Virtual Newsstand: Movieline.com, June 2011

Every month at Movieline, we collect the best interviews, smartest features, and most compelling reviews we’ve produced, and curate them in one easy-to-use table of contents called the Virtual Newsstand, which pays tribute to our print magazine history. Here’s the Virtual Newsstand for July 2011. ENTERTAINMENT AS A WAY OF LIFEMOVIELINEJuly 2011 INTERVIEWS Double Vision Two weeks. Two films. Two hits. Three roles. Dominic Cooper is having what you might call a breakout summer Smurf Happens TV and stage hero Neil Patrick Harris is a big-screen leading man at last in The Smurfs. (Unless you count Papa Smurf) Liv Forever Liv Tyler on The Ledge, battles of the sexes and The Lord of the Rings at 10 Crazy Lady Marisa Tomei talks about the Hollywood anomaly of Crazy, Stupid, Love. Hank Goodness The Smurfs’ Hank Azaria makes a mean Gargamel — which is just the way he likes it Rose to the Occasion Rose McGowan on Red Sonja, Barbarella, and how Conan the Barbarian saved her from retirement Colin Collect Both in front of and behind the camera, Colin Hanks is a busy man Tabloid Mastermind Documentarian extraordinaire Errol Morris maps the crazy spot where sex, love, paranoia, media (and Mormons!) meet Ari Almighty We’re not laughing at Ari Graynor — we’re laughing with her St. Patrick Patrick Stewart opens up about Dorothy of Oz and the legacy of Capt. Picard The Dark Knight Playing radically against type, actor Patrick Wilson explores the underside of devout faith in The Ledge Great Scott Scott Speedman on Good Neighbors and the unfortunate vampire trend overtaking Hollywood Hey Joe Don’t know Joe Cornish? With his directorial debut Attack the Block and script for this fall’s Tintin under his belt, you will soon Tech-mate Indie auteur Andrew Bujalski drops hints (and raises funds) in preparation for Computer Chess Fighting the Blank Page Captain America scribes Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely offer tips on how to write yourself a comic-book movie Dawg Days A Tribe Called Quest’s Phife Dawg and Jarobi get to the bottom of the Beats, Rhymes & Life beef (BONUS: Actor/filmmaker Michael Rapaport weighs in as well) Bob Stephenson Tells All The inveterate, ubiquitous actor walks us through one man’s Hollywood evolution, from Cary Grant to David Fincher THE VERGE John Francis Daley Lyndsy Fonseca Claire Sloma Sebastian Stan FEATURES Mark Your Calendars The 9 dates that will shape the rest of 2011 Smith & Lesson How Kevin Smith took action on his awards hopes for Red State “The Gorilla Technology Envelope” Kevin James and Team Zookeeper on the primate state of the art Tangled Up in Blue Should you see The Smurfs? Try our helpful flow-chart movie review Out of This World Celebrate the genius of Aliens as the classic sci-fi actioner turns 25 Thrill Ride In honor of Universal Studios’ Hostel attraction, 5 other suggested rides based on horror films Expectations Patronum Which current stars should the young cast of Harry Potter emulate in the future? Becoming Moore 9 milestones in the evolution of Julianne Moore Adaptation Afterlife In honor of Charlie Sheen’s Anger Management, 9 other feature comedies adapted into TV series Almost Golden Who are 2011’s Oscar contenders to date? Movieline investigates Earth to Ron? Reflect on a decade of Harry Potter’s best mate looking dumbfounded Harry Potter Rock Wizard Rock: A Musical Primer Everyone’s Too Stupid Ghost World, masterpiece ofmisanthropy, turns 10 Canada, eh? In honor of Canada Day, 15 bad-ass Canadians in Hollywood Surprise! 5 sleeper films from 2011 that you didn’t know were hits SPECIAL SECTION: COMIC-CON 2011 Breaking News The Twilight gang drops by to offer a first look at Breaking Dawn (BONUS: Director Bill Condon adds more in an interview) Twixt and Shout Francis Ford Coppola makes his Comic-Con debut with one of the wildest panels ever Tintin Machine Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson unveil their great motion-capture hope Shake the Aziz Aziz Ansari talks up 30 Minutes or Less and his upcoming Judd Apatow collaboration Spacemen Just B-Cos Meet Hit-Girl, one of the many cosplaying delights who spoke to Movieline Photo Finish Remember this years ‘Con in three handy slideshows Read Movieline’s complete Comic-Con 2011 coverage here. REVIEWS Another Earth Attack the Block Captain America: The First Avenger Cowboys and Aliens Crazy, Stupid, Love. The Devil’s Double Friends With Benefits The Guard The Future Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 Horrible Bosses The Ledge Life, Above All The Myth of the American Sleepover Project Nim Sarah’s Key The Sleeping Beauty The Smurfs Snow Flower and the Secret Fan Tabloid The Ward Winnie the Pooh Zookeeper BAD MOVIES WE LOVE Black Swan Camp Cucamonga A Kid in King Arthur’s Court Orange County [Cover photo: Getty Images]

