NFL Week 14 Pick 'Em

The NFL fined Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin $100,000 for his sideline gaffe late in the Steelers-Ravens game last Thursday night.  In addition, the NFL is considering stripping the Steelers of draft picks once the draft order has been set....sorry but all of that's really stupid.  A slight fine I can possibly understand but $100,000?  That's ridiculous.  Then again to any coach or player in the NFL $100,000 is like grabbing spare change from a cup holder in the car.

That aside, for once in a long while I was in the positive for picks going 11-5.  Hopefully my luck continues.

Texans @ JAGUARS
RAIDERS @ Jets
Lions @ EAGLES
Vikings @ RAVENS
DOLPHINS @ Steelers
CHIEFS @ Redskins
FALCONS @ Packers
Colts @ BENGALS
Bills @ BUCCANEERS
Browns @ PATRIOTS
Titans @ BRONCOS
Rams @ CARDINALS
SEAHAWKS @ 49ers
Giants @ CHARGERS
Panthers @ SAINTS
COWBOYS @ Bears

Last week:  11-5, 73.33%
Overall:  111-81, 58.12%

 

I Finally Watched...Gladiator

"I Finally Watched..." is a new series that I'll be doing on my blog in which I'll review movies that people are surprised to hear that I haven't seen yet.  This will cover "classic" movies (for example, I've never seen 'Citizen Kane', 'Casablanca', or 'It's A Wonderful Life'), movies that allegedly are so bad that they're good ('The Room', 'Santa Claus Conquers The Martians', 'Plan 9 From Outer Space', etc.), and any other movie that solicits a surprised reaction from people when I tell them that I haven't seen yet (such as 'Black Hawk Down', 'Titanic', 'The Departed', 'Se7en', etc.).  In addition to reviewing them I will also be talking about why it took me so long to watch it, reactions to when I first heard about it, reactions by other people when I have said that I haven't seen it, and any other thoughts that come to mind.  I thought about doing this after I had finally watched 'Pulp Fiction' and 'Pearl Harbor' for the first time, but I put it off.  Then I managed to buy this movie for $1.96 at Wal-Mart on Black Friday and got that spark to actually try this idea out. 

First up is Ridley Scott's 2000 epic 'Gladiator'.  The first time I had even heard of this movie was seeing a poster for it was at Sea World.  Apart from the dolphins and sting rays and the whale shows and Six Flags being located right next door, the poster for 'Gladiator' was another thing I remember.  I don't remember anything on TV promoting it the year it came out but then again you don't see too many commercials for R-rated movies on TV channels that primarily show children's programming.  And since I didn't really know what it was nor would I have been allowed to watch it since I was 9 years old in 2000, clearly I did not see it when it came to theaters.  As I became more and more interested in movies I started to hear about it, but still had not seen it.

The first surprise reaction I remember getting when I admitted to having not seen 'Gladiator' was early sophomore year of high school.  I was sitting in the library that was across the street from my high school, waiting on my parents to pick me up.  As I worked on geometry homework with a classmate, somehow favorite movies was brought up.  I don't remember what I said but she said 'Gladiator' and I replied how I hadn't seen Gladiator.

"You've never seen Gladiator??"

It's been seven years since that conversation took place so my memory might be a little hazy but I believe that was the response I got from her.  Since then I had seen bits and pieces of 'Gladiator' on TV but never the whole thing.  I knew the very basics of the story and I knew about the ending.  It wasn't for a lack of not wanting to see the movie...I was just simply doing other things.

So flash forward to 2013.  Black Friday I decided to go to Wal-Mart to do some window shopping and check out some of the deals.  I didn't have the intention of buying anything, but I didn't completely rule out buying at least something.  I go back to the entertainment section and I see a several tables with numerous DVDs, all on sale for Black Friday.  So I end up buying all 8 'Harry Potter' movies and this movie for $1.96 a piece, and a 3-pack of Sean Connery's James Bond movies (including 'Thunderball', 'You Only Live Twice', and 'Diamonds Are Forever') for $4.96.  At those prices it would be crazy to pass up on those.  I'm sure I could've bought more but I need to be a little bit careful with my money.

I get back to school a few days later and I start to unpack everything and I grabbed 'Gladiator' and put it by my TV.  A friend on my dorm floor pops by, notices I have 'Gladiator' sitting by my TV, and I comment how I've only seen bits and pieces of it but not the whole thing.

