Shot between 2004 and 2006, Margaret was acquired by Fox Searchlight and set for a 2007 release. Writer/director Kenneth Lonergan toiled for years in the editing room, causing lawsuits and all kinds of other drama over the missed release date. Eventually, Martin Scorsese and his longtime editor Thelma Shoonmaker were able to trim the movie down to the studio-mandated two and a half hour run time, but Lonergan wanted a three hour cut and still claims this finished version isn’t his true vision for the film. Finally dumped unceremoniously for a one-week run in theaters in 2011, Margaret is being revived for a brief run at the Cinefamily Theater in Los Angeles this week, and I couldn’t resist seeing what all the fuss was about.

Lisa Cohen (Anna Paquin) lives in New York City with her mother and brother, but is planning a visit to New Mexico to stay with her father for the summer. While searching the Upper West Side for a cowboy hat – an apparent must-have for the horseback riding activities she’s been anticipating – Lisa sees a bus driver (Mark Ruffalo) wearing one and tries to flag him down to ask where he got it. To Lisa’s horror, the distracted driver runs a red lights and hits a woman (Allison Janney), who dies in Lisa’s arms. All of this happens in the first ten or fifteen minutes of the movie, and the rest of the film details how Lisa copes with the aftermath of the accident.

Margaret is the most frustrating portrayal of teenage behavior I’ve seen on film, and it may also be the most accurate. Anna Paquin gives an astonishing performance, full of all of the complicated emotionality of being young and having an answer for everything. Her Lisa is a pseudo-intellectual, getting into heated arguments with classmates over politics and constantly battling her mother with the kind of superior attitude that makes you hope you were never like that when you were that age. In fact, Lisa screams at almost everyone she encounters, using her position as a witness to (and partial participant in) the bus crash as a platform, desperate to be seen and respected as an intellectual equal to the adults around her.

One of the most interesting things about this film is the way New York City is portrayed. From the opening credits of people walking in slow motion through crosswalks, the film seems to have a detached perspective not dissimilar from Lisa’s views on life. In many instances, there’s almost a tilt-shift photography element to the way the city is shot; there’s no personality to its people, just ants scurrying through a timeless ant-hill that will be there long after they all die. In one sequence, Lisa and her mother are in the backseat of a cab at night. Buses and buildings surround them on all sides, threatening to swallow the vehicle into its unforgiving urban stomach. Contrasted with Lisa’s father’s breezy life in California (we only see him talking on the phone as he looks out over the calming ocean), Lonergan’s New York is a prison of harsh life experience waiting to happen. Even Matt Damon’s character, a teacher from Indiana, was lured there by the city’s mystique and nearly destroyed by its claustrophobic temptations.

The editing in Margaret is a clear indication of the fight Lonergan had with the studio. It’s unclear how certain relationships begin, and other sequences end right in the middle of a scene, sometimes to jarring effect. These are tell-tale signs of a director who wanted a three hour film but a studio who demanded thirty minutes stay on the cutting room floor. Though it’s noticeable that parts are missing, Margaret still feels mostly coherent. It’s uneven, but the overall truth it reaches is presumably just as effective as a longer cut’s would have been.

It’s easy to see why a #TeamMargaret movement started among film critics last year, and their efforts have succeeded (at least in part) in getting the film more recognition. The supporting cast is good, but this is Paquin’s movie all along, and her acting is top-notch. She’s explosive and convincing, revealing a teenage state of mind that’s rarely captured on screen in such a natural way. These characters are so multifaceted that even when it’s painful to watch, Margaret is rewarding. Until next time…

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Well, this is a weird story you won’t see every day. We were this close to seeing Matt Damon’s directorial debut – an untitled film previously known as Gold Mist – but now fans will have to wait a little longer to see one of their favorite Beantown boys step behind the camera. Damon was all set to direct, but the project is now being directed by his Good Will Hunting director Gus Van Sant. Read on for the strange reasoning behind the switch.

