300

An HD must.

Grindhouse

Probably not safe for work.

Friday Night Lights, which may very well be the best new series of the fall, takes place in the fictional town of Dillon, Texas. The movie/book on which it’s based however, takes place in the very real, and very pissed off, Odessa, Texas. I mean death threats for the author pissed off. Maybe that’s why they changed the name.

On the other hand, the good people of Odessa have no problem with their football players (well, at least one of them) being portrayed as date rapists who kill superpowered cheerleaders (at least temporarily — not dying is like her thing). Yes, Heroes takes place (in part) in the very real Odessa, Texas.

Is that why it’s getting better ratings?

After years of nagging, my buddy Jason finally put up a blog.

Also, the new Talking Pictures is up.  And less than a week after it was recorded.  Amazing.

Region 1 DVD Releases for October 10th, 2006

This week, Adam Sandler Controls the Universe.

Click (Widescreen Special Edition)

Adam Sandler stars in this story of man who finds a remote that allows him to control everything except for the quality of the film he’s in. By most accounts, not Sandler’s finest. I blame Revolution Studios.

Extras include commentary from Sandler, the director, a producer and the writer; deleted scenes and seven featurettes.

A Prarie Home Companion

Altman’s critically acclaimed latest managed to bestow indie cred upon Lindsay Lohan (until she squandered it). Among the non-teen-idols in the cast are Woody Harrelson, Tommy Lee Jones, Garrison Keillor, Kevin Kline, Virginia Madsen, John C. Reilly, Meryl Streep, Lily Tomlin and Robin Williams.

Extras include commentary from Kline and Altman, deleted scenes, a featurette, extended musical performances and a feature that allows you to skip to all the musical performances in the film.

Waist Deep

The Tyrese brand (patented in such films as Annapolis, Baby Boy, Four Brothers and 2 Fast 2 Furious) got an unexpectedly successful shot in the arm with this modest summer hit about a guy who goes on a crime spree to save his kidnapped son. Again, if you’re gonna be in a movie and you’re gonna have a kid, never put him in a car because if that car gets jacked, I gaurantee you the kid’s going too (Tsotsi, Freedomland).

Extras include a couple of featurettes, deleted scenes and a music video.

Garfield: A Tale of Two Kitties

Hey, guess what’s worse than the original Garfield movie.

Extras include a “Drawing with Jim Davis” featurette, an exclusive Garfield comic strip (which I will bet you is funnier than the whole movie), a couple of games and a music video (probably not the same one as Waist Deep, but you never know).

Everybody Hates Chris – The First Season

Although I have never seen this show, I hear good things. Chris Rock plays Daniel Stern to Tyler James Williams’ Fred Savage. That right there sounds promising. Luckily survived the merger of UPN and the WB into the CW.

Extras include commentaries from loads of people, including Rock, deleted scenes, auditions and seven featurettes, each titled “Everybody Hates (fill in the blank)”. You’ve got to respect that much dedication to a bit.

Update: More here.

Thank you, America! You’ve restored my faith in your taste by making The Departed the number one film instead of Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning. This almost makes up for Big Momma’s House 2…and When a Stranger Calls…and Madea’s Family Reunion…and Scary Movie 4…and The Covenant…never mind.

10/13

Wide

THE GRUDGE 2

WHAT’S THE PITCH?
The Grudge, Too

WILL IT SUCK?
Pretty much the same team as before, with Amber Tamblyn taking over for Sarah Michelle Gellar, who dies in, like, the first ten minutes (not a spoiler – watch the trailer). How cool would it be if they were sisters in TV life? Joan of Arcadia/Buffy crossover. Now that I’d watch.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Has to deal with Texas‘ second frame, but this has the advantage of being PG-13. $101mil.

WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
No, but how creepy would it be if naked albino Japanese ghost children showed up every now and then? “And the award for best costume design goes to — Holy shit! What the fuck was THAT?!?!” I really hope they do that now.

MAN OF THE YEAR

WHAT’S THE PITCH?
What would happen if Jon Stewart ran for President and won — except that Jon Stewart is funnier than Robin Williams now.

WILL IT SUCK?
This film’s closest analogues are Good Morning Vietnam and Wag the Dog, as both were, like this film, directed by Barry Levnison and featured politics and/or Robin Williams. Barry did not write either of those films. He did, however, write this one and, um, Toys which also starred Robin Williams, but he also wrote Diner and Avalon. I guess what I’m saying here is that the jury’s still out.

What really gives me hope is seeing Williams on The Daily Show a while back. Once he started talking politics, he was on a roll. Like most comedians, the more he cares about a topic, the better he is. I almost wish they’d just release another Evening with Robin Williams instead. Because the counter-argument says Chris Rock is a fantastic political comedian, but that didn’t make Head of State any better.

