Nov 29, 2011

Daniel Radcliff to star as beat poet Allen Ginsburg

"Harry who?"
Daniel Radcliff's radical reinvention of himself in the wake of the Potter phenomenon continues unabated as it was announced that he's taken on the role of beat poet extraordinaire Allen Ginsberg in the upcoming John Krokidas film "Kill Your Darlings". It's the story of a murder that occured within the fledgeling inner circle of "beat" poets during the 40s.

No release date has yet been set for the pic.

Nov 28, 2011

The top 10 movies for the weekend of Nov 25 - Nov 27, 2011

1) Twilight - Breaking Dawn $41 Million
2) The Muppets $29.2 Million
3) Happy Feet 2 $13.3 Million
4) Arthur Christmas $12 Million
5) Hugo $11.3 Million
6) Jack and Jill $10 Million
7) Immortals $8.8 Million
8) Puss in Boots $7.5 Million
9) The Descendants $7.3 Million
10) Tower Heist $7.1 Million

The number one movie a year ago this week was Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 which held on to the top spot for a second week with a $49 million haul.

Nov 27, 2011

Ben Whinshaw signs on for "Skyfall"

"Our market research shows he's got a high RP quotient!"
In a move undoubtedly dictated by the marketing department the new Bond film "Skyfall" has cast Ben Whishaw as tech master "Q" breaking tradition by making the character younger than the agent he's outfitting for the first time.

The film makers, having already burdened the project with the clumsiest movie title since "Quantum of Solace", have now seemingly set their sights on the Twilight crowd and in doing so risk alienating 007's long time fans. Bond movies are guy movies first. Date movies second. What they're not is teenage girl movies. It'll be interesting to see if the move backfires.

Nov 26, 2011

New clips from "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" starring Gary Oldman

A couple of clips from the upcoming remake of "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" starring Gary Oldman in the role of George Smiley, originally made famous by Alec Guinness.

In the first clip Ricki Tarr (Tom Hardy) is recounting what happened after a contact he'd made in Hungary told him there was a Soviet mole in the British intelligence establishment.

In the second Peter Guillam (Benedict Cumberbatch) is dispatched to MI6 headquarters to steal documents for Smiley that are key to his investigation.

For me the original 1979 BBC production is one of the great TV mini-series ever made. It'll be interesting to see if a considerably shorter feature film can stand on its own next to that. Everything I've seen and nearly all the reviews from overseas (where the film is already playing) that I've read look promising. And what a cast! Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Tom Hardy, John Hurt, Mark Strong and many others.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy opens December 9th in the US.



Nov 25, 2011

A Thanksgiving treat for one and all!

Here's a little piece to celebrate the spirit of our most important holiday. Part of Quentin Tarantino's "Grindhouse" extravaganza this faux trailer was directed by Eli Roth. All I can say is that's one pissed off Pilgrim!

Warning: Bare boobs ahead!

Oh the pain!

"I bleed for my work."
Hollywoodreporter.com has an interesting slideshow/story about on-set accidents. Seems there might be a pretty good reason why most big name actors use stunt doubles after all.

Nov 24, 2011

"The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" - 2001

"The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" is one of the great movies of the 21st century. The best by far of the three movies that make up The Lord of the Rings trilogy it hits all the right notes, achieves just the right balance between being faithful to the source material and doing what needs to be done to bring that saga to the screen and boasts a solid cast who flesh out their roles effectively.

Directed with confidence and imagination by Peter Jackson - who was little known by the general movie going public at the time - it transcends it genre limitations; an accomplishment that can be laid squarely at the feet of screen writers Fran Walsh, Philipa Boyens and Jackson himself. The characters are given room to breath, time to make themselves known and plenty of opportunities to showcase their various strengths and weaknesses before the story actually gets underway. None of it seems in the least bit contrived however because they are not only illuminating who they are, but who their people are, their place in the world and their relationship to it. All this setup will work marvelously to underpin the events that follow.

