MichaelClayton Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Reuniting after 2004's Closer, it appears that stars Julia Roberts and Clive Owen, along with Bourne writer Tony Gilroy, are all out to have a bit more fun with Duplicity; the trailer just went up over at Apple.

If anything, it comes off as more of a zippy heist film of sorts than the thriller I took it to be from the earliest synopsis on, even though corporate espionage remains the name of the game. Then again, maybe we're overdue for another Thomas Crown Affair-like outing, and between the cast (which also includes Tom Wilkinson, who was in Gilroy's Michael Clayton, and Paul Giamatti, who shared the screen with Clive in Shoot 'Em Up) and the crew, I'm pretty much sold.

(If Billy Bob Thornton is still in this, though, as Monika reported last January, he sure isn't showing up here, and IMDb remains mum.)

Duplicity opens on March 20th of next year -- about a month after Clive's bang-ier espionage efforts in The International.

Even though a lot of fans of The Coen Brothers haven't been all that happy with the results of their collaborations with George Clooney (I think I was one of the eight people in the world who actually enjoyed Intolerable Cruelty.), I've still got a good feeling about their CIA comedy, Burn After Reading. The Hollywood Reporter has announced that Focus Features will release the dark comedy on September 12th of this year.

Burn has an all-star cast including Clooney, John Malkovich, Frances McDormand, Brad Pitt, and Tilda Swinton. I would guess that it's been like 'old home week' on set; we all know that Clooney and Pitt are buddies, and Swinton could be an honorary member of the boys club after her Oscar winning performance in Michael Clayton (and judging by her acceptance speech, she seems comfortable with a little verbal rough-housing).

The comedy stars Malkovich as Ozzie Cox, a CIA vet who gets fired for being an alcoholic, and writes out his revenge in a memoir. His soon-to-be ex-wife (Swinton) accidentally leaves the memoir at a gym, where it falls into the hands of a trainer, Chad Feldheimer (Brad Pitt), and the gym's owner Linda Litzke (Frances McDormand), who want to exploit the discovery. It sounds like a pretty 'fluffy' flick, but I think we could all use a break from the Coens' more "intense" point of view, wouldn't you agree, friendo?

Well, the Oscars are a wrap. You can see all the winners right over here.
Cinematical staff did pretty well with our predictions, and so did our readers. You guys picked the winners for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor, Best Actor, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Adapated Screenplay -- the same categories we got right. We missed Best Doc and both actress categories. Not bad overall.

What do you think about this year's Oscars? Did you think Jon Stewart did a good job with the hosting? Aside from the part where he kind of disappeared for the last hour, but I guess they usually do that towards the end when everyone wants to wrap it up already and get to the parties. What were the big surprises of the night? Any huge disappointments? (Go ahead, anti Diablo Cody contingent. You can say it.)

Oh, and who looked awesome, and who didn't? I thought Marion Cotillard, Helen Mirren, Jennifer Garner and Anne Hathaway had the best looks of the night among the ladies. On the guy's side, Johnny Depp and George Clooney both looked hot, and so did Denzel Washington. And Glen Hansard ... yeah, he was adorable too. I'm just saying.

Time for your thoughts on Hollywood's big night -- discuss away!

If you still haven't seen all the Oscar-nominated films, you're not alone. I still haven't seen a number of them, and I have less excuse than most people. After all, I live in a city in which pretty much every nominee has played. Some major contenders I haven't gotten around to -- with little reason for not -- include Atonement, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street and Into the Wild, all of which are still in theaters and are probably best to see on the big screen.

Apparently, at least according to Variety, a lot of people are seeing the Oscar nominees on the big screen compared to in previous (recent) years, as cumulatively the five Best Picture contenders have seen a significant bump at the box office since the nominations were announced. I would be extremely excited if I didn't believe the truth is that Juno's tremendous success has elevated the Best Picture box office average. The comedy is showing on far more screens, is much more accessible to a wide audience and has so far earned twice as much money domestically as the next highest-grossing Best Picture nominee. Variety also this week had published a story about how Juno is the one movie that may save the Oscar telecast's ratings, since it's the one movie people have actually been able to or bothered to see. One thing I will note, though, is that Best Picture nominee Michael Clayton came out on DVD this past Tuesday and yet there was still a significant number of people seeing it in theaters through the week. Additionally, I would be interested to know how many people took advantage of yesterday's AMC Theatres-hosted Best Picture marathon.

