Man alive, what the hell is going on in Hollywood? It doesn't just seem like there are a lot of actor-turned-directors these days, there actually are a lot of actors-turned-directors putting their vision on the screens. And while this isn't the first time out for most of them, it is odd that they've all got movies coming out in the same period.

Here's a snapshot of what's going on:

The Kingdom
Okay, so calling Peter Berg an actor might seem like a bit of a stretch, but it's the truth. So what if I'm one of the only people in America to have seen Aspen Extreme on the big screen and can talk at length about how it was Top Gun with skis? But he was in A Midnight Clear, which is the best WWII movie no one's ever seen. As a director he's given us the very bad Very Bad Things, the very good The Rundown and the wholly inaccurate (but entertaining) Friday Night Lights (I actually graduated from the high school that REALLY lost state to Dallas Carter in '88. And it sure as hell wasn't Odessa Permian.) Now he's got The Kingdom, which is his best so far. If you haven't seen it, see it.

Into the Wild
I don't need to tell you who Sean Penn is. If I do, a 500-word article isn't going to quite cut it. Penn hasn't quite left his directorial mark on cinema, until now. This is his masterpiece, his slice of Americana that captures everything movies of the '60s and '70s tried to about communing with the natural world and seeing the true America, but failed. And it's brilliant. If you haven't seen it, see it.

Gone Baby Gone
Ben Affleck has traded his on screen presence for a turn behind the camera, and has turned out the best film he's ever worked on. Directing his brother, Casey Affleck, Ben returns to Boston to tell the story of a young private investigator who gets caught up in a very public search for a missing child. Anyone who believes Ben should never act again now has a positive reason for it. If you haven't seen it, see it. It's really, really, really good.

Lions for Lambs
Robert Redford is back with his very liberal assault on war and the media with Lions for Lambs. The buzz on this one is pretty good thus far and it's only been screened a handful of times. But Redford doesn't usually disappoint. And just to bring this full circle, the film has Peter Berg. As an actor.

But that's not all folks. In coming months you can expect another one from genius director George Clooney (Leatherheads), as well as the sophomore effort from Antwone Fisher director Denzel Washington (titled The Great Debaters). One begins to wonder, when will Johnny Depp, Brad Pitt and Russell Crowe get behind the camera?

C. Robert Cargill - - - Email Me
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Austin-based Cargill, who not only loves but owns The Cutting Edge, writes on movies and DVD five times a week.

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