Jo Reviews

WHIP IT

Release:       October 9, 2009

Directed by:       Drew Barrymore

Screenplay by:         Shauna Cross

Produced by:       Barry Mendel, Drew Barrymore

Executive Produced by: Peter Douglas, Nancy Juvonen, Kirsten “Kiwi” Smith, Nathan Kahane, Joe Drake, Chris Miller

Cast:         Ellen Page, Marcia Gay Harden, Kristen Wiig, Drew Barrymore, Juliette Lewis, Jimmy Fallon, Alia Shawkat, Eve, Zoe Bell, Ari Graynor, Eulala Scheel, Andrew Wilson, Carlo Alban, Landon Pigg, Rachel Piplica, Kristen Adolfi, Daniel Stern
WHIP IT, the directorial debut of Drew Barrymore, stars Ellen Page as Bliss, a rebellious Texas teen who throws in her small town beauty pageant crown for the rowdy world of roller derby. Marcia Gay Harden plays Bliss’ disapproving mother, while Drew Barrymore, Kristen Wiig and Juliette Lewis play roller-derby stars. 

AMELIA

Release:       October 23, 2009

Directed by:       Mira Nair

Screenplay by:         Ron Bass, Anna Hamilton Phelan

Based on the books:  “East to the Dawn” by Susan Butler and “The Sound of Wings” by Mary S. Lovell

Produced by:       Ted Waitt, Kevin Hyman, Lydia Dean Pilcher

Executive Produced by:  Ron Bass, Hilary Swank

Cast:         Hilary Swank, Richard Gere, Ewan McGregor, Christopher Eccleston, Joe Anderson, Cherry Jones, Mia Wasikowska

Visionary.  Lover.  Dreamer.  Fighter.  Legend.  Icon.  AMELIA.   An extraordinary life of adventure, celebrity and continuing mystery comes to light in AMELIA, a vast, thrilling account of legendary aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart (two time Academy Award® winner Hilary Swank). 

After becoming the first woman to fly across the Atlantic, Amelia was thrust into a new role as America’s sweetheart – the legendary “goddess of light,” known for her bold, larger-than-life charisma. Yet, even with her global fame solidified, her belief in flirting with danger and standing up as her own, outspoken woman never changed.  She was an inspiration to people everywhere, from First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt (Cherry Jones) to the men closest to her heart: her husband, promoter and publishing magnate George P. Putnam (Golden Globe® winner Richard Gere), and her long time friend and lover, pilot Gene Vidal (Ewan McGregor).  In the summer of 1937, Amelia set off on her most daunting mission yet: a solo flight around the world that she and George both anxiously foresaw as destined, whatever the outcome, to become one of the most talked-about journeys in history. 

 

GENTLEMEN BRONCOS

Release:                    October 30, 2009

Directed by:   Jared Hess

Written by:   Jared Hess & Jerusha Hess

Produced by   Mike White, John J. Kelly

Executive Produced by  Ben LeClair, Jerusha Hess, Jared Hess

Cast: Michael Angarano, Jennifer Coolidge, Jemaine Clement, Mike White, Hector Jimenez, Halley Feiffer, Josh Pais and Sam Rockwell

Benjamin (Michael Angarano), home-schooled by his eccentric mother (Jennifer Coolidge),  is a loveable loner whose passion for writing leads him on an offbeat and hilarious journey as his story first gets ripped off by the legendary fantasy novelist, Ronald Chevalier (Jemaine Clement) and then is adapted into a disastrous movie by the small town’s most prolific homespun filmmaker. 

FANTASTIC MR. FOX

Release:    November 13, 2009

Directed by:    Wes Anderson

Written for the Screen by:   Wes Anderson, Noah Baumbach

Based on the book by:    Roald Dahl

Produced by:     Allison Abbate, Scott Rudin, Wes Anderson, Jeremy Dawson

Executive Producers:   Steven Rales, Arnon Milchan

Voice Cast:   George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Wally Wolodarsky, Eric Anderson, Michael Gambon, Willem Dafoe, Owen Wilson, Jarvis Cocker
FANTASTIC MR. FOX is visionary director Wes Anderson’s first animated film, utilizing classic handmade stop motion techniques to tell the story of the best selling children’s book by Roald Dahl (author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and James and the Giant Peach). 

Mr and Mrs Fox (Clooney and Streep) live an idyllic home life with their son Ash (Schwartzman) and visiting young nephew Kristofferson (Eric Anderson).  But after 12 years, the bucolic existence proves too much for Mr Fox’s wild animal instincts.  Soon he slips back into his old ways as a sneaky chicken thief and in doing so, endangers not only his beloved family, but the whole animal community.  Trapped underground and with not enough food to go around, the animals band together to fight against the evil Farmers – Boggis, Bunce and Bean – who are determined to capture the audacious, fantastic Mr Fox at any cost.