Early reviews are not so great.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Williams may not be the draw he once was, but if all he’s gotta compete with is Dane Cook, there’s a whole generation who doesn’t even know who that is. $72mil.

WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
Barry may direct Robin to another nod someday, but not today.

THE MARINE

WHAT’S THE PITCH?
John Cena vs. Robert Patrick. Now does that really seem fair?

WILL IT SUCK?
It should be no surprise that the next breed of action hero is coming out of the WWE. Not that that’s happened yet. Or will. I mean, you’ve got The Rock and…um…Kane? At least Robert Patrick looks like he’s having fun.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
This will all come down to Cena’s following. $16mil.

WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
I’m not sure they’ll remember it after they leave the theater.

Limited

INFAMOUS

WHAT’S THE PITCH?
Capote, Too.

WILL IT SUCK?
Early buzz is mixed, with critics disdaining it more than audiences, but few are comparing it favorably to that other film.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
There’s not much competition, but there’s not much desire to see this story retold, either. $4mil.

WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
It would have to get muuuuuch better reviews to stand out against its predecessor.

DRIVING LESSONS

WHAT’S THE PITCH?
Ron Weasley and Maude

WILL IT SUCK?
Early buzz is good, and the writer (who directs for the first time here) also wrote The Last King of Scotland, which is also getting love. And I wasn’t kidding about that Weasley crack. Grint’s mom in Potter-ville (Julie Walters) plays Maude to his Harold here.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
The Potter crowd and the indie crowd, not so much the same. $2mil.

WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
If the film does better than I suspect, Walter’s performance could get some notice.

Next Week: October’s only horror-free weekend. No. Wait. Forgot about Flicka.

Departed review is up.

Saw Babel the other night. Director Alejandro González Iñárritu was in attendance. Very smart, funny, thoughful guy. He does not make easy films. I had the same reaction to Babel that I had to 21 Grams, namely that I’ll have to chew on it for at least a week before I have anything intelligent to say about it.

That said, I’ll launch into something anyway. I feel that it’s his best film to date. 21 Grams may seem more complex, but at its heart I think it’s simpler, or at least isn’t trying to accomplish quite as much. Babel seems much simpler than 21 Grams, but I think it’s actually doing a lot more. Okay, that probably wasn’t all that intelligent, but I warned you.

Some other initial thoughts, notes…

• - Bad things happen to you in Iñárritu films. Very bad things.
• - Iñárritu isn’t very interested in why these things happened. It could be random chance or your unbelievably bad judgment.
• - What he is interested in is how you react, go through grief, suffer, deal, cope, etc.
• - Okay, he is a little interested in why these things happen, but in a “butterfly effect” kind of way.
• - Iñárritu says this is the end of a trilogy that began with Amores Perros and continued with 21 Grams.
• - He says the tie that binds in these films is parents and children, though I don’t remember much of that in 21 Grams.
• - There is a lot of that in Babel.

I saw the film with upyernoz, and he, too, is still sorting it out.

Oh, and Kevin e-mailed me the correct answer to yesterday’s trivia question. Michael Douglas’ first Oscar was a Best Picture Oscar for producing One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.

Incidentally, he, bombippy and freewilliamsburg.com were nice enough to post links to my new film (or, in Kevin’s case, the film itself).

My review of The Departed will be up on filmcritic.com by the end of the week, but let me just say two things:

1. Scorsese and Nicholson? Still got it.

2. If this wins for Best Picture (which it won’t, but more on that as we get into Oscar season), Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston will have to share the stage, as they both produced.

Which reminds me of one of my favorite Oscar trivia questions: For what film did Michael Douglas win his first Academy Award?

Region 1 DVD Releases for October 3rd, 2006

This week, come on, admit it; you watched a couple episodes of Forever Knight when you were young and experimental.

X-Men – The Last Stand (The Stan Lee Collector’s Edition)

This presumably final episode in the X-Franchise brings things to an adequate, if not altogether worthy end. Brett Ratner, for all his skill with action scenes, can’t bring the storytelling kung-fu of Bryan Singer, who directed the first two, to this fairly flat installment. That doesn’t mean it’s not worth watching; it just means that when you do watch it, if you loved the first two, you’ll really wonder what Singer could have done with the same material.

Extras include two commentary tracks – one by Ratner and the screenwriters, one by the producers, deleted scenes, alternate endings and some of the best trailers of the year. The Stan Lee Collector’s Edition is so dubbed because it includes a mini-comic from the man himself.

