22 posts tagged “movies”
Okay, so Michael Bay's Platinum Dunes is doing the new Nightmare on Elm Street movie. It's probably a reboot, and, from what I hear, will largely crib from the first movie in the series. Whatever, they recently announced the director. His name is Sam Bayer, and he's never done a movie before, but he's a pop director. Really, this movie will be more about the writing than the directing, but here are some videos by Bayer, to give you a taste of who this guy is.
The Oscars, y'all. The biggest night of the year for movie snobs everywhere. This year I have actually seen pretty much every contender that I wanted (with the notable exception of Frost/Nixon, just because, whatever), and I, thusly, became the most emotionally attached to the Wrestler. Requiem for a Dream is probably one of my favorite movies of all time (which is a big deal, you guys), and so I probably maybe liked the Wrestler before I even saw it? But, whatever, I liked it. Mickey Rourke is great, and the tone, the vibe, is understated and I completely appreciate.
This is currently Oscar season and, so far, the only Oscar-caliber movie I've seen this year is the Dark Knight, unless Let the Right One In ends up considered for best foreign language film, in which case, I've seen that (we're not counting technical awards in this statement). This post isn't about the movies I'm likely to see in that category (which include Benjamin Button and Changeling, although the buzz for both has diminished my excitement); instead, this is about the movies that the less high-brow (Dak Knight, totally high-brow) parts of me are looking for to, and, in most ways, you could say I'm looking forward to the most.
Described by one preview critic as live-action anime mixed with horror, Ninja Assassin is the Watchowski's next production with James McTeigue. It stars Korean Pop Sensation® Rain as an orphan taken in by ninjas who turn him into the World's Deadliest Assassin and who eventually end up on his shit list for killing his friend. The chick from 28 Days Later plays a cop or something. V for Vendetta was good, and this looks to be probably less "topical," but probably more lively.
2. Kick-Ass
Kick-Ass is a graphic novel by comic dude Mark Millar, who brought Wanted into the world, the comic that is, and I have to assume the comic is halfway decent, as they did, after all, make a mediocre moderately-appeciated movie out of it. It is directed by Matthew Vaughn, who used to produce Guy Ritchie movies, and who directed Layer Cake, as well as almost directed X3 before the smell of shit became too powerful, eventually forcing him to drop out of the project. Kick-Ass is about a teenager who just straight up becomes a super-hero for no reason, with no powers, or training, but it's probably because no one pays that much attention to him otherwise. Layer Cake was a cool, tough british crime movie (I'm pretending he didn't also direct Stardust) and the graphic novel is supposedly kind of violent, enough to make Nic Cage almost reconsider doing the movie, even though Nic Cage consistently makes terrible movies and is only a draw in the National Treasure franchise, and should just be happy that this isn't one of those. Whatever, it should be a nice, low-key, probably surprising comic story with style and popcorn-worthiness.
3. Yatterman
This movie is Japanese and directed by Takashi Miike, who I am in the tank for, so even if it sucks I'll think it's awesome, but it probably won't suck. Nobody (like me) really knows what exactly he's going to do with the material, but it's based on an old cartoon teevee show, and that show was about a group of villains after an artifact that will lead them to a bunch of gold, and the duo of heroes (the Yatterman) who try to stop them. It's probably going to be big and silly and very Japanese, and so not like anything being released in this part of the world next year. Except for Watchmen, maybe, although that will probably be super-serious. Oh, and Yatterman is live-action, btw.
I've taken a lot of time talking about this, and that Brad Pitt picture is effing huge, so we'll just say it's Tarantino, and I want to see it, and I'm hoping it's something different, presentation- and mood-wise than what he's most known for (Kill Bill and Pulp Fiction). I like those movies, but, as much as I hate to say it, he took a hit in the industry with Death Proof, a movie that was very fucking indie for a movie that was supposed to be trashy. That's my kind of thing, but money is tight these days, and if this movie ends up being indie and quirky, I hope it's in a way that tricks people into theater seats, such as with a couple things exploding, and tastefully-placed dick jokes.
I lump these two together because EVERYONE, give or take, wants to see these, because they will probably be decent. I'm giving it up to Watchmen as likely the better of the two, although I haven't seen any real footage of Star Trek beyond the teaser before Cloverfield. I wasn't that into 300's script, but I thought it looked pretty darn great and I think Watchmen will benefit from not only (allegedly) stronger source material, but the fact that Zack Snyder has had 300 as practice for pretty much anything he'd need to do to pull this movie off, so I'm pulling for him (there's a three and half hour cut to this movie, but the one we'll likely see will be about two and half--so I'm pulling for the DVD as well).
