Tropical Island Make-Your-Own-Movie Draft (Round 16)

[Superman]

Nothing Doesn't Matter

Nothing Doesn't Matter
Political Thriller (State of Play, The Pelican Brief, Runaway Jury)
Rated: R (Language, torture and peril situations, violence, brief sexuality)

Directed by Wes Craven
Score by James Newton Howard
Screenplay by Tony Gilroy

Cast Overview (first billed):
Will Smith -- Kevin Avery, high level political lobbyist for Davis/Hill Consultants (DHC) on K Street, Stanford Law graduate (lead)
Kate Winslet -- Debra Quinn, specialty editor for American Journal of Medicine, Harvard Medical graduate (secondary lead role)
Shia LaBeouf -- Alex Petersen, Avery's assistant
John Turturro -- Dennis Olson, big shot CEO of PharmApotek Laboratories (PAL)
Rose Byrne -- Audrey Parker, press secretary for PAL, dating Petersen
Michael Emerson -- Ron Jacobs, lead medical researcher for PAL
Joaquin Phoenix -- Clark Adler, US Senator
Geena Davis -- Lacey Adler-Stone, political figure, married to Adler
Kathy Bates -- Heather Davis, president of DHC
Sigourney Weaver -- Samantha Foster, HHS Secretary, former chief executive at PAL
Connie Nielsen -- Diane Hawking, former US Senator, rival of Senator Adler

Theatrical Trailer (90 seconds):
​

[The screen starts out black, with "Wes Craven Presents" in bold, white letters on the screen.
You hear the sound of a money press running. The picture of the press appears, and then the announcer's voice starts.]

​

Announcer:
Did you know that, every day, the healthcare industry spends over one million US dollars, lobbying on Capitol Hill?

[The screen goes black, and "Written by Tony Gilroy, the mind that brought you
State of Play, Michael Clayton, and The Bourne Series" shows in bold, white letters.]​

[Then we see Will Smith's character, Kevin Avery, shaking hands with politicians. (Dramatic music starts.)]

Announcer:
Kevin Avery knows exactly where each of those dollars come from...

[You see Avery saying: "I'm just a hard-workin' black guy from Stanford."​

A black-suited Dennis Olson (John Turturro) jokingly responds: "I hate you West Coast showoffs."]

Announcer:
who they are going to...

[You see Senator Clark Adler (Joaquin Phoenix) making a passionate argument before the Senate: "These people need my help, and I need YOUR help!"]

Announcer:
and what they are buying.

[You see Debra Quinn (a blond Kate Winslet) typing an article titled: "Dennis Olson: White Knight, or Dark Prince?"
She is typing feverishly and talking on speakerphone at the same time.]

Annoucer:
He knows, because he brings them all together.

[You see Avery on a stage, looking out into a dark crowd. (The tempo of the music increases gradually.)]

Announcer:
As the single most influential healthcare lobbyist on K Street, he's respected, (Avery's speech on stage: "You deserve this!")
liked, ("You earned this!") feared, ("Don't let them take this from you!") ...

[(Music becomes mostly a heavy, dramatic drumbeat.)​

The screen goes dark as the crowd cheers. The cheers fade out, and you hear a knock at a door.​

The door opens to Diane Hawking (Connie Nielsen), who has just shown up at Avery's hotel room.
She greets him frankly: "Good morning, Mr. Avery."]

Announcer:
and about to expose the biggest cover-up in Washington.

[You see Alex Petersen (Shia LeBeouf) and Audrey Parker (Rose Byrne) at dinner in a fancy restaurant.
Petersen asks calmly: "How can you work for a guy like that?"
Parker responds quickly: "How can you work for a guy like that?"]

[You see Quinn stop typing, pick up her speakerphone call. (The dramatic music stops suddenly.)​

She says slowly, as if she's shocked: "Could you repeat that for me?"​

(Music picks back up with heavy violins.)]​

Announcer:​

This fall...

[Hawking is arguing with Avery in the hotel room: "Why would they listen to me? Are you even thinking, Kevin?!"
Avery responds: "You HAVE to help me!"
Hawking: "I can't help you."]

Announcer:​

With help from an unlikely ally...

[You see Avery in a meeting in a dark conference room with Heather Davis (Kathy Bates) and Adler, all three arguing loudly.
Adler: "Were you ever going to tell me..."
Davis interrupts: "Clark, you don't honestly think we tell you everything that goes on up here?"
Adler: "What's that supposed to mean?"
Avery: "It means you know what you need to know, and we know everything else!"]

Announcer:
and despite extreme pressure from the most powerful people on the Hill...

[You see Olson and Parker watching Avery's speech from backstage.
Olson: "Our boy sounds good..."]

Announcer:
Mr. Kevin Avery is getting ready to find out that nothing is too big to be covered up...

[You see Ron Jacobs (Michael Emerson) wearing a white lab coat, holding a syringe, crying loudly: "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"]

Announcer:
too small to be bought...

[You see politician Samantha Foster (Sigourney Weaver) addressing a press conference: "We have recently been made aware of the shocking details..."]

Announcer:
or too corrupt to be perpetrated by the people he trusted most.

[These next clips are all 1 second shots, separated by black screens, no audio but the dramatic music, strong violins and drums:​

---
-- A car spinning out of control
-- Petersen and Parker tied to chairs in a dimly lit room​

-- A steamy clip of Senator Adler and his wife (Geena Davis)
-- Olson winking at Davis
---]

[You see Avery and Quinn get in a taxi together, and Avery leans forward and calmly says: "Your day just got real crazy, my friend."
The screen goes dark again and the music stops. You hear crackling noises, water dripping, and weak whimpering.]

Announcer:
Sooner or later, everyone realizes ...

[You hear slow footsteps, and Olson's voice: "You can choose to deny it..."
You see him pacing in front of a dentist's chair with a flashing light over it.]

[Olson dramatically stresses: "... or you can embrace it."
You see Avery tied down in the chair, gagged, eyes taped open, breathing rapidly.]

[Close up on Olson, grinning: "Either way, this is your life."]

Announcer (dramatically):
Nothing Doesn't Matter.

[Dramatic music crescendos. Black screen. Bold white letters: "Nothing Doesn't Matter -- Fall 2009"]

Script of the trailer: Did you know that, every day, the healthcare industry spends over one million US dollars, lobbying on Capitol Hill? Kevin Avery knows exactly where each of those dollars come from, who they are going to, and what they are buying. He knows, because he brings them all together. As the single most influential healthcare lobbyist on K Street, he's respected, liked, feared ... and about to expose the biggest cover-up in Washington. This fall, with help from an unlikely ally, and despite extreme pressure from the most powerful people on the Hill, Mr. Kevin Avery is getting ready to find out that nothing is too big to be covered up, too small to be bought, or too corrupt to be perpetrated by the people he trusted most.

Sooner or later, everyone realizes: Nothing Doesn't Matter. Fall 2009.
​

 

[Jespher]

Nice work so far guys. Let's keep it up, these are great .

 

[bozzwell]

Skip me. I am trying to finish bunch of stuff before vacation (including this draft), I don't expect to be able to post anything coherent for at least another 24 hours.

 

[Capt. Factorial]

All right. I'll step up and claim my spot rather than skip it. So far we've got a teaser summary and a trailer. My idea (whether it works or not) was a bit different: excerpts from the Blu-Ray commentary...here goes...

Vert, Tout Vert

Starring:
Colm Feore as Dr. Valeriore Vertu
Ingrid Bergman as his fianceé Justine Saint-Souset
Lauren Bacall as Dr. Alicett Tantara
John Hurt as Ulle Tantara, Alicett's husband
Julie Delpy as Julie Anfane, Vertu's infatuated student
Max von Sydow as Exupere Vertu, his father
Audrey Tautou as Lila Peplon, Justine's friend
Mathieu Amalric as Luc Rue D'Este, the Rake
Issach de Bankole as Jaime, a drifter

Cinematography by Sven Nykvist; Screenplay by Jean-Claude Carrière; Music by Erik Satie

Tagline:
"C'est vert qui soutient le monde. Mais parfois quand vous le sauvez, vous le perdez de toute façon." (It is green that sustains the world. But sometimes when you save something, you lose it anyway.)



Selections from the English-language Blu-Ray commentary track:

Kieslowski: It's started? It's started. OK, I'm Krzysztof Kieslowski, director of Vert, Tout Vert and I'm very pleased to welcome you to the 10th anniversary disc of the film. We're lucky enough to have most of the cast along for the commentary, and you see first thing that the credits are rolling as we've got this majestic shot soaring above the French countryside. I knew from the start I had to have the credits at the beginning because we just couldn't roll anything at the end.

...

Kieslowski: I'll admit that we had several other choices in line for some of these roles, but in the end those actors who weren't fluent in French just weren't going to be able to deliver it properly and despite a few misstarts I think we got the right cast anyhow.

