Cloverfield - 2/5

Casino Royale - 4/5

Before Sunset - 3/5

Outsourced - 3/5

Disaster Movie - 0/5

Original Sin - 2/5 (for the steamy scenes of Angelina Jolie and Antonio Banderas)

Taare Zameen Par - 3/5

Matchstick Men - 3/5 (The hindi movie Bluffmaster starring Abhishek Bachchan was a ripoff of this movie)

All pictures courtesy: IMDB

+++

Lord of War börjar med en riktigt vass titelsekvens: vi följer en gevärskula hela vägen från löpande bandet i fabriken till dess slutdestination i huvudet på en ung soldat någonstans i Afrika. Andrew Niccol gör klart från början att han har något att säga med sin nya film.

Ämnet är den internationella vapenhandeln och i centrum står Yuri Orlov, son till ryska immigranter i New Yorks "Little Odessa", som efter att ha bevittnat ett maffiamord inser att det finns pengar att tjäna i vapenbranschen. Han börjar som småhandlare med brorsan Vitaly som sidekick, men när muren faller öppnas nya möjligheter och Yuri blir snart en av världens största vapensmugglare. I hälarna har han den envise Interpolagenten Jack Valentine, och därhemma sitter modellfrun som inte vet – eller inte vill veta – vad maken egentligen sysslar med.

Lord of War är inte den actionthriller man kunde ha väntat sig. Niccol tar formmässigt ut svängarna lite grann och hänger upp filmen på ett ganska löst ramverk som mer är en serie episoder ur Yuris karriär än en egentlig intrig. Över det hela ligger dessutom Nicolas Cages berättarröst som ett kommentarspår som hela tiden ger Yuris syn på saker och ting. Han försöker i det längsta tackla de moraliska frågeställningarna kring sin verksamhet genom att helt enkelt inte bry sig – "om inte jag gör det så gör någon annan det", är hans inställning – och Cage är faktiskt perfekt för rollen, på en gång ytligt charmerande och ett totalt moraliskt vakuum. Faktum är att jag tycker han gör en av sina bästa insatser här.

Det hela blir ett slags exposé över vapenhandeln, inklusive dess effekter och dess moraliska dilemman, som kryddas av en bittert svart humor, krispigt snyggt foto och stilistiska knorrar (som när Yuri bevittnar hur fattiga afrikaner över en natt plockar isär ett flygplan i dess beståndsdelar). Angreppet på vapenhandeln är kanske inte direkt subtilt, men Niccol lyckas (mestadels) hålla sig på rätt sida om det direkt övertydliga, och det finns ett starkt driv och en vilja i botten på berättelsen som lyfter helheten.

Det som blir lite lidande av det här något stiliserade berättarsättet är karaktärerna – alla, Yuri inkluderad, fungerar egentligen mer som symboler än som verkliga människor. Det  understryker att Lord of War ytterst är ett politiskt drama mer än en thriller. Yuris moraliska tomhet kontrasteras mot den nästan osannolikt rättrådige Jack Valentine (Ethan Hawke) och Yuris vilsne bror Vitaly (Jared Leto) som på en gång blir hans motvillige medhjälpare och hans samvete.

Samtidigt blir är Lord of War mer än bara en illustrerad föreläsning. Niccol lyckas göra det underhållande genom färgstarka figurer och episoder, och han gör det på ett stilfullt sätt. Sevärt.

På tv: fredag 3/10 kl 22:00 i SVT1.

Andra bloggar om film, filmtips, filmrecensioner, nicolas cage, ethan hawke

-Dave Lizewski/Kick-Ass: Aaron Johnson (no idea who this guy is, even in looking at past movies)

-Big Daddy: Nicolas Cage (yep, he sounds familiar alright)

-Hit Girl: Chloe Moretz (no idea, but she's like 11 or 12)

-Kaite Deauxma: Lyndsy Fonseca (no idea, but apparently she's on Desperate Housewives)

-The Red Mist: Christopher Mintz-Plasse (one word: McLovin)

So essentially a cast of no-names with Nick Cage as the one big legimate star. Say what you will, but that guy loves comics.

