Across The Universe

Across the Universe

Director: Julie Taymor
Starring: Evan Rachel Wood, Jim Sturgess, Joe Anderson, Dana Fuchs, Martin Luther, T. V. Carpio
* Bono as Dr. Robert – a poet/guru/shaman from the West Coast
* Eddie Izzard as Mr. Kite - a circus ringmaster
* Salma Hayek as Bang Bang Shoot Shoot Nurses (by digital effects she appears as five separate nurses)
* Joe Cocker as Tramp, Pimp, Hippie (Cocker appears as these three separate street characters in the song “Come Together”)

Music by: The Beatles… covered by various
Studio: Columbia Pictures
Release date: 9/14/07
content from wikipedia:
Across the Universe is a 2007 musical film directed by Julie Taymor and written by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais. The script is based on an original story credited to Taymor, Clement and La Frenais, which incorporates compositions written by members of The Beatles. It stars Evan Rachel Wood and Jim Sturgess.

There are cameo appearances by Bono as Dr. Robert (a counter-culture shaman), Eddie Izzard as Mr. Kite (a circus ringmaster), Joe Cocker as three street characters and Salma Hayek who appears (through digital special effects) as five nurses.

The film received its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on Monday September 10, 2007. It then had a limited release on 27 screens in the USA on September 14, 2007, expanding via a “platform release” to 276 screens on September 21, 2007.

The soundtrack of the film includes complete or partial new renditions of 33 compositions written by John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr 1963-1969 – that had been recorded by The Beatles. (The songs are invariably referred to by the public and media as Beatles songs though as the compositions themselves were created by, and are officially credited to, the individual writers not the group – such references are colloquial.) Thirty of the songs in the soundtrack feature vocals. Two of the compositions are brief instrumental versions of songs that were originally written with lyrics. There is one composition that was originally written as an instrumental.

The songs are sung by the film’s cast members (recorded on the set rather than in a studio) – backed by top session musicians. Two compositions are performed by indie Texan duo The Secret Machines. The film soundtrack also includes original score composed by Elliot Goldenthal. Goldenthal worked with critical acclaim on Taymor’s previous films Titus and Frida.

Trailer

Weekend To Do/Rumors, News 09/28/07

Hi Everyone:

Another nice day here in New England! Hold back on that cold weather I say!!

OK I think I have more ‘news’ than things to do this weekend but let’s take a look.

Out on DVD

Bug (Special Edition)
Knocked Up – Unrated (Two-Disc Collector’s Edition) (saw this…funny!)
Next – What’s a week without a Nic Cage plug! Set in LV (wonder if he busts out in and Elvis song?). Action/Thriller/SciFi It’s got it ALL…and Nic Cage!

The TV Set - It stars David Duchovny (who, I think is struggling with his Showtime series, Californication) and is exec. produced by Judd Apatow (whose the hottest commodity in LaLa Land at the moment with Knocked Up and SuperBad under his belt). Should be very funny.

In Theaters

The Kingdom (I’m gonna try and catch it this weekend)

Feast of Love

The Hunting Party

Movie News:

Matt Damon is OUT and Brad Pitt is IN for the movie, The Fighter based on Lowell, MA’s Micky Ward. Mark Wahlberg is still playing Micky. There was a starting date conflict and Matt is committed to another project. What a substitute, huh?!!

Ray Liotta, Esai Morales and Valerie Cruz are signed to star in LaLinea, a crime drama loosely based on the infamous Arellano Felix drug cartel. Andy Garcia is in talks to play an ill kingpin. Liotta will play a hitman hired to kill Morales. ARMAND ASSANTE is in final negtiations to join the ensemble cast. Shooting is set to start on Oct. 16th in LA and Tijuana.

Kevin Spacey (love him), Laura Dern, Denis Leary (him too), John Hurt, Tom Wilkinson, Ed Begly, Jr. and Bob Balaban will star in HBOs, “Recount”, the drama about the Florida “Chad” fiasco in the last election. It will begin shooting next month in Florida and will air during the heat of the Presidential Election of 2008.

State of Play has yet more stars signing on for this mini series. Jason Bateman, Rachel McAdams, Helen Mirren and Robin Wright Penn are joining Brad Pitt and Edward Norton. I believe this is another mini series from HBO. Hopefully they don’t go ‘overkill’ on the stars, and concentrate on this intriguing storyline.

