Michael Moore on God, Faith, and Capitalism

Posted on September 28, 2009 at 2:35 pm

Tomorrow night, I’ll be interviewing Michael Moore at a premiere screening of his new film, “Capitalism: A Love Story.” It comes 20 years after his “Roger & Me” changed the rules for documentaries in every category. He did not pretend to be balanced; he did not hesitate to be irreverent, even laugh-out-loud funny, and — related to the first two points — he shattered box office records. “Roger & Me” focused on the devastation in Moore’s home town of Flint, Michigan, in an economic downturn that seems modest by today’s standards. And Flint shows up again, in a twist that will give the audience goosebumps. Here is Moore on CNN this week. I’ll report on our session on Wednesday.

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Upcoming Film Searches for God

Posted on September 24, 2009 at 7:43 am

In every corner of the world, there’s one question that can never be definitively answered, yet stirs up equal parts passion, curiosity, self-reflection and often wild imagination: “What is God?” Filmmaker Peter Rodger explores this query in the provocative non-fiction feature “Oh My God.” This visual odyssey travels the globe with a revealing lens examining the idea of God through the minds and eyes of various religions and cultures, everyday people, spiritual leaders and celebrities. His goal: to give the viewer the personal, visceral experience of some kind of reasonable, meaningful definition of one of the highly individual but universal search for meaning and connection with the divine.
Rodger’s quest takes him from the United States to Africa, from the Middle East to the Far East, where such fundamental issues as: “Did God create man or did man create God?, “Is there one God for all religions?” and “If God exists, why does he allow so much suffering?” are explored in candid discussions with the various Christians, Catholics, Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists and even atheists the filmmaker meets along the way.
“Oh My God ” stars Hugh Jackman, Seal, Ringo Starr, Sir Bob Geldof, Princess Michael of Kent, David Copperfield and Jack Thompson. It opens in November.

Fall Movie Preview

Posted on September 2, 2009 at 3:51 pm

Here are my thoughts on fall movies:

Sept 24 “Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole” Director Zach Snyder is known for striking visuals (“300” and “The Watchmen”) so his first family-friendly film, the 3D animated story of Kathryn Lasky’s owl warriors should be something special.

Oct 1 “The Social Network” “The West Wing’s” Aaron Sorkin tells the story of the internet phenomenon that went from a student’s dorm room program to put the school directory online in 2002 to a worldwide phenomenon linking 500 million people, with half of them checking it every day.

Oct 8 “Secretariat” Every autumn brings us some tale of athletic triumph and this is the triumphant tale of the horse that won the triple crown in 1973, setting records still unbroken. Diane Lane plays the owner dismissed as “a housewife” and John Malcovich is the trainer who “dresses like Superfly.”

Oct 22 “The Company Men” A year in the life of three men who’ve been downsized from office jobs, with Ben Affleck, Kevin Costner, Tommy Lee Jones, and Maria Bello.

Nov 5 “Megamind” Brad Pitt and Will Ferrell provide the voices for this animated story of superhero vs. supervillain — and supervillain vs. even bigger supervillain.

Nov 19 “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1” The final chapter of the Harry Potter series is so big they made it into two movies. In this one, the final battle begins!

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Trailer: The Men Who Stare at Goats

Posted on August 31, 2009 at 8:00 am

Thanks to one of my favorite bloggers, Keith Demko of Reel Fanatic, for this trailer:

This is from the folks behind Good Night, and Good Luck and it looks like a sharp, smart, funny, satire with a sensational cast. Can’t wait.

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First Glimpse of ‘Avatar’

Posted on August 24, 2009 at 3:58 pm

James Cameron says he wanted to give the fans more than a 3-minute trailer to give them an idea of what to expect from his first non-documentary feature film in 12 years, the very-eagerly anticipated (by fanboys everywhere) “Avatar.” So on Friday he allowed audiences to get an almost-20 minute preview, IMAX screen, 3D glasses and all. And I was there.

It was not exactly what I expected, more of a fantasy CGI film than live action with special effects. At first it felt more like a top-quality game without a controller than a movie. But then I was drawn into the story, thanks in part to the detail of the graphics but more because of the voice talent — Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana. The movie opens in December and I am very much looking forward to it.

Here is the teaser trailer:

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