Reel Guys

Posted By: Ezequiel Gutierrez
Head Guy

M. Night Shyamalan’s “The Last Airbender” is quickly becoming my most anticipated film of the year. Right there next to “Tron: Legend”, “Iron Man 2” and “Inception”. And while I think the latter two missed a huge opportunity during this past weekend’s big game, “Airbender” did not. (Note: “Tron: Legacy” is not out until December and rumor has it that we are getting a new trailer in front of “Alice in Wonderland”, so there absence is acceptable.)

Shyamalan needs a hit in a big way. While I seem to defend him anytime his name comes up in conversations, I know that he’s up against it. For the record, the only film that missed the mark for me was “The Happening”. Everything else has been perfect in my opinion. However, the general opinion is that he was slowly losing his touch and went totally off the reservation with “The Happening”. In that regards, “Airbender” needs to kick some serious ass if he wants to do his own thing again. This will mark the first time since “The Sixth Sense” that he his not Directing his own original story. With a built in fan base of the massively popular Nickelodeon animated series and these two trailers, he is well on his way to redeeming himself.

Here is the beautiful Teaser Trailer that set the tone for the whole film

Now, here is the Superbowl spot that gives us a much better feel for what the film will look like.

Courtesy of IMDB: “Avatar: The Last Airbender” summary :: Water. Earth. Fire. Air. In the old days, there was peace between the four nations of the world. The Avatar — Master of all four elements — kept peace between the the Water Tribes, the Earth Kingdom, the Fire Nation, and the Air Nomads. Only the Avatar has the ability to Bend (manipulate) all four elements, but one day, he Vanished. Then the Fire Nation attacked, forcing a war on the other three nations for one hundred years. Now, for the good of the world, it’s up to 12-year-old Aang (Noah Ringer), the new Avatar, to return peace and balance by putting an end to the war and mastering all four elements. Aang must accept his destiny by stopping the Fire Nation’s war and defeating the Fire Lord for good.

The hugely popular show on Nickelodeon had to change its production name to “The Last Airbender” after James Cameron called dibs on “Avatar”.

Below I have taken some musical cues form the films website to string together what sounds like a wonderfully epic soundtrack by Shyamalan’s go to guy, James Newton Howard.

Are you going to see “The Last Airbender?”

Written By: Ezequiel Gutierrez
Head Guy

The first thing you noticed about “Street Thief” is that the subject of this gritty documentary, Kaspar Carr, is actually directing the film. In most documentaries the subject of the film generally goes with the flow. They let cameras film them even when you sense they don’t feel like being on camera. Not Kaspar, when he’s done being filmed the camera is off. When he thinks you’ve asked a stupid question he’ll let you know in more ways then one. A few things that are obvious right from the start; he’s arrogant, his breath must stink with his daily diet of coffee, cigarettes and raw onions, he only deals with cash and he’s really good at stealing it.

Kasper is the kind of thief that Hollywood makes feature films about. While he’s casing a joint, he’s also tapping phone lines and following the employees who work there. While he’s not as clean cut as Danny Ocean and the work he does is slightly less luxurious, the result is the same. While the man has an entire warehouse dedicated to his costumes and tools and he’s constantly changing cars and digging through trash, he’ll be the first to tell you that he’s not a professional thief.

The filmmakers follow Kaspar through a series of scores, one bigger then the next, until he attempts his biggest score yet, robbing a local movie theater. The take? $70,000. This last score is different then the smaller ones before, for one very obvious reason. Everything is on camera. In previous scores the camera was only there to document the set-ups and the filmmakers where there to serve as lookouts. We would watch, as Kaspar would disappear into a building, only to arrive later with a bag full of cash. In one score Kaspar gets decidedly annoyed at the presence of the crew and demands the documentary be put on hold for 2 months. So it is a strange move for this criminal to be so inviting on this, his biggest score yet. Not only is it weird, it would be the act of an ignorant thief to let his actions be recorded, and Kaspar was no dummy. Something wasn’t adding up.

That’s where the movie loses a lot of its charm. In the third act, the film takes a wild and unpredictable turn. And if this film were an actually documentary of a real-life criminal it would have been incredible. But because this film only serves to shed light on the world of criminality and not show it for real, its conclusion is where the film falls flat. The main character and the story is a complete work of fiction. In fact, Kaspar Carr did in fact direct the film; his real name is Malik Bader. Maybe that’s the name the faux filmmakers should have given to the cops to find his body…oops, have I said too much?

The film is indeed inventive and extremely well executed and acted for about an hour. Then I just felt like they forgot it wasn’t real and needed an ending. You may disagree, so I’ve embedded the first 8 minutes of the film below.

