Pandora's Link and JGL's Bad Romance

Due to the long holiday weekend which put me behind and a busy screening week, I've decided to postpone this week's HIT ME WITH YOUR BEST SHOT. The series will be back next Wednesday the 15th with Pandora's Box (1929) so you have another week to watch this awesome silent classic whether on DVD or Netflix Instant Watch. Thanks for understanding and please join in the celebration of the immortal Louise Brooks next Wednesday. On Wednesday the 22nd we'll do David Fincher's Se7en (1995) for its 15th anniversary. Honestly, it's the movie I was thinking of picking -- it'd been on my mind and I had an itch to scratch with it -- and then I looked up the release date and couldn't believe my eyes. Obvs, It was meant to be.

Links!
The Big Picture George Clooney's box office pull and the fate of The American.
/Film interviews Aron Ralston. James Franco plays him in 127 Hours.
Cinematical strange stories surfacing from 127 Hours screenings. Medics called in.
MTV Movies Mulan is getting a live action version with Zhang Ziyi returning to action heroine mode. Jan De Bont (Speed) will direct. This message has been brought to you by the year 2000.
Lazy Eye Theater an important message from Machete.
Movie|Line The Verge: Keir Gilchrist. I like this regular feature at Movie|Line.
Mind of a Suspicious Kind would like you to reconsider Megan Fox... as a silent film star.


CHUD Natalie Portman offered the Gravity lead. So much for our casting suggestions last week. I like Portman quite a lot but every actor has their weaknesses and so far she hasn't shown any skill at acting with green screens. Can Cuarón take her to where she needs to go?
Movie City News a cool press kit for Never Let Me Go. Uhhhh, I didn't get this. Boo.
Rooney Mara Network They're already filming The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo? David Fincher is breaking speed records he is. Perhaps he's hurrying to complete filming before the awards season long haul for The Social Network.

And finally here's another Joseph Gordon-Levitt performance. He does love singing the girl songs. This time it's "Bad Romance"



This is my favorite part OF COURSE

For those still doubting the artistic integrity of Lady Gaga, this next verse has three Hitchcock references and the use of the word "shtick"

Heh.
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Joseph Gordon-Levitt, A Natural Woman

Dear Joe,

Every year I love you more. Please stop it! You're torturing me.

Love, Nathaniel



[hat tip]

P.S. Please make a musical.

Sing A Song Of Joe

JA from MNPP here, with a choice quote from one of the stars of this weekend's big box office winner Inception (did you read Nat's review? I agree with him) a lithe and lovely talented little fellow by the name of Joseph Gordon-Levitt, giving a vague nod towards what might be prancing on to next:

"I'd absolutely love to do more song-and-dance numbers... I don't want to spoil it, but there's something in the works, man, and I can't wait."

Nat keeps track of what musicals are turning cinematic far better than I do, but anything JGL's stuffing himself into gives me a mean case of the curiosities. The link offering up this quote suggests perhaps he'll play opposite Russell Crowe in the remake of A Star is Born, but I can't help it, my mind drifts off towards the rumored Damn Yankees movie... Jake Gyllenhaal as the slugger and JGL as the devil? Please? But I'm hardly the expert, so....

What musical would you cast Joe in?
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Dream a Little Massive Dream with Nolan

Summer isn't generally the season of auteur flicks and INCEPTION is the exception that proves the rule. It stands out. If it's not the best mainstream movie of the summer (Toy Story 3 already won the title), it wins the prize for most ambitious. Christopher Nolan first won critical adulation with Memento (2000) and he's proven remarkably consistent ever since. His bulky busy movies are always about men with personal demons in conflict with other men with personal demons (female characters are mere window dressing) who have to navigate an often mind-bending narrative while wearing what amounts to a pop psychology exoskeleton. (See also: The Prestige, Batman Begins, The Dark Knight and Insomnia.)

