“The Hunting Party”

Start with a war-torn countryside, add a dash of satire, a little action and a pinch of sermonizing and you’ll have “The Hunting Party.” This not quite fully-baked mixture stars Richard Gere as Simon Hunt, a burnt-out war correspondent banished to Bosnia after suffering an on-air meltdown. Five years later, Hunt’s ex-cameraman “Duck” (Terrance Howard), who’s traded in the war zone for a network job, is back in Bosnia to do a puff piece on the war’s end with Benjamin Strauss (Jesse Eisenberg), a young reporter (and son of the network’s V.P.). Hunt entices Duck by claiming he’s after an interview with a notorious war criminal known as the Fox (Ljubomir Kerekes). It’s not until the three of them are in the thick of it that Hunt reveals his true intention. My tweet pretty much sums it up: The Hunting Party-Reporter Richard Gere realizes it’ll take more than a story to restart his career & goes after a war criminal instead. 6.5 (out of 10) The producers of “The Hunting Party” make a point of telling you this is a true story. Which may be because they had a hard time conjuring up believable characters. Hunt is the beaten-down, yet eternal, idealist, Duck is the corporate sellout trying to convince himself he isn’t and Strauss is the nervous newbie who surprises everyone by having a backbone. The movie has its moments, like this exchange when Hunt meets Strauss for the first time: “Benjamin, you look young enough to be someone important’s son.” But there aren't enough of those moments to lift this movie. Bottom line: it’s an okay flick but you can do better.  

Another Richard Gere movie you might like: “The Hoax”

“The Hunting Party”

Released: 2007

Rating: R

Length: 104 minutes

Cast: Richard Gere, Terrence Howard, Jesse Eisenberg

Director: Richard Shepard

Genre(s): Adaptation, Comedy, Action

“Knowing”

Now that “2012” has been released there has been a lot of buzz about end of the world movies like “War of the Worlds,” “Armageddon” and “The Day After Tomorrow.” “Knowing” is another one to add to the list. This one’s a little difference because of its a cryptic, spooky, sci-fi storyline that revolves around a 50-year-old time capsule dug up at an elementary school. One student’s time-capsule entry, a page filled with seemingly random numbers, ends up in the hands of MIT astronomy professor John Koestler, (Nicholas Cage). He deciphers the code and discovers that the list has predicted man-made and natural disasters for the last 50 years. So while Koestler is trying to contain himself (Cage kicks his natural intensity into overdrive here), his son Caleb (Chandler Canterbury) is being stalked by a group of otherworldly men. “Knowing” is the kind of movie that will strain your willingness to suspend disbelief. But if you manage to get past that, it can be a fun popcorn movie. There’s a lot of action, surprises, and cool special effects, including a plane crash at Logan Airport, a subway car that careens through a station in New York City, alien spaceships and, of course, the end of the world. My tweet: Knowing-A page of numbers retrieved from a time capsule tells Nicholas Cage the future. Unfortunately, none of them match the lottery. 7 (out of 10)

“Knowing”

Released: 2008

Rating: PG-13

Length: 121 minutes

Cast: Nicolas Cage, Rose Byrne, Chandler Canterbury, Ben Mendelsohn, Adrienne Pickering

Director: Alex Proyas

Genre(s): Action, Thriller, Supernatural

A Face in the Crowd: The Glenn Beck Story?

There were a couple of comments posted on the TweeterFlix YouTube Channel comparing this movie’s main character to Glenn Beck. Now I’ve never seen or heard his show, but I can’t imagine it’s a compliment. In Elia Kazan’s “A Face in the Crowd,” Andy Griffith plays Larry “Lonesome” Rhodes, a drifter discovered in the drunk tank by a roving reporter from the local radio show (Patricia Neal). Impressed by his natural wit and charm on the air, the station offers Rhodes his own show. He builds a loyal following with friendly conversation and homespun advice and pretty soon big city promoters are knocking on hls door. Eventually Rhodes moves from radio to the new medium of television with products and politicians seeking his “everyman” touch. And as his audience and influence grows, so does his ego. But there are skeptics, like TV writer Mel Miller (Walter Matthau), who believe it’s only a matter of time before Rhodes reveals the boorish, narcassistic hypocrite he really is. So if you believe that’s Glenn Beck or his fate, (or maybe if you're Glenn Beck himself) then “A Face in the Crowd” may be worth adding to your queue. My Tweet (for those familiar with “The Andy Griffith Show”): Small-town drunk becomes a national celebrity and self-destructs before settling down in Mayberry with his son Opie. 7 (out of 10)

