Garden State Outtakes....by Will Green

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

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

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

Oscars

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

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

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