Costner Cinema Chat

May 25: KC In a Family Feud (No, Not the Game Show)

2011-05-25T12:56:00.000-07:00

Kevin Costner will be part of "The Hatfields & the McCoys," a miniseries about the infamous family rivalry that will be filmed for the History Channel.

Let's hope this one goes better than the History Channel's first try at a miniseries - the hatchet job on the Kennedys that the network ultimately did not run when serious accuracy and bias questions were asked.

It's not the most encouraging news that the producer is Leslie Greif, whose only scripted success was the television series "Walker, Texas Ranger," which starred Chuck Norris.

But more encouraging is the news that Ted Mann, who worked behind the scenes on such programs as "NYPD Blue" and "Deadwood," wrote the script for this one.

I must admit, I would have been much happier to see KC work on that other miniseries, "A Little War of Our Own," that he initially had planned for HBO. But we'll see how this goes.

May 17, 2011: Super Dad and New Doc

2011-05-17T08:06:00.000-07:00

By Sylvia Gurinsky

Sorry, fellow Costner fans. I know it's been a while since the last post, and a lot has happened. Life happens, which is why I haven't been updating the blog.

Of course, it has been well publicized that Kevin Costner will play Jonathan Kent, father of Clark Kent, in "Man of Steel." (Incidentally, Glenn Ford played the character as "Pa Kent" in the terrific 1978 film "Superman.")

These days, superhero movies tend to take on lives of their own with rumors and counter-rumors, so the focus here will be exclusively on KC's role until the movie is released.

*************************************************************************************

If you visit southern California, you don't have to wait for "Man of Steel" to catch KC in a new production. He's narrated a new documentary about the Channel Islands, part of the National Park Service.

Also, "The Company Men" DVD will be released June 7. It will include various extras, including deleted scenes, an alternate ending, a making-of documentary and commentary by John Wells, the movie's director. It can already be pre-ordered online, of course.

Review: The Company Men ***

2011-02-01T15:38:00.000-08:00

“The Company Men” may be the most relevant movie of these times.

Yet, it was shabbily treated by The Weinstein Company, which gave it the obligatory December pre-Oscar release in New York and Los Angeles and then a limited release in early 2011. Perhaps the theme of job layoffs hit too close to home for Weinstein, which has laid off its share of employees.

It’s too bad, because the movie warrants a viewing for its themes and for its outstanding cast.

Ben Affleck stars as Bobby Walker, a rising executive in GTX, a maritime-connected company that has become too big not to fail its employees. Bobby, who has a Porsche and a steady date on the golf course, is among the first executives laid off.

The movie is at its best with his story of dealing with the four stages of job loss: Denial, anger, depression and acceptance, and how it affects him and his family, including his wife, Maggie (Rosemarie DeWitt, also excellent) and their children. Bobby and Maggie discover the true meaning of what’s lost and what’s gained.

Bobby learns this lesson in part from Maggie’s big brother Jack Dolan, played by Kevin Costner. Jack builds houses and offers Bobby some help. Bobby later learns that Jack also understands the art of sacrifice. (Did John Wells, who wrote the script and directed the film, intend some sort of symbolism by using the names “Jack” and “Bobby”?)

With shades of “Thirteen Days,” KC uses a Boston accent, which is jarring at first, but not noticeable later on. He does his usual solid job as a man who understands the value of any kind of work.

Bobby isn’t the only one laid off. Chris Cooper is heartbreaking as Phil Woodward, a mid-level manager who also loses his job. And Tommy Lee Jones does fine work as executive Gene McClary, who gets a pink slip from his supposed best friend, James Salinger, who is played with cold, heartless efficiency by Craig T. Nelson (I may never be able to watch another episode of “Coach” after this.)

The hiccups in Wells’ script come in the personal stories of Phil and Gene, particularly relating to the women in their lives. There’s little explanation or context about situations involving the health of Phil’s wife or about Gene’s relationships either with his wife or with GTX’s personnel director, Sally Wilcox, played by Maria Bello. Also, Wells doesn’t delve far enough into various aspects about the layoffs, including ageism.

But it has a realistic ending: The bad guys don’t get their comeuppance. Some of the good guys suffer. But others manage to grow. “The Company Men” is, ultimately, a film about lives. Our lives.

Rating: 3 stars. Terrific acting performances; some wobbles in the script.

What Are Your Top 10 KC Films?

2011-01-10T17:05:00.001-08:00

Reelzchannel.com has a poll, allowing fans to list their top 10 Kevin Costner films:

http://www.reelzchannel.com/movie-news/8785/vote-for-your-top-10-kevin-costner-movies

October 22: "Company Men" Date Moved

2010-10-22T13:54:00.000-07:00

Those expecting to catch "The Company Men" this weekend will have to wait until the weather gets a bit nippier.

The movie will now be released December 10. In the meantime, the Weinstein Co. is trying to juice its award chances by placing it in film festivals.

Here's hoping for good tidings.

Review: "The New Daughter"

2010-06-30T10:57:00.000-07:00

The New Daughter **1/2

The popularity of horror movies as a genre is lost on me. If I want to get scared, all I do is turn on the news.

Horror movies can also be a contradiction for movie studios and marketers. They seem to do a lot better at the box office when big stars are not attached.

That may explain why New Line Cinema (the Costner-killer, as I call them, for the way they treated “Thirteen Days” and “The Upside of Anger”) and assorted other studios played hot potato with “The New Daughter” and wussed out on releasing it. Anchor Bay Films, which wound up with the movie, really wussed out and gave it only a cursory weekend release before plopping it on DVD.

It’s unfortunate, because it’s a well-made film, with a steady performance from Kevin Costner and impressive ones from the two young actors – Ivana Baquero and Gattlin Griffith - who play the children of his character, John James.

The story is set in South Carolina, where John takes those children, Louisa and Sam, to a new house to live after John splits up with his wife. The family feels displaced both physically and emotionally – and that’s where it starts, especially for the teenaged Luisa. Soon, Luisa starts acting strange and becomes increasingly drawn to what appears to be a burial mound in back of the house.

Critics who have reviewed the film have provided coming-of-age analogies for the changes Louisa undergoes and John’s struggles to understand them. So did director Luis Berdejo in his commentary for the film on the DVD. Of course, most coming-of-age stories don’t usually come with some of the characters this one does.

It’s difficult to say more without giving away important plot points. The film also includes a nice performance from Samantha Mathis as Sam’s teacher who tries to help John with Louisa, and a somewhat over-the-top performance by James Gammon (“Wyatt Earp”) as a previous tenant of the house where the James family now lives.

The extras are solid, including Berdejo’s commentary, various deleted scenes and a making-of featurette.

Trivia: One of the deleted scenes and a picture in the movie include Rena Sofer as John James’ ex-wife and the children’s mother. During the 1990s, Sofer played Lois Quartermaine in the long-running soap opera “General Hospital.” Recently, she has been seen in the CBS drama “NCIS” as an attorney.

Film: Two-and-a-half stars. The work of the cast is the strong point. The movie deserved a lot better than it got.

DVD: Three stars, with decent commentary and extras.

March 31: The Weinstein Company Men

2010-03-31T21:54:00.000-07:00

Great news: The Weinstein Company has scooped up the rights to "The Company Men."

While many (including me) may argue with Harvey Weinstein's behavior at times, there's no arguing that when he believes in a film, he'll give his all to make sure that film gets widely seen and richly rewarded.

"The Company Men" has been called a worthy sequel to "Up In the Air," which was nominated for an Oscar, and even called a better film. Costner fans look forward to seeing "The Company Men" get its props from The Weinstein Company.

March 29: "New Daughter" Trailer

2010-03-29T07:51:00.001-07:00

ComingSoon.net has the trailer for "The New Daughter" DVD:

http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=64372

Pretty standard-looking, certainly no reason this movie should have been so badly abused by the studio.

The trailer has a Costner line that's sure to become a trademark: "It's better to meet a fan than a critic." Said by a man who knows too much about that.

March 13: New Daughter DVD Information

2010-03-13T09:50:00.001-08:00

Seems this film will get a little more respect in disc form:

http://www.kevincostnerscrapbook.co.uk/article.html?ai=10031000

March 12: A Few More Kevin Costners :)

2010-03-12T13:52:00.000-08:00

Here's a link to a worthwhile piece, "Why the world needs a few more Kevin Costners," by Simon Brew, celebrating KC's film choices and guts:

http://www.denofgeek.com/movies/436885/why_the_world_needs_a_few_more_kevin_costners.html

One note: Matt Damon, an excellent chooser, has had a lot more good luck than KC. He's also attached himself to a franchise, which KC has not.

It's tough to go it alone, and Kevin Costner has. He is, finally, starting to get some recognition for it. It's about time.

Feb. 14: Agent Change Might Open Door To Project Financing

2010-02-14T11:06:00.000-08:00

Kevin Costner is going back to his roots.

He is leaving Creative Artists Agency (CAA), which didn't do much for him, and returning to William Morris (WME Entertainment), the first agency that represented him.

http://www.kevincostnerscrapbook.co.uk/article.html?ai=10021300

I don't agree with Fleming about KC giving up control - he has pretty good projects (Open Range, the abused Swing Vote) when he has it. But I do agree about financing for those projects. CAA has so many huge stars, including Oprah Winfrey and George Clooney, that KC got lost in the shuffle. So did a number of his projects, including at least one Western, the animated "The Explorer's Guild" and several more.

Fleming says the move opens up financing for "Learning Italian." Perhaps. At the very least, Costner will work next on "A Little War of Our Own." Here's hoping his film career has smoother sailing.

Feb. 12: Costner's Fighting "A Little War"

2010-02-12T16:09:00.000-08:00

Finally, a new project:

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118015110.html?categoryId=13&cs=1

And bless Armyan Bernstein, a loyal friend and producer of some of Costner's best, including "Thirteen Days" and "Open Range."

"The Company Men" website and trailer

2010-01-15T10:38:00.000-08:00

This is more like it, after the abuse of "The New Daughter."

"The Company Men" has its website, and a terrific trailer......Silence is golden:

http://www.thecompanymenfilm.com/

The Sundance debut is coming in days.

December 17: Blink Or You'll Miss It: The New Daughter

2009-12-17T16:25:00.000-08:00

Red's site has posted a list of screenings for tomorrow - yes, tomorrow:

http://www.kevincostnerscrapbook.co.uk/press.html

May New Line Cinema never darken Kevin Costner's doorstep or career ever, ever, EVER again. They stink, quite simply. They screwed him on "Thirteen Days." They screwed him, Joan Allen and Mike Binder on "The Upside of Anger," and this third time....well, they're true to form.

News On 2 New and 1 Old KC Films

2009-12-03T16:04:00.000-08:00

Here is some definite news about three Kevin Costner films - two new and one old:

*"The New Daughter" has been given a rating of PG-13. I fear this means it will be released in early 2010, which means it won't get a fair shake from critics.

*"The Company Men," on the other hand, will have its premiere at the Sundance Festival next month. As long as New Line Cinema doesn't get its mitts on this film, it should be OK.

*The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will celebrate the 20th anniversary of "Field of Dreams" Dec. 16 with a Beverly Hills screening that's supposed to include KC and others in the cast and crew.

More detail on all of this at Red's site:

http://www.kevincostnerscrapbook.co.uk/press.html

Kevins Reconciliation With "Learning Italian"?

2009-07-31T07:40:00.000-07:00

Evidently, the two Kevins - Costner and director Kevin Reynolds - do plan to work together again.

In an interview a few days ago, Costner talked about a film he plans to shoot this fall in Italy, called "Learning Italian." At the Kevin Costner Scrapbook (Red's site), there is a translation of an Italian article with more detail, including director and plot:

http://www.kevincostnerscrapbook.co.uk/press.html

Nothing in the U.S. trade publications or major websites yet....

A couple of additional notes:

*"The Company Men" was featured in a network news story about movies having a theme of the current recession.

*Special effects work is continuing on "The New Daughter," but still no word on a release date.

Costner Gets Cable

2009-05-14T16:47:00.000-07:00

KC will at least produce a Western miniseries for A&E:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/television/news/e3i5c6f976cbed5f4a9f9df4b3f05f8ceb5

Apparently, this is not "Horizon," a film Western he has also been planning.

Hopefully, this will go forward and not get lost a la "The Kentucky Cycle," which KC planned for HBO during the mid-1990s. That project got shelved in the wake of his struggles during that period.

"The Company Men" is filming

2009-04-14T08:03:00.000-07:00

Here's a link to the Kevin Costner Scrapbook, where you can find the latest press and photos from "The Company Men":

http://www.kevincostnerscrapbook.co.uk/press.html

By the way, an editorial note: Kevin Costner looks just as good without hair - and better without a cap or toupee. :)

What Is Going On With "The New Daughter"?

2009-04-07T08:38:00.000-07:00

Once again, New Line Cinema stiffs a Kevin Cosnter film.

This time, it's "The New Daughter," KC's first horror movie, directed by Luiso Berdejo and starring Ivana Banquero as KC's daughter, who starts going through strange phenomena.

The film was shot as an indie, but unfortunately for KC, New Line picked it up. Those who read this blog are familiar with my disdain for New Line and what they did with previous KC films they released ("Thirteen Days" and "The Upside of Anger").

We've heard drabs about the special effects and the putting together of the movie. There was a clip shown at Cannes last year. But we haven't heard about a date.

And I'm afraid it's probably going to be put in the early part of 2010. Unfortunately, film critics tend to disregard anything released in the early part of a year, no matter its quality.

It's beginning to look like "The New Daughter" is Strike Three for New Line's treatment of Kevin Costner. Unless their thinking changes, may he never have a movie picked up or released by them again. Ever.

Three's "Company" For KC

2009-03-19T06:33:00.000-07:00

A new project at last!

Variety reports that Kevin Costner will co-star with Ben Affleck and Tommy Lee Jones in the independent "Company Men":

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118001377.html?categoryid=13&cs=1

KC has worked with Jones before, of course, in "JFK." He sort of worked with Affleck in the Fenway Park scene in "Field of Dreams." (Affleck and buddy Matt Damon were crowd extras in the scene in which Ray Kinsella sees Moonlight Graham's stats.)

John Wells has a prolific career in movies and television; he executive-produced my all-time favorite drama series, "The West Wing," along with the soon-to-retire "ER."

I've been hoping that KC would work on a film project relevant to current times; a film about the results of downsizing certainly qualifies.

The article also mentions "The One," a project KC has in mind with Michael Blake. The mention of pirates throws things up in the air for me; is it pirates like those off the coast of Somalia, or pirates like "Pirates of the Caribbean?"

In any case, KC has worked twice before with Blake, of course: On "Stacy's Knights" and a small indie project called "Dances With Wolves." :)

Waterworld Extended Edition DVD Review ***

2009-02-16T09:33:00.000-08:00

Now that it’s possible to ignore all the noise that surrounded “Waterworld” when it was released in 1995 and look at it in the context of recent news, it’s easy to see that it’s a message movie.

The first message: Take care of the planet. The second message: Take care of each other.

Those two messages are all over the movie, which illustrates perfectly the full effect of global warming. The world’s still there, but it isn’t what it was, as The Mariner, played by Kevin Costner, shows Helen, played by Jeanne Tripplehorn.

The movie title describes the planet’s condition. Helen is a storekeeper on the atoll, an island of survivors of the global crisis. She is also the surrogate mother to Enola (Tina Majorino), a girl with a mysterious past and an equally mysterious tattoo on her back.

Into this atoll comes the Mariner, half-man and half-fish, for supplies. Most of the structure’s residents fear him –there is the message about prejudice - and want to kill him. They take him prisoner, but bigger troubles abound in the form of the Smokers, the bad guys led by the Deacon (Dennis Hopper).

Hopper gives the performance critics said Alan Rickman gave in KC’s “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves” – mixing humor and menace, and stealing the movie. Hopper’s character had much more life here than in “Swing Vote.”

KC is an amazing one-man stunt show throughout the film, both above and under the water. His anti-social character is also oddly engaging, and very different from the type of character he usually plays.

The performances of Tripplehorn and Majorino are uneven, however. Tripplehorn is at her best during the first half of the movie, before Helen and The Mariner make their awkward peace, and her chemistry with KC is shaky. Young Majorino isn’t up to the level of T.J. Lowther in “A Perfect World,” Lexi Randall and Elijah Wood in “The War” or Madeline Carroll in “Swing Vote.”

Gerard Butler plays the menacing Nord to good effect. Michael Jeter is excellent as Gregor. But he’s the only positive supporting player and he’s gone from the film for a long stretch; when he returns, it is very welcome.

Behind the scenes, Kevin Reynolds directed the film and Peter Rader and David Twohy wrote the script. James Newton Howard composed the score.

The DVD has two versions of the film: The 2-hour, 20 minute studio version (which KC cut from director Kevin Reynolds’ original version) and the 2 hour, 55 minute version shown on ABC (closer to Reynolds’ version). There are, otherwise, no extras.

The real star of this film is what it has to say about us and this Planet Earth we live on. A lot of people made fun of KC when this film was made, but with each report about what we’re doing to this globe, no one’s laughing anymore.

Fun fact: As in “Dragonfly,” the greenery of Hawaii plays a crucial role in this film.

Rating: 3 stars. Best as a message movie. The male leads are better than the female ones.

Swing Vote DVD Coming Out Too Late To Matter

2008-10-18T09:47:00.000-07:00

Disney's complete incompetence in its timing of release and promotion of "Swing Vote" continues with the release of the DVD in January - more than two months after the election (unless this year's election is anything like 2000). Post-election fatigue may push down sales.

At least Kevin Costner and company are doing right by the release, given the DVD details:

http://www.kevincostnerscrapbook.co.uk/press.html

The press coverage of "Joe the Plumber" after the debate earlier this week and some comparisons to the movie shows what could have been.

All the more reason for KC to get far away from studios and do what he can on his own.

What's True and What's Not About "Bull Durham" Sequel

2008-10-11T09:33:00.000-07:00

The frenzy over the possibility of a sequel to "Bull Durham" is flying like....well, watch the Cary Grant-Rosalind Russell movie "His Girl Friday" to see how hysterical and exaggerated the press can really get.

Here's what's true:

-Thom Mount, the producer of the original film, said a sequel is being planned. Mount said MGM, which holds the rights (The now-defunct Orion Pictures released the original film.) is interested.
-Mount also said there is no script yet.
-Mount said no one from the original film is committed to a sequel at this time. In other words, Kevin Costner, Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins are not attached.

Here's what's not true:
-There has been discussion about a plot in which Nuke (played by Robbins in the original) and Annie (Sarandon) are married and own a ballclub that Crash (KC) manages, and that Crash has a girlfriend young enough to be his daughter. SINCE THERE IS NO SCRIPT YET, THAT IS NOT TRUE.
-It's worth repeating again that neither of the three leads from the original are attached to the sequel at this time.

Here's a personal opinion: It's true "Bull Durham" isn't my favorite KC film (See my July, 2007 review of the film on DVD.), but I DON'T favor a sequel. I'd love to see Ron Shelton and KC work together again, but on something new.

In Memory: Paul Newman

2008-09-27T13:22:00.001-07:00

Here's the last scene of the movie "Message in a Bottle," in memory of Paul Newman, who died today. I share in the gratitude of Kevin Costner fans that he could work with Newman in this wonderful film. Newman played Dodge Blake, the father of Costner's Garrett Blake. In this scene, Newman is actually with Robin Wright Penn:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yj524CT-g5M&feature=related

Thank you, Mr. Newman, for your exquisite life, onscreen and off.

