Reel raw talent

Ever wonder what your favorite directors were up to during film school?
A new DVD package, out last week, helps answer that question. "Reel Talent: First Films by Legendary Directors" cobbles student films from the likes of George Lucas, Robert Zemeckis and James Foley ("Glengarry Glen Ross"). I chatted with Foley for today's piece in The Washington Times.

No boo

Caught Rob Zombie's "Halloween" Thursday night and I didn't have to sleep with the lights on. When I heard a "Halloween" remake was in the works, I figured the best chance for success was for the studio to hire a rising horror auteur like Zombie.

The musician-turned-director (pic on left) comes up very small here, providing zero scares and less than zero thrills. The film begins with Michael Myers' back story, as unnecessary a yarn as we've seen since "Hannibal Rising" told us why our favorite cannibal prefers flesh to burgers. Young Mikey has a jerk for a stepfather, a stripper for a mom and a really bad haircut, all of which transform him into a killing machine.

He's whisked off to a sanitarium after his maiden killing spree, but years later he breaks out and heads back to his home turf. Why? It's not really clear, but so little of "Halloween" makes sense it's not worth trying to decipher. What's obvious is that Zombie has no idea how to scare us. Instead, he falls back on the classic "Halloween" theme (still frightening) and that great mask (still creepy). Everything else is unimaginative slaughter, all of which we see in HD-like detail. Michael would be far more horrifying if we saw him less, or if he jumped out of the shadows now and again. He gets more closeups than a "Desperate Housewives" starlet. We see every move Michael makes in "Halloween," and his poor victims don't stand a chance.

At least they didn't have to suffer through 110 minutes of a creatively blasphemous remake.

Owen Wilson and journalism

This might be a bit too inside baseball for non-reporters, but the Society of Professional Journalists' head has some cogent thoughts on actor Owen Wilson's recent suicide attempt.

Here's SPJ President Christine Tatum's blog.

Have the rules changed so much in recent years that anything a public person does is fair game?

The 'Dead' live on

Complain all you want about satellite radio's monthly fees, but when you're stuck in your car for an extended period the price tag seems like a bargain.
That said, I'm not a huge fan of Sirius' one-band channels. For starters, they don't seem to last. Is there still a dedicated Who channel, or was that only in operation to promote their last CD?
But news that a new, Grateful Dead-only channel is coming soon makes sense. Given the group's endless array of concert bootlegs, there could be enough material to program a half dozen channels. You wonder if Sirius will ask fans to send in their own recordings to make the channel a communal experience.
For the latest details on Dead radio, check out The Daily News's story.

It's hard out here for a 'Snake'

Writer/director Craig Brewer gave us 2005's feel-good pimp drama "Hustle & Flow," but his follow-up barely left a mark on critics or audiences.

That doesn't mean you shouldn't give it a try.

"Black Snake Moan," now out on DVD, follows a blues singer (Samuel L. Jackson, pictured with co-star Christina Ricci) saving the soul of a victimized woman (Ricci) by chaining her to his radiator.

If I've lost you, rent something else this weekend. But if you're intrigued, or at least not scared off by the film's rampant nudity and crude behavior, give it a tumble (as Dennis Miller would say). Brewer's a fascinating fellow. I interviewed him earlier this year for "Moan" and thoroughly enjoyed our chat. He wants to make movies in the same Southern Gothic style as Tennessee Williams. Judge for yourself how close he got with "Moan."

Scott Baio is 45 ... and a star again?

VH1 really has the Midas touch when it comes to fading stars. Scott Baio, he of "Scott Baio is 45 ... and Single" has a hit on his hands with his maiden reality voyage. The show, which concluded its first season on Sunday, has been renewed thanks to solid numbers. Better yet, life is giving Baio a great plot line for season two. He's going to be a daddy!

Talk about life and reality television dovetailing into one another.

You can check out the details here.

The biggest surprise is how intriguing Baio is on the show, no matter how manufactured the character may ultimately be. He's narcissistic and uncaring at times, and he loses his patience quickly. Yet he's bright and he brings a New York cynicism to the show which makes him compelling.

Let's see if he can parlay that into some quality roles in which he isn't playing someone named Scott, Charles or Chachi.

