With the Tribeca Film Festival in full force, and me armed with my approved Tribeca/Film School Rejects press pass, I attended the media screening of The Groomsmen, written and directed by Edward Burns (who I loved in 15 Minutes and Life or Something Like It) The film stars Burns, Matthew Lillard, John Leguizamo, Heather Burns, Brittany Murphy and Donal Logue. It’s about a groom hanging out with his four groomsmen the week before his pending shot gun wedding. The film will be distributed outside of the festival circuit in July 2006. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to go to the festival screening of the film after the red carpet arrivals, but I’ll be able to review the film in the press screening library soon. Full review to come on Film School Rejects shortly. I checked in two hours before show time like requested. US Weekly, Premiere, NY1, and other outlets were there. They separated the photographers, TV crew and then the reporters into different sections and in that order. So as each actor arrived they’d first smile for the camera’s by standing in the middle of the carpet with the Tribeca Film Festival backdrop behind them as the photographers shouted out their name, then they’d progress to the TV interviews and then answering questions among the press (That’s where I come in). Second to last my “interview” time was limited to say the least. Along a steel divider hung a white paper with Film School Rejects written on it, indicating where [Due to Content Scraping and Theft, we have been forced to try abbreviated feeds. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and woud very much appreciate you clicking through to view the full article on FilmSchoolRejects.com]

Here is something for all the fanboys to get excited about… The first peek at the upcoming film Dead or Alive, starring 5 hot chicks who whoop the shit out of 300 guys at a time. If you have ever played the game, you will know that these chicks are 5% sweet and 95% badass. Sounds like fun, eh? Check out the trailer here. Technorati Tags: Movie, Trailers, News, Preview, Dead or Alive

Final Grade: D+Woody Allen’s legacy is so great that he really needs not make another stellar film in his career. Like Speilberg or Lucas, he could do well by just sitting back, relaxing and enjoying his elder years. But then again, what would a great director be if he were not trying to push the envelope, even at age 71? Allen’s latest offering to his massive portfolio of film is Match Point, a story of obsession, betrayal and passion. The story puts young Chris, played by Jonathan Rhys Meyers, in between his loving and wickedly rich wife Chloe (Emily Mortimer) and the seductive fiance of Chloe’s brother (Scarlett Johansson). We see Chris as he meets Tom Hewett (Matthew Goode) and is all to quickly swept up in a world of wealth and priviledge. He soon falls for Chloe and becomes part of the family, all the while yearning for Nola (Johansson), who is already engaged to Tom. And just like so many, Chris falls into the trap of Nola’s seduction and begins an affair that can only end in the worst way, with someone getting severely hurt.

[Editor's Note: There has been a lot of buzz around the internet these days about the new Transformers film currently in production, set to be released some time in 2007. As fans of film, we were curious to see what all the fuss was about, so we put Associate Editor Brian Gibson on the case. This is what he came up with.] Welcome fellow twenty-somethings and let me take you back in time…1985 to be exact. Do you remember your favorite toy? Do you remember your favorite TV show? I can bet that one of those two had to be either The Transformers or Teddy Ruxpin (secretly hugging Teddy). I used to be a huge Transformers fan, and when I was doing some research for my The Transformers: The Movie (1986) review, I stumbled on some amazing news. Prepare yourself for the July 4th 2007 release of Transformers: The Movie, which will be directed by Michael Bay (Bad Boys, The Rock, Armageddon, Pearl Harbor). A clip of possible “transformation” footage has leaked onto the internet; the clip shows that this could actually look pretty cool and not cheesy (the video is at the bottom of this post, after the jump.) The entire film industry and geeks of the world (such as me) are absolutely buzzing about this movies release. There is actually a video on the Transformers official movie website of Steven Spielberg practically having an orgasm over the mystique and potential of this franchise. It should also be mentioned [Due to Content Scraping and Theft, we have been forced to try abbreviated feeds. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and woud very much appreciate you clicking through to view the full article on FilmSchoolRejects.com]