Inception is a tough film to describe and occasionally to follow. The multi-layered plot involves a team of dream infiltrators who are hired by corporations to steal ideas, the theory being that once you know something, it can always be found in your mind. The sci-fi premise is complicated as is the business of dream theft. Whole teams with specific roles and skill sets are required. You have to have "The Point Man" (Joseph Gordon Levitt) for logistics, "The Extractor" (Leonardo DiCaprio) to steal the idea, "The Architect"(Ellen Page) to design the dream world in maze like fashion (for reasons best left to discover in the movie), "The Forger" (Tom Hardy) who can shape shift within the dream for strategic purposes and still more players, too. A lot of explanation is required to understand the complex set of rules governing this artificial dream world but thankfully it's fascinating enough to mitigate the annoyance of the near constant intrusion of expository dialogue. One would immediately welcome a sequel that could dispense with all the explanations to get straight to the big visuals and suspense...

Tom Hardy has a big gun as Inception's MVP

Read the rest of my review @ Towleroad.

We'll surely talk more about the movie as more of you see it over the weekend.

And we'll also have to delve into Oscar dreams and critical nightmares. But see the movie first. In its corner: it's totally worthy of discussion which is why the discussion-killing 'my opinion is awesome and all others are wrong' rhetoric around the web is so extra sad. This type of coverage, which is ironically attempting to raise the film up, is actually doing it a great disservice since Nolan offers plenty to discuss and argue about.
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She and Him. The Cuteness of Zjoooey

It occurs to me that The Cute Hierarchy must be adjusted yet again to honor the most adorable screen couple of 2009: Zjoooey. I hereby dedicate this week of blogging to them!

"Why do you let me stay here?"

The summer gem (500) Days of Summer wasn't quite enough to unsettle the top tiers of cute. But once combined with the force of their dance moves in the She and Him video (above), small animals with ginormous eyes everywhere were quaking in fear in 2009. So Much Cuteness. Who can compete?

The other big shakeup: After decades in the top ten, chipmunks finally fall off the list altogether, their plump cheeked reputation forever tarnished by Alvin & the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel [shudder]

1. baby kittens
holding down the top position since 1938 when Shirley Temple was vanquished
2. dolphins (+8)
they're all the rage again

3. puppies
4. baby seals
5. babies
6. otters (-4)
7. cupcakes
8. bunnies
9. WALL•E's Hello Dolly obsession (+5)
10. Hugh Dancy (new entry)

11. dimples
12. baby ducks in a line following their mama (-3)
13. Zjooey
14. unexpected gifts from loved ones
15. Australian accents
16. rainbows
17. Carey Mulligan (especially in the rain) (+6)
18. "The Lonely Goatherd" (+12)
what? Sound of Music was on the tube the other day



19. Natalie Wood in Miracle on 34th Street (+30 ...typical holiday spike)
20. screwball comedy
21. pomeranians
22. bunny slippers
23. Meryl Streep and Steve Martin smoking weed (new entry)

24. Amy Adams (-11)
25. ice cream cones

Yes, No, Maybe So: Inception and Knight and Day

Rather than ignore trailers in 2010, The Film Experience is joining the conversation. But we're not falling for that OMG! IT'LL BE AWESOME trap. It's all about managing expectations since any film could be great or terrible and most are somewhere inbetween.



Inception, opening July 16th, is Chris Nolan's follow up to The Dark Knight starring Leonardo DiCaprio as some sort of idea thief, Ellen Page as some sort of telep -- well, her mind or her imagination is involved somehow (it's confusing. Yay!). When I met Joseph Gordon-Levitt last month I asked him who most of his scenes were with and he wouldn't say a word. Not a word. They're hiding details. Good for them.


Yes. The city curving up on itself is an interesting image but if I have to pick the one moment in the trailer that gets to me in a charged "I want to see this!"way is that backwards seated dive into a bathtub with the incongruous overlay of all that girlie "WAKE ME UP!" shrieking. Chills.

That and Leo drowning brings back happy memories.


No. Why are 78% of all action movies filmed with minor variations on the steel blue palette. For decades now. Filters come in all colors.


