we own the night Tagged Articles at Cinematical

It's so exciting -- literally exciting; pulse-quickening -- to watch a monumental new talent emerge and begin to edge toward what will eventually be his rightful place among the filmmaking greats. After watching his fourth film, Two Lovers (which opens this weekend and which I'll just comment on obliquely here) I'm ready to call it: James Gray is the next... well, the next something. I'm tempted to say Scorcese, which seems absurdly hyperbolic, but I'm kind of serious. He's that good: that ambitious, that interesting, that attuned to the details of human behavior. Watch this guy. He's gonna be important.

Almost no one saw The Yards (though you should), even I haven't seen his debut feature Little Odessa, and Two Lovers hasn't seen release yet, so I'll talk about We Own the Night: plot-wise a fairly ordinary cops-and-mobsters drama, but one that's pitched at the emotional wavelength of an epic Greek tragedy and as finely observed as any work of arthouse "naturalism" you can think of (Chop Shop? Flight of the Red Balloon?). Scene after scene, the film teeters on the edge of becoming corny and laughable, but it never quite tips over. Part of it is Gray's total conviction, completely committed to an almost absurdly grandiose screenplay. Even more important is how real the movie feels, how almost tactile: 1988 Brooklyn comes alive in front of you; the club scenes seem populated with hundreds of real human beings, not just extras; there's an important scene in a cavernous church that just deposits you in that church in an extraordinary way I can't quite articulate. It's the attention to detail, the rich sound design, the sense of geography and space -- in other words, skilled filmmaking. And then there's that justly renowned car chase in the pouring rain. Wowza.

Here in the dawn of the New Year, I'm still nursing my holiday hangover, so I'm going to finish up with my three-part Overlooked and Underrated series of columns, starting with Julian Jarrold's Becoming Jane, a fictitious biographical romance about Jane Austen (Anne Hathaway). It garnered unfavorable comparisons to Shakespeare in Love (1998), a film as dreadfully over-hyped as its cousin was under-hyped. (The hype meter must be perfectly balanced now.) James McAvoy -- currently receiving showers of awards attention for his involvement in Atonement (306 screens) -- plays the smoldering lover who titillates the educated and prickly Miss Austen. Unlike most brain-dead comedies in which the lovers are supposed to "fix" each other's shortcomings, these lovers are perfectly matched. Not to mention that Maggie Smith gives another one of her deliriously snooty performances.

I can't figure out why Richard Shepard's The Hunting Party failed, when it was just as energetic and funny as The Matador -- unless critics bristled at the film's political pokings. In this one, Richard Gere, Terrence Howard and Jesse Eisenberg make a wonderful team as three journalists (ranging from rookie to washed-up) who journey through Bosnia to find an infamous war criminal. Shepard's movie is constantly unexpected and alive, with three-dimensional characters you won't soon forget. Stick around for the whimsical closing credits, which explain the parts of the film that were "real."

James Gray's The Yards (2000) opened in the U.S. to fairly mixed reviews, many politely recommending it and many politely panning it. Nobody got too excited about it either way, and neither did audiences. According to boxofficemojo.com, it grossed less than $1 million on a $24 million budget. But Europe was a different story. European film critics generally are geared more toward artistry and personal expression than they are stories and subject matter, and I often agree with their assessments, but for some reason they really latched onto The Yards. I caught up with the film later, when Miramax released a special edition DVD in 2006, and I found myself agreeing with my American colleagues. It has a kind of nostalgia for the 1970s, with James Caan, Ellen Burstyn and Faye Dunaway in rich supporting roles, and so perhaps it gives the illusion of grit and risk. But the leads Joaquin Phoenix, Mark Wahlberg and Charlize Theron placed it squarely in the present when risk is better in theory than in practice.

Seven years later, Gray has returned with his third film (his first was 1994's Little Odessa), and I've slowly begun to understand Gray's brand of low-key skill. Certainly the premise, about two opposing brothers, one in law enforcement and the other hovering near the underworld, has been around for some time, and could have been told in any early D.W. Griffith or Raoul Walsh silent picture. John Woo made a masterpiece from the idea with his A Better Tomorrow (1986). And Clark Gable and William Powell played out the idea -- as best friends instead of brothers -- in Manhattan Melodrama (1934). But Gray takes the tale, shakes it out and makes it compelling once more.

The Game Plan has knocked me for a loop two weeks in a row. I honestly didn't expect it to hit number one when it opened and now it's held the top spot for two weeks running. Not bad for a film that looks like it could have premiered on The Disney Channel. My top pick from last week, The Heartbreak Kid, took second missing the lead position by $2.6 million. This being the Halloween season, the horror buff in me is glad to see that Resident Evil: Extinction, in its third week, is clinging tenaciously to the top five. Here are the final numbers:

The Game Plan: $16.6 million
The Heartbreak Kid: $14 million
The Kingdom: $9.7 million
Resident Evil: Extinction: $4.5 million
The Seeker: The Dark is Rising: $3.7 million

It's going to be a busy weekend with four new releases and two films that are already out expanding into additional theaters.

