DVD Review: Lucky You

Shot in 2005, scheduled for release in 2006, finally released in 2007, ‘Lucky You,’ had a rough path to travel before making it before audiences. Ultimately it opened the same weekend as ‘Spiderman 3,’ and, well, only one of these two movies set box-office records.

Eric Bana stars as Huck Cheever, a down-and-out poker player, living in an unfurnished house with an empty swimming pool in the back. He’s a good player, but can never logic dictate the way he plays, which often puts him into showdowns both at and away from the table that he probably should avoid.

The root of all this angst is his father, three-time World Series of Poker player, LC Cheever, played by Robert Duvall. LC is enjoying his life, and is trying to teach Huck that sometimes it’s okay to play it safe.

That, in a nutshell, is the plot of ‘Lucky You.’ There’s also a romantic storyline with Drew Barrymore, but it isn’t the focus of the movie, despite what the posters and commercials told you.

And that’s all right. Co-written and directed by Curtis Hanson, (‘L.A. Confidential,’ ‘Wonder Boys,’ ‘In Her Shoes,’) ‘Lucky You’ is a solid addition to his already impressive cannon. ‘Wait,’ I can hear you thinking, ‘you actually liked this movie?’ And let’s get this out of the way; yes I did.

It’s not perfect and if I had to shell out $9 to see it in a theater I might have been longing instead for a certain web-slinger, but, on DVD, this movie shines. It flows like a river, crooked and meandering. Not a perfect film by a long stretch, but a film so interested in its characters, Hanson is able to overcome whatever triteness there is in the storyline.

Filled with cameos from real professional poker players, this film focuses on the side of Las Vegas that isn’t usually shown in movies. The boring side. All these people do, all day, is sit inside windowless rooms and play cards. Is that interesting? For a little while. Does it grow tiresome? Of course.

And that’s what I liked about ‘Lucky You.’ It takes its time. So many movies seem to zip around and race from place to place with no real time spent on the characters. In this film, like his others, Hanson is so genuinely interested in his characters, that everything else becomes a distraction. For many people, it’s a large distraction. For those willing to sit down, give up a few hours and surrender themselves to the feel the pace of ‘Lucky You,’ it’s a perfect DVD movie. -Sam

One to Watch: Blake Lively

This past summer, at a preview screening of Superbad, an actress caught my eye. She first appears when Jules (the apple of Seth’s eye in the film) is asking Seth what sorts of alcohol to buy for her party. There’s a girl to the right of Jules, who for part of the conversation is playing on her sidekick, laughing about something, and then, proceeds to ask for Kyle’s Killer Lemonade. This whole scene, my eyes were traced on this girl, who is this girl? Blake Lively.

Little did I know, my baby Cousin would have known her as one of the stars of The Sisterhood of Traveling Pants, and if I’d seen Accepted (which I caught on TV last night, inspiring me to write this article), I would have known this girl wanting Kyle’s Killer Lemonade was more then just a featured extra.

Initially looking to go to Stanford University, she found herself attending auditions at the insistence of her brother. These trips to auditions got her a starring role in The Sisterhood of Traveling Pants. She can be found these days on CW’s Gossip Girl to some decent reviews.

With a few more good roles in some big films, Blake Lively has a promising future, all I know is, I’d gladly buy her Kyle’s Killer Lemonade, anytime.

*UPDATE* I swear when I first looked up Blake Lively she was credited as the girl in Superbad, apparently, I’m wrong, however, this site also credits Blake Lively as the Kyle’s Killer Lemonade girl. Either way, Blake Lively still rules.  The girl who asked for Kyle’s Killer Lemonade is none other then actress Laura Seay, mystery solved.

News: ‘Atonement’ Wins Big at Attenborough Awards

 Joe Wright’s ‘Atonement’ won four of the six awards at the UK’s Richard Attenborough Film Awards.

The film adaptation of Ian Macewan’s novel was named film of the year, as Wright won filmmaker of the year.  James McAvoy won best actor and writer Christopher Hampton was awarded best screenplay.

Cate Blanchett won best actress for her role in ‘Elizabeth: The Golden Age.’

Sam Riley was named best newcomer for his role as Joy Division lead singer Ian Curtis in ‘Control.’

News: Paramount Wants ‘Cloverfield’ Sequel

Paramount Pictures is in discussions with JJ Abrams and director Matt Reeves to create a new monster for a ‘Cloverfield’ sequel.

Reeves is also in discussions to direct ‘The Invisible Woman.’

The order of which movie will be made first depends on which deal is done first.

Retro Review: Donnie Brasco

Martin Scorsese didn’t invent the mafia movie, he merely turned it into pop culture. Even though Coppola’s “The Godfather” is the obvious choice as the possibly be-all, end-all mafia film, Scorsese influenced a generation of directors with his fast paced and more popcorn-ish portrayal of mafia figures. Donnie Brasco is a copy of that portrayal.

