Archive for April, 2009
April 23rd, 2009
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is apparently going to appear in the new TERMINATOR movie through virtual means. Here’s the scoop from Variety:
The Governator revealed in a Web cast this week that he may appear in the upcoming TERMINATOR SALVATION but when he said he didn’t want to act, he left many fans scratching their heads.
Turns out Schwarzenegger has been secretly working with (TERMINATOR SALVATION director) McG and the effects team to reprise his signature role … without lifting a finger.
A body-cast mold of Schwarzenegger, created when he first appeared as the muscle-ripped cyborg, provided the basis for a digital-effects version of his famous character. The figure appears in TERMINATOR SALVATION as a living, breathing actor.
Now I certain think, after three movies, Schwarzenegger has earned the right to appear in a Terminator movie however he wants (and god knows he has the clout), but will his appearance bring the movie to a halt while we all notice him?
April 23rd, 2009
Over at Salon.com, Andrew O’ Hehir’s “Beyond the Multiplex” column takes a look at the rivalry between Robert Redford’s Sundance Film Festival (held in winter in Utah) and Robert De Niro’s Tribeca Film Festival (starting this week in Manhattan.)
It might seem like a lot of inside baseball for festivalgoers and indy movie fans, but I thought it was an interesting look at the way the two festivals differ. Sundance (as we learned in excrutiating detail in Peter Biskind’s book, DOWN AND DIRTY PICTURES) was a low-key, low-budget hippie-flavored film fest that became something much flashier and more expensive when movies like SEX, LIES AND VIDEOTAPE and RESERVOIR DOGS were first screened there and became hits. Tribeca was launched by De Niro and some rich associates in the wake of 9/11 to boost business in Manhattan, and has become a showcase for American documentaries, sports films and premieres of huge-budget blockbusters that don’t seem to fit its film fest sensibilities (though, coming as it does right before the summer movie season, their inclusion makes perfect economic sense.)
Speaking of documentaties, this year, the most controversial film at Tribeca (by far) is director Kirby Dick’s OUTRAGE, a look at closeted gay politicians who have supported anti-gay marriage legislation. Here’s the review from Variety.
April 22nd, 2009
It doesn’t open until May 8, but the advance reviews are starting to trickle in for J.J. Abrams new version of STAR TREK, and so far, they’re solid raves. (Click on links in credits to go to the full reviews.)
Blasting onto the screen at warp speed and remaining there for two hours, the new and improved STAR TREK will transport fans to sci-fi nirvana. Faithful enough to the spirit and key particulars of Gene Roddenberry’s original conception to keep its torchbearers happy but, more crucially, exciting on its own terms in a way that makes familiarity with the franchise irrelevant, J.J. Abrams’ smart and breathless space adventure feels like a summer blockbuster that just couldn’t stay in the box another month.
STAR TREK rockets along like a beautifully engineered vehicle you can’t help but admire for its design and performance. It shifts gears often but always smoothly, and accelerates again and yet again when you suspect it might be tempted to ease up for good. The series trappings remain, but this reincarnation is dynamic where the old one was often stodgy, stylish instead of a bit square.
– Todd McCarthy in Variety
It zips along and is enveloping and beautiful to watch — highly pleasurable to just friggin’ look at. It’s buoyant and bountiful of spirit, it’s pop celestial, it’s Young Men in Space. The massive super-cities shrouded in mist in the Iowa flatlands — superb concept! Zachary Quinto’s Spock has focus and authority, and was my favorite for that. Pine, for me, has the necessary force and swagger and I applaud Abrams’ balls in not casting a Shatner clone.
– Jeffrey Wells at Hollywood Elsewhere (based on an hour of footage)
J.J. Abrams has made a fabulous film that excels in all its elements. While it feels fresh in every way (an achievement in itself, for this 11th STAR TREK film), great care has been taken to be respectful of the franchise and the characters created by Gene Roddenberry in the 60s, when they became cult favourites. Technically, everything stacks up. The sound and the sound mix is superb and rivals the extraordinary visuals for attention. Script - tick. Casting - tick. Direction - tick. Special effects - tick. It’s an extraordinary achievement and great entertainment for all as we partake in an edge-of-seat thrill-ride.
– Louise Keller, Urban Cinefile
April 22nd, 2009
As part of his “Black and White World” series, columnist and blogger James Lileks looks back fondly on the Jimmy Cagner newspaper movie, PICTURE SNATCHER.
It’s a great bit of pre-Code Cagney, with our hero acting plenty sleazy in his pursuit of news photos. As a bonus, it has Ralph Bellamy as an editor who sips booze at his desk from a paper cup and Sterling Holloway (Winnie the Pooh himself) as a journalism student.
Not only do they not make movies like this anymore, they don’t make newspapers like this anymore, either.
If reading Lileks’ enthusiastic write-up makes you want to see PICTURE SNATCHER for yourself, don’t worry — it’s available on DVD. (It’s also available in the third volume of the Warner Gangsters Collection, which I highly recommend.)
April 21st, 2009
The Onion AV Club has a great “Random Roles” talk with Joe Mantegna where he discusses just about every role he’s ever done, from originating the Ricky Roma character (aka the Al Pacino movie role) on Broadway in GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS to having his scene cut from XANADU (but still getting royalty checks every year).
Naturally, he talks a lot about his breakthrough movie role in David Mamet’s HOUSE OF GAMES (trailer above), and he holds a special place in his heart for what’s probably his most-seen (or at least most-heard) role, Fat Tony on THE SIMPSONS…
I read the script, thought it was funny, I loved THE SIMPSONS, I think they were in their third season at the time. What I’d seen of it, I thought, “This is real smart, this is clever. I like what they’re doing, so I’d love doing this.” So I went in and did it, but who knew that Fat Tony was gonna resonate in the hearts and minds of the Simpsonites out there? Apparently they’d gotten enough feedback as to how the character was liked that they wrote it in again and again, and I was kind of a recurring guy that they’d tap into at least a couple episodes a season. And I was more than happy to do it, because it’s my longest-running character, and one that I think the quality of it has been maintained. I like it as much today as I did 17 years ago.
One role that, unfortunately, doesn’t get mentioned, is his portrayal of a cop coming to terms with his own Jewish identity in David Mamet’s 1991 drama HOMICIDE (not to be confused with the excellent NBC cop show). It’s not available on DVD — in fact, I don’t think it’s ever been on DVD — but I used to have a videotape of it and watched it several times. If you ever get a chance to check it out, it’s worth a look.
April 21st, 2009
This week’s column focuses on one of the best horror movies I’ve seen in a while — the Swedish vampire movie LET THE RIGHT ONE IN. If you’re a horror fan who’s tired of the same old cliches or nauseated by endless CGI not-so-special effects, I highly recommend it.
Here’s the text version of the review, and here’s the video version.
April 17th, 2009
Over at Slate.com, Jody Rosen examines how Jason Statham became “The Last Action Hero.”
It’s an interesting article, and Rosen makes a good case for Statham’s talent, athleticism, charisma — and acting ability — power making him a genuine star in the mold of Jackie Chan and Harold Lloyd. Naturally, as evidence, Rosen cites Statham’s finest (and most fun) film, CRANK:
Like Chan, Statham is madcap—never more so than in his best film, Crank (2006). Crank has a ludicrous premise: Statham plays Chev Chelios, a hitman who is injected by a rival with a poison that stops the flow of adrenaline, gradually slowing the victim’s heartbeat to a standstill. To stay alive, Chev must keep his adrenaline surging, which he accomplishes by rampaging across Los Angeles, leaving a trail of shattered glass, ruined shopping malls, decapitated lawn jockeys, and dead Triad gangsters.
Read the rest here.
April 17th, 2009
As part of its 15th anniversary celebration, Turner Classic Movies (the greatest movie channel in the history of the universe, incidentally) has compiled a list of the most influential films of all time. In chronological order, they are…
1. BIRTH OF A NATION
2. BATTLESHIP POTEMKIN
3. METROPOLIS
4. 42 STREET
5. IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT
6. SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS
7. GONE WITH THE WIND
8. STAGECOACH
9. CITIZEN KANE
10. THE BICYCLE THIEF
11. RASHOMON
12. THE SEARCHERS
13. BREATHLESS
14. PSYCHO
15. STAR WARS
I’ve seen all but one (THE BICYCLE THIEF), and I’ve have to argue, this is a pretty influential bunch. PSYCHO, in particular, shaped horror movies (and even non-horror movies) for decades after its release. You can read the reasons behind the picks here.
April 17th, 2009
Hard to believe, but it was 10 years ago that THE MATRIX arrived in theaters. It’s become more than part of modern pop culture — it’s become a pop cultural cliche, with all those cool black outfits and bullet-time effects getting used and over-used in so many movies (including the two disappointing MATRIX sequels) that they lost most of the effectiveness they once had.
But you know what? That original MATRIX hit like a thunderbolt when it opened on April 2, 1999, changing the face of big-screen sci-fi (and making the eagerly anticipated PHANTOM MENACE, which opened not long after, looking pretty silly by comparison). And you know what else? That original MATRIX is still a great movie. Here’s the trailer they originally used to get us jazzed about it…
And here’s the famous “dodge this” scene, where we first see Neo using his powers to move out of a bullet’s path.
April 16th, 2009
Normally, every blog post under that Movie Man sig is written by yours truly. But today, we’ve got a special guest. Register Star reporter Sean Driscoll is here to share his thoughts on the new movie STATE OF PLAY … and the British miniseries it’s based on. Take it away, Sean…
If you’re tempted to check out STATE OF PLAY at the theater this weekend, I can’t stop you. But I will ask, if not outright beg, that you check out the six-hour BBC miniseries that is the source material for the flick.
The original story was a sprawling, six-part series that aired in the U.K. in 2003. BBC America aired it in the states later the same year. Regrettably, I didn’t have cable fancy enough to carry that channel but it got rave reviews from my mother, who talked it up to me over the next five years.
After the movie adaptation was announced, BBC finally announced a DVD release. One weekend I sat down, intending to watch the first hour. I was hooked and shot through all six episodes with barely a bathroom break.
The miniseries is a great mixture of intrigue, sex and money. It starts off with a fairly straightforward mystery – a staff member of a Member of Parliament is pushed from a subway platform and killed. The same day, a young man is shot to death in the streets of London. It doesn’t take long for reporters to figure out that the two incidents are connected, but by the end of the first hour-long episode the story already has taken a sharp left turn. After six episodes, there have been so many surprises that, while the central mysteries remain intact, the story has become more complex and twisted.
I’m not saying the movie will be bad. In fact, with Russell Crowe and Ben Affleck on board, I’d be willing to bet it’s not horrible. Add Helen Mirren, who can class up just about any stinker (I’m looking at you, NATIONAL TREASURE: BOOK OF SECRETS), and it might just be a good movie.
But compared to the original, it can’t help but suck. It won’t rival the complexity, the humor and the intensity of the miniseries. It just doesn’t have a chance. Whittling six hours of story into 118 minutes (including the credits!) will naturally mean some plot lines will be dropped and characters changed. But the original story has some quintessentially British elements to it (including the liberal use of the paper’s checkbook for the reporters to get what they need) that I just don’t see translating well into an American film.
Do yourself a favor. Watch the miniseries first and then check out the movie. If you don’t, then go see the film, but add the miniseries to your Netflix queue posthaste. Judge them separately, but don’t do yourself the disservice of not catching the miniseries. Not only will you have a fun ride, but you will immediately want to quit your job and go be a newspaper reporter in the
U.K.
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