Affleck to Direct

Scheduled for a 2007 release, "Gone, Baby, Gone" is going to be Ben Affleck's directional debut. "Gone, Baby, Gone," based on a novel by Dennis Lehane (the author of Mystic River), is set in Boston and is about two detectives who are trying to find a 4-year-old girl, from the shady side of town, who's gone missing. Much like "Good Will Hunting," the film is set and filmed in Affleck's hometown of Boston, and he is also back to screen writing, having adapted the screenplay himself. The film also sports some great actors, with big names such as Morgan Freeman, Ed Harris, Casey Affleck, and Robert Wahlberg (brother of Mark).
"Gone, Baby, Gone," has the author and the actors to become a hit, therefore, the film's success rests on Affleck's shoulders. The film is currently in post-production, and is set to be released October 5, 2007.

DiCaprio Comes Up Empty-Handed Again

This year, Leonardo DiCaprio has been in two excellent films, "The Departed" and "Blood Diamond," which have both earned him nominations for all three major award ceremonies.
He was nominated for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Drama twice at the Golden Globes, for his portrayal of an undercover cop, Billy Costigan, and a diamond smuggler, Danny Archer. He was also nominated three times by the Screen Actors Guild for Best Cast for "The Departed," Best Actor for "Blood Diamond" and Best Supporting Actor for "The Departed," and once by the Academy for Best Actor for "Blood Diamond," at the upcoming Oscars, which will take place Sunday, February 25th.
So far, the Golden Globes and the SAG Awards have come and past, and DiCaprio has come up empty-handed every time. Forest Whitaker has taken home all the Best Actor awards for his role in "The Last King of Scotland," and he will most likely take home the Oscar as well. Eddie Murphy took home the Actor for Best Supporting Actor for "Dreamgirls" at the SAG Awards this past Sunday, and Best Cast went to "Little Miss Sunshine."
Is there any hope for DiCaprio this year? Probably not since this year is filled with actors and films that raised the bar for the film industry. DiCaprio, however, is worthy of of all of his nominations this year, he just chose a bad year to do so well.

Big Night for the Brits

Last night at the 13th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards, in one of the most competitive years in film to come, few took home an award, however, five awards went to British actors.
Hugh Laurie, took home his first Actor for "House M.D.," after losing out to Kiefer Sutherland last year for Most Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series. Jeremy Irons, who appeared to be extremely surprised, took home his first Actor, for Most Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries for "Elizabeth I" as did his co-star, Helen Mirren. Mirren nabbed two Actors, Most Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries for "Elizabeth I" and Most Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role for "The Queen." She also won two Golden Globes for the same performances earlier this month. Dame Julie Andrews, however, was the main event of the night, being honored with a Life Achievement Award. The award was presented beautifully by Anne Hathaway, and Andrews was as stunning as ever and graciously accepted her award saying, "I have so much joy in my work, and these days I've come to understand that that joy is all about the giving. And you, ladies and gentleman, have given me an evening that I shall just treasure all my life. Thank you so much."
For more information on the 2007 SAG Awards go to http://www.sagawards.com/index.htm.

