3D’s Need to See: Heist Edition
My movie recommendation for you this week is the 2001 heist film titled, accurately enough, “Heist.” I’m a fan of heist films in general (you may notice me highlighting more of them in the coming weeks), and this one caught my eye because of its excellent cast, which includes Gene Hackman, Delroy Lindo, Danny DeVito, and Sam Rockwell.
The film revolves around a band of thieves, led by Hackman, who are forced by a gangster (played by DeVito) to perform a gold heist. Of course, if you know anything about heist films, you know that the plot is less important than how the heist is executed and the twists and turns that ensue.
It’s important to tell you that this film is written and directed by David Mamet. This is both a blessing and a curse. If you like Mamet and his trademark style of telling a story (not to mention his extremely distinctive dialogue), then you will like this movie a lot. If you aren’t the biggest Mamet fan, then this movie will start to irritate with its twists and turns.
For me, it was enough to see these great actors in a heist film. Also, I have a special liking for Ricky Jay (who makes one of his frequent appearances in Mamet’s films here) because of his expertise as a historian of magic and sleight of hand artist. So, if you like heist films and have never seen this one, why not give “Heist” a try?
—3D
“Twilight Saga: New Moon” actress Rachelle Lefevre campaigning for animal adoption
Rachelle Lefevre (Associated Press photo)
“The Twilight Saga: New Moon” actress Rachelle Lefevre and her friend, Johnny, a rescue dog, will be urging people to “Adopt Don’t’ Shop” in a series of public service announcements for Best Friends Animal Society debuting Dec. 1 in New York’s Times Square on the jumbo video billboard, Geoffrey Tron.
Lefevre, who plays vampire villainess in the movie “Twilight,” as well as its soon-to-be-released sequel, “New Moon,” is the star of 30-second and 60-second spots that will be distributed to television and radio stations across the country. She will also serve as national spokesperson for Best Friends’ “Puppies Aren’t Products” campaign, which draws attention to the fact that pet shops around the country are selling puppies that come from large commercial breeding operations known as “puppy mills” with deplorable conditions.
“I’m delighted to help speak out for those who cannot speak for themselves,” Lefevre said in a news release. ”Ever since I rescued my own dog I have wanted to encourage people to do the same. Working with Best Friends is the perfect way to do this and I’m excited and proud to be working with an organization so dedicated to animal kindness.”
The PSAs will be distributed to about 1,400 television and cable stations, plus another 1,250 radio stations. Best Friends Animal Society is known for its leading initiatives and community programs in animal welfare, as well as operating the largest companion animal sanctuary in the United States.
“Puppy mills are directly linked to pet overpopulation in the United States, which contributes to the fact that approximately 4,000 dogs are put down in shelters every day,” Lefevre said in the release. “We hope that our message of ‘adopt don’t shop’ resonates with the general public so we can bring that number down substantially.”
The goal of the “Puppies Aren’t Products” campaign is to reduce the number of homeless animals by fighting against puppy mills and irresponsible breeding.
“We are so fortunate to have Rachelle giving a voice to the animals as our national spokesperson,” said Vicki Kilmer-Rinker, director of marketing for Best Friends Animal Society, in the release. “Our goal is to increase awareness of where pet store puppies come from, especially as we approach the holiday season when so many families think about adding a family pet.”
Lefevre, who has a wide range of credits in movies and television, moved to Los Angeles when she landed the female lead in the Fox comedy series “Life on a Stick.” She went on to appear in multiple episodes of acclaimed series “Boston Legal” and “Swingtown.” On the big screen, she appeared in a diverse range of roles including opposite Stephen Dillane in the Holocaust era drama “Fugitive Pieces” based on the international best-selling novel by Anne Michaels and comedy “The Pool Boys” opposite Tom Arnold and Matthew Lillard.
