Eric Bana is set to play Elvis

Eric Bana will play Elvis, but do not get too excited or upset this will not be a bio-pic. The title of the film is "Elvis & Nixon" and the setting is December 21, 1970, when Elvis Presley had a historic meeting with then President Richard Nixon at The White House.

The Actors

Can Eric Bana pull off playing Elvis Presley? In this age of film making anything is possible, but the part of Elvis will require more than slicked back hair and costumes. It will require a swagger, charm and Southern twang. At first there was only rumors that Danny Huston (from X-Men Origins: Wolverine) would play the role of Richard Nixon, but now it has been made official.

The Director

This film will be the directorial debut of actor Cary Elwes probably best known for his acting in the films The Princess Bride and most recently Saw and will be in the upcoming film The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn. He was so intrigued by the unlikely meeting of the two, Elvis and Nixon that he decided to write and direct this film.

My Opinion

As of right now there is no official release date for this film so stay on the lookout. With the little bit of information that I have I must give my opinion that this film will drag on with dialogue. This meeting between Elvis and Nixon could not have been that long, but maybe there will be more to this film. Hopefully Elwes has written wonderful dialogue, scenes and historical references that will not only intrigue the movie viewers, but the history buffs in attendance. I will just have to wait and see what the movie trailer brings.



Thank you: www.cbsnews.com and The Washington Post Express

17 Minute Gangster Film

The year was 1912 and a film titled "The Musketeers of Pig Alley" hit theaters and no one knew at the time, but this film would open the door for a whole new genre of movies that would span decades. This was the first gangster movie in history or so it is accredited to being so.
This film was written and directed by D.W. Griffith and co-starred Lillian Gish, who is said to have been one of the best actress' in her day.
The Musketeers of Pig Alley is about a poor married couple living in New York City and the husband is a musician who has to travel a lot. On a day when he is returning from one of his trips his wallet gets stolen by a local gang member. The husband's wife (Gish) goes to a ball and a man tries to drug her, but the attempt is stopped the very gang member that stole her husband's wallet. Upset that his plan to drug the woman was spoiled the man and the gang member become rivals and a shootout occurs. The husband recognizes the man that stole his wallet and the husband takes the wallet back. The woman (Gish) grateful for the gang members interference she and her husband hide the gangster in their apartment. When the police come the woman gives a false alibi for the gangster.
This short 17 minute silent movie was filmed in Fort Lee, New Jersey and location shots in New York City used real street gang members as extras.
Back in 1912 this short film may have really shocked and surprised people, but by today's standards this film would not even make a 10-year-old gasp. Considering the society back then and now things have definitely changed. Now days everyday a person hears about someone getting robbed or shot or stabbed or whatever and a person just chalks it up to this is everyday life, but back then to hear about someone getting robbed or there was a shootout it was a big deal, people got frightened.
This was the first film to show the public at large the crime that was taking place in the city streets and made the way for many gangster films to follow.

Neo Ned

The film Neo Ned is about acceptance, a need to belong and it is about a white supremacist that falls in love with a black woman while they are both in a mental institution. This film stars Jeremy Renner (from The Town) and Gabrielle Union (from Daddy's Little Girls). Ned, played by Jeremy Renner is sentenced to a mental hospital after he is charged with having been involved in a racially motived murder. Ned is a member of the Aryan Brotherhood, but as the movie progress' it is shown that Ned's love for Rachael, played by Gabrielle Union, is not so strange.

Rachael (Union) is admitted to the mental hospital because she believes that she is possessed by the spirit of Adolf Hitler and shouts out in German. At first Ned (Renner) mocks and provokes Rachael, but then over time they start to open up to one another and reveal their past. Rachael reveals to Ned that when she was younger she was sexually abused by a man who ran a child photography studio. She also shares with him that she has a young daughter.

Later in the film Ned tells Rachael the real secret behind the hate crime that landed him in the mental hospital.

When Ned is released from the mental institution and is at the bus station he changes into his racist gear (black boots and pants and white t-shirt with a black swastika printed on the front). In this scene one would think that Ned is going back to his old ways until he cashs in his bus ticket, steals a car with ease and sleeps outside the mental hospital he was just released from just so he can follow Rachael and the other patients on there outing to the zoo that was taking place the next day.

At the zoo Ned convinces Rachael to run off with him and so she does. Outside of the hospital the two do not seem to mesh so well. Ned is childish and immature were as Rachael is level headed and mature.

Ned shows his immaturity in many ways such as continuing to wear his swastika shirt even though he was fully involved with Rachael and he would throw tantrums like a child. In one scene they are at the grocery store and he is riding on the front of shopping cart like a child would.

Eventually they break up and Ned forces Rachael to confront the man that molested her when she was young. I will not tell what happens at the end, but it is something I did not expect.