Waterworld DVD release planned

2008-08-29T07:21:00.000-07:00

Red at the Kevin Costner Scrapbook posts news of a new Waterworld DVD release:

http://www.kevincostnerscrapbook.co.uk/press.html

And so far from our friends at Warner Brothers, still a deathly hush on any new Tin Cup release. Grrrrrr.......

Is He Brave Enough To Step Away From Studios Altogether?

2008-08-13T14:14:00.000-07:00

This marriage is no longer working, the one between Kevin Costner and major film studios.

Troubles over "Waterworld" and "The Postman" aside (and they should be put way aside, since it's been more than a decade that those films came out), things started going very wrong with the release of "For Love of the Game," when KC took issue with cuts to the film, which was released by Universal Studios.. The deleted scenes put on the DVD showed he was right.

The next fiasco came with New Line Cinema concerning "Thirteen Days." When New Line scooped up that film, its parent company was Time-Warner, which was still owned by Ted Turner, who was a fan of the script. By the time the film was finished and ready for release, the parent company was AOL Time-Warner, and Turner was out of the picture. New Line's executives blundered with the release of a quality film that had some fair chances for major award nominations. Instead of releasing it at the originally scheduled point in October, 2000, on the anniversary of the Cuban Missile Crisis and just weeks before the presidential election, New Line held it back for a New York/LA release in December and a nationwide release in January, 2001 - too late to matter either to the election or the film's Oscar chances.

(We'll leave "3,000 Miles To Graceland," a bad film, and "Dragonfly," which was not KC-produced, out of the equation.)

The next real tangle that came up was with "Open Range," which KC produced and directed. He won one battle - to keep its gritty shootout intact - but lost the other, for a better release date. Still, the mid-August release date away from major films allowed "Open Range" to gain a deserved following and some respect, if not the deserved major award nominations.

Then came "The Upside of Anger," also not KC-produced but worthy of mention because its release and promotion were screwed up yet again by New Line. It was released in March, 2005, with little reception after its warm welcome at that year's Sundance Festival and good reviews by critics. This time, it was Joan Allen who was robbed of major award consideration for sure, and maybe KC as well.

(KC's next two films, "Rumor Has It" and "The Guardian," also fall out of the equation because Jennifer Aniston was actually the star of the former, and KC shared the screen with Ashton Kutcher in the latter.)

The final straws have come the last two summers, with "Mr. Brooks," released by MGM, and "Swing Vote," released by Disney. Both were mistreated, being released in the middle of summer franchise season, at times when audiences would be distracted elsewhere.

It's obvious the studios no longer know how to treat his films. His movies are throwbacks to a time when story mattered more in movies than special effects, gross-out acts and loud action. The studios know they make money in the theaters on those films on the weekends. Fans of KC will go on weekdays, or more likely these days, buy or rent his films on DVD.

He and his work deserve better.

When "Upside" director Mike Binder was promoting the movie, he indicated a couple of times that KC is an independent filmmaker who still attaches himself to the major studios because that's the system he came up in. It's true.

But all the studios do for him these days is slap the film into 2,000 theaters, put a few people on the talk shows, and that's it. "Swing Vote" in particular was a film that should have generated more traction in this election year, and Disney just threw it to the wolves.

New Line will release "The New Daughter," his next film. Oy vey.

When KC has been interviewed, he's often reflected on whether he is smart enough and brave enough to take important steps in his life and career. Now, the question is different: Is he smart enough and brave enough to make a clean break from the studios and reinvent himself as a totally independent filmmaker?

The answer is yes. The question is whether he will do so.

He's started to dip a toe in with his project "The Explorer's Club," which will combine Internet animation with a live-action film. He has other interesting projects coming up, including more Westerns. He needs to get them into arenas where they will be seen and appreciated, so he can make more. One of those arenas might be television.

Kevin, it's time for you to divorce the studios. Do it for your films. Do it for your fans.

"Box Office Poison" Costner Is In the Best Company

2008-08-06T17:54:00.000-07:00

Nikki Finke has officially labelled Kevin Costner "Box Office Poison" because of "Swing Vote's" $6 million-plus take at a box office choking with summer franchise films last weekend.

I'm sure she didn't mean to, but Finke has put KC in the best company - with the likes of Katharine Hepburn, Joan Crawford, Marlene Dietrich and Fred Astaire. All of them wore the same label once upon a time - in 1938. Hepburn's story has been well-chronicled (Getting "The Philadelphia Story" made and going on to the partnership with Spencer Tracy). Crawford would go on to such successes as "The Women" and "Mildred Pierce." Dietrich would make "Destry Rides Again," "Witness For the Prosecution" and "Judgment at Nuremberg," among others.

The most interesting label from that year is Astaire, who had made his first full-length RKO film without Ginger Rogers - "A Damsel In Distress," with Joan Fontaine, George Burns and Gracie Allen. The film did not do well at the box office, but won an Oscar for choreographer Hermes Pan for dance direction, and the score and songs by George and Ira Gershwin are now considered classic, especially the standards "A Foggy Day" and "Nice Work If You Can Get It."

Meanwhile, Astaire would go on to make some of the greatest musicals of the 1940s and 50s, mostly at MGM ("Easter Parade," "The Band Wagon," "Royal Wedding," "Silk Stockings"), as well as 20th Century Fox ("Daddy Long Legs" and "Funny Face"), and set new standards for dance on film. He'd also get a Golden Globe nomination for the very non-musical "On the Beach," a 1959 film about the survivors of nuclear war.

Anyway, the moral of the story is what KC always says: Don't judge a movie today. Wait until tomorrow, and (with apologies to The Postman) tomorrow.....and the day after that! His movies will hold up well. Fifty years from now, no one will care how they did at the box office. They'll just put on whatever machine is operating, and watch.

Review: Swing Vote ***1/2

2008-08-05T15:50:00.000-07:00

“Swing Vote” is a perfect antidote for the political junkie – and anyone else – to real-life election fatigue. It skewers everything about the process that’s gone so wrong in recent years.

The biggest problem is voter apathy, and “Swing Vote” has one of the most apathetic voters – actually, non-voter – of them all: Bud Johnson. He is definitely the American Rascal Kevin Costner has set the standard for in cinema: Just barely getting by, dedicated to beer, pool, bowling, fishing and having a good time. KC has a good time playing him.

Fortunately, Bud is dedicated to something else – his daughter, Molly. At one point, he says, “She’s my only good thing.” Indeed, she is good: A pre-teen girl dedicated to school and civics, and taking care of her father. The young actress who plays her, Madeline Carroll, is excellent; here’s wishing her a long, happy and healthy career in show business, if she chooses.

Molly is really the parent to Bud, and the film’s early scenes show this well. Carroll, who is 12 years old, has the look of someone much older on her face, someone who has struggled in life. Daughter is trying to get Dad to be a good voter and a good citizen – for himself, and for a school project she’s doing. But Bud doesn’t make it to the precinct, and Molly makes a couple of decisions that really set the story – and the fate of a presidential election – in motion.

Waiting for the results are incumbent President Andrew Boone (Kelsey Grammer of “Frasier”), a Republican, and challenger Donald Greenleaf (Dennis Hopper, who worked with KC in “Waterworld”), a Democrat. In the battle of acting, Grammer outdoes Hopper, who is usually an intense actor, but reels it in this time – too far in. Hopper may have been affected by Joshua Michael Stern and Jason Richman’s script, which doesn’t give Greenleaf enough in the way of substance. Grammer does much better with Boone.

Working with the candidates are their political operatives, Martin Fox (Stanley Tucci), who would supposedly sell his own mother to win, and Art Crumb ( Nathan Lane ), who’s never won an election. Their portrayals are spot-on.

Also waiting for the results are local television reporter Kate Madison (Paula Patton), who breaks the swing vote-scoop, and her boss, news director John Sweeney (comedian George Lopez). They both do fine, but there’s a slight hitch in a scene late in the film in a scene involving Kate, Bud and Molly, where Kate makes a decision, but suddenly makes another one. It's never fully explained.

Given the story, the entire media world converges on Texico , New Mexico , Bud and Molly’s hometown. Some of the best scenes involve the perpetual nervous-breakdown mode the media is in, including the spreading of the story internationally and from political channels to entertainment press. The movie chronicles perfectly what would happen in such a circumstance (and why journalism is in the mess it’s in).

Other great scenes involve Boone’s and Greanleaf’s deviation from their traditional political stances to try to court Bud’s vote. Some of the smaller scenes are also quietly effective, particularly between Molly and her friend and classmate Jed (Shawn Prince), who tries to help her.

Ultimately, the film is about responsibility and choices, and the consequences of both. It’s the best public service announcement for voting and civic responsibility for everyone (including politicians and journalists) I’ve ever seen. See it with someone you love voting with.

***

Fun fact #1: Bud’s band the Half-Nelsons (in tribute to country music legend Willie Nelson) is actually Kevin Costner’s group Modern West, which includes John Coinman, who had a brief role (as a musician, of course) in “The Postman.”

Fact #2: This was the last film for Floyd Red Crow Westerman, who played the Sioux tribal chief Ten Bears in “Dances With Wolves.”

Rating: 3 ½ stars: Fun and pointed film with plenty to say.

KC Looks At Memorable Scenes

2008-07-24T05:35:00.000-07:00

Here's a link to part of a nice piece in the Ventura County Star about Kevin Costner and his take on memorable scenes from some of his movies:

http://www.venturacountystar.com/news/2008/jul/24/take-5/

Swing Vote website

2008-06-27T07:25:00.000-07:00

I'm sorry. I don't think I'd ever posted the link to the Swing Vote website. Here it is:

http://swingvote.movies.go.com/

Great pictures and downloads. I like the Polling Center best.

"Dances," "Open Range," "Silverado" make top Westerns list

2008-06-16T07:43:00.000-07:00

Three of Kevin Costner's Westerns - "Dances With Wolves," "Open Range" and "Silverado" - made the Western Writers of America's Top 100 list. "Dances" and OR made the top 10:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/usnw/20080613/pl_usnw/shane_the_greatest_western_movie_of_all_time__western_writers_of_america_announces

My thoughts: I'd nudge OR down a little bit (between 10 and 20, maybe) , and I'd nudge Tombstone down a lot. I've always thought that movie, which Wyatt Earp had the misfortune of coming out simultaneously with, was way overrated; I saw Tombstone and was not impressed.

"Dances" is in the right location. And yes, it is indeed a Western.

"Wyatt Earp" DVD review

2008-05-21T14:49:00.000-07:00

Wyatt Earp

Film ** 1/2 DVD ** 1/2

“Wyatt Earp,” made in 1994, was a film that suffered bad luck. The biography of the famed lawman came out at roughly the same time as “Tombstone,” which focused primarily on the O.K. Corral shootings and starred Kurt Russell as Earp. The running time of “Wyatt Earp” also seemed to hurt; because it concentrated on the episodes in Earp’s life, it didn’t flow as freely as “Dances With Wolves” or “JFK,” two other Kevin Costner films that had long running times and better luck and success.

“Wyatt Earp,” directed by Lawrence Kasdan, has been better received when it’s run on television or on DVD. Overall, this underappreciated film has been starting to get the recognition it deserves. Fans of KC’s westerns can also see how this film in particular influences certain scenes in “Open Range,” which he made in 2003.

“Wyatt Earp” was originally conceived as a television miniseries, and it remains in that structure – which hurt it as a theatrical film. There are times it moves from episode to episode without much prompting, confusing viewers. The best structure comes later in the film, in the events leading up to the famous shootout at the O.K. Corral. The movie does a good job in setting up and explaining the context of that conflict.

The movie also takes a good look at its lead character. KC wears some pretty bad wigs to play the young adult Wyatt, but once the wigs come off, the characterization picks up. Viewers understand the character, as well as his good side and bad side. The 1950s television series “Wyatt Earp” and movies like “My Darling Clementine” made the character almost saintly. KC’s portrayal proves he was human. And he looks, in the second half of the film, like the real Wyatt Earp.

The large cast also does a good job. Best of all is Dennis Quaid’s portrayal of Doc Holliday. Quaid went through a lot to get ready for the role; he should have been rewarded with an Academy Award nomination. James Newton Howard’s terrific score also deserved major awards. Only Owen Roizman’s cinematography was nominated for an Oscar.

Other standouts include Mare Winningham as Maddie Blaylock, Earp’s second wife, Joanna Going as Josie Marcus, his third wife, Gene Hackman as Nicholas Earp and Isabella Rossellini in a too-short role as Big Nose Kate, who kept company with Holliday. Some of the lesser known supporting players also shine.

The extras are OK, though there’s no scene-by-scene commentary. There are a number of deleted scenes (many of which have shown up in television broadcasts of the film) that add more context to the characterizations, particularly Wyatt’s courtship of Urilla, his first wife (played by Annabeth Gish). A 1994 CBS broadcast about the making of the film is among the extras, and there is another making-of featurette, called “It Happened That Way.” Pay no attention to any labeling of that featurette as “new”; it is also taken from 1994 interviews.

This film was either ignored or mocked when it first came out. Today, it deserves a second look. It’s worthwhile.

Fun Fact #1: Mare Winningham’s characterization of Maddie includes anti-Semitic insults of Josie, who was Jewish. In real life, Winningham is an observant Jew.

Fun Fact #2: Lawrence Kasdan is featured as a card player in one of the deleted scenes. Jim Wilson, KC’s producing partner since 1990, appears as a doctor. Other crew members also appear as extras.

Ratings:

Film: 2 ½ stars – Detailed, but better watched on a small screen

Extras: 2 ½ stars – No commentary, no real new documentary, but the deleted scenes are good.

Link to "New Daughter" photo

2008-05-20T19:09:00.000-07:00

Red's Kevin Costner Scrapbook has the photo.....

http://www.kevincostnerscrapbook.co.uk/press.html

Swing Vote Trailer!

2008-04-30T16:19:00.001-07:00

Here's a link to the trailer; it's a funny one (or, considering the presence of Chris Matthews, maybe a scary one):

http://movies.msn.com/movies/movie.aspx?m=2124008&GT1=MOVIES1

Make that "Dosvedonia" Swing Vote

2008-04-03T08:30:00.000-07:00

Under heat from Disney, which really should post its English-language "Swing Vote" trailer, the Russian-language "Swing Vote" trailer was removed from YouTube in a move Vladimir Putin would admire.

OK, maybe I'm being a little rough on poor, corporate Disney. But they really should post the "Swing Vote" trailer. It's time, especially this election year, to build buzz for this film.

DVD review: Message in a Bottle

2008-03-24T20:15:00.001-07:00

Message in a Bottle

Film *** DVD ***

Hollywood doesn’t do many genuinely romantic movies these days, but “Message in a Bottle” is one of the best of the last few years and a throwback to the classic weepies.

Based on the best-selling novel by Nicholas Sparks, the film teams Kevin Costner with Robin Wright Penn, one of the finest actresses of recent years, and with the legendary Paul Newman. The story is really told from the focus of Wright Penn’s character, Chicago Tribune researcher Theresa Osborne, a divorced mother of a young son (Jesse James) who finds a bottle with a message in it while she is jogging on a beach during a vacation. She finds a typed letter that starts “Dear Catherine.” The letter moves her emotionally and moves her boss (Robbie Coltrane of the “Harry Potter” movies) to write a column about it. Meanwhile, she and her friends and coworkers (including Ileana Douglas in a very funny role as Lina) try to trace the source of the letter.

She finally traces it to the Outer Banks of North Carolina, and to boat builder Garret Blake (KC), who lost Catherine, his wife, to illness two years before. Garret is still in mourning for Catherine and in conflict with her family, but finds himself drawn to Teresa. He is encouraged in his new relationship by his father, Dodge (Newman).

The film moves deftly from romance to humor to sadness. The courtship between Garret and Theresa unfolds realistically, with Garret’s awkwardness adding to the charm. KC and Wright Penn work well together as the pair who can’t quite make all the pieces fit.

Newman is excellent in every scene, and it’s a treat to watch him with KC; one really believes they are father and son. The supporting cast works well, though a fight scene between Garret and Catherine’s brother, Johnny (John Savage), was too over-the-top for me. Gabriel Yared’s music score is a great accompaniment to the story.

The DVD was released in the early years of the format and has good extras for the time in which it was made. The scene-by-scene commentary is done by director Luis Mandoki, with producer Denise DiNovi speaking here and there, and it is satisfying. There are two deleted scenes, the theatrical trailer, and five special effects mini-featurettes that can be found by clicking on bottles that show up in the various menus. (I have to give that hint because I found #5 only recently, and I bought the DVD about four years ago. This “Easter Egg” hunt lasted through several Easters.) However, instead of the main menu coming up on my computer, the movie itself comes up, which can be inconvenient at times if I want to pick a scene.

The film is beautifully made, and true to Sparks’ book. Watch it with plenty of tissues.

Fun fact #1: Kevin Costner had originally considered Paul Newman for the role of Frank Farmer’s father in “The Bodyguard,” but thought the role too small. Ralph Waite (John Walton on the classic TV series “The Waltons”) played Herb Farmer instead.

Fun fact#2: Hayden Pannettiere of the NBC show “Heroes” had a brief role in this film, in a critical scene. She was about 8 years old at the time.

Fun fact #3: Yasmine Delawari, who played Mr. Brooks’ assistant in the movie of the same name, had a brief, uncredited role here.

Ratings:

Film: 3 stars: Harks back to the classic heartbreakers.

DVD: 3 stars, but could have used more deleted scenes.

Interesting new KC interview

2008-03-24T20:10:00.000-07:00

KC has been in South Carolina filming a horror movie (I'm sorry to say, since I'm not a fan of horror movies in general), called "The New Daughter." But maybe he can make it as watchable as "Mr. Brooks" was. I hope so.

Anyway, The Post and Courier in Charleston has a new, very good interview with him:

http://www.charleston.net/news/2008/mar/22/for_costner_its_about_possibility34650/

Open Range DVD Review

2008-02-19T06:23:00.000-08:00

Open Range Film: ***1/2 DVD: ****

These days, Westerns make in and out appearances in movie theaters. Most actors like to make one just to say they’ve been in one. But recently, they’ve been reluctant to label these films westerns, preferring instead the term “historical drama,” which may gain more respect from Oscar voters than “Western.”

Kevin Costner loves Westerns, and thank goodness, he’s totally unapologetic about that fact. That’s why we’ve gotten classics from him such as “Dances With Wolves” and “Open Range,” which he made in 2003. If “Dances” was a story told on a grand scale, “Open Range” is a much smaller, more intimate tale.

That tale starts out as the story of friendship between four men. Boss Spearman (Robert Duvall) oversees the group of freegrazing cowboys that includes Charley Waite (KC), Mose Harrison (Abraham Benrubi) and young Button (Diego Luna). They travel around, generally not being a bother to anyone.

Then, trouble finds them when Mose must be sent into the town of Harmonville to purchase supplies. He winds up in the jail of a ruthless landowner, Denton Baxter (Michael Gambon) and his equally ruthless Sheriff Poole (James Russo, who also co-starred in “The Postman”). From there, the stakes begin to increase to deadly proportions. As the stakes go up, more is revealed about the backgrounds of Boss and Charley in particular.