You may notice something a little odd about the most recent review posted on this site. For one it is a review of Citizen Kane, which was made in 1941. This may cause you to ask yourself: Isn’t this a site that reviews new movies? The answer to that question is yes, but there seems to be more to it. Today marks the first installment of what we here at Film School Rejects like to call The Vault. The Vault is a new feature that puts the skills of our crack staff of writers to the test. Each week we will review one film from deep within the realm of Hollywood history. We will be taking on some of the most heralded classics ever, which means that if you are under the age of 30 they will probably be a bunch of films that you have never seen. Sounds cool, right? We know. So what is the point of all this. Aside from helping us continue to sharpen our skills as film critics (and filling space when we run out of reviews) we hope to shed some new light on some older films that, while not forgotten by any means, are not often talked about. If we can bring the likes of Citizen Kane or Nosferatu to a younger generation, then it is as if we are doing a public service to all film buffs. And we feel that our duty to our readers is to continue to inspire a [Due to Content Scraping and Theft, we have been forced to try abbreviated feeds. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and woud very much appreciate you clicking through to view the full article on FilmSchoolRejects.com]

Final Grade: A Mark Twain once said that a classic is something that everyone wants to have read, but no one wants to read. In the world of cinema, no one can point to a movie that is more of a classic than Orson Welles’ first feature, Citizen Kane. Ranked number one in Sight and Sound‘s polling of directors and critics since who knows how long ago, the movie is worshipped by the cognoscenti yet passed over by the rank and file movie goer. Those who do wind up seeing it – perhaps as part of a college course – often shrug their shoulders, purse their lips and say, “It was… OK.” Allow me, then, a small article to attempt to answer the Big Question: What’s the big deal?

Final Grade: B- Any movie that pits the average and not so successful guy against the rich and attractive guy usually concludes with a clich© filled fantasy ending. Steve Martin takes every girl’s fantasy of finding that tall, dark and successful man who can sweep her off to a happy ending, and shows the harsh realities of what could go wrong. The Beatles said it best. All you need is… Shopgirl is adapted from Steve Martin’s best selling novel of the same title. The plot follows the complacent and lonely Mirabelle Buttersfield (Claire Danes) throughout her search for love and a life worth living. She spends her days selling gloves at a Los Angeles Saks Fifth Avenue; actually not selling gloves because no one looks or buys. She moved from Vermont to find her future and instead found student loans and a job without potential. Lonely and discouraged she agrees to a date with someone she most likely wouldn’t see herself with, Jeremy (Jason Schwartzman). Aimless and hopelessly unromantic Jeremy finds a way to leave an impression on Mirabelle, even if the impression isn’t exactly a positive one. The day that Ray Porter (Steve Martin) walked into Saks and bought a pair of black gloves was the day the Mirabelle’s life changed. After finding the same gloves and a dinner invitation, Mirabelle agrees to dinner with Ray. Ray shows Mirabelle that he is a successful, caring and comfortable person with whom to be in a relationship. The expectations that each [Due to Content Scraping and Theft, we have been forced to try abbreviated feeds. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and woud very much appreciate you clicking through to view the full article on FilmSchoolRejects.com]

Here is something I haven’t done in a while, featured some awesome movie trailers! Let’s get this thing rolling, I have a great list of 3 trailers for this week (just click on the pictures to check out the trailer): Idlewild First off the block is the HBO Films release of Idlewild, set to release in August. It stars Outkast’s Andr© Benjamin and Big Boi. It is a musical set in the Prohibition-era American South, where a speakeasy performer and club owner (Big Boi) must contend with gangsters who are trying to take over his club while his partner Percival (Andr© Benjamin) is forced to deal with his own internal conflicts. I have always been a fan of the music of Outkast, and this movie looks like an absolute riot. I am almost convinced by the trailer that within this film lies an Oscar nominee for best song somewhere. More after the jump…

