TropicThunder Tagged Articles at Cinematical

I think it's safe to tell you, without spoiling the movie, that The Men Who Stare at Goats includes a couple of scenes with Jeff Bridges and George Clooney dancing around. The scenes are amusing and a little strange -- why are soldiers dancing? But they did fit consistently with the film as a whole. However, I was reminded of moments in movies that aren't musicals, but suddenly shift to some crazy kind of dance or musical number. I love these moments, and in fact I wish the dance scenes in The Men Who Stare at Goats were a little less toned-down and a little more "WTF?"

Okay, I'm kind of BS'ing you here. The Men Who Stare at Goats is a flimsy excuse. I really just wanted to write about surreal dance numbers in otherwise straightforward movies, because that can be so much fun. Last year's Adam Sandler vehicle Bedtime Stories was an annoying dud ... except for one glorious, shining moment where Guy Pearce launched into a song-and-dance number. Sometimes these dance moments are the best part of a movie, sometimes they spoil the mood and sometimes they're just one more weird aspect of an altogether bizarre film. Here are seven of my favorites.

Forbes has released its Most Valuable Comedians list, and through some intricate calculations I stopped studying after high school, came up with Adam Sandler as Hollywood's most powerful laugh riot, both in front of the camera and behind the scenes.

Sandler is gaining traction not only because of his starring roles in such critic-proof movies as You Don't Mess with the Zohan and I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry, but because he can also occasionally show off some real acting chops as in 2007's Reign Over Me and Punch-Drunk Love. The number of movies he's producing and has in development under Happy Madison Productions are growing in number. And despite its premise, this summer's Funny People, which stars Sandler as a comedian dying of cancer who mentors a younger comedian, has quite a number of big names attached. Judd Apatow wrote, directed, and produced the film; Seth Rogen and Jonah Hill costar. Oscar-winning cinematographer Janusz Kaminski is behind the lens. So even though at first glance, I thought, "Adam Sandler, WTF?" it's clear that even though Sandler doesn't tickle my funny bone, he does have all the criteria for Forbes's list firmly in place.

Will Ferrell, who's #2, is getting more and more into production along with writing and acting, and launching FunnyorDie.com with director and writer Adam McKay was a watershed moment for viral video. HBO's investment in the website led to a deal with Ferrell and his FoD cohorts for a TV show - 10 episodes to be exact - which turned out to be the hit Eastbound and Down.

There was a bit of a shocker included in the Oscar nominations this year -- Robert Downey Jr. receiving a nod for his part in Tropic Thunder. It's a double whammy -- one of those rare nominations in the comedy category (a farce no less!), and a role that's almost 100% blackface. Unsurprisingly, the role created unrest, as well as a lot of discussion revolving around Hollywood's treatment of race on and off the screen.

Like it or not, race jumping is pretty much intrinsically linked to Hollywood -- all the way back to the first silent films. Over the years, it's morphed from minstrels to mainstream icons, critical darlings, and races of all sorts. Katharine Hepburn went Chinese for Dragon Seed. Charlton Heston went a rather ridiculous brownface for Touch of Evil. These days, that's not quite so kosher, but instances do pop up, both on the big screen (keep reading) and small screen (Saturday Night Live, for one).

But to try and delve into all race portrayals for a list of seven is just silly, so I'm focusing on blackface. And since the Academy Awards are almost upon us, this is blackface at the Oscars (save for one relevant film in recent history that should be mentioned, but didn't get Academy love). Read on, and be sure to share your thoughts in the comments.

Note: Blackface is used in the broader sense, and not just to define minstrel performances.