Not the kind of film you would usually associate with Ridley Scott, Matchstick Men tells the story of a con man, Roy (played by Nicolas Cage), whose life changes when his estranged daughter, Angela (Alison Lohman), enters his life. On the surface it sounds like many other movies of its ilk, but what differentiates this from the run-of-the-mill genre pic is the wonderful relationship that develops between the father and the daughter, as well as the strange character traits Roy exhibits.

Roy is an anal-compulsive, constantly cleaning his apartment and opening and shutting doors a total of three times; he is also a catalogue of facial tics and vocal spasms. Nic Cage gives a surprisingly engaging performance reminiscent of the more colorful characters from the start of his career; and while most would consider it too mannered or over-the-top, Nic makes us sympathize with him especially when he becomes desperate as his condition worsens (look to the scene towards the end when he skips the line to convince pharmacists to give him his medication). Also giving a winning performance is Alison Lohman as his daughter. Usually when a character like Angela enters the movie, she runs the risk of becoming a bit of a Scrappy-Doo — an irritating sidekick to the protagonist; however, this is not the case. Finally, Sam Rockwell also turns in a great performance as Frank, Roy’s partner in con.

While the twist towards the end is telegraphed early (having become used to the con genre (see Mamet)), the journey there is very enjoyable. It’s interesting that the con genre is usually about the figurative parent/child, or teacher/student, relationship and here it is realized literally (mostly). When Nic breaks down after the big twist, especially when he confronts Angela's mother, it is quite something to behold; Nic really sells the betrayal.

At the end I wanted Roy to be angry and take revenge, but the ending as it is makes sense. There is forgiveness and enlightenment when he confronts his daughter, and in the last shot, Roy gets redemption.

In any case, I was surprised and pleased that this movie won me over. I found it funny and refreshing. It’s certainly one of Nic’s best films in ages, and I will keep my eye out on Alison’s career.

Three out of Five Stars.

Next up should be the George Clooney vehicle Leatherheads.

The Wicker Man- EUA - 2006 Direção: Neil LaBute Elenco: Nicolas Cage, Ellen Burstyn, Kate Beahan - 102 min. Classificação: 14 anos Gênero: Suspense

Edward Malus (Nicolas Cage) é um policial rodoviário que presencia um terrível acidente, no qual uma mulher com sua filha morrem sem que ele possa ajudá-las. Depois do acidente, Edward continua em estado de choque e tira licença da polícia. Quando está em sua casa recebe uma carta de sua ex-noiva (Kate Beahan), que o deixou sem nem dizer tchau, pedindo a ajuda dele para que ajude a encontrar a filha dela que está desaparecida.

Edward vai até uma misteriosa ilha onde ela mora, e que os habitantes se vestem como no século passado, tem atitudes bens estranhas e participam de uma seita relegiosa ( Já vi essa história em "A Vila"). Lá ele começa a investigação sobre o desaparecimento da menina e descobre mais tarde que ele é o pai dela.  Todos na ilha parecem desconhecer (ou fingir) a existência da menina.

Ele vai descobrindo as evidências de que a menina está viva e que planejam sacrificá-la em um ritual, uma vez que a comunidade teve a pior colheita dos últimos tempos. Com o sacrifício, eles seriam "abençoados" novamente.

Ao descobrir todo o plano, Edward corre contra o tempo para encontrar e salvar a menina de seu futuro, mas acaba de deparando com uma trama maior do ele imaginava. Agora, ele saberá qual o principal propósito de sua ida à ilha!

"Ok, OK, vou destilar o meu veneno" (Nelson Rubens). Se você ainda não assistiu, pode parar de ler por aqui, pois começam os SPOILERS

Este é um daqueles filmes que as pessoas pensam: Por que Nicolas Cage aceita participar de um filme desses?

