Oscar talk has been buzzing about The Last Station for both Christopher Plummerand Helen Mirren. The movie is based on Jay Parini’s novel about Leo Tolstoy., which focuses on the marriage between Tolstoy (Plummer) and his wife Sofya (Mirren) in its final years. James McAvoy also starsas a young man who works for the couple and Paul Giamatti plays an advisor to Tolstoy.
I admit that I was not aware going in to see Russell Crowe’s latest, State of Play, that it was based on a British TV show. Being that I enjoy British TV, it sort of makes sense now that I really, almost unaccountably, enjoyed the movie version.
State of Play is a political thriller to match them all, with Russell Crowe playing hard-bitten print journalist Cal McAffrey, your classic “white knight” sort of journalist dedicated to the truth…at all costs. Kind of the Spider Jerusalem of his era, he’s joined by Rachel McAdams as Della Frye, a blogger handling part of the electronic side of things for the Washington D.C. newspaper both work for. McAffrey and Frye tracking down the circumstances following the recent death of a Congressman’s mistress about to start a series of hearings into a paramilitary government contractor called PointCorp. As McAffrey and Frye continue to follow the various disparate threads, they begin to see a much greater plot forming almost before their very eyes–the sort of plot that could very well destroy several careers and do inestimable damage to the United States government itself.
For those of you who study the current political landscape, you’ll likely notice at least some “ripped from the headlines” sort of incidents, including a very easy connection between fictional PointCorp and current bugaboo Blackwater (who, ironically enough, recently underwent rebranding possibly due to the fact that everyone associated the name Blackwater with undisciplined, unaccountable mercenaries who shot at American citizens in New Orleans and did who knows how much damage in Iraq.), you’re more than welcome to pat yourselves on the back at this point. Good catch.
But this is part of what makes State of Play such an interesting film. Yes, it’s your class-X political thriller, but there are so many elements of plausibility included in the narrative that it takes on a life of its own. Change a few names around and we might well be looking at something that will happen tomorrow, or next week, or next month. It’s absolutely plausible. And, given the prevalence of blogging that’s sprung up worldwide—nobody’s laughing at the idea of “citizen-journalists” any more—and in a time when newspapers are going under whilst blogs are flourishing due to the massive disparities in production costs, it’s kind of ennobling to see a blogger like Delia Frye suddenly in a position to make a serious difference, even IF it’s only with the help of a hard-bitten mentor of the print journalism game.
Even better, we’ll also be exposed to intradepartmental bickering at the newspapers, as they struggle to keep up the old ways of print—slow, careful, precise and well supported by fact—when cost containment virtually DEMANDS the new ways of electronic media—fast, dirty, loaded with opinion and commentary, and able to churn out copy in a rapid fashion to keep the short attention span engaged.
Truly, there are several great conflicts going on in State of Play, and we’ll be able to follow almost all of them to at least reasonably satisfying ends. In fact, State of Play itself is a highly satisfying thriller, carefully paced, well put together, and ready to take on the big leagues. Quite a jump from the old days of TV serials, and I’m glad they made the effort. State of Play is easily worth your time and your movie dollars.
You know, I’m not a HUGE car buff–I consider a car to be little more than a way to point A to point B. Though I do prefer to get their comfortably, quickly, and without spending an arm and a leg in gas costs–just an arm is good enough by me–I’m not terribly enthused by the thought of cars that look like small spacecraft that go from zero to sixty before you even blink. I only really know what torque is thanks to high school physics, and horsepower to me means about as much in my car as it does in my lawn mower.
Though I will admit, I DO enjoy British television–I’m abundantly glad for BBC America, and even the older stuff you find on PBS is actually much enjoyed by both me and my family. My personal favorite is Keeping Up Appearances, because that Hyacinth woman is just six different kinds of awesome, and she’d probably have a fainting spell if she were described as such.
So when the boys out at BBC America’s PR firm (at least I guess they are–they sent me the disk and they’re some old friends) shipped me a copy of Top Gear season 10, I was skeptical. Especially when I discovered that this show’s been around since 1977 almost continuously. Almost continously, of course–there was a brief interval in which the show was retooled, so how they call this season ten is quite beyond me.
Strange semantics in numbering aside, Top Gear is a show that really got me. Like I said, I’m not much of a “car guy”, thinking of them more as utilitarian objects than as artistic statements, but man. The show is hosted by three guys who deeply, DEEPLY, love cars, and will introduce us to all manner of cars and car-related content. The first episode, for example, features an interview with actress Helen Mirren (of The Queen) that caps off with having her take a lap around a test track and then putting her score up on a wall of fame reserved for guests. They call this their “Star in a Reasonably Priced Car” segment.
They then spend a great deal of time looking for the best road in the world, and you’ve never seen British guys display such sheer glee.
