Posts Tagged ‘Josh Brolin’
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Oct16
When Grindhouse came out in theaters back in April, I wasn’t able to see it in theaters as I was busy taking care of a newborn son. At the the time I felt badly that I wasn’t able to participate in what was supposed to be the great film geek-out of the spring. But as word spread, I was actually kind of relieved. Not because neither of the two films that made up the double feature were bad movies. But from everything I heard, the fim’s first half – Robert Rodriguez’s Planet Terror – was a goopy, gory mess and I wasn’t enchanted by the idea of being trapped in the theater for an hour and a half before getting to see Quentin Tarantino’s contribution in Death Proof.
I’m not a great fan of zombie movies, excessive gore or things that jump out of you looking for a cheap scare. Familiar with Rodriguez’s work in Sin City and From Dusk Till Dawn, I knew that there wasn’t the explicit whim of his inner 14 year-old that Rodriguez wasn’t adverse to indulging. You can imagine my anxiety sitting down to watch Planet Terror – available extended and unrated on DVD today, October 16.
The plot is typical zombie fare. A greedy bio-chemist played by Lost’s Naveen Andrews unleashes a chemical agent on a small Texas town that turns it’s residents into the walking dead. It’s up to a rag-tag group of misfits to fight their way to safety.
True to form, Rodriguez heaps on the carnage and mayhem. There isn’t an explosion too large or a sound effect to squishy or crunchy to be used in his arsenal. Everything in this movie is turned up to 11. When zombies are shot at, they explode like ripe water baloons filled with plasma.
What the movie lacks in subtlety, it more than makes up for with it’s excellent cast. Six Feet Under’s Freddy Rodriguez turns in a surprising and commanding performance as the mysterious El Wray. Michael Biehn shows up as the town’s true-grit sherrif and Jeff Fahey shows up as his BBQ-obsessed brother. Bruce Willis plays it straight as a tough-talking army general and Rose McGowan, her acting somewhat wooden, creates one of modern cinema’s most indelible heroines in Cherry Darling – the go-go dancer/amputee with a high-powered machine gun for a leg.
In terms of visual excess alone, Rodriguez delivers the spirit of Grindhouse cinema. I can’t compare this extended version to the theatrical release because the DVD fails to include both. But nothing here feels overtly extrenious or draining to the film’s running time.
The DVD comes with an excellent collection of extras on the second disc including Rodriguez’s traditional “10 Minute Film School.” In it, he reveals a lot of the tricks used in the film to achieve it’s large number of practical effects. Everything from the explosions, the car wrecks, to composit shots and the CG magic behind the infamous machine-gun leg.
In “The Badass Babes and Tough Guys of Planet Terror,” we get to see how the casting of each of the roles influenced Rodriguez’s script as he was writing it. There is some slight discomfort listening to Rodriguez effusive praise of star Rose McGowan’s prowess performing her own stunts as well as what personality quirks she added to Cherry Darling in her ad libs. Considering the on-set affair the two of them had that resulted in the end of Rodriguez’s marriage to his wife and co-producer, Elizabeth Avellan, it feels like some of that could have been scaled back.
It gets more unsettling still as an entire bonus feature titled “Casting Rebel” focuses entirely on Rodriguez’s casting of his youngest son Rebel in the role of Marley Shelton and Josh Brolin’s son. “Meet your new Mommy, Rebel! She has a machine gun for a leg!”
All in all, those looking for a visceral thrill will find more than enough to wrestle with in Planet Terror. While the movie is intense, my initial fears of the movie being TOO intense were unfounded. Rodriguez injects just enough humor into the script to keep the scales from tipping over completely – All the while pushing the film into greater and greater parody of itself. At the point that Quentin Tarantino’s infected solider affectionally credited as “The Rapist” comes on screen, you’ve pretty much given yourself over to the cartoonish ridiculousness of things and just enjoy the ride.
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Oct17
Don’t worry. I’m not going to get overtly political on you.
Cami and I actually had this conversation because we couldn’t really figure out who the audience for W. was meant for.
As pointed out in the strip, it’s an Oliver Stone movie – so that right there should raise flags. To me, Stone is all about sensationalism. So if I were a fan of George W. Bush (which I am not), then I would expect this movie to be some kind of hatchet job. So let’s say this movie is not meant for conservatives who are looking for a biography piece meant to celebrate the 43rd President of the United States.
Who’s left? Liberals, maybe. People who are attracted to Oliver Stone and his politics (if he even has any at this point). People who WANT to see a hatchet job. People who want to laugh at the expense of "Dubya" while his approval rating languishes near record lows.
