Archive for November, 2007

Holiday Movie Preview - 12 Biggies Hitting Theaters in December

Posted on Nov 30, 2007 under Main | No Comment

There’s a little something for everyone in this bag of December theatrical treats. We all know the studios love to pack the last few weeks of the year with heavy dramatic fare, however there’s also a sprinkling of lighter films thrown into the mix this year. That’s great news for moviegoers ready to relax and escape into the make-believe world of films.

The batch of potential Oscar contenders hitting cineplexes during the last 31 days of 2007 include The Great Debaters, Charlie Wilson’s War, Atonement, and There Will Be Blood. Juno, The Bucket List, and Sweeney Todd are also likely to pick up a few nominations here and there. And for lovers of fantasy, romance and adventure films, December offers up P.S. I Love You, The Golden Compass, The Water Horse, National Treasure: Book of Secrets and I Am Legend. Read On…
(Photo DreamWorks Pictures/Warner Bros Pictures)

Just Added - New Photos

  • Charlie Wilson’s War Photos - Tom Hanks/Julia Roberts

  • Grace is Gone Photos - John Cusack

  • Iron Man Photos - Robert Downey Jr

  • Shattered Photos - Gerard Butler/Pierce Brosnan

  • There Will Be Blood Photos - Daniel Day-Lewis/Paul Dano

  • Youth Without Youth Photos - Tim Roth/Alexandra Maria Lara

    • Behind the Scenes of The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
    Mathieu Amalric stars in The Diving Bell and the Butterfly based on the true story of former French Elle editor Jean-Dominique Bauby. Successful, popular, and only 43-years-old, Bauby suffered a stroke which paralyzed his body with the exception of one eye. Trapped inside his body with a mind still completely functional - a condition known as locked-in syndrome - Bauby and his therapists devised a complicated communication system. Through a series of eye blinks, Bauby was able to vividly describe his new life, as well as his fantasies, wishes, and regrets, in what ultimately became his memoir, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. Read On…

    • Max Von Sydow on The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

    • The Diving Bell and the Butterfly Photo Gallery

      • (Photo Miramax Films)

    Source: Holiday Movie Preview - 12 Biggies Hitting Theaters in December

    I’m bored with animated animals

    Posted on Nov 30, 2007 under Main | No Comment

    Anthropomorphic critters are as old as animation itself, so perhaps it’s a bit late in the day to start complaining about them. But I can only greet with weariness news of Nicolas Cage’s casting as a mole - literally; this is a Disney flick, not a spy movie - in the forthcoming G-Force. Not because Cage himself is involved; it could be any star with a familiar set of mannerisms (although that said, when Cage announced last December that he was going to act less, some of us hoped he meant in specific scenes).

    Cage’s rodent will be one of trio of CGI animal commandos: Steve Buscemi and Tracey Morgan are set to play a hamster and a guinea pig respectively. It’s all but inevitable that these CGI creatures will be cute incarnations of the actors playing them; that they will banter, mug, wisecrack, dance and drop pop culture reference after pop culture reference; that the overriding theme will be: “Hey, their lives are - you’ll love this - just like ours“; that - in short - they will look and sound exactly like every other troupe of animated animals in every other family film for what is starting to seem like an eternity.

    Now, this isn’t Cage’s fault - any more than it was the fault of Eddie Murphy, Ray Romano, David Schwimmer or Robin Williams (hold that thought; everything Robin Williams does is entirely the fault of Robin Williams). But the point is, these actors and comedians aren’t casting themselves as CGI auto-facsimiles - they are, presumably, being invited, and they figure it will be fun, and will impress their kids.

    Back when, say, Woody Allen and Sylvester Stallone did it in Antz, it felt genuinely new and entertaining. But we get it now. Thanks to Chicken Little and Madagascar and Happy Feet and Shrek The Who’s Even Counting Any More and Your Rote CGI Effort Here, we get it. Funny animals. Just like celebrities. Noted.

    If the original premise behind the last decade’s CGI animation boom (as triggered by the blessed Pixar, whose work remains of a different order) was to make films that parents could bear to sit through again and again, then surely making a film which any adult will feel they’ve seen a dozen times before it even opens is an admission of failure. It’s not as if CGI itself has run out of steam. How could it? It’s a mode of film-making, not a genre in itself - or at least, it shouldn’t be.

