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Directed by McG. Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Matthew Fox, David Strathairn, Anthony Mackie, Ian McShane, Kimberley Williams, Robert Patrick. Drama/Historical/Sports Synopsis: A drama based on the true story of the Marshall University Thundering Herd football team that was devastated by a tragic plane crash in November of 1970, tracing its resurrection as a school, team, and town through the eyes of the school president and new coach that began the rebirth of the football program.

For the first time since I wore a younger man's clothes and waited in line for over an hour in the Boston chill to gain a seat to Beverly Hills Cop , I treated myself to a big budget Hollywood movie on its opening night nationwide...and the funny thing is, I didn't intend to. Its just that Rocky Balboa was surprisingly sold out, even at the final showing on a dull Friday night in a mid sized town in a mid sized state in fly-over- country three days after its release. You see, I avoid opening night for some theater movies because I like to stretch out in the theater. Anyway, my next big surprise was that We Are Marshall was not sold out, or even close to it on its opening night. In fact, there were only a handful of people.

That's too bad, because this one should have been sold out, folks.

Many of you, particularly if you are college football fans, have heard of the devastating plane crash carrying almost the entire Marshall team, coaching staff, and boosters from the area (Huntington, W.VA). It's mentioned, even just in passing, almost every time the now successful Marshall football team plays on ESPN and, of course, every time there is a tragedy involving a sports team in travel, such as the Oklahoma St. basketball plane that crashed a few years ago.

But, many of us, like me, did not know the complete, real story and this film does an excellent job of telling it, entertaining us, tugging on our heart strings and even making us laugh once in a while. No mean feat when you're dealing with such a terrible topic.

The film starts on the afternoon of Nov. 14, 1970, as the Marshall team drops a heartbreaker on the road at East Carolina. You will first notice that the film is pretty to see, beautifully shot, and those of us old enough to remember even a little bit of that era will appreciate the authenticity of the '70's feel. We are quickly introduced to the team and coach, whom the movie smartly assumes that we as viewers know are doomed. There is not much time to get to know them individually in the film, but enough time is spent in a quality way to let us know that these young men-save the afros, long hair, plaid pants, bushy sideburns, et\.- were no different than the guys you knew in college: whether that was the 50', 60's, 80's (my college time), 90's, right now or in the future. Full of life, mischief, dreams. Yes, we empathize, and with no sentimental overkill. 

The crash scene is well filmed, not exploitive in any way, but you will feel the immediate loss and tragedy. I think McG deserves special kudos for this scene, particularly knowing that this film would premiere in Huntington.

Just that quickly, the film changes which is an excellent metaphor. We are introduced to the main characters: the new coach ( Matthew McConaughey Failure to Launch, Two for the Money); the school president (David Stratharin Missing in America ); the bitter father of one of the deceased players (Ian McShane Deadwood) ; and the returning team captain who was not on the flight due to an injury (Anthony Mackie Haven) .

The story follows the path from there that you would expect, which is no criticism considering this is a real life story that most will be familiar with before they see it. That does not mean it does not keep you involved, it does. McConaughey does a great job, despite the annoying speech pattern he employs for his character. He injects humor into the part without compromising on the tragedy and spirit of rebirth that goes on throughout the movie. I'm not a regular viewer of Deadwood, but I can see the hype about McShane, he is wonderful in this.

I'm a little surprised that this movie, evidently, did not do well in its early release in the theater, but don't let that fool you into thinking its not a darn good feel good flick. Because it is, and there is nothing wrong with that. 

Directed by David Fincher. Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Anthony Edwards, Mark Ruffalo, Chloe Sevigny, Brian Cox, Robert Downey Jr., John Carroll Lynch, Phillip Baker Hall. Drama/Historical/True Crime. Synopsis: The story of the investigation into the Zodiac killer- a serial killer who terrorized the San Francisco Bay Area in the late 60's and early 70's and was never positively identified or caught-from the perspective of the lead investigators and newspapermen who were very involved in the case.

Treated myself to this one in the theater for a matinee today and I'm glad I did. Somewhere it was in the back of mind that this had gotten bad reviews, and I can see why it might not be knocking 'em dead at the box office, but this is a quality flick about a subject that will be of a lot of interest to some and maybe not at all to the majority.