The movie stars Johnny Depp as Joe Pistone a.k.a. Donnie Brasco, who is undercover in the NY mob and gets set up by a nobody in the form of Al Pacino. Pacino does a complete 180 on his usual mafia characters meaning he’s not the “calm and in control” Michael Corleone..instead he’s a bumbling loser who is on the lowest rung of the ladder of command.

The film is okay, and by okay I mean just watchable. They try too hard to make it like a Scorsese movie with the domestic issues and the neon colored mafia guys, but it really just comes off as very cheap. Pacino and Depp do their best with the material, but in the end…you can tell they are trying to squeeze emotion out of a dry sponge. They are creating their own motivation, because it’s obvious to me that director Mike Newell didn’t give them much.

When I saw this movie way back in 97, I remembered that I liked it a lot, but with a decade later re-watch, I can find its flaws pretty easily. The real problem is that you can’t get into any of the characters. In a movie like GoodFellas, the people were cold blooded killers, but you sort of liked them in a weird way. They weren’t one dimensional. In this film, it’s more like they read “How to be a gangster for dummies”. It’s a weak representation for what are generally fascinating people.

The movie is interesting fo the sole fact that it is a true story, and Anne Heche actually plays the “in the dark” F.B.I. wife pretty well. They had some decent chemistry, even if it was only made up of them hating each other. Whatever happened to that crazy chick Anne Heche?

The best scene has to be the final scene with Pacino, as he prepares for his possibly demise in a calm and collective manner, kissing his wife goodbye and telling her “not to wait up.” Then he quietly leaves all his jewelry behind in a drawer and gently walks out the door. That is probably the most touching and best part of the film. Take a look at it, just for fun…but never forget the roots of the tree are much, much stronger than the branches.

-Ben

Movie Review: The Invasion

Why Nicole Kidman starring in The Invasion trumps marrying Tom Cruise as her worst decision.

The Invasion just came out on DVD. I know this because the local Best Buy is using the DVD to prop up one side of a wobbly table (And that is probably giving the movie too much respect). Outside of that, there is really no reason to get this film. I admit to watching it in the theater when it came out, but my justification for this is that it was about 100 degrees, 110 percent humidity, and I didn’t have AC. I have since learned my lesson about trying to avoid the heat this way and will next time just go to the beach and be sexy with my shirt off and an American flag speedo. Who says patriotism isn’t sexy? U-S-A! U-S-A!

The only thing that is creepy about this movie is that you can literally see through Nicole Kidman. And that is hot and all if you’re the kind of guy that likes to see what Nicole Kidman’s digestive tract looks like. Me, I’m more of a classic romantic that enjoys big boobies (*insert squeezing motion here, accompanied by honking noises*).

This movie has nothing any movie goer wants to see, including a scene that takes place in a pharmacy, whose only accomplishment is that it makes you appreciate how long 85 minutes can actually be.

This remake is uncreative and not at all enjoyable. At about the midway point I actually started to root for the aliens to take over. I was very dissappointed when they didn’t take because I hear body snatching aliens throw the best parties. They usually involve pinatas full of tequila, foam fingers and wheelbarrow races. Earth parties are weak!

In conclusion, this movie is a must not see, and if a friend of yours recommends that you watch it, they are not your friend, rather, they are most likely a Nazi.

-Brandin

News: Freddie’s Back… Again

Variety.com is reporting that New Line Cinema is preparing to bring Freddy Krueger

Pnatinum Dunes partners Michael Bay, Brad Fuller and Andrew Form are re-launching the movie series, creating a new franchise on Wes Craven’s 1984 movie, ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street.’

Krueger has appeared in nine movies and two different TV series.

The producing trio is currently prepping for a ‘Friday the 13th’ relaunch, with shooting set to begin in May.

News: Gartner Declares Blu-Ray High Def Winner

Leading tech lab Gartner, in an article published Monday by analyst Hiroyuki Shimizu, says that Warner Bros. decision to go Blu-Ray exclusive will prove ‘fatal’ for the HD DVD format. Shimizu says that while Toshiba’s price cuts on HD DVD players may extend the high-def battle until next winter, HD DVD will ultimately fail.

High-Def Digest is reports on this story here.

Retro Review: Help!

Ringo has a ring. A cult wants the ring. And for an hour and a half, the cult tries to get it off of Ringo’s finger, where the ring has been stuck.

That is the plot of Richard Lester’s ‘Help!,’ the follow-up to ‘A Hard Day’s Night’ and the last of the Beatles acting career together. And really, that’s about all the plot this movie can stand. The rest of the running time is spent with music and puns as the Beatles toy with their boy-band image.

The film is a hip, mod, and fast-moving… and it needs to be. If you stop to consider the story at all, you’ll be confused at best and bored at worst.

Lester has jammed the movie with quirky, British humor. Why do the Beatles have a vending machine in their apartment? Is putting Ringo in a tiger’s cage really the best way to catch him? I don’t know or care, and neither does the movie.