'Cowboys & Aliens' Review: Difficulties Rules Free Airline

FROM MTV SPLASH PAGE: "Cowboys & Aliens" gallops into theaters a few days ago chased by an armada of gold seeking monsters from space. At first glance, all of the elements have been in spot for an exciting-out wall-to-wall actioner for that books: the director of "Iron Guy," the heavens of "Mission Impossible" and "Indiana Johnson," along with a apparently impossible mash-from genres. Nothing might fail there, right? Make no mistake, there is lots to juggle in "Cowboys," and Jon Favreau's task isn't an alluring one just how did he endure underneath the pressure? Your mileage can vary, however for this movies author, I walked away quite happy with the wild, wild west's all of a sudden clever space-born sheen. Take a look at five reasons you need to see "Cowboys" below! The Guy Without Any Memory Regardless of what role or movie he's in, Difficulties is among the most dependably watchable stars in the commercial. But he takes his badass quota up a couple of notches in playing Mike Lonergan, a guy who awakens within the desert having a wound on his side, with no memory in the mind far more of questions. Don't expect him to request nicely, either: Jake's just like prone to punch you within the groin because he would be to shut you track of one look from that awesome, icy gaze. Lonergan is among the great Difficulties roles, and it is a personality I'd like to see investigated further somewhere down the road. Browse the full review at MTV Splash Page!

The Great Debaters

Based on a true story, the plot revolves around the efforts of debate coach Melvin B. Tolson (Denzel Washington) at historically black Wiley College to place his team on equal footing with whites in the American South during the 1930s, when Jim Crow laws were common and lynch mobs were a pervasive fear for blacks. In the movie, the Wiley team eventually succeeds to the point where they are able to debate Harvard University.

The movie also explores the social constructs in Texas during the Great Depression including not only the day-to-day insults and slights African Americans endured, but also a lynching. Also depicted is James L. Farmer, Jr. (Denzel Whitaker), who, at 14 years old, was on Wiley's debate team after completing high school (and who later went on to co-found C.O.R.E., the Congress of Racial Equality). According to the Houston Chronicle, another character depicted on the team, Samantha Booke, is based on the real individual Henrietta Bell Wells, the only female member of the 1930 debate team from Wiley College who participated in the first collegiate interracial debate in the United States. Wells also happened to be a minor African American poet whose papers are housed at the Library of Congress.

The key line of dialogue, used several times, is a famous paraphrase of Augustine of Hippo: "An unjust law is no law at all."

Another major line, repeated in slightly different versions according to context, concerns doing what you "have to do" in order that we "can do" what we "want to do." In all instances, these vital lines are spoken by the James L. Farmer Sr. and James L. Farmer, Jr. characters.

Historical background
The film depicts the Wiley Debate team beating Harvard College in the 1930s. This meeting actually never occurred. The debate most likely similar to the one depicted by the movie was the match up between Wiley and the University of Southern California, who at the time were the reigning debating champions. Wiley College did indeed win this matchup. According to Robert Eisele: "In that era, there was much at stake when a black college debated any white school, particularly one with the stature of Harvard. We used Harvard to demonstrate the heights they achieved."

The film omits another reality: even though they beat the reigning champions, the Great Debaters were not allowed to call themselves victors because they were not truly considered to belong to the debate society; blacks were not admitted until after World War II