Did you ever wish movie posters would stop wasting our time with these flashy teaser shots of cool dudes and hot chicks and just be up front and honest with us so that no more of our time is wasted trying to determine whether this poster is fly (chill? nifty? awesome?) enough for us to actually go see the movie? Yes? No? Maybe? Who gives a sh*t? Well, the folks over at HolyTaco.com shoveled out a whole group of what they call "honest" movie posters, based on existing posters for movies we all know and (maybe) love. Like the one above for Tropic Thunder, which is re-titled Three Amigos 2, because, well, that's kinda what it's like ... only in a Vietnam-esque atmosphere. (I'm not sure whether the folks who created this one in particular know Tropic Thunder isn't set in Vietnam, but we'll roll with it anyway ...)

As always, we've pulled out a couple of our favorites for you to browse through below. Check out the rest over at HolyTaco, then let us know what you'd add to this.



[Thanks Brian]

I thought it would be an easy task to write about this year's best examples of on-screen chemistry. It's my favorite part of the cinematic experience, and one of the most important pieces of the puzzle. Without chemistry, any film is destined to fall quickly and be forgotten. Remember The Mexican? Brad and Julia might have been stars, but it takes a lot more than a big name to make a movie.

But who to choose? While I loathed the big-screen adaptation of Sex and the City, Carrie and Big have always held that certain something. Happy-Go-Lucky contained a wonderful romance, but it wasn't the thing of legend. I could certainly cite Maggie Gyllenhaal in The Dark Knight, and how she was a refreshing breath of charismatic air after the bland coupling of Christian Bale and Katie Holmes. (Heck, I can't even add in female ensembles, because the ladies from Sex and the City were too busy with romantic drama, and the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 could have been called Sisterhood of the We're too Old for This Crap.)

But none of these, nor the many other couples that graced our screens in 2008, came close to the halls of bromance. The only duos that contained palpable, memorable chemistry over the last year have been men. (Funny for a nation where Proposition 8 can get passed, but I digress...) Bromance isn't usually the theme to lead chemistry lists, but when a year brings us awesome blockbusters, but barely a whiff of spine-tingling sexual tension, we have to take what we can get.

When we were kicking around ideas for year-end superlative Cinematical Sevens, I was proudly tasked with chronicling the year's finest in big-screen mayhem, violence, destruction and other such shenanigans. When I was kicking around ideas for said feature between me, myself, and I, there were too many titles to leave off the list, so instead of highlighting only a mere couple of movies, I've opted to sort these puppies out by specific manner of cinematic excess.

So there.

1. Most pervasive destruction - The Joker may have terrorized Gotham to the tune of a destroyed hospital, a wrecked helicopter, a sunken SWAT truck, a toasty fire engine, and a golden district attorney, but even he can't top the Cloverfield monster's swath of destruction across the real-life Gotham. Statue of Liberty? Gone. Brooklyn Bridge? History. Central Park? Adios. And that's not including all the Hollister stores that our protagonists might've fled to. (On a smaller scale, though, Inside's lady in black terrorizes a pregnant woman on Christmas Eve to the point of all but painting every last wall in her house with the blood of her victims. Gotta love the French!)

Movie fanatics are a tough bunch to shop for because we own everything. The moment it goes on sale, it's in our hot little hands, leaving our families and friends high and dry when it comes to DVDs and box sets. How many people will try to buy you The Dark Knight this Christmas? (Thank goodness for store credit and gift receipts.)

Still, with budgets being tightened all across the country, there's probably a lot of you that have put The Dark Knight on your Christmas list to be purchased by those generous people in your circle. Or maybe there's some movies such as Tropic Thunder or Wall-E that you caught as a rental, and are now desperate to own.

Of course, we aren't all about the new and shiny here. With the format war being decided in favor of Blu-ray, older movies are being reissued every day. Plus, there are always box sets and anthologies making us drool -- the Ultimate Collector's Casablanca or that ridiculously huge Dirty Harry Ultimate Collector's Edition. (It seems the height of arrogance that I Am Legend has a similar release this year, doesn't it?)

