Friday, July 31, 2009
Coco Before Chanel
I would never ordinarily be interested in the subject matter of this movie which tracks the rise of the famous Gabrielle 'Coco' Chanel in the fashion world. However when you add the screen presence of Audrey Tautou this looks like it might well be one of the big releases of the Fall. Look out for the film which will go on limited release in the US September 25th and if you are in the UK the movie comes out today!
Top 10 TV Shows
In yet another affirmation that I do not watch what everyone else in America is watching here is the latest list of the 10 most watched TV shows as of July 30th!
1. So You Think You Can Dance (FOX)
2. America's Got Talent (NBC)
3. Wipeout (CBS)
4. Criminal Minds (CBS)
5. CSI: NY (CBS)
6. America's Got Talent (8 p.m.) (NBC)
7. I Survived a Japanese Game Show (ABC)
8. The Philanthropist (NBC)
9. Primetime: Crime (ABC)
10. New Adventures of Old Christine (CBS)
I don't watch any of these shows but I still think I watch a ton on TV!
Thursday, July 30, 2009
The 66th Venice Film Festival
This festival is a great mix of European cinema and Hollywood glamor. Regularly attended by the likes of Pitt and Clooney the 66th edition of the festival takes place between September 2nd and September 12th and today saw the announcement of this years film lineup. The festival is the home of the coveted Golden Lion award whose past winners include Monsoon Wedding, Vera Drake, Brokeback Mountain and The Wrestler. The lineup for this years festival includes 71 world premieres.
36 vues du Pic Saint Loup Jacques Rivette (France)
Accident Cheang Pou-Soi (China-Hong Kong)
Baaria Giuseppe Tornatore (Italy) – Opening Film
Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans Werner Herzog (U.S.)
Between Two Worlds Vimukthi Jayasundara (Sri Lanka)
Capitalism: A Love Story Michael Moore (U.S.)
La Doppia Ora Giuseppe Capotondi (Italy)
Il Grande Sogno Michele Placido (Italy)
Lebanon Samuel Maoz (Israel)
Life During Wartime Todd Solondz (U.S.)
Lo Spazio Bianco Francesca Comencini (Italy)
Lourdes Jessica Hausner (Austria)
Mr. Nobody Jaco van Dormael (France)
Persecution Patrice Chereau (France)
Prince of Tears Yonfan (Hong Kong)
The Road John Hillcoat (U.S.)
A Single Man Tom Ford (U.S.)
Soul Kitchen Fatih Akin (Germany)
Survival of the Dead George Romero (U.S.)
Tetsuo The Bullet Man Shinya Tsukamoto (Japan)
The Traveller Ahmed Maher (Egypt)
White Material Claire Denis (France)
Women Without Men Shirin Neshat (Germany)
OUT OF COMPETITION
Anni Luce Francesco Maselli (Italy)
Chengdu, I Love You Fruit Chan, Cui Jian (China) – Closing Film
The Hole Joe Dante (U.S.)
The Informant! Steven Soderbergh (U.S.)
The Men Who Stare at Goats Grant Heslov (U.S.)
Napoli Napoli Napoli Abel Ferrara (Italy)
L'oro di Cuba Giuliano Montaldo (Italy)
Prove per una tragedia Siciliana John Turturro, Roman Paska (Italy)
REC 2 Jaume Balaguero, Paco Plaza (Spain)
Scheherazade, Tell Me a Story Yousry Nasrallah (Egypt)
South of the Border Oliver Stone (U.S.)
Yona Yona Penguin Rintaro (Japan)
MIDNIGHT MOVIES
Gulaal Anurag Kashyap (India)
Dev D Anurag Kashyap (India)
Brooklyn's Finest Antoine Fuqua (U.S.)
Delhi-6 Rakeysh Omprakash (India)
Valhalla Rising Nicolas Winding Refn (Denmark)
GOLDEN LION FOR LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT 2009
JOHN LASSETER AND THE DISNEY/PIXAR DIRECTORS
Toy Story 3-D (New Version) John Lasseter (U.S.)
Toy Story 2-D (New Version) John Lasseter, Lee Unkrich, Ash Brannon (U.S.)
HORIZONS
Francesca Bobby Paunescu (Romania) – Opening Film
One-Zero Kamla Abou Zekri (Egypt)
Buried Secrets Raja Amari (Tunisia)
Tender Parasites Christian Becker and Oliver Schwabe (Germany)
Adrift Bui Thac Chuyen (Vietnam)
Crush Petr Buslov, Aleksei German Jr., Borisd Khlebnikov, Kirill Serebrennikov, Ivan
Vrypayev (Russia)
Repo Chick Alex Cox (U.S.)
Engkwentro Pepe Diokno (Philippines)
The Man's Woman and Other Stories Amit Dutta (India)
Paraiso Hector Galvez (Peru)
Io sono l'amore Luca Guadagnino (Italy)
Cow Guan Hu (China)
Judge Liu Jie (China)
Pepperminta Pipilotti Rist (Switzerland)
Tris di donne e abiti nunziali Martina Gedeck (Italy)
Insolacao Daniela Thomas and Felipe Hirsch (Brazil)
1428 Du Haibin (China)
I Travel Because I Have to, I Come Back Because I Love You Marcelo Gomes and Karim Ainouz (Brazil)
Once Upon a Time Proletarian: 12 Tales of a Country Guo Xiaolu (China)
Villalobos Romuald Karmakar (Germany)
Il colore delle parole Marco Simon Puccioni (Italy)
The One All Alone Frank Scheffer (The Netherlands)
Toto Peter Schreiner (Austria)
HORIZONS EVENTS
PROGRAM 1
The Death of Pentheus Philip Haas (U.S.)