I had never heard of the movie Neo Ned. I was flipping through Netflix and thought it would be good to watch because it starred Jeremy Renner and Gabrielle Union. I was glad I picked it. Neo Ned was an independent film that was first shown at the 2005 Tribeca Film Festival. It was written by Tim Boughn and directed by Van Fischer. Neo Ned has won 10 film awards and premiered on Starz in August 2008 and was picked up for distribution by CodeBlack Entertainment in 2008.

This film has a great love story, theme, a few comical moments and some good life lessons. I recommend Neo Ned for your viewing pleasure.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes

Many are familiar with the 1968 Charlton Heston film classic Planet of the Apes and may also be familiar with the 2001 Mark Wahlberg film version also of the same name, but the 2011 version gives the us the watcher a view into how it came to be the planet of the apes.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes stars James Franco as scientist Will Rodman who has desperately been working to find a cure for Alzheimer's because his father Charles Rodman, played by John Lithgow, is suffering from the debilitating disease. The actor Andy Serkis (best known for his role as Gollum in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy) plays the chimp Caesar who is taken in and raised by Will (Franco). As the film progress' you see Caesar growing up and developing, but after an incident he is taken from Will and that is where he starts to really discovery who he is and finds a purpose. I do not want to give too much away so I will leave it at that.

This film had a great storyline, action, substance, and good acting. The film did seem to have its slow parts, but overall it does not take away from the heartbeat of the film. You may walk out of the theater thinking, DEATH TO ALL CHIMPS! Or maybe the thought, scientist need to stop experimenting on them, but either way this is a good film and I recommend to go see it.

QUESTION: Do I have to see any previous Planet of the Apes movies before seeing this one? Overall I would say NO, because I have not even seen the 1968 version, but seeing the 2001 Mark Wahlberg version would kind of help put that extra outlook on the film, but even still nothing is added or taken away. If you haven't seen either one you will still be able to keep up and know what is going on.

TWO THUMBS UP!

ACTION America!

Theaters were filled across the country to see the film Captain America: The First Avenger. From the very first scene my curiosity was sparked. Going into this film I really did not know anything about Captain America. I had not viewed any other movies or read a comic book about him or seen a cartoon. So with all honesty with nothing else to compare the performance with I will say that Chris Evans portrayed Captain America magnificently.

His look and his mannerisms were very on point because the image of Captain America is strong, but at the same time very meek and humble.

Hugo Weaving, probably best known for his role as Agent Smith in The Matrix trilogy, played the nemesis Red Skull. His look and speech added the icing on top of the proverbial villainous cake.

Hayley Atwell plays Peggy Carter the love interest of Captain America and she is tough because she is a woman in a male dominated time it is the 1940's.

Also in the film is Tommy Lee Jones who plays Colonel Chester Phillips, Stanley Tucci as Dr. Abraham Erskine as well as Derek Luke as Gabe Jones and others.

This film was GOOD. The action scenes, dialogue, and acting were very good, but my only problem with the film was that a few of the scenes were too long and drawn out. But, is it worth your time and money? Yes.

The ending is a bit of a surprise.

Horrible Bosses

Horrible Bosses tells the story of three friends Nick (Jason Bateman), Dale (Charlie Day) and Kurt (Jason Sudeikis) as well as the bosses that make their lives miserable Dave Harken (Kevin Spacey), Julia Harris (Jennifer Aniston) and Bobby Pellitt (Colin Farrell).

Also in the film Donald Sutherland as Jack Pellitt the owner of the industrial company where Kurt works and enjoys his job until Jack's sudden death which leaves his cocaine addicted son Bobby (Farrell) in charge of the company and that is the turning point for Kurt.

Nick (Bateman) worked hard to get an upcoming promotion at work, but is screwed over by his boss Dave Harken (Spacey) and Dale (Day) is being sexual harassed by his boss Julia (Aniston).

The three friends begin to contemplate killing their bosses and by chance end up meeting Dean "Motherf**ker" Jones who becomes their murder consultant and gives them the idea to kill each others bosses.

This film was just OK. It had its funny moments, but for the most part I felt like the writers, director and even actors were trying too hard to get laughs out of the audience. The two standout performances would have to be Jason Bateman and Kevin Spacey. Bateman was subtle in his comedy. The littlest thing he did or said could get a laugh. Kevin Spacey was excellent at playing a pure jerk. He made the role of Dave Harken very believable and it made me think that somewhere in the world there is a man that acts just like Harken and although its funny to watch on a movie screen I would not want to work for him.

Horrible Bosses is not necessarily my brand of soda, but for you just may be.

My Prediction For #1

On today July 22nd the movie Captain America: The First Avenger opens in theaters nationwide. My prediction is that this film will top the charts and will be the number 1 grossing movie for this weekend knocking Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows from the number 1 spot and trumping the Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis romantic comedy Friends With Benefits.
I do want to go see Captain America, but I am sick of 3D so if I do go see this film it will be in its regular format.
Captain America: The First Avenger stars Chris Evans as Captain America and also in the film Tommy Lee Jones.
The movie seems interesting and just may be worth my money.