Results tagged “viggomortensen”

       

Phony romance New Moon reigned over the box-office for a second consecutive weekend ($42.5M | $230.6M), though feel-gooder The Blind Side almost nipped it in the end ($40.1M | $100.2). Disaster-fu disaster 2012 held onto third place ($18M | $138.7M), just nosing out awful newcomer Old Dogs ($16.8M) and the sturdy A Christmas Carol ($16M | $105.3M). Ninja Assassin debuted to a solid $13.1M ($21M), topping mediocre kiddy flick Planet 51 ($10.2M | $28.4M) and the superb Precious ($7M | $32.4M).

I'm a huge fan of the revisionist Western movement currently threading its way through our culture, but didn't Deadwood do it so well that everything else feels tired (fine films like Appaloosa included)? Conversely, can anyone name a good Kevin Costner film in the last decade? And you can't say The Upside of Anger because he was just a co-star! Humboldt County is all about weed and freedom so this column approves purely on principle (review coming up very soon!). Two Tyler Perry movies in one week?! Who did I piss off?

Hindsight, as we all know, is 20/20; the clarity of succeeding events allows us a sharper and more focused analysis of inciting incidents. But is it possible for the incident itself to have a level of focus all its own, without the benefit of future knowledge? Maybe that first decision can really be seen with 20/10 clarity; not in the sense that all known variables and outcomes will be laid out and correctly predicted, but with a very sharp understanding of the importance of the decision itself at the time it is made. What if the decision you have to make is an unpopular one, perhaps by a wide margin? There is heightened clarity in the immediacy of the decision itself, and it’s understanding of short-term consequences. At that point, the future is hazy and relatively unknown, but the present is crystal clear.

Ethan and Joel Coen, aka the Coen Brothers took home the biggest prizes at tonight's Academy Awards for the film "No Country For Old Men." It wasn't even the best film they've done but then again, Herbie Hancock. Jon Stewart ran the show as he did last year but could do no wrong with Regis Philbin there in the wings.

The Golden Globe winners have been announced, and unbelievably, Viggo Mortensen did NOT win "Best Actor" for Eastern Promises. True, he did not really emote; he didn't scream and he didn't cry. He did not play a person with a disability. Yes, he had to learn a foreign accent - with some success. But what really made Viggo award-worthy was that steamroom fight. I wish they had a "best fight scene" category like they do on the MTV awards. He better win the MTV award or I am calling "shenanigans". He fought off TWO knife-weilding Russian mobsters, including one who rose from the dead Carrie-style, all while completely naked. It was one of my favorite fight scenes ever, perhaps even making my top five.

Introducing the TV Junkie Black List: While waiting for Spoon to go on the Tonight Show last night I had to endure Leno and guest Denis Leary talking about how they'd like to get cyclists off the roads and how they enjoy honking at them, etc. Both of these a-holes know* what went down recently in Beverly Hills as reported by LAist and the last thing LA needs is more SUV drivers feeling justified in...

Decapitated antiheroes, suicide bombers and 12-year-old soldiers round out
this weekend's indie and limited release picks.


• A
  History of Violence - Drama starring Viggo Mortensen,
  directed by David Cronenberg. In this screen adaptation of a graphic
  novel by John Wagner and Vince Locke, Cronenberg explores how an act
  of heroism unexpectedly changes a man's life. [trailer | local
  showtimes]


• Capote - Drama
  starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, directed by Bennett Miller. Truman
  Capote believed fact could be as fascinating as fiction. While researching
  his book In Cold Blood, the author becomes friends with one
  of the killers. [trailer | local
  showtimes]


• The Chumscrubber - Dark
  comedy starring Jamie Bell and Glenn Close, directed by Arie
  Posin. Dean (Jamie Bell) is a quiet teenager living in a beautiful (but emotionally
  vacant) suburb of California. The death of a troubled teen throws a suburban neighborhood
  into chaos, causing the adults to implode emotionally. Similar to the
  demonic-looking rabbit in Donnie Darko, the "Chumscrubber"
  is a post-apocalyptic icon that pops up when things take a turn for the
  worse. [trailer | local
  showtimes]

WEDNESDAY