Film.com Movie Blog

Platoon vs. Top Gun and the Perennial Fight for Our Movie Souls

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 14:44:00 PST

On May 16, 1986, a film called Top Gun was released. Perfectly timed for the summer, Top Gun featured burgeoning star Tom Cruise and a whole mess of fighter jets. The movie went on to gross over $350 million worldwide, becoming a generation's cultural touchstone in the process. Later that same year, in December, Oliver Stone's Platoon hit theaters. It also did quite well at the box office, with over $139 million in receipts, and was subsequently rewarded with The Academy Award for Best Picture.

T…

The Biggest Oscar Snub: Sam Rockwell in Moon

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 09:09:00 PST

Someday, Sam Rockwell will get his Oscar due, I have no doubt. But I bet that when that day comes, lots of movie lovers will look back and say, "But it should have happened for Moon." Rockwell has always been riveting on-screen, but his extraordinary performance in the Twilight Zone-ish mind frak that is Duncan Jones' Moon is far beyond anything he's ever achieved before. We just don't see movies like this one much: simple yet profound, obvious on the surface yet deepening with conundrums with…

What to Expect from a George Lucas Musical

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 08:33:00 PST

Out of George Lucas' Death Star-like headquarters comes word that the Star Wars creator/ruiner is producing a computer-animated musical, to be directed by Kevin Munroe (TMNT) and written by David Berenbaum (Elf). All anyone knows about the plot so far is that fairies are involved. We don't even know for sure whether Lucas had anything to do with the story. But it would be unusual for him to be involved this heavily if the story hadn't been conceived in his nerdy little brain, so let us…

The Very Best of the Miramax Vaults

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 13:18:00 PST

Well, after several years of speculation and the loss of its founding fathers, the Weinsteins, Miramax has finally been shuttered for good and its library put up on the auction block. While this was truly sad news from a house that brought us so much joy over the years, it looks like it could be one heck of a bargain to a company looking to create a sizable (and bankable) DVD/Blu-ray catalog. What are the best bets sitting in the vaults? How about these titles?

The best of Quentin Tarantino
While…

Romantic Comedies the Studios Have Somehow Overlooked

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 08:23:00 PST

Romantic comedy titles tend to stick to a pretty strict formula, picking from four general fields: some kind of weak third-grade level pun (Bride and Prejudice, Made of Honor); a phrase featuring the word "wedding" (The Wedding Singer, The Wedding Planner, The Wedding Date); a song title (Sweet Home Alabama, Just Like Heaven, The Sweetest Thing); or a bland, borderline meaningless term for romance (Love Actually, It's a Boy Girl Thing). Here, some rom-com titles and surefire pitches guaranteed…

Review: From Paris with Love a Satisfying Escape

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 08:56:00 PST

"Eminently watchable."

If you like a violent, silly, frenetic style of film you'll find plenty to enjoy here. There are a few glaring flaws, which we'll get to, but overall this is satisfying escapism. You could do much worse -- heck, I'm betting you have. Travolta is always at his best when he's playing oddball characters, and From Paris with Love is no exception.

Jonathan Rhys Meyers is the assistant to the United States Ambassador to France, but he's handling the occasional…

Review: Dear John, I'm Dumping Your Movie

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 06:30:00 PST

"It's like a bad soap opera."

Watching the Dear John trailer, with different Nicholas Sparks fans at different times, I heard the same warning when his name flashed on the screen: "You know something bad will happen." Sparks, whose book the film is based on, is known for epic, bittersweet romances like The Notebook and Nights in Rodanthe.

The first half hour or so of Dear John, directed by Chocolat's Lasse Hallstrom is as lovely and intoxicating as the trailer. It's set against…

Eric's Bad Movies: The Pagemaster (1994)

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 12:42:00 PST

Books can take you to magical, far-off places, to lands you've never dreamed of, allowing you to experience all manner of excitement and wonder. I guess movies can do that too, but you wouldn't know it to watch The Pagemaster, an intolerable half-animated excretion that halfheartedly encourages young people to read without ever really committing to the idea. The movie never really commits to anything, in fact. Without credits, it's only 68 minutes long. I'm not sure the filmmakers even realized…

Lady Gaga's Outfits, Taylor Swift's Songs, and Other Things Hollywood Should Adapt

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 09:40:00 PST

Within the last couple of years, we've seen hit movies based on toy robots (the Transformers franchise) and dating advice books (He's Just Not That Into You). These films are often used as examples to back up the tired claim that Hollywood just doesn't have any new ideas. I prefer to use these examples to prove that inspiration is everywhere. But just in case any writers block stricken screenwriters are out there, here are a few places I think could be mined for fresh material:

Taylor Swift…

Is Avatar the Oscar Villain?

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 08:33:00 PST

Almost any good story has to have a great villain in order for it to work. And the best thing about the Oscars -- because they're so darn predictable these days -- is the narrative. The two front-runners for the Best Picture and Best Director Oscars are divorcees. That's a story. Jeff Bridges is under-appreciated, and now it's his turn. That's a story. Kathryn Bigelow can become the first woman to win a Best Director Oscar (after becoming the first woman to win the Director's Guild award).…