The Coen’s have put together quite a cast. (One can imagine that most A-listers line up to get a part in their efforts). Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon, Josh Brolin, Barry Pepper and Hailee Steinfeld  as a young girl who secures the expertise of old, oft-drunk U.S. Marshal, Rooster J. Cogburn (Bridges) and young Texas Ranger, La Boeuf (Damon) to track down her father’s killer, Tom Chaney (Brolin), who has taken to a gang led by “Lucky” Ned Pepper (Pepper).

Apparently Matt Damon hadn’t seen the John Wayne version and hadn’t realized his part was played by Country and Western star, Glen Campbell, in what would be his first and  last dramatic role.

He told Entertainment Weekly: “The only reason I know I’m playing Glenn Campbell’s old part is that people keep asking me if I’m going to be singing in the movie. But our movie is totally different. Joel & Ethan just stumbled upon the book and were like, ‘Oh God, this is terrific. The dialogue is just fantastic!’ ”

There’s nothing more enjoyable than a well-scripted western. From Deadwood to The Unforgiven, this is something to look forward to on December 25th, (other than Christmas).

Jeff Bridges (The Big Lebowski) is Rooster Cogburn and Matt Damon  is Texas Ranger La Boeuf, in what is his first chance to work with the Brother’s Coen.  Josh Brolin (No Country For Old Men), is also in the cast.

The movie is scheduled to be released around Christmas.

If you’ve taken the time to put together a list of your own, please feel free to let us know via the comments page.

5)  Alfonso Cuarón’s film, “Children of Men” (2006).  This has been an excellent decade for Clive Owen.  There are more than a few of his movies that could be on this list.  (“The Inside Man”,  “Gosford Park“) Clive is a resistance fighter protecting what may very well be the last pregnant woman on Earth. It’s  edgy science fiction  that drew an audience primarily by word of mouth. It’s likely to be a timeless film. (Look for the wonderful cameo by the great Michael Cain).

4)” The Departed” (2006). Martin Scorsese can put together any cast he wants to and he started with Jack Nicholson to headline his American version of a twisty Hong Kong mob film called, “Infernal Affairs”.  Scorsese called on his muse,  Leonardo DiCaprio to play a deep under cover cop and the always remarkable,  Matt Damon as a spy for the mob, placed highly with the Boston mob task force. Cat and mouse doesn’t do the tension justice. This was a fantasic movie and the best Scorsese picture since” Goodfellas”.

3) “The Dark Knight”, (2008) arrived with great expectations before the untimely death of it’s co-star, Heath Ledger.  Re-tooled over the past ten years and helmed by the very gifted, Christopher Nolan (“Momento”, “Batman Begins”, “The Prestige”), “The Dark Knight” set a new standard for comic book blockbusters. The energy and special effects didn’t hide the story.  Nolan showed that a big budget summer picture can also have depth, character development and a story that refuses to let go from the opening scene.  Christian Bale wears the gear well, and will for as long as he wants to.

The movie will forever be known for Heath Ledger’s remarkable turn as the Joker.  He  joins Norman Bates and Hannibal Lecter as  one of the most most memorable film villains of all time.

2) “A History of Violence” (2005) and “Eastern Promises” (2007) paired versatile actor, Viggo Mortensen with David Cronenberg, a director known for his independent spirit and taste for the grotesque.  Because these films are equally compelling and razor sharp in their construction; it’s hard to separate the two.

1) “No Country For Old Men” was a 2007 screen adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s tight little novel of bounty hunters, unrelenting killers, a lot of drug money and a few good people fighting for their lives.  The affection that the Daily Helping has for The Brothers Coen is well documented here on this site.  As gifted as Joel and Ethan happen to be, it was this film that took them to the next level in both box office and critical appeal.  The film was honored with numerous awards, garnering three British Academy of Film awareds, two Golden Globes, and four Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director (Joel and Ethan Coen), Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor (Javier Bardem, in a truly memorable Moe-like hairstyle).

“Up in the Air” had the most nominations this year,  followed by the musical “Nine,” with five, including top musical or comedy.  The recently released science-fiction epic “Avatar” and director Quentin Tarantino‘s  “Inglourious Basterds” were nominated for four awards, including best drama.

The Hurt Locker looks like Best Drama

Other film nominees for Golden Globes were the Iraq war movie “The Hurt Locker“ and the urban tear-jerker “Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire.”  Others in the category for best movie musical or comedy was Meryl Streep’s  cooking movie “Julie & Julia, this years comedic breakout hit “The Hangover” and the independent darling, “(500) Days of Summer.”

The Golden Globes are given out in January by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and are seen as a key indicator of which movies will compete for the world’s top film honors, the Oscars, in March. The Golden Globes will be presented mid January, 2010.

The best actor nominees were Clooney, Jeff Bridges who plays a down-and-out country singer in “Crazy Heart,” Colin Firth as a gay man suddenly alone in “A Single Man,” Morgan Freeman as Nelson Mandela in “Invictus” and Tobey Maguire for “Brothers”, another wartime drama.

Nominations for best actress in a drama went to Sandra Bullock for the surprisingly popular football film “The Blind Side,” Helen Mirren for “The Last Station,” Emily Blunt in “The Young Victoria,” Carey Mulligan with “An Education” and  Gabourey Sidibe in the title role,  “Precious: Based on the Novel Push By Sapphire.”