No começo, até pensei que a história seria interessante, mas depois algumas coisas ficam muito manjadas e você consegue ir descobrindo tudo o que vai acontecer na próxima cena. Quanto a parte do suspense, o filme até que não foi tão ruim, com partes que deixam você até um pouco tenso (poucas). Do mais, a história é muito sem graça, de um seita feminista, onde as mulheres controlam tudo e os homens são meros procriadores ( Lembrou do Szafir??? Pura coincidência) mas que não tem um real sentido para que a seita realmente existe. Quanto ao final, detestei. Você espera que algo aconteça e fica esperando. Aparecerá alguém pra salvar o filme? Uma reviravolta? Um novo personagem do nada? NADA! Você vê o final e fala: Não pode acabar assim!

Depois de assitir o filme, pensei: Será que eu achei ruim assim mesmo, ou é porque sou chato mesmo? Então, descobri que o filme foi indicado a simplesmente 5 categorias no troféu Framboesa de Ouro de 2007: São elas

Pior Filme
Pior Ator
Pior Par (Nicolas Cage & a fantasia de urso)
Pior Remake
Pior Roteiro

Tá certo que eu já assisti filmes bem piores, mas esse também não vai ficar de fora. Portanto, se ficou curioso, assita por SUA TOTAL CONTA E RISCO. Se já assistiu e gostou, comente, pra comprovar que eu possa estar errado.

Se quiser comprar o DVD é só clicar na imagem abaixo!

LClarindo, fazendo um sacrifício no domingo à noite!

Guarding Tess is available at Amazon for $9.49. To Order click here
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Guarding Tess is available at Amazon for $9.49. To Order click here
Amazon Product Pages contain a lot of other details on this product as Customer Reviews, Sales Ranking, Special Offers, Alternate products that customers are going for and much more.Want to read these details? click here

Want to get some other Format / Binding / Version? You can search for them from here

Other Products of Interest

• Driving Miss Daisy (Special Edition)
• It Could Happen to You
• Dave
• Mrs. Winterbourne
• The American President

Played video games until my parents got back, picked up my $50ish paycheck at work, then drove to Party City in hopes of getting a job application... they hire at 18, dammit. I'm borderline legal, c'mon now! I can totally handle the chaos of Halloween season at Party City. IF ONLY I WAS LEGAL. Hmm, maybe next year I'll apply at Party City to get extra money around that time.

When I got home, I played video games until Josalle got to mi casa, with pizza! We watched Snakes on a Plane, LOLing at all the ridiculous acting and decision-making that went on in the movie. We still had a couple hours to kill before Lakeview Terrace started, so we brainstormed up a bunch of movies and actors to have for "successful black men movie nights." You wouldn't BELIEVE the long list we had, not to mention sub-lists of "successful Asian men movie nights" (Jackie Chan & Jet Li) and other miscellaneous actors, like John Travolta, Nicolas Cage, and John Cusack. We ALSO made up a list of music from "successful Latino men," like Enrique Iglesias and Ricky Martin; and music from  "successful black men," like R. Kelly and Will Smith.

We finally left around 7, because Josalle's dad wanted to meet up by Bank Of America to give her a coupon to something. He left me in complete smiles after meeting him! "Don't get played. There are bad guys at the movies." LOL. We both freaked the hell out when we saw that Eagle Eye was playing at the drive-in, and we almost watched that... it was really almost too close to call, but we stuck with the original plan of seeing Lakeview Terrace. Just as it was about to start, Josalle realized that we were parked at the wrong screen when Bangkok Dangerous started playing. She busted a Fast and the Furious and got us parked at the right screen, with the popcorn knocking over on the way there, lol. We were perfectly situated where I could see Bangkok Dangerous perfectly from the sideview mirror, and Eagle Eye perfectly from my left eye periphs.

