THE FALL 2012 FILM PREVIEW (part one)

Ive been up for a couple of hours now and it has only just now dawned on me that it is September 1. Summer isn't technically over but it's hard to argue with its inevitable finality once September rolls around. All is not lost though. With the fall comes some very impressive films and Black Sheep is here to help you sift through them ...

SEPTEMBER

For me, September means the Toronto International Film Festival. And as I plan on previewing the 40 or so titles I will be seeing during this year's festival later this week, I will limit my choices today to films that will only be coming to a theatre near you.

TROUBLE WITH THE CURVE
Let's begin with the man everyone is talking about this week, Clint Eastwood. With all his directing as of late, he hasn't acted for another director for almost 20 years. (1993's IN THE LINE OF FIRE would be the last time, in case you were curious.) Personally, I can barely handle the man. His films are so bogged down with his old, white man idealism that they never resonate with me emotionally. Perhaps relinquishing his directorial duties will make him more enjoyable for me, but seeing as how his baseball scout character in this Robert Lorenz film seems like just as much of a curmudgeon as everyone else he plays, my hopes are not high. At least Amy Adams and Justin Timberlake are along to lighten the load.

HOUSE AT THE END OF THE STREET
Yes, this does look just like your typical fright flick, but how can it be with Jennifer Lawrence in the lead role? After earning an Oscar nomination for her brilliant work is WINTER'S BONE and dominating her star making turn as the girl on fire in one of the year's biggest hits, THE HUNGER GAMES, she certainly doesn't have to take a role like this. So unless this was shot before she stepped into the role of Katniss (which is possible but I could not find the shooting dates), this horror film has to be a cut above the rest. Lawrence herself is reason enough to find out though. Elizabeth Shue and Max Theriot co-star.

Other September highlights include Bradley Cooper plagiarizing Jeremy Irons in THE WORDS; Viola Davis and Maggie Gyllenhaal take over a broken down public school in WON'T BACK DOWN; Kirsten Dunst hopes her group of gal pals can repeat the BRIDESMAIDS success with BACHELORETTE; and although I can hardly believe it, they are still making RESIDENT EVIL movies. RETRIBUTION, the fifth in the series, hits September 14.

OCTOBER

FRANKENWEENIE
Many people accuse Tim Burton of having sold out a long time ago, of being washed up and tired now. I am actually often amongst those people but I am very excited for his newest stop-motion animation, FRANKENWEENIE. Based on his 1984 short film, which got him ousted from the Disney junior animator job he had at the time, the expansion is pretty much exactly what you would expect - young boy's dog is brought back to life and the townspeople are not very open to this freak of nature. Yes, there is the potential the feature length will bring with it many schmaltzy and unnecessary moments but if Burton does it right, it could be a new creepy cult classic.

KILLING THEM SOFTLY
Brad Pitt reteams with the director of THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD, Andrew Dominik, for this new thriller. Pitt plays a hit man hired to tail two less than sharp thieves who rob a mob-run poker game. The premise sounds almost funny but the trailer looks like the final product will be less than amusing. One thing is for sure though; with a 97 minute runtime, this one will surely be faster paced paced than their last collaboration. Also, Richard Jenkins and James Gandolfini co-star.

TAKEN 2
Given the success of the first TAKEN film, it is no real shock to see a sequel for the film hitting theatres now. After all, that film solidified Liam Neeson as a bonafide action star internationally. After watching the preview for the sequel, I am sure fans of the first film will not be disappointed with the follow-up. I, however, was not a huge fan of the first film and have very little interest in this instalment. This time around, his wife and daughter appear to be taken as revenge for the havoc he wreaked last time out. And I'm supposed to take this seriously?