Faces of Soul Gina Kim (U.S.)
La Boheme Werner Herzog (U.K.)
Mudanza Pere Portabella (Spain)
PROGRAM 2
Deserto Rosa – Luigi Ghirri Elisabetta Sgarbi (Italy)
Reading Book of Blockade Aleksander Sokurov (Russia)
Armando Testa – Povero ma moderno Pappi Corsicato
La Danse – Le Ballet de l'Opera de Paris Fredrick Wiseman (U.S.) (In collaboration with Dance Biennale)
Hugo en Afrique Stefano Knuchel (Switzerland)
Via della Croce Serena Nono (Italy)
CONTROCAMPO ITALIANO – (NEW ITALIAN CINEMA TRENDS SIDEBAR)
Poeti Toni D'Angelo
Negli occhi Francesco del Grosso
Il compleanno Daniele Anzellotti, Marco Filiberti
Dieci Inverni Valerio Mieli
Cosmonauta Susanna Nicchiarelli
Hollywood sul Tevere Marco Spagnoli
Il Piccolo Maurizio Zaccaro
CONTROCAMPO ITALIANO EVENTS
Giuseppe De Santis Carlo Lizzani
CONTROCAMPO/RETROSPECTIVE EVENTS
Lola Giulio Questi
Hotel Courbet Tinto Brass
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
William Shatner does Palin Poetry
Hats off to Conan for this one. Sarah Palin's farewell speech, which was so odd and so left field, is interpreted by Captain Kirk as a one off beat poem. When Palin says these words they come out as a series of disjointed, almost nonsensical sentences but in the hands of master orator Shatner (ahem) it is literally poetry.
Mad Men Season 3 Promo
AMC are cranking up the excitement as we get closer to the August 16th premier of the third season of Mad Men. I love the image below and have had a few thoughts as to what it might mean is in store for Don Draper ... is he drowning in his personal life? Is his career a sinking ship with the new owners of Sterling Cooper? What do you think? Let me know by posting your comments below.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Movie Review - Brüno
Everything you have heard about this movie is true.It's shocking, outrageous, bizarre and most importantly hilarious. It's one of those films where the stories about people reactions to it are almost as enjoyable as the movie itself. When me and the missus showed up at the megaplex to peep the flick we were amusingly asked for i.d. They weren't serving alcohol as far as I could tell but it was still like getting into a bar in New York on New Years Eve when even grandparents get carded. Naturally I took objection to this I mean come on, I am 41 not 17 and sadly it's very noticeable! It gave me pause to reflect on the fact that I was watching a very edgy movie (for mainstream America) in Chandler, Arizona and not New York City. But it is what it is, so we flashed our licenses and walked in. Well that wasn't it! We were carded again by the 'ticket ripper' and one our way in I heard one of the staff talking about how shocking Brüno was in clearly disgusted tones. It's hard to believe Harkins Theatres was actually showing the movie with all this drama!
Anyway on to the film itself and much like it's predecessor Borat it follows the same theme of Sacha Baron Cohen in character traveling around exposing the prejudices of average (and often intellectually below average) Americans. Cohen plays Brüno, the gay Austrian TV presenter who we were first introduced to in his Channel 4 (UK) and HBO shows. The film has a ridiculous plot of course about Brüno's desire to be famous after losing his TV gig but that storyline is little more than a vehicle to take us from one crazy scene to the next.
As the movie begins no time is wasted in heading swiftly into some extraordinarily graphic scenes of pleasure between Brüno and his boyfriend. We then lurch onwards as the movie picks up speed like an out of control car somehow managing to stay on the road. We get to see Brüno 'up close and personal' at a Swingers Party, attempting to seduce former Presidential hopeful Ron Paul, adopting an African American baby he named O.J, enjoying a Psychic's ability to physically reunite him with his ex lover (the funniest scene in the whole film for me) and many more scenes that at times had me laughing so hard I was crying and could barely draw breath.
As funny as some moments are it is perhaps not as consistently amusing as Borat. Some scenes work better than others and there are times that you question how much of the film was staged. The much seen catwalk debacle was not really that funny at all but just as it was with Borat there are much more shocking scenes not shown in the trailers. One of those being a focus group scene when people off the street gather to look at clips of Brüno's new TV show which is utterly unexpected and frankly amazing that Cohen was able to get it past the MPAA.
I am a very open minded person and hate censorship of any kind which is why I am glad a movie like Brüno can exist. Yes I felt like I was going through airport security trying to watch the thing but at least I was able to see it. This is never going to be a triumph of cinema and you pretty much know you are in for an amusingly tasteless two hours but that's OK. It shows the conservative nuts haven't won, aren't winning and every ticket purchased for this movie allows other film makers to push boundaries. NC-17 was absolutely appropriate for Bruno but I have to say I was pretty shocked when the theater lights came up and some dumb ass walked out with his son who he had taken to watch the movie. The MPAA can't do much about idiotic parents nor it seems can Harkins Theatres.
