Considering the first poster for Bruce Robinson's "The Rum Diary" was just a picture of Johnny Depp in a fedora (probably enough to market a movie), the one above is certainly an improvement, and hopefully visual proof that Robinson's big comeback will play everywhere once it finally opens on Oct. 12.
Why should you care? Well, Robinson, before pretty much disappearing from the face of the Earth, managed to direct at least one perfectly entertaining movie with "Withnail and I," an oddity well worth tracking down if you've never seen it. After about 10 years off from directing any kind of feature films whatsoever, I'm thinking he'll have a winner on his hands with this one, starring Depp as a rather debauched American journalist in Puerto Rico and based on the novel by Hunter S. Thompson.
Can't wait to see how all that turns out, but in the meantime I can tell you, as many critics already have, that this weekend's "Moneyball" is a pretty great little flick and one of a definitely dying breed: The grand baseball movie. It combines enough of a rah-rah story with what's essentially an action movie in which the words are the weapons (thanks to Aaron Sorkin) and a buddy movie in which Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill are just extremely funny.
So, why isn't that enough to knock "The Lion King" from the top of the box office? It still might, but the tracking I saw has "Moneyball" coming in a fairly close second. Please, people, just trust me: Even if you're not a baseball geek like me, this movie is just thoroughly entertaining.
And word has come down this weekend that Pitt is now being courted for something else that could be a lot of fun. Doug Liman, who way back in the day directed "Swingers" and much more recently "Fair Game," is set to helm a flick based on the Japanese novel "All You Need is Kill," with Pitt in his sights to play the lead. So, what's it about? Per Comingsoon.net:
There's one thing worse than dying. It's coming back to do it again and again. ... When the alien Gitai invade, Keiji Kiriya is just one of many raw recruits shoved into a suit of battle armor and sent out to kill. Keiji dies on the battlefield, only to find himself reborn each morning to fight and die again and again. On the 158th iteration though, he sees something different, something out of place: the female soldier known as the B*tch of War. Is the B*tch the key to Keiji's escape, or to his final death?
Sounds like pretty trippy stuff, and Pitt hasn't made a bad movie (at least that I'v bothered to see) in quite a while now, so stay tuned.
OK, on to a short clip show, starting with "60 Minutes," which I only bother to watch when I know in advance they have something I'll be interested in, and tonight that should certainly be the case. As you'll see from the clip below, tonight's show will feature "South Park" creators Trey Park and Matt Stone, giving a glimpse of how they put together (and voice just about all the characters for) what is still one of the most scathingly funny shows on TV, now rather amazingly about to enter the second half of its 15th season in early October. Enjoy this preview clip.
Next up, a slew of clips from what should be the silliest movie of this fall season, but hopefully one that will be as fun as any movie apparently based on the Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots game should be, "Real Steel." That alone should tell everyone all they need to know about this, which stars Hugh Jackman and somehow the great Anthony Mackie, too. Enjoy these clips courtesy of Collider, and keep an eye out for the movie, which will definitely dethrone "The Lion King" on Oct. 7, if nothing else has accomplished that feat in the meantime.
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Sunday thoughts, of "Moneyball," Katherine Heigl (yes, really) and more
Tuesday, August 09, 2011
For normally quiet August, a surprisingly strong week for movies
Two movies that I (and perhaps you) want to see in one week in August? That only seems to happen once about every five years, so we should definitely beat the heat and take advantage of it. Plus, here in Macon, the Film Guild offers a bonus pick on Sunday that takes a different look at the settling of the American West.
First up, getting an early start on the week by opening Wednesday is "The Help," based on the very popular novel by Kathryn Stockett. Having read the book, I mostly enjoyed it, but with its very broad characters drawn in stark black and white (and I'm not talking about race here) with few touches of grey, and equally broad humor, I think it will work even better as a feel-good movie.
For anyone who hasn't read the novel, it's about a listless University of Mississippi graduate, Eugenia "Skeeter" Phelan (played in the movie by Emma Stone), who convinces the black maids of '60s Jackson, Miss., to tell their stories. She's surrounded by a pretty first-rate cast, with Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer leading the maids, and Bryce Dallas Howard, Jessica Chastain and Allison Janney all playing supporting roles.
On a surely much cruder but hopefully also funnier note comes "30 Minutes or Less," director Ruben Fleischer's followup to his rather sublimely entertaining "Zombieland," this time with an even sillier premise: A slacker pizza delivery driver is kidnapped by some ne'er-do-wells who strap a bomb to his chest and force him to rob a bank. And yes, that's a comedy.
"Zombieland" star Jesse Eisenberg returns as the main slacker, and he's surrounded by solidly funny people, including Aziz Ansari of "Parks and Recreation" and Danny McBride, so I'm betting on this being a winner.
As far as the third new wide-release movie of the week goes, I've managed to somehow miss out on all the "Final Destination" carnage thus far, so I'm fairly certain I'll be able to just say no to the fifth installment (yes, really) without really missing anything.
And finally, rounding out a full movie week, the Macon Film Guild is presenting director Kelly Reichardt's Western, "Meek's Cutoff," Sunday at 2, 4:30 and 7:30 p.m. at the Douglass Theatre. I haven't seen this one yet, but I have seen Reichardt's "Wendy And Lucy," and enjoyed it quite a bit.
From that experience, I can tell you that Reichardt's movies do move more than a bit slowly, but "Wendy and Lucy," which like "Meek's Cutoff" stars Michelle Williams, was thoroughly engrossing, as I suspect this tale of a band of settlers traveling through the Oregon desert in 1845 will be, too.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Dog days or flick finds? What to expect from the movies of August
Starting off with some funny, the banner above that welcomed the cast of "Community" back to the set this week for the filming of season three, and was tweeted by star Joel McHale, pretty much perfectly captures the comic spirit of the show, as do two of its upcoming multi-episode guest stars.
In season three, the great Michael Kenneth Williams, aka Omar from "The Wire," will join the show as Greendale's new biology teacher (I'm laughing at that already), and in potentially even better casting, John Goodman will play the vice dean of the School of Air Conditioning Repair, the only program at Greendale that gets any kind of good recognition.
Great news all that, and keep an eye out for the return of "Community" on Sept. 22, but here today its otherwise all about the movie slate for August, a month that gets a bad rap, but still often delivers some comedies that are, if you'll forgive the truly groan-worthy pun, august. Here's a look at some of what's coming up in the next month.
Aug. 5: "The Change-Up"
For a truly funny guy, Jason Bateman has managed to make some seriously wretched "comedies" since "Arrested Development" ended, and it certainly doesn't look like this frat-boy "Freaky Friday" of sorts also starring "Green Lantern" Ryan Reynolds will do anything to change that course.
Aug. 5: "Rise of the Planet of the Apes"
When exactly did the term "prequel" become the go-to idea when movie producers are lacking anything resembling an original thought? I can't pinpoint it, but even with engaging stars such as James Franco and Freida Pinto (from "Slumdog Millionaire"), I really can't see this one as being anything but one of the most unintentionally funny movies of this summer.
