I couldn’t help but be reminded by one of my all-time favorite TV performances while watching Ellen Page in this role - that of Caroline Dhavernas as Jaye Tyler in the absolutely fantastic series Wonderfalls. Perhaps it’s a young, cute, brunette, Canadian thing. But their performances are not entirely unalike. Michael Cera is equally charming and also a bit off-beat. The two of them play off each other effortlessly and awkwardly, simultaneously. Jennifer Garner does an admirable job as a somewhat reserved but quietly desperate character, turning in an excellent performance (as always). Then there’s Jason Bateman as the somewhat overwhelmed father-to-be, playing the immaturity with amusing maturity (for whatever sense that makes). Then enter the truly caring parents played so wonderfully by Allison Janney and J.K. Simmons. Simmons had been in Jason Reitman’s previous film, Thank You For Smoking. It’s still in the style of his typically frank performances, but this one has plenty of heart behind it (very unlike his Thank You For Smoking character). And Janney pulls off some great scenes. Then there’s supporting performances from folks like Rainn Wilson and Olivia Thirlby. Wilson plays a small role of a store clerk, and gets in some great dialog delivery in his one scene. It took me a bit to figure out where I recognized Thirlby, till I finally put it together that she was the actress playing the daughter in Kidnapped - a performance I was impressed with while watching that under rated show.

Music: Music plays a key part in the movie. A number of the characters in the film are musicians, and they talk about music quite a bit. Add to that the fact that the songs are featured prominently as almost a character of their own in production. The closing scene of Juno & Bleeker sitting on the steps playing the song is an excellent little coda. Outside of the folksy songs, the score itself is also quite quaint and folksy. It works effortlessly.

“You should’ve gone to China, you know, ’cause I hear they give away babies like free iPods. You know, they pretty much just put them in those t-shirt guns and shoot them out at sporting events.”

You know, I’d really like to give this movie a 10 out of 10, but it’s not QUITE there for me. Stranger still, I’m not sure why.

Writing: Frankly, I’m quite curious as to how historically accurate this script is. As twisted and insane as the proceedings in the movie are, the real insanity is how believable it actually is. Frankly, it’s a bit scary that this movie can feel as real as it does. Sure, it’s got Aaron Sorkin’s typical approach of taking reality in politics and putting a slick, entertaining shine on it. It’s got his typically witty dialog and the frequently lovable scoundrels somehow coming off as both authentic and caricatured.

Production: While this movie is certainly a period film, it doesn’t go out of its way to flaunt the period in your face. While it feels authentically 1980’s, it also doesn’t feel like some part of history that wouldn’t function in today’s era. Much like Charlie’s answer to why congress says one thing and does another (”tradition, mostly”), this movie feels real enough for how little things actually change in politics. Could this story work at this point in time? Surely. While the reality of that goes towards the writing, the way they make the film work as a modern cautionary tale is also very much thanks to the simple production.

Cast: There’s no doubt that the true key to this movie is the acting. This is a bit of an unusual role for Tom Hanks, playing quite a bit again the norm. Sure, he’s charismatic and charming, but he’s also a very flawed, vice-ridden character. His honest surprise at being named to the ethics committee pretty much sums it up. And while Hanks wouldn’t seem an obvious choice for the material at first glance, you kinda need his sense of integrity and good-boy charm to make the unlikely hero work despite his flaws. Julia Roberts is neither great nor bad. Apparently, she looks quite a bit like the real-life person, so I guess that’s reason enough to cast her. She works well enough, but compared to her co-stars, it’s just an average performance. Which brings me to the REAL star of this movie: Philip Seymour Hoffman. I’m a big fan of Hoffman, and this is him at his best. He’s gotten oodles of raves for his performance in Before The Devil Knows Your Dead, which are deserved, but this is a better performance than that. He manages to pull off one of the most likable performances of an aggressive, unrefined, tactless characters. His and Hanks’ characters are an unlikely but perfect team. Frankly, it’s the team of the two of them that makes the entire story actually believable. I don’t think it would have worked without the symbiotic nature of their partnership, both as characters and actors. Their performances just feed off each other so naturally. But make no mistake, Hoffman is the biggest star of this film. Other supporting performances are also great. Amy Smart is wonderful as the attractive-but-wise right-hand to Wilson’s political operation. Then there are the “Angels,” as in Charlie’s. Wilson’s office is hilariously staffed by gorgeous young assistants, who like Amy Adams’ character are smarter than they appear. A couple great bits of casting in these roles, such as Rachel Nichols and Shiri Appleby. Then you’ve got bit part performers who are also quite a bit of fun, like Ned Beatty. Oh, and one musn’t forget Emily Blunt’s performance…

Music: James Newton Howard does a kinda folksy eastern styled score that works well. It’s like a more casual version of what Danny Elfman did for The Kingdom, taking eastern influences and laying guitar over them for emotionality. Not the greatest score of the year (or even James Newton Howard’s greatest), but it works well.