Though I'm not going to waste time and words recounting details of the story in the most general terms it goes like this: the Dark Lord Sauron was defeated by an alliance of men and Elves thousands of years ago. The ring from which he drew his power passed to the human King Isuldur who defeated him. Isuldur was corrupted by the ring and ultimately lost it. It was found 2,500 years later by a Hobbit named Smeagol, who was turned into the gruesome creature Gollum by the ring. After having his life extended by the ring's power for 500 years Gollum lost it to the Hobbit Bilbo, who because of his purity of spirit, was able to carry it around in his pocket for decades largely unmoved by the ring's corrupting powers. All of this is told over the course of a seven minute or so prologue.

We then jump to the "present" where Sauron is recomposing himself (though it's never really made clear how he's able to do that) and seeking the ring in order to complete his return. He's sent out agents to scour the landscape looking for it. Bilbo has turned the ring over to Frodo at the Wizard Gandalf's request and gone off to write a book. Frodo then as heir to the ring also becomes heir to its fate and must travel across the known world to destroy it by depositing it into the lava flows of Mount Doom which lies in Sauron's back yard of Mordor. In order to complete his task eight others (Gimli the Dwarf, Legolas the Elf, the humans Aragorn and Borimir as well as Gandalf the wizard and three other Hobbits; Merry, Pippin and Sam) join him in what is christened The Fellowship of the Ring and the film follows them through the first stages of their adventure.

It all sounds very Wizard of Oz-y and to a degree it is. What separates it from your standard fantasy fare however is the emphasis on character development, the creative facility of everyone involved and the lavish (though never intrusive) art direction and special effects. Special mention must also go to the unreal New Zealand landscape where much of the movie was shot as well as to Howard Shore's score which sets just the right tone throughout.

I was reluctant to see this movie when it first came out thinking there was no way anyone could do justice to the story, which takes place during an earth epoch that never was, tells the tale of imaginary creatures great and small and spans well over a decade but I was talked into it by a friend and by the time the prologue ended I was sold, 100%. The setup was so powerful in fact that it effectively blinded me to the films shortcomings, and there are several. Some, like the fact that the timeline is dramatically compressed and Frodo is way to young, were things that mostly bothered those who believed the books to be Holy Writ. Others, like Jackson's appalling disregard for continuity, were things that revealed themselves to me on repeated viewings after the glow of the spectacle had worn off sufficiently. Still, as a whole the film achieves magnificently its goal of establishing place and time, character and circumstance and, though it lacks a "proper" ending (being only one third of the overall tale after all) still manages to end on melancholy yet hopeful note that leaves you feeling both satisfied and wanting more.

In subsequent installments of the trilogy the Hobbits would become somewhat lost in the ever expanding landscape of creatures and events but in The Fellowship of the Ring they are right up front where they belong. Tolkien's tale is after all a story of ordinary men ("ordinary" and "men" being relative terms) being called upon to undertake extraordinary tasks and handling them with a courage and fortitude that often elude their high-born "betters". This first installment of the trilogy never forgets that and because of that it achieves a poignancy which allows it to take its place among the great cinematic epics ever made.

Nov 23, 2011

New images from Ridley Scott's "Prometheus"

At long last new images have emerged from Ridley Scott's "Prometheus". Bloody Disgusting has scanned images that will appear in the new issue of Entertainment Weekly and they look very interesting. Definitely can see "Alien" DNA in the images provided here. Let's keep our fingers crossed that a trailer is in the works.


Prologue for "The Dark Knight Rises" set to screen in December

Heck, if he's not going to need it anymore...
Director Christopher Nolan revealed in an interview with Empire magazine in the UK that a prologue for "The Dark Knight Rises" will screen before IMAX showings of "Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol" which hits theaters on Dec 21. "It's basically the first six, seven minutes of the film," says the director. The intent is to introduce "Bane" and wet the audience's appetite for the film in general (and anyone hoping this film picks up where TDK left off is in for a rude awakening). Nolan did a similar thing for "The Dark Knight" back in '09. Nolan also reveals that his intention for TDKR is to "finish" the Batman story. Hollywood being Hollywood however I'd bet a substantial amount of your money that somehow, someday the caped crusader will find a way to rise again. (Does that mean I'm cynical?)

