Happy Feet + Kevin Bacon

"Happy Feet" is the eco-friendly retelling of "Footloose".

A peek inside the Hollywood Machine

The movie "Sahara" wasn't good and it wasn't terrible...it was even worse. It was forgettable. And although you and I have long forgotten Matthew McConaughey's excuse to lose yet another shirt...the courts have not.

In an LA Times article this week, we (the movie going public) get to see how the money truly flows like the salmon of Capistrano in the movie business. Read it and weep...and get me an Entourage!

Catch a Fire

I have always been drawn to films about the plight of South Africa and Apartheid...films like "Cry Freedom", "Power of One", and "Cry, the Beloved Country". And it is this attraction to those films that brought me to "Catch a Fire" starring Derek Luke and Tim Robbins.

A compelling but ethically confusing story about how one man's freedom fighter is another man's terrorist. A man who is mistakenly suspected of bombing an oil refinery and whose family is subsequently tortured to support the claims. It is this torture (a very powerful scene when he discovers his wife in a cell nearby as screams through the bars..."what kind of man are you!") that turns him toward "terrorism" and ending apartheid through violent disruptions.

The ending is powerful when we meet the man himself the story is based on and how the whole ordeal has changed him...he no longer believes that revenge and violence will solve the problems in South Africa.

Don't know what exactly to say about the overall themes without diving into the philosophical and ethical undertones of revenge but often find myself wondering what I would do if my family (God forbid) were ever put in harm's way.

We will fight in the shade...

As I posted earlier this week, I went to a sneak peek of "300" with a group of guys. All I can say is WOW! The film was a violent and visceral masterpiece...a rich story of honor, history, and valor. The Spartans were the perfectly honed fighting machine.

If you haven't read of the vast technical achievements of the film make sure you read about it HERE. I have never ceased to be amazed at the complexity and artistry of film.

The film achieved a look throughout that not only enhanced the feel of the film but transported you back to the battlefield awash in coppery tones. The story itself was simple but yet compelling.

A quick tangent...I have found myself pulled much more by themes of fatherly valor and defending ones family since having kids. Seems obvious but I thought worth mentioning.

The Spartan King Leonidas is a charismatic leader bringing his sparse force of only 300 against the hordes of Xerxes (a strange androgoneous giant who reminded me of the guy from the 'Crying Game'). One of the bloodiest films I have seen but makes you wonder about the art of war and how we fight now. There is some strange honor in the idea of death at the actual hands of an enemy there to pillage and rape your land and now the bombs and missiles fired from continents away.

I'm going to see it again on Saturday at the IMAX...looking forward to a repeat viewing.