Case 39 - New poster for Renee Zellweger's new horror film

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Case 39 - Trailer for Christian Alvart's horror film. Renee Zellweger is in it but that's not the horror!

Case 39 centers on an idealistic social worker (Renée Zellweger) who saves an abused 10-year-old girl (Jodelle Ferland) from her parents only to discover that the girl is not as innocent as she thinks.

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Appaloosa, 2008 - Movie Review

Director: Ed Harris
Starring: Ed Harris, Viggo Mortensen, Renee Zellweger, Jeremy Irons, Timothy Spall, Lance Henriksen, Adriana Gil.
Running Time: 114 minutes
Score: 7 / 10

This review by neil-476. It may contain spoilers.

Let's get it straight right from the start - Appaloosa is not a classic western. It is, however, a good western.

Appaloosa is a small town in the back of beyond, in thrall to rich local landowner Bragg (Jeremy Irons) and his thuggish ranch hands. Bragg kills the sheriff and his deputies, so the Councilmen hire Virgil Cole (Ed Harris) and his sidekick Everett Hitch (Viggo Mortensen), a pair of freelance gun-for-hire lawmen, to sort the problem out. These men have an easy, almost telepathic, relationship which become complicated once Allison "Ally" French (Renee Zellweger) comes to town - she pitches herself at Virgil and hooks him although, confusingly, she also makes advances to Everett, which he rejects. Bragg is caught and convicted, but his own hired guns use Ally as a lever to have him freed. There then follows a pursuit and resolution with some minor divergences from expectations.

In many respects this is a completely traditional western, featuring a plot which has been seen, with variations, many, many times before. Ed Harris and Viggo Mortensen are settled into their parts, as comfortable as old clothes, before the movie begins, and the relationship between these two men is the strongest element of the movie by far. It is a handsome looking movie, although the camera was occasionally a little too jittery for my taste.

But there are some problems. Zellweger's part is not only a thankless one, it also seems not to have been fully thought through. For a sizeable chunk of the movie it is far from clear where Ally's loyalties really lie, and at least two of the false(?) hints deserve better resolution than they get.

Jeremy Irons' accent is simply awful - neither American nor English, nor even convincingly mid-Atlantic. He has done convincing American accents, but he doesn't do so here. He would have done better to simply stick with an English accent. Timothy Spall fares slightly better, but only slightly (note: see Gary Oldman for instructions on How Brits Should Do American Accents In Movies).

My final reservation is more an observation than a criticism. This film is very low on traditional western-type action - if there is more than 5 minutes' worth in total during the entire film, I would be surprised. To be fair, this is probably an accurate reflection on how things were (the movie's best line features Mortensen and Harris lying wounded after a shoot-out lasting, perhaps, 15 seconds: Mortensen says "Well, that was quick," and Harris replies, "Everybody could shoot.") So this is a character-based atmosphere piece built on a traditional western framework. As I said, not a classic, but still a rewarding movie for western fans.

Do you agree with the review? Will you be going to see the movie?

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Appaloosa Sequel - Ed Harris thinks so

From Dark Horizons.

Even though the film is not yet out, actor Ed Harris is already talking up sequels to his gritty Western "Appaloosa" opening this weekend.

Novelist Robert B. Parker wrote two sequels to the 2005 novel on which "Appaloosa" is based and which Harris thinks "could be combined into a sequel" he tells MTV News.

The second book, "Resolution", hit bookstores this year and an upcoming third novel is in the works. Harris says the idea of helming a sequel again is "interesting" and would focus on the same characters: Cole (Harris), Allie (Renee Zellweger), and Hitch (Viggo Mortensen).

As for the plot? "Allie runs off with some other guy. Cole tracks this guy down and shoots him, in cold-blooded murder. And then he goes and finds Hitch in this town, and they go partner up and they go to find Allie in Texas somewhere. She's in some whorehouse there, she's really in bad shape."

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Appaloosa Posters

"Two friends hired to police a small town that is suffering under the rule of a rancher find their job complicated by the arrival of a young widow."

It's certainly got a pretty good cast - Ed Harris, Viggo Mortensen, Jeremy Irons, Lance Henriksen, lollipop headed Renee Zellweger - but not sure if the plot for Appaloosa is going to make it into a total romance fest instead of the great Western it should be. We shall have to wait and see. However, it is also directed by Ed Harris who has always been a favourite of mine from the little seen Knightriders, The Right Stuff, The Abyss and Apollo 13. He is always a solid actor. Not seen Pollock though which he also directed.

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Cinderella Man, 2005. DVD Review

Director: Ron Howard
Starring: Russell Crowe, Renee Zellweger, Paul Giamatti
Running Time: 144 minutes

Score: 8/10

A boxing movie based upon the life of Jim Braddock (Russell Crowe) who could have been a contender but had to give up his dream after breaking his hand during a fight. To make matters worse the Great Depression kicked in, he lost everything and had to work on the docks to support his wife (the hamster faced Renee Zellweger) and 3 kids. Then, due to a cancellation from another boxer, his manager (Paul Giamatti) gets him another boxing match. He goes up against the number two heavyweight contender and, to the surprise of everyone, beats the crap out of him and becomes an inspiration to the disillusioned American public. This then leads him to confronting the World Heavyweight champion, Max Baer (Craig Bierko), who is said to have killed two men in the ring.

That this is a Ron Howard movie is as plain as plain can be. He ticks all the right boxes and pulls all the right strings to make you totally buy into the character and the crappy times he goes through and that's no bad thing. He makes good, solid movies. The Great Depression truly was a bad time for most people and the way they kept going was truly something special. The scenes with Jim Braddock and his family just eking out a living while everything is against them show exactly what he was fighting for when he got his second chance. The boxing scenes are also done well with the flashes of the news cameras working well for the white outs experienced after a blow to the head. However, they don't have the immediacy of the fight scenes from Raging Bull, but still have a slightly more realistic approach to those of the Rocky movies (don't get me wrong, I really like Rocky as well).

Russell Crowe is brilliant as James Braddock. Often his real life seems to overshadow his acting work and it is easy to forget how good an actor he can be. Paul Giamatti (Sideways, Shoot 'em Up, American Splendour) is once again brilliant. As for the lollipop headed, squinty eyed, perpetually pouting Renee Zelleweger, she just gets on my nerves in every movie she is in, but I managed to overlook that and enjoy the film regardless. I just wish she would stop pouting!

Craig Bierko as Max Baer is almost unrecognizable from his previous roles in The Thirteenth Floor and The Long Kiss Goodnight (he was also Dave Lister in the US remake of Red Dwarf). He makes the final fight all the more thrilling and you are cheering Jim Braddock on to beat the living crap out of Baer.

Like Seabiscuit this movie gives you a snapshot of the Great Depression and the people who suffered through it. Like Seabiscuit it also shows how one thing (person, horse, etc) could bring hope to the people in the most difficult of times.

Well worth checking out.

Phil