Archive for June, 2007

The presentation of the trailer reeks of attempting to claim that so-imporant indie credibility, from a varied soundtrack of desperation throughout the trailer to quirky character presentations. Guess what - it might have worked. Acclaim from Sundance and the Philidalphia Film Festival make this look like it could be this years ILittle Miss Sunshinei, right down to stealing Oscar nominations in just a few months.

The new thriller from director David Cronenberg reteams him with his A History of Violence leading man Viggo Mortensen. The film follows the mysterious and ruthless Nikolai Mr. Mortensen, who is tied to one of Londons most notorious organized crime families. His carefully maintained existence is jarred when he crosses paths with Anna Academy Award nominee Naomi Watts, an innocent midwife trying to right a wrong, who accidentally uncovers potential evidence against the family. Now Nikolai must put into motion a harrowing chain of murder, deceit, and retribution.

So there are definite similarities in the story between IMagoriumI and the story of ICharlie and the Chocolate Factoryi. So how is it in execution? Well, we wont find out until late November when it hits theaters, but from the looks of the trailer it looks like a miss. Whats wrong with it? Well, first of all, Natalie Portman seems a little old to be playing the girl Magorium is giving his shop to. Even from the trailer it leaves a bad taste, like that moppet Dakota Fanning might have been better casting.

“Falling” is at once a character study times five and something of a generational snapshot.

RATING: (WILD APPLAUSE) Sicko: Documentary. Starring, written and directed by Michael Moore. (PG-13. 113 minutes. At Bay Area theaters.) Michael Moore does something very shrewd in "Sicko," his new documentary about...

RATING: (WILD APPLAUSE) Ratatouille: Animated comedy. Starring the voices of Patton Oswalt, Ian Holm, Lou Romano and Peter O’Toole. Directed by Brad Bird. (G. 110 minutes. At Bay Area theaters. To see complete movie listings and show times, and to buy...

RATING: (ALERT VIEWER) The Boss of It All: Comedy. Starring Jens Albinus and Peter Gantzler. Directed by Lars von Trier. In Danish with English subtitles. (Not rated. 98 minutes. At Bay Area theaters.) Lars von...

RATING: (POLITE APPLAUSE) Evening: Drama. Starring Vanessa Redgrave, Natasha Richardson, Claire Danes, Patrick Wilson and Toni Collette. Directed by Lajos Koltai. (PG-13. 117 minutes. At Bay Area theaters.) It...

RATING: (ALERT VIEWER) 'Macbeth' Drama. Starring Sam Worthington, Gary Sweet, Victoria Hill and Lachy Hulme. Directed by Geoffrey Wright. (Not rated. 109 minutes. At Bay Area theaters.) The master of a...

ITransformersI is astoundingly goofy, but it knows its goofy and simply doesnt care, which is why Bays film is so much giant freakin robot fun. Theres no attempt to be serious. Thats not to say the movie doesnt try to be as real as it can be, after all the goal here is to take giant transforming robots and put them believably in our world. It attempts to seem real, but never at the expense of the essence of what the Transformers have always been. Because of that, ITransformersI isnt just dorky, its gloriously dorky.