Also coming in October ... Helen Hunt plays sexual surrogate to John Hawkes in Oscar-buzzy, THE SESSIONS; Jennifer Garner comes dangerously close to losing her cool as a champion butter sculptor in BUTTER; Robert De Niro and Diane Keaton play a long-divorced couple trying to play nice for their son's wedding in THE BIG WEDDING, which sounds like it could have been directed by Nancy Meyers (it is not); and apparently there is a never-ending stash of found ghost footage somewhere in a Hollywood basement just waiting to be turned into a PARANORMAL ACTIVITY movies. The fourth film in the series hits October 19 (and will be gone by November 1, most likely).

Check back tomorrow for Part Two of Black Sheep's 2012 Fall Film Preview, which will feature November and December.

Alternate Best Actor 2008: Results

5. Leonardo DiCaprio in Revolutionary Road- DiCaprio certainly tries as hard as he possibly can in the role, but unfortunately his performance never quite comes together in the way the film wants it to.

4. Clint Eastwood in Gran Torino- Eastwood shows his usual strong presence here, and uses his unique individualistic screen persona brilliantly here.

3. Michael Fassbender in Hunger- Fassbender gives a strong performance showing the incredible unshakable drive in his character.

2. Colin Farrell in In Bruges- Farrell proves himself an extremely capable actor here as he creates both a energetically hilarious performance as well as quite a moving portrait of guilt.

1. Brendan Gleeson in In Bruges- This year is quite a terrible year for the academy missing out on such strong work for the over the top mannerisms of Penn and Langella as well as just the extreme blandness of Pitt. They in particular missed out on this great performance by Brendan Gleeson that is a unique very moving portrait of a career killer who is anything but cold blooded, and also to his credit Gleeson is simply hilarious particularly due to his chemistry with his co-stars of Farrell and Ralph Fiennes.

Overall Rank:

1. Brendan Gleeson in In Bruges
2. Colin Farrell in In Bruges
3. Michael Fassbender in Hunger
4. Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler
5. Jeremy Renner in The Hurt Locker
6. Clint Eastwood in Gran Torino
7. Philip Seymour Hoffman in Doubt
8. Richard Jenkins in The Visitor
9. Daniel Craig in Quantum of Solace
10. Leonardo DiCaprio in Revolutionary Road
11. Michael Sheen in Frost/Nixon
12. Jason Statham in The Bank Job
13. Ed Harris in Appaloosa
14. Leonardo DiCaprio in Body of Lies 
15. Daniel Craig in Defiance
16. Ben Stiller in Tropic Thunder
17. Sylvester Stallone in Rambo
18. Liam Neeson in Taken
19. Ed Norton in The Incredible Hulk
20. Tom Cruise in Valkyrie
21. Dev Patel in Slumdog Millionaire
22. Ricky Gervais in Ghost Town
23. Javier Bardem in Vicky Cristina Barcelona
24. Harrison Ford in The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
25. Frank Langella in Frost/Nixon
26. Sean Penn in Milk
27. Brad Pitt in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Next Year: 1947

Alternate Best Actor 2008: Clint Eastwood in Gran Torino

Clint Eastwood did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Walt Kowalski in Gran Torino.

Gran Torino is enjoyable film even if weakened a bit by the very rough acting by most of the supporting cast about an elderly war veteran who must deal with the Hmong immigrants who live all around him.

Clint Eastwood announced his role here being his last acting role on screen, just as Million Dollar Baby had been before, well it turns out he is performing again this year on screen, so Eastwood might have made a bit of an exaggeration. Although it certainly has the marks of a farewell performance as it has many things similar to John Wayne's performance in the Shootist. They both portrayed aged men who are dying who take it upon themselves to do something as a final action of their life. Although one performance takes place in the old west, and one in modern times they both seem to be a closing statement on their archetypal characters they once portrayed.

