 "Photo: Australiamovie.com")
Milk
It's not often that Hollywood produces a film revolving solely around homosexuality. Two big-name movies of this sort in the past 20 years come to mind - "The Birdcage," a comedy about drag and cabaret, and of course "Brokeback Mountain." However, the only thing they have in common is homosexuality.
This week marks the release of "Milk," the story of Harvey Milk, the first openly, gay man elected into public office in the United States.
The film is directed by Gus Van Sant ("Good Will Hunting," "Finding Forrester"), and stars the dynamic Sean Penn ("Mystic River," "Fast Times at Ridgemont High") as Milk. James Franco ("Spiderman," "Tristan & Isolde") has a supporting role as Harvey's lover, Scott Smith. Emile Hirsch plays Cleve Smith, a gay activist mentored by Milk, while Josh Brolin ("No Country for Old Men," "W.") plays Dan White, a San Francisco city supervisor who plays a large role in the life of Milk, to say the very least.
In a few early reviews, "Milk" has received nothing but positive feedback. With its intriguing story and star cast, it has set itself up to be an award-winning and truly inspiring film.
Australia
Baz Luhrmann may be better known for his voice in the speech-turned-song "Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen)," but his short directorial career has proved to be quite respectable. His brief résumé includes the popular movies "Moulin Rouge" and "Romeo & Juliet." His latest work is of a similar genre, but may prove to be a bigger success.
The film is an epic drama that takes place in pre-World War II northern Australia. Lady Sarah Ashley, played by Nicole Kidman, ("Moulin Rouge," "To Die For") is a wealthy British aristocrat who inherits a large amount of land in Australia. She becomes interested in a stockman played by Hugh Jackman, ("X-Men," "The Prestige") who is unnamed and credited simply as a drover (an Australian stockman that usually cares for a large amount of livestock). When history takes its course and the Japanese bomb Darwin, the capital of Australia's Northern Territory, the two experience it first hand.
Critics aren't crazy about "Australia," which has received a lot of criticism for it length (almost three hours). However, it will be interesting to see what the public thinks.
Transporter 3
Jason Statham is back for the third installment of the "Transporter" series, which probably should have stopped after the first. "The Transporter" was received well by the common moviegoer, but was frowned upon by critics. The second was a slight downgrade with critics saying that it was a bit over-the-top.
As usual, the third movie in the series has a third director, Olivier Megaton. "Transporter 3" is lead by action star Statham ("The Italian Job," "Crank") as Frank Martin, with Francois Berleand, a French actor know mostly in America for playing Inspector Tarconi in the sequel's previous movies.
This chapter of the series puts a new twist on the story, as Martin must stay within a certain distance of his car or he will die. Early showings and screenings have not gone well, with critics complaining that the plot is lame.
Four Christmases
With Christmas right around the corner, it's the time of year for corny holiday movies that aim for an "It's A Wonderful Life" type of message, but end up filling clichés and boring the audience.
This year, it's Vince Vaughn ("Wedding Crashers," "Swingers") and Reese Witherspoon ("Legally Blonde," "Walk the Line") taking on the nearly impossible task of making a quality Christmas movie. This potentially hilarious pair stars as Brad and Kate, a happy San Franciscan couple forced to return home for Christmas to visit their families due to some outlandish circumstances. Since all of their parents are divorced, they have to travel to four different places just to celebrate the holiday.
Robert Duvall, Jon Favreau, Jon Voight, Sissy Spacek, and Tim McGraw, just to name a few, all play members of the various families.
"Four Christmases" is director Seth Gordon's first feature film, and it doesn't seem to be a good one. The "Tomato-Meter" on Rottentomatoes.com has given the movie a 21 percent so far, with critics agreeing that the film is just awful.
Justin Gagnon can be reached at jegagnon@student.umass.edu.
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