• OK, time to do another HD disc rant. This time the target is HD-DVD. More specifically, it’s the HD-DVD/DVD combo format. I got my third defective combo format disc yesterday (Mr. Bean’s Holiday), following up my other recent one (Bourne Ultimatum) and the first one (Hot Fuzz). So far, they’ve all been Universal titles, and have been fixed by getting an exchange for another copy (which I’ll be doing for Mr. Bean tomorrow). Not only are these combo discs typically more expensive (most often by about $5) than the normal non-combo release, but these things are clearly an unreliable format technique. At this point, I’m extremely hesitant to buy any combo format releases.
• Amazingly, StarTrek.com is in trouble, getting caught in cut-backs.
• A new trailer for WALL-E has hit the net. My inner (and outer) PIXAR nerd is all aflutter. I can’t wait.
• So, The 4400 is officially canceled after 4 season. I’m just slightly behind in watching the show (a couple episodes away from finishing the first season).
• Beowulf (which I just saw again today in IMAX 3D) has been slotted for HD-DVD release on February 26. I’d love to see them attempt a 3D presentation on the disc (the first high-def 3D content?).
• Speaking of HD-DVD, Universal recently announced the upcoming release of Fletch. Hmmm, as much as I love the movie, I have to wonder just how big a difference a high def transfer will make for that one. Frankly, I think Fletch Lives might benefit a bit more from it (and it’s one of the all-time under appreciated sequels).
• Here’s a well coordinated attempt to throw a log
• Wesley Snipes proves why the backlash has everything to do with him, NOT his race.
• And, it’s old news by this point that’s been reported on every entertainment and non-entertainment news source alike - Peter Jackson and New Line are teaming up after all for not just The Hobbit, but also a sequel to The Hobbit.

• Son of a…… So Universal didn’t stop releasing Sliders on DVD after the 3rd season release in 2005 after all. They’ve suddenly announced the pending release of season 4. Excellent. Now, if only Sony would release the second (and last) season of Ned & Stacey, Fox would release the last 3 seasons of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, the last 2 seasons of The Bob Newhart Show, the second (and last) season of The Loop, Warner would release ANYTHING beyond the first season of Everwood (heck, they need to release the first season of Everwood CORRECTLY), anything beyond the first season of Night Court (best of collections DON’T count), BBC would release the second (and last) season of Manchild, MGM would release ANYTHING beyond the first season of the new Outer Limits series (and stop constantly re-releasing the classic Outer Limits). I think that covers the series that have had partial releases then dropped off the face of the earth. Oh, and Sony, get going on those Parker Lewis Can’t Lose sets. Seriously. It’s my mostest wanted series on DVD that is yet to get any release.
• I’m 2 chapters into a fascinating book I picked up yesterday. I had a 40% off coupon for Borders to burn off and did my usual perusal through the Media book section. I stumbled upon a new book titled Season Finale: The Unexpected Rise and Fall of the WB and UPN. I’m a TV nerd, and knew the broad strokes of the story and some of the players involved, but this book covers it in such wonderful detail and insight. The WB was my favorite network during the majority of its 12 year run, so it’s interesting to find out how things really went down behind-the-scenes. The book is well written and has already revealed far more than I ever knew about the formation of the networks. I’ll be reading this book during my meals (my typical routine) with great interest over the next week or two. Highly recommended.
• Happy birthday to the transistor - 60 years old yesterday
• Arthur Clarke has released a brief video on his 90th birthday (the man just keep on going…)
• Speaking of Arthur Clarke, it looks like Morgan Freeman continues his quest to get the Rama movie made.
• Here’s an amusing write-up on why you should make the upgrade from Vista to XP. I agree with many things it said. I made this upgrade on both my home desktop and work laptop, and was very happy after having done so.
• Speaking of which, PC Mag has named Vista the #1 tech disappointment of 2007.
• A funny cop story
• A perfectly executed jump
• I Am Legend had no trouble at the box office
• Unknown actress Gemma Arterton has been cast as the next Bond girl
• I’ve got more reviews rolling in, just not as fast as I’d hoped (raise your hands, all you who are surprised)

This is a horror movie in the tradition style of horror movies. It’s not the modern torture porn crap that just won’t seem to die (ironically). Well, it has a tiny scene or two that succumb to the modern horror style, but they’re the exception to the rule. Ultimately, this is a well constructed and nicely stylized psychological horror thriller. It’s sad that films like these are dropped unceremoniously into theaters these days. Like the excellent Wind Chill from last year, pretty much nobody else saw this one in the theater either.

Writing: Borrowing more from the likes of Alfred Hitchcock than Eli Roth (thank mighty Zarquon for that fact), this self-contained cat-and-mouse story works quite well. While I’d be a little dubious of being able to lock somebody IN a parking garage so completely (one has to wonder about fire codes and mandatory escape routes), it’s a fun idea to play out.

