Julia Ormond will play Superman's mother in Man of Steel

It was just a few days ago Russell Crowe's casting was announced for the Superman reboot, Man of Steel.  He will take over the role made famous by Marlon Brando... Superman's biological father, Kal-El.  Today, Julia Ormond cast to play his wife and Superman's mother, Lara.

Ormond is a lovely actress, I love her casting.  She will be a great addition, and play well along side Crowe.  I hope she has a bigger role than the character has had in the past.  You may remember the British actress from such films as The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,  Legends of the Fall and more recently, Che: Part One.

You have to give it to director Zack Snyder.  He's putting together an amazing supporting cast for this film, as well as the lead actors he's already cast.  Here's a quick reminder: Henry Cavill as Superman, Amy Adams as Lois Lane, Kevin Costner and Diane Lane as Clark Kent's adoptive parents and Michael Shannon as the villain, General Zod.  Not too shabby! 

I'm sure Christopher Nolan had a lot to do with all these casting choices.  There was something he pointed out over and over when filming Batman Begins.  You need high caliber actors to compliment the hero, to create the world the hero occupies.  Looks like he's stressing that for Man of Steel as well.

Amy Adams will play Lois Lane in Superman reboot! ... my thoughts on the reboot

So this is what perfect casting looks like?!  Amy Adams has been cast as Lois Lane in the Zack Snyder reboot of Superman.  This is great great news.  Adams is a three time Academy Award nominee... the woman can act!  She exemplifies beauty, smarts, independence... all of which are traits that Lois Lane must possess. 

I have to tell you, producer Christopher Nolan is working his magic.  He is getting Snyder the actors necessary to round out the cast.  His Superman is of course Henry Cavill.  Also, Clark Kent's parents will be played by Kevin Costner and Diane Lane.  Now the casting of Adams has helped us to better understand the direction and tone of the film.

Snyder is doing what Nolan did with his Batman films, putting in top notch actors to create the world around the hero.  Much like the casting of Michael Cain and Morgan Freeman in Nolan's Batman trilogy.  

I think Snyder is going far far away from Bryan Singer's Superman Returns.  This is a good thing!  That movie felt like it belonged on the cover of a romance novel and is easily one of the worst superhero films I've ever seen.  He has promised a lot more action and is completely ignoring all Superman movies the preceded this one.  This is an important point.

One of the main problems with Superman Returns was that it paid TOO MUCH homage to the Richard Donner films of the late 70's.  A new franchise can be created and we can love both franchises.  It's time to move on from the Donner years and I love that Snyder is doing so.  Casting Adams is yet another indicator of this.  Can't wait!

"The Fighter" Review. Brilliant.

It's awards season. Its the time when all the Oscar contenders come to the forefront for all to see. There are always 4 or 5 movies that get a lot of attention before the awards. One of those movies is The Fighter.

In a rare case where the trailer actually WAS an indicator of the movie, I looked forward to this one for a few months now. I have a lot to say so I'm going to jump right into my review. I'll go over a few things I like and what little I didn't like about the movie.

What I liked about the movie:
The Cast
From the first scene, you will see the brilliant performances turned in for the movie. Let's start right away with a bold prediction. Christian Bale WILL receive AT LEAST an Oscar nomination for this movie. Bale plays Dicky Eklund, a washed up former boxer who now resorts to crack to feel better. He is the older brother of Mark Wahlberg's character, "Irish" Micky Ward.

Bale turns in the kind of performance where an actor gets lost in the character. He accurately depicts the way addiction to crack, can mentally and physically break you down. Bale lost a lot of weight for the film, much like his role in The Machinist. The way he couldn't sit still or hold a thought was amazing. He's living in the past. Using his past accomplishments as a mediocre boxer to earn respect among his friends in his tiny neighborhood of Lowell, Massachusetts. He was truly lost in the character. A brilliant performance I feel lucky to have seen!

Mark Wahlberg did very well in the film. His performance will be overshadowed by Bale though (interesting because Heath Ledger's turn as The Joker overshadowed Bale's wonderful performance in The Dark Knight). Wahlberg had a difficult task of physically being prepared, and emotionally he had to bring his A-game. There are several scenes where Wahlberg doesn't speak at all, yet he conveys how confused and misguided he is. Great job!

Then there's Amy Adams, who plays Wahlberg's girlfriend. She played an emotionally destroyed young woman who is trying to reinvent herself. She's a college drop out that made nothing of her track and field career. She bar tends to pay the rent and has no aspirations for more. She plays a tough girl who stands up to Wahlberg's family after they give her crap for helping to change his mind about something important. Great performance from the fiery red head which is sure to land her her third Oscar nomination.

The rest of the family is played by people you know you've seen, but don't know their names. Wahlberg's sisters and parents round out the supporting cast which makes for some great laughs during the movie. The movie is really funny during arguments amongst the family members. This was a great break from the serious drama.

The Director

I never thought I'd say this, but David O. Russell did an outstanding job of directing this film. I did enjoy his previous film co-starring Wahlberg though, Three Kings. Personally I didn't like any of the rest of his films. It's ok, he's planning to re-team with Wahlberg for a third time in the video game adaptation, Uncharted.