It continues on like this for fully ten episodes, including what they call “the Botswana Special”. They’ll attempt to cross the English channel in amphibious cars. They’ll stage the most ludicrous drag race ever, involving an Aston-Martin taking on a rocket pack and roller skates. At one point they will engage the Royal Air Force’s Typhoon jet fighter in a two-mile race with the Bugatti Veyron. What these guys display here is, essentially, a car show for people who don’t really care about cars. You can almost feel their enthusiasm as they tell you all about their cars of choice, and that’s the mark of a good reviewer in my book. Yes, this is partially a review show, but it’s also got a lot more than that, as you’ve seen from the preceding remarks. This show is almost sufficient to INSPIRE car love in those who don’t have it. Almost—but man, what a good try.
Basically, if you have even the slightest interest in cars, even the SLIGHTEST, you will find Top Gear to be both engrossing and entertaining, with plenty of laughs and surprises as they introduce you to cars you will likely never see and have probably never even HEARD of. I had my eyes opened by this little chunk of British programming, and I’m glad for the experience. Chances are good you will be too.
Please note that this DVD contains explicit adult content but the assets and trailer do not, so feel free to post the information.
The decadent side of high definition! Before Rome… Before Gladiator… The most controversial film of all time as you’ve never experienced it before! Combining lavish spectacle and award-winning stars, this landmark production was shrouded in secrecy since its first day of filming. Now, this unprecedented edition presents a more revealing Caligula than ever before, with a high-definition transfers of the uncensored theatrical cut and revealing, alternate pre-release version from negative elements. Loaded with Hours of Bonus Material!
SPECIAL FEATURES:
- Three revealing audio commentaries with stars Malcolm McDowell, Helen Mirren and on-set writer Ernest Volkman
- Video interviews with director Tinto Brass and actors John Steiner and Lori Wagner
- Hours of deleted and alternate scenes and behind-the-scenes footage
- Hundreds of astonishing, never-before-seen photographs from the set
- Theatrical trailers
- DVD-Rom extras including Gore Vidal’s original screenplay, three Penthouse magazine features, an interview with Bob Guccione, press kit notes, cast and crew bios and filmographies and more!
Post your name and Screenhead will pick the winner Friday, January 30, 2009.
Sam Worthington is set to star with Academy Award winner Helen Mirren in Debt, the John Madden-directed 
action film for Miramax.
According to Variety, Worthington and Mirren play Israeli Mossad agents hunting a Nazi war criminal. The film is an English-language remake of the Israeli thriller Ha-hov.
Worthington pledge to Debt while he is in talks to play Perseus in Clash of the Titans, the Louis Leterrier-directed remake under Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures with a spring start date.
The Aussie actor also stars in James Cameron-directed Avatar, which 20th Century Fox releases Dec. 18, 2009, and with Christian Bale in the McG-directed Terminator Salvation, which Warner Bros. will release May 22.
Shakespeare enthusiasts might like the rearrangement of The Tempest by director Julie Taymor as she gathers a cast of exceptional talent. Even though the play centers on Prospero, an exiled duke-turned-sorcerer, Taymor’s alters the lead character Prospera so that Helen Mirren can take on the role. Whoa! Go Girl.
Mirren will be working with Jeremy Irons, Djimon Hounsou, Russell Brand, Alfred Molina, Ben Wishaw and Felicity Jones. Geoffrey Rush is all talk right now but looks to join the cast.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, Taymor is hoping for a November start date in Hawaii. The Shakespeare play mixes romance with fraternal politics and the supernatural. As revised for the screen, it will center on Prospera, her daughter Miranda (Jones) and a shipwrecked crew full of Prospera’s enemies.
The island’s other inhabitants include Hounsou as the deformed slave Caliban and Wishaw as the airy spirit Ariel.
On the ship are rising comedy star Brand, playing Trinculo, a jester; Irons, as Alonso, the King of Naples; and Molina as the drunken butler Stephano. Rush would play Gonzalo, a royal adviser and old ally of Prospera’s.
The cast includes a high concentration of Oscar-winning stars: Mirren earned best actress honors for The Queen, while Irons took home the best actor trophy for Reversal of Fortune and Rush got the nod for Shine.
Hounsou won best supporting actor nominations for Blood Diamond and In America.
The Debtis set to start next year with Helen Mirren to play a mossad agent as John Madden directs the picture.
The Debt is a remake of Israeli thriller Ha-Hov about three Israeli mossad agents tracking down a Nazi war criminal for over thirty years.
Mirren plays a national celebrity and retired mossad agent who is grappling with years of emotional disappointment and suddenly she is faced with a powerful and unexpected choice.
Inkheart opens January 9, 2009 and stars Brendan Fraser, Paul Bettany and Helen Mirren.