The film is based on the still unsolved murders in the S.F. Bay area between 1968 and 1971, which gained notoriety due to the killer's penchant for contacting and taunting the press with his letters and details of his crimes and, also in no small part, from being immortalized in the popular culture. (The antagonist in the 1971 classic Dirty Harry was named Scorpio and clearly based on the Zodiac killings)

This film is made up of ensemble cast, told primarily through the eyes of S.F. Chronicle cartoonist Paul Graysmith (Jake Gyllenhaal Brokeback Mountain) and lead detectives David Toschi (Mark Ruffalo The Last Castle) and  William Armstrong (Anthony Edwards).

The story starts with the first known murder attributed to the Zodiac in July of 1968 and deals with all the following known killings as well as the long time focus on one potential suspect named Arthur Leigh Allen (John Carroll Lynch), who remained a prime suspect until his death in the 1990's.

Director Fincher does a great job of touching on all points of the case: the nervousness of a whole city during the height of the murders; the deep involvement of the press in the case; the actual feel of the early 70's and, of course, the murders themselves.

There are other real life figures portrayed well, here. Columnist Paul Avery (Robert Downey, Jr Chaplin) is depicted as a brilliant reporter with serious addictions who was directly threatened by the Zodiac. Also, the extremely prolific Brian Cox (Running with Scissors) does a turn as high profile lawyer Melvin Belli.)

Chole Sevigny as Graysmith's wife, Clea Duvall, and John Carroll Lynch also add even more weight to a distinguished cast. (Those of you from the 80's might like to look for Ione Skye in an uncredited cameo role as one of the fortunate to escape and/or survive the Zodiac) The best part of the film is the reluctant cooperation over the years between Graysmith and Toschi. The film depicts Graysmith's growing obsession with the case (he later wrote a best selling book on it and became a true crime author).

Negatives? Well, its a long film, clocking in at over 2 hours. I can't say it felt like it dragged, but I think this film is better suited to DVD, especially if its released with special features that include factual information on the case.

I think Zodiac will appeal mostly, if not exclusively, to those with an interest in the case or an interest in true crime and/or serial killers, like moi. 

And, there is nothing wrong with that. 

Directed by E. Elias Merhige. Starring John Malkovich, Willem Dafoe, Udo Kier, Cary Elwes, Catherine McCormack, Eddie Izzard. Drama/horror. Synopsis: A fictional telling of the making of the first great classic vampire movies of all time-Nosferatu-that deals with the idea that the actor portraying the vampire was really a vampire pretending to be an actor pretending to be a vampire.

Now this one is certainly an interesting concept. Its a little older, but I had not seen it or heard much about before taking the chance on picking it up, which was not all that much of a risk since 1) I love almost all things vampire 2) with a cast like this, you figured that it would be a good flick.

The premise is this, a retelling of a true story, that is the making of the great silent film Nofesratu (1921), the first major vampire film based on Bram Stoker's Dracula. The film's producers could not get permission from Stoker's widow to use the novel as the basis of the movie, so went on to make a film that basically told the same story, only changing the names of the characters and the appearance of the villain from the suave, evil Count Dracula to the rodent looking Count Orlock. The film was directed by F.W. Murnau and starred Max Schreck as Count Orlock. The film was a success and still remains a classic to this day. (and, yes, as you might guess, Stoker's widow sued the production company anyway)

This is all fact, easily verifiable and probably known to many movie/vampire buffs. Where Shadow of the Vampire departs from just a historical period piece retelling an interesting story, is to use one of the "rumors" of the time, that being that the incredible performance of method actor Max Schreck as the vampire was so real because...Schreck actually was a vampire. In the film, GF.W. Murnau (Malkovich Burn After Reading Con Air) has apparently struck a deal with the devil, so to speak as he has made an arrangement with the mysterious, method actor Schreck (Willem Dafoe Inside Man) to play the villain in the film he is obsessive about making. Schreck is so into his method preparation that the rest of the crew and cast will only see him in makeup, call him only Count Orlock, and...best of all, they will only shoot at night.

