James Franco

Blu-Ray Review: Sean Penn’s Oscar-Winning ‘Milk’ Will Recruit Movie Fans Around the World

BrianTT — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 07:17:07 -0600

Blu-Ray Rating: 4.0/5.0

CHICAGO – With the help of Dustin Lance Black’s Oscar-winning screenplay, Sean Penn’s Oscar-winning performance, Josh Brolin’s Oscar-nominated performance, James Franco’s Spirit Award-winning performance and Gus Van Sant’s Oscar-nominated direction, Harvey Milk has been brought back from the dead. Milk has been put back atop his soapbox and given the chance to recruit millions for the cause of human rights through the masterpiece “Milk”. Harvey used to say: “My name is Harvey Milk and I want to recruit you.” Now he has another chance.

“Milk” was easily one of the best films of 2008, arguably a better choice to win than the Academy made with “Slumdog Millionaire,” and it’s an absolute must-see. Honestly, this writer feels in such agreement with Dustin Lance Black and Sean Penn’s speeches at the Oscars about the importance of gay rights and the effect this film could have on the movement that I think they should show “Milk” in school. Teach ‘em about such an important figure early.

Milk was released on Blu-Ray on March 10th, 2009.
Photo credit: Universal Home Video

Revisiting “Milk” again on Blu-Ray, I was struck by its incredible re-watchability. From the amazing period detail - captured so vividly in Universal’s nearly-perfect HD process - to the award-winning performances to the incredible structure of Dustin Lance Black’s screenplay. “Milk” is one of those things that only comes along a few times a year, if we’re lucky, a flawless movie.

Milk was released on Blu-Ray on March 10th, 2009.
Photo credit: Universal Home Video

In the best performance of his amazing career, Sean Penn disappears into Harvey Milk, a city supervisor in San Francisco who was assassinated after only a short time in office. Milk changed the lives of millions just by being himself and refusing to live in a world where everyone wasn’t allowed to do the same without trying to do something about it.

Black’s incredible screenplay, one that I think stands among the best of the ’00s, focuses on the movement of the last eight years of Milk’s life but it does so without preaching or turning to melodrama. It perfectly places what Milk accomplished in context of not only history but humanity. Milk’s message was always that gay people have the same lives and loves as straight people and Black never forgets to ground the movement in a touching human story.

“Milk” opens with Harvey and his lover Scott Smith (James Franco) moving from New York to San Francisco’s Castro District, the center of the gay rights movement in the ’70s. With the community around them, Harvey and Scottie realize that they have the power to rally for change. Through boycott, the hurt stores that display homophobia and even join forces with the teamsters to enact change.

Harvey, Scott, Cleve Jones (Emile Hirsch), Anne Kronenberg (Allison Pill) soon learn that they’ll get a lot more done in office than they could on a soap box and Milk begins several office. They try and lose, try and lose, until Milk finally gets into the position to make a real change. In office, Milk crossed paths with the seriously damaged Dan White (Josh Brolin), the man who would shoot him and the Mayor in just a year.

Milk was released on Blu-Ray on March 10th, 2009.
Photo credit: Universal Home Video

Watching “Milk” again, I was struck by something that Diego Luna notes in one of the special features - the film captures the “light” of Harvey Milk. It’s not a depressing film, which is one of the main reasons it works. So many filmmakers mistake depressing for moving. “Milk” is never the former and undeniably the latter.

Milk was released on Blu-Ray on March 10th, 2009.
Photo credit: Universal Home Video

My adoration for one of the best films of 2008 is clear, but the Blu-Ray release of it is a bit disappointing. I find it impossible to believe that this will be the final word on “Milk,” an eight-time Oscar nominee.

The special features included are excellent and the technical transfer is typically great (Universal very rarely falters in HD and DTS Master Audio), but there’s not a single word from Van Sant or Penn on the entire release, no commentary track, and only just over a half-hour of featurettes. A movie like “Milk” deserves (and will probably eventually get) a more extensive collection of special features.

With no U-Control (Universal’s great feature that allows featurette access during the playback of a film), viewers hoping for more detail about the film and its subject will want to see three great featurettes - “Remembering Harvey,” “Hollywood Comes to San Francisco,” and “Marching For Equality”.