"You call yourself a movie person and you've never seen 'Gladiator?!?!?!'"

The response was something along those lines.  So after unpacking, eating dinner and moving my car I finally popped it into my DVD player, skipped Sunday Night Football and sat down to watch 'Gladiator'.

All right.  In case you're like me and either haven't seen it or you've under a rock since 2000, 'Gladiator' follows the story of successful Roman General Maximus (Russell Crowe) who after defeating the barbarians simply wants to go home to his wife and son and enjoy some peace and quiet. The dying Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius (Richard Harris) chooses Maximus to be his successor, knowing full well that his own son Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix) is corrupt, twisted, and immoral and would not be fit to rule the empire.  Enraged, Commodus kills his father and orders the soldiers to kill Maximus and kill his wife and child.  Maximus escapes but after finding his way home he soon realizes the fate of the rest of his family.  He is then picked up and sold as a slave to Proximo (Oliver Reed) who trains him to be a gladiator.  Maximus soon becomes quite popular in the arena and soon has his eyes set on becoming a free man once again and exacting vengeance on Commodus.

When it was released on May 5, 2000 'Gladiator' received positive reviews and was a hit at the box office.  The following March it would become the winner of 5 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Actor (Russell Crowe), Best Visual Effects, Best Costume Design and Best Sound Mixing.  Also nominated for Best Supporting Actor (Joaquin Phoenix), Best Director (Ridley Scott), Best Original Screenplay (David Franzoni, John Logan, William Nicholson), Best Original Score (Hans Zimmer), Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography and Best Film Editing.  For Best Picture it beat the likes of 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon', 'Erin Brockovich', 'Traffic', and 'Chocolat'...none of which I've seen.



So having finally seen the entirety of 'Gladiator' what did I think of it?  Honestly I thought it was very good.  The opening battle scene against the barbarians goes on a little longer than I would have liked but other than that the rest of the battle scenes in the various arenas were very thrilling and exciting.  It's beautifully shot and the score is also really good.  It looks and feels like you're in ancient Rome.  The acting was very good for the most part.    Another thing I liked about the movie was it's emotional punch that it gave me.  The scenes where Maximus' wife and son are about to be killed, the scene where Maximus discovers their crucified bodies (you only see their feet, but that makes it even more effective seeing his reaction), and some scenes later on in the movie that I can't quite talk about since it would give away the ending.  If you don't feel SOMETHING watching those scenes, you're either inhuman or you've been extremely desensitized.  One extreme or the other.  Would I recommend it?  Of course I would!  The battle sequences are a little bloody but they aren't as bloody as you might imagine that they are.  Overall, 'Gladiator' is very well made, well acted for the most part, thrilling and packs quite an emotional punch. 

So that's 'Gladiator' and the first installment of 'I Finally Watched...".  I'm always asking for input.  If you like this new series, let me know.  If you dislike this, let me know.  If you feel that I should quit this entirely and stick to my so far non-existent day job, let me know.  If you have any suggestions for movies that I possibly haven't seen, let me know.  Leave a comment on Facebook, reply on my Twitter account, leave a comment directly on my blog, talk to me, text me, send carrier pigeons or owls, smoke signals, Morse Code, sign language, email, etc.

As far as selecting these movies goes, I will probably make a list at some point and just randomly select from there.  However the next movie I will be doing for the next installment of 'I Finally Watched...' I've already picked.  The only hint is that I have a sinking feeling about this next movie...

Fall/Winter Preview - DECEMBER

Well it's a new month, and with it being the last month of 2013 here's the December Edition of my Fall/Winter Preview.  I probably won't be seeing everything I've listed here but I'll give it a try.  This month I'll be finishing up school and graduating, and also cramming as many movies as I can before the end of the year.  This has potential to be a very good month at the movies.  Also since I'm talking about the trailers in each review I write I probably will not any more "Preview" blog posts.  I mean later this month I will post my Top 10 movies I'm looking forward to in 2014 but after that then that will be it for 'Preview' blog posts. 