Get well, Owen

We're so used to the latest Britney/Paris/Lindsay news flash that Owen Wilson's suicide attempt over the weekend came straight outta nowhere. We haven't a clue, but we soon will, no doubt, as to why he tried to end his life. Suffice to say he's another celebrity who appeared to "have it all" but clearly doesn't.

I interviewed him for "You, Me and Dupree" and he came off as both erudite and unaffected. That wry blend shines through on screen, no matter the role.

Every 'Dog' has its day

Too bad "Year of the Dog" didn't qualify for that maxim. The Mike White dramedy didn't kick up much of a fuss at the box office, even by indie standards. It's still worth your while, particularly if you've been waiting for Molly Shannon to land a juicy lead role. The erstwhile Mary Catherine Gallagher plays a single woman who loses her precious beagle one day and, little by little, snaps.

The jokes are quiet but powerful, and the ending cuts right through formulaic conventions.

Give it a try - it comes out on DVD today.

This 'Kid's' all right

It's heartbreaking to see movies I watched during my childhood being remade, often with disastrous results (see Tim Burton's "Planet of the Apes" for Exhibit A). But I'm near-giddy about "The Heartbreak Kid." Ben Stiller takes over for Charles Grodin as a man who, on his honeymoon, meets his dream girl. Of course, it's not his wife we're talking about.

It's still a great title for a movie, it's inspired by Neil Simon's 1972 screenplay and the Farrelly brothers are directing. The film hits theaters Oct. 5.

Check out the trailer.

Give Amy some love

Few other institutions have launched as many stars as "Saturday Night Live." Chevy Chase, Bill Murray, Eddie Murphy ... up through Will Ferrell. The well appears to have run dry. A slew of "SNL" regulars like Will Forte and Fred Armisen pop up in films now and again, but none have broken out like Chevy and Eddie did. Andy Samberg's "Hot Rod" proved he may not be ready for the A-list, at least to look at the film's grosses.
Yet the best Not Ready for Prime Time player hasn't had her chance at bat yet, and I can't figure out why.
Amy Poehler is feisty, funny and fearless in her character sketches, and we're still waiting to see her first starring vehicle.
Fans can catch out her formative years Sept. 18 as Comedy Central releases "The Upright Citizens Brigade" seasons one and two on DVD.
Poehler's best bet might come in 2008, when she co-stars with Tina Fey in "Baby Mama."
Until then, we'll have to watch her on the small screen, a medium that can barely contain her talents.

Still 'Super'

The end of summer means no more "one and done" box office leaders. In that spirit, Sony's "Superbad" stayed in the top spot this weekend, earning an estimated $18 million. We already know "Superbad" producer Judd Apatow is the hottest name in comedy right now, but how long before Jonah Hill joins him? Hill drew big laughs earlier this summer in "Knocked Up," and he's front and center in "Superbad." He's rounder than a question mark and hardly your cookie-cutter lead. Yet he brings a certifiable edge to his humor, an anger cut by a keen self-awareness. He knows he doesn't fit the mold but that isn't going to stop him. He's certainly one to watch, even if he isn't first choice for the next GQ magazine cover.

Photo: Jonah Hill, left, along with "Superbad" co-stars Michael Cera (middle) and Christopher Mintz-Plasse (right) - Sony Pictures.

Reality check

Even reality show lovers have standards.
Case in point: the cancellation of a new series following a beauty pageant winner turned news anchor.
Here is the scoop on the one-and-done series.

'Dawn' of the dead

The Mormons take a beating in the new film "September Dawn," which recounts the 1857 Mountain Meadows Massacre. The historical record is incomplete, but we do know a group of Mormons helped slaughter 120 settlers moving through Utah. The film is a better indictment of religious intolerance than it is a bona fide drama, but Jon Voight lends his considerable presence to the proceedings.

Here's my review:

Oh, that Clooney

Caught a sneak peek of "Michael Clayton" this afternoon. It's a new legal drama starring George Clooney as a lawyer who fixes tough cases for his bosses. I'll say no more since I shouldn't post a review before the film bows (Oct. 5) but suffice to say ol' George is doing nearly everything right when it comes to his movie career.
He isn't the best actor on the scene, but he wisely pals around with big talents (like director Steven Soderbergh) and continues to produce, direct and star in challenging fare.
Sure, "Good Night, and Good Luck" didn't measure up to its early notices, and his HBO drama "K Street" was DOA. Still, the guy takes chances. Most actors lucky enough to look like him might have coasted through their 40s with one safe project atop another. Not curious George.

