Russell and Others Donate to Haitian Schools

From USA Today:

"Stars pledge money to Haiti for the next five years"

Just in: The Artists for Peace and Justice organization is announcing support for Haiti in a different, more long-term, way from a roster of Hollywood stars.

Simon Baker, Javier Bardem, Penelope Cruz, Jackson Browne, Gerard Butler, Daniel Craig, Russell Crowe, Clint Eastwood, Nicole Kidman, Keith Urban, Sean Penn and Olivia Wilde are among the celebs who plan to each contribute $50,000 annually for the next five years ($250,000 total). Each donation will go to sustaining a street school in Port-au-Prince, including providing clean water, meals, medical supplies and educational material to the children.

Russell's Directors

We all know that Russell has done great work with Ridley Scott(American Gangster, A Good Year, Gladiator), Ron Howard(Cinderella Man, A Beautiful Mind), James Mangold(3:10 To Yuma), Peter Weir(Master&Commander), Michael Mann(The Insider), and every other director with whom he's worked. Now, is there a director with whom you'd like to see him work that he hasn't before?

Let us know which director below you'd like to see him team up with, or give us another idea if you don't see yours listed!

Movies to Anticipate in January

Well, we have half the month of January left and there's still a few decent movies coming out. With Russell's "State of Play" not due until April, I thought I'd see what movies the rest of you Russell fans are looking forward to in January.

My favorite so far has, without a doubt, been "Gran Torino". I'm a long-time Clint Eastwood fan and it's great to see him have the biggest box-office opening of his career with this movie, which is classic Eastwood with a little something extra thrown in. That said, here's a few others I'm looking forward to for the rest of January.

Of Time and the City January 21
A filmmaker looks at the history and transformation of his birthplace, Liverpool, England. (This documentary by writer and director Terence Davies is scheduled for only limited release in the US so I, like many others, will probably have to wait for the DVD. But I have a love of history and this movie looks fascinating.)

Inkheart (January 23)
"Inkheart" is a thrilling adventure that stars Brendan Fraser as Mo Folchart, a father who possesses a secret ability to bring characters from books to life when he reads them aloud. But when Mo accidentally brings a power-hungry villain from a rare children's fable to life, the villain kidnaps Mo's daughter and demands Mo bring other evil fictional characters to life. In an attempt to rescue his daughter, Mo assembles a disparate group of friends - both real and magic - and embarks on a journey to save her and set things right. (I've never been a big fan of Brendan Fraser, but the presence of Paul Bettany and Helen Mirren make this one a good possibility for me.)

Killshot (January 23)
In the thriller, based on the Elmore Leonard novel, a woman and her blue-collar husband become the targets of two killers after they stumble on an extortion plot hatched by the bad guys. Carmen (Lane) saw the scam and now she and Wayne (Jane), her ironworker husband, have to pay.

Blackbird (Rourke) kills smart and deadly. Richie kills stupid and crazy. Both are out to erase any living evidence--and when these lethal partners take up the chase, a safe place from killing is awfully hard to find. (I love thrillers, especially thrillers by Elmore Leonard. Throw in a newly rejuvenated Mickey Rourke as the killer and I'm there for this one.)

Outlander (January 23)
"Outlander" begins when a space craft crashes into the majestic fjords of ancient Norway and into the time of the Vikings. From the wreckage emerge two bitter enemies: a soldier from another world – Kainan – and a bloodthirsty creature known as the Moorwen. Man and monster both seeking revenge for violence committed against them. As the Moorwen ravages the Viking world, killing everything in its path, Kainan forms an unlikely alliance with the primitive but fierce warriors. Combining his advanced technology with ancient Iron Age weapons, the hero leads a desperate attempt to kill the monster - before it destroys them all. (Action, adventure, fantasy, sci-fi. What more could you ask for to make a movie fun? Then, they added Jim Caviezel and Ron Perlman.)


Taken (January 30)
"Taken" stars Liam Neeson as Bryan Mills, an ex-government operative who has less than four days to find his kidnapped daughter, who has been taken on her first day of vacation in Paris. (I love a good action-adventure and I love Liam Neeson. No more to say.)



So, are there any particular movies you're looking forward to for the rest of January?

Gran Torino

This was all I was hoping for in the film. Definitely in the top five for the year. Another contender I saw this week, but later to that film.

Clint Eastwood is at the top of his form as an actor and director. Plus composer. What an amazing guy! And he's in his 70s.

He plays a retired man who's just lost his wife and is alienated from his family, church and neighbors. The neighbors are the bain of his existence since the etnic background of the neighborhood has completely changed from Caucasian to Asian. He hates them and doesn't trust them. Walt Kowalski is a bigot, a patriot and a Korean War veteran. In someways he could be my Dad. I understand this fifties kind of man. Think Bud White from LA Confidential as an older man.

Walt built cars for Ford in their heyday of the muscle cars in the 1970s. He assembled the Gran Torino that sits in his driveway in perfect mint condition.

Despite his not wanting anything to do with them, the humanity in Walt comes out when he gets drawn into the lives of the teenaged boy and girl who live next door.

I won't give anymore plot away. That's plenty.

See this film. It's exciting, edge of your seat as well as makes you care for the characters and story. Eastwood gets the most out of his young untested cast. I really liked the performance of the sister, Sue, played by Ahney Her and the young parish priest, Father Janovich, played by Christopher Carley.

But, then Eastwood knows how to work with actors to get the best they can give. Think of Tim Robbins, Sean Penn and Marcia Gay Harden in Mystic River. Angelina Jolie in Changeling, Hillary Swank and Morgan Freeman in Million Dollar Baby. And the example I always use, Kevin Costner. Yep, Kevin Costner. Not exactly the best actor in film, but if you ever saw him in Eastwood's A Perfect World, he was wonderful as Butch.

Gran Torino gets and A. This is a top notch film. See it! Make my day...okay, I couldn't resist.