TV News

For those of you who missed Journeyman, Bionic Woman and Life this week, you still have a chance to watch it. Bionic Woman can be found on SCIFI at 7PM tonight, EST. Journeyman repeats on Thursdays at 7PM on SCIFI and Life will repeat on the USA network at 12M on Oct. 1st and then again on Wed., 10/3 at 6PM, Sat., Oct. 6th at 3PM and 4PM. All of these shows are worth catching. EST

I also just read that BRAVO is going to do a ‘mini marathon’ of 30 Rock on Sunday – from 1PM to 4PM, EST. Great show. Good boost for next week’s Season Premiere.

Without A Trace: Vivian is heading up her own unit this season which is focusing on human trafficking (a very scary and troubling problem. we have no idea how many young people are kidnapped and sold into prostitution. I think it was last year that one of the networks did a mini series on Human Trafficking which starred Donald Sutherland and Mira Sorvino…good DVD rental). Anyway, her assistant for this unit is none other than James Marsters who we saw as SPIKE on Buffy and also on Smallville last year. His name is Det. Grant and he was the leader on the force from last year’s finale. He will appear in at least five episodes.

NEWS/RUMORS

Mel Gibson insists on moving his family (wife and 7 kids) to a remote part of Costa Rica which is known as bandit territory. Robin (his wife) is not a happy camper over this! I think she’ll probably stick it out though cause they’ve been married for like 25 years and has gone thru a lot with him and hasn’t gone away! This is a $26M ranch but the US said that we can NOT protect them in that part of Costa Rica. Hey Mel, I understand Britney’s bodyguard is available for work!!!!

Babies:

Salma Hayek welcomed Valentina Paloma earlier this week.

Samantha Harris welcomed Josselyn Sydney last weekend.

Other News:

George Clooney and his BFF were in a motorcycle accident last weekend. He suffered a broken rib; she has 2 broken bones in her foot. Good thing she was on Fear Factor! Don’t think TPTB are thrilled with George’s actions although I have to say, from what I’ve read and heard, that it wasn’t his fault!

Hilary Duff’s BFF, New York Islander’s player, Mike Camrie, presented Hilary with an early birthday present…a $100K Mercedes…must be nice! I used to get a bottle of perfume IF I was lucky!

Alice Ghostley passed away last weekend. I think she used to be on the Elizabeth Montgomery show: Bewitched.

Marcel Marceau also passed away ‘quietly’!!!! I remember Marcel from the movie, SILENT MOVIE that Mel Brooks did years ago. Marcel was the only one who spoke a word in the movie…it was funny. Another rental!

Well, I guess that’s it. I think I may do a rundown on the shows I watched this week next Monday to give you an idea of what I saw and my ‘review’.

Have a great weekend everyone. Hope the Sox win the Division…

Joanie
(have a great weekend, Robin Thicke!)

Dancing With The Stars – Results Show, 09/26/07

Good Morning Everyone:

Well they did it again! They stretched a 15 minute show into an hour!

First we had a ‘recap’ of the 2 nights (like we needed a refresher course!)

Then they asked the Judges, “Who would you like to see dance again?” and, of course they said, “Sabrina and Mark”. Who, I might add, received the highest score (26) of any first show of the Season! They’re terrific.

First 2 Saved:

Sabrina and Mark
Jennie and Derek

Oh Boy…..it’s Dolly Parton singing ‘9 to 5′. She’s gotta be in her 60s (son of a gun though…she still looks good). Julianne and Cheryl danced with 2 of the guys and were great.

Next 2 Saved:

Helio and Julianne
Albert and Anna

Now we move to probably the best tap dancer EVAH….Savion Glover. I remember when I first saw Savion years ago in the movie TAP with Gregory Hines and Sammy Davis, Jr. (who was probably the best entertainer we’ve ever seen!). It’s a great movie for people who like tap.
Savion was terrific, as usual.

Here she comes…more Dolly (now, I have to confess that I’m doing some channel surfing here. I caught part of Deal or No Deal where Howie had a 25 year old Boston area girl who was there with her son who LOVES Howie and the show. They were so cute. Didn’t catch how much they won though.)