Aug. 10: "The Help"
In what I think will be one of the gigantic sleeper hits for the rest of this year, Emma Stone leads the cast of this flick based on the very popular novel by Kathyrn Stockett, which I read and mostly enjoyed. She plays Eugenia "Skeeter" Phelan, an awkward Southern socialite who organizes the black maids of 1960's Jackson, Miss., led in the movie by Viola Davis, to tell their stories.
Aug. 12: "30 Minutes or Less"
For that perfect combination of clever and just plain crude, director Ruben Fleischer's follow-up to "Zombieland" should be the flick to look out for this August. In it, Jesse Eisenberg gets a bomb strapped to his chest by unsavory characters Danny McBride and Nick Swardson and is forced to rob a bank. And hijinks will surely ensue.
Aug. 19: "One Day"
I've probably seen the trailer for this flick starring Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess more than any other this summer, but that hasn't made it look any more appealing. Granted, I'm not the target audience for romantic comedies like this one about two college friends who agree to meet for one day each year of their lives. It is, however, from "An Education" director Lone Scherfig, so here's hoping I'm wrong about this one and it turns out to somehow be a winner.
Aug. 26: "Our Idiot Brother":
If the entire secret to making funny movies would be simply to stock them with funny people, this flick somehow starring Paul Rudd, Elizabeth Banks, Zooey Deschanel, Emily Mortimer, Adam Scott and Rashida Jones would be an automatic success. And if director Jesse Peretz lets Rudd be truly funny as the titular "Idiot," I'm betting it will be.
Aug. 31: "The Debt":
By far the most serious wide-release movie of the month could also be a surprisingly big hit, with Joel Madden directing an espionage thriller about a trio of retired Mossad agents (Helen Mirren, Tom Wilkinson and Ciaran Hinds) who find a celebrated 1966 mission in which they tracked down a Nazi war criminal called into question. Exactly my kind of spy games.
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Potentially great things coming to TV with Sam Raimi and Darren Aronofsky
In case you need to know, the above photo of Tom Cruise comes from a 2012 movie called "Rock Of Ages," but it's really so funny that it speaks for itself with no further explanation from me.
And before we get into the TV stuff today, let's start with movie news about one of my very favorite directors, who has inactive for a while now. If you missed it, Anton Corbijn's thriller of sorts, "The American," starring one George Clooney, is easily one of my favorite movies of the past few years. The tale of a hitman (Clooney) on his final assignment in Italy admittedly moves a bit slow, but it's a good story well told and beautifully photographed, and there are few rentals I can recommend higher.
Before that, the former music video director Corbijn made the movie "Control" about Joy Division's Ian Curtis, which is also wickedly entertaining, so he's definitely a director to keep your eyes on. And now comes word that he's landed a follow-up to "The American" that sounds perfect for his style.
"Let the Right One In" director Tomas Alfredson will beat him to theaters with a John Le Carre adaptation, "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy," and Corbijn will follow that with a much more contemporary Le Carre thriller, "A Most Wanted Man."
The book, published in 2008, tells the story of a Chechian Muslim who illegally immigrates to Hamburg, where he gets caught up in the international war on terror. The tale is loosely based on the real-life story of Murat Kurnaz, a Turkish citizen and legal German resident who was seized by American authorities, with knowledge of the German government, and taken to Guantanamo Bay. He was kept there for several years before being released, without charge, in 2006.
For a better idea of what the book is and movie presumably will be about, here's a trailer that was made for the release of the book. Enjoy, and then stick around for the promised TV news, and then a couple of clips just for fun (with Muppets!).
On my own TV, with very little new on and at the urging of my fellow cubicle slave Renee Martinez, I've been catching up with a home run of a show that I'm embarrassed to admit I had simply skipped until now, "Torchwood." If you've never seen it, the BBC-produced spinoff of "Doctor Who" is tailor-made for fans of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," with much of the same wit and scarier creatures to boot.
The show will come to Starz for its fourth season beginning July 8, and now comes word that the network has bought into something potentially thoroughly fun from Sam Raimi and "Spartacus: Blood and Sand" creator Rob Tapert.
What they're cooking up is a live-action version of an anime show I've never seen titled "Noir," about a pair of rival female assassins who team to take on a secret society to learn more about their own mysterious origins. I'm hooked on that already, and for just a taste of what the anime original was about, here's its opening:
The big event in TV tonight, of course, is the season one finale of "Game of Thrones," and having read book one of George R.R. Martin's fantasy series, what's amazed me most about this perfectly entertaining series is how its managed to stick so strictly to its excellent source material and yet still deliver fun surprises each week. It's somehow gotten better week after week, and tonight's doozy of a finale should continue that trend.
After that, there will be "True Blood," returning next week, and then Larry David's "Curb Your Enthusiasm" later this summer, and after that, HBO, never one to rest on its laurels, has enlisted one Darren Aronofsky to direct at least the pilot for a series that sounds like nothing but big fun, "Hobgoblin."
The show, about con men and magicians who conspire to bring down Hitler, has a pilot script co-written by novelist Michael Chabon, and that's all I know so far, but definitely stay tuned ...
OK, to close, on to the videos. The Muppets have teased us pretty good for a few weeks with spoofs on first "The Hangover Part II" and then "The Green Lantern." While those were indeed pretty funny, and probably better than the movies they lampooned, they were really just small-bite appetizers for this first real trailer for "The Muppets," set to come out around Thanksgiving. It looks and sounds exactly like the silly fun I'd expect from a Muppets movie, so move this one starring Jason Segel and Amy Adams right up near the top of the list of movies I most want to see for the rest of this year. Enjoy.
And finally today, I wasn't much impressed at all with the first trailer for Ruben Fleischer's upcoming comedy "30 Minutes or Less," but this second, red-band clip definitely delivers the funny. His follow-up to the sublime "Zombieland," starring Jesse Eisenberg, Aziz Ansari and Danny McBride, is set to come out Aug. 12. Enjoy this rather foul trailer, and have a great rest of the weekend. Peace out.
EMBED-30 Minutes or Less - Watch more free videos
Friday, April 22, 2011
A Friday full of fun stuff - and at least one serious thing
This post does indeed include the final movie shot by photo journalist Tim Hetherington, but it's a Friday morning, so let's start out with some potentially very fun TV news before we get into anything like that.
So far, this "news" only comes from the New York Post's page 6, but here's hoping it's true, because it could be rather great.
Aaron Sorkin is at work on a pilot for HBO titled "More as the Story Develops," which would star Jeff Daniels as the host of a cable news show. If it's anywhere near as good as what Sorkin did for cable sports news with "Sports Night," still his best work, I'm definitely in. And according to the Post at least, he's just about perfectly cast the executive producer role played by Felicity Huffman on that show, this time with Marisa Tomei.
One other thing that is definitely about to happen, though I'm not entirely sure I want to see it again after all this time, is the return of Patsy and Edina to the BBC. Yes, Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley are apparently in the final stages of a deal to make three new episodes of "Absolutely Fabulous."
