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Country Strong: Movie Review

Krystal Clark — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 01:01:50 +0000

The last time we saw Gwyneth Paltrow burst into song on the big screen was in the 2000 film Duets, where she sang alongside Huey Lewis. Over a decade later she’s back, but she’s solo and taking on the role of a music superstar in the drama Country Strong. Written and directed by Shana Feste, the film chronicles the rise of an entertainer who hit rock bottom, and is trying to regain the trust and support of her fans and her husband.

Check out the review…

The Players:

Director: Shana Feste
Screenwriter: Shana Feste
Cast: Gwyneth Paltrow, Garrett Hedlund, Tim McGraw, Leighton Meester
Cinematography By: John Bailey
Original Music By: Michael Brook

The Plot:

Kelly Canter (Paltrow) is a successful country singer who’s sent to rehab after her addiction with alcohol causes her to collapse during a huge show. She goes through a stint at a facility but is released early at the request of her manager and husband James (McGraw). While a patient, Kelly developed a close friendship with her sponsor Beau (Hedlund) who happens to be an amazing singer. Beau becomes one of the opening acts on her comeback tour, alongside a young songstress named Chiles, who Kelly sees as an impending threat. Amidst their travels they’re forced to deal with addiction, love, triumph, and tragedy.

The Good:

Music: The writer/director went after some of country’s heaviest hitters when it came to producing songs for this film and it shows. Every one of the tracks could be real contemporary hits if given the chance. Not only that but all the actors have enough vocal talent to pull them off.
Garrett Hedlund: A few weeks ago in my review for Tron Legacy, I stated that Hedlund is a decent actor but he wasn’t given decent material to work with in the film. Therefore his character came across as one dimensional and uninteresting. In Country Strong he’s the exact opposite. Paltrow may be the headliner but he’s the heart of this story. Beau is a simple guy who doesn’t get distracted by all the razzle dazzle the entertainment business has to offer. Hedlund did a great job of conveying that.

The Bad:

Cliche Galore: Country Strong fails to find an original voice (pun intended) because every plot point, every struggle, and every problem thrown at the characters has been used and abused in other movies that cover the same topic. If you’ve seen Tender Mercies, Crazy Heart, The Coal Miner’s Daughter, or The Thing Called Love, you’ve seen this movie already.
The Build Up: Without spoiling the final act of the film, a huge event occurs that effects all the major characters and it comes completely out of left field. Unfortunately, it doesn’t have the desired effect because it doesn’t feel earned. The build up and tension isn’t there.
The Message: “Fame and Love can’t live in the same place” is the message this film wants to bring across but it doesn’t quite accomplish it. It feels like it’s shoehorned in at the last minute, and the audience is supposed to be left pondering. It just doesn’t work out that way.

Overall:

Country Strong is a mediocre take on something that we’ve all seen before but what it lacks in originality of plot, it makes up for in music.

Rating: 4.5/10

Country Strong opens in theaters January 7.

Photo Gallery:

Trailer:

Will you be seeing Country Strong this weekend?

Tim Mcgraw Plays a Spy in Safe House With Denzel Washington and Ryan Reynolds

Krystal Clark — Sun, 12 Dec 2010 21:30:57 +0000

Tim Mcgraw is slowly but surely establishing himself as a serious actor with roles in Friday Night Lights, The Blind Side, and the upcoming drama Country Strong. For the most part he’s played characters who have similar backgrounds to himself but for his next role, he’ll be unrecognizable. The actor will star alongside Denzel Washington and Ryan Reynolds in the thriller Safe House, and he’ll go from country singer to action star!

When we spoke to Mcgraw at the press junket for Country Strong he revealed that he starts shooting Safe House in March and he’s really excited to play a spy. He said, “I get to play something action packed. I get to shoot people and stuff. I’m looking forward to that.” After he wraps production on the film he expects to start touring again in April or May, which means either Safe House will have a short shoot or he has a small part. You never know these days.

The plot of Safe House centers on the only surviving agent of an attack on a CIA safe house (Reynolds) as he tries to get a lethal prisoner (Washington) to a second safe house before being taken out by violent forces that want them both dead. Mcgraw wouldn’t reveal if he was a good guy or a bad guy in the film, so we’ll have to wait for its release to find out.

Safe House is scheduled to hit theaters on February 10, 2012.

Are you excited to see Mcgraw step outside the box with this part?

Weinstein Company Pays 3 Million for Dirty Girl

Mali Elfman — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 17:41:53 +0000

It was just confirmed that the Weinstein Company dropped $3 million on Abe Sylvia’s Dirty Girl at The Toronto International Film Festival following it’s first screening. Apparently once is enough if you’re a Weinstein! The film stars the soon to well known Juno Temple alongside Jeremy Dozier, Milla Jovovich, William H. Macy, Mary Steenburgen, Dwight Yoakam and Tim McGraw.

Harvey Weinstein seemed quite happy about his buy, he stated:

“I am thrilled to be part of such a sexy, edgy comedy that puts a modern spin on a coming-of -age story… It’s great to be back in business with some old friends and join forces with new and exciting talent and filmmakers.”

Written and directed by Sylvia, “Dirty Girl is the story of Danielle (Juno Temple), the dirty girl of Norman High School. When her misbehavior gets her banished to a remedial class, she teams up with an innocent closet-case and together they head out on a road trip to discover each other and themselves through a funny and serendipitous friendship.”