Don't mistreat the Nazis!

Read a bizarre quote from actor-turned-director Peter Berg in Entertainment Weekly about his new film, "The Kingdom."
Berg heard major applause at the tail end of a test screening of the film, which details a military effort to squash a terrorist cell. Rather than count his blessings he cursed his good fortune.

''I was nervous it would be perceived as a jingoistic piece of propaganda, which I certainly didn't intend,'' says the actor- turned-director, hunched over an outdoor table at a shabby Santa Monica coffeehouse. ''I thought, 'Am I experiencing American bloodlust?'''

This link may not work on everyone's systems, but here goes.

Now, I understand if a director didn't want to make a gung-ho movie about the Iraq War. But I'm all for movies allowing audiences a measure of satisfaction as a gaggle of terrorists bites the dust (I'm assuming that's the theme of the sequence in question, but I haven't seen the film yet). Didn't the U.S. use Hollywood to rally the home front during World War II? Were we worried at the time if we were experiencing "American bloodlust" if we cheered as a U.S. actor took down a gaggle of Nazi soldiers? And you could argue said soldiers may have been just following orders, but today's terrorists are the epitome of evil. Can't we celebrate taking a few of them out in a Hollywood fiction without feeling a pang of guilt?

Is all propaganda created equal?

Smug alert

"South Park" served up a brilliant spoof of Hybrid-nation a while back in which the rising tide of hybrid users caused a 'smug' problem over the tiny burb.

Now, Newsday film critic John Anderson trips the same alarm with his review of the eco-documentary "The 11th Hour" --

"But perhaps the guy who never tunes up his sport utility vehicle, never recycles and leaves the water running while he brushes his teeth will actually skip the next Extreme Fighting Championship to watch a Hollywood actor tell him about biodegradable laundry detergent."

Gee, John, perhaps that same guy realizes that most of the celebrities crying about global warming have no qualms with using private jets, which pollute the planet far more than your Joe Sixpack example ever could ...

Think I'm being cranky, please let me know.

For the full review, go here:
http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/movies/ny-etmovie5333683aug17,0,1786967.story

No pods, no glory

The fourth version of Jack Finney's sci-fi novel "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" hits theaters today, its title shortened to "The Invasion."
It's got Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig and not a pod in sight. The updates made to the "Snatchers" formula don't add up to a superior remake - check out my review for more details.

Mad props time!

It always stings when I read a film critic consistently funnier than me, and The New York Post's Kyle Smith is clearly in that circle.

Check out:
http://kylesmithonline.com/

Now, pan down to his "Invasion" review. I haven't read it all ... just the first graph was enough. His blog is prettier than mine, too. But you wait, Mr. Smith. Just you wait ...

'Once' isn't enough

Did you ever see a movie you loved so much you wanted to tell everyone you meet about it? That happened a few weeks back with "Once," a musical drama about an Irish street singer who falls for a married woman. The plot doesn't get more complicated than that, but the gorgeous music and heartfelt performances make it stand out from the summer blockbusters. Not that there's anything wrong with a summer blockbuster, but "Once" offered the perfect counter-programming to "Spider/Shrek/Pirates 3."

I even bribed my parents, who never go to the movies without a court order, to see it. They loved it just like I did.

Fox Searchlight plans to expand the film into more markets soon. If it's at a theater near you, please give it a try.

End of sermon.

No more 'sexy time'

Caught up with an old favorite on DVD yesterday, Brian De Palma's "Dressed to Kill." It proved both better and worse than my memories, but what struck me the most was its sensuality. I felt almost shy watching it, as if I hadn't seen such sequences in films in such a long time. And maybe I haven't. Sexual scenes in mainstream films seem on the wane, if anecdotal memory serves. But in the 1980s ("Dressed to Kill" came out in 1980) such films were far more common - think "Sea of Love," "Nine 1/2 Weeks" and "Fatal Attraction." It begs the question "why?" given we live in a far more sexual culture than ever before ...