Like I said, I'm more than a little skeptical that they can still bring the funny, but if Dawn French is back as Saunders' co-writer/conspirator, I'm in for at least three episodes to find out.
OK, now for something serious, but I promise I'll move on quickly after that. As most everyone knows by now, Tim Hetherington, a photo journalist who went on to co-direct the Afghanistan war documentary "Restrepo" with Sebastian Junger, was killed recently while covering the current conflict in Libya.
An incredibly sad thing that, and as my friend and Telegraph photographer Grant Blankenship pointed out, just as we honor the brave men and women who fight to protect this great country, we should likewise honor those brave enough to report on it. 'Nuff said.
And with that, here is "Diary," a short film that is the last one Hetherington made before he died. It's well worth 20 minutes or so of your Friday morning, and here's how Hetherington himself describes it:
'Diary' is a highly personal and experimental film that expresses the subjective experience of my work, and was made as an attempt to locate myself after ten years of reporting. It's a kaleidoscope of images that link our western reality to the seemingly distant worlds we see in the media.
Enjoy, and then stick around for two videos that I promise are more appropriate for a Friday morning.
Diary (2010) from Tim Hetherington on Vimeo.
This next clip, while not as funny as I might have hoped, does come with some news to introduce it.
Ruben Fleischer, director of the simply fantastic "Zombieland," has now wrapped "30 Minutes Or Less" and moved on to prepping his next flick, "The Gangster Squad," and he's about to get a great cast for it.
The flick, based on a series of L.A. Times articles, tells the true story of a secret police task force that went after Meyer Harris "Mickey" Cohen, a high-profile gangster who was a member of the "Jewish Mafia" in the 1940s. And, according to Variety, Sean Penn is in talks to take the lead in this, with Ryan Gosling and Josh Brolin expected to quickly follow suit if he does.
And in the meantime, here's the first red band trailer for Fleischer's next movie, "30 Minutes or Less," set to come out Aug. 12. As you'll see from the trailer, it stars Jesse Eisenberg, veryfunnyman Aziz Ansari and Danny McBride in a story about two guys (Eisenberg and Ansari) who are forced to rob a bank. Like I said, I'm hoping the movie itself will be a damn sight funnier than this trailer which, being of the red band variety, make sure you watch with headphones if you're at work. Enjoy, and then stick around for the trailer for what could be a real charmer/sleeper this summer.
OK, finally today comes the second trailer I've seen for the British flick "Submarine," which looks like it was made just for me. It looks like your typical coming-of-age movie, but from what I'm seen so far I'm still betting on very funny and very charming, much like the criminally overlooked "Rocket Science" from a few years ago (rent that already!). It also doesn't look like the kind of movie that has any prayer of playing in my little corner of the world when it comes stateside on June 3, but now that it somehow sports the words "Ben Stiller presents," who knows. Enjoy, and have a great weekend. Peace out.
Friday, April 08, 2011
A Will Ferrell kinda Friday
I know the man has his haters, but I've always been more than a bit of a Will Ferrell fan. Certainly, he can be annoying in excess, but he had the best comedy of 2010 in my book with "The Other Guys" (with Emma Stone and "Easy A" in a close second), and I'm really looking forward to his short stint on "The Office" beginning next week. More on that in a bit.
Here today, he's the common element in a trio of videos that are all I have time to post because my power went out for about 30 minutes this morning. No fun, but I know people who had it off for days this week, so really nothing to complain about.
First up today, Jack Black, Ferrell, his protege, John C. Reilly, Danny McBride, Elijah Wood, Seth Rogen, Rainn Wilson, Will Arnett and others all appear in "Party for Your Right to Fight," a two-minute teaser of sorts for the upcoming Beastie Boys album "Hot Sauce Committee Part Two," due out May 3. The real moral of this is this many white dudes should really never try to act so black, but there's just something truly entertaining about watching Ferrell break dance.
And after that today, all I have is two clips from Ferrell's debut as the short-term replacement for Steve Carell's Michael Scott on "The Office," which begins Thursday. He should be really funny in this, but won't be the new permanent boss next season, who will apparently be one of these five: Arnett, Ricky Gervais, Catherine Tate, James Spader or Ray Romano. An eclectic bunch, so bring it on. Enjoy the clips, have a great weekend, and go see at least one movie this weekend, since we seem to have four opening that might just not entirely suck. Peace out.
Wednesday, April 06, 2011
A fun Wednesday morning clip show
Actually, before we get into any of that, there's great news out there today for fans of "Mad Men," and given what all's been happening in the past few weeks, we certainly need some.
In the latest small step in its plan for world domination, it seems that Netflix has paid almost $1 million per episode to begin streaming the first four seasons of "Mad Men" beginning July 27. Yeah, I'll watch that. Even better, the site has also scooped up the syndication rights for the next three upcoming seasons too, taking us to the planned end of Matthew Weiner's run for the show. Bully.
And after that tidbit today, I've got a quartet of clips, starting with, if not the best, certainly the funniest one. A warning, however: everything you need to know about this clip is in its title: "Danny McBride & David Gordon Green talk monster balls." It's even more foul than that, thankfully (in fact, I wouldn't just watch this with headphones at work - it's visually raunchy too, so be careful). Actually, this is the first great movie weekend of the year. Since I'm going to see the Braves and Phillies on Sunday, I'm gonna try and squeeze in a double feature of "Hanna" and either "Arthur" or "Your Highness" on Saturday, leaving the left out one and "Soul Surfer" for next weekend. Four movies I want to see in one weekend? Nirvana. Enjoy the clip.
Next up comes a TV spot for J.J. Abrams' "Super 8," set to drop June 10. Few movies in recent memory have managed to change my opinion so much with its preview clips. I've gone from not much interested at all to wanting to see this, mostly because of the kids making movies angle, so here's hoping it doesn't disappoint. Enjoy.
HBO has been on more than a bit of a roll lately. I haven't watched "Mildred Pierce" yet, but simply because I'm saving all five episodes to watch all at once. I did, however, watch that Douglass McGrath documentary about Jerry Weintraub that aired Monday night, "His Way," and that was a minor delight. And better than all that, "Game of Thrones," with at least the pilot directed by the great Thomas McCarthy, is finally set to begin April 17 (on a Sunday, naturally.) If, like me, you really can't wait that long, however, you can watch the first 14 minutes or so below. You're welcome.
And finally today, definitely saving the silliest for last, I sincerely hope that Arnold Schwarzenegger and Stan Lee know just how funny this is, because it really does look like the height of cheese. Below is the full trailer for their "The Governator," coming to some kind of TV in 2012, apparently. "Enjoy," and have a perfectly endurable Wednesday. Peace out.
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Buffy's back .. sort of .. and a lot of other fun Saturday morning stuff
Actually, there's no possible bigger news out there now than what Ridley Scott is cooking up with Damon Lindelof of "Lost" and "Star Trek" fame, and since this is nominally supposed to be a movie site, let's just start there.
