As 2006 draws to a close, thousands of websites devote column space to their top ten films of the year. Most of these lists are fairly predictable, they list “deep” movies and independent films garnering Oscar buzz as the best of the best. Now while this list is solely the opinion of the author, you will find a film for you. So happy New Year and enjoy a great year of new movies.
10. Thank You for Smoking-This dark comedy from first time director Jason Reitman, son of acclaimed director Ivan, shows the inner workings of the tobacco industry. As the film follows the trials and tribulations of a tobacco lobbyist played brilliantly by Aaron Eckhart, you see that not only is this incredibly smart but has an amazing story to go with it. Amazing performance notwithstanding, probably one of the most intelligent films all year.
9. Mini’s First Time-A very little known dark comedy, this film came and went without any fanfare. Starring Nikki Reed of the indie drama “Thirteen,” Reed plays teenager Mini living with her drugged out mother and new stepfather (Alec Baldwin). When Mini turns to prostitution for fun and ends up seducing her stepfather they conspire to murder her mother. It’s an extremely funny movie with a rare amazing performance from Baldwin. Definitely a great revenge comedy.
8. Brick-The crime noir is alive and well, expertly captured in the indie film “Brick.” A crime drama/film noir set in a high school setting is nothing short of brilliant. A twist and turn thriller involving drugs, murder, and Joseph Gorden Levitt all brought to a wonderful conclusion. The movie is worth a viewing just for the great 50’s dialogue alone.
7. The Departed-So far “The Departed” has shown up on every best of list this year, this list is no exception. This film holds you on the edge of your seat until the very last minute. I’m not one who considers myself a Scorsese fan by nature, but this film definitely made me want to take a look at more of his films. Wonderful performances abound by Matt Damon, Leonardo Dicaprio, Jack Nicholsen, and Mark Wahlberg.
6. The Prestige-The first appearance on this list by Australian actor Hugh Jackman, I adored “The Prestige.” While the second film of the year about magicians, the first being “The Illusionist,” this was definitely the better of the two. Featuring great performances from Jackman and Christian Bale, playing rival magicians, they exuded amazing chemistry. A compelling story involving one of the more ingenious twists in recent years, I personally can’t wait for the DVD.
5. Hollywoodland-As a follower of the George Reeve murder/suicide story, I waited almost two years for this movie to be made. Told in flashback and showing all the different theories surrounding George Reeves death, this is a very tight true crime thriller. Diane Lane steals the show though as Toni Mannix, the jilted studio girlfriend and Ben Affleck walks away with his comeback. The film itself is ironic in the fact that Ben Affleck’s career is revived from playing an actor who supposedly killed himself after losing his career. Some call this film melodramatic, I call it Oscar gold.
4. United 93-The film-going public was divided between whether it was the appropriate time to show a film like this or not. Watching “United 93” makes you cringe, cry, and get angry all in one film. This film is so powerful it’s almost too much. Depicting the final moments of the final plane involved in 9/11 is enough to take you back to where you were when that fateful day was shown. With unknown actors in the roles and improve throughout, it is probably one of the most realistic film of the last five years.
3. The Fountain-I feel like I’m in the minority by saying this is one of the top three movies of the year, but I have never thought about a movie almost a month after I saw it. Another film starring Hugh Jackman, the film calls for him to play three separate characters all trying to save the love of their lives (Rachel Weisz). I could talk about this movie all day, but I sadly don’t expect a lot of Oscar buzz for this since not a lot of people understand the plot and the twist. But this film has so much going for it, an innovate story, beautiful imagery, haunting score, all of it. When the film comes to DVD, this is one that comes highly recommended.
2. Happy Feet-Who has seen this movie and hasn’t loved it, I mean “Happy Feet” is probably one of the most creative animated film ever, and fun for adults and kids to boot. Revolving around a little penguin with a special talent for dancing, it featured great vocal work from Brittany Murphy, Nicole Kidman, and Hugh Jackman (yes him again, but the last time I promise). The animation is top-notch, so much so you can’t always differentiate between what’s animation and what’s live action. Robin Williams is one of the main highlights of the film, especially as Latin penguin Ramon, whoever doesn’t laugh during his rendition of “My Way” is heartless in my book.
