JC's New Release Review - Inglourious Basterds

 

Once upon a time

in Nazi occupied France...

The place is France, during the time of the Nazi occupation. A notorious Nazi colonel, Hans Londa (Christoph Waltz in his first American film), aka "The Jew Hunter" slaughters a family in hiding, save for one girl, Shosanna (Mélanie Laurent) who escapes. Years later, Shosanna, under a new identity, has acquired a theater, and soon discovers that it shall premiere a German war film, with only the cream of the Nazi military in attendance, including the Fuhrer himself. Shosanna devises a plan for ultimate revenge.

Meanwhile, Lt. Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt) leads a group of Jewish-American commandos on a very simple mission. Kill Nazis.  He bears his men with only one demand, that each give him 100 Nazi scalps. They call themselves "the Basterds."

The Basterds discover the location of the premiere, and begin following their own plan to take down the German High Command.

This is... a Quentin Tarantino movie. Tarantino has managed to create a genre of film specially reserved for him, and this is, obviously, no exception. More after the jump.

HL's New Release Review - The Time Traveler's Wife

The Time Traveler's Wife (2009) is a romance-drama about Chicago librarian Henry DeTamble (Eric Bana) with a genetic anomaly that causes him to involuntarily time travel, based on the novel by Audrey Niffenegger.

When Henry meets Clare Abshire (Rachel McAdams) in the library where he works, she reveals that she knows that he is a time traveller, and that he himself told her that they would one day meet. It is quickly revealed that she knows much more about time travel than he does, as he has not yet visited the times and places where they meet previously. He falls for her, as she has already been in love with him 'her whole life', and they eventually get married. His continuing and sudden travels through time, and the subsequent learning of their future, makes things ever more difficult on their marriage.

Read the review after the jump.

JC's Favorites - Australia

 

In 2008, a story of adventure, of intrigue, and of romance swept into US Theaters late in the year. Baz Luhrmann's Australia is one of my favorite films of all.  

Lady Ashley (Nicole Kidman), in her estate in England, decides to travel to her husband's Australian cattle ranch, Faraway Downs, and sell the failing ranch for some much needed quick cash to the cattle monopolizer Leslie 'King' Carney (Bryan Brown). She is escorted by the rough-and-tumble Drover (Hugh Jackman) to Faraway Downs.

Her husband, Lord Maitland Ashley, had been murdered just before her arrival. The accused: an aboriginal gulapa, or magic-man, King George. A small aboriginal boy, Nullah (Brandon Walters), tells Ashley that the ranch's manager, Neil Fletcher (David Wenham) is not all he seems, that he has been creating the problems the ranch has been facing, even stealing cattle and driving them into Carney's property. 

Ashley dismisses Fletcher upon learning this, and forms a grudging alliance with the Drover to drive 1,500 head of cattle into the wharf in Darwin to sell to the army and break Carney's monopoly on the cattle business. 

And that is where the story REALLY begins, and truly is only the beginning. The review, however, begins after the jump.

JG's Theater Review - From Paris With Love

Okay, so here's the deal; I can't decide between whether or not to treat this movie as your average shoot em up style action flick, or a movie with something of a deeper meaning, so I won't. For my first ATM review I will give you two sides of one very mismatched coin, possibly its one of those funny Canadian pieces, the loonie if you like.

Read the rest of my review after the jump.

Upcoming Look - Clash of the Titans

Director Louis Leterrier hasn't got many films under his belt, but those he does (Transporter 2 (2005), The Incredible Hulk (2008)) are known blockbusters. His new project, Clash of the Titans, a remake of the early 80's classic, has blockbuster written all over it.

Sam Worthington plays the protagonist Perseus, the mortal son of Zeus (Liam Neeson) who must journey into the underworld to stop the evil machinations of Hades (Ralph Fiennes) and battle against such mythological beasts as the feared Kraken and the deadly Medusa. Read more and watch the trailer after the jump.

Upcoming Look- The Last Airbender

Water Tribe siblings, Sokka and Katara, find a small boy encased in ice. His destiny is that of the Avatar, one who brings balance to the world. Join Aang and his friends as he battles against the imperial Fire Nation in The Last Airbender the 2nd of July.

Avatar: The Last Airbender was a very successful animated show on Nickelodeon, and I've personally been a rather big fan ever since it came on. A great deal of good action, an excellent storyline, well rounded characters with more than enough comical moments (especially from Sokka and Aang). The trailers do not hint at this comedy, but hopefully it makes it through to the movie versions, as well. Read more and see the trailer after the jump.

Upcoming Look - Get Him to the Greek

 

Aaron Green has 72 hours to get a Rock Star

from London to L.A.

Pray for him.

From Nicholas Stoller, who brought us Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008) continues with the story of declining Aldous Snow (Russell Brand), rock-star/sex-guru who is given one last shot at glory, a comeback concert at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles. The only problem? He's currently partying in London. It's up to intern Aaron (Jonah Hill) to escort him there in three days; that's if he can survive Snow's antics. Also starring Sean Combs as the media mogul who needs to see this concert happen.

Fans of "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" should be seriously looking forward to this picture. The trailer shows us some incredibly wild scenes which involve some of the following: Adrenaline, Absinthe, Pope Outfit, Nude Mini-Car driving, complete with a disgusted Meredith Vieira.

You can follow Aldous Snow's journey June 4.