Rumors have been flying for months that Scott would, for his first science fiction movie in 30 years, be making either a sequel or prequel or some kind of extension of "Alien," but instead it sounds like he's thankfully taking on something much more ambitious.
Details are scant so far, but instead Scott and Lindelof are at work on an original idea, and they've made at least one truly great decision so far by casting Lisbeth Salander, aka Noomi Rapace, in the lead. Anyone who's been here before knows that I have more than a slightly unhealthy obsession with her, so bully.
Little more beyond that is known except it will be titled "Prometheus," there are at least four other major roles to fill, and this is set to be released March 9, 2012. Here's a bit of what Scott had to say about it:
“While Alien was indeed the jumping off point for this project, out of the creative process evolved a new, grand mythology and universe in which this original story takes place. The keen fan will recognize strands of Alien’s DNA, so to speak, but the ideas tackled in this film are unique, large and provocative. I couldn't be more pleased to have found the singular tale I'd been searching for, and finally return to this genre that's so close to my heart.”
Nothing but awesome there, but frankly, Scott has been a really hit-and-miss director for me. He's certainly made great science fiction with "Blade Runner" and "Alien," but without exaggeration I really think there's a pretty strong argument that his "Robin Hood" was the single worst movie of 2010. Even so, this news is certainly worth keeping an eye on.
But getting to the main event here today, Sarah Michelle Gellar is finally coming back to TV, and it sounds like she just might have something worth watching this time.
Coincidentally enough, during this time of hardly any new TV (except for FX's fairly brilliant boxing drama "Lights Out" - watch it), I've been going back to "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" via Netflix streaming, and it's at least as good as I remember. Season six, which I originally thought was a bit of a weak link, has been surprisingly strong, with crazy Willow at the end being even more fun than I remembered.
And here's what SMG (worst initials ever? perhaps) will have appearing on TVs next fall (I assume.) CBS has given a pilot greenlight to something called "Ringer," from "Supernatural" writers Eric Charmelo and Nicole Snyder, and it just sounds like a heck of a lot of fun.
On the show, Buffy will play a young woman who is on the run from the mob, and to hide herself, assumes the identity of her wealthy twin sister, only to find out sis has a bounty on her head too. If I have this right, SMG will be playing two parts. Bring it on!
I tried to remember the last time I've seen her in anything that wasn't "Buffy" or "Angel," but off the top of my head couldn't. After cheating with an IMDB check, it turns out to be "The Grudge" in 2004. While that was a fun little flick, she's pretty much disappeared since, so I can only say welcome back, Buffy!
And in other news, via Michael Ausiello's truly great TV Line site, it seems that Michael Scott, and therefore Steve Carell, will be leaving "The Office" well before this season ends. Here's what executive producer Steve Daniels told Ausiello:
“Steve is leaving earlier than the [season finale]. The big ‘Goodbye, Steve’ thing will be before [May] sweeps.”
While that's a bit of a surprise, the battle to replace him should then take over the end of this season, and it should be a blast (and frankly some much needed new life to what is becoming the weak link in NBC's Thursday night comedy lineup - excepting "Outsourced," which I simply refuse to acknowledge at all). My heart is with Dwight here, but I have to assume they're gonna bring in an outsider, and last I heard Danny McBride was in the running, which would be perfection. Here's more of what Daniels had to say about it:
“Our basic plan is to see the jockeying and interviewing [for Michael's job], and not have that happen off-camera and suddenly present America with the choice. We’d rather play out the stories of the various characters who want that seat, and show them fight for it.”
The new boss will be revealed in what I have to assume will be an hour-long season finale, so let the Dunder-Mifflin infighting begin!
OK, I know I'm all over the place today, but I want to wrap this up with a couple more cool things before I dash off the pool for a swim. Artist Sam Smith, with whom I agree on half of his choices for the best 10 (well, actually 11) movies of 2010, has come up with a simply stunning series of posters for his choices. He can't sell them, but he has posted them all here, and they're very well worth checking out. For a taste, here's his great poster for my single favorite movie of 2010 by a pretty wide margin, "Winter's Bone."
And finally today, perhaps some karmic rooting for Peter Weir's "The Way Back" to play wide enough to reach my little corner of the world when it opens in six days. Considering the only other offering is "No Strings Attached" with Natalie Portman and Demi Moore's beau, the odds are actually fairly good. The movie itself will be epic even by Weir's standards, telling as it does the story of a small group of multi-nationals who travel through five hostile countries after escaping from a Russian gulag in 1940. Here, courtesy of Collider, are seven clips from the film, which stars Colin Farrell, Saoirse Ronan and Ed Harris. Enjoy the clips, and have a fantastic weekend. Peace out.
Saturday, December 11, 2010
A behind-the-scenes look at "True Grit," plus four new clips
Actually, the very best thing I could find this morning was this rather awesome photo of Seth Rogen, Elijah Wood and Danny McBride as the Beastie Boys. Although it's pretty much a trip by itself, what's even better is that it's from a short that Beastie Adam Yauch has cooked up for next year's Sundance Film Festival titled "Fight For Your Right Revisited."
Best as I can tell, the short film will be about the making of the Beasties' video for "Party for Your Right to Fight," and will somehow also star Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly and Jack Black too. There will surely be better movies at Sundance next year, but I'm betting there will be a very few that are more fun.
And after that today, the second best thing is a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the Coen brothers' "True Grit," plus four great clips from the film, set to open, I believe, on Christmas day. It's not terribly surprising, but I was still struck by how real it all is in this world of CGI-3D crap, and it's certainly the movie I'm most looking forward to seeing for the rest of this year, most likely when I hit NYC for the end of the year with my family. Enjoy the clips, and stick around for the the end for some truly inspired hilarity.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
The South will rise again .. in comedy
Actually, if the South ever does rise again, please, dear God, let it be in comedy (and not the Jeff Foxworthy kind), because that's easily the most harmless thing we (and I've lived here 10 years now, so yes, I can say we) could be good at.
And thankfully, Jody Hill, David Gordon Green and their running mates are already well off to a good start in that department.
Hill has struck comic gold in my book with "East Bound and Down," his HBO show starring Danny McBride as pretty easily the world's biggest asshole. In movies, he's been uneven, with "Foot Fist Way" being nothing but bitterly funny but "Observe and Report" being just an unfunny mess. I'd imagine the latter has probably taken him out of the feature film game for a while, but if my N'awlins hotel room wi fi lets me check (yes, I'm on vacation!), I will. Actually, he's on the books for something called "L.A.P.I." to star McBride next year, so bully.
Green, on the other hand, made the deliriously funny "Pineapple Express" and is set to follow that up in April with "Your Highness" (pun, I'm sure, fully intended), with some very funny people in tow. As you'll see from the trailer below, it's some kind of tale about princes and princesses, and it stars McBride, Natalie Portman and definite Reel Fanatic favorites James Franco and Zooey Deschanel. Enjoy the first trailer I know of, and keep an eye out for "Your Highness" on April 8.
