Side-Splitting

Two comedies are cruising through theaters at the moment, one a bona-fide hit, the other a train wreck of a miss. Forgetting Sarah Marshall, the latest from Judd Apatow's funny machine, uses its locale, female presence, and unconventional approach to craft a near-perfect rom-com. Harold and Kumar: Escape from Guantanamo Bay, on the other hand, uses a foolish over-confidence of its lead characters, an offensive amount of braindead humor, and a senseless plot to become what will likely - and had better - be one of the worst movies of 2008.

Look at that poster mash-up... ain't it cute? You know what would be even cuter? Click the links below and read my reviews of these two movies, which stand at either end of the spectrum of success. And for Pete's sake (Pete should be capitalized, no?), DON"T go see H&K:EFGB!!!

Forgetting Sarah Marshall
Harold and Kumar: Escape from Guantanamo Bay

More Moore

While we're on the subject of the uber-gifted Julianne Moore, here's a look at another film she has coming up in '08, Fernando Meirelles' epidemic thriller Blindness. Will it be a Children of Men or a Freedomland? We shall see...

First Look: SAVAGE GRACE

What I know about this movie:
It stars Stephen Dillane (The Hours), Hugh Dancy (Evening), and the great Julianne Moore in what appears to be her juiciest role in years. It's directed by queer filmmker Tom Kalin, who almost co-directed John Cameron Mitchell's Hedwig and the Angry Inch. It looks beautiful.

What IMDb knows about this movie:
"The true story of the beautiful and charismatic Barbara Daly, who married above her class to Brooks Baekeland, heir to the Bakelite plastics fortune. Their only child is a failure in his father's eyes, and as he matures and becomes increasingly close to his lonely mother, the seeds for tragedy are sown."

It opens May 30. Here is the trailer (which, given the profanity, must be international). Draw your own conclusions:

First Look: AUSTRALIA

Yeah, I know every other blog has been buzzing about it for months, but Movie Buddy has not yet made a single mention of Baz Luhrman's 1940's Down Under epic. Set for a November 14 release, the new film from the man behind Molin Rouge! and William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet is one of my most anticipated titles of '08. Oh, and did I mention it stars these two pretty people? :



More to come...

The Beauty of Life

A rocky start to my weekend had me a little down in the dumps. Thankfully, someone very near and dear to my heart found numerous ways to remind me of how truly beautiful life can be, including showing me the obviously relevant Life is Beautiful from 1998. I had always wanted to see the highly acclaimed film, which was nominated for 7 Oscars and won 3 (for Best Original Score, Best Foreign Language Film, and Best Actor for writer/director/star Roberto Benigni). After 10 years, I finally did, and the timing was perfect.

When the Nazis take over Italy in the 1930's, Jewish book keeper Guido Orefice (Benigni) must use his steadfast sense of humor to keep his family intact and alive. With a charm that's reminiscent of a Chaplin classic, the film is a big-hearted model of selfless love that's often surprisingly hilarious in spite of its morbid setting. Needless to say, it lifted my spirits - out of the dumps and into the clouds.

Dawn of the Dead

Where has Your Movie Buddy been? Oh, this and that - about town, finding writing gigs that actually pay, you know. But two weeks and no postings? For shame! To celebrate my return and confirmation of existence, I've included the masterful opening credits of Zack "300" Snyder's 2004 remake of George A. Romero's classic Dawn of the Dead. It immediately follows the film's first 10 relentless minutes, which for me, ranks among the most terrifying movie beginnings of all time. The film is one of my favorite horror flicks, a genre to which I don't normally respond so well. Extra points for including "When the Man Comes Around" by the great Johnny Cash. Enjoy it with one eye open:

Black Maria

I was recently asked to do a piece on the New Jersey-based Black Maria Film Festival, which made its Doylestown, Bucks County stop on March 31. Celebrating its 27th anniversary, Black Maria unveiled 12 of its 60-plus short films for 2008 at my very favorite movie house, Doylestown's County Theater.

(That's last year's poster, but ain't it pretty?) I had the pleasure of not only interviewing the founder and learning about the festival's history, but also attending the festival itself. Fun stuff. Refreshing and off the beaten path. Catch both articles here:

BLACK MARIA ONE
BLACK MARIA TWO

April Fool's Day

Okay, so it's actually one hour into April 2nd, but I searched out "April Fool's Day" on YouTube, and found this:

That's right, a straight-to-DVD slasher film starring a handful of unknown, pretty young things. The best thing about movies like this is their unintentional hilarity. So concludes my recognition of this silly holiday - one that warrants an even sillier movie to share its name.

Say it Ain't So!

An article published in today's New York Times focuses on the ever-growing trend of weekly and daily publications laying off film critics due to a shaky economy. It is true what they say: the arts always get axed first. I've had stories about small town school board meetings see 100% more pay than an insightful movie review. Trust me, the review was more interesting. It's a shame that the powers that be can't always recognize the importance of cultural critics.

The discouraging story, entitled "Now on the Endangered Species List: Movie Critics in Print" and written by NY Times' media columnist David Carr (who also blogs at The Carpetbagger during Oscar season) can be read in full HERE.