American Gangster
There's nothing quite as unsightly as smuggling your heroin into the country by hiding it with the slain soldiers returning from Vietnam. But what is quite slightly is a cast of excellent actors to tell the story -- namely Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe, Josh Brolin, and Chiwetel Ejiofor. From the directorial hands of Ridley Scott, the film follows the story of the infamous Frank Lucas -- a man who soared from lowly driver to huge drug kingpin -- one who controlled Manhattan's heroin trade. On the one side there's Frank, making boatloads of money and being a heroin powerhouse. On the other, there's the man (Crowe) who tries to bring him down.

And, in my continuing efforts to give Joe Morton as much props as I can, he pops up in the film as Charlie Williams.

As for the DVD, the main one looks pretty darned tempting. You've got both the original theatrical version and extended, unrated version on the first disc, plus a whole slew on the second: deleted scenes (inc. an alternate opening), a feature-length documentary on making the film, and "Case Files" -- 3 segments on how the film was brought to life.

However, there's also a super 3-Disc Edition: Aside from the above goodies, there's a booklet, and a whole third music-centric disc if you want to get down with guns, drugs, and tunes.

Check Out James' Review | Buy the DVD

Michael Clayton
It's already surprised many for scoring itself 7 Oscar nominations this year, including Best Motion Picture and Best Director, but while it may come as an awards surprise, it is still a solid film and a great alternative to George Clooney's Ocean's fare. This time around, Clooney stars as Clayton, the "fixer" at a big law firm who knows how to clean up the messes and avoid embarrassment at work, but not so much at home. When his colleague goes nuts, he is not only struggling with himself but also the fight to save the company's name. As James Rocchi described it in his review: "Michael Clayton is at its best when it sticks to hard-bitten, this-is-how-the-world-works scenes between employers and employees, fathers and sons, executives and lawyers. Gilroy (with the help of supremely talented cinematographer Robert Elswit) captures a chilly world of urban grandeur and decay where the light's as gray as the choices people make."

The DVD features aren't plentiful, but there are some additional scenes and a commentary that features writer/director Tony Gilroy and editor John Gilroy.

Check Out James' Review | Buy the DVD

Other New DVD Releases (February 19)

Lust, Caution
In the Valley of Elah
Rendition
Margot at the Wedding

Check out Peter Martin's Indies on DVD for even more new releases.

Hollywood's neverending love affair with itself just keeps on rolling, as now the Producer's Guild of America has announced its list of 2007 film nominees. And the nominees are: The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, Juno, Michael Clayton, No Country for Old Men, and There Will Be Blood. Surely the most notable exclusions are Atonement and Sweeney Todd, since both films took Best Picture honors at last night's Golden Globes disaster atrocity ceremony. The PGA does not often sync up with the Academy. Last year, they selected Little Miss Sunshine and the Oscar went (rightly) to The Departed. In 2006, they selected Brokeback Mountain and the Oscar went to Crash. In 2005, they picked The Aviator and the Oscar went to Million Dollar Baby.

No guesses as to which film they'll select this year, but don't count out There Will Be Blood. As a friend of mine recently remarked: "Producers will definitely relate strongly to the story of a relentless misanthrope who sacrifices everything in his quest for money and power." The PGA nominated Bee Movie, Ratatouille, and The Simpsons Movie as nominations for its animation award. Their nominated documentaries are: Body of War, Hear and Now, Pete Seeger: The Power of Song, Sicko, and White Night Black Rain: The Destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The winner of the PGA's Darryl F. Zanuck Producer of the Year award is announced February 2nd, and will not be televised. Still, if the host announces the winner at his or her kitchen table while eating a large bowl of breakfast cereal, it will be a more exciting event than last night's Billy Bush cringe-a-thon. Yikes.

It was a damn fine year for movies, 2007. It's hard enough picking 10 top flicks from the crop after a just-decent year, so the task was especially tricky this time around. (At least at Moviefone we're able to pick the 50 best.) That's why I'm thankful for the unwritten critics' rule that Top 10 lists can start with a tie, so long as there's common thematic bond between them. Here are my 11 10 favorite movies of the 007.

10. Tie: Dan in Real Life / Grace is Gone (Widower Special)
What can I say, I'm a sucker for widowers. Some critics found the loving family in Steve Carell's poignant dramedy Dan unrealistic. I feel sorry for some critics. Plot contrivances aside, it succeeds both in capturing the dynamics of a large clan and telling a helluva love story. In a career-best performance in Grace, John Cusack is a flag-waving father of two whose wife is killed in Iraq. This tear-jerking drama might be misconstrued as a political statement, but finally it's a heartrending tale of human loss.