One of the greatest books I have never been able to put down is Richard Matheson’s I Am Legend. Some consider Matheson to be the father of the literary sci-fi / horror genre in the 20th century. The legendary Ray Bradbury once called Matheson “one of the most important writers of the 20th century,” and Steven King once said that Matheson is the “author who influenced me most as a writer.” Even the more contemporary Dean Koontz proclaimed that “We’re all a lot richer to have Richard Matheson among us.” With all that being said, lets move on to the point. The novel is about a man who is the only living person left on earth who wasn’t wiped out by a deadly virus. The virus’ post-mortem symptoms proved to be much more horrifying than the symptoms of the living. Those who were killed by the virus, which is everyone except for the protagonist Robert Neville, come back to life as vampires that stalk the night. Sounds a bit cheesy, but the idea is not your traditional view of vampires. The story is mostly about the protagonist and how he copes with boredom, loneliness, alcoholism and survival. He spends the rest of his days looking for a cure or signs of life other than himself. The novel is amazing and I highly recommend picking it up, it’s a very easy read and has a much deeper message hidden in its plot than you’d think. The film adaptation of I am [Due to Content Scraping and Theft, we have been forced to try abbreviated feeds. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and woud very much appreciate you clicking through to view the full article on FilmSchoolRejects.com]

Final Grade: C+First let me write that I know that many of the critics are panning this film and yes, American Dreamz is far from being spectacular but it was still enjoyable and funny in its goofiness. It’s also not just an American Idol spoof but a commentary on American politics as well. In fact, I was not prepared for all the political references and jokes, but welcomed them just the same. Granted the tagline did let audiences know its intentions: “Imagine a country where the President never reads the newspaper, where the government goes to war for all the wrong reasons, and more people vote for a pop idol than their next President.” Hmm yeah that is hard to imagine, lol. Dennis Quaid plays President Staton, America’s president who just won re-election and is having a bit of a breakdown due to the stress of not understanding what he is doing or comprehending the world’s politics at large after reading up on the country’s newspapers. In comes William Dafoe playing the president’s Chief of Staff and well, controller. To get his man/puppet back on track Dafoe gives Quaid some happy pills, schedules him on a lot of public appearances including being a guest judge on American Dreamz, where he puts an ear piece in his ear to guide him on what to say.

I was once asked to explain the secrets behind my prowess when it came to the matter of wooing over members of the opposite gender. I know you may ask yourself why someone would ever need to know such information, but the question was one that was honest. I gave the very simple explanation that in a relationship I have always been slow to start, but I have the unique ability to finish well. In seeing Lucky Number Slevin, the latest offering from the Weinstien Company, I feel that I have found a film that parallels my ways with the ladies. At first sight this film may seem like your average murder comedy, falling in line with the likes of The Whole Nine Yards or even The Whole Ten Yards. This sentiment is enhanced by the fact that this film stars Bruce Willis as a legendary contract killer with a hidden agenda. Hmm, I think we have seen this before, eh? Willis’ character, known as Goodkat, is a man with a secretive plan that includes the use of a young guy named Nick Fisher, played by Josh Hartnett. The only problem is that Hartnett’s character is not actually Nick Fisher, he is Slevin. And despite the mistaken identity, being in the wrong place at the wrong time lands Slevin in the middle of an impending gang war between two very old foes, played by Morgan Freeman and Sir Ben Kingsley. He soon finds out that not only are tensions high [Due to Content Scraping and Theft, we have been forced to try abbreviated feeds. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and woud very much appreciate you clicking through to view the full article on FilmSchoolRejects.com]

Final Grade: B- The tagline starts, “In 141 years, there’s never been a traitor in the Secret Service….” and before you get to the end of the little dots you can already guess the next two words: “Until now.” Of course there is a bit more to it than that, but the tagline gives you about all you need to know or should know about the plot of The Sentinel going in. Michael Douglas plays Pete Garrison, an aging Secret Service agent famed amongst his peers for taking a bullet meant for Ronald Reagan. Years later he is still working in the agency and discovers a plot to kill the president. The answer to your next question is, “Yes, 1993′s In the Line of Fire.” The answer to the question after that is, “Yes, very similar. And unquestionably inferior. But still worth seeing.” After all, there is a lot of space between the superb In the Line of Fire and a run of the mill movie. The Sentinel manages to get itself almost exactly in the middle of that space: it is done well enough to make us forget the paint-by-numbers script and, though it probably will not occupy any space in my DVD collection, is still an entertaining evening at the cinema.