Eastwood portrays a character of tough individualist that certainly can be taken as a sort of variation on Dirty Harry, some in fact thought that this might be the sixth Dirty Harry film. It was not and to be fair Walt Kowalski in many ways is not Harry Callahan. Dirty Harry for example was a cop, not a industrial worker, also Harry was always a tough man, but a tough man with a good sense of humor, Walt on the other hand has a harder time seeing the funny things in life. They are similar in that they are both portrayed by Clint Eastwood who really does not have the greatest range of any actor, but there is no one who do what Eastwood does better than Eastwood himself.

Clint Eastwood here actually though does something quite interesting in the role of the crusty old Walt Kowalski is that in some ways this is a humorous performance by Clint Eastwood. Now as I said before old Walt really does not crack too many jokes himself, but Eastwood uses his crustiness for comedic purposes early on in the film as he grunts and angrily stares down anything he hates about his relative or just society in general. Eastwood actually is quite good in his timing of his growls he makes particularly in just his opening scene where he is constantly being annoyed by his bizarre grandchildren who bother to go to the church and do the sign of the cross and kneel yet dress in what must be considered deranged fashion if they bother to do the rest.

Although one could try to argue that Eastwood's portrayal is repetitive, I would say it is not because of his ability to both portray the character seriously as well poke at him at the same time seamlessly. More importantly though Eastwood is almost always watchable and that is most certainly true even for the very rough Walt. Yes Walt is a usually angry man who is liked by very few people, and insults others constantly he still is quite likable. The main reason being once again due to Eastwood's unique charisma that as solely found within Eastwood. Really these mean old men type performances are by nature difficult to make likable in that they are mean old men, but there is just something about Eastwood that overrides these potential problems with seemingly no effort.

Eastwood interestingly despite being in his late seventies is still the same commanding presence he had always been. When he stares down and fights with various street thugs he has that same old Eastwood intensity that makes these scenes believable. Eastwood here shows that even at his older age still can truly dominate a scene more than actors half his age. He makes every one of the scenes where Walt efficiently deals with the thugs believable, because Eastwood is always on the mark, and in control. He even still has the silent cool that Eastwood uses so effectively in these scenes, and naturally makes Walt a force to be reckoned with.

The arc of Walt of a character comes in with his eventual acceptance of his neighbors as well as coming to the point in which he identifies with them far more than he does with his relatives. Eastwood actually plays this very well avoiding really the cliches of the gruff individual learning to open up. As Eastwood never lets up on his roughness in any way, and handles his whole acceptance in a perfectly Walt Kowalski fashion. Eastwood shows a little resistance in Walt, but at the same time he takes a cut through the crap approach that is perfectly fitting for Walt. Once he sees that they are indeed worth his time he just goes into no reason to waste time in accepting them in his own way.

This no nonsense approach Eastwood uses as well in his portrayal of Walt's past where he is haunted by the people he killed in the Korean war. This again is really the only way Walt would deal with such a thing. Eastwood shows the pain is there, but Walt is just not the sort of man to allow something like that to be anything but what lies internally within himself. When he does expresses his pain more outwardly it is fast and sharp and of course to the point. This is a strong performance by Eastwood because he never compromises Walt as a character. Even when he is randomly doing things he has never done before it is the same up front style, Eastwood always shows that no matter what Walt will do things his way as that is who Walt is. This may not be Eastwood's greatest work, but it is strong performance that really only Clint Eastwood could have brought to life.

Alternate Best Actor 2008

And the Nominees Were Not:

Brendan Gleeson in In Bruges

Colin Farrell in In Bruges

Michael Fassbender in Hunger

Clint Eastwood in Gran Torino

Leonardo DiCaprio in Revolutionary Road

Alternate Best Actor 1971: Results

5. Dustin Hoffman in Straw Dogs- Hoffman performance is not overly interesting early on but he more than makes up for it in his brutal last act change.

4. Clint Eastwood in Dirty Harry- Eastwood gives a incredibly strong performance as both a commanding and humorous leading man, as well as in his portrayal of a driven police officer.

3.  Gene Wilder in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory- Wilder gives a entertaining performance that is both darkly funny as well as genuinely heart warming.

