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FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION

Author(s): Ross Jensen (TN)
The Thousand

Directed by JJ Abrams
Written by Jonathan Nolan and JJ Abrams & Damon Lindelof
Cinematography by Dante Spinotti
Edited by Dan Minder
Produced by JJ Abrams and Damon Lindelof
Music by Michael Giacchino

Main Cast

Harry Bittering - Christian Bale
McCreary - Tom CruiseCora - Natalie Portman
Logan - Michael Stahl-David
Quint - William Fichtner

Tagline: “The Future of Man”

Synopsis: The overpopulated Earth has forced exploration into a new civilization. The US government has approved an ambitious plan to set up a colony of humans on Mars comprised of scientists, US military, media, and civilians and their families. The government approves three waves of settlers to eventually make up a colony of one thousand. The first wave of settlers departs Earth, and a second wave of new pioneers are set to start new lives on the distant red planet.

Harry Bittering (Christian Bale) is a suburban husband and father with the normal struggles of everyday life living in monotony. He enters his family into the lottery to be selected for the second wave of settlement. He is excited for the new opportunity to be a part of history. Surprisingly, Harry and his family are selected to join the group and head to Mars under the leadership of Lt. Charles McCreary (Tom Cruise). Six months later, the travel weary families arrive on Mars. Harry's attitude has changed. He feels regret for getting his family into this, and tells them they should go back. Everyone insists that he's over thinking this. But, upon arrival, they discover a barren wasteland where the first wave of settlers were supposed to be. They are filled with fear of not knowing where the settlers went. Did they even make it? Or even worse: could there actually be native Martians? But, expedition leader McCreary tells the startled settlers to move along normally, the others just must have landed off the target area. A civilization is set up. Harry and his family grow crops in the Martian soil, build a home, watch satellite television, and others do the normal duties while the scientists take samples, and the military leaders watch over, and media sends out broadcasts. Almost like Earth, except not to Harry. He obsessively keeps a watch out and every morning checks everything with the intent of finding something wrong. His attitude makes him the joke of the group. He notices things that others do not. Like the shades of coloring on crops, and an apparent glimmer of gold in people's eyes. He quickly decides to go back to Earth when the next rocket arrives. But, breaking news over the television, reports that a nuclear bomb has detonated, destroying the National Air Defense and the Mars Rocket Center… "Mars Missions Terminated."

Harry rushes to Lt. McCreary and tells him, but he seems unsurprised. The Lieutenant tries to keep Harry quiet so the others will not hear, but they do and the fear and uncertainty grows. He presses the Lieutenant to set up an expedition squad to go searching for the other group, but McCreary continuously says simply "They will find us." McCreary is of no use as is the rest of the military. All but one Staff Sergeant, Matt Logan.

Harry secretly gets together a crew including Logan and a reporter named Quint. They set out into the great unexplored in search of the missing group. He leaves his family telling them he will be back soon. They move through the dusty terrain for a day before they catch sight of a triumphant image. They see the American flag at the top of a hill. The group rushes to it, and amazingly down in a crater is the landing craft with the NASA logos. But, not a soul to be seen. They climb to the opposite side of the crater and see a small fire burning. Next to it was a human sitting against a rock. They yell to him and rush down to greet him when they see something that makes their stomachs drop. In the small fire is the figure of a body- burning up. And up against the rock was an astronaut. A dead astronaut. They hear a sound over the howling winds. Logan reaches to grip his M4 Carbine. Slowly they turn and see a towering figure standing over them. Tall and dark. The figure reaches and grabs Quint and starts choking him. Logan opens fire, but is jumped on by another figure as is Harry. Harry tries to fight back but he is knocked unconscious. He awakens next to the fire, except alone. He rushes back to the settlement. He tries to tell them that Martians have killed his fellow expeditioners. They all don't seem to believe or even care about the notion of savages taking the first settlement or them being next. They all think Harry has lost his mind. McCreary is once again unfazed by Harry’s experience. Bittering accuses McCreary of not being honest with the settlement when McCreary fires back in an exchange that details both of their views of faith and science. The camp has clearly changed in the day and a half Harry was gone. His dog is beginning to form an extra leg. His son seems unresponsive, and shockingly starts speaking in foreign tongues.

Harry’s wife, Cora, becomes increasingly detached from her relationship with him. The people's physique changes quickly but, Harry seems to be the only one to notice. He continually refuses to eat food grown off the land and will only eat from the deep-freezer.

