tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-148710132024-03-06T23:34:31.152-08:00Fade InP. K. Nailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00286042203186668113noreply@blogger.comBlogger113125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14871013.post-68814904518680111872009-07-10T11:05:00.000-07:002009-07-10T11:07:00.991-07:00Public EnemiesWonderful meat-and-potatoes Michael Mann, along the lines of his amazing and underrated Heat. Johnny Depp is great, as always, and I'm falling harder for Marion Cotillard every time I see her. But, while I found their courtship charming, I was even more impressed with them when they were on their own than when they shared the screen. Except for the love scene. It's been a while - I guess P. K. Nailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00286042203186668113noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14871013.post-66402879725859122152009-07-10T11:04:00.001-07:002009-07-10T11:04:58.721-07:00Away We GoA little film by Sam Mendes (of American Beauty and Revolutionary Road fame), and one that's missing (to its credit) his trademark artistic stamp. The couple in this story are a far cry from the dysfunctional couples of his other films, and it's refreshing to see a story that puts obstacles in people's way without making it about their happiness with each other. I found this story very easy to P. K. Nailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00286042203186668113noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14871013.post-56558611729557777482009-07-10T11:03:00.001-07:002009-07-10T11:03:40.341-07:00The Hurt LockerTruly an amazing film, and probably the best that I've seen about the Iraq war. It doesn't have a message or an agenda. It's just about a few guys and their experiences. The main character is played by Jeremy Renner, and he's an expert as dismantling bombs. In fact, he's so good at it that it's made him a bit reckless and danger-seeking. That works well for him through most of the film, but P. K. Nailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00286042203186668113noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14871013.post-36854903312502135372009-07-10T10:58:00.000-07:002009-07-10T11:02:39.072-07:00BrünoHilarious a lot of the time, but not all of the time, it follows pretty much the exact same "weirdo on a journey" plot as Borat (rendering it disappointingly predictable), and after that film's notoriety, you can't help sitting there during every "real person" encounter wondering how real or scripted it really is. As I understand, the steel cage rumble scene at the end and the interviews in the P. K. Nailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00286042203186668113noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14871013.post-59594946125006773882009-06-17T08:45:00.000-07:002009-06-17T08:48:51.617-07:00Rom-Com Cliches That (Mostly) DON'T Need to RetireIMDB's daily links list is often a rich source of interesting blog posts, but it's sometimes also a rich source of posts that make ME want to blog right back. Case in point, Entertainment Weekly Online's 24 Rom-Com Cliches We'd Retire. I agree with some of these, but others are downright ridiculous, and some only have a couple of examples - hardly a cliche. Let's have a look, shall we? (P. K. Nailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00286042203186668113noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14871013.post-8687066996611114682009-06-13T15:48:00.000-07:002009-06-13T15:50:29.833-07:00MoonI'd heard murmurings about this film for a while, but hadn't really looked into what it was about. All I knew was that it starred Sam Rockwell, who I consistently find one of the more fascinating character actors working in films, period. He's not a star in the traditional sense, and certainly the bulk of his roles have been supporting ones. But he's the kind of actor who, though he might not P. K. Nailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00286042203186668113noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14871013.post-52096294963330572062009-01-07T11:32:00.000-08:002009-01-07T11:57:29.313-08:00Final Girl Film Club - GrindhouseI've written about Grindhouse before, and I have kind of a dumb thing about revisiting movies (which I should really stop, because anything worth writing about is worth writing about more than once). But these two films are this month's selection for the Final Girl Film Club, so I'm revisiting them.This was a great idea that the studio didn't know how to sell, which resulted in not many people P. K. Nailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00286042203186668113noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14871013.post-22872516189491784762008-10-27T09:48:00.000-07:002008-10-27T09:54:20.220-07:00Countdown to Election '08 - Advise and ConsentAs we begin this last full week of what Jon Stewart has called the "Long, Flat Seemingly Endless Bataan Death March to the White House," we're going to look today at a film that was made 46 years ago, but which feels very familiar in our current political climate. Advise and Consent is possibly the best political movie ever made, in that it deals specifically with the monster of politics and notP. K. Nailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00286042203186668113noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14871013.post-91573686171071210302008-10-22T11:57:00.000-07:002008-10-22T11:58:11.304-07:00Countdown to Election '08 - Good Night