Lefevre will be seen next in “Casino Jack,” opposite Kevin Spacey and “Barney’s Version” opposite Paul Giamatti. But she will not reprise her role as Victoria in the third “Twilight” film “Eclipse”; Summit Entertainment created a bit of a furor earlier this fall when it replaced Lefevre with Bryce Dallas Howard due to scheduling conflicts
In addition to working with Best Friends Animal Society, Lefevre is involved with the literacy organization “School on Wheels” and is an “Ambassador for the Cure” with The Susan G. Komen Foundation.
I’m just returning from Los Angeles, where I participated in interviews with many of the cast and crew of “New Moon,” though Lefevre wasn’t among them for obvious reasons. Look for several posts from those interviews as Nov. 20, the opening date for “New Moon,” draws nearer.
-BAM
Friday Featured Track for Nov. 6, 2009: Remember back when Milla Jovovich made good music instead of bad movies?
Milla Jovovich getting scared out of her wits in “The Fourth Kind.” Hey, Milla, are you sure you wouldn’t rather make another folk-rock album?
The song that has been in my head the most this week:
- “Gentleman Who Fell,” Milla Jovovich, from her 1994 debut album “The Divine Comedy.”
After a couple of weeks’ hiatus, I’m returning with the weekly BAM’s Blog music spotlight the Friday Featured Track.
This week’s selection came out of a discussion this week with my colleague George Lang. We were bemoaning Milla Jovovich’s propensity for starring in cheap, critically panned movies like today’s “The Fourth Kind” and wishing she would find a better outlet for her skills and looks.
George, who has an incredibly sharp musical memory, reminded me that Jovovich made an interesting and well-received folk rock album back in ‘94. This light and lovely ballad, nicely spotlighting her lilting voice, became an alternative rock hit.
As Allmusic.com notes, Jovovich eschewed the tired dance-pop path many actress/models take when they want to make an album and opted instead for a low-key, largely acoustic record that tapped into her Slavic heritage.
Jovovich made only one more album, a 1998 mail-order-only effort called “Peopletree Sessions.”
But she’s making, what, her fourth “Resident Evil” movie? Listening to “Gentleman Who Fell,” that seems even more wrong than it did previously.
There were apparently two videos filmed for the song, so I’m posting them both here for your viewing/listening enjoyment:
-BAM
Tinker Bell gets a makeover in “Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure”
From Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman.
‘Lost Treasure’ tinkers with pixie’s evolution
The world’s most famous fairy gets a makeover, frolics amid the fall leaves and embarks on a thrilling voyage in the new DVD “Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure.”
The latest installment in the popular Disney Fairies direct-to-DVD franchise has Tinker Bell and her fairy friends bringing in autumn, with the pixies coloring the leaves red, turning the light golden and helping animals enter hibernation.
“I happen to love autumn. The way the light hits the trees, the colors of fall and the crispness in the air. I wanted to capture the textures and feel of the season,” said director Klay Hall in a recent “virtual roundtable” online chat he and producer Sean Lurie took part in with entertainment journalists.
The follow-up to 2008’s “Tinker Bell,” the film is the second of five planned computer-animated DVD releases that will take the fairies on adventures through the seasons and beyond the borders of their Pixie Hollow home.
“The Lost Treasure” continues the evolution of Tinker Bell from literary sidekick in J.M. Barrie’s 1904 play “Peter and Wendy” — she is often depicted onstage with a spot of light and tinkling bells — to the wordless pixie-dust distributor in the 1953 Disney animated film “Peter Pan.” Actress Mae Whitman (“Arrested Development”) gave voice to the sprite in “Tinker Bell” and reprises the part in the sequel.
“Even though she couldn’t talk in the Peter Pan movie she was very expressive. You always knew what she was trying to communicate. We tried to keep her very expressive,” Lurie said. “We tried to be as accurate in her appearance as possible. It was important that people recognize and accept her as the Tink they know and love.”
Inspired by the Disney chapter book “Tinker Bell North of Neverland,” the sequel has Tinker Bell working on an important project: crafting the Autumn Scepter. At the Autumn Revelry, light from the rare blue moon will shine through the precious moonstone atop the scepter and produce blue pixie dust to reinvigorate the Pixie Dust Tree.