Rating: ***
Tru Blood Beverage
To celebrate the return of HBO's toothy drama True Blood to our screens they are once again offering us a chance at some pretty groovy TV-tie in merchandise. If you check out the channels online shop you can buy as 4 or 24 pack of the very same bottles used in the show but sadly they are not offering artificially produced blood (something about the FDA not being comfortable selling replica human red-stuff!) but instead you can enjoy the following:"It's official! The Tru Blood drink has now been 'de-fictionalized' and emerges into reality as a delicious blood orange carbonated drink.
Meticulously crafted, the Tru Blood Drink is an exact replica of the bottle design as seen on True Blood. The 14oz glass Tru Blood bottle is stained in a rich red, with raised Tru Blood English lettering and matching Japanese Kanji.
This blood orange flavored soda is slightly tart, lightly sweet and subtly carbonated. Designed to taste great while matching the appearance of Bill’s favorite drink, the drink pours like a regular soda, but with the standing appearance in a glass is stormy and mysterious.
Drink Menu:
The Fangbanger - Tru Blood, Vodka
Death on the Beach - Tru Blood, Peach Schnapps, Pineapple Juice, Vodka
Plasmapolitan - Tru Blood, Citron, Cointreau, Fresh Lime Juice"
I am a so so fan of the show but there are die-hards out there who will surely be drinking little else this summer. If only they stocked it in Safeway!
Monday, July 27, 2009
Tron Legacy Trailer
One of the many very exciting things to come out of this years Comic-Con was the trailer for Disney's long awaited sequel to 1982's Tron. Garret Hedlund (Death Sentence, Eragon, Four Brothers) takes the lead in movie as a techie investigating his father's (Jeff Bridges who will reprise his original role) disappearance. Slated for release in 2010 this will be on my 'must see' list for sure.
Enjoy.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Potter Toppled by Guinea Pigs
The reign of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince at the top of the box office ended this weekend with the arrival of Disney family flick G-Force. While it cannot be easy to be pushed aside by such diminutive stars I am sure Ms Rowling and Warner Bros aren't too upset as they realize the latest cinematic installment of the wizard franchise is now the most successful so far. This sixth Potter movie has raked in an astonishing $627.1 million worldwide. In a time when studios are green lighting every remake possible to try and generate more revenue Warner Bros must see the Potter movies as their very own golden goose.
In case you are wondering I will not be going to see G-Force!
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Friday, July 24, 2009
Dexter Season 4 Preview
Movie Review - Whatever Works
It's a sad fact that in recent years the announcement of a new Woody Allen movie hasn't got me excited like it used to. Even when the critics talked about Allen finding form away from his native New York with movies like Scoop, Match Point, Cassandra's Dream and the Oscar winner Vicky Cristina Barcelona, I wasn't convinced by any of them. That particular set of films went from the quite dreadful, Cassandra's Dream, to the mildly diverting at best, Vicky Cristina Barcelona (I am not a supporter of the decision to give Cruz an Oscar for her performance). Yet when I heard Whatever Works was going to star Allen's fellow Brooklynite Larry David in the lead and the movie was a reworking of a script Allen had written in the Seventies I was in 100%.Allen returns to his native New York to tell a story about Boris Yellnikoff, a familiar character to all fans of his movies who loves nothing more than to offer up his thoughts on religion, death and the basic awfulness of existence to anyone who will listen including directly addressing the theater audience watching. When Boris decides to take in a young Mississippi runaway called Melody St. Ann Celestine played by a virtually unrecognizable Evan Rachel Wood, his life takes a turn for the better by finding an impressionable mind willing to believe his morbid outlook on life. As a relationship of sorts develops between the unlikely pair Melody's very Southern parents arrive played by two terrific actors, Ed Begley Junior and Patricia Clarkson.
It's hard to describe this film without coming up with phrases like 'Vintage Allen' and a 'return to his roots' because frankly that's just what this film is for me. It's comes as no surprise to learn he wrote the majority of the script in the Seventies and simply updated the cultural references for today's audience. The sharp wit and pithy monologues delivered so well by David to other characters and us watching in the theater make you realize Allen had to have originally written the role for himself. He has offered fans this Allen-esqe character before through other actors in some of his previous films and it has rarely worked out as well as it has done in Whatever Works. Did you see 2003's pretty painful Anything Else with Jason Biggs playing that lead character? What about the more recent Scarlett Johannson roles in Scoop and Match Point where I just didn't buy her performance as another version of his typically smart, over-analyzing intellectual.
It is the casting of Larry David that makes this movie. I can't imagine anyone else other than Allen himself playing the character of Boris as David brings what we know of him from his own Curb Your Enthusiasm and it fits in beautifully. His comic timing is just right, although curmudgeonly he remains likable and most importantly he is absolutely believable in the role.
OK so the film lags a little in the middle but mostly the scenes between Boris and Melody are bright and funny. Early on Boris tells us the only way to get through this almost insufferable human existence to is do 'whatever works' and that really frames the character in the film. It's all very familiar stuff for any fan of Allen's work but that's fine with me. Watching this movie is like meeting up with an old friend you used to love and had forgotten how much you enjoyed spending time together. His next project is currently shooting back in London so we shall see if this is a turning point for his movies or just a postcard from the past, let's hope it's the former.