When I come back from ’surfing’, who’s on but Kenny Mayne! showing us the history of dance. This whole skit could have been done away with. I wish I had those 5 minutes back!

More Couples Saved:

Mel B. and Maksim
Cameron and Edyta

More talk….filler, filler, filler

More Saved Couples:

Jane and Tony
Wayne and Cheryl
Marie and Jonathan Floyd and Karina

This left Mark Cuban and Kym Johnson
and Josie Maran and Alec Mazo

OK, no surprise here….Bye, Bye Josie and Alec (Did you hear Alec asking everyone to vote for Cameron and Edyta? Bet the producers weren’t too pleased with that.)

(I wanted to share with you that I channeled Larry King after Dance and he had on Jennie McCarthy and Holly Robinson Peete who both have autistic children. Jennie has a book out on it. She feels that children should not get vaccinated!? Anyway, it was very interesting but I had to switch back to Private Practice.)

OK…next week Mambo and Quick Step which is probably the hardest of all the dances to do.

Hope Drew Lachey stays for awhile. Like him…and Tom too. Stay home and take care of your baby Samantha!!!

Talk to you later.

Joanie

Dancing With The Stars – Season 5 – 09/24/07

Goodaye Everyone:

First of all, I have to say that I didn’t hold out much hope for this group of would be dancers. Boy, was I wrong. With the exception of 2 or 3, these guys and gals are really putting it out there!!! What a pleasant surprise.

Because Samantha Harris just had a baby (girl named Josselyn), our good buddy Drew Lachey (winner of Season 2…was it that long ago? I can still see his cowboy number in my head where he leaps over Cheryl Burke’s head!) is taking over the cohosting and doing and doing an admirable job I might add!!!

Same judges – Len, Bruno and Carrie Ann – New England’s own Tom Bergeron is handling the hosting once again.

The pros took the floor and danced beautifully! Great job by all.

OK, first night we had the gals. They either dance the ChaCha or the Foxtrot.

First up was Jennie Garth from “90210″ fame. She’s married to Peter Facinelli who sounds exactly like Tom Cruise…

Jennie’s partner will be Derek Hough (Julianne’s bro). He’s young but I gotta tell ya, those eyebrows are frightening!

They chose the Cha Cha (Uptown Girl) and did an admirable job. She was nervous and I don’t blame her…first one up! They received: 7-7-7 for a total of 21

Next came: Josie Moran, a beautiful young model who can’t dance a lick! Her partner is Alex Mazo and he must be a little ‘upset’ cause he knows he’s not going to be around for long this season!

They chose the Foxtrot and danced to Walkin my Baby Back Home
God love her. She tried but she’s like a stick figure..no rhythm!
Judges gave her: 6-5-5 for a total of 16

Then came: Sabrina Bryan, one of the Cheetah girls from TV. Her partner is first timer Mark Ballas….and all I can say about this duo is:
WOW!!! It’s a good thing we don’t have Mary Murphy on this show. She woulda been takin’ them outta that train station and on a long ride! They were terrific. They danced a ChaCha…song was Dontcha Wish Your Girl Was Hot Like Me and boy was she ‘hot’!!! He’s not bad either. I think this is the couple to watch this year…
Judges gave them: 9-8-0 for a total of: 26

Up next was: Marie Osmond who needs no explanation on her background. She’s still lovely at 47 and has a great personality and really wants to do well. Her partner is Jonathan Roberts, on the ‘class guys’ who we’ve seen dance with ‘mature’ ladies before.

They danced a Foxtrot to I Hear A Symphony. Boy can Marie work a crowd!!! Love her. She’s a little unsure of some of the steps but she’ll be OK for a while anyway. Like she said, “25 million people watching; 22 million Osmonds..I can’t lose!” Funny lady.

Judges gave them: 7-7-7 for a total of: 21

Up next was: Mel B (the Spice girl) OK…I’m gonna be honest here. She’s had dancing experience in the past because of her Spice girl days but I’m still not feelin’ it. I’m not a big Mel B fan either. (Eddie Murphy, need I say more!) She is paired with Maksim who ‘thinks’ he’s God’s gift!!! They are well suited for each other. Both very strong personalities.