Anyway, here's what's mainly on my radar for the month of December:

• American Hustle
        -David O. Russell (Director of 'Silver Linings Playbook' and 'The Fighter') mashes up the casts of those movies and puts them in this tale that puts con artist Irving Rosenfeld (Christian Bale), along with his seductive British partner Sydney Prosser (Amy Adams), being forced to work for wild FBI agent Richie DiMaso (Bradley Cooper). DiMaso pushes them into a world of Jersey powerbrokers, mafia and crooked politicians.  Also starring Jennifer Lawrence and Jeremy Renner.  This looks like it could be a lot of fun.
  
  

• The Hobbit:  The Desolation of Smaug
        -The next movie in the 'Hobbit' trilogy which continue$ the story of Bilbo and the dwarve$ on a quest to recover their gold from $maug the dragon.  I wa$n't the bigge$t fan of the fir$t 'Hobbit' movie but who know$ maybe thi$ one will be better.  I $till don't under$tand why they $plit 'The Hobbit' into three movie$ and added A LOT of padding from the appendice$ of Lord of the Ring$ to connect that $tory to 'Hobbit'....

• Anchorman 2:  The Legend Continues
        -By the beard of Zeus!  At long last, the 'Anchorman' sequel is finally upon us.  And yes that is a very big deal.  From what I've heard about the plot it involves the Channel 4 News Team getting back together after years apart to join a 24-hour news channel.  In addition to the original cast returning, other people in this sequel include Harrison Ford, James Marsden, Kristen Wiig, and a whole slew of other cameos.  This is a sequel I've been waiting YEARS for.  Now if Hollywood could just follow suit with an 'Austin Powers 4' and an 'Indiana Jones 5'....

• Saving Mr. Banks
         -Walt Disney (Tom Hanks) makes his daughters a promise that would end up taking him over 20 years to finally follow through on.  The movie is about his attempts to persuade P.L. Travers (Emma Thompson) to turn 'Mary Poppins' into a movie.  Looks like it could be good, and already it is getting critical acclaim. 

• The Wolf of Wall Street
        -Based on the true story of Jordan Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio), from his rise to a wealthy stockbroker living the high life to his fall involving crime, corruption and the federal government.  This is the latest from Martin Scorsese, legendary director who has made such movies as 'Hugo', 'Shutter Island', 'The Departed', 'Gangs Of New York', 'Goodfellas', 'Raging Bull', and many other movies.  Apparently this movie is supposed to clock in around 2 hours, 59 minutes (making it even longer than 'The Hobbit') but it looks like it could still be a lot of fun.
  
  
  
  And here's what else is coming in December: 
• Out of the Furnace - with Christian Bale, Casey Affleck and Woody Harrelson in a story about a man who takes the law into his own hands after his brother goes missing and nobody in town is doing anything about it.
  
• 47 Ronin - with Keanu Reeves starring in a tale about a band of samurai that set out to avenge the death and dishonor of their master at the hands of a ruthless shogun.
  
  
• Inside Llewyn Davis - the latest from the Coen Bros. (who brought us 'Big Lebowski', 'O Brother Where Art Thou?', the 'True Grit' remake and 'No Country For Old Men' among others) follows a week in the life of the fictional titular folk singer (Oscar Isaacs) as he navigates through the Greenwich Village folk scene of 1961.
  
• Walking With Dinosaurs - a 3D movie adaptation of the BBC miniseries that is supposed to make us 'see and feel what it was like when dinosaurs ruled the Earth' in a story where an underdog dino triumphs to become a hero for the ages.
  
  
• Justin Bieber's Believe - WHY?!?!?!?!?!!?
  
• Grudge Match - Sylvestor Stallone and Robert De Niro star as two aging fighters who decide to get in the ring one last time.  'Rocky' VS 'Raging Bull'....
  
• The Secret Life of Walter Mitty - A loose adaptation of the short story that follows Walter Mitty (Ben Stiller, who also directs), who is constantly daydreaming about having a more exciting life than what he's currently living.  He then sets off on a global journey to find a missing picture, which is needed for the final issue of Life magazine.
  
• Tyler Perry's A Madea Christmas - WHY?!?!?!?!?!?!
  
  
  

REVIEW - 'Blue Is The Warmest Color'

 'Blue Is The Warmest Color' (NC-17) ***1/2
Adele's (Adele Exarchopoulos) life is changed when she meets Emma (Lea Seydoux), a young woman with blue hair, who will allow her to discover desire, to assert herself as a woman and as an adult. In front of others, Adele grows, seeks herself, loses herself, finds herself.