The film was not as successful with some of the critics, Katey Rich from Cinemablend wrote:

“Now I know Harvey and Bob Weinstein have championed some bizarre and doomed films over the years, but I cannot fathom why they paid more than a few nickels for Dirty Girl, an incredibly uneven and mean-spirited excuse for a comedy that wears out its welcome long before it veers sharply toward sentimentality in the third act.”

Ouch.

The deal was negotiated by David Glasser, Peter Lawson, Laine Kline for The Weinstein Company, and Graham Taylor and Mark Ankner of WME Global on behalf of the filmmakers.

The film was produced by Rob Paris, Jana Edelbaum and Rachel Cohen, with Ed Hart, Joan Huang, Christine Vachon, Pamela Koffler, Robert Bevan, Samantha Horley and Cyril Mégret serving as Executive Producers.

Do you think this was a smart buy?

Gwyneth Paltrow in Country Strong Trailer

Krystal Clark — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 15:55:12 +0000

Gwyneth Paltrow is singing again. If you didn’t see the Oscar winning actress hit a couple notes in the 2000 indie flick Duets, here’s your chance. A trailer has been released for her upcoming film Country Strong and it features the actress doing her best Tender Mercies/The Coal Miner’s Daughter/Crazy Heart impression. Take a look…

Country Strong centers on a young singer-songwriter (Garrett Hedlund) who gets involved with a fallen, emotionally unstable country star (Paltrow). The pair embark on a career resurrection tour helmed by her husband/manager (Tim McGraw) and featuring a beauty-queen-turned-singer (Leighton Meester). Between concerts, romantic entanglements and old demons threaten to derail them all.

Are we the only ones having a problem buying Paltrow in this role? And even though they have Hedlund with a beard and a shaggy haircut he still looks like a kid. He’s only a year older than Meester whose age they keep emphasizing in this trailer. Considering the material and the time of release, this movie looks like obvious Oscar bait, but we’re not biting.

Country Strong is scheduled to hit theaters on December 22nd in limited release and January 7, 2011 in wide.

What do you think of the first trailer for Country Song?

The Blind Side: Movie Review

Krystal Clark — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 03:00:59 +0000

In 2006 Michael Lewis released a book entitled, The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game that told the tough story of professional football player Michael Oher and his journey to the NFL. The book was adapted into a feature, and centers on a young and homeless Oher (Quinton Aaron) who is taken in by the affluent Tuohy family in Memphis, Tennessee. He isn’t so much a delinquent as he is misguided, and the film highlights how they gave him the direction to reach his full potential in sports and in life.

Check out our review of The Blind Side…

The Players:

Director: John Lee Hancock
Writers: John Lee Hancock, Michael Lewis (book)
Starring: Sandra Bullock, Tim McGraw, Quinton Aaron, Lily Collins, Jae Head, Ray McKinnon, Kathy Bates

The Plot:

The Blind Side is based on the humble beginnings of Michael Oher, an abandoned inner city kid who’s mother is a drug addict and father is no where to be found. A family friend finds a way to enter him into an upscale private school due to his size and athletic ability. While there he struggles with his grades, sleeps in the gym, and wears the same outfit on a daily basis. During a rainy walk from school, he’s discovered by the Tuohy family and slowly becomes a permanent staple in their lives. Throughout his stay, he’s given a tutor to help with his studies, a shot a college education, and a chance to play professional football in the NFL.

The Good:

Ray McKinnon: This Oscar winner (Best Short Film, The Accountant) stars as Coach Cotton, one of the driving forces behind Michael’s football success. McKinnon pulls off the right balance of sincerity and selfishness in his role. Initially, Cotton sees Oher as an amazing career opportunity, but he eventually sheds that desire to put the player’s future in front of his own.
Humor: This movie is a lot more lighthearted than one would expect. Going off the trailer, you get the impression that this will be a tear jerker along the lines of Rudy or even Friday Night Lights, but it’s not. There are a lot of comedic moments especially between the family that make this film refreshing but not depressing.
Closing Credit Sequence: This may seem like an odd thing to point out, but after the film comes to an end, the closing credit sequence is the cherry on top. It features photos of the real life Tuohy clan, along with Michael throughout the years. There’s even footage from Oher’s drafting ceremony into the NFL, which is beyond priceless.

The Bad:

The Screenplay: There’s nothing about this story that makes it stand out amongst other films that have similar premises. It follows a formula that we’ve seen time and time again in not only the sports genre, but drama, comedy and everywhere in between.
The Supporting Actors: For the most part, the main cast did decent work, but everyone around them appeared to be phoning in their performances. In particular, the group of “street thugs” from Oher’s old neighborhood were cast very badly. You could tell that these were professionally trained actors trying to do their best thug impressions. Their dialogue was stereotypical, and you could actually see the disbelief on their faces as they delivered each line.

Overall:

The Blind Side is not your typical, sappy drama. It has plenty of lighthearted moments to keep you on the up and up, in an otherwise generic sports tale. The story isn’t terrible, but leaves much room for improvement. Don’t go into this movie thinking that you’ll see a lot of football action, because you won’t. This film concentrates more on Oher’s family and school life than the actual sport. This may be something that appeals to those who aren’t fans of the game, but may turn off those who are.

Rating: 6/10

The Blind Side hits theaters nationwide on November 20, 2009

ScreenCrave.com » tim mcgraw

Country Strong: Movie Review

The Players:

The Plot:

The Good:

The Bad:

Overall:

Rating: 4.5/10

Photo Gallery:

Trailer:

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The Blind Side: Movie Review

The Players:

The Plot:

The Good:

The Bad:

Overall:

Rating: 6/10

Photo Gallery:

Trailer:

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