Movie Review - 'Solitary Man'

Solitary Man Starring Michael Douglas, Susan Sarandon, and Imogen Poots Directed by Brian Koppelman and David Levien Rated R

The best salesmen can sell themselves on anything. Over the past few decades, Ben Kalmen (Michael Douglas) sold a lot of cars, enough to put himself in a position to sell himself on brokering a lot of shaky business deals, infidelity at an alarming pace, and that he’s a far younger and wealthier man than the bottomed out 60-year-old staring back at him in the mirror. Once, he even sold himself on the idea that simply avoiding doctors would make his advancing years and heart problems go away. Solitary Man is almost Shakespearean in its themes; the idea that a man can have it all and lose it all is certainly the kind of tragedy the Bard knew well and it’s just as prevalent today. Look at former Enron CEO Jeff Skilling, serving a hell of a sentence in federal prison, or Bernie Madoff, who’s doing the same thing. As successful as he was and for all the wrong he committed, Ben Kalmen’s punishment is not prison but rather the world he knows so well, a world that has grown tired of his pitches or has simply moved on without him. Douglas is in fine form as the kind of character he has perfected; his Gordon Gekko redux, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, opens this fall. Kalmen is a smooth talker, and it even works some of the time, provided he’s not engaging someone who knows him. He lost all his dealerships after it was discovered Kalmen was inflating the numbers of cars on each lot to charge more money than was necessary for the ones he did have one hand. He lost his bank’s support after the punches rolled him. He lost his wife (Susan Sarandon) after all the infidelity started. And Ben Kalmen might lose his grandson, too, if he doesn’t get his at together. That’s easier said than done of course, because Ben Kalmen can sell himself on anything, except, it seems, repercussions. His one shot at career redemption hangs on his relationship with a well-to-do divorcee (Mary-Louise Parker). Her daughter, Allyson (newcomer Imogen Poots), is hoping to attend college in Boston, at the same institution Kalmen attended and has assisted financially over the years. It really shouldn’t be that difficult to look the other way when Allyson is around, beautiful though she is. After all, the downside is huge and he’s three times her age. But Ben likes those odds.

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Movie Review - 'The Lovely Bones'

The Lovely Bones Starring Saoirse Ronan, Mark Wahlberg, Rachel Weisz, and Stanly Tucci Directed by Peter Jackson Rated PG-13

The Lovely Bones is a grand, grandiose failure. Peter Jackson has taken the popular bestseller by Alice Sebold, dressed it up in a dreamscape, and presents it as one very pretty but emotionally empty package. Where did it go wrong? It's hard to pinpoint one thing specifically. Rather, it's more accurate (but admittedly no more satisfying) to say that very few elements of the production stick with you in a good way, and many of them, from performances to the music, have no impact at all. There is also the very real consideration that sometimes movies just don't work as well as their parts. This is the second time in a month that a prohibitive awards favorite has sunk on screen. Nine assembled the best cast of the year, had strong source material, a director that knows the ropes of the musical genre, and outside of 15 - 20 minutes, the film is curiously catatonic. It is worse in this case because those 15 minutes are even harder to spot. The Lovely Bones finds no benefit from Jackson's direction, which history might one day define as overwrought. There's very little advantage gained by having Rachel Weisz and Susan Sarandon in the cast, leaving most of the work on the shoulders of Mark Wahlberg, Stanley Tucci, and young Saoirse Ronan.

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Trailer - Peter Jackson's 'The Lovely Bones'

We previewed it last night, and now the full official trailer for The Lovely Bones has been released. You know it's Peter Jackson's first film as a director since King Kong, but what may not have popped immediately in your mind is that this is only his second film in six years, or only his third movie in a decade, if you count Lord of the Rings as one massive thing.

Not that he hasn't been busy doing other things, but I think Jackson clearly earned some time off from directing and this film is pretty good change of pace for him, even if the potential drawback to adapting Alice Sebold's novel is, well, pace. It's not a stout novel, but as a movie it certainly can't move too fast just because of its nature. Of course, Jackson's not known for his brevity, anyway. It's worth debating in a hypothetical way whether or not Saoirse Ronan can pick up her second Oscar nomination at the age of 15. I doubt it would happen no matter how good she is just for that reason, but she'll clearly be one of the actors in the spotlight come December.

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Trailer Preview for Peter Jackson's 'Lovely Bones'

Oh yeah, I almost forgot: Peter Jackson has a movie coming this year that has nothing to do with hobbits or aliens. His adaptation of The Lovely Bones is not the stuff of Comic Con headlines, but it sure is happening.

It's not a movie that has been a smooth ride. Ryan Gosling backed out literally days before filming commenced, and Mark Wahlberg stepped in to fill the role. And the movie was supposed to come out this spring, but Jackson says it was pushed into awards season because Paramount thought it had a legit shot at Oscars and stuff. This is, of course, the film version of the Alice Sebold novel about a teenage girl who is raped and murdered and must come to grips with her own death while watching over the lives of her loved ones. So, you know, it's bound to be totally funny. Jackson picked up the rights to the book himself, so clearly, it's something that's connected with him. Here's a look at trailer, which according to Entertainment Tonight will premiere...uh...tonight.

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Josh Lucas Invokes Hitchcock to Describe New Film

Here's a movie pitch for you, straight from Josh Lucas, the lucky bastard dating Rachel McAdams. He describes his upcoming movie, Peacock as "what would happen if [Norman Bates] had basically stayed alive and married himself." Wow. OK.

Bates did stay alive; three sequels starring Anthony Perkins were made in the 1980s, after the Bates character was released from an institution. Still, the premise of Peacock is a little whacked. And if it's Cillian Murphy playing the guy with split personalities, I'm pretty much buying a ticket right now. Throw in Ellen Page, Bill Pullman, and Susan Sarandon, and all I can say is I wonder why I haven't paid more attention to this until now.

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