Harry even begins to question his sanity. Out of desperation, he decides he will build a rocket by himself to take his family away from Mars. He does this while keeping his eyes on the horizon for a herd of Martians to come over the hill ready for war. Nobody else sees it this way. But, the mystery of the situation still fills Harry. He wonders still about what the unknown creatures did to the other group. He questions if they’re even dead at all. People back on Earth couldn't just leave the group here to rot. And somehow, the others seem to not care much about anything anymore. The questions fill the head of the man everyone calls mad, and before it is all over the mysteries will be revealed.

What the Press Would Say:

JJ Abrams goes to every length to make "The Thousand" as solid a picture as possible. After flops like "Mission to Mars" and "Red Planet", few could expect much from another ill-fated-Mars-mission film. But, leave it to JJ Abrams to bring us one of the most exciting, intriguing, and, in the end, thoughtful films of the year. Based on the short story "Dark They Were and Golden Eyed" by the great Ray Bradbury, "Thousand" manages to reach the core of human nature and existence amid the usual sci-fi fare. This is due in large part to a fantastic script from Jonathan Nolan and finished off by Abrams himself and “Lost”-vet Damon Lindelof. The three work hard to balance thrills and messages while never swaying on the side of either preachy or popcorn. “Thousand” is Abrams first feature film not to be solely set-up for tent pole franchises. This is serious and ambitious filmmaking and the guy shows he knows how to do it. There is a stunning cinematography job by Dante Spinotti.

Filmed in the barren Atacama Desert and the Rocky Mountains instead of green screen adds to the film's more human feel it would probably lose otherwise. The landscape is stark and alone, much like the survivors and the protagonist. The desert is stunningly convincing. It is quite fun to look at because it truly seems as if these characters are on the red planet. The cast is led by Christian Bale and Tom Cruise. Bale does not ever put on a performance of any less than great. His role is quiet at times and in others rebellious to the civilization that is losing itself to (let's just say factors to not spoil the film for you). He has a family to try and keep and he fights every step of the way while slowly turning obsessively insane. He is married to Cora who is played here by Natalie Portman. The two work very well together and the struggles they face are familiar to the audience at its core. The survivors are led by none other than Tom Cruise who worked with Abrams in Mission: Impossible III. He plays a military leader trying to keep order and hide a revelation that only Harry (Bale) could have expected. Cruise plays the character with sharp intensity that radiates through his every expression. He wears a flat-top buzz, which is interesting to see to say the least. Both leads are highly entertaining and when they share the same scenes it elevates the film to another level.

Best Picture- JJ Abrams and Damon Lindelof
Best Director- JJ Abrams
Best Actor- Christian Bale
Best Supporting Actor- Tom CruiseB
Best Supporting Actress- Natalie Portman
Best Adapted Screenplay- Jonathan Nolan and JJ Abrams & Damon Lindelof

Author(s): Toby (N/A)
Treason

Directed by John Sayles
Produced by John Sayles and Brian Grazer
Written by John Sayles and William Goldman

Main Cast

Ed Harris as Eugene Debs
James Woods as Woodrow Wilson
Christopher Lloyd as Champ Clark
Hal Holbrook as Edward White
James Cromwell as Thomas Marshal
Steve Van Zandt as Charles Ruthenberg
John Sayles as Max Eastman

Synopsis: “Eugene Debs was arrested today” read the Max Eastman as he glanced at the New York Times. “For what President Wilson called ‘treason.’” Max Eastman was a Pro-Socialist author in the 1910s. He was a strong Debs supporter, often showing up at Debs’ gregarious and ultimately powerful campaign rallies.

“This is a disgrace.” He said with a frown on his face. He put his New York Times down, and proceeded to work on his latest writing project “Color of life.”

Meanwhile, Eugene Debs sat at his sentencing hearing, as he listened to his sentence. “Do you mind if I say something, Judge?” Asked Debs. The judge said that it was fine, and Debs said a little something.

“Your honor, years ago I recognized my kingship with all living beings, and I made up my mind that I was not one bit better than the meanest on earth. I said then, and I say now, that while there is lower class, I am in it, and while there is a criminal element I am of it, and while there is a soul in prison, I, your honor, am not free. Thank you.”

Despite the eloquent plead, the Judge sentenced Debs to serve ten years in prison, and to be disenfranchised for life.

After meeting with Eastman and a few others, Debs decides to challenge his conviction to the supreme court.