A great way to know you’re looking at the Golden Globes and not the Academy Awards is that you can have Sandra Bullock nominated twice in an evening. This time it’s for best actress in a musical or comedy in  “The Proposal.”  She’s joined by Marion Cotillard in “Nine,” Julia Roberts in “Duplicity” ( really intelligent and fun movie!) and Meryl Streep once again, pulling a Sandra Bullock for “It’s Complicated” and a second for “Julie & Julia.”

The Coen Brothers have a serious claim for the Golden Globe

Nominees for best actor in a movie musical or comedy were Daniel Day-Lewis for “Nine,” Matt Damon in the black comedy, “The Informant!,” Robert Downey Jr. for the unbearably hyped “Sherlock Holmes,” Joseph Gordon-Levitt in “(500) Days of Summer” and Michael Stuhlberg for the Coen Brother’s wonderful fable, “A Serious Man.”

Lastly, the foreign language film nominees are the Italian movie “Baaria,” Spanish director Pedro Almodovar‘s “Broken Embraces“, the fabulous Chilean movie “The Maid,”  “A Prophet” from France and Germany’s “The White Ribbon.”

It’s worth noting that one film in particular seems to be on every critic’s top ten list for the year.  It’s Kathryn Bigelow‘s tense Iraq drama,” The Hurt Locker”.  Though it’s still quite early and there are many films to still see, it’s the Daily Helping’s opinion that Ms Bigelow could have a Best Picture on her hands.  This is all the more interesting since she’s James (Avatar) Cameron’s ex-wife.

“Invictcus“. It’s a movie you’re going to hear a lot about, and for good reason. There are also going to be a lot of Americans who will get their first taste of rugby and it will have them wondering which is more brutal,  American football or Rugby?

“Invictus” is based on a book called, “Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the game that Changed a Nation” (by John Carlin). It chronicles a fairly recent and very highly charged period of time in South Africa. Apartheid was falling and Nelson Mandela had been released from prison; then quickly elected President.

In an effort to bring a divided country together, he sought the efforts of the nation’s rugby team and since South Africa was the host of the games, Mandela urged the black South Africans to support what was a widely-hated team  .  A decent showing at the 1995 Rugby World Cup would have been effective, but no one expected them to win.

Directed by Clint Eastwood, the film stars Morgan Freeman as President Mandela, and Matt Damon as Francois Pienaar, the Rugby team’s captain.

The movie is out on December 11, 2009, and is already generating Academy Award buzz.

Take for example a “behind the scenes” clip that has made it’s way around the web in record time after being launched just within the last twenty-four hours. With it’s shaky camera phone feel and a celebrity going nuts on another…it has all the appeal one can ask for.  Those who see this clip think it’s another Christian Bale type meltdown when in fact it’s a scripted scene that will likely materialize on HBO’s hit bromance, Entourage.

Matt Damon is capable of generating a huge wave of publicity for his  favorite charity called OnexOne.org. Viewers are led to believe that they’re watching Damon direct a very quick promotional spot from another hip actor, Adrian Grenier who plays A-list superstar Vinnie Chase.  Also shown in this “behind the scenes meltdown is Entourage co-star, Jeremy Piven, who seems suitably distraught as well.

Don’t be surprised to hear that Matt Damon went off on Grenier.  It’s big news particularly when documented on film. Such an uncomfortable situation is irresistible and impossible to keep to one’s self.

Have a look and enjoy Matt Damon’s performance. He shows that he has a knack for these viral videos. Don’t forget how he and Sarah Silverman owned YouTube for a few weeks.

]]> http://dailyhelping.com/2009/09/26/matt-damon-goes-viral/feed/ 0 http://dailyhelping.com/2009/02/02/239/ http://dailyhelping.com/2009/02/02/239/#comments Mon, 02 Feb 2009 18:28:07 +0000 admin http://dailyhelping.com/?p=239 My fear is that I’m going to turn this blog into a YouTube portal.   The best thing to do under the circumstances is attempt to be selective in what I provide and hope for the best.

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I love impersonators.

Not all impersonators;  but really original performers who may not even be professionals. Their subjects are sometimes obscure personalities that are rarely impersonated…and that just makes it all the more fun.    I came across a few that I really enjoyed and I hope you do too.

The first one is by a comedian named, Reggie Regg. He’s going to do an impersonation of Denzel Washington that is dead on.  In fact he does both Denzels. (You’ll understand after you see this…)

Next is a young entrepreneur living up in his Mom’s attic selling subscriptions to his performances or podcasts or whatever…we’re not going to pay this kid anything but you do have to like his impersonation of little Stewie on the Fox cartoon, Family Guy.

The next clip is from a television show that apparently had a huge cattle call for anyone who thought they looked and sounded like someone else. That means tons of Lucys, Elvises and Chers.  Cast a big enough net you’re going to catch something worth while every so often. In walks a guy who not only sounds like Howard Stern, but looks like him too.  The guy’s attitude is equally convincing.  Very impressive. Check it out here.

There are some actor/comedians who have made a name for themselves doing particular people. Kevin Pollack is one of my favorites and most people consider his Christopher Walken or William Shatner as good as they get.  Personally, I think Kevin Spacey’s version and Jay Mohr’s version are better Walkens.  What Kevin Pollack does that I really enjoy is the wonderful Albert Brooks.  This is an outtake from the movie “The Aristocrats”, (which doesn’t explain the terrible lighting).  Enjoy.

The last one is all about simplicity and the unexpected source.  Matt Damon, who seems to have an incredible sense of humor, served up this beauty on the Letterman Show some time ago.  He impersonates his old roomate, Mathew McConaughey. Watch here.