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It is always a great risk taking a popular play from the stage and transferring it onto the silver screen. If you can endure the criticism from theater purists and dumb it down enough for mainstream America to be entertained, then there is room for a bit of success. Rob Marshall found great mainstream success with Chicago, infusing it with Hollywood talent that blew audiences away. Other stage to screen adaptations, such as Joel Shumacher’s The Phantom of the Opera have been well received by critics, but shunned by the American audience in that they were too difficult to follow on the silver screen. In cases like these, and many others, it often rests on the vision of the director and how he or she decides to interpret the small world of screen into the vast realm of film. With The History Boys, director Nicholas Hynter shows plenty of vision in making a film that does the play justice, he just may not capture the minds and hearts of the American moviegoer.

With Christmas out of the way, we are all anticipating the new year for one reason or another. Here at Film School Rejects we are anticipating what looks like a great year for movies. Here is a sneak peak of what Paramount Studios has in store for us in 2007, and if we think the film will make our 2007 Honor Roll, slip to the Merit Roll or be put on Academic Probation…

Here at FSR we already did a best Christmas films list, so why not a New Years list as well? The following flicks feature New Years celebrations and often come to my mind during the holiday. However, New Years is usually a plot used more often in TV shows where a characters night hinges on a successful New Years or its demise, IE Friends, Mad About You, How I Met Your Mother, etc. For films it was a lot harder to pinpoint good ones. Sure in Forrest Gump Jennie tries to kill herself on New Years, but does that count as a New Year’s film? I asked several of my friends to think of some and they could either come up with zilch or just the ones that I have listed below.

With Christmas out of the way, we are all anticipating the new year for one reason or another. Here at Film School Rejects we are anticipating what looks like a great year for movies. Here is a sneak peak of what Warner Brothers Studios has in store for us in 2007, and if we think the film will make the honor roll.

The last hurrah for 2006 is upon us and what do the local theaters have to show for it? Nothing. At least, nothing in my area. There is not a single new release arriving locally for me to see. That means one thing, time to catch up on a couple that I have missed. It is also a time to recommend a few movies that are on the big screen and well worth the visit. There are a few major films that are not playing in my area, most notably Dreamgirls and Children of Men.

Every year it is the same thing. Rushing around to greet grumpy relatives, opening gifts, feigning gratitude, piles of meat and cheese trays and ultimately a long, long nap – which is subsequently interrupted by a whiny child who needs batteries for their new gizmo that cost you an arm and a leg. Are we glad that it is over? Absolutely. Can we relax? Of course not! This is the movie business – time to rock and roll on into the New Year!

This is easily one of the more pleasant surprises that I have encountered on the big screen for awhile. I was among those who scoffed at the very idea of a new Rocky movie. I remember really liking the original, and having a childhood enjoyment for IV (loved Ivan Drago), but I really don’t have any solid memories of any of them, and I know I skipped the fifth one. My interest in the character is quite low, and I was not impressed with the trailers I saw, but I dutifully made my way to the cinema to take in this sixth, and hopefully final, story of the perennial underdog. What I found was a movie that was heartfelt and genuine, a movie that was well worth my time and made me care for the battered pugilist.

With Christmas out of the way, we are all anticipating the new year for one reason or another. Here at Film School Rejects we are anticipating what looks like a great year for movies. Here is a sneak peak of what Lions Gate and New Line Cinema has in store for us in 2007, and if we think the film will make the 2007 Honor Roll, slide to the Merit Roll or be sentenced to Academic Probation.
Hostel 2

Starring: Bijou Phillips, Jay Hernandez, Jordan Ladd
Director: Eli Roth
Synopsis: Last January, writer/director Eli Roth terrified moviegoers with the blood-drenched HOSTEL, which catapulted to the top of the box office charts and became the first Number One film of 2006. One year later, Roth takes us back to where it all began, and deeper into the darkest recesses of the human mind. In HOSTEL: PART II, three young Americans studying in set off for a weekend trip when they run into a beautiful model from one of their art classes. Also on her way to an exotic destination, the gorgeous European invites the coeds to come along, assuring them they will be able to relax and rejuvenate. Will the girls find the oasis they are looking for? Or are they poised to become victims for hire, pawns in the fantasies of the sick and privileged from around the world who secretly travel here to savor more grisly pursuits?
With Hostel, Eli Roth cemented the cutting-edge credentials he earned with his debut feature Cabin Fever (2002). In [...]

