Charlize Theron is getting good at going the blue-collar route. Theron napalmed her beauty to play a serial killer in “Monster,” earning an Oscar in the process. Her last big assignment, “North Country,” doused her in a soot-covered uniform as she fought off sexist co-workers.
Now, she’s poured into a pair of two-tone jeans for “Sleepwalking,” a neglected indie released July 8 on DVD. Theron plays Joleen, a single mom with no money or job prospects but plenty of moxie. She drops in, unannounced, on her brother, James (Nick Stahl), when her current beau gets picked up for selling drugs.
But Joleen isn’t long for James’ home. She splits, leaving James to manage her daughter, Tara (AnnaSophia Robb). James can barely make it to work on time each morning, so he’s hardly equipped to handle a petulant teen. Good thing his heart is as pure as Joleen’s is cloudy. He makes do with his limited skills, getting counsel along the way from a fellow worker (Woody Harrelson). James eventually reunites with his vicious father (Dennis Hopper), but the plan is doomed from the start. [click to continue...]
Did anyone really expect 2004’s “Alien vs. Predator” to replicate the chills of either horror franchise? Fans just wanted to see the two best movie creatures of the past 20 years slug it out for 90 minutes.
The film gave us that, and not much more. But it didn’t prove nearly as painful to watch as its sequel, “Alien vs. Predator: Requiem.”
My review over at Eclipse Magazine is, if anything, too easy on the film. Hard to remember a movie more excruciating to watch, and I couldn’t even make much sense of it. It’s the darkest films I’ve ever seen. Literally. I could barely detect which creature I was looking at from scene to scene. At least the DVD extras offer some redeemable moments. I can never get enough of the inner workings of movie monsters.
(Photo: “Alien vs. Predator: Requiem” its two great creatures against each other)
“Bull Durham” doesn’t deserve its place in the pantheon of great sports movies - or so I thought for the longest time despite the conventional wisdom.
Then I reviewed the 20th anniversary release of the baseball romance and changed my mind. Totally.
Check out Donne Tempo for the breakdown of the new disk release. The extras, for a change, are worth your while. Creator Ron Shelton hasn’t made a decent flick in a long time - witness the debacle that was “Hollywood Homicide.” But the stars all aligned when he got behind the camera for “Bull Durham.”
(Photo: Tim Robbins and Kevin Costner mix it up on the mound during “Bull Durham.”)
I get why Demi Moore shot to fame in the 1990s. And even if I didn’t, her soul, ahem, baring performance in “Striptease” sealed the deal. To quote Borat, “wha-wha-weewha!”
But she never impressed me as an actress, and when she all but disappeared from the movie scene my eyes didn’t exactly moisten with longing.
She returned earlier this year alongside the incomparable Michael Caine in “Flawless,” a period whodunit. Moore plays a London Diamond Corp. executive who plots revenge against her bosses for giving less talented peers all the promotions.
My Washington Times review from its March release gives much more love to Caine and the story’s sly appeal than Moore’s performance. But you do get to see Moore in some funky old age makeup.
(Photo: Michael Caine plays a janitor with more on his mind than mopping the floor in “Flawless.”)
Charlize Theron is getting good at going the blue-collar route. Theron napalmed her beauty to play a serial killer in “Monster,” earning an Oscar in the process. Her last big assignment, “North Country,” doused her in a soot-covered uniform as she fought off sexist co-workers.