With this announcement, Woodrow Wilson would denounce Debs and all of the other ‘treasonists,’ to the press. He looked distraught and unhappy, but claimed that he was confident that the Supreme Court would hold up the conviction.

At this point, a flashback of the controversial speech is shown. And, Woodrow Wilson’s involvement is shown and explained.

Flash forward again, and Debs is arguing with the Supreme Court. The oral arguments would continue, and Debs was unsuccessful. And the court would vote to continue with the Conviction. Debs is thrown in Jail.

With this, Charles Rothenberg organizes a riot, on May 1st, or mayday, to march for Debs. As the socialist marchers protest, local citizens get involved, and violent riots brake out.

In jail, Debs writes a letter to Max Eastman, saying that in 1920, he will run for President from jail, and asks him, locally to organize support.

When Debs signs his name, the screen goes black, and the film ends.

What the press would say:

“Not since “Eight Men Out,” has John Sayles created such a riveting, intelligent and symbolic historical film, as he does in his latest film, Treason. Treason is about the late 1910s arrest of Socialist activist Eugene Debs (Ed Harris,) by President Woodrow Wilson (James Woods.) Both of these two key roles are done brilliantly, with Harris perfectly showing the fiery public persona of Debs, while, at times, perfectly displaying Debs’ private quiet side. Woods, on the other hand, gives a highly memorable performance as Wilson, though, he isn’t meant to represent the President, he is meant to represent “the man,” or the “big brother.” of the time, as, some have looked at Wilson in retrospect.

In “Treason,” John Sayles is, putting it simply, dead on brilliant. His writing is great., His Directing, Perfect. and His Acting, in a surprise to some, is very good. Treason is a great film, undoubtedly one of the best of the year, and will be one of the big winners come Oscar night.

****/****

Best Picture (Sayles and Grazer)
Best Director (Sayles)
Best Actor in a Leading Role (Ed Harris)
Best Actor in a supporting Role (James Woods)
Best Adapted Screenplay (Sayles and Goldman)

Author(s): George (GA)
Wade Will Return

Written for the screen and Directed by: Tony Gilroy
Based on “The Superlative Seven” by Brian Clemens

Main Cast:

Colin Farrell as Davis
Adewale Akkinouye-Agbaje as Edleman
Billy Crudup as Jones
Jeremy Davies as Beckett
Lance Hendricksen as Halleck
Cillian Murphy as Wade
Billy Zane as Roland
Donald Sutherland as Grey

Tagline: “A secret agent. A Nobel-prize winning physicist. A murder mystery author. A hitman. A mathematician. A modern weapons expert. A hunter. And a mastermind…”

Synopsis: When Davis came off the plane with the other six he had no idea what to expect. On the plane they each introduced themselves to the other. Davis met Edleman (a hitman), Beckett (a physicist), Roland (a mathematician), Jones (a murder-mystery writer), Wade (a hunter) and Halleck (a modern weapons expert). They were all invited to a private island by a millionaire named Sir William Grey. No one had met him. All seven of them walked for a while until they found a deserted house. When they entered the dining room there were a set of weapons, seven weapons for each of them. It ranged from guns and swords to knives and rope. Davis heard a scream and saw Beckett peering behind a curtain. He went to see what Beckett was looking at and saw six coffins.

 “Only six, gentlemen.” A voice said, Davis looked around and saw speakers on the walls. The voice said that each of them had been brought here to test his protégée who was the “ultimate killing machine”. He wanted his protégée to be tested in all areas of combat. From physical to strategy. This protégée was one of the people standing among them the voice said. If one of them beat his protégée, they would rule the world with him.

Wade suggested that they spilt up and search the island to find where the voice was coming from. They all split up and Halleck stayed to investigate the house. An hour later Davis was in the middle of the forest when he heard a scream. He ran back into the house and saw that Roland and Wade were already there. They were all looking at Halleck’s body in a coffin. Edleman and Beckett ran in and saw the body.

Edleman started to suspect Jones, for he was not there at the time. All six of them went out to look for Jones. Edleman heard a footstep in the forest; he took his gun out and cocked it. But it was just Wade stepping out of the trees. Just as they relaxed they heard two gunshots coming from the house. They ran in and saw Davis and Beckett standing by the coffins. Roland and Jones’ bodies were in two of them. Edleman immediately started to suspect Davis , yelling at him. Edleman took his gun out to shoot Davis but he ran out of the house. They all ran after him.