Maybe So. I love my mind to be blown as much as the next person, but that's harder and harder for filmmakers to do in this age of give-the-whole-movie-away pre-release buildup. I love that this trailer doesn't over explain (or even explain) the movie. But it's only the second teaser. I suspect there'll be at least 3 more, each more expository than the last. Can they keep the mystery intact enough to blow our minds? The trailer is skillfully tipping and turning its images in the promise that the movie will be dizzying.




Knight and Day, which opens in time for the 4th of July box office party stars Tom Cruise as a dangerously glib killing machine and Cameron Diaz as a confused woman who doesn't seem to know him but is continually thrust into his comic action messes.


Yes*. Seeing Cameron Diaz screaming in a dangerously swerving car within a trailer for a Tom Cruise movie reminds me of the only thing I liked about the disastrous Vanilla Sky (2000): Cameron Diaz screaming while dangerously swerving her car right off the road... with Tom Cruise in it. I think her histrionics in that earlier movie were skillfully modulated.

*I'm stretching. This trailer. Yikes.


No. Ambidextrous gun slinging is as tired a movie cliche as "cool guys don't look at explosions" both are "this is kickass!" shortcuts. And I, for one, ain't having it no mo'. Where is the filmmaker willing to think up a new "this is kickass!" action movie trope? Loved Avatar but a thrilling leaping off a cliff onto the back of a flying dragon isn't going to transfer so well to other movies.


Maybe So. Four or five years ago if Peter Sarsgaard invited me to jump in a car, I'd totally be all "SHOTGUN!" Now, I'm hesitant since he only plays creepy guys. On the other hand, Carey Mulligan just took him up on it and look what she got: a trip to Paris and mucho Oscar buzz.

So...

...jump in the car?

What's your verdict?
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Leo, Ellen and Cillian

Is it just me or is it hard to picture these two acting together onscreen? What is it about Leonardo DiCaprio and Ellen Page that give me that ole' oil and water feeling? They seem to be kindred spirits of drably dressed boredom in this photo so perhaps I'm wrong. Speculate with me in the comments...

via lots more photos here

The movie in question is Inception, due for a teaser trailer any second now, which is Christopher Nolan's sci-fi follow up to The Dark Knight. For all I know -- the plot is closely guarded -- they're playing brother and sister. Unlike James Cameron, who seemed spooked after Titanic, Nolan is just getting back to work. That's always the best move when you've just made a game changer. Get your follow up out of the way and bring your career back down to earth... even if you're still breathing rarefied air while touching ground.

Batman does not appear in the generically titled Inception but the cast is plum. Rising stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Marion Cotillard (as DiCaprio's wife apparently) the enduring if never foregrounded Lukas Haas and Nolan/Batman holdovers Michael Caine, Cillian Murphy and Ken Watanabe. I'm glad to see Nolan sticking by Murphy in particular who we assumed, back in 2003 when he carried 28 Days Later with such magnetism, was going to be a much bigger star by now. At the very least, he's always entirely watchable.

(500) Days of Summer Vodcast Review

Day (2) of my vacation and I'm still working. I totally forgot to upload the latest vodcast with Katey. I was in Jersey this weekendand she was in San Diego for Comic-Con. But by the magic of my forgetfulness and technology and non-linear chronologies here we are together talking up (500) Days for you. So here it is...



If you've seen the movie at this point, we'd love to hear your opinions. Do you share Katey's mild reservations or did you fall for it (mostly) wholesale like me?
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500 Days of Joey & Zooey

Nashville Film Festival ~ Day One
NFF chose well with their opening film. (500) Days of Summer = exuberant crowd pleaser. It's always so enjoyable to see smart comedies with an audience that actually laughs out loud repeatedly (critics screenings can be brutally quiet). The audience was totally with the movie and Tom (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and Summer's (Zooey Deschanel) difficult romance from start to finish. I was a little more tentative about falling for it. Within its first few minutes it threw four things at me that I am completely allergic to: omniscient narrator, precocious child as wizened soul, men vs. women ('they're different!') jokes, and chronology jumbling. I didn't even sneeze. It won me over.