A bit of backstory: actor John Krasinski came up with the original idea for this film and hired Dave Eggers, who wrote Where the Wild Things Are and the 2009 Krasinski-starrer Away We Go, to write a draft. Krasinski showed the Eggers script to Damon during the filming of The Adjustment Bureau (on which Damon worked with Krasinski’s wife, Emily Blunt), and then, since Eggers was unavailable to do rewrite work, Krasinski and Damon co-wrote the rewrite themselves. Now here’s the strange part – when Damon stepped back from directing, Vulture reports he cited script issues as part of the reason for his departure (though he’ll still star alongside Krasinski). Script issues on a script you co-wrote, eh? Hmm.

The Playlist posits the real problem could just be timing, since Damon has been hard at work on Neill Blomkamp’s District 9 follow-up, Elysium, and doesn’t feel like he has enough time to commit to pre-production for this new film. The plot here is being described as a “Capraesque drama” about with Damon and Krasinski as opposing sales executives in a small town, and evidently there’s already a role in place for Frances McDormand to co-star.

As soon as the conflict arose, the pair – who are also producing – offered the director’s chair to Gus Van Sant who, aside from directing Damon and Ben Affleck’s Oscar-winning screenplay for Good Will Hunting, worked with Damon on a small indie called Gerry. As long as everything goes according to plan, production will begin this April with a 12-15 million dollar budget.

What do you think about Damon re-teaming with Van Sant? Would you rather have seen him behind the camera for this type of project?

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Talk about a versatile director. George Miller, who years ago was at the helm for all the gritty and violent Mad Max films, dials up some of the most tender and heartfelt moments depicted on screen this year with Happy Feet Two.  As of today, the front-runner for Best Animated Film for 2011 has arrived.  And for someone (me) who historically pans the 3D gimmick, it’s actually put to good use in this 105 minute presentation.

We pick up with the dancing penguin, Mumble (voiced by Elijah Wood), who is trying to get his young son, Erik (cutely voiced by the young Ava Acres), to embrace their dancing culture that is now practiced all over their glacier territory.  Erik is flustered and believes that this environment just isn’t for him; so he ventures off with the always animated (no pun) Ramon (voiced by Robin Williams) – who knows a thing or two about being different – and they end up hanging with another set of penguins on the other side of the glacier.  This particular group worships, Sven (voiced by Hank Azaria), a presumed flying penguin.  Erik becomes instantly enamored with Sven and gets inspired to adopt his philosophy.

Meanwhile, Mumble is hastily tracking down Erik, but comes across problem that affects everyone who lives on the glacial ice as it threatens the lively hood of Mumble’s people; leading to an assortment of ice-dwelling animals to come to the rescue.

One of the cleverest elements about this story – aside from the underlying environmental stance – is that it feels like an adventure, yet only takes place in 2-3 places.  Besides the two penguin nations that reside on the ice caps, the story introduces a separate story line – ushering in the third location – featuring two Krill in Will (voiced by Brad Pitt) and Bill (voiced by Matt Damon).  Will is anxious to break away from the normal Krill life and become a predator.  His goal: shake-up the food chain and “eat something with a face.”  Bill, his loyal and nervous friend, constantly tries to talk him out of this new lifestyle as they roam around in the depths of the arctic sea.  But Will is determined and constantly puts his vulnerable self in harm’s way, as he attacks creatures a million times larger than him.

The Krill adventures brings in the perfect amount of comedy to balance out the cuteness and warming story going on with the penguins.  If you can recall the moment in The Lion King when Mufasa saved Simba by giving his own life, that emotional discharge you had (or should have had, unless your Satan)  is beautifully executed and projected in numerous sequences throughout this screenplay that encompasses a modest dramatic tone to it.  Not only is the direction of each scene crafted with care, the dialogue really brings in a substantial moments that is often missing with animations lately.  A lot of them are just show-and-go, with the goal of cheap entertainment.  And that’s fine for some.  However, when an animated flick can bring in every emotion and induce a wide-spectrum of reactions from the audience (there’s even a brief scare where you may jump a little), it’s a rarity to behold.

Plus, the 3D provides a nice scope for the fluid animated landscape.  It almost feels like you’re on a visual ride at a theme park, as you’ll have the urge to continually explore the surroundings.  And when factoring in the delivery method of the screenplay; which is filled with musical numbers, this feels like a major Broadway production in some respects that manages to keep every tone balanced and entertaining.