Production: Nothing wrong with the production values of this film. From the slick cinematography to the nuanced sound design, the film makers squeeze as much out of their limited environment as they can. I could only see somebody like David Fincher making more out of it. Produced and co-written by Alexandre Aja, who did the underrated Silent Hill, the movie has a nice quality.

Cast: The cast of this film is pretty much that of two people. While there are a handful of other actors that have a scene or two here and there, the vast majority of the story is with our two main characters. I’m a fan of Rachel Nichols (of Alias and The Inside), and she doesn’t disappoint as the protagonist of the story. She got a vulnerability and a strength at play in the character (not surprisingly, it’s that balance that she pulled off so well on both The Inside and Alias). Then there’s Wes Bentley, who does an excellent job integrating the charming earnestness side of his antagonist character with the outright psychotic side. I love the little touches he adds to the nice-guy side of his character.

Music: The typically horror genre composer team of tomandandy (Tom Hajdu and Andy Milburn) come through with a fairly genre-standard score that works well enough. Perhaps not quite as slick as other aspects of the production, but it certainly doesn’t fail to work well.

The latest entry into the sword-n-sandles epic fad in recent years ends up being better than most every other entry thanks to the creative quality and production talents of director Robert Zemeckis, as well as a good script and a talented cast.

Writing: I’ve read the original poem of Beowulf back in the high school years, and can’t say I remember it all too well beyond some of the broad strokes and characters. I therefor don’t consider myself all too qualified to comment on the adaptive nature of the film. The story is a simple enough tale of pride, lust and revenge. Like many of the best, it’s also a story of gray areas and imperfect characters. For all his heroic qualities, Beowulf is a flawed character capable of great mistakes, and he knows it. Toss into the mix some of the weirder qualities of the story and creatures and you’ve got an entertaining movie. I don’t recall the poem version of the Beowulf character being the gray area character of this film, but rather a traditional heroic character (something I would find less interesting). I’m sure the academics would argue in favor of the poem for any change that Neil Gaiman and Roger Avery made for the film, but I think they did a great job.

Production: There’s little doubt that one of the more interesting aspects of the film is the motion capture 3D animation approach. This is the third film with Zemeckis’ involvement to use this technique. The Polar Express was the first, and used it to great effects. Monster House wasn’t quite the classic that The Polar Express was, but was still a fun movie (which Zemeckis produced, but did not direct). Beowulf is a more aggressive use of the technology, due primarily to story.

Cast: Ray Winstone does an excellent job as Beowulf. Despite all the praise that Gerard Butler got for the lead role in 300 (a similarly geared movie), I though his performance was cardboard and typical. Winstone, however, brings a much more varied and dynamic feel to his performance. Then again, I consider Beowulf superior to 300 in pretty much every way. Angelina Jolie may be pretty obvious casting for the seductress of the story, but that’s for good reason. The slick delivery of her dialog is something Jolie makes work quite well. Crispin Glover, who hasn’t worked with Zemeckis since his legendary performance as George McFly in the first Back To The Future, is an inspired choice for Grendel. It’s hard to recognize a human performance beneath that character, and Glover is one of the actors strange enough to make that work. Robin Wright-Penn does an excellent job as Wealthow, the dignified romantic interest. And hey, she can sing, too. Like Jolie as the seductress, Anthony Hopkins is an obvious bit of casting for the aged king. He gets to play the depraved aspects of the character with great fun. Supporting roles are filled with fantastic actors, from Brendan Gleeson to John Malkovich to Alison Lohman.

Music: Coming as a surprise to precisely nobody, the score is provided by Alan Silvestri. Having score all of Zemeckis’ previous films, it was obligatory that he score this one. Of course this is a good thing, as Silvestri and Zemeckis are one of the greatest director/composer teams out there (and have been going strong for some 25 years now). Silvestri’s score is absolutely fantastic. One of the best of the year. It plays off grand themes and aggressive orchestration very well. Having said that, I think I enjoyed some of the simple moments of the quiet scenes in the score just as much. The couple songs that Penn performs are co-written with Glen Ballard, who Silvestri worked with on The Polar Express. They’re good songs, one of which is adapted well for the end credits.

While I don’t consider this anywhere near the classic that many critics seem to, it’s still a pretty good movie. Production is a bit weak, but the fantastic cast more than makes up for it.

Writing: Newcomer Kelly Masterson’s script is interesting as a character piece. Though if I were a producer/director on the film, I would have trimmed some material out of it that just seemed unnecessary, like the opening scene. Even if I kept the opening scene, I would surely have shot it differently.

Production: This movie feels shockingly amateur in nature. To think that Sidney Lumet, an 83-year-old vet of a great many films, directed this movie is a bit of a surprise. His previous movie, the superior Find Me Guilty, was much more clearly the work of a seasoned veteran. This movie looks like it was a guerrilla-shot production. Then there’s the loose editing which I don’t think quite works right.

