Tetro Trailer

This first trailer looks fantastic.

Love Vincent Gallo and I like the quirky feel of the film. I really admire Francis Ford Coppola's new artistic direction of making independent films that are personal to him.

Tetro opens June 11, 2009.

Manny Pacquiao destroys Ricky Hatton

Wow.

That's all I could say after watching another lopsided victory by Manny Pacquiao.

I honestly didn't have a good feeling going into this bout. Manny proved me wrong...again.

Logic dictates that a man fighting at 140 pounds for his entire career would have a marked advantage over a fighter who is fighting at that weight for only his third time.

Manny surprised me again with a brutal second round knockout. He knocked down Hatton twice in the first round in a fierce display of boxing superiority.



The key to the fight was not only Pacquiao's punching power, but also an excellent game plan by legendary trainer Freddie Roach.

Roach stated, "Ricky is wide open for the right. He always cocks his fist back before he throws it. He fights the same way over and over. I've studied every tape I could get for two months. I know him like I know my own fighter."

Pacquiao noted, "He punches his hands before he throws a punch. He's a sucker for a right hook. I knew he'd be looking for my left. It was nothing personal. I was just doing my job."

He sure did, that knockout will be on highlight reels for years to come.



As for the extremely likable Ricky Hatton, after a few tense moments when he didn't move after being knocked out, Hatton went straight to the hospital with little comment to the media.

Hatton later stated, "It was a hard loss, but I'm okay. I really didn't see the punch coming but it was a great shot. I know I'll be okay."

Hatton's father confirmed his son's good health after the brutal knockout. Ray Hatton stated, "He's perfectly all right. They've checked him out. He's had all the tests and everything. He's not got a mark on him."



As for the motor mouth trainer Floyd Mayweather Sr., he was left virtually speechless. Mayweather flapped his gums these past several months during the promotion of the bout, with silly, insulting poems and made a habit of constantly belittling trainer Freddie Roach, calling him "Freddie the Roach Coach".

Mayweather stated,"I really felt Ricky would get him. I don't want to go into it more than that."

Ha.

The day after the fight, Mayweather called for Hatton to retire. In typical Mayweather style he included a backhanded insult of Pacquiao.

Mayweather stated, "I would suggest he retire. At the end of the day, it's his decision. He tried twice. He failed twice. He lost to my son and to lose to someone below that, it's time to leave the ring. He made a good profit. Sometimes you have to go when your prime is still there."

Witnessing the event were celebrities such as Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg, Jay-Z and P Diddy.

They watched a systematic, shocking destruction of a proud, talented and honorable fighter in Ricky Hatton and the cementing of a legend in Manny Pacquiao.

With the victory, Pacquiao becomes only the second boxer in history to win six titles in six different weight classes. Oscar De La Hoya, who Pacquiao previously defeated, is the only other boxer to accomplish the feat.

Nothing But the Truth directed by Rod Lurie

(A.K.A. the best film of 2008 you didn't get to see)



Arriving on DVD on April 28th is one of the best films of 2008.

Nothing But the Truth directed by Rod Lurie was a critics and film festival favorite, but unfortunately due to the well publicized financial troubles of distributor Yari Film Group, the film was unable to secure a nationwide film release.

The film bears a circumstantial resemblance to the Valerie Plame scandal, but is NOT based on those events. The piece is actually a character drama which explores the lengths that a journalist, played by Kate Beckinsale, will go to protect a source for an explosive political story.

If you are unfamiliar with Rod Lurie's works, he is recognized in the industry for creating outstanding, story driven, character pieces, which is rare in today's Hollywood.

His films such as the Academy Award nominated The Contender, Deterrence, The Last Castle and Resurrecting the Champ often explores the theme of standing by principles in the face of tremendous adversity.

He takes that theme to the extreme here and has delivered arguably his best film ever.

In the past, Lurie has been criticized for being too sentimental towards his protagonist. He avoids that trap here, maintaining an objective point of view. The result of his unsympathetic distance reveals fascinating portraits of morally imperfect characters in a harsh and cold legal world. The film is simply put, an emotional roller coaster with surprising plot twists and unexpected turns.

The piece also features tremendous performances from the entire ensemble cast.

The actors in this film unfortunately went unrecognized during awards season. Stand out performances were delivered by Alan Alda, Angela Bassett, Vera Farmiga and David Schwimmer.