Easy on 'Rush'

The Sunday afternoon quarterbacks have spoken. "Rush Hour 3" is a disappointment, earning a mere $50.2 million in its opening weekend.
http://www.deadlinehollywooddaily.com/rush-hour-threequel-wont-top-sequel-bourne-still-delivering-big-ultimatum/
Sure, "Rush Hour 2" earned $67.4 million over its first weekend, but $50 million is no chump change, especially since both stars haven't had a hit in the years since the last "Rush."
Sequels are made because they're easy money, a guaranteed investment in a very iffy market. So the studio behind "Rush Hour 3" should be glad it didn't release an unknown quantity this weekend. Just ask the folks behind "Stardust," which raked in a mere $9 million despite big names like Michelle Pfeiffer and Robert De Niro.
For the breakdown, check out this link:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,293031,00.html

Why no 'Rush?'

Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker are back, but what took them so long? It's the most interesting question surrounding "Rush Hour 3," a pedestrian sequel hitting theaters today that was six years in the making.
For a full examination, check out my review:

http://washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070810/ENTERTAINMENT/108100001/1007

'Super'-hype

This year's "American Pie" plays at a theater near you starting next week.
"Superbad" stars three outcasts who, for one glorious night, rule their high school caste system. It's the booze, stupid. The trio promise to bring plenty of alcohol to a crucial party.
For background, check out this CNN article:
http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/Movies/08/08/superbad.ap/index.html

I'll have my review posted Aug. 17, the day "Superbad" opens.

It's official

Thanks to my incredibly learned brother-in-law, http://www.whatwouldtotowatch.com/ is officially launched. This site will soon feature film reviews, blog commentaries, great entertainment links and whatever else I can squeeze into it. I plan on tweaking the design in the days and weeks ahead, so for now please forgive its modest trappings.

If I had a ship and a bottle of bubbly I'd bring the two crashing together.

Tomorrow I'll post my review of "Rush Hour 3" -- six years in the making and under 90 minutes!

Ties that bind

It's obscure recommendation time! The Missus and I watched "Familia," a Canadian drama about family dysfunction, this weekend. This film festival fave came out in 2005 but just recently hit DVD shelves. A single mom/aerobics instructor/gambling addict moves in with an old friend and promptly swindles her host out of money and quite a bit more. It's a terrific yarn, brimming with elite performances and a nastiness which rings oh, so true. A few flaws keep it from a perfect score, but if you're stuck for a rental one evening, give "Familia" a try.

'Mad' correction

Who says journalists are infallible? OK, no one says that, at least not these days.
Anyway, AMC's "Mad Men" is not the channel's first attempt at an original series. A friend tipped me off to "Remember WENN," a series AMC launched in 1996 about a Pittsburgh radio station.
I stand, or type, corrected.

The Toto Times

Busy day for me in print. I've got two film reviews in The Washington Times and two small features - one on Alfred Molina, a first-class character actor, and another on a snarky new film out on DVD.

Check 'em out here:

Molina and genetics:
http://washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070803/ENTERTAINMENT/108030032/1007

Cashback -- go to page 2 for my content
http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070803/ENTERTAINMENT/108030031/1007

The Bourne Ultimatum
http://washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070803/ENTERTAINMENT/108030030/1007

The Ten
http://washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070803/ENTERTAINMENT/108030037/1007

'Mad' recommendation

AMC isn't just for moldy movies anymore.

Or so says the critical community, in full swoon over the channel's first original series "Mad Men." The show delves into the 1960s world of advertising executives, an era when the men swilled booze, smoked up a storm and sold an eager public anything it could. I knew AMC needed a booster shot like this after seeing "classic" movies on the channel's lineup like "Enemy Mine," a 1985 genre piece starring Dennis Quaid.

"Mad Men" airs at 10 p.m. EST on AMC. A friend personally recommended the series, so I intend to check it out ASAP.

My interest in the era was already piqued by "Rally 'Round the Flag, Boys!" an old movie I'm catching up with on DVD. Paul Newman, so terribly young and dapper, stars as a family man who can't get any alone time with his wife (Joanne Woodward), so he falls into a trap set by the neighborhood seductress (a curvy but stiff Joan Collins). The 1958 farce has its moments, but I was drawn to the cheery color palette and scenes of the commuters hitting the booze car to drown away their work sorrows.