But they also find support in town, especially from Percy (Michael Jeter, in his last film), who runs the livery stable. And Charley finds love in Sue Barlow (Annette Bening), who helps the group.

Most of the cast is excellent. The exchanges in particular between Boss and Charley are a delight; they are, indeed, bickering like “an old married couple,” as Boss tells Sue. The chemistry between KC and Bening is also very good. KC had wanted to work with Bening in “For Love of the Game,” and this movie makes one wish she had (She wound up being nominated for an Oscar for “American Beauty,” which she did instead.).

Kim Coates has a couple of scenes as a menacing gunhand, and makes a long-standing impression in a short while. Gambon, whose specialties run from Shakespeare to the Harry Potter films to Public Television’s Inspector Maigret, is somewhat less convincing, at least to me, as Baxter. He doesn’t quite pull off the menace. Most of the rest of the cast came from Canada; the film was shot near Calgary.

Film critics, who haven’t often been kind to KC, have called the shootout in this film one of the best in film history. For once, I agree with them. It is well staged and unfolds as a story should. It’s not pretty, and it comes with high physical and psychological costs.

Extras are abundant. KC has a scene-by-scene commentary, and he’s excellent at it, telling you the details and motivation behind each scene, including what was added by computer. That’s on Disc 1. Disc 2 has a making-of documentary, “Beyond Open Range,” that goes into details that include location, costumes, music and the fact that KC was making this film with a hot appendix that finally came out several months after shooting wrapped.

There is also a nice featurette, “America’s Open Range,” that chronicles the real-life pioneers, which included President Theodore Roosevelt. (Incidentally, that one may have a factual error or two.) The featurette “Storyboarding Open Range,” is narrated by artist David Negron, who discusses the storyboarding, or sketching out, of scenes such as the opening cattle drive and the shootout late in the film.
There are also many deleted scenes, most introduced, with some background, by KC, as well as a music video reportedly put together by Christine Baumgartner, who is now Mrs. Costner.

This film is a true feast, and so are the extras. It’s one of Kevin Costner’s best.

Not-so-fun-fact #1: Besides KC’s appendix problems, Robert Duvall fell off a horse and broke some ribs a couple of months before shooting of the film was to begin. Ouch!

Fun fact #2: In his commentary, KC talks about tributes to other movies and actors in his films. During the shootout, a scene in which Boss shoots one of Baxter’s thugs through a barn wall is an homage to a scene in Clint Eastwood’s “Unforgiven.”

Fun fact #3: The film is based on Lauran Paine’s 1990 novel, “The Open Range Men,” which has a somewhat different ending from the film.

Ratings:

Film: 3 and 1/2 stars: A wobbly performance by Michael Gambon and a bit of bumpiness in some of the post-shootout scenes, but one of KC’s best nonetheless.

Extras: 4 stars: All the fixin’s make the DVD a treat.

DVD Review: The Untouchables

2008-01-07T05:56:00.000-08:00

The Untouchables Film **** DVD ***

“The Untouchables” is a film in the grand, classic scale. Equally classic is its story of good vs. evil. Aside from the odd combination of crime fighters Eliot Ness recruits in the film is the odd combination of writer (Pulitzer Prize-winning David Mamet) and director (Brian DePalma, known primarily for slasher films) who worked on it.

When the film came out in 1987, many were comparing it to the long-running television series that starred Robert Stack. But really, the film goes in a different direction. Kevin Costner played Eliot Ness as a young and somewhat naïve Treasury agent, newly arrived in Chicago to try to put Al Capone’s frightful slaughter and corruption out of business. The film also points at the corruption among the city’s police officers, as Ness struggles to find the good guys to help him. His motley crew eventually includes veteran beat cop Jimmy Malone (Sean Connery, in an Oscar-winning performance), police academy recruit George Stone (Andy Garcia) and Treasury accountant Oscar Wallace (Charles Martin Smith). They mix well, with humor and poignancy. You root for all four of them.

DePalma and producer Art Linson went through quite a bit to get Robert DeNiro to play the menacing Capone. This was part of DeNiro’s peak period, before he started going into self-parody in his mobster roles, and he is excellent as well, able to generate tension with something as simple as getting cut by the man shaving him.

Billy Drago does well as the frightening mobster Frank Nitti. Patricia Clarkson, in one of her first movie roles, is fine as Catherine Ness, Eliot’s wife.

Two other stars of this film are Georgio Armani’s suits (A lot of KC fans fell in love with him when they saw him in his suit) and Ennio Morricone’s music, which literally and figuratively hits the right notes. There is also Chicago itself, which has enough of its history left to have served as an elegant backdrop to the events in the film.

The extras are solid, but such a great movie deserved a running film commentary with DePalma and others. He, Smith, Linson, cinematographer Stephen Burum and visual consultant Patrizia von Brandenstein are interviewed in the featurettes, which also have interview footage from the time the movie was made with KC, Garcia and Connery. Those featurettes are well done, with focus on the selection of the cast, the production of the film and the reaction.

Fun fact #1: The backup to play Al Capone was Bob Hoskins, the British actor who would go on to success the following year in “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?” Hoskins was paid off when DeNiro was hired.

Ratings:

Film: 4 stars: A true classic

DVD: 3 stars: Good featurettes, but deserved scene-by-scene commentary, too.

"Dances" on National Film Registry

2007-12-28T04:35:00.000-08:00

"Dances With Wolves" is on the new list of 25 films that have been put on the National Film Registry, meaning that they have historical significance:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3ide91e2bbd6c24afff622513d64dbf694

Review: American Flyers ***

2007-12-17T04:42:00.000-08:00

This is the movie with the mustache. Kevin Costner’s mustache, which he likely has because if he didn’t, he’d look more like David Grant’s younger brother than older brother.

In fact, KC does play Dr. Marcus Sommers, the older brother of David, in a family trying to get heads and hearts back together after the death of their father from a brain aneurysm. Do either of the brothers have the same condition? That mystery is an undercurrent of the plot.

So is the “Hell of the West” bicycle race, which takes up most of the last half of the film. Marcus is a skilled cyclist, with a loving relationship with girlfriend Sarah (Rae Dawn Chong), but an uneasy one with his mother (Janice Rule). David is still looking for his path in life. Marcus takes him first to his Milwaukee home, then to the race.

Real-life cuts of the race are interspersed in the film, and they provide fine drama, as both Marcus and David compete against the film, which includes Marcus’ friend-turned-foe “The Cannibal” Muzzin (played by Ted Danson look-alike Luca Bercovici). He is appropriately named. Alexandra Paul does a nice job as Becky, the un-hippie who becomes David’s girlfriend. John Amos (“Good Times,” “The West Wing” ) is a welcome presence, as always, as the athletic center director who works with Marcus. Jennifer Grey, who would become a star two years later in “Dirty Dancing,” appears in a small role.

The one sour note - literally - is the music, which is dated and shows the film’s 1980s placement. And maybe KC’s mustache. Otherwise, it’s a good film.

The version I viewed was copied from the cable channel FX and edited for length and content. The film is available on bare-bones DVD.

Fun fact: How would film history have been changed if Kevin Costner had played “The Cannibal?” That’s the role he auditioned for. Fortunately, director Steve Tesich and casting director Wallis Nicita thought he’d do better as Marcus.

Rating: 3 stars. Good work by the cast, interesting story and drama, but the music is very dated.

Mr. Brooks DVD extras review ***

2007-12-06T04:33:00.000-08:00

I've already posted the Mr. Brooks review in a previous blog entry, but here's a review of the DVD extras:

The Mr. Brooks DVD has a solid batch of extras, starting with Bruce Evans and Raymond Gideon’s film commentary. They have some interesting facts to accompany the scenes, starting with the wild goose chase they had to employ to get Kevin Costner to look at the script.

The DVD’s three featurettes, like the film itself, are not for the faint of heart; some of the grizzliest scenes are shown as filmmakers and stars describe the making of the film and the characters. It probably would have been better if the three featurettes had been combined into one long, making-of documentary. Also missing are interviews with two people who played an integral role in the making of this film: Cinematographer John Lindley, who worked on “Field of Dreams,” and production designer Jeffrey Beecroft, who has worked on a number of KC films, including “Open Range.”

Most of the deleted scenes are also not for the squeamish, although a brief (and unbloody) one where Mr. Brooks describes Marshall’s history could have been included in the final film. The theatrical trailer and promotions for several other films are also included.

The Upside of Anger DVD review

2007-11-14T04:55:00.000-08:00

The Upside of Anger Film ** 1/2 DVD ***

“The Upside of Anger” is one of those films critics go bananas over because it has dysfunctional characters and the breaking of at least several laws. That’s precisely why I usually keep my distance from movies like that.

I think the film is OK, and Kevin Costner’s performance is fine after the first half-hour, when he sounds like he’s channeling Jack Nicholson. But I disagree with the DVD commentary of the film’s director, Mike Binder, and filmmaker Rod Lurie, who call KC’s work in this film his best ever. No way. Not even close.

KC has the best description of his character, retired baseball player-turned-radio host Denny Davies, as a St. Bernard who wanders through the neighborhood, picking up scraps from others. At movie’s start, unfortunately, those scraps include marijuana and lots of beer. Match that up with the affinity for Gray Goose by Terry Wolfmeyer (played by Joan Allen, a very good actress who manages to be a critical favorite). Terry’s husband has disappeared, and Terry and Denny become drinking buddies.

The haze of alcohol clouds Terry’s look at her four daughters: Hadley (Alicia Witt), a college student who often squabbles with her mother; Andrea, or Andy (Erika Christensen), who takes up with Denny’s older, sleazy co-worker, Shep (Binder); Emily, a dance student with difficulties (Keri Russell); and the movie’s narrator, “Popeye,” (Evan Rachel Wood), who is dealing with a crush on a classmate (Christensen’s brother, Hayden), who may have issues of his own. Famed Detroit DJ Arthur Penhallow plays himself.

The movie covers several years and a lot of changes for most of the principal characters. They all manage to grow, and in that growth, KC gets better as the movie goes on. The rest of the cast is good.

Extras include the Lurie-Binder-Joan Allen commentary, a making-of featurette, the theatrical trailer and other trailers.

Fun fact #1: We always knew Kevin Costner was a lady-killer, but part of this was filmed at England’s famed Ealing Studios, home of the original version of “The Ladykillers” with Alec Guiness.

Fun fact #2: Lauren Ambrose and Mandy Moore were among the actresses originally tapped to play the Wolfmeyer daughters.

Ratings:

Movie: 2 ½ stars: Critics waved banners, while Oscar didn’t. The film is OK.

DVD: 3 stars: Has everything it should.

No "Holy Road" for KC

2007-11-02T16:42:00.000-07:00

Cinemablend.com confirms that KC will not be involved with "The Holy Road," the sequel to "Dances With Wolves."

I think it's a good decision. How do you top not just seven Oscars, but a truly memorable film?

New film: "New Daughter"

2007-10-25T04:34:00.000-07:00

KC's been cast in a new thriller:

http://entertainment.tv.yahoo.com/entnews/va/20071024/119322117900.html

Personal note: I know he has no fear about going his own way in genres, but I'm not a thriller person (He's the only reason I went to see "Mr. Brooks," as well-made as it was.) and there are other movies he's had on the blocks (a western; the drama "Tortilla Curtain" and several others) I'd much rather see come to fruition. Come on, Hollywood, wake up and support his projects. You've got yourself a pretty good one there.

Dragonfly DVD review

2007-10-21T19:20:00.000-07:00

Dragonfly Film *** DVD ***

There are several movies in “Dragonfly” - the one that was made, the one they should have made and the one director Tom Shadyac thinks he should have made.
The one they should have made is the one that stuck closest to Mike Thompson and Brandon Camp’s original script. The early script review, which is available online, indicated more dramatic qualities, including a potential love interest for the film’s hero, Dr. Joe Darrow, after he lost his wife, Emily. Kathryn Erbe (of Law and Order: Criminal Intent) and Alison Lohman lost roles in this film after revisions were made to that script.
Shadyac, who mostly does slapstick comedies but has done the odd dramatic turn (Robin Williams’ “Patch Adams” was directed by him as well), thought “Dragonfly” should have had more thriller and comedic elements, and said so in the DVD commentary. I can’t say I agree.
The one that was made is a good drama and, as one critic called it, a thriller for people who don’t like thrillers. There are spooky moments, but nothing that will have the squeamish running from the theater.
There’s also wonderful acting, led by Kevin Costner as Joe, Kathy Bates as Miriam, an attorney and Joe’s next-door neighbor, Ron Rifkin as Dr. Charlie Dickinson, one of Joe’s buddies, and Joe Morton as the hospital administrator. (However, before I saw the film for the first time in 2002, Morton inadvertently ruined the experience by giving away the film’s ending in an interview during the movie premiere. Ouch.) Bates and Rifkin in particular are excellent in trying to keep an increasingly confused Joe grounded. Jay Thomas also lends a nice element as Joe’s friend Hal. Linda Hunt is excellent as Sister Madeleine, who is trying to convince Joe of what he thinks he’s seeing and hearing. John Debney’s music also works well to build the drama of the scenes.
The basic plot: Joe is mourning his wife, Emily (Susanna Thompson), another doctor who went to South America to work with the poor and was lost in a bus accident. But she’s trying to communicate with him - or is she? And what’s being communicated? Those questions make up the movie.
If there’s one quibble, it’s that Shadyac let his wish to give the audience some “Boo!” moments seep in a little too much into what is, at its essence, a spiritual movie. I wonder if that also had to do with the changes the original script underwent. It certainly reflects what KC often says in interviews about filmmakers being timid sometimes, under pressure from studios.
But it’s still a good film. Not seen enough at the box office on first release, it’s picked up fans in its cable and DVD life. Many are inspired by it.
Extra features include deleted scenes - some that might have added to the film, and at least one that would have given the ending away. There is also a description by author Betty Eadie (“Embraced By the Light”) of a near-death experience she had during a 1973 hospital stay. There is also the theatrical trailer.

Fun Fact #1: Brad Pitt or Harrison Ford as Dr. Joe? Both were reportedly offered the role.

Fun Fact #2: Katharine Curtiss, to whose memory the film was dedicated, was a high school classmate of Kevin Costner. She was the wife of Assistant Producer/First Assistant Director Alan Curtiss.

Ratings:
Movie: 3 stars. Strong acting by the entire cast takes the day.

DVD: 3 stars. Good features.

JFK *** ½

2007-10-01T04:41:00.000-07:00

Who assassinated President John Fitzgerald Kennedy? Most people (except maybe Crash Davis of KC’s “Bull Durham” )seem to agree that it was not Lee Harvey Oswald, at least not alone. There are two reasons:

1) The Warren Commission’s “magic bullet” theory, which has one bullet zigzagging through various points on Kennedy and Texas Governor John Connally, who was wounded.
2) The film taken by Abraham Zapruder, which seems to show things inconsistent with the Warren report.

Any number of theories has been considered – the Mafia, Fidel Castro, international assassins – and are plausible. Director Oliver Stone’s theory, the theory of this film’s lead character, New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison, is that the assassination was essentially a coup by a political, military and business establishment who did not want the applecart tipped as they went into Vietnam. Take that theory and bookend it with a viewing of KC’s “Thirteen Days” and it makes for a very interesting discussion.

Whether one believes Oliver Stone or not, “JFK” makes for riveting viewing. Garrison, who held his New Orleans post until Harry Connick, Sr. (father of the singer/musician) defeated him in 1973, did, indeed, make the pursuit of Kennedy’s killers a crusade. And Kevin Costner does a great job in humanizing him, despite their physical and other differences (The real Garrison, who has a cameo role as, ironically, Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren, was much taller than KC’s 6’1”.).

A story goes that some dunderhead at Warner Brothers forgot to submit KC’s name for Academy Award consideration. That’s highly unfortunately, because KC did the job of a lifetime as Garrison, with the closing statement one of his film career highlights. Also Oscar-worthy were Joe Pesci, as the frightened witness David Ferrie and Donald Sutherland, who is memorable in his 10 minutes as “X,” the mysterious Pentagon operative who turns Garrison on to new angles in the case. Tommy Lee Jones is excellent as Clay Shaw, the chief target of Garrison’s conspiracy investigation.

There are many, many prominent cast members who do fine jobs, including Kevin Bacon as prisoner Willie O’Keefe, Michael Rooker as conflicted assistant DA Bill Broussard, Oscar-winner Sissy Spacek as Garrison’s wife, Liz (Their conflict is well portrayed; the real-life couple would eventually divorce in the 1970s) and Laurie Metcalf as crusading assistant DA Susie Cox, who puts many of the Lee Harvey Oswald pieces together. British actor Gary Oldman also does a fine job as Oswald. The laundry list of prominent actors and actresses in the film includes Brian-Doyle Murray (Bill’s brother), Sally Kirkland, Edward Asner, John Candy, Jay O. Sanders and the great Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau.

Stone’s filmmaking (He co-wrote the script with Zachary Sklar) received a lot of criticism because he incorporated staged scenes with real-life film and events. Today, there are still questions about the ethics of doing so, even in filmmaking. But it’s impossible to take your eyes off the story if you’re interested in politics, government or history. If Stone’s chief goal was to make viewers care, he certainly did so. (Some records were opened after its release.) I don’t completely buy his/Garrison’s arguments, but if it’s not great documentary, it is great filmmaking.

I watched a VHS copy of a commercial television airing of the film, edited for language and some length. The movie is available on DVD with the full treatment, including commentary by Stone and various featurettes.

Fun fact: The narrator of the opening segment is Martin Sheen, who played JFK in the teleplay “The Missiles of October” and in the early-1980s NBC miniseries “Kennedy.” Sheen later played President Josiah “Jed” Bartlett in the series “The West Wing,” also on NBC.

Fun fact #2: This is the only movie in which Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau jointly appeared but did not have a scene together. Lemmon played Jack Martin, a private investigator; Matthau played Louisiana Sen. Russell Long, whose doubts about the case help convince Garrison to reopen it.