The movie started out kind of slow, but things really began to pick up after about 45 minutes in, and OMG, Samuel L. Jackson is teh shit! There was a really good twist at the end, which seriously had my heart racing, lol! Lakeview Terrace was most definitely a good way to pop my drive-in movie virginity. Next week we plan on seeing Eagle Eye, a way to end fall break '91 on a really good note :D

Con Air

Million Dollar Baby

Ecco spuntare il rumor che svela la presenza di un pretendente al ruolo, che sarebbe addirittura il bel George Clooney. Nonostante lo scarso successo ottenuto nei panni del giustiziere mascherato dei comics Batman, Clooney sarebbe pronto ad accantonare momentaneamente i film d'impegno politico per calarsi nei panni del fumettistico eroe del West.

Pare che George sia attualmente in trattive con lo studio per definire meglio i vari aspetti dell'accordo, sostituendo così definitivamente Nicolas Cage, anch'egli inizialmente interessato alla parte.

Mentre si attendono ulteriori sviluppi sul progetto Disney, l'affascinante Clooney non se ne resta certo con le mani in mano. L'attore ha da poco concluso il doppiaggio del film d'animazione diretto da Wes Anderson "The Fantastic Mr. Fox" e si sta attualmente preparando a interpretare l'adattamento cinematografico di "Capre di guerra", romanzo del giornalista embedded in Iraq Jon Ronson, al fianco di Jeff Bridges, Kevin Spacey e Evan McGregor.

www.movieplayer.it

Well, according to this list of 101 Signs that you have encountered a ghost, if any of these things have happened to you your house may be haunted. My personal favorite is "A foul odor comes from nowhere and then disappears." I have two dogs, this happens to me all the time!

All of the items of this list can easily be explained by natural phenomena. At least, the ones that have actually been reported by people who claim to have experienced a ghost. I get the sneaky feeling that many of these "signs" come straight off the horror shelf at the local video store.

One of the "signs" most often attributed to ghosts is so-called spirit orbs appearing in photos where none were seen with the naked eye. Due to the fact that neither the photographer of the orb, nor the person viewing the photo can think of an explanation, the theory that these orbs are spirits is driven by the argument from incredulity.

The professional explanation for these orbs is that they are reflections of the camera's flash. Most orbs are photographed by amateur photographers whose cameras have a built in flash positioned directly above the lens. Any dust or moisture in the air will reflect off of the flash and this reflection is captured as an orb.

Professional photographers position their camera's flash further away from the lens and usually to one side in order to avoid the imaging of spirits orbs.

If a photo is taken when there is a natural source of light, orbs can be attributed to lens flair, particularly from the sun.

Some of the just plain ridiculous things are;

57. Light bulbs blow out on a regular basis (maybe there is an electrical fault?)

66. There’s blood running down the walls (erm......)

And the next few can be explained by hypnogogia;

65. You’ve awakened to see misty people standing around your bed.

100. You wake and feel a pressure on your chest that doesn’t have a medical reason.

I wonder if this list would have helped Nicolas Cage when he purchased the LaLaurie Mansion in New Orleans. Nic paid $3,5 million for the most haunted house in New Orleans. Whilst the story of the sadistic Madame LaLaurie does make for some creepy reading (I would advise finishing dinner before reading it), there doesn't seem to be a whole lot of substance to this story.

I read a dozen different websites about this mansion and they all re-hashed the same story about the disturbed life of Ma'am LaLaurie, but that seems to be it. A few reports of shrill screams and sightings of apparitions are all the house has to claim.

I found this website run by "Haunted New Orleans Tours" which displays many photos of orbs and blurry lights, but there is nothing of any real substance. I tried in vain to dig up some real beef, but all I found was the same tripe, and in many cases the basic details of the story differed from one site to the next.

While I am thoroughly unconvinced as to the "haunting" of the LaLaurie Mansion, I do have a great scary story to tell around the bonfire...

Nicolas Cage has yet again signed on to another huge role, that is the third film to the Disney hit blockbuster "National Treasure". Jerry Bruckheimer and Nicolas Cage attended the Disney showcase in Hollywood in person, and announced in public at the event that there is a third "National Treasure" in the works. Nicolas Cage said he is coming back to reprise his role as Ben Gates and Jon Turteltaub will be back to helm the third one as he already directed the first two.

The plot is being kept underwraps, release is aimed sometime in 2010.

