Reel Reviews

Academy Award Nominees for Best Feature Film

2009-03-22T13:43:00.000-07:00

Opening in Theaters Friday, Feb. 13, 2009

2009-03-22T13:38:00.000-07:00

The Thin Red Line: Movie, DVD Review (2009)

2009-03-18T07:41:00.000-07:00

Editor's note: Consider adding this to your Netflix queue.

“The Thin Red Line”

Written and directed by Terrence Malick, 166 minutes, rated R.

Terrence Malick’s World War II epic “The Thin Red Line” is a web of paradoxes and ironies. It’s strangely surreal, yet absolutely true to the war it depicts. It features strong performances, yet has no central protagonist. It is beautifully shot, can be terrifically gripping, yet lacks cohesion, flow and emotional impact.

It’s not so much a film about war as it is a film about the effects of war. With clear leanings toward Buddhism, the film is more concerned with the internal landscape (in this case, meditations on the soul, mortality and one’s relationship with God and nature), than with the external landscape (in this case, Guadalcanal). It follows no formula, has no plot, it’s too long by a third and it takes great risks in the name of art--yes, art--which the film finds almost exclusively in nature.

But the film is a curious mess because of its affinity to nature--it gives more time to its lush, rolling hillsides and stunning canopy of sun-lit trees than it does to its non-existent plot or to its characters, none of whom emerge as wholly realized individuals in spite of having been performed by a good cast, including Nick Nolte, Sean Penn, John Cusack and Woody Harrelson.

Unlike "Saving Private Ryan," for instance, in which Spielberg played to his audience because he never fully trusts his audience, Malick never considers his audience because he isn't a crowd-pleaser. He is motivated by the intangible, interested in the deeper truth, focused on the thin red line of complexity, while unafraid to cross that line into the sometimes confusing sphere of paradox.

If none of this sounds as if “The Thin Red Line” is worth seeing, it is. Add it to your Netflix queue. The film has its considerable triumphs, particularly in Malick’s extremely well-choreographed battle sequences, where his thematic elements of Edenic nature vs. mankind clash headlong into surrealism--and gut-wrenching reality.

Grade: B

LOOK: Concept Art for "The Goon"

2009-03-18T07:31:00.000-07:00

David Fincher is in the process of producing a computer-animated feature adaptation of the comic book "The Goon." Above are high-resolution images, which you can supersize by clicking them. I love the artwork here, particularly in how it evokes the 1930s.

Created in 1999, The Goon, “tells the adventures of a muscle-bound brawler who claims to be the primary enforcer for a feared mobster. The Goon and his sidekick Franky often get tied up in other machinations, often in relation to the evil zombie gangs. There is a heavy slant on the paranormal.”

God Help Us All: MacGyver Heads to the Big Screen

2009-03-18T07:30:00.000-07:00

It's true. The Hollywood Reporter is reporting that there will be a big-screen adaptation of the once-popular television series, "MacGyver," which starred Richard Dean Anderson and his mullet.

From the Reporter: "New Line is using twine, bubble gum and a pencil to throw "MacGyver" into development as a feature film.

Raffaella De Laurentiis, daughter of Dino De Laurentiis, is producing through her Raffaella Prods. along with Martha De Laurentiis and series creator Lee Zlotoff.

Dino De Laurentiis is exec producing."

This is the best news ever! Certainly, at the very least, it means more scenes like this one:

WATCH: A Clip from Pixar's "Up."

2009-03-18T07:28:00.001-07:00

This movie just looks better and better.

Watch below to see why. The film opens wide in theaters on May 29, 2009.

LOOK: Two New Photos from Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

2009-03-18T07:26:00.001-07:00

Just click to supersize.

Synopsis: "Voldemort is tightening his grip on both the Muggle and wizarding worlds and Hogwarts is no longer the safe haven it once was. Harry suspects that dangers may even lie within the castle, but Dumbledore is more intent upon preparing him for the final battle that he knows is fast approaching. Together they work to find the key to unlock Voldemort’s defenses and, to this end, Dumbledore recruits his old friend and colleague, the well-connected and unsuspecting bon vivant Professor Horace Slughorn, whom he believes holds crucial information. Meanwhile, the students are under attack from a very different adversary as teenage hormones rage across the ramparts. Harry finds himself more and more drawn to Ginny, but so is Dean Thomas. And Lavender Brown has decided that Ron is the one for her, only she hadn’t counted on Romilda Vane’s chocolates! And then there’s Hermione, simmering with jealously but determined not to show her feelings. As romance blossoms, one student remains aloof. He is determined to make his mark, albeit a dark one. Love is in the air, but tragedy lies ahead and Hogwarts may never be the same again."

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince hits theaters on July 17th 2009.