Thank You for Smoking

One of the best comedies of the year (and, as things are shaking out, maybe one of the best films of the year) shows us how satire is done. Aaron Eckhart plays a tobacco lobbyist in this slick, clever, sharp skewering of every side of the smoking controversy. The supporting cast, including Maria Bello, Sam Elliot, David Koechner, Rob Lowe, William H. Macy, J.K. Simmons, Robert Duvall, and Todd Louiso, is priceless, though my favorite cameo may be Adam Brody as Rob Lowe’s deliciously condescending personal assistant. Director Jason Reitman (who also adapted Christopher Buckley’s popular novel) proves he’s his father Ivan’s son, even besting the old man’s latest efforts.

Extras include director and cast commentary, deleted scenes, a Charlie Rose interview with Reitman, Eckhart, Buckley and producer David O. Sacks, plus a couple of featurettes.

Edmond

William H. Macy goes bat-shit crazy in this film from writer David Mamet and director Stuart Gordon, whom you might know as the guy who made Re-Animator. Critics were pretty much split on this one.

Extras include commentary from Mamet and Gordon, deleted scenes and a featurette.

Forever Knight – The Trilogy: Part 3

Before there was Angel, this bloodsucking crimefighter protected Toronto from the undead. This third and final season is notable for one of the most, shall we say, extreme endings to a series of all time.

Extras include three music videos — your guess is as good as mine.

Scarface (Platinum Edition)

I’ll be honest, Scarface didn’t blow me away like it supposedly did the rest of my generation, but it’s still a great film and probably worthy of some tricking out. Some additions here include an F-bomb counter (which, honestly, could be just as useful for Midnight Run) and a bullet counter, 20 minutes of deleted scenes, the making of the video game, a retrospective on the history of Scarface going back to the first 1932 film and several other featurettes, including one which compares the network version to the original.

Ashton Kutcher proved his dominance over all other life forms this weekend by holding the top two slots for a total $40.7mil take. Let us never doubt him again.

10/6

Wide

THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE: THE BEGINNING

WHAT’S THE PITCH?
Leatherface Begins

WILL IT SUCK?
Well, you’ve got the director of Darkness Falls and the writer behind The Longest Yard remake. I’m not sure who appears to be less qualified here. Early buzz is actually fairly good, though it’s full of words like “bloody” and “leaves you shaken and emotionally drained.”

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Serious competition. Employee of the Month will hit nearly the same demo, as will Grudge 2 the following week. Still, this has the name recognition going back further than either. $81miil

WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
Most Pointlessly Restricted Trailer. When the teaser first appeared on the film’s Web site, you could only watch it between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. It was approved for general audiences!

EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH

WHAT’S THE PITCH?
Dane Cook tries to become the alpha male for Jessica Simpson by becoming the title.

WILL IT SUCK?
Here’s the thing. Dane cook is a very funny man. However, I don’t think his comedy will translate into actual situations. Half the fun of watching his stand up is watching him invent from nothing. In the actual situation, I doubt half his stories would seem as funny. That having been said, the director/co-writer co-wrote Sorority Boys, so I’m sure we have nothing to worry about.

Early buzz is mixed.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Normally I’d say this is a lock, but it’s looking like there’s a little bit of Cook backlash going on, because the advance enthusiasm for this flick seems to be down. $40mil.

WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
No, but I’d love to see Cook present.

THE DEPARTED

WHAT’S THE PITCH?
Scorsese remakes Infernal Affairs with Jack Nicholson, Leo DiCaprio and Matt Damon.

WILL IT SUCK?
Early buzz is ve-he-ery good, and why not? I’ll tell you why not. In spite of Scorsese and Nicholosn and DiCaprio and Damon (and Martin Sheen, Ray Winstone, Mark Whalberg, Anthony Anderson and Alec Baldwin), this is from the screenwriter behind Kingdom of Heaven which, while not being Sorority Boys is still, y’know, Kingdom of Heaven. Regardless, everyone seems to have brought their A-game.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Scorsese doesn’t usually equal a huge box office. However, they’ve front-loaded the hell out of the cast. $78mil.

WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
Early buzz would indicate yes. And it’s no coincidence that the unprecedented direction of Nicholson by Scorsese is generating some of that buzz. Of course, both the Academy and the Director’s Guild have been nothing but teases to Scorsese so far, so look for nods without satisfaction.

Limited

…SO GOES THE NATION

WHAT’S THE PITCH?
Remember that whole election thing back in ’04, especially — what’s that state? oh, yeah — Ohio? Yeah. It’s about that.

WILL IT SUCK?
It may seem like a bit of a stretch for directors Adam Del Deo and James D. Stern to go from Year of the Yao to this, but early word has it that this is fair and balanced, and not in a Fox News kind of way.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
With the exception of An Inconvenient Truth, political docs have just not been hot this year. Of course, a story about elections could hardly be better timed. $250,000.

WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
Has about as good a chance as any political doc this year.

Next Week: It’s like those competing volcano movies from a few years back, if those volcanoes were Truman Capote.