Nov 21, 2011

The top 10 movies for the weekend of Nov 18 - Nov 20, 2011

1) Twilight - Breaking Dawn $138 Million
2) Happy Feet 2 $21 Million
3) Immortals $12.3 Million
4) Jack and Jill $11.7 Million
5) Puss in Boots $10.8 Million
6) Tower Heist $7.1 Million
7) J. Edgar $5.9 Million
8) Harold and Kumar Christmas $2.9 Million
9) In Time $1.7 Million
10) The Descendants $1.1 Million

The number one movie a year ago this week was "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1" which debuted with an impressive $125 million haul.

Nov 20, 2011

Photos from Spidey set

Comingsoon has some interesting photos from the set of the forthcoming web-slinger reboot "The Amazing Spiderman". One thing I haven't figured out though and it's this: why does a film franchise less than a decade old need a reboot? It's not like the previous installment tanked or the characters were being updated for a new generation. The generation that made I, II and III so popular are still here and plenty young enough to keep things going at the Spidey box office. While this is undoubtedly a question that's been asked a million times before I haven't seen or heard any satisfactory answer from anyone involved. Only thinly veiled rationalizations for keeping the gravy train running.

Anyway now that I've had my little rant you can see the photos here.

New trailer for "The Grey"

The Ridley and Tony Scott produced wolves-gone-wild tale "The Grey" starring Liam Neeson has a new full length trailer and it looks pretty good. The film is due to hit theaters January 27th.

Off the beaten track trailer of the day - "Strippers vs Werewolves" trailer

While Hollywood takes a couple of days off to bask in the inexplicable box office glow of the latest Twilight yawner (my opinion) I went searching around for something a little off the beaten path and came up with this nugget. It's not hard to imagine that if it makes any coin at all we're going to see copycats down the line: maybe "Webcam Hos vs Vampires" or "Porn Stars vs Alien" or even "Cowboys vs Aliens". How wacked would that be? Oh, wait...

Nov 18, 2011

The Governator cracks up

Arnold Schwarzenegger's return to tinsel town took a turn down injury road yesterday. Arnold tweeted a picture of himself with an enormous gash down the middle of his forehead. He claimed to have gotten injured on the set of his new film "The Last Stand" though he was not forthcoming with details (ghost of Maria maybe?) and said he was back to work in an hour.

Trailer for new Woody Harrelson movie "Rampart"

Woody Harrelson's new flick "Rampart" finally has a trailer. The film about a corrupt LA cop also stars Sigourney Weaver, Ned Beatty and Robin Wright (formerly Penn) among others and was written by "LA Confidential" writer James Ellroy. Harrelson has been getting a lot of early buzz about his performance with some predicting the former "Cheers" star could break through with an Oscar win next spring.

Rampart is due in US theaters in January 2012.

Nov 17, 2011

That's a wrap! Dark Knight Rises finishes filming

JGL and CB on the set of TDKR
After spanning the globe in what seemed like an endless schedule to nail down footage for the third and final Christopher Nolan-helmed Batman movie Joseph Gordon-Levitt revealed to E! that filming for "The Dark Knight Rises" concluded this past weekend after shooting on New York City's Queensboro bridge.

Said the actor: "We just finished. I finished day before yesterday, and the movie finished yesterday, and it's been a seven-month shoot. It went really, really well,"

The Dark Knight Rises opens in theaters July 20, 2012.

Woody Allen on "American Masters"


Deadline.com has a nice article on PBS's upcoming "American Masters" documentary on Woody Allen. Some have seen the timing of this documentary as part of a campaign to rehabilitate Allen's public image leading up to the Oscar's where his most recent film "Midnight in Paris" in potentially in line for some serious hardware.

Read the whole article here.