Granted the plot to Dreamgirls is nothing new, we’ve all seen the pop band trying to make it story. This one features a black female pop band, the Dreamettes (later the Dreams), who are on the verge of stardom in the early 1960s and the consequences of their fame. You can pretty much predict what is coming before entering the theater, one singer in the tight knit group ends up overshadowing the rest, they break-up and go solo, someone will turn to drugs and ruin their career, etc. It doesn’t help that the narrative also mirrors Diana Ross and The Supremes’ true life story. However, the energetic songs, brilliant costumes and sets, and solid performances keep Dreamgirls from being routine or dull.
The original trailer for Dreamgirls, which started appearing at cinemas as early as last year, was so vague it only featured a single catchy tune from the musical and the cast’s names but no clips–as a result I haven’t felt such buildup and anticipation for a film in sometime. Plus I also grew up knowing several of the show tunes from the original Broadway show, which debuted in 1981 at the Imperial Theatre, New York City. Add in the fact that there hasn’t been a film musical since Chicago in 2002–which one best picture—I very was excited to see this Broadway film adaptation. Luckily, I wasn’t disappointed and the buildup was worth it and well deserved.

Talk about a week of teasing from the studios… First we get great looks at 300 and Transformers – and now this! After a few days of forcing fanboys everywhere to sift through a blurred bootleg, Fox finally released a trailer for Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer in glorious HD Quicktime and other versions. It releases on June 15, 2007 and the trailer can be seen by clicking the Surfer’s silver mug above. Enjoy!

I hope that Christmas sees all of you doing well. Today is the final week of new releases for the 2006 campaign, and the pickings are slim. The lack of a large number of worthy new releases makes this week the perfect time to use all of those gift cards you got to catch up on the older releases that you never got around to picking up. There are titles like Forbidden Planet, A Scanner Darkly, Little Miss Sunshine, World Trade Center, and the James Bond collections just waiting to be added to your shelf. Sure, there are others worthy, whatever you choose will be sure to be the right choice. This does not mean that there aren’t noteworthy titles this week, read on.

We here at Film School Rejects would like to wish all of our readers a Safe and Happy Holiday Season, and a Merry Christmas! We will be taking a break for the next few days so that we can spend time with our families, answering questions like “What movies have you seen lately?”, “What’s out that’s good?” and the ever popular “So, explain to me again why you want to be a film critic and not a doctor?”
So no matter where you are or how annoying your family is, we wish you season’s greetings. But don’t forget about us… We will be back in full force on December 26th with reviews for the latest releases like Dreamgirls, The Good Shepherd, The History Boys and others. We will also have loads of contests, continue our coverage of this year’s march towards Oscar night and just maybe bring on some new writers – just in time for the new year.
Happy Holidays!
- The Film School Rejects Staff

No holiday can compare to Halloween when it comes to the silver screen. Even if a movie is not specifically made with Halloween in mind, any horror movie can easily be incorporated into the celebration. Christmas is a little different. Though there may be more movies which are explicitly Christmas, there really is no genre that can automatically be attributed to it. Furthermore, most Christmas movies wind up as trite and offensively humorless little comedies starring Tim Allen.
In picking the best Christmas movies of all time, a critic has very little to wade through. However, this is counterbalanced by the difficulty one has in coming up with Christmas movies in the first place. My own list does not exceed three*.

A second request for an online film review was sent to us, and here at film school rejects we were more than happy to take a look and give our opinion. This time the short clip is Belated Introduction, which can be seen here at youtube. The clip does not try to tell a story; rather it is an introduction to a real person set to music and in the style of a music video. Only 2:01 minutes in length, it features several different shots of the young woman, each of which reveals a different aspect of her personality.