When her overly helpful friend Terence (voice of Jesse McCartney) accidentally breaks the scepter, Tink loses her temper and inadvertently shatters the moonstone. Frantic to save autumn, she makes the perilous trek north of Neverland to find the legendary wish-granting Mirror of Incanta.
The skilled tinker fairy builds an impressive flying machine to make the journey, and along the way she encounters an array of lively characters, from an intrepid firefly named Blaze to a pair of bickering, adorably ugly trolls.
“We wanted to create a movie that the whole family would enjoy, including our sons,” said Lurie, who, like Hall, has two boys.
To suit the story, the filmmakers gave Tink her first makeover in 50 years.
“In the earlier films, she wears her iconic little green dress. However, it being fall and there being crispness in the air, in addition to this being an adventure movie, her dress just wouldn’t work,” Hall said.
Her new look adds a long-sleeve shirt, shawl, visor, leggings and boots adorned with her usual pom-poms.
“The costume also had to feel as if a fairy made it, so all the materials, textures and elements are organic and easily found in nature,” Hall added.
Working with one of Disney’s most beloved characters — and company mascot — was both a heavy responsibility and great honor, he said. The director counts the late Marc Davis, the Disney animator who created the 1953 Tinker Bell, as one of his mentors.
Davis based the lively pixie on Marilyn Monroe, Peggy Lee and Betty Kimble, wife of fellow animator Ward Kimble, and Hall researched the animator’s original model sheets and pencil tests when designing the updated character.
Capturing the spirit of Tinker Bell was as essential to the film as pixie dust is to fairies.
“Tink is very relatable. She has emotions like we do, and is very expressive. She has a temper; she gets jealous in the Peter Pan movie. She’s very feisty. We have tried to maintain these personality traits in Tink, and think that (is) part of what people love about her,” Lurie said.
-BAM
DVD review: “Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure”
From Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman.
“Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure” Blu-Ray+DVD pack
Disney returns to Pixie Hollow for the charming “Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure,” the second direct-to-DVD computer-animated movie in its popular fairies franchise.
As the fairies are busily working to bring in fall, Tinker Bell (voice of Mae Whitman) gets an important assignment from Queen Clarion (Anjelica Huston): to craft the Autumn Scepter for the Autumn Revelry. This year, the fall celebration will feature a rare Blue Moon, so Tink will top the staff with an invaluable moonstone. When the light of the Blue Moon shines through the ancient gem, it will create special blue pixie dust to enliven the Pixie Dust Tree.
Tink taps her best friend Terence (Jesse McCartney), a dust-keeper fairy who knows all about pixie dust, to help her. But as Terence hovers over her shoulder and the Autumn Revelry nears, Tink starts feeling the pressure.
When an accident breaks the scepter, she blows up at her pal and tosses him out. She then throws a tantrum, accidentally shattering the moonstone.
Desperate to save the Autumn Revelry, Tink makes the dangerous journey north of Neverland in search of the wrecked pirate ship that holds the mystical wish-granting Mirror of Incanta.
While last year’s “Tinker Bell” focused on setting the scene and introducing characters, “The Lost Treasure” wings straight into the new adventure. The movie doesn’t spend much screen time with favorite fairies Rosetta (Oklahoma native Kristin Chenoweth), Silvermist (Lucy Liu), Iridessa (Raven-Symoné) and Fawn (Angela Bartys), but it features truly enchanting visuals, from the richly colored fall landscapes to Tink’s fantastic flying machine.
Perhaps the best endorsement of the film: Even my almost-3-year-old son watched it spellbound.
DVD features: The movie comes in one of Disney’s clever Blu-Ray/DVD packs and features a bonus short, Demi Lovato music video, deleted scenes and funny outtakes.
