The Valley Wire -5/7/2010

Hollywood Kicks Summer Off Early
By Mary Beth Gentle

Clear your schedule. Start the Countdown. Prepare to dive into a tub of popcorn. Because folks, summer has come early to Hollywood. Even though it is still May and we are barely into spring, the summer movies have arrived. The first three films this cube dweller has circled on her calendar are; Iron Man 2 on May 7th and Robin Hood and Letters to Juliet both May 14th. These are the three kick-off movies for what looks to be a very good movie summer.




From the trailer, Iron Man 2 promises to be the sequel to end all sequels. In the first Iron Man, Robert Downey Jr. delivered the action-packed tale of wealthy, playboy genius Tony Stark who after a tragic accident is turned into the ultimate super human machine. In the second movie, Robert Downey Jr. returns as Tony Stark/Iron Man and will have to battle it out against his Russian arch nemesis, Whiplash, played by Mickey Rourke. Also making their Iron Man debuts are Sam Rockwell as corporate rival Justin Hammer and Scarlett Johansson as Russian spy Black Widow. Early word from those in the Hollywood cubicles who were lucky enough to catch an advanced screening is thumbs up!






The next movie I will be racing from my cube on to go see will be Robin Hood on May 14th. It is being advertised as ‘The story behind the legend’. This latest take on the classic tale of adventure stars Russell Crowe and is directed by Ridley Scott. That right there tells me that this movie will blow the classic Errol Flynn Robin Hood out of the water! If you haven’t seen the trailer, go check it out online and I am sure you will be standing in line to see it on opening night.







And finally, there is Letters to Juliet, also out May 14th. Just typing the title made me smile a little. I have been watching this trailer for months and I can’t wait to go see it. This is not a race to the theatre, guns and swords blazing summer popcorn movie, this one looks to be a heartwarming tale of that ever elusive second chance at love and I have very high hopes for it. When a Young American girl, Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) travels to the city of Verona and finds a long lost love letter she inspires its author (Vanessa Redgrave) to go in search of her lost love. Along the way Sophie finds true love of her own. Now, if that doesn’t get you to the theater I don’t know what will!

So, whether it is the action hero intensity of Iron Man 2, the swashbuckling heroics of Robin Hood or the search for true love in Letters to Juliet, this summer movie season looks to be shaping up to be a great one! So, even though we are still in spring, my summer starts May 7th with Iron Man 2!

The Valley Wire - 3/5/2010 Column

Hollywood Rolls Out the Red Carpet
By Mary Beth Gentle

This year when Hollywood rolls out the red carpet there will be quite a few more hopeful filmmakers walking down it. This year, the best picture category goes from five films to ten, with all of them vying for the coveted title of Best Picture. That’s five more films that Academy Members have to watch, five more sets of filmmakers crossing their fingers and five more chances that a movie I actually saw will win the top prize. The top ten contenders this year are; Avatar, The Blind Side, District 9, An Education, The Hurt Locker, Inglorious Bastards, Precious, A Serious Man, Up and The Air Up There.

It’s tough to clearly know which Film will be the big winner this year. There are more choices than there have been since 1944 – that was the year the Academy began restricting the nominations to five films. But, it seems like this year, even with double the titles – it looks to be coming down to two films that will be going for the golden statue, Avatar and The Hurt Locker. They have gone head to head at all the award events up to this point.

Directed by Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker follows a United States Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal team during the Iraq War as they deal with defusing bombs, the threat of insurgency and their own internal tensions. The film is based on the accounts of freelance journalist Mark Boal as he expertly tells the story of soldiers dealing with life in a war zone. The film practically swept the BAFTA’s (British Academy Awards) and has been winning Guild Awards all over town.

In the story of Avatar, Oscar-winning director James Cameron takes us to a world beyond the imagination. Set in the future, paraplegic war veteran, Jake Sully is sent to the moon called Pandora where he will become an Avatar. He will regain the use of his legs as he is transformed into one of the indigenous people on the planet. In his new body, he will embark on an epic adventure to save a race of people and a planet from its human invaders. Avatar has also won awards with Best Picture at the Golden Globes, but with a gross of 700 Million domestically and close to 2.5 Billion worldwide, it has really been the biggest winner at the box office.

This is the first year in a long time that I have actually seen more than just one of the nominated films. For that reason alone, it promises to be an exciting Awards show. And even though there are films that deserve the golden statue for their dramatic story telling or for their heartbreaking honesty, I can’t help but cling to the hope that the box office favorite, Avatar, will take home the big win. And it’s not for any other reason than it has done for movies what none other has done in a long while, it has pulled people out of their homes, out of their routines, away from their television sets and brought them back into the movie theatre.

So, no matter what your favorite film may be, I hope you take the time to tune into the Academy Awards show on March 7th, grab a bowl of popcorn and sit back and enjoy the show. Because no matter what film takes home the prize this year, it’s bound to be worth watching.