The first features interviews with the actual people in the movie, including Cleve Jones, and is unlikely to leave a dry eye in the house. It hammers the real-life impact that Milk had home but it could have been four times as long as its 13-minute running time.

“Hollywood Comes to San Francisco” is the only featurette to include interviews with any of the on-camera talent and Josh Brolin, James Franco, and Diego Luna do have interesting things to say. Once again, as he did on the Oscars, Dustin Lance Black tugs at the heartstrings, talking about how much Milk personally influenced him.

Finally, “Equality” focuses on the production design and how perfectly it recreated San Francisco in the ’70s. “Milk” is one of the most technically impressive films of 2008. 8 minutes on how that was accomplished doesn’t seem like enough.

The story of “Milk” is not over. I’ve long bristled against the idea that art should be used as political force, but this could be the rare exception, a film that will get people talking and influence generations to come. Harvey is still recruiting.

‘Milk’ is released by Universal Home Video and stars Sean Penn, James Franco, Josh Brolin, Anne Kronenberg, Emile Hirsch, and Diego Luna. It was written by Dustin Lance Black and directed by Gus Van Sant. It was released on March 10th, 2009. It is rated R.

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

Mickey Rourke, Melissa Leo Win 2009 Film Independent Spirit Awards

BrianTT — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 18:31:45 -0700

CHICAGO – “The Wrestler” was the big winner at the Film Independent Spirit Awards in Los Angeles, as Darren Aronofsky’s film took home the prize for Best Picture and Mickey Rourke won for Best Actor. Other big winners included Melissa Leo for Best Actress for “Frozen River,” James Franco for Best Supporting Actor for “Milk,” and Penelope Cruz for “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”.

Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler
Photo credit: Fox Searchlight

Mickey Rourke gave the most entertaining speech of the day, taking time to note that friend Eric Roberts should get the same kind of career comeback that he has had with “The Wrestler” and becoming emotional when speaking about his recently deceased close friend, his dog Loki. Like a lot of people, he was clealry having a blast

Rourke gave one of the most heartfelt, fun, and generally entertaining speeches in years, a part of a ceremony that always feels more laid-back and enjoyable than nearly any other awards show. How many other awards shows feature f-bombs and giant bottles of Jameson on the table?

The Steve Coogan-hosted event included unusual musical numbers (sung by people like Christina Applegate, Teri Hatcher, and Rainn Wilson) for the five films nominated for Best Feature (“Ballast,” “Frozen River,” “Rachel Getting Married,” “Wendy and Lucy,” and “The Wrestler”)

“The Wrestler” may have been the big winner but the Independent Spirit Awards, hosted by Steve Coogan and broadcast live on IFC, really spread the wealth around with each acting award and the director award going to five different films.

Other major winners includes Thomas McCarthy for Best Director for “The Visitor,” Woody Allen for Best Screenplay for “Vicky Cristina Barcelona,” “The Class” for Foreign Film, Maryse Alberti for Best Cinematography for “The Wrestler,” and “Man on Wire” for Best Documentary.

Charlie Kaufman won Best First Feature for “Synecdoche, New York” and Dustin Lance Black won Best First Screenplay for “Milk”.

The Acura Someone to Watch Award went to Lynn Shelton for “My Effortless Brilliance”. The Plaget Producers Award went to Heather Rae for “Frozen River”. Margaret Brown won the Lacoste Truer Than Fiction Award for “The Order of Myths”. The team behind “Synecdoche, New York” was given a special prize, the Robert Altman Award, given to the film’s director, casting director and its ensemble cast.

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

Blu-Ray Review: Shockingly High Levels of Melodrama Sink ‘Nights in Rodanthe’

BrianTT — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 11:15:19 -0700

Blu-Ray Rating: 2.0/5.0

CHICAGO – I have a very high threshold for melodramatic romance. I was raised on cheesy musicals and will admit to pausing on the underrated “The Notebook” more than once when I pass it on cable. Having said that, I hated “Nights in Rodanthe,” a film that mines rarely seen lows in manipulative soap opera dreck and washes away the screen presence of two of the genre’s most physically blessed stars in a sea of fake tears and ridiculous plot twists.