Cast: To make up for all the previously mentioned shortcomings, in swoops the first rate cast. Philip Seymour Hoffman manages to make his bad-news character work quite well. Better than it should, frankly. Ethan Hawke does a very nice job with the naive and unsuspecting brother role. His character and performance reminded me a bit of Jared Leto in Lord Of War (also a superior film - and one with Ethan Hawke in a VERY different kind of role). Marisa Tomei comes through with a surprisingly frank performance, and is saddled with the weakest written character to boot. Still, she pulls it off well enough. To round things off, you’ve got Albert Finney, who’s incapable of a bad performance.

Music: The score by Carter Burwell is pretty low key, though the trained film score fan ear can easily pick out some of the cues as being “Carter Burwell cues.” Hardly a best score of the year, but it holds thing together as well as it probably could. Then again, it wouldn’t surprise me if a different composer could have helped make up for some of the shortcomings (if Jerry Goldsmith were still around, I’d be very curious to hear what he’d have come up with).

This is one of those movies that can make genre stereotypes work for it. Featuring a fine cast, solid production and a warm, entertaining story, the film is a winner.

Writing: With a screenplay based on the novel by David Gerrold (the Star Trek writer most famous for The Trouble With Tribbles), the movie already has a solid start. Granted, I haven’t read the novel it’s based on. Not yet, anyway. Regardless, it’s got pedigree. Screenwriters Seth Bass & Jonathan Tolins are relative newcomers and do a good job with the script. The story doesn’t break from genre norms all too much, but the real fun is in the details and the scenes that make up the big picture. The strange behavior aspect of the story lends itself to keeping the material entertaining.

Production: Nothing to complain about with the production quality of the film. While it’s not attempting to be flashy, preferring to stay grounded in character, it still has a bit of fun here and there with the material. It has a nice, fluid feel, as though it hadn’t been rigidly blocked or rehearsed. Given that you’ve got a child as one of the stars and somebody as improvisationally talented as Cusack, I imagine that was the result of using what you’ve got.

Cast: There’s no doubt that the true strength of this film is the cast. John Cusack and Amanda Peet are two of my favorite actors, and they do a great job. Having previously starred together in the excellent Identity, they have a nice, natural chemistry in this film. Cusack gets to channel the more reserved and odd qualities of his performances, and Peet actually plays things a bit more low key and straight than usual. Bobby Coleman, who had played the son on the sci-fi series Surface recently, does an admirable job with his role. There’s no shortage of good casting for the supporting roles, such as Oliver Platt, Richard Schiff, Sophie Okonedo and even Howard Hesseman. Then of course you’ve got the easiest casting in the world to play John Cusack’s sister. I’m referring of course to Joan Cusack.

Music: Aaron Zigman, who’se gotta be one of the busiest composers in the industry these days, does a fine job with the warm and engaging score. It’s right up his alley, and he pulls it off with ease. Like the production, it’s not particularly flashy. It’s just a warm, engaging score.

• I’m listening to the CD for Brian Tyler’s score to Alien Vs. Predator: Requiem as I type this. Holy cow. This may honestly be the most bombastic and aggressive film score I’ve ever heard. I may be underestimating the intensity of this movie. I’m very anxious to see it, and listening to this score has made me even more anxious. Tyler has taken elements of Jerry Goldsmith’s Alien, James Horner’s Aliens and Elliot Goldenthal’s Alien 3 and stripped them down to their core components (favoring texture and orchestration over themes). The majority of the influence is from Horner’s Aliens (and judging from the trailer, I see more influence from the film Aliens than most any other). It’s cool to hear fairly heavy use of Goldenthal’s Alien 3, as it’s a massively under appreciated score (EASILY the greatest aspect of that film). Goldsmith’s Alien is referenced most indirectly, but the trained ear can hear the influence scattered throughout. If there’s any influence from John Frizzell’s Alien Ressurection, I wouldn’t recognize it anyway. Frizzell’s score to Resurrection is lame at best, so I remember very little of it. Then there’s the added fun of mixing in Alan Silvestri’s Predator scores here and there (in a more thundering and scattered arrangement). The orchestra members must have been sweating by the end of each recording session. Not to mention deaf. And this CD is chock full of material (some 77 minutes or so). I’m wondering if this might end up being the sleeper action movie hit of the year.
• Get a free Sarah Connor Chronicles poster (by signing up for the newsletter)
• I finally sprung for a premium membership over at Airliners.net. Such an awesome site. I started an initial photo album over there with favorite pics as I stumble upon them. Haven’t added a whole lot of pics to it yet, but there’s some fantastic ones in there so far.
• So, with USB 3 in the works, the FireWire spec is being bumped up, too.
• UAV’s that charge off power lines. Too cool. Like something out of Deal Of The Century.
• A study of why pregnant women don’t topple. I just find the usage of the word “topple” funny in that context.
• A cool video (pardon the pun) of a train plowing through a bunch of snow
• A real life Garfield
• Whoops

Make no mistake, this is a flawed and uneven movie. That said, much of it is excellent.

