Edward Norton does the identical twin routine in Tim Blake Nelson’s comedy about a pair of brothers whose divergent lives reconnect when news of the death of one draws the other back home.

One brother is a pot growing entrepreneur with a crippling lack of smarts and a talent for trouble while the other brother is an Ivy League professor on the verge of a huge promotion and keen to maintain the distance he has travelled from his humble beginnings.

When the learned sibling realises that reports of his brother’s death are not only greatly exaggerated, but are part of a plot to take down a domineering local crime boss, the Slackerdemic double act get to work at rebuilding bridges and sorting their lives out. Which is nowhere near as trite as it sounds. It’s a keenly felt, visually interesting and surprisingly nuanced comedy.

Edward Norton takes on the roles of both brothers while aplomb, though his pot grower from the sticks is at first a little too cornball, but as the film progresses we find both to be layered performances, capable of engaging our emotions and elevating the film. Norton has a habit of allowing the other characters to develop around him, almost fading to the background but this is why he is so magnetic a screen presence.

It’s a fairly standard premise elevated by a great supporting cast with Susan Sarandon’s role as the twins’ mother is soaked in pathos and gin and Richard Dreyfuss’s duplicitous drug baron Pug Rothbaum (a Coenesque name if ever there was one) is a coarse and chilling presence. It’s always great to see Melanie Lynskey on screen and Blake Nelson is virtually unrecognisable in his supporting role and you get the feeling that this film was made as a passion project rather than an attempt to attract a wide audience. Its cast is its greatest asset and its witty script will surprise those expecting a pothead crime caper – it is far deeper, and far more enjoyable than that.

Leaves of Grass is out now on DVD and VOD.

****~ (4/5)

Lions Gate Home Entertainment have been kind enough to give us three copies of their new movie, Leaves of Grass to give away to you, our readers. The movie stars Edwards Norton…. Edward Norton (!) Susan Sarandon, Richard Dreyfuss, Keri Russell and Tim Blake Nelson.

Synopsis: Edward Norton stars with… Edward Norton in the comedic thriller, LEAVES OF GRASS, which is out on DVD on 21 February 2011 from Lionsgate Home Entertainment.

Norton plays dual roles in this witty thriller which also boasts an all-star cast including Susan Sarandon, Richard Dreyfuss, Keri Russell and Tim Blake Nelson.

Ivy League professor Bill Kincaid’s (Norton) life takes a downward spiral when he returns home to rural Oklahoma after receiving news of his twin brother’s murder in a pot deal gone bad. Upon arrival, he finds that reports of Brady’s (also played by Norton) death are “greatly exaggerated” and is quickly caught up in one of his brother’s schemes. A scheme in which Brady requires an air-tight alibi.

Despite severe doubts, Bill decides to participate in his brother’s plan, choosing to spend his time as “Brady” in the company of his mother, Daisy (Academy Award winner Susan Sarandon) who has retired from the counter-culture and prematurely chosen to move into a retirement home – and Janet (Keri Russell), an educated woman who has by-passed academia in favour of a quieter life.

Meanwhile, Brady and his best friend/business partner Bolger (writer-director Tim Blake Nelson) use this perfect alibi to confront one of the area’s most notorious drug dealers, Pug Rothbaum (Academy Award winner Richard Dreyfuss), about some unfinished business. Will Bill be prepared to risk everything to help his brother if things don’t go according to plan?

Leaves of Grass is out on DVD on February 21, courtesy of Lions Gate Home Entertainment.

DVD technical details:

• Number of discs: 1
• RRP: £12.99
• Certificate: 15 (UK and Ireland)
• Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
• Running time: 101 Minutes Approx.

To be in with a chance of winning a copy of the DVD, all you have to do is answer the following question using the form below:

Who directed the movie, Leaves of Grass?

The small print:

• Open to UK residents only
• Only one entry per household will be counted
• The competition will close 25th February 23.59 GMT
• The winner will be picked at random from entries received

COMPETITION NOW CLOSED

Harrison Ford is one of my acting heroes, there wasn’t a day that passed in my youth that I didn’t want to be either Han Solo or Indiana Jones when playing with my friends at home or in school and it fills with with dread watching one of his new movies and seeing this once iconic actor let down by a terrible script and direction.

Extraordinary Measures carries on that trend giving Ford some crappy lines and opportunities to overact in a Tv movie type film loosely based on a true story that’s beefed up with so many additional plot points that it just doesn’t work as a fluent structured film or an overly enjoyable one at that.

Brendan Frasier plays John Crowley, a successful business man who gives up everything to pursue a cure for a disease called Pompe that has developed in two of his children. Crowley seeks out Dr. Robert Stonehill (Ford) an eccentric and rebellious scientist whose theories of a cure are the most advanced from the research Crowley has done into cures for the condition. Crowley convinces Stonehill to help by promising a large amount of money in funding that he attempts to raise in charity work which in turn leads to the pair gaining a loan from a bank where they create a small pharmaceutical company to develop a drug to cure Pompe that in turn leads to their pharmaceutical company being bought by a huge biotechnological firm for millions of pounds and becoming part of the business.