The script for “Nights in Rodanthe” by Ann Peacock and John Romano from a best-selling book by Nicholas Sparks would get most writers laughed out of a pitch meeting for an episode of “Days of Our Lives”. I am easily moved and will admit to openly crying at films more often than a grown man should, but rarely have I seen a melodramatic script rendered more ineffective by horrendous dialogue and cliched behavior than the one for “Rodanthe”.

Nights in Rodanthe is released by Warner Brothers Home Video on February 10th, 2009.
Photo credit: Warner Bros.

The two charismatic and beautiful stars of “Unfaithful” - Richard Gere and Diane Lane - star in “Nights in Rodanthe” and prove that they still have an impressive and interesting screen chemistry. They just chose the wrong script to do so.

Nights in Rodanthe is released by Warner Brothers Home Video on February 10th, 2009.
Photo credit: Warner Bros.

Gere plays Paul, a surgeon who long ago traded family for career and has had to deal with upheaval in his life after a woman died on his operating table during a routine surgery. He’s grown distant from his son (an uncredited James Franco) and goes to a remote inn on the Outer Banks of North Carolina to unwind and meet up with someone important to his past and future.

Lane plays Adrienne, a devoted mother who has been separated from her husband (Christopher Meloni) since he cheated on her but the cad now wants back into her life. It doesn’t help that Adrienne is facing pressure from their daughter (Mae Whitman) to reconcile but she finds support from her close friend (Viola Davis), the owner of the inn.

Adrienne happens to be watching the inn when Paul happens to be the only guest there on a weekend where there happens to be a hurricane. There’s a lot of “happens” in “Nights in Rodanthe”. Just not a lot of believability.

The first part of “Rodanthe,” the courtship period between Adrienne and Paul, is surprisingly lifeless and inert. Without the natural chemistry these two stars have together, it would be nearly unbearable. They hang around the inn, eating, drinking, playing garbage-can basketball. Is this how people going through emotional upheaval really grow close to one another?

Of course, mother nature must step in and the hurricane forces Paul and Adrienne to turn to one another as they try to put the problems of their lives in perspective. The dialogue in the mid-section of “Nights in Rodanthe” is unbelievable.

“Not the best husband, the best father. The best doctor!”

“What are you afraid of?”

“Do you even remember who you really are any more?”

Nights in Rodanthe is released by Warner Brothers Home Video on February 10th, 2009.
Photo credit: Warner Bros.

These are the kind of cliched, manipulative lines that shouldn’t make it past a rough draft much less to a shooting script. No one talks like that and once you realize that “Rodanthe” is just another melodramatic soap opera, it loses all interest or emotional power. Past the star’s copious chemistry and like-ability, there’s nothing to care about.

Warner Brothers knows that “Nights in Rodanthe” is a very likely rental, possibly even a purchase for fans of the couple or Nicholas Sparks, so they do a decent job with the Blu-Ray release. The video transfer is very good and the audio is above average. Even as the world around Paul and Adrienne is falling apart, the lush, beautiful setting of the Outer Banks looks stunning in HD. In fact, the video transfer is the best thing about the Blu-Ray release of “Nights in Rodanthe”.

I expected a commentary or in-depth look at the making of the film, but neither are really present. There are a few EPK-style interview bits with Lane and Gere on the making-of feature called “The Nature of Love,” which runs about twenty minutes, probably long enough for casual fans of the movie, but serious ones usually want a bit more than that.

“A Time for Love: Keeping Up with Nicholas Sparks” is for hardcore fans of the author only and “An Intimate Look at ‘In Rodanthe’ with Singer/Songwriter Emmylou Harris” is the same for those who adore the country star. The inclusion of Gavin Rossdale’s “Love Remains the Same” may be the most unusual addition.

Finally, director George C. Wolfe appears on a director commentary on a handful of correctly deleted scenes. In one, he comments on the cut of a shot of a house going down the shore after the hurricane because of Katrina memories he feared it would raise. Wolfe, a theater veteran and household name in those circles, is an interesting creative voice and I wished he had done a commentary, even if it meant I had to sit through “Nights in Rodanthe” again.

‘Nights in Rodanthe’ is released by Warner Brothers Home Video and stars Richard Gere, Diane Lane, Scott Glenn, Christopher Meloni, Viola Davis, and James Franco. It was written by Ann Peacock and John Romano and directed by George C. Wolfe. It was released on February 10th, 2009.