Review: Stacy's Knights **1/2

2007-09-24T04:40:00.000-07:00

Yes, he was in “Sizzle Beach USA” and “Shadows Run Black,” two El Cheapo films. Yes, he was Frat Boy #1 in “Night Shift.“ Yes, he did have the scene in “Frances” that finally got him his Screen Actors Guild card. But “Stacy’s Knights,” a low-budget movie made in 1982, is the one I really consider Kevin Costner’s first film. It was definitely his first starring role. And in this film, he shows the signs of why he became a star.
This film (called “The Touch” in this low-cost DVD release; it‘s also known as “Double Down“) is mostly for gambling fans. I know nothing about gambling. However, the script is by Michael Blake (who would go on to write a little ditty called “Dances With Wolves,” which also starred KC), and has some pretty good drama in it. The film was directed by Jim Wilson, who has been KC’s producing partner since 1990.
KC plays Will Bonner, who knows a lot about gambling, except how to win. When he sees shy law student and blackjack player Stacy Lancaster (Andra Millian), he, along with drama teacher Jean Dennison (Eve Lilith) helps her gain the skills and confidence to win. However, they run into the local casino’s bad guys, and that struggle takes up much of the film.
What’s around KC isn’t much to talk about, though Millian (later on “The Paper Chase” and “Thirtysomething” and Lilith do OK in their roles. Blake’s first script is watchable, but there are plot and background gaps. We want to know more about Will and Stacy’s backgrounds, at least. Blake’s “Man Without a Past” tendency sure doesn’t hurt “Dances With Wolves,” but it does here. You don’t understand why Will is so obsessed with Stacy’s gambling.
However, this film is KC’s show nonetheless, and does he ever take advantage. Film critic Leonard Maltin calls it a “flavorful” performance. I agree. KC’s confident and convincing. In given scenes, you see shades of what’s to come, particularly in his comedies - the counsel of Crash Davis in scenes where Will advises Stacy; the goofiness of Denny Davies in scenes where he’s unwinding (right down to a marijuana scene that was totally unnecessary) and that famous hesitation of his before speaking, when he looks in one direction, then the other then chuckles and looks at the ground - shades of Roy McAvoy. And yes, he gets to ride a horse.
But you don’t long to watch those performances instead of this one; you enjoy this one.
Just a year later, he gained notoriety for having his scenes cut out of “The Big Chill.” Just three years later, he was the “it” guy as a result of his scene-stealing role in “Silverado.” And just five years later, he was a star. Pretty cool for a guy who started with, to quote Will Bonner, “birdseed”….and did, indeed, turn it into fillet mignon.
Fun fact: John Coinman is another guy who’s been important in KC’s life; he plays a stiff in this film. Coinman has performed as a musician in “The Postman” and has worked with KC in their two bands: The late-1980s Roving Boy, and the current Modern West.
Rating:
Movie: 2 ½ stars: It’s KC’s show all the way.

DVD Review: Silverado

2007-09-04T05:01:00.000-07:00

Silverado

Film: **1/2 DVD: ***

In a 2001 “Inside the Actor’s Studio” interview, Kevin Costner said he would rather have played the laconic Emmett role in “Silverado,” played by veteran actor Scott Glenn, than the animated Jake, which KC played to great acclaim. His argument was that Emmett was the easier of the two roles, and more in line with the traditional Western leading man. However, he did pretty darn good as Jake, a lively role that puts away clichés about the Western hero.
He’s one of the four friends (Why are there always four?) who challenge the brutality of the thugs who rule several areas, including the title town. Emmett is Jake’s older brother; Danny Glover plays Mal, of a family of homesteaders whose situation has gone very wrong and Kevin Kline plays Paden, who, like Emmett, has had run-ins with the bad guys before.
Silverado had good success when it came out in 1985, because it was the first Western in umpteen times and it was directed by Lawrence Kasdan, who had a hot streak going (He wrote and directed “The Big Chill” and wrote the scripts for “The Empire Strikes Back,” “Return of the Jedi” and “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” among others.). It had an interesting stew of cast members, including Kasdan repertory players (KC, Kevin Kline, Jeff Goldblum, Danny Glover), prominent stage and film actors (Glenn, Brian Dennehy, Linda Hunt) and John Cleese, away from “Monty Python.” The cast does better than what they’re given.
Kasdan and his brother, Mark, wrote the script, and as one of the three historians said in their commentary, it is cribbed from Westerns of years past.
As imaginative a writer as Kasdan is, he lets the clichés overflow in this film, right down to the climatic gunfight, which is complete with the tumbling tumbleweed and the emptied-out town, although you see some people leave. (See KC’s “Open Range” for how to get the climatic gunfight right, and how to play around with cliches.)
Another thing Kasdan screwed up, which he admits to in a making-of documentary, is the involvement of Rosanna Arquette’s character with Emmett and Paden, Kline’s character. A romance is not resolved in either direction, and she doesn’t get to say very much. Lynn Whitfield, as the sister of Glover’s character, Mal, fares much better. So does Linda Hunt as co-owner of the town saloon.
The town of Silverado would later appear in Wyatt Earp as Tombstone, Arizona; Kasdan directed both.
Bruce Broughton’s Oscar-nominated score channels Aaron Copeland at times.
The extras are very good. Well, most of the extras. During the film commentary, historians Frank Thompson, Paul Hutton and Steve Aaron yak (and yak) throughout the film, don’t say much that’s useful, and tend to get quite annoying. I would rather have heard a commentary from Kasdan, explaining, scene by scene, why he did what he did. It’s better, under these circumstances, to hear the motivation for putting things together.
There are two excellent documentaries. One, “The Making of Silverado,” which is actually from the film’s first DVD release in 1999, features interviews with Lawrence and Mark Kasdan, Kevin Kline and various crew members, and nice detail about the making of the film. The other, “Return to Silverado With Kevin Costner,” has KC’s observations about the film, including interesting ones about one scene in which he gets off his horse and his cape flies up in his face, and the other after Jake kills two men and his facial expression. (Incidentally, I do happen to think KC played that scene right.)
Trailers include the one for this film and other westerns, and a promotional featurette for those westerns, narrated by John Cleese. There is also a booklet about the film and a set of playing cards. Pretty cool, and you can still find this package on sale at local video stores. It’s a good value.

Fun Fact 1: The Midnight Star….Hmm, it’s a good name for a saloon. Kevin Costner certainly thought so; that’s what his casino in Deadwood, South Dakota is called – with a restaurant called Jake’s.

Fun Fact 2: Book ‘em for concerts, Danno: Bruce Broughton got his start scoring episodes of “Hawaii Five-O” and “Gunsmoke.” His other music for movies and TV include the score for “Tombstone” and the theme from “JAG.”

Ratings:

Film: 2 ½ stars- Great job by the cast, but too many clichés.

Extras: 3 stars: Would have been higher if the film commentary had been better.

Disney gets "Swing Vote"

2007-08-24T04:58:00.000-07:00

Disney, which distributed "Open Range" and produced "The Guardian," will distribute "Swing Vote."

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3i88e7ce93c366c11243bace36a952408c

More info about Swing Vote Cast

2007-08-22T16:28:00.000-07:00

Actress Constance Hsu has joined the cast:

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2007/8/prweb548104.htm

Robin Hood film and DVD review

2007-08-20T04:40:00.001-07:00

Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves Special Edition DVD

Film: *** DVD: ***1/2

A little less than a day. Just 21 hours. That’s all Kevin Costner would have needed, an hour a day for three weeks, to chase away most of the people who have been nipping at his heels for the last 16 years over his accent in this movie. And Kevin Reynolds is the reason for a good portion of that nipping. If Reynolds had been willing to give KC that extra time, he would have done as well with the British accent as he did with his Cajun dialect in his next film, “JFK.” I believe that.
That hitch, I think, and some 20th century dialogue keeps this film from a four-star rating in my book. It’s my second-favorite film version of Robin Hood (My favorite is actually a spoof, Danny Kaye’s “The Court Jester,” which co-starred Basil Rathbone as the bad guy. Rathbone had played the Sheriff of Nottingham in Errol Flynn’s 1938 “The Adventures of Robin Hood.”).
I love the setup of the story given by screenwriters Pen Densham (perfect name for a screenwriter) and John Watson. Much of the cast, which includes Morgan Freeman and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, is very good (although Christian Slater also has accent problems). And there’s Michael Kamen’s exquisite score, punctuated by the beautiful theme for “Everything I Do,” the love song for Robin and Maid Marian.
Now my first sacrilege comment: My preference for the cold evil of a Basil Rathbone is also the reason I’m not the biggest fan of Alan Rickman’s performance here as the sheriff. Rickman’s performance is campy and comic and goes better with Mel Brooks’ “Men in Tights” spoof of a couple of years later than with this film, I think, because the themes were so serious here. I never get the feeling of that big ambition of Nottingham’s, and the humor only serves to make Nottingham look inept.
Geraldine McEwan (Miss Marple to PBS viewers) is terrific, though, as the witch Mortianna, and this DVD adds about a dozen minutes to the original cut of the movie, mostly with scenes and plot twists between her and Nottingham.
Here’s the second sacrilege comment: This version of the story appeals to me more than the Flynn version because I think it’s truer to the context of the times in which it takes place – late in the 12th century. There’s no glamour in such things as the sword fight between Robin and Nottingham. It also looks at the beginning of the story, with Robin and Azeem’s escape from Jerusalem, where they were prisoners in the wake of the Crusades.
Warner Brothers finally did a nice job with extras on a DVD (This was a box office hit, after all.). There are two commentaries – one featuring Densham, Watson, Freeman and Slater, the other one featuring the two Kevins. On the first, Slater seems almost unnecessary, but the others have good moments. (I like Freeman’s introduction.) On the second, KC is very blunt about his accent and why he wanted to do it. And he puts the lie to any media speculation that he was jealous of Rickman with his reaction to Rickman’s scenes.
Extras on a second disc also include the theatrical trailer and a bunch of commercial spots (including two that just about give the ending away). There are also some nice mini-interviews done after the filming with the major players, as well as pictures, a video of Bryan Adams singing his “Everything I Do” in England, Michael Kamen’s score (I wish other DVDs would have the entire score.) and a good program made at the time the movie came out, “Robin Hood: The Man, The Myth, The Movie,” hosted by Pierce Brosnan (who might have made a good Robin Hood, incidentally). The menus are fun to look at, too, with the movie menus like those gold coins Robin found, and the extras menus like Sherwood Forest.

Fun fact 1: An actor brought in to do one page of dialogue and one scene –the last one - gave his salary to youth charities. I can’t say who it is without ruining the ending for those who haven’t seen the film. Just watch the movie.

Fun fact 2: Robin Hood, the ultimate English nobleman, in France? Yep, they shot some scenes across the Channel.

Fun fact 3: The movie was honored for its portrayal of a Muslim character (Azeem) in a positive light.

Ratings:

Film: 3 stars—Great story, terrific music. Only the accent issues keep this from a perfect score.

DVD: 3 ½ stars—Terrific extras.

Mr. Brooks DVD due October 23

2007-08-14T20:10:00.000-07:00

British Costner fan Red has posted the details of the Mr. Brooks DVD on her site, including the DVD cover, which looks downright spooky:

http://www.kevincostnerscrapbook.co.uk/press.html

Report: Amazing Stories

2007-08-01T04:53:00.000-07:00

Report: Amazing Stories-The Mission

During the mid-1980s, Steven Spielberg produced a weekly series for NBC called “Amazing Stories,” incorporating some of the adventure, science fiction and sense of wonder present in his films. The series, which lasted two years, featured a number of young acting faces, including Kevin Costner.
The episode “The Mission” featured KC and two other actors well known today: Kiefer Sutherland (“24”) and Anthony LaPaglia (“Without a Trace”). It got the top-notch treatment, being directed by Spielberg and having the music written by Spielberg’s frequent collaborator, legendary composer John Williams.
KC plays the Captain (“Captain Spark,” I thought I heard him referred to in the broadcast I saw) of an Army Air Corps bomber completing its mission in Europe during World War II. It’s supposed to be his last mission, as well as that of Jonathan (Casey Siemaszko, a frequent television presence) in the sense of both going stateside. But it may become the last mission for the entire crew, who is imperiled – Jonathan in particular – by an attack. It’s a good adventure, with nice performances all around (KC flubs his “miracle” line, but not much else, and he is moving when he is trying to rescue Jonathan.).
The version I saw was on cable’s Sci-Fi channel, and either the tape or the channel had problems – it kept blacking out. However, it is available on DVD, as part of the show’s first season. “The Mission” was also released on video as part of “Amazing Stories: Book One.”

Revenge Director's Cut DVD review

2007-07-10T04:50:00.000-07:00

Revenge, Director’s Cut Film: ** DVD: **

Kevin Costner looks great here. In fact, never (except perhaps Bull Durham) have I seen him look handsomer in a movie. And he works well. And he smiles a lot, at least in the first half of the film, when he‘s got something to smile about. He also proves conclusively that he can’t dance at all.
But to what end is the question. Revenge came in early 1990, sandwiched between two instant classics (Field of Dreams and Dances With Wolves). It did not do well in theaters, but seems to have developed a cult following.
Even so, director Tony Scott decided to issue his own cut in a recent DVD. He trimmed about a half-hour - including a substantial portion of the plot.
Some of that plot: Jay Cochran (KC) retires as a Naval pilot and heads to Mexico for some R and R with an old friend, Tiburon Mendez. But he finds himself increasingly attracted to Mendez’ young wife, Miryea. Consequences abound for all.
Pros are at work here, led by the legendary Anthony Quinn, who’s excellent as Mendez, and Madeleine Stowe, who also works well as Miryea. But in this new cut, she gets the short end of the stick.
Scott sliced and diced substantive scenes out of the plot (my favorite scene - listening to Jay read in Spanish and ask Miryea “Did I just blow your mind?” is gone from this version. The problem with that is that a following scene is left in, where she asks him the same question and he says, “Don‘t mock me.” That scene no longer makes sense.).
In wanting to get to the hot-and-heavy stuff, Scott leaves out a good portion of the reason Miryea would be likely to have an affair with Jay, and why Mendez would be in such a state that he would act the way he did. In this version of the movie, Miryea is a slut, nothing more; while the viewer sympathizes with her, it‘s not to the degree of the original cut. In the original movie, the ending, which is wonderfully acted, is well-earned; not here. And there’s never a good reason given why Jay and Mendez became friends.
KC has very good chemistry with Madeleine Stowe, to the point that I’d like to see them work together again, in a movie with a better director and better script. But they’re not just two beautiful people working together; they’re two good actors working together, and Scott seems to have forgotten that in his efforts to sex this version up.
Notable actors in the cast include television’s Joe Santos, who did better with no talking in “The Postman” than he does here with a bad Mexican accent, Sally Kirkland, who’s fine as a singer, and Miguel Ferrer (son of Jose Ferrer and Rosemary Clooney, and George Clooney‘s cousin) and James Gammon (who is briefly in “Wyatt Earp“), who have nice work as men who help Jay. John Leguizamo also gets a significant chunk of his part cut in this version (although given a recent book he wrote in which he trashed a number of people, including KC, it may be no great loss).
This was the first movie KC produced, and his first work with Jim Wilson, his producing partner for the last 17 years. KC thought about directing it, and perhaps it would have been better from a plot perspective if he had. But then he might not have directed Dances With Wolves. On the other hand, if he had directed “Revenge,” it certainly would have been better, and far more respectful to the cast, particularly Stowe.
Extras include, unfortunately, Scott’s commentary. He quickly managed to surpass my previous choice for most annoying commentary on a Kevin Costner DVD (Silverado, with the three yakking western historians) with his sexist comments about Stowe. Compare it to Ron Shelton’s excellent commentary about Susan Sarandon in Bull Durham. He manages to discuss what she brought to the earthy role of Annie Savoy without making it sound cheap. The sex scenes here make Bull Durham’s almost look like a PG-13. (Note: The director’s cut of “Revenge” is unrated.)
And Scott proves himself a hypocrite when he talks about taking out one late scene involving Quinn because, he says, they didn’t need to show it. Gee, Scott shows just about everything else.
There is a featurette about the making of the movie where Scott, KC and Stowe are interviewed. Stowe is very kind to Scott, considering her character’s fate in this version. KC, while giving props to Scott, still sounds as ambivalent about this movie as he ever has. With good reason.

Fun fact: For what Scott says in the commentary about “Rocky,” he was actually a girl - KC’s golden Lab retriever, Rosalita, who lived to the ripe old age of 14.Rosalita was the mother of another Costner dog, Wyatt, who died earlier this year (KC’s son, Cayden Wyatt, has his middle name for that four-legged member of the Costner family.).
Ratings:
Film: 2 stars, mostly on the strength of the cast. Tony Scott’s slash-and-burn lets everybody down.
DVD: 2 stars, mostly because of the featurette. Scott’s commentary should make any woman with a sense of self esteem want to punch him.

"Swing Vote" cast completed

2007-07-09T04:51:00.000-07:00

KC's got some big guns in the "Swing Vote" cast.....His "Waterworld" co-star Dennis Hopper and "Frasier's" Kelsey Grammer, as well as Stanley Tucci and one of my favorites, Nathan Lane. A young lady named Madeline Carroll will play the civic-minded daughter of KC's character.

Here's the link to the Variety piece:

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117968194.html?categoryid=13&cs=1

Review: Bull Durham (Film 1/2; DVD *1/2)

2007-07-02T21:07:00.000-07:00

If movie critics had their way, Kevin Costner would replicate the character of Crash Davis in every movie he makes.
Thank goodness he doesn’t. I mean that to say, thank goodness for his diversity of characters, and that he doesn’t play the cynical (if sexy) Crash character in every film. The cynicism is the reason critics, who are cynics themselves, love it so much.
I’m ambivalent about the film, though there are very funny moments and both Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon are terrific. And KC has good moments, too, but there are times when I find his speaking in a monotone ineffective.
I’m less ambivalent about the Special Edition DVD, which has great extras, including hilarious commentary by Robbins and KC and a detailed, separate one by Ron Shelton, who wrote and directed the film.
The film has become a classic to many. KC’s Crash is sent to the minor-league Durham Bulls to tutor Ebby Calvin “Nuke” LaLoosh (Robbins), a young pitcher with a lot of talent, but few brains. In the meantime, Nuke is receiving a different kind of tutoring from Annie Savoy (Sarandon), a Bulls fan who takes up with a young player each year. Once Crash meets Annie, he’s not at all happy about that kind of arrangement.
Other characters include the Bulls’ manager (Trey Wilson) and pitching coach (Robert Wuhl, at his funniest in the legendary “mound conference” scene), as well as Millie (Jenny Robertson), who gets involved with as many players as possible. Max Patkin, once known as the “Clown Prince of Baseball,” plays himself. (Scenes involving Patkin’s death and funeral were cut out of the film; Patkin actually died in 1999.).
Shelton, a one-time Baltimore Orioles farmhand, bases his story on his own experiences in the minors. There are many scenes that are very funny, but for reasons I can’t explain, the film has never quite captured my heart. I guess it’s because I go for the idealism of “Field of Dreams.”
It’s interesting to hear Shelton’s and KC’s different reactions to Crash’s “I Believe” speech; Shelton doesn’t think it’s that good; KC thinks it’s good, but he didn’t deliver it well.
Other tidbits that come from Shelton, as well as KC and Robbins, include various scenes that were cut out (including a scene that compelled Sarandon to want to make the film, in which Annie explains to Crash why she’s such a big baseball fan), and experiences they had during the North Carolina shoot. Of course, Sarandon and Robbins fell in love for real during the filming, a relationship that’s still going strong 20 years later.
Extras include a nice making-of documentary and a couple of mini-featurettes made at the time of the movie. The theatrical trailer just about gives the whole movie away, or so it seems.

Fun fact: Grady Little, the current (2007) manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers, was the baseball adviser on the movie.
Fun fact #2: “American Idol” judge Paula Abdul was the choreographer who taught Tim Robbins his interesting dance moves during the first bar scene. At the time, Abdul was the choreographer for the Los Angeles Lakers cheerleaders.
Ratings:
Film, 2 ½ stars: Memorable moments, but it doesn’t capture my heart.
DVD, 3 ½ stars: DVD commentaries are tops, particularly the Robbins/KC one.

Care to go exploring with KC?

