From the Vault: Lost in Translation

This week from the vault comes an indie film classic, Lost in Translation. Written and directed by Sofia Coppola, the film stars the hilarious Bill Murray and the very talented Scarlett Johansson.

Murray stars as Bob Harris, a movie actor who has gone to Tokyo, Japan, to shoot a series of commercials for a whiskey. While staying in his hotel, he meets Charlotte (played by Johansson) who is the wife of an up and coming photographer also working in Tokyo. While Bob reassessing his life, Charlotte is trying to find purpose for hers. Together they form a friendship that could only be possible halfway around the world where in a place they feel completely alienated and alone, they find comfort in each other.

Lost in Translation established Sofia Coppola as the queen of the indie film scene, and remains her highest rated film to date.

Lost in Translation is currently available on dvd and is rated R for some sexual content.

America Counts Down to Spider-Man 3

After the success of the first two films of the franchise, audiences are eagerly awaiting the opening of Spider-Man 3. Opening nationwide on May 4, Spider-Man 3 promises to live up to its hype.

The film stars Tobey Maguire as the infamous Peter Parker/ Spider-Man and Kirsten Dunst as his love interest, Mary Jane. Everything seems to be going well for Parker until one day he runs into a man named Flint Marko (played by Thomas Haden Church) who was actually responsible for Parker's uncle's death. Flint Marko however becomes mutated into the villain Sandman who proves to be Spider-Man's most challenging competitor yet.

Meanwhile, a woman by the name of Gwen Stacy (played by Bryce Dallas Howard), steals the affections of Peter Parker and causing a strain on the relationship between him and Mary Jane. Spider-Man must then confront the demons not only around him, but within himself as well.

So far critics have given the new Spidey film decent reviews, but it is guaranteed that everyone will be at the movie theaters this weekend to make the judgment for themselves.

Spider-Man 3 opens nationwide on May 4, 2007 and is rated PG-13 for sequences of intence action violence.

"Hot Fuzz" Sets Bar High for Comedies of 2007

From the creators of Shaun of the Dead, comes the action packed, downright hilarious film, Hot Fuzz. With a tagline for the film stating "From the guys who saw every action film ever made", you can't go wrong with this one.

Hot Fuzz tells the story of Sergeant Nicholas Angel (played by Simon Pegg), a cop who was so good at his job in London, they reassigned him since he was making everyone else look bad. Angel is sent to the small, quaint town of Sanford and given a new partner, played by the hilarious Nick Frost. All seems well in Sanford, until one two many "accidents" seem to be occurring. The cop duo intend to get to the bottom of the mystery and save the town from the devious Simon Skinner (played by Timothy Dalton).

Hot Fuzz is a hilarious, action-packed good time that should have came in first this weekend at the box office, however it lost out to its weaker, over-hyped competition, Disturbia. If you are looking for a good time, see this film and ignore the box office numbers for all the others.

"Disturbia" Has its Moments

The new hip thriller, Disturbia, has had everyone talking recently. After coming in first place at the box office two weeks in a row, it appears that audiences are completely fascinated by it. Although Disturbia does have its moments of intense suspicion, we have seen all of this before.

Disturbia tells the story of Kale (played by up-and-coming Shia LeBouf) and how he has been put on house arrest. After becoming completely restless from staying indoors all day, Kale decides to spy on his neighbors, one of which may be a cold blooded serial killer (played by David Morse).

The beginning of this film puts you immediately on the edge of your seat, however for the next hour you are basically following Kale around the house as he causes problems for his poor mother (played by Carrie Ann Moss), hangs out with his best friend, and tries to swoon the girl next door. Right before you are about to leave the theater out of boredom, the last fifteen minutes of the film makes up for all of the time (and money) you once believed you had wasted. Disturbia was o.k., but why pay $10 to see it in theaters, when you can wait for it on dvd for only $3? At least you can do laundry or pay your bills during the boring hour.

What Went Wrong with GRINDHOUSE Opening Weekend?

Ebert and Roeper gave it two thumbs way up, most critics hail it as "bloody good fun", and audiences say its the most fun movie experience they have had in a long time... well, audiences who actually went to see it. The new double feature Grindhouse by directors/writers, Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriquez was expected to make atleast $20 million dollars its opening weekend, however it made a little over half of that with only $10 million.

This was a big upset for The Weinstein Company, the producers of the film, considering Grindhouse needs to make $50 million in theaters in order for it to not be a flop.

Many people speculate that the film did not gross so well because of its length, which runs just over three hours. This three hours includes the two feature films, Planet Terror and Death Proof, as well as fake movie trailers directed by friends of Rodriguez and Tarantino.

There have been talks about separating the two films in hopes that people will be more enticed to go, however it is in the opinion of this blogger that the film did not gross so well due to bad marketing strategies.

This is a bloody, gory, fun mess, perfect for summer audiences when kids are out of school and people have time to spend 3 hours at a movie theater. Not in the middle of April. Also, the film opened Easter weekend, which is a big family holiday. Being that it is a family holiday, people will be more interested in seeing family friendly films like Blades of Glory, Meet the Robinsons, and Are We Done Yet.

Hopefully word will spread on the brilliance and fun of Grindhouse and more audiences will go see it this weekend, because it is certainly better than all of the other films who gained the people's money.

From the Vault: The Prestige

One of the best films of 2006 that went overlooked at the Oscars was The Prestige. Directed by Christopher Nolan, who gained fame for his indie sensation Memento and Batman Begins, The Prestige tells the story of two rival magicians who are both searching for the ultimate magic trick.

Christian Bale stars as Alfred Borden and Hugh Jackman as Robert Angier. Scarlett Johansson plays the role of Olivia, who ties both Borden and Angier together in a love triangle.

The film did receive Oscar nominations for Best Achievement in Art Direction and Cinematography, however is was a major upset that Jackman was not nominated for Best Actor. This was the best role of his career and it is a shame the Academy failed to recognize that.

The Prestige also stars Michael Caine and David Bowie and was rated PG-13 for violence and disturbing images.

Grindhouse is a Sinful Good Time

Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez are back together on a type of project that hasn't been seen since the late 1970s. Grindhouse is the new film, which is actually two films back to back of eachother. The first is Planet Terror, directed by Rodriguez and the second is Death Proof, directed by Tarantino.

The first feature, Planet Terror, there is a zombie-like outbreak in a small town. All seems hopless until a gun-legged stripper named Cherry (played by Rose McGowan) and her martial arts partner (played by Freddy Rodriguez) take on the zombies and attempt to save the world.

In Death Proof, Kurt Russell stars as Mike, a stuntman who stalks beautiful women and then kills them. However the catch is, he kills them will his car. This feature also stars Rosario Dawson.

Grindhouse is full of violence, gore, language, sex and everything in between, but all in the good name of 1970s exploitation fun. If you can handle Rodriguez and Tarantino's other films, this should be a good 3 hours for you.