The trailers and TV spots for Four Christmases suggest that its lead couple, Brad [Vince Vaughn] and Kate [Reese Witherspoon] are going to have to cram in four visits to their divorced parents and their various dysfunctional families when plans to go to Fiji are ruined by flight-cancelling fog. The problem with the film is that the families get less dysfunctional as we get closer to the end of the film – and then there’s the cop-out Hollywood ending that recalls the plot point that precipitated the whole fiasco in the first place.

The merriment begins as Brad and Kate visit Brad’s father [Robert Duval], who is also hosting Brad’s two brothers-cum-wannabe-ultimate-fighters [Jon Favreau and Tim McGraw], one of whom is married and all of who, are rednecks who would make rednecks complain about profiling. A hitherto unknown pricing cap for gift exchanges and a satellite dish installation cap a visit that includes Brad being beaten half silly by his brothers – and a secret about Santa being revealed.

The second visit is to Kate’s mom’s [Mary Steenburgen] home – where cougars hold sway, according to Kate. These include lecherous Gram-Gram [Jeanette Miller], Aunt Sarah [Carol Kane] and Aunt Donna [Colleen Camp] – all of whom are upstaged by Kate’s pregnant sister, Courtenay [Kristin Chenoweth] and the revelation that mom’s new boyfriend, Reverend Phil [Dwight Yoakum], is the pastor of an aggressively ecstatic congregation, where Brad gets carried away with their Christmas pageant

By comparison, Brad’s mom [Sissy Spacek] is merely an aging hippie who is now living with Brad’s ex-best friend. By the time we visit Kate’s father, she and Brad have decided that they don’t want the same things and he drops her off, thereby missing the least dysfunctional part of the day – before waking up to the realization that… wait for it… he loves her. D’OH!

From a fast-paced dysfunctional family Christmas movie, Four Christmases devolves rapidly into a toothless tiger. The laughs that dominate the first half of the film [beginning to fade, rapidly during the second visit], are pretty much gone before we reach the fourth visit. By then, it’s time to trot out variations on most of the homilies we’ve come to expect in lazy seasonal films. The crazed energy of the first visit dies well before the last act and all we’re left with is a curiously lacklustre, meaningless film that can’t even get a laugh out of its call back to one of the film’s best scenes, involving an on location TV news crew.

This puppy just ain’t worth it.

Final Grade: D

When Batman: The Brave and the Bold premieres [Fridays, 8/7C], long time Bat-fans may be surprised to see a Caped Crusader who bears more than a slight resemblance to Dick Sprang’s version of the character which ran in the comics from the mid-‘40s to the mid-‘50s. The stories will also remind of this period as they combine mystery with science-fiction, which leads to episodes like the series premiere, Rise of the Blue Beetle, where we are treated to two team-ups – Batman [Diedrich Bader] and Green Arrow [James Arnold Taylor] take down the Clock King [Dee Bradley Baker] as a warm-up to a galaxy-spanning adventure in which Batman teams up with the newest incarnation of the Blue Beetle [Will Friedle].

In each instance we see a difference side of Batman – the friendly squabbles with Green Arrow, an equal to the Dark Knight, and a more mentorly approach with the Beetle. Each is appropriate to the partner involved, and each leads to unexpected action – especially in the Batman/Beetle clash with dreaded Justice League of America villain, Kanjar Ro [from all the way back in the original JLA #5].

Considering the amount of action and characterization contained in this episode, it’s amazing that it doesn’t feel overcrowded – but it doesn’t. Instead the quips fly fast and free; the action involved in taking down a rather mundane [for Batman] villain generates laughs, while the Kanjar Ro beef is considerably more serious [he’s found using a sentient lifeform to fuel his ships].

The writing on Batman: The Brave and the Bold is sharp and concise. It mixes a bigger dose of humor into the adventures, while knowing when to get serious. The animation is as series specific – and right for the series – as that of each of the previous Bat-shows. Plus, the series will find Batman working with a lot of interesting characters, such as: Red Tornado [Corey Burton], Aquaman [John DiMaggio], and Plastic Man [Tom Kenny]. Scriptwriter Michael Jelenic and director Bon Jones may have used Rise of the Blue Beetle to introduce the series to make it clear that it’s a different Batman series – if so, they’ve certainly succeeded!