Nov 16, 2011

Bill Nighy weighs Frankenstein role

"Give my creation, life!"
Cineblend (via Variety) reports that "Pirates of the Caribbean", "Underworld" and "Harry Potter" veteran Bill Nighy is in discussions about taking the title role in Sutart Beattie's upcoming monster flick "I, Frankenstein". Aaron Eckhart (The Dark Knight) is signed on to play the mad scientist's monster.

Michael Jackson Biopic?

Variety is reporting that the estate of Michael Jackson is in talks to develop a film about the late superstar which will focus on selected periods in the singer's life. No contracts have been signed at this point but the Jackson estate's executor has reportedly approached Ivan Reitman about the project. Stay tuned.

Nov 15, 2011

The top 10 movies for the weekend of Nov 11 - Nov 13, 2011

1) Immortals $32 Million
2) Jack and Jill $25 Million
3) Puss in Boots $24.7 Million
4) Tower Heist $12.7 Million
5) J. Edgar $11.2 Million
6) Harold and Kumar Christmas $5.9 Million
7) In Time $4 Million
8) Paranormal Activity 3 $3.6 Million
9) Footloose $2.7 Million
10) Real Steel $1.8 Million

The number one movie a year ago this week was Megamind which held on to the top spot for a second week with a $29
million haul.

Brad Pitt nearly ready to call it quits

"Take a good look guys 'cause I'm outa here."
Say it isn't so!

In an interview with Australian 60 Minutes Brad Pitt was asked how much longer he intended to continue acting in films, to which he replied "Three years." Three more years would take him to age 50 at which time he apparently intends to move behind the scenes and focus on film development.

In the interview Pitt is his usual guarded self, deflecting personal questions, giving a lot of non-answers but its as close as anyone has come in recent years to actually getting the father of six to open up for an interview and if your a big BP fan it's certainly worth a look.

"Hobbit" trailer on the way?

Andy Serkis has given an interview over at IGN where he talks a bit about the highly anticipated film "The Hobbit" due out in December 2012. When asked directly about when we might see the first teaser trailer Serkis replied: "There will be a trailer fairly soon, actually. Around Christmas time, I believe."

Given how close Serkis has become to Hobbit overlord Peter Jackson (Jackson actually has Serkis directing some of the second unit work for The Hobbit) its probably safe to say Serkis's prediction is based on pretty reliable information. I for one will be keeping my fingers crossed.

Nov 13, 2011

Off the beaten track trailer of the day - "Little Appliances"

Because its such an incredibly slow time for movie news I've decided to have some fun and post one of the stranger trailers I've seen in a while. This is for a film by Manuel Arija called "Little Appliances". What's it all about? You tell me but it looks fun.

Nov 12, 2011

"Unknown" - 2011

An American emerges from a coma in Europe to find his life doesn't add up. He then sets out to construct a picture of himself using the ill-fitting pieces presented to him. Along the way he picks up a wandering Euro-gal who, though reluctant to help anyone, (she's had a hard life you see), nevertheless goes to extraordinary lengths to help him. What they discover sets them on a collision course with powers beyond their imagination and causes him to renounce his pre-coma life in its entirety.

You could lift that paragraph and use it to summarize "The Bourne Identity" without changing a word. The stories are so similar you could probably replace scenes from "Unknown" with scenes from The Bourne Identity and not change the movie at all. Check that. You'd have a better movie if you did that because TBI was a complete (if somewhat far fetched) movie. Unknown relies way too heavily in its second half on characters standing still and explaining everything the film makers couldn't figure out how to explain using moving pictures. It's painful to watch. In theory I don't mind a film scamming on another films storyline. It's done all the time and when it's done well I'm able to better appreciate aspects of the original movie I may have missed. But in this case the only thing that's accomplished by Unknown's glumming onto TBI's narrative is a no-holds-barred demonstration of the difference between film makers who know what they're doing and those that don't. 