OK, after that today, I just have one more clip, and then the first poster I know of for the comedy I'm actually most looking forward to for 2011. First, the clip, and it brings me no joy at all to confirm that Pixar is now clearly in the tired sequel game. In case you need any evidence, behold the first full trailer I know of for "Cars 2," set to crash and burn (OK, almost entirely likely not) next summer. In better news, Michael Caine is somehow in this, and any world in which he seems to be in one out of every 10 movies or so is just a better place to live to me. "Enjoy" the trailer.
And to close with some potentially good news to wash that away, there is apparently a Joe Strummer biopic in the works, and if it's done right (and completely nonlinear), I say why not? Todd Haynes could certainly have a lot of fun with this. No word yet on who will play the patron saint of conscious punk, but as soon as I hear word on that, you will too.
And I'll leave you today with the first poster I know of for "Paul." Given that it's directed by "Superbad" helmer Greg Mottola, and was written by and stars Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, yeah, I'm gonna watch that when it comes out in February. And if you'll excuse me now, I'm off to walk around the Garden District and then go see Kermit Ruffins at Vaughan's Lounge tonight, assuming I can get in. Yeah, New Orleans pretty much rules. Peace out.
Wednesday, September 08, 2010
Oh, the horror
Really, how hard of a sell could a smart sci-fi movie directed by Alfonso Cuaron be? I'd certainly buy a ticket, especially since his take on "Children of Men" was my second-favorite movie of 2006 (second only to Guillermo del Toro's sublime "Pan's Labyrinth").
His "Gravity," however, has had a heck of a time even getting off the ground. Though Robert Downey Jr. is still solidly attached in a supporting role, the lead role has already been turned down by Angelina Jolie, but now it looks like there might be a new candidate (and a clear case of trading up in my book.)
Natalie Portman, who stars in Darren Aronofsky's "Black Swan" this fall, has been offered the role, and is now reading the script, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
So, what's the movie about? Co-written by Alfonso and Jonas Cuaron, the 3D (I guess I should just accept it by now) survival story is about a woman (Portman, if she wants it) stranded on a space station after satellite debris slams into it and wipes out the rest of the crew. Sounds great to me, so here's hoping this actually gets going sometime soon.
OK, after that today it's all about horror and humor (at least until the clips), two things that, when done right, just go so well together.
And one recent movie that got the mix just about perfect was "Zombieland." The director of that flick, Ruben Fleischer, is now shooting "30 Minutes or Less" with Danny McBride, Aziz Ansari and "Zombieland" star Jesse Eisenberg, who shared a juicy tidbit about a possible "Zombieland 2" with Shock Till You Drop.
Eisenberg said a first draft of the script for the sequel has been completed by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick (the writers of the first flick) and turned into Sony, although he hasn't read it yet. According to Shock Till You Drop, Fleischer has read the script. Here's what he had to say:
"Yeah, I read it. I mean, it's an early draft and we have plenty more to do to work on it, but I think it's going to be amazing, I'm really excited about it."
I am too, but Fleischer apparently has a lot of options for what comes next. Here's hoping it's "Zombieland 2," because, let's face it, zombies are just a heck of a lot funnier than vampires will ever be.
And speaking of humor and horror, Bruce Campbell knows a lot about both, and at least wants to unleash something on the world that would by force have to be a little bit fun. Though most every one I know loathes "My Name Is Bruce," I kind of liked it for the little humor/horror flick it was without ever attempting to be anything more. Well, he says he's now plotting a sequel of sorts, "Bruce Vs. Frankenstein," for which I suppose the plot would have to be rather obvious. Here's what he had to say about it to the L.A. Times, via Screen Rant:
“Yeah, The Expendables, or more like the It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World of horror. I want to get so many horror movie stars that people can’t possibly not see the movie. I want to give them other stuff to do. I want to have Kane Hodder be very particular about what he eats. I want Robert Englund to be a tough guy, like he knows tae kwon do or something. I want to find out the hidden sides of all these people. Some will play themselves, some will play alternate characters as well. I may approach Kane Hodder to play Frankenstein. He could be Kane Hodder himself fighting himself as Frankenstein. It could be crazy. It’s a silly concocted story that we hope to do maybe in a year or so. My breaks between Burn Notice have been getting tighter because they’ve been adding episodes. They’re trying to trap me like a rat in the TV world, and I might just let them. There’s a script, it just kind of blows right now, so no one’s really seeing it. We gotta work on it. Definitely shoot in Oregon all on a stage. It’s like the 300 of horror comedies. We want to make it a whole world. Someone’s gotta take Frank down for good.”
Sounds like a straight-to-DVD kind of thing, clearly, if it ever happens, but one that will probably make me at least pony up for a rental.
OK, moving into the clips, let's keep the horror streak going a little longer. But first, if you happen to be a fan of "Mad Men," I think many people will agree with me that last Sunday's Don and Peggy episode was just about the show's finest hour. I can't wait to find out if Don has finally hit bottom or if there's further to fall. Just about when "Mad Men" wraps up again or shortly after, AMC will be premiering Frank Darabont's six-episode (so far at least) zombie series "The Walking Dead," which was filmed just up the road from me in Atlanta. Enjoy this latest TV promo, and certainly tune in when the show debuts, naturally, on Halloween.
And to close with something a little different, I can't say I've been particularly interested in the upcoming action-comedy "Red," but that's simply because I'm unfamiliar with the DC Comics graphic novel by Warren Ellis and Cully Hammer. However, when you put together a cast that somehow includes Dame Helen Mirren, John Malkovich, Mary-Louise Parker and even the great Brian Cox, you've got my attention. In the flick, Mirren, Malkovich, Bruce Willis and Morgan Freeman play top CIA agents who get framed for an assassination and must join forces to break into CIA headquarters and "uncover one of the biggest conspiracies and cover-ups in government history." Sounds like awfully fun stuff if they accent the humor, and judging from this first clip featuring Mirren and Willis, it looks like they will. Enjoy, keep an eye out for the movie Oct. 15, and have a perfectly passable Wednesday. Peace out.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Catching up with some news and clips
Many of these things may have indeed happened while I was on vacation with mi hermano in New York and Philly, but they're all fascinating to me, so if you want to, please feel free to read on.
Easily the best news, and fresh I think, is that HBO has set the return dates for two of my favorite TV comedies, and is in fact packaging them back to back this September. "Bored to Death" and "Eastbound & Down" will indeed premiere as a block beginning at 10 p.m. Sept. 26, and I can only say bring it on.
If you've never seen "Bored to Death," and I'm sure there's many more than a few of you who haven't, I really can't recommend many TV comedies higher. The show from novelist Jonathan Ames (if you haven't read his "Wake Up, Sir!", do so right away) is about a struggling writer (Jason Schwartzman) who decides to list himself as a private eye on Craig's List. As he goes on various misadventures in New York City, he's often joined by co-star Zach Galifianakis and, even better, Ted Danson, who steals every minute he's in as a crazed magazine editor.