Final Grade: A-

Spend the night with Leonardo and Russell Crowe as EclipseMagazine.com and Warner Brothers team up to bring you the Washington, DC Screening of Body of Lies. The Screening will be held Tuesday, October 7, 2008 (that’s tomorrow night!) at Gallery Place in DC. I’m working with Warners on automating our contests, so we’re testing out this cool new system. To get your tickets, CLICK HERE!!! and enter the code ECLP9886.  This movie looks amazingly good so go, enter the code, download your pass, it’s that simple.

Roger Ferris (Leonardo DiCaprio) is the best man U.S. Intelligence has on the ground, in places where human life is worth no more than the information it can get you.  In operations that take him around the globe from the Middle East to Washington, Ferris’s next breath often depends on the voice at the other end of a secure phone line – CIA veteran Ed Hoffman (Russell Crowe).  Waging war from a laptop in the suburbs, Hoffman is on the trail of an emerging terrorist leader who has orchestrated a campaign of bombings while eluding the most sophisticated intelligence network in the world.  To lure the terrorist out into the open, Ferris will have to penetrate his murky world, but the closer he gets to the target, the more he discovers that trust is both a dangerous commodity and the only one that will get him out alive.

The film stars Oscar nominee Leonardo DiCaprio ("Blood Diamond," "The Aviator," "The Departed"), Oscar winner Russell Crowe ("Gladiator," "A Beautiful Mind"), Mark Strong ("Stardust"), Iranian actress Golshifteh Farahani ("M for Mother"), Oscar Isaac ("The Nativity Story") and Simon McBurney ("The Golden Compass").

"Body of Lies" is directed by Academy Award nominee Ridley Scott ("Black Hawk Down," "Gladiator") from a screenplay by Oscar winner William Monahan ("The Departed") based on the novel by former Washington Post columnist David Ignatius.  Donald De Line ("The Italian Job") and Ridley Scott are the producers, with Michael Costigan ("American Gangster," "Brokeback Mountain") and Charles J.D. Schlissel ("The Prestige") serving as executive producers.

The behind-the-scenes creative team is led by cinematographer Alexander Witt ("American Gangster"), Oscar-nominated production designer Arthur Max ("American Gangster," "Gladiator") Oscar-winning editor Pietro Scalia ("Black Hawk Down"), and Oscar-winning costume designer Janty Yates ("Gladiator").  Marc Streitenfeld ("Kingdom of Heaven") composed the score.

Opening nationwide on October 10, 2008, "Body of Lies" will be distributed by Warner Bros Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.  The film has been rated "R" by the MPAA for "strong violence, including some torture, and language throughout."

I’m an ex-Pot head. I used to be obsessed with all things potter. Would spend hours on the message boards reading speculation on what would happen next, but after reading Deathly Hallows, I’ve done a complete 180. The last three Potter books were utterly disappointing. It never got as dark as each book would lead you to believe. There are no big battle sequences, Harry never got properly trained - the supposed Savior of the Wizarding world never gets trained! Ron was never a consistent character and his actions in DH was beyond ridiculous. JKR took the series into non-obvious directions just to screw with the readers. The movies have followed the trend of the books as well and have gotten progressively worse. Order of The Phoenix is a crappy movie, I hated the Half-Blood Prince book, so I had little interest in this year’s installment.  And Warner’s news blackout didn’t help matters. With all that said, this trailer almost restores the faith. It’s really strong and that kid is creepy has hell.

We have tickets to the Washington, DC Advanced screening of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2! The screening will be held at our Super Secret location in Washington, DC this Thursday, July 31 at 7pm. We have 40 slots open, to win all you have to do is click here and enter the code ECLP4206. You download your pass and keep on trucking. I forgot this film was coming, I enjoyed the first one, but then I’m a sucker for this type of film. And hey it stars Ugly Betty before she got hit by the truck.  Check out the full press release.

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That’s right, it’s time for another fabu EM Madhouse Screening! We have Tickets for the Exclusive DC Blackout Screening of The Dark Knight! The Screening will be held at Washington, DC’s Historic Uptown Theater, Wednesday, July 16 at 8:30.  This is a special Blackout Screening, you have to wear Black or you will be turned away.  If you want to attend, send an email with your request to contest@eclipsemagazine.com. Your request MUST contain your UserID, Full Name, the number of Admit 2 tickets you would like. The SUBJECT MUST say The Dark Knight Screening Contest. I will not accept any requests that do not follow instructions. All requests must be submitted no later than Sunday 13. I will notify all winners Sunday evening.  Check out the official website here and read my interview with Christian Bale.