Writing: The plotting of the story is all over the place in terms of quality and logic. Frankly, if the last act of the film could have been anywhere near as good as the first act or two, this would have been a stellar success. The nihilistic, isolated and desperate nature of the first half of the film works fantastically. It’s when this story tries to resolve itself where things completely fall down. If they could have tossed the need for a (nearly) happy ending, or even a resolution of any kind, it would have worked so much better. Add to that some poorly defined character traits and some very flawed physical staging in the later part of the movie and you’ve got a script that needed another pass or two by some first rate script doctors.

Production: Having said all that, the film is still very engaging and entertaining. Much of it is thanks to some mostly fantastic visual effects and cinematography work. The VFX of the devastated and lonely New York City are jawdropping and stunning. Absolutely fantastic visual effects work. Which is a shame because the creature effects and animation leave a whole lot to be desired. Not only do they feel completely fake, but they’re VERY generic of the zombie genre. These zombie-like creatures that the human have become are almost completely ineffective on screen. Recent movies like 30 Days Of Night have done far, far better a job through far more simplistic means. Cinematography by Andrew Lesnie is fantastic throughout. He brings the sense of grandeur and style displayed with the Babe films and Peter Jackson’s Lord Of The Rings trilogy and King Kong. This might not be quite as stunning in cinematographic terms as his work on King Kong, but it’s still darned impressive.

Cast: This is pretty much a one man (and one dog) show. There are a few supporting performances, but for the vast majority of the film this is the Will Smith show. Thankfully, it’s one of his best performances. No matter the scene, he’s giving it his all. And from dramatic to comedic, it all works. Even when logic is gone and story falls short, Smith’s performance is still going strong. It’s the most consistently impressive thing about the film.

Music: Unlike the plotting, James Newton Howard hits his best moments during the final part of the film. He’s got a gorgeous, delicate requiem of sorts that works amazingly well. I can’t wait until the CD release just for that one theme/cue. He’s got a talent for the gorgeous melody with lush orchestration, and he sure pulls one off for this film. The rest of the score is pretty sparse, but effective. Definitely some fine work.

• I’m writing this as I sit here listening to the new 3 CD set of the Blade Runner soundtrack. I scrounged up an early copy online to check out. Don’t worry, I’ll be buying the set when it comes out next Tuesday. The Blade Runner/Vangelis/film score nerd in me just couldn’t resist hunting it down early to check out. It’s a great set, btw. The first CD is a repackaging of the existing soundtrack CD from the early 90’s. The second CD is a bunch of unreleased material from the original score. It’s a very cool disc for us fans. It has a style and flow of its own, surprisingly well rounded away from both the film and the first CD material. It’s mostly the lower key, moody material. A cool CD to play in a dark room during the late hours while you’re typing away at the keyboard. Disc 3 is odd but cool. It’s assembled kinda like the first disc, as primarily music with some dialog thrown in as atmosphere. This material, however, is newly created and not from the film itself. Much of it is a reworking of material from the film, both musically and in terms of dialog (moody and atmospheric). Yet it’s also kind of an album in and of itself. It’s easily as cool to us Vangelis fanatics like myself as it is to us Blade Runner fanatics (guilty as well). It could do with less saxophone, though (but that’s just me and my dislike for that instrument). It’s like having the Vangelis of old back again.
• As you’ve likely noticed, more movie reviews are starting to finally appear. I aim to have all remaining reviews posted by the end of this weekend.
• NYC cops are taking entrapment to the next level. Good grief.
• A nice collection of photos from the recent Mutant Enemy Day on the picket lines for the WGA. If you’re looking for more video and photos of the day, there’s tons and tons of it online. Just do some searching.
• Johnny Depp as Pee-Wee? Hmmm. That’ll surely be interesting.
• Journeyman has apparently bitten the proverbial dust
• Avatar has been pushed from summer of 2009 to winter of 2009. Hmmm, a James Cameron movie getting bumped from summer to winter? How unusual.
• The overzealous RIAA continues their shenanigans
• OK, I’m off to the midnight preview screening for I Am Legend. I might get my review posted when I get back. If not, I promise to get it posted tomorrow.

A remarkably solid political, social thriller featuring an excellent cast. I wasn’t sure if this movie would work, but was very happy with the end result.

Writing: The script for this film is rather impressive. It makes a timely political statement, very obviously, without feeling forced. It also does so without making choices about clear-cut good guys and bad guys. And it manages to play with storytelling structure in surprising and elegant ways.