2. Malcolm McDowell in A Clockwork Orange- McDowell gives a terrific unforgettable performance that creates a truly disturbing portrait of a youthful man who gets his joys through violent depravity.

1. Michael Caine in Get Carter- I must say this is exceedingly close, and that really does include Eastwood and Wilder as well. All four are amazing performance and each are arguably the best performances from each actor. Nevertheless for the moment I give it to Caine for his incredible performance as a cold professional killer, whose want is revenge is unstoppable.

Overall Rank of the year I also included a few performances I do not intend to review in the future.

1. Michael Caine in Get Carter
2. Malcolm McDowell in A Clockwork Orange
3. Gene Wilder in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
4. Clint Eastwood in Dirty Harry
5. Gene Hackman in The French Connection
6. Peter Finch in Sunday Bloody Sunday
7. Topol in Fiddler on the Roof
8. James Coburn in Duck, You Sucker!
9. Timothy Bottoms in The Last Picture Show 
10. Dustin Hoffman in Straw Dogs
11. George C. Scott in The Hospital
12. Peter Ostrum in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
13. Rod Steiger in Duck, You Sucker!
14. Sean Connery in Diamonds Are Forever
15. Donald Sutherland in Klute
16. Walter Matthau in Kotch

Alternate Best Actor 1971: Clint Eastwood in Dirty Harry

Clint Eastwood did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Homicide Inspector Dirty Harry Callahan in Dirty Harry.

Dirty Harry is a very effective police thriller about a San Francisco Police Officer attempting to catch a serial killer known as Scorpio (Andrew Robinson).

Clint Eastwood did not receive a single Oscar nomination for portraying his arguably signature role of Dirty Harry. Although to be perfectly honest the only time where he really should have been considered is for his initial performance. Although I should note that Eastwood gives solid leading performances in Magnum Force, The Enforcer, and Sudden Impact still having strong presence and conviction in the role. Only in The Dead Pool does Eastwood give a lackluster performance never seeming particularly invested in the role in that film looking tired practically during the entire film. His first performance as the character stands as the best which is probably helped by the fact that it is the best film, as well as the most character driven.

I would say this is one of if not the most memorable role of Eastwood's because of how well his style for the role. Eastwood is a unique actor in his ability to dominate a scene without saying word, he can express more in a single glance than some actors do in a whole scene. This style is perfect for Dirty Harry who is the best officer on the force seemingly, and he says a lot in every scene he is in even when he does not have that many lines total. This is perfect for the role in the many scenes where Harry has to deal with his far less able superiors who question his methods, and go on in foolish ways to attempt to deal with the psychotic killer who is constantly making demands. Eastwood's quick piercing stares of complete discontent show strongly Harry complete lack of respect for their inefficient methods.

This is a terrific leading performance though by Eastwood and he brings through the film the whole way without question. Eastwood always controls every one of his scenes with seemingly no effort at times with his remarkable unique presence. Eastwood is absolutely on throughout the entire film, and gives a wonderful performance that surprisingly does a lot more than he even needed to do with the role. Frankly his part could have been settled as just a police officer with tremendous drive, something Eastwood most certainly shows but I will get to that later, what is amazing though is the amount of natural humor Eastwood brings to the part.   Eastwood says everyone of his Harry's without the utmost efficiency that brings humor to his role, while never making it seem out of the place in the film.

Eastwood interestingly never makes the part as lightweight though as many other actors might have considering this is not about the folly of the officer's conviction as Gene Hackman's performance in the French Connection was partially about. Interestingly Eastwood is able to connect both a star leading sort of performance along with a performance genuinely as part of an actual character, and not just a star's persona sort of performance. Eastwood always is Dirty Harry in this film, and certainly brings to life the hard boiled inspector. Eastwood as Hackman also did this year shows tremendous drive to the character. Eastwood actually carefully doesn't shows that Harry is like Popeye Doyle that his conviction is to the point of fault, Harry after all is always right, but nevertheless Eastwood shows the same power in his performance.

