Paul Bond in The Hollywood Reporter:

Sarah Palin will be joined by an unlikely group of co-stars in her upcoming film: Matt Damon, Rosie O’Donnell, David Letterman and Bill Maher, among other Hollywood celebrities who loathe her.

The stars appear in the feature-length biography of Palin from documentary filmmaker Stephen Bannon that is designed to reintroduce Palin as a woman who rose from nowhere to become the nation’s most popular governor. …

While the celebrities are only a small part of the film, Bannon’s goal is to remind moviegoers of the vile comments made about Palin, and he hopes the rest of the film makes the case that they were calculated and undeserved. …

Bannon made The Undefeated for $1 million and he predicts that, whether or not Palin runs for president in 2012, the film will help shape the narrative of the election and the various campaigns.
 
“This will go off like an atomic bomb in the upcoming Republican primary,” he says.

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No matter what your background, everyone faces two of the same basic life choices: how to be sure you’ve found your perfect life partner, and how to find a life path that’s meaningful. But what if you think you’ve got it all figured out, and then suddenly you learn there’s a much bigger plan at work that contradicts everything you ever wanted?

What if God Himself was standing in the way of your deepest hopes and dreams, or your true love? Can you possibly change His mind and His plan for your destiny? And is it wrong to try in the first place?

——

These fundamental questions are addressed in fascinating fashion by the remarkable new film “The Adjustment Bureau.” The fact that it manages to do so in the context of a strong romance with plenty of thrills, stunning special effects, constant yet effective plot twists and outstanding performances by Matt Damon and Emily Blunt only adds to the appeal of this must-see movie.

Built upon the mind-bending work of legendary sci-fi writer Philip K. Dick, whose literary output also inspired “Blade Runner,” “The Adjustment Bureau” stands close behind “Inception” as one of the most original films to come out in years. A refreshing change of pace from typical Hollywood cookie-cutter fare, it stars Damon as David Norris, an idealistic young Democratic congressman who in the film’s opening minutes is scrambling to win a seat in the U.S. Senate, only to surprisingly lose on election night.

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Ground’s too hard. Them men wanted a decent burial, they should have got themselves killed in summer.

Like most everyone who loves movies, I have a great admiration and respect for the Brothers Coen. Joel and Ethan are a rarity in the filmmaking world these days. Rather than make mega-commercial extravaganzas they create mostly off-beat character-driven stories in most every genre there is — and if there isn’t a genre that fits whatever the latest is they’re cooking up, they go right on ahead and create one of their own. Better still, these two multi-talented Oscar winners seem much more interested in creating a lasting cinematic legacy as opposed to changing the world or telling us how to vote. Not everything they create is universally accessible, but that has to do with the rhythm of a sometimes peculiar muse always in search of greatness, as opposed to a politically divisive approach to their signature way of telling a story. Which isn’t to say you won’t find large political and social themes at play in some of their best work. Those things are there and are usually what elevates the eccentric into something that sticks to the ribs.

But it’s also  fair to say that both auteurs frequently seek to explore nihilism as a theme, the futility of life and living in a world without purpose. Though tonally different, most recently, “Burn Without After Reading,” the Academy Award-winning “No Country for Old Men,” and especially “A Serious Man,” delivered grim stories without any real hint of redemption or sympathy. Sometimes, as was the case with the magnificent “No Country,” this approach resonates; the whole point is in witnessing the power of the human spirit to fight its way through a cold, indifferent and harsh world like a flower through the crack of a sidewalk. But sometimes it doesn’t work and the end result is something cold, distant, and a little off-putting. “True Grit” is one of those times.

The pieces are all there. Who better to fill John Wayne’s shoes than a beloved Jeff Bridges whose already formidable charisma has only increased with middle age?  The music score, photography, production design and direction are as impeccable as expected, and the supporting cast, most especially Hailee Stainfeld as Mattie Ross, the young girl who hires Bridges crusty, aging Marshal to avenge the murder of her father, are all top notch. But what’s missing is what resonates, an emotional heft promised to us when the story opens with a quote that raises our expectations…

You must pay for everything in this world, one way and another. There is nothing free except the grace of God.

 …but never really pays off like it should.

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Today’s New York Post:

Even for Hollywood, “Green Zone” is dumbfoundingly brazen in its effort to rewrite the facts. As any reasonably informed person knows, many intelligence services (including the French, German, Chinese, Russian and British) believed Iraq had WMDs. And the CIA (which along with Chief Miller is a hero of “Green Zone”) was among them. Plus, such intel reports predated the Bush administration — and Saddam’s refusal to allow the UN weapons inspectors to finish their work gave us every reason to think he was hiding something and sealed his fate.

It’s one thing to make a fantasy film laced with snarky jibes at the United States and its military. It’s of another order entirely for an American studio (Universal, a unit of GE) to perpetrate, during an ongoing war, such vicious anti-American lies disguised as cheap entertainment.

“Green Zone” tells US troops that all of their efforts have been based on a deliberate deception. Worse, it blames the insurgency that has killed so many of our fighting men and women on US treachery. (more…)

Given the huge advertising and publicity push, plus the presence of star actor Matt Damon (Bourne spy film series) and star director Steven Soderbergh (Ocean’s series of heist films), I thought The Informant! had a good chance to win the box office sweepstakes during its opening days this past weekend.

I considered that a potentially baleful eventuality, considering that the new comedy seemed likely to be very anti-business, given the scenes shown in the trailers and the presence of politically active Damon and Soderbergh (director of Che, which lionized the Cuban Marxist revolutionary). I haven’t seen it yet, and so will reserve judgment on that score, but perhaps it makes sense that although The Contender did better than expected, it was clobbered by the animated comedy Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. (more…)

With this year’s Academy Award season over and the next one already into act II, both winners and losers, or rather, award recipients and award non-recipients, have already begun taking stands on undiscovered political issues and digging their heels in deeper on those already known and talked about. 

Does anyone benefit from this? Is there a payoff? Does the world become a better place? Or is it all about career, being in the limelight, and publicity?  (more…)

(Third installment in the not-so-unbelievable Upside Down Bizarre World series.)

Dateline: Next Thursday.

Announcer Voice Over:  Live from New York City, it’s The Bill Kristol – Matt Damon Debate, and here’s your moderator for the evening: Greg Gutfeld.

Greg Gutfeld:  Hello, I’m Greg Gutfled, host of the Fox News late night show Red Eye. Tonight I am coming to you live from the stage of Town Hall here in New York City for a debate between Mr. Bill Kristol and Mr. Matt Damon. The audience has been told to hold their applause (and their privates) except for when introducing our two debaters - which happens right now! (more…)