2007-06-29T05:20:00.000-07:00

KC is putting together "The Explorer's Club," an animated series for the Web that will eventually turn into a live-action feature film. You don't even need a AAA card. Here's the link to the Variety article:

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117967886.html?categoryid=13&cs=1

Texico (not Texaco)

2007-06-27T04:55:00.000-07:00

Here's a link to another article about the town "Swing Vote" will be based in......With all that oil money that's coming in from raising our gas prices, maybe Texaco (now ChevronTexaco) should take a product placement opportunity and give this film some help:

http://www.cnjonline.com/news/texico_22032___article.html/new_mayfield.html

Loan for Swing Vote production

2007-06-27T04:51:00.000-07:00

Here's a link to an article from New Mexico Business Weekly about that state's financial commitment to "Swing Vote." Check out the part about KC working at minimum Screen Actors Guild salary. Man, does that guy ever take a bullet for his films.....

http://www.bizjournals.com/albuquerque/stories/2007/06/25/daily14.html

Mr. Brooks wins award in France

2007-06-26T05:15:00.000-07:00

Mr. Brooks won the Prix du Public (audience award) at the Festival Du Film Policier De Cognac over the weekend. It's a festival for police films and thrillers.

(Thanks to Red and Ludivine for posting the information.)

Review: Fandango (3 stars)

2007-06-25T04:29:00.000-07:00

Fandango ***

Kevin Reynolds is a director who likes to do the big films, but is much better at the little ones. His missteps were chiefly responsible for a flawed Robin Hood (more on that when I get to the Robin Hood review) and a Waterworld that Kevin Costner had to go into the editing room and rescue.

Then there’s Fandango, which is likely the most satisfying of the three full films Reynolds has done with KC (not counting Reynolds‘ second-unit direction in Dances With Wolves). That’s because Reynolds followed the fundamental rule: Write and film what you know. He did; Fandango is based on “Proof,” a film Reynolds did in college about his own student experiences and those of his buddies. He was able to expand his project to a full-length movie with the help and oversight of Steven Spielberg and his Amblin Entertainment.

He also got a great cast. Besides KC, who plays potential Vietnam draft-dodger Gardner Barnes, there was another star in the making, Judd Nelson (The Breakfast Club), as Phil Hicks, Sam Robards (son of Jason Robards and Lauren Bacall), as Waggener, Chuck Bush as Dorman and in a thankless role of being passed out throughout the film, Brian Cesak as Lester Griffin (On the other hand, there may be worse things than earning a few bucks for acting passed out in an entire film.). Together, they make up the Groovers, five college buddies escaping for a couple of days from Vietnam, Waggoner’s marriage to his sweetheart (Suzy Amis, also Mrs. James Cameron) and Gardner’s past with her.

It’s a fun ride not just for them, but also for the viewer. They manage to have their hijinks without being crude or, beyond mooning Phil’s parents and a truck driver, too terribly offensive. It’s the kind of road trip any college boys would take, and that’s one of the things that’s so appealing about the movie. And always in the background (particularly in the cemetery scene) is the ghost of their potential futures.

Equally appealing is Marvin J. McIntyre, who absolutely steals the show as perpetually stoned, clueless pilot Truman Sparks, and Glenne Headley as his “old lady,” Trelis. Even with the looming danger, the whole sequence in which Phil makes his parachute jump is a hoot.
There’s also a great soundtrack, which includes Elton John, Cream, Carole King and others. Alan Silvestri’s scoring is excellent, particularly late in the film.

This is another film that warrants a good DVD. Unfortunately, it’s a Warner Brothers film, and you know what that means with respect to KC by now…..It means no respect, and a bare-bones DVD.

However, Netflix, which presented Field of Dreams last summer in the Iowa cornfield where it was filmed (and KC and his band, now called Modern West, performing) will present Fandango in Texas this summer (2007). This film has always been a cult favorite (The online movie ticket site Fandango is named in this film’s honor), and it’s nice to see it get some props. Your turn, WB.

Fun fact: Martin J. McIntyre was also in “Silverado,” playing a storekeeper not eager to sell Kevin Kline’s Paden a gun.

Rating: Three stars, and really a fun ride. Here’s to privileges of youth!

"Swing Vote" casting call

2007-06-23T21:10:00.000-07:00

Want to be in a movie? KC's latest, "Swing Vote," is putting out a casting call:

http://www.koat.com/entertainment/13553955/detail.html

There's also quite a bit about the plot.

Comment from a Costner fan

2007-06-22T20:42:00.000-07:00

Here's a wonderful comment from Cristine, one of the Costner Posse members, about Dances being left off AFI's revisionist list:

To leave Dances With Wolves off any list meant to represent "the best in film" is purposeful and wrong.
I don't care what is thought about Kevin and his films that have and have not had critical/box office success...excluding DWW is excluding one of the most beautiful, unique and "raising of the bar" examples of film that has been put on screen in the past 50 years.
I don't know why he gets this kind of treatment - I don't know why - but he doesn't deserve it. DWW will always be my example of a movie that reminds me of WHY I love film, acting and storytelling.
Their loss.
Those who actually sat in the theatre and paid for their tickets know the impact of this film - and it runs much deeper than the pockets being lined at the AFI.
To redo the list? What? Suddenly the films listed before lost luster? What a shame and they will lose credibility because of it.
If I was in charge this would be my message at the beginning of the show..."The AFI has to acknowledge that 100 just isn't enough to cover the wide range of gorgeous films that deserve to be on our list...so we're going to pull the numbers away - except for our No1 (which I agree with, "Citizen Kane") and the rest...are just amazing films that raise the bar of film-making and will land on your own personal lists in what ever order you feel most comfortable with. These are great films...and filmmaking is better because of them."

AFI has got to be kidding

2007-06-21T19:54:00.000-07:00

Not only doesn't the American Film Institute not put Field of Dreams on its strictly for profit, revised 100 films list, but they knock out Dances With Wolves......What I'd like to say about this decision, I can't, because this is a family blog. Here's what I wrote elsewhere:

I find the American Film Institute’s revised, so-called “100 best” list preposterous.
No “Dances With Wolves,” “Roman Holiday,” “Gentleman’s Agreement,” “Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner,” “Judgment at Nuremberg?” Come on.

“Toy Story” is listed, but not“Dumbo,” “Pinocchio” or “Fantasia?” No “Breakfast atTiffany’s?” “Mrs. Miniver” or anything Katharine Hepburn made with Spencer Tracy? No Tracy, in fact.

Only one Paul Newman film (“Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” ranked too low). Only one Gregory Peck film (“To Kill a Mockingbird,” also ranked too low). And evidently, Martin Scorcese’s friends had a hand in putting this list together (“Raging Bull” at number 4? Please.)What the heck is “West Side Story” doing on the list? Does the panel know it had two stars (Natalie Wood andRichard Beymer) who didn’t do their own singing? And where are “Top Hat,” “An American in Paris” and “The Band Wagon?”

The movies were chosen by Hollywood insiders and critics. It’s time for AFI chief Jean Picker Firstenberg to let the selection process include those who really know something about movies – the public. Aren’t these films made for them? I would recommend that AFI put their original lists of 400 films on their Web site, and let the public make its picks.

**************************

More about this tomorrow. Meanwhile, here's a link back to the Dances With Wolves review I did in March, just to explain again why this movie is so special:

http://costnercinemachat.blogspot.com/2007_03_01_archive.html

Interview about scripts

2007-06-15T17:35:00.000-07:00

Here's a link to a good interview with KC about how he picks projects:

http://shareddarkness.com/2007/06/10/costner-on-scripts-pitches.aspx

Mr. Brooks review ***

2007-06-05T04:35:00.000-07:00

Mr. Brooks ***
Writers for stage and screen have been fascinated by stories of serial killers ever since William Shakespeare penned his plays 400 years ago. Bruce Evans and Raymond Gideon aren’t Shakespeare, but they’ve planted some Shakespearean elements - including characters with a “need” to kill - in “Mr. Brooks,” Kevin Costner’s latest film.
KC plays the title character - Earl Brooks, the owner of a company that makes boxes, a husband (to CSI‘s Marg Helgenberger) , father and a pillar of the community - who has a terrible secret; he’s a serial killer, “addicted“ to killing, the film says. He’s known as the “Thumbprint Killer,” and Detective Tracy Atwood, played by Demi Moore, has been trying to catch him for years.
Mr. Brooks had gone straight for two years. But after being honored with the Man of the Year award, he resumes his killing - egged on by Marshall, his “imaginary friend.” Marshall is played by fellow Academy Award winner William Hurt (who once played one of his most evil characters, from my perspective, as the pretty boy anchorman who faked a crying scene for a news story in “Broadcast News”).
Only Mr. Brooks makes a mistake in his killing, and is spotted by a voyeur engineer (comedian Dane Cook), who wants the older man to take him along on his next kill. Meanwhile, Tracy is trying to catch the killer and find out what Cook’s character knows about the murders. And Tracy’s got her own problems, with a nasty divorce battle and another killer she put behind bars who wants revenge.
Oh yes, there’s Mr. Brooks’ daughter Jane, played by Danielle Panabaker, who comes home from college with a few secrets of her own.
All these things may seem unrelated at first, but they’re really not; these plot points converge at various spots in the movie. KC plays the role of good guy/bad guy with the same looseness and confidence he’s expressed in his roles for the last few years. The viewer really does “root for” a serial killer - at least for his redemption, somehow.
Hurt is very good at making the viewer believe Marshall represents Mr. Brooks’ internal dialogue.
Demi Moore, never a favorite of mine, does well here as the cop who has plenty on her plate. Cook also does well as the dweeby Mr. Smith. Panabaker both has the physical look and the emotional mystery to carry her role. Helgenberger is underused.
The film is extremely violent, even more so than Open Range‘s shootout, and it has a sex scene that makes Crash and Annie’s romps in Bull Durham look PG-rated by comparison.
The real mystery at this point is whether the film will cross the magic $40 million barrier, in the middle of Triple Franchise Movie Summer, it needs to generate the sequel that’s hinted at. I hope so. Mr. Brooks is good storytelling.
Fun fact: KC’s crew gets a few choice roles here. KC’s assistant, Jasa Abreu, gets a brief role as a flight attendant who serves Mr. Brooks a drink. Ben Glass, who has photographed every Costner-produced movie since Dances With Wolves, plays the emergency room doctor who stitches up one of the main characters. And Norman Howell, KC’s longtime stunt double, does some second-unit directing. By the way, I’m trying to find out if Yasmine Delawari, who plays Mr. Brooks’ assistant, is related to Soraya Delawari Dancsecs, who was KC’s assistant a few years ago.
Rating: 3 stars; the cast, led by KC, does good work and the story is a solid yarn. Bring on the sequel!

Entertainment Weekly

2007-06-04T04:58:00.000-07:00

Here's a link to a nice feature that you can click on and get KC's own words about various movies, from The Big Chill to Mr. Brooks. It's from Entertainment Weekly:

http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20035285_20035331_20040664,00.html

KC on NPR's "Fresh Air"

2007-05-24T17:44:00.000-07:00

Kevin Costner was interviewed for National Public Radio's program "Fresh Air." Here's the link to the page, and click on the "Listen" icon to hear the interview.....It's about a half-hour long:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=10374281&ft=1&f=13

Link to article on star-funded projects

2007-05-20T11:01:00.000-07:00

Here's a link to an article in Variety about projects funded by major actors, including KC's support of Mr. Brooks and the upcoming Swing Vote.

Actually, KC's played a big role in either financially supporting his movies (Dances With Wolves, Open Range), or sacrificing his cut to make sure the film was made (Waterworld, For Love of the Game).

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117965320.html?categoryId=2520&cs=1

Cayden Wyatt Costner and other newborns

2007-05-09T04:45:00.000-07:00

First, congratulations to Kevin and Christine Costner and family on the birth of their son, Cayden Wyatt, Sunday.....

Second, KC's got both a new production company (Treehouse Films, with Jim Wilson), and a new film to shoot ("Swing Vote," which will begin filming in New Mexico in July). More details on those here:

http://www.kevincostnerscrapbook.co.uk/press.html

And third, the "Revenge" special edition DVD was due to be released yesterday. I'll have a review as soon as possible.

Wow.....All this, and Mr. Brooks, too. (By the way, check out the film's website, which has some very cool additions):

http://www.theressomethingaboutmrbrooks.com/

3000 Miles to Graceland review

2007-05-03T21:19:00.000-07:00

3,000 Miles to Graceland

Film * DVD: Couldn’t care less

Why, Kevin?
Why did you take this film? What snow job did Demien Lichtenstein, who’s directed music videos and not much else, do on you? What made you get your loyal, long-lasting company (including stuntman Norman Howell, hairstylist Elle Elliot, makeup man Francisco Perez, costumer Barbara Gordon) into this dreck?
Was it your anger over the press and studio criticism of your comments on the editing of For Love of the Game? After all, you took this script around the same time, Fall, 1999 (It was made the following year.).
At least you had the good grace, when a woman mentioned this film to you at Pebble Beach in 2001, to warn her off, tell her it might not appeal to her because it was extremely violent, and you played an unappealing character. Not all actors would do that. You’ve also stood by Lichtenstein, which is very decent - but Lichtenstein hasn’t done anything in the movie business to warrant that kind of loyalty.
3,000 Miles to Graceland is the only Kevin Costner film since 2000 I haven’t seen in a theater. The whole premise of KC playing an out-and-out bad guy turned me off from the very beginning. So do the opening titles, with a computer-generated scorpion fight (yuck).
The fact is, KC, at least as Murphy, can’t really do bad…..I mean, bad without any good, and certainly not with an unskilled director, as Lichtenstein is. KC’s terrific at having a dark side if he has a more appealing side, as he did in A Perfect World and Open Range (I have high hopes for him in Mr. Brooks for the same reason.). And if he’s working with good to great scripts, as he did with those films. But he has to be just nasty here, and it doesn’t work for an actor whose inherent decency always seeps through. He does look cool in the Elvis suit, though. And there are two scenes where he does step up.
One is a scene in a gallery with Jon Lovitz, the gallery owner……KC is good in this scene because there is a certain amount of suspense. He’s quietly menacing, and his subtlety as an actor makes this scene work. Too bad it’s the only one where there’s a hint of what’s to come, because hints are often much better than showing everything, which is done too often in this movie. (I have a funny feeling a ghostwriter named Kevin Costner stepped up in this scene.)
Another scene that works is the one where he’s playing demolition derby with Courtney Cox-Arquette, who plays Cybil. He’s so mean, you wish Cybil had kicked him right in the….well, below the belt. He just can’t hold that performance throughout, and a good part of the reason is that he gets let down by script and director.
Oh, KC is funny in the closing credits, in a blooper. (But he does conclusively prove that he can’t dance worth a lick.)
But the script, by Lichtenstein and Richie Recco (who?) is simply dumb, crude, etc. It’s possible to make a funny, even classy, movie about the plotline (a band of thugs dress up like Elvis to rob a casino), but this ain’t it. It doesn’t even measure up to a “Las Vegas” episode.
How bad is this movie? Let me count the ways: Lack of cohesion or description in the plot (Is it me, or is the fact that they‘re going to rob the casino never quite explained in detail?). Terrible editing; images meant to look cool but just looking out of place; repeated child endangerment and poor role model situations; bad acting.
Compare the cartoonish shootouts here to the exquisitely executed one in Open Range. The one flash of humanity Murphy has is in the helicopter scene…..And how many other people did it remind of the opening scene and one of the last scenes in The Guardian?
KC steps on his own filmography, with crude references to Dances With Wolves and Robin Hood. They’re meant to be funny, but they’re not.
David Arquette, as Gus, is just plain annoying. Of course, David Arquette is just plain annoying. Remembering Christian Slater’s interaction with KC in the underrated Robin Hood, I was hoping for the same here. Slater’s OK, but he disappears too soon. Former NFL star Howie Long does fine as a helicopter pilot. Some of the dialogue of the cops (comedian Kevin Pollack and Thomas Haden Church, who would escape from this to make the Oscar-nominated “Sideways”) is just plain dumb.
The character who comes off best is Michael, played by Kurt Russell (in a role Lichtenstein originally had written for KC). Cox-Arquette, as Cybil, is also decent. Actually, they have pretty good chemistry, although I could have done without the bedroom antics. Young David Kaye works well as Cybil’s son, but putting him into situations that are not for children ain’t cool. It seems to me like Lichtenstein is doing the worst he can do with each character for the sake of doing…..well, the worst he can do with each character.
There’s some good Elvis Presley music during the casino scenes, and the closing credits. Paul Anka, as the casino owner, has one pretty good line about Elvis, considering that in real life, they once were colleagues (competitors?) as singers/teen idols.
After the robbery, though, it’s kind of hard to care. Murphy and Michael (with Cybil and Jesse in tow, more or less) are headed for a confrontation, and you wish they’d get on with it.
3,000 Miles to Graceland makes you want to watch Kevin Costner…..in most of his other movies. Certainly not this one.
Fun fact #1: While Cybil is stealing Michael’s car, that young lady you hear singing “Every Little Thing” is Lily Costner, KC’s daughter, who was 14 at the time.
Fun fact #2: Rod Lake, one of KC’s college buddies who, I believe, is involved in his Costner Industries, which develops equipment to clean up oil spills, plays a character named Mack in this movie.
Rating: 1 star, primarily gained on the basis of Kurt Russell and Courtney Cox-Arquette’s good performances. And sorry, with a movie this bad, I don’t much care about the DVD.

Revenge DVD artwork

2007-04-19T04:34:00.000-07:00

A picture of the Revenge DVD artwork has been released.....It's available at the Kevin Costner Scrapbook run by Red, a British fan.....Just go to the link and scroll down a bit:

http://www.kevincostnerscrapbook.co.uk/press.html

No Way Out review ***

2007-04-18T04:41:00.000-07:00

No Way Out ***
This was the second film made that was based on Kenneth Fearing’s novel “The Big Clock.” (The first was a straight version of the novel, about a magazine editor framed for murder; it was made in 1948.)

When the film was released in 1987, there was a real-life resonance because it came at the same time that the Iran-Contra affair had reached full steam. This film shows battles going on between different government agencies (Pentagon and CIA; Pentagon and Congress).
There’s a blankness to KC’s personality as Tom Farrell, and that’s probably by design. Farrell is a man of mystery - in Naval intelligence and a hero, recruited by Scott Pritchard (Will Patton , who would later play the evil General Bethlehem in “The Postman), the aide to Secretary of State David Brice (Gene Hackman). There is also plenty of mystery to Tom’s involvement with Susan Atwell (Sean Young), who is also Brice’s mistress. That’s just the first secret that gets unraveled of many, most of which are caused by a murder - a murder in which Tom is the top suspect.

KC’s best scene is his reaction to the murder. I can’t say I embrace his overall character, though, and maybe it’s a function of Tom’s many facets. Everyone else is fine: Patton is perfectly evil and Hackman is always the pro’s pro. Howard Duff plays a senator curious about the goings-on at the Pentagon, and Fred Thompson, one of the 500 people who could potentially be the next president of the United States for real, plays the CIA director. The model (Mrs. David Bowie) Iman is good as Susan’s friend, Nina. George Dzundza plays Tom’s friend, Sam Hesselman, with grace.

But in some respects, the film hasn’t aged gracefully, especially considering the mid-1980s computer technology and “big hair” on some of the women. Maurice Jarre, who wrote the exquisite music for “Dr. Zhivago,” wrote this technical score, and it‘s too technical. (And I agree with Susan’s assertion to Tom when a band starts playing Rod Stewart’s “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy”: “We have a potential nausea situation here.”)

But as a mystery, it’s tops. The race against time and secrets on many levels is intriguing and exciting.

