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Showing posts from September, 2010

Evil.

Jude Law's Harlen Maguire just exudes pure evil. When seeing this film in 2002 I remember being so infuriated at his character taking snapshots at the expense of the men he killed that it turned me off the movie completely. Eight years later I see the scene for what it really is: a father protecting his child from things that this world can't explain. Pure unadulterated evil.

Listen to The Town Soundtrack

  The score for  The Town  was surprisingly good: "Charlestown" was a moody piece that started the film off on a right beat and "Nuns With Guns" & "Fenway" were everything that heist scenes should be scored to. I wasn't really aware of Harry Gregson Williams, but more attention will be paid to his name in credits from now on.

True Grit Teaser Trailer

This looks good,  No Country for Old Men  good. With Bridges, Damon, and Brolin alongside newcomer Hailee Steinfeld, come December quite a few actors are going to be called from the Coen's latest awards contender.

The Vault: The Departed (2006)

When you wear masks for so long that you begin to forget who you are, when the seams of the mask begin to blend into your face, where do you go from there? Who are we? And what do our actions really say about us? Martin Scorsese's The Departed attempts to answer these questions. You are born into a class and who you become is entirely dependent on that fact. Who your father was, determines who you will be. This is perhaps the more subtle version of what Scorsese was going for with Gangs of New York . Duties, friendship, loyalty all becomes blurred together as the three collide in an ending that leaves no question that The Departed earned Martin Scorsese his well-deserved Oscar. The Departed centers around two men who are radically different from their public personas. Will Costigan Jr. (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a Massachusetts State Trooper trainee who manages to permeate himself into Frank Costello's gang. Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon) is a SIU detective that Cos

Another 'Social Network' Sampler

I imagine they must be busy at NullCorp with all the free tracks they are putting out for The Social Network . Is it too early to hold out hope that Reznor and Ross can get an Academy Award nomination for this? In Motion by nullcorp

10 Words or Less: Donnie Darko (2001)

Harvey meets Back to the Future plus angst and ecstasy.

Review: The Town

In a country that prides itself on freedom from need, some can only grapple with mere survival. Some men protect themselves with lawyers, with others, money. Doug MacRay (Ben Affleck) defends himself with a gun. Doug and his crew are planning their next job, the one that will be the job that puts Charlestown out of his sights for good. Before he can leave he has to figure out a way around his involvement with a bank manager Claire Keesey (Rebecca Hall), who was part of their previous heist and an enthusiastic Special Agent (Jon Hamm), could put Doug away for life. Stephen (featuring a stellar Chris Cooper), Doug's father, provides a powerful foil for MacRay as a man who didn't leave when the getting was good and ended up in prison for life. Stephen is what Doug hopes to escape becoming: trapped in Charlestown forever. James (Jeremy Renner) views Doug's hopes of leaving Charlestown as a personal betrayal and refuses to accept that proposition. Boston coul

Free 'Social Network' Soundtrack Sampler

Five free tracks from Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross's The Social Network soundtrack are available here . Reznor's NIN influences are evident on "Eventually We Find Our Way" and "The Gentle Hum of Anxiety" definitely feels like something that will be featured in a mood-heavy scene in the film. I'm looking forward to the release of the rest of the score.

The Fighter Trailer

Mark Wahlberg's Rocky turn so to speak. The true story of fighter Mickey Ward (Mark Wahlberg) on the road to a World Welterweight title with the assistance of his half-brother Dicky Ecklund (Christian Bale). Christian Bale, always brings dedication to a role - as exhibited by The Machinist - but this is taking it to another level. Hopefully this is the year Bale walks home with Oscar gold. Overall the trailer, like its boxing genre ilk relies on material done before, but I still look forward to this one.

The Vault: Psycho (1960)

Psycho has had a wide variety of influence on films, ranging from Pulp Fiction to The Usual Suspects . It is widely regarded as one of the best horror films of all-time. Marion Crane (Janet Leigh) is fed up; she's taking $40,000 from her boss and running away to California to finally wed her financially-strappe beau Sam. It's a nerve-wracking trip and after spending a night in her car she pulls into the quaint Bates Motel. There she meets the timid Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) who, while well-meaning, is a little too curious for his own good. Marion checks in and unpacks, all the while overhearing an argument taking place between Norman and his over-bearing mother. She lost her sanity Norman tells Marion, but when Marion suggests she stay in an institution Norman's easy-going nature disappears instantaneously. The shock of his outbursts wears off and Norman laments, "we all go a little mad sometimes" and Marion replies that "sometimes, just one

Hereafter Trailer

With his past film, Invictus , Mr. Eastwood seemed to be letting too much go without really stimulating the audience in any significant fashion. While the tale of Mandela's resurgence was inspiring, it never really went anywhere in the film. A parallel allegory to our time went untouched, while a underdog sport's story was played up too often to unsatisfactory results. I hesitate to call  Hereafter Oscar-bait (when Conviction and Never Let Me Go clearly deserve that title), but time will tell when this is released.

Tron Legacy Soundtrack Sneakpeek

(via: Pitchfork ) The site for Daft Punk's Tron Legacy score has hit and you can get a downloadable track here . The track is two minutes long and worth your while. I like what I'm hearing and if this is any indicator of how the rest of the soundtrack will turn out I'm psyched.

FYC: DreamWork's How to Train Your Dragon

Well DreamWorks has launched the first volley into awards season and with Toy Story 3 passing $1,000,000,000 they may need to if they plan on taking that Best Animated Feature Oscar home. What's interesting is that they are also pushing for Best Picture. Granted, a ten picture field minimizes the risk, but time well tell if two animated films can break the best picture race. (Courtesy: InContention )

Buried International Trailer

The teaser trailer for Buried was pretty much perfect for advertising the film for what it was, I don't see the need for revealing anything more. But, I get the feeling Lionsgate released this trailer as a way of placating fans who wanted actual shots from the film.

Fall/Winter's Most Anticipated

This year's lineup looks to be a lot better than the previous winter season. With few trips to the theatre over the past three months I should have more than enough funds to see my top five of the rest of the year. The Town Could be the next Heat as far as I'm concerned. Ben Affleck was excellent in his direction of Gone Baby Gone and based on the trailer that premiered with Inception I have no reason to doubt him. An excellent ensemble cast featuring Affleck, Jon Hamm, Rebecca Hall and Chris Cooper Black Swan Darren Aronofsky has always chosen peculiar materials for his films and Black Swan, on the surface at least, seemed like one of those projects. Until the trailer debuted last week. If Portman's performance and Clint Mansell's score are anything like in the small sample we have seen then we have a winner on our hands. The Social Network Facebook. There was a time when that word wasn't even a blip on the radar of the American lexicon. Now,