— BAM
Oklahoma City Museum of Art presenting American Indian film showcase today-Sunday
Sterlin Harjo
In celebration of American Indian Heritage Month, the Oklahoma City Museum of Art and the American Indian Cultural Center & Museum are presenting the “Native American Cinema Showcase” featuring new voices and new stories from Native America.
“Barking Water”
The weekend film series begins 7:30 tonight with “Barking Water” directed by Tulsa filmmaker Sterlin Harjo. Harjo’s second feature film is a heartwarming road trip across eastern Oklahoma with two people who have loved and lost over 40 years together.
Lead actor Richard Ray Whitman recently was awarded best actor for his role as Frankie at the American Indian Film Festival in San Francisco. The film premiered at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival and has screened at New Directors/New Films at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, and the Venice Film Festival.
The film will have additional screenings at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art on at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, November. The Saturday screening includes a special appearance by Harjo and Whitman.
“Pearl”
Another feature film made in Oklahoma, with support from the Chickasaw nation, is “Pearl.” This is the biographical story of Pearl Carter Scott, a Chickasaw girl, who at 12 years old, became America’s youngest-ever pilot. Produced by David Rennke and directed by King Hollis, the film premiered at the 2009 AFI Dallas International Film Festival and was the opening night gala film of the 2009 deadCENTER Film Festival in Oklahoma City.
“Pearl” will be screened twice, at 5:30 p.m. Friday and 2 p.m. Sunday.
“Emerging Native Stories”
At 5:30 p.m. Saturday, the series will include a special presentation titled “Emerging Native Stories.”
This program consists of short works by native filmmakers with Oklahoma ties: The Potawatomi Tribal Documentary Series, a preview of Julianna Brannum’s documentary “LaDonna Harris: Indian 101,” and OETA’s Stateline documentary “The People” that explores efforts in Oklahoma to preserve native languages and culture.
Film admission is $8 for adults, $6 for seniors and students and $5 for museum members.
For more information, call 278-8237 or go to www.okcmoa.com/film.
-BAM
Steve Martin, Alec Baldwin to host Oscars
The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences has announced that funnymen Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin will co-host the 82nd Oscars on March 7, 2010.
As EW.com reports, Oscar telecast producers Bill Mechanic and Adam Shankman said in a statement: “We think the team of Steve and Alec are the perfect pair of hosts for the Oscars. Steve will bring the experience of having hosted the show in the past and Alec will be a completely fresh personality for this event.”
Martin, who lately has been exploring his music career as a serious banjo player, previously hosted the 73rd and 75th Oscar shows. “30 Rock” star Baldwin will be a first-time Oscars host, though he was nominated for an Academy Award in 2003 for “The Cooler.”
According to EW.com, this is what they had to say about their new job:
Martin: “I am happy to co-host the Oscars with my enemy Alec Baldwin.”
Baldwin: “I don’t play the banjo but I’m thrilled to be hosting the Oscars – it’s the opportunity of a lifetime.”
-BAM
Wednesday Video Spotlight No. 2: More movie trailers and clips
We’re checking out more trailers and clips for upcoming movies again in this week’s Wednesday Video Spotlight. Enjoy!
Avatar Trailer in HD
Trailer Park | MySpace Video
-BAM
New releases for Nov. 3, 2009
Carrie Underwood (Associated Press photo)
Oklahoma native and country music star Carrie Underwood releases her third album, “Play On,” in stores today.
The new album, one of the most eagerly anticipated country records of the fall, already has spawned one hit with the sassy first single, “Cowboy Casanova.”
Also in music news, Oklahoma country star Reba McEntire makes an appearance on Andrea Bocelli’s “My Christmas”; she and the Italian singing star do a duet of “Blue Christmas” on the album.
Here is a list of new CDs, DVDs and books out this week, from Amazon.com, VideoETA.com and BarnesandNoble.com:
CDs
Carrie Underwood, “Play On.”
Andrea Bocelli, “My Christmas.”
