Movie Junkie Weekend Preview
Good news, this weekend ought to be an above average weekend for movies, at least this year. With three major releases this first non-blockbuster weekend to which I’m actually looking forward.
Frost/Nixon
Frost/Nixon is a film by beloved director and one time TV star Ron Howard, looks to be an excellent take on the once reviled Richard Milhouse Nixon and his enormous (head?) ego. I'm ooking forward to an excellent performance by Frank Langella, as Nixon, an adequate performance by Michael Sheen as the talk show host David Frost and brilliant direction by Howard. Expect a riveting interview scenario and an honest take on ex-President Nixon.
Cadillac Records
Cadillac Records looks to be fun simply for the great R&B music and the expected “sex, violence and rock and roll,” always a plus. The “R” rating for Records bodes well for the appeal to an adult audience and the acting chops of Adrien Brody and Jeffrey Wright assure that the rating is more than just to draw box office. The incredible “hotness” of Beyonce Knowles can only be a good thing for the film and the music from Chess Records will make this movie extremely viewable.
Punisher: War Zone
Not only does the name make it sound like a really bad video game (and it probably will be) but also the next WWF movie bomb (so far they all have been). It is a Marvel Comics property so we can always hope. On the positive side it may keep the action junkies occupied at the other end of the theatre complex and away from us, Thank God! On the down side, this film is destined to make the Thomas Jane Punisher seem like a work of art by comparison. But what does that matter to the mind numbed masses that place explosions above exposition, apparently NOT MUCH!
All in all a good week in film, see you at the movies front and center.
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Comments
23 July 2008
17 weeks 6 days
No Thomas Jane = Me not interested
16 August 2007
9 min 23 sec
Oh I LOVED the last Punisher. I refuse to watch this one. It looks like an abomination.
14 November 2007
3 years 6 weeks
Totally disagree Craig! Etta James deserves to be played by an actress that's more than just eye candy. Beyonce's likeable (and can sing) but she's just not a good actress. "Hotness" is nice, but why coudn't we get a woman with "acting chops" for the film??
On the other hand, I am soooo looking forward to Frank Langella as Nixon
Though Ron Howard is hit/miss with me.
20 January 2008
1 year 25 weeks
When Sony and Beyonce are the producers of the film, you better bet Beyonce and her "acting" are going to be center stage...
I'd like to put in a vote for Frost/Nixon. The play it is based on was quite astonishing, and the reviews for the film adaptation has been remarkable. It may not be typical escapist fare, but it's worth your $11 bucks ($11 in NYC anyway).
23 July 2008
17 weeks 6 days
Question: Are the actors going to lip synch or are they going to actually be singing themselves?
14 November 2007
3 years 6 weeks
Thanks dsrbroadway, that explains it, LOL!
16 August 2007
9 min 23 sec
I wonder, Dreamgirls was supposed to be the "I'm a legitimate actress, I'm going to win an Oscar" movie and it ended up winning the Oscar for Hudson who totally out shown Beyonce(I'll bet B is still pissed about that), is it possible that this Beyonce's latest attempt?
14 November 2007
3 years 6 weeks
Yeah, I'm pretty sure Beyonce is determined to be seen as a "serious" actress/Oscar contender (can't blame her though). All I can say is that at least she's not as bad an actress as Madonna. Man, how many years were we subjected to one bad Madonna performance after another, just because her vanity demanded she be a movie star?
Season: I'm not sure about the lip synching, but I have a question. Am I the only one that actually prefers lip synching in musical bio pics? I feel like, since it's about a real person I want to hear their music...
13 March 2008
3 years 49 weeks
I wish Beyonce would go sit down somewhere. Playing a singer in every movie isn't acting. And she's always tooting her own horn. Great actors don't need to do that!
22 January 2008
5 hours 18 min
Not to defend Beyonce at ALL, because I cringed when I heard she was playing Etta James, but it is almost a pre-req for R&B and Hip Hop artists to be multi-hyphenates these days. You have to be a full-branded entertainment corporation. It isn't enough to be a wildly successul singer, you also must have a clothing line, a fragrance, two or three movie roles a year, a deal to produce a kid's show on Nickelodeon, a dance show on MTV, the gig singing at the Inaugural Ball, a guest editorship with at least one magazine and have a well-fomulated plan in place to fix the crisis with the Big Three Auto Makers. This all must also be documented on a reality shows that also has you screaming at your biological mother, sister, love interest, business partners, fashion designer, etc. etc. Anything less proves you are a slacker.
16 August 2007
9 min 23 sec
I would so rather see Beyonce in a reality show than a movie.
11 June 2008
13 weeks 6 days
Craig, I love the reviews so far. Nice to see you and MJ on the website. We could all use some great suggestions for movie watching when our shows aren't on!
11 June 2008
13 weeks 6 days
Forgot to post on the films themselves, Beyonce really is singing the songs in the movie and I've heard from people who saw a preview that she actually is suprisingly not bad in the movie. I personally wouldn't call her an actress but I didn't mind her in Dreamgirls at all. J Hud totally outshined her but Beyonce held her own.
I hope Frost/Nixon is as good as the play it was adapted from. If it is, I'm thinking this would be the film to see this week.
23 July 2008
17 weeks 6 days
I agree, Daisy. But in some cases I like it. I thought Joaquin Phoenix did a superb job singing like Johnny Cash.
Jennifer Hudson outshone Beyonce because Beyonce doesn't convey emotion very well, even in her live singing performances. She has an incredible voice but if I want to see true emotion conveyed from a performer I'll watch Mary J.
14 November 2007
3 years 6 weeks
I agree Season, in some cases it works really well. I never saw Walk the Line, but for Coal Miner's Daughter Sissy Spacek used her own voice and she was amazing! Though I gotta say, even though I actually preferred Sissy's versions of the songs (Heresy - I know!), I still wonder if they should have used Loretta Lynn's voice anyway.
And ITA agree w/ what you wrote about Beyonce. It occurs to me that when I watch her act, she comes across as a Barbie doll. So pretty, very likeable but not much depth there.
27 November 2008
2 years 9 weeks
Be sure and catch my review, but for now I would say that Beyonce Knowles knows what it takes to create great music and that comes through in the film. Don't discount her, at least when she's singing. This film is about the music and the "real" birth of Rock & Roll.
23 July 2008
17 weeks 6 days
Oh, Beyonce has by far one of the best voices in the business today. I just feel that she doesn't convey the emotions of a song the way some singers of the past like Aretha or Billie Holiday or Nina Simone or some of today's singers like Mary J or Alicia Keys or even Christina Aguilera (who has a tendency to over do it).
27 November 2008
2 years 9 weeks
I think you may be pleased the movie then. I agree, in the past I've not seen (or felt) the kind of emotion that "sells" a song, but in CR, I think she may have gotten a lot deeper, particularly when the man she loves is walking out of her life. And that's part of what the film was about, making Etta James sing what she feels. Maybe that's why they chose Beyonce?