“Liam Neeson’s playing Johnson,” Daniels told us. “Wallace is not [cast], but [an offer is] out. We’re waiting for a deal to close.”

“We have Cedric the Entertainer, who is going to be [Ralph] Abernathy. He is a really good choice, so we’re excited about that.”

The role of Martin Luther King Jr. was given to David Oyelowo. Selma will focus on when Marting Luther King Jr. led a gathering on the doorstep of Alabama’s State Capitol Building in Montgomery. It was a five-day, four-night march in Selma, Alabama that became an important passage of the National Voting Rights Act of 1965.

I am very excited about this movie, seeing that a film about Martin Luther King Jr. is overdue. The casting of Neeson and Lee Daniels as the director gets me even more excited about this film.

The Film:

Make no mistake, everything you’ve heard about Precious or Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire is true. It features some harrowing moments of abuse, and of course, the applauded acting. It’s the latter that makes the abuse so frightening real, grounding it in realism, when lesser actors and a director could camp it up. The drama that saddles on top of Precious could be seen as a Lifetime Channel Movie-of-the-Week, yet director Lee Daniels doesn’t let it, not even for a moment. That’s where the film gets its power. These moments of abuse must make you flinch, and they do so because of Daniels who has this loose and gritty approach, makes it feel like a documentary than a film. In fact, it’s like a movie version of Tupac’s “Brenda’s Got a Baby” in some regards.

It’s hard to champion a film because of the abuse on display, but for Precious is the film’s anchor that forces us to idol in these troubling waters. That’s where the praised (and justly so) acting comes into play. Mo’Nique is frightening. Maybe she’s entered into the realm of ultimate bad mothers we occasionally see in movies, because she is that scary and that convincing. But even as good as she is in that seemingly now famous triad looking up at Precious on the steps, she’s even better at the end of the film when she haphazardly justifies the sexual and physical abuse on her daughter by herself and her boyfriend. It’s a great scene; I don’t doubt for a minute Mariah Carey’s tears weren’t real, as she plays a Welfare case worker hearing Precious’ story of abuse as Mo’Nique tells it. Now, certainly a performance like Mo’Nique’s can be too powerful and could have forced newcomer Gabourey Sidibe to show her lack of skills, but Sidibe displays the right amount of naturalism for Precious, allowing us to feel her pain genuinely, instead of manipulation.

With all of the great performances in this story of verbal and sexual abuse, it’s hard not to feel crushed under it all. Like I said before, the plot has the makings of what could have been easily a Lifetime Channel movie. Precious is not only obese, illiterate, and abused, she is also a mother of two fathered incestuously. Tough, sick stuff. But through Precious’ dreams that grow more alien as the film goes on-she uses these dreams to temporarily escape the hell-we see her grow into a woman and confront the one thing she could have never confronted without the help of her teacher, Ms. Rain (Paula Patton)-her mother. She chooses not to hide from it any more. The nature of abuse and the understanding of how years of this is key to appreciating her arc.

Don’t misunderstand the race aspect of the film either. Some felt as if the film is demeaning African-Americans and manipulating us into White Guilt. I think any thinking into that should be met with questioning from yourself, and not to the filmmakers. Now the film stumbles a bit when it tries to insert humor. At times the humor is odd, but I understand Daniels approach to break up the constant belittling of her and what that does to us. Precious is a tremendously visual movie of this person that finds her worth, and that is worth championing.

The Blu-ray:

Audio/Video: It’s easy to quickly dismiss the film’s Blu-ray debut, but remember Daniel’s attempt to capture the gritty nature of the environment will make the film on high-def look drab. On the other hand, one can appreciate its faithful representation in skin tones, colors accuracy, and overall richness. LGF did a good job here. The audio, on the other hand, is just okay. The DTS track comes to life during a few scenes, but it mostly doesn’t utilize the surround environment as it should have. Still, overall we got a pretty good high-def release here.

Commentary: Daniel’s is a delight to listen too, offering up a great track on the film as he covers from the beginning of the project to completion with wit, intelligence, and humor. It’s a great listen.

From Push to Precious: Runs about 15 minutes and is a great source of the origins of the book and getting it to production.

A Precious Essemble: While a little to “let’s pat-ourselves-all-on-the-back”, it features some good tidbits on newcomer Sidibe who by chance had American Gangster filming near her and her story of becoming an actress are good bits.

A Conversation with Lee Daniels and Sapphire: I wanted a little more from these, but it’s a nice chat between author and director.

