I'm Grant, Your Random Access Poster

Bring It On 10th Anniversary Screening Recap

2010-07-18T20:49:00.001-07:00

A decade after it was released to a worldwide audience, people are still cheering for Bring It On. The acclaimed movie about two rival cheer squads turned 10 years old and the New Beverly Cinema in Hollywood did its part to bring fans back into the seats to see this witty high school comedy. Adding to the evening was the presence of two of the actors, Clare Kramer and Nicole Bilderback, as well as producer Max Wong and writer Jessica Bendinger. Before the anniversary screening took place the group took photos with fans and some time to answer questions from Ain’t It Cool News, who hosted the event, as well as from the audience, who seemed to thoroughly enjoy every minute.
Most of the questions asked to the group were benign, however, brought up some interesting answers such as who was Bendinger’s first choice to play Torrence, played by Kirsten Dunst in the film, to which she replied, laughing “Gwen Stefani”. Bendinger recalled pitching the story twenty-seven times to executives before finally getting the green light from Beacon Communications for a film called Cheer Fever, which was ultimately changed to Bring It On. The two actors present spent most of the discussion recalling what it was like to be on such a good natured set with so many fun people and just how much hard work cheerleading really was. One thing brought up, on several occasions, was that the only times the group saw the films executives was when the cast was wearing as little clothes as possible and that a request came in to reshoot the carwash scene again after a reel was already in the can. The largely male audience at the theater understood why, yet laughed along with everyone else at the absurdity of it all.
While the interesting, albeit blasé, questioning went on, it was an audience member in the front row that changed the tone for a bit when she brought up the number of straight to DVD sequels that have come in the wake of the original film. While the topic seemed to catch the group off guard, Jessica stated simply that none of them saw any money from those films, showing that they had zero collaboration on the sequels to the film that brought them into the limelight. The discussion ended with a reading of a letter written by the movie’s director Peyton Reed, who was unable to attend due to a family wedding on the east coast. The letter was overall lighthearted, even poking fun at the many straight to DVD sequels, and in the end, had us all send our good vibes in the form of spirit fingers, to which the audience gleefully agreed.
As the film began to roll most, like myself, were taken back ten years to when we first saw the film in theaters, and a few, like my friend Will, were seeing the film for the first time. Either way, it was enjoyed by all in attendance, who clapped as though they were in the stands with everyone else watching the cheer take place on a field in front of them. When the credits finally rolled around 2am, the audience stood and cheered once more for Bring It On.

2009 in Films

2010-01-17T01:32:00.000-08:00

So as award season gets underway with the Golden Globes later tonight and the Oscars in a month and a half, I felt it necessary to throw my two cents your way. These are my favorites, not the ones I think will win, though if it were up to me they would. I didn't see all the movies out last year so if you feel something else should be on here let me know and maybe I'll make my way to add it to my Netflix queue.

Top Movies

1. The Hurt Locker
2. Invictus
3. Inglorious Basterds
4. Fantastic Mr. Fox
5. The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus

Best Actor

1. Morgan Freeman (Invictus)

2. Christoph Waltz (Inglorious Basterds)

3. Jamie Foxx (The Soloist)

4. Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker)

5. George Clooney (Up In The Air)

Bonus: Jackie Earle Haley (Watchmen)

Best Actress

1. Diane Kruger (Inglorious Basterds)

2. Rachel Weisz (Brothers Bloom)

3. Anna Kendrick (Up In The Air)

4. Maya Rudolph (Away We Go)

5. Emily Blunt (Sunshine Cleaning)

Best Animated

1. Fantastic Mr. Fox (sorry for the repeat but it's amazing)

2. Coraline

3. Up

4. Monsters vs. Aliens

Other Great Movies (in basic order of release)
Taken
Coraline
Fanboys

Watchmen

Sunshine Cleaning

I Love You, Man

Monsters vs. Aliens

The Soloist

Star Trek

Brothers Bloom

Drag Me To Hell

The Hangover

Land of the Lost

Away We Go

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

District 9

Halloween II

Paranormal Activity

Zombieland

Law Abiding Citizen

Where The Wild Things Are

Boondock Saints II: All Saint's Day

The Men Who Stare At Goats

Up In The Air

Avatar

Sherlock Holmes

50 Favorite Movies

2009-09-15T02:00:00.000-07:00

Here is an unorganized list of my 50 Favorite Movies. Feel free to mock and chastise or praise and herald as you wish.