Take two parts Star Wars, two parts Lord of the Rings, one part Dragonheart, and a dash of Harry Potter, mix well, servers as many as will pay. That seems to have been the formula for the genesis of Eragon, the latest attempt to create a fantasy film franchise based on a popular novel. Sadly, it doesn’t have enough verve and vigor to inspire much passion. Eragon is, essentially, a 95 minute trailer for the second film. By the time the end rolls around, it doesn’t feel like we got anywhere, it is just beginning to pick up steam and it’s over.
Before you ask, no, I have not read the novel, and no, I have no real intention of ever doing so. It isn’t that I don’t read or anything like that, I just don’t care for fantasy novels. Films are a different beast. I do give much credit to author Christopher Paolini, who wrote the novel, the first of a trilogy, when he was 15 or 16, and published at 17.

Based partly on the life of one of the founding fathers of the CIA, James “Jesus” Angelton, The Good Shepherd follows Edward Wilson (Matt Damon) through a thick fog of deception and suspicion. When a man who loves and serves his country with pride is forced to make a decision that would effect the fate of his personal life and the fate of his country, he must decide where his loyalty resides.
The Good Shepherd is not only good, it is one of the year’s best films. When a film has a cast that can fill seats, a good story and a director that can put the pieces together, you get a film like this. Just looking at the film’s roster makes you want to see it, but whether or not it is good or not is another story. Earlier this year there was another film All The King’s Men that had a cast that just screamed Oscar, but thankfully there have been a few other films since that have cast a very large shadow over the undeserved hype that the afore mentioned film may have received. This film may not win everything, or even anything for that matter, but deserves to be in the ranks of the year’s 5 best films.

In We Are Marshall, the dubious tandem of Director McG (Charlie’s Angels) and actor Matthew McConaughey team up to relive the story of the 1970 Marshall University football team that was lost in a plane crash coming home from a game against Eastern Carolina. The deaths of 75 players, coaches and boosters was a devastating blow to the University and the community around it, leaving many to wonder whether there would ever be football again at Marshall. The result is a poorly managed, severely miscast walking sports clich©.
Enter McConaughey as coach Jack Lengyel, a man who sought out the opportunity to help Marshall get back on the field and teach an entire community to keep on living. Full of inspiration and annoying quirks, Lengyel reassembles the program with the help of Red Dawson (Matthew Fox), the lone coach left after the tragic crash.

This last weekend before Christmas features a lot of new movies hitting theaters around the nation. Some are seeking to bring out families for the holiday vacation, some are looking for Oscar consideration, and still others are looking to spill a little blood in the name of good taste. All I hope for is something that is worth watching (not that I have ever regretted any of my choices). Read on to see all of the weekend’s fine choices.

‘Tis the season for some Box Office battles, eh? Along with the painfully long Awards season that has been upon us for weeks now, it is also time for Hollywood to shell out some Holiday blockbusters – something to give the kiddies something to do while they are off school. For the most part, moms and dads are invited as well. Last year’s Christmas weekend box office saw King Kong and The Chronicles of Narnia dominate a few new releases that were less than worthy (Fun with Dick and Jane did make $21 million, though.)

Welcome to this week’s Top 5 movies about Christmas, brought to you by RankAMovie.com. Yes, it’s that time of year again. I hope you’ve all bought your presents, stocked up on egg-nog, and pulled out the Bing Crosby records. Below are some of the best Christmas movies, as ranked by the visitors of RankAMovie. If you would like to add a movie to the list, or cast a vote for the ranking order, visit RankAMovie and make your opinion heard.

Elf
This is a relatively recent addition to the category of holiday films, but it is clearly a highly regarded film. We get to follow an Elf’s adventures away from the North Pole.