Elizabeth: The Golden Age
What's It All About: Cate Blanchett returns to the role that garnered her an Oscar nomination for 1998's Elizabeth, playing England's Queen Elizabeth I. Clive Owen and Geoffrey Rush also star.
Why It Might Do Well: The previous film broke even domestically on its $30 million budget but only played 600 or so theaters at a time. This wider release should serve the investors well. It also garnered an Oscar for Best Makeup as well as six nominations.
Why It Might Not Do Well: Period drama can be a tough sell.
Number of Theaters: 1,900
Prediction: $6.5 million

The Final Season
What's It All About: Former hobbit and offspring of Gomez Addams, Sean Astin stars as the coach of a high school baseball team in Iowa in this film based on true events. .
Why It Might Do Well: Even a heartless oaf like myself can be moved by an inspirational tale of underdogs making good.
Why It Might Not Do Well: Sports movies, especially high school sports movies, have their share of cliches, most of which are on display in the trailer.
Number of Theaters: 1,000
Prediction: $2.5 million

Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married
What's It All About: Based on Tyler Perry's stage play, the movie follows a group of eight married college friends on an annual ski holiday, and an act of infidelity causes them all to examine their own relationships.
Why It Might Do Well: Should attract those curious to see what became of Janet Jackson after Different Strokes.
Why It Might Not Do Well: Oh, don't be so negative.
Number of Theaters: 1,900
Prediction: $12 million

We Own the Night
What's It All About: Joaquin Phoenix and Mark Wahlberg play brothers who find themselves on opposite sides in a battle between the Russian mafia and New York City police in the 1980s. Robert Duvall also stars.
Why It Might Do Well: A top notch cast and audiences looking for another The Departed should sell some tickets.
Why It Might Not Do Well: I don't see a good reason for this one tanking. In fact, I think it will hit number one for the week.
Number of Theaters: 2,000
Prediction: $15 million

FILMS ALREADY OUT BUT GOING INTO WIDER RELEASE THIS WEEKEND:

Across the Universe
What's It All About: A psychedelic musical set to Beatles music, telling of love in the turbulent 1960s.
Why It Might Do Well: It's The Beatles, dude. While huge box office is not in the stars, this will eventually find its audience on DVD.
Why It Might Not Do Well: The small number of theaters carrying this one will keep it out of the top 5.
Number of Theaters: 700
Prediction: $3 million

Michael Clayton
What's It All About: George Clooney is a former criminal prosecutor now working as a "fixer" at a New York law firm, which requires him to do some of the company's dirtiest business.
Why It Might Do Well: Clooney's got the screen presence and a knack for usually picking worthwhile scripts.
Why It Might Not Do Well: There are a lot of people out there with long memories who paid to see Batman and Robin.
Number of Theaters: 2,400
Prediction: $13 million

Once again I'm seeking alternate forms of divination (what have I got to lose?), so here's what the Magic 8 Ball and I came up with for the coming weekend:
1. We Own the Night
2. Michael Clayton
3. Tyler Perry's Why Did I get Married
4. The Game Plan
5. Elizabeth: The Golden Age

I wasn't the only one taken by surprise when The Game Plan held the number one spot for two weeks. None of our other competitors saw it coming either, which makes me feel marginally better (marginally, mind you) about my third place standing. Here's how everyone did:

1. Bubba8193: 7
1. Movie Matt: 7
1. Ray: 7
2. Carlos the Jackal: 6
2. Abird: 6
3. Matt: 5
3. Anna07: 5
3. Neil: 5
3. Chris: 5
3. Gregory Rubinstein: 5
3. Josh: 5
4. Nathan: 4
4. uforeader: 4

As always, thanks to everyone who took part in our little competition, and we're always looking for more folks to join in on the fun. Please post your prediction in the comments section below before 5:00PM on Saturday. One point for every top five movie correctly named, two points for every correct placement, and one extra point for the top movie. I promise to wave to the winner of next week's competition, and the fact that I will do so from the confines of my own home with the curtains drawn should in no way seem odd. Just provide me with your latitude and longitude so I know which way to face.

Since his 1994 debut, Little Odessa, filmmaker James Gray has been sparse with output. It took six years for him to deliver his follow-up, The Yards, and another seven years to give us We Own the Night, which premiered earlier this year at Cannes and opens in theaters on October 12. However, there won't be such a long wait for Gray's fourth film; titled Two Lovers, the film begins shooting in November with Gray regular Joaquin Phoenix and possibly Gwyneth Paltrow, who is in final negotiations. Two Lovers marks a third collaboration with Phoenix, who starred in both The Yards and We Own the Night. If there's a part somewhere for Mark Wahlberg, it could be a perfect reunion. Our own James Rocchi reviewed We Own the Night at Cannes, highlighting the performances of Phoenix and Wahlberg, who also co-starred in The Yards.