Dark Horizons reports:

http://www.darkhorizons.com/news08/080924l.php

I like the National Treasure films. I've seen the first two in theater and will probably end up seeing the third one as well. The 2nd one was ok and pretty fun, but I hope the third one will be a great one this time.

Kev

For some reason, the prolific Nicolas Cage (Bangkok Dangerous) is reteaming with his Gone In 60 Seconds director Dominic Sena (Swordfish) for the supernatural medieval thriller Season Of The Witch.

Cage plays a 14th century knight transporting a girl suspected of being the witch behind the Black Plague. His compatriots help him bring the girl to an abbey of monks trained in exorcising demons.

Okaaay...Contrarily to a lot of people I think Nic Cage is a great actor, but this sounds seriously laughably bad. A cult classic in the making for sure, Season Of The Witch will start lensing this November in Austria and Hungary.

The only question is, will the trailer play to Donovan's classic eponymous song?

Source

No longa Season of the Witch Cage interpretará um Cavaleiro Medieval que deverá transportar uma garota suspeita de bruxaris para as montanhas.

A história se passará na França, no século 14 e a tal bruxa é suspeita de ser a responsável por nada mais nada menos que a Peste Negra.

DoAssogue, a peste branca, se pergunta: Estará Nicolas Cage cabeludo nesse filme?

Nicolas Cage is set to reteam with "Gone In 60 Seconds" director Dominic Sena for the supernatural thriller "Season of the Witch" which will be made through Relatively Media.

Story takes place in the 14 century with knights transporting a girl who is suspected of being a witch responsible for spreading the Black Praque. The film will be released by Columbia Pictures. The actress who will play the Witch have not been announced yet.

Shooting is expected to begin in early November in Austria and Hungary.

Variety Reports:

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117992561.html?categoryid=13&cs=1

Nic Cage must be finished with the filming of "Bad Lieutenant" if he's going to start filming "The Witch" soon.

Let me guess, Angelina Jolie might be the Witch? Wouldn't surpirse me if Sena got her again too.

Kev

I need to qualify this post by saying that I like Nicolas Cage as an actor. I don’t always agree with his role choices, but you have to admit that the guy doesn’t shy away from a starring srole. Having recently flopped at the box office with Bangkok Dangerous, Cage definitely needs another solid hit to keep his superstar status alive and he is partnering with a former colleague to do just that.

Cage is set to work with Gone In 60 Seconds director Dominic Sena (Swordfish) in a new supernatural thriller about 14^th century witches called "Season of the Witch." Upon first learning of this, I had to stop for a moment and ponder why he would take on this project, but then I remembered Cage has done a lot of movies that showed very little promise and turned them into decent films. I am curious to see if he can do the same thing with this flick.  

Anyway, the bad toupee wearer is trying his hand at horror again. Did we learn nothing from the awful that was The Wicker Man? Guess, not because Nicky’s doing it again. Here are the OMGstoptails as Variety reports: Nicolas Cage will reteam with director Dominic Sena for the supernatural thriller “Season of the Witch” for Relativity Media.
Story chronicles the journey of 14th century knights transporting a girl suspected of being the witch responsible for spreading the Black Plague.

Shooting is scheduled to begin in early November in Austria and Hungary.

For Nicky’s eyes only: Nick, can I call you Nick? Pull up a chair and listen to me. I thought you were a great actor once upon a time, I still love Raising Arizona. You were brilliant in Leaving Las Vegas, but the mess that are movies like the ones I mentioned above must end. Stop it, you are better than that!