"Eastbound & Down," from the Southern-fried comedy shop of Jody Hill and friends, is a more bitter pill to swallow, but in its own way almost as funny. At the end of season one, Danny McBride's Kenny Powers had burned all his bridges in his pathetic attempt to return to the big leagues as a pitcher, and if I'm not mistaken, the new season will at least in part have him hurling in Mexico. That should be a hoot, so if you've never seen this little odd show, give it a chance.
In another bit of TV news, though I'm now thoroughly convinced there will never be an "Arrested Development" movie, two of its funniest actors will be reuniting on creator Mitch Hurwitz's new show, "Running Wilde," starting Sept. 20 on Fox.)
In the show, Gob Bluth plays a rich callow dude (sound familiar?) who falls in love with a crusading environmentalist played by Keri Russell. And now comes word that in a casting change, the extremely funny David Cross will play a radical environmentalist who competes for her affections for at least seven episodes. Nothing but funny there (or at least here's hoping, because Hurwitz's last show, "Sit Down, Shut Up," was just a flaming turd.)
And finally, both because this is nominally supposed to be about movies and because I love Sam Raimi at his best, he's attached to direct something that could be all kinds of fun (and I'm not talking about that "Oz" prequel, which even with Robert Downey Jr. as the wiz himself should just be terminated with extreme prejudice.)
After that, I suppose, Raimi has set his sights on adapting the graphic novel "Earp: Saints for Sinners," from a script by the novel's author, Matt Cirulnick. As the title implies, this would indeed be about the Western hero Wyatt Earp, but transport him into a future in which he takes on outlaws in a ravaged society where the only boomtown left is Las Vegas. Now, having sat through "Spider-Man 3" I know Raimi can fall as much as anyone, but this just sounds like fun to me.
OK, from here on out it's all about clips, the first two of which come directly from Roger Ebert's newsletter, which really is a must-read if you love movies (and at $4 a year, it's a real steal too.)
First up comes the first proof that this fall and winter are going to be all about James Franco, and as a devoted "Freaks and Geeks" fan, that's just fine by me. Later, in December (I think), he'll star in Danny Boyle's next flick, "127 Hours," as mountain climber Aron Ralston, who became trapped while climbing in Utah and had to go to desperate measures to survive. You can count that as one of the very few flicks I'm most looking forward to for the rest of the year, but before that, on Sept. 24 if you live in one of America's bigger cities, you'll be able to see him as the poet Allen Ginsberg in "Howl." Here, courtesy of the Ebert crew, is the first trailer I know of. Enjoy.
I thoroughly enjoyed Ben Affleck's directing debut with "Gone Baby Gone," so you can certainly count me as psyched for his sophomore effort, "The Town," based on the novel "Prince of Thieves" by Chuck Hogan and set to come out Sept. 10. The rather stellar cast includes Gossip Girl Blake Lively, Jeremy Renner, Reel Fanatic fave Rebecca Hall, Jon Hamm and Chris Cooper in a Boston flick about a bank robber and his contacts with the FBI, amorous, contentious and otherwise (sounds more than a little like "Out of Sight," which is fine with me.) Enjoy the first trailer I know of.
Next up comes the first American trailer for Woody Allen's "You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger," which, even with the awful narration that also was the only blemish on his sublime "Vicky Cristina Barcelona," looks like it should be another winner. The cast includes, Josh Brolin, Naomi Watts, Anthony Hopkins, Antonio Banderas and the simply stunning Freida Pinto, so we at least know there will be a lot of pretty people, hopefully doing very funny work when this comes out (and hopefully everywhere) Sept. 22. Enjoy the trailer.
And where better to finish up today than with more silliness from the Muppets? We'll have to wait until Christmas 2011 for the new Muppet movie, "The Greatest Muppet Movie Ever Made," being cooked up by Jason Segel, Nicholas Stoller and James Bobin. In the meantime, thankfully, Jim Henson's creations keep popping up in new YouTube creations like this latest clip of the Swedish chef cooking up some popcorn shrimp, with predictably disastrous results. Enjoy the clip, and have perfectly passable Wednesday. Peace out.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Not exactly a summer crowd pleaser, but the best movie I've seen this year
Mi hermano and I had a blast during the week off in New York and, even better, Philly, but we only ended up doing about half of the murals tours I had mapped out simply because it really was murderously hot.
So, what do you do when it's too hot to move? Go to the movies, of course. I asked for "Inception," but we couldn't work it in over the weekend, so that's to come this weekend. Apparently, it might be pretty good.
We did, however, manage to see at least five movies during the week, including the recently restored "Breathless," which looks better than ever and is just as sublimely silly as I remembered. I just love that flick. We also saw the Duplass brothers' "Cyrus," which was as downright uncomfortable to watch as it was sheerly entertaining; "Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work," which was a surprisingly good portrait of quite possibly the rudest woman alive (and yes, it is a singular experience to watch a 75-year-old woman do a joke about anal sex); and "Micmacs," a flight of fantasy from Jean-Pierre Jeunet that never reaches the sweet heights of "Amelie" but is nonetheless a little ball of fun (which I liked more than my brother.)
Easily the best of all, however, was "Winter's Bone," and that's what I'm here to talk about today.
Nothing draws me into a movie faster than sense of place, even if, as with Debra Granik's mesmerizing film noir of sorts, that's a place you'd never really want to even visit for a minute in the real world. We've all driven by such places, maybe a beaten-down shack or a collection of them, and wondered just how in the world someone lives like that.
Well, the answer, of course, is you really don't want to know, but the two things that make "Winter's Bone" work so well are how much humanity she finds in this extremely bleak tale set in Missouri's Ozarks and the compelling lead performance by newcomer Jennifer Lawrence (well, new to me, but you may recognize her if you manage to see this ... and trust me that you'll never forget her performance as Ree Dolly; in a related bit of very good news, she's just been cast as Mystique in Matthew Vaughn's "X-Men: First Class," which just keeps piling on the good casting news.)
At the movie's outset, Ree learns that her deadbeat father, who among other wise career options is a meth dealer of some sort, is due in court in a few days, and to make matters worse has put up the house she and her two younger siblings live in as the guarantor that he'll appear (which, obviously, is none too likely.) This sets in motion what could have - in lesser hands - been a pretty straightforward detective tale, but instead unfolds naturally (if a bit slowly) as more of a descent into hell as she tries to uncover the mystery of just where her father is hiding out and at the same time save her family.
To reveal much more about the plot would be a crime, so I'll just say it unfolds much like Rian Johnson's "Brick," with Ree methodically compiling often contradictory clues from a cast of characters who are far too unpolished to even be called unsavory. If anything, however, it has far more urgency in its storytelling and, no offense to Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who I always enjoy, just a far better hero to cheer for.