According to Variety, Two Lovers will star Phoenix as a Brooklyn man torn between two women. There's the family friend who his parents are trying to set him up with, and then there's the beautiful new neighbor who he prefers and with whom he falls in love. I'm going to go ahead and guess that Paltrow is being cast as the neighbor. The script is by Gray and Ric Menello, who wrote the Run-DMC vehicle Tougher Than Leather and who received a 'Thanks' credit for The Yards. It will be produced by Oscar-winner Donna Gigliotti (Shakespeare in Love) and Anthony Katagas (We Own the Night), while being overseen by 2929 Production's Todd Wagner, Mark Cuban and Marc Butan. If all goes well, Gray could have only a year between his third and fourth films -- we would have settled for anything fewer than five -- which will very good for his career if We Own the Night performs a lot better than his prior work.

A few months back Monika brought you some info on an international trailer for James Gray's crime thriller We Own the Night -- but now we've got a brand-new domestic trailer to check out ... and I'd say the flick looks pretty solid! (Maybe not all that startlingly original, but certainly something worth seeing.) Click here to check out the trailer at IGN Movies, and then take a second to wonder if Mark Wahlberg really likes playing a cop. (I'd say he does.)

Based on what I saw in the promotional clip, We Own the Night is about two brothers: one a decent cop (Wahlberg) and the other a nightclub owner (Joaquin Phoenix) who (unwisely) gets involved with some big-time Russian drug dealers. Cue conflict. Also on board are (the fantastic) Robert Duvall as the patriarch and (the rather attractive) Eva Mendes as the worried girlfriend.

You may remember James Gray from The Yards and Little Odessa, both of which are definitely worth a rental some night. The film played the Cannes Film Festival a few months back, prompting Variety's Todd McCarthy to write the following: "Adequately acted and flecked with the required quota of action to satisfy genre fans, pic recalls numerous good police dramas of the 1970s, but mostly in superficial ways that bring nothing new to the table." Our own James Rocchi had this to say: "May feel curiously at odds with itself, but that doesn't necessarily make it a bad movie; if Gray's movie excels at one thing, it's how it takes the title phrase and makes a boast into something like a curse."

Sony looks poised to release Night on October 12.

It seems like Mark Wahlberg still has the knack for choosing movie roles that are all over the map. For example, there was the recent news that the actor had made the "out-there" choice of starring in M. Night Shyamalan's latest film, but up first for him will be the slightly more predictable We Own The Night. A French website is now operating for the crime thriller starring not only Wahlberg, but Joaquin Phoenix and Robert Duvall. Directed by James Gray, the film is set in New York in the late 80's, and centers on a family of cops and criminals in the midst of a drug war with the Russian mob. The site has plenty of pictures and we also get a look at the international trailer for the film.

Wahlberg continues his streak of playing cops but it looks like Phoenix gets to show off a little more in the role of a tormented informant with family connections in law enforcement. Also starring as a love interest to Phoenix is Eva Mendes, who doesn't get to do much in the trailer other than look concerned and writhe around in underwear. This is only the first of many projects for Wahlberg this year, including reuniting with Martin Scorsese on the HBO series Boardwalk and he will also be re-teaming with Departed co-star Matt Damon in the biopic of boxer Irish Micky Ward. So far, New Line has yet to announce a release date for We Own The Night., instead they are currently in Cannes drumming up a little business for the film.

Joaquin Phoenix looks set to follow up his critically-acclaimed work in Walk the Line by reuniting with his The Yards director, James Gray. The two will collaborate on We Own the Night, a thriller set during in the 1980s struggle between Russian organized crime and the NYPD. The story, which Gray also wrote, will focus on a night-club manager (played by Phoenix) who struggles to save his cops brother and father, both of whom are being targeted by gang hitmen. (It sounds exciting, but why is a nightclub manager trying to save cops? Can't, I don't know, other cops help them out?) Also in the cast are Robert Duvall (hopefully playing the dad) and Eva Mendes whose role is undefined, though she'll surely spend some time wandering around looking hot.

Interestingly, this movie marks a return of sorts for Gray to the subject matter of his first film (Little Odessa), which was also a crime story involving New York's Russian immigrant community. Though We Own the Night will be only his third film, Gray - who also writes all of his projects - has shown in the past that he's very good with small, emotionally intense stories. He also tends to get very strong performances from his actors, all of which make this latest effort sound awfully promising.