As an actor Eastwood usually has a great deal of intensity in his performances, and with only the possible exception of Unforgiven there has never been a better use of it than here. Eastwood here brings to life the unstoppable force that Harry can become when he is set off, and Scorpio certainly sets him off, perfectly. Again with only possibly the exception of the final tavern scene in Unforgiven, and maybe not even that, there is no more intense of a scene than when he interrogates (tortures) Scorpio to find the location of a girl that he kidnapped. In that scene Eastwood's stare, and delivery is absolutely chilling. It is an unforgettable scene because of Eastwood unyielding brutality that he brings to the scene, showing the complete devotion Harry has to finding the girl as well as the rage he has toward the low life killer.

I suppose I should mention since I did in the last three reviews how Eastwood portrays Callahan's attitude to the violence he commits. Eastwood is actually quite careful in his portrayal of this as there is certainly no hesitation in his actions, or when he kills someone. Eastwood though never portrays this lack of hesitation as any sort of indication that he genuinely likes violence, or doesn't like violence necessarily, Eastwood rather is able to convey the fact that Harry is simply doing his job. Like Caine in Get Carter though there is the moment in which it does become personal and the wraith of Callahan is well portrayed. This is of course only in one killing at the end of the film, and Eastwood shows that Harry indeed needed to reach this point, and the man had to be a horrible enough person to earn his hatred.

This is a great performance by Eastwood because of his ability to blend this well realizes portrait of a career officer who probably has seen a little too much in the line of duty, but as well gives a very enjoyable and entertaining performance at the same exact time. Eastwood is able to bring the same humor to a certain scene as well as also bringing the weight of other scenes just as effectively. There is never a disconnect to the Dirty Harry who says that he knows a beaten person wasn't beaten by him simply because he looks "Too Damn Good", to the Harry who somberly sees that after all his efforts the victim of the killer he puts his all into stopping still ended up dead. This really a magnificent achievement by Eastwood in his creation of Dirty Harry Callahan, that leaves no wonder in my mind why many consider this his signature role.

Alternate Best Actor 1971

And the Nominees Were Not:

Clint Eastwood in Dirty Harry

Michael Caine in Get Carter

Malcolm McDowell in A Clockwork Orange

Gene Wilder in Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory

Dustin Hoffman in Straw Dogs
I will be reviewing five performance from a year that are either considered to be among the five best of the year, as well as one's considered iconic or very memorable in regards to an actor's filmography. These will not necessarily all be good or great performances just notable one's for the year in question. I will perhaps even throw in a terrible performance on occasion as long as it is extremely risky, the only type of performance I want  to avoid is a phoned in boring one.

So for the first year I will take a look at performances of five men portraying not exactly the most hinged of characters. Feel free to predict the ranking as well as if any of them will unseat Gene Hackman for the French Connection, if you accurately predict my ranking of just the five you can request the next year i do, just make sure it is in a different decade, as well one performance you would like to review for that year.

MillIon Dollar Baby

Million Dollar Baby, 2004
Directed by Clint Eastwood
Nominated for 7 Oscars, Won 4

Frankie Dunn has coached some amazing boxers in his time, but he "doesn't train girls". At least, that's what he tells Maggie Fitzgerald when she comes up to him after a match, when she joins his gym, and when she won't go away. After a little convincing from his old partner that helps him oversee his gym, Eddie Scrap-Irons Dupris, and when his best fighter leaves him for another coach and goes on to win World Champion, he finally agrees to take her own, and she tells him he'll never regret it.

I got this movie out from the public library. I got about halfway through it when it started acting up, and then just stopped working completely. At that point, while I searched for the rest online (shhh) and loaded it up, I thought this movie was so-so. Hilary Swank was pretty good, Morgan Freeman was great (when he had screentime), and Clint Eastwood... well, he's not really my favourite actor, though he also did a good performance.