The ending was a shock to me the first time I watched the film in 2000. I don’t agree with Kevin Costner’s suggestion in interviews that too many clues were given about it. It’s interesting, in subsequent viewings, for those who know the ending to go back and view the film again and see where things tie in. I get the impression, as well, that there was room left for a possible sequel.
The edition I watched is taken from a local channel and taped in the last few years, in which television stations have feared the Federal Communications Commission’s wrath. That means the famous limousine liaison between Tom and Susan is gone, but in a way, it makes it easier to concentrate on the film’s mystery.

The current DVD release is bare-bones, but perhaps Sony and MGM, which now own the Orion titles and did a great job with the Bull Durham and Dances With Wolves DVDs, will release an enhanced version of this film.

Fun fact: Neil Travis, who edited this film, would go on to win an Oscar for editing “Dances With Wolves.”

Rating: Three stars. Great mystery, but period detail dates it a bit. The 80s don't age as well as other decades......

Tin Cup film and DVD review

2007-04-11T04:35:00.000-07:00

Tin Cup Film: **** DVD: NEEDS A NEW ONE!!!!

If ever there was a quintessential Kevin Costner role, it is Roy McAvoy. It parallels KC’s own movie career - a man who believes in going his own way, even if glory doesn’t come to him.
But Roy is even more single-minded than the man who played him; heck, Roy’s downright hard-headed. And that’s a major part of his appeal.
Roy never made the big time in golf, primarily because of his own stubbornness. But he gets a second chance when Dr. Molly Griswold (Rene Russo) drives up for golf lessons. Roy’s interested in Molly, but she’s got a boyfriend already - successful pro golfer David Simms (Don Johnson), Roy’s onetime college teammate/rival.
Everybody’s good here - KC, showing his best rascal as Roy; Russo as Molly, who isn’t nearly as sure of herself as she tries to show she is; Cheech Marin as Roy’s caddy and best friend, Romeo; Johnson as David Simms, the guy everybody hates, who in turn hates “children, old people and dogs.” Roy’s other friends include veterans like Rex Linn (who also worked with KC in Wyatt Earp and The Postman), and Mickey Jones, who sings “Double Bogey Blues” on the film’s soundtrack.
A number of real PGA Tour stars play themselves, including Phil Mickelson, Corey Pavin (who had won the previous year’s U.S. Open for real), Craig Stadler, Johnny Miller and Peter Jacobsen. Jim Nantz, longtime CBS announcer, and Ken Venturi, golf legend and then-CBS golf analyst, provide the call for the tournament. Also on hand are golf announcers Peter Kostis and the wonderful Gary McCord, who worked with KC on his game for the movie.
Ron Shelton, who directed KC in “Bull Durham,” directs this one as well. Actually, I like this one better, because I embrace an underdog character like Roy - a real hopeless cause - more than a more disciplined character like Crash Davis. This movie has three of my all-time favorite KC movie scenes: The one in which Roy gets his golf clubs out of hock playing a round with a baseball bat and garden tools; the scene in which Roy takes Molly to the river and the scene in which he‘s wearing that golf pendulum on his face (How many leading men would do that?) And don’t forget that “immortal” ending to the U.S. Open.
A scene that’s been shown in an ABC television version I videotaped is missing from the DVD……It features Romeo and Roy coming to the U.S. Open in their Winnebago, but not being let in by the guard until Simms identifies them. Then, Romeo goes through the gate - literally.
Tin Cup was the first Kevin Costner movie released on DVD in early 1997 - there are cast biographies and production notes, and no chapter-by-chapter directory - and its success screams for a new version, particularly if Ron Shelton has a commentary and there are featurettes about the making of the film (I‘d like to know more about the CBS crew‘s role: Besides Nantz and Venturi and McCord, there were a number of real, behind-the-scenes CBS employees who have worked on golf coverage. Also, they need to explain the math problems they had in the fourth round, between Roy‘s score, Simms‘ score and Jacobsen‘s.). An updated DVD would be a bonanza for both golf and KC fans. There is no excuse for Warner Brothers not to have updated this film on DVD at this point.

Fun fact #1: Gary McCord, who worked with KC on his golf game for the film, had my all-time favorite line about Kevin Costner: “His hands looked like two crabs trying to mate,” McCord said.

Fun fact #2: The grandparents and grandson who are rebuffed by Simms for an autograph are KC’s parents, Bill and Sharon Costner, and his son, Joe.

Fun fact #3: The real winner of the 1996 U.S. Open was not Peter Jacobsen. The real winner had kind of a similar underdog story to Roy McAvoy, though: Steve Jones, who had missed 2 ½ years after a dirt bike accident, had to qualify for the Open, but won.

Ratings: Film, four stars: Just a fun ride.
DVD: No stars to Warner Brothers for dragging its tail in putting out a truly worthy edition.

Mr. Brooks poster (another one!)

2007-03-28T19:25:00.000-07:00

Here's a link to a very cool Mr. Brooks poster. Watch out for those links in the text:

http://www.movieweb.com/news/23/18723.php

Review: Dances With Wolves Special Edition DVD

2007-03-28T04:49:00.000-07:00

Movie: **** (both 3-hour and 4-hour) DVD: ****
OK, all you movie critics who have spent the last decade-and-a-half dissing Kevin Costner’s Oscar for directing this movie, I have an assignment for you: Go watch the Dances With Wolves Special Edition DVD. All of it--movie, commentary and extras. Watch and listen to him, co-producer Jim Wilson and many others in the cast and crew describe the process it took to put this film together. They all earned their awards, KC included.
The movie opens eyes right from the beginning, with Lt. John Dunbar (KC), a Union Army officer during the Civil War, willing to risk his whole life in order not to lose his leg. In so doing, he becomes a hero, and is able to request any outpost he wishes. He wants “to see the frontier….before it’s gone,” and requests transfer to the outermost outpost, which is Fort Sedgewick. But when the driver Timmons (Murphy Brown’s Robert Pastorelli) takes Dunbar there, the place is deserted. Dunbar decides to stay, anyway, and what a journey he goes on.
This is not the original, three-hour cinematic version, but the four-hour version that was first shown in Europe, and on U.S. television. Both are brilliantly made. But the extended version shows what happened to the men stationed at Fort Sedgewick before Dunbar got there. It’s good to see scenes such as one that includes a conversation between Ten Bears (Floyd Red Crow Westerman), the Sioux tribal chief and Kicking Bird (Oscar-nominated Graham Greene), the medicine man, about the strange white man Kicking Bird saw. And it’s great to see the full courtship between Dunbar/Dances and Stands With a Fist (Mary McDonnell, who was nominated for an Oscar), the white woman who was raised by the Sioux, and the hilarious scenes in which it is decided that they can marry.
Wes Studi plays one of the Pawnee; he’s good, as always, but it’s too bad he didn’t get to play a role with more character development. It says something about the Native American talent KC and company found.
One scene that should have stayed in the original cut might have shushed some of the squawkers complaining about KC’s portrayal of good and bad; that was the scene where the tribe celebrates the capture and death of the white buffalo hunters. It wouldn’t have added much running time, and it was important to emphasize Dunbar’s hesitancy in embracing the tribe.
John Barry’s exquisite score is almost a character in itself, and I believe it’s described that way (possibly by KC) in the commentary. Listen to it, particularly during the moments when there is little or no dialogue, especially the heart-pounding last scenes.
This is a Grade-A adventure, with tension, action, humor, romance, you name it. This is the kind of film one goes to the movies to see, and many did. It is a glorious story.
Extras:
There are two commentary tracks that can be played with the film - one with KC and co-producer Jim Wilson, the other with editor Neil Travis and cinematographer Dean Semler. They are nice companions to the scenes and to each other, with the KC/Wilson track talking about plot, casting, scenes, etc. and the Travis/Semler track featuring the technical aspects.
Among the tidbits: KC thought of casting Marlon Brando in the role of Major Fambrough that Maury Chaykin played so well, but was concerned about Brando’s erratic behavior (In any case, I’m glad he didn’t; it would have approximated too closely Brando’s Col. Kurtz in “Apocalypse Now,” I think.)
I won’t go into detail about the animals Dunbar had to clean up; KC and Jim Wilson also describe that in their commentary, as do Travis and Semler. And with then-5-year-old Annie Costner playing the young girl who grows up to be Stands With A Fist, the track also includes KC’s affectionate recollections of having his family on the set. (Children Lily and Joe, who were toddlers at the time, also appeared in the film. KC’s dad, Bill, was one of the Union soldiers in the Civil War scene. KC‘s then-wife Cindy worked on wagons and other behind-the-scenes aspects.)
The first disc has four Easter Eggs, including some of the Civil War re-enactors that appeared in the opening scenes of the film; one with KC directing Robert Pastorelli in a crucial scene; KC looking at an animated buffalo and KC directing Larry Joshua, who plays Sgt. Bauer.
There is also the original making-of documentary (I believe it was made by Peter Leustig, who would later direct KC’s project “500 Nations” about Native American history in this country.). It includes a scene from KC’s first starring role “Stacy’s Knights,” which Jim Wilson directed and Michael Blake wrote, and interviews with all the major cast members.
The newer making-of documentary is on the second disc; it’s called “The Creation of An Epic.” It features more interviews, including John Barry, costumer Elsa Zamparelli and production designer Jeffrey Beecroft, and much more detail about things like the costumes, the production design and the buffalo hunt.
Ben Glass, the photographer on many of KC’s movies, introduces a photo montage from the Dances set, which is as comprehensive as the rest of the DVD.
Click on the wolf next to the “Special Features” title and there’s another Easter Egg- a presentation reel Travis put together before the movie was released. It includes scenes from the buffalo hunt.
There are also various TV spots and the original theatrical trailer.
Note: Fans of the film may also want to see a feature that is not on the DVD: The Bravo television network did one episode of their program, “From Page to Screen,” about this film, featuring interviews with KC, Wilson, Blake, Grant, Westerman and others. It’s mostly from the perspective of how Blake wrote the book and it became a film. There is also a book about the making of the film, “Dances With Wolves: The Illustrated Story of the Epic Film” which may be available at used book outlets and the local library, as well as online.
Fun fact #1: Produce a movie and get a mule named after you: Timmons’ two mules, Jake and Jim, are named for producers Jake Ebberts and Jim Wilson.
Fun fact # 2: The only music not composed for John Barry for the score was the music for Dunbar’s fire dance. That music was composed by Peter Buffett, who would later compose the music for the Spirit Native American show narrated by KC. Buffett, incidentally, is the son of the “Oracle of Omaha,” financier extraordinaire Warren Buffett, and he’s taken to heart Dad’s advice to the children to make their own way in the world.
Fun fact #3: Tony Pierce, who plays the brutal Spivey, also plays a stalker of Rachel’s in “The Bodyguard.” Larry Joshua, also played the Yankee fan in the airport bar in “For Love of the Game.”
Ratings:
Movie - 4 stars: Regardless of the version, the story is perfection.
DVD - 4 stars: Treats everywhere you look.

Untouchables DVD news

2007-03-23T16:55:00.000-07:00

More DVD news today.....The Untouchables DVD, with the same material it was released with several years ago, will be released in June in high-definition and Blu-Ray formats. This comes from DVDTown.com.

Revenge director's cut DVD due

2007-03-22T19:16:00.000-07:00

Sony plans to release a director's cut DVD of Revenge in May. Here's a link to more information:

http://www.dvdtimes.co.uk/content.php?contentid=64409

And if Sony can do that for a movie that wasn't a hit, where are you, Warner Brothers, on a new release for "Tin Cup?"

The War review **1/2

2007-03-21T18:52:00.000-07:00

The first time I saw “The War,” I compared some of its basic premise to “To Kill a Mockingbird.” There are some things in common - the story told from a daughter’s perspective, a father trying to teach his children to do good while looking for the good in others.
Ultimately, the two stories go in different directions in many ways. But unlike “Mockingbird,” a classic from beginning to end, “The War” takes a few hiccups along the way. That’s not the fault of the cast, which is, by and large, excellent and includes KC, a young Elijah Wood, Mare Winningham and Lexi Randall, who seemed to disappear from sight after her fine performance here. They’re all very good as the Simmons family - KC as father Stephen, the Vietnam vet trying to teach his kids those lessons, Winningham as his hard-working wife, Lois, and Wood and Randall as Stu and Lidia, the brother and sister slowly learning through their own battles.
Actually, the premise by director Jon Avnet and scriptwriter Kathy McWorter works well through about 90 percent of the film. Stu and Lidia are battling each other and their friends over a treehouse, while all of them spar with the troublesome Lipnickis, the town bullies. (The Lipnicki father is played by a terrific character actor with an equally terrific name - Raynor Scheine.) Stephen, who is recovering from post-traumatic stress disorder, tries to reconnect with his family and teach his children - Stu in particular - about the ultimate meaninglessness of war. Lidia tells the story as the reading of an essay in school; the setting is 1970 Mississippi. All of the young cast members, which included Lucas Black (Jarhead) are excellent, as are the adults, except for the usually reliable Christine Baranski, whose racist teacher seems more silly than threatening. Thomas Newman’s quiet score is satisfying, and the soundtrack is very good, with late 60s/1970 standards like Aretha Franklin’s “Think,” Cat Stevens’ “Peace Train” and Credence Clearwater Revival’s “Who’ll Stop the Rain.”
The main problem seems to be too many climaxes, especially within the Simmons’ children’s battle with the Lipnickis. That could have used some trimming for story’s sake. I also had some issues with story flow and what I felt was the exaggeration of some scenes; the use of war weapons - real ones - in one of the conflict scenes with the Lipnickis just goes too far for me.
But just as the film threatens to go south, it winds its way back into shape, with a very moving conclusion.
Recently, this film brings up another KC film in my memory: “The Guardian,” with its themes of friendship, sacrifice and spirituality. KC likes a good story, but there are also certain themes that ring bells for him, and I saw similar themes in both those films.
The version I saw of “The War” was taped from USA cable, and seems to have a lot of cuts. The movie is available on bare-bones DVD. Universal Studios released the film, which deserves a DVD with the works.
Fun fact #1: This was the second time Mare Winningham teamed up with KC (The first time had been just the movie before: Winningham played Maddie Earp to KC’s Wyatt Earp.). It could have been the third, though; Winningham was on KC’s short list of finalists to play Stands With a Fist in Dances With Wolves, before he cast Mary McDonnell.
Fun fact #2: This film was given the Peace Award by the Political Film Society, one of three KC films so honored. The other two are Dances With Wolves and Thirteen Days.
Rating: 2 ½ stars: Great cast, story wobbles at times, but wraps up in good, emotional form.

Operation Homecoming

2007-03-16T20:15:00.000-07:00

KC is part of a special project filmed last year: Operation Homecoming, a collection of the accounts of those serving in Iraq. I'm linking to the page at The Costner Network where I put information. Thanks to Charlotte at Kevin Costner's Korner and Janet at Costner Unlimited on Yahoo for posting all of this initially:

http://p220.ezboard.com/fthecostnernetworkinternational64310frm10.showMessage?topicID=2482.topic

The Postman review (**)

2007-03-12T04:39:00.000-07:00

What an odd bird is The Postman, the second of Kevin Costner’s self-directed films.
It lacks the grandness of Dances With Wolves and the classicism of Open Range. It’s a western, sort of. It has major themes, but at times seems unsure of itself - much like the man who directed it may have been at the time.
Some background is required. KC made the movie when he was going through a rocky time in his personal life. The story itself - a drifter in a post-apocalyptic society who takes a mailman’s suit to stay warm and becomes an unwitting leader of a movement to overthrow tyrannical rule - also went through a bumpy path to get made into a movie. David Brin’s 1985 book, with its science fiction themes, was gone over by a variety of filmmakers who gave up, including Tom Hanks. Then, KC took an interest in Brian Helgeland’s and Eric Roth’s script. However, KC broke his main rule; he didn’t stick to what he originally read when he was lying on his couch - by a lot. The original script was far more biting and cynical. KC wanted a more idealistic story, especially given real-life news events in the mid-1990s (the Oklahoma City bombing and the rise in the news of militia groups planning other terrorist acts).
The result, to repeat part of Millie’s quote about Nuke in “Bull Durham,” is all over the place. The film has heart; among many serious Costner fans, no film is defended more strongly than this one. The movie also has good supporting performances from most of the cast, which includes “No Way Out” heavy Will Patton as copier salesman-turned-dictator General Bethlehem; Larenz Tate as young Ford Lincoln Mercury (or Johnny Stevens), who takes matters into his own hands after being “sworn in“ by the Postman; British actress Olivia Williams as Abby (a change from the love interest in the book) and KC’s then-13-year-old daughter Annie as Ponytail, the teen post woman. Another strong actor, Joe Santos, who is well known to viewers of “The Rockford Files” and “Magnum P.I.,” doesn’t get to use the full scope of his talents as a Holnist deputy. James Russo, whom KC also cast in “Open Range,” chews up the screen as a bad guy.
But they need a strong central connector, and KC ain’t it, certainly not the way he was in “Dances.” His most effective scenes come early in the movie, when he’s wandering, as well as the ones in the Holnist camp and later scenes with Tate and Patton (Although Patton is much more menacing in his quiet, deliberate scenes than in his “You want a war?!” histrionic scene.). KC’s least effective scenes are with Williams, despite the fact she works well. It’s unusual that KC doesn’t have chemistry with a strong actress, but that’s the case here. I never get the feeling of The Postman’s (they drop the book name Gordon Krantz, for reasons I don’t completely understand) deep love for Abby in the way, for instance, that Dunbar fell in love with Stands With a Fist in “Dances With Wolves,” or the way Charley fell in love with Sue in “Open Range.” The re-writing from book to script to KC’s script changes may be partly to blame. I see The Postman’s curiosity about Abby and that he cares about her, but not as something long-standing (especially given how they come to, well, know each other.).
(I’ve tried picturing an actor who is more tongue-in-cheek in style - say, George Clooney - in some scenes. I wonder what kind of a movie it would have been, and how it would have been received by critics and the public.)
Then there’s that scene with KC and his real-life son Joe, who was 9 at the time. The Postman goes up to pick up the letter of a young boy who didn’t meet him in time. It’s supposed to be inspirational and matching with the ending of the film. But it just doesn’t work for me, because it looks like a stunt.
Some of the dialogue is also very 1997, the year the film came out, despite the film’s 2013 setting. (When was the last time you heard someone use the term “bite me”?) James Newton Howard wrote the score, but it’s not memorable to me.
KC’s very tentative here, and I find myself comparing it to both his earlier and later self-directed films, where he’s more sure of himself.
Still, the film has a message that resonates post-9/11. KC’s daughter, Lily, who was 11 at the time, sings “America the Beautiful,” joined by townspeople as the Postman rides away in one scene. The scene didn’t work for me when I first saw the movie in 2000. Then came September 11, and members of Congress singing “God Bless America” on the steps of the U.S. Capitol. The scene takes on a whole different meaning today. And the people of Belarus who are fighting for democracy there are said to take inspiration from this film.
The dangers of tyranny and of killing ourselves through war and poisoning the atmosphere (the “crazy weather” mentioned in one letter resonates in this age when we’re finally realizing the damage global warming is doing) do get across in this film.
The movie was released on DVD in 1998, with some featurettes about the sci-fi effects, but hasn’t been re-released, and given the weak box office performance and the fact that stingy Warner Brothers (which hasn’t re-released Tin Cup, a much more successful film) is the overseeing studio, it isn’t likely to be for the foreseeable future. That’s too bad, because if ever a film cried out for KC’s director’s commentary, this is the one. He has a way of seeing film and the world sometimes that critics just don’t grasp. That commentary might explain it for this movie.
The version I watched came from cable station TBS and was edited for language and content. Given television’s propensity to chop closing credits, it also meant I didn’t hear KC’s duet with Amy Grant, a cover of the Lovin’ Spoonful’s “You Didn’t Have to Be So Nice.” KC’s got the guts to try everything, critics be damned.
But he doesn’t quite succeed here. He gets an A for effort and a good supporting cast, but lower marks for a mushy plot, problems with dialogue and a wobbly performance from the leading man. This is one in which he does somewhat better behind the camera than in front of it.

