Written by Mitch Cyrus

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Let the Oscar season begin, says Mitch in his latest version of The Crystal Ball. With "World Trade Center" as the only viable Best Picture candidate to be released so far, Mitch says to get ready for a wave of them starting this week. "The Departed", the Irish Mafia tale ... directed by Martin Scorcese, and starring Nicholson, DiCaprio, Damon, Wahlberg, Sheen, and Baldwin has the makings of being a truly great film - and Best Pic frontrunner.

The lull is over…let the Oscar race begin. 

Other than minor categories like special effects and the like, there has only been one movie released in 2006 that will be a player in the awards game, and that was Oliver Stone’s “World Trade Center”. 

That changes as of today with the release of Martin Scorsese’s Irish Mafia tale “The Departed”.  The preliminary reviews are excellent for this one (although I try to not read much more than the headline in a review for a movie that I plan to write about).  And then later this month we’ll have two more contenders coming out, Clint’s “Flags of Our Fathers” and Chris Nolan’s “The Prestige”. 

About frickin’ time.  After a month of “Jackass: Number Two”, “Flyboys”, “Accepted”, and “All the King’s Men” level dreck, I’m more than ready for some good entertainment. 
 

News & Rumors:

~ The next Fantastic Four movie is currently being filmed in Vancouver…Fantastic Four: The Rise of the Silver Surfer.  Please don’t let it suck as bad as the last one.  The rumors are that the Surfer will be played by Doug Jones, who does most of his work in prosthetics, the most notable one as Abe Sapien in “Hellboy”.  Why is the music from “Wipe Out” going through my head as I’m typing this?

~ From the “You’ve Got To Be Kidding” department.  A movie with Seann William Scott and Topher Grace called “Coxblocker”.  Topher plays a guy named Cox, and his efforts to woo the girl of his dreams keeps getting derailed by her ex-boyfriend (Scott).  Isn’t that sooo clever?  I didn’t think so, either.

~ I guess Scarlett Johansson is going through her Historical English Women Named Mary Phase.  Not only is she playing Mary Boleyn in “The Other Boleyn Girl” as the sister of the future decapitated wife of Henry VIII, she’s also going to play Mary, Queen of Scots in a movie ironically titled “Mary, Queen of Scots”.  After that, she’ll be playing Bloody Mary, Hail Mary, Mary and her little lamb, and Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary. 
 

This week’s new releases: 
 

Title: The Departed 

Starring: Jack Nicholson, Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Mark Wahlberg, Martin Sheen, Alec Baldwin, and Ray Winstone.  Damn, what a cast. 

Plot:  The Feds are after Irish Mob chief Jack, using Leo as an undercover agent to get to him.  At the same time, Damon is a dirty cop feeding inside info to Jack. 

The BeerBuzz: This might be the one that finally gets Scorsese that long overdue Oscar for Best Director, and look for Jack to definitely garner his thirteenth Oscar nomination, as he is said to be the best mob boss since Brando. As stated before, this is getting excellent buzz as the best mob flick Martin’s made since “Goodfellas”…awfully high praise indeed.  I’m also hearing that this one is extremely violent as well, going far beyond what was seen in Scorsese’s other mob films.  I’ve also heard that this will be major career boosts to both DiCaprio and Damon, with Leo showing he’s no longer the lightweight boy from “Titanic”, and Damon taking an excellent turn away from his golden boy image. 
 

Title: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: the Beginning 

Starring: That drill sergeant guy from “Full Metal Jacket” and that History Channel show…along with screaming young people about to die, and some older freaks. 

Plot: Bad people kill semi-innocent people in really gross ways…perhaps maybe even using a chainsaw (call me Nostradamus if I’m right about that one…just a freaky premonition I’m getting). 

The BeerBuzz:  And here’s your date movie of the week.  If you go to see this movie this weekend, please do me a favor and never read any of my articles again. 
 

Title: Employee of the Month 

Starring: Dane Cook, Jessica Simpson, Dax Shepherd  

Plot: After hearing that the store hottie will shag the Employee of the Month, an uptight cashier and a slacker stock boy compete for the honor. 

The BeerBuzz:  And I’m betting the script writer for “Schindler’s List” is just green with envy that he couldn’t come up with such a high-brow concept for a movie.  It’s going to be a tough decision for the 14 year old boys to figure out whether to see this or Texas Chainsaw Massacre. 
 
 

New DVD Releases on Tuesday, October 10^th  
 

Click – One of the big money makers of the summer was this Adam Sandler comedy.  Christopher Walken as the nutty professor that gives Sandler a remote control that can stop, rewind, or fast-forward time makes it a must see for me.  You say you also saw in the trailer a part where Sandler goes to rewind and slow-mo to watch a really well endowed woman jogging?  Hmmm...that’s news to me.  Maybe I’ll fast forward through that part so I don’t offend my wife (and you can all probably hear her screams of “bullshit!” in your living rooms right now). 