1. Half Nelson-The number one film of my 2006 was the little indie film “Half Nelson.” Starring Ryan Gosling as an inner city teacher addicted to cocaine, this film has a lot of heart and a truly touching story. Watching Gosling’s character Dan Dunne spiral out of control due to not only his drug addiction, but his idea that he can’t make a difference, is a performance worthy of an Oscar. Newcomer Shareeka Epps is also brilliant as the student who discovers Dunne’s addiction. As the two become connected by this secret, the line between teacher and student becomes blurred, and comes together to make a film that everybody should see.
So yes “Half Nelson” is the must see film of 2006. But there were five movies worthy of an honorable mention, they were: “Down in the Valley,” “Scoop,” “Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan,” “The Quiet,” “The Libertine.”
Links
Thank You for Smoking
Mini’s First Time
The Departed
Hollywoodland
Happy Feet
Half Nelson
Sunday, December 31, 2006
Thursday, December 28, 2006
"Alpha Dog:" From the Courtroom to the Screen
In researching movies, or just following the goings-on of the film world, there is always a time when you see a movie’s release and say “Hey wasn’t that movie already out or supposed to come out?” Movies usually get their release dates pushed if special effects aren’t finished, as seen with the film “Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow,” or if the movie isn’t good as seen by the supposed rumblings coming from the Karl Urban movie “Pathfinder.” That movie has gone to many bad test screenings causing the film’s release to be pushed till April. Then there is the special movie that has extenuating circumstances, a specific reason why it hasn’t been released, so goes the story of the film “Alpha Dog.”
“Alpha Dog” stars Emile Hirsch, Justin Timberlake and Ben Foster. The film revolves around local drug dealer Johnny Truelove played by Hirsch. Truelove lives in the suburbs of LA with his motley crew of friends including a friend played by Timberlake. When local client Jake Mazursky (Foster) can’t pay Truelove back, the gang decides to kidnap Jack’s brother Zack. After showing Zack the life of excess that the teens live, it becomes apparent to Truelove and his group that they have a problem. How the kids go about getting rid of Zack becomes the crux of this thriller.
Now a lot of comparisons have been made between this movie and the dark comedy “The Chumscrubber.” How this actually differs is that “Alpha Dog” is a true story, revolving around a true case that shocked California. Due to recent events, the story of “Alpha Dog” will hit the big screen January 12th 2007, a whole three years after it was filmed.
Now the actual story behind “Alpha Dog” revolves around drug dealer Jesse James Hollywood and his kidnapping of Nick Markowitz. Now trying not to go into details is difficult and it will subsequently ruin the movie. Suffice to say that Hollywood was finally arrested for his actions in 2005. Now while events and names have been changed this movie has faced a long uphill battle to make it to the screen.
Originally director Nick Cassavetes, director of “The Notebook,” had to reshoot the ending of the film to reflect Hollywood being arrested. Then Cassavetes was subpoenaed after it was revealed he had access to actual court documents. An injunction, trying to bar the film’s release, was ultimately rejected but the court proceedings kept pushing the film’s release. If one looks at the official Alpha Dog website, you can find in the “Making Of” section no mention whatsoever about the court proceedings or the real story behind the film. This could be because of the ongoing litigation with Hollywood.
Now three years is a long time between filming. Usually fans give up hope of the movie being released or end up not seeing it in theaters. This is not the case with “Alpha Dog,” a large group of fans actively promoted and talked about this film on the IMDB.com message boards. Production people close to the film, even director Cassavetes was on IMDB talking to fan and discussing the progress of the film. A large campaign of fans could be good for the movie, to actively promote. Having the director talk to fans to keep them in the know is also showing how much help this film needs.
In the end, how “Alpha Dog” does in theaters is all based on word of mouth, since the movie was made so long ago. Check out the film January 12th, a movie that has this much controversy around it has to have something special, don’t you think?
Links
Larry has promoted this film extensivly since it's start
“Alpha Dog” stars Emile Hirsch, Justin Timberlake and Ben Foster. The film revolves around local drug dealer Johnny Truelove played by Hirsch. Truelove lives in the suburbs of LA with his motley crew of friends including a friend played by Timberlake. When local client Jake Mazursky (Foster) can’t pay Truelove back, the gang decides to kidnap Jack’s brother Zack. After showing Zack the life of excess that the teens live, it becomes apparent to Truelove and his group that they have a problem. How the kids go about getting rid of Zack becomes the crux of this thriller.