...

Kieslowski: The whole idea for "green" - well my fans know of the Blue/White/Red trilogy where I examined the colors of the French flag. I didn't ever intend to follow up with another "color" film, but at some point the idea that green was the color of photosynthesis and therefore the life-sustaining color itself started hanging around the back of my head, and eventually I decided to use the color green in exploring the theme of sustenance.

...

Kieslowski: And you'll see as the end of the credits come through that the shot starts to speed up a bit, we were shooting it at what, 96 frames?
Nykvist: 96.
Kieslowski: 96 frames, but played at 24 so that we could be sure to slow the shot down enough to get all the credits in, and here you can see it speed up a bit as we start dropping frames. It wasn't really intentional, but this, acceleration, kind of gives you the feel of being there-
Nykvist: I should really say a bit more about the opening shot - Krzysztof wanted this grand, sweeping crane shot to come down, start with a broad pan of the countryside then sweep down across the lovers in the hedge -- there they are, and you'll see them again soon with clothes on -- and then off to Julie with her armful of gray leaves but I thought it was completely unworkable until I saw some tourists in a hot air balloon and thought maybe we could get a camera up in one of those. And so we did, and we were lucky, I think very lucky to actually get the shot, not only to get it at all, but to get it on the second take, with being dependent on the wind and having to shoot a little bit into the sun so we didn't have any shadow underneath us, but it turned out amazing, I think. With the credits, what, five minutes?
Satie: It was about four.
Nykvist: Four minutes but it was closer to two minutes of actual filming before the slowdown, and there we fly past Julie and up over the trees, and Julie did an amazing job of ignoring this balloon swooping right past her, within four or five meters-
Kieslowski: I told her it wasn't going to hit her unless I said, "Duck!"

...

Bergman: I was really drawn to Justine from the moment I read the script. You know, she's this young woman who's desperately in love with this really intelligent man who's off to make his mark in the academic world, and she's completely uneducated, moves with him to a new town where he gets a faculty position and has to take up in a café because that's really all she can do. And she doesn't understand what it is about her that -- what he sees in her, and she's always worried that he's going to need this more intellectual connection than she can offer. Of course, her fears turn out to be right and there's this part of her that can't accept his failings but on the other hand there's this part of her that knows that she's the mot important thing in the world to him, even if she can't explain why. She's fascinating to me.

...

Bacall: I think what was exciting for Alicett, more so than the toughest challenge of her scientific career, was the idea that he gave her that she still had it even at her age. For Valeriore, she was wrong, it wasn't about that, it was more misdirected emotion that he just couldn't control, and let's face it, he's carrying a lot as he's trying to track down the cause of this disease that's spreading so fast it might threaten the world's food supply. But she really thinks he wants her, so here where he tries to break it off, she could accept it if it were guilt, but it's more like apathy, and she's not ready for that.

...

de Bankole: And one day I came up to Krzysztof and I asked him whether Jaime even had a last name, because everybody else in the script had one -
Hurt: It was even in the credits like that -
de Bankole: It was, it was even in the opening credits like that, "Issach de Bankole as Jaime", but I asked him and he said of course my character had a last name, and I asked him why it wasn't in the script and he said it was too obvious. And that was right over my head, of course, so I asked him what it was, and he said "Lecafe".
Kieslowski: (chuckles)
de Bankole: And it still didn't mean anything to me, so I wrote it down and looked at it for a second and realized how horrible it all was -- I'm this character who through the first half of the film does almost nothing but go to Justine's café every day and act so reserved that you know something's wrong, at least, something's going on. I come in, I drink, I go...and my name is "I love coffee"?

...

Hurt: An older man gets cuckolded by a younger, and what does he do? Revenge on a wife in her autumn years is so much more temporary than revenge on the young who have the rest of their lives to suffer it. Krzysztof said, though, that I was playing it too much like a snake, too intentional. He wanted more like a spider, blind and mechanistic.

...

Bergman: I love how you give that little pause when you find out about Valeriore.
Amalric: All movie long you're nothing but excuses, oh I'm engaged, and the like. And now a lame excuse isn't going to cut it anymore...but you have to realize it yourself before I point it out to you.

...

Nykvist: And you can't see it, of course, but right here when Valeriore tells Justine, "You sustain me" we start the slow process of desaturating all of the greens in the film. We did it by computer, of course, and it takes 20 minutes so it's a very subtle effect, but we were very careful in the subsequent shots to account for it.

...

von Sydow: This was a tough scene to play because it amounts in some way -- no, it IS a betrayal of my own son in favor of the woman who has left him, and how do you balance that off? It's not like I'm disowning him, but through his own faults he's forced me to side against him, and I can't even tell him so, at least for now.

...

Kieslowski: And then we have the final line, with Ingrid quietly saying, "Green, it's so green!" as we zoom out to one particular leaf in Exupere's garden, and of course by now it's completely desaturated, no green at all in the film. And then we defocus to leave nothing but a blurry screen fading to uniform gray and you realize that Erik's music has stopped and we just leave that screen for fifteen seconds and cut harsh to black without even a "fin" card.
Carrière: The line was delivered perfectly.
Bergman: You wrote it perfectly.
Carrière: That wasn't me, that was Krzysztof's. He had that ending ready to go when we first met to talk about the film; I just had to take the skeleton of the plot and get it there.
Nykvist: And that's why the credits were at the beginning. It wasn't just an interesting throwback to older films.
Kieslowski: That's how it had to end, in the gray, in silence. There couldn't be credits. It just wouldn't have been right. It would have been a distraction.

 

[Superman]

Capt. Factorial, I really enjoyed that. I'm certainly not the type of person to see a foreign language film, so that makes the way you did that even more impressive.

 

[Capt. Factorial]

Capt. Factorial, I really enjoyed that. I'm certainly not the type of person to see a foreign language film, so that makes the way you did that even more impressive.

Thanks! I didn't really know how the concept was going to work, so I'm glad you enjoyed it.

And as far as doing a foreign language film is concerned...well, I knew from the start that it's sort of a niche thing. I'll be happy if I just last a weekend at the box office before being relegated to the art house theaters!

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

Wait, back up... Don LaFontaine is dead?

Well, that really ****s with my plans...

 

[Superman]

Wait, back up... Don LaFontaine is dead?

Well, that really ****s with my plans...

Yeah man, I was thinking about actually picking him, but decided not to. He died a few months ago, at least.

 

[VF21]

Um, you guys do realize the original concept of the thread didn't limit it to living actors, right?

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

Uhm, VF, you do realize that I put that limitation on myself, just like I did in all the other drafts I've participated in; I made that clear somewhere like the tenth round, or so... I even had some banter with NME about the subject...

So no, I wasn't suffering from any illusion that I wasn't allowed to choose dead actors; I'm just not gonna.

 

[VF21]

Uhm, VF, you do realize that I put that limitation on myself, just like I did in all the other drafts I've participated in; I made that clear somewhere like the tenth round, or so... I even had some banter with NME about the subject... `

Oops. My bad. No, I didn't realize you'd made that limitation on yourself.

So no, I wasn't suffering from any illusion that I wasn't allowed to choose dead actors; I'm just not gonna.

Well, what happens if someone in your cast ... um ... er ... shuffles off this mortal coil?

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

The we finish the production "Crow" style!

 

[SacKings7]

Looks like I'm on deck here. You guys can go ahead and skip me when my turn comes. My writeup probably isn't gonna be very long, so I should get it up sometime soon

 

[Jespher]

From the visionary mind of Orson Scott Card, and the graphic novels by Frank Miller comes an exceptional story of an extraordinary child...

Ender’s Game​

​

[yt=Ender’s Game Teaser Trailer]PLQF-4uyD4Y[/yt]​

Cast:
Elijah Wood -- Ender Wiggin (American)/Achilles de Flandres (Belgian)
Jennifer Connelly -- Valentine Wiggin/Mind Fantasy Game Voice (American)/Formic Queen (Alien)
Christian Bale -- Peter Wiggin (American)/Crazy Tom (British)
Jodie Foster -- Theresa Wiggin (American)/General Pace (Australian)
Sean Penn --John Paul Wiggin (American)/Major Anderson (American)

Sir Ben Kingsley -- Colonel Hyrum Graff (Indian)/Rose de Nose (Israeli)
Dev Patel -- Julian "Bean" Delphiki (Greek)/Bernard (French)
Lucy Liu -- Petra Arkannian (Chinese)/Sister Carlotta (Spanish)
Cliff Curtis -- Alai (Egyptian)/Mazer Rackham (Maori)
John Cho -- Han Tzu (Korean)/Shen (Japanese)
River Phoenix -- Dink Meeker (Dutch)/Stilson (American)
Javier Bardem -- Bonzo Madrid (Spanish)/Carn Carby (Australian)

Robert Zemeckis -- Director
Frank Miller – Writer/Producer

Roger Ebert Reviews Ender’s Game:

"Ender’s Game" is set in a future where humankind experiences large-scale confrontations with an insectoid alien race called Formics (or Buggers). During two separate invasions the Formics nearly wipe out humanity. As a result, the nations of the world enter a shaky alliance to combat the Formics with the formation of an international military unit, the International Fleet (IF). In the futuristic setting, humankind develops interstellar travel, faster-than-light communication (derived from the ansible from Ursula K. Le Guin's works), various new weapons and defense mechanisms, and control over gravity. Earth is governed by three separate bodies, the Hegemony, the Polemarch, and the Strategos, which compete for dominance during the war.

