'Oz the Great and Powerful': *star

what a mess. what a bore. i have no clue how this film has made over $300 billion dollars except for the fact that we got fooled into thinking this was a 3d masterpiece. well it's not. i love james franco and rachel weisz and they deserve better and should do better by us.

don't waste your time that you'll never get back or your money.

Character Posters for 'Oz the Great and Powerful' Due in March

o

'360' *1/2stars

'360' is currently in limited engagements but is available on vod. it aspires to 'babel'esque storytelling but fails miserably. although rachel weisz, jude law and anthony hopkins give good performances they can't save this meandering and boring tale. and the 360 doesn't really work as there is no 'center' to connect the disparate tales. rent 'babel' instead which is brilliant.

2006 academy award nominee 'babel' and one of the best of the decade so far is the real deal.

'The Bourne Legacy' Opens Wide Today

New 'The Bourne Legacy' Featurette Explains The Film's Ties To The Jason Bourne Saga

jeremy renner is not playing jason bourne. he plays another agent in another cia like black-ops program and takes place at the same time as 'the bourne ultimatum'. the new featurette hopes to explain it all to us prior to it's august 10th unveiling in theaters. have a go at it.

i've been a fan of the 'bourne' films from the start. i hate the thought of one without matt damon but i will be there. rachel weisz is in it. so is edward norton. so sure i'll give it an open minded go. jeremy renner has yet to get to me. he almost did in 'the town' but fell somewhat short. we'll see.


the featurette

convinced?

'The Deep Blue Sea' Releases Today on BluRay and DVD

if you want to see the best performance by an actress this year, so far, buy or rent 'the deep blue sea'. rachel weisz is amazing generally but exceeds all expectations here. rent it or buy it but definitely see it.

'The Bourne Legacy' August 10th

three new tv spots. opens august 10th

'Oz the Great and Powerful Trailer': James Franco, Michelle Williams, Rachel Weisz & Mila Kunis

it won't open till 2013 but here's a peak

'Oz The Great and Powerful' Poster Unvieled

staring james franco, rachel weisz, mila kunis and michelle williams

'Dream House' Gets a D

i just caught this on dvd. what a waste. rachel weitz what were you thinking. well at least you got a new husband out of it (daniel craig). don't bother. it's a  predictable mess. go out and enjoy the beginning of spring.

Coming Soon

Happy Birthdat Rachel

rachel won the oscar for the 2005 film 'the constant gardener' in the supporting category. it was one of those misplaced nominations. she deserved to be in the best actress category but studio manipulations placed the nom in supporting. they figured she had a better chance to win there. she won there. perhaps they were correct. 

rachel's 2010 release 'agora' did not get much theatrical play. i recommended it before and recommend it still. it's intelligent. it's about history repeating itself. it's relevance is this: the crazy right wing christians today are repeating the same things today as the original jesus cults did in ancient times. try it.it's important.

'Agora': A Remarkable Important Film ***1/2stars

'agora' is a good film that did not find an audience mainly because earlier this year it was released in select cities but never opened wide. it did open in europe in 2009. it's a historical drama set in ancient alexandria that pits pagans vs the new but thriving christian cult and after that the now established christian cult against the jews. it pits them all against science. does any of this sound familiar? i was taught that we study history to see where we came from and learn from past mistakes, one, and i've also been taught that history repeats itself, two. the latter appears to be the truth. 

first we must look at the rise of the christian or jesus cult that grew as the roman empire lost it's strength. the multiple gods thinking was being replaced by monotheism. and all would accept it or be damned. damned as in be persecuted and put to death by being skinned or stoned to death. ah christianity!  insane clerics, literally insane, would be made saints and called martyrs upon their death because they went after those jews, philosophers and scientists who would not convert to the new faith. sweet arrogance. again i ask: does any of this sound familiar? 

for my american readers i ask you to think about the current climate in the states today. we have a political party that basically denies science. political candidates who do not believe in evolution or climate change. to them stem cell research is something against nature. we have political candidates running for office who freely wear nazi garb and call their opposition nazis.  i think you see where i'm going. these 'new christians' on the right who disavow science, make a mockery of jews and mock jews by espousing hitler like tactics and vocabulary. this newest jesus cult condemns an entire religion for the fanaticism of a minority. muslims anyone? and yes they do not recognize science. science is to them evil. they think jesus would not like science. i think they should remember jesus supposedly changed water into wine. a damn good bit of chemistry going on there friends*. i think jesus would like science. jesus was a philosopher first and foremost. he was not a king or a god until the 3rd century when elevated by a cult preying on the fears of the downtrodden. but i digress or think i do.

