Dennis Quaid to play Bill Clinton

Dennis Quaid will star as President Clinton, Michael Sheen will portray British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Julianne Moore will play Hillary Clinton in "The Special Relationship," an HBO film about the unique and sometimes turbulent political relationship between the newly installed PM and the U.S. president.

The film isn't greenlit yet but is expected to mark the directing debut of "Frost/Nixon" playwright Peter Morgan, who wrote the screenplay.

Sheen, who starred as David Frost in "Frost/Nixon," played Blair in the Morgan-scripted "The Deal" and "The Queen." Helen McCrory, who played Cherie Blair in "The Queen," will reprise that role in "The Special Relationship."

Quaid as Clinton? Anyone else seeing that? Moore as Hillary?

Source: Variety

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Eagle Eye, 2008 - Movie Review

Director: D J Caruso

Starring: Shia Labeouf, Rosario Dawson, Anthony Mackie, Michael Chiklis, Ethan Embry, Michelle Monaghan, Billy Bob Thornton, William Sadler, Julianne Moore

Running Time: 118 minutes

Score: 8 / 10

This review by Babubhaut. WARNING: SPOILERS

When checking the IMDb credits, you can see four names officially down as writers on the project, one that it appears has been in Steven Spielberg's wheelhouse for quite some time, waiting patiently for technology to do it justice. However, all the buzz and press are praising wunderkinds Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman as the screenwriters. After watching the high-action, high-octane car chases and explosions, I am one to believe the duo behind Transformers are pulling the strings. Whether it's an original vision of the subject or rewrites on an existing draft, who knows? The fact of the matter is that this film contains a lot of excitement, adrenaline-pumping setpieces, and pedal to the floor pacing. One thing that won't happen—whether you buy into the Big Brother meets HAL plot or not—is boredom. That is an impossibility.

The plot is very well orchestrated; good job whoever should receive the credit. Right from the start we are shown our lead character Jerry Shaw's penchant for slacking and living day-to-day without the means to even pay his rent. He is the epitome of the new action hero, an under-motivated, intelligent dropout just waiting, subconsciously, to be given the chance to matter. His twin brother, a military/Air Force man, has just passed away and after burying him, Jerry gets caught up in a web of governmental and terrorist intrigue. Framed as an enemy of the state, our lead, the always-entertaining Shia LaBeouf, must follow the instructions being relayed to him via a woman's voice on his phone. The voice sets his escape into motion and—now a fugitive of the law—he meets up with many other people being told what to do by her. Michelle Monaghan's role, Rachel, is the most embedded of these strangers, not blackmailed by jailtime or death, but instead by the murder of her son. Both Rachel and Jerry become caught in a life-or-death situation that is way too big for them, or even us, to comprehend.

Now I don't mean to make it sound that I thought the film was convoluted or anything, it's actually pretty well plotted. Holes seem plugged up and everything that gets set into motion at the start comes to play later on. Nothing shown on screen is wasted, it all plays a factor in the outcome. The general clichés are all present of course; this is a Hollywood action film after all. Besides LaBeouf's perfect hero evolution, we get the single mom, strong-willed and capable of anything when pushed against a wall; the hard, by-the-book cop who gets so involved in the case that he begins to uncover the conspiracy and risk maybe trying to intervene by helping those which appear to be the enemy; and the politician, capable of making the tough decisions, but never willing to let the power corrupt his morals, despite what could be his if all goes to plan. The beauty of the film is that those stereotypes are integral pieces to the puzzle. The psychology of their roles makes what needs to happen occur. Just as the super-computer reads everyone's file and body language to predict their movements, the script utilizes their inherent traits to allow the story to make sense in a logical way.

What really helps you take your mind off of the contrivances, though, is the non-stop action. There are so many car chases, and each one sprinkled with explosions and surprises. I give credit to D.J. Caruso for helming this thing to such success being that he's never been behind the camera on an actioner like it. Director of the criminally underrated Salton Sea and last year's LaBeouf vehicle Disturbia, I wasn't sure how he'd handle the choreography and speed necessary. The guy did well, especially being that he could handle the quieter moments that helped bridge the chaos. Much of the film is seen through the lenses of technology, whether that be security cameras, voices over cell phones, radar footprints shown digitally over a map of the US, or even the sound vibrations from a cup of coffee. It all adds to the futuristic feel and I'm sure will cause many people to gasp at the possibility we may all be under the same surveillance in the real world as we sit watching.

The cast also works with the script, fleshing out the characters and making the unbelievable seem like it could happen. LaBeouf has a little scruff, trying to make him look older, but it's really just his everyman look and witty retorts that make him successful. Ever since "Even Stevens", the kid is just likable. Monaghan adds another solid role to her expanding resume, playing the desperate mother on a journey to save her son. A puppet to the plan underlying the entire film, she goes though a wide range of emotions and pulls them all off. The rest of the ensemble includes some very familiar faces: Anthony Mackie, Rosario Dawson, Michael Chiklis, and Ethan Embry (What's with his small serious cameos lately? This guy used to be groomed to take on the small comedy world). The most notable supporting role comes from Billy Bob Thornton, actually getting a part that doesn't necessitate his usual surly and vulgar disposition of late. It's a very human role that evolves a great deal while also adding some brilliant comic relief from his cynical sarcasm.