Speed Racer was always one of my five wholly grails of films. Weirdly, I’ve never been that into the cartoon, but always thought it would make an amazing film. I was prepared to totally hate Speed Racer, everything that I saw of the film before I saw it sucked Chim Chim’s monkey balls which were then thrown in my face. The trailers were bad, the clips were amazingly stiff. Casting awful. CGI was crap. Clearly the directors/writers Wachowski’s have lost their damn minds. Warner Brothers raped my childhood and I LOVED every psychedelic, trippy, vertigo induced minute of it. This movie capped off a fantastic film week that included Iron-Man and Son of Rambow. I liked Iron-Man a lot, but this is the movie that just punched me in the happy bone.  I had a smile on my face for days after the screening. Why did this work so well? In a word, despite the weird LSD induced colors this film was about something. It had a heart and soul to it. And I wasn’t expecting that in a summer blockbuster.  This movie is about family and love - of racing and each other.  Each race while fast, frenetic and colorful told the larger story. It wasn’t about just getting to the finish line as fast as you can.

From the opening graphics to the end closing credits the Wachowski’s nailed everything that was good about Speed Racer and elevated it to the 10th level. In a film like this the makers forget what was it about the original source material that drew people to begin with. For example in Mission Impossible two and three, they complete remade and destroyed the original, classic well known theme song. It’s a minor thing, but that theme is part of MI’s character. Just like in Speed Racer the classic theme is vital to maintaining the integrity of the show/film. Before I walked into the theater I saw an ad for that god awful Speed Racer cartoon on Nicktoons where they completely bastardized the original song. I thought for sure it would be used in the movie as well. The Brother’s W, not only kept the original theme but gave it this majestic orchestral score that put a huge grin on my face. They kept all of the musical beats from the series. Even the one modern version of the song that roles at the end credits is incredibly cool.

And that’s why this film was so great, they did a lot of nods to the original classic moments - The Monster Car, yep it’s there (doesn’t look so monster), Chim Chim and Spritle pretending to be a goon? Yep, it’s there. Speaking of Spritle, I’ve always hated those two in the cartoon, but here. They pretty much steal the film. Young Paulie Litt is at time hysterically funny. The way Racer X (Matthew Fox) is handled is perfect. I was actually fooled by the twist that really wasn’t a twist towards the end.  Emile Hirsch brings a certain charm to Speed. Some of his line delivery is stilted and emotionless. But the writing is so strong and enough is going on that you don’t notice it as much.  Speed Racer may not be Oscar worthy “best film,” but it’s the most fun I’ve had at a movie in years.  Every frame is infused with love and care. It’s an extremely rare A+.

Final Grade A+

EM Review by
Michelle Alexandria
Originally posted 5.8.2008

It’s another action packed week in the High Definition DVD Race and this week’s report is all about moves that Blu-Ray has been making. Every since HD-DVD Players were a big hit thanks to Toshiba’s $99 black Friday special it’s been pretty quiet on the HD-DVD front. I fully expect to get some news at CES from both camps next month. There’s a rumor going around that Warner Brothers is planning on going Blu-Ray exclusive next year. This would be a big blow to the HD-DVD side, as Warner has been putting out was a big supporter of the format. Personally, I think this rumor sounds ridiculous. Warner has been producing cross platform product for awhile now - 300 and Harry Potter are available on both platforms, but the WB heavily promotes the HD-DVD version and with good reason the features on HD-DVD are much better. WB makes extensive use of the PIP capabilities on HD-DVDs which Blu-Ray vs. 1.0 isn’t capable of. But…

The PS3 has become the first Blu-Ray player to fully support the new 1.1 spec. Thanks in large part to this week’s PS3 2.10 update. This update includes the new Bonus View capability. This allows the playback of supporting content such as storyboards, video commentary and behind-the-scenes clips at the same time as the main movie. As I said a feature Warner uses extensively in their HD titles. Check out Batman, 300, The Matrix, or their latest Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. It’s a gimmick, but it’s so much better than listening to the standard commentary track. But before you Blu-Ray fanatics rejoice, know that it’s going to be awhile before 1.1 discs become available. Not only that but folks who own the 1.0 hardware will be screwed as most players aren’t software upgrade-able. Fox Home Video just announced one of the first 1.1 version disks will be the Blu-Ray version of the amazing sci-fi film from Danny Boyle - Sunshine. This week we have a bunch of new Blu-Ray titles including Castaway, Mr. and Mrs. Smith and The Simpson’s Movie.

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