They danced the ChaCha to People of Pride(?) It was OK. I didn’t feel it. However the Judges did. They gave them: 8-8-8 for a total of: 24

Last, but far from least: Came Jane Seymour who at 56, looks stunning. What a classy lady she is. She has (how great for her) Tony Dovolani for her partner. Now he’s a class act too! He certainly knows how to work with the older ladies and, even though Jane has a bad back, she did very well as she glided across the floor. Lovely!!!
Judges gave them: 8-8-8 for a total of: 24

There you have the ladies.
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Now on to the gents. 9/25/07

The Judges said they were very pleased with the girls’ performance the night before and were hoping the guys would be equal to the task!

First up we had: Cameron Matheson (of All My Children) – what a hunka hunka burnin’ love he is! His partner this season is Edyta
They danced the Foxtrot to Moondance. He was a little shaky in parts but did an acceptable job. The Judges thought he carried his arms beautifully and really looked the part! They gave him: 7-7-7 for a total of: 21

Next we had: Floyd Mayweather (boxer) who is partnered with Karina (Mario’s BFF). He has a lot of rhythm in him that Karina has to channel. They danced the ChaCha to I Like The Way – Good Job for Floyd
Judges liked it too: 6-6-6 for a total of 18 (which I thought was a bit low)

Next was: Helio Castroneves (2 time Indy winner) who is paired with Julianne Hough (last year’s winner with Apolo). Boy, not only can he move but she is one heckuva teacher. She reminds me a little of Cheryl Burke in that she has the greatest choreography for her numbers.
Judges loved it: 8-9-8 for a total of: 25

Up next was: Al Reed (male model extradinaire!) who is partnered with Anna who we haven’t seen for the last 2 years. Let me tellya, this guy is HOTTTTT! He had Carrie Ann babbling to herself. He promised if he won, he’d take his shirt off. That’s good enough for me!!!!
They danced (I almost for this part….cause he is soooo hot!) a ChaCha to A Little Less Conversation (ohhhh, Elvis too!) I’m babbling here so let’s see what the Judges gave them: 7-7-7 for a total of 21 (toooo low!)

Then we had: Marc Cuban (owner/Billionaire of the Dallas Mavericks) who is partnered with Kim Johnson. I was ready NOT to like Marc but I think I may have changed my mind. He had hip surgery 7 weeks ago! and was still willing to put it out there. I’m sure he didn’t have to but he said his daughter, Alexis, would ask him when he got home at night what he danced to and that kept him going. Unfortunately, he’ll need a little more than that to stay in this for long.
They danced at Foxtrot to King of The Road. It was OK. Wasn’t the best of the night by a long shot. He may last a few weeks. The Judges gave them: 7-7-7 for a Total of: 21 (a little high in my estimation)

Last, but not least, we have Wayne Newton (no one has to tell you who Wayne…Mr. Las Vegas, is). The guy is 65 (I can relate!) but Wayne, it looks like you hired Joan River’s plastic surgeon to fix the face to make you look younger…shoulda let it go. He had so much botox on the forehead that there was little or no expression!!!) Anyway, Wayne has been partnered with Miss 2 Time Winner herself: Cheryl Burke (who goes with Joey Lawrence’s bro). Couldn’t have asked for a better partner to help him along. She’s very patient and knows just how far to take him in these dances. They danced the ChaCha (with Cheryl in a hot pink #) to You’re My Everything. Didn’t happen for me Wayne. However, the Judges love you probably as much as the public so I’m sure you’ll be staying around for a while (do I hear ratings going up!!??). They gave you: 6-7-6 for a total of: 19
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So there you have the first week of competition. Tonight will be one hour dragged out to what should be 15 minutes!!!! We’ll have Dolly Parton, Savion Glover and Kenny Mayne(????) to help us along. Who will get the boot tonight? Puhleezzzz….Bye Bye Josie. Back to the modeling gig!

Talk to you tomorrow.