Overall, Happy Feet Two finds it rhythm early on and never misses a beat.  The splendid animation along with thoughtful dialogue will have all audiences fully engaged in all the emotions this flick is conjuring up.  Kids will learn something; adults will feel something; and everybody has a delightful movie going experience thanks to the flawless mechanics and intelligent storytelling.

RATING: 4.5 out of 5

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It seems like decades since Good Will Hunting launched Matt Damon and Ben Affleck into the realm of stardom, in which they both took two dramatically different paths of the spectrum, with Damon having a little more luck in the acting department and Affleck finding his pitch-perfect niche in directing.

Well it’s time for a “reunited and it feels so good” moment, because according to Deadline, the duo will finally reunite, this time taking on the biopic of the notorious Boston mobster, James ‘Whitey’ Bulger, with Warner Brothers attached as well.

This time, however, Affleck will be co-starring as well as directing both Damon and his brother, Casey Affleck (a yet to be announced supporting character), with Damon starring as Bulger. If that wasn’t enough, even more good luck is blessed upon the project, this time in the form of Boardwalk Empire creator/writer Terence Winter, who will be composing the script.

Ironically, this should come out as familiar territory for Damon, who took on the other side of the law as a crooked Boston cop in The Departed (which Martin Scorsese somewhat based off of Bulger), as well as Affleck, who has given us a gloriously gritty depiction of Boston’s underbelly in both Gone Baby Gone and The Town.

Heck, just saying the words “Matt Damon, Star” and “Ben Affleck, Director,” is enough to convince an audience to pay the admission price. But, if that powerhouse combination wasn’t enough, the story of Bulger is intriguing all on its own. Here’s a handy synopsis provided by Deadline:

Bulger is the notorious South Boston crime boss who fled in 1994 and remained a fugitive for 16 years — 12 of them on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted List. He was arrested in June in Santa Monica. The story will cover Bulger’s youth to his incarceration on Alcatraz, through his rise to become a mob boss while secretly serving as an FBI informant for decades.

From that alone, it’s evident that a film chronicling these events is almost a no-brainer success if handled correctly (and we all know it will be) just because audiences love their gangster epics a la The Godfather.

Affleck, who is currently shooting the spy drama Argo and has recently been given directorial duties for the adaptation for Stephen King’s The Stand, continues on well-deserved high profile directorial path, and this biopic will further prove that he has the chops for a potential Oscar nominee.

Of course, it goes without saying that Damon has quite the reputation as well, starring in hit after hit, and it further proves that this long awaited reunion of the pair will be highly anticipated amongst the masses. This is definitely one to watch out for, as further news starts pouring in.

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Remember when Ben Affleck took on the role as director for Gone Baby Gone? As an actor who would often have bad luck with the roles he was given (Gigli and Daredevil, to name a few), he surprised everyone when he swapped his acting hat for the director’s chair, this time, his brother, Casey Affleck, as the star. He delivered to us a brilliant dark and gritty crime drama that managed to reach critical acclaim, leading Affleck to both direct and star in yet another gritty hit about bank robbers in last year’s The Town.

Well according to Variety, Affleck’s good friend Matt Damon is making his directorial debut with an untitled drama from Warner Brothers.

Now contrary to what we heard rumored last summer, the film is not Father Daughter Time: A Tale of Armed Robbery and Eskimo Kisses, the film Damon was speculated to direct. Instead Damon is teaming up with The Office’s John Krasinski, with both of them also co-writing the script. Krasinski came up with the idea for the project, along with author Dave Eggers, co-writer of Away We Go, which starred Krasinski. Both actors will star, with Damon starring as a salesman who moves to a small town. Krasinski’s role is still under wraps.

It seems Damon is taking the more standard dramatic route for his first directing role, as opposed to Affleck’s dive into a more grittier, bloodier path, much like the two’s totally different paths as actors. With that said, however, if Damon’s acting career is any indication on what to expect of him as a director, it’s safe to say the film will be in good hands, as it goes without saying that Damon has given us some of the greatest and iconic roles in the drama department in the past.