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

The 10 Biggest Oscar Snubs of 2009

BrianTT — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 08:31:57 -0700

CHICAGO – Stories are released every year about the gap between the Oscars and public opinion. It’s a chasm that seems to be growing with every passing year. For the 81st-annual Academy Awards, this legendary group had a chance to close that gap and nominate two films for best picture that were critically acclaimed and commercially successful: “The Dark Knight” and “WALL-E”. But they blew it.

The two films did land a combined fourteen nominations, but were excluded from Best Director and Best Picture, proving that the Academy still has a long way to go when it comes to actually recognizing the best of the year. But they were far from the only mistake revealed on Thursday morning, January 22nd, 2009.

Before we discuss the serious snubs, Best Foreign Language Film is too much of a joke to be considered eligible. The likely winner, Waltz With Bashir, is very deserving, but the process is so flawed that it makes the inevitable win for Ari Folman’s excellent film a slightly hollow one. The fact that the Academy still employs a process that makes one of the best foreign films of the year (Let the Right One In) ineligible and ignores one of the most critically acclaimed choices like Gomorrah from even making the short list is mind-boggling to me. It’s not snubbing, it’s utter nonsense.

Picking ten snubs from this year’s list of nominees was shockingly easy. In fact, there wasn’t a single category that didn’t have a worthy contender on the outside looking in. And how do you rank them? What’s more painful - Sally Hawkins, Christopher Nolan, Darren Aronofsky, or Rosemarie DeWitt still being unable to put Oscar nominee next to their name? Instead, we’re picking the biggest snub per category with the big eight and then two notable omissions from the other categories rounding out a top ten (well, top eleven if you’re being picky).

Dear Zachary.
Photo credit: Oscilloscope

10. “Dear Zachary” for Best Documentary

Kurt Kuenne’s amazing dissection of pure evil and immeasurable good didn’t even make the short list for a category that’s almost as messed up as Best Foreign Language Film. Man on Wire will probably and predictably win but there were so many other choices they could have made to join it then the ones they did. Trouble the Water was powerful, so that’s a great nod, but it is mind-boggling to me that Werner Herzog gets snubbed for one of the best nature documentaries of the last few years, Grizzly Man, but nominated for a film that even he would admit wasn’t nearly as good, Encounters at the End of the World. But all of it pales in comparison to the most powerfully emotional experience that I had in 2008 - Dear Zachary. Like Foreign Language Film, this will be a category that I use for a bathroom break.

Winner Bruce Springsteen for Best Original Song in a Motion Picture for “The Wrestler” on stage during the 66th Annual Golden Globe Awards held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 11, 2009
Photo credit: Paul Drinkwater/NBC

9. “The Wrestler” by Bruce Springsteen for Best Song

This is perhaps the most head-scratching snub of the day. It’s clearly not an anti-Boss thing, as they gave him the award for “Streets of Philadelphia”. No, I think there’s a deeper problem here. I think this category is broken. Maybe after giving the trophy to Three Six Mafia (deservedly, I might add), something snapped. How else do you explain the THREE nominations for “Enchanted” in this category last year (snubbing Eddie Vedder’s great work on “Into the Wild” and tunes by John Mayer, Rufus Wainwright, and Bob Dylan) and now this disaster? Don’t get me wrong. The two songs from “Slumdog Millionaire” are both good and it will be ridiculously cool to see M.I.A. perform on the Oscars. And I love the track from “WALL-E” by Peter Gabriel. But did they forget the other two nominees? How about “The Wrestler” and “Dracula’s Lament” from “Forgetting Sarah Marshall”? Come on. It’s not too late. Just pretend there were five all along. We’re gonna need a laugh after all the “Reader” and “Frost/Nixon” clips anyway.

Let the Right One In
Photo credit: Magnolia

8. “Let the Right One In” by John Ajvide Lindqvist for Best Adapted Screenplay

I know it will be a cold day in movie hell when a foreign horror movie gets a nomination this prestigious, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t snubbed. The script for Tomas Alfredson’s stunning study of vampirism and adolescence is easily better than three of the chosen nominees and arguably second only to Simon Beaufoy’s stunning work on “Slumdog Millionaire”. No offense to the talented people chosen for this category, but could it have been any more predictable? Take the award-winning plays, the F. Scott Fitzgerald adaptation, and something called “The Reader” has to be a great adapted screenplay, right? “Let the Right One In” is a challenging, daring examination of childhood isolation through the lens of the vampire mythology. It’s a wonderful screenplay that was probably not even considered. It will stand the test of time far more impressively than “Frost/Nixon” or “The Reader”.