Production: The production of this film is pretty much pitch perfect. Balancing the two worlds of the movie, that of the middle-eastern interrogation and the austere political/home of the USA, the movie has a nice sense of flow and contrast. I particularly love the choice of often times placing Meryl Streep’s character in a location as mundane as the kitchen at her home. Cinematography is simple but effective, which is a description that goes for most aspects of the film.

Cast: A fantastic cast brings this well written story to life. Like the material itself, the cast engages the movie in a way that doesn’t club you over the head with the message. They are clearly most interested in getting into the heads of their characters. Reese Witherspoon makes what is probably the most thankless role in the movie work very well. What really makes the character work is her empathetic performance which is remarkably free from hysterics. Jake Gyllenhaal, who never fails to impress, is perfectly up to the task of portraying the frank and naive agent as a someone who remains surprisingly grounded. Meryl Streep can pull of the “in-command” and cold type of character in her sleep, and does so yet again with apparent ease. Omar Metwally does a nice job as the unsuspecting victim of the story. The typically impressive Peter Sarsgaard is an excellent casting choice as the political aid who chases the story as far as he dares. And Alan Arkin is an amusingly easy choice as the senator he works for. Other roles are filled with fine character actors, such as Bob Gunton and J.K. Simmons.

Music: Two fairly new composers, Paul Hepker and Mark Kilian, had worked with director Gavin Hood on his previous film, Tsotsi. Their work here is understated but effective. Not worth writing home about, but certainly up to the task.

While not completely my film genre of choice, this Ridley Scott film is quite good. Featuring some fine performances from the cast and a retro yet gorgeous visualization by Ridley, the solid script comes to life nicely.

Writing: Notable writer Steven Zaillian pulls off an interesting mesh of crime drama and class war, without it feeling like somebody trying to “pull off” something. It rolls out some tried and true pieces of the puzzle, such as the adversarial yet respectful relationship between the cop and the criminal. And it evokes the period quite well.

Production: There’s no such thing as a Ridley Scott movie that’s poorly produced. The look of the movie is gritty, but it doesn’t lose that sense of beauty and depth that Ridley brings to any material. While some scenes feel like they’re straight out of a John Frankenheimer movie from the 70’s, they still feel like they have a fresh approach.

Cast: No shortage of excellent talent on display when it comes to the cast. Denzel is an easy and obvious casting choice. He’s easily capable of pulling off both sides of the character. Russell Crowe is also an easy and obvious casting choice. This is Crowe’s third film with Ridley, and is clearly becoming a favorite acting choice for the director (he’s also starring in Ridley’s next movie, Body Of Lies). Denzel has worked a number of times with Ridley’s brother Tony (including the upcoming remake of The Taking Of Pelham 123), but this is his first movie for Ridley. What most people don’t remember is that Washington & Crowe have co-starred together before, on a movie that I’m quite fond of - Virtuosity. It contains what is still probably my favorite Russell Crowe performance (he chews up the scenery in it). Other bits of casting in this film are also quite good including Chiwetel Ejiofor, Carla Gugino, Ted Levine, Armand Assante, Cuba Gooding Jr and Joe Morton.

Music: Having spent about 10 years working for Hans Zimmer’s team of composers at Remote Control (formerly Media Ventures), Marc Streitenfeld was given his first composer credit with Ridley’s previous film, A Good Year. Clearly, he must have done a good job as Ridley used him again on this film and is using him again on his next movie, Body Of Lies. His score for this film is certainly well done. Like the movie, it takes a period retro approach but retains a different feel.

• Jeff Bridges continues to show his willingness to do a Tron sequel. He was more game than most people back when the original was made (it was not an easy movie to sell to a studio, let alone actors). Here’s hoping the sequel can finally get off the ground.
• Like the moronic DRM systems needed to be any more confusing. Sure am happy I don’t use any of ‘em.
• A spot-on article about the types of end-users those of us in IT deal with day-in and day-out. I have interactions with pretty much every type of person on the article’s list most days. And I agree with the assessments. I particularly agree with the dream user bit at the end. So very true.
• Amazon scores some points for showing a sense of humor. Good stuff.
• Best web site navigation design, EVER.
• Man, I continue to drool in anticipation of next Tuesday’s release of Blade Runner: The Final Cut on DVD/Blu-Ray/HD-DVD. Bill Hunt has put up a wonderful review of the set.
• Speaking of Blu-Ray & HD-DVD, I continue to hate this format war. Case in point: Harry Potter & The Order Of The Phoenix. I had to do research into which version of the release I was gonna get, cause they have different features/content between them. Ultimately, I decided on the Blu-Ray version, cause the unique stuff on the HD-DVD was primarily interactivity kind of features, which I consider useless (yeah, I care about being able to host a viewing of the movie sync’d between multiple locations…). The Blu-Ray not only has content that the HD-DVD doesn’t, but more of it is in actual HD quality. I will say that the encode of Order Of The Phoenix on the Blu-Ray version I got is absolutely amazing looking. What a fantastic transfer. I also picked up the Prisoner Of Azkaban Blu-Ray, which I haven’t yet taken the time to check out. I didn’t pickup the big mega-set for Harry Potter, as it’s not only expensive but I didn’t have enough interest in the other films to justify it. I don’t love the first two quite enough to spring for ‘em without a good price deal (I figure they’ll be included in the 2-for-1 deals that are so common for the HD formats at some point). I don’t like the 4th film, so I obviously didn’t pick that one up. The third and fifth are excellent movies, though. Had to snag those. I’ve flip-flopped my support between Blu-Ray & HD-DVD a couple times to date, and given their pro’s and con’s, I’m just gonna say I don’t support either higher any more. Frankly, I don’t care who wins, as long as somebody does, sooner rather than later. Frankly, I think Blu-Ray’s larger storage space is a big pro for the format (yeah yeah, HD-DVD is trying to get a 51 GB triple-layer disc out there - we’ll see), as it affords more space for higher quality encodes for extras on discs (Witness the Order Of The Phoenix release - which also had many more languages included, not that I care specifically about that).