Director Jaume Collet-Serra is positioning himself perfectly for a career in B-movies, territory the screenwriters know only too well and where, hopefully, they'll stay until they learn their craft. The chase sequences are lame in the extreme when compared to their Bourne brethren. The supporting characters are little more than cardboard cutouts whose mouths move and all that but whose real purpose is to fill space within the boundaries of the screen and look 'realistic' without behaving or speaking thus. The special effects look like they paid about $20 for them. Really. I don't know exactly what was said by the studio types who okayed these visual travesties, but I have an idea: "Sure it looks like crap. But it's Liam people are coming to see. Just hit render and get on with it!"

I really don't want to spend any more of my one and only life thinking or writing about this film so I'm not going to. Let's just say that at the end of the reel Unknown is a complete waste of time and money. I'll be watching for the release date of the sequel so I can plan on doing something else that night.

2nd trailer for Luc Besson's "The Lady"

New trailer for the Luc Besson biopic "The Lady" is out. This one focuses more on the relationship between Aung San Suu Kyi and her husband as events in Burma disintegrate around her.







Artwork from "The Crow" remake

The remake of "The Crow" has found its way to development limbo but that doesn't stop the leaks! If you ever wondered what Bradley Cooper would look like as a rock star turned avenging angel shocktillyoudrop.com has some intriguing conceptual artwork that was produced by Diego Latorre before the production ran into difficulties. Take a look here.

Bradley Cooper as The Crow. Needs more cowbell.

Nov 11, 2011

New trailer for upcoming Jason Statham flick "Safe"

The upcoming Jason Statham film "Safe" has a new trailer. While it looks predictably formulaic who says that's a bad thing when it comes to JS action flicks? "Safe" is due in theaters in March of 2012.

Nov 10, 2011

"Rosa" - An animated short by Jesus Orellana

While this blog focuses on major studio releases and related news every so often something will catch our eye from an independent film maker that deserves attention. Such is the case with Jesus Orellana's "cyberpunk" animated short film "Rosa". Created during a single year by Orellana, a young comic artist, Rosa depicts events that take place immediately after the cyborg Rosa awakens in a post-apocalyptic future (is there any other kind these days?) to discover she is not alone. While the short is completely devoid of dialogue and makes no attempt to explain who created Rosa or her pursuers or exactly what sort of apocalypse befell the planet the short is remarkable for its detail and tone. It's been a major hit a film festivals around the world and is allegedly being developed into a live action full length Hollywood feature.

Here's the complete short.

ROSA from
Jesús Orellana on Vimeo.

Nov 9, 2011

Mickey Rourke exits "Seven Psychopaths"

Is Mickey Rourke returning down the path of burnt bridges? After being on the outs in Hollywood for the better part of a decade Rourke has been on his best behavior (more or less) since his career revival started a few years back. Several sources are now reporting however that Rourke has cut ties with the upcoming "Seven Psychopaths" and it's director Martin McDonagh quoting the mercurial star as saying, "The director was a jerkoff. He wanted a whole lot for nothing. He can go play with himself." Whether or not this indicates Mickey has begun to wear out his welcome in Tinseltown a second time remains to be seen. He next appears in theaters in the 300 inspired "Immortals" which opens stateside this weekend.

Nov 8, 2011

Luke Grimes "Taken" for sequel

Luke Grimes headed for "Taken 2"
Variety is reporting that Luke Grimes of "Brothers and Sisters" notability has signed on to appear in Luc Besson's "Taken 2". In the sequel Liam Neeson's character Bryan Mills and his ex (Famke Janssen) will reportedly be taken hostage by the avenging father of one of the men Mills killed in the original. Grime's is to be the love interest of Mill's daughter, played by Maggie Grace. "Taken 2" is due out next fall.

The top 10 movies for the weekend of Nov 4 - Nov 6, 2011

1) Puss in Boots $33 Million
2) Tower Heist $24 Million
3) A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas $12.9 Million
4) Paranormal Activity 3 $8.3 Million
5) In Time $7.4 Million
6) Footloose $4.4 Million
7) Real Steel $3.4 Million
8) The Rum Diary $2.9 Million
9) The Ides of March $1.9 Million
10) Moneyball $1.7 Million

The number one movie a year ago this week was Megamind which debuted in the top spot with a $46 million haul.

