Movies of the Month: February 2013

February is shaping up to be a so-so month at the theater, which is pretty typical of February schedules. The good stuff from 2013 hasn’t yet arrived (but rest assured, 2013 will be a good year). For now, we get a bunch of Valentine’s Day movies, a few action films, an animated feature, one very bizarre sequel, and the return of John McClane, who just will not die.

Week of February 1, 2013

Warm Bodies

The Plot: A zombie with a heart of gold falls in love with a human girl after eating her boyfriend’s brains. Really, it’s romantic and stuff.

Who’s in it? Nicholas Hoult, Teresa Palmer, John Malkovich

Ultimate Fate: It’s a cute romantic comedy with zombies. By all accounts, Warm Bodies takes a fresh approach to the worn out zombie genre by injecting humor and romance to the usual horror trappings. Think more like Zombieland and less like Night of the Living Dead. It has the potential to be a fun and unique Valentine’s Day movie.

Bullet to the Head

The Plot: A hitman and a detective team up to take down a criminal overlord and rescue/avenge the hitman’s daughter.

Who’s in it? Sylvester Stallone, Jason Momoa, Christian Slater, Sung Kang

Ultimate Fate: A Sylvester Stallone film just a few weeks from an Arnold Schwarzenegger film? Sweet! The 13-year-old kid in me is jumping up and down with excitement. Too bad it’s February 2013 and not February 1992. Stallone is in pretty good fighting shape for an AARP cardholder. And, this film has Jason Momoa, who was Conan the Barbarian in the failed franchise reboot from a few years ago. These two fight with axes, so that should be fun.

The Haunting in Connecticut 2: Ghosts of Georgia

The Plot: A family moves down to Georgia and is haunted by ghosts from the Underground Railroad

Who’s in it? Abigail Spencer, Katee Sackhoff, Chad Michael Murray

Ultimate Fate: I understand the need to develop franchises and to maintain a sense of brand recognition, but this one kills me. How can you have a sequel of A Haunting in Connecticut and set it in Georgia? Silly. I don’t know how good or bad this film will be. I can’t get past the dumb title to think about the actual film. If the rest of the film is as lazy, sloppy, and idiotic as the title, then we’ll be in for a real boring horror film.

Stand Up Guys

The Plot: Upon his release from jail, a con man and his buddies reunite for one epic night on the town. Unfortunately, his friends have one last assignment to carry out – kill their buddy who just spent years in jail.

Who’s in it? Al Pacino, Christopher Walken, Alan Arkin

Ultimate Fate: That’s a strong lineup of acting talent. With those guys involved, you know it’s going to be a funny, intense, and sad affair. Should be a fun time.

Where I’ll be this weekend: I’ll be watching Rocky beat up Conan v. 2.0. Too much popcorn-munching silliness in that for me to pass up. If I’m feeling a bit more serious, or if I want to watch real actors, I’ll check out Stand Up Guys.

Week of February 8, 2013

Identity Thief

The Plot: A crazy woman steals a man’s identity. Since the cops have never encountered a case of identity theft and have no idea what to do, the man must track down the thief himself.

Who’s in it? Jason Bateman, Melissa McCarthy

Ultimate Fate: A goofy comedy if there ever was. McCarthy made a name for herself as the crazy one in Bridesmaids. Actually, all of those girls were crazy; McCarthy was just the craziest. Bateman plays the loveable loser pretty well. Pair those two up and let McCarthy abuse Bateman for two hours? Surely this must be comedy gold. My snarky attitude aside, this will probably be a fun R-rated comedy. Have fun, if that’s your thing.

Side Effects

The Plot: A new drug seems to work wonders for anxiety disorders, but it also has dangerous side effects. Its patients keep finding themselves involved in unexpected and potentially fatal situations.

Who’s in it? Rooney Mara, Channing Tatum, Jude Law, Catherine Zeta-Jones

Ultimate Fate: Director Stephen Soderbergh is retiring after Side Effects, and it looks like he’ll be going out in style. A slick crime thriller set in the medical world involving a drug that may or may not make its patients kill? Sounds intriguing. And, given its strong cast, this should be a good drama for Soderbergh to go out on.

Where I’ll be this weekend: You can have the comedy. Give me a great director telling an interesting and unique tale any day.

Week of Febaruary 15, 2013

A Good Day to Die Hard

The Plot: You cannot simply kill John McClane. This time, he teams up with his son in Moscow to stop a terrorist from selling nuclear weapons.