Lawrence, often nonverbally, just perfectly captures the mix of fear and resolve that drive Ree on her quest, and though she'll probably be overlooked when that time comes, here's hoping she somehow slips into the Best Actress race at the Oscars much like Melissa Leo did for "Frozen River." And she's aided here - eventually - by her uncle Teardrop (yes, really), played by John Hawkes, who does a great job of concealing his motivations until it finally becomes clear just how much he's willing to help. It's a natural performance that will have you wondering where you've seen him before (and the three best answers I could find all involve TV: As the unfortunate brother of Danny McBride's Kenny Powers on "Eastbound & Down"; as the Jewish merchant Sol Star on "Deadwood"; and, perhaps best of all, as the janitor George on the ghostly "I Only Have Eyes for You" episode of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer.")
But as usual, I digress. The bottom line, if you can still find it in theaters, "Winter's Bone" offers a chilling look at a place you'd never want to live in but will enjoy visiting if you can dig film noirs with a raw streak of reality. Peace out.
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Peter Jackson taking over "The Hobbit?" Plus the first look, sort of, at Fincher's "Social Network"
After a whole lot of complicated studio stuff that's just way beyond my (gratis) pay grade, it does seem like "The Hobbit" can go home again.
Long before Guillermo del Toro took on and was forced to abdicate the mammoth project (two movies? really? why?), think of who would be the only natural person to make this, assuming he was interested. Peter Jackson, of course, and now that might actually be about to happen.
Jackson is indeed in negotiations to direct the two movies, with talks centering on a time frame that would let him fast-track these for release in 2012 and 2013, with the shaky financial shape of MGM, which owns the "Hobbit" rights, always a hovering concern.
Beyond the other obvious reasons, Jackson would be a natural fit for this because he had been working on the script all this time with his professional partners, Philippa Boyens and Fran Walsh, along with del Toro. And with Middle Earth being reconstructed from the ground up in his home of New Zealand, it only make sense that Warners/New Line didn't apparently go too hard after any other directors to take this over.
Solid word should emerge in the next few days, so stay tuned ...
And all I have after that today is a couple of videos that caught my eye this morning. After a way beyond wretched start to this summer, things have certainly picked up with the utterly charming "Toy Story 3" (I'm debating over whether to go see it again today or finally see "The A-Team" - and leaning toward the latter), and I'm hoping the good mojo will be continued with "Despicable Me" on July 9 before Christopher Nolan's "Inception" finally drops July 16. It could very well turn out to be a thoroughly generic 3-D mess, but with a voice cast that includes Steve Carell, Jason Segel, Kristen Wiig, Russell Brand, Will Arnett, Mindy Kaling, Ken Jeong, Jack McBrayer and even Danny McBride, I'm still cautiously betting on at least slightly twisted and hopefully funny. Here, courtesy of Collider.com, are 10 clips that will take up slightly more than seven minutes of your life if you watch them all. Enjoy.
And, in what would have to be a definite case of saving the best for last, here is the first teaser trailer for David Fincher's "The Social Network," the story of Facebook as written up by one Aaron Sorkin. This is one of the movies I'm most looking forward to for the rest of this year (with perhaps only Danny Boyle's "127 Hours" starring James Franco rivaling it for that title.) Being only a teaser, this doesn't have any actual footage from the movie in it, but it's very well done (and if you somehow have never heard of Facebook, well, you're probably better off, though, yes, I'm on it, and this will reveal some crucial plot points.) Enjoy the trailer, watch the U.S.A. take on Ghana today at 2:30 EST in the knockout round of the World Cup, and have a great rest of the weekend. Peace out.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
A "new" Christopher Nolan flick before "Inception"? Bring it on!
There are many, many reasons to subscribe to Roger Ebert's seemingly more than monthly newsletter, but the two best are that it, after all, only costs $4.99 a year, and, even better, it's always chock full of goodies like the trailer teased above and found at the end of this post. To subscribe, click here.
But before I get to that, however, it's a fairly full day of good news, starting out with, if it comes together, what would have to make just about the funnest movie trilogy ever, although I'll concede far from the best (an argument for that one would have to be made for "Toy Story," because the third chapter is indeed just that good.)
There are few subgenres of movie I love more than the baseball flick, so it makes me nothing but giddy to hear writer/director David S. Ward talk about the possibility of another "Major League." He's told Moviehole.net that he's already written a "Major League 3" script and will be talking to the Morgan Creek movie company next week about how to proceed. Here's what he had to say about the story:
"It's 20 years later, and Wild Thing comes out of retirement to work with this 19-year-old player. We've actually got three new characters in the new film. And if the new film is popular, they could carry the franchise on."
Just thinking about that made me smile, and Ward added that he's already spoken to the "Wild Thing" himself, Charlie Sheen, about this. When and if he's on board, I can't imagine it would be to hard to get Tom Berenger, Corbin Bernsen and perhaps even Wesley "Willie Mays Hayes" Snipes too. Make this happen!
And in two other tidbits about directors I really like, Ruben Fleischer, who begins shooting his "Zombieland" follow-up, "30 Minutes or Less," next month, has now already set up the movie he plans to direct after that, and it comes from a great comedy source in scribe Mike White.
He's signed on with Columbia Pictures to direct "Babe in the Woods," which, from a script by White, will be an action-comedy centering on a female freshman from the Midwest who arrives at Yale and becomes a target of the New Jersey mob.
That sounds like it could be funny enough, but what he's doing before that should be better. "30 Minutes or Less" stars veryfunnyguys Aziz Ansari and Danny McBride, and will have to be a dark comedy, since it's about two fledgling criminals who kidnap a pizza delivery driver and strap a bomb to his chest to force him to rob a bank within 30 minutes.
Another director who I'm glad works very quickly of late is David Cronenberg, who is now shooting "The Dangerous Method" but has also already signed for the project that would follow that.
Pajiba is reporting he'll direct an adaptation of the Jonathan Lethem novel "As She Climbed Across the Table," and from the description I've seen of the story, it sounds twisted enough to be right up Cronenberg's alley. It centers on Professor Phillip Engstrand, who is in love with particle physicist Alice Coombs. Unfortunately for Phillip, Alice is in love with “The Lack” – a selective black hole (I hate it when that happens) – leaving Phillip to basically compete with nothingness for her affection.
As for what he's filming now, "A Dangerous Method" (formerly known as "The Talking Cure," which would have been better), it's about a feud that developed between Sigmund Freud (Viggo Mortensen) and Carl Jung (Michael Fassbender) over the treatment of a patient (Keira Knightley, though as far as I know it's not for anorexia - sorry, I couldn't resist.) That sounds like nothing but fascinating to me.
OK, as we get to the videos, it is indeed all about Christopher Nolan from here on out, starting with the best featurette I've seen yet for "Inception," which is finally set to come out July 16. Be warned, as it sort of introduces the characters, it contains more spoilers than what's come out before, so click it with that warning. Enjoy.