    There’s plenty of voice talent out there that doesn’t rely on an established public personae, and no doubt plenty of writing talent which can come up with something more than knowing asides about ephemera. The supposed new golden age of animation is turning out more and more like an era of die-cast plastic; the same product chugging out of identical machines, time and time again. The only encouraging thought about G-Force is that, combining CGI with live action, it might be closer to the first Men in Black. But what’s the betting the critters get the spotlight?



    Source: I’m bored with animated animals

    The view: Why movie lovers should never get their hopes up

    Posted on Nov 30, 2007 under Main | No Comment


    Smoke and mirrors … Dennis Hopper in 1982. Photograph: Jane Bown

    Oddly, of the various emotions the film lover routinely puts him or herself through - frustration, confusion, impotent rage - disappointment doesn’t often figure. The longer you’re watching movies, the more experience counsels you to lower your expectations, and the better you become at gauging a film from a hundred yards - so while you might, for whatever masochistic reasons, willingly submit to something you know is doomed to be a clunker, it’s rare to find yourself surprised by it.

    But now and then your optimism still betrays you - and the sorrow that results came to the blogosphere this week courtesy of Filmbrain. The cause was Believe in Me, an early 70s showcase for the fleetingly modish Michael Sarrazin and Jacqueline Bisset, directed by Israel Horovitz (father of the Beastie Boys’ Adam) and rooted in the then popular drug peril subgenre. The blog had high hopes - hopes then conclusively dashed: “Unravelling with all the warmth of a government-sponsored anti-drug screed, the film lacks a human element […] Believe in Me is an embarrassing mess, made tolerable only by a handful of street scenes that capture the true grit of Manhattan circa 1971. That, and hearing Bisset utter the line ‘I steal, I shoot dope, I fuck.’”

    For all our hard-earned scepticism, it’s a feeling most movie fiends can identify with. At one point or another, many of us must surely have taken a small, shivering breath as we loaded up a scratchy VHS of a long-forgotten obscurity … glowed through the opening credits … squinted patiently as the first scene seemed, perhaps, a little stilted … began to grow concerned as to when just one of the characters might develop a personality … why the dialogue all sounds like it’s been poorly translated from Hungarian … how come you can’t remember a single detail of the story 25 minutes in. Until, finally, you admit it’s all been a terrible mistake.

    For me, the most recent example was the punk rock curio Blank Generation, starring arch scenester Richard Hell in a dimly-lit tale of a mumbling New York bass player romanced by a French journalist and vexed by the Man. As an obsessive for Hell’s first band Television, I’d known of and hankered after the film for years. Imagine my excitement, therefore, when out of nowhere it emerged on DVD back in 2000 - and picture my horror at finding that it made the Downtown NYC of 1979 appear as sybaritic and boundlessly creative as an indie night at a club in Worthing. The combined effect of the bad acting and non-direction was enough to leave me all but comatose, stirring only for the highlight of a baffled cameo from Andy Warhol, who genuinely seemed without the first idea who any of these people were.

    Then, of course, there’s another class of disappointment - that which comes when returning to a film adored in a distant youth, only to be watched as an adult and found to be as appealing as shingles. More than any other genre or individual, I’d personally put 90% of the career of Dennis Hopper at the head of this particular category. Having lapped up vast quantities of his output as an adolescent (almost certainly the best time to do it), I’ve recently, and randomly, re-watched Rumble Fish, The Last Movie, and the rambling, post-’Nam freakout Tracks. All of these performances were judged by the 17-year-old me to be grand displays of Method genius, but now look uncomfortably like the addled over-emoting of an empty vessel - a discovery that left me mourning a vital (if deeply embarrassing) chapter of my youth.

    Not that I can see Dennis losing much sleep over me - after all, he’s got the Turner Prize to be thinking about. And his prize-giving doesn’t end there - as reported by Anne Thompson’s blog at Variety, he’s also acting as the judge for a competition for DIY travel films with cash prizes attached. Only American residents are eligible to enter, sadly - meaning those living near popular British tourist spots might want to keep vigilant for attempted Hopper homages. Surely none of us want to see Apocalypse Now re-staged on an open-topped bus up Shaftesbury Avenue.



    Source: The view: Why movie lovers should never get their hopes up

    Do we need alternative awards?

    Posted on Nov 30, 2007 under Main | No Comment


    Sam Riley in Control, which won five awards in the 2007 BIFA ceremony

    Welcome to the shadow world. At first glance, one of the stranger aspects of contemporary film culture is that almost every event, whether an awards show or a film festival, has its shadow. For Sundance, it’s Slamdance. For the London Film Festival, it’s the Raindance Festival. For the BAFTAs, it’s the BIFAs.