Oprah and Tyler: This just shows how these two got involved with the film. Eh.

Audition Tape that shows Sidibe’s growth, Trailers, a quick Deleted Scene, and a brief Reflections on Precious that offers little insight finish off the disc’s extras.

Conclusion: Harrowing at times, but always great, the film’s high-def is a decent one from LGF.

The Film: Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

The Blu-ray: Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Up in the Air

This wonderfully acted, yet even more wonderful of a script, is such a great film. Funny, thoughtful, and timely. It’s a must have. (Formats: Blu-ray/DVD)   Jon says: Buy   Donny says: Buy

The Boondock Saints II: All Saint’s Day

You loved the first, you’ll love this. We have all sorts of awesome interviews and features for the Boondock Saints, so enjoy! (Formats: Blu-ray/DVD)   Jon says: Buy   Donny says: Buy

Precious

The film is essentially, Tupac’s “Brenda’s Got a Baby”, but it’s really good, even if it tries too hard. (Formats: Blu-ray/DVD)  Jon says: Buy   Donny says: Rent

Old Dogs

Old people will laugh, young people won’t. Simple as that. (Formats: Blu-ray/DVD)  Jon says: Rent   Donny says: Rent

Planet 51

A decent non-Disney, non-DreamWorks ‘toon that came and went. (Formats: Blu-ray/DVD)  Jon says: Rent   Donny says: Buy

Capitalism: A Love Story

Michael Moore returns with perhaps his documentary swansong to tell us why Capitalism sucks…and it does, but please buy from us! (Formats: Blu-ray/DVD)  Jon says: Buy   Donny says: Rent

Possession

This film has been on the shelf for like a zillion years. Usually that means it isn’t good, nor does it look like anything different than Sarah Michelle Gellar’s other ghost films, The Grudge and The Return. (Formats: Blu-ray/DVD)  Jon says: Rent   Donny says: Rent

Stoning of Soraya M.

I heard decent things about this film, as we’ve been wanting to check it out for a while. Now, we all can. (Formats: Blu-ray/DVD)  Jon says: Rent   Donny says: Rent

New to Blu

Outside of the New Release titles, nothing new here.

Keep it here for more reviews and features on these discs and more, only on Killer Film!

Look at the list of winners below and let us know what you think of the final results.:

Best Supporting Actor

• Woody Harrelson – The Messenger

Best Screenplay

• 500 Days of Summer – Michael H. Weber & Scott Neustadter

The Truer Than Fiction Award

• 45365 – Bill & Turner Ross

The Someone to Watch Award

• Kyle Patrick Alvarez - Easier with Practice

Piaget Producer’s Award

• Karin Chien – The Exploding Girl, Santa Mesa

The Robert Altman Award

• A Serious Man

The John Cassavetes Award

• Lynn Shelton – Humpday

Best Cinematography

• Roger Deakins – A Serious Man

Best Documentary

• Anvil! The Story of Anvil

Best Supporting Female Actor

• Mo’Nique – Precious: Based on the novel Push by Sapphire

Best First Screenplay

• Geoffrey Fletcher – Precious: Based on the novel Push by Sapphire

Best Foreign Film

• Lone Scherfig - An Education

Best Female Lead

• Gabourey Sidibe – Precious: Based on the novel Push by Sapphire

Best Director

• Lee Daniels – Precious: Based on the novel Push by Sapphire

Best Male Lead

• Jeff Bridges – Crazy Heart

Best Feature

• Precious: Based on the novel Push by Sapphire

The WGA Awards will take place on February 20th in two simultaneous ceremonies taking place in Los Angeles and New York. Below is the list of nominees.:

DOCUMENTARY SCREENPLAY

• Against the Tide, Screenplay by Richard Trank; Moriah Films
• Capitalism: A Love Story, Written by Michael Moore; Overture Films
• The Cove, Written by Mark Monroe; Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions
• Earth Days, Written by Robert Stone; Zeitgeist Films
• Good Hair, Written by Chris Rock & Jeff Stilson and Lance Crouther and Chuck Sklar; Roadside Attractions
• Soundtrack for a Revolution, Written by Bill Guttentag & Dan Sturman; Freedom Song Productions and Louverture Film