Another film by Elia Kazan you might enjoy: “Splendor in the Grass"

“A Face in the Crowd”

Released: 1957

Rating: NR

Length: 126 minutes

Cast: Andy Griffith, Patricia Neal, Anthony Franciosa, Walter Matthau

Director: Elia Kazan

Genre(s): Drama, Adaptation

The Top 8 DVD Reviews (so far): “Thirteen”

Article 3 of 8

Here’s the number 6 (so far) in my Top 8 list of the first 100 TweeterFlix DVD reviews:

Thirteen

On Twitter I wrote, Catherine Hardwicke's entirely too believable story of a good girl gone bad. To the parent of a tweener, it's a horror film. 9 (out of 10) Catherine Hardwicke just has a knack for directing teenagers. (She also helmed “Lords of Dogtown” and “Twilight.”) “Thirteen” has Holly Hunter as a well-meaning, but distracted single mom whose daughter falls under the influence of her much more adventurous friend who introduces her to drugs, sex and crime. The story is compelling. And even more so when you learn that the screenplay was co-written by one of its stars, 15-year-old Nikki Reed.

Number 7: “The King of Kong”

Number 8: “The Dark Knight”

Coming up next: next: “Splendor in the Grass”

“Thirteen”

Released: 2003

Rating: R

Length: 100 minutes

Cast: Holly Hunter, Evan Rachel Wood, Nikki Reed, Jeremy Sisto

Director: Catherine Hardwicke

Genre(s): Drama

Coming Soon: The Future, Part 1

Films about the future have been around for almost as long as there have been films. Here are two that I’ve been recommending a lot recently because they offer such vastly different takes on the future.

The first one, “Children of Men,” paints a future where there hasn’t been a baby born in nearly 20 years. The human race is slowing dying off and society itself is in a bit of a meltdown. It’s not much of a spoiler to say that a woman miraculously does become pregnant, and its up to Clive Owen to deliver that woman to a settlement where they’re building society anew. The scary part is that this kind of future could actually happen. We're pumping the environment and ourselves with so much crap that one day... but I digress. My review from Twitter: Children of Men-While a sterility pandemic is killing off the human race, Clive Owen makes the unusual career choice of midwife. 7.5 (out of 10)

Continue with “Idiocracy”

“Children of Men”

Released: 2006

Rating: R

Length: 110 minutes

Cast: Clive Owen, Julianne Moore, Michael Caine, Chiwetel Ejiofor

Director: Alfonso Cuaron

Genre(s): Drama, Adaptation, Sci-Fi

Orson Welles, Big Shot: "Touch of Evil"

“Touch of Evil” opens with something you don’t see every day – especially from directors who’ve been weaned on TV commercials and music videos – a 3-1/2 minute opening shot. And it’s not just the length of the shot that makes it unusual. It’s that the camera moves continuously during those 3-1/2 minutes. It starts with a close-up, pulls out for a wide shot, dollies down the street, cranes over the buildings, floats back down, moves along with the traffic and pedestrians. The action and camera work are so perfectly choreographed that this scene alone is worth the price of admission. And it’s a great opening for this Orson Welles noir about corruption on the U.S./Mexican border. My Twitter review was more about the odd casting of Charlton Heston a Mexican. Here’s what I wrote: Crooked cop Orson Welles tangles with Mexican prosecutor Charlton Heston. His casting is among its many mysteries. 8 (out of 10)

The opening scene:

The trailer:

"Touch of Evil"