The story of this movie follows two main characters as they struggle with social hazing, and rigorous military training to destroy The “Buggers”. The irony of the film is that the boys defeat the alien race through increasing their understanding of their own tactical strategies and innate human nature. Human nature is looked upon very objectively in the film, as through the eyes of a child, and we're left to witness it's brutality and benevolence. Ender is the true hero of the movie, while Bean is equally heroic, yet often plays second fiddle as he lacks the natural ability to lead, which Ender possesses.

Most of the story focuses around the Battle School, a space station used as a military training complex for children. The IF tests all children on Earth and selects the brightest for the Battle School military training. Students are organized into forty-one man armies and assigned to conduct simulated battles in micro gravity (called "null gravity" in the film). Upon graduation, students move on to either Tactical School, Combat School, Pre-Command School or Command School with three years in Pre-Command. The Battle School forms in response to the need of highly skilled officers for the wars against the Formics, and most of the officers in the IF pass through the school at one time. The battle room scenes are meticulously detailed and action packed, with the use of 3D frequently eliciting oos and ahs from the audience. I was much more impressed with the subtle use of 3D shots in this film, which are truly awe inspiring.

The visuals in this movie are stunning, and a testament to the genius of a filmmaker Robert Zemeckis' skill at integrating effects to create vistas never before seen on film. Where CGI normally detracts from the story, the opposite is true here. This film uses it in subtle, yet brilliant ways to give us insights into the inner workings of these child prodigies. I particularly appreciated the decision to use the graphic user interface blips to show what the characters were thinking about, and how they were rationalizing the madness around them. This intensifies the drama, yet also gives great opportunity to comedic moments in an overall dark film.

The drama is what makes this movie a must see, as it gives great insight into human nature with each character. The film tells the tale through several perspectives simultaneously, letting the audience experience both being the bully, and the bullied. While Ender is the main character of the film, we see his wrinkles and failings as well. The true intentions of each party are understood with remarkable clarity, and not since Schindler’s List have I connected with both the victim and the tormentor so equally well.

Throughout the film, we follow Bean’s character through his personal struggles against the IF administration, who seems bent on breaking Ender down. Bean has to contend with his own struggle to understand Ender's thought processes, and to truly understand human nature to solve his own problems and confront his brutal past. Ender is looked upon more heroically than Bean, as he is governed by empathy, where Bean is governed by survival instinct and cold logic. This gives Ender the natural ability to lead, while further isolating him from the friends and family that he loves.

I was familiar with the book, and I liked it, somewhat, but the movie is far superior on several levels. It has all the fun of an action movie, the epic scope of science fiction, the dialogue of great comedy, and the interpersonal struggles and triumphs of a great drama. This film is a masterpiece that must be seen to be believed.

I give this film the highest rating, and I can’t wait to see it a second, or third time. Ender's Game is not just a summer blockbuster, but a genre all of its own; a true pioneer of a film many years ahead of it's time.

More About The Film:

Spoiler

Following his blockbuster successes 300 and Sin City, writer/producer Frank Miller penned a graphic novel series based on the science fiction cult classic novel Ender’s Game. The graphic novels merged two books, Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow, to tell a more complete, and psychologically introspective story from several perspectives simultaneously. This series became the backbone for a screenplay, also written by Miller, that was purchased for production by Robert Zemeckis.

These two filmmaking icons collaborated in the production of this film, creating epic shots, never seen before in the history of cinema, and creating an award winning human drama.

Robert Zemeckis chose to cast characters for dual roles to further the theme of Ender's isolation in the film. Ender's friends and enemies are the tools that he uses to train his body and mind in his quest to defend himself, and in so doing, defend mankind.

The visual effects for the movie evolved from the blue screen processes of 300 and Sin City, and merged with the performance capture technology innovated by Robert Zemeckis in The Polar Express and Beowulf. This allowed the filmmakers to tell a graphic, adult story involving children while utilizing adults as actors rather than kids. The actors each wore hundreds of computer sensing patches to mimic their facial and bodily movements precisely, and performed with wire props in front of a blue screen. Their performances were captured digitally in 3D, and overlaid with CGI to make the characters into children. As the movie advances, the characters age several years (some from age 6 to age 60). This technology allowed them to do this seamlessly without losing any quality in the acting performance.

Furthermore, the filmmakers used their visual effects to add insight into the psychological workings of their characters. They incorporated graphic user interface (G.U.I.) effects, which were first used in the Will Ferrell film Stranger Than Fiction, to chronicle the mental calculations and inner workings of the child geniuses, as well as their adult teachers and commanding officers.

Not only did they incorporate a large amount of performance capture and blue screen technology, but they also pioneered a new audio innovation utilizing blue tooth technology. The team recorded 5 separate soundtracks to the film, specifically including thought voice-overs by prominent characters. There is a soundtrack for the general audience (including Ender’s thought-overs), and 4 additional soundtracks, each including thought voice-overs from Bean, Petra/Valentine, Ender’s Enemies, and the Adults in the film respectively. This enabled the audience to view the film from 5 separate perspectives (as they could switch between soundtracks or listen to separate soundtracks during separate viewings) giving it a new viewing experience each time, and amazing insight as to the thought processes and rationale of the characters in the film.

Ordered in mass, each headset costs a mere $3.50 (with the cost made up by a single ticket sale) and each receives a signal from a transceiver as the movie plays. The headsets include a 3D visor and surround sound audio wireless receivers, each equipped with their own individual channel changer. The audience can easily switch their audio channel using a cord on the side of the visor. This revolutionary technology has allowed normal theaters to incorporate the IMAX movie going experience at a very low cost. This film will be released for theaters in normal and 3D versions.

Spoiler

 

[Jespher]

Plot summary (Contains Spoilers)

In the film’s opening, the audience follows Andrew "Ender" Wiggin (Elijah Wood) on the day his monitor is removed (a computerized implant that tracks his emotions and sees what he sees). He initially thinks that he has failed to impress the IF, dropping out of their monitoring program, and destined for a “normal life”. This will prove challenging for him, as he is a Third (in an age when everyone is required to only have 2 or fewer children). Ender's brother Peter and his sister Valentine also wore this monitor, although neither was selected, nor did they have it for as long as Ender. Peter will never forgive Ender for this. Peter hates Ender, and even when the monitor is taken out it does nothing to decrease Peter's anger. The same is true of Ender's schoolmates, and he is forced into brutally beating Stilson (River Phoenix), the leader of a gang of bullies, in order to protect himself.

As Ender returns home the Wiggin family is further introduced. The cruel Peter (Christian Bale), the loving Valentine (Jennifer Connelly), the astute mother (Jodie Foster), and the strong willed father (Sean Penn). As family dynamics unfold, an IF officer, Colonel Hyrum Graff (Sir Ben Kingsley) appears at their home. He tests Ender’s intentions and the reasons for his attack on Stilson, and offers him a position at the prestigious Battle School. After much conversation and deliberation, he accepts.

Meanwhile, Bean (Dev Patel), is an orphan living in the hellish streets of Rotterdam. Being hyper-intelligent but extremely young, Bean's experiences all center around his need for food. Bean has several bloody encounters with a homeless bully, Achilles (Elijah Wood), who is both ruthless and extremely gifted. Luckily for Bean, his incredible mind, creativity, and determination bring him to the attention of Sister Carlotta (Lucy Liu), a nun recruiting children to fight a war against the Buggers.

More:

Spoiler

At Battle School, Colonel Graff publicly recognizes Ender as the most intelligent attendee. This acknowledgment causes other students to resent Ender, isolating him from most of the other children, especially Bernard (Dev Patel) whom Ender has several physical and social altercations with (at one point breaking Bernard’s arm). Ender resents this isolation, and feels the only way to improve his situation is to excel.

