Screen Time

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Some of the makers of the great 2002 film “City of God,” about two boys growing up in a violent Rio de Janeiro neighborhood, will return in January with a sequel of sorts called “City of Men.“

It looks like the new movie is spun off from the original film and from the acclaimed TV series of the same name, airing on Sundance Channel in the U.S., and is directed by Paolo Morelli, who directed many eps of the series. This could be a great way to start out 2008. Check the high-res trailer here.

The Coen Brothers’ (”The Big Lebowski,” “Fargo”) critically acclaimed new thriller “No Country for Old Men” is finally screening in the RGV.

This is one of the best-reviewed movies of the year (click here to read what the critics are sayin’), and I can’t wait to see it. Actually, I’m planning on catching it tonight after work. Expect a review soon.

This is a nice surprise. I wasn’t looking forward to catching any of the new movies coming out this week. Click here for RGV showtimes and check the high-res “No Country” trailer here.

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Poster image courtesy Miramax Films

Like action-packed, post-apocalyptic vampire movies? Then Dec. 14 is your day. That’s when “I Am Legend” hits theaters nationwide. A brand new trailer for the upcoming Will Smith flick just popped up on the Web and it features a lot more action scenes and special effects than the original teaser trailers. Watch it here.

I’m a fan of the classic horror novella by Richard Matheson, on which the movie is based, but it looks like this movie will diverge a lot from the book, which I guess had to happen. The book was really about the hero’s isolation and internal struggle. This new movie looks like it’s more about Will Smith’s struggle to be defined as an action star. Still, I have hope.
It can’t be any worse than 1964’s “The Last Man on Earth” can it? Plus, the CG vampires don’t look too bad. I’ll be at the theater Dec. 14.
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Photo courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures

When I caught the first TV ad for the upcoming thriller “Gone Baby Gone,” starring Ben Affleck’s younger brother Casey, I thought, “Wow, Casey Affleck’s really getting a lot of good roles these days.”

It was looking like Casey was in and Ben was out, but that was before I realized that Ben directed and co-wrote “Gone Baby Gone,” and the film is earning some strong reviews.

Variety praised “Gone” and had kind words for Affleck’s directorial skill. So did The Hollywood Reporter, and PopMatters.com calls Affleck’s directorial debut “moviemaking of classic neo-noir artistry.” All that and the movie looks pretty good too. Check the trailer after the jump.

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The official poster for the upcoming comedy “Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story” just hit the Web. Yep, that’s it up there. I never thought I’d see so much of John C. Reilly. I think the guy reveals more of his … assets here than he did in “Boogie Nights,” and he played a porn star in that movie!

So, if this funny image isn’t enough to get you in the theaters, remember that “Walk Hard” is co-written and produced by Judd Apatow (”Knocked Up,” “The 40-Year-old Virgin”) and is directed by Jake Kasdan, who worked with Apatow on the great TV shows “Undeclared” and “Freaks and Geeks.”

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It’s no secret that we miss out on tons of good first-run movies here in the Rio Grande Valley. It happens for lots of reasons - reasons that make sense to the suits who run distribution houses and theater chains. (I wrote about this before here).

Basically, those suits don’t think a small indie flick like “Rocket Science” or “Control” will sell many tickets beyond a major urban market, and they’re probably right. So, I’m not gonna moan about not being able to catch a little indie flick at my local Cinemark. Instead, I’ll wait the few weeks - or months - until the local Landmark chain screens it or it’s released on DVD. No big …

It’s a shame, though, that Valley movie lovers won’t be able to catch the well-received new movie by Sean Penn or the latest offering from popular filmmaker Wes Anderson upon their initial wide releases.

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Even though it employs half the cast of “The Rundown” and the trailer reminds me of a long, boring, convoluted dream I once had, I’m still interested in catching director Richard Kelly’s “Southland Tales.”

The release of the “Donnie Darko” director’s upcoming sci-fi epic has been delayed since it got panned at Cannes last year. Kelly says the version screened at Cannes wasn’t finished. He went back into the editing room and his final (latest?) version is scheduled to hit theaters Nov.9.

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The first few moments of the trailer for Jason Reitman’s new comedy “Juno” had me thinking “Oh no, not another ‘Saved.’” Then things got better and funnier, and now I can’t wait to catch this flick, which is already a hit at the Toronto International Film Festival. Some folks are saying it’s a contender for best movie of the year so far.

Like “Saved,” “Juno” is an irreverent comedy with a teen pregnancy at the center. Unlike “Saved,” or other films in that we’re-gonna-mock-everything mold, “Juno” looks warm, weighty, hilarious and it seems to be stocked with interesting characters and scenes instead of just shrill gags and pointless style. The film also boasts a cast to die for, including Ellen Page (the newer, better Jena Malone), Michael Cera (”Superbad”), J.K. Simmons (J Jonah Jameson from “Spider-Man”), Rainn Wilson (”The Office”), Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman.

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My wife and I love the original “Get Smart.“ I was even one of the 12 people who watched the 1989 revamp “Get Smart Again” starring Andy Dick as Don Adams’ son (Yes, that really happened). So, we’ll probably be some of the first in line to catch the upcoming movie version of the classic show starring Steve Carell and Anne Hathaway.I think Carell is a great choice to play Maxwell Smart. He’ll do the role justice instead of just doing a bad Don Adams impersonation. I’m not too sold on Hathaway as Agent 99 though.

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Is the Western making a comeback?

I was surprised by the recent critical and box-office success of “3:10 To Yuma,” and who can forget 2005’s “Brokeback Mountain?“ Now the upcoming “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford” is getting pretty good reviews from the Toronto Film Festival.

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