“Greenberg” Trailer
Noah Baumbach has quietly been putting a unique stamp on Hollywood. After his debut feature, Kicking and Screaming, Baumbach had a few bumps in the road (ahem, Mr. Jealousy) before really finding his way. 2005′s The Squid and the Whale is a fantastic hidden gem in your local Blockbuster or Netflix queue. And Margot at the Wedding, although flawed, has a quiet touch of brilliance.
His next film, Greenberg, seems to be another character driven piece that focuses on the many crossroads in life. I always like Ben Stiller in the thoughtful comedic roles (The Royal Tennenbaums) rather than the thoughtless ones (Night At the Museum).
After careful review, I am adding Greenberg to the 2010 Obsession list. It’s gonna be THAT GOOD.
At a crossroads in his life, Roger Greenberg (Ben Stiller) ends up housesitting at his brother’s home in Los Angeles. There, he strikes up an unlikely friendship with his brother’s assistant Florence (Greta Gerwig), an aspiring singer. Florence and Greenberg’s encounters lead to an uncertain and wonderfully vulnerable courtship.
Release Date: April 16th, 2010
“You Sunk My Career!”
Let’s be honest with ourselves. Although nostalgia creeps in, the game of Battleship really isn’t that fun. It consists of yelling “B2″ or other random coordinates. And your opponent says “miss” or “hit” (I like to include explosion sound effects). That’s it. So when I read that Peter Berg was going to direct Battleship: The Movie, I simply shook my head in disgust.
I really had high hopes for Berg as a director. He burst onto the scene with guns blazing in the hilarious and disturbing Very Bad Things. More recently he had been building up a solid resume with films such as Friday Night Lights and The Kingdom. Then came the dreadful Hancock. And next…Battleship. He’s now just collecting paychecks.
Berg recently spoke about the rough plot of the film. It involves battleships. And aliens. Excited yet?
According to Berg, the aliens are known as The Regents, and will be portrayed by a combination of live actors with CG. They come from a world similar to ours, and aren’t actually looking to take over humanity or the planet Earth. Instead, they’re on a mission to build a power source in the ocean, which is where they come in contact with a navy fleet. The film will also show us both sides of the story—from the aliens’ perspective, as well as the humans.
Of course there will be homages to the board game. So be prepared to cheer when you hear “You sunk my battleship!”
Groan.
Don’t Say I Didn’t Warn You!
When you are on your deathbed, I’m sure you’ll reflect on the many memories in your life. One memory that will haunt you is the 2 hours potentially wasted on Terminator: Salvation. For the past 2 weeks, the DVD release (12/1/09) has been heavily hyped. Bright and shiny flying machines! Explosions! The Terminator Franchise! 2-Disc Directors Cut (Umm, I don’t need anymore McG than necessary, thank you.)
This film is terrible on all levels. I already wasted 2 hours of my life watching the film. I’m not going to waste more time explaining what it’s all about. There really is no plot. The logic makes no sense. And the Terminators aren’t even interesting. That’s an amazing feat to pull off for a Terminator film.
So there’s your warning, which I’m sure you won’t listen to. Don’t be surprised at the stench fuming from your mailbox as you pull out your Terminator: Salvation Netflix rental. And when you watch the film, try to logically figure out why Kyle Reese is not killed within minutes. But I guess that defeats the purpose of the film, you’re not supposed to think.
Just don’t say I didn’t warn you!