As the “launchies” arrive, the Battle School, is introduced. The children tour the school, exploring the game room, the classrooms, their dormitories, and especially the battle room, where the bulk of their training will occur in null gravity laser battles. Ender becomes obsessed with the psychological videogame on his personal computer, a game in which his character repeatedly dies in traumatic and brutal ways. The adults take note (including Major Anderson (Sean Penn) and General Pace (Jodie Foster)), and some believe the isolation is taking its toll on him, but Colonel Graff refuses to intervene. Ender eventually befriends Shen (John Cho) and Alai (Cliff Curtis) and they form a “launchie” practice group to try to learn and innovate strategy for the zero gravity game.

Ender is promoted into Salamander Army several years ahead of schedule, and is put under the command of Bonito “Bonzo” Madrid (Javier Bardem). Bonzo is a poor officer, quick to anger, and slow to adapt to change. He feels threatened by Ender’s inexperience and insubordination, and tells him to not participate in any of the battles so he will be easier to trade. An older soldier in Salamander Army, Petra Arkannian (Lucy Liu) befriends Ender, and teaches him how to shoot. Ender and Petra become quick friends through mutual respect.

Meanwhile, back on earth, Peter (between mutilating squirrels and psychologically tormenting his classmates) manipulates Valentine to begin a game on the Internet blogs with him. They create characters under pseudonyms to eventually try to influence world affairs. Valentine’s character is Demosthenes, who spouts hysteria about foreign powers, and quickly gains a following among political radicals. Peter’s character is Locke, who is more conservative, realistic, and academically accepted. These characters have the opposite characteristics of the children writing them, forming a necessity for each other that Valentine quickly resents, yet also caters to. Colonel Graff returns to earth and has a conversation with Valentine, urging her to write to Ender so he can overcome a hurdle in the psychological video game he has been obsessing over. Valentine grudgingly agrees and continues to write as Demosthenes.

After enraging Bonzo several times Ender is transferred to Rat Army under the command of Rose de Nose (Ben Kingsley) a much more laid back commander. Ender is placed under the command of toon leader Dink Meeker (River Phoenix), who recognizes Ender’s talents, and helps his development as a soldier. Dink believes that the real enemies are the teachers themselves, as the students were all chosen to help fight the buggers, yet they are pitted against one another in the game. Both Bean and Ender share this view, and a distrust of authority and their half truths is prevalent throughout the film.

After lots of action sequences in the battle room and fantasy mind game Ender soon ranks among the school's elite child soldiers. He eventually achieves the school's top rank, yet even after his success the other children continue to ostracize him. Ender attempts to escape his isolation and frustration in various ways, but experiences little comfort until he receives a letter from his older sister Valentine, reminding him of his reasons for attending Battle School in the first place, to “never be like Peter”, controlling, murderous, and cruel.

At Battle School, Bean's true genius becomes apparent. Not only is he smarter than average, he's smarter than any other child at Battle School, including Ender. Despite Bean's intelligence, it is Ender who has been chosen to save humanity from the Buggers. Bean struggles to understand what quality Ender has that he does not, until he is assigned to draw up a "hypothetical" roster for Ender's army, and adds himself to the list.

The Battle School brass soon promote Ender to commander of a new army in the school's zero-gravity wargame league. He molds his young soldiers into an undefeated team, despite working with an inexperienced army under impossible odds and cheating teachers. Ender's army implements innovative tactics, abolishing old methods like the use of formations in the battle room, legs first attack, independent toons of 5 under toon leaders including Crazy Tom (Christian Bale) and Han Tzu (John Cho), and constant motion. At first Ender doesn't appear to recognize Bean's brilliance, but time shows that he was grooming Bean as his tactical support, putting him at the head of an unorthodox platoon challenged to out-think the teachers who designed the game, and defeat their attempts at cheating.

Back in a Rotterdam lab, it is revealed that scientists had turned Anton's Key, which means Bean's body will never stop growing - including his brain - until a premature death between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five. Sister Carlotta manages to ensure that Bean will get to live with his adopted parents after the war.

After many months of physically and emotionally draining battles, Ender finds himself alone in the showers, and has a final altercation with Bonzo. Ender is surrounded, and uses Bonzo’s pride as a weapon against him. There is a vicious fight, which results in Ender actually killing Bonzo. The teachers never show any signs of assisting, or preventing the fight, and Ender realizes that they mean for him to have true isolation (they never will come to his rescue, even for the safety of others).

The Battle School administration promotes Ender to Command School ahead of schedule. In command school, Ender plays a game very similar to the Battle Room, where he commands ships in a 3-D space battle simulator. His subordinate officers are fellow students advanced early from the battle school who later become known as "Ender's “jeesh". Mazer Rackham (Cliff Curtis), a legendary hero of the Formic wars, is brought in to train Ender with a series of tests. Each day the games become increasingly grueling, and Ender is slowly worn down to exhaustion. Waking and sleeping blend together as Ender nearly loses his sanity, though still maintaining his military innovation and leadership. He has vivid nightmares of being vivisected by buggers, or as seeing his fleet destroyed from the bugger’s point of view.

Ender's "final exam" consists of a scenario where bugger ships outnumber Ender's fleet 1,000 to 1 near a planetary mass. With Bean’s help, Ender orders the use of a special weapon, the Molecular Disruption Device, against the planet itself, destroying the simulated planet and all ships in orbit. Ender makes this decision knowing that it is expressly against the respectable rules of the game, hoping that his teachers will find his ruthlessness unacceptable, remove him from command, and allow him to return home.

Soon after Ender's destruction of the "simulated" Formic fleet, Rackham tells him that all the simulations were real battles taking place in Formic space. After Ender realizes that he is responsible for the destruction of an entire race, the guilt of the genocide sends him into a coma.

When Ender recovers, Valentine convinces him to leave on the first colony ship to another world, as Peter has become Hegemon of Earth, and would only manipulate Ender if he returned. The rest of Ender’s “jeesh” return to Earth and become commanding officers for their respective countries. (After the war with the buggers, there is a war between several nations on earth. In the Locke Proposal, Peter Wiggin writes terms for a treaty, including that Ender will never be allowed on earth, as everyone fears he will become a general and other nations can use him to take over the world.)

Once the first colony has been established, Ender discovers a landscape that he recognizes from the psychological game he played in battle school, and realizes that the Formics built it for him before they were destroyed. He eventually discovers an unborn Formic queen who can communicate with him through a psychic link. She tells him that her race was not aware that humans were sentient creatures. The Formic defeat in the Second Invasion awakened them to humanity's true nature, and they had resolved never to attack Earth again. Realizing his crime, Ender writes a book under the pseudonym "Speaker for the Dead" entitled The Hive Queen, wherein he tells of the compassion and pain of the Formic race, which becomes a religion across humanity. After years of space travel change his relative age, he also writes a similar book about the exploits of his brother Peter entitled “The Hegemon”.

At the very end of the story, Ender and Valentine leave on a new colonization ship. Ender takes with him a small white egg (containing the Formic Queen and the future of the formic race) as he searches for a suitable home to restore the race he annihilated.

 

[Jespher]

Notable Quotes:

“I have to win this now, and for all time, or I’ll fight it every day and it will get worse and worse.”
- Ender

"I've watched through his eyes, I've listened through his ears, and I tell you he's the one."
- Colonel Graff

"...But when it comes to human beings, the only type of cause that matters is final cause, the purpose. What a person had in mind. Once you understand what people really want, you can't hate them anymore. You can fear them, but you can't hate them, because you can always find the same desires in your own heart."
- Bean

“I won't lie now, either. My job isn't to be friends. My job is to produce the best soldiers in the world. In the whole history of the world. We need a Napoleon. An Alexander. Except that Napoleon lost in the end, and Alexander flamed out and died young. We need a Julius Caesar, except that he made himself dictator, and died for it. My job is to produce such a creature, and all the men and women he'll need to help him. Nowhere in that does it say that I have to make friends with children. “
- Colonel Graff

“As a species, we have evolved to survive. And the way we do it is by straining and straining and, at last, every few generations, giving birth to genius. The one who invents the wheel. And light. And flight. The one who builds a city, a nation, an empire.... Human beings are free except when humanity needs them. Maybe humanity needs you. To do something. There's only one thing that will make them stop hating you. And that's being so good at what you do that they can't ignore you."
- Colonel Graff to Ender

“There is no help for me. Whatever I face, now and forever, no one would save me from it. Peter might be scum, but Peter was right, always right; the power to cause pain is the only power that matters, the power to kill and destroy, because if you can't kill you are always subject to those who can, and nothing and no one will ever save you.”
- Ender

“This was supposed to be a game. Not a choice between my own grisly death and an even worse murder. I’m a murderer, even when I play. Peter would be proud of me.”
- Ender

“Perhaps it's called the end of the world because it's the end of the games, because I can go to one of the villages and become one of the little boys working and playing there, with nothing to kill and nothing to kill me, just living there.” As he thought of it, though, he could not imagine what "just living" might actually be. He had never done it in his life. But he wanted to do it anyway.
- Ender/Mind Fantasy Game Narrator