Now this won’t be Damon’s first writing gig, of course, as we saw how well he can excute that when he won the Oscar for best original screenplay for Good Will Hunting, in which he also starred in. Krasinski has some writing experience as well, though not as high calibre as Damon’s but still solid none the less, for a film that he also directed titled Brief Interviews With Hideous Men.

So with both actors having an impressive background, it’s no doubt they will be able to create a great film, and it will also be interesting to see if Damon can prove himself as a solid director, as well as continuing his acting legacy. The film has yet to be greenlit by Warner Brothers and the script is still yet to be finished, with Damon and Krasinski aiming for a finished product sometime next month. So until then, definitely keep this film on your radar, as I’m sure it will not disappoint.

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Warner Bros. Pictures has released a new full length trailer for Happy Feet 2. While the first trailer was just a tease, this one covers the story for the sequel and we are introduced to a pair of krill voiced by Brad Pitt and Matt Damon.

Watch below:

The sequel to the Academy Award(R) winning animated smash hit, “Happy Feet Two” returns audiences to the magnificent landscape of Antarctica in superb 3D. Mumble, The Master of Tap, has a problem because his tiny son Erik is choreo-phobic. Reluctant to dance, Erik runs away and encounters The Mighty Sven – a penguin who can fly!! Mumble has no hope of competing with this charismatic new role model. But things get worse when the world is shaken by powerful forces. Erik learns of his father’s ‘guts and grit’ as Mumble brings together the penguin nations and all manner of fabulous creatures – from tiny Krill to giant Elephant Seals – to put things right.

As well as Brad Pitt and Matt Damon, Elijah Wood, Robin Williams, Hank Azaria, Alecia Moore (Pink), and Sofia Vergara round out the voice cast, and Happy Feet 2 will be released November 18, 2011 in the US and December 2, 2011 in the UK.

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Contagion doesn’t feature insane killers, demons, or haunted houses, but it’s one of the most effective horror films of the year. Walking out of the theater, my audience warily eyed each other, making sure not to touch anyone or anything as we went our separate ways. Steven Soderbergh continues to prove himself as one of the finest directors of ensemble casts working behind the camera today, and his controlled direction coupled with a fascinating script by Scott Z. Burns makes for a hell of a movie. It’s unsettling, but it’s also exceptionally crafted and well-acted, so I have no qualms about recommending it for everyone.

Before the movie came out, many (myself included) wondered what the point of Contagion was: doesn’t it look too similar to every other outbreak movie of the past twenty years? But this film reminded me that the devil is in the details: it’s not only about the subject matter, but how the story is executed, and I’m glad I checked it out. Soderbergh adds all kinds of touches that make the movie stand out, from his shallow focus compositions to an excellent montage showing the spread of the deadly disease across the world. There’s a detached quality here, and the director does a good job of keeping the audience at arm’s length throughout the movie and not falling into the trap of making the movie about any one character over another; the main characters are the disease and the fear it inspires.

The acting is fantastic from everyone involved. Matt Damon sells his character’s emotional breakdowns, Kate Winslet makes a big impact with a smaller part, Laurence Fishburne does some of his best work in years, and Jude Law is fantastic as a renegade blogger searching for the truth. Even Gwyneth Paltrow (who dies in the trailer) does well with the small screen time she has. Tiny performances by Elliot Gould, Demetri Martin, Enrico Colantoni, Bryan Cranston, and John Hawkes didn’t disappoint, but the standout actress for me (as much as I love Kate Winslet) has to be Jennifer Ehle, who is not a big name yet but certainly should be after this movie. She evokes a young Meryl Streep not only in appearance but in quality in her role as a doctor on a quest to discover the cure for the disease.

Marion Cotillard’s character is the weak link here, but that’s no fault of hers. The script seems to forget about her since she disappears for a huge chunk of the movie – close to 40 minutes, I’d wager – and then when she returns, her motivations have completely changed with a pitiful implication of why we’re supposed to empathize with her climactic decision. This is a script flaw more than an acting complaint, so I just want to reiterate that I had no issues with Cotillard’s performance. Because there are so many characters introduced, and because Soderbergh keeps the audience from fully engaging with any of them (except for maybe Matt Damon and his daughter), this problem feels particularly egregious. But I’ll also reiterate: just because we don’t get to truly know any of these people, that doesn’t mean that Contagion is not a captivating thriller.