Fun fact 1: “I know you - you’re famous,” was the Postman’s line to the mayor of Bridge City. Yes he is - that’s rocker Tom Petty as Mr. Mayor.
Fun fact 2: Mark Thomason, who has been KC’s stand-in for most of his films, gets in front of the camera during the film’s last scene.
Fun fact 3: Ringo Starr as the president of the United States? That’s the “Richard Starkey” the Postman was talking about. Hmmm….what if rockers ran the country?

Rating: 2 stars - Good intentions and supporting cast, but script problems, uneven performance from KC.

Lots of new Mr. Brooks stuff

2007-03-09T16:45:00.000-08:00

A lot of new Mr. Brooks items this week.

We'll begin with a link to a bunch of pictures, which you can click on to enlarge....Though I hate the website name:

http://www.worstpreviews.com/media.php?id=312&place=shots

Here's MGM's page with Mr. Brooks information, including access to the list of everyone who worked on the film:

http://www.mgmmaterials.com/film/mrbrooks

Also, there are rumbles that Mr. Brooks will be screened at ShoWest, one of the gatherings of theater owners, while Dane Cook, who is in the movie, will receive an award. The last KC movie shown at ShoWest was Thirteen Days.

Entertainment Weekly interview

2007-03-02T19:24:00.000-08:00

Here's the transcript from KC's interview with Entertainment Weekly about Mr. Brooks.

One program note for any media who might happen on this blog: When he's talking sequels, he's talking storyline, not dollar signs.

********************************************

'Mr. Brooks'
Kevin Costner plays a serial killer in this upcoming dark drama
By Adam B. Vary
He's a serial killer,'' says Kevin Costner of his character in Mr. Brooks, a dark drama due June 1. ''I wasn't dying to do a role like this. I'm not a guy that goes 'Boo!' But when I read it, I thought the writers found an amazing window into the subject matter. Now I feel this is as strong a performance as I've ever given.''
Buddy Movie: Costner's Earl Brooks is an upstanding Portland, Ore., businessman who moonlights at night as the ''Thumbprint Killer.'' Chasing him is an investigator played by Demi Moore. Costner — who first met Moore when he was ''the guy that read with all the actresses who went up for Flashdance'' — slipped the script to Moore's husband, Ashton Kutcher, on the set of last year's The Guardian. William Hurt, whom Costner has known since The Big Chill, plays the ''imaginary friend'' who prods Mr. Brooks to kill. ''I called and told him I had a little present for him,'' Costner says. ''It's the scene-stealer role. The part is that flashy, and that good.''
Murder, Inc. : Costner feels so good about Mr. Brooks, he's already talking sequels. ''This was written with the idea that we would do a couple others,'' explains the 52-year-old actor. ''When the writers first presented the notion to me, I said, 'Oh, bulls---! I haven't done Tin Cup 2, or Bull Durham 2, or Open Range: The Early Years, so you don't have to try to hook me with that.' But when they told me their idea, the hair on the back of my neck stood up. We're hoping this little movie develops a following so we can play this story out the way it should.''

Rooting for Scorcese - and Costner

2007-02-23T04:59:00.000-08:00

(Note: I had written this for an MSM publication, but no word, so here it is......)

I waited a decade to watch "Dances With Wolves."

In 1990, I wasn't ready for the story of a Union Army soldier who eventually becomes a member of the Lakota Sioux tribe. When I finally saw it for the first time in 2000, my reaction was "Yes, indeed."

There are many reasons the film works so beautifully, including John Barry's score, Dean Semler's cinematography, Elsa Zamparelli's costumes and Michael Blake's script. They, as well as editor Neil Travis, all won Academy Awards, as did the film for Best Picture.

If they all deserved their Oscars, why then, wouldn't the man whose direction brought them all together - Kevin Costner, who also starred in the film?

The issue has come up again this year because of Martin Scorcese's current Oscar nomination for directing "The Departed." I hope he finally wins, and yes, I hope that means Costner finally gets off the hook with critics still carping about the alleged Great Oscar Robbery of 1991.

Scorcese's "Goodfellas," about Mafia serf-turned-FBI informant Henry Hill, was released the same year as "Dances." Scorcese was also nominated for a directing Oscar. To hear the critics, one would think Costner had physicallybroken into Scorcese's home and taken the trophy.

There's a snobbishness about their criticism, this presumptiveness that Costner doesn't deserve to breathe the same air as Scorcese. Scorcese's films are among those that film students - a number of critics are in that category - are schooled in. Gritty, hard-edged, shot with a certain style.

Costner didn't go to the same school. In fact, he didn't go to a formal film school, graduating from Cal State-Fullerton in 1978 with a degree in marketing. He would get off that road and start his quest to become an actor just six weeks after graduation. He performed mostly in community productions and with a troupe that would include Michael Blake and Jim Wilson, Costner's producing partner since 1989.

The filmmakers Costner follows are the ones whose films he watched and loved as a boy: John Ford, Frank Capra, Cecil B DeMille. What he learned from that combination got put to very good use in "Dances."

Today, critics seem to suffer from collective amnesia about the positive reviews they gave the film, and the effect it had on both the cinematic and national landscapes. There's also a disconnect between their view of that film and the general public's view. They forget what the film meant to Hollywood's view of Native Americans.

I still cringe at watching Italian-American character actor Val Bisoglio as a stereotypical tribal chief in the 1979 western dramedy "The Frisco Kid." Casting like that was the norm for decades. Thus, it was a shock in Hollywood when Costner, in making his movie, did what should come naturally to any filmmaker wanting to get the story right: He cast Native Americans and made sure they were schooled in the Lakota (and Pawnee) dialogue. He used real wolves and buffalo. He added his director's vision to Blake's script. The result was a classic story of a human being who has followed orders, but finally follows his heart.

Some people have suggested the buffalo hunt scenes won "Dances" and Costner those Oscars. I can't say. For me, the joy comes with the smaller scenes -Costner's John Dunbar struggling to communicate with the Sioux; Mary McDonnell's Stands With a Fist, a white woman raised by the Sioux, overcoming her fears of communicating with Dunbar; Dunbar's interaction with a wolf that results in his Sioux name (the film's title). Critics have argued that a majority of traditional Academy voters embraced a traditional film. But "Dances," like Costner's later "Open Range," (2003) actually bends tradition. How many rookie directors would have the plates spinning in the air that Costner did? Not many.

Costner is an idealistic - and under-appreciated - filmmaker. A scene in his "For Love of the Game" (1999) sums up his approach. Playing aging Detroit Tigers pitcher Billy Chapel, he counsels young outfielder Mickey Hart (Greer Barnes) on, of all things, facing the media after a bad play.

"There's a bunch of cameras out there right now waiting to make a joke of this, Mick," Chapel says. "So you can either stop, give them the sound bite, do the dance. Or you can hold your head up and walk by... Don't help them make a joke out of you."

The clubhouse attendant, overhearing Chapel, tells the outfielder: "Old School, baby."

Costner is old school, with as much of a love for the cinema as Scorcese has. He deserved that Oscar in 1991. Now, Scorcese deserves the Oscar. But Costner deserves vindication.

The Guardian DVD Review (Film * DVD *)

2007-02-19T20:00:00.000-08:00

“Hell, I’ve always been old…You know what, though? I don’t mind. I mean, if my muscles ache, it’s cause I’ve used them. …..I’ve got a few wrinkles here and there, but I’ve laid under thousands of skies with sunny days….Getting old ain’t bad, man. Getting old, that’s earned.”
That quote comes from bar owner/singer Maggie McGlone, played by singer/actress Bonnie Bramlett in one of the best scenes in the movie “The Guardian.” She’s telling that to Ben Randall, the Coast Guard senior chief KC plays so well.
He is a tough cookie here, but you feel the pain Ben endures - the physical pain from age, the emotional pain from experiences on the job and in his life with his wife, Helen (Sela Ward, who doesn‘t get enough screen time here). It is one of KC’s very best roles. One critic said he breaks your heart, and I agree.
All that pain adds up after Helen leaves Ben and he loses four crewmates, including best friend Carl Billings (Omari Hardwick ) in an accident he survives. Captain William Hadley (Clancy Brown) Ben’s commanding officer and friend, sends Ben to “A” School to train the next recruits, who include cocky high school swim champion Jake Fischer.
Ashton Kutcher, who has made his money mostly as the jester (“That 70s Show,“ “Guess Who” and “Dude, Where’s My Car” ) to this point, does a nice job as Jake (“Goldfish,” as Ben calls him). KC and Kutcher have terrific scenes together, as Ben and Jake clash and slowly learn to understand each other. The scene in Ben’s office as he tells Jake what he discovered about his past and both their reactions is a gem.
Meanwhile, Jake starts a tentative relationship with schoolteacher Emily Thomas (Melissa Sagemiller). Another recruit, Billy Hodge (Brian Geraghty), is on his third try at getting through the program, and getting past the tough Jack Skinner (Neal McDonough).
John Hall, Joseph “Butch” Flythe and Robert Watson are real Coast Guard rescue swimmers who played “A“ School instructors in the film. Their participation and the emphasis on detail helped the film tremendously.
I would have liked to have seen more of Dule Hill, who was excellent on “The West Wing” as presidential aide Charlie Young. Sagemiller, as Emily, channels a younger Geena Davis to me, both in look and sound. And Bramlett is terrific.
The Bering Sea scenes are well done, but the backgrounds didn’t look as sharp as I expected. Perhaps it was hearing so much about the water tank beforehand. Many people watched the movie for the action at the beginning and end, but I preferred the middle, since I like scenes that show more of the characters’ personalities. (Word has it that those are the scenes KC worked on with screenwriter Ron Brinkerhoff, to add more detail. You done good, fellas.)
It is worthwhile to listen to the commentary of director Andrew Davis and Brinkerhoff, in particular after watching the training scenes. There are a few training montages, which I found interesting. The one in which the students look at a video in class, recall Davis and Brinkerhoff, featured some real footage of Kutcher and the other young cast members participating in the “A” School program they were in before shooting started - complete with one person losing his lunch.
A second training montage uses real Coast Guard rescue swimmers to explain procedures and brings up the rescues from New Orleans’ floodwaters during Hurricane Katrina, which is when most of the nation and the world got their first real look at the rescue swimmers.
There’s also that great scene where Ben gets into a tub of icy water (part real ice, part plastic ice, Davis and Brinkerhoff say) with the recruits to simulate the conditions under which hypothermia develops. Davis said KC wanted to get in there because he’d seen, with the real Coasties, that the instructors would do everything they’d ask their students to do.
Also in the commentary, Davis and Brinkerhoff said they’d been interested in casting another Bonnie (Raitt) in the role of Maggie. Maggie’s bar is, in real life, a bar owned by legendary guitarist James Burton (who performed with KC and his band when KC had his “thank you” concert to Shreveport, Louisiana for filming “The Guardian” and “Mr. Brooks” there.)
The slow-motion look during some of the sequences is annoying. I’m not a fan of slow motion anyway, but there’s more of it here than there should be.
Some of Trevor Rabin’s music is reminiscent of Basil Poledouris’ score in “For Love of the Game.” Bryan Adams has a great song, “Never Let Go,” that didn’t get anywhere near enough play on radios, but I’ll bet it was #1 on the Coast Guard hit parade. And shame on Disney/Hollywood Records for not releasing the soundtrack or score on CD in the United States. (I have a suggestion for the studios: If you’re not going to release a separate CD, then, for heaven’s sake, put the soundtracks on the DVDs, please.)
Davis says the action scenes were planned out in a computer before they were shot - high-tech storyboarding of sorts, but Davis said the shots were, in fact, based on storyboards. It was a complicated shoot, bouncing from New Orleans to Shreveport after Katrina hit, and from Kodiak, Alaska, which had a rumbling volcano, to an area off the Oregon coast where the kayak rescue sequence was filmed, to Elizabeth City.
There are only 10 scene selection chapters in the DVD, which is odd for a movie more than 2 hours long. It would be more convenient to be able to pick and choose through more scenes (especially for those, like me, who are squeamish about the action scenes). Also, there is a technical issue for the DVD I have when I play it in my laptop computer; the casing has a message about a possible delay, but this one went beyond a delay. I had to open the disc door and spin the DVD clockwise to start it.
Extras: The alternate ending, which I won’t discuss right now, since many people are still getting their first look at the movie. All I’ll say is that for purposes of the plot, the end of the film that was used was the right one.
There are four deleted scenes, including a good one that highlights the conflict between Ben and Skinner, and another good one that details what happened to female recruit Cate Lindsey (Shelby Fenner). They’re all available with commentary from Davis and Brinkerhoff.
There is also a making-of documentary that’s a slightly longer version of videos available at various websites, and a five-minute feature looking at the real-life rescue swimmers, and reminding you what the film was made for.
By the way, when one considers that Jake was curious as to Ben’s total number of rescues, there’s this: After Katrina, Coast Guard swimmers rescued an estimated 32,000 from the floodwaters in New Orleans. Now there’s a number.
Fun fact #1: Dule Hill is the fifth “West Wing” alum to work in a Kevin Costner movie (The others: Martin Sheen (President Josiah “Jed“ Bartlett) , providing the opening narration in “JFK”; Richard Schiff (Communiations Director Toby Ziegler) as the backstage manager in “The Bodyguard”; Bradley Whitford (Deputy Chief of Staff Joshua Lyman) as the marksman in “A Perfect World”; and, of course, Timothy Busfield (reporter Danny Konkannon) as Annie’s brother in “Field of Dreams”)
Fun fact #2: One of the Kodiak background shots includes a Coast Guard cutter named for one-time Guardsman Alex Haley, the author of “Roots.” Davis points it out in late in the film.
Fun fact #3: The two kayakers in the Kodiak cave rescue scene are the real-life sons of actress Lindsay Wagner, TV’s Bionic Woman.
Ratings:
Film: Three stars: Great work by the cast, good story development and chilling action scenes (in more ways than one).
DVD: Three stars, including the nice director-writer commentary. There could have been more detail on the two documentaries, though, particularly the one about the real-life swimmers. And wouldn’t you love a re-release with a Costner-Kutcher commentary?

Mr. Brooks trailer now at official site

2007-02-17T10:27:00.000-08:00

The trailer for Mr. Brooks is now at the movie's official site:

http://www.theressomethingaboutmrbrooks.com/main.htm

It's getting quite a few positive notices, but I wish people would stop comparing it to "Silence of the Lambs" or other movies (I guess I would be poking myself, too, because I've used "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" for comparison.).....Let the film come out, and judge it on its merits.

FYI: I will post a full review for "The Guardian" DVD sometime in the next few days.

Mr. Brooks Trailer!

2007-02-08T18:09:00.000-08:00

The trailer for Mr. Brooks is up! I'm not a horror/thriller fan, but this one looks like it has some substance to it (Given its lineup-KC, William Hurt, Demi Moore, Dane Cook, Marg Helgenberger-it should.). Here's the Apple/Quicktime version:

http://www.apple.com/trailers/mgm/mrbrooks/

And for people like me, who had trouble downloading that version:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7ca-COIdtQ

A Perfect World review

2007-01-29T16:55:00.000-08:00

A Perfect World (Three stars)

It was one of the most anticipated cinema pairings of 1993: Clint Eastwood and Kevin Costner. But when all was said and done, “A Perfect World” had received mixed reviews from critics and bad box office. Basically, audiences didn’t want to see KC playing a bad guy. And they had banked on him and Eastwood being in more than one scene together.
But KC got some of the best critical reviews of his career - deservedly so. It didn’t translate to any awards for him or the movie, though.
KC plays Butch Haynes, a career criminal, but with a couple of streaks of conscience. He breaks out of prison with Terry Pugh ( Keith Szarabajka) who is plenty scary, and has a rap sheet for manslaughter. In trying to find a second getaway car, (“Don’t want a Buick….want a Ford,“ Butch says.) the pair come into the neighborhood where young Phillip Perry’s family lives. Butch keeps Terry from raping Phillip’s mother (Jennifer Griffin), and the men take Phillip as a hostage.
KC has another movie of terrific scenes with a child, this time with T.J. Lowther, who plays Phillip. Butch sees in Phillip the potential for the child he could never be. This is particularly true when Butch hears about Phillip’s family’s Christian Scientist observance, which doesn’t include trick-or-treating on Halloween and other rituals of childhood.
The scenes are eye-catching, but never does Butch let Phillip-or the viewer-forget who he is, particularly late in the film, when Butch terrorizes a couple and their grandson (The couple is played by Wayne Dehart and the wonderful Mary Alice.).
The movie is mainly divided into two stories: The relationship between Butch and Phillip, and the efforts of Texas Ranger Red Garnett (Eastwood), criminologist Sally Gerber (Laura Dern) and company to catch Butch.
The first story plays better than the second. Screenwriter John Lee Hooker’s story is dated November, 1963, but there seems little reason for this. The efforts of law enforcement often look like something out of “The Dukes of Hazzard,” (the television series, not the movie) with enough clumsy accidents and comic occurrences to make viewers wonder if they’re really looking at an Eastwood film. The cast members, particularly Eastwood and Dern, rise above it, and some of the humorous dialogue is welcome.
Bradley Whitford is about as far from “The West Wing” or “Studio 60” as he can get in his role as the sneering marksman Bobby Lee. One of Dern’s best moments comes late in the movie, when she gives him his comeuppance. Another good moment comes when she’s explaining Butch’s history. It plays a part in the puzzle coming together as to the history between Red and Butch, which Red explains to Sally in another well done scene.
Again, KC and Eastwood have just one scene together, but it’s the climatic one, and enough to make one wish they’ll get together in front of the camera again some day - with any luck, in a Western.
Note: I saw a VHS version of the movie, copied from a cable station and edited for content. “A Perfect World” is available on a no frills DVD so far. Despite Eastwood’s recent Oscar haul for “Mystic River” and “Million Dollar Baby,” Warner Brothers hasn’t coughed up the dough for a new DVD.
Fun fact: Linda Hart, who played Eileen, the waitress with whom Butch has a tryst, also played Doreen, Roy’s stripper ex-girlfriend in “Tin Cup.”

Mr. Brooks Website

2007-01-26T17:44:00.000-08:00

Just the homepage for the moment, but an intriguing homepage:

http://www.theressomethingaboutmrbrooks.com/main.htm

Review of "The Bodyguard" DVD

2007-01-20T10:01:00.000-08:00

Note: This is the first in a series of reviews of Kevin Costner's movies.

