I AM SHOCKED...

...at how cool TERMINATOR: SALVATION looks. I am not a McG fan. Maybe this will be the film that makes me a fan. Maybe not. But judging from this completely bad-ass trailer, I am cautiously optimistic. The presence of Christian Bale doesn't hurt, either. I'm guessing that if he felt the script was worth his time, it'll be worth my time in the theater. I liked THE TERMINATOR, I think TERMINATOR 2 is a masterpiece and one of the best science fiction films ever made, and I think TERMINATOR 3 was a fun action movie, nothing more, nothing less. However, the final minutes of TERMINATOR 3 were pretty haunting for a big-budget summer movie. It will be interesting to see where the story goes.

Check out the trailer here: http://www.apple.com/trailers/wb/terminatorsalvation/large.html

REVIEW: AUSTRALIA (***)

The one thing you can’t accuse filmmaker Baz Luhrmann of is short-changing his audience. With his latest film, AUSTRALIA (***), you get four movies in one over the course of 165 minutes: a cattle-driving western, a bombs-away WWII movie, a fish-out-of-water romance, and a socially-conscious racial message movie. With shades of RED RIVER, GONE WITH THE WIND, PEARL HARBOR, and RABBIT PROOF FENCE running through its cinematic veins, Luhrmann, himself an Australian, has cooked up an over-long but mostly entertaining Cliff’s Notes guide to the Outback. He has tamped down on his rambunctious editing style yet maintained his swooping sense of camera movement and flair for the melodramatic. It’s a visually ravishing epic, brimming with self-indulgence and a level of exuberance which can only come from a passionate filmmaker who has his sights set high. Working with three screenwriters, including Stuart Beattie (COLLATERAL), Ronald Harwood (THE PIANIST), and Richard Flanagan, it’s as if Luhrmann felt he needed to cram everything he could possibly think of into the sprawling narrative of AUSTRALIA; it’s as if he’d never be making a film again. The film smells of too many cooks in the kitchen, but even when the story becomes unwieldy, Luhrmann’s showmanship serves as a potent reminder of his estimable visual skills.

AUSTRALIA revolves around an English aristocrat named Sarah Ashley (a prim and proper Nicole Kidman) who has come to Australia to check in on her supposedly philandering husband, who owns a cattle ranch called Faraway Downs. Upon her arrival, she learns that her husband has been murdered, apparently by an Aboriginal King. After firing a nefarious cattle baron (David Wenham, oozing villainy), Sarah recruits the mysterious Drover, a rugged, super-manly Hugh Jackman who let’s his ample chest beaver do most of his acting for him. The Drover is just that – a man defined by his job. All machismo, all the time. We never learn much more than surface details about him, or Sarah for that matter; they are archetypes rather than fully fleshed out characters. And in this sort of movie, that’s all we really need. We know that upon first glance, Sarah will hate Drover. And that Drover will have no use for Sarah. But before long, they’ll be making passionate, candle-lit love and engaging in juicy, movie-star make-out sessions. So Sarah and Drover embark on a perilous, 1,500 mile cattle drive, to the port of Darwin, in an effort to sell all the cattle and save the ranch. Along for the ride is the half-caste Nullah, rudely referred to as a “creamy” by everyone except for Sarah, Drover, and his family. Nullah, who represents the “stolen generation” of half-Aboriginal children born to Aboriginal women and white-European fathers, provides voice-over narration throughout the entirety of AUSTRALIA; it’s really his story when it’s all boiled down. After the cattle drive, we get tragedy: the Japanese bombing of Darwin. And before the credits start to roll, we also need to sort through the specifics of Sarah’s husband’s death, who’s responsible, and who will go down for it.