It all seems to happen very quickly illogically and with little explanation of how it goes from just an idea to the pair becoming millionaires and having vital roles at a multi-million pound company. It’s clear that this part of the film is about how the procedure of medical research and development can both enable and obstruct progress which is where Dr.Stonehill’s role is most prominent and Cowley’s anguish reaches its peak as the Bio-tech company stiffles progress making the two question if they did the right thing. But of course like the Tag line for Extraordinary Measures states “Don’t hope for a miracle, Make one” it’s a pretty predictable ending.

The film does have a touching sentimental side with the Crowley family struggling to deal with the deteriorating condition of their children and the race to find a cure but at times it is almost nauseating especially when Brendan Frasier hits the over the top emotional acting button alongside wife Aileen (Keri Russel) who handles these scenes a little better. The family drama is a much needed variety in plot from the business minded focus that dictates a majority of the film but for me using showing deteriorating kids in wheelchairs isn’t enough to if not supported by meaningful dialogue or acting to hit home the emotional impact of the situation.

On the plus side there is the enjoyable to watch Jared Harris who plays Dr. Kent Webber who is perceived as the biotech executive villain and the representation of the way of doing business that both Crowley and Stonehill must battle with, even though he seems like a mean and heartless bureaucrat who dictates that experiments and clinical trials are conducted by the book he is a satisfying character who had most depth and presence in the film.

The fact the film is based on a true story that is incredible and inspiring but I couldn’t believe more than 25% of it was fact and I doubt the film would have made it’s way into theatres if it wasn’t for the cast and Ford Executive producing. I still enjoyed seeing Ford on screen again even though it wasn’t anything magical or award winning but he does have something about him that will get people into cinemas, it is a tear jerker, it is an interesting story but for me it’s nothing more than an average film and struggled to get that high.

Extraordinary Measures is out this Friday 26th.

A great new trailer has just been released for Edward Norton latest movie, Leaves of Grass. It’s directed by Tim Blake Nelson and also stars another Edward Norton, Susan Sarandon, Keri Russell and Richard Dreyfuss. The movie screened at the Toronto Film Festival and everyone is raving about it with apparently an awesome performance from both sets of Edward Nortons!

It’s scheduled for release in the US 2nd April. Doesn’t look like we have a release date yet but we’ll keep you posted. Check out the trailer embedded below or head over to Apple who debuted the trailer. I’m very much looking forward to this one.

Synopsis: When Ivy League classics professor Bill Kincaid receives news of the murder of his estranged identical twin brother, Brady (both played by two-time Academy Award® nominee Edward Norton), in a pot deal gone bad, he leaves the world of Northeastern academia to travel back to his home state of Oklahoma. Upon arrival, he finds that reports of his brother’s death are greatly exaggerated, and he’s soon caught up in the dangerous and unpredictable world of drug commerce in the backwaters of the Southwest. In the process, he reconnects with his eccentric mother (Academy Award® winner Susan Sarandon), meets a wise and educated young woman who has bypassed academia in favor of the gentler rhythms of life (Keri Russell), and unwittingly helps his troubled brother settle a score with a pernicious drug lord (Academy Award® winner Richard Dreyfuss) who uses Tulsa, Oklahoma’s small Jewish community for cover. Leaves of Grass follows a twisting narrative path merging crime drama, drug comedy, classical philosophy and sudden violence in pursuit of answering one of humanity’s oldest questions: What does it truly mean to live a happy and constructive life?

To accompany the theatrical trailer for Extraordinary Measures which was released last week, here’s the new International version of the trailer. We’ve also got some new images which I’ve embedded below and you can click to enlarge. Extraordinary Measures is directed by Tom Vaughn and stars Harrison Ford, Brendan Fraser and Keri Russell. It’s set for release 26th February 2010.

Extraordinary Measures is inspired by a Wall Street Journal article recounting one man’s remarkable efforts to save his children from a life threatening disease. Harrison Ford and Brendan Fraser star as the brilliant but unconventional scientist and the passionate father who form an unlikely alliance in pursuit of a medical miracle. Keri Russell portrays Aileen Crowley. Harrison Ford is executive producer and in fact brought the story to producers Michael Shamberg and Stacy Sher after reading Pulitzer prize-winning writer Geeta Anand’s Wall St Journal article on the Crowley’s.

Yesterday I posted the new posters from Harrison Ford and Brendan Fraser’s new movie, Extraordinary Measures. Today, Yahoo (HD here) have released the new theatrical trailer for the movie. It’s directed by Tom Vaughan and also stars Keri Russell, Courtney B. Vance, Jared Harris and Meredith Droeger. It’s set for release 26th February 2010.

Synopsis: From his working class roots, John Crowley has finally begun to taste success in corporate America. Supported by his beautiful wife Aileen and their three children, John is on the fast track. But just as his career is taking off, Crowley walks away from it all when his two youngest children, Megan and Patrick, are diagnosed with a fatal disease. With Aileen by his side, harnessing all of his skill and determination, Crowley teams up with a brilliant, but unappreciated and unconventional scientist, Dr. Robert Stonehill. Together they form a bio-tech company focused on developing a life-saving drug. One driven to prove himself and his theories, the other by a chance to save his children, this unlikely alliance eventually develops into mutual respect as they battle the medical and business establishments in a fight against the system ¿ and time.But, at the last minute, when it appears that a solution has been found, the relationship between the two men faces a final test – the outcome of which will affect the fate of John’s children.