JC's Favorites - Tropic Thunder

 

Tropic Thunder (2008) is the epic action comedy written and directed by Ben Stiller (Zoolander) starring Jack Black, Jay Baruchel, Brandon T. Jackson, Ben Stiller, and Robert Downey Jr. Also making an appearance is Tom Cruise as the unforgettable Les Grossman, media mogul extraordinaire.

The main characters, five actors with various problems ranging from cocaine to naïveté to extreme over/method acting ruin and nearly sink a movie based on a story by ex-soldier Four Leaf Tayback (Nick Nolte). The director (Steve Coogan) decides to ship out the problem actors to a remote location and film them in a much more real and dangerous setting... until everything goes wrong.

This movie is HILARIOUS. The pure insanity of each of the five actors is one of the most entertaining things I've seen in film. I have to point out the pure genius of two actors in particular: Robert Downey Jr. and Tom Cruise. 

Kirk Lazarus, aka Sgt. Lincoln Osiris (Downey Jr.) is virtually unrecognizable not only in facial features, but in attitude and mannerism. Several people I've shown this movie to couldn't believe who they were watching. 

However, above all else, this is the movie that restored my faith in Tom Cruise. Les Grossman delivers to us what I believe is one of the most memorable and awesome characters in film. Every muscle he moves is a sight to see (not to mention the character, itself).

This is not a must see. This is a Must-See-Many-Times film. Buy this movie. Buy it for your friends. Buy it for your enemies, and they might become your friends.

The Word - Resurrection

The Apocalypse is coming. You better be ready for it, children, for it's a-comin'. The dead have been rising from the graves to feast upon the souls of the living.

 

They're not lookin' too good.

If you're looking out your windows for the zombies, shame on you! I'm talking about our movies, of course.

Tidbits - Super Bowl XLIV Movie Spots

It's hard to get a good feel for an upcoming film based on a 30 second ad, long enough to put up some action and give us the title, and that's just about it (and it cost about $3 million for any of the commercials to get a 30-second slot). Here's a list of the films represented this year: (all videos provided by spike.com)

• Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Trailer
     Jake Gyllenhaal plays the title role of the Prince (Dastan, that is), done by Disney and Jerry Bruckheimer, who also brought us Pirates of the Caribbean in '03. The Super Bowl spot (along with the full-length trailer that was also released) promises that Prince of Persia will feature much the same action and wit, even if it doesn't promise us Johnny Depp. This movie will hit theaters May 28th. 

• Alice in Wonderland Trailer
     Speaking of Johnny Depp, you'll see much of his corrupted face on television in the coming months, with Alice in Wonderland being the next Tim Burton movies, which typically are composed entirely of some form of delicious artwork and the equally delicious Depp. Depp plays The Mad Hatter, and the relatively unknown Mia Wasikowska plays Alice as she takes a tumble down the rabbit hole. The remainder of the cast plays much like a who's-who of Hollywood, including: Helena Bonham Carter, Crispin Glover, Anne Hathaway, Stephen Fry, Christopher Lee, among many others, including the 92-year-old Michael Gough (remember Alfred from the 90's Batman movies?) who also is a frequent player in Burton's movies. You can see Alice and her adventures March 5th. 

• Robin Hood Trailer
    The Hero of Sherwood forest is back again, this rendition of the British hero played by none other than Russell Crowe. Cate Blanchett will appear as the Maid Marian. The Super Bowl spot told us that the plot will take place "Before Sherwood Forest", which would imply Robin's adventures abroad, however, the cast listing includes "Sheriff of Nottingham", "Friar Tuck", and "Little John"; perhaps this movie will encompass much more of Robin's epic tale. The adventure begins May 14th. 

• The Last Airbender Trailer *
* - via YouTube.com - Apparently Spike.com didn't list this one as part of the Super Bowl commercials, perhaps because it appeared right before kickoff.

     "Avatar: The Last Airbender" was a very successful animated show hosted by Nickelodeon. The story centers around Aang (Noah Ringer), the playful remnant of a race of peaceful and reclusive Airbenders (people with mastery over the element of air), his friends, Sokka and Katara (Jackson Rathbone and Nicola Peltz, respectively), of the Southern Water Tribe, and their battles against the warmongering Fire Nation. The original series was a blend of lighthearted humor and exciting action, and hopefully the movie, written, produced, and directed by the famous M. Night Shyamalan, will promise the same. Aang and company will come to theaters July 2nd. 

• The Wolfman Trailer
    Directed by Joe Johnston, who is known mostly for effects driven family films (Hidalgo (2004), Jumanji (1995), The Rocketeer (1991), and others), this remake of the 1940's horror classic stars Benicio Del Toro, Anthony Hopkins, and Hugo Weaving. In Victorian England, Lawrence Talbot (del Toro) visits his ancestral homeland and father (Hopkins) after the disappearance of his brother. The bestial murders of several villagers brings Scotland Yard detective Aberline (Weaving) to investigate. The transformation begins February 12th. 

• Shutter Island Trailer
     In this feature, directed by the legendary Martin Scorsese, U.S. Marshall Teddy Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio) tracks the mysterious disappearance of a deadly inmate from an asylum for the criminally insane on Shutter Island, and discovers that the island is not all that it seems. Rounding out the cast are Mark Ruffalo, Patricia Clarkson, Max von Sydow, and Ben Kingsley. This nail-biting thriller can be found in theaters February 19th.