The Rolling Stones, “Get Yer Ya-Ya’s Out! The Rolling Stones In Concert” (40th Anniversary Deluxe Box Set).
Weezer, “Raditude.”
Foo Fighters, “Greatest Hits.”
Slayer, “World Painted Blood.”
Straight No Chaser, “Christmas Cheers.”
DVDs
Aliens in the Attic
The Answer Man
Command Performance
Food, Inc.
G.I. Joe Real American Hero: Season 1.2
G.I. Joe: Resolute
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
I Love You, Beth Cooper
The Marc Pease Experience
North By Northwest
Star Wars The Clone Wars: The Complete Season One
The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3
Will Ferrell: You’re Welcome America
Books
“Ford County” by John Grisham.
“Eating Animals” by Jonathan Safran Foer.
“The Audacity to Win: The Inside Story and Lessons of Barack Obama’s Historic Victory” by David Plouffe.
“A Christmas Blizzard” by Garrison Keillor.
“The Humbling” by Philip Roth.
“In Too Deep (39 Clues Series No. 6)” by Jude Watson.
“It’s Your Time: Activate Your Faith, Achieve Your Dreams and Increase in God’s Favor” by Joel Osteen.
“Kindred in Death (In Death Series No. 29)” by J. D. Robb.
“The Lacuna” by Barbara Kingsolver.
“No Less Than Victory: A Novel of World War II” by Jeff Shaara.
“One Simple Act: Discovering the Power of Generosity” by Debbie Macomber.
“Our Choice” by Al Gore.
“A Quilter’s Holiday: An Elm Creek Quilts Novel” by Jennifer Chiaverini.
“Rachael Ray’s Book of Ten: More Than 300 Recipes to Cook Every Day” by Rachael Ray.
“Rainwater” by Sandra Brown.
-BAM
Box office report for Nov. 2, 2009
The Halloween weekend was friendly to “Thriller” star Michael Jackson’s farewell film.
“Michael Jackson’s This Is It,” which opened last Wednesday, made $101 million worldwide in its first five days in theaters. According to the Associated Press, distributor Sony plans to extend the performance film beyond its originally planned two-week theatrical run.
The film was the No. 1 Halloween thriller domestically with a $21.3 million opening weekend, the AP reported. It raised its domestic total to $32.5 million.
The movie made $68.5 million overseas, including $10.4 million in Japan, $6.3 million in Germany, $5.8 million in France and $3.2 million in China.
In the United Kingdom, where Jackson had planned a marathon series of 50 sold-out London concerts starting last July, the movie earned $7.6 million. “This Is It” features Jackson in behind-the-scenes performances the weeks before his death last June, as he rehearsed his biggest hits for the London shows.
Sony plans to extend the run of “This Is It” overseas on a country-by-country basis, with most territories probably getting one to three weeks of extra playing time, according to the AP.
The previous weekend’s No. 1 movie, Paramount’s mico-budget horror sensation “Paranormal Activity,” dropped to No. 2 with $16.5 million. That brings its total to a whopping $84.8 million.
“Paranormal Activity” may have proved the killing blow for Lionsgate’s long-running gorefest franchise “Saw.” After a lackluster debut the previous weekend, “Saw VI” fell to No. 5 in its second weekend. It made $5.6 million, raising its total to just $22.8 million after 10 days. Previous sequels in the serial-killer series all had topped $30 million during opening weekend alone.
Here’s the list of the weekend’s top 10 movies, according to the AP:
1. “Michael Jackson’s This Is It,” $21.3 million.
2. “Paranormal Activity,” $16.5 million.
3. “Law Abiding Citizen,” $7.3 million.
4. “Couples Retreat,” $6.1 million.
5. “Saw VI,” $5.6 million.
6. “Where the Wild Things Are,” $5.1 million.
7. “The Stepfather,” $3.4 million.
8. “Astro Boy,” $3.04 million.
9. “Amelia,” $3 million.
10. “Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant,” $2.8 million.
-BAM
