Indie with humor to spare is Summer's buried treasure

"Little Miss Sunshine"
Starring: Greg Kinear, Tony Collete, Steve Carell, Abigail Breslin, Paul Dano, and Alan Arkin
3 and 1/2 stars out of 4


Starting with a limited release on it's plate, "Little Miss Sunshine" hoped to find an audience in the long run, it grabbed me as I enjoyed every second of it's dark wit and humor feel.

The overly problematic family, including the young cutie Olive (Breslin), who dreams of competing in the Little Miss Sunshine beauty pagent, her failure of a father Richard (Kinear) who stresses winning, and the qualities of losing and or losers. The mute brother Dwyane who is following in the steps of Frederick Nietsche. The mother Sheryl (Collette) who is basically the glue that holds the family together, her suicial brother Frank played to a tee by Steve Carrell, who is also homo-sexual. Also Grandpa, played Alan Arkin who snorts heroine, and cannot stress enough to Dwyane to sleep with enough girls.

At every moment it seems the family is on the brink of a meltown, as they can't help but support eachother, or look at eachother and roll there eyes. The scene stealer Abigail Breslin is the center of the story, she idolizes her Grandpa, as he taught her all of her "moves" for the upcoming, but not possible Little Miss Sunshine contest. The family gets a call, and Olive is suddenly in. Next a roadtrip to California that will either make or break the family, as they will all be packed into a VW as transportation.

All-star acting across the board, absolutely no one missing a beat. Carrell is perfect as the emtionally out of tune brother, Collette and Kinear as the parents both looking to help there marriage along with surviving this roadtrip. Dano and Arkin are also great, this movie is just genious. Nationwide critics have praised it for it's shattering honesty and crazed road-trip humor, as the family struggles for an identity, the audience struggles to catch it's breath after laughing most of the film's short run-time.

Coming straight out of the Sundance factory, small indies like this are what brighten this downer Summer of cinema, I look forward to somehow seeing "The Illusionist" and "Half Nelson."
Some have called "Little Miss Sunshine" cliched using corkiness and dark humor to win over audiences who aren't familiar with "Garden State" and "Sideways", but this film has it's own identity and I cherished it the whole way through. It's an R rated family film that does just fine on it's own 2 emotianally detached feet.

Upcoming films that I fancy

"The Last Kiss"
Starring: Zach Braff, Rachel Bilson, Tom Wilkinson, Blythe Danner

Zach Braff's first film "Garden State" awoke my senses and spoke me to LOUDLY, after seeing it 3 times in the theatre, I knew whatever he was involved in next I would be in line for opening night. Oh not to mention, Paul Haggis who wrote "Crash" and "Million Dollar Baby" wrote this film.

"Children of Men"
Starring: Clive Owen, Michael Caine, Julianne Moore

Clive Owen is one of my favorite actors, knowing that he is teamed with a good cast, a crafty director and an original plot is a can't miss for me. The story takes place in 2007, the world is ending due to babies not being able to be born, Clive and company come upon 1 women who still can give birth, they must accompany her on a war filled path to "The Human Project." If you aren't familiar with Clive Owen, rent "Closer", enough said.

"Babel"
Starring: Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett

This film right here might end up being my favorite of 2006, directed by the same man who brought us "Amores Perros" and "21 Grams." Already getting raves from the Cannes' film festival, it took home best director, and looks to be a lock for the Oscar race. The multi-cultural storyline follows Pitt and Blanchett as husband and wife on vacation, after tragedy strikes them, the lives of several people in several countries will be altered forever.

'The Departed"
Starring: Jack Nicholson, Matt Damon, Leonardo DiCaprio, Alec Baldwin, Mark Wahlberg

Besides maybe the best ensemble cast of the year, throw in living legend of a director Martin Scorsese and top notch remake of a Hong Kong crime story, this will be great.

"Flags of our Fathers"
Starring:Ryan Phillipe, Adam Beach, Barry Pepper, Paul Walker

The story of the raising of the flag at Iwo Jima, and the turning point in World War 2, is directed through the eyes of Clint Eastwood. His last 2 efforts paid off with the Academy, with "Mystic River", and "Million Dollar Baby" walking away with many awards, look for this to do the same.. Oh yeah, Paul Haggis wrote the script.

Stone's "WTC" shows impressive and heartfelt tribute

“World Trade Center”
4 stars out of 4
Starring: Nicholas Cage, Michael Pena’, Maria Bello, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jay Hernandez, Stephen Dorff, Frank Whaley


Oliver Stone’s most recent film before “WTC” was a complete whiff, wasted money, talent and overall reputation. Most ridiculers thought Stone would have to work from the ground up to even start a decent production again and be trusted with precious work. News came that he would be looking into telling the story of two Port Authority cops from New York who went into the Twin Towers the day of 9/11 to save people, but ended up being stuck under rubble for hours. I for one wasn’t thrilled, not because of the fact that it was a 9/11 film, just the fact that this could be the completely wrong film for Stone to do after coming off of the horrendous “Alexander.”

Stone is surely one for controversy, he has directed countless films with his own opinions and propaganda thrown in, some are great, some are less-fulfilling. With “World Trade Center”, Stone has done something he isn’t use to, he stuck to someone else’s script. Andrea Berloff, who wrote the script for “WTC” leads Stone down the right path, as he tells one of the greatest American stories to ever be made, it screams and cries out how important courage, bravery, friendship and family ultimately are.

Nicholas Cage plays the true life John McLoughlin, having been with the Port Authority for 2 decades he even doesn’t have a plan for when he is called to the towers after the first plane hits. Cage tells one of his colleagues while approaching the defeated tower, “We’ve prepared for everything, but not this, not something of this size.” Michael Pena’ who most will recognize as the locksmith from “Crash” plays the new guy within the Port Authority named Will Jimeno, he leaves his home that morning with a beautiful wife played by Maggie Gyllenhaal and his daughter Bionka, and another 4 months away.

The movie starts off with both men leaving there houses, arriving at work, and hearing the news. They aren’t hesitant in the least bit to start doing there job and taking huge risks in the midst of immediate danger and confusion. The two men don’t know each other real well, but what they don’t realize is that they will soon be in a living hell for hours buried under rubble without hardly any movement. This is what makes this story so admirable, Cage and Pena’ play these characters only from the neck up, something I have never seen in a movie, they talk to keep each other awake, as they support each other waiting for help.

The film jumps back and forth at a steady pace between these two men, and there families as they endlessly wait for news of there husbands and there condition. Both wives watch the news coverage endlessly, much the same as we did on that day, trying to figure out what to do, but with no direction. The film plays out in the darkness with these men, as they picture there wives, and talk back and forth for comfort and security, knowing that any second could be there last. Usually when you see a film, you can label it by it’s director, but this doesn’t feel like an Oliver Stone film, it’s packed with heart, emotion, realism, and it just what this country needs as a reminder of why were still here. People like John and Will, along with all of the rescuers that have dedicated hours in the agonizing dust and stone to save there loved ones, and there fellow stranger.

“World Trade Center” is by no means a masterpiece, but what it does do is put in crystal clear perspective the foundations of our country, and what we will do when the odds are stacked against us, this is far and away the best film of the summer, and stands alongside “United 93” as the two best films of the year so far. The film runs around 2 hours and 10 minutes, but it feels as if it runs for a good 3 hours, it's slow at times, but in a good way. I haven't had this movie-going expierience since "United 93" another film about bravery and courage, along with "WTC" both films show the best of us.