Rating: ****
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Depatures Trailer
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Prince of Persia Poster
In what is another video game turns movie adaptation Jake Gyllenhaal is the Arabian sword wielding hunk of the month teaming up with a rival princess in order to stop the local tyrant from unleashing a lethal sandstorm. Sort of like an Away We Go II then?!
The poster below has Mr Gyllenhall in full pout and peacocking like mad for the ladies and select gents but I have to say it's a little hard to take it seriously. Luckily the poster makes it clear that it's a Walt Disney flick so as not to confuse it with a more serious macho-fest like Crowe in Gladiator.
I hope the film isn't a fancy version of The Mummy because ever since I watched the Banana Splits as a kid i have always had a thing for Arabian Knights (pardon?!). Anyway, if you like Jake you will almost certainly enjoy the poster. Oh and doesn't his red scarf add just a delightful splash of color!
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Movie Manners
In a very amusing feature in the latest issue of Wired magazine titled 'How to Behave: New Rules for Highly Evolved Humans', the star of Inglorious Basterds, Brad Pitt, gives some very good advice for anyone in a movie theater.Question: "Can I answer my cell during a movie if it seems urgent?"
Mr Pitt's Answer: "Never. It may be a brief interruption - just a few seconds - but what if someone sitting next to you is trying to make a decent bootleg? Did you ever think of that? Now all those street-corner copies are permanently defiled by your so-called 'emergency.' Don't be so damn selfish."
I have to say this made me laugh out loud on my flight up to Toronto today (much to the annoyance of those dozing nearby). There are a ton of reasons I could offer you for turning off your cell before a movie but if the big screen ads and pleading celebs can't do it what little chance do I have. Certain people at movies behave much like certain people boarding a plane, they actually think they are at home and everyone else can ram it!
Ah well, the rich tapestry of life etc.
Monday, July 20, 2009
The New Doctor Starts Work
I am still mourning the loss of David Tennant who in my humble opinion was the best Doctor Who since Tom Baker. Now a photo has been released (c/o Empire) of Matt Smith, the newest and youngest ever actor to assume the role of the worlds last living Time Lord.
Seen here with his new assistant Amy Pond, played by Karen Gillan, on a break from shooting the show which will air next year.
Mad Men on the New York Subway
I had left New York for Phoenix by the time Mad Men launched back in July of 2007 but if I had been there I would have surely been thrilled to ride on the Mad Men subway car below. I know AMC must have paid a pretty price for the promotion but for a show about advertising this certainly made a statement!
Did anyone reading this ride on the car below?
From the AMC.com - "AMC has announced that it will be premiering the third season of Mad Men on Sun., Aug. 16 at 10PM ET | 9PM C. The premiere will be presented with limited commercial interruptions. Leading up to the new season will be a Season 2 marathon starting Mon., Aug. 10, from 7AM to 8PM EST."
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Potter Wins Big Box Office
It looks like I was one of many Potter fans that turned out this weekend as latest numbers reported on Variety's website show the movie has now "grossed an estimated $79.5 million from 4,325 theaters over the weekend for a five-day domestic opening of $159.7 million, the best start ever for the still-magical franchise."
Warner Brothers must be beside themselves over this news never mind J.K Rowling!
Just for the fun of it (and for trivia lovers everywhere) did you know that the actor who plays Tom Riddle in the movie is a young lad called Hero Fiennes-Tiffin (yes, really) who is the nephew of slightly more famous Ralph Fiennes who of course plays the Dark Lord Voldemort?
I Love You Phillip Morris
This looks like one of the more original movies starring a couple of of A-Listers I have seen for sometime. Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor are the unlikely couple who find each other in jail after Carrey's character 'wakes up gay' (!?!?!), becomes a con-man and gets caught. According to the most excellent Slash Film site it was pitched as Catch Me If You Can meets Brokeback Mountain which is such a hilarious concept I would go and see it for that reason alone!
This is a French trailer so is probably a little more risque than the one they will release here so if you are the over sensitive type or some kind of right-wing bigot don't press play!
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Movie Review - Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
I am happy be one of the legion of fans that has seen the new Potter flick on its opening weekend and contributed to some astonishing Box Office numbers already. In only its first 24 hours of release this sixth installment of the magical franchise made over $100 million. The Potter movies have traditionally done well here at home but overseas they are also a hit with Holland seeing a record setting $1.3 million opening clearly showing that the Dutch know their Quaffles from their Bludgers!On to the movie itself and I think when anyone sits down to watch a Potter film by now they pretty much know what to expect. Harry, Hermione and Ron have become pop culture characters recognizable to millions of people around the world. From Hogwarts to the Ministry of Magic, from Dumbledore to Sirius Black we share a familial bond with these characters, stories and places that comes from a double dose care of the original books and the movie adaptations.
While I have watched each movie at the theater I admit perhaps unsurprisingly from an adults perspective that as the three main characters have grown up and the tone of the storylines has become darker the movies are in turn more satisfying. The Half Blood Prince is hands down the best of the bunch to date. Not only are we watching the young actors offering better performances but there is real development and plot thickening in this installment that has been somewhat lacking before. We still get to watch Quidditch, take a trip to Diagon Alley and enjoy the high jinks of Fred & George Weasley (at last running their dream business!) but it is the background of Voldemort that interests us more this time around. Using the arrival of a new Professor, Horace Slughorn, played so deftly and with frankly award winning delight by the legend that is Jim Broadbent, director David Yates (back again after helming The Order of the Phoenix) takes us on a far more satisfying journey where the academic year and school pursuits fade into the background to allow much more interesting plotlines to develop.