As I have said in an earlier blog post, this time of year I tend to see a fair amount of art house/independent movies that I usually don't go see.  Sometimes they're good, sometimes they're bad, other times they're 'eh'.  Originally titled "La Vie d'Adele:  Chapitres 1 & 2" ("The Life of Adele:  Chapters 1 & 2") this movie took the Cannes Film Festival by storm, winning the top prize by a unanimous decision.  So, with this movie being in French with English subtitles and clocking in at 2 hours and 59 minutes, what did I think of it?  Honestly I thought it was very very good, and honestly one of the better movies I've seen this year.  The two lead actresses are extremely good in their roles.  And that's another great thing about the movie:  For the most part, much like (most of) 'Perks of Being A Wallflower' and 'The Spectacular Now' it's realistic.  You can actually see these characters existing and acting this way and talking this way in real life.  Sure it's about lesbians but that doesn't take away from the realistic look at the blossoming of, and the trials and tribulations of, a relationship.

Honestly there aren't many negatives to talk about for this movie.  Despite it's running time of 2 hours and 59 minutes for the most part it never really drags, except for the final 15 or so minutes.  Some scenes could have been trimmed or cut entirely, but I'll be ranting about that later on in this review. 

I have not read the graphic novel on which this movie is based, nor had I even heard of the graphic novel until reading about the movie a few weeks ago.  Once again we have here an adaptation that I can't compare to the source material since I haven't read it.

Now apart from winning the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival this movie has had a lot of controversy here in the States surrounding it's NC-17 rating and the lengthy, explicit (but simulated) sex scenes.  Other critics have argued that since sex is apart of Adele and Emma's relationship than it's perfectly fine, graphically showing Adele grow emotionally in her physical relationships as she figures out who she is as a person.  Others critics concur, but at the same time they have felt that the sex scenes go on for far too long and that it goes from artistic merits to having more prurient interests.  I can understand the first group of critics argument but at the same time the sex scenes could have been edited quite a bit (with some removed entirely) and still have gotten the point across.  It got to a point later on in the movie that whenever a sex scene popped up about half of the audience in my theater started laughing.  We don't need to see EVERYTHING, nor does a sex scene need to pop up almost every 15 or so minutes and go on for a prolonged period of time.  

'Blue Is The Warmest Color' is an unnecessarily explicit but realistic look at love and relationships anchored by great performances from the two lead actresses, which greatly helps the nearly 3 hour running time go by.  



TRAILERS

'August:  Osage County' - Ensemble drama based on the play of the same name that features Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Ewan McGregor and Benedict Cumberbatch among others.  It doesn't look horrible, just not exactly something I'd go see.

'Kill Your Darlings' - I saw this same trailer in front of 'All Is Lost'.  Once again, not exactly something I'd go see.

'The Invisible Woman' - Charles Dickens (Ralph Fiennes, who also directs) has an affair with a younger woman.  It looks very well made, but also looks a little dry and boring.  It looks like something I could find on BBC or PBS.

'Philomena' - The titular character (Judi Dench) goes on a journey with a journalist (Steve Coogan, who also co-wrote) to find her son who she had been forced to give up for adoption.  I chuckled a few times during the trailer.  

'Nebraska' - An aging, booze-addled father (Bruce Dern) makes the trip from Montana to Nebraska with his estranged son (Will Forte) in order to claim a million dollar Mega Sweepstakes Marketing prize.  If this comes to Muncie during the next few weeks I might check this one out.

REVIEW - 'The Hunger Games: Catching Fire'

'The Hunger Games:  Catching Fire' (PG-13) ***

Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) and Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) become targets of the Capitol after their victory in the 74th Hunger Games sparks a rebellion in the Districts of Panem.  After going on a victory tour through the various districts they soon find themselves being chosen for the 75th Hunger Games, with the competitors being chosen from previous victors in the Hunger Games.  

There are a lot of things to like about this movie.  First and foremost, on a technical level thankfully there is no shaky cam in this movie at all.  While I didn't mind it in the first movie I know a common complaint about it was the shakiness of the camera throughout much of the action scenes in the Games.  I'm usually not a fan of shaky cam ('Quantum of Solace' in particular) but thankfully there is none to be had in this movie. 