Big Fish
Independence Day
Brothers Bloom
Armageddon
Star Wars: Empire Strikes Back
Gladiator
The Matrix
Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou
Rushmore
Night Watch
Across The Universe
Full Metal Jacket
The Nightmare Before Christmas
A Very Long Engagement
Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy
The Devil's Advocate
Dogma
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
Guys And Dolls
Amadeus
Inglorious Basterds
Forrest Gump
About A Boy
Iron Man
The Dark Knight
Sunshine
The Patriot
Rent
Stranger Than Fiction
The Lion King
Repo! The Genetic Opera
Men Of Honor
Boondock Saints
Rock Star
Apollo 13
Garden State
Let The Right One In
Gone Baby Gone
Finding Neverland
The Crow
Harry Potter And The Half Blood Prince
The Hurt Locker
Step Brothers
Amazing Grace
October Sky
Shaun Of The Dead
Constantine
The Usual Suspects
The Assassination Of Jessie James By The Coward Robert Ford
Dear Zachary: A Letter To A Son About His Father

2009 a good year for movies?

2009-07-13T03:15:00.000-07:00

So I've been totally behind on writing on this thing but here goes.

2009 has been one of the better years for movies in the past decade or so. Mind you, last year we had Iron Man and The Dark Knight. However, the year on a whole wasn't spectacular.

Here's my evidence as I see it. (Skipping the bad ones of course)

Movies that have been released:

Taken
Watchmen
Sunshine Cleaning
I Love You, Man
The Soloist
Star Trek
The Brothers Bloom
Drag Me To Hell
The Hangover
Land of the Lost
Transfomers: Revenge of the Fallen
Bruno

Movies I'm Looking Forward to Seeing In Theaters:
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
District 9
Inglorious Basterds
Halloween 2
9
Whiteout
Shutter Island
Funny People
Where The Wild Things Are
Saw 6
2012
Brothers
Fantastic Mr. Fox
Sherlock Holmes

Movies That Came Out or Are Coming Out That I Want to See on DVD:
The Unborn
Phoebe In Wonderland
The Last House On The Left
The Great Buck Howard
State of Play
Management
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian
Terminator Salvation
Away We Go
Moon
The Hurt Locker
500 Days of Summer
The Time Traveler's Wife
Surrogates
Couples Retreat
Antichrist
Planet 51

Disappointments This Year:
Knowing
X-Men Origins: Wolverine
Angels & Demons
Up
Public Enemies

I Know I'll get some flack for the disappointments, except for Knowing....it was just that bad. But remember these are just my opinions. Official thoughts on some of the films I've seen this year will be coming shortly.

Podcast #3

2009-03-01T01:34:00.000-08:00

A Week Late, But Not Sweating It

This is our third podcast. We discuss lots of random things. Enjoy!

Intro Song is "Painted By Numbers" by The Sounds

Beer Pong Table Pictures Link...

Saddest Picture Ever Link...

Follow both of us around the net....

Grant
http://buddygrant21.blogspot.com
http://twitter.com/granttoneck

Will
http://ptownsuperman.blogspot.com/
http://twitter.com/ptownsuperman

Podcast #2

2009-02-21T01:54:00.000-08:00

Throwing Darts For Burgers

This is our second cast. We discuss our Oscar picks. Enjoy!

Oscar Link...

Intro Music is "Made For TV Movie" by Incubus

Follow both of us around the net....

Grant
http://buddygrant21.blogspot.com
http://twitter.com/granttoneck

Will
http://ptownsuperman.blogspot.com/
http://twitter.com/ptownsuperman

Garden State Outtakes....by Will Green

2009-02-19T17:44:00.000-08:00

This was the outtakes from Will's Garden State project. Random and totally late....but here it is.

I'll link to the actual video when he gets it on his blog.

Podcast #1

2009-01-11T19:54:00.000-08:00

So Will and I finally got done with our first podcast. Being as it is too difficult for someone with as little web knowledge as I have to actually get the podcast up on iTunes, the podcast will be showing up on each of our blogger accounts. This is our first cast, so it's a little rough around the edges, but we're hoping for improvement soon. Enjoy!

BS From The Second Story Balcony: Introductions

Frost/Nixon

2009-01-06T18:03:00.000-08:00

Batman had the Joker. Ali had Joe Fraser. And Nixon had his Frost.

In all of these scenarios, our Hero is met by a Villain. Each presents his side and asks the audience to root on one of them. Never before on film is a battle so magically portrayed as it is in Frost/Nixon.

The story follows the interviews led by David Frost (Michael Sheen, who played this role in its Broadway run) of ex-President Richard Nixon (Frank Langella, who also comprised this role on Broadway). The film is a, now considered long, two hour epic of a battle that takes place in the living room of a Republican man fond of Nixon. This battle, not on of swords and guns, but of words and intellect, is a sight for sore eyes, ready for a new kind of movie. These two duke it out harder than Rocky and Apollo, and in the end all you want is more. After seeing this movie, I felt compelled to seek out more information about these two, both character and performer, to learn where such acting came from and where such a story took place.