    The 10th “BIFAs” (or British Independent Film Awards, to give them their full name) were held in London earlier this week, with Anton Corbijn’s Control (about the life and death of Joy Division singer Ian Curtis) winning a hatful of awards.

    The BIFAs are one of the first in an increasingly crowded awards season. They were set up “to celebrate merit and achievement in independently funded British filmmaking.” But given that most British movies are independently funded anyway, and that the BAFTAs also celebrate new talent (notably through the Carl Foreman award), are they really needed? Do they serve any real purpose for either the industry or the audience? The answer is: absolutely. The point about “shadow events” is that they’re invariably more daring, more subversive, and often more eccentric than the older award shows in whose shadow they appear.

    You might quibble with definitions of “independence,” and also question some of the criteria for eligibility. For example, Notes On A Scandal (backed by a Hollywood studio in the shape of Fox Searchlight) now seems like a film from a very long time ago. Nonetheless, it is surely heartening that Judi Dench’s wonderfully malevolent, Bette Davis-like performance as a North London teacher with an unholy crush on a younger female colleague is being rewarded. By giving prizes both to Dench and to newcomers like Toby Kebbell and Sam Riley in Control, the BIFAs are running the gamut of British screen acting talent.

    One problem that the BIFAs now face is the danger of moving too far into the light. One of the charms of “shadow events” (at least in their early years) is that they are ramshackle. The microphones don’t work. The awards are read out in the wrong order. Everything verges on chaos, but so much alcohol is flowing that no one notices.

    The risk for the BIFAs (which some will also see as its greatest opportunity) is that they will get the same kind of makeover as The Golden Globes a few years ago. The Globes had fallen into disrepute in the 1980s because of a tendency to give awards to actresses like Pia Zadora and the venal behaviour of some members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which organized the event. Now, partly because broadcasters, advertisers and distributors see value in the event, it is as much a part of the mainstream as the Oscars themselves.

    Look at BIFA’s sponsors and you can’t help but notice that they are part of the film industry establishment. They receive public backing through the UK Film Council, and are also supported by the likes of Disney and the BBC. Still, the decision to give the main awards to films like Control and Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten, and to present a lifetime achievement award to an old bruiser like Ray Winstone, suggests that at least some of the original ethos still survives.



    Source: Do we need alternative awards?

    Sundance Fest Unveils its Popular Premieres

    Posted on Nov 30, 2007 under Main | No Comment

    Christopher Campbell
    Filed under: Documentary, Independent, Sundance, Cinematical Indie

    Before I had ever attended the Sundance Film Festival, I imagined the event as this small mountain town overrun with an abundance of celebrities, who could be seen just walking around, outnumbering the actual moviegoers. Why? Because that’s what a lot of the media concentrates on. And yes, when I did finally attend, I was able to spend five minutes walking up Main Street, in which little time I walked past Evan Rachel Wood, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Tom Arnold and others. Sure, they weren’t the biggest names, but it seemed my imagined world actually existed. Of course, most of the big celebs are probably not walking around so casually. But I wouldn’t know; the rest of the fest I spent my time watching 37 features, mostly far away from Main Street and the celebs, inside the Yarrow Hotel’s press screening rooms.

    For many attendees, though, it’s all about the celeb sightings and the big-name movies, of which Sundance seems to premiere more and more of each year. However, 2007 didn’t seem to have as many popular titles (as far as I noticed from my non-attending standpoint). In contrast, the 2008 festival appears to have more stars than the Academy Awards ceremony. Some of the big films that will be premiering or screening this year include Michel Gondry’s Be Kind Rewind, Barry Levinson’s What Just Happened?, Morgan Spurlock’s new doc Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden?, Michael Haneke’s Funny Games (U.S.), George Romero’s Diary of the Dead and the directorial debut of Michael Keaton, The Merry Gentleman. And, for the sightseers, some of the attending stars include Robert DeNiro, Sean Penn, Maria Bello, William Hurt, Sharon Stone, Bruce Willis, Dennis Quaid, Ellen Page, Ben Kingsley, Ewan McGregor, Sean Combs, Julianne Moore, Charlize Theron, Brian Cox, John Malkovich, Matthew Broderick, Jacqueline Bisset, Meg Ryan, Jack Black and Mia Farrow.

    For the rest, head over to Variety for the full list of films and of course their big-name casts.

    Tags: be kind rewind, BeKindRewind, cinematical, diary of the dead, DiaryOfTheDead, film, funny games, FunnyGames, movie, the merry gentleman, TheMerryGentleman, what just happened?, WhatJustHappened?, where in the world is osama bin laden?, WhereInTheWorldIsOsamaBinLaden?