Moving on to more important things other than the much improved camerawork, we do get to explore a lot more of Panem than we did in the first movie.  Now this isn't exactly a world that I'd want to live in but it is interesting to watch this futuristic, totalitarian nation of Panem with it's utopian Capitol.  The musical score was again is great to listen to.  It has an even darker, bleaker tone than the first movie had.  Another thing I like is how downplayed the love triangle between Katniss, Peeta and Gale (Liam Hemsworth) is.  Sure it's part of the story but it never gets obnoxious nor does it detract from the rest of the movie.  Reading the book, yes, sometimes I was rolling my eyes whenever the love triangle popped up but thankfully it's downplayed in the movie.

But the strongest part of the movie though is the acting.  Jennifer Lawrence, fresh off of winning the Academy Award for Best Actress for 'Silver Linings Playbook' (great movie), gives another great performance as Katniss that even improves upon her performance from the first movie.  She never gets too over the top when she does start having an attack,  Throughout the movie she is suffering from PTSD due to the events of the previous Hunger Games.  In addition to those episodes of PTSD she also is quite reluctant of being someone that, for better or worse, has sparked a possible rebellion against the Capitol due to her defiant actions in the first movie.  She never wanted to incite a rebellion, she never wanted to be looked up to...she just wanted to survive a deadly game.   

The new characters are also fun, from new Head Gameskeeper Plutarch Heavensbee (Phillip Seymour Hoffman) to the new tributes that we actually do get to know including Finnick Odair (Sam Claflin, from the fourth 'Pirates of the Caribbean' movie and 'Snow White & The Huntsman"), Beetee Latier (Jeffrey Wright, from 'Casino Royale'), Johanna (Jena Malone, from 'Sucker Punch'), and Mags (Lynn Cohen from 'Sex and The City').  Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, and Donald Sutherland each get more to do with their roles of Haymitch, Effie and President Snow respectively. 

Yet for all of it's positives, their are still some nagging negatives that can't really be ignored.  Once it get's into the 75th annual Hunger Games the movie starts to drag a bit and the ending is quite abrupt.  Having read the book I knew about the abruptness of the ending, but it bothered me more during the movie.  It definitely has a cliffhanger 'Part 2 in a trilogy' ending, which makes me even more mad that they're $plitting the next book 'Mockingjay' into two movie$...

For once I can actually compare an adaptation to it's source material!  For the most part new director Francis Lawrence ("I Am Legend", "Constantine", "Water for Elephants") and new writers Simon Beaufoy ("Slumdog Millionaire", "127 Hours") and Michael Arndt ("Little Miss Sunshine", "Toy Story 3") do a fairly good job of adapting the book and still make it for it's intended young adult audience.  Let's face it:  If the "Hunger Games" movies were completely 100% faithful adaptations, they'd be rated R.  I mean a satire about reality TV that has kids killing kids and the entire nation is forced to watch?  That has 'R' all over it.  

As far as comparisons to the first movie go, I keep going back and forth between whether or not it's better than the first, on par with the first, or not as good as the first.  In many ways it's better than the first movie but in some ways its not.
             WHY IT'S BETTER:  Darker tone, more exploration of Panem, better overall story, less shaky cam.
             WHY IT'S NOT:  Pacing during the Games, and the ending.  At least the first 'Hunger Games' had an ending...


'The Hunger Games:  Catching Fire' is a solid, well-acted continuation of the 'Hunger Games' storyline that once again is headlined by a great performance from Jennifer Lawrence.  If you liked the first movie or you've read the books of course I recommend it.  You didn't like the first movie, this one won't exactly change your mind about the series. 








TRAILERS
'Divergent' -Another young adult novel being adapted for the screen.  It seems to have an interesting premise, but I don't know.  It could be good, it could suck.

'Endless Love' - First of all, this is a remake.  Secondly, this just looks creepy.  Last but not least, NO.

'American Hustle' - Still looks great.

'The Hobbit:  The Desolation of Smaug' - What can I $ay that I havent $aid already about thi$?  I will $till go $ee it.  It could be better than 'Unexpected Journey'.  Then again it would be much better a$ one movie in$tead of being $plit into three.....$till un$ure of the rea$on$ for thi$ $plit.........