Of course, only Murnau is privy to what is really going on, and the rest of the cast-initially, appreciates the realism of the movie and Schreck's acting skills...but things start to go awry as some of the cast and crew begin to get ill and to disappear. This goes against the original deal Murnau had with Schreck/Orlock, of course, but what was Count Orlock to receive in return from Murnau for his performance? Well, if you answered "the girl", pat yourself on the back and move to the head of the class. The girl is Greta (Catherine McCormack) who is the lead actress playing the Nina Harker role (for those of you who have not read Stoker's book, its the Winona Ryder role from the Dracula movie almost everyone has seen), and who is to arrive on the set for the climatic "death scene". The only problem is, Count Orlock can't wait and he and Murnau start to get a little put out with each other.

There are some genuinely funny moments in this movie and its filmed with great homage and attention to detail from that period of movie making. I can't tell you that this is scary, nor do I think it was meant to be, but the mood of tension on the set of the actors in the movie is something that is real and that you can easily appreciate. If you think about the premise, you need a very good director to pull this off seriously and Merhige hits it out of the park, in my opinion.

Of course, no flick, no matter how interesting the story, good the direction, or eye catching the videography can truly be considered outstanding with good actors. This film has good acting in spades. Malkovich is brilliant as Murnau, portraying the "slowly descending into madness" thing very well and with that unique "Malkovich" kind of presence. He gives you just what you expect from a great actor.

The supporting cast is excellent, particularly Eddie Izzard (Valkyrie My Super Ex-Girlfriend) as Gustav and Cary Elwes as Wagner. They play the shocked appreciation of Schreck's methods to perfection in the beginning, which is important as they realize what they are really dealing with in the end.

Willem Dafoe is outstanding, easily the best of a group of very good actors in this one. Almost unrecognizable in his makeup, he gets the brooding pathos and evil of a rat looking vampire exactly right. Not to mention that he is funny as well, which may be hard to believe in this kind of a movie, but believe me, he is. The scene where he is sharing a bottle with the producers during a break in filming, interrupting the talk to snare and eat a bat with lightning speed, and walking away while the two producers agree that he "is a great actor" was brilliant. Without being a spoiler, I will tell you that the ending encompasses all the theories possible in the telling of the story, and ties them up very well. It was awesome. 

This film is very tongue in cheek, as Willem Dafoe says in the special features of the DVD, "if someone believes that this movie is non-fiction, then that means they believe in vampires, and I can't help you". A brief search of the records of the film shows that, far from any actors or crew disappearing or dying during the filming, several led long lives and died natural deaths, with the actress playing Greta living until the late 1970's and Max Schreck living until the 1950's, succumbing not to a stake or sunlight, but to a heart attack.

I loved Shadow of the Vampire, it quickly goes to my favorites list. Very good flick. 

Directed by Katja von Garnier. Hillary Swank, Anjelica Huston, Frances O'Connor, Vera Farmiga, Brooke Smith, Laura Fraser, Julia Ormond, Molly Parker, Patrick Dempsey, Bob Gunton. Drama. Synopsis: A look at some of the young women who were instrumental in the passage of the 19th amendment to the United States Constitution, guaranteeing women the right to vote throughout the United States

This film is an HBO production that I first saw a couple of years ago and just watched again on DVD for the second time. It is, without question, one of the better movies in a distinguished litany of HBO productions. The movie focuses on a roughly ten year period in the early twentieth century as the long time woman's suffrage (voting rights) movement came to a head and final conclusion with the passage of the 19th amendment. The movie uses several real life characters and, happily, background research shows that it gets the main events and circumstances correct with regard to historical accuracy.

I realize the need for creative license and interpretation in all movies about real life events, and the issue of historical interpretation and ambiguity when it comes to events of which there are no living participants or first hand witnesses when the film is made. Having said that, I still cringe when period piece movies either make up or change known and undisputed historical facts (like Murder in the First).Iron Jawed Angels does not do that and the script writer and director deserve special commendations for that.

The story is laid out with women's rights icon Alice Paul (Hillary Swank Million Dollar Baby) as the protagonist, but the cast is really an ensemble one, and all of the major characters, as well as the minor ones, deliver strong performances. The infinitely likable Frances O'Connor plays Lucy Burns, Alice Paul's historical suffrage partner and the combustible fire behind the aggressive portion of the movement.