Now a lot of comparisons have been made between this movie and the dark comedy “The Chumscrubber.” How this actually differs is that “Alpha Dog” is a true story, revolving around a true case that shocked California. Due to recent events, the story of “Alpha Dog” will hit the big screen January 12th 2007, a whole three years after it was filmed.
Now the actual story behind “Alpha Dog” revolves around drug dealer Jesse James Hollywood and his kidnapping of Nick Markowitz. Now trying not to go into details is difficult and it will subsequently ruin the movie. Suffice to say that Hollywood was finally arrested for his actions in 2005. Now while events and names have been changed this movie has faced a long uphill battle to make it to the screen.
Originally director Nick Cassavetes, director of “The Notebook,” had to reshoot the ending of the film to reflect Hollywood being arrested. Then Cassavetes was subpoenaed after it was revealed he had access to actual court documents. An injunction, trying to bar the film’s release, was ultimately rejected but the court proceedings kept pushing the film’s release. If one looks at the official Alpha Dog website, you can find in the “Making Of” section no mention whatsoever about the court proceedings or the real story behind the film. This could be because of the ongoing litigation with Hollywood.
Now three years is a long time between filming. Usually fans give up hope of the movie being released or end up not seeing it in theaters. This is not the case with “Alpha Dog,” a large group of fans actively promoted and talked about this film on the IMDB.com message boards. Production people close to the film, even director Cassavetes was on IMDB talking to fan and discussing the progress of the film. A large campaign of fans could be good for the movie, to actively promote. Having the director talk to fans to keep them in the know is also showing how much help this film needs.
In the end, how “Alpha Dog” does in theaters is all based on word of mouth, since the movie was made so long ago. Check out the film January 12th, a movie that has this much controversy around it has to have something special, don’t you think?
Links
Larry has promoted this film extensivly since it's start
Thursday, December 21, 2006
MySpace at the Movies
How many people have a least one movie or movie character’s profile on their friends list? I know I have the whole cast of characters from the recently released film “John Tucker Must Die” and the entire cast from “Clerks 2” on my MySpace. It seems that the easiest way to promote your teen oriented films nowadays is to create a giant MySpace campaign.
MySpace profiles have popped up in the last year for virtually any and all movies coming to theaters. Indie films such as the Dixie Chicks documentary “Shut Up and Sing” has a MySpace, along with the horror franchise of “Saw” movies. MySpace profiles, in some cases, have become the “official websites” of a particular film, such as the New Line teen thriller “The Invisible.”
How many people have signed up for MySpace’s “Black Carpet” project? This is where you, along with a printout of your MySpace profile, are eligible to get into free movie screenings. This recently happened to great acclaim with the movies “Borat” and “Tenacious D and the Pick of Destiny.”
Other recent ways movies, conjoined with MySpace, are getting awareness out is through contests. I entered a contest for the film “Marie Antoinette” where I had to use pre-approved images and layouts to create the best “Marie” themed profile in order to win a shopping spree. While I didn’t win, that profile stayed up for a good month, allowing me to slowly absorb the fact that the movie was coming, and showing everybody who visited my site that the movie was coming as well.
And this is where the brilliance from this type of marketing comes from. Thousands of teens visit MySpace every second. Ask any movie promoter and they’ll probably say that the core demographic in terms of movie viewer ship is 16-25 and mostly female. Last August, a hard core campaign for the dance movie “Step Up” played out on MySpace. Not only did this allow the movie to become number one at the box office, something that none of the box office predictors counted on, but made thousands more aware of the film. Little known films such as “Shut up and Sing” have gathered awareness through grassroots MySpace campaigns.
It is also incredibly easy to promote a movie yourself. I know my MySpace profile has become an unintentional Mecca to the movie “The Invisible.” For those who don’t know, this film is a teen thriller starring “War of the Worlds” actor Justin Chatwin. After he’s attacked and left for dead, his body is in limbo and he must solve his own attempted murder before he dies himself. Now after seeing this film in theaters I knew I wanted to see it. Without my knowing it I have unintentionally made every person in my friends list, all ninety four of them, aware that this movie comes out January 26th.