The tone of darkness and foreboding that is often present in this film is represented by beautifully lit scenes and shots, giving Hogwarts a more ominous air than we are used to. Gone are the playful ghosts like Nearly Headless Nick and instead magical barriers are erected around the school to protect our friends from Death Eaters and the Dark Lord himself. Characters who seemed childishly 'evil' before suddenly grow into real threats to Harry and all at Hogwarts and it is this air of vulnerability which makes the movie so much more enjoyable for an adult audience.
However I should take care to make sure you don't think the franchise has become an NC-17 experience, far from it. There is also much laughter in The Half Blood Prince coming courtesy of blossoming romances for Harry, Ron and Hermione and again with the actors having grown up just that little bit more from the last outing it's all a good deal more believable. The scene where poor Ron eats Love Potion chocolates by mistake and is blissed out by a girl he has never met is one of the funniest Potter scenes to date!
Throw in another top draw performance from Alan Rickman as slithery Snape, Michael Gambon as Dumbledore and even the increased screen time enjoyed by Bonnie Wright as Ginnie Weasley and you have a seriously enjoyable 153 minutes (and no it didn't seem that long at all).
I take my hat off to David Yates as I really didn't think a Potter film could be this good. This is actually a four star movie on paper for me but as it is clearly the best of the six so far let's make it a five shall we? Go and see it, if nothing else it's about the best priced legal escapism out there right now for 10 bucks!
Rating: *****
Friday, July 17, 2009
Movies, Burritos & Food Inc
I have a new obsession quite separate from my love of all things on the Big & Small Screen and that is the Groovy Gourmet Burrito chain we know as Chipotle. Well it seems the purveyor of all things delicious is also a movie fan as they are offering customers the chance to attend a free screening of the 'modern food is a scary thing' movie Food Inc.
Check out where your local free screening is taking place by clicking here and have a gander at the trailer below (if you head down to the actual restaurant try the Carnitas bowl ... it's HEAVENLY)!
Emmy Reactions
Variety have posted a number of reactions to the Emmy nominations which I think is a great idea. Here are a few of my personal top picks talking about their nominations.
“Well, I think all bets would be off if he wasn’t killing by the code and killing deserving parties. Also, the way the show is structured, the audience isn’t a regular observer but (is) in Dexter’s head and a part of that trauma, which adds to the appeal of the character. Another thing that keeps that appeal is that I don’t want it to be ‘who does he kill this week?’ He has to develop, as do his relationships, and I think an example of that is when these relationships are threatened, he is forced to protect them not because of the code he is following but because he has a stake in these relationships now.”
-- Michael C. Hall, lead actor in a drama, Dexter
“I’m not tired of this, although my children are not impressed. Part of this now is having a permanent place in the landscape of TV. The second season was really hard, and we’re very pleased that the Academy viewed it as equal to the first season. The third season is about how people respond to change, and we’re going to investigate that on a micro level.”
-- Matthew Weiner, drama series and writer, Mad Men
“It does feel like a wonderful curtain call, now that the show is over. I think what it will be remembered for in history is the idea of bringing back a person and then making the decision if they live or die. And just the look of it ... it was like watching a mini-movie every week, and what I hear all the time from people on the street is how much they miss it and how much heart the show had. And I think that is something that is missing in some of today’s shows.”
-- Kristin Chenoweth, supporting actress in a comedy, Pushing Daisies
For more reactions click here.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Mad Men & 30 Rock Lead Emmy Charge
The Invention of Lying & The Carrey Connection
The Invention of Lying is the new Ricky Gervais comedy I blogged about a few weeks back in which a man invents lying in a world where everyone tells the truth. Well it appears to me that this movie has two glaringly obvious connections to a couple of Jim Carrey flicks. The first is the premise of this film which the British movie magazine Empire describes as Liar Liar in reverse. The second more obvious one is that the newly released promo' poster for the film couldn't look more like the poster for Yes Man if it tried.
You have to believe that the Liar Liar angle is innocent enough and I think it's fair to say the idea of inventing lying in a world of truth is far enough removed from the Carrey film premise to be agreed to as original. The poster is something different though. Yes Man is a pretty recently released movie and how can the marketing folks behind Lying not have seen the obvious similarities? Is it really a shameless facsimile or just a perfectly innocent coincidence?
Of course little of this really matters, Yes Man was a 5 star triumph and it looks like Lying is going to be a pretty good romp too. Anyway here are the two movie posters for you to make your own mind up!
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
New Alice Pic
Another amazing snap from Burton's 2010 Alice in Wonderland. This time it's Anne Hathaway as the White Queen. Thanks to Empire for this one!
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Who is Cree Summer?
That was my question in 1999 when I went to see Lenny Kravitz at the Brixton academy with my then new date (now my missus!). That night Cree Summer was the support act to Mr Kravitz and while her set was almost certainly excellent I did not have my ears open to new sounds and so missed out .... grrr. Fast forward a few months to find my brand new wife and I in California driving from San Diego to Napa listening to Cree's 1st and so far only album Street Faerie which fast became the soundtrack of our honeymoon. Since 1999 that CD has been a favorite of mine and I have waited and waited for a follow up which never came. It's only relatively recently that I discovered why.You may have wondered why I am blathering on about a singer on a blog that is meant to be about TV and movies ... well ... Cree Summer is not just a great singer, she is also one of the most talented and sought after voice actors working today.