As for Trek, what I like about it is the universe, and always have. I've never liked Deep Space Nine, or Enterprise, or wjatever else after Voyager the first couple years, but I'm hoping JJ Abrams' involvement will make it okay for me to openly praise the Star Trek franchise without getting funny looks. No on H8!
 |
Whatever, it got pushed back, so I don't even watch trailers at this point, as it's pointless--I mean, I read the book (all these are based on something else, I noticed. All new ideas are in the source material business (books, sometimes teeveez) so any spoilering will be in the images, and not getting to see them presented fresh when the movie opens, instead having them whored across the internet as the movie itself stays locked in its bedroom until next July. That being said, this was a good book, so whatever.
Dishonorable Mention:
Punisher Warzone: I was rooting for director Lexi Alexander (Greenstreet Hooligans), but every image I see of this has been worrisome, and artless studio types have supposedly dubbed a buttrock soundtrack on this thing (something the currect TV spots corrobrate) so we're looking at abortion territory here I fear.
Osker busz:
I also want to see the Wrestler.
Even the citizens of Namibia have dreaded this day, but it seems to finally be upon us: people are spending less on the price-gouged foodstuffs available at their local cineplex, no longer compelled by the excitement of a new Zack Efron vehicle to throw their diabetes-inspired caution to the wind and splurging on Goobers and cheese pretzels. Says THR:
Two operators of film theaters on Monday reported weaker U.S. revenue as dwindling concession spending added to smaller admissions figures in the third quarter despite record-breaking results from Warner Bros.' "The Dark Knight."
...However, the numbers announced by Carmike Cinemas after the market close paints a different picture. The company reported a $24,000 profit, down from the $2.1 million recorded in the year-ago period as revenue dropped 7.4% to $122.9 million. Admissions revenue fell 6.9% to $81.1 million, and concession revenue decreased 8.3% to $41.8 million, exacerbating the situation.
I've been crying all morning.
[thr]
Okay, I first heard of Crows Zero from...imdb I guess? Whatever, it's directed by Takashi Miike (Audition and Gozu are two of my favorite movies of the last few years, people are probably over this) and it's got an actual budget as compared to something like Gozu, which, I believe, was like straight to DVD type of thing back in Japan, or like a TV movie (the DVD one is more likely). THis was released in theaters and did pretty well, well enough that a sequel is currently in production with Miike doing the same job (directing, remember?). In an ongoing quest to waste what little money I have, I sought out and bought a copy of this film--I watched it Sunday afternoon.
Basically, there's a high school where all the dudes fight each other, and one kid rules the school, while the new kid wants to take his place, to be the boss hog of the school. It's about honor and "being a man" and fulfilling your potential, and it's kind of great, sating my J-film fan needs and my hollywood spectacle ones as will, albeit, on a pretty small scale. There are no giant set-peices like a Die Hard or anything, it's more along the lines of Kill Bill, or maybe even the first Matrix (without the wire-work of either of those two). The action is filmed and staged convincingly; this isn't Ong-Bak style fists of fury martial arts cinema--this is about a bunch of thugs beating the shit out of each other. Their world is also hyper-reality to a pretty decent extent, and that's the first hurtle of the movies: it is not always self-conscious. I basically groaned through the first few establishing scenes. But the film owned me by the time the plot was established. Basically Miike wanted this shit to look badass, and it does. I fully bought that these kids were cooler than me, but while there is posture, there is also (sniffles) heart and an obvious desire to create a satisfying movie on many levels, including humor, cheesy relationship stuff, introspection, and face-pounding.
So whatever, as i mentioned the budget before, all of that basically went into making the production look professional, and it helps. Miike has said that directing is basically the easiest job on the set, but directing hand-to-hand fight scenes (sometimes featuring a gaggle of extras) this well is not in everyone's range. Rent it, lower your expectations and let it warm up to you, it's worth it.
Four stars.
This is now officially a Movie I'd Be Willing to See. It has the potential to be both hacky and stabby (durf!). But seriously, I would.
I have this blog, and I've got this lack of time, but when news of Harry Potter actors acting in movies where they're not doing spells crosses your path, your first line of duty is to drop that syringe and log into Vox like a good boy. Cinematical, via MTV, has our first look at Rupert Grint in Cherrybomb, which is a British film about two dudes, a girl, and lawlessness. They have more at MTV, butI just want to say that I saw Grint's film Driving Lessons, and it was not bad at all.