Joanie

Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story

Director: Jake Kasdan
Starring:John C. Reilly, Tim Meadows, Paul Rudd, Jack Black, Jason Schwartzman
Studio: Columbia Pictures
Release Date: 12/21/07

content from rotten tomatoes:
In the tradition of such milestone musical biographies as Ray, Walk the Line, and Selena comes Walk Hard, the up-and-down-and-up-again struggle of legendary musician Dewey Cox (Academy Award® nominee JOHN C. REILLY) as he rises from the poverty of a hardscrabble Alabama farm to conquer the world of popular music through a rollercoaster career that spans seven decades. Along the way to superstardom, Dewey acquires all the trappings of fame and fortune – multiple wives, eleven kids, several mansions, his own ‘70s TV show, and a chimp – only to blindly trample them all on his relentless journey to the top. During a life that includes losing his sense of smell after a tragic childhood accident, conquering the music industry and carousing with celebrities from Elvis to The Beatles, even the love of a good woman – longtime back-up singer Darlene Madison (JENNA FISCHER, “The Office”) – isn’t enough to stop the rock n’ roll spiral of drugs, prison, and rehab (lots of rehab) that marks Dewey’s pursuit of writing classic songs that will change a nation at least once.

Trailer

In The Valley of Elah

Directed by Paul Haggis
Starring: Tommy Lee Jones, Charlize Theron, Susan Sarandon, James Franco, Jason Patric
Director: Paul Haggis
Studio: Warner Bros.
Release date: 9/21/07

content from wikipedia:
In the Valley of Elah is a 2007 film written and directed by Paul Haggis, starring Tommy Lee Jones, Susan Sarandon, and Charlize Theron. The film premiered September 1, 2007 at the Venice Film Festival and was later shown at the Toronto International Film Festival. It opened in limited release in the United States on September 14, 2007 and will open in the United Kingdom on January 18, 2008.

The film tells the story of war veteran Hank Deerfield (Tommy Lee Jones), his wife Joan (Susan Sarandon) and the search for their son Mike (Jonathan Tucker), a soldier who recently returned from Iraq but has mysteriously gone missing, and the police detective (Charlize Theron) who helps in the investigation. Although the story has been fictionalized and the names have been changed, the plot hews very closely to the story of Richard Davis, an Iraq War veteran murdered upon his return home in 2003. Richard Davis’s father Lanny Davis, a former military police officer who mounted his own investigation into the crime like the Tommy Lee Jones character, told the Ledger-Enquirer of Columbus, Ga. that he enjoyed the film. “It really is a very entertaining movie,” he said. “And those who don’t know the real facts of the case will probably really like it.” Davis expressed concern, however, that Haggis changed the motivations of the murderers from what Davis believed them to be.

A 2004 report by Mark Boal in Playboy on Richard Davis’s murder, entitled “Death and Dishonor,” inspired Haggis. Davis’s story was also told in an episode of the CBS News program 48 Hours, summarized here.

Trailer

Weekend To Do – Rumors/News – 09/20/07

Goodaye Everyone:

It’s a pretty sparse week for ‘news’ but I’ll try and come up with something.

First of all, I hope you like the trailers that my son, Jamie is sending to us. I choose which ones I think we’ll like and he, in turn, gives us all the pertinent information on whether we want to actually see the movies…thanks Jamie!!!! A shoutout to him.

OK, one of the trailers he sent us today is called CASSANDRA’S DREAM and it stars Colin Farrell. Now I love Colin….not as much as Russell but, he’s a close second. I’m glad to see him making movies again.

Here’s a story I read the other day that I think all of the Colin fans will be interested in. Colin was in Toronto recently at the Film Festival. He hadn’t been there for a few years. In fact, the last time he was there was while he was promoting, A Home At The End Of The World (which I thought was overlooked by most but still a good movie). Anyway, when he was here then he befriended this homeless guy named “Stress”. This past week, he was signing autographs outside his hotel and he happened to look up and saw “Stress” standing way in the background. He was very pleased to spot him and immediately called him over. Stress was still homeless. Colin put him in his stretch limo and off to a sporting goods store they went. Colin walked in with Stress and asked the sales people to outfit Stress with whatever he wanted. They chose a very heavy coat, top of the line sleeping bag, backpack filled with socks, boots, and underwear. After Colin spent $2K there, he took Stress to an ATM machine where he withdrew a good amount of money and gave it to him. He then found him a room and paid for it for one year. Total cost of Colin’s generosity:

$20K Look on Stress’s face: Priceless Nice story for a change instead of a lot of the garbage we are being fed in LaLa Land!! Good to hear that Colin is doing well too.

OK, that said, let’s see what’s new:

Out in Stores this week:

DVD

Griffin and Phoenix – Romantic Comedy with Amanda Peet and Dermot Mulroney

CDs

Barry Manilow’s – The Greatest Songs of the Seventies (deluxe edition) (hope it tears up the charts Barry. You don’t need no stinkin’ View to promote your CD!!!)

