Posts Tagged ‘Clint Eastwood’

Short Take: Truthful or not, it's an interesting and compelling portraiture

Director: Clint Eastwood

Screenwriter: Dustin Lance Black

Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Armie Hammer, Naomi Watts, Judi Dench, Josh Lucas

Length: 2h 17m

Synopsis: In 1919, as an eager young twenty-something looking to make an impression on the world, John Edgar Hoover tried ardently to devise and synergize crime-fighting tactics so as to better repress the presence of radicals in the United States via his newly appointed position as the head of the yet to be federalized Bureau of Investigation. A stickler for professionalism, Hoover built the Bureau into an entity to be reckoned with by criminals of all sorts, which even included politicians. But along the way Hoover faced struggles with his superiors, the public, and a personal life that could be described as emotionally acidic. His driving force was his dedication to his work, which through all of its practicable advancements actually did as much harm as good. His reputation became controversial and his love life suffered, but the Bureau always remained his top priority. Though never one to suffer a fool, we find that some of Hoover’s flaws and decisions made him every bit the fool himself, in more ways than one. Eventually leaving behind a reputation that continues to be judged in the court of public opinion, J. Edgar contributes to the discussion by providing a portrayal of the infamous dignitary that contests a number of well-established perceptions.

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Short Take: Entertaining but sorely underdeveloped - It could have been considerably better

Director: Jimmy Hayward (Horton Hears a Who!)

Screenwriter: Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor (Gamer, Crank: High Voltage)

Cast: Josh Brolin (Milk, No Country for Old Men), Megan Fox (Jennifer’s Body, Transformers), John Malkovich (Burn After Reading, Changeling), Michael Fassbender (Inglourious Basterds, Fish Tank, 300)

Length: 1 hour 23 minutes

Synopsis: The film begins with former Confederate soldier Jonah Hex (Brolin) forced to watch his wife and son burn to death at the hands of former friend Quentin Turnbull (Malkovich).  Left for dead, Hex is found and revived by a group of Crow Indians, but he’s a changed man.  Not only does he literally bear a brand of Turnbull’s betrayal on his face, but his travels between death and life left him with some unique abilities.  Hex can seemingly survive any number of bullet wounds and revive the dead for short periods of time with a single touch.  Hex devotes his life to taking revenge on Turnbull and when the U.S. government asks for his help in stopping Turnbull from using a powerful weapon against innocent citizens during the nation’s centennial celebration, he must find him before time runs out. Read the rest of this entry »

Joel and Ethan Coen handle directing/producing duties arguably better than anyone

In an article for Variety.com, feature writer Anthony Kaufman sheds light on the world of filmmakers who decide/are able to both direct and produce their movies. People like Peter Jackson, Clint Eastwood, and the Coen brothers are members of an elite group that has won Oscars for both directing and producing, and accomplishing such a feat is even harder than one might think.

The two different, and arguably opposing functions of directors and producers is perhaps the number one reason for the high level of difficulty in doing both. It’s the job of the director to make sure the artistic quality of a film is the highest it can be, and the producer’s job is to manage and organize all aspects connected to a film’s financing. Being that art can be very costly, directors and producers naturally clash every so often during the making of a movie. And aside from this, the simple fact that one person is doing two jobs makes the endeavor daunting.

A positive way of looking at the added responsibility is to say that having to keep both art and practicality in mind while making all decisions is a very useful skill to have because it keeps either from getting out of hand. If a film’s artistic side is met with too few limitations it can make it appealing to too narrow an audience, while if the budget hampers the art’s ability to express itself sufficiently the overall quality of the product suffers.

Director Lee Daniels (Precious) sums up the job of director/producer like this: It’s “powerful, but a powerful curse.” Read more about the job of being a director/producer by clicking on the link below.

Source: Variety

In Other News…

Blake Lively

Gossip Girl and Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants star Blake Lively has been cast in Warner Brothers’ Green Lantern. She will reportedly be the romantic interest opposite star Ryan Reynolds, who is playing the supernatural superhero.

Source: Hollywood Reporter

Short Take: An inspirational sports movie unlike any other

Director: Clint Eastwood (Million Dollar Baby)

Screenwriter: Anthony Peckham, John Carlin (book: “Playing the Enemy”)

Cast: Morgan Freeman (Se7en), Matt Damon (The Informant!)

Length: 2h 14m

Synopsis: After Nelson Mandela was released from prison in 1992 and elected as President of South Africa after blacks had just earned the right to vote, he sought to inspire a nation that had a divided population and was suffering from economic hardship. That inspiration came from the national sport of rugby. Withholding uncanny knowledge about how to motivate the masses, Mandela’s key was to first properly motivate the national rugby team into advancing to the World Cup finals. Read the rest of this entry »

Eastwood and Damon - "Invictus"

Clint Eastwood will direct Matt Damon in a supernatural thriller titled Hereafter, written by Peter Morgan. Eastwood and Damon will be releasing another film this winter (Dec. 11) called Invictus where the two developed a rapport. Morgan has written such nominated films like The Queen and Frost/Nixon.

Production is set to begin on Hereafter this fall.

Source: Hollywood Reporter