How exactly did I pull this off? I have the movie’s profile on my Top Friends list; I have the trailer on my page along with a music video from the band Sparta cut with clips to the film. This is how easy it is to get viral marketing out to thousands of people. Any person who visits my page will now be inundated with info about this movie.
Fans can do this anytime they want, you don’t necessarily have to make a page in the name of the film. If you like a particular film, you can simply stick the movie’s poster on your page, or link to the trailer. With this type of marketing true dogs such as “Little Man” can become number two at the box office, something that actually happened with the help of MySpace. Or you can become like me and become obsessed with a film and hope that one day New Line will acknowledge how you helped make their movie number one…hint, hint.
Links to check out
The John Tucker profile
Clerks II profile
Shut up and Sing profile
Saw 2 profile
The Invisible profile
Step Up profile
Little Man profile
My "Invisible"-ed profile
MySpace profiles have popped up in the last year for virtually any and all movies coming to theaters. Indie films such as the Dixie Chicks documentary “Shut Up and Sing” has a MySpace, along with the horror franchise of “Saw” movies. MySpace profiles, in some cases, have become the “official websites” of a particular film, such as the New Line teen thriller “The Invisible.”
How many people have signed up for MySpace’s “Black Carpet” project? This is where you, along with a printout of your MySpace profile, are eligible to get into free movie screenings. This recently happened to great acclaim with the movies “Borat” and “Tenacious D and the Pick of Destiny.”
Other recent ways movies, conjoined with MySpace, are getting awareness out is through contests. I entered a contest for the film “Marie Antoinette” where I had to use pre-approved images and layouts to create the best “Marie” themed profile in order to win a shopping spree. While I didn’t win, that profile stayed up for a good month, allowing me to slowly absorb the fact that the movie was coming, and showing everybody who visited my site that the movie was coming as well.
And this is where the brilliance from this type of marketing comes from. Thousands of teens visit MySpace every second. Ask any movie promoter and they’ll probably say that the core demographic in terms of movie viewer ship is 16-25 and mostly female. Last August, a hard core campaign for the dance movie “Step Up” played out on MySpace. Not only did this allow the movie to become number one at the box office, something that none of the box office predictors counted on, but made thousands more aware of the film. Little known films such as “Shut up and Sing” have gathered awareness through grassroots MySpace campaigns.
It is also incredibly easy to promote a movie yourself. I know my MySpace profile has become an unintentional Mecca to the movie “The Invisible.” For those who don’t know, this film is a teen thriller starring “War of the Worlds” actor Justin Chatwin. After he’s attacked and left for dead, his body is in limbo and he must solve his own attempted murder before he dies himself. Now after seeing this film in theaters I knew I wanted to see it. Without my knowing it I have unintentionally made every person in my friends list, all ninety four of them, aware that this movie comes out January 26th.
How exactly did I pull this off? I have the movie’s profile on my Top Friends list; I have the trailer on my page along with a music video from the band Sparta cut with clips to the film. This is how easy it is to get viral marketing out to thousands of people. Any person who visits my page will now be inundated with info about this movie.
Fans can do this anytime they want, you don’t necessarily have to make a page in the name of the film. If you like a particular film, you can simply stick the movie’s poster on your page, or link to the trailer. With this type of marketing true dogs such as “Little Man” can become number two at the box office, something that actually happened with the help of MySpace. Or you can become like me and become obsessed with a film and hope that one day New Line will acknowledge how you helped make their movie number one…hint, hint.
Links to check out
The John Tucker profile
Clerks II profile
Shut up and Sing profile
Saw 2 profile
The Invisible profile
Step Up profile
Little Man profile
My "Invisible"-ed profile
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
Protecting your MySpace from phishing..
Good day! One of the reasons MySpace has been so successful is the ability for users to customize their pages. Granted, in order to customize your page, you need codes and sometimes back doors to change it drastically, but it's still something that drives MySpace usage. Recently, a friend of mine completely redid her page, changing her layout (including background, divs, text and more,) and it looked absolutely amazing. There was just one little problem when I checked out her page: all of the links on the page were changed to phishing links.