So, why not share the DVD you hope to find under your tree this Christmas? While you're at it, why not tell us which DVD releases you think were the best of the year? The Tropic Thunder DVD was a universal favorite here at Cinematical, but The Dark Knight's bare bones release left us disappointed. Enough responses, and we'll put together a poll to decide the question once and for all.

He may truly suck at making himself into a believable German, but Tom Cruise did something right when he signed on for Tropic Thunder. The gig got him his first raves in eons, a Golden Globe nomination, and now maybe a feature film?

E Online talked with Cruise, who says Grossman is far from cinematic history. "I've talked about doing different videos with the character. I've started working with Ben [Stiller] on it, and we've kind of talked about different things to do." Right now, they're just looking for the free time to make this a reality. Cruise then went on to say that he wouldn't rule out a feature film, but he has to talk to Stiller first.

It'd probably be wise not to hold our breaths. Stiller has been adding on the projects like mad lately, so unless there's some A+ scheduling, I bet this will take a while or never come to fruition. But more importantly: should it? I really enjoyed Tom in Tropic Thunder, Grossman was great, but I'm not sure I'd want to see a full film with him. To me, it wasn't so much the character, but Cruise having some fun. I'd much rather see a fun film written for Cruise that goes somewhere new, while maintaining that sense of self-deprecation. How about you?

A personal checklist and shopping guide:

Wall-E
As with all great movies, I quickly forgot about everything except the characters and the story. Wall-E sparked some surprising political and sociological debates, but no one can deny the sense of wonder that the boxy robot and his adventures engender. Erik's already run down the special features; the toughest decision is which editon to get. Buy it.

Tropic Thunder
I skipped this one theatrically because I'm worn out on Hollywood self-mockery -- has any other industry ever found itself so simultaneously fascinating yet repulsive? Still, reviews were generally strong, and this is the best bet this week for a broad, R-rated comedy, as long as you haven't overdosed on Ben Stiller and Jack Black. Does Robert Downey, Jr. make it all worthwhile? Rent it.

Encounters at the End of the World
Speaking of something simultaneously fascinating yet repulsive, Werner Herzog traveled to the Antarctic to make a personal essay assailing the ugliness of the man-made town from which all journeys Seriously Down Under begin, and questions the sanity of some of the people who work there. Then the beauty of the place overwhelms everything, before Werner starts asking about the sex life of penguins to liven up an interview. Oh, Werner! Rent it.

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2
Girl power got a kick in the, er, pants, with this sequel, which takes place in a fantasy land of upper class privilege masquerading as lower middle class struggles. No doubt some will take me to task for missing the moral message which is rolled up somewhere inside the pretty scenery and prettier tears; I admit I dozed off a couple of times. In a weird way, this could be a good contrasting double-bill with Twilight. Under 18? Rent it.

Will the Oscars slowly turn into The MTV Movie Awards by the time we hit, I dunno, 2011? While that might be a stretch, poor ratings and the public's desire to actually see their favorite films of the year nominated and recognized might just sway Academy voters to start showing more love toward more commercial flicks. Like, say, The Dark Knight, Iron Man and Tropic Thunder -- all of which will be receiving an Oscar push in the coming weeks. Also on the agenda, Disney is cooking up a campaign for WALL-E in the Best Picture category even though an animated film has never won the Academy's top award, so says The New York Times. (Note: It will still be possible for WALL-E to be nominated in the Best Animated Film category as well as Best Picture.)

But if there's ever a year for upsets, 2008 is definitely it. The writer's strike and struggling economy really hurt some potential awards contenders (The Road and The Soloist were pushed back to 2009), and awards buzz on others (Changeling, Frost/Nixon) ain't exactly all that promising. So, heck, in a year where the Tampa Bay Rays make it to the World Series, I don't see why WALL-E shouldn't slip into the Best Picture category. But how do you feel about it? Should the Oscars take a more pop-centric, mass appeal approach going forward? Or should that stuff be reserved for the Teen Choice Awards and MTV Movie Awards? And what about poor old WALL-E? Where does he fit in?