66th Golden Globes Emphasize Star Power With Film Nominations

BrianTT — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 10:25:34 -0700

CHICAGO – The Hollywood Foreign Press Association announced the nominees for The 66th Annual Golden Globe Awards this morning and jaws dropped at some of their choices and some of their exclusions. Somewhat surprisingly, “The Dark Knight” was left out of the Best Picture category, but far more shockingly, “Milk” was also off the short list. Both films did get a single acting nomination - for Heath Ledger and Sean Penn, respectively - but the confusing awards season was made increasingly more so this morning by the HFPA.

The big films of the year for the HFPA were “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”, “Doubt”, and “Frost/Nixon”, all of which landed five nominations. “The Reader”, “Revolutionary Road”, “Slumdog Millionaire”, and “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” all followed with four nods a piece.

Regarding the nominations for “Benjamin Button”, Frank Marshall and Kathleen Kennedy said in a statement, “We’re thankful to the Hollywood Foreign Press for recognizing our film with these nominations. Throughout the journey to make this movie, Benjamin Button has been a labor of love for all of us, and particularly David, who brought so much of himself to the story. We’re tremendously proud of the film and the work of Cate, Brad and the wonderful cast and crew, and delighted to be honored with this nomination.”

Stars like Tom Cruise, Robert Downey Jr., Meryl Streep, Penelope Cruz, Kate Winslet, Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, and even Mickey Rourke will all walk the red carpet as film nominees. A pair of fantastic actresses landed two nominations with Meryl Streep picking up nods for “Doubt” and “Mamma Mia!” with Kate Winslet up for two with her turns in “Revolutionary Road” and “The Reader”.

Winslet was ecstatic about her double nominations and the success of her pictures, saying through a statement, “Playing April Wheeler and Hannah Schmitz, two strong and complex characters was a true gift. To be recognized by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for both performances is a genuine honor and I am incredibly grateful. I am forever thankful to my husband Sam Mendes, Leo and fellow cast members and for Justin’s beautiful script. I am equally proud to share this day with Stephen Daldry and David Hare.”

Richard Nixon (Frank Langella) greets an audience while David Frost (Michael Sheen) looks on.
Photo credit: Ralph Nelson Copyright: © 2008 Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved.

On the dramatic side of the nominations, “Milk” and “The Dark Knight” were replaced by somewhat surprising nominees “The Reader” and “Revolutionary Road” for Best Picture (Drama), alongside the more expected choices of “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”, “Frost/Nixon”, and “Slumdog Millionaire”.

Many of the Best Picture nominees were represented in the acting choices with both stars of “Revolutionary Road”, Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, making the top five in their respective categories. Brad Pitt for “Benjamin Button” and Frank Langella for “Frost/Nixon” will compete with DiCaprio along with Sean Penn in “Milk” and Mickey Rourke in “The Wrestler”. Winslet will go up against Streep in “Doubt”, Anne Hathaway in “Rachel Getting Married”, Angelina Jolie in “Changeling”, and Kristin Scott Thomas in “I’ve Loved You So Long”.

Woody Allen’s “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” was clearly well-liked by the HFPA, awarding the film nominations for Best Picture (Comedy/Musical), Javier Bardem for Best Actor in a Comedy, Rebecca Hall for Best Actress, and Penelope Cruz for Best Supporting Actress. “Vicky” will compete with “Burn After Reading”, “Happy-Go-Lucky”, “In Bruges”, and “Mamma Mia!” for the big prize.

Javier Bardem released a statement through The Weinstein Company and said, “I am very happy to receive such support from the HFPA and truly thankful to Mr. Allen for allowing me the amazing experience of working with him and such an outstanding cast”

Angelina Jolie stars as Christine Collins in the provocative drama from director Clint Eastwood, “Changeling”.
Photo credit: Tony Rivetti, Jr. Copyright: © 2008 Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved.