The crux of the story is the growing division between the "older" generation of suffragettes, led by Carrie Catt (the wonderful Anjelica Huston Gardens of Stone) and the "younger", more militant faction led by Alice Paul and Lucy Burns. The older faction still held onto the old way of gaining ground, trying to win the vote for women on a state by state basis (with the Western states leading the way), a strategy that had led to 9 of the 48 states enfranchising women by 1912, the start of the movie. The younger faction advocated more aggressive action, more direct political attack on President Wilson, and, most importantly, a constitutional amendment. Of course, as with any historical movie in which we know the outcome, we can guess that the two factions ultimately come together, if not personally but in ultimate success. (The movie does a good job of dealing with the generation gap between the two factions as the real point of contention without laboring the point)

Other strong characters who you will like in the film include the real life Doris Stevens (Laura Fraser, a Isabelli Rosselini lookalike) and Mabel Vernon (Brooke Smith, who is so good at immersing herself into a character that I actually did not believe the Bible of movie info, imdb.com, when I realized that she played the surviving kidnap victim in Silence of the Lambs).The beautiful Julia Ormond plays real life Inez Milholland, the literal face of the more militant movement.  Two other main characters who I was not able to verify as real life-I'm not saying they weren't- are Vera Farmiga's (Running Scared, In Tranzit) Ruth Wiesczelaw and Molly Parker's Emily Leighton, who plays the wife of previously anti-suffrage Senator Tom Leighton, a women who is disinterested in politics and the world initially and, of course, ultimately becomes invaluible to the movement. If these two are composite of fictional characters, they certainly fit the bill as representing the nameless rank and file women who were crucial with their support: Farmiga's representation of the working class immigrant woman and Parker's "society" woman who, on the face of things as they were viewed in the early twentieth century, had no real reason to be so driven to gain the vote but did.

Another thing I liked about this story is that it paid tribute, albeit briefly, to other important issues and historical figures, such as Ida B. Wells, the African American civil rights hero, and the issue of the role of black women in the movement, and Fiorello LaGuradia, future mayor of New York and namesake of the airport so many of us are familiar with, and the homage to historical figures who were not at the forefront of this movement, but supported it anyway.

Happily, this is a female character driven serious film, a relative rarity especially when you consider that women are the majority of the world's population. It would have been easy to cop out and tell this story through the eyes of the politicians and make them the heroes, but Angels does not do that, sparing us the irritating fiction of seeing politicians who came on board only when it was politically expedient to do so as the heroes, while ignoring the people who risked love, freedom, and their lives to make it happen. We've seen enough of that crap in historical movies, such as the many films that appallingly portray FBI agents as the heroes of the civil rights movement. (Sorry if that is just a little too much personal opinion for this otherwise completely subjective review)

The only two main male characters in the film, Bob Weissman (Patrick Dempsey Outbreak) and President Woodrow Wilson (Bob Gunton Glory) are good in their relatively brief screen time. Dempsey as Alice Paul's love interest, shown only as an example of the choice and sacrifices made by the leader of the movement, not as a diversion from the real story. Bob Gunton is good, as usual, in his customary role as the man we love to hate-or at least dislike- as President Wilson.

Some might criticize the music and style of this film, modern, upbeat music and fast cuts set to a period piece. I was also surprised hen watching the movie, but it works, in my opinion. Now, I'm not advocating that all period pieces follow suit, I don't know that I want to hear JayZ or 50 Cent in the next movie I see about the Civil War, but it works here, as I think the youthful modern angle is key to this vision of the story. Remember, these young women were the militant, youthful, and modern thinking actors of one hundred years ago. I think showing it with similar music and style from our perspective in the 21st century helps us understand that.

Finally, no discussion of this film should be done without mention of the scene in which the last vote in the last state needed to ratify the amendment came down to one young politician (representing a largely anti-suffrage constituency) who changed his vote from anti-suffrage to pro because-and this is true-he received word from his mother to do so and he believed a good man always listens to his mother. Wonderful!!

And, again, done in such a way as to not make him the real hero.

Simply, an excellent film.