I could bore you with the semantics of it all, where each person was from, what they spent their life building up to this role, both in real life and on film. Instead, I will pull this film up to the pedestal it belongs on. Frost/Nixon IS what a movie is supposed to be. I feel that Michael Sheen's performance will get him an Oscar Nomination, and gets him dreadfully close to Sean Penn, who in my eyes is the front runner after his performance in Milk. Now the challenge becomes, who gets the Supporting Actor nod in this film.

As with most films, the other actor who is on screen most will get this, in this case Frank Langella (Nixon), but this is where I come to a crossroad. The performances given by the slew of supporting cast give each of them a chance at this. Now I am uncertain as to how this category is nominated and awarded, however, if it is similar to the Original Song category and one can have several nominees from a single film, here would be my push. Nominate Frank Langella, Sam Rockwell, and Kevin Bacon for this category. Each of them gives a standout performance in this movie. While Kevin Bacon is a shade off his role as the lead in The Woodsman, his ability to portray the chaos of being Nixon's go-to guy post-Presidency is hard to miss. Sam Rockwell also gives a shining performance as author James Reston Jr., who pushes to delve deeper into the "betrayal of the American people" by Mr. Nixon.

The obvious choice, however, is Frank Langella. His performance gives all those pushing for a post-humonous Oscar bid for Heath Ledger, including me, a run for their money. I can honestly say that no character that I have seen in recent years has had me feeling truly sorry for the bad guy more than Langella does with Nixon. His range of emotion, from anger to almost childish antics to sadness that seats you next to Nixon on the roller coaster he was on. His ability to show us all that people do bad things, and honestly feel sorry for the mistakes they've made, tears at your insides as Nixon is reduced to a child clinging to a blanket for security. All-in-all, this film is a must see, a force to be reckoned with, and proof that Ron Howard just keeps directing better and better films.

Best Poster I've Seen In A While

2008-12-03T08:11:00.001-08:00

Oscars

2008-11-24T09:26:00.000-08:00

There is already a massive amount of hype leading into this coming years Academy Awards. It's been fun listening to what people think about the various movies that they've seen. So I've decided to let you know what I think about the 6 main categories. I'm only putting up people and movies that I've actually seen. They are, for the most part, in the order I think they have a chance of winning.

Best Supporting Actress
- Penelope Cruz (Vicky Christina Barcelona)
- Evan Rachel Wood (The Wrestler)

Best Supporting Actor
- Heath Ledger (The Dark Knight)
- Frank Langella (Frost/Nixon)
- Haaz Sleiman (The Visitor)
- Barry Pepper (Seven Pounds)
- Robert Downey Jr. (Charlie Bartlett)

Best Actress
- Kate Winslett (Revolutionary Road)
- Marissa Tomei (The Wrestler)
- Cate Blanchett (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)
- Rebecca Hall (Vicky Christina Barcelona)
- Rosario Dawson (Seven Pounds)

Best Actor
- Sean Penn (Milk)
- Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler)
- Leonardo DeCaprio (Revolutionary Road)
- Michael Sheen (Frost/Nixon)
- Richard Jenkins (The Visitor)

Best Director
- Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight)
- Ron Howard (Frost/Nixon)
- Darren Aronofsky (The Wrestler)
- Clint Eastwood (Gran Torino)
- Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire)

Best Film
- Frost/Nixon
- The Wrestler
- Gran Torino
- Milk
- The Dark Knight

The hardest part about this is choosing where I think the roles of people put them in terms of categories. Michael Sheen and Frank Langella both are the stars of Frost/Nixon, so where to put them in terms of Actor/Supporting Actor? That becomes the true question.

Here's some posters for you.

Gone Baby Gone

2008-10-04T15:07:00.000-07:00

I have decided of late that this is my new favorite movie. I'm going to list the reasons here but let me preface that this will contain spoilers about the movie. SO, if you haven't seen it.....go see it now. It is phenomenal.

My previous favorite movies have included Independence Day, Armageddon, Finding Neverland, Big Fish, The Dark Knight, Men of Honor, Gladiator, etc. The list could go on. While all is amazing in its own right, each of them lack a single factor. That is the connection to today. The first few all deal with fictional characters in fictional places. Men of Honor and Gladiator have no real relevance to what is going on in the world today. While we still face the lasting effects of racism in the US, it is no where near the point it was at 40 years ago when the movie took place. Obviously Gladiator takes place back in the time of Caeser and really no relation to today.

Gone Baby Gone has the same great acting, story, and plot twists as the afore mentioned movies and deals with something poignent to today. The idea of having a child stolen from you is beyond imagination. For most of us who do not have a child of our own, we pass the notion off as something that others have to deal with that is really sad. We feel bad for them and try our best to be sympathetic. What, now, if the child was stolen from a crack laden mother, who's focus in life is not the well being of her child, but money, greed, and drugs? Do we deal with that situation any differently? This movie deals with that very point. Casey Affleck plays a private investigator who is faced with that very question.