Two actors from “In Bruges”, Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleason, will compete with Bardem for Best Actor with James Franco in “Pineapple Express” and Dustin Hoffman in “Last Chance Harvey”. Hall will have to beat Sally Hawkins in “Happy-Go-Lucky”, Frances McDormand in “Burn After Reading”, Streep in “Mamma Mia!”, and Emma Thompson in “Last Chance Harvey” to take home the Golden Globe.

Hawkins spoke out after her nod, saying in a statement, “Wow, wow, wow – what a surprise, I cannot describe how I feel, so appreciative of it all and so very pleased!! Such an honor to be in the same category as Meryl Streep and Emma Thompson. They are great, iconic women that I’ve watched for years – they have definitely inspired and influenced me in my decision to pursue acting. So proud to be in this film and having the chance again to work with Mike Leigh. These past couple of days have been a whirlwind but I am feeling quite lucky and blessed at the moment.”

Supporting nominees included a shocking nomination for Tom Cruise in “Tropic Thunder”, Robert Downey Jr. in the same movie, Ralph Fiennes in “The Duchess”, Philip Seymour Hoffman in “Doubt”, and Heath Ledger in “The Dark Knight”. Cruise was funny in “Thunder” but nominating him over Eddie Marsan or any of the acclaimed supporting cast in “Milk” was the biggest shock of the morning. On the actress side, Penelope Cruz will compete with Amy Adams and Viola Davis in “Doubt”, Marisa Tomei in “The Wrestler”, and Kate Winslet in “The Reader”.

Both of the “Doubt” ladies had something to say about their supporting nods with Amy Adams revealing in a statement, “I am so honored to be nominated by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for Doubt along with John Patrick Shanley, Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Viola Davis. Helping to bring John’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play to the screen was one of the most rewarding experiences of my career.”

Viola Davis added, “I cannot even believe it! I feel so blessed and grateful to the HFPA for honoring my work. It’s more than I have ever dreamed. First working with Meryl, Phillip, Amy and John and now THIS!! Thank you! Thank you!”

The nominees for Best Director mirrored the nominees for Best Picture (Drama) and left Christopher Nolan and Gus Van Sant without a chance to win - Danny Boyle for “Slumdog Millionaire”, Stephen Daldry for “The Reader”, David Fincher for “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”, Ron Howard for “Frost/Nixon”, and Sam Mendes for “Revolutionary Road”.

David Fincher said in a statement, “I would like to thank the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, Kathy Kennedy, Frank Marshall, Cean Chaffin, Paramount and Warner Bros. for allowing me to make this movie that I’ve wanted to make for so many years. I am indebted to the entire cast and crew, and so pleased with this acknowledgment of everyone’s hard work and love for the movie. A special thanks to the people of New Orleans for embracing the production and giving us so much support and inspiration.”

Meryl Streep as Sister Aloysius and Philip Seymour Hoffman as Father Flynn.
Photo credit: Andrew Schwartz/Miramax Film Corp

The nominees for Best Foreign Language Film are “The Baader Meinhof Complex”, “Everlasting Moments”, “Gomorrah”, “I’ve Loved You So Long”, and “Waltz With Bashir”.

The screenplays in competition are close to the same as Best Picture (Drama) with one change - “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”, “Doubt”, “Frost/Nixon”, “The Reader”, and “Slumdog Millionaire”.

TV nominees for the Golden Globes were a lot more predictable with “30 Rock” and “Mad Men” leading the comedy and dramatic sides with relatively few newcomers. HBO’s “True Blood”, nominated for Best Drama, was the only freshman candidate in the Best Drama category. “Entourage”, “In Treatment”, “Recount”, “Californication”, “The Office”, “Weeds”, “Dexter”, and “House” were all nominated as well.

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Staff Writer
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

Sean Penn’s Oscar-Possible Harvey Milk Puts Face to Gay Rights in ‘Milk’

HollywoodChicago.com — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 09:39:20 -0700

CHICAGO – Just as Tom Hanks put a face to AIDS in 1993’s “Philadelphia,” Sean Penn has now put a face to gay rights as Harvey Milk in the new Gus Van Sant true-story film “Milk”.