'Maleficent' - A 3D retelling of the 'Sleeping Beauty' legend with Angelina Jolie looking pitch perfect in the title role.  I'm a bit iffy on Disney's retelling of classic tales (Disliked 'Alice In Wonderland', liked 'Oz') so who knows.  

'I, Frankenstein' - Aaron Eckhart as Frankenstein's monster fighting demons?  This could be awesome or it could be really dumb, though it's definitely leaning more toward the latter than the former....

NFL Week 13 Pick 'Em

The teams that are supposed to win aren't winning......that about sums it up.  What is up with the Colts?  And Denver lost that game more so than New England won that game....


Packers @ LIONS
Raiders @ COWBOYS
STEELERS @ Ravens
DOLPHINS @ Jets
PATRIOTS @ Texans
Titans @ COLTS
Cardinals @ EAGLES
BEARS @ Vikings
Buccaneers @ PANTHERS
Jaguars @ BROWNS
Falcons @ BILLS
Rams @ 49ERS
BENGALS @ Chargers
BRONCOS @ Chiefs
GIANTS @ Redskins
SAINTS @ Seahawks

Last week:  7-7, 50%
Overall:  100-76, 56.82%

Well, as long as I don't get to 100 losses I'll be fine.  I never said I was any good at this. 

Im doing so so at this whole prognosticating thing but at least my fantasy team BUCKSKIN (9-3) is still doing very well....my other fantasy team the Muncie Alcoholics (5-7) not so much...

REVIEW - 'All Is Lost'

"All Is Lost" (PG-13) ***1/2
After a collision with a shipping container at sea, a resourceful, unnamed sailor (Robert Redford) finds himself, despite all efforts to the contrary, staring his mortality in the face.

Think 'Life of Pi' without the animals or the 3D, made in the minimalist vein of 'Gravity' (once again without the 3D) and '127 Hours'.  And when I say 'minimalist', I mean it.  Robert Redford is the only actor in the entire movie.  His character doesn't really have a name, being listed as "Our Man" in the ending credits.  We barely know anything about him, barely learn anything about him and he barely talks.  He radios for help once, shouts for help a few times, yells the f-word once, and has an opening narration.  That's the only dialogue in this movie.  Allegedly the script was only 31 pages long.  Most of the time we are watching Robert Redford react to certain dangerous situations in the middle of the Indian Ocean almost in total silence for 100 minutes. 
  
Tangent aside this is a very good, almost great movie.  If Robert Redford isn't nominated for an Oscar I will be surprised.  Sure he barely verbally speaks but his expressions and body language during every situation do a lot of the talking and clearly convey everything his character is feeling.  The score and the camerawork are both top notch, with plenty of beautiful shots of the Indian Ocean and of various sunsets and sunrises.  Whenever a situation arises, it gets very tense, very unpredictable to an extent and at times downright terrifying.  Sure Robert Redford does make some dumb decisions later on in the movie (one of which I might include in a future 'Movie Nitpicks' post) but he does these acts out of desperation, being pushed beyond his limits to try and survive this unimaginable ordeal.  

'All Is Lost' is very well made, very well acted with an Oscar worthy performance from Robert Redford, and quite tense.  If you liked 'Gravity', you'll probably like this movie.  If you didn't like 'Gravity', this will probably bore you to tears.  


TRAILERS
The Book Thief - Looks like Oscar bait...but it doesn't look bad.  

Gloria - A Spanish language comedy from Chile that as the trailer advertised is that country's entry for contention to being nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.  I mean it doesn't necessarily look bad and I chuckled a few times during the trailer but it just doesn't really look like something I'd go see.  

Inside Llewyn Davis - The latest from the Coen Bros., whose work includes the 'True Grit' remake, 'Big Lebowski', 'O Brother Where Art Thou', 'No Country For Old Men', etc., etc.  It actually looks pretty good and had a nice catchy folk song playing during the trailer.

Kill Your Darlings - Even though he's playing American poet Allen Ginsburg in this movie, Daniel Radcliffe will always be Harry Potter.  With that aside, this doesn't look terrible.  Once again just not necessarily something I'd go see.  

Cesar Chavez:  An American Hero - Biopic of Cesar Chavez.  It looks like it could be good, but also kinda looks like Oscar bait.