Nov 7, 2011

Sewell and Belle to join Proyas' "Paradise Lost"

Alex Proyas, who is a favorite of both Chris and myself, is busy stocking the lineup for his upcoming adaptation of Milton's "Paradise Lost". Bradley Cooper, Djimon Hounsou and Casey Affleck are already on board and now Variety is reporting that Rufus Sewell, Diego Boneta and Camilla Belle have signed on. Sewell worked with Proyas previously on 1998's oft-overlooked marvel "Dark City". Filming begins early next year.

Rufus Sewell and Camilla Belle join the cast of "Paradise Lost"

Ridley Scott talks Prometheus

Even though Ridley Scott opened up a little recently when he confirmed he'll be directing a Blade Runner sequel, he continues his cat and mouse game concerning his upcoming "Prometheus". In an interview with Speakeasy the director spoke in vague, mythological terms about his new film, shot in 3D and due to hit theaters in June. Here's an excerpt;

The central metaphor of “Prometheus” is about a “higher being” (Scott’s words) who challenges the gods, and the gods don’t want to give him fire. “Fire is our first form of technology,” Scott says, and so by taking fire, the higher being is punished “in perpetuity in a horrible fashion.”

Uh, okay. He also stated that the last 8 minutes of the film contain "a pretty good DNA of (Alien)". Funny but I don't recall Alien having any gods in it. Guess we'll just have to wait and see.

Casino Royale - 2006

Casino Royale is one of the best action flicks of the (admittedly young) 21st century. A bold updating of the Bond brand it takes all that was noteworthy from its many predecessors (exotic locales, latest technology, bodacious babes), adds an edgier new star and tilts the proceedings in a much more realistic direction (though, to be sure, realism is a relative term in Hollywood). Undoubtedly influenced by the success of The Bourne franchise the film makers have upped the action and frayed the edges of Bond's formerly silky smooth persona. Daniel Craig's Bond is a street kid whose been given the license to kill and, as would be expected of such a situation, it takes him some time to get comfortable with the idea that killing is not the primary goal of espionage. When we are first introduced to this new Bond it's in a flashback before the opening credits where he recounts his recent and brutal dispatch of an unnamed foreign intelligence operative. The man he's telling his tale to is an MI6 traitor who doesn't get to finish his statement about how the second kill is easier than the first before Bond pumps a bullet into his chest, calmly remarking: "Yes. Considerably." It's a powerful opening scene that tosses sand into the face of 007 history while at the same time tipping it's hat to its forebearers.

Daniel Craig was a controversial choice to play James Bond. Many complained he lacked the sophisticated patina of earlier Bonds like Sean Connery and Roger Moore. He was too brutish, too ordinary, too (gulp) blonde! But while all those adjectives can be rightly laid at his feet the fact is his brutish, ordinary, blonde nature make him perfect for this gritty re-booting of the franchise. This Bond is an action star, not a martini sipping dilettante with a gun. There are no end-of-the-world stakes here, no cartoon super villains with diabolical laughs and no winking at the camera. This Bond lives more or less in the real world and the action sequences, technology and even the Bond/Bond-girl relationships reflect that.

After the credits and a short detour to Africa to introduce us to the bad guys - Mr White, the shadowy facilitator and Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen), "banker to the worlds terrorist" and weeper of blood - the film gets right down to business with one of the most outstanding action/chase sequences of recent memory. Bond is on assignment in Madagascar tracking a mercenary bomber when his assistant blows their cover and Bond must pursue. The scene is a marvel of stunt work. From knife edge, vertigo inducing heights to bone crushing hand to hand combat and an embassy shootout the action is relentless, convincing and superbly choreographed. By the time the scene ends Bond has made himself a pariah by shooting his prey in front of the embassy's surveillance cameras and he's banished to the Bahamas to lay low while M (Judi Dench) picks up the diplomatic pieces. Bond being Bond though (even this new Bond) he can't let sleeping dogs lie and while in the Bahamas he hacks into the MI6 server and digs around trying to find out who was behind the bomber he killed. He research dredges up the name of Le Chiffre and the real chase is on.