Who’s in it? Bruce Willis, Jai Courtney, Mary Elizabeth Winstead

Ultimate Fate: The fifth entry in the Die Hard franchise sees indestructible John McClane taking on even more terrorists. You would think they would hold off on their nefarious plans when he’s in town. After a couple of weak action films in 2013, we finally get one that at least tries to go big. Every lonely, dateless guy on Valentine’s Day (including me) will be here watching stuff get shot up.

Beautiful Creatures

The Plot: A young caster coming up on her 16^th birthday must decide if she’ll be a good witch or a bad witch. Unfortunately, the arrival of a young man makes it soo hard to decide to be good/bad.

Who’s in it? Alice Englert, Viola Davis, Emma Thompson, Emmy Rossum

Ultimate Fate: A tween novel that Warner Brothers hopes will take over for the Harry Potter franchise. Good luck with that. The trailers feature a lot of exposition (they should just read the novel and get it over with) and cheap special effects. I’m sure teenage girls will find it adorable. But, unlike Harry Potter, Beautiful Creatures won’t appeal to a wider audience.

Safe Haven

The Plot: A young woman on the run finds herself in a quiet town far from her troubles. Even better, a hunky guy has eyes for her. As romance blossoms, her past catches up to her and threatens her new life.

Who’s in it? Josh Duhamel, Julianne Hough, David Lyons

Ultimate Fate: It’s a Nicholas Sparks film, so buy into it if you enjoyed The Lucky One, Dear John, Nights in Rodanthe, The Notebook, or any of his other book-to-film adaptations. It might make for a great date night for the ladies and a bearable date night for the guys.

Escape From Planet Earth

The Plot: An alien gets trapped on Earth, and it’s up to his brother and a rag-tag group of aliens to help him escape.

Who’s in it? The voices of Brendan Fraser, Sarah Jessica Parker, Jessica Alba, William Shatner, and more.

Ultimate Fate: Do you know what we haven’t had in theaters for a while? An animated kids film. This one seems cute and adventurous enough to entertain. I don’t know if it will have the crossover appeal to reel in adults, but a least the kiddies should have a good time.

Where I’ll be this weekend: Dying. Harder. Enjoy your tween flick and your Nicholas Sparks weeper. As a real man, the only reasonable option this weekend is to watch John McClane shoot bad guys with automatic weapons. Or missiles. I hope he gets his hands on a missile.

Week of February 22, 2013

Snitch

The Plot: A tough-guy father agrees to become an informant against a drug cartel in exchange for his son’s early release from prison.

Who’s in it? The Rock (Dwayne Johnson), Susan Sarandon, Benjamin Bratt

Ultimate Fate: Let's face it, The Rock is one of the best action stars around. Not only is he a physical beast, he also has lots of charisma and attitude to go with it. Give him a role where he can beat people up on a regular basis and act like he cares. Sounds like fun.

Dark Skies

The Plot: A suburban family finds itself in the midst of a series of unexplainable events. A dark power seems to be targeting them, but who, or what, is responsible?

Who’s in it? Keri Russell, Josh Hamilton

Ultimate Fate: From the makers of Paranormal Activity and Insidious. That should tell you a lot about what to expect from this film. It’s a spooky little film full of disturbing imagery and jump-scares.

Where I’ll be this week: Snitch, I suppose. It’s a thin weekend, but The Rock should be entertaining enough for a look.

Movie of the Month: February is a weak month overall, but there are a couple of good options to consider. I recommend A Good Day to Die Hard, just because we get to see John McClane destroy half of Moscow. If you’re less interested in explosions (and why would you be?) and more interest in zombies and/or romance, check out Warm Bodies.

Are you excited to see John McClane shoot a bunch of Russian baddies? Does a heartwarming story of love and zombies float your boat? Let me know in the comments below or on Twitter!

The Last Stand Review

Arnold Schwarzenegger is headlining an action film for the first time since Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, which was released in theaters in July 2003. After serving as governor of California for eight years, some question his ability to carry an action film. He’s pushing retirement age and had a desk job for a decade. Will he be able to lead an action film again?

Based on The Last Stand, the new film in which he stars alongside Johnny Knoxville, Luis Guzmán, and Jaimie Alexander, the answer is – kinda.