In Theaters

Into The Wild (the Sean Penn movie that I talked about earlier this summer)

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert F. Ford

Brad Pitt….need I say more!!!

TV News

“24″ will premiere on Sunday, January 13 from 8PM to 10PM and then again on Monday, January 14 from 8PM to 9PM – on FOX. (it’s regular time slot…it will go consistently as it does every season week to week). This will be Season Seven (let’s hope it’s better than Season Six was). This year (since CTU has been broken up) the show will take place in Washington, DC where Jack faces trial for his actions in the pursuit of justice.

CBS wins Bruckheimer’s 11th Hour Series.

CBS has agreed to pay $4M on the pilot for this UK thriller. 13 episodes with an “X Files” feel to it. Bruckheimer (CSI) and director Danny Cannon will helm the series. I saw it earlier this year when it aired on BBC and starred Patrick Stewart (X Men/Star Trek). It was only on for 4 episodes but was very different and I think that it will be a hit here ‘across the pond’!

No Release/Time Slot as yet

Shark News:

Orla Brady will play Sebastian’s exwife on CBS’s Shark this season. As you will recall, Lindsey Frost played his exwife last year. This will be Season Two of the series. Why the change I don’t know.

Psych on USA Network has been renewed for a Third Season!!!

OK, that’s it. Hope everyone has a great weekend and here in Boston we’re rooting for the New England Patriots to beat the Buffalo Bills on Sunday and for the Boston Red Sox to get out of this slump that they’re in before the “Evil Empire” swoops down on us in the playoffs!!!!

Talk to you later.
(have a good weekend too Robin Thicke)

Joanie

No Country for Old Men

Directed/Produced by: The Coen Brothers
Starring: Josh Brolin, Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, Kelly MacDonald, Woody Harrelson
Studio: Miramax Films
Release date: 11/9/07 

content from wikipedia:

No Country For Old Men is a 2007 film adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s novel of the same name. Filmmakers Joel and Ethan Coen wrote and directed it for a 2007 release. Production started in May 2006 on location in Texas and New Mexico. The title is from the first line of W. B. Yeats’s poem ‘Sailing to Byzantium’. The movie first screened in competition at the Cannes Film Festival on May 19, 2007 and will go on general release in the USA on November 9, 2007.

The film follows Llewelyn Moss, a man out hunting near the Rio Grande who comes across a drug deal gone sour-leaving behind a cache of heroin, two million dollars and several bodies. When two more men end up murdered, the local sheriff realizes Moss and his wife need protection. Things turn dangerous when various men, ranging from ruthless freelancers to ex-Special Forces members, turn up to find out the truth and destroy all evidence.

Trailer:

Cassandra’s Dream

Starring: Hayley Atwell, Colin Farrell, Sally Hawkins, Ewan McGregor, Tom Wilkinson
Director: Woody Allen
Music: Philip Glass
Studio: The Weinstein Company
Release date: 11/30/07

content from wikipedia:

Cassandra’s Dream is the next film from the director Woody Allen.

As is often the case with Allen’s films, not much is known of the film’s plot at this early point. In an interview with The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Steven Rea, however, he did reveal it will be a serious drama, à la Match Point, and Colin Farrell and Ewan McGregor will play brothers.

The film was premiered in secret at Oviedo in Spain on June 18, 2007. It was officially premiered at the Venice Film Festival on September 2, 2007 and is scheduled to be released on November 30, 2007. The film will have its North American premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 11, 2007.

Trailer:

Grace Is Gone

Starring: Nathan Adloff, John Cusack, Doug Dearth,Gracie Bednarczyk, Heather O. Craig
Director: James C. Strouse
Studio: The Weinstein Company
Release date: Fall 2007
content from wikipedia:
Grace Is Gone is a 2007 film starring John Cusack as a father who does not want to tell his two daughters that their sergeant mother has died in Iraq. On January 29, 2007, it won the Audience Award for Drama at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival.The film was purchased by Harvey Weinstein for a planned distribution by The Weinstein Company in the fall of 2007. Weinstein swiftly announced plans to mount an Oscar campaign on behalf of Cusack.

Trailer: