Filed under: Animation, New Releases, RumorMonger, Celebrities and Controversy, Scripts, Newsstand, Politics

A couple of people have been griping about Wall-E director Andrew Stanton's refusal to admit that his cute little movie about a robot in love actually contains some pretty upfront green politics, but there's a far more polarizing reference in the film than its harmless pro-environment agenda. It's no major plot spoiler to reveal that, about an hour or so into the story, Fred Willard appears in a recorded message as the mysterious president of Earth's corporate government and orders the ship's captain (Jeff Garlin) to "stay the course." Wait, we've heard this one before: It was the go-to statement used by the Bush administration for about three years or so when describing its modus operandi in Iraq (the term was abandoned when staying the course started to sound like a bad idea). In Wall-E, the context is quite different -- it's an order to not do something, rather than take action -- but hard to ignore nonetheless.

Certain critics with (surprise!) conservative slants have taken issue with this. At Dirty Harry's Place, John Nolte expresses his disappointment in the first paragraph of his review: "Have we lost the wonderful studio who brought us The Incredibles and Ratatouille to Bush Derangement Syndrome?" he asks. New York Post critic Kyle Smith picked up the rant and decided to write his own, even though he hadn't seen the film yet: "This kind of crack, lame as it is, also breaks the spell of the movie by hurling you out of the theater and back into reality."

Continue reading Discuss: Do Politics Belong in Kids Movies?

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When I first saw the trailers for Wanted, I wasn’t excited to see CGI bullets spinning in slow motion, but the cast alone is worthy of checking out the film. In addition, the film is under the direction of Timur Bekmambetov, best known for the Nightwatch horror-action film series out of Russia. It’s alright if you haven’t seen his past work before, but even if you have, a good chunk of Wanted screams stylist to and fro; it’s one of those films where nothing really makes sense, and maybe it isn’t supposed to. It’s also a film that is too big, and overpraised for its britches. (more…)

Filed under: Deals, Celebrities and Controversy, Box Office, Distribution

His last movie didn't do so hot, but George Clooney's still making headlines. This time, he has spoken out about the recent split between the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. According to Variety, Clooney has decided to stay neutral where many prominent actors have taken sides, and he's urging others to take the same route. If Hollywood actors go on strike, it'll probably be SAG's fault, considering the eagerness of AFTRA to negotiate a deal with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. AFTRA's biggest defender is Tom Hanks, while Jack Nicholson is heading up the other side. "Stories about Jack Nicholson vs. Tom Hanks only strengthen the negotiating power of the AMPTP," Clooney said in a statement.

Like many actors, Clooney wants to take any measures he can to prevent a strike. As a member of SAG, the Directors Guild of America and the Writers Guild of America, he wears many hats. "I'm hoping that there might be a way out of this," he said. "To be sure, I'm not the brightest bulb out there. So maybe someone has a lot better idea." Then he got personal: "I just happen to believe so strongly in both unions... my father, my mother, aunt, uncle, even cousins were all members." Nobody's doubting his allegiance, but after souring his relationship with the WGA after Leatherheads came out, it's hard to say how the other unions will regard him in the coming months.

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The trailer for Miss Potter did not do the film justice at all. It seemed to imply a portrayal of Beatrix Potter as a mad woman. It showed her talking to her animal drawings as though they were real people and it did not manage to convey the film’s appealing features. I think this may be the reason the film did not do as well as it should have done on its release, as it did not do its job in attracting viewers. I am happy to say that Miss Potter is actually a charming film which beautifully tells the story of the famous children’s author Beatrix Potter (Renee Zellweger). She does not come across as crazy, but actually seems to be a highly intelligent woman who was born years ahead of her time. (more…)

Filed under: Casting, Celebrities and Controversy, Newsstand, Politics

When it comes to sifting through all actors responsible for portraying the most powerful man on the planet, there's no shortage of options. John Travolta did a great Bill Clinton impersonation in Primary Colors and Timothy Bottoms delivered a near-perfect imitation of George W. Bush in both D.C. 9/11: Time of Crisis and That's My Bush! Neither one comes across as particularly flattering, so presidential nominee Barack Obama has chosen a safer bet: At a recent party in Los Angeles, Obama revealed that he prefers Jeff Bridges' conflicted commander-in-chief in The Contender. Granted, he may have said this simply to keep his audience happy -- in this case, Contender director Rod Lurie, one of the attendees who was willing to plop down $28,000 for the event. "'I just plugged your movie," Obama told Lurie, according to a report the director sent to Hollywood Elsewhere's Jeffrey Wells.

Still, when you're under the kind of intense scrutiny that Obama currently endures, Bridges actually seems like a pretty safe choice. Choose Anthony Hopkins in Nixon and it sounds like you're endorsing the bad guy. Choose Kevin Kline in Dave and you come across as disingenuous. Choose Peter Sellers in Dr. Strangelove and somebody will call you incompetent. Bridges, on the other hand, plays a fierce leader bound to his moral convictions. Of course, Obama also expressed sympathy over Lurie's short-lived television show Commander-in-Chief, which featured Geena Davis as the first woman president. Perhaps it's no coincidence that he and Hillary have publicly made amends.

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Filed under: Animation, Comedy, Disney, Celebrities and Controversy, Family Films, Movie Marketing, Trailers and Clips

Continue reading The Trailer for Disney's 'Bolt' Races Online

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This weekend will see the battle of theWs in theaters across America, as moviegoers decide whether they want to watch the world go out with a stunning Pixar whimper in "WALL-E" or see Angelina Jolie make civilization safe for testosterone-based lifeforms in "Wanted". (That's EVE from the former movie above, not Angelina from the latter.)

Not really a contest, in my opinion. "Wanted" will get all the angry young men who wouldn't be caught dead going to a family film until word gets out that "WALL-E" is a visionary sci-fi parable that in some ways is the most grown-up release of the year. Some of the action scenes director Timur Bekmambetov comes up with in "Wanted" blew me away, sure, but I sat through "WALL-E" in sustained, even deepening awe at what Pixar attempts and achieves here. In a way, the film's the successful merging of Kubrick and Spielberg sensibilities -- which is to say profound disenchantment and radiant hope -- that "AI: Artificial Intelligence" wasn't.

That and the R rating for "Wanted" will cut into its ticket sales, so you know who's going to win the box office race. I'm just curious to see to what extent middle America embraces "WALL-E" over the next few weeks. It's a dense movie and, under the surface, a very dark one. This isn't "Finding Nemo". This is better. (And, oh my, look at these reviews.)

If you can't get your brain around a CGI animated movie that you should see even if you don't have kids, there are other choices. Wesley loves the new Fatih Akin movie "The Edge of Heaven," and as a huge fan of the German-Turkish director's "Head-On," I feel duty bound to tell you to check the movie out, even if I haven't seen it myself yet. It's at the Kendall, as is a short, quiet, achingly moving little drama about where sublime faith turns dangerous, "My Father My Lord."

"Brick Lane," about the cultural collision between a Bangladeshi bride and her new country, England, is at the Kendall and the Coolidge. The Brattle brings in "The Tracey Fragments," which per Wesley may test the patience of Ellen Page fans while pleasing those with attention deficit disorder. Also opening this week is "Finding Amanda," which will test the patience of Matthew Broderick fans and anyone who likes good movies.

At the Harvard Film Archive, a weekend of the groundbreaking political documentaries of the late Emile de Antonio. Friday night doubles up "In the Year of the Pig," the 1968 Vietnam doc that now looks like the coolly angry grandaddy to Michael Moore's agitpop, and 1966's "Rush to Judgment," one of the first major JFK assassination-conspiracy works. Saturday gives you a chance to see the riveting "Point of Order," in which de Antonio lets Senator Joseph McCarthy hang himself with his own documentary footage. Good stuff all around.

The "New Cinema from Spain" series finishes up this weekend at the MFA; also showing at the museum is "Glass: A Portrait of Philip in Twelve Parts,"which gets a thumbs up from the Globe's classical music critic Jeremy Eichler.

Oh, and if you're headed out the Turnpike, Mass MOCA in the Berkshires is hosting a cool event tomorrow: An outdoor screening (unless it rains) of the 1973 Bruce Lee classic "Enter the Dragon" with live music accompaniment by DJ/percussionist Karsh Kale.

If you're not headed out at all, there are three Cyd Charisse films on Turner Classics tonight. Good ones, too: if you can't stay up, set your Tivo for "Silk Stockings" at midnight.