TheEducationOfCharlieBanks Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Spin-ematical: New on DVD for 6/30
Filed under: Action », Comedy », Documentary », Foreign Language », Gay & Lesbian », Independent », New on DVD », Home Entertainment », Cinematical Indie »
"Slim pickings" is the best way to describe this week's releases. Isn't anyone planning to stay home and watch DVDs?
Two Lovers
Joaquin Phoenix can't decide between Gwyneth Paltrow and Vinessa Shaw. Directed by James Gray, this suffocating drama is dark, thoughtful, and "more true to real human existence than most of the dreck that comes out of Hollywood studios," wrote Kim Voynar. I wasn't quite as impressed by it as she was, but it's still my top pick in a slow week. Also on Blu-ray. Rent it.
12 Rounds
Wrestler John Cena stars in Renny Harlin's latest train wreck (as I described it in my review), a sober drama that resolutely refuses to embrace its loonier plot elements (fire engine smashing through New Orleans, an out-of-control street car). Aidan Gillen (The Wire) provides one of the few pleasures as an exceptionally-nasty master criminal. Also on Blu-ray. The "Extreme Cut" adds less than three minutes of footage. Skip it.
Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li
I was hoping against hope that this might provide some cheesy fun, but Nick Schager slammed that door shut: "Fighting sequences are dreadfully lethargic ... their choreography is of a dull, unimaginative sort." Not even Kristin Kreuk can save this one. Also on Blu-ray. Skip it.
Also out: Jonas Brothers: The 3-D Concert Experience.
After the jump: "Indies on DVD" provides several good rental choices, a landmark film by Spike Lee hits Blu-ray, and a long-dismissed effort by director Hal Ashby gets dusted off.
A Trailer for Fred Durst's Football Movie
Filed under: Comedy », Trailers and Clips »
What fresh hell is this? Rapper and rabblerouser Fred Durst gets a chance to make a movie, and he comes up with... a heartwarming tale of a girl who wants to play football, and the underdog team that she joins? Starring Ice Cube? There's a trailer for The Longshots here, but it's... how do you say... uninspiring. Part of it could be the insufferable voiceover ("he was a hero who lost his way; she was a loner who didn't belong" -- you don't say), but really the entire thing looks like, oh, every movie ever made. Every underdog sports movie ever made, anyway, and God knows there are plenty of them.A bit disappointing from the man who once called Creed's Scott Stapp a "f****ing punk" on stage. This isn't Durst's directorial debut -- that would be The Education of Charlie Banks, which played last year's Tribeca and won the award for Best Movie Made in New York. It was about a cat-and-mouse game between a bully and the kid who put him in jail years earlier. I didn't see it, but it sounds like a much grittier film. The Longshots is just weird -- there's no particular reason for Durst to have become a Hollywood hack-for-hire, so one would think he has some emotional connection to this project. I wonder what it could be.
Anchor Bay Will Bring Us 'Charlie Banks'
Filed under: Drama », Deals », Distribution »
While Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst is already moving onto his second cinematic feature, a sports drama starring Ice Cube, many of us are still anxious to see what he made of his first, The Education of Charlie Banks. A few years ago, he was telling people he was a "real director" before he had even made the feature. Then, it sounded like the statement might have been more than pompous boasting -- beyond a cast headlined by the wonderful Jesse Eisenberg (Roger Dodger) and Eva Amurri (Saved!), Variety gave the film a solid review from Tribeca earlier this year. Now, finally, the film has been picked up for distribution.The Hollywood Reporter tells us that Anchor Bay has picked up the North American theatrical and DVD rights to the debut, for release this spring. It's a coming-of-age drama starring Eisenberg as a high school student who sees a bully (Jason Ritter) severely beat two kids at a party. Years after telling the police and reneging his testimony, he enters college and the bully shows up at his school, becoming part of his circle. Of course, the kid wonders what the bully's motives are, and whether Ritter's character is there for revenge. Between curiosity over Durst's directorial chops, and this cast, I'll be there to check it out, but what about you? Will Durst's name make you run to the theater? Keep you from it? Or is his involvement irrelevant?
Peter Jackson Says Spielberg's 'Tintin' is Done Filming, but...
Interracial Harmony: 'Ninja Assassin' vs. 'Blind Side'
Spin-ematical: New on DVD for 11/24_thumbnail.jpg)
Exclusive 'Nine' Poster Premiere!
Exclusive: Title Track for 'The Road' Soundtrack
_thumbnail.jpg)