It's 'Zooooey'

I predict big things at the box office. I'm not suggesting it's going to be Juno-sized but I'm guessing it shouldn't have a problem entering that Tyler Perry zone -- $40ish? Or maybe even that Forgetting Sarah Marshall / Role Models $60ish zone? The film cost less than $10 million to make (or, as the moderator joked with its director Marc Webb during the Q&A, 'less than the catering on The Dark Knight') so it should turn a nice profit is what I'm saying.

[editor's note: Who has stolen this blog? Nathaniel knows squat about box office!]

At the very least (500) Days... will make bigger stars of its leads. Zooey may be on her 11th variation of free spirit fantasy girlfriend (definite echoes of her roles in Yes, Man and All the Real Girls in particular) but she's not phoning it in. The film has very smart pacing but in one of the more interesting bits within the Q&A, Webb mentioned that it was hard to control that because Zooey has such unusual "back beat timing" and was always finding new things to work off of within the scenes. He also adjusted the film's entire color palette with the production designer to better accentuate Zooey's popping blue eyes. Good move. The movie falls hard for her just like Tom.

Speaking of. The film is told from Tom's perspective and Gordon-Levitt is _________ [insert your superlative of choice, it probably applies]. He has no trouble whatsoever carrying the picture (see also Brick). Webb called him a "super, intellectual, intense actor" and noted his "great command of his physicality", the latter an observation which I had already scribbled in my notebook whilst watching so I concur. Not only does Levitt shift Tom's body language for every gradation of his relationship with Summer and his own arc but he also completely sells the film's funniest sequence, a dance number, which maybe shouldn't work but works like gangbusters. You feel as happy as Tom by the end of it.

It was strange in the Q&A to hear the director's confession that JG-L didn't think they'd get funding for a movie starring Zooey and himself because they weren't big enough stars. I was thinking to myself: 'But everyone loves Joseph Gordon-Levitt!' And then I remembered. 'Self. Bubble. Bubble. Self. You live through cinema and you talk to other movie fanatics all day long on the web. John Q Public still mostly wants to see Nicolas Cage on opening weekend.'

Opening Night Festivities
No celebrities present (sniffle... although I suppose local celebrities could have been there) but free booze to help you pretend that they were. The festival did provide celebrity intro commercials before the films, though. First up was Mr. Nicole Kidman Keith Urban who welcomed us to the festival onscreen (where was Nicole? I demand Nicole!). Carrie Underwood did the same. In her bit she said "my fellow film lovers" which cracked me up. I was trying to picture Carrie Underwood conversing on Spanish cinema ("Almodóvar and Buñuel. Discuss.") or taking sides in the great critical debate of 2007 (No Country For Old Men or There Will Be Blood?) but my imagination failed me. What do you suppose her preferred genre is? favorite actor?

We Can't Wait #16 500 Days of Summer

Directed by first timer Marc Webb
Starring Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Synopsis Boy meets girl, boy and girl like each other, boy falls in love, girl doesn't quite yet.
Brought to you by The Sundance Film Festival
Expected Release Date July 24th

Whitney: Here in Salt Lake City, July 24th is "Pioneer Day," and I will be spending my Pioneer Day seeing 500 Days of Summer. Not only is the cast adorable and fairly trustworthy (All the Real Girls and Brick being two of my favorite recently released films) but this seems to be a romantic comedy done right. My husband and I covered the Sundance Film Festival for Film Threat and he got to see 500 Days of Summer. He's a romantic comedy person by nature (whereas I'm a horror gal), but he said it was the best one since Love Actually. That sounds pretty good.

Nathaniel: I'm suspicious. Are you sure you got that synopsis right. How does one not quite fall in love with JG-L?