Schwarzenegger picked a tame film for his return. The Last Stand is an action film only because it can’t really be classified as a comedy, drama, or any other genre. It’s got a few gun battles, a prison breakout, and some fisticuffs, so I guess it qualifies as action. But, you’ll see more action, comedy, and drama in films like 21 Jump Street and 30 Minutes or Less. Arnold isn’t asked to do much in this one, and when he does, it’s clear that he will have to shake off some rust to get back to action superstar form.

Gabriel Cortez (Eduardo Noriega), a ruthless drug lord, escapes a high security prison and makes a run for Mexico. He’s piloting a prototype Corvette that can run 250+ mph in the dark with its lights out, and he’s outrunning the Feds. He’ll get away unless a small town sheriff and a handful of locals stop him before he crosses the border.

Schwarzenegger plays Ray Owens, the sheriff of Sommerton Junction who moved to the quiet crossroads town from LA after a drug bust gone bad. His peaceful life is shaken when Cortez and his professionally trained and heavily armed henchmen come blasting through town. Owens, his deputies, and a few locals he deputizes prepare for a standoff with the cartel and then unload everything they have to stop the drug leader from getting into Mexico.

The action is passable but not spectacular. Car chases, shootouts, explosions, fistfights. They are all in the film, but good luck trying to remember any cool scenes when you leave the theater. The Last Stand is too tame and predictable to be really enjoyable.

The most interesting character in The Last Stand isn’t Schwarzenegger’s. It’s Johnny Knoxville who plays eccentric local Lewis Dinkum. Actually, eccentric is maybe too light a word to describe Dinkum. He’s absolutely insane. I imagine that The Last Stand director Jee-woon Kim, making his first Hollywood film after building a successful career in Korea, told Knoxville to go nuts. How else would you explain Knoxville running around with an iron shield and Conquistador helmet while firing a hand-cannon pistol? His manic energy and utter insanity bring a little life to the film.

The Last Stand could have used more zaniness like Dinkum. Everyone else in the film, Schwarzenegger included, are flat, one-dimensional characters. The action is bland, and the story is basic. While it is good to see Schwarzenegger back on screen, it’s clear that he has a lot of work to do if he wants to be an action star again. By making his return in light fluff like The Last Stand, maybe he can work out the kinks and remember what it means to be Arnold Schwarzenegger again. He’s already talking about starring in new entries in the Conan the Barbarian and Terminator franchises, so he’ll have to bring his A game soon enough. 

2.0 out of 5 Stars

Are you excited to see Arnold back on screen? Let me know in the comments below or on Twitter!

Mad Max 4 vehicles look suitably post-apocalyptic

Mad Max: Fury Road has had a long, troubled journey. 

The fourth entry in George Miller's 33-year-old post-apocalyptic survival franchise was scheduled to begin production in Namibia in 2003, but security fears shut down production. Miller struggled to reassemble a cast and crew after the 2003 attempt, and things went quiet for a while. In 2011 things heated up again with production gearing up in Australia. Unfortunately, heavy rains turned the desired desert wasteland setting into a lush, green garden park, which is not the harsh landscape you need for a Mad Max film. Production moved back to Namibia. Now, shooting is going again, and little tidbits are floating out.

One of the coolest parts of Mad Max films is the wild vehicle designs. The cars are pieced together from scraps to form hybrid monstrosities. Plus, they come armed to the teeth for vehicular mayhem. So, yeah, they're pretty cool.

Here is a parade of a few of the vehicles rolling through the desert.

Some of those designs look wicked. It's exactly what you want to see. After many years of struggle, it's nice to see that Mad Max: Fury Road actually exists and looks as it should. It appears that Miller hasn't skimped on the vehicle aspect of Mad Max at least. Rumor is there are about 140 vehicles prepared for the film, so expect lots of chaos.

Mad Max: Fury Road stars Tom Hardy as Max and Charlize Theron as Impress Furiosa. No word on if Mel Gibson, the original Mad Max, will be making an appearance. We'll have to wait until 2014 for Mad Max: Fury Road to hit theaters, so expect more neat information to come. Let's cross our fingers that nothing affects production between now and then.

Are you excited for another Mad Max film? Are you okay with Hardy in the lead role, or would you rather see Gibson? Let me know in the comments below or on Twitter!

Mama Review

Spanish director Andrés Muschietti made a three-minute short film called Mamá back in 2008 (embedded below). The creepy short caught the attention of Guillermo del Toro who has directed and produced some memorable horror films, including Cronos, Mimic, and Pan’s Labyrinth. Together, they took the concept of the short film and developed it into a full-length feature film, Muschietti as writer/director, del Toro as producer.

