Salt

Angelina Jolie is well cast as a CIA operative who has survived torture and imprisonment in North Korea and wound up at a desk job in Washington, D.C. Then an unexpected turn of events impels her to (literally) run for her life.

continue reading on my blog, Leonard Maltin’s Movie Crazy

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Todd McCarthy’s review of “Inception”:

It’s possible that, to even come close to comprehending everything that goes on in the bracingly dense “Inception,” one would need to imitate Leonard Shelby, the protagonist of Christopher Nolan’s second feature, “Memento,” and write everything down. It’s not difficult to understand in a general sense what this gargantuan, immaculately made memory thriller is about. But to confidently grasp exactly what’s happening at any given moment, and to perceive how a particular scene links with the ones that come before and after it, might be possible only for those who pulled a perfect SAT score.

continue reading here: Todd McCarthy’s Deep Focus.

According to the New York Times, “Analysts said that it had always been difficult to interpret Fidel Castro’s motives, and that remains the case. Just why he would make such an appearance now was anybody’s guess.”

Learn more about Fidel Castro’s past political battles and key appearances by watching the documentary film, “Life and Times: Fidel Castro” for free on SnagFilms.com.

Not since last season’s bang-up black-eyed zombie sex-orgy finale have folks gone as gaga as they did in this week’s “9 Crimes” episode, the highlight so far of the new True Blood season. Everybody’s blood is up! And just in time: this show desperately needed some new blood. Enough already with Bill Compton’s Old South, gentlemanly, Twilight-ish yearning for Sookie. Now he’s violently tied down by his controlling vampire ex with the Exorcist-ish revolving head, Lorena, and doing his most brutal deed in 178 years: breaking up with Sookie on the phone. “We fucked like only vampires can,” he coldly tells Sookie, who behaves like somebody named Soakie which was Robert Mapplethorpe’s nickname for Patti Smith, because he made her cry all the time. She should’ve coldly told him, “Shouldn’t that be ‘fucked AS only vampires can,’ you illiterate Civil War hick bastard?”

continue reading on my blog Thompson on Hollywood.

The Ballou Majestic Knights Marching band is located in Anacostia, Washington, D.C., a neighborhood plagued with violence and crime. This area has the lowest median income, the highest unemployment rate, and the highest number of single parent households. With these challenges as the backdrop for their education, students are forced overcome obstacles in order to achieve their graduation. Ballou’s Marching band brings hope to the community.

Band director Mr. Watson, and his volunteer staff have created a safe environment for students to learn and enjoy an education. The marching band has inspired many students to attend college despite their troubled upbringing.

This month, among hundreds of thousands of submitted proposals, Ballou succeeded in entering the Pepsi Refresh project to win 25k for the Knight’s marching band.  The project will empower the economically challenged school with college scholarships, band travel expenses, music accessories, Summer Band Clinics, and screenings of their recent film “Ballou.”  Take a minute out of your day to vote on this initiative and help these students.  You can vote here once a day.

Learn more by watching this extraordinary documentary film on Ballou’s marching band free on SnagFilms.com.

Please Give — Writer-director Nicole Holofcener’s best film to date (following Walking and Talking, Lovely and Amazing, and Friends With Money) perceptively explores middle-class angst with a light touch and a perfect cast: Catherine Keener, Oliver Platt, Amanda Peet, Rebecca Hall, Sarah Steele, and Ann Guilbert as a hilariously sour old woman.

City Island — The year’s most durable sleeper, this word-of-mouth success has lasted in theaters since early spring–no small feat at a time when movies’ expiration dates come faster than ever. (Rodrigo Garcia’s lovely Mother and Child came and went in the blink of an eye.) Raymond De Felitta’s smart, funny film about a dysfunctional family is a genuine original, and showcases Andy Garcia in a surprising and wonderful comedic performance.

Cyrus — Usually, brothers Jay and Mark Duplass make so-called mumblecore films for a minuscule budget, act in them and take turns holding the microphone boom. This time they’ve applied their offbeat sensibilities and improv style to a darkly amusing story with A-list actors: John C. Reilly, Catherine Keener, Jonah Hill, and Marisa Tomei, all of whom hit just the right notes.

Solitary Man — Michael Douglas gives one of his richest performances as a complete and utter louse–yet there’s something magnetic and appealing about the guy. He’s surrounded by a first-rate cast (including Susan Sarandon, Jesse Eisenberg, Jenna Fischer, Mary-Louise Parker, and Danny DeVito) in this sardonic social comedy from Brian Koppelman and David Levien. This is another “little movie that could,” lingering in theaters as word gets around as to how good it is.

The Secret In Their Eyes — The winner of this year’s Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, this Argentinian import layers a story of repressed love and a flashback framework onto a compelling murder mystery. Director and co-screenwriter Juan Jose Campanella has worked in American television, so there’s no navel-gazing here–just good, solid storytelling.

continue reading on my blog, Leonard Maltin’s Movie Crazy.

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Living in our nation’s capital, I am constantly reminded and humbled by how lucky I am to live in the United States.  With at least one monument in view nearly everywhere you are in DC, history is a living presence, and national pride is a consistently re-awakened emotion. But anywhere in America can summon up our patriotism and respect – and remind us that we are constantly challenged to live up to the founders’ broad vision for our nation. Check out these three very unique documentaries over the holiday weekend and journey to all corners of our amazing country…via paragliding or on a two lane road.  Enjoy. Celebrate.  Happy 4th of July weekend America!

Paragliding Across America

Independent America

Off the Grid: Life on the Mesa



Sean Penn in Dorian “Doc” Paskowitz biopic with Surfwise clip and Mark Ruffalo in The Normal Heart and MTV video interview after the jump:

- Another A-Lister, Sean Penn, is amping up for a biopic on surf icon Dorian “Doc” Paskowitz. In addition to producing, Variety reports he may star in the title role (though this surfer will differ from his fictitious Fast Times At Ridgemont High character). It wasn’t until Penn signed on to the project that 89-year old Paskowitz gave his blessing, twenty years after producers from Matt Weaver to Graydon Carter began vying to secure the rights to his life story. Paskowitz took his wife and nine children in a campervan in the 50s to live a nomadic life while founding the continental US’s first surf camp. Doug Pray’s 2008 doc Surfwise examined the Paskowitz’ life. The trailer and a clip from the documentary are below.

continue reading on my blog, Thompson on Hollywood.

The film opens with Edward Robert Pattinson and Bella Kristen Stewart sitting in a field of flowers as she reads poetry and he moons over her. Their love talk is accompanied by music that one might hear in a Flowers-by-Wire commercial. Sorry to say, that vapid sequence is a portent of things to come: the whole movie feels lifeless pun intended.

continue reading on my blog, Leonard Maltin’s Movie Crazy.