Genre:

The life of an anonymous assassin takes an unexpected turn when he travels to Thailand to complete a series of contract killings. Joe (Nicolas Cage), a remorseless hitman, is in Bangkok to execute four enemies of a ruthless crime boss named Surat. He hires Kong (Shahkrit Yamnarm), a street punk and pickpocket, to run errands for him with the intention of covering his tracks by killing him at the end of the assignment. Strangely, Joe, the ultimate lone wolf, instead finds himself mentoring the young man while simultaneously being drawn into a tentative romance with a local shop girl. As he falls further under the sway of Bangkok’s intoxicating beauty, Joe begins to question his isolated existence and let down his guard …just as Surat decides it’s time to clean house. (from: www.apple.com)

Release Date: TBA 2009
Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures
Director: David Bowers
Screenwriter: Timothy Harris
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Kristen Bell, Donald Sutherland, Bill Nighy, Nathan Lane, Eugene Levy, Freddie Highmore
Genre: Adventure, Animation, Sci-Fi
MPAA Rating: Not Available
Official Website: Not Available
Review: Not Available
DVD Review: Not Available
DVD: Not Available
Movie Poster:
Production Stills:
Plot Summary: "Astro Boy" was created by the "god of manga," Japan's Osamu Tezuka, in the early 1950s. The iconic character has since found wide popularity around the world as the hero of three acclaimed animated television series spanning the past four decades, besides being one of the top licensed properties for merchandising.

Set in futuristic Metro City, Imagi Studios' "Astro Boy" is about a young robot with incredible powers created by a brilliant scientist to replace the son he has lost. Unable to fulfill the grieving father's expectations, our hero embarks on a journey in search of acceptance, experiencing betrayal and a netherworld of robot gladiators, before he returns to save Metro City and reconcile with the man who had rejected him.

Trailer:
Coming Soon!

Actualité

- 2 bandes-annonces : Madagascar 2 (sur les écrans le 3 décembre 2008) et Max Payne (12 novembre 2008, Cédric s'est trompé ! C'est pas 2009 !).
- Scared Straight : le nouveau film de John Carpenter, avec Nicolas Cage (en tournage, sortie en 2009, pas de date, synopsis en français en cliquant sur le titre !!).
- L'Aurore : reprise du film de 1927 réalisé par Friedrich-Wilhelm Murneau (actuellement à l'affiche au Sémaphore jusqu'au 23 septembre 2008).
- Le Dirigeable Volé : film de 1966 réalisé par Karel Zeman, vidéo-projeté le mercredi 24 septembre à 16h à la médiathèque d'Alès.

Dossier : Écoles au cinéma

A l’occasion de la sortie au cinéma le mercredi 24 septembre 2008 du film Entre les murs réalisé par Laurent Cantet et Palme d'Or au dernier Festival de Cannes.

Documentaire sur l'école
Etre et Avoir de Nicolas Philibert (2002)

La discipline de l'éducation
Le traumatisme de l'école : Elephant de Gus van Sant (2003)
La discipline : Envers et contre Tous de Ramon Menendez (1988)
La pédagogie : Esprits Rebelles de John N. Smith (1996), Les Choristes de Christophe Barratier (2004), Dance with me de Liz Friedlander (2006), Ecrire pour exister de Richard La gravenese (2006)

L'Ecole en N&B
Les Quatre cent coups de François Truffaut (1959)
Zéro de conduite de Jean Vigo (1933)

Quand la SF et le Fantastique envahissent l'école
Le Village des Damnés de John Carpenter (1995) remake de celui de Wolf Rilla (1960)
The Faculty de Robert Rodriguez (1999)
Class of 1984 de Mark L. Lester (1982)

Le décor récurrent des séries TV
Sauvés par le gong
Daria
Premiers Baisers et autres séries des studios AB des années 1980-90
South Park
21 jump street
Parker Lewis

La BO de la semaine

The Subordinate (01:17) composée par Lisa Gerrard & Pieter Bourke, extrait du film de Micheal Mann Révélations (The Insider - 1999)

Extraits sonores

Interview des membres du Jury du Festival de Cannes à propos d'"Entre les murs" suivi d'un extrait du film.
Le Village des Damnées de John Carpenter (1995)

Extrait Musical

Les 400 coups de François Truffaut (1959)

The Coen Brothers Movie Collection (Fargo / Miller's Crossing / Barton Fink / Raising Arizona / Blood Simple) is available at Amazon for $25.99. To Order click here
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