RIP Paul Newman

1925-2008

The Grand Opening

Since I can only assume the "anonymous" person that wants Film Script world domination and a message board to coincide with the blog has to be none other than my Film Script co-creater Ty, I'm here to announce The Film Script's very own message board... has opened.

I found a free host that I'm happy with, threw up a banner and a post and got the ball rolling. I really hope everyone uses the opportunity to talk about whatever's on their mind and bring up a wide variety of topics. The best part of this site has always been the back-and-forth debate and I'm looking for ways to increase that.

For now, at least head over there, register and see what's up.

http://thefilmscript.yuku.com/

Blog vs. Message Board

I just wanted to post this and see if you guys would prefer a change of format. If I were to change the site over to a message board, do you think that would spring more conversation and make it less formal? That way at any time someone could post a topic of conversation or anything really that they wanted to discuss. We could keep the replies as short or as long as we'd like and get more threads going than I am capable of doing on my own with the blog.

All this is probably just because I'm too lazy to continually update the site, but I am also looking at ways to keep up the conversation and keep the topics more up-to-date.

Let me know whichever you prefer, or if you even have a preference.

What I'm Watching Now

"It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia"

Season 4 Premiere, Eps. 1 & 2

Quite Possibly the Worst DVD Cover of All-Time

Even for what I presume must be a no budget, direct-to-DVD dump this cover is horrendous. They cut the bird straight out of the shot, it's completely off-center, the font is dull and lifeless and not even Matthew Perry can muster more than an, "I can't believe my career has fallen this far since Friends" smirk.

Honest to God, I thought it was a nature channel production on first glance.

The Forums: Topic IV

Topic of the Week:

What's the Most Messed Up Movie You've Ever Seen?

Must See Movie of the Month: September 2008

This is the first time where many titles competed for the "Must See" distinction for the month. I could make a case for any one of my notables, especially Miracle at St. Anna (which I prophesized a Best Picture nom) and Choke, the first Chuck Palahniuk adaptation since Fincher's brilliant Fight Club. It's a good month for movies. A good lead in to the fall movie season... but I couldn't pass on last year's Best Director and Best Picture tandem, the Coen Brothers, back to their varied, usually hilarious, and slapsticky style with Burn After Reading. And with a cast as good as Clooney, Pitt, Malkovich, Jenkins, Simmons, McDormand and Swinton, who can blame me?

Who else wants to see it and what are your "must see's" of the month?

Other Notables:

The Duchess, Miracle at St. Anna, Blindness, Choke, The Lucky Ones

Traitor (Jeffrey Nachmanoff, 2008)

Struggling against itself and its own genre limitations, Traitor ends up ensnared in its own contradictions. It’s a confounding film, at once seeming to want to appeal to the viewer as both fresh and familiar. Traitor adheres to the formulas and sequences of well-established genres including the prisoner sequence, spy and action movie clichés, even the revenge storyline… but implanted in a politically current plot about a potential suicide bomber and attack on U.S. soil. That should have been relevant and hot topic enough to forego the usual by-the-numbers trappings, but there’s so much retread in the script, so much that’s been done before, that it leaves little hope for star Don Cheadle (himself a refreshing choice as an action star) to save it. Cheadle does his best Bourne imitation, quite convincingly coming across as the smartest man in the room, and even wills some of these set pieces into working far and away better than they should. But the film is submarined by its own unwillingness to take untraveled paths. Every action sequence has been done before, and better. Every relationship seems like repeats. In the end, it’s just all so uniquely… conventional.

Hellboy II: The Golden Army (Guillermo Del Toro, 2008)

A fluid continuation of the original, Hellboy II: The Golden Army sees director Guillermo Del Toro back reteaming with his hand-picked star Ron Perlman and the duo picking up where they left off in ‘04. Once again Hellboy is dealing with his lot in life and his ongoing role as savior of the human race, all the while being relegated to lurking amongst the shadows and avoiding human interaction. On top of which, Hellboy now has newfound relationship issues with his girlfriend, the fire-starter Liz. The tone, atmosphere and expert craftsmanship of Del Toro are plainly visible – even if some of these creatures tend to resemble Pan’s Labyrinth rejects – but the storyline is a bit of a letdown, leaving Hellboy toiling away at issues he already dealt with in the first. The story leaves little room for the character to grow and while the action is extremely well orchestrated, the heart of Hellboy II lies in scenes such as the one where Hellboy’s laying around with Abe, ruminating on his love life and public image with a beer in hand and a bud to open up to. For some reason there’s something memorable about a Buick-sized Devil and an amphibian man singing “Can’t Smile Without You” into a couple empty cold ones. These are the scenes that make it good to have him back, but next time let’s give him some more room to grow.

Recent Watches: September 2008

This is the month I get back to rejuvenating "The Film Script." No more 7 post months, guaranteed. And I'll start it how I always start it, with a forum for discussion on everyone's recent watches.

The forum's open.