“Street Thief” is currently available on Netflix Watch Instantly

Posted By: Ezequiel Gutierrez
Head Guy

Yeah, I couldn’t NOT re-post this. I saw this over at /Film.com and thought I’d share here. There is much more info on the project/trailer at /Film so go there if you want to know. I just thought this looked cool. A teaser in hopes of turning into an animated ZOMBIE feature…. behold…

“A.D.”

Written By: Matt Duncan
Contributing Writer

Jeff Bridges is Bad Blake, and with his help, “Crazy Heart” finds a way to surpass other movies of its kind. “Crazy Heart” does not do substantively more than has already been done, but this movie succeeds insofar as it mirrors a true country song; that is, with a slow pace and words that reverberate long after they have been sung. Bad Blake (Jeff Bridges) is a real country musician; he isn’t packaged, censored, or gentile. His charm is in his repudiation of all things charming, and his gravelly voice and stubbly beard don’t give due to his name nearly as well as does his lifestyle and demeanor. In short, Bad Blake is made from the stuff of legends.

Unfortunately, even legends age, and unless they can evolve into a new phase of fame, legends die. Bad Blake is no exception. By the outset of “Crazy Heart”, Blake has already made the transition from a country music rock star that strums to the sound of 10,000 screaming fans into a washed-up has-been croaking to the beat of the murmurings and vacuum cleaners at local bowling alleys. Blake’s agent begs him to write new material—to adjust to the new demands of his art—but Blake is prevented from revamping his career by the strain of countless roadside venues and the wear of too many long nights of heavy drinking. That is, until Jean Craddock drops in for an interview.

Jean Craddock (Maggie Gyllenhaal) is a local newspaper reporter who catches a break when Blake agrees to do an interview with her. However, the real purpose of the interview is obscured by the ever-amorous Blake, who is more interested in wooing Craddock than he is in scoring some local press. After several loosely conducted interviews Craddock begins to get a deeper sense of Blake, both professionally and personally. Despite the fact that Blake has already been married four times and has a reputation as a philanderer, Craddock cannot help but fall in love with the aging icon.

Craddock gives Blake a new verve that shakes him from his musical slumber. The new Bad Blake finds his creativity piqued in the twilight of his career as he strives to be successful while also allowing himself to be tamed by Craddock and her son, Buddy (Jack Nation). But Blake’s renaissance is not without its tensions. In particular, the aging musician battles an alcohol addiction—one that not only threatens his increasingly fragile health, but also puts strain on his budding relationships. Bad Blake must reform or decline; remake himself or die.

At first, “Crazy Heart” has the feel of musical biography films like “Walk the Line” or “Ray”. This is rather odd, considering that Bad Black is a fictional character, and much of the appeal of musical biography films is in their ability to expose the human side of real-life legends. Nonetheless, Bad Black feels real, and so do his struggles. Now, I must confess that the appeal of this genre of film is somewhat lost on me. I do not understand what is so intrinsically interesting about aging and washed-up head cases that aimlessly veer towards destruction. So I cannot say much in favor of that aspect of “Crazy Heart”. But what I can say is that Jeff Bridges is utterly fantastic. Bridges sings all of his own songs, for instance, and if he were not every note, strum, and swig of Bad Black in another life, you wouldn’t know it.

The themes in this movie are also interesting. Even if they are a bit clichéd, their artistic delivery gives them new life. Perhaps the most transfixing moment of the whole movie takes place during the closing credits when “The Weary Kind”—the movie’s theme song—is sung by Ryan Bingham. This song’s melody and lyrics perfectly capture the tenor of this movie.

“Your body aches, playin’ your guitar, sweatin’ out the haze. The days and the nights all feel the same. Whisky has been the thorn in your side; it doesn’t forgive … This aint no place for the weary kind. This aint no place to lose your mind. This aint no place to fall behind. Pick up your crazy heart and give it one more try.”

As always, you can find more of Matts work @ Duncan’s Reel Deal

Posted By: Ezequiel Gutierrez
Head Guy

In the coming weeks I will be highlighting some of the years Oscar Nominees that we haven’t yet covered yet. My first goal is attempting to see all of the films nominated in major categories. For someone like me who spends all of his time watching movies, it may seem like a no brainer. But I can assure you it’s a slightly daunting task. I will give it my best. Today I came across one of this years Best Animated Short Film Nominees.

The film is called “The Lady and The Reaper”. This polished Spanish toon is about a little old lady whose time has come. One night she drifts off to sleep and the grim reaper comes a callin’. While most people would fend off this fate, the woman welcomes the reaper as a way of being with her beloved departed. However, standing in her way is a hot-shot doctor with a history of saving those who see the light. What happens after is a fight, literally, to the death between doctor and reaper for this woman’s soul.

While this film looks just as shiny as any Pixar film, the subject matter is decidedly darker. This very funny short is directed by Spanish director Javier Recio Gracia and is worth a peak.

You can visit the film websites HERE

Or jump straight to the film by clicking on the image below.