    Source: Sundance Fest Unveils its Popular Premieres

    Woody Gets into a Lovers Quarrel with Spain

    Posted on Nov 30, 2007 under Main | No Comment

    Monika Bartyzel
    Filed under: Drama, Romance, Celebrities and Controversy, Politics

    Woody Allen has always been the man of New York — and not just because he made a little flick called Manhattan. It’s been infused in much of his work, that is, until he headed across the Atlantic. After some UK forays, he headed to Spain to show it love. As he previously said: “I hope I can present Barcelona to the world as I see it, the same way I presented Manhattan to the world as I saw it with my eyes. I want to write a love letter to Barcelona, and from Barcelona to the world.” Well, the course of true love never did run smooth.

    In July, Woody ticked off some Catalonians, who were upset that Barcelona was giving so much money to an American filmmaker, rather than than local talent. According to some, Catalan films are faced with much difficulty getting made, so Woody’s ease has rifled more than a few feathers. But now, a few months later, the ill will continues and Spain might not want to be Allen’s object of affection. The Guardian reports that Mediapro, the production company behind Vicky Cristina Barcelona, says Woody’s next two will be filmed “neither in Catalonia nor in Spain.”

    The reason they’re giving — the “small-minded attitude” of the local press and politicians — those who complained about Allen’s special treatment over the summer. It’s not too hard to see both sides — how this movie could be a good investment for Barcelona, and also how it’s a huge slap in the face for the local filmmakers trying to make films there. Stopping this love affair short seems flighty, but then again, Hollywood isn’t known for it’s lasting love affairs.

    Tags: Catalonian films, CatalonianFilms, Spanish films, SpanishFilms, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, VickyCristinaBarcelona, Woody Allen, WoodyAllen

    Source: Woody Gets into a Lovers Quarrel with Spain

    From the Editor’s Desk: Wouldn’t it be Great …

    Posted on Nov 30, 2007 under Main | No Comment

    Erik Davis
    Filed under: Celebrities and Controversy, From the Editor’s Desk

    … If people stopped bitching about The Golden Compass and, instead, waited to go see the actual movie? Sure, according to a recent Hollywood Reporter article, they’ve “removed all references to the church, the Bible and sin …” — but does it really matter? It’s a kids film. And I don’t blame New Line or director Chris Weitz for wanting to tone down the “heavy” material so that the more fantastical elements of the books could remain front and center. Film is a visual medium after all. The Christian groups are pissed the flick will make kids want to go buy the books and — God forbid — learn more about the world. Like the film is some sort of ridiculous gateway drug that could potentially corrupt the minds of millions of children everywhere. The Golden Compass — it’s the new heroin! Here’s how I imagine a conversation between child and parent will go immediately after watching The Golden Compass:

    Parent: [sweating, shaking] So … did you, gulp, like the film?

    Kid: I liked the talking bear. He was cool. Can we get ice cream?

    Parent: So, um [wipes sweat] — you don’t want to become an Atheist now?

    Kid: No. I simply want a parent that isn’t a complete f**king moron. I want a parent that lets me make my own decisions in life. I want a parent that exposes me to all religions, to all beliefs, and allows me to learn about the world I live in. As a person who represents the future of this country, and this world, I believe I deserve that. So, can we get ice cream now?

    Fans of the books are pissed because all the “meat” has been left on the cutting room floor. Oh well. Welcome to Hollywood … book readers. The Golden Compass will sneak preview this Saturday night in 800 theaters across America. If, come Monday morning, 800 theaters worth of people suddenly decide to swear off the whole God thing, we’ll know we have a problem. In the meantime, where are the guys from South Park when you need a good rant on religion. Oh wait, there they are …

    Tags: chris weitz, christians, cinematical, south park, the golden compass, TheGoldenCompass

    Source: From the Editor’s Desk: Wouldn’t it be Great …

    Casting Bites: Tony Hale, Steven Brand, and Alan Blumenfeld

    Posted on Nov 30, 2007 under Main | No Comment

    Monika Bartyzel
    Filed under: Action, Comedy, Drama, Casting, Newsstand

    Bites for your Thursday:

    • Tony Hale hasn’t gone anywhere, but I’m sure that I’m not the only one who misses his work as Buster Bluth on Arrested Development. Frankly, I miss all their work, although I’m still glad George Michael Cera has been unleashed into the world of film. Anyway, according to Variety, Hale has signed on to co-star with Jeremy Piven in his car salesman movie — The Goods: The Don Ready Story. The film also boasts the likes of Ving Rhames and Kathryn Hahn. The film will slip into high gear this Monday in Los Angeles.
    • He co-starred as Memnon in The Scorpion King, his name is floating around James Bond rumors, and now Steven Brand has found himself more presumably action-infused work. Variety reports that he’s not only got himself a regular role on a television series (Samurai Girl), but he’s also got a part as “Boyd” in Jada Pinkett Smith’s upcoming film, The Human Contract. As IMDb describes it, the drama is about a businessman with a dark secret who gets caught up with a stranger who convinced him to dump his life for another lived with “reckless abandon.” I wonder if the stranger wears a red suit, horns, and a tail, carries a pitchfork, and is small enough to sit on his shoulder as well…
    • Ah, Alan Blumenfeld. To some, he’s the good-natured rabbi from Gilmore Girls. To others, he’s the super bad guy Molly didn’t want to find on Heroes — the man otherwise known as Parkman’s dad. (Bit of trivia: He also played Greg Grunberg’s dad on Felicity.) Now Variety reports that the actor has a part in Righteous Kill — that 2008 action flick with Robert De Niro and Al Pacino. Will he be a good guy, or a bad guy? I’m guessing on the latter, since the cast is already full of cops. We’ll be able to find out some time in 2008.

    Tags: Alan Blumenfeld, AlanBlumenfeld, Righteous Kill, RighteousKill, Steven Brand, StevenBrand, The Human Contract, TheHumanContract, Tony Hale, TonyHale

    Source: Casting Bites: Tony Hale, Steven Brand, and Alan Blumenfeld

    Keri Russell Joins Adam Sandler in ‘Bedtime Stories’

    Posted on Nov 29, 2007 under Main | No Comment

    Patrick Walsh
    Filed under: Comedy, Casting, Disney, Scripts, Family Films

    Variety is reporting that Keri Russell will follow in the footsteps of such beautiful actresses as Drew Barrymore, Winona Ryder, and Jessica Biel. In Disney’s Bedtime Stories, Russell will romance Adam Sandler. She’ll play “a potential love interest for Sandler’s character, a harried real estate developer whose life is suddenly turned upside down when the lavish bedtime stories he tells his niece and nephew become real.” Adam Shankman, a director who totally underwhelmed me until Hairspray, will direct. Matt Lopez (the upcoming Witch Mountain) wrote the script.

    It might not be the most challenging role Russell could tackle — women in Sandler comedies historically don’t have much to do other than laugh at the star. But I’ll be thrilled if appearing in the film bumps Russell into the stardom that has bafflingly eluded her all these years. I was a big Felicity fan, I’ve enjoyed her in pretty much everything else, and she was just wonderful in this year’s Waitress, now on DVD. Her lovely performance in Adrienne Shelly’s romantic comedy just might snag her an Academy Award nomination. And here’s hoping this gets Sandler comedy back on track. I’m not expecting another Happy Gilmore, but I can’t sit through another Click. Get ready for your Bedtime Stories next year at Christmas.

    Tags: adam sandler, adam shankman, AdamSandler, AdamShankman, bedtime stories, BedtimeStories, keri russell, KeriRussell, matt lopez, MattLopez

    Source: Keri Russell Joins Adam Sandler in ‘Bedtime Stories’

    Kitt is a Ford Mustang?

    Posted on Nov 29, 2007 under Main | No Comment

    With the new Knight Rider TV Movie on its way I am getting a little itchy for that snappy banter between the Hoff and his smartass TransAm but then I felt a disturbance in the force.

    IWatchSTuff says:

    KITT may no longer be a Pontiac Trans Am. According to someone working on the Knight Rider effects team (adding a red light to the front of a car), the new vehicle will be a Ford Mustang.

    Now I am not a purist when it comes to TV translations to film, and Transformers proved to me that you can keep the original magic and awe without sticking to the same brand of car, but I am hesitant to really buy into the Stang as Kitt. Are they going to keep Kitt’s eloquent voice and dry wit?

    I can live without the Hoff playing Knight, but having his character’s SON be the candidate for the next Kitt car is a bit unnecessary. They could have pulled any old sharp looking boytoy treat of the week to play Kitt’s sidekick. But I was jonesing to see an updated TransAm sporting the waving red Cylon eye.

    Can you deal with Kitt as a Stang? Does it matter?

    Source: Kitt is a Ford Mustang?

    « Older Entries