“The wise are not wise because they make no mistakes. They are wise because they correct their mistakes as soon as they recognize them.”
- Bean

(Major Anderson) "I went back through some of the tapes. I can't help it. I like the kid. I think we're going to screw him up."
(Colonel Graff) "Of course we are. It's our job. We're the wicked witch. We promise gingerbread, but we eat the little bastards alive."
- Anderson and Graff exchange

"Fairness is a wonderful attribute, Major Anderson. It has nothing to do with war."
- Colonel Graff

"You don’t have to eat the entire turd to know that it’s not a crab cake."
- Bean

"With Ender, we have to strike a delicate balance. Isolate him enough that he remains creative--otherwise he'll adopt the systems here and we'll lose him. At the same time, we need to make sure he keeps a strong ability to lead."
- Colonel Graff

"It's the teachers, they're the enemy. They get us to fight each other, to hate each other."
- Bean

(Ender) "Being here alone with nothing to do, I've been thinking about myself, too. Trying to understand why I hate myself so badly"
(Valentine) "No, Ender."
(Ender) "Don't tell me 'No. Ender.' It took me a long time to realize that I did, but believe me, I did. Do. And it came down to this: In the moment when I truly understand my enemy, understand him well enough to defeat him, then is the very moment I also love him. I think it's impossible to really understand somebody, what they want, what they believe, and not love them the way they love themselves. And then, in that very moment when I love them-"
(Valentine) "You beat them."
(Ender) "No, you don't understand. I destroy them. I make it impossible for them to ever hurt me again. I grind them and grind them until they don't exist."
- Ender and Valentine exchange

"Human beings didn't evolve brains in order to lie around on lakes. Killing's the first thing we learned. And a good thing we did, or we'd be dead, and the tigers would own the earth."
- Valentine to Ender

"I am your enemy, the first one you've ever had who was smarter than you. There is no teacher but the enemy. No one but the enemy will tell you what the enemy is going to do. No one but the enemy will ever teach you how to destroy and conquer. Only the enemy shows you where you are weak. Only the enemy tells you where he is strong. And the rules of the game are what you can do to him and what you can stop him from doing to you. I am your enemy from now on. From now on, I am your teacher."
- Mazer Rackham to Ender

"Humanity does not ask us to be happy. It merely asks us to be brilliant on its behalf. Survival first, then happiness as we can manage it."
- Mazer Rackham to Ender

“I don't care if I pass your test, I don't care if I follow your rules. If you can cheat, so can I. I won't let you beat me unfairly - I'll beat you unfairly first.”
- Ender

“I didn’t want to kill them all. I didn’t want to kill anybody! I’m not a killer! You didn’t want me, you bastards, you wanted Peter, but you made me do it, you tricked me into it!”
- Ender

"In all the world, the name of Ender is one to conjure with. The child-god, the miracle worker, with life and death in his hands. Every petty tyrant-to-be would like to have the boy, to set him in front of an army and watch the world either flock to join or cower in fear."
- Colonel Graff

"Welcome to the human race. Nobody controls his own life, Ender. The best you can do is choose to be controlled by good people, by people who love you."
- Valentine to Ender

"I've lived too long with pain. I won't know who I am without it."
- Ender to Valentine

 

[kingsnation]

The NationStudios proudly presents...

Coming August 2009..

EXCLUSIVE SNEAK PEEK

Young Mark (Cole Sprouse) and Young Amanda (Abigail Breslin) are seen walking thorugh their Jr High School (Abraham Lincoln Jr High) talking about the upcoming 7th grade dance..

YA: Are you going to go to the dance?

YM: NO! The dance is for losers, I'd rather play at the dance.

YA: You are too obsessed with music...

YM: Why would I go when I wouldn't even have anyone to dance with? You have tons of guys who would go with you.

YA: We could go together??

YM: AMANDA!!

YA: Oh shut up, we've know each other our whole lives.. Our moms are practically sisters...

YM: Yeah I'm Good. Thanks... loser.

--

Amanda went to that dance... with young jr high athlete, Landon Keller...


Fast Forward 6 years to Senior Prom...


We see Mark (Matthew Perry), Best Friend Nathan Reshton (Patrick Dempsey), and Amanda's younger cousin Damon 'DJ' Johnson (Ryan Reynolds) in Mark's garage..

Nathan: Yeah, Michelle wants me to get my tux..

DJ: Oh, yeah? I wish I could go to the Prom. DJ and Leslie Garcia...

Nathan: Yeah that would happen. And why do you always refer to yourself as third person?

DJ: DJ doesn't know what you're talking about...

Nathan: You just did it.

DJ: Did What?

Mark: Guys, guys! We have to practice. We are playing a song at the prom, remember?

Nathan: Yeah, one song Mark. We still get to dance and spend time with our girls.

DJ: DJ thinks you are bitter because my cousin is going with Landon...

Mark: What?! (stuttering) I...I...I don't know what you're talking about.. we're just friends..

Nathan: Stop kidding yourself Mark.

DJ: You should just tell her how you feel. She adores you.

Mark: We NEED to practice. We're doing "Friday.." so we have to get going.

Nathan: No. Not until you call her.

DJ: DJ agrees.

Mark: sigh. Before I do, I need to time to think.

Nathan: Just ask yourself the question.. What would The Cure do?

Mark: Well, that's true.

--

Mark did tell Amanda how he felt. After the "Mini-Cure" performed at the Prom. Mark found Amanda and told her that he was falling in love with her.

A shocked and confused Amanda had some news for Mark as well. She had recieved a scholarship to USC and was leaving in a month. And Landon was gong to USC as well....

--

12 years later. Mark is still in San Francisco. Still best friends with Nathan and DJ. Mark works as a Entertainement Reporter at the San Francisco Chronicle. One thing has majorly changed. He hasn't spoken to Amanda since she moved away.

He doesn't ask DJ how she's doing nor does he ask Amanda's Mom, Erin Teague.

Mark has dated alot of women since High School. But none have made him feel the way Amanda did.

That is until The Chronicle hires new entertainment editor Justine Hines....


Ms. Woodson (Whoopi Goldberg): Entertainment is big in our community. I want our paper to provide a view on entertainment that this city has never seen. Mark..

Mark: Yes?

Ms. Woodson: You have been very valuable to our team over the past 3 years. But..

Mark: You're firing me?

Ms. Woodson: No! (laughing) No! You've just been our main guy in Entertainment for a couple years now and we want to bring in someone who can begin to shape our section even more.

Mark: O.K.

Ms. Woodson: (Door opens) This is Justine Hines. Our new Entertainment Editor.

Mark: Hi, Mark.

Justine: Hello, Justine Hines.

Ms. Woodson: You two will work well together. Mark is our number one Entertainment writer. Starting today, you two will hold 1-hour brainstorming meetings every day for 2 weeks. I want to see Entertainment like never before.

--

Mark was bitter. Sure, Justine was beautiful but just another face. Not only that, but without saying it - Justine was essentially his boss. The first week was rough.


However, the second week changed both their lives forever...


Justine: So we've covered Movies, TV, Literature, and Live Plays... and I have to say - Mark you haven't been much help.

Mark: Music is my expertise.

Justine: And why's that?

Mark: It's who I've always been.

Justine: I love music too.

Mark: Listen, why don't you let me take music?

Justine: You don't think we can work together?

Mark: You don't know more than I do.

Justine: Mark, no offense but when Ms. Woodson told me that you were one of her best writers I was expecting someone who wasn't such a baby.

Mark: sigh. Who's the best band ever?

Justine: Excuse me?

Mark: Who's the best band ever? This will tell me alot.

Justine: Well, not that I owe it to you, but the best band ever is The Cure.

Mark: (silence) ... Well, .. yeah.

--

And with that. Mark had forgotten all about Amanda.

Mark and Justine were inseperable. Together, they took the Entertainment Section to the next level.

That is until Justine met Mark's parents Roger (Steve Martin) and Lisa (Glenn Close) over dinner...

Roger: Sooo Lisa, who's the best band ever?

Justine: The...

Roger: Rolling Stones! (Laughing)

Mark: Dad!

Lisa: Roger!

Justine: (laughing) It's ok.

Roger: What? They are the best band ever. Satisfaction, Gimmie Shelter, You Can't Always Get What You Want...

Justine: They are a great band.

Roger: I have a piece of Mick Jagger's shirt.. Want to see it?

Mark: Dad!

Justine: (laughing) I'd love to.

(Roger and Justine leave the table to go see the shirt)

Lisa: So, Mark. She seems like a great girl.

Mark: Yeah she really is. I mean, The Cure? Could it get any better?

Lisa: I'm sure DJ has told you that Amanda is moving back into town?