Fox: If I was a kid and heard that a film called 500 Days of Summer was coming out, I would be ecstatic! Think about how over-the-top lovely and seductive a title like that is. It's like "300 Presents for Christmas", "800 Puppies on Your Birthday" or "2000 Coffee Dates w/ Nathaniel".

Hold tight Whitney... it's only 176 days until 500 Days of Summer!

Joe: I had started following this movie back over the summer solely because I liked the of Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt headlining a movie, and I called them "Joooey" because I am also the kind of gay that means "lame."


But then I was pretty well knocked out by the trailer, and the word out of Sundance (including raves for JGL) has me very, very excited to see this. Even the negative reviews were saying things like "too precious," and I always end up liking those kind of movies.

JA: I've been in love with Zooey ever since she told that old lady to get peed on and I've loved JGL ever since he trolled for gay sex in a park bathroom. So these two seem like a naturally fun fit. Skinny emo indie kids in love! Watch them warble and bat their big eyes! I know that sounds smart-assy but I really can't wait to do just that.

Fox: I have spent the last ten minutes trying to figure out if "Joooey" should be pronounced like "Joe"-"ey" or "Jew"-"ey". I've never seen three Os in a row before and it's kind of freaking my sh*t out!

Joe: The preferred pronunciation of Joooey is "Joey," but you have to hold on to the "oh" sound for a little bit.

Nathaniel: Too precious ???


In case you missed any entries they went like so...
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We Can't Wait:
#1 Inglourious Basterds, #2 Where the Wild Things Are, #3 Fantastic Mr. Fox,
#4 Avatar, #5 Bright Star, #6 Shutter Island, #7 Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
#8 Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus, #9 Nailed, #10 Taking Woodstock,
#11 Watchmen, #12 The Hurt Locker, #13 The Road, #14 The Tree of Life
#15 Away We Go, #16 500 Days of Summer, #17 Drag Me To Hell,
#18 Whatever Works, #19 Broken Embraces, #20 Nine (the musical)
intro (orphans -didn't make group list)
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Joseph Gordon-Levitt Rocks the Vote (+ Proposition 8)

Defamer informs that this political memoir is from the young actor (he does not appear)



Can't agree with everything said here -- or the illusion that no politicians before Obama were worth caring about (huh?) -- but I enjoy it when actors get political. I've never understood why people think it's so wrong that entertainers speak out. They're citizens too.

In some ways mega-wealthy slightly left-leaning celebrities are our only hope. Massive corporations and massive churches are often right leaning and they're not shy about throwing their moneys and volunteers behind evil divisive movements. Think of the extremely wealthy Mormon church (and/or other right wing faith organizations) which has an endless bigotry-friendly pocket book to give to Proposition 8 in California. [That religious political machines don't have to pay taxes is one of truest victories for Pure Evil in this world --but that's a topic for another blog. -ed] Hollywood also has deep pockets and to quote Cabin in the Sky (our musical of the month) "sometimes you've got to fight the devil with a pitchfork" This is why Ellen DeGeneres and other gay-friendly celebs are asked to pick up the funding slack for civil rights causes. Apparently after Brad Pitt publicly donated people expected a lot more lower ranking stars to do the same. Now, it's not really fair to expect Ellen DeGeneres to fight tax exempt hate machines all by her lonesome. It's not like Jodie Foster is going to say, "here's $10 million from Cydney and I to counter the anti-gay hate. Here ya go!" It's not like Madonna is obsessed with gay anymore. She isn't giving it 2 good Californians either. Now celebs have to pay taxes like the rest of us. They have to budget too --they're just working with so many more zeroes tacked on to the dollar figure. And their pockets aren't as deep as any of these faux-Christian "churches" (what? Christ was not about the hate. Wake up religious types. Your churches would consider him dangerous were he to re-appear and spout that peace and love and 'judge not!' nonsense again. He'd be overturning the inhouse coffers and screaming at the hypocrites, NOT obsessing on gay people. Wake up!) but still: good for the ones who put their money where their mouth is. Rock the Vote!

Here's a "NO" on proposition 8 featuring various celebs (mostly TV actresses) & Madonna's political interlude @ the "Sticky & Sweet" Tour


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30 Under 30...