Babel is Top Notch

Babel is all about the ripple affect, having one situation affect the next in a tragic cycle that comes round circle. Richard (Brad Pitt) and Susan (Cate Blanchett) are Americans vacationing in Morocco, looking for a break from reality after one of their children tragically dies from crib death. A Moroccan local, buys a rifle in order to protect his livestock from the jackals. Chieko (Rinko Kikuchi), a deaf-mute girl in Tokyo, is having a tough time coping with her mother's death, and Richard and Susan's housekeeper Amelia (Adriana Barraza) is facing a dilemma on how she can attend her son's wedding while also managing to take care of their children.
Back in Morocco, the goat-herder makes a poor decision in giving the new rifle to his two sons, and what starts out as innocent fun, ends in tragedy after one of the boys shoots at a bus full of tourists, seriously injuring one of the passengers. The unlucky passenger turns out to be Susan, who is now fighting to survive, while Richard does his best to find the quickest path to a hospital. However, the best he can do is a village that is over an hour away.
In San Diego, Amelia desperately tries to find a replacement caretaker for the children but comes up short and decides that she will bring the children with her to Mexico for the day.
Chieko, dealing with her anger and emotional withdrawal is searching in all the wrong places for someone to reach out to. She constantly exposes herself by wearing no underwear under her short skirt and spreading her legs in order to attract some male attention. We realize that she will go to any length for an emotional connection, even as far as trying to seduce a policeman who is investigating her father.
With a complex, but fast-paced plot, the pieces begin to fall into place as the film progresses. We discover that the rifle that shot Susan was originally owned by Chieko's father, the local authorities in Morocco will use brutal tactics in order to find the culprit who shot Susan, and America instantly thinks the shooting is a terrorist attack which causes political problems, delaying any medical attention from reaching Susan.
On the car ride back from Mexico, Amelia's nephew gives the border patrol a hard time, and when it is discovered that he may be intoxicated he speeds off driving dangerously fast and risking all of their lives. He decides that Amelia and the children should get out of the car, in the middle of nowhere, and after he loses the police, he will come back for them. Amelia is immediately skeptical of being left in the middle of the desert with only a flashlight, but she gives in and gets out of the car with the two children. Waking up the next morning covered in dirt, Amelia realizes that her nephew did not return for them, and that they are now in a life-and-death situation.
All of the main characters are fighting for their lives (with the exception of Chieko, who is fighting for her sanity) including the goat-herder and his two sons who are fleeing the police, but end up in a shoot out.
The film is in multiple languages, but this does not hinder the message of the film. One bad decision can start a chain reaction, and cultural misunderstandings lead to more problems. The film also touches upon sensitive political issues such as border jumpers and a dysfunctional U.S. Embassy.
Babel has a flawless cast, Pitt, Blanchett and Kikuchi are all brilliant in their roles, creating that emotional connection between the characters and the audience. Even though Blanchett is lying on the floor dying for the majority of the film, she does an excellent job at it, and the chemistry between her and Pitt is wonderful. Barraza is also a strong addition to the cast, and her character is stuck in the middle of all the tragedies, as well as in the middle of desert with two kids to care for. Her situation is heart breaking and there is no right decision for her to make, and out of the entire cast of Babel, I feel that she is most worthy of an Oscar.
Although, Barraza has some tough competition and is up against two of her fellow cast members, Kikuchi for Babel and Blanchett for Notes on a Scandal.
Babel has also picked up seven nominations overall including Best Editing, Best Director and is the top pick for Best Picture at the 2007 Academy Awards.

Grade: A

Could This Be The One For Scorsese?

The Oscars are right around the corner and the nominations are out. For Best Achievement in Directing for "The Departed," Martin Scorsese. "Raging Bull," "The Last Temptation of Christ," "Goodfellas," "Gangs of New York," "The Aviator," and now "The Departed" have all given him nominations for a Best Director Oscar, however, he is yet to have won. "The Departed," being the highest-grossing film in his 40-year career and raking in five Oscar nominations this year including a nomination for Best Picture, is his best work yet. However, he is up against Clint Eastwood for the second time. In 2004 it was Eastwood's "Million Dollar Baby" versus Scorsese's "The Aviator," a close race to call, but Eastwood came out on top with his second Best Director Oscar. This year Eastwood's "Letters From Iwo Jima" is up for Best Picture as well as Best Director, which puts Scorsese's "The Departed" in the same boat. On February 25th, the 79th Academy Awards will take place and we will see if America's favorite director can finally snag his first Oscar.