Mark: What?! No. I mean, (stuttering) Wh, wh, why, why? WHY?

Lisa: She got a job at a hospital in Oakland.

Mark: Well, ok. Why would I care about that?

Lisa: I didn't think you would. Especially with Justine...

Mark: No.

Lisa: After all, Amanda is engaged.

Mark: What? Why? I mean, Good for her. To who?

Lisa: Landon Keller.

--

And so it was official. Amanda and fiance Landon were moving back into the Bay Area. They needed a place to stay, so they'd be staying with Amanda's Mother Erin.

Just when Mark had thought he finally was over Amanda, she was re-entering his life. Now, Mark must decide who he truly loves. Is it over with Amanda since she is engaged? Is it over with Amanda because Mark has found true love with Justine?

Now, everyone is giving Mark advice. His parents, His friends and even Ms. Woodson.

Is life providing a second chance?
Or has Mark found love the second time?

The Chance(s) of a Lifetime

Directed by Andy Tennant (Hitch, Sweey Home Alabama, Fool's Gold, Ever After, Fools Rush In)

Starring

Matthew Perry as Mark Hendricks
Reese Witherspoon as Amanda Teague
Rachel McAdams as Justine Hines
James Marsden as Landon Keller
Steve Martin as Roger Hendricks
Glenn Close as Lisa Hendricks
Patrick Dempsey as Nathan Reshton
Ryan Reynolds as Damon 'DJ' Johnson
Tess Harper as Erin Teague
Cole Sprouse as Young Mark
Abigail Breslin as Young Amanda

AND

Whoopi Goldberg as Ms. Woodson

Rated PG-13 for Language, Adult Situations

The Chance(s) of a Lifetime
August 2009

 

[Spike]

Space Nuts!

Listen along as Harry Connick Jr., in the role of the Space Balladeer, tells the story of how Space Captain Deep and Space Orangutan Billings foil the plans of Evil Commander Forsythe to take over space by committing all to listen to only Karaoke!
Space Captain Deep fights his own karaoke demons along the way, and finds love in the most unusual of places…


Cast List:
Johnny Depp – Space Captain Deep
Britney Spears – Cousin Lucy
Clyde the Orangutan – Space Orangutan Billings
Cameron Diaz – Miss Space Jenny
Raul Julia – Evil Commander Forsythe
Burgess Meredith – Crotchety Jeffers
Isaac Hayes – Soul Buddy
Hank Azaria – Funkalier
Aishwarya Rai – Princess Omni
Kelly Brook – Eye Candy
Rip Torn – As Himself

Act I:
Space Captain Deep finds himself lost in space, but sees a hitchhiker along the way. Pulling over, he finds the sultry Miss Space Jenny, who can’t seem to help but randomly break into song. She’s currently of no use, but Capt. Deep’s radio is broken, so he brings her along. Nearing the planet Chimpolis, they stop for gas. There, they find Space Orangutan Billings and his crotchety old handler, Jeffers. All of a sudden, a space storm erupts, and from out of the sky appears Evil Commander Forsythe! Forsythe tells the galaxy of his plans to ruin good music forever and bring forth the reign of the empty orchestra.

Act II:
Space Captain Deep and Space Jenny decide that they must fight the plot of the evil commander. Jeffers tells the story of a chimp that will free the galaxy, and offers Space Orangutan Billings…who is not a chimp. Billings, however, cannot leave planet Chimpolis without Jeffers’ younger Cousin Lucy, who seems to do nothing but get herself in trouble. Together, the crew leaves and stops to dine on Planet Funkzilla. There, they meet Soul Buddy and the Funkaliers. Soul Buddy passes on the funk to Space Orangutan Billings, in the hopes that his new-found soul will help save the galaxy.

Act III:
The crew heads to Miranda, one of Uranus’ moons, to attempt to thwart the Evil Commander. Commander Forsythe sets up a trap, where a crew member must outshake the hips of Princess Omni. Unfortunately, all seems lost until Cousin Lucy comes to the rescue. As they shake on to a stalemate, Space Captain Deep is mesmerized by Commander Forsythe’s second in command, named “Eye Candy”, and is rendered powerless. All seems lost until Space Orangutan Billings realizes he had the power of the chimp inside him all along! He challenges Evil Commander to a karaoke contest – for control of the galaxy. Rip Torn, as himself, is called upon to judge the contest. The Evil Commander chooses “Ice Ice Baby”, while Billings selects “Total Eclipse of the Heart.” Rip decides that he doesn’t care – either way, nobody wins with karaoke. The Evil Commander sees the folly of his ways, and they all break out in song, except for Space Captain Deep, who is still mesmerized by Eye Candy. Finally a kiss from the lovely Miss Space Jenny sets him free. Cousin Lucy and Eye Candy decide to move to Funkzilla, where they can get some soul.

 

[Spike]

Buy items from the greatest musical of all time!

Movie Posters!​

And best of all, the 2 disc CD set featuring award winning music composed by Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber! Sing along to such hits as:


I’m Just an Old Man with a Chimp – Crotchety Jeffers, the Chimp Handler
I’m Not a Chimp – Space Orangutan Billings
Orang-You-Can! – Cousin Lucy
Hitchhiking in Space: Am I Lost? - Miss Space Jenny
First Uranus, then the Galaxy! – Evil Commander Forsythe
Planet of Funk and Love – Soul Buddy and the Funkaliers
I Don’t Give a Rip – Rip Torn (as himself)

[cd cover coming soon!]

 

[Löwenherz]

Wow, you guys have humbled me with your hard work thus far.

OK, I'm not going to hold this up any more. So I'll put my remaining actors roles down and put the write-up tomorrow.

Andy Garcia - Geronimo De Aguilar (Spanish priest shipwrecked on Yucatan, Cortes' first translator)

Diego Luna - Antonio De Villafana (Conspired to assassinate Cortes following La Noche Triste)

Gael Garcia Bernal - Juan Jaramillo (Married to Cortes Mistress, La Malinche)

Benjamin Bratt - Panfilo de Narvaez (Lead spanish expedition sent by Cuban Governor to arrest Cortes)

 

[GoGoGadget]

Got a PM from Slim to go ahead with my write-up if ready, but... I'm not. I'll likely have it up tomorrow, but venom_7 can proceed if so desired.

PM sent, and such.

 

[SacKings7]

IMDB page:

Pin/Ball Wizard
​

User Rating: 8.9/10 Stars

Director: Adam McKay

Producer: Judd Apatow

Release Date: August 1, 2009

Genre: Comedy

Tagline: It’s not just about knocking down the pins anymore...

Plot: Welcome to the exciting world of team bowling, where it's head to head action in every frame. The EBBL has taken the country by storm. A 10 pin legend (Ferrell) gets recruited into the EBBL and soon finds out it's a whole other ball game...

User comments: BEST MOVIE EVER! (more below)


Main Cast:

Will Ferrell – Andy Waterman

Paul Rudd – Jay Stagg

Bradley Cooper – Ernie Power

Vince Vaughn – Hugo McAlister

Heather Graham – Haley Evans

Christine Taylor – Katie Evans

Billy Bob Thornton – Jack “Poppa rots me” Waterman

Kevin James – Martin Wilkinson

Jonah Hill – “Gutter”

Burt Reynolds – “Suds”

Greg Germann – The EBBL Commissioner

Brett Favre – Himself

[click here for rest of cast]


Additional Details

MPAA: PG-13 for coarse language, sexual humour and mild violence

Runtime: USA: 109 minutes Canada: 111 minutes

Country: USA

Languages: English, French

Filming Location: Akron, Ohio

Company: SacKings7 Studios


User Comments:

93 out of 107 people found the following comment useful

BEST MOVIE EVER! August 2, 2009 by: Movie_Fan
(10/10 stars)

Let me start by saying I wasn’t a huge fan of some of Ferrell’s previous films, but Pin/Ball Wizard is an instant classic! People will still be referencing this movie 20 years from now. I went in to this movie with low expectations, and I was pleasantly surprised! Go see it; you will be in for a treat!

Plot of the movie (some SPOILERS ahead): The movie starts off with Andy Waterman, Jay Stagg and Ernie Power strutting their stuff at the local bowling alley. Andy(Ferrell) is a local retired legend at 10 pin bowling, as he is the only man to bowl 3 consecutive perfect games in the town. They are drinking and having a good time when they are approached by the commissioner of the EBBL (Extreme Battle Bowling League - a bowling league in which you go head-to-head with other members of a bowling team in every frame, and get a point for your team if you outscore them in the frame. Players are allowed to distract opponents, as long as they don’t physically touch them.) He mentions that he is very interested in recruiting the 3 of them. They ponder this decision (with some help from Brett Favre) and decide to join the EBBL.

Andy soon finds out that Hugo McAlister (his arch-nemesis from his 10-pin days) has already been recruited into the EBBL. Andy wins his first couple of games before facing Hugo. Hugo gets under Andy’s skin and Andy ends up throwing bowling balls at him and getting suspended indefinitely. Jay and Ernie(Rudd and Cooper) then go on a big losing streak.

Andy vows never to play bowling again. His girlfriend Katie (Taylor) gets mad at him for giving up so easily. Things start to fall apart in their relationship, as Katie secretly develops feelings for Jay and Andy secretly develops feelings for Haley (Graham), Katie’s younger sister.

A nice bit of the next part of the movie takes place in “The Black Hole”, a local bar. Andy and Katie break up in the following scenes. The bartender (Reynolds), along with an obsessed fan (Hill) and Brett Favre convince Andy to make a case for himself and get back in to the EBBL. The commissioner then states that he must do some community service first, and sends him to work at an old folk’s home, where he constantly runs in to his father (Thornton), who visits people there.

Meanwhile, things don’t get any better for Jay and Ernie. But, during one game in the biggest tournament of the year, Andy gets reinstated and surprises them by joining in the middle of their game against Martin Wilkinson (James). They are down big but eventually prevail. They cruise to the championship where they defeat Hugo and win the EBBL crown. Of course, this is where Andy and Haley get together, as well as Katie and Jay. (SPOILERS end here)

So that’s the basic plot of the movie. I really don’t wanna say any of the funny parts, because it may ruin the experience. Just go see it. Now!




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[Bricklayer]

Alright, work has been kikcing my *** for the past week, but I am back to take care of bussiness around here. My own and the thread's.

 

[venom_7]

I'll get my write-up on here in a bit. It's pretty complicated

 

[Superman]

What the hell is up, people?!? Get on it!

 

[venom_7]

Weave
A Let Me Out Production
Original Screenplay by: Venom_7
Directed By: Christopher Nolan
Cinematography by: Roger Deakins
Original Music/Soundtrack composed by: John Williams

~
For dreams, night is the only time of day.
~​

Featuring:
Edward Norton in the lead role as Ryan Helmsley/Agent Vigil
Don Cheadle in a supporting role as Oliver Wallace/ Agent Havok
Charlize Theron will be credited as Julia Turner/ The Flame
Natalie Portman in a supporting role as Heather Turner/ Agent Unseen
Justin Long in a minor role as Dennis/Agent Wireless
Tim Roth in a supporting role as Mr. Samuel Carson/ The Frost
Jeff Bridges in a supporting role as Scott Helmsley (Dad)/ Commander Helmsley aka Agent Shake
Kevin Durand in a supporting role as Steven Phillips/The Filth
Meagan Goode in a supporting role as Michelle Salvers/The Feint
Kerry Washington in a minor role as Cheyenne Wallace/Agent Whisper
Zooey Deschanel in a minor role as Law Firm Secretary/Agency Record Librarian

Ryan Helmsley is a legal assistant to Mr. Samuel Carson, a very well-known lawyer. He works with Oliver Wallace, Heather Turner, and Mr. Carson's nephew, Dennis. He doesn't hate the job, but he doesn't like it either. It isn't necessarily what he does with his life, but it is what he does with a lot of his time. The problem is, that every time he goes to sleep, he wakes up as the same person, in the same world in his dreams. His job description is a little different.

Every night when his day ends and his dreams begin, he wakes up as a trained agent for a very exclusive anti-terrorist agency. He can't remember when this started happening, although it has been his goal to find out why. All of his friends, family, co-workers, and rivals exist in his dream world, but their personas are entirely different.

The story begins with Ryan waking in a cold sweat. He begrudgingly makes his way out of bed into his leather slippers, and trudges towards the bathroom in his Seattle apartment. He sticks his toothbrush in his mouth, but doesn't brush. He just stares at the mirror, examining the pudgy, exhausted bags under his eyes and tries to relive the last nights adventure. He can't remember any major events, just a few snippets of dialogue and the settings in which they took place. [All shown through flashbacks.] He leaves his apartment [not high-rise by any stretch of the imagination] still looking a bit disheveled, coffee in hand, and jogs down the street in his slacks in an effort to catch the bus. Although he is always late for the scheduled time, the bus usually waits for him.

Halfway through his day at work, pushing legal papers for THE hot-shot prosecutor in Seattle, Mr. Samuel Carson (Tim Roth.) Ryan's niche is to find the same loopholes the defense would try to use, maintain a focus and come up with a combatant plan in order for Mr. Samuel Carson to be ready for them. Ryan always found every one and Mr. Samuel Carson was always prepared. Ryan had a somewhat quiet social life. Didn't really drink, had a few close friends. He had been dating this girl Julia Turner (Charlize Theron) off and on for a while. The most positive way to describe her is 'opportunistic.' Anytime she thought she had an opportunity to improve her life, she would do everything possible to try and seize it, even if it meant throwing Ryan in the dumpster. He worked with Heather Turner (Natalie Portman) at the firm, and he thought she was responsible for bringing the two love-hate-birds together. Mr. Samuel Carson had a really obnoxious nephew, Dennis (Justin Long,) who didn't have a lot of friends and was always trying to catch Ryan after work to hang out. He saw how hot Julia was and he wanted tips because he planned to ask out the secretary (Zooey Deshanel.) Ryan never entertained the thought.

One of the highlights of his life was working with his best friend, Oliver Wallace (Don Cheadle.) If Ryan was focus, then Oliver was the drunk vision. He wasn't necessarily wild and crazy, but he wasn't the most organized human being. Ryan actually looks up to Oliver quite a bit. He had a lot going for him. His job was fun. Sure, he had to look over the papers like everyone else, but it was his job to make the defense grasp for straws. Desolation is what he did. On the case they were working on right now, he got in (bed) with one of the legal team on the other side, and now they were "dating." Michelle Salvers (Meagan Goode) was very pretty, so Ryan was sure Oliver was having fun on this assignment. He didn't necessarily tamper with evidence, but he made sure the other legal team didn't have a freaking clue as to what was going on with the evidence, and in some cases, the charges against the defendant. He once created so much confusion that the defense pleaded guilty to a murder that they weren't even charged with. Cheyenne Wallace (Kerry Washington) was often around the office because Oliver used her as his 'in' to the chauvinistic all-male defense teams. Ryan kind of has a thing for her, but like many people, considers siblings to be a taboo subject.

 

[venom_7]

The defendant this time was a gentleman who did some very vile things, but somehow produced enough money to be represented by the infamous Steven Phillips (Kevin Durand) who had a history of defending some of the biggest scumbags of the area and (usually) getting them a pretty sweet deal. Ryan's dad Scott (Jeff Bridges) invited him over every Thursday for dinner and a few beers, and usually tried to offer him some advice. Today was Thursday, and Scott told him to cut loose a little bit, quit being so vigilant. Ryan heard this every time he visited his dad, but he would always convince himself he needed his sleep.

The reason being, of course, in his sleep his life was a little more exciting. Scott was no longer his dad, but his commander, Agent Shake. His words were no longer suggestions, but orders. Ryan would dream every single night that he belonged to a federal anti-terrorist agency. He still worked with some of the same people, but he could only recognize their faces. They didn't have names, at least in the conventional sense. Each member of the unit had a code name, partially to protect their own identities but also to confuse any sort of media outlet, political agenda, or even terrorist group. Ryan's name was Agent Vigil in the field and on base. It was his job to find any holes in the agencies security, and to fix them. He always did, and they always were fixed. There were some strings of continuity from one world to the next. Oliver was still his best friend, although that was not his name. He went by Agent Havok, and it was his job to infiltrate any target group, and for a lack of a better explanation, f*** sh** up. Create confusion. He always did, and confusion was always created. In this world, Havok and Heather [not really named Heather, she was called Agent Unseen] were an item. Ryan never remembered these little facts from one world to the next. Dennis existed in this world too, but he was Agent Wireless, kind of a communications expert (who had a thing for the Record Keeper.) He never really talked to him. Cheyenne as Agent Whisper was also a part of the agency, and she would always stop to take a long glance at Ryan.

The agency was called T.R.U.T.H, or Terrorist Reaction Unit prev. Hostile Tactics
Ryan can't remember previous event during the time that he is awake, but when his consciousness is in this world, he can remember every detail, although he can't remember his life as a paralegal very well at all.

The focus right now was on a terrorist group that was an imitation of TRUTH itself. All the major players used code-names. They had similar tactics to the agency itself. The major problem was that TRUTH didn't know what their goal was. Which happened to Ryan's job.

SAMPLE DIALOGUE
(All agents are in briefing on base. About to attempt field mission.)

Agent Shake: I've never seen something like this before. These are the hostiles. They have made themselves, but they haven't made a move. Haven't attacked anything. As far as I can tell, they could be trying to sell us girl scout cookies. We need the intel, Vigil.

