The game where I throw out one of cinema's more obscure quotes and you try to guess it. Readers are currently 15 for 21. Let's see if you can name the film this quote is from:
"What's going on in this candy-coated heart of darkness."
Friday, March 29, 2013
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
It's that time of year again folks, that's right, The LAMMYs! This year I have foolhardily decided to campaign for the Best Movie Reviewer award. There are many great options for this award, and I would greatly appreciate your vote (collection of reviews here).
Thank you and good luck to the rest of the contenders.
Friday, March 22, 2013
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
There is just a little too much going on in this poster. Iron Man 3 looks as if it will prove to be Tony Stark's biggest personal challenge and it's no wonder given how he is being squeezed out of his own promotional materials. On the other hand, Ben Kingsley may be a perfect stand-in for the world's most interesting man.
Saturday, March 16, 2013
Two packages waited for me today, there was no sending address and I wasn't anticipating anything in the mail. Inside the first package was little box with a black ribbon wrapped around, once opened there was a key.
Confused, I grab the second parcel. Package number two was also a box, but what was enclosed was far more revealing. A pencil box with the visage of India (Mia Wasikowska) inside. The central protagonist of Chan-wook Park's Stoker is naturally grim and while we know the pencil comes into play during the film's nastier moments, the key is a mystery.
After India's father dies, her Uncle Charlie (Matthew Goode), who she never knew existed, comes to live with her and her unstable mother (Nicole Kidman). She comes to suspect this mysterious, charming man has ulterior motives and becomes increasingly infatuated with him.
I would like to thank Fox Searchlight for definitely one of the coolest moments I've experienced as head of Never Mind Pop Film. Very much appreciated.
Stoker hits theatres in wide release on March 22nd!
Friday, March 15, 2013
Want to win a copy of Peter Jackson's The Hobbit? Simply take the Hobbit quiz in the app above and post your score (and email if possible) in the comments below. Scores will be tallied and the contest ends on April 8th.
Please feel free to share this contest via Twitter or Facebook.
UPDATE: The winner is Antony Bosch
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Part of a continuing series about the most talented pairings of filmmakers today. On deck, Brad Pitt and David Fincher.
The players: David Fincher and Brad Pitt
The works: Se7en, Fight Club, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Remember when Brad Pitt was just "the good looking guy from Thelma and Louise"? David Fincher, known for tackling darker material, snapped him up and made him into one of the most talented, if underrated, leading men of his generation. Whether he's playing the enigmatic Tyler Durden, the head-strong Detective Mills or the understated Benjamin Button, Fincher is behind the scenes in some of Pitt's best performances.
Read more at GotchaMovies!
Monday, March 11, 2013
Rapscallion and traveling magician Oscar Diggs (James Franco), you can call him Oz, performs acts for audiences across the dusty roads of Kansas. He's not happy with his place in life and a conflict presented in the form of a cuckolded strong man makes Oz's decision to escape all too easy.
A tornado whisks Oscar off to a foreign land where there are none of the problems that plague his life.
He is greeted on the shore by a woman who doesn't fit the general description of a witch. Theodora (a game Mila Kunis) explains to Oz that his arrival in their land is foretold by a prophecy and he will be the wizard to save the kingdom of vast riches. Without much hesitance, Oz tells Theodora that he is in fact the answer to their prayers.
Theodora, Evanora (Rachel Weisz) and Glinda (Michelle Williams) are the three powers that reside in Emerald City. The sisters are feuding and in order for Oz to claim the throne, he must defeat the wicked witch who slayed the previous King. Oz agrees to this condition while forgetting he isn't an actual wizard.
Sleight of hand won't save Oz if he wants to defeat the wicked witch and his habit of forming enemies with women he meets also poses challenges. Fortunately, he went have to do it alone, aid comes in the form of a flying monkey, Finley (Zach Braff), and a china doll (Joey King).
Selecting James Franco as the titular Oz was a curious choice, while Franco is a showman in most regards, he seems miscast for this role. A prequel to The Wizard of Oz requires a lead man with a sense of authority even if he questions himself. Oz needed a charismatic actor to pull it together.
Sam Raimi does what he can with this huge project (a few of his trademark scares), but there is only so much he can bring to a Disney tentpole. These flicks have been focus grouped and tested so that they appeal to as large an audience as possible. Tinkering with the formula is generally frowned upon, but Raimi knows where to hide some visual flourish.
There is a sense of too many endings before the film closes out, but it is a slight addition so the overall effect isn't lost, though franchise building is definitely felt.
Oz: The Great and Powerful is made up of too many moods to coalesce into a tonally consistent film. There are winks from Army of Darkness, candy-colored visuals from Alice in Wonderland and heartwarming moments from the original Oz. The tonal twist and turns are a little distracting and the lead feels too disingenuous to make it work entirely, but background characters like Finley and China girl (lovingly rendered pieces of SFX) present some warmth to a story that suffers a little too often from a post-modern sense of irony.
**1/2 out of ****
Saturday, March 9, 2013
Victor (Colin Farrell) is the trusted right-hand man of one of New York's more unscrupulous land developers, Alphonse (Terrence Howard). Alphonse is receiving threats from an anonymous party and he will spare no expense in dispatching that threat.
When Victor isn't scouring the city for gangsters, he eats microwaveable noodles at home by himself. His neighbor Beatrice (Noomi Rapace) waves to him, but that is the extent of his communication with the world outside of work. His loss has severed him from life.
Beatrice is no stranger to tragedy herself, an accident has left her physically scarred permanently. Possessing a window into Victor's life, she finds out information that could make his life his infinitely worse, and that may just be her ticket to satisfying the need for revenge in her heart. Her ultimatum comes at a terrible time for Victor, who has his own scores to settle.
Forced into dealing with each other, soon they find kindred spirits in each other. Beatrice and Victor are the physical manifestations of wounded prey, they have been injured, but not killed, and there is nothing more dangerous than wounded prey.
Niels Arden Oplev proved he had the sensibilