things to check out

[DBacks]

Since my friends and I fancy ourselves film experts, I thought I would share some film titles that I personally love, in case some of you GMs find yourselevs and a lady friend bored one evening.

First, my opinions are just that, opinions. They come from being an actor and a director and seeing three movies a week. Yes, we are film geeks to the point that we blow at least 30 bucks a week at the cinema. That doesn't count our always expending DVD collections.

So, let me suggest some titles you can pick up at your local blockbuster or from your netflix account:

Children of Men: This Alfonso Cuaron piece was my pick for best film of last year. Cuaron is a fan of long shots, meaning he doesn't like to cut away from what he's filming in favor of closeups. Instead, he prefers long scenes all captured in one take without breaking away. It works wonderfully. Especially amazing in the ten minute shot at the climax of the movie that involves running through a city with tanks, explosions, blood, body parts, grenades, and mayhem happening all around. Because it never cuts away, blood even ends up on the camera lense. It's intense to say the least.

The story? It's 20 years in the future and human beings can no longer reproduce. At the beginning of the film, and young latino boy, age 18, is killed, and the world watches their televisions stunned, as he was the youngest person on Earth.

The world has fallen apart. Countries have descended into chaos. Only Britain remains functional. Theo (Clive Owen) lives a life that he knows is meaningless and without hope, but suddenly finds himself with a purpose when he is presented with a woman who is miraculously pregnant. As events unfold, Theo finds himself the only person able to escort humanity's last hope to the world's brightest minds.

GRADE: A+. Perfection.

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Ocean's 13: It's the third movie in the revitalized Ocean's Series, and like most third installments, you need to see the first two to enjoy this one. It's back on par with the fun of Ocean's 11, and will remove that slightly sour taste that Ocean's 12 left in your mouth.

Series regulars Julia Roberts and Cathrine Zeta Jones sit this one out, so it's a sausage fest on screen, but since every single one of them is cool as shit, you really don't mind. The film is just fun. Al Pacino plays the villain and is as over the top as ever. It's played with that suave 1960s style that makes you wish you too were a part of the rat pack. The whole plot of the film revolves around the unwritten rules for "men who shook Sinatra's hand." It's all very cool.

It's slow moving at parts, sometimes it's hard to remember what each our thieves is up to, but overall its funny and enjoyable. What's really funny about the movie is the way no one takes it too seriously. They make fun of Matt Damon (the best actor in the biz right now) and his Jason Bourne action character is hilarious yet subtle. The jabs at Pitt and Clooney's personal lives are hard to catch but deliver with a vengeance when you do. Want a film that's funny yet doesn't make you think about a thing? This is it.

GRADE: B+ for some pacing issues.

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1408: This big screen adaptation of Stephen King's short story delivers in a big way. In fact, it's one of the few King pieces that actually translated well to film. Anyone remember the disaster that was The Stand? (NOTE: Word in the film-geek community is that King's new story turned movie THE MIST is actually quite good. Something to keep in mind if you're thinking about hitting the theatre sometime soon.) In it, John Cusack plays a ghosthunter who decides to spend a night in what is supposed to be the world's most haunted hotel room. Cusack's character, Mike Enslin, doesn't believe in ghosts or hauntings, but the unexplainable events of his night in 1408 might just change his mind.

In the movie, Cusack is a one man show. And he delivers at every single turn. If you're not a fan of John Cusack, there's something fucking wrong with you. Samuel L Jackson makes an appearance in a minor role as the hotel's manager, but he's forgotten for most of the film. A few of the devices from King's story don't work in the film, such as a miniature Samuel L Jackson, but overall the story translates really well. In an era where the trend for scary movies to focus on "gore" instead of "horror" this film actually delivers some terrifying moments.

GRADE: B+. A few plot devices just don't translate from text.

[Orioles]

Huge fan of Children of Men. One of those movies where they just nailed it, on all counts. Great casting, acting, direction. The director definitely did a great job (even just by the lighting, costume and set colors, etc.) of creating a pall of despair over Britain. The opening scene where Theo's sipping his coffee outside the cafe where everyone's watching TV is great. Definitely one of the few movies that I purchased immediately after seeing for the first time.

Haven't seen Oceans 13 yet though, so I'll have to pick that one up.

Looking forward to "No Country for Old Men," the new Coen Bros. joint. Miller's Crossing is one of my 5 favorite all-time films, and the scene where Leo climbs out his window and is firing the tommy gun down the street with Danny Boy blasting in the background is so badass that I have high hopes for this movie. Did anybody read the book?

[DBacks]

I haven't read the book, but I'm looking forward to the movie. The Coen Brothers can seemingly do no wrong. Even some of their films that people and critics hated (such as The Man Who Wasn't There) I loved. They are masters of their craft. The reviews for Josh Brolin have been great, and this year seems to be his coming out party. I can't wait to see the film.

[Orioles]

Yeah, I also liked "The Man Who Wasn't There." James Gandolfini in one of the few roles where I forgot he was Tony Soprano. "O Brother Where Art Thou" and "Barton Fink" were pretty underrated too. I'll pretty much see anything they put out (same goes for Wes Anderson films for me).

[Royals]

I saw Ocean's 13 was listed and stopped reading... disappointing...

[Orioles]

C'mon. They can't all be arthouse films. Everybody loves a good caper flick.

[Royals]

I love a good caper flick... the important word there being 'good'. I'll even settle for mediocre... but Ocean's 13 is neither of those. Neither was Ocean's 12. 11 was solid, but after that, they had some cache, they had the big names, so they didn't other making a film that wasn't crappy.
Give me The Italian Job any day.

[DBacks]

You aren't the first person to say they didn't like Ocean's 13, though I think it's right on par with the first one and may even have more "laugh out loud" moments. The key to the film, I think, is how laid back it is. Nobody's acting. They're all just having fun, and thats whats so entertaining about it. Personally, I think the funniest moments are the jokes and references about the actor's themselves, and not the ones involving the plot. It is sorely missing it's standard Topher Grace cameo though. No doubt about that.

[Giants]

Agreed with Gabe, the highlight of Ocean's 12 was the whole Tess looks like Julia Roberts thing, how funny was that? These movies are about seeing what happens when you put a bunch of big names on the screen and it's fun to watch that.

[Cardinals]

Agreed with Gabe, the highlight of Ocean's 12 was the whole Tess looks like Julia Roberts thing, how funny was that? These movies are about seeing what happens when you put a bunch of big names on the screen and it's fun to watch that.

i thought that was the worst part of Oceans 11, 12 and 13.

[Astros]

The only part of Oceans 13 I liked was Andy Garcia on Oprah at the end