Davis waited another hour and then went back into the house to see if the mysterious voice was in there. He turned around to see if anyone else was there and a rope came around his neck. He turned around and saw Wade. Davis took a sword and stabbed Wade through the chest. After he fell, Davis ran for the plane but when he got there he saw the cockpit was sabotaged.

Edleman was still looking for Davis in the forest. He went to check out the house to see if Davis was in there, but all he saw was Beckett’s body in a coffin and Wade’s on the floor. He also ran to the plane. Davis and Edleman ran into each other in the forest and Edleman pulled his gun out and marched Davis to the house. Edleman questioned him for awhile and Davis kept saying he wasn’t guilty. Then Edleman was fed up and started shooting at Davis .

Davis ran and suddenly the shooting stopped. Davis looked up and saw a knife sticking out of Edleman’s back, with Wade standing behind him. Davis looked from one Wade to the other, one alive and one dead. Wade lifted the gun and pulled the trigger, but the cartridge was empty. Davis then grabbed the sword and threw it into Wade’s chest. Now they both were dead.

“Bravo” Grey walked down the stairs. He said now that Davis killed his protégée he wanted to recruit him for service. He gave a large amount of money as a bribe to lure Davis and overthrow the world governments. Davis pondered and then grabbed the sword and threw it into Grey’s chest. Grey fell to the floor and Davis went upstairs. He saw TVs that looked over every inch of the small island. Some scattered notes. And a telephone.

What the press would say:

In the late 60’s, the cult British show THE AVENGERS was at its peak. One episode was “The Superlative Seven” and featured an array of characters that had a traitor among their midst (Wade of course). Now Tony Gilroy has turned Brian Clemens’ somewhat funny plot into an intelligent and involving thriller that glues the viewer to the screen. The script by Gilroy offers every person in the film to shine. Giving them all a single characteristic weather it is paranoia, fearfulness, or anything else. The film is a perfect ensemble (even thought almost everyone does get killed at the end) and Gilroy has turned a maybe cliché and done story into something very original. First off, there are no women, making the intensity build and never stop or lets you take a breath. There is also no music score in the entire film which gives the movie an eerie and overbearing feeling. And the cinematography is impressive also. There is not one tracking shot in the entire film so it makes the viewer have to almost look around the characters to see what is going on and also give it a claustrophobic feel. It also handles the twist very well. It could have been a very been there/done that identical twin moment, but the film has a lot going on and makes it almost impossible to think of, how in fact, Wade Will Return. A very interesting and original way of making a could be boring premise into an engrossing and smart thriller is just the thing Gilroy needs to maybe make it back at the Oscars.

Nominations:

Best Picture
Best Director (Tony Gilroy)
Best Adapted Screenplay (Tony Gilroy)

Author(s): Chris Moffitt (NC)
The Witch

Directed by M. Night Shyamalan
Written by M. Night Shyamalan
Produced by Sam Mercer, Scott Rudin and M. Night Shyamalan
Music by James Newton Howard
Edited by Andrew Mondshein

Main Cast:

Alice Browning- Abigail Breslin
Rose- Elle Fanning
John Browning- Christopher Plummer
Matthew Browning- Joaquin Pheonix
Elizabeth Browning- Toni Collette
Isabella Clode- Bryce Dallas Howard
Robert Felix- Paul Giamatti

Tagline: “Salem, 1692. A time of great fear.”

Synopsis: A woman is being burned in the town square. She is screaming and cursing at all who stand around her. The townspeople are watching intently as the woman is punished. The vision ends with the gaze of a shadowy blue-eyed girl and Alice awakes.

Alice Browning is a lonely girl who does not have many friends. She lives in Salem Town, a suburb of Salem. It is the fall of 1692 and the witch trials have moved to the small town. One day after school, Alice is approached by a new student. The student is a blonde-haired, fair skinned young girl around the same age as Alice. Alice is thrilled to have a new friend and begins to strike up a conversation with the girl. She says that her name is Rose and she just recently moved to Salem Town. Alice asks Rose if she wants to go for a walk in the woods in order to pick flowers but Rose declines she says that she has to go but that she would love to play with Alice tomorrow. Alice agrees to meet Rose the next day after school and leaves to return home.