Or... Why Corporate Entertainment Coverage Sometimes Bugs the S**t Out of Me

So, I'm flipping through EW.com's "30 under 30" special and I'm like oh yeah... bring it on. Love the Tatum. Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Jamie Bell. Yes and yes. Of courses, doubled. Some love for the under appreciated Elijah Wood, smart move. Why do people forget what a solid actor he is? And then I get to Hayden Christensen and I realize. Oh, yeahhh. This is just yet another sloppily thrown together PR driven list that has no purpose other than to generate content for a website. [not that we all aren't guilty of that on occassion he says sheepishly]

It's just an excuse to show pictures of 30 famous guys. And then I get to Seth Rogen, Justin Long, Jonah Hill, Zac Ephron (?) and all of these newbies --none of whom I have anything against but none of whom have shown any range yet so there's not much you can have for them either. One or two hits and you're the best? What about the people who haven't had any hits but are good actors? Like Victor Razuk. What about people who have been in hits and are good actors? Like Anthony Mackie. What about Eddie Redmayne who has a few pictures coming out and might get famous. What about down on his luck but obviously talented Haley Joel Osment ... just as a reminder of his existence. Supposedly he's making a movie with Max von Sydow this fall. He's not dead. If you're going with looks over talent (as they seem to be in several cases) why not Jesse Bradford? What about Jay Hernand-- oh, he just turned 30, never mind. What is the point of this list? Down with substance-free lists! Give me opinions or critiques ... something. Let's decide what lists are about rather than just listing.

But who cares about 20 year-olds when Hugh Jackman, who is almost 40, is looking like this...

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Rowwwr, or... um, whatever growling noise wolverines make. Wolverine is only 427 days away. Hold your breath.

UPDATE: And here are the actresses --a similarly haphazard list of famous beauties without talent, young women with lots of talent, and people who just happen to be really famous. Zzzzz.

Just joining us ? ...and totally nostalgic for last Sunday. Check out the big Oscars review
or, if you're "now" driven go to the most recent posts
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Just

We Can't Wait #13 Stop-Loss

Directed by Kimberly Peirce (Boys Don't Cry)
Starring A who's who of young (male) Hollywood
Synopsis A soldier (Ryan Phillipe) who believes he's done with his tour of duty in Iraq is called back due to the Stop-Loss clause.
Brought to you by MTV & Paramount
Expected Release Date March 28th, 2008

Nathaniel: Joe wrote a good piece on why people (himself included) might actually want to see the Iraq themed Stop-Loss, media concerns be damned, by why are the rest of you anxious for Kimberly Peirce's soldiers inbetween tours drama? Is it the cast: Channing Tatum, JGL, the Ex Mr. Witherspoon, Victor "Vargas" Razuk? Subject? Director? All of the above? √

MaryAnn: Well, *I'm* media -- not huge corporate military- industrial- entertainment -complex media, but media nevertheless -- and I've been saying much the same thing for a while now, that it looks like Americans don't want to hear about Iraq, that we've stuck our collective fingers in our collective ears and are collectively saying "Nah, nah, nah, can't hear you!" I mean, since when do reviews impact movies starring Tom Cruise and Reese Witherspoon. They're two of the biggest movie stars on the planet, and if they can't put asses in seats, then I gotta conclude that means people do not want to hear about Iraq.

But I do, and I keep railing about how we all need to know what's being done in our name, and how it is affecting our soldiers, which is why I'm looking forward to this one. Plus: JGL is shaping up into the best young actor working today. And I've been dying to see what Peirce would come up with after Boys Don't Cry, which feels like such a long time ago...

Joe: There's a difference, MaryAnn, between "don't want to hear" and "shouldn't have to hear" and it's that difference that I was talking about. And while critics may not be able to keep people from seeing movies starring big movie stars, the constant drumbeat of the mainstream media dubbing those films failures before they even leave the gate sure can. And that's what I was talking about. If we all seem to be in agreement that the media shapes our perceptions when it comes to politics, I wonder why there seems to be so much resistence to the idea that they can shape our perceptions when it comes to the movies we want to see as well.

