Thursday, April 30, 2009

To hell with Swine Flu, lets talk movies!

In the last few days, I've been catching up on some much needed shut eye, but while I was sleeping, some amazing stills from films just "woosh!," passed me by! But if you thought I was going to let them get away... you were wrong. Here now, for your enjoyment, is a summary of the stills/posters from the last few days/weeks. 



Thirst


The Vicious Kind


Taking Woodstock


Star Trek


Rudo y Cursi

Paper Heart


The Lovely Bones
Agora

So, are we ready for 2009 yet...

It's about damn time...


that Disney manned up and joined the Hulu phenomenon. What does this mean for all you lucky post-air television consumers?

  • Full-length episodes of ABC primetime programs like Lost, Grey’s Anatomy, Desperate Housewives, Ugly Betty, Samantha Who?, Scrubs, Private Practice and popular late night talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live
  • Full-length episodes of hit ABC Family series like The Secret Life of the American Teenager and Greek
  • Popular series from ABC Daytime and SOAPnet like General Hospital and The View
  • Classic series from ABC’s library like Hope and Faith, Less Than Perfect, Commander in Chief, Who Wants To Be A Millionaire andDancing with the Stars
  • Select hit programs from Disney Channel like Wizards of Waverly Place and Phineas and Ferb which can be easily accessed from a new DISNEY location in the Channel section of Hulu.com
  • Popular library titles from The Walt Disney Studios
  • Short-form content including webisodes, sneak peeks and episode recaps from ABC Entertainment, ABC Family and SOAPnet

  • Yesss! Finally! I was wondering what the hell Disney's problem was.

    (Courtesy of /film)

    Monday, April 27, 2009

    Today I feel like this...

    This Week's Break Out!

    This week it's another double dose of Break Out, mainly stemming from a recent re-watch of Lars and the Real Girl.

    First up is, Paul Schneider!

    As far as I'm concerned, Paul Schneider's been playing the Hollywood game the right way, even if he's a slow mover. He's been loyal to David Gordon Green (made 4 films with him), and he's tiptoed back and forth between comedy and drama, better known as comma. If you're a guy than maybe you sympathized with him in All The Real Girls (as you drooled over Ms. Deschanel). If you're a girl than it's possible you crushed on him as Claire's EMT cherry popper in The Family Stone. If you follow Ryan Gosling than you probably know him as Gus, Lar's older, and considerably more earthbound brother. And finally, if you enjoy The Office, than maybe you've tuned into Amy Poehler's new venture, Parks and Recreation and recognize him as city planner Mark Brendanawicz. In any of these cases, one thing is clear, Schneider has a long term future in this business of Hollywood (even if it's a slow moving one). He's made a name for himself as an indie standby, only further proven by his two upcoming projects, Campion's Bright Star and Mendes' Away We Go. He's got kind of a dark look to him, but is able to counter it by skillfully playing reserved annoyance which, in most cases, is hilarious. In Lars you see him inches away from breaking down into a panicked scream, but he never completely cracks. In Parks, you see him in a similar vein, so close to a breakdown that it's laughable. But it's his uncanny knack for holding back that makes him memorable. It's his restrained emotions and dry humor that draw me back repeatedly. Seeing Lars again reminded me of his subtle appeal, which was only strengthened by watching him take on Brendanawicz. I'm glad to be seeing more of this guy, and I hope the trend continues.

    So be sure to check out his upcoming '09 releases and remember the name, Mark Brendanawicz... sorry, Paul Schneider.



    Part two of this week's Break Out is another Lars and the Real Girl alum, Kelli Garner!

    Garner plays sweet, unassuming, love struck Margo in Lars so well, that it borders on annoying (in fact some of you may disagree and feel she is just plain annoying). But I was impressed with her as Margo, and found myself thinking "if only she were younger and British, she might make for a good Luna Lovegood." Like her Break Out partner Schneider, there's something about Garner that makes me feel like she's a bubble about to pop. And that's when I remembered where I'd seen her before. It was small but memorable role she played in DiCaprio's The Aviator as young wife Faith Domergue. It was there that she played not only the naive and demure actress, but also the out of control jilted wife. She also starred in Thumbsucker, that movie I always get confused with The Chumscrubber, as a sexy co-ed for Justin. I would definitely consider Margo her break out role, but with her part in the upcoming Taking Woodstock, that could all change. I think that Garner is underused, and frequently miscast as the "Lolita" type, a mold she hopefully broke with her church going turn as Margo. She's a girl that I would be genuinely excited to see her next film if only she was given better roles. For now her future looks uncertain, but I for one plan to stick around and watch her get that part that makes people remember her name.

    So look for Break Out Kelli Garner alongside Paul Dano and Demetri Martin in Taking Woodstock!








    Just wanted to add that I saw Half Nelson for the first time last night. It was wonderful, also incredibly uncomfortable. Every single relationship was tainted by something, and I kept holding my breath waiting for the bomb to go off, but it never did. Gosling was entirely deserving of his Oscar nod for the role. He transformed himself into a drug addict and made you loathe him, but simultaneously kept your hope alive that somehow he would make it back from the dark side. Overall the whole experience left me supremely unsettled, but not unsatisfied. Still working out my thoughts. 

    Sunday, April 26, 2009

    From Heavy Weights to Heartbreaks

    Tonight I finally marked one thing off my "to do" list and watched the Chasing Dorota mini webseries, a small spinoff of the ever fabulous Gossip Girl focusing on Blair's Polish maid, Dorota. The mini eps are absolutely adorable and not at all time consuming as they average around 3 minutes each. But the thing that struck me most was how gorgeous Dorota's love interest was, doorman Vanya. Immediately I flew to IMDb to discover the identity of the mystery man, only to be met with a huge surprise...

    So this is Vanya, aka Aaron Schwartz now...


    And this was Aaron in '95.

    That's right, Aaron is probably best known to audiences as lovable rotund Gerry Garner from Heavy Weights (a great summer movie if you haven't seen). I think my jaw actually dropped when I made the connection. Chasing Dorota/Gossip Girl is actually Schwartz' first role since Heavy Weights, leaving me to believe that he spent the last 14 years working out (and making me wonder if he is at all related to series creator Josh Schwartz?). All I can say is, nice job growing up Aaron, and I hope to be seeing  a lot more of you!

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