'agora' is an important film. it is a necessary film. i am not surprised that it has been seemingly suppressed in the united states. it is an ancient story mirroring our modern day. how the hell does that make us modern?

today you can see this film. it is available on dvd. if you are a thinking person you owe it to yourself to see it. if you care about history and our humankind past you owe it to yourself to see it. if you believe history should not repeat itself you owe it to yourself to see it.

the film is well directed by alejandro amenabar ('the sea inside', 'the others'). the well cast film is headed by rachel weisz, max minghella, oscar isaac and rupert evans all of whom excel.

it is quite possibly one of the most important films of our times.

*on a personal note i believe jesus was a great man, prophet and philosopher. no more, no less.

trailer

on dvd now

'Agora'

Agora is a stunning masterpiece directed by Spanish-Chilean filmmaker Alejandro Amenábar (Open Your Eyes, Butterfly Tongues, The Others, The Sea Inside). The screenplay was co-written by Amenábar and his writing partner Mateo Gil (Open Your Eyes, Vanilla Sky, The Sea Inside). Amenábar says that he wants audiences "to see, feel and smell a remote civilization as if it were as real as today." Watching this trailer, I can say it feels and smells like that civilization being the Egyptians of 4th Century AD. Ironically, Agora is still looking for a US distributor and doesn't have a release date, but will be playing at the Toronto Film Festival.

'The Lovely Bones' on DVD and BluRay: *1/2

not even rachel weisz, mark wahlberg, saoirse ronan or the brilliant stanley tucci were, are, able to save this overdrawn movie. admittedly i was not a fan of the novel but this adaptation is 10 times more boring. skip it!

Rachel to Play Jackie Kennedy Onassis*

By Jeff Sneider
Published: April 14, 2010
Oscar winner Rachel Weisz ("The Constant Gardener") is attached to play Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis in "Jackie," a Noah Oppenheim-scripted drama that Weisz's fiance Darren Aronofsky ("The Wrestler") will direct and produce with Scott Franklin through their production company Protozoa Pictures, reports Entertainment Weekly.

The film will follow Jackie O over the four days between President John F. Kennedy's assassination and his burial and reportedly show the beloved late First Lady "at both her most vulnerable and her most graceful." The intriguing concept sets the film apart from other Kennedy-related projects, including Oliver Stone's "JFK."

CAA is shopping the package and lining up financing for the project. Judging by Aronofsky's recent track record, it'd be fair to suggest that the project will wind up at Fox Searchlight, however, it also carries a certain prestige element that may be better suited for DreamWorks. Either way, the "Jackie" package is attractive enough that some Oscar-hungry studio will be unable to resist.

The L.A. Times previously reported that director Steven Spielberg was linked to the project, which was expected to land at HBO, home of Spielberg's miniseries "The Pacific," but the DreamWorks principal is not part of the package at this point.

It's kind of funny that an American icon like Jackie O will be played by a British actress, but there's no doubt that Weisz has the look, and more importantly the talent, to succeed in the high-profile role. Plus, it's comforting to know that Weisz and Aronofsky's last collaboration was 2006's underrated romantic sci-fi epic "The Fountain," as opposed to, say, "Far and Away," to name one of several possible examples of bad movies made by good couples.

The project is certainly in safe hands with Aronofsky, who is indisputably among the best American filmmakers working today. His last film, "The Wrestler," was my favorite film of 2008, and I consider his second feature, "Requiem For a Dream," to be the second-best film of the last decade. He recently completed Fox Searchlight's ballet thriller "Black Swan," which stars Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, Winona Ryder and Captain America's new sidekick Sebastian Stan ("Gossip Girl").

Weisz has starred in an alarming number of disappointments since winning an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She followed "The Constant Gardener" with the aforementioned "The Fountain," but then went on to star in "Eragon," "My Blueberry Nights," "Fred Claus," "The Brothers Bloom" and "The Lovely Bones." Yikes! Not much luck there, but hey, at least I enjoyed "Definitely, Maybe" more than most. Weisz will next appear in Alejandro Amenabar's long-delayed historical drama "Agora," which Newmarket Films will finally open on May 28. According to The Playlist, the film will be 14 minutes shorter than the version that received an underwhelming response at Cannes last year. Weisz has also been rumored to play the head of Quantum in "Bond 23," which would be very cool news if it is ever confirmed.

Oppenheim is a former journalist and "Today" show producer who currently serves as the head of development at Reveille.

*courtesy of 'the wrap