Anyway, hot boys destined to break my heart and a director whose return I've been longing for are why I'll see it.

Rob Brown, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ryan Phillipe, Channing Tatum and Victor Rasuk [src]

MaryAnn: I agree that the mega-media shapes our perception in many things. But as you pointed out, the mega-media has told us people didn't want to see a lot of movies they ended up seeing in droves anyway. So where does that leave us? Are we capable of making decisions contrary to what the media tells us we're supposed to, and is there evidence to show that people do in fact do that, or not? Look, I'm the biggest cynic there is, particularly when it comes to the mass media and the idiocy of the average person, and in this case, I think it really is the idiocy and willful ignorance of the average person that is keeping mass audiences from movies about Iraq.

Gabriel: Aren't the gauges of success/failure a little different for Stop-Loss? There's no Cruise, Witherspoon, or Streep in this (mostly) young, mostly indie-oriented cast. I expect it didn't cost a lot to make, and therefore doesn't need to do as much to be "successful".

I'm hoping that Peirce -- who so eloquently and honestly brought the horrors of anti-transgender violence into the theaters of America -- can create a similar mix of controversy, storytelling, and young-turk actors that might jump-start a national conversation. Unlike the narratives of Rendition and Lions for Lambs and The Kingdom, the subject of overworked, over-used, underappreciated soldiers is one of the great unexplored tragedies of the Iraq War. I've got big, big hopes for this one.

MaryAnn: I've got big hopes for this one, too. Not big hopes that it will be a multiplex blockbuster, but big hopes that it'll actually be a powerful film.

Glenn: The reason, I think, for the failure of movies like Rendition, Lions for Lambs and so on is because they looked like awful movies. I saw an ad the other night for Rendition (it's only just being released here, natch) and it was snooooze central and Lions for Lambs? That just looked like people gasbagging for hours on end. I can't say I expect Stop-Loss to be a big hit, but the return of Kimberly Peirce, plus Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Abbie Cornish in her international debut (I don't believe I've heard of this Elizabeth movie you speak of) is enough to get me into the cinema. Channing Tatum (I'm sorry, but his face is like Crichton off of Red Dwarf - can I get a "hell yeah!"?) and Ryan Phillippe are not on my radar, sorry. By the way, do you think there's some mysterious reason why after getting a divorce both Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillippe decided to star in Iraq-themed films and then hook up with their respective co-stars. Weeeird.

Nathaniel: Rebound lovers and rebonding films: are they trying to make up through the power of the cinema?

MaryAnn: The thing is, though, that Rendition and Lions for Lambs were NOT awful movies...

Gabriel: Define "awful."

MaryAnn: I'll stick to these two movies. Rendition was pretty Hollywood but was an excellent introduction (or would have been, if more people had seen it) to very unAmerican injustices that are being done in the name of our supposed safety, things that Americans should know about. Lions for Lambs was talky, sure, but it presented a balanced, not-hysterical look at the deep mess we're in while also offering hope for fixing it. Both films were well produced and had good performances from appealing casts.

Maybe they were poorly marketed, and that's why no one saw them. I'd like to think that's the case, and not that most Americans prefer their ignorance. I'm not sure I can believe that, though.

Glenn: Since when has that mattered with the general public? From a quick look at the box office charts for any given year after 1980 and the successful films are hardly a barometre of what the quality films were.

MaryAnn: Well, that's what I've been saying. It hasn't mattered before whether movies starring Tom Cruise or Reese Witherspoon were *good,* people went to see them anyway. But not movies about Iraq. Which suggests that people really, really don't want to hear about Iraq.

Nathaniel: Whether or not they do I suspect the topic is to rich dramatically to deter filmmakers who can find patrons somewhere to fund it.