Super Sequels

It's a bird, it's a plane, it's....the age of the superhero sequel. Films based on comic books seem to be all the rage, and some of the highest grossing movies of the year. But why make one when you can make many. Superman and Batman paved the way for the successful sequel; Superman having four, and Batman having three sequels and most recently one prequel "Batman Begins".
So far there are a whopping 10 sequels set to be released in the next two years. They are: "The Incredible Hulk," "Superman: The Man of Steel," "The Punisher 2," "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer," and the more anticipated sequels such as "The Dark Knight" (Batman), "Sin City 2," "Sin City 3," "Spider-man 3"and two X-Men spin offs "Wolverine" and "Magneto."
Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez team up again to direct two more installments to the Sin City saga, both set to release sometime in 2008. "Sin City 2" focuses on Dwight (Clive Owen), our hero from the first film, who is looking for some revenge on a woman who betrayed him, Ava Lord, while Nancy (Jessica Alba) is trying to cope with the death of Hartigan (Bruce Willis). Currently, most of the original cast is set to come back, and it is rumored that Angelina Jolie is possibly being considered for the role of Ava Lord.
The new "Batman" installment, "The Dark Knight," set to come out in 2008, has Christian Bale returning as Batman, and its newest cast member Heath Ledger is set to play the villainous Joker. Ryan Phillippe is a possible choice for the role of Harvey Dent, the newly appointed DA, better known as Two-Face, and Oscar winner, Philip Seymour Hoffman could be our new Penguin.
Probably the most anticipated sequel, let alone the most anticipated film of this year, set to come out May 4, 2007, is "Spider-Man 3." With a spine-tingling trailer that starts out with the tag line "How long can any man fight the darkness before he finds it in himself?" which slowly reveals to us Spider-Man, in a new black costume. Maguire, Dunst, and Franco are all back for this third installment, while Topher Grace ("That 70s Show") and Thomas Haden Church ("Sideways") are new additions. Grace is Eddie Brock, a reporter who holds a grudge against both Peter Parker and Spider-Man, who also becomes the anti-hero, Venom. However, Venom isn't the only villain that Spider-Man is up against, Church plays Flint Marko, or the Sandman, who can turn himself into living sand, is accused of killing Uncle Ben. Possibly leading our hero over to the dark side? But it seems that "the greatest battle lies within" and Peter Parker's real nemesis is himself. Dealing with new villains, his new dark powers and the lust for revenge, he is also faced with new temptations. It appears that our Mary Jane (Kirsten Dunst) has some competition for Peter Parker's heart, with Gwen Stacy, who is played by Bryce Dallas Howard, who you might know as the blind girl in M. Night Shyamalan's "The Village."
"Spider-Man 3," without a doubt, will break box office records with its third installment coming out this summer. We can only wait and see if "Spider-Man 3" can actually live up to its hype.

Some sites to check out:

DC Comics

Frank Miller: The Complete Works

Marvel.com

The Darker Side of Fairy Tales

When you think fairy tale...Cinderella, Rapunzel, and Little Red Riding Hood come to mind. However, Guillermo del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth makes the Big Bad Wolf look as innocent as Bambi.
Set during the violent aftermath of the Spanish Civil War, a young girl Ofelia (Ivana Baquero) stumbles upon a brilliant stone labyrinth while wondering out in the woods. Here she meets Pan, the legendary faun, (Doug Jones) who tells her that she is not human, but a lost princess of another realm. However, to go back to her kingdom, she must complete three dangerous challenges. Ofelia excitedly accepts and begins her adventure into the fantasy world.
While she becomes obsessed with returning to her rightful place as a princess, her mother is going through a grueling pregnancy, the Spanish army is trying to crush the geurrilla uprising, and the housekeeper Mercedes (Maribel Verdu) is secretly aiding the geurillas while living under the same roof as the evil captain of the Spainsh army, Vidal (Sergi Lopez).
Pan's Labyrinth does have a complex plot with multiple storylines going on simultaneously, but it seemlessly fits together keeping your eyes glued to the screen.
The character of Ofelia, was originally supposed to be around four years old, luckily, when Ivana Baquero auditioned, del Toro and his wife were so moved by her performance and intent on casting her for the part, that they changed Ofelia into an 11 year old girl. It worked wonderfully! Throughout the movie Baquero's largely expressive eyes and convincing performance was gripping, and at points almost convinced me that Pan and his fantasy world may be real after all.
Pan's Labyrinth is a darker fairy tale for the older audience, clearly stated with its R rating. Its costumes and characters reminds us of when we were little, falling down the rabbit hole in Alice and Wonderland. Despite the fact that it is completey in Spanish, it speaks to us all reminding us that there's still a little child looking for an adventure in all of us.

Grade: A+