Cliff Martinez adds an eerie electronic-based score punctuated with grating feedback noises, subtly adding to the horrific atmosphere Soderbergh creates. Martinez has been doing some good work this year with this and the scores for Nicholas Winding Refn’s Drive (one of my favorite films of 2011) and the Matthew McConaughey flick The Lincoln Lawyer (which I still haven’t seen).

The escalating panic and hysteria that Contagion depicts are perhaps the scariest moments in the film; it’s easy to assume this movie’s cynical view of the world is pretty realistic if such a situation were to occur. The involvement of the internet in breaking news and Jude Law’s character becoming a prophet for people is not outside the realm of believability, nor are the looting, violence, and destruction presented. Burns’ script is captivating, frightening, and well-constructed, and Soderbergh’s take on the material is a perfect visual partnership with the script’s tone. Contagion is not anything that I plan on revisiting any time soon, but that’s not because I didn’t like it: it’s just because everything it suggests is too unnervingly realistic. And that unsettling feeling is the film’s greatest success. Until next time…

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Earlier this year we got a teaser trailer for Happy Feet 2 which featured the penguins shuffling to the music of Justin Timberlake. Now Warner Bros. have released a second trailer which is more of the same, just with some extra footage.

The trailer is embedded below:

The sequel to the Academy Award(R) winning animated smash hit, “Happy Feet Two” returns audiences to the magnificent landscape of Antarctica in superb 3D. Mumble, The Master of Tap, has a problem because his tiny son Erik is choreo-phobic. Reluctant to dance, Erik runs away and encounters The Mighty Sven – a penguin who can fly!! Mumble has no hope of competing with this charismatic new role model. But things get worse when the world is shaken by powerful forces. Erik learns of his father’s ‘guts and grit’ as Mumble brings together the penguin nations and all manner of fabulous creatures – from tiny Krill to giant Elephant Seals – to put things right.

Among the voice cast this time round are Elijah Wood, Robin Williams, Hank Azaria, Alecia Moore (Pink), Brad Pitt, Matt Damon and Sofia Vergara. Happy Feet 2 will be released November 18, 2011 in the US and December 2, 2011 in the UK.

Read similar posts to Happy Feet 2 gets another trailer at Filmonic

Warner Bros. have released the first trailer for Steven Soderbergh’s virus thriller Contagion, which stars Kate Winslet, Matt Damon, Jude Law, Marion Cotillard, Gwyneth Paltrow and Laurence Fishburne.

In a bold movie the studio has decided to show the death a character played by one of the main players mentioned above, but as the trailer progresses you understand that the death is actually pretty important to the story and they couldn’t really skip around it.

Watch below:

The movie follows the rapid progress of a lethal airborne virus that kills within days. As the fast-moving epidemic grows, the worldwide medical community races to find a cure and control the panic that spreads faster than the virus itself. At the same time, ordinary people struggle to survive in a society coming apart.

Contagion will be released September 9, 2011 in the US and October 21 in the UK.

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The singing penguins are back, and this time they’re shuffling to the music of Justin Timberlake. Among the voice cast this time round are Elijah Wood, Robin Williams, Hank Azaria, Alecia Moore (Pink), Brad Pitt, Matt Damon and Sofia Vergara.

Watch the teaser below:

The sequel to the Academy Award(R) winning animated smash hit, “Happy Feet Two” returns audiences to the magnificent landscape of Antarctica in superb 3D. Mumble, The Master of Tap, has a problem because his tiny son Erik is choreo-phobic. Reluctant to dance, Erik runs away and encounters The Mighty Sven – a penguin who can fly!! Mumble has no hope of competing with this charismatic new role model. But things get worse when the world is shaken by powerful forces. Erik learns of his father’s ‘guts and grit’ as Mumble brings together the penguin nations and all manner of fabulous creatures – from tiny Krill to giant Elephant Seals – to put things right.

Happy Feet 2 will be released November 18, 2011 in the US and December 2, 2011 in the UK.

Read similar posts to Happy Feet 2 teaser trailer at Filmonic