Archive for August, 2009
August 31st, 2009
It’s true! Here’s the report from Variety…
LOS ANGELES — The Walt Disney Co. says it is acquiring Marvel Entertainment Inc. for $4 billion in cash and stock, bringing characters like IRON MAN and SPIDER-MAN into the Disney family. Under the deal, Disney will acquire ownership of 5,000 Marvel characters.
Looks like we might see those CAPTAIN AMERICA, THOR and AVENGERS movies a lot sooner than we expected. The Marvel comics super heroes are powerful, but they’re nothing compared to the might of The Mouse.
August 28th, 2009
Here’s the trailer for George Clooney’s upcoming film, THE MEN WHO STARE AT GOATS. Besides being based on a fascinating book by Jon Ronson (I highly recommend it), GOATS has a heck of a cast — Clooney, Ewan McGregor, Jeff Bridges and Kevin Spacey, among others.
Plus, it’s funny to hear someone tell McGregor about being a Jedi, considering he played Ben Kenobi himself in those STAR WARS prequels.
GOATS opens Nov. 16.
August 28th, 2009
I finally caught a showing of INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS last night, and though I’m dragging this morning, I’m glad I stayed up way past my bedtime to watch it — very glad, in fact. I’d read mixed reviews on the movie, but BASTERDS was a big BIG improvement over Quentin’s last film, the DEATH PROOF half of GRINDHOUSE, and for pure entertainment, it might be his best film since — get ready for it — PULP FICTION.
A handful of comments as I sip my morning coffee and try to sort the movie out in my head…
Christoph Waltz as the best movie Nazi since Ralph Fiennes.
1. Critics who said BASTERDS wasn’t nearly as action-packed as its trailers indicated were right. There are long, long stretches of dialogue and, yes, much of it is subtitled German and/or French. But that’s not a bad thing — it’s a very good thing, in fact. Unlike the aforementioned DEATH PROOF, which featured long talky scenes of actors I didn’t like saying things I didn’t care about, the dialogue stretches of BASTERDS are some of the best parts — and the actors, especially Christoph Waltz as SS Col. Hans Landa and Diane Kruger as Bridget Von Hammersmark — are among the best in the film. Waltz, especially, is almost frighteningly good. I’m predicting an Oscar nomination.
2. Yes, it’s true that (again) despite the trailer and the posters, Brad Pitt and his fellow basterds are not really the stars of the movie. (I’d say the main character is probably Melanie Laurent as the owner of a cinema in occupied France). But again, that works in the movie. The Basterds are so wildly over-the-top that they work well as a crazy accent that pops up in the plot every so often and spices things up. They’re the most cartoonish aspect of BASTERDS, and they’re a lot of fun — assuming your idea of “fun” includes scalping, beatings and murder of Nazis. But the real emotional punch of the film comes from Laurent and her elaborate effort to get some well-earned revenge.
Melanie Laurent, getting ready for the big premiere
3. I was surprised how much BASTERDS is a movie about film. Laurent’s plot revolves around the Nazi high command using her theater to stage the premiere of a propaganda film glorifying “the German Sergeant York,” and Tarantino’s screenplay drops endless knowing references to film history, from a marquee advertising a Leni Riefenstahl “mountain film” (an actual German genre of the pre-war era) to including an appearance by actor Emil Jannings (a legendary German-American actor — and Oscar winner! – who cozied up to the Nazis when they came to power). The sheer power of film is a theme that runs through BASTERDS, and not merely in a metaphorical way. One major plot point involves the actual explosive power of film (well illustrated through a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it clip from Hitchcock’s SABOTAGE).
4. Mike Myers? He’s great — really! — as a British general who assigns a film critic/special operative a secret mission. In fact, that short scene — with a giant map on the wall and Churchill sitting off the to side — is one of the best in the movie. It’s a perfect (and perfectly over the top) distillation of every stiff-upper-lip British World War II movie you’ve ever seen.
5. Yes, the ending changes history — violently, in fact — but it (like the rest of the movie) isn’t meant to be taken seriously. BASTERDS is like THE DIRTY DOZEN, not SAVING PRIVATE RYAN. It’s a wild fantasy about World War II that’s sometimes serious, sometimes funny and sometimes both — but it’s never not entertaining. Tarantino performs a real high-wire act here, mixing genres, music, styles and plotlines, and he almost never missteps. If you’re a fan of World War II movies — or, hell, of movies in general — check this one out. And if you can catch it in a theater with a big, enthusiastic audience, even better. It’s definitely that kind of movie.
August 27th, 2009
Continuing the series (which, I promise, will somehow result in an actual top 10 list eventually), here are three more contenders for the top spots on the Oughts list. Can you name them?
Previous picks can be found here, here and here.
August 27th, 2009
And, as the credits roll, the farm thankfully remains a farm.
After enduring dozens (hundreds? thousands?) of commercials for the new Ang Lee film TAKING WOODSTOCK, I’d like to pitch a sequel: In it, our hero, a jaded Gen-Xer who’s been hearing about the glories of Woodstock since he was a baby, takes it upon himself to build a time machine, go back to 1969 and file the necessary paperwork with the state of New York to prevent those three days of peace, love and music from ever taking place.
Sure, we’d miss out on that great Jimi Hendrix version of “The Star Spangled Banner,” but look at the plus side — we wouldn’t have to endure endless retrospectives every five years with ever-aging hippies telling us how mind-blowing that weekend was, maaaaaan. It was a rock concert. Get over it.
I’m calling my movie TAKING AWAY WOODSTOCK. Anyone want to throw me some investment money to get this thing into theaters?
August 26th, 2009
Yesterday, I watched the 2008 French horror film MARTYRS, directed by Pascal Laugier. To say it’s an extreme experience is putting it mildly. In fact, on the DVD, you have the option to watch the movie with an introduction from Laugier where he, in effect, apologizes for the film you’re about to see and the experience you’re about to have watching it.
I’m not going to review it in my column, but I was fascinated by it, and when I scraped myself back up off the floor as the end credits rolled, I decided I thought it was, in fact, very good at what it does. You can argue that what it does shouldn’t be done at all (though I wouldn’t), but you have to admit that Laugier knows how to skillfully execute a film and that MARTYRS has ambitions far beyond SAW, HOSTEL and other sleazy exploitation films of that ilk.
So here’s why I’m posting this cryptic little message: If you’ve seen MARTYRS and want to bat around some thoughts on it, feel free to post in the comment section below. I’ll check back every so often and toss in my two cents, and maybe we can get a discussion going.
Here’s a question to start us off: Just what exactly did Anna say to the Mademoiselle?
August 26th, 2009
Via a link on Hollywood Elsewhere, here’s a short clip of Ben Stiller explaining the concept of Twitter to Mickey Rooney.
 I have to say, I pretty much agree with the Mick on this one — except for that bizarre “don’t hit ‘er, twitter” gag at the end. What’s up with that, Mick?
August 24th, 2009
If you’re a fan of MAD MEN and want to hear some other fans discuss this week’s episode, “Love Among the Ruins,” well, you’re in luck. Billy Kulpa, Sean Driscoll and I saw down a few hours ago and batted around the latest developments at Sterling Cooper. Among the topics touched upon…
Peggy’s one-night stand with a pre-law/engineering major
Don’s huge mistake in having Betty’s dad move in with them
How, judging by the date along, Roger’s daughter’s wedding probably won’t be a jolly occasion.
And the genuine crime that was the demolition of New York’s beautiful Penn Station.
Download the podcast here, and if you have any comments, leave them with this post or send them to podcast@rrstar.com
August 21st, 2009
Bad news for Martin Scorsese fans (including me): Paramount has giving his latest film, SHUTTER ISLAND, the bump, delaying its release date until Feb. 19, 2010.
The insane asylum thriller, based on a novel by Dennis Lehane, was originally slated to open in October, which seemed like the perfect time of year for a movie with that sort of creepy vibe. Plus, a fall release would make sense for a movie by one of America’s finest directors and a cast that included Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley and Patricia Clarkson. Plenty of potential Oscar nominees in there, you know.
And, surprisingly, that might be the problem. According to the Hollywood buzz, the move comes because Paramount didn’t have the money to promote a movie like this the 2009 awards season. The theory goes that (a) in 2010, the studio’s finances may improve and more money will be available for promotion, (b) SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, the last film to sweep the major Oscar categories, opened on Feb. 19 (way way back in 1991) and (c) with 10 Best Picture nominees making the cut, a movie opening early in the year might have a solid shot at a nod.
Whatever. All I know is now I have to wait four more months to see it.
Here, to remind you of how promising this film looked, is the trailer…
August 21st, 2009
In GROUNDHOG DAY (one of the best movies of the 1990s, incidentally), snarky weather man Phil Connor (Bill Murray) learns to be a better person after reliving the same exact day over and over (and over and over) again. The question remains, though — just how long was poor Phil stuck in the 24 hours of Groundhog Day?
It turns out there’s a bit of a debate. Harold Ramis, who wrote and directed the movie, says in this e-mail to Heeb Magazine’s Web site that he spent at least a few decades on that single day:
 ”I think the 10-year estimate is too short. It takes at least 10 years to get good at anything, and, alloting for the down time and misguided years he spent, it had to be more like 30 or 40 years… People [i.e. spaz] have way too much time on their hands. They could be learning to play the piano or speak French or sculpt ice”
Turns out Ramis is responding to this guy, who claims it was eight years, eight months and 16 days. And he has the math to prove it! (Check out his site for the extremely detailed explanation of the graphic below.)
Supposedly, the original version of the script had Murray stuck on the same day for the equivalent of 10,000 years. Personally, I like that idea. It fits more into the philosophical theme of the film — that to become a better person, it might take a very, very long time.
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