and Good LuckI've typed the first half of the title of today's post several times now, but today it made me smile, because "Countdown" - Keith Olbermann's nightly MSNBC news and commentary show is a direct descendent of the subject of today's movie, the great television newsman Edward R. Murrow.Good Night and Good LuckThis was the film where George Clooney proved he was more than a pretty face and P. K. Nailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00286042203186668113noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14871013.post-59508011908130693572008-10-21T10:01:00.001-07:002008-10-21T10:02:23.086-07:00Countdown to Election '08 - ElectionTaking a break from American politics today to talk about a politics of a much more vicious and painful nature...High school politics.ElectionAlexander Payne's brilliant and biting Election is the perfect portrait of a school election as microcosm of American politics. Reese Witherspoon plays Tracy Flick, the epitome of overachieving A-personality. Always the first to raise her hand in class. P. K. Nailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00286042203186668113noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14871013.post-8742670470382168722008-10-19T11:20:00.000-07:002008-10-19T11:21:14.542-07:00Countdown to Election '08 - W.I have to say that, between this film and the Oliver Stone films of the last two days, this is probably my favorite. It's probably not as great an achievement as a piece of film, but as a character study and a compelling narrative, it has a lot to offer. And since the events depicted are mostly things I lived through and watched on the news, I felt like I had a much better hold on the story.W.WP. K. Nailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00286042203186668113noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14871013.post-40085807989799628292008-10-18T18:52:00.000-07:002008-10-18T18:53:14.843-07:00Countdown to Election '08 - NixonNot nearly as successful as JFK, but still quite compelling. Richard Nixon was arguably the most controversial president we ever had, and he was a very complex man who had to deal with a very complex time. I think out of all of Oliver Stone's films, this is the hardest one for me to follow. It would have been difficult anyway, given that I wasn't alive for any of the events, but the events P. K. Nailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00286042203186668113noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14871013.post-11497541332611634552008-10-17T12:21:00.000-07:002008-10-17T12:22:07.498-07:00Countdown to Election '08 - JFKAs many of you probably know, there is a new Oliver Stone movie out today. Another Stone movie named after a U.S. President, this time the one who currently occupies the White House (for another 94 days and some change, at least). I've just seen it, and I intend to include it in this series, but first I’d like to take a look at what Mr. Stone has had to say about two other Presidents.JFKRight P. K. Nailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00286042203186668113noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14871013.post-61134519035227973282008-10-14T22:59:00.000-07:002008-10-14T23:00:10.264-07:00Countdown to Election '08 - TrumanAfter two fictional presidents, it's time to talk about some real ones. I'm hoping to get to three more this week - all of them featured in films with a common director. *hint, hint* And all of those three (or at least two of them - I haven't seen the third yet, so I can't say with certainty) have a somewhat bleak and cynical view of our government. But today's movie is a slightly more P. K. Nailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00286042203186668113noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14871013.post-45141342933677172352008-10-13T09:40:00.000-07:002008-10-13T09:46:42.541-07:00Countdown to Election '08 - DaveI first saw this movie the night of my senior prom. Coincidentally, my date's name was also David. :PDaveBefore Aaron Sorkin cornered the market on heart-tugging political sentiment (wow, that sounded harsh, except that I don't see anything wrong with political sentiment, especially Sorkin's), Gary Ross wrote a screenplay called Dave. The protagonist is Dave Kovic (Kevin Kline), a man who runs P. K. Nailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00286042203186668113noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14871013.post-82737561806253576942008-10-12T17:02:00.000-07:002008-10-12T17:05:05.819-07:00Countdown to Election '08 - Mr. Smith Goes to WashingtonHoly Filibuster! Today we savor the Capra-esque. :D Nearly seventy years later and it's still relevant. If you've gotten a sour taste in your mouth from all the nastiness of the presidential campaign nonsense (excuse my French :P), pop this in your DVD player or VCR or head over to Netflix and watch it online. You can't not love America after watching it.Mr. Smith Goes to WashingtonThe P. K. Nailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00286042203186668113noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14871013.post-70541246067341297252008-10-08T12:43:00.000-07:002008-10-08T12:45:16.675-07:00Countdown to Election '08 - A Man for All SeasonsSenators McCain and Obama can only wish to be as virtuous and firm in their principles as Robert Bolt's version of Sir Thomas More. Sadly, there is not a politician alive in this country (or I suspect any other) who is worthy of the comparison. A true target of perfection (albeit fictional perfection) at which we all shoot in vain."More is a man of an angel's wit and singular learning. I know P. K. Nailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00286042203186668113noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14871013.post-38918487886672019592008-10-07T07:58:00.000-07:002008-10-07T07:59:57.972-07:00Countdown to Election '08 - Schoolhouse Rock: America RockMan, it's getting ugly in politics already this week, and I can only imagine what the debate will have in store for us. So how about something on the lighter side of politics for today?America RockAgain, not technically a movie, but Schoolhouse Rock: America Rock shaped a lot of young American minds - including my own - and gave them a base of historical and political knowledge on which to buildP. K. Nailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00286042203186668113noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14871013.post-74906301059157179502008-10-06T17:42:00.000-07:002008-10-06T17:43:06.512-07:00Countdown to Election '08 - The Seduction of Joe TynanYou may never have heard of this film before today. I certainly hadn't before I went seeking out films for this series. Oddly enough, just a day or two after I first read about this film and put it on the list of movies to possibly include here, Alan Alda (who wrote the screenplay and stars in it) appeared on the Today show to promote his new film (Flash of Genius) and this film came up.The P. K. Nailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00286042203186668113noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14871013.post-34843177610610128562008-10-06T11:17:00.000-07:002008-10-06T11:54:02.005-07:00Final Girl Film Club - Strait-JacketStrait-JacketRecently, I read part of a movie review from Ain't It Cool News critic Drew McWeeny (a.k.a. Moriarty) that I absolutely loved. The gist of it was that it's sad when people can only put filmmakers into two categories - brilliant auteur or Sucky McHackington. It reminded me of how a friend of mine once described some readers' response to fictional characters - they're either perfect P. K. Nailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00286042203186668113noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14871013.post-69513290499376115512008-10-06T10:58:00.000-07:002008-10-06T11:00:32.280-07:00Countdown to Election '08 - A Face in the CrowdThis whole country's just like my flock of sheep! Rednecks, crackers, hillbillies, hausfraus, shut-ins, pea-pickers - everybody that's got to jump when someone else blows a whistle! They don't know it yet, but they're all gonna be Fighters for Fuller! They're mine! I own 'em! They think like I do! [laughs] Only they're even more stupid than I am, so I gotta think for 'em.A Face in the P. K. Nailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00286042203186668113noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14871013.post-28685026221957337702008-10-04T18:41:00.000-07:002008-10-04T18:42:17.456-07:00Countdown to Election '08 - The American PresidentI wrote about this film a few years ago as part of my first series of movie posts, and I've always been reluctant to do repeats. But this movie, and especially the clip embedded below, has never been more poignant to me than it has become during this election cycle.The American PresidentEssentially, this film is a romantic comedy - a great one - and one of the reasons it's great is that is has aP. K. Nailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00286042203186668113noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14871013.post-3145651974122580182008-10-02T17:41:00.000-07:002008-10-02T17:45:40.368-07:00Countdown to Election '08 - The ContenderIn honor of tonight's Vice Presidential debate, as well as perhaps the last occasion in this election that most people think of either Biden or Palin as terribly important, I give you one of the few (very few) movies that center around a candidate for Vice President. (The only other one I can think of is the 2004 remake of The Manchurian Candidate.) And this one is about a female candidate for P. K. Nailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00286042203186668113noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14871013.post-32176312548577905872008-10-01T15:21:00.000-07:002008-10-01T15:42:43.626-07:00Countdown to Election '08As the 2008 US Presidential (and Congressional) election draws nearer, I thought it would be fitting to take a look at how politics, especially American politics, has been portrayed on film. I'm going to try to do a post a day until Election Day, because there's more than enough to choose from, but that's not a promise. I hope this is something people will enjoy, no matter what their political P. K. Nailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00286042203186668113noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14871013.post-31128531469305196982008-03-29T19:55:00.000-07:002008-03-29T19:56:39.999-07:00Valerie and Her Week of WondersSeveral people in Nashville, where I live, have been trying to grow a real cinema culture in our town for several years. There have been lots of unique screenings at our local art house theater, and today's was perhaps the most unusual film that I've ever seen in a theater in Nashville - a rare slice of Czechoslovakia's short-lived "new wave" called Valerie and Her Week of Wonders. The movie isP. K. Nailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00286042203186668113noreply@blogger.com3