Released: 1958

Rating: NR

Length: 111 minutes

Cast: Charlton Heston, Janet Leigh, Orson Welles, Joseph Calleia

Director: Orson Welles

Genre(s): Adaptation, Thriller

The Taking of Pelham One Two Three

Since everyone's talking about "The Talking of Pelham 1 2 3" with Denzel Washington and John Travolta, here's the trailer from the original “One Two Three” with Walter Matthau and Robert Shaw to show you how they do it old school. My review from Twitter: Daring 1974 subway hijacking that inspired a copycat some 35 years later. Points for originality. 8 (out of 10)

"The Taking of Pelham One Two Three"

Released: 1974

Rating: R

Length: 124 minutes

Cast: Walter Matthau, Robert Shaw, Martin Balsam, Hector Elizondo

Director: Joseph Sargent

Genre(s): Action, Thriller, Crime

Lords of Dogtown: Chairmen of the Board, Part 2

Continued from “Dogtown and Z-Boys”

Catherine Hardwicke, the director of “Thirteen” and the recent “Twilight,” dramatized the Z-Boys story in her “Lords of Dogtown.” Like the documentary, “Dogtown and Z-Boys,” it shows their rise to prominence and the fractures the fame caused, but I didn’t like it as much as the documentary. Maybe it was because I already knew the story or because it was just more interesting to have the original players tell it. Regardless, it’s well acted, well told and the skateboarding footage is great. (Though not as great as “Z-boys.”)

My review on Twitter: Lords of Dogtown-This Hollywood-mogenized skateboard movie tells the “Dogtown and Z-Boys” story of but with better-looking people. 7 (out of 10)

Continue with “Riding Giants”

“Lords of Dogtown”

Released: 2005

Rating: PG-13

Length: 109 minutes

Cast: Heath Ledger, John Robinson, Victor Rasuk, Emile Hirsch

Director: Catherine Hardwicke

Genre(s): Drama, Historical, Period

Dogtown and Z-Boys: Chairmen of the Board, Part 1

Here are four surfing and skateboarding movies I can recommend even if you’re not into surfing and skateboarding.

The first one, “Dogtown and Z-Boys,” is about the birth of modern skateboarding. In the mid-1970s, during one of Southern California’s legendary droughts, a group of teenagers from Venice Beach discovered they could replicate their surfing moves on dry land by skating in empty swimming pools. Stacey Peralta, one the original Z-Boys, uses interviews and archival footage, including lots of amazing home movies to tell its story of the revolution. Which is what it must have felt like. Watching this film, I imagined what it must have been like to see people use a skateboard like that for the first time.

My review on Twitter: Dogtown and Z-Boys-Teenagers turn neighborhood swimming pools into skate parks, much to the delight of L.A. area homeowners. 8.5 (out of 10)

Continue with “Lords of Dogtown”

“Dogtown and Z-Boys”

Released: 2002

Rating: PG-13

Length: 91 minutes

Cast: Sean Penn, Jay Adams, Tony Alva, Bob Biniak

Director: Stacy Peralta

Genre(s): History, Documentary, Sports

The Dam Busters: What goes down...

My review of “The Dam Busters” on Twitter, Follow the bouncing bomb as it helps the Brits defeat the Germans in WWII. A little over earnest but no less fascinating. 8 (out of 10)

“The Dam Busters” was one of those movies that just showed up in my mailbox. I didn’t know what to expect. It was a pleasant surprise. Sure it’s got that earnest “let’s-win-it-for-the-allies” attitude. But unlike many WWII movies that celebrate the camaraderie and heroism, “The Dam Busters” is about the brains. In this case, Dr. Barnes Wallis, a determined inventor who insisted that he had a way to get bombs past the nets and mines protecting Germany’s dams. He would skip them across the surface of the water just like a rock skips across a pond. It was just crazy enough to work. And it did. Even still, it sounded so unbelievable I did some investigating and found this footage on YouTube.

Actual dam busters footage:

“The Dam Busters” movie trailer:

“The Dam Busters”

Released: 1955

Rating: NR

Length: 120 minutes

Cast: Richard Todd, Michael Redgrave, Ursula Jeans, Basil Sydney

Director: Michael Anderson

Genre(s): Drama, Adaption, Historical