Screenwriter: Tim Blake Nelson
Director: Tim Blake Nelson (O)
Actors: Edward Norton (American History X), Tim Blake Nelson (O'Brother Where Art Thou?), Susan Sarandon (Dead Man Walking), Keri Russell (We Were Soldiers) and Richard Dreyfuss (Rosencrantz & Guildenstern are Dead)





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Labels: Edward Norton, film, Keri Russell, movie trailer, Richard Dreyfus, Susan Sarandon, Tim Blake Nelson

Peter Jackson personally bought the rights to the novel, so we can assume he made this as a labor of love. I'm mixed on what I'm seeing. While it is certainly pretty but the source work is dark and incredibly devoid of any theology. Susie Salmon (Saoirse Ronan), a teenage girl, is raped and murdered. Her body is dismembered and hidden by her killer. Susie's soul watches the events that follow her death from her "personal heaven". She narrates as her family suffers grief and the long search for her killer continues.

For a tale that centers on a character who is dead and watches from the afterlife THAT AVOIDS THE ISSUE OF GOD is a huge cop out. I understand this isn't a treatise on God but to not even broach the subject? Its like having a story take place in the White House and avoiding the subject of the Presidency.

I'm willing to give Jackson the benefit of the doubt. Although his casting of Mark Wahlberg is puzzling. Weren't there any actors available for the role?







Screenwriters: Fran Walsh (King Kong), Philippa Boyens (Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers) and Peter Jackson (Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring)
Director: Peter Jackson (Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King)
Actors: Saoirse Ronan (Atonement), Mark Wahlberg (The Happening), Rachel Weisz (The Mummy), Stanley Tucci (The Devil Wears Prada) and Susan Sarandon (Bull Durham)

Labels: adaptation, film, Mark Wahlberg, movie trailer, Peter Jackson, Rachel Weisz, Saoirse Ronan, Stanley Tucci, Susan Sarandon

Susan Sarandon and Sean Penn in a movie together – why not just kick me in the shins and poke me in the eye?

I didn’t hate this film but I absolutely didn’t adore it like most other critics. I have a pretty heavy bias against Sarandon, so that counts into my opinion. The movie is so weighed down by its self-perceived importance that it leads to a stuffy presentation. Granted the subject of the redemption of a death row inmate is a serious subject, but the film is suffocated by its somberness. Penn offers a finely crafted performance as usual and is very intense, although to be fair, I’ve never seen him be anything but intense. Tim Robbins is not a gentle director. His scenes are crammed with obvious plays to the audiences emotions. His manipulations payoff more times than not but his intruding hand is a distraction.


Related Reviews:
Sean Penn movies
The Interpreter (2005)
21 Grams (2003)


Other Critic's Reviews:
ReelViews
Crazy4Cinema

Labels: film, movie review, Sean Penn, Susan Sarandon

Andy and Larry Wachowski (The Matrix) bring the famous cartoon to the cinema beginning May 9th. From the looks of the trailer, the film is like having an acid trip inside of a pinball machine. Make sure you take your seizure medication before going to see it.




Screenwriters: Andy and Larry Wachowski (V for Vendetta)
Director: Andy and Larry Wachowski (Bound)
Actors: Emile Hirsch (Into the Wild), Christina Ricci (Sleepy Hollow), Matthew Fox (Smokin' Aces), Susan Sarandon (Thelma & Louise), and John Goodman (Monsters, Inc.)

Labels: Christina Ricci, Emile Hirsch, film, Matthew Fox, movie trailer, Susan Sarandon, Wachowski Brothers