Josh Brolin's "X"
Posted by Jeffrey Wells on January 30, 2008 at 11:39 AM
I dropped by Santa Barbara's Marjorie Luke theatre yesterday afternoon to see four short films, but mainly to take a look at Josh Brolin's X, which he directed, wrote and self-produced. A 15-minute piece about a heavily-tattooed criminal dad (Vincent Riverside) and his hard-bitten, Bonnie Parker-like daughter (Eden Brolin) sharing a violent fate in the desert, X is a first-rate effort -- well-shot, nicely paced, engagingly acted. 3 days of shooting, 96 set-ups. It convinces you that Brolin will probably be directing a feature within two or three years.
(l. to r.) X costars Vincent Riverside, Eden Brolin, director-producer-writer Josh Brolin; two guys who directed an alluring short called Elevator People, and a director of another short film -- ready to insert name and title with assistance.
That said, X's like-father, like-daughter theme is depressing. Riverside's character is a low-rent loser who has not only ruined his own life but, it seems, his daughter's. The short has a certain scuzzy integrity, yes, but I wouldn't want to see X expanded into a feature. It's too bleak, the characters too doomed. It left me with nothing except a belief that Brolin can handle himself behind a camera. He's a funny guy. Something tells me he'd be good with a sardonic comedy of some sort.
Last updated: October 3, 2007
Obviously I'm light in several categories.
Suggestions and disputations are welcome.
BEST PICTURE: Australia (20th Century Fox), The Argentine (Focus Features), Guerilla (Focus Features), Milk (Focus Features), Seven Pounds (Sony), The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Paramount/Warner Bros.), The Soloist (DreamWorks), Body of Lies (Warner Bros.), Revolutionary Road (Paramount Vantage/DreamWorks), The Changeling (Universal Pictures), Frost/Nixon (Universal), Doubt (Miramax), Blindness (Universal Pictures), Defiance (Paramount Vantage), The Duchess (Paramount Vantage), Valkyrie (MGM-UA), The Reader (Weinstein Co.)
BEST DIRECTOR: Fernando Meirelles (Blindness), David Fincher (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button), Ron Howard (Frost/Nixon), Brian Singer (Valkyrie), Baz Luhrmann (Australia), Steven Soderbergh (The Argentine and Guerilla), Gus Van Sant (Milk), Gabriele Muccino (Seven Pounds), Joe Wright (The Soloist), Ridley Scott (Body of Lies), Sam Mendes (Revolutionary Road), Clint Eastwood (Changeling), John Patrick Shanley (Doubt), Edward Zwick (Defiance), Saul Dibb (The Duchess), Stephen Daldry (The Reader)
BEST ACTOR: Leonardo DiCaprio (Revolutionary Road), Brad Pitt (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button), Ralph Fiennes (The Duchess), Hugh Jackman (Australia), Tom Cruise (Valkyrie), Harrison Ford (Crossing Over), Sean Penn (Milk), James Franco (Pineapple Express), Philip Seymour Hoffman (Synecdoche, New York), Heath Ledger (Dark Knight), Will Smith (Seven Pounds), Jamie Foxx (The Soloist)
BEST ACTRESS: Kate Winslet (Revolutionary Road), Angelina Jolie (Changeling), Keira Knightley (The Duchess), Nicole Kidman (Australia)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Leiv Schreiber (Defiance), Frank Langella (Frost/Nixon), John Malkovich (Changeling and Burn After Reading), Bill Nighy (Valkyrie), Robert Downey Jr. (The Soloist), Robert Downey Jr. (Tropic thunder), James Franco (The Pineapple Express), Alan Alda (Nothing But the Truth)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Meryl Streep (Doubt), Amy Adams (Doubt), Vera Farmiga (Nothing But the Truth)
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE: Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who (20th Century Fox)
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: Charlie Kaufman (Synecdoche, New York)
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: Peter Straughan (How to Lose Friends and Alienate People)
SPECIAL EFFECTS: Iron Man, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Inside Elsewhere...
Michelle discovers a couple of comedy films thanks to the power of Netflix.
Adam joins the Elsewhere crew from the Windy City and hits the ground running this week.
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Disaster Movie
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The Pool
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Comments
his performance in Flirting with Disaster was hysterical
Posted by: actionman![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://hollywood-elsewhere.com/nav-commenters.gif)
at
January 30, 2008 11:58 AM
He really is on a roll these days.
Posted by: AH![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://hollywood-elsewhere.com/nav-commenters.gif)
at
January 30, 2008 01:12 PM
I'm surprised that Jeff hasn't written anything about that Bush movie he's doing with Oliver Stone. That seems like the type of thing that would be in Jeff's wheelhouse.
Posted by: alynch![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://hollywood-elsewhere.com/nav-commenters.gif)
at
January 30, 2008 03:19 PM
Just you wait alynch, just you wait.
Posted by: Monument![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://hollywood-elsewhere.com/nav-commenters.gif)
at
January 30, 2008 03:24 PM
Just going by noggin size, Brolin is all wrong to be playing Bush2. George is a classic example of a pinhead, while Josh's skull ranks up there with a Macy's parade float.
Posted by: bmcintire![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://hollywood-elsewhere.com/nav-commenters.gif)
at
January 30, 2008 05:56 PM
Is it just me or is Brolin getting cooler and cooler by the week nowadays? Or maybe I have one of those George Costanza-like man crushes on Tony (if you know the episode, bonus points).
Posted by: JosephB![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://hollywood-elsewhere.com/nav-commenters.gif)
at
January 30, 2008 08:55 PM
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