Fred Claus
Vince Vaughn has been out of the mainstream market for about a year, following the media circus surrounding his relationship with Jennifer Anniston and affairs with random blonde chicks. What better way to brush all of that under the rug than to do an indie (Into the Wild) and a family film about the underdog of Christmas. Apparently Santa Claus (Paul Giamatti) has a slacker for a younger brother and he needs to crash at his North Pole mansion after his girlfriend (Rachel Weisz) kicks him out. Of course they don't get along and the two of them have to resolve their sibling rivalry for the sake of all the chidlren in the world. I just realized that it wasn't until Tim Allen (for my generation at least) that Santa started becoming humanized. He used to just be that guy who taught you the real meaning of Christmas and dropped off a couple gifts. Now he has children, a wife, a brother, parents, problems, etc. It's like they're giving him an excuse for why we don't get gifts anymore. How lame.
Lions for Lambs
It's been 7 years since Robert Redford has directed a film. The Legend of Bagger Vance didn't exactly floor the critics or moviegoers. Whereas that film was a romantic drama, this one is a thriller with a political agenda. While Meryl Streep interviews Tom Cruise, the self-righteous congressman, and Redford attempts to convince a college kid (Andrew Garfield) not to throw his future away, his ex-pupils, played by Michael Pena (Crash) and Derek Luke (Catch a Fire), crash land in the middle of the war and are forced to fight their way out. It sounds like a night of debate and suspenseful action.
No Country for Old Men
The Coen brothers' new film, an adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's novel, is getting rave reviews. Javier Bardem plays a ruthless killer who hunts down a poor schlub (Josh Brolin from Grindhouse) that found loads of money near dead bodies. That may have been a sign to keep away though, don't you think? Tommy Lee Jones gets typecast, yet again, as the lawman who must hunt down this killer before he kills again. I think the most chilling line in the trailer was when a cop asks Jones: "It's a mess, aint it sherriff?" and he responds, "Well, if it aint, it'll do till the mess gets here." Everyone's pretty flippant about death throughout the whole movie, especially Woody Harrelson who is the owner of the money. Both Brolin and Bardem's performances have Oscar written all over them. So if you're in for a gruesome indie, give it a shot.
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