The story was interesting, albeit progressing really slowly, with not too much action besides the odd might (which Maggie always seems to be losing, or owning). It was more talk than action, and I haven't decided whether that was a good thing or not. I wasn't exactly sure where this was going when we got to the halfway point.

It's hard to make any comments anymore because the second half of the movie completely makes up for the slow and drawn out first. This is where all the performances truly shine. Swank blew me with her performance, as did Eastwood. Though Morgan Freeman, who won an Oscar for this performance, didn't have a whole lot of screen time.

The lighting, also, I thought was interesting in this film. I know that's kind of an odd thing to remark upon, but I really noticed it. Many times, faces were shadowed while bodies had light cast upon them, or half faces were illuminated, and half weren't, or only one characters could be seen. It was an interesting technique.

I'm not sure what else to say about this film because if I say anything else, I would spoil so much of it. This is a tough rate because the 2 halves of the movie were so different, and I felt so differently about the two of them. I'm sorry I can't say more about this film, but this is a spoiler-free blog!

The only thing I was say more is, I haven't cried harder in any film. Yet. But I am, slightly, a movie-crier.

Overall, the film was an okay one. It's definitely not my favourite movie, not even my favourite boxing movie (The Fighter was just really good, sorry), but it had some great performances, looked really great, had an interesting story, and had potential, though I think it could've been done better, though I do applaud the ending, which was fantastically done.

Rating: C+

461. J. Edgar

461. (12 Nov) J. Edgar (2011, Clint Eastwood)* 67



One of the more competent biopics of the last decade, Eastwood and Dustin Lance Black find a balance between intimate personal moments with J. Edgar Hoover while confronting his more questionable professional decisions. While most biopics flatter their subject, this is a truly bold take on the man.

Leonardo DiCaprio solidifies his frontrunner status for Best Actor. His accent may be unconvincing, but he brings an impressive physicality to the role. Armie Hammer overshadows him at times, but it's built into the film. Eastwood makes an awesome decision to light Hammer rapturously when we first meet him, suggesting how charismatic and irresistible he was to Hoover. Meanwhile, DiCaprio's eyes are always lit so they look like black marbles.

The film is structured competently and engaging. This is an ambitious undertaking. While it doesn't stack up to Eastwood's better works, it's getting an unfair reputation.

J. EDGAR

Written by Dustin Lance Black

Directed by Clint Eastwood

Starring Leonard Dicaprio, Armie Hammer, Naomi Watts and Judi Dench

Annie Hoover: Edgar, I would rather have a dead son than a daffodil for a son.

Considering Clint Eastwood has lived to witness most of what he chooses to depict in his J. Edgar Hoover biography, simply titled J. EDGAR, it is an awful shame that so much of it feels lifeless and false. Eastwood’s Hoover accomplishes great things, like taking fingerprint technology nationwide and forensic science to new heights, but he does so with very little fanfare, subsequently inspiring even less interest in his audience. Fortunately, incredible performances by Leonardo Dicaprio and Armie Hammer, as the notorious FBI director and his rumoured romantic partner of many years, Clyde Tolson, elevate the picture high enough to overshadow the drab, washed out stiffness of Eastwood’s former America. Dustin Lance Black’s script is smart not to focus solely on Hoover’s sexuality, but unfortunately, the film only truly comes alive when it does.

Top Ranked Films of Clint Eastwood

Clint Eastwood
5 titles, 35th in points with 18885

These are all the films of Eastwood’s that made the top 1000 in our 2011 update of the Top Ranked 1000 Films on the Net, all polls.