Here is a cool link that keeps with the “blog” nature of our site. Jason Kottke, master of all that is blog, has posted a list of the “50 Best Book to Film Adaptations” ever. It is his adaptation of a list written by Mark Brown of The Guardian. Here is a small snippet of the list, if you would like to see the rest click on the link above and see for yourself: 1. [BM] 19842. [BM] Alice in Wonderland3. [M] American Psycho4. Breakfast at Tiffany’s5. Brighton Rock6. Catch 227. [BM] Charlie & the Chocolate Factory8. [M] A Clockwork Orange9. [BM] Close Range (inc Brokeback Mountain)10. The Day of the Triffids This raises an interesting and eternal question for all movie fans: What is your favorite Book to Film Adaptation? Or maybe, what is your Top 5? My personal list would look something like this: 1. Jurassic Park2. Lord of the Rings (any of the 3)3. The Godfather4. The Princess Bride5. The Wizard of Oz What does your list look like? Technorati Tags: Books, Film, Movies, Book Adaptations, Entertainment, Hollywood, Opinion

Final Grade: B Harry Osborn…I mean James Franco is exploring new territory with a legendary love story that covers an era of history that most Americans know nothing about. Their love almost brought a kingdom to its knees, but instead inspired the best date / action movie since Braveheart After the Germanic tribes invaded and took over Rome and most of Europe, power remained divided for several centuries. Each tribe ruled over their own territory, but the individual tribes all paid duties to the nearby Irish. The fate of Ireland rested on the prospect that the tribes of Britain would never unite. When Tristan’s (James Franco) father proposed that the tribes unite as one army that could outnumber their enemies, the Irish quickly stifled the proposal by killing Tristan’s parents and most of the tribal leaders. One of the remaining barons Lord Marke (Rufus Sewell) took Tristan as his own blood and raised him into a young Knight. The King of Ireland offers his daughter Isolde (Sophia Myles) to his greatest warrior if he can stifle yet another unification of Britain. When the grown Tristan interferes and kills the Irish warrior he also catches the edge of his blade which is laced with a paralytic poison. Tristan’s men give him a funeral fit for a king and set him off to sea. Tristan washes ashore in Ireland only to meet the soon betrothed Isolde who hides her identity from the young knight. After nursing him to care she helps Tristan [Due to Content Scraping and Theft, we have been forced to try abbreviated feeds. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and woud very much appreciate you clicking through to view the full article on FilmSchoolRejects.com]

Final Grade: B (A for Horror Fans) I recall reading somewhere that Stephen King once classified two types of horror. The first type was mental or Psychological Horror featured in movies like Rosemary’s Baby or Jacob’s Ladder. The second type was the more physical, Gross-Out sort of horror used in 98% of the monster movies and slasher films. I’m having a hard time recalling any Psychological Horror films from the last 5 years or so. It seems like every film we’ve gotten lately settles for the much easier to pull off Gross-Out. Silent Hill, however, didn’t take the easy way out . . . The film opens with an average suburban couple looking for their missing daughter. The young girl, Sharon, has a history of sleep walking and the parents couldn’t find her anywhere in the house. After a harrowing search, they finally find her only to realize that she’s still asleep and mumbling about a town called Silent Hill. Sharon has mentioned this place before and now her distraught mother, Rose, begins to think Silent Hill may be a secret from her daughter’s past. Determined to get to the root of suspected psychological trauma, Rose takes her adopted daughter on a trip to find the town of Silent Hill. Despite the closed lips of neighboring townspeople, Rose succeeds in finding Silent Hill. And much, much, more…

Final Grade: D+ Studio executives may think that putting a really hot actress in a tight leather suit will automatically catch the attention of the male population. They are, to an extent, correct. Charlize Theron in a tight black leather suit does catch my attention. However, just like with Halle Berry’s Catwoman, I found myself looking at my imaginary wristwatch. Sometime in the future, the world finds itself isolated within the walls of one city. Some people accept the state of the world because outside of the cities walls you only find that nature has taken over the planet. It wasn’t always like that though, until disease wiped out 99% of the human race. Trevor Goodchild (Marton Csokas) is the chairman of the city, and the only ones brave enough to oppose his regime are the Monicans. The Monicans are a group of rebels led by their most skilled operative †on Flux (Charlize Theron). †on has only one mission in life, to free herself from her dreams and the government that haunts her. After her sister Una is killed †on takes on a mission that would ensure freedom from the Goodchild regime. When †on stands face to face with Trevor Goodchild she finds something familiar in his face, something from her dreams, and hesitates to kill him. After the unsuccessful mission †on finds herself caught in a web of lies and deceit that goes much deeper that she ever imagined.

