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
Monday, March 28, 2011
Severe post-Heigl stress disorder
Even if she hadn't made such a self-righteous twit of herself after "Knocked Up," Katherine Heigl's movies alone are certainly worth a high-quality skewering, and thankfully, the Onion is up to the task. Something this brilliant needs no further words from me, so I'll just say thanks to my fellow cubicle slave Mike Stucka for pointing this out, and enjoy. And oh yeah, remember only you can prevent Katherine Heigl movies. Peace out.
Friday, January 07, 2011
For Friday, a small cache of clips
Actually, there's some pretty big movie news out there, too, so let's get right to it: Judd Apatow is finally going to direct another movie, and even though it will have a familiar feel, it sounds like potentially a lot of fun.
Not a lot of details are available yet about the still-titled "Untitled Judd Apatow Project," but we do now know it will focus on the characters played by Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann (aka Mrs. Apatow) in "Knocked Up."
Despite the potential sequel/prequel feel to this, it could still be great, because they were easily the two most interest characters in that flick (and here's hoping that Katherine Heigl has NOTHING to do with this.) And besides, in a tidbit Apatow shared with HitFix, he promised it wouldn't be either of the dirty words at the beginning of this paragraph. Here's what he had to say:
"It is neither. It is just a story from Pete and Debbie's current life. People really responded to their characters and problems. I felt like there was a lot of ground I could explore with them, so we'll be shooting in July and will come out the following June."
June 1, 2012, to be exact, but given the increasing rarity of Apatow bothering to write and direct anything anymore, this is definitely something worth keeping an eye on.
OK, enough of that, on to the clips, and where better to start than with the seriously funny first full theatrical trailer for "Paul"? I didn't realize until this morning that, along with starring as the two geeks at the story's core, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost also wrote the script for this Greg Mottola flick due out March 18, but that just makes this all the more promising. And with "Your Highness" due shortly after this, it should be a better-than-usual Spring for good comedies. Enjoy the trailer.
If I knew what the next "Ice Age" movie - which if I'm not mistaken will be the fourth one - was about, I'd probably tell you, but since I haven't seen any one of them after No. 1, it just really doesn't interest me all that much. I can tell you, however, that it's called "Ice Age: Continental Drift", and it's set to come out July 13. And even better is this animated short film from Blue Sky Studios which explains exactly how Scrat, that crazy squirrel just trying to get a nut, was actually responsible for splitting the Earth into seven continents. Enjoy the clip.
Best of all today, however, is this short preview for season three of "Parks and Recreation," which is FINALLY coming back to NBC's Thursday night lineup at 9:30 p.m. on Jan. 20 (does that mean the end of "Outsourced"? One can only hope.) While not quite as funny as "Community," it still has a fun and funky spirit that nicely sets it apart from the sitcom pack, and with Adam Scott and Rob Lowe now regular players, this should just be even more fun. And with that, I'm out, for a movie weekend that will include a second viewing of "Black Swan" (because I just don't think I can bring myself to watch "Season of the Witch" or "Country Strong") and then most likely the Macon Film Guild's offering of the Cold War spy flick "Farewell" on Sunday. Peace out.
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Is this, indeed, the single worst movie weekend of the year?
You know, I finally got around to watching the series premiere of ABC's "Flash Forward" last night, and it was excellent. It certainly was annoying how fast everyone seemed to figure out what had happened to them, but it has several potentially interesting stories going forward along with the big mystery.
"Dollhouse," also, was much improved over last year, and with Salisbury, Md., native and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Angel" vet Alexis Denisof most likely the big bad this year, I'm definitely gonna keep watching. Here today, however, its not about TV, but about just how wretchedly bad this weekend's slate of movies is out here in wide release land.
In my actual paying job, I lay out the Friday entertainment section each week for The Telegraph, and I usually look for the movie reviews on Tuesday afternoon. That early in the week usually means Roger Moore of the Orlando Sentinel, since he works faster than anyone else we have access to, and that's just fine with me, because he's really good.
This week, however, I waited until midday Wednesday, and still, none of the three movies opening this week - "Fame," "Pandorum" or "Surrogates" - had been reviewed. Never a good sign, and only the second time this year we had to go with no reviews (the other one is listed below.)
So, does that make this the single worst movie of the year? Well, it's gotta be close, at least in the category of offering movies I have any interest in seeing. From what I've now heard, "Fame" - even if you, like me, generally like musicals - is nothing but bland, "Surrogates" gives away all its mystery in the opening act and, as for "Pandorum," I've still heard nothing at all about that one.
It all got me to thinking, and though this is quite far from a scientific study, here are my nominees for the six worst movie weekends so far this year, in only chronological order, but I'll crown a winner at the end.
Jan. 9:
"Bride Wars"
"Not Easily Broken"
"The Unborn"
"Bride Wars" just looked like a thoroughly hateful little piece of junk, and I take my Tyler Perry straight up, not cloned, so it was easy to just say no to this weekend.
Jan. 23:
"Inkheart"
"Underworld: The Rise of the Lycans"
Having barely managed to sit through the latest "Mummy" installment I just couldn't take any Brendan Fraser family fare, and I just have no idea what a Lycan is, so couldn't see jumping into the "Underworld" realm at this point.
Feb. 27:
"Jonas Brothers: The 3-D Concert Experience"
"Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li"
This was the only other weekend of the year when nothing got reviewed in advance, and I can see why. I've made it this far in life without seeing any movies based on video games, and I think I can keep that streak going just fine, thank you.
March 13:
"The Last House on the Left"
"Miss March"
"Race to Witch Mountain"
I haven't been able to smell what the Rock's been cooking on the big screen for - well - just about ever.
July 24:
"G-Force"
"Orphan"
"The Ugly Truth"
I know I'm just not the audience for "G-Force," which made a ton of money with the kiddies, but I just can't stand to even look at Katherine Heigl at this point, even though she is a stunningly beautiful woman. I did, however, enjoy seeing all the histrionics about making an orphan the villain in a silly little "horror" movie.
And finally, this weekend.
And the winner is: Feb. 27, with Street Fighter and the Jonas Brothers, though this weekend was certainly in the running.
Take heart, however, because good things are surely on the way. Next week we get both Drew Barrymore's "Whip It," starring young Ellen Page, and Ricky Gervais' "The Invention of Lying." (By the way, I hear tell that Gervais made the big "lie" for his flick the existence of God, so it should be fun to see just how that goes down.) And two weeks after that, the big one for me, Spike Jonze's "Where the Wild Things Are," which I think I'll actually drive to Atlanta to watch in glorious Imax.
And this weekend? I still can't decide if I'll take a chance on "Jennifer's Body" or not, but I do know that at some point, I'll be watching Spike Lee's "Passing Strange," which is available on my cable box on demand. A good Spike Lee movie? It's been a while, so I'm really looking forward to this one. Please feel free to let me know if any of the movies I've dismissed without seeing them above are actually any good, and have a great weekend. Peace out.
P.S.: I really don't have much of a taste for apocalyptic movies, but I used to really love the Hughes Brothers, so wish them nothing but success with "The Book of Eli," their upcoming return to the big screen after a very long time off. Here's the second trailer for the flick, which stars Denzel Washington, Gary Oldman and Mila Kunis, and is set to come out in January.
Friday, July 24, 2009
"The Ugly Truth" about Katherine Heigl
What in the world does Terry Gilliam have to do to get "The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus" even screened in America?
Though I don't have to pleasure of being at the world's greatest geek fest, Mr. Gilliam was at Comic-Con yesterday for the first time, with hat in hand begging for even the smallest movie company to give him some kind of U.S. distribution. In what was about-an-hour-or-so show, he apparently showed a highlight reel/trailer that was, of course, heavy on the late Heath Ledger and the three men who stepped in to replace him, Colin Farrell, Johnny Depp and Jude Law.
And yet, at the end of the report I read, it said that the movie will get a few international screenings but, in spite of all this promotion, still doesn't have any U.S. distributor.
Now, I know Gilliam isn't perfect. He seems to more than a bit of an obstinate fool, and his last movie, "Tideland," was simply unwatchable (though I did soldier through to the rather painful end.) But does he really deserve this? I've only seen about 10 minutes or so of assorted "Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus" footage, but it all looks pretty fascinating to me.
But before I got sidetracked by all that, this was supposed to be about Katherine Heigl, who though she is a rather seriously beautiful woman, has turned out to be at least as disagreeable than Mr. Gilliam on many occasions.
Her constant complaining about her character on "Grey's Anatomy" (which I don't watch) is well known, but here today it's about what she once said about Judd Apatow's "Knocked Up," which in movies anyway, pretty much made her career.
Waiting to get all she could from it before biting the hand that fed her, she went on to tell Vanity Fair that, "It paints the women as shrews, as humorless and uptight, and it paints the men as lovable, goofy, fun-loving guys. It was hard for me to love the movie."
Well, fair enough. It's certainly true that different people, men and women, black and white folks look at movies differently. Though I try my best to no longer live like that, I could certainly identify with the guys of "Knocked Up," and found Seth Rogen's trajectory, while perhaps a bit of a fantasy, a believable enough attempt (at least in movie terms) to finally become a little bit of an adult.
And besides, before I read what she had to say, I really liked her character and Leslie Mann's too (and just to take this to its further possible point, Charlyne Yi certainly seemed to be having as much fun as she could as one of the guys.)
But there's a bigger point here, and I'm finally about to get to it. Now, perhaps it's not the best-informed point since I won't have to so won't be going to see her new film "The Ugly Truth," co-starring Gerard Butler (I have no idea why, but every time I type that it first comes out as "Trugh" before I go back and fix it.)
Now, for someone who complains about being sexist, let's take a look at what her new movie is apparently about. As best I understand it, she's again a TV producer, this time for a station that hires Butler's character, an advice show host whose tips to women are as enlightened as this gem about pitching woo: "It's called a stairmaster. Get on it!"
And of course, rather than just being repulsed by him, she apparently enlists his help "Cyrano"-style to help her win the heart of a doctor and later, I'm going to have to assume, just ends up knocking boots with the creep instead.
OK, fair enough. In its defense, that really doesn't sound much more noxious than the plots of many "romantic comedies," but how in the world is all this garbage not sexist too?
Men are pigs. Women, if they work hard enough, can make them just less piggy enough to make them tolerable. With what I'm going to have to assume is about one-tenth of the laughs or the heart of "Knocked Up," it even kinda sounds like broadly the same storyline, sans the pregnancy.
The difference? Though I don't have the exact figure in front of me, I'd imagine Heigl must have made $6 million-$10 million for "The Ugly Truth," which I suppose would cloud my world view at least a bit if I had that much scratch too.
Well, enough of that. It probably isn't terribly professional to rant about a movie I won't see, but I don't get paid for this, and just wanted to let it spew. And I certainly have no beef at all with genuinely romantic movies - in fact, I love them. In less something comes up, I'm gonna sidle up the road and see "500 Days of Summer" with Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt this weekend in Atlanta, and I'm really looking forward to it. And if you somehow made it to the end all of this, please feel free to tell me if I'm just all wet about it, and have a great weekend. Peace out.
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.