And finally, getting back to the lead, IFC On Demand, which I and probably you can get through your digital cable or whatever you subscribe to for TV, will be screening "Following," Christopher Nolan's first feature film, starting July 7. So, what's it about? Here goes, per the Ebert Club newsletter:
"Out of boredom and frustration, an unemployed writer (Jeremy Theobald) picks strangers at random from the crowded streets of London and then follows them to see where they go, and how they spend their days. Reasoning that he's gathering material for the fictional characters in his writing, he begins following the same people more than once, curious to learn more about them; a rule he'd promised himself not to break. That was his first mistake. But then he teams up with a burglar Cobb (Alex Hawk) and breaks into the apartment of a mysterious blonde (Lucy Russell), with whom he is fascinated. And slowly begins to find out that things may not be as they seem."
Sounds like a mindbender tailormade to Nolan to me, so I'll definitely be tuning in. Enjoy the trailer below, and if you'll excuse me now, the second half of U.S.A. v. Algeria really demands my undivided attention now. Peace out.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
This just in: "The Blues Brothers" is a classic
Complaining about the vuvzelas is embarrassing. It's part of their game and we are their guests. Suck it up and stop whinging. Hooooooooonk!
Amen, brother. Not surprisingly, Simon Pegg gets it exactly right in that tweet. Do the vuvuzuelas really bother you that much, or more to the point, how are they any more annoying than thunder sticks, the wave or any other obnoxious thing we do at sporting events?
But, one paragraph in, already I digress. Just watch the World Cup already, and enjoy it as I am.
Here today, however, it's all about a startling discovery by the Vatican, well known for it's cutting-edge pronouncements on film and everything else. Its latest directive, issued in the Vatican's official newspaper "L'Osservatore Romano," in honor of the 30th anniversary of John Landis' movie, calls "The Blues Brothers" a "Catholic classic" and says it should be recommended viewing for Catholics everywhere.
Well, duh. The only way you could make that statement more accurate would be to make it say "film and comedy lovers" everywhere, but how in the world could the tale of Jake and Elwood, on a mission from God to save a Catholic orphanage, among other pursuits, not be a classic? Way to finally get on board, guys ...
And just in case you want to get all your viewing advice from the Vatican, here are a few others they have endorsed (and though I haven't seen "The Passion of the Christ" and won't, I can confirm that the rest of these are indeed very good, if not particularly edgy, movies): "The Blues Brothers" joins the list of dozens of films recommended by Catholic authorities that includes Cecil B. DeMille's "The Ten Commandments," "Jesus of Nazareth" from Franco Zeffirelli," Mel Gibson's "The Passion of The Christ," Victor Flemming's "Joan of Arc," and "It's a Wonderful Life" from Frank Capra.
OK, from here on out today, before we get to a few trailers, it will be all about comedies to come that will hopefully bring the serious funny, starting with a bold pronouncement from Ricky Gervais, who is the king of comedy in my book.
Anyone who's seen the original "The Office" or "Extras" knows that Gervais and writing partner Stephen Merchant have already established themselves as purveyors of very good observational comedy. So, when you see a statement like this, even if it's obviously self-promotion, you have to get at least a little excited:
"It's the funniest thing we've done," Gervais said while attending the Banff World Television Festival. "It's pure funny."
So, what's he talking about? Well, it's "Life's Too Short," and it's a show he's doing now for BBC2 (and hopefully HBO or some other American medium soon enough) starring the truly great Warwick Davis as a little person with "a small-man complex."
According to Gervais, among the real-world experiences shared by Davis are using a broom handle to retrieve out-of-reach supermarket products, or being forever touched by ordinary people for good luck, as if he were a leprechaun (just go ahead and admit it - you laughed at that last bit too. It's OK, because it's just plain funny.)
Bring this on already, and as soon as possible. If the aforementioned list of my funniest people in the world were expanded a bit, it would certainly include Tina Fey, Bill Murray, Dave Chappelle, Kristen Wiig and Larry David, and not too long after that, Danny McBride, so you can count me as psyched any time he sets up a new project.
Mandate has picked up "Bullies," from an original McBride idea and to be penned by "Yes Man" scribes Andrew Mogel and Jarrad Paul (so I suppose they're due for a winner, right?) The comedy, which one would have to assume will also star McBride, centers on two brothers who have bullied people their whole lives and finally get what is coming to them.
Sounds good to me, and for fellow Danny McBride fans, 2011 should be a very good year. He's just wrapped "Your Highness," a stoner/knights in armor comedy also starring James Franco, Zooey Deschanel and Natalie Portman, and directed by David Gordon Green (and if you've seen "Pineapple Express" and that didn't make you smile at least a little bit, why the heck not? If you haven't seen it, rent it immediately.)
He's also now shooting the second season of HBO's "Eastbound and Down" with director Jody Hill (yes, the South is rising again, in very good comedy.) I may be the only person in the world who's psyched that this seriously bitter show about a washed-up former pro baseball player (McBride, natch) got a second season, but I certainly am.
And finally, he'll also star in "30 Minutes or Less," director Ruben Fleischer's follow-up to the rather insanely funny "Zombieland." The dark comedy also starring veryfunnyguy Aziz Ansari is about two fledgling criminals who kidnap a pizza delivery man and strap a bomb to his chest to make him rob a bank. I said dark, right?
OK, enough of that. All I have after that today is a trio of trailers for flicks that look like they'll certainly be worth catching. First up, does anyone remember the "Chronicles of Narnia" series? The flicks certainly seem to be lost in our current sea of bad 3-D and thoroughly unnecessary sequels/prequels/remakes/reimaginings, but I loved "The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe," and thought "Prince Caspian" was even better. So, you can certainly count me as jazzed for "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader," set to come out this Christmas. Enjoy the first trailer I know of for it.
OK, since you must be using the Internet to read this, I have to assume you've been on it at least once, and have probably noticed that along with the musing of movie fans, you can also count on it as a pretty solid source of pornography of just about any kind you can imagine (if you somehow didn't know that, go ahead and take a few minutes to find out - I won't tell anyone.) Well, it wasn't always that way, and this next flick, "Middle Men," which I had never heard of until this morning, stars Luke Wilson and Giovanni Ribisi and takes a clearly tongue-in-cheek look at one of the pioneers of turning the Internet into a moral wasteland (congrats!) Seriously, though, this looks like it could be really good when it drops in August. Enjoy.
And finally, since I declare my love for "This is Spinal Tap" in the permanent sideboard of this site, I should at least give the benefit of the doubt to the first movie Rob Reiner has both written and directed since that true gem, right, even if he has made a ton of stinkers in between? "Flipped," as you'll see below, is a sweet-looking tale of kids growing up in the 1950s and discovering that, yes, boys and girls can have all kinds of fun together. It will make you obviously think of "Stand By Me," and it does somehow have veryfunnyguy J.K. Simmons in it, so here's hoping this will far from suck when it also comes out in August. Enjoy, and if you'll excuse me, I'm off to watch some World Cup before I have to go to the job that I somehow still get paid for. Peace and futbol ...
About Me
- Reel Fanatic
- When I was very young, my father brought home a little movie called "Spinal Tap," and I have never been the same since. Along with being a movie junkie and a devoted fan of the hapless Baltimore Orioles, I have recently returned to the town I grew up in, Salisbury, MD., to work for The Daily Times newspaper.