It is safe to say that I share something with the upcoming film Spiderman 3, we will both have been born in Cleveland, OH. That is the location where shooting has begun on probably the most anticipated sequel of any comic book movie since, well, they began shooting the latest X-Men flick. No matter if you have the Spiderman or the Wolverine lunch box, you will be excited to see some of the pictures that have popped up on Superhero Hype, a site that tracks all of these fanboy wet dreams. Below is an example: Click Here to check out more pictures from the Spiderman 3 set. Here is the good news about this situation: Film School Rejects just so happens to have a very ambitious staff writer, Brian Gibson, who lives in Cleveland. For weeks Brian has been trying to get his name on a list to be an extra in this movie (solidifying our first ever official association with a feature film) and so far he has had minor amounts of luck. Even better is the fact that Brian owns a digital camera. We will be sending him in to try and get a few candids direct from the set, so stay tuned… Technorati Tags: Spiderman 3, Cleveland, Movie, Cinema, Film, Hollywood, News, Entertainment, Behind the Scenes

Final Grade: A After watching this movie I think my DVD player needs a vacation, because not only does this film push the limits of awesome in concerns to computer animation and sound, but I watched it three times before writing this review. Based on the highly successful Final Fantasy video game series, this movie is based on a time period 2 years after the events of Final Fantasy VII. The world is in ruins and its people are suffering from a mysterious and incurable ailment called geo-stigma. The people responsible for the planet’s condition are feverishly seeking out a remedy, but are met with opposition by three rebels named Kadaj, Loz and Yazoo. The three brothers are convinced that their mission is to fight back with the planet and find their “mother.” Cloud, one of the heroes who fought and beat Sephiroth before the world was left in ruins, wanders aimless and haunted by his past. It is not until Cloud is asked to suppress the rebels and help save the world again, that he finally starts believing in himself. With the help of his friends, Cloud must face his darkest fears to save the world and its people.

A little bit of news via AOL moviefone is stating that Iraqi actor Lewis Alsamari is claiming that he is been denied entry into the U.S. by the American embassy in London. Alsamari was hoping to travel to New York to be present when Universal releases United 93 at the Tribeca Film Festival next week. Here is a snippet of the article from AOL: Alsamari, 30, said he may have been denied entry by the U.S. embassy in London because he served in the Iraqi army in the early 1990s. “I think this was because I am still an Iraqi citizen and fought in the army — but that was only because I was forced to,” he told London’s Evening Standard newspaper. “It would be so disappointing not to be able to go because I still have not seen the film. I have only seen footage and it would have been amazing to be in New York for the premiere.” A spokeswoman for the U.S. embassy in London said she was aware of the case, but did not have any immediate comment on the status of Alsamari’s application to travel to New York. Alsamari added: “I hope I am not going to have to wait until the film comes out in Britain to watch United 93. It seems strange that I cannot go over for the premiere.” He said he escaped from the Iraqi army in 1993 and stayed in neighboring Jordan until 1995, when he moved to Britain seeking [Due to Content Scraping and Theft, we have been forced to try abbreviated feeds. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and woud very much appreciate you clicking through to view the full article on FilmSchoolRejects.com]

A busy week here at Film School Rejects Headquarters… And I have decided to end it just like we started it; by adding another new feature. It really isn’t as much a new feature as it is just new to the updated layout. I have gotten an abundance of feedback from readers that they miss two things from the old homepage layout: The lists of Recent Reviews and the Movie News from Rotten Tomatoes and IMDB.com. Today I am proud to say that I have added back one of the afore mentioned favorite features. If you scroll down to the bottom of the homepage you will notice that the Movie News section has returned to the footer of the page. So feel free to check out the news from our friends at RT and IMDB (note: the links will open up a new window.) As always, please feel free to leave your feedback so that we can continue to make improvements… Enjoy! Technorati Tags: Weblog, Marketing, News, Internet, Design, RSS, Feeds