EASTERN PROMISES

Armin Mueller-Stahl (Shine) is fantastic as well, but I’m still not sold on Naomi Watts. Never have been. Color me unimpressed thus far. The sames goes for Vincent Cassel, whose overacting served as a distraction throughout the film.

If you are a fan of David Cronenberg’s eccentric oeuvre and are also desensitized to artificial violence, then this is one movie you might want to see in the theater. Otherwise, wait for the rental and get ready to flinch.

THE BRAVE ONE

It is safe to say that Jodie Foster is attracted to…harrowing movie roles. From The Accused to The Silence of the Lambs to Panic Room to Flight Plan and now The Brave One, her selection process has been fascinating to follow.

Foster is a phenomenal actress, and her latest thriller is no exception. Aside from the fact that it is slightly disconcerting to see Clarice Starling making out with Sayid (Lost‘s Naveen Andrews), The Brave One is a very good, visually intense film. I didn’t love it, but I enjoyed it far more than Eastern Promises. The fact that Foster appears in movies infrequently makes me appreciate her consistently stellar work that much more when she does grace the big screen.

I prefer to watch and experience films like this one with a crowd, because the ripple of reactions and body language of those in the periphery are a bonus. But I have a feeling that The Brave One will prove to be more popular on DVD, viewed in the safety and comfort of homes everywhere.

Soon I will be firmly planted in a deck chair aboard a giant ship headed to Alaska, bundled up, photographing glaciers, listening to my iPod and drinking hot chocolate…with Kahlua. No cell, no email, no blog. Yikes. Good times!

Last month I posted the montage below, and no one even tried to guess. So I’ve decided to entice you and encourage participation – the winner of this little quiz will receive either the Friday Night Lights, Season 1 DVD set OR the DVD of their choice from among the movies depicted in the montage.

Just be the first person to correctly identify the 16 movies AND at least 1 actor in each scene below. Please leave your answers as comments, and thank you for playing!

And I certainly do not want to start packing for my upcoming vacation to Alaska; the idea of handling wool or fleece in this weather is not very appealing. 

BASEBALL
Ugh. My team is not good this year. Ok, they’re average, but I’ve been spoiled by playoff runs for the past several years and this has been a trying season for loyal fans. And now, the fire sale. Loiaza to the Dodgers? COME ON. Next thing you know, Piazza will grow out the mullet and rejoin the evil blue empire as well.

And if you think I’M bitter, check out Athletics Nation.

For baseball’s version of TMZ or Perez Hilton, visit On the DL. It is a guilty pleasure.

MOVIES
Last weekend I finally went to see The Bourne Ultimatum. Now THAT is what I call a sequel.  I wish other studios and filmmakers would take the same approach: more action and less dialogue (memo to Michael Bay). This movie was an intense ride, and the best one I’ve taken all summer. Matt Damon is ten times the actor that Affleck ever was or will be. I’ve always felt that Damon is a tad underrated. The Talented Mr. Ripley? Crazy creepy good. Bonus points for putting Jude Law out of his onscreen misery.

MUSIC
I would rather play Eve’s ‘Tambourine’ than hold Rihanna’s ‘Umbrella.’

TV
As much as I love my Mulder, Duchovny’s latest small screen venture isn’t working for me. Are any of you hooked on Californication?

Is it sad that I was very excited to hear that the cast and crew of Lost are back to work, filming the first few episodes of Season 4? I am rewatching Season 2 right now, which is fascinating because of what we learned in Season 3. Before the new season begins, I will address lingering/annoying questions in a lengthy blog.

If you aren’t already hooked, I really think you should go out and buy the first season of Friday Night Lights for only $20. It is not a football show, I promise. Yes, there are pigskin scenes, but relationships and angst are the focal points. Jump on the bandwagon now, before Season 2 begins next month.

Even though the show has been canceled, there is going to be a Dead Like Me movie. Am I the only one who watched and loved that series?

I love Top Chef, but reading the blogs after each episode is almost better.

Damages is the BEST show on television right now. If you haven’t watched it yet, FX will be airing a five episode marathon of the series beginning at 3pm PST on Labor Day – this Monday!

WEBSITES/BLOGS
Have you checked out Michael Cera’s site yet? Hysterical.

Over at The House Next Door, Matt Zoller Seitz has written the best article I’ve seen yet about Owen Wilson.

I read A LOT of other people’s blogs, and I tend to leave comments when they cover topics that I’m passionate about. So I appreciate when readers do the same here, and would like to recommend two sites by two new friends: Cinematically Correct & Ex-Everything.

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And screw it. I’m off to rent 300 and Blades of Glory. You can’t get any more random than that.

Getting the girl can be hard work. Believe me, I know.

That being said, the beauty of Superbad is that is presents a recognizable retrospect for those of us who are no longer teenagers, and it also illustrates that nothing has changed for the less-than-graceful years between 13 and 17.

When I started high school, I was a hyperactive honors student/jock hybrid with short feathered hair and braces. By senior year, my hair was down to my hips, I was the lead in the musical, and somehow ended up on the prom court. Trust me, that visual requires a giant stretch of the imagination in reverse. Anyway, I never felt cool or popular, especially with the boys (which makes sense now, but certainly didn’t at the time). My point? I’m a fan of teen movies and TV shows, many of which have stemmed from the mind of Judd Apatow. He not only produced Superbad and wrote/directed both Knocked Up and The 40 Year Old Virgin, Apatow also produced/wrote/directed canceled cult shows Freaks & Geeks and Undeclared.

I can’t help but compare Superbad to Knocked Up, especially when some of the same cast and crew had their hand in the creation of it. I laughed out loud far more during Knocked Up, but I would recommend Superbad as a funny, dirty alternative to the shit sequels that have polluted our summer. It is a very entertaining film, but not one that needs to be seen in the theater.

In short (too late?), visualize the angst of My So-Called Life, but with a sense of humor and a more horny/less brooding Jordan Catalano.

You know how clown dolls are scary and you fear that they’ll come alive, like the possessed one in Poltergeist II? Yeah, that’s how I feel about John Travolta in drag. Nightmares. They shall follow.

Hairspray was not my first choice to see as a matinee, but it wasn’t my turn to choose. As it turns out, I enjoyed it far more than I expected…except for Travolta. He was distracting and creepy as a woman. Which isn’t really surprising; he can be that way as a man.

James Marsden. Yes, it’s true. He of the wooden demeanor (see: all 3 X-Men films, Superman Returns, The Notebook) knocks this one out of the park as the cheesy American Bandstand-type host of a popular teen dance show.