1. Unforgiven (1992) #57 (AA) best picture
2. Million Dollar Baby (2004) #237 (AA) best picture
3. Mystic River (2003) #324
4. Letters From Iwo Jima (2006) #367
5. Gran Torino (2008) #436

More that were out of

Sudden Impact

When one thinks of modern film noir, obvious candidates include “Chinatown” (1974) and “L.A. Confidential” (1997). An equally strong candidate is “Sudden Impact” (1983), the penultimate Dirty Harry film starring Clint Eastwood. With its vengeance-wielding femme fatale (whose musical motif is a haunting saxophone solo), a world where past sins carry enormous consequences into the present, and a setting that looks bucolic on the surface but at night turns into an unimaginable hellhole, it’s a true film noir classic.

Director Howard Hawks said a good movie has three good scenes and no bad scenes. “Sudden Impact” is loaded with good scenes throughout – and no bad scenes.

Take the film’s first 15 minutes, which play like a highlight reel of Inspector Harry Callahan’s (Clint Eastwood) career. We first have a grisly murder scene where a woman shoots a man in the genitals and forehead after a make out session in a car parked on a cliff overlooking San Francisco.

A courtroom appearance by Harry gets him a scolding from a judge offended by Harry’s tactics and potential civil rights violations of the defendant, who is immediately set free.

This is followed by a memorable scene in an elevator where the slimy defendant and his buddies taunt Harry, who grabs the guy and compares him to various forms of dog****.

Harry then confronts a Mafia leader at his granddaughter’s wedding, causing him to have a heart attack.

We then get the film’s most famous scene, where Harry gets his morning coffee at a diner (served by his old Universal 1950s contract player buddy Mara Corday) only to interrupt a robbery in progress, and uttering his famous phrase, “Go ahead, make my day.”

Of course, this is followed by the obligatory scene of Harry being criticized by his superiors for his tactics.

Violence is a way of life for Harry, who can’t walk down a street without someone trying to plug him. To get him out of town, Harry is assigned a case of a seeming serial killer (the genitals and face shots have turned up in another victim). He traces the first victim to the town of San Paulo, and this is where the film plunges headfirst into noir territory and doesn’t let up until the end.

Harry meets Jennifer Spencer (Sondra Locke), an artist who is in town to restore the hobby horses on the town’s carousel. Other bodies soon pop up in San Paulo, also shot execution style in the genitals and forehead.

I’m hardly giving anything to say that Jennifer is the killer, taking revenge on the participants of a horrendous gang rape of Jennifer and her sister, an event that left her sister institutionalized. Jennifer is an avenging angel who dispenses her own brand of justice – a kindred spirit to Harry.

On its surface, the beachfront community of San Paulo looks like the most pleasant place on Earth, but at night ugly things happen. Awful, despicable things, and a populace that turns monstrous once the sun goes down. The thing is, no one seems to care.

Harry goes to a bar for a beer and is looking for anyone who knew the first victim. All the customers start laughing when informed of their friend’s death. No small town friendliness on display here.

Harry shows up in San Paulo just in time to foil bank robbery. He later takes out a mob hit man in the halls of the local hotel.

Oddly, the local law enforcement, headed by local sheriff Pat Hingle, barely raises a shrug at the mayhem descending on the town.

We don’t even get stereotypical dialogue along the lines of, “This used to be a peaceful town until you showed up.” No, murders and violence seem to be the norm here. Harry’s presence seems almost like an afterthought to the local carnage.

The climax is a good one, with Harry taking on three thugs on a carnival boardwalk late at night. The silhouette shot of Harry standing there with his Magnum, backed by Lalo Schifrin’s first-rate musical accompaniment, is an iconic moment in Eastwood’s directing career.

By the time the movie ends, one gets the impression Harry is more than happy to leave San Paulo. In Harry’s world, small town America is every bit as vile and corrupt as the big city.

P.S. “Sudden Impact” does teach a very important life lesson, courtesy Inspector Callahan. Never, ever put ketchup on a hot dog. I haven’t done it since.