Sometimes (read: always) I wish I lived in an area where there was more happening instead of basically nothing--meaning, I wish I lived in a city, so I could just hop a train somewhere cool. I mean, yeah, being in Jersey, I can basically do that anyway, but that's not my point. My point is, I want what I don't have, not what I could have if I tried a little harder. Anyway, things:
Over at the Editing Room, they've got the abridged script for the Dark Knight, and it's not bad, but it's got a bristling comments section going for it. I was lured in and contributed some of my office-addled insights, like this gem:
Lastly, as this thread seems to be devolving, there is a difference between rating a movie, and rating the experience of watching it. I the TDK is pretty darn entertaining as a movie, in the theater, that I sat there and watched (twice). As soon as I left the theater the first time, I was able to point out flaws, but when I went back to watch, I could care less about the flaws, because I was having a good time, because that’s what the movie is: a good time. It gets a lot of gas for dealing with psychological issues, and for being almost unrelentingly somber, and I think that’s why it gets a pass with so many people: it’s okay that it’s imperfect because it seems to mean well. It treats the comic with respect and blahblah…
So, yeah. In Rod’s review/script for GVS’s Psycho remake, he points out that there is a lot that isn’t entirely awesome about the movie because it wasn’t so awesome in the original. But Psycho transcend’s the criticism beause it upped the ante at the time and people have been ripping it off ever since. That is the case here, sort of, at least according to the media, so that’s TDK’s burden and is why it’s probably so easy to get excited about, and so easy to hate as well. RANT!
OMG I'm so fucking insightful!
The Hollywood Reporter also has a story about the Dark Knight (because it's fun to talk about), and along with it, they've got a sampling of the hefty bundles of millions it's gotten for everyone's favorite charity case, Warner Brothers:
$871.5 million
Worldwide boxoffice cume$489.4 million
Domestic boxoffice cume
(second highest ever)$158.4 million
Opening weekend (best ever)$49.8 million
Worldwide Imax gross (highest ever)34%
Percentage of Imax viewers seeing the film for at least the second time18
Days to reach the $400 million domestic benchmark (fastest ever)
Sources: Nielsen EDI, Imax Corp. and THR research; figures as of Sunday night
I'm so happy for them! Next and last, Aaron Sorkin, the mushroom-enthusiast and West Wing show creator, is putting his considerable, mind-bending talents toward the feat of writing a Facebook movie. Sigh. Look, what I'm posting are reasons to drink this weekend. Says THR:
Facebook was founded by Mark Zuckerberg while studying at Harvard along with pals Dustin Moskovitz and Chris Hughes. At first, membership was restricted to Harvard students, then expanded to all Ivy League schools before going on to open up for all universities and high schools in Canada and the U.S. The site now has more than 100 million users worldwide.
Despite offers in the billions of dollars, Zuckerberg has steadfastly remained independent.
Endeavor-repped Sorkin last wrote "Charlie Wilson's War," while Rudin has "Revolutionary Road," starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, and the film adaptation of the Broadway play "Doubt" coming out this fall.
"I feel about this introduction the way I felt about 'Sophie's Choice': It could have been funnier," Sorkin finished.
Whatever, Aaron. Lastly lastly, your boy Mike Phelps is gonna host SNL. Later daaaaays!!!
I'm kind of lazy. I'm working on so muc at once, that my pet project (this) gets neglected, since it's only a pet, and shits in a box and licks itself clean, I think it doesn't ever really need me, but it does. Movie things.
The aforementioned Kick-Ass, based on the comic series, picks up more cast, as, according to Cinematical:
[...] they've cast the lead: it'll be 18 year-old Aaron Johnson, whom you may remember as little Ed Norton in The Illusionist. Joining him will be Nicolas Cage and TV vet Lyndsy Fonseca. Fonseca will play the love interest, while Cage will play the father of Elizabeth Rappe's future daughter, "a vicious, foul-mouthed 11-year-old who chops down criminals with a katana." Apparently he's trained her to do that as part of his quest to take down a druglord.
I've seen Matthew Vaughn's (the director's) Layer Cake, and it wasn't bad--it was stylish, and I hope he can make a half-decent superhero movie that isn't living in the Dark Knight's shadow. This is a pretty low-profile character, so he should be aight.Next!
Another movie that I have on notice (I'll drizzle in info on some more of them as time goes on) is Inglorious Bastards. In the last few weeks, casting rumors have had actors coming and going--at one point Simon Pegg, soon to be of Star Trek fame, was attached, but he's apparently out. Here's what IMDB is offically saying the cast looks like, as of today:
Cast
 |
Brad Pitt | ... | Aldo Raine |
 |
Mike Myers | ... | General Ed Fenech |
 |
Eli Roth | ... | Sgt. Donnie Donowitz |
 |
B.J. Novak | ... | PFC Utivich |
 |
Samm Levine | ||
 |
Nastassja Kinski | ... | Bridget Von Hammersmark (rumored) |
Gotta love that 'rumored'. Why even include it? Also, the character names don't matter as much as the fact that someone is agreeing to be a part of it, which is the good news.
Finally--Harry Potter has been moved back to too far to be worried about right now, but here's a link to some pictures from the film/set, like it helps or something.
Shit yeah!...These eleven months are fuckin flying by, bro!
Lastly (more definite than 'finally'), people have seen Guy Ritchie's Rocknrolla, and they don't hate it, so that's a positive.
Hard Candy basically sucked anyway, amiright?