This is notable because, as effective and unsettling as Mamá is at times, there are many points where the story is spread too thin. It’s a film of moments; certain scenes will make your skin crawl while other scenes will find you stifling your laughter.

Mamá tells the story of two young girls who are found after being lost in the woods for five years. Their artistic uncle Lucas (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) and his rocker-chick girlfriend Annabel (Jessica Chastain) take them under their care, even though neither of them are particularly the parenting type. It’s culture shock for everyone, feral children and unprepared new parents alike.

But, it turns out that the children didn’t exactly survive in a cabin in the woods all alone. A spirit took them under their wing, one they call Mama, and she is not too happy to lose the love and affection of her adopted children. Anyone who messes with Victoria (Megan Carpenter) and Lilly (Isabelle Nélisse) soon become targets of her rage. This puts Lucas, Annabel, and their shrink Dr. Dreyfuss (Daniel Kash) directly in harms way.

The premise is pretty cool. We don’t often think about ghosts being good; in most horror films ghosts stalking children is the setup. The way things are presented in Mamá, it is easy to imagine a mother ghost looking after and protecting these two young girls. Mama and the children really do have a loving relationship, which is freaky if you think about it.

Muschietti shows flashes of brilliance as a director and creates a few unnerving scenes, particularly those involving Mama and her children. But, it is clear that the short film concept doesn’t really flesh out as a feature. Some of the scares feel cheap and predictable – horror movie standards used to pad the run time. For every ‘Wow!’ moment, there is another that will make you roll your eyes. It’s unfortunate that Mamá is so uneven. When it pops, it really pops, which makes the script’s weaknesses stand out. It could have used another draft or two.

Part of the fun of Mamá is watching Carpenter and Nélisse play Victoria and Lilly. Child actors can make or break a film like this, but Carpenter and Nélisse are superb as wild children who have been rescued by civilization. When Lilly hides behind Victoria and clutches her dress or crawls around on all fours, you can’t help but shudder. Practically everything they do is creepy, which is a great compliment for a horror film.

Mamá has a collection of talented actors in the other roles as well who bring their characters to life. Chastain plays a different role than we are accustomed to seeing from her. She’s been the loving mother (Take Shelter) and the headstrong leader (Zero Dark Thirty), and now we see her as a punk chick who doesn’t really want to be taking care of anyone. But, she’s funny and caring underneath the dark hair and tattoos, and it’s nice to see her warm up to Lilly and Victoria. Coster-Waldau brings genuine warmth to his character as the uncle who wants what is best for his brother’s children. He’s just a nice guy who wants to do right. Finally, Kash as the girls’ doctor is kind yet forceful and a little shady. They are genuinely interesting characters, which is refreshing for the horror genre where many characters might as well be assigned numbers for the order in which they will be killed.

The unique setup and interesting characters of Mamá ultimately don’t quite pay off. The few genuinely scary moments in Mamá are spread through a narrative that is obviously drawn out too much from the short film that inspired it. Another round of edits would have given Mamá the chance to work out the kinks. As it stands, I’ll be interested to see Muschietti’s next horror effort to see if he can put together the full package next time.

3 out of 5 stars

Are you creeped out by little kids playing paddy-cake with ghosts? Tell me your fears in the comments below or on Twitter!

ILM shows off the special effects of The Avengers

It turns out that not many critics enjoyed my favorite film of 2012. As I said in my Top 10 Films of 2012, I put The Avengers at #1 because it represented the most entertainment value for my dollar than any other film I saw in 2012.

Its outstanding visuals were a major part of the fun. It looked exactly like a big-budget blockbuster should with great set and character designs, cool action sequences, and destruction on a massive scale. Say what you will about the impracticalities of the Helicarrier, that thing looked pretty sweet taking off out of the water and flying around in the sky.

The Avengers earned one measly Academy Award nomination this year. I wasn't exactly expecting a Best Supporting Actress nomination for Scarlett Johansson no matter how much I enjoyed her performance, but I thought the film might receive a few more nominations on the technical side.

Anyway, Industrial Light and Magic put together a "For Your Consideration" sizzle reel to highlight their work on the film. Check it out.