After inadvertently causing Le Chiffre to lose $100 million of an African Tyrant's money Bond is entered into a high-stakes poker game that the banker has arranged (in the fictional country of Montenegro at the Casino Royale of the title) in a desperate attempt to make the money back before said tyrant comes looking for it. En route Bond meets the money person from MI6 Vesper Lynd (Eva Green) and their verbal jousting establishes that she's no ordinary bimbo waiting to ruffle the linen with ol' JB. She's not the bodacious babe referred to above (that role falls to the astonishing Caterina Murino) she's a complex woman complete with complex secrets and she calls to the part of Bond that's been waiting for a 'real' relationship; even if he didn't know he had such a part within.

The poker game itself is both a chance for the audience to relax a bit and a platform for director Martin Campbell to spend some time expanding on the established characters and introduce a new one. Though it is a long scene it doesn't seem like it because of the care given to creating tension and the superb acting by all involved. By the time the film reaches it's climax in Venice we care about these characters and what happens to them. When Bond discovers he may have been betrayed by someone close to him Craig shifts emotional gears with devastating effect and his dissolution becomes terra firma on which to develop this new Bond as the series moves forward.

Casino Royale isn't a perfect film, but for my money it's the best Bond film I've seen to date. While taking its lead from the Bourne franchise it doesn't make the mistake of aping Bourne's hyperactive editing style and proves without a doubt that one need not go down that over-caffeinated road in order to create world class action. My biggest gripe with the film is the shameless product placement. There's a 30 second or so scene involving an automobile that could be lifted verbatim from the movie and used as a TV commercial. That aside, Casino Royale was one of the best movies of 2006. It both surpassed my expectations and reset them so high that subsequent chapters in the 007 saga may never quite measure up.


Nov 5, 2011

Benicio Del Toro in Star Trek sequel?

B Del T ponders the final frontier
Variety is reporting that Benicio Del Toro has been talking to JJ Abrams about taking on an as-yet-unidentified bad guy role in the upcoming Star Trek sequel. Though nothing has been signed and no details given by the ever secretive Abrams the story says that he may receive a formal offer as early as this weekend. Stay tuned.

Nov 4, 2011

Underworld Awakening 3D

New Underworld Awakening trailer released. Look for it in theaters January 20, 2012 (in 3D of course).

Nov 3, 2011

New Bond Girl Revealed

What's Bond without a Bond-girl? The newest installment in that proud tradition was revealed Thursday to be French actress Bérénice Marlohe. Folks in the UK and US can be excused for asking "Berenice who?" as the sultry Marlohe has never appeared before in an English language film. "Skyfall" will have Daniel Craig return as 007 with Javier Bardem as the requisite super-baddie and Marlohe as "a glamorous, enigmatic character called Severine". The 23rd installment in the adventures of JB is currently in production with a release date of November 9, 2012.

Bérénice Marlohe and Daniel Craig share a quiet moment

The Animatrix - 2003

"The Animatrix" is, for my money, the true successor to the Wachowski's uber-influential 1999 hit The Matrix. It carries the spirit of that groundbreaking film forward in a way the two 'official' sequels did not. Comprised of 9 short films created by leading Japanese animators The Animatrix serves to expand upon the ideas, concepts and characters of The Matrix while paying homage to the anime that helped spawn the original movie. After four of its component parts premiered on the internet the entire collection of 9 shorts was released to DVD on June 3, 2003.

The Wachowski's actually had a limited hand in the creation of the Animatrix and that seems to have served to rein in their more pretentious and boring philosophical tendencies, the kind that ran amok in Reloaded and Revolutions. As a result The Animatrix bristles with the kind of tension, mood and belief in the value of asking questions that have no easy answers that made the first Matrix movie such an unexpected and welcome surprise. The Animatrix expands on the original film's question "What is reality?" by delving deeper into the underlying question "What is life?" which is, after all, the question that spawned the human/machine conflict that resulted in the matrix program to begin with.