With all the praise I have for Eagle Eye and all the fun, it does fall into the Hollywood trap. The final five minutes or so are so tacked on and unnecessary they only make you think how great a bittersweet ending could have been. Hey, these guys need to recoup some money off the decent chunk of change laid down to finance this thing, so they must cater to the general public. Sometimes that means excising the proper conclusion, one fitting in tone and structure, in order to show a watered down feel-good smile-inducing epilogue after it. We can't all be perfect.
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Blindness, 2008 - Movie Review

Director: Fernando Meirelles
Starring: Mark Ruffalo, Julianne Moore, Alive Braga, Danny Glover, Gael García Bernal, Don McKellar
Running Time: 120 minutes
Score: 5 / 10
This review by debblyst

Being an admirer of Saramago's towering masterpiece and Fernando Meirelles's talent, I went to see "Blindness" with a pure heart but toned-down expectations; we all know how movie adaptations of great literature can be disappointing. But I wasn't prepared for the dismal formal and philosophical nada that is "Blindness" -- it could very well be entitled "Blandness" instead.

The problems start from the opening credits: after the names of a dozen international production companies comes the hype tag "A Very Independent Production". Following this tongue-in-cheek "manifesto", the opening scene -- of the first man turning blind inside his car -- belies it all: it looks alarmingly like an ad for the new Fiat Punto (Fiat is one of the backers, of course). It's a shameless piece of merchandising that immediately distracts you from what's supposed to be a harrowing scene; you pay attention to the car, not the man (excruciatingly played by Yusuke Iseya, in the film's worst performance).

The "very independent production" has more than a share of compromises, such as the terribly contrived Japanese couple, who seem to inhabit another film, with an undue prominence probably there to satisfy the Japanese producers and market. Or the timid, squeezed-in "action" flashes (cars crashing, planes exploding) to satisfy "action" lovers (definitely NOT the public for "Blindness"). Or the rather inexcusable decision to film in English an author (Saramago) who brought new heights to Portuguese-language prose, just to employ American stars and accommodate the international market.

The film never finds a tone -- it falters between the novel's apocalyptic allegory of society's prejudices, cruelty, ridicule and flawed power systems, and an thriller-like thread that has nothing to do with the book's style. Saramago took the idea and politico-philosophical implications from Camus's "La Peste" and made it a haunting literary piece, NOT because of the plot but thanks to his exquisite prose.

It would be easy to blame the film's failure solely on Don McKellar's unimaginative, schematic adaptation that resembles a first draft, riddled with bad dialog and pedestrian ideas, plus a narrator (Danny Glover's character) that confusingly comes in halfway into the film. But the problems are all around: César Charlone's cinematography never transcends the obvious (the blurring "white blindness" finally drains the film of all life; it takes away the visual as well as the emotional edge); Marco Antonio Guimarães's music is abysmally bland; Daniel Rezende (the superb editor of "City of God") never finds a compelling rhythm, alternating hurried scenes with unnecessary longueurs (e.g.the embarrassing "cute dog" sequence). Art director Tulé Peak gets the claustrophobic squalor of the asylum quite right, but the chaotic garbage-filled streets often look suspiciously composed.

The actors seem lost, and that's a shock considering Meirelles's former films (remember how "City of God" had all-around brilliant performances?). Though they're supposed to play stereotypes (doctor, wife, whore, etc), they lack the complex character development that is one of the high points of the novel; we end up caring for no one. Mark Ruffalo, of whining voice, emasculated demeanor and gutless face, looks like a boy who's lost his mammy rather than a dedicated ophthalmologist who slowly sinks into depression by his impotence to help others or himself. Danny Glover plays a beaten one-eyed old man incongruously sporting a supermegawhite Hollywood dental job that renders him impossible to believe in. The Japanese couple are given particularly ludicrous scenes and dialog. Alice Braga has a strong face and sexy attitude, but her character's complexities never surface, especially the nature of her relationships with the young boy and the doctor. Maury Chaykin's repellent character (the man who was already blind before the plague and becomes the meanest s.o.b. of them all) is underwritten and under-explored, and he turns to overacting for attention. Don McKellar's thief is an embarrassment and Sandra Oh's cameo is a waste.

Julianne Moore spends the first half hour repeating her role of the depressed/misunderstood wife in "The Hours". She's never allowed to show bewilderment as to the "why" she's the only one to keep her eyesight, but she's good when she gets into action and has a great final shot, though she could take a break from her de rigueur slow-motion crying scene, with that weird thing she does curling her mouth upside down (my friend said "Oh, no, it's coming!"). The best performance comes from Gael García Bernal playing the amoral, dumb, jackass opportunist: he makes an unbelievable character (how about his rise to power? And gun? And ammo?) come to life -- in his scenes, we recognize Meirelles's naughty, un-PC sense of humor.

Above all, it's Meirelles (director, co-producer and responsible for the final cut) who disappoints, letting his customary highly assertive film-making flounder in hesitation here. Perhaps he felt the burden of having to be faithful to the masterpiece of a Nobel-winner who's still alive. Perhaps he felt crushed by the brooding, gritty material; Meirelles seems rather on the cool nice guy side, and he's best when he can let his irony and humor show (as his films "Domésticas" and "City of God" prove). His sex scenes are REALLY bashful, though, looking more repressed than discreet. The novel's apocalyptic, sarcastic tone would need an aggressive, irrepressible director of wild imagination like Buñuel to do it full justice (the characters' passiveness/impotence recall "Exterminating Angel"). In this our time, Béla Tarr could've made it gloriously bleak; Lars von Trier could've turned it into a shattering, sardonic horror (if he got back into the splendid form of his "The Kingdom"/"Zentropa" days).

"Blindness" is not bad at all; it's just insipid and frustrating. Maybe Meirelles should do next a Portuguese-speaking Brazilian film again, to re-fuel his soul with his own culture, language and themes. Brazilian cinema needs him badly; abroad, he's just one more talented, competent "foreign" director, and these multinational ventures often turn out muddled or impersonal (think Kassovitz, Susanne Bier, Hirschbiegel...). He can do much better, and we deserve much better from him.
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