HAVE HEARD GREAT THINGS

HEAT SET IN BOSTON?

Now look, I'm not saying that Ben Affleck's upcoming action-thriller The Town will be as good as Heat, or even close to the level that Michael Mann's film is on. And I'm certainly not saying that Affleck is as good of a filmmaker as Mann is at this stage in his career. I really enjoyed Gone Baby Gone; it's a tremendously assured debut film and if it's any indication of where Affleck is headed as a storyteller then we'll be in for many great films down the road. But if The Town is half as good as one would expect based on the sensational trailer (available to view @ apple.com/trailers), we'll be in for a treat this fall. The cast for this flick is first-rate (Don Draper!) and it just looks totally kick-ass.

MOVIES FOR THE WEEKEND

I am definitely looking forward to catching The Other Guys. Not sure if I have time to get to the theater this weekend but I will check it out ASAP. I whole-heartedly love Will Ferrell and his brand of idiocy. I do wish the film was a hard-R spoof of the action-movie genre but it looks playful and silly and amusing. Director Adam McKay hasn't made a bad comedy yet so that helps (his impressive track record includes Anchorman, Talladega Nights, and Step Brothers).

I'd still like to see Dinner for Schmucks, but something tells me I might wait for the Blu Ray. I'm a fan of everyone involved (Carrell and Rudd are terrific), it looks pretty funny (though something tells me it should've been rated R considering the darkly comedic French movie that inspires it), but for some reason, there's nothing pulling me to the theater.

From Netflix is Nicolas Winding Refn's American debut (from a few years ago) Fear X. It's very interesting how Refn started his career in Europe with the Pusher trilogy, then made an American feature, and then bounced back to Europe for a few more films. After the deliriously amazing one-two punch of Bronson and Valhalla Rising, Refn is about to tackle his biggest budget yet with Drive, an extremely cool-sounding neo-noir with Ryan Gosling starring as a Hollywood stunt driver who moonlights as a getaway driver for bank robbers. How can that NOT be amazing?!

WHAT WILL THIS ACTUALLY BE LIKE?

HERZOG & MALICK WOULD BE PROUD

The violence of Apocalypto + the surreality of Aguirre the Wrath of God + the show-stopping beauty of The New World = Nicolas Winding Refn's masterpiece Valhalla Rising.

Lots more to come on this blog about this particular film. To say that I am obsessed would be an understatement. The Blu Ray cannot get here soon enough...

BLACK HAWK DOWN + DISTRICT 9

That's what I'm hearing...consider me very curious...the film is (bluntly) titled: Battle: Los Angeles.

A LITTLE BIT OF EVERYTHING