Vigil: That's where my focus is, I just can't seem to grasp any leads. It's hard to stay afloat when you aren't even in the water yet-

Shake: WE are a PRE-VENT-UT-IVE unit, Agent! That is our job! Now normally when targets reveal themselves they do it with kind of a big f-ing DEAL! Explosions, dead bodies, panic on the headlines. It is our JOB to make sure sh** like that does not happen. I do not want to hear excuses. I want to hear results. Have I made myself clear, agent?

Vigil: Yessir...

(different scene, Vigil and Havok discussing brief after return from field assignment)

Havok: He only does that cuz he loves you.

Vigil: Oh shut up. I mean, are these guys for real? They are mirroring us. Everything we think we can do, they think they can do. I don't know what their motive is.

Havok: Well as soon as you find out, wake me up. I'm getting bored sitting on my hands. Cmon Vig, you know me better than that. I can only do what I do if you do what you do.

Vigil: Everything hinges on what I can find out, like always. I'm just concerned that THIS is it. There isn't anything to find out.

Havok: Your job is to find the refrigerator. My job is to pee in the lemonade. So lets try an get on that, ok?
END SAMPLE DIALOGUE

 

[venom_7]

Overall Premise/Twist/Climax/Rating/Reviews/Closure

Everyday, Ryan goes to sleep and wakes up as Vigil. One job is mundane, the other is exciting. The villains remain the same in both lives. The girlfriend, boss, opposing lawyer, and best-friends squeeze in one are the terrorist agents in the other. Ryan/Vigil already separates the two worlds pretty well in his mind, except one mistake. He is so convinced that the mundane life is the reality that he doesn't open himself up to the possibility of his paralegal life being the dream and his agent life being the reality. I'm not saying which one is which, that is up to the viewer.

The point of the terrorist group is to emulate the TRUTH agency. Do everything the same way, except with a different idea. If an agency like this can do everything entirely covert, why cant an opposing group do the same? That is their goal. Vigil doesn't find that out until the end of the movie. In his legal life, it turns out the secretary was working for Steven Phillips the whole time, and Mr. Samuel Carson loses the edge for the first time on a prosecution case. Again, the defense team was emulation Mr. Samuel Carson's firm, and Michelle Salvers was confusing the firm just as much as Oliver was trying to confuse the defense.

Agent Shake dies in the dream/real world, as does Scott Helmsley, but of two very different things. One one side, he is killed by The Flame, and on the other side he actually dies in a building fire. The secretary lost the case for Mr. Samuel Carson's law firm, and the record keeper let the terrorists get hold of some valuable information that led them to infiltrate TRUTH base and eventually kill Agent Shake. The Flame dies, as does the Frost and the Feint, in an epic battle between the agents and the anti-agents. The Filth ends up escaping, perhaps leaving room for a sequel (but probably not.) Ryan finally calls it off with Julia once and for all, and ends up getting together with Cheyenne. Oliver wouldn't have it any other way.

Oliver ends up dating Heather Turner, and Havok marries Agent Unseen. Whisper and Vigil become an item as well. Mr. Samuel Carson decides to become a defense lawyer, and only defend people who are innocent.

If there are any questions, just ask and I will provide more closure in another post.

Rating: R
(Violence, Sexual Themes, Language)

I went to see a critics preview of Weave this afternoon and to my surprise I found the film to be one of the best I have seen all year so far, and that the writer came up with an excellent, original script. The acting performances by Norton, Cheadle, and Portman were the best I have see in a long while. The only objection I had to the film was that it was a little long, but once you leave the theater you will discuss the film and it many twists and turns. This is a winner and should be up for some academy award statues, and my recommendation is go see this as soon as you can, you will not be disappointed.
~Tom Ziller, Fanhouse

~§~​

I've said it before, but I'll say it again. Christopher Nolan can do no wrong. Teaming up with an incredible new writer (Venom_7,) cinematographer Roger Deakins, and John Williams, it's a surprise nobody has come out and smacked themselves stating 'It's a wonder we haven't thought of this before!' Edward Norton and Don Cheadle are just two of the many highlights of the the stellar (eye candy) cast. They will set tongues wagging as to whether they'll be able to live up to the hype of Nolan's long awaited movie. Weave refers to a the phrase 'dream weave' and is a reference to the tangle of story itself. And this movie lives up to its namesake to a T. The way the movie plays out, it's like a mesh, with the audience waiting to see how it unfolds, getting the suspicion on how it's done, but yet sitting through it thorough engaged to discover how everything will be revealed and resolved. It tells the story of how one man can be so composed within his own head as to create two entirely different worlds. (The writer insists that at least one of them is the real one.) Romance has never been a Nolan strong suit, and it seems that way here, although that is forgivable because Charlize Theron's character, although very sexy, is enough to make any man write off women forever. There are perfect explanations of the value of secrets, and how secrets can sometimes be used as tools for deceit. What I thought was valuable in the movie was the reinforcement of the notion of how "dreams" actually worked. Besides the better understanding of the common body of scientific knowledge, things like having a bus always wait for the character no matter what the schedule says, and having deaths happen in both worlds, perhaps one as an allusion to the other, somehow made me enthralled at this rather simple sleight of hand. More importantly, it introduced me to the notion and importance of a loyal friend who always does the dirty work, even in the cases of life or death. There was also a lesson regarding how having disloyal staff can indeed be detrimental to any leaks of secrets.

Tim Roth played his roles brilliantly, and was an excellent choice. Jeff Bridges took a very commanding role as the father AND Agent Shake, with the film hinting at one of the characters having a controlling facotr with Norton's mindset during the film. Norton, Cheadle, and Portman created such a dynamic team on both ends, one with loyalty and conviction that they could, as a group, beat Kevin Durand's opposing law firm and the collection of terrorist agents. I thought the cast in general were superb, with Edward Norton leading the charge. Charlize Theron too showed that she could play a dark character, as the two leads tackled their characters' theme of focus, arrogance, and ultimately redemption, especially for Agent Vigil/Ryan Helmsley. I thought he did what he did towards the end was a kind of penance to what happened in the beginning, hoping to kill two birds with a single stone, to exact the sweetest revenge he could possibly muster. What also was intriguing about Norton as a lead was his character wasn't even particularly interesting. It was his interactions with everyone else that drove the film, and I felt it's more for survival and the provision for his gift of incredible focus, which is a strong subplot running through the film. I just have to mention though, that Natalie Portman being # 7 on the Kingsfans.com Sexiest Woman Alive list, gets to play a flower vase role here as magnetic love interest for the best friend, though her role as the little sister of one of the main vilalins added a little gravitas. The atmosphere was set up great, and so were the costumes and sets. The soundtrack was hauntingly mesmerizing, capturing the look and mood appropriately, but what else would you expect from John Williams.

I was floored by the deftness of how Nolan weaved and juxtaposed the non linear narrative so flawlessly. While the usual techniques is to use placeholders, or flashback sequences, colours etc, here, time is so fluid, but yet the audience will know precisely which world/time they're in, without being explicitly told, or working too much of the noodle. You just know, and it's just that feeling of being totally transparent with time. Even though the movie clocked in at slightly more than 2 hours, you don't feel its length at all. At the end of the movie, one quote popped into mind: Misdirection - what the eyes see and the ears hear, the mind believes. Quite apt to describe how things work out during the movie, or to describe in general, Nolan 's films so far. That added richness to lift the movie to a superior plane. Do yourself a favor, if there's one movie you absolutely must watch this week, then Weave must be your natural choice. It's smart in delivery and slick in presentation. There is none other.

P.S. Is it just me, or are notebooks a common feature in Nolan's movies?
~Rogert Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

I know it was long, but thank you for reading =]

~
We are all geniuses when we dream, the butcher is the poet's equal there.
~
E.M. Cioran, The Tempation to Exist​

 

[Superman]

Did you think placeholders were going to placate me?!?!? I want writeups, dang it! You guys are killing me!



(I'm only half kidding.)

 

[VF21]

I haven't wanted to step on Brickie's toes on this, so I haven't updated the draft board itself, but here's where we currently stand:

Currently Picking:
1) venom_7 - done
2) Gogogadget <--skipped-makeup pending
3) Mr. Slim Citrus <--skipped-makeup pending
4) Lowenherz <--skipped-makeup pending
5) Spike - done
6) Jespher - done
7) SacKings7 - done
8) Dime Dropper <--skipped-makeup pending
9) Capt. Factorial - done
10) Bozzwell <--skipped-makeup pending
11) Superman (formerly Gary) - done
12) kingsnation - done
13) Bricklayer <--skipped-makeup pending
14) VF21 - done
15) NME<--skipped-makeup pending
16) Monty'sBiggestFan<--skipped-makeup pending