While this movie doesn’t break much new ground, it’s solid enough to be entertaining, thanks largely to the talented cast.

Writing: Written and directed by Peter Hedges, who had previous written and directed the great independent movie Pieces Of April, the story revolves around family. Unlike Pieces Of April, this is an openly warm and loving family. It’s kinda the opposite approach from Pieces, where you had a love story amidst a family that begrudgingly shows affection to each other. Like I said, nothing here you haven’t seen in another film (I was particularly reminded of the recent Family Stone), but it works all the same.

Production: The production is very straight forward. Nothing stylized or flashy here. This is a movie that’s about character development, where the production just stays out of the way and lets the cast and writing take center stage.

Cast: Here’s the real strong suit of the film. Steve Carell is excellent, of course. He’s certainly funny, but he down plays the comedic aspects and focuses more on the dramatic aspects of the performance. He definitely gives it a great everyman vibe. Juliette Binoche is a somewhat unexpected bit of casting, but she works well enough. Dane Cook is one of those actors who doesn’t have too much by way of varied acting skill, but he’s fine when given the right type of role. This is one of those roles. Other supporting roles are well cast. John Mahoney and Dianne Wiest work well as the parents. The the girls they cast do a fine job as the daughters. Brittany Robertson does perhaps a bit too good a job with the teenage girl histrionics.

Music: Norwegian folk singer Sondre Lerche is somebody I had zero familiarity with before looking up his credit as composer on this film. This is apparently his first film score (and his only as of yet). I remember little about the score beyond it being simplistic and average enough.

• In case you haven’t heard already, CompUSA is going bye-bye for good. Can’t say I’m surprised.
• The poster for Indiana Jones & The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull has been revealed
• Check out this crazy video of two trains colliding head-on
• Speaking of trains, check out this one
• Here’s a equally hilarious and cute video of a cat in a rather strange sleeping position. Plenty of other great cat videos at that site.
• Squirrel armor. Awesome.
• Check out this great compilation of PIXAR in-joke references
• Here’s some new Firefly/Serenity goodies coming in 2008. The new comics will certainly be cool.
• It would figure that the Japanese produced history’s most obedient soldier
• And while you’re up at that site, check out 7 very unlucky people
• Or their good list of stupid celebrity quotations
• Good grief. They’re attempting to remake Metropolis? Well, I guess that’ll be one of the longest remake delays there is.
• A fascinating NYT article on the tiny country of Nauru. The article is from 2000, and it’s interesting to see some of the progress (or lack thereof) since then.

Another odd-ball entry into the eclectic filmography of writer/director Wes Anderson. Not one of his best, but still fun and interesting.

Writing: Anderson has a style pretty much distinct to himself, which is something of an accomplishment. As much as Napoleon Dynamite was loved by all, my primary reaction to seeing it was that the writer/director was a Wes Anderson wannabe. His stories are rarely all that complicated or grounded in reality, frankly. He’s all about quirky characters in quirky situations, most typically played with as much a deadpanned straightforwardness as possible. Oft-imitated, rarely matched, one knows that they are in for a bizarre film when they go to see one of his. This is no exception.

Production: Like his approach to character, Anderson films his movies very plainly, with odd flourishes of style or gimmick. Amidst plenty of ordinary cinematography, he’ll sneak in a DePalma styled tracking shot not only between rooms, but locations and stories. You’ll either like it or you won’t, and that will be the same separation between audiences who like his films and those who don’t. I’m one who does, and you just learn to roll with it. Filmed with excellent anamorphic scope, the sprawling landscapes (and the train itself) are well represented on screen. Other aspects like sound take a minimalist approach. Costumes get to have a lot of locale specific fun (I wonder where the line blurs between extras wearing their own clothes and actors that are part of the production).