Russell did everything well in this film. His choice of setting, actors, costume, lighting, etc. All of it made for one of the most realistic feelings I ever got from watching a movie. Most of the film takes place in the early 1990's and everything is reflective of that. All the way down to Wahlberg's hideous shirts. The script was great, it was written by Scott Silver, Paul Tamasy and Eric Johnson. But the story came to life and separated itself from other sports-themed movies because of Russell.

The Story
I usually list this as my first "like" when I review a movie I enjoyed. This time, it gets third. The story is amazing, a true "underdog" becoming something more. Other than Russell, what separated the film from other boxing movies, or sports-themed movies in general was, it's about the family. It's about the people involved. The boxing is a metaphor for the struggle. The family sticking together is what makes the prize worth winning. One thing that the Rocky franchise gets a lot of credit for was the fact that it focused on the man, not the sport. The Fighter is no exception, it made us care about the people before it made us care about the sport.


What I didn't like about the movie:
The Length
You're probably going to think I wanted less right? That it was too long right? Nope, it wasn't long ENOUGH! It comes in right at 2 hours, and I'm telling you guys, it's not long enough. There's more to it, which is this... the movie is a low-budget film, maybe there wasn't any money left, maybe they didn't fill out the script, I don't know. But there are a couple of scenes that were rushed just to tie up some loose ends. I didn't enjoy that. I wish more time would have been dedicated to the training of the last fight, or even the way Wahlberg and his mother worked out their issues. Again, things I would have loved more of.

The Fighter is truly one of the best sport-themed films I have ever seen. The story of brothers. The story of the underdog. The story of a small town community. Family squabble, drug abuse, the media and its affect on America, money and its affect on people... the list goes on and on. All in 2 hours mind you. I've been wanting to see this movie for a few months, and now that I have, I want to see it again. I will root for it during awards season and hope that Bale wins his first of several Academy Awards. Thumbs up Russell for making a hater of your work, love you.

Tony: Sunshine Cleaning DVD review

Hello everyone; based on the number of hits, our DVD reviews are becoming more and more popular with every post. So here's the latest addition to one's DVD collection; Sunshine Cleaning. The movie stars Amy Adams, Emily Blunt and Alan Arkin. Adams and Blunt play sisters, and Arkin plays their father. The sisters, are very different, and share a common bond brought on by a tragic event, that you will see in the movie. They are different, but are both broke. They start a new business where they have to clean up crime scenes, suicides, etc. The comedy is in the situations they're put into, but that's not what the movie is about. The heart of the story is how the girls are affected by the stories behind the crime scenes. How they try to comfort those who lost loved ones; that's the true heart of the story.

The movie had a limited release, it was written by Megan Holley and directed by Christine Jeffs. With a very modest budget of $5 million, the movie went on to gross $15 million nationwide. I loved the acting/characters in this movie. Adams plays a single mom torn between her self-respect and the love of a married man. Blunt plays "the screw up" sister that never amounted to anything. You quickly find out that they lost their mother at a young age and had their father raise them. What I loved was the tension between the three main characters. The sisters and father avoid talking about what happened to their mother to the point of discomfort. Watching Adams become a stronger person was a treat. And watching Blunt "grow up" was amazing. I have to say this performance was neglected by the Academy. The pain and torment this character feels comes across Blunts expressions so well, it could bring an audience to tears.

Arkin is reminiscent of Little Miss Sunshine with his quirky behavior and his "get rich quick" schemes. The movie does well in all departments until the third act. The first two acts build up the business, give it a really tough hurdle to overcome, and then it feels like the production ran out of money. The third act takes only about 10 minutes before the movie is over. It's so abrupt I thought when the screen faded to black, they were coming for more.

Overall I am telling people this is a must rent. There were a few events and a few characters I think the movie could have done without, but overall, most of the material was necessary in progressing the story. The acting and the story were top notch. Please watch this movie and let us know what you thought.

Quickie: G.I. Joe wins big box office

So Paramount decided not to show the film to critics before its release, but that didn't stop people from going in swarms to the theater to see the action flick G.I. Joe. The movie grossed 56.2 million dollars in its first three days. Not really that big of a surprise if you ask me. It's the last action blockbuster of the summer, already had a great following, and advertising support from the studio.

The great Meryl Streep also had a film released this week, Julie & Julia, co-starring Amy Adams. The film opened with a respectable 20.1 million dollars. And perhaps the biggest disappointment of the list goes to Adam Sandler's Funny People. The film dropped an astonishing 64 percent to just 7.9 million this week after opening number last week. Here are the rest of the results this week:


1. "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra," $56.2 million.

2. "Julie & Julia," $20.1 million.

3. "G-Force," $9.8 million.

4. "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," $8.9 million.

5. "Funny People," $7.9 million.

6. "The Ugly Truth," $7 million.

7. "A Perfect Getaway," $5.8 million.

8. "Aliens in the Attic," $4 million.

9. "Orphan," $3.73 million.

10. "500 Days of Summer," $3.7 million.

Quickie: New Amelia Trailer... the Hilary Swank one

Don't be confused... this Amelia Earhart reincarnation is starring Hilary Swank and Richard Gere. It is a straight forward biopic. Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, starred Amy Adams as a comedic Amelia Earhart. Doesn't matter... this movie has had very little buzz in comparison to Ali, Ray and Walk the Line. But I have to say, the trailer has done its job... it makes me want to see the movie. Hilary Swank looks the part, talks the part with an accent and is just simply a great actress. Enjoy the trailer, let us know if you'll see this movie once it is released.