Garfield; a Tale of Two Kitties – Bill Murray’s desperate cry for help was in agreeing to do the voice of the fat cat for a second time.  If you are badgered by your six year old children into renting this movie, you’ll be crying for help as well. 

A Prairie Home Companion – Robert Altman’s rambling adaptation of Garrison Keillor’s long running radio show features the typical Altman cast of thousands.  If you like the shows of Rush Limbaugh and Bill O’Reilly, stay far, far away. 

Waist Deep – A man and woman commit a string of robberies to force a criminal lord to release the man’s kidnapped son.  Yep…we are definitely Waste Deep in something here…and it’s not entertainment. 

The Texas Chainsaw Massacres 2: The Gruesome Edition – Right up there on my “must do” list is renting this gem.  It’s right after “shaving my head with a cheese grater”. 
 
 

Calendar Watch:

Next week: Man of the Year, The Grudge 2, The Marine 

Upcoming Biggies (click on the hyperlink to view the available trailers). 

Flags of Our Fathers: October 20^th  - Director Clint Eastwood’s tale of the men who raised the flag on Iwo Jima, and an early favorite for multiple Oscar nominations. 

The Prestige: October 20^th – Christopher Nolan (Momento) directs Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale, and Scarlett Johansson in a turn of the century mystery about two magicians.  This one has some great early buzz. 

A Good Year: November 10^th - Ridley Scott’s latest with a kinder, gentler Russell Crowe and a plot line revolving around a vineyard.  Crowe and booze…always an interesting combination. 

Stranger Than Fiction – November 10^th  – Will Ferrell tries to replicate Jim Carrey’s success in the break-from-comedy surrealistic drama in which he plays a man who hears the voice of an author in his head as she contemplates how to kill him off, thinking he is only a fictional character.  Strange indeed. 

Casino Royale: November 17^th - Daniel Craig in his first appearance as 007.  Good early buzz on this one. 

The Fountain: November 22^nd – Hugh Jackman as a 16^th Century Conquistador who finds the real fountain of youth and spends 1000 years searching for a way to save his love.  The early buzz on this one is that it’s going to bomb big time. 

Déjà Vu: November 22^nd  – Denzel Washington in a Tony Scott time travel adventure. 

Apocalypto: December 8^th – Mel Gibson’s latest controversial movie filmed entirely in a dead language, this one focusing on the decline and fall of the Mayan Civilization. 

Rocky Balboa – December 22^nd – I’ll admit it…the trailer makes it look much better than Rocky IV or Rocky V. 

The Good Shepherd – December 22^nd – Robert Di Niro directs Matt Damon, Anjelina Jolie and himself in a tale of the early years of the CIA. 

We Are Marshall – December 22^nd – Another uplifting movie with football as the backdrop…this one about the attempts to rebuild the Marshall football program after the tragic 1970 airline crash that killed 75 players, coaches, and staff. 

Dreamgirls – December 25^th – Big budget adaptation of the Broadway musical with Beyonce, Jamie Foxx and Eddie Murphy. 

The Good German – December 25^th – Another Good Movie (I kill me).  Oscar contender from Stephen Soderberg starring George Clooney and Kate Blanchette in post WWII Berlin. 

Children of Men – December 29^th – New release date for the futuristic Clive Owen and Julianna Moore film about a world where women can no longer get pregnant, dooming mankind. 
 

2007 Attempts at Blockbusters (most dates are nothing more than educated guesses at this point). 
 

Zodiac – Jake Gyllenhaal and Robert Downey, Jr star in the tale of the Bay Area serial killer (January) 

Ghost Rider – Nicholas Cage turns into a motorcycle riding superhero with a flaming skeleton head. (February) 

Reign Over Me – First major fictional piece dealing with the effects of 9/11 on the families, starring Adam Sandler (against type) and Don Cheadle (March) 

Grind House – Two one-hour short horror stories, one from Robert Rodriguez, the other from Quentin Tarantino. (April) 

Spider-Man 3 – The webslinger versus Venom and the Sandman. (May) 

Shrek the Third – Justin Timberlake as young King Arthur.  Gulp (May) 

Pirates of the Caribbean: At the World’s End – Captain Jack goes for the hat trick (May) 

Ocean’s Thirteen – Will someone please stick a fork in this franchise? (June) 

Fantastic Four: The Rise of the Silver Surfer – No way does this film get completed by this date (June) 

Live Free or Die Hard – John McClane strikes again (June) 

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix – My wife and daughter will be there the first day (July)