As the movie plays out, he learns more and more about the family of the child and even the people involved with the case. Ed Harris plays a member of a special forces group that deals with drug runners and others. Morgan Freeman plays the head of a special group that deals directly with child abductions, being the father of an abducted and murdered child himself. Michelle Monaghan plays the wife of Casey Affleck. Each has their role to play in this honestly conveluted film.

We first learn about the family of the child. Mother is a drug addict, doesn't really care about anything else. Uncle and Aunt both are the real care providers for the daughter. Then they introduce Morgan Freeman, who lost his child to kidnapping and murder. Ed Harris is introduced as the guy who will do anything for a child. Scene is set.

Without getting into all the details, assuming that you have seen this movie, the film plays out and we learn that the Uncle and Ed Harris kidnapped the child to gain some money but when the who idea gets too far out of hand, they turn to Morgan Freeman, the childless father. He agrees to take the child in and play out as though the child were dead. Mother moves on, sad, but moves on. Ed Harris dies, revealing the plan. And Casey is left with the quest of dealing with the ultimate question on the table. What do you do? Do you return the child to the mother that seems to have no real interest in being a mother? Or do you leave the child with the father of a slain child, who has the world to offer?

I have seen this movie several times now and can honestly say that I cannot decide which side I agree with more. Both have their arguments and both sides argue them well. While the child may go home to squaller with her mother, ITS HER MOTHER! Plain and simple, the connection with a childs mother, however strained is something that is stronger than anyone can sever. There is also the notion of law. Morgan Freeman (et al) are breaking the law. No matter which way you spin it, there is no way around that fact. However, the opportunities offered by Morgan Freemans character far surpass anything the mother could offer in a lifetime of effort. And in that the opportunity to have a normal life. Here inlies the question again. What do you do?

So.....What do you do? I'd love feed back on this one. What would you do if faced with the question? Do you turn in Morgan Freeman? Or do you let things slide, move on to the next case?

Into The Wild

2008-04-16T02:24:00.000-07:00

I can't even begin to describe this movie. I felt most every emotion known to man through the two and a half hour movie. But I can honestly say that nothing that has ever been presented on screen has moved me in the way that this movie did. The lost nature of Chris, as he vies to escape the tyranny that he believes surrounds him at home, didn't strike a chord in the way one might imagine. I don't feel about my family, the way that he felt about his, but at the same time I can appreciate the feeling of uneasiness at life askew. Again, I can't really describe in all the details how this movie made me feel, so I'll leave you with this.

"When you forgive, you love. And when you love, God's light shines down upon you."

G'Night all. God Bless

--Another Lost Boy

Funny Games

2008-03-30T22:48:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I went to go see this movie tonight called Funny Games. This was one of the most sadistic, psycho, and warped movies that I have ever seen. However, I rather enjoyed it. Here's why.

The overall movie premise is simple. Family goes on vacation, family is introduced to two boys, said two boys mess with and kill family. While that storyline in itself is nothing to gawk at, the way that this film plays out is. The realistic nature of what happens is scary at times. All of the actors did an amazing job depicting real fear and real lack of compassion that each of them would feel. The way that things pan out, like Naomi Watts hiding behind a tree at the sight of a car, was exactly what I would have done in that situation. Also, the movie is self aware in a way. The main character Peter talks to the audience several times and makes reference to the fact that we, as the audience, want to see a plausible outcome, good plot and such. There is also a conversation near the end of the movie where they are actually discussing whether or not the fact that we just sat and watched the movie makes what happened on the screen real. Very bizarre film.

The fact that this sort of thing could actually happen in real life was the thing that messed me up the most about this movie. I read a few reviews of Funny Games before going and seeing it and something I saw in several was that they were concerned about people that would copy what they saw. I somewhat agree with that fear. While the relative ease with which they pull off this heinous act is not so plausible in the real world, the lack of compassion for any life is sadly real. There are people out there who could do exactly what this film is showing and feel casual about doing so.

Overall throughout the movie I did feel a bit queasy and angry, but I also laughed. Honestly it isn't called "Funny" Games without cause. The banter between Paul and Peter is humorous at times. The games part refers to the bet that they make with the family at the beginning... "We bet that you won't be alive in twelve hours and you bet that you will." And I agree that it is not a funny game.

If you go into this movie knowing what is generally going to happen, and expect that to happen, this is a decent film. If you have ever walked out of a film, any film, don't see this. I can't tell you how many reviews I read where the person said that they walked out of the movie because of the sadistic nature of what they saw. Actually there were only two, but then again I only read about ten reviews. I wouldn't consciously recommend this film to anyone unless they have a real appreciation for direction and cinematography and can stomach watching what is basically torture for about an hour or so. In my opinion this was an great film that was led by excellent direction and played out by superb acting.