It's pretty cool to see how much detail went in to the design of every element of the film. Every component of the Helicarrier was engineered and fit into place. The Hulk transformation was a thing of beauty. The ending fight sequence had so many moving parts on screen that it is impossible to keep track of it all. There is a lot of fun stuff in that 4-minute video to awe over.

This is the sort of behind-the-scenes film industry stuff I like to see. The artistic vision to dream up these things, and the technical brilliance to bring it to life, blow my mind.

I hope that The Avengers brings home the Oscar on February 24. It would be nice to see that hard work rewarded with some hardware.

Do you care that physics dictates that the Helicarrier could never work, or do you think it looks too cool to care? Let me know in the comments below or on Twitter!

The Impossible Review

The Impossible is a horror film for people who don’t normally watch horror films. It’s a film that treats its stars brutally, steering them from one physically or emotionally painful scene to the next. The fact that it is ostensibly a family drama set in the aftermath of the 2004 tsunami that devastated Southeast Asia makes the whole film come off as an odd experience.

On Sunday, December 26, 2004, a magnitude 9.1-9.3 earthquake struck off Sumatra. It was one of the most powerful earthquakes ever recorded, and it was catastrophically destructive. The earthquake, which occurred in relatively shallow water near the coast, touched off a series of tsunamis that wiped portions of Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, and Thailand off the map. The seabed rose several meters during the quake, and a tremendous volume of water was literally heaved outward. Investigations in the aftermath found that, near Aceh, Indonesia, the tsunami reached a height of 80-100 feet.

The Impossible follows the fate of one British family vacationing in Thailand over Christmas holiday. The family – including the father Henry (Ewan McGregor), mother Maria (Naomi Watts), and sons Lucas (Tom Holland), Simon (Oaklee Pendergast), and Thomas (Samuel Joslin) – are a typical, happy, upper-middle-class family enjoying a holiday break. Henry works for a firm in Japan, Maria is a former nurse turned stay-at-home mom who looks after the couple’s three young sons.

The real deal. Not from the film.

Their idyllic lives are a few of many that were destroyed by the tsunami. Massive waves rush in, pulverize their luxurious resort, and sweep them away. Now separated and injured, the family must reunite and find their way home while negotiating treacherous terrain and surviving in a foreign land.

The depictions of the tsunami are jaw-dropping. Director Juan Antonio Bayona takes what could be a cheesy disaster-film-of-the-week flick on SyFy and oversees a truly impressive spectacle. I don’t know how they managed to show such wholesale destruction on screen, but everyone involved in the production should be proud of the accomplishment. When the first tsunami wave hits the resort, it’s as if the audience is transported to the shoreline of Thailand. It looks, sounds, and feels like the terrible experience it must have been. And, even after the waves recede, the landscape itself is devastated, a once beautiful land completely ravaged. It’s a dangerous landscape, forever altered.

Again, the real deal. Not from the film.

The Impossible reminded me of a horror film. This is mostly because of the brutality inflicted on the leads. Maria in particular is beaten and battered from the moment the first wave hits. She is severely injured, but, despite her wounds, she has little choice but to continue on. There is too much at stake for her to simply curl up and bleed out. She and her oldest son Lucas must find their way to a hospital so she can receive treatment. They really can’t waste time looking for the rest of the family. The punishment that Maria endures and her tolerance for pain is impressive. Things go bad for her in the very beginning, and they just spiral down from there. I’ve seen heroines from horror movies endure far less.

Henry doesn’t escape punishment either. His trauma is primarily mental as he is faced with tracking down his wife and eldest son while trying to ensure the safety of his two youngest sons. He repeatedly finds himself in tough situations, and there are no easy choices. The landscape is dangerous, and simply walking around through the destruction brings considerable risk. What should he do with a three and five year old in such a place?

The acting in The Impossible is fantastic across the board. It’s one thing to have an actress beaten up by a giant wave and struggling to protect her son in a dangerous environment. It is another thing altogether for that actress be the amazing Naomi Watts. There is a maternal element to Watts that I have always loved, and she has a chance to show that here as Lucas' protective mother. McGregor shines as the father who has to make the difficult decision about whether to look for his wife and son or stay close to the two sons he has left. There are scenes with both of them that will break your heart, or at least make you want to go home and hug your kids*. Even the child actors prove to be more than capable. It can be tough on young actors to stay focused and put in strong performances, but director Bayona does a great job of drawing out realistic acting from the kids. Holland in particular does a great job as the oldest son who looks after Maria. He may have a future in Hollywood if he wants it.