A Christmas Story
If you’ve heard the phrase “You’ll shoot your eye out!” and thought it was a silly phrase, then this is the movie for you. So go grab your Red Ryder BB gun (if you have one), hit your furnace a few times, and turn off the sexy lamp in the living room so that you can enjoy this classic holiday film.
National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation The Griswold family shares with us the joys and fun of the Christmas spririt! The good intentions of the father lead to some interesting situations. Grab some egg-nog and enjoy 97 minutes of laughter.

How the Grinch Stole Christmas Dr. Seuss’s tale of how the Grinch stole Christmas. Having read the book many times, it’s a pleasure [...]

Release Date: December 20, 2006
Rocky Balboa? Seriously? The world of boxing needed a warrior with great heart and determination, and this is all they could come up with? Or maybe someone in Hollywood needed a story for a film and they just couldn’t conjure up anything original. Either way, the Italian Stallion is back for one more round in Rocky Balboa, the sixth film in a series that started with glory and has since been knocked around a bit.
There is a strong likelihood that critics, and some fans, won’t give Balboa a fighting chance this Christmas, seeing as there will be plenty of other films out there to see. Plus, if you’ve seen the trailer to this flick, then you can pretty much guess how it goes down. Rocky mopes around Philadelphia, mourning the death of Adrian while the current heavyweight champion of the world, Mason Dixon, is loathed by fans due to a lack of competition. Leave it to ESPN to stir the pot a bit by showing a virtual fight between has-been Balboa and current champ Dixon in which Rocky wins. Throw in some sports agents keen on making that almighty dollar and all of the sudden a bout is born, and Rocky must once again find a way to get back up after being hit so hard for so long.

Another movie from Christopher Guest and Company, the ones who brought us Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show and A Mighty Wind, now graces the silver screen. Like its predecessors, For Your Consideration follows a now familiar cast as they play characters participating in some chosen endeavor. Before it was an amateur play, a dog show and a folk music concert; this time it is a movie in the midst of filming. The formula has worked before, so I see no reason why it can’t work again, but it is apparent that this particular time it has not yielded the same results as in the past.
One thing I have noticed as I have followed the progression of Guest movies is that they keep collecting more actors as they go. Unfortunately, their ideas do not require any increasing amount of thespians so we are left with many very small and scarcely consequential parts that seem thrown in to make room for some friends, and I am fairly sure that is what has happened. And as the parts grow more numerous, less attention is devoted to each one. In For Your Consideration, we never really get a good beginning, middle and end to any character arc, even the leads. What we have is more akin to bits and pieces of a story thrown at us in order but with large gaps.

It has been a few days since I last blogged Oscar bliss, but rest assured that there has been plenty of news; all of which I will deliver to you now in my own special way.
We start with something that is more than just speculation, and it actually relates to the Oscar ceremonies (everything else, at this point, is just other people’s awards generating speculation). The 79th Annual Oscar show now has a poster (which can be seen below). This year’s design is a simple one, focusing on that little golden man that everyone is desperately seeking, with some famous quotes in the background that will give any film fan a case of historical euphoria. One word-ers like “Rosebud” and “Stella” and “Frodo!” got the largest font, but others caught my eye because they remind me of childhood favorites – like “E.T. phone home.” The poster is cool, you get that; now onto something more gossip-ish.

There has been much teasing lately of a theatrical trailer for Michael Bay’s Transformers. First Yahoo! Movies gave us a countdown (which right now sits at about 30 minutes), then /Film tipped us off that the UK version of the trailer is live now! I would have posted this earlier, but I had to watch the trailer. All I can say is WOW! Michael Bay does not look like he intends to disappoint anyone with this film. You have to see it for yourself! Just click the image above and enjoy.
Technorati Tags: Transformers, Trailer, Michael Bay

We’ve come a long long way together, Mel, through the good times and the bad. And I want to celebrate you baby, like I know I should. Mel Gibson has had a tough year. Got a little drunk, did a little driving, pointed some fingers, called a cop “sugar tits.” But I still love you, Mel. You are forgiven.
With Apocalypto Mel takes the approach of let’s not speak English, hire famous actors, or shoot anywhere near civilization. And it worked for him! This movie is a pretty sweet deal. At first I was a little put off by the naked male asses everywhere. Just kidding. You’ll hardly notice them. Unless you want to. But the characters who are so unfamilair to me spoke like me. Made fun of each other and had a good time. I didn’t expect that because you rarely get that in a period piece.