This is America for you. Granted, it’s not as if Bush Jr. hasn’t bungled things up so badly that he isn’t deserving of a little scorn. But I feel like it is distinctly an American tradition to build up our idols and then kick dirt into their eye when their star eventually falls. We relish in it. We consider it sport.
Me, personally – I guess I want to see the hatchet job. But I’m not exactly a fan of Oliver Stone or what he stands for anymore. The guy has always had a tenuous grip on reality to begin with. But I think after Natural Born Killers, he pretty much crawled up his own ass and never came out again. I’m attracted to the controversy W. is generating, but obviously we don’t have the historical perspective to dissect Bush thoroughly. To me, this movie is about Stone planting his flag on Bush’s legacy so he can said he got there first.
I mean, Stone shot this thing in, like, 45 days. For a guy who is all about spectacle and visual panache, that’s a land speed record! He obviously has an agenda in mind – something he wants to express before Election Day. What remains to be seen is how much of his signature style he had to abandon to do it.
Truthfully, if I was going to see the movie for any reason, it would be to see Josh Brolin in the title role. Brolin is one of those actors I haven’t thought about since The Goonies – and even then, I didn’t know who the hell he was. But after No Country For Old Men and (surprisingly) Planet Terror, he has my full and undivided attention. All of a sudden, he can do no wrong. From the ads and trailers I’ve seen, I think he gets Bush’s mannerisms down without over-exaggerating them – which is a tough thing to do. So, if anything, I’ll be watching the movie to examine his performance. Because the buzz surrounding it has been strong.
I think Cami and I are going to try and catch a matinee of W. tomorrow. My in-laws are coming over for lunch and are going to hang around the house to make sure Henry is okay while he naps and we see the movie.
I’m probably also going to try and squeeze in Sex Drive tonight. Because after the week I’ve had, I could use a formulaic teen sex comedy. Should be fun being the creepy 30 year-old guy in the back of the theater again.
Not for nothing, but I thought you guys might be interested to know that I sent in my registration, booked a hotel and an airline reservation so I could attend the Emerald City Comicon in Seattle, April 4 -5. I know that’s, like, 6 months away. But I’m excited to share the news because this will be my first time attending Emerald City Comicon, my first time visiting Seattle and my first time flying to attend a convention.
I was basically talking with a few other webcomic guys and complaining that I can’t go to any conventions that aren’t within driving distance because it costs too much to fly. Someone suggested Emerald City Comicon if I was ever going to take the risk because it’s large, but not overwhelming and they have a strong reputation for taking care of webcomic creators.
On a whim, I went to Orbitz and looked up the cost of a plane ticket to Seattle and was shocked when I found a fair for under $200.
You need to understand why that is significant. First of all, there’s a bit of an economic crisis that makes everything expensive. Second, gas prices are astronomical and third, airlines are now charging you a fee to breath oxygen inside their pressurized cabins.
MOST significantly, however, is that I live in Des Moines, Iowa. A town where you’d have to catch a connecting flight to go to Chicago. Flights out of town NEVER cost less than $300. I don’t know if it was a computer error, or what, but I jumped on the opportunity.
So, now I’m going to Seattle and paying about as much for transportation as I did paying for gas to drive myself it Wizard World Chicago back in June!
Anyway, like I said, it’s 6 months away. But I wanted to let you know about it now. I’m really looking forward to it.
That’s it for today. Thanks for swinging by the site and I’ll see you again on Monday! Have a great weekend!=
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It’s been almost a decade since the disappointment that was Men In Black 2 (hey, that’s what you get when you cast Johnny Knoxville as comedic relief!) so it seems weird to me now that they’re unfolding Men In Black 3 next year.
More importantly, is it not weird to anyone else that neither Will Smith or Tommy Lee Jones have aged that much in the last decade?
Then again, it seems like Tommy Lee Jones has been perpetually 55. At least since The Fugitive in 1993. So he probably made a deal with a warlock, or something.
Check out the new trailer below.
Josh Brolin’s impersonation of Tommy Lee Jones looks to be spot-on. But between this and his performance as President George Bush in Oliver Stone’s W., I wonder if he’s becoming concerned that he’ll be typecast as an impersonator of Texas-bred celebrities.
I certainly would be.
What’s your reaction to Men In Black 3? The mystery element has me intrigued. The time-travel component screams pure “trope” to me. Will Smith seems to be delivering the same smarm act that he’s been peddling since he punched an alien in Independence Day.
I’m kind of wondering if they didn’t introduce the time-travel idea and Josh Brolin into the story as to give Tommy Lee Jones less screen time and prevent the audience from asking questions about his potential dealings with age-defying warlocks.
Just a theory.
Leave your comments below!
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