Hot damned, was I looking forward to seeing this movie. When I first saw the announcement, the book cover alone got me all riled up.

And then the teasers came out?

Man, I was pumped. Deep down inside I knew it would probably be dumb, but I also wanted to just embrace the bad for the sake of having fun.

What kills me is not that this movie sucked (as if you hadn’t guessed my opinion by now). What really sucks about it is the fact that it could have so easily been good.

It’s supposed to be a good book, so I guess it’s only natural that the movie would suck. But still, it would have been so simple not to fuck this one up.

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Wednesday 12th:

The Perfect Holiday – With Gabrielle Union, Morris Chestnut, Queen Latifah, Terrence Howard, Jill Marie Jones, Faizon Love. Single women, needs a man, finds a man, they like each other, man lies, she finds out, I’m sure the Holiday spirit brings them together and he gets a REAL job. Romantic, comedy that seems to be pretty straight forward. People love these, personally I can’t stand them.

Friday 14th:

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“Its gonna be a long hard walk, but I will walk hard.” John C. Reilly, who plays fictional rock legend Dewey Cox, delivers this line in Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story. This line inspires the writing of his signature song that eventually takes him to the top of the charts and leads to a life of debauchery and redemption.

He has been playing shows as his character Dewey Cox with a backing band called “The Hard Walkers.” It’s cross marketing at its finest. ‘Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story’ is a parody on Hollywood’s recent obsession with chronicling the lives of legendary musicians and the pitfalls they encounter amid their rise to stardom. If you haven’t seen the film, its funny…real funny. The best part of the film is the music.

So go out and rock hard at Guitar Center with Dewey Cox and the Hard Walkers tonight, 7pm, at the Guitar Center on 7425 W. Sunset Blvd.

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This past Saturday night at the Aero Theater on Montana there was a Christian Bale marathon showing, 3:10 to Yuma, I’m Not There, Batman Begins, American Psycho, and a surprise appearance (for anyone who could stay awake) from the Machinist. After the first film 3:10 to Yuma was a Q&A with Christian Bale and Director James Mangold. They also, also gave us dinner and plenty coffee. The entire event was $18! How could life get any better?

The Q&A was one of the most interesting I’ve even seen. From first glance Mangold looked honest, vibrant and fun. He talked with confidence and intelligence. His words of wisdom to wanna-be film makers was “keep it simple” there is nothing like telling a good story. I could write an entire piece on him, but I will save that for another day, and discuss what everyone probably wants to know about, Bale.

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There were quite a few movies that came out this year. If you are like me an avid movie fan, this presents a problem. After all there are only so many hours in a day. However, there was something special about this year. A single motivating force that made it easy for me to spend my not so hard earned money at the Cineplex. That thing was, ACTION!

This year I counted at least a dozen well directed, acted, and edited action flicks. Some of them are now out on DVD while others are still playing at your local theaters. So without any hesitation, here are my top 3 Action picks and most notably why they made the cut.

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So, apparently, this movie The Golden Compass inspired The Catholic League to conduct a two month, nationwide protest of the film, and the books that inspired it, by writer Philip Pullman. The Catholic League even released a pamphlet outlining Pullman’s atheist agenda (Pullman is indeed an outspoken atheist), and his intent to force “god-hating” propaganda into the mind of innocent children across the globe.

Hollywood, on cue, removed much of the “offensive to Christian” material from the movie. In the world of The Golden Compass, the Magesterium represents a repressive Catholic church-like institution bent upon keeping the truth and knowledge of the world to itself; and controlling the population’s inquisitiveness and curiosity – starting with childhood. Human souls are represented by “daemons” which take the form of animals that belong – as conscience – to each person. The Magesterium has the idea that, if they separate these souls from children while they are young (”it’s just a little cut”), that they will become complacent adults.

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“We set out to make a good film.” The other night, Backstage West held a screening of the indie Once on the 20th Century Fox Studio lot followed by a question and answer period with the film’s stars. Once is a contemporary musical set in Ireland which explores the relationship and, ultimately, enrichment of two individuals, a guy and girl (Their names are never given.), through their musical talents. He is a street performer, earning the pithy change from those who pass by, and she is a single mother whose love of the piano perfectly complements the Guy’s passion for music.

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Juno begins with its title character walking to the convenient store to purchase her third pregnancy test in as many hours. The film morphs from live action to a drawing style animation backed by a Moldy Peaches song, an auspicious and stylish start. The story follows Junebug (as she is affectionately called), her pregnancy, and her subsequent decision to give the baby up for adoption. The whole teenage pregnancy storyline is handled with a certain amount of levity…too much levity. Juno teeters on the edge of amusement during her pregnancy, showing little emotional attachment throughout. Aside from one scene where she pulls the car over to rid her dormant tears, we never get a real sense that pregnancy for a 16 year old girl is anything but a catalyst for comedic material.

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If you’re a movie buff like myself, and you haven’t been living underground for the past couple of months then I’m sure you’ve been following the hype and headlines surrounding the highly anticipated sequel to Batman Begins. In the first film Chris Nolan brought a very welcome fresh and gritty style to the Batman franchise, darker and certainly more realistically violent, Batman Begins was as much for young kids as it was for adults and long standing worshipers of the Batman history.

According to Nolan, The Dark Knight is less an over the top “comic film” and really more of an intense character study of Batman and the crazy clown prince. The Joker is the one really catching all the limelight, and Ledger’s performance seems to be the only thing fans are concerned with. Hey, I’m right there with them. I have seen all the pictures of Heath, dressed to kill, literally. The Joker certainly looks more frightening this time around then Nicholson did when he wore the white face and red lips.

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