Rose is in Alice’s mind for the rest of the night even as she is eating dinner with her family however she stops thinking about her long enough to hear her father and grandfather talking. Her father Matthew Browning is the town’s preacher and her grandfather John Browning is the town’s magistrate. The two are discussing the fact that executing the last witch in such a gruesome fashion may have discouraged any other women from practicing witchcraft. Alice asks her father and grandfather what they did to the last witch. While her mother Elizabeth tries to stop Alice’s question, her grandfather decides to answer his granddaughter anyway.

He tells Alice that the last witch was named Isabella Clode. She was accused by Robert Felix of using her specter to seduce him into making love. He told Matthew that this happened many times over the last few months. Matthew believed Robert’s story and quickly accused Isabella leading to her arrest. She was then indicted by John. After she was convicted, Isabella demanded her release or all who wronged her would pay for taking her life. The people were unphased by her remarks and Isabella was burned instead of hanged in order to further punish the obvious witch.

Her grandfather leaves and later that night, Alice has another dream. She again sees the witch burning in the town center and recognizes her father and grandfather watching pleasingly from the side. She also sees another man who she identifies as Robert Felix. He is throwing wood towards the fire and yelling, “Go to hell” to the burning woman. The dream ends with vision of the blue eyes again and Alice awakes again terrified.

Alice goes to school the next day and again sees Rose. After school ends, the two walk into the woods near the schoolhouse and begin to talk. Rose says that her family came to Salem Town a few months ago but her family has had a hard time establishing themselves here. She says that she lives with her father because her mother had to return to Pennsylvania but she hopes that her mother will return soon. Alice then invites Rose to come to her house for dinner but Rose says she cannot come because she has to do something from her father. However, she agrees to come to Alice’s house tomorrow after school.

Alice is so excited that she has finally found a friend. She tells her mother that she is bringing her friend Rose to the house tomorrow for dinner. Her mother says that it is alright and Alice is so excited that she can hardly eat that night. Her grandfather comes to dinner again and her father and grandfather begin to discuss the town. They say that there have been two new accusations of witchcraft in the town today from Robert Felix. He accused two more local women. Matthew does not believe the accusations but John disagrees and says he wants to indict the women. As the family is finishing dinner, they hear a loud noise coming from outside. They go outside and see that one of the houses in the town is burning. It is Robert Felix’s home and he is trapped inside. The townspeople rush to try and put the fire out but their effort is futile. The fire burns the house to the ground and Robert is killed.

While Alice is shocked by what happened she still goes to school and is excited because she is inviting her new friend over to her house. School end and Alice quickly runs to the spot where she and Rose have met the last two days. Rose is already there and the two of them begin walking to Alice’s house. The two reach Alice’s house and Alice’s father and grandfather are already there. Alice enters and immediately begins to tell her family about her new friend however no one is listening to her. They are all staring at the doorway. Alice turns around and sees that Rose’s appearance has changed. Her face is darker and her hair is moving wildly in the air. Alice realizes that the eyes from her dream are Rose’s eyes. The doors and all the windows shut and lock. Rose then speaks to the family. She says that her mother was Isabella Clode and her father was Robert Felix. When her mother gave birth to her, Robert was angered and accused her of being a witch. She says that she has returned to avenge her mother. She has taken care of the first person who wronged her mother and now it is time to take care of the others who wronged her mother. Rose then vanishes and the house bursts into flames.

What the Press Would Say:

The Witch is a spooky and tense drama that is the perfect comeback for filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan. Here he writes a supernatural story that is intense and in some parts scary. His script works perfectly with the wonderful performances. Abigail Breslin delivers a wonderful performance as a lonely and naïve girl. She is believable in every scene that she is in. Christopher Plummer is wonderful as the crass and domineering magistrate. However, Elle Fanning is definitely the star. Her performance is haunting and extremely memorable. Shyamalan knows how to bring out great performances in child actors and just like Haley Joel Osment in The Sixth Sense, Fanning delivers a brilliant and spine-tingling performance. The film is a stunning visual masterpiece as Shyamalan and his crew create a beautiful recreation of 1690s Salem. The costumes and the art direction is perfectly combined with gorgeous cinematography and a haunting score from James Newton Howard. It’s been a while since a smart, sophisticated, supernatural film was nominated for multiple Oscars but The Witch could be just the movie to snap the drought.

For Your Consideration:
Best Picture
Best Director- M. Night Shyamalan
Best Actress- Abigail Breslin
Best Supporting Actress- Elle Fanning
Best Supporting Actor- Christopher Plummer
Best Original Screenplay- M. Night Shyamalan
 

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