But back to the movie at hand. You'll remember we posted some anonymous positive test screening responses a couple of months back and the movie is but a month away from our hungry eyes. I should also note that Kimberly Peirce is actually blogging and answering questions about her new movie over @ the Stop-Loss site so check that out. I know I will. Think she'll answer why she took so awfully long to follow up her stellar and moving debut.

the countdown
#10 Sex & The City: The Movie
#11 The Lovely Bones
#12 WALL-E
#13 Stop-Loss
#14 The Women
#15 Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
Introduction / Orphans
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Stop-Loss Sneak

I don't normally share test screening buzz. Movies often change from tests to final product and it can be unfair to the movie in question --I'd hate people to judge rough drafts of anything I've written. But since this one is positive and since I know it's no studio plant and since it's about the new Kimberly Peirce film (so many reasons), I had to spread the good news. I know many of you reading are fans of her well observed, evocative work on Boys Don't Cry (1999) and the performances she guided including Hilary Swank (who won the Oscar), Chlöe Sevigny (nominated) and Peter Sarsgaard (still waiting for recognition, damnit). Pierce has taken nearly a decade to follow up on her debut hit despite, I hear, numerous offers and false starts. Here's what 'the unknown critic' has to say about her latest, an entry in the growing field of Iraq War related dramas:

The term "Stop-Loss" refers to a loophole that permits the military to retain soldiers beyond their required term of service. The film Stop-Loss tells the story of one man faced with just this situation. Following a brutal ambush that resulted in the deaths of several of his men, Staff Sergeant Brandon King (Ryan Phillippe) returns home to his hometown in Texas, only to be told by his superiors that he will be required to return to Iraq. Understandably, he balks at the idea and runs out on the Army and embarks on a road trip to Washington, D.C., accompanied by Michelle (Abbie Cornish), the fiancée of his lifelong friend Steve Shriver (Channing Tatum).

I realize that the plot synopsis conjures up any number of formulas- the road movie, with lots of colorful characters and picturesque stops along the way; the
chase thriller, with Brandon and Michelle hiding out from the law; even the coming home story, with battle-seasoned soldiers uneasily returning to their old lives. But Stop-Loss doesn't really fit into any of these categories. The film isn't so much about a plot as it is about the characters who inhabit it.

Stop-Loss is neither an angry film nor a despairing one, although at times it appears to be both. Instead, it's a surprisingly clear-eyed film about a man whose life has been changed by his war experiences, for better or worse. Whether he likes it or not, the Army has shown Brandon that he’s a born leader, and the film demonstrates it not only by the respect he gets from his fellow soldiers, but also by how lost they are when he’s not around. Rodriguez (Victor Rasuk), severely injured in battle, spends his days in a military hospital. Tommy (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is prone to becoming drunk and violent. And Steve finds that outside the military real life makes little sense to him anymore.

As for the awards potential of Stop-Loss, I'd say that a lot of it rests on how it catches on with the public. The film is set to be released in March 2008, which rarely bodes well for a movie's Oscar chances. In addition, while all of the performances are solid, none is particularly baity. Even the showier roles- Phillippe, Gordon-Levitt, Rasuk- lack the big histrionic moments that tend to come with performances that get awards attention. But what the Stop-Loss lacks in awards-show-ready clips it makes up for in textured storytelling and detailed characterization. And the feel Peirce exhibited for small-town life in Boys Don’t Cry is in full flower here. Stop-Loss is a major achievement, sure to be a discussion point among astute filmgoers when it’s released in March.

Hearing good news about the film fills me with satisfaction. It's been a long time in coming. I think the move to March is a good thing for two reasons. First, it puts some distance between itself and all of these Iraq war films that are currently flopping. Second, we need more adult friendly dramas in the first quarter of each year. This year we got Zodiac. Maybe Stop-Loss will be 2008's quality sip of water in the usually barren sand of March. You should know too (just for giggles) that the unknown critic assures me that Channing Tatum is still allergic to clothing. What? I swear I didn't ask!

Oh, and here's the trailer which you may have seen already