Black Sheep @ The Box Office

The mad party continues this weekend at Paramount Studios. Not only have they replaced themselves at the top of the Box Office but they now lay claim to both the best and fifth best October openings of all time. Now, I was under the impression that audiences would have found a sequel to PARANORMAL ACTIVITY to be a little too much but audiences have once again proven that I don't know them at all. Instead, the film opened to $41.5 million and an impressive per screen average of more than $12K. JACKASS 3D follows in second with a strong second week take of $21.5 million for an $87 million haul. It has already outgrossed both of the previous JACKASS films.

I saw the first PARANORMAL ACTIVITY. I admired what they were able to accomplish on such a small budget but truly felt the gimmick was pretty thin. Whatever they did to beef up the scares in the sequel must have worked because the $41.5 million take is almost double what the first film did on its biggest weekend. So now that the film has proven its franchise possibilities, the only question remains whether it will repeat its other greatest feat from last year - stealing all the Halloween gore freaks away from SAW, which bows in its supposedly final installment next weekend. Question: If it isn't Halloween if it isn't SAW, and SAW is gone after this year, does that mean this Halloween will be our last?

There is very little activity, paranormal or otherwise, below the Top 10 this weekend but Clint Eastwood's HEREAFTER makes its inevitable leap from 24th place on just 6 screens last week to a modest fourth place finish. Mixed reviews seem to have left audiences almost as cold as the film itself. Still, at $12 million, HEREAFTER is $4 million ahead of what Eastwood's last directorial effort, INVICTUS, did on its opening weekend on a similar amount of screens. (Click the film title for the Black Sheep review.)

NEXT WEEK: Even though the SAW franchise crashed and burned last year, the last installment, SAW 3D, opens unopposed next weekend on 2700+ screens. I'm betting the 3D element and the closing of the series will give the franchise the edge it needs to beat PARANORMAL ACTIVITY this year. And sneaking onto 130 screens is that pesky girl again. You know the one I'm talking about. This time, she's THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNET'S NEST.

Source: Box Office Mojo

HEREAFTER

HEREAFTER

Written by Peter Morgan

Directed by Clint Eastwood

Starring Matt Damon, Cecile de France, Bryce Dallas Howard and George McLaren

Billy: A life that is all about death is no life at all.

It’s no secret that Clint Eastwood is getting up there in years. He has been churning out films on an almost yearly basis in the last decade as if he is trying to cram as much work as possible into his legacy before he can no longer do so. It seems then a natural choice for Eastwood to take on the afterlife in his adaptation of Peter Morgan’s screenplay, HEREAFTER. In many ways, it is one of his most organic works but aside from acknowledging that an afterlife exists, Eastwood is nowhere closer to any insight on the subject.

It is also no secret that I am not a big fan of Eastwood’s work as a director. I find he often oversimplifies the problem and renders complicated scenarios into clichéd lessons about what it means to him to be a good human being. The idea of him tackling something as complicated as the passage between life and death was frightening at first, even if the writing was in Morgan's hands, THE QUEEN and FROST/NIXON scribe (click the titles for full reviews). In HEREAFTER, Morgan tells three separate stories about three different people around the world who are dealing with death in different ways. A French reporter (Cecile de France) is recovering from her brush with death; a young twin boy in England (George McLaren) has just lost his brother; and Matt Damon plays a genuine psychic in San Francisco who has retired in hopes of finding a normal life. While all reasonably compelling separately, their plights never come together, which leaves the film feeling cold and detached.

There are moments in HEREAFTER that are genuinely engrossing and memorable, including an opening so intense, I felt I might soon know my own afterlife. Eastwood lets go of his ordinarily tight grasp on the picture to allow its characters to speak for themselves and its often-haunting imagery to be just that. At first, I was pleasantly surprised but then I realized that without Eastwood playing God that there was really no direction in HEREAFTER at all. Subsequently, I wasn’t able to connect with a film about an experience that connects us all.