Cast: As with all of Anderson’s films, the most important and best part of the film is the cast. Owen Wilson and Jason Schwartzman are in pretty much every movie he does, and are good friends of his. They do an excellent job in 2 of the three lead roles of the brothers. Adrien Brody joins them as an excellent addition for the third brother. Other Anderson favorites like Angelica Huston round out the cast. Even Bill Murray pops in for a great cameo. Then there’s Natalie Portman, who plays the girlfriend of Schwartzman’s character, who barely appears in Darjeeling Limited. Portman does, however, appear in the short film Hotel Chevalier, which acts as a prologue to Darjeeling Limited (it played before the movie starts). It’s an odd little short film of Schwartzman and Portman’s characters in a Parisian hotel room shortly before he departs for the trip on the Darjeeling Limited. And appearing in this short film is exactly what Portman does. Nude even. Definitely a change for the typically reserved actress (well, with notable exception to the movie Closer).

Music: Anderson employs a very ethnic approach to the music, mostly using material from old Bollywood films. It works, but is definitely something that I wouldn’t listen to on its own. Well used in the movie, though.

• I forgot to switch my Ponderings post from yesterday from draft to publish status. So, it would have just showed up an hour or so ago, when I noticed. Whoops…
• The Photoshop plug-in for the HD Photo format has gone final. Get it here. As some of you may know, I’ve been working on a 35mm slide (and other negatives/prints) scanning project, archiving old family photo material digitally. It’s quite the undertaking. I selected the HD Photo format for the project (using the lossless encoding option). It’s a bleeding edge, barely supported format at the moment (I’ve been using the beta versions of the Photoshop plug-in), but it’s and awesome format. It’s on its way to be JPG’s successor, “JPEG XR.”
• For those wondering if humanity has a chance? Nope. Man, that opening sequence from Idiocracy gets scarier every day.
• Excellent. Molly Shannon might be made into a regular on Pushing Daisies. If the writers strike ends, anyway.
• Eeeek, Amada Peet has been added to the cast of The X-Files 2. I’m giddy. Billy Connolly is another excellent addition. I had to Google this retarded-sounding “Xzibit” person, and was unimpressed with his previous handful of credits. Here’s hoping he doesn’t hurt the film.
• Couple cool new trailers to check out. First, here’s one for Chronicles Of Narnia: Prince Caspian. Second, here’s one for Speed Racer. While you’re at it, there’s Will Ferrell’s new Semi-Pro.

• Some great uses for computer equipment
• Ray Park cast as Snake Eyes, huh? Should be cool. Yo Joe.
• Ever wanted to speak mech droid? Here’s your chance to learn how.
• Microsoft has dropped the price of the XBox 360’s HD-DVD drive to a normal retail price of $129. For those that don’t know, these drives work great on a PC using XP or Vista (It’s what I use for HD-DVD, using XP).
• Firefox to add online services, providing for browser sync and such? Neato. I currently use Google’s Browser Sync, which works OK, but they seem to have all but abandoned.
• Spent a few hours playing with the new HD-DVD set for Battlestar Galactica: Season 1. Overall, a very nice set. Couple gripes, though. First, and less consequential, I hate the packaging. Yeah, the geek in me loves the cut corners style, but the gatefold crap is far more annoying than the previous slim cased in a box approach of the non HD Battlestar releases. And the gelatinous circles to hold the discs on are a real pain. Second, I need to take a moment to gripe about a favorite kind of feature that HD-DVD seems to love, and Universal in particular: U-Control. It sucks. It really sucks. I loathe it. I hate it with every fiber of my home video enthusiast existence. If you’re gonna do extras and interviews and stuff, just put them in documentaries and featurettes and let us watch them on their own, collectively. STOP spreading them all over the actual film/episode in varying degrees. And for the love of the lords of Kobol, *STOP* making us activate ever last frakkin’ one of ‘em. Seriously. If you’re gonna force us to wade through them as part of the watching the film/episode, at least let us turn on something that will make them autoplay. I’d rather you just leave the extra content off the release and use the space on the disc for something else rather than this “click select to activate this interview, or click select to activate this Encyclopedia Galactica entry (entries which are exceedingly lame and such, btw - the whole Enctyclopedia Galactica stuff is lame and worthless).” Still, the episode transfers are beautiful, and that’s what really counts.

• Poor, out-of-work Cylon. Too funny.
• Neato - Star Trek: The Tour. And it’ll be visiting Chicago. I’ll be checking that one out.
• Excellent photo of an aurora borealis over Bear Lake, Alaska.
• A great response to Microsoft’s recent slamming of the benchmarks showing XP SP3 to be significantly faster than Vista SP1.
• The MPAA hilariously violated copyright law in a recent attempt at tracking student activity at universities.