While Penn’s Harvey Milk had the physical demeanor of a petite and gentle man, the fire inside the real-life activist for gay rights was both his blessing and sometimes his poison.

Rating: 4.0/5.0

Milk found balancing personal relationships challenging amid his relentless quest to be the first gay politician in California. The film’s story takes place in the 1970s when those who were out of the closet were much less accepted than they are today.

Milk found himself fighting not only the adversity to his political dream because it hadn’t been done before but also a powerful politician in his state as well as an omnipresent national force against gay rights.

Read Adam Fendelman’s full review of “Milk” in our reviews section.

But even more than gay rights, Milk’s life was devoted to the same tenants of newly elected U.S. president Barack Obama: change and hope.

Because of the political corollaries to Obama’s message for change today as well as the brouhaha in California now over gay marriage (and the potential to repeal the thousands who snuck in during the short period of time when the law allowed them), the timing for the release of the film today couldn’t be more prescient.

“Milk” stars Sean Penn as Harvey Milk, Emile Hirsch, Josh Brolin, Diego Luna, James Franco and Alison Pill. “Milk,” which is directed by Gus Van Sant and written by Dustin Lance Black, opened in Chicago on Nov. 26, 2008.

Continuing reading for Adam Fendelman’s full “Milk” review.

Sean Penn stars as real-life gay rights icon Harvey Milk in director Gus Van Sant’s “Milk”.
Photo credit: Phil Bray

Alison Pill (left) and Emile Hirsch (right) star as real-life gay rights activists Anne Kronenberg and Cleve Jones (respectively) in director Gus Van Sant’s “Milk”.
Photo credit: Phil Bray

Continuing reading for Adam Fendelman’s full “Milk” review.

God’s Vajoojoo Tastes Like Semi-Glorious ‘Pineapple Express’ in Judd Apatow, Seth Rogen Stoner Film

HollywoodChicago.com — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 23:01:00 -0600

CHICAGO – If god had a vajoojoo, Judd Apatow and company think it’d taste something like smoking “Pineapple Express”. There’s no question “Pineapple Express” is ultimately a stoner film, but is it the ultimate stoner film of our decade?

Always the most difficult proposition in a comedy is maintaining its comedic pacing with consistency.

Rating: 3.5/5.0

A comedy’s goal is to sidesplittingly laugh your socks off from start to finish (and even after the credits roll). So often, though, a semi-successful comedy will instead feel like a humorous rollercoaster replete with some ups and some downs due to the inability to maintain its “A”-game material in a consistent fashion.

Read Adam Fendelman’s full review of “Pineapple Express”.

View our full, high-resolution “Pineapple Express” image gallery.

“Pineapple Express” falls victim to the comedic consistency trap. While the story has its heart in the right place for a film that’s centered on reefer madness and the script successfully grows ever-more complex and ridiculous, the story needs to be sliced and diced.

For every two comedic lines that successfully land one falls short. While the film certainly has the beginnings of stoner-film greatness, it’s still sometimes stifled by lines that had the potential to be roundhouse knockouts and instead were crippled stumbles.

That said, everything successful about “Pineapple Express” comes in threes from its writing (Judd Apatow, Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg) and its primary actors (Rogen, James Franco and Danny McBride).

There’s a lot of talk about James Franco playing against type for this role. Based on his performance, though, this shouldn’t be viewed as Franco playing against type. This should be viewed as Franco having found his type. For Franco, all other roles pale in comparison.

“Pineapple Express,” which is directed by David Gordon Green and is written by Seth Rogen, Judd Apatow and Evan Goldberg, stars Rogen, James Franco, Danny McBride, Bill Hader, Rosie Perez, Amber Heard, Gary Cole and Kevin Corrigan. The film opened everywhere on Aug. 6, 2008.

Continuing reading for Adam Fendelman’s full “Pineapple Express” review.

Dale Denton (Seth Rogen, standing) and Saul Silver (James Franco, being carried) are two lazy stoners running for their lives in “Pineapple Express”.
Photo credit: Dale Robinette

Saul Silver (James Franco, left), Red (Danny McBride, center) and Dale Denton (Seth Rogen, right) in “Pineapple Express”.
Photo credit: Dale Robinette

Continuing reading for Adam Fendelman’s full “Pineapple Express” review.