Will Smith gathered some of the best reviews of his career on his way to the top with yet another number one movie. This week’s top film is the inspirational drama Pursuit of Happyness. It is based on the true story of a man who struggled out of homelessness to provide a better future for his son. It was able to fend off the dragon fantasy film Eragon for the top spot.

I know what you’re thinking. With a cast this huge, how can it be bad? Well, it probably can’t be bad. But that doesn’t mean it’s good. Listen, I loved the cartoon as a kid and probably haven’t watched it in at least six years. I don’t think this need re-made and generally I give the “OK” to remakes. Oh well.
You all know the story. Runt pig gets saved by little girl. Runt pig is going to get eaten. Spider to the rescue by spinning word-webs that make people think pig is amazing. Cool rat. Spider dies. Pig lives. Baby spiders. (Gross)
What’s new? Well the voices. And Dakota Fanning. Not a huge fan of her and she didn’t do anything special here. I’m sure most will be fine with her. Loved Steve Buscemi as the rat, Templeton. Pure gold. Although they cut out his song at the fair, I believe called “smorgesboard” or however you spell it. Templeton’s time at the fair is still hilarious though. Julia Robert’s Charlotte came across a little flat and lifeless to me. Sort of like when you’re bored and reading to kids. I mean, for those of you who do that.

I was trying to kick around a few clever things to say but all I came up with was “Don’t call it the Good German” and “Was it a good Shepherd.” Yeah both of those suck. Luckily for me, and you, and the world, and Matt Damon, and Robert DeNiro, this movie did not suck. In fact, it was quite good.
The plot of The Good Shepherd follows Edward Wilson (Damon) through his years, starting out as a promising young college student. As with all colleges, communists are bound to pop up and try to subvert the system and the FBI taps Wilson to spy on a college professor. He does well. Really well.

One thing we know for certain is the apocalypse is close. Paris Hilton is an actress. How’s that for a sign? What we don’t know is in what form the end will strike upon us. Alfonso Cuar³n read an interesting theory in a novel which he translated to an even better movie. Sci-fi has never been more close to the present than in the Mexican-born director’s latest, Children of Men.
n a very near future, Britain is one of the last places where someone can survive even under a strict police state with zero tolerance for immigrants. 18 years ago, the last human baby was born and since then, a serious case of infertility plagues the whole planet. Theo is a constantly broke public servant, an ex-activist who hasn’t believed in anything for a long time. Having survived a large explosion he runs into his former girlfriend who is still politically active. She then offers him money to handle the papers and delivery of a young immigrant girl. When he accepts he signs up for a life risking adventure…

Jamie Kennedy took the road less traveled to celebrity status. As a struggling actor in Hollywood, he used his talent for creating eclectically interesting personas to pose as his own “agent” to finally get meetings with real agents. So when Kennedy’s childhood passion to become a rapper stalled, he once again pursued an unconventional route to success, this time testing the hip-hop waters–quite a stretch for a 36-year-old white comedian touting a novelty/comedy rap album. His attempts to promote his music resulted in Jamie Kennedy’s Blowin’ Up, the short-lived MTV reality series recently released on a 2-disc DVD, which documents Kennedy’s quest to be taken seriously in hip-hop circles and ultimately land a deal with a record label. Kennedy is clearly a true hip-hop head (he nearly cries when Darryl McDaniels, the latter half of Run-DMC, gives him his trademark hat), but his comedy background unfortunately weakens any credibility he might have. Along for the ride is Stu Stone, Jamie’s friend (and mooch) who plays the sidekick role with likable charm. Constantly nagging Jamie to ditch acting and pursue rap full-time, Stone himself has sufficient talent to earn props from Ice-T, among others.