The film is a time capsule, a look at The Beatles just before they quit touring and began writing more complex, intelligent music in the studio. It features the last we’d see of the funny, punny Beatles. The next time they’d appear on the screen would be in animated form with ‘Yellow Submarine.’ (Their next live-action appearance would be the inside-look, albeit depressing ‘Let It Be.’) ‘Help!’ offers a ton of great Beatle music, ‘Ticket to Ride,’ ‘You’re Gonna Loose That Girl,’ the title track and more.

The movie is different than ‘A Hard Day’s Night,’ and pales in comparison. (Which, when you really consider it, almost any rock movie would pale in comparison.) Is ‘Help!’ a great movie? No. Is it worth seeing as a time capsule, or if you’re a Beatles fan? Of course.

DVD Review: Pixar Short Films Collection: Volume 1

I love animation. Few other genres cause their viewers to immediately suspend their disbelief for the duration of the film. While it could be argued that part of the challenge for filmmakers is to create a story that lends itself to this suspension, I think animation’s ability to instantly trigger it offers filmmakers more liberty to try new things and create a fantastical world that the viewer has already given himself to for the duration of the film. More simply put: animation offers more room for adventure in filmmaking.

Pixar’s first collection of short films demonstrates just that: adventures in advancing storytelling through technology. The short films featured in here, in chronological order, demonstrate the evolution of a hardware company who created short animated films for technology conventions to an animation studio focused on feature length films. And what is most interesting in watching these is that from The Adventures of Andre and Wally B., Pixar’s first short, there is almost a sense of one-upsmanship where you can see the story challenging the technology and the technology then challenging the story. In the bonus featurette, The Pixar Shorts: A Short History, we see the writers and the animators discuss this constant escalation and how it resulted in the groundbreaking films on this disc.

In the 13 short films featured on this collection, most stand out as solid pieces of work. From Academy Award winning Geri’s Game to my personal favorites on the collection, One Man Band and Lifted, the shorts stand as a testament that animation can be more than a sure way to put patrons with kids in theaters. There were a few slow shorts, Luxo Jr. (the famous desk lamp most recognized from stomping the “I” in Pixar’s title card), Mater and The Ghostlight and Mike’s New Car (interestingly enough, the last two were shorts based on successful feature length films Cars and Monsters, Inc. respectively), but I found that as I checked out of the story, I was able to appreciate the animation work these three had to offer.

Overall, this collection is a must have for anyone who enjoys and appreciates animation and recommended for anyone who wants proof that cartoons aren’t just for kids.

-Justin

Movie Preview: The Hottie and the Nottie

I cannot be more excited for this movie to be unleashed on the world. No I don’t want to see it to find out that Paris Hilton has the acting range of a tuba.  (And not even a functioning tuba, but a tuba with herpies)  That is not what excites me. The reason why I am fully jazzed for this movie to be released is because seeing this film will now replace “diarrhaeaing on the subway” as the least socially acceptable thing an individual can do.

- Brandin

DVD Review: Shooter

A retired, expert marksman is set-up and blamed for the assassination of a bishop and the attempted assassination of the President. Working with a recently fired and disgraced FBI agent, the marksman finds that his set-up goes high up into the halls of power.

That is the plot of Antoine Fuqua’s ‘Shooter.’ If it also sounds like any number of action movies, well, yeah, there’s that. And that’s what precisely is wrong with the movie.

Mark Wahlberg stars. If you’ve seen him in one of his better performances, ‘I Heart Huckabees’s,’ ‘The Departed’ or even ‘Invincible,’ you know he’s a likeable enough guy and that no one’s ever going to be really upset if Mark Wahlberg is in the movie. It also stars Danny Glover who, has apparently found that being an action star is one thing that he was getting too old for, and he now plays the evil ring-leader in the plot to take out the President. Ned Beatty stars as a corrupt Senator while Michael Pena plays the fallen-from-grace FBI agent. And all are good actors. And all look bored.

Jonathan Lemkin’s script is based on the Stephen Hunter book and even that is walking through the motions. The movie opens with something exploding. Then we have a quiet interlude. Then Mark Wahlberg finds that the task he came out of retirement for isn’t really what they were asking him to do. I’m going to stifle a yawn now.

This is a paint-by-numbers movie where everyone involved knew they would have a hit action movie if they didn’t rock the boat too much and didn’t stretch the boundaries of the genre. Director Antoine Fuqua tries to keep things interesting, but even the cutting style and shot choices aren’t too exciting or adventuresome. Something just blew up- let’s get a slow-motion shot of someone walking out of the smoke and dust.

The only real unique angle that the movie offers is that of the long-distance marksman. Whalberg is only brought in on jobs where they are unable to walk up to the person and shoot them in the head. It’s an interesting idea and certainly would make for an interesting action movie. However, the filmmakers completely misuse this fact, only utilizing in the last final shootout.

‘Shooter’ doesn’t earn it’s two-hour running time and I found myself shifting and getting itchy by the end of hour one. If one was looking for a positive about this movie, I could only say that it is in color and that the camera was focused most of the time they were shooting. For everything else, ‘Shooter,’ (I know it’s a terrible pun, but you must have seen it coming a mile away,) misses the mark. -Sam

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