Each short has its own look and feel (with the exception of "The Second Renaissance" which is basically one film split into two parts) with each Japanese writer/animator/director taking their own stab at the material. Some, like "Final Flight of the Osiris" and "Kids Story", were based on material the Wachowski's had developed previously and lay the groundwork for things to come in Reloaded and Revolutions. The luscious "A Detective Story" (written and directed by Shinichiro Watanabe) can be seen as a direct prequel to The Matrix itself while my personal favorite "Beyond" (written and directed by Koji Morimoto) was created out of whole cloth and follows a group of kids plugged into the matrix who encounter an anomalous region within what they believe to be the real world where the laws of physics seem to break down. "Matriculated" (written and directed by Peter Chung) goes so far as to wonder how humans might react if machines could actually be reprogrammed to see and (more importantly) feel the world the way we do. Would we accept them? Or would it be a case of "you better be careful what you ask for because you might get it"? To the credit of nearly everyone involved the answers are left up to the viewer.

If I have a quibble with The Animatrix it is in the titling of the collection's two "Second Renaissance" pieces. The Renaissance (or 'rebirth') was so named because it represented a rediscovery of long lost stores of knowledge from the period of the Roman Empire that had been squirreled away in abbeys or simply buried (in the cast of classical Roman sculptures) for centuries. The Second Renaissance of The Animatrix is not a rediscovery but the emergence of what may or may not be a new form of life and that possible life form's struggle for recognition. But this is a minor issue to be sure.

On the whole The Animatrix is tremendous achievement. Varied in tone and viewpoint, intellectually engaging, restrained, visually arresting and never boring it's a testament to the imagination and craftsmanship of those involved. The best thing that can be said about the Wachowski's role in it's creation (and this is no small thing) is that, after providing the inspiration, they had the courage to stay out of the way.

Nov 1, 2011

Amanda Seyfried to replace Kate Hudson in Lovelace Biopic

Everybody's favorite historical porn figure (Is there such a thing? hmmmm...) Linda Susan Boreman (known to pornophiles as Linda Lovelace) is the subject of not one but two upcoming psuedo-biopics. Matthew Wilder is directing a film called "Inferno" said to be based on Lovelace's autobiography "Ordeal". The film was originally slated to have Lindsey Lohan play the reluctant porn legend but Lohan being what she is she had to be replaced with Malin Ackerman answering the call. Matt Dillon will play her allegedly abusive husband/pimp Chuck Traynor. The second film simply called "Lovelace" also had casting issues when Kate Hudson had to pull out due to pregnancy and James Franco followed her out the door. Multiple sources now report that Amanda Seyfried is apparently in talks to take over the lead role.


"Inferno" is currently in production and "Lovelace" is said to start shooting next spring. Boreman herself will not be around to see either effort make it to the screen having died following a traffic accident in 2002.

How Hagrid Survived the Hallows

Hagrid pleads his case
According to ew.com one of the extras to the upcoming Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II Blu-ray edition is a lively exchange between creator J.K. Rowling and Harry himself Daniel Radcliff during which Rowling discusses the story's character arcs. At one point while discussing Hagrid she mentions that the thing that saved him from being killed off was a vision she had of the story's end with Hagrid carrying an apparently dead Harry out of the Forbidden Forest. To her this image created a perfect symmetry with the story's beginning where Hagrid carried the baby wizard to the doorstep of the Dursleys. Rowling states: "That image kept him safe". Whew!

The top 10 movies for the weekend of Oct 28 - Oct 30 2011

1) Puss in Boots $34 Million
2) Paranormal Activity 3 $18.1 Million
3) In Time $12 Million
4) Footloose $5.5 Million
5) The Run Diary $5.1 Million
6) Real Steel $4.7 Million
7) The Three Musketeers $3.5 Million
8) The Ides of March $2.8 Million
9) Moneyball $2.3 Million
10) Courageous $1.8 Million

The number one movie a year ago this week was Saw 3D which debuted at number 1 with a $22.5 million haul.