The Bodyguard (Film, 2& 1/2 stars; DVD 3 stars)

“The Bodyguard” is, somewhat, a story of what-ifs. The first “what-if” involves Steve McQueen and Diana Ross, who were on Lawrence Kasdan’s original wish list to play the roles of Frank Farmer and Rachel Marron when Kasdan wrote the script in the 1970s. McQueen, however, was ill with cancer, and Ross’ once-promising movie career imploded with a series of poorly done, poorly received movies in the later part of the decade. She found more success singing songs for movies like “It’s My Turn” and “Endless Love.”
Another what-if involves Whitney Houston, who did play Rachel, but it has less to do with the movie than with the question of what would have happened if she had never gotten tangled up with Bobby Brown. She is finally free of him, and can hopefully rebuild her voice and her career. Both were at their glittery peak when she made “The Bodyguard” with KC.
The plot of the movie, a big box office hit, is well known; Frank Farmer (KC), a onetime Secret Service agent-turned-bodyguard, is hired to protect singer/actress Rachel Marron (Houston). The two alternate conflict and attraction as Frank gets closer to the threat at the Academy Awards.
As a mystery, the film is uneven. There are at least two, possibly three, potential plotlines running through the film concerning who is trying to kill Rachel, and I agree with film critic Roger Ebert’s law of excessive characters. If Kasdan’s script is responsible, well, he’s better at writing human drama than mystery movies.
The movie displays the human drama well, though. Some of the best scenes are between Frank and Rachel’s young son, Fletcher, played by DeVaughn Nixon. One of KC’s great talents as an actor is relating well to children.
The awkwardness between Frank and Rachel shows, too, and KC and Whitney Houston play their scenes together well throughout the movie. They are truly two ships that pass in the night because of circumstances, and it shows.
KC has spoken in interviews about “working his eyes” as a young actor, and it’s shown to full effect here, not just in the scenes where Frank is guarding Rachel, but also in the scenes of their courtship, where the viewer can see, in his face, the struggle between his job and his growing feelings for his client.
The supporting cast is also good, particularly Michelle Lamar Richards as Rachel’s tragic older sister, Nikki. With Whitney Houston at her vocal peak, the songs are also memorable. “I Have Nothing” and “Run To You” were nominated for Oscars (real ones), while Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You,” already a country standard, became a popular one as well.
A couple of the more “manly” scenes don’t work, including one where Frank is trying to chase down a car that followed Rachel’s limousine (an attempt to replicate some of the more hair-raising scenes in “No Way Out,” perhaps) and a testosterone match between Frank and Tony (Mike Starr) in the kitchen of the mansion after Frank gets Rachel out of a scary situation at a concert. That’s also true of a scene at Miami Beach’s Fontainebleau Hotel, where Frank beats up a hotel worker who doesn’t do his job.
Another scene that doesn’t quite work is Frank watching the video of Rachel singing “Run to You,” at least the way it’s set up in the movie. I wonder if it was part of a longer scene (Frank looking at surveillance videos and picking up that one by mistake?) that director Mick Jackson cut. There are other parts where it seems like choppy editing played a role.
There’s plenty of glitz; the fireworks show at the top of the Fontainebleau might have been a bit much. But the Academy Awards were shown in full, shiny, big-haired glory, with Debbie Reynolds and Robert Wuhl playing themselves and David Foster (the co-composer of “I Have Nothing” and producer of the film’s soundtrack album ) as the orchestra conductor.
Extras: A terrific making-of documentary, “Memories of the Bodyguard,” with updated interviews with KC, Jackson, Kasdan, Foster and co-producer Jim Wilson, mixed with a Whitney Houston interview from the time the film was made (Listening to her makes one wonder how she could have sunk so far, because she seemed to have a good head on her shoulders.). The documentary has many interesting tidbits (including an alternate staging of the shooting-at-Rachel scene that KC had in mind, involving a limousine). Before the DVD was released in 2005, there was word of a running commentary, but presumably Houston’s erratic behavior, among other things, put the kibosh on it.
Another extra is the video of her singing “I Will Always Love You,” with scenes from the movie.

Additional extra: Original theatrical trailer. One flaw, though: There is no chapter directory in the DVD case.
Fun fact: Listen during the limousine gathering outside the Oscars for the names……They’re generally behind-the-scenes people on the movie (One is Ben Glass, the still photographer for many of KC’s films.).
Ratings:
Movie: 2 ½ stars--Very good acting, good human drama, bad mystery
DVD overall--3 stars, courtesy of the extras. Maybe a future release will have the scene by scene commentary, but it’s not really needed (Though I would like to know if that “Cedar Rapids” scene, the last scene of the movie, is actually one of the Fontainebleau’s ballrooms.).

KC Movie Reviews in 2007

2006-12-29T04:43:00.000-08:00

Throughout 2007, I plan to post reviews of most of Kevin Costner's movies (and DVDs, where warrented). I won't post in any sort of order, except random. So watch the blog for the reviews, as well as other upcoming notes about KC's movies.

One other note: The release of Mr. Brooks has been pushed back to May 11 from March. That's a positive move, putting the movie on the cusp of the summer season.

For Oscar consideration--Best Actor and Best Song

2006-11-05T10:05:00.000-08:00

I don't know if the Disney folks will do this, but here's my (free, by the way) contribution:

Best Actor: Kevin Costner for The Guardian

Very simply, his performance moves you. He channels what a lot of people (men and women) go through when they love something so much, they've been good at it, and they can't give it up. Without histrionics, he shows what it means to fight for something, then let it go and give it to the next generation.

Best Song: "Never Let Go" from The Guardian (written by Bryan Adams; Eliot Kennedy; Trevor Rabin; performed by Bryan Adams)

A beautiful song that tells a story beyond the film of anyone whose calling it is to help someone. I think it's Adams' best vocal since "Have You Ever Loved a Woman" from Don Juan DeMarco (The song was nominated), and joins that and "Everything I Do" from Robin Hood (also nominated, and should have won) among his best.

New Mr. Brooks poster

2006-10-22T10:53:00.000-07:00

A new Mr. Brooks poster is shown at Red's site. Go to

http://www.kevincostnerscrapbook.co.uk/film/films.html

Click on "Graphics" where Mr. Brooks is listed, and click on "US Poster."

My Guardian review (spoiler alert)

2006-10-08T12:25:00.000-07:00

Finally, the branch of the U.S. military whose work goes unnoticed the most gets a movie worthy of it. The Coast Guard is on duty every day, rescuing boaters (and sometimes migrants, which we in South Florida know about). It's been the subject of two comedies: 1958's Onionhead, which starred Andy Griffith (I've never seen it), and 1970's The Boatniks, which featured Robert Morse (better known as a Broadway stalwart), Stefanie Powers (best known for the entertaining TV series "Hart to Hart") and Don Ameche (who won an Oscar for 1983's "Cocoon.").
Even before its release, The Guardian made its mark as Coast Guard personnel got a chance to see it and gave their thumbs up. A lot of other people agree. And so do I.
For me, the best Kevin Costner role has been that of Ray Kinsella in Field of Dreams; I'll tell you, though, this role as Ben Randall comes close.
Randall is very good at his job as a Coast Guard rescue swimmer; in fact, he's known as one of the very best, which is evident in a scene early in the film. But the job exacts a personal toll, as his wife, Helen (played by Sela Ward), decides to leave him. Things get worse for Ben from there, as a helicopter accident for his crew results in tragedy.
His commanding officer sends him to train Coast Guard recruits at "A" school as Ben tries to recover physically and emotionally. There, Ben meets Jake Fischer (Ashton Kutcher), who vows to break Ben's training records. Jake also woos Emily (Melissa Sagemiller), a teacher who is wary of the Coast Guard recruits who pass through every 18 weeks.
But Jake has his own wounds to heal, and it is intriguing watching the relationship develop between the veteran and the rookie. It is beautifully realized, most notably in a scene in Ben's office and in another scene near the end of the film.
Some critics have complained about the film's length (About 2 hours and 20 minutes), but I didn't feel it. The film was well-paced for me. I'm not an action-type person, so the training segments, with the character development, were more attractive to me than the rescue scenes. For the rescue scenes, it's best to watch them not having seen those Internet videos about the water tank Disney built for the film. The actors make those scenes with their emotions more than the special effects do.
I thought there were a couple of locations in which scenes were cut, particularly in the relationship between Ben and Helen. I would have liked to see more of KC and Sela Ward together on screen, because their scenes packed a punch. They have obvious chemistry, and I hope they get to make another movie together someday. The scenes between Kutcher and Sagemiller were also good, and I didn't feel any abruptness or superficiality to them.
Of the supporting players, three get good time: Bonnie Bramlett as a singer/bar owner who is an old friend of Ben's; Neal McDonough as the tough A-School instructor Jack Skinner, and Brian Geraghty as recruit Billy Hodge, who's back for his third try at getting through A-School. The two men have their own memorable scenes together. Dule Hill of TV's "The West Wing" is also in the film, but this skilled actor isn't given enough to do. There is also a lost opportunity in looking at the female recruits (There are only three female rescue swimmers in the Coast Guard today.).
As for Kevin Costner: He has played the mentor before in "Bull Durham," of course, but this one is more believable to me because, at 51, he's now old enough to understand the role. (He made Bull Durham when he was 32, which is older for a minor-league baseball player, but I've never quite bought him in that part, for reasons I hope to explain in a Bull Durham DVD review.)
You feel him in this role as Ben Randall - every physical and emotional ache, the weariness of life and time, the frustration/memory at seeing Jake's arrogance, perhaps seeing a younger version of himself. He tears at the heartstrings.
This film, though dissed by most critics, has commendably been embraced by members of the moviegoing public. I hope they make it very successful. I give The Guardian *** out of four.

Reviewing the critics

2006-10-07T10:17:00.000-07:00

I'll post my review of The Guardian later today. First, a review of the critics' reviews of The Guardian, which were (to use a term they love so much) boring and predictable, with notable exceptions (Denver Post's Lisa Kennedy and the great Leonard Maltin). I've never seen such a wide discrepancy between the public and the critics as I have on this movie.

In August, A.O. Scott of the New York Times wrote about that phenomenon (referring to the summer movies):

AVAST, ME CRITICS! YE KILL THE FUNBy A.O. SCOTT(Critic's Notebook)c.2006 New York Times News ServiceLet's start with a few numbers. At Rottentomatoes.com, a Web site thatquantifies movie reviews on a 100-point scale, the aggregate score for``Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest'' stands at a sodden 54.Metacritic.com, a similar site, crunches the critical prose of the nation'sreviewers and comes up with a numerical grade of 52 out of 100. Even in anera of rampant grade inflation, that's a solid F.Meanwhile, over at boxofficemojo.com, where the daily grosses are tabulated,the second installment in the ``Pirates'' series, which opened on July 7,plunders onward, trailing broken records in its wake. Its $136 millionfirst-weekend take was the highest three-day tally in history, building on abest-ever $55 million on that Friday, and it is cruising into blockbusterterritory at a furious clip. As of this writing, a mere 10 days into itsrun, the movie has brought in $258.2 million, a hit by any measure.All of which makes ``Dead Man's Chest'' a fascinating sequel _ not to ``Curseof the Black Pearl,'' which inaugurated the franchise three years ago, butto ``The Da Vinci Code.'' Way back in the early days of the Hollywood summer_ the third week in May, to be precise _ America's finest critics troopedinto screening rooms in Cannes, Los Angeles, New York and points between,saw Ron Howard's adaptation of Dan Brown's best seller, and emerged in a fitof collective grouchiness. The movie promptly pocketed some of the biggestopening-weekend grosses in the history of its studio, Sony.For the second time this summer, then, my colleagues and I must face afrequently _ and not always politely _ asked question: What is wrong withyou people? I will, for now, suppress the impulse to turn the question onthe moviegoing public, which persists in paying good money to see bad moviesthat I see free. I don't for a minute believe that financial successcontradicts negative critical judgment; $500 million from now, ``Dead Man'sChest'' will still be, in my estimation, occasionally amusing, frequentlytedious and entirely too long.But the discrepancy between what critics think and how the public behaves isof perennial interest because it throws into relief some basic questionsabout taste, economics and the nature of popular entertainment, as well asthe more vexing issue of what, exactly, critics are for.Are we out of touch with the audience? Why do we go sniffing after art whereeveryone else is looking for fun, and spoiling everybody's fun when itdoesn't live up to our notion or art? What gives us the right to yell``bomb'' outside a crowded theater? Variations on these questions arriveregularly in our e-mail in-boxes, and also constitute a major theme in thecomments sections of film blogs and Web sites.Online, everyone is a critic, which is as it should be: professionalprerogatives aside, a critic is really just anyone who thinks out loud aboutsomething he or she cares about, and gets into arguments with fellowenthusiasts. But it would be silly to pretend that those professionalprerogatives don't exist, and that they don't foster a degree of resentment.Entitled elites, self-regarding experts, bearers of intellectual orinstitutional authority, misfits who get to see a movie before anybody elseand then take it upon themselves to give away the ending: Such people areeasy targets of populist anger. Just who do we think we are?There is no easy answer to this question. Film criticism _ at least aspracticed in the general-interest daily and weekly press _ has never been aspecialist pursuit. Movies, more than any other art form, are understood tobe common cultural property, something everyone can enjoy, which makes anyclaim of expertise suspect. Therefore, a certain estrangement between us andthem _ or me and you, to put it plainly _ has been built into the enterprisefrom the start.The current schism is in some ways nothing new: go back and read reviews inThe New York Times of ``Top Gun,'' ``Crocodile Dundee'' and ``The Karate KidPart II'' to see how some of my predecessors dealt with three of thetop-earning movies 20 years ago. (The Australian with the big knife wastreated more kindly than the flyboy or the high-kicker, by the way.) And thedivide between critic and public may also be temporary. Last year, duringthe Great Box-Office Slump of 2005, we all seemed happy to shrug together atthe mediocrity of the big studio offerings.No more. Whatever the slump might have portended for the movie industry, itappears to be over for the moment, and the critics have resumed theircustomary role of scapegoat. The modern blockbuster _ the movie thatmillions of people line up to see more or less simultaneously, on the firstconvenient showing on the opening weekend _ can be seen as the fulfillmentof the democratic ideal the movies were born to fulfill. To stand outsidethat happy communal experience and, worse, to regard it with skepticism orwith scorn, is to be a crank, a malcontent, a snob.So we're damned if we don't. And sometimes, also, if we do. When ourbreathless praise garlands advertisements for movies the public greets witha shrug, we look like suckers or shills. But these accusations would stickonly if the job of the critic were to reflect, predict or influence thepublic taste.That, however, is the job of the Hollywood studios, in particular of theirmarketing and publicity departments, and it is the professional duty ofcritics to be out of touch with _ to be independent of _ their concerns.These companies spend tens of millions of dollars to persuade you that theopening of a movie is a public event, a cultural experience you will want tobe part of.The campaign of persuasion starts weeks or months _ or, in the case ofmultisequel cash cows, years _ before the tickets go on sale, with the goalof making their purchase a foregone conclusion by the time the first reviewsappear. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't, but the judgment ofcritics almost never makes the difference between failure and success, atleast for mass-release, big-budget movies like ``Dead Man's Chest'' or ``TheDa Vinci Code.''So why review them? Why not let the market do its work, let the audience haveits fun and occupy ourselves with the arcana _ the art _ we criticsostensibly prefer? The obvious answer is that art, or at least the kind ofpleasure, wonder and surprise we associate with art, often pops out ofcommerce, and we want to be around to celebrate when it does and to complainwhen it doesn't.But the deeper answer is that our love of movies is sometimes expressed as amistrust of the people who make and sell them, and even of the people whosee them. We take entertainment very seriously, which is to say that wedon't go to the movies for fun. Or for money. We do it for you.

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Well, I have a rebuttal for Mr. Scott, who didn't like The Guardian, either.

My heart bleeds for you, A.O. It sounds a lot in parts of this essay like you are blaming us, the public, for liking movies you don't.
I went into The Guardian with lowered expectations, in good part because of what critics like you said. I liked the movie a lot, including the performances of its cast, and absolutely was moved by KC's performance. You all are so hell-bent on looking for art that I won't disagree with you in one respect: You don't go to the movies for enjoyment. Because you've absolutely lost the capacity to do so. And because of that, there's no way you can communicate with us, the moviegoers.You see several hundred movies a year, usually at bosses' expense. The average moviegoer might see a half-dozen at most, paying their own way (when they can afford it). That big discrepancy creates another discrepancy between critics' viewpoints and the public's viewpoints.
There is no rule without exception: Miraculously, there are people like Leonard Maltin who can see those movies, but never forget that he's writing for the public. But the vast majority of movie critics are insulated in their own little world, where their tastes are different (and often their values, too) from the general public. And so you have discrepancies like the one over "The Guardian."
I've seen, after long, painful years of cheap shots, critical opinion over Kevin Costner's work start to evolve - sometimes after the critic (David Poland is one example) has had a chance to talk with him about moviemaking. My goal, Mr. Scott, is to see your flock come to accept him on his terms - not yours.

Alert: If you haven't seen The Guardian, avoid Cranky Critic review

2006-09-30T16:42:00.000-07:00

If you haven't seen The Guardian yet, avoid the Cranky Critic review. The review gives away the ending. I hope there's a penalty for that somewhere.
Other critics hint at the end (that warrants a wrist-slap).
I have seen the film. I liked it a lot, and I loved KC's performance. I'll have a full review about it next week.

Guardian News

2006-09-24T12:38:00.000-07:00

Guardian reviews will come fast and furious (oops, wrong movie ;) ) over the next few days, so here are a couple of links that will help you track things down:

The Movie Review Query Engine's Guardian page......will have many reviews:

http://www.mrqe.com/lookup?^Guardian,+The+(2006)

Rotten Tomatoes: Critics and moviegoers:

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/guardian/?critic=columns

IMDB: Critics, user reviews, comments, photos, links and more links, etc. (Watch out for spoilers here if you haven't seen the film):

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0406816/

Also, here are lots of great clips:

http://movies.go.com/trailer?cid=840465&vid=851480

This is why studios and I hate critics

2006-09-09T15:13:00.000-07:00

Yes, it may be hypocritical of me, because it involves the same technology I'm using here, but I'm going to say it anyway.....

Movie critics also have blogs, and they're using it to give impressions of movies weeks in advance of release. This week, at least three movie critics have posted some early impressions of The Guardian (and at least one has telegraphed his review in advance with a sentence that clearly indicates he likes neither KC nor Ashton Kutcher). To paraphrase something KC has said before, it's not a fair playing field.

This is why studios are increasingly beginning not to screen better-quality movies for critics in advance, because of things like this.

And why must critics constantly take cheap shots at a film's participants? I'm referring not to The Guardian in this case.....I'm referring to one who just had to take a shot at Ben Affleck in her "Hollywoodland" review yesterday. For various reasons, I won't mention the name.

Hmmm...where to start?

2006-09-08T16:36:00.000-07:00

A busy week for our fella, with his footprints alongside Gregory Peck, Cary Grant, Jimmy Stewart, Clark Gable and dozens of Hollywood's other immortals at Graumann's Chinese Theater. Well-deserved for KC.

Then last night, there was the premiere of The Guardian in Washington.

Here, again is the link of Red, the fan from the UK, who somehow gathers it up into one whole very quickly:

http://www.twoeg.fsnet.co.uk/press.html

Enjoy.