Before going further, I'll define phishing since the term isn't overly abound. Phishing is when links are changed to websites that try to steal your data, be it your password, your E-mail, personal information like social security numbers, credit card numbers or something else. Usually these sites will make mock-ups of other sites in order to trick users into thinking that it's still that site. Many phishing sites phish on MySpace by creating MySpace login look-alike pages. These pages closely resemble where you'd type your login E-mail and your password, and they're highly successful because MySpace users simply aren't educated about phishing.
Whenever you visit one of the MySpace layout websites, you're sure to find numerous pre-made layouts. These layouts look superb and professional, and are very attractive to users are looking for the newest, most fashionable layout for their page. Usually associated with these are numerous links to the site where you obtained the layout, often at the top left corner of your page, but as well there can be some extra baggage, such as phishing links. These links are there to trick people into hitting them and logging in (a repeat occurrence is that the top links to home, browse, search, etc. will be phishing links.) Your friends are at risk of having their information stolen if you leave the links like that.
So, how do you protect yourself and your friends from phishing on MySpace? If you use pre-made layouts, check all of the links on your page to see if they lead to a site that is NOT MySpace, even though it might look like it. Check the address bar; if the URL does not contain myspace.com, it is likely a phishing site. If these links are on your page, ask a knowledgeable friend to make you a profile or find a different layout and test that one as well. Also, phishing comes in the form of bulletins that entice you to click a link, such as free laptops, cell phones and more. If those bulletins are being sent from your profile, change your password immediately. If those bulletins are coming from your friends' profiles, advise them to change their password. Don't click any links to sites from bulletins advertising anything free, and tell your friends not to as well.
If you add anything new to your profile that contains links, such as glitter graphics or add-ons like falling text, check your profile to see if any of those links take you to something resembling a phishing website. These can add links around your page to phishing websites, so be sure to check your whole page. Always be on the lookout for suspicious things on your profile, and if your friends have them on theirs, be sure to alert them. The most obvious target for phishers is the populous that is unaware of phishing and won't know the difference. The most important things for you to do to avoid phishing are to know what it is and to be vigilant and to spread that knowledge and vigilance. Feel free, as always, to E-mail me personally with any questions at bluestar42 at gmail DOT com.
Before going further, I'll define phishing since the term isn't overly abound. Phishing is when links are changed to websites that try to steal your data, be it your password, your E-mail, personal information like social security numbers, credit card numbers or something else. Usually these sites will make mock-ups of other sites in order to trick users into thinking that it's still that site. Many phishing sites phish on MySpace by creating MySpace login look-alike pages. These pages closely resemble where you'd type your login E-mail and your password, and they're highly successful because MySpace users simply aren't educated about phishing.
Whenever you visit one of the MySpace layout websites, you're sure to find numerous pre-made layouts. These layouts look superb and professional, and are very attractive to users are looking for the newest, most fashionable layout for their page. Usually associated with these are numerous links to the site where you obtained the layout, often at the top left corner of your page, but as well there can be some extra baggage, such as phishing links. These links are there to trick people into hitting them and logging in (a repeat occurrence is that the top links to home, browse, search, etc. will be phishing links.) Your friends are at risk of having their information stolen if you leave the links like that.
So, how do you protect yourself and your friends from phishing on MySpace? If you use pre-made layouts, check all of the links on your page to see if they lead to a site that is NOT MySpace, even though it might look like it. Check the address bar; if the URL does not contain myspace.com, it is likely a phishing site. If these links are on your page, ask a knowledgeable friend to make you a profile or find a different layout and test that one as well. Also, phishing comes in the form of bulletins that entice you to click a link, such as free laptops, cell phones and more. If those bulletins are being sent from your profile, change your password immediately. If those bulletins are coming from your friends' profiles, advise them to change their password. Don't click any links to sites from bulletins advertising anything free, and tell your friends not to as well.
If you add anything new to your profile that contains links, such as glitter graphics or add-ons like falling text, check your profile to see if any of those links take you to something resembling a phishing website. These can add links around your page to phishing websites, so be sure to check your whole page. Always be on the lookout for suspicious things on your profile, and if your friends have them on theirs, be sure to alert them. The most obvious target for phishers is the populous that is unaware of phishing and won't know the difference. The most important things for you to do to avoid phishing are to know what it is and to be vigilant and to spread that knowledge and vigilance. Feel free, as always, to E-mail me personally with any questions at bluestar42 at gmail DOT com.
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