Screenwriter Sergio Sanchez crafts a compelling drama that will have you on the edge of your seat and cheering for a big family reunion by the end of the film. But, the people who would be most drawn to a strong, character-driven drama might be turned off by the brutality. There are many who will be shocked by the sight of Naomi Watts leaving a bloody trail behind her in filthy, putrid water, or the stacks of bodies strewn by the roadside, or the general destruction across the landscape. It is worth noting that the film is based on the real-life experiences of a Spanish family who were vacationing in Thailand when the tsunami hit. But, depicting the events of the tsunami so graphically actually does more harm than good. Many of the scenes would look at home in the latest slasher flick; they feel out of place in a drama.

Still, if you have the stomach and can handle the bloodshed, The Impossible offers a powerful drama that is worth seeing. It is, hopefully, the closest you will ever get to a tsunami. Nobody needs to experience 80-foot waves to know how devastating they can be. Nobody needs to think about being separated from your family in a foreign land after a major catastrophe. All you need to do is see The Impossible, and you will know everything you need to about such a terrible event.

3.5 stars out of 5

Did you think The Impossible went too far in its frank depiction of tsunami destruction? Am I being a pansy for getting upset over seeing Naomi Watts with a boo-boo on her leg? Let me know in the comments below or on Twitter!

* I went home and hugged my cat.

Django Unchained screenplay, and more!

If you are anything like me, then you have more than a passing interest in filmmaking. I am amazed at how complicated the filmmaking process is, how many steps there are along the way, how many people are involved, and just how much talent is required to make a great film. If one person anywhere along that chain does their job poorly, then the whole film can fall apart.

It all starts with the screenplay. An engaging, exciting screenplay that develops great characters can provide a solid foundation for a good film. Without a solid screenplay, there is little hope of a successful film. Sometimes an exceptional directing or acting job can salvage a bad screenplay, but that is rare.

Among this year’s Academy Award nominations for Best Original Screenplay is Django Unchained, the amazing western written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, Just last week, it picked up a Golden Globe for Best Screenplay – Motion Picture. It’s an amazing film (#3 in my Top 10 of 2012), it has already won a ton of awards this season, and it’s primed to pick up more hardware come Oscar night. The Weinstein Company has been promoting Django Unchained, and several of their other films, over the past few weeks with “For Your Consideration” campaigns. As part of that campaign, they have made available the screenplay for Django Unchained and three other films as pdf files you can download and read for yourself.

Click for pdf

That’s right, the entire 170-page screenplay for Django Unchained is available for download.

It’s fascinating to read the screenplay and compare it to the final film. Many of the changes from script to screen were made for the better, and it is cool to see what Tarantino did to improve the final product.

But, Django Unchained isn’t the only screenplay being pushed by The Weinstein Company for awards consideration. David O. Russell adapted Silver Linings Playbook for the screen and directed the film too. He received an Academy Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay for his efforts and a Golden Globe nomination for Best Screenplay - Motion Picture. In fact, the Academy apparently liked the film a lot, nominating the film for Lead Actor, Lead Actress, Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress, Best Director, Best Editing, and Best Picture in addition to Best Adapted Screenplay. That’s a lot of potential golden statues. The Weinstein Company put together a pretty successful "For Your Consideration" campaign, I'd say.

Click for pdf

In addition to getting your hands on those Academy and Golden Globe nominated screenplays, you can also download two other screenplays that were pushed for awards by The Weinstein Company. There’s Quartet, the comedy/drama about old people living in an opera-themed nursing home, if you feel so inclined. Sure, why not?

Click for pdf

Finally, you can also get the screenplay for Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Master. This one is fascinating. I loved the acting in The Master, but I didn’t really like the story. I found it to be a muddled, confusing mess. There was good stuff in there, individual scenes that were intense, powerful, and mesmerizing, but as a whole, I didn’t think it all fit together. Here is my chance (and yours) to read what writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson intended before he got into the editing room. As excited as I am to dive into the craziness of Django Unchained, I am equally excited to clarify Anderson’s vision.

Click for pdf

It’s really great that The Weinstein Company has made these available. I will definitely give Django Unchained and The Master thorough reads, and I will probably take a peek at Silver Linings Playbook and even Quartet. It’s not every day that such quality screenplays are made freely available. 

Will you be editing your own spec script after reading Tarantino’s excellent Django Unchained? Let me know in the comments below or on Twitter!