9. Hot Fuzz
Yes, this hilarious send-up of (tribute to?) Bruckheimer schlock tops Shaun of the Dead, the brilliant debut from Brits Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and Edgar Wright. Whereas Shaun's first hour is pure bliss, it loses some steam in the third act. Fuzz gets better as it speeds along, offering up surprises and side-splitters in equal measure. Really, who would've thought anyone would ever pay homage to Bad Boys II?

8. No End in Sight
As you can surmise from the title, this ain't exactly a sunshiney look at the Iraq War. But it's the most thorough, eye-opening detailing of the mega-blunders made the Bush Administration in planning and executing the war to date (so THAT'S where the insurgency came from!), with nary a Michael Moore stunt in sight. Prepared to be educated, maddened.

7. Ratatouille
Like I've been saying it for a while now: The machines at Pixar appear to be challenging themselves more and more with each release: "What DON'T audiences think they'll fall in love with? How about a rat who cooks? Better yet, a French rat!" And of course, after 111 minutes of Pixar magic, most of us left with a newfound respect for rodents. (Reminds me of '91 when I saw Beauty and the Beast; haven't been afraid of beasts since.)

6. Superbad
Forget Knocked Up. Forget Walk Hard. This deliciously raunchy buddy comedy/love story will stand the test of time and prevail as the most influential Apatow movie of '07, defining a generation like Dazed and Confused and Fast Times at Ridgemont High did before it. Here's hoping Christopher Mintz-Passe (a.k.a. McLovin) will ever be able to convincingly play another character, though I wouldn't mind more McLovin.

Best Supporting Actor

Nominees:

Casey Affleck -- The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

Javier Bardem -- No Country for Old Men

Philip Seymour Hoffman -- Charlie Wilson's War

John Travolta -- Hairspray

Tom Wilkinson -- Michael Clayton

Predicted Winner: Javier Bardem

Once in awhile there comes to cinema a character, and a performance that goes with it, that goes on to haunt us for years. Such a timeless villain is played in No Country for Old Men by Javier Bardem. It's the actor's third Golden Globe nomination and will be his first win. How do I know? Here at Cinematical headquarters we were going to toss a coin to find out if Bardem would get the statue. But then we realized that this award isn't about chance (plus we were afraid of getting an air blast to the skull if it came up that he'd lose). Bardem will win because he deserves the award, because his is the most well-developed and most memorable performance of the bunch.

Now it's your turn to vote ...

Best Actor (Drama)

Nominees:

George Clooney -- Michael Clayton

Daniel Day-Lewis -- There Will Be Blood

James McAvoy - Atonement

Viggo Mortensen -- Eastern Promises

Denzel Washington --American Gangster

Predicted Winner: Daniel Day-Lewis -- There Will Be Blood

Not much of a race here. The Cinematical staff (indeed much of the film-watching world in general) thinks that Mr. Day-Lewis is a dead-solid lock to win the Globe, the Oscar, and even the vaunted People's Choice. (As if "the people" want to see a three-hour movie about oil.) Even if There Will Be Blood (somehow) leaves you cold, there's no denying that DDL's performance is a thing of thespianic beauty.

Now it's your turn to vote ...

The Director's Guild has announced their five nominees for best director of 2007, and they are: Ethan and Joel Coen for No Country for Old Men; Tony Gilroy for Michael Clayton; Paul Thomas Anderson for There Will Be Blood; Julian Schnabel for The Diving Bell and the Butterfly; and Sean Penn for Into the Wild. For those of you paying attention to the major kudos, that's two different directors than the Hollywood Foreign Press nominated for the Golden Globes. Rather than recognizing Atonement director Joe Wright or American Gangster director Ridley Scott, the Guild has gone with Anderson and Penn.

So, which grouping will be closest to the Oscars? Who cares? I hate that with every announcement about non-Academy-related awards we get a statement like "since ____, only _____ winners have failed to claim the Oscar ... " Well, the fact that there is some divergence means there is no predicting who will get the Oscar nominations, let along the award. So, let's just appreciate the Director's Guild Awards for what they are. That said, I haven't seen all the films (I'm actually about to head out the door to finally catch There Will Be Blood), so I can't fairly pick my favorite. In fact, two of the nominated films that I have seen are so different in style that it's quite difficult for me to decide which I think is more deserving of this honor. Ultimately, despite the fact that I greatly admired Schabel's ability to make a first-person POV-shot engaging throughout the majority of his film, I'd have to go with the Coen Brothers. Except for that one controversial shot, I think they gave us the best visual storytelling of the year and I also think that they managed to get some of the most amazing performances of the year from their actors. However, my mind could easily change in about an hour when I sit down in front of the work of Paul Thomas Anderson. The winner will be announced on January 26.