But the performances that stood out for me the most were Kate Beckingsale, Matt Dillon and Noah Wyle.

Surprisingly, Noah Wyle seems to be transformed here and at times appears almost unrecognizable. His performance has a different spiritual rhythm and tone which hasn't been seen in his previous works. Matt Dillon, who is the traditional antagonist here, portrays a character whose working class roots shine through his high powered lawyer exterior. The performance reveals a humble, yet intelligent character who is surprisingly sympathetic.

But make no mistake about it, the film belongs to Kate Beckingsale.

Her character is simultaneously affable and stubborn, smart yet naive, strong yet vulnerable. The performance explores a character whose morals are tested in unimaginable and heartbreaking ways. The character's arc reveals a person who is so complex, that by the end of the film, even after experiencing her long journey and emotional turmoil, we haven't even scratched the surface of understanding her. It is beyond a doubt the best performance of Kate Beckingsale's career.

The film will leave you debating and examining your own personal beliefs and morals for days after.

The DVD features a commentary by writer/director Rod Lurie and producer Marc Frydman, deleted scenes and a behind the scenes special titled "The Truth Hurts: The making of Nothing But the Truth."

Make sure to take advantage of this DVD release and catch this outstanding and little seen gem of 2008.

The Passing of Nick Adenhart

After watching last night's frustrating loss to the A's, I went to bed with the comfort that today would be a new day. I looked forward to the chance for the Angels to turn the page on a bad ending to a good game. Little did I know that before I would wake up this morning, a tragedy would unfold that would profoundly effect this season and many more seasons to come for the Angels and their fans.

The day started normally for me. I drove to work listening to Colin Cowherd on ESPN. The recap played every ten minutes of how the Angels blew the lead, despite six strong innings from the young pitcher Nick Adenhart. When I arrived at work, I clocked in and started my work day. Before I was even completely settled in at work, I was already daydreaming about coming home to my family and watching the Angels game on the big screen tonight.

I was briefly chatting on AIM with my wife, when she informed me of the tragic collision. The news was being reported on TV.

At the young age of 22, Nick Adenhart had passed away, the victim of a senseless traffic collision. Two others were also killed, while one was in critical condition. The culprit, a man who made the poor decision to attempt to drive home under the influence of alcohol and with his license suspended. He ran a red light with his mini-van, striking the coupe Adenhart and three friends were traveling in.





Reports trickled out about how the man was humble, well liked and respectful to people he came in contact with. He overcame adversity in his career by recovering from tommy john surgery and worked hard to try and bounce back from a disappointing debut last year in the majors.

Last night's game was seen by many as a turning point professionally for him. It was a coming out party for a pitcher who was once seen as a prospect and was now a legitimate major leaguer. His father had even flown out from Maryland to watch the best game of his son's Major League career.

I have never met Nick Adenhart or even watched him play in person at the stadium. But I have to admit that this news has affected me more than I ever expected. It has affected me as a fan of the Angels, as a father, and as a fellow human being.

My deepest condolences go out to the family, teammates and fans of this obviously well-liked and talented young man.

One more Angel in heaven.

A right hander who had amazing potential and reportedly great heart.

Bruno - Red Band Trailer

The Red band Trailer for Bruno was released today and the film looks poised to offend and shock even more people then Sacha Baron Cohen's previous film Borat.



Obviously going to be hilarious. Can't wait.

Where the Wild Things Are trailer

I've heard about the ambitious Where the Wild Things Are movie project for awhile now. Reportedly, Spike Jonze resisted the obvious temptation to use CGI and animation for this project. He instead used costumes which obviously delayed the film, but the quality and effectiveness of his vision is easily apparent.

Year One Trailer

When I first saw the teaser trailer for Year One, I wasn't impressed. The movie actually reminded me of that horrible eighties movie Caveman starring Ringo Starr.

This trailer shows more potential than the teaser did and also some of the comedic chemistry between Michael Cera and Jack Black.

Barack-Etology

March Madness began today and everyone is watching their brackets to see how they do this year.

Even our President, Barack Obama got in on the action.




The Tar Heels huh...not exactly going out on a limb.

Tyson Movie Trailer

Love him or hate him Mike Tyson is a fascinating person.

A new documentary film by director James Tobeck will attempt to shed light on the troubled ex-champion.











Also in case you haven't seen it yet. Mike Tyson appears in the film The Hangover directed by Todd Phillips.

Seriously, some hilarious stuff.

The Face of Shakespeare?

Apparently this is the face of William Shakespeare.




The portrait is dated around 1610, which would mean it was done about six years before his death. It was unveiled today to the press. It is believed to be the only painting of Shakespeare made during his lifetime. The image also reportedly sheds some more light on who the Bard actually was. According to experts, the image contradicts previous notions that he was a struggling artist. Reportedly the garment that Mr. Shakespeare is wearing in the portrait is the clothing of someone of upper class, not working class. The intricate lace on the collar supposedly being the main clue of his wealth.

Also Shakespeare has previously been seen in portraits as balding. Such as this famous drawing which was made AFTER his death.



Maybe people remembered him wrong? Jealousy maybe?

Who knew? Turns out Shakespeare did resemble Joseph Fiennes after all.



Which should make the ladies happy.

Here's the full pic.



Handsome devil. Don't you think?

The Watchmen - Review

I've acknowledged in the past that I have a soft spot for comic book movies and westerns. So it shouldn't come as any surprise to the reader that I enjoyed The Watchmen.

Except it WAS a surprise...to me.

If there is such a thing as an unfilmable graphic novel, The Watchmen would be it. Originally a 12 issue limited-series, The Watchmen novel has an unprecedented following. The book is considered by most comic book aficionados as the Hamlet of the industry and as such, any alteration or compression of the story is usually considered sacrilege.

Although probably unbeknownst to most comic book fans, Shakespeare's works are routinely edited, re-arranged, and brutally altered for presentation on stage and film. We're talking poetry too, iambic pentameter. So cutting a line can have a tremendous impact on the flow of the script.

As an actor and stage director I've experienced the success and failures of Shakespeare adaptations multiple times.

So when I heard the criticism and buzz about literary aspects changed in the film. I considered it Much Ado About Nothing. I've learned through experience that the editing and the changing of a literary work isn't necessarily a bad thing.

That was the least of my concerns.

Judging from leaked footage and trailers, the look of the film seemed too bright, attractive and glossy for The Watchmen universe. The assembled cast seemed like a group of network television mini-series guest stars. I also was not a huge fan of Zack Snyder's previous film 300. Then of course, on top of all that there is the obvious visual and story telling challenges that the work presents.

Suffice it to say I went into the movie with low expectations.

I even attended an IMAX screening for my initial viewing of the movie so that if I were disappointed by the film, at least I wouldn't be disappointed by the presentation.

I am happy to report that the movie is the first legitimate GREAT film of the year.

The motion picture succeeds and triumphs on most fronts. The griped about changes in the plot did not compromise the overall powerful themes of the piece.

My only complaint is that I wanted more.

But that is a situation that is going to be remedied in the Blu-Ray release of the film.

As for the cast, much of the positive buzz has landed on Jackie Earle Haley.

Which is deserved.

But the performance that stood out for me the most was the work of Billy Crudup. Crudup was faced with the challenge of portraying a character with little emotion, not to mention the challenge of working behind the most special effects of any character in the film. Crudup couldn't even work with his eyes. Dr. Manhattan's eyes are a consistent white glow. Despite all these obstacles Dr Manhattan's story arc and Crudup's performance was the most powerful aspect of the film for me.

The simplicity of his performance, the way he was able to transition from childlike wonder and naivety to emotionally cold, distant and pompous within the same scene was just stunning.

For me it was the key to the character and perhaps the entire film.

I am also happy to report that previous knowledge of the plot did little to spoil the entertainment value of the film. I admit I was turned into a gleeful nerd, anticipating certain classic sequences from the novel.

Simply put the project delivers in every way.

Of course I can't vouch for the experience of the uninitiated. But I suspect if one goes into the film NOT expecting The Dark Knight, they will be pleasantly surprised.

Just like me.

Chris Paul dribble through Jason Terry's Legs

Some things don't need a comment or a description.

Just a witness.



Nasty.

Star Trek Trailer #3

The buzz has been generally positive for this third Star Trek trailer.

But in my humble opinion this trailer worries me. It feels too pretentious, almost bordering on melodramatic.




I know the trailer isn't the movie. So I'll continue to reserve judgment.