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

• Crazy Heart, Screenplay by Scott Cooper; Based on the novel by Thomas Cobb; Fox Searchlight
• Julie & Julia, Screenplay by Nora Ephron; Based on the books Julie & Julia by Julie Powell and My Life in France by Julia Child with Alex Prud’homme; Sony Pictures
• Precious: Based on the novel Push by Sapphire, Screenplay by Geoffrey Fletcher; Based on the novel Push by Sapphire; Lionsgate
• Star Trek, Written by Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman; Based upon Star Trek, Created by Gene Roddenberry; Paramount Pictures
• Up in the Air, Screenplay by Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner; Based upon the novel by Walter Kirn; Paramount Pictures

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

• (500) Days of Summer, Written by Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber; Fox Searchlight
• Avatar, Written by James Cameron; 20th Century Fox
• The Hangover, Written by Jon Lucas & Scott Moore; Warner Bros.
• The Hurt Locker, Written by Mark Boal; Summit Entertainment
• A Serious Man, Written by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen; Focus Features

Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film (2009)

• Katheryn Bigelow – The Hurt Locker (Summit Entertainment)
• James Cameron – Avatar (Twentieth Century Fox)
• Lee Daniels – Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire (Lionsgate)
• Jason Reitman – Up in the Air (Paramount Pictures)
• Quentin Tarantino – Inglourious Basterds (The Weinstein Company/Universal Pictures)

Among this list the only two directors that have previously been nominated were James Cameron and Quentin Tarantino, the rest of them being the first time they got such a high nomination in this particular guild. The 62nd Annual DGA Awards takes place on January 30th in the Hyatt Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles.

Among the rest of the winners for this includes the best actress which goes out to Yolande Moreau for Seraphine. Best supporting actor went to Christoph Waltz for his role in Quentin Tarantino’s Inglorious Basterds along with Paul Schneider who acted in the Jane Campion film Bright Star. Within the best supporting actress category Mo’Nique strikes again with her role in Precious.

It’s not too much of a surprise to see the Coen brothers get recognition for their writing again as they pick the two for their script for A Serious Man. The rest of the winners can be read right here, and judging from the list of winners maybe it’s a foreshadowing of nominees at least to come when it pertains to the Academy Award nominees.

It’s hard to champion a film because of the abuse on display, but for Precious is the film’s anchor that forces us to idol in these troubling waters. That’s where the praised (and justly so) acting comes into play. Mo’Nique is frightening. Maybe she’s entered into the realm of ultimate bad mothers we occasionally see in movies, because she is that scary and that convincing. But even as good as she is in that seemingly now famous triad looking up at Precious on the steps, she’s even better at the end of the film when she haphazardly justifies the sexual and physical abuse on her daughter by herself and her boyfriend. It’s a great scene; I don’t doubt for a minute Mariah Carey’s tears weren’t real, as she plays a Welfare case worker hearing Precious’ story of abuse as Mo’Nique tells it. Now, certainly a performance like Mo’Nique’s can be too powerful and could have forced newcomer Gabourey Sidibe to show her lack of skills, but Sidibe displays the right amount of naturalism for Precious, allowing us to feel her pain genuinely, instead of manipulation.

With all of the great performances in this story of verbal and sexual abuse, it’s hard not to feel crushed under it all. Like I said before, the plot has the makings of what could have been easily a Lifetime Channel movie. Precious is not only obese, illiterate, and abused, she is also a mother of two fathered incestuously. Tough, sick stuff. But through Precious’ dreams that grow more alien as the film goes on-she uses these dreams to temporarily escape the hell-we see her grow into a woman and confront the one thing she could have never confronted without the help of her teacher, Ms. Rain (Paula Patton)-her mother. She chooses not to hide from it any more. The nature of abuse and the understanding of how years of this is key to appreciating her arc.

Don’t misunderstand the race aspect of the film either. Some felt as if the film is demeaning African-Americans and manipulating us into White Guilt. I think any thinking into that should be met with questioning from yourself, and not to the filmmakers. Now the film stumbles a bit when it tries to insert humor. At times the humor is odd, but I understand Daniels approach to break up the constant belittling of her and what that does to us. Precious is a tremendously visual movie of this person that finds her worth, and that is worth championing.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Let’s dive into the kid friendly section as we talk about the some what mediocre weekend performance of Planet 51. The TriStar Pictures feature made around $12.6 Million despite the very positive word of mouth floating about. That does not really help the family film’s cause since it’s production budget is $60 Million and it’s coming up to Thanksgiving weekend when such family friendly flicks like Old Dogs and The Fantastic Mr. Fox are rolling right in. Precious continues to prove that the power of Oprah is still strong, opening up in even more cities and making $11 Million which is quickly starting to add a little bit of profit to it’s $10 Million dollar budget. Here’s the rest of the top ten of the weekend below thanks to Box Office Mojo:

Weekend Box Office (November 20-22)

1. Twilight Saga: New Moon  ($140.7 M)
2. The Blindside  ($34.5 M)
3. 2012  ($26.5 M)
4. Planet 51  ($12.6 M)
5. A Christmas Carol  ($12.2 M)
6. Precious  ($11 M)
7. The Men Who Stare at Goats  ($2.2 M)
8. Couples Retreat  ($1.9 M)
9. The Fourth Kind  ($1.7 M)
10. Law Abiding Citizen  ($1.6 M)

Make sure you can wobble over to the movie theater after pounding away those turkey sandwiches, because there’s a feast full of flicks coming our way. First there is the limited release of The Road with New York and Los Angeles releases of Me and Orson Welles and The Princess and the Frog. The regular releases are The Fantastic Mr. Fox, Old Dogs and Ninja Assassin.

The script is penned by Paul Webb, who’s other screenwriting credits include the Steven Spielberg directed and in production picture called Lincoln. The possible release date for Selma is unknown at the moment.

The unfortunate part is for the surprisingly hilarious and light hearted comedy Pirate Radio, barely able to make $2.8 Million through it’s opening weekend. Precious continues to show what the power of Oprah’s voice can do with it’s wider release as it makes a cool $6 Million. Paranormal Activity proves that it’s not going anywhere as it passes the $100 Million mark, completely proving that a good idea can keep a movie afloat better than star power. Here’s the rest of the list, provided by Box Office Mojo, right below.:

Weekend Box Office (November 13-15)

1. 2012  ($65 M)
2. A Christmas Carol  ($22.3 M)
3. The Men Who Stare at Goats  ($6.2 M)
4. Precious  ($6 M)
5. Michael Jackson’s This Is It  ($5.1 M)
6. The Fourth Kind  ($4.7 M)
7. Couples Retreat  ($4.25 M)
8. Paranormal Activity  ($4.2 M)
9. Law Abiding Citizen  ($3.9 M)
10. The Box  ($3.1 M)

Turkey time is drawing near, and what better way to start stuffing your movie palate than with The Blind Side, Planet 51 or every other teenage girl’s most anticipated movie with Twilight Saga: New Moon.

The Milla Jovovich starring film “The Fourth Kind” did not put up any sort of big numbers that was expected from a film along the same vein of “Paranormal Activity” as it accumulates $12.5 Million it’s first weekend. Richard Kelly’s newest directed thriller “The Box” barely got enough audience to make $7.8 Million, not entirely impressive especially with the fierce marketing. What became one of the more surprising box office successes of the weekend is “Precious” which, despite it’s under the radar marketing, managed to take in $1.8 Million over it’s opening weekend. The rest of the top ten from this weekend are listed below from Box Office Mojo.:

Weekend Box Office (November 6-8)

1. A Christmas Carol  ($31 M)
2. Michael Jackson’s This Is It  ($14 M)
3. The Men Who Stare at Goats  ($13.3 M)
4. The Fourth Kind  ($12.5 M)
5. Paranormal Activity  ($8.6 M)
6. The Box  ($7.8 M)
7. Couples Retreat  ($6.4 M)
8. Law Abiding Citizen  ($6.1 M)
9. Where the Wild Things Are  ($4.2 M)
10. Astro Boy  ($2.5 M)

What better way to keep each other in the holiday spirit with pure disaster stemming from Roland Emmerich’s new film “2012“. Also opening this weekend in theaters everywhere is the new Richard Curtis comedy “Pirate Radio” and a limited release of the Sebastian Gutierrez dramedy “Women in Trouble”.

Check out the film’s soundtrack listing below along with a first listen to Mary J. Blige’s song I Can See In Color. The song will be pushed for the original song category for the movie.

1.I Can See In Color – Mary J. Blige
2.He Is The Joy – Donna Allen
3.Was That All It Was (3:48) – Jean Carn
4.Did You Ever See A Dream Walking – Sunny Gale
5.Come Into My House – Queen Latifah
6.Just A Closer Walk With Thee – Mahalia Jackson
7.Love Is The Message - MFSB (featuring The Three Degrees)
8.Now That I Know Who I Am – Nona Hendryx
9.System - Labelle
10.Somethin’s Comin‘ My Way – Performed by Grace Hightower
11.It Took A Long Time - Labelle
12.Letters – Mario Grigorov

Source: Imeem

I Can See In Color – Mary J Blige

Here’s the trailer:

Source: Official Site