Any TV heads out there might have bumped into Cree when she played the character of Freddie on A Different World (1988-1993) but other than a few guest appearances on shows like Fresh Prince her acting has been wholly behind a mic' doing voiceover work.
Checking out her resume you see the multitude of movies and shows she has worked on. You will almost certainly have heard that distinctive voice at some time or other perhaps on more recent shows including Mike Judge's The Goode Family plus the nicely edgy Drawn Together.
To me Cree Summer will always be a singer who also does voiceovers but it's just so interesting when you dig into the lives of those we listen to and whose talents we enjoy to discover the unexpected.
Check out a song from my 'honeymoon soundtrack' by clicking here.
Monday, July 13, 2009
Classic Movie Scene #1 Goodfellas
Sunday, July 12, 2009
500 Days of Summer UK Poster
This flick really is a rom-com for indie movie lovers (and Smiths fans!) and it opens nationwide on Friday. I missed out when it showed at the Phoenix Film Festival in April but will certainly be peeping it at the weekend with my better half. In the meantime here's the charming UK promo poster showing Tom (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) checking out Summer (Zooey Deschanel).
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Movie Review - Knowing
Nicolas Cage is really testing the loyalty of his fans. I saw the trailer for Knowing and have been looking forward to seeing it ever since but once again Cage's script selection process seems to be failing him.To summarize c/o IMBD the plot goes a little something like this: A teacher opens a time capsule that has been dug up at his son's elementary school; in it are some chilling predictions -- some that have already occurred and others that are about to -- that lead him to believe his family plays a role in the events that are about to unfold.
I really wanted to like this film after all I am not against ludicrous theories mixed up with alot of pseudo-scientific mumbo-jumbo, in fact I am usually quite partial to it. But within in the first 30 minutes of Knowing I ... wait for it ... didn't want to know any more! Oh yes, I know, I am hilarious ... ahem.
The movie was directed by Alex Proyas who has done a couple of films i really liked in the past (The Crow & I, Robot) but I'm afraid this film was all about the script for me. The dialogue laughable at times and while I am not looking for Shakespeare in this kind of movie when Cage stares earnestly out of the window and utters ' How an I supposed to stop the end of the world?' well come on, wouldn't you have giggled? His female partner in the latter part of the movie played by Aussie, Rose Byrne (Damages), manages to get in a similar line which is basically the classic Simpsons cry 'Won't someone think of the children'! This gem comes out as the film is barreling towards its apocalyptic climax and you couldn't have picked a better way to dissolve any tension that had been building.
Add to this symbolic numbers, a few out of space zombie types, eerie cabin in the woods sequences (OK those did make me a bit nervous!) and an ending that really was quite odd then you have another Cage film that doesn't do what you so hoped it would. It's not all bad of course, the action sequences were astoundingly well done and if the movie had been 10 minutes long about a plane and subway crash it would be a 5 star flick but sadly plot and dialogue got in the way.
Come on Nic, get back to making great choices like Matchstick Men, Adaptation or one of my Mega faves Family Man. I will never stop being a fan and will of course wait expectantly for his next movie to be released but let's hope things get much better than this.
Rating **
Friday, July 10, 2009
The Great Buck Howard
Here's a movie I missed back n March of this year when it had a limited release at 50 or so theaters nationwide. Starring John Malkovich as the lead in a comedy about about a 'Mentalist' (enjoy Alan Partridge fans) who achieved great fame, lost it and then regained it once more. If the trailer below isn't enough to whet your appetite then you should certainly be curious to see Tom and son Colin Hanks acting in the same movie together!
I will be watching this one on DVD for sure.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Big Brother Returns
I am blogging in a commercial break of the season premiere CBS's 11th season of reality show Big Brother. I am happy to admit this is my real summer guilty pleasure when it comes to vacuous and hyper-dumb reality shows. I have no idea why but I got so hooked when I moved the the US in 2000 but have only missed 1 out of 11 seasons so far. Julie Chen is the epitome of bland and compared to other global versions of the show it is so mild you would think it's for kids but I will still be watching all summer long ... weird, I know.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Funny People Trailer
Here is the new preview from the upcoming Judd Apatow comedy Funny People starring Adam Sandler, Seth Rogen and Eric Bana which comes out July 31st Stateside. This is another from the director of Knocked Up and Pineapple Express amongst others and you will recognize many familiar faces from his previous flicks. This trailer is pretty funny but not laugh out loud until the last scene ... which really is very funny! Enjoy (oh and over 18 only to watch please).
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Peter Krause Takes Beastly Role
Six Feet Under favorite Peter Krause is reported to have joined the cast of Beastly which is a modern day take on Beauty and the Beast in which a New York teen is transformed into a ugly beast in order to find true love. Krause joins High School Musical 3's Vanessa Hudgens along with Neil Patrick Harris and Mary-Kate Olsen for the 2010 release. The movie is currently filming in Montreal so if you live in that wonderful city snap a few pics of the shoot if you happen upon the set!
You can catch Krause in Parenthood on NBC beginning Wednesday September 23rd.
Monday, July 6, 2009
In Memoriam - Mollie Sugden
It's hard to believe but Mrs Slocombe is no longer with us. Aged 86 when she died last week the wonderful actress was best know for BBC's hilarious 1970's sitcom Are You Being Served. Sugden started her acting career on that other famous Seventies import from the UK The Benny Hill Show and while she acted in a number of different dramas and comedies over the years she will be remembered so fondly for the great TV character that was Mrs Betty Slocombe. The show was a great success at home and abroad running from 1973 to 1985 and her position in charge of the underwear section at Grace Brothers department store never changed.
This is sad for all fans of the show but particularly for us Brits who saw Mollie Sugden as almost one of the family.
Warning - if you are offended by innuendo and risque double entendres please do not view the clip below.
Mad Men Season 2 Interview with John Hamm
In between business trips for my day job I am slowly working through Season Two of Mad Men and it really is just amazing TV. I don't know another show on TV right now with the production quality that we see on this AMC original series.Here is an interview with Mr Don Draper himself, John Hamm, in an interview given to AMCtv.com. SPOILER ALERT - If you haven't seen Season 1 & 2 and want to watch them without knowing what's coming move along!
Q: Did you approach Don differently this season than you did last?
A: I didn't really approach him that differently. He's still the same character. His circumstances have changed a bit, but what's really been cool about this show is we don't see a lot of what transpired over the fourteen months that we skipped over. It's cool that we maintain that little bit of a mystery.
Q: The season begins with Don being warned about his health. Did you try to carry that knowledge with the character throughout the season?
A: I think Don's been less than healthy since we've met him. It's mostly just been about how the quantification of that bad health has affected him. With somebody saying to him, "You're going to have to confront your mortality, buddy," I tried to figure out what that means for him. We've been watching it. Don has been trying to be the good guy and play the straight and narrow, but the circumstances of his life keep interrupting that desire and again, he's stayed in place quite a bit. Who knows, maybe next season will be all about me trying to quit smoking. Good luck.
Q: How did you feel about the way the season ended?
A: There were a couple ways we talked about ending it. But I think that this deliberately ambiguous ending was the right one. There could have been any number of things Betty could have said to Don at the table there, and anything that he could have said in response. We don't know what's going to happen to these two people next -- they've clearly got a pretty dysfunctional relationship and a pretty broken marriage. But I think we are able to maintain a tension when there are more things that are unseen, when we just get little drips and drops. The device of moving forward in time helps that greatly, especially in both seasons when you have a pregnancy moving to the forefront.
Q: Season 2 saw Don's identity beginning to slip. Was it difficult for you as an actor to portray someone whose act is falling apart?
A: Anytime anybody lives a lie it takes a tremendous amount of energy -- physical and psychic and mental and emotional energy too. At 37 years old, the cracks are starting to show in Don's facade. But that's fun to play because here's this guy who is ostensibly a sort of ruler of all he surveys. And that gets interesting when it's actually not the case and you see the other side. Any actor can relate to that, I think. It's not that big of a stretch to say that actors are people who are constantly putting a face on and dealing with the question of what their character's life means. But obviously living a lie is nothing I want to be personally involved with. Don is fundamentally flawed -- some might say fatally flawed. And having to deal with that is a challenge very often.
Q: It was pretty jarring to see Don Draper smiling during the flashback where Dick tells Anna about Betty. Did you have to consciously make yourself smile more in that scene?
A: I think so. Don doesn't smile very much, which is what happens as you get older. Things become a lot less hilarious to you. You've got a lot more on your mind, especially when you've walked down this path that Don has walked down. A lot of it gets more difficult. Fortunately we keep things pretty light on set. Everybody's got a pretty healthy sense of humor, which is nice because the mood of the show is so often heavy. I mean, you get Vincent Kartheiser involved in anything and that automatically ups the crazy angle to the nth degree.
Q: Don Draper seems to have exposed some secret desire in women to have a man of mystery in their lives. How do you feel about that?
A: [Laughs] Yeah, I think the idea of that is way sexier than the reality of it. I really don't think most women would want to come home to a guy who's cheating on them or sleeping around or any of that stuff. That's a lot sexier when it's on the other side of the screen rather than sitting on the couch. Maybe what they respond to is the sort of sense of quiet or subtle masculinity that Don has, which is a very old-fashioned, male archetype. There are not a lot of guys like that in popular culture any more. It would be a tough sell to say they want to be with guys that cheat on them.
Q: Can you relate to that old-fashioned male archetype?
A: Yeah. John Wayne and Harrison Ford and Glenn Ford, it goes all the way back. The strong, silent type is a big deal and strikes a chord with a lot of people in our culture, not just me. That's the way a lot of men were grown up to be in the world, and the way a lot of men want to be seen.
Q: Has playing Don influenced you in any way? Have you started putting Brylcreem in your hair?
A: [Laughs] No, no. I try to leave all that stuff at work. I do get a lot more suits sent my way, which is always nice. They're not quite like Janie Bryant's, which are pretty specific and obviously beautiful. But those suits have very much a vintage aspect, and I much prefer a modern tailoring to say the least.
Q: How far would you like to see Don's story take him?
A: I don't know. It's a tough call, because there's a pretty big sea change that happens at a certain point in society, and I think that the reason Mad Men has been so successful is that it lives in this transitory period of the '60s. Once we move through that into a post-Watergate, post-counter culture world the symbolism of the time shifts into a totally different thing. I don't think we need to follow Don into the late '70s or '80s. His story will have been told by then. I love playing the character and being a part of the show, so in that sense I hope it goes on forever. But shark-jumping can definitely happen if you start thinking like that.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Summer Box Office - The Big Guns
This summer has seen some real box office successes as people once again realize that $10 is a pretty good price for a night out on our recession bowed planet.I haven't seen it yet (I will eventually) but it seems everyone else has already checked out Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen because in only two weeks it is about to become the highest grossing movie released this year to date. As of Tuesday Variety are reporting that the 'robots in disguise' romp starring Mr LeBoeuf & Ms Fox has grossed $448.4m globally which means it will soon pass the previous leader, Angels & Demons which currently is at $469m.
In other interesting box office news Star Trek did double domestically what it did internationally but Terminator: Salvation flipped that and enjoyed it's success from mostly international numbers with the domestic turnout being more modest.
Either way we should pause for a second and reflect on what a good year it has been for movies to date. Both the Trek and Terminator flicks were highlights of my movie year so far, I am still thinking about the outstanding Away We Go and this weekend saw the opening of what look like two great films in Hurt Locker and Public Enemies.
Get thee to the multiplex people, good things are afoot!
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Blogging from the Arizona Biltmore
Hello dear readers, this is just a quick post to say Hello and let you know I am not ignoring the blogosphere completely this weekend. I decided to take advantage of a travelzoo special in my hometown at The Arizona Biltmore for a couple of nights away from the regular routine.
This hotel being the historic Arizona landmark it is, there have of course been a few guests that have stayed here over the years that might interest lovers of movies or TV. One of the biggest stars to have graced these beautiful grounds has to be Clark Gable pictured on the golf course of The Arizona Biltmore below and while I am not quite up there in the ranks of the historic Hollywood elite it's nice to know that where I am now so once was true cinematic royalty!
P.S Happy 4th to all American readers!
Friday, July 3, 2009
MSNBC Lockup Prison Life
Outside of primetime schedules cable news channel MSNBC seems obsessed with life in Americas prisons. Well it appears their love of all things behind bars is expanding as the network announces an expansion of their clearly successful 'oh bugger I'm behind bars' series Lockup.
I have to admit to being a bit of a cable news junkie with CNN and MSNBC being my default stations to flick to when I am bored and slumped on the couch (although I did announce on my Facebook page last night that it was 'over between me and CNN' due to their totally over the top coverage of the Jackson death ... there is other news going on in the world Anderson Cooper). Often when I am surfing on a weekend I will stumble upon Lockup and it's sometimes hard to turn away from. The car wreck that is the American prison system is just bizarre in its scariness, whether you are worried about people getting to know you too well in the shower or which racially defined prison gang to run with, it is frankly a nightmare. Why anyone who doesn't have a deep love for violence and the constant threat of violence would ever contemplate doing something that is prison worthy in this country (DUI in Arizona anyone?!?!) I really cannot fathom.
I can't ever imagine setting the Tivo to record one of these shows but obviously many viewers do as the show is now being expanded to now look at prisons across the globe. This sounds like a joke but it really isn't. MSNBC are launching the Lockup: World Tour presumably setting out to prove that prison life in Serbia, Poland, the Czech Republic, South Korea, Thailand, Taiwan, Israel, Jordan and Turkey is way more dreadful that the good old U, S and A (talking of Borat I wonder if the producers were too scared to visit a prison in Kazakhstan!).
A producer of the show is quoted on Variety "While life in U.S. prisons can be shocking, it's nothing compared to what goes on in prisons around the world" ... really? No. Surely not! Well duh! We all saw Midnight Express and while that movie is now incredibly 31 years old I have to guess the Turkish prison system hasn't gone through an Ikea style makeover.
But frankly you can show anything you want from the most bonkers countries around the world in terms of prison based degradation but what should worry most people is being the victim of a miscarriage of justice or mistaken identity and then having to decide whether you will be in a very non-reality show alliance with the Aryans, Bloods, Crips, 14th Street Bangers etc for the rest of your natural life!
Hmmmm maybe emigrating to Sweden isn't such a bad idea after all.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Bruce Willis in New Kevin Smith Movie via Twitter!
To all those that say 'Twitter's a load of ****, who cares if someones having a ham sandwich for lunch?' well the reason The Big & Small Screen signed up is largely to get shots like the one below. This was posted yesterday by director Kevin Smith on the set of his new directorial effort A Couple of Dicks starring Bruce Willis, Tracy Morgan, Seann William Scott and Jason Lee. To see these kind of shots from a set of a movie you are excited about in virtual real time is pretty groovy (sorry, Austin Powers is on in the background!) to a movie nerd like me. To follow Mr Smith on Twitter click here.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
In Memoriam - Karl Malden
While it's never easy for movie fans to lose a great screen actor Karl Malden at least lived until the rip old age of 97 and that's pretty cool. Malden best known for his role as Detective Lt Mike Stone in The Streets of San Francisco, died at his home in Brentwood, California today of natural causes. He was a star of both the Big & Small Screen appearing in many movies including an Oscar winning turn in A Streetcar Named Desire. He also appeared in such classics as On The Waterfront (where he performed his Oscar nominated role as Father Barry in my old stomping ground of Hoboken, NJ), Birdman of Alcatrazz, Nevada Smith and Patton.
For a full obit' from Variety click here.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