AUSTRALIA is over-stuffed, excessive in almost every department. It skirts the overly tragic by neatly tying up all of its threads by the end of its run time and while the film is never boring, it’s way too long and would’ve benefited from tighter cutting. In a way, it’s reminiscent of Peter Jackson’s theatrical cut of KING KONG, which felt like a DVD director’s cut. Fox bankrolled AUSTRALIA to the tune of $130 million, and judging from its first 10 days in theaters, the film will never come close to recuperating its cost solely from domestic ticket sales. It’s an old fashioned romantic epic that people over the age of 40 will really love (there was applause at the end of my screening) but that the under 40’s will probably avoid like the plague. And while the film is far from perfect, it’s a shame that more people won’t check it out. The cinematography by Mandy Walker is breathtaking and there are more than a handful of genuinely riveting set-pieces. There are some moments of dodgy CGI work (most notably during an otherwise rousing cattle stampede) and some people will find the more melodramatic moments to be a bit cheesy. But overall, Jackman and Kidman generate some tangible romantic heat and deliver solid performances, and Luhrmann’s desire to show off for his audience carries an undeniable energy. I was a big fan of what Luhrmann did with his hyper-active take on ROMEO JULIET but less impressed with his last feature, the overly-produced MOULIN ROUGE! AUSTRALIA rests somewhere in between those two films. I’d love to see Luhrmann go small next time out. Do something simple, something easy. But something tells me that “simple” and “easy” aren’t words in his vocabulary. AUSTRALIA may not be the Oscar contender that everyone at Fox thought they’d have on their hands, but it’s hardly a wipe-out, and it makes for a solid way to kill an afternoon at the movie theater.

WALL*E TAKES IT IN L.A.

I love this decision by the L.A. Film Critics Society. They have given their best picture award to WALL*E, which is, in my opinion, the best animated film ever. Or at least my favorite. I love, love, love this film. I have watched it a few times now and I don't think I'll ever tire of it. It's one of the few animated films that can legitimately be called a masterpiece, and while it's doubtful that it will get nominated in the top spot at the Oscars, it's more than inevitable that it will win best animated feature. But I am hoping for a surprise shot at best picture; this film is that good.

Also of note with the critics in L.A. is that they went with another one of my favorite films of the year, HAPPY-GO-LUCKY, in the best actress category (Sally Hawkins), best original screenplay category (Mike Leigh), and runner-up in supporting actor (Eddie Marsan). This is one of those quiet, talky films that relies upon good word of mouth to keep it going during its limited run in theaters. Awards traction can only help.

With all of the end of the year awards being handed out, there's just too much to report on. I'll chime in when I feel that a group, or particular critic, has made some good picks. Also, in terms of my end of the year awards and superlatives, I still have a lot to see before I can officially declare 2008 over. By mid January I should be caught up, and I will offer my picks for best of the year along with analysis, and I will also do a posting with how I'd pick the nominees for the Oscars. After the official nominees are announced, I might take a shot at guessing the winners. We'll see.

LOVE IT

(Image first seen at www.incontention.com)

Amazing performance. Amazing film. Amazing ad.

TODAY ON DVD

Do you really need a reminder?

20 BEST SO FAR

There's only a few weeks left in 2008, but there's more than a few notable releases still to come: SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE, BENJAMIN BUTTON, MILK, CHE, GRAN TORINO, MAN ON WIRE, THE WRESTLER, FROST/NIXON, LET THE RIGHT ONE IN, THE READER, REVOLUTIONARY ROAD, DEFIANCE, and DOUBT will all be closers for me this year. But so far, here's where I'm at with a top 20. There's aren't necessarily the "best films of the year," because how can people really be so pompous as to suggest that with film, there can be "best" and "worst?" Here's my 20 "favorite" films of the year:

Tarsem’s THE FALL (****)
Charlie Kaufman’s SYNECDOCHE, NY (****)
Christopher Nolan’s THE DARK KNIGHT (****)
Andrew Stanton’s WALL*E (****)
Jonathan Demme’s RACHEL GETTING MARRIED (****)
David Gordon Green’s SNOW ANGELS (****)
Werner Herzog’s ENCOUNTERS AT THE END OF THE WORLD (****)
Ben Stiller’s TROPIC THUNDER (****)
Clint Eastwood’s CHANGELING (****)
Martin McDonagh’s IN BRUGES (****)

David Gordon Green’s PINEAPPLE EXPRESS (****)
Joel & Ethan Coen’s BURN AFTER READING (****)
Marc Forster’s QUANTUM OF SOLACE (****)
Matt Reeves’ CLOVERFIELD (****)
Martin Scorsese’s SHINE A LIGHT (****)
Mike Leigh’s HAPPY-GO-LUCKY (****)
Roger Donaldson’s THE BANK JOB (****)
Stephen Walker’s YOUNG @ HEART (****)
Kimberly Peirce’s STOP-LOSS (****)
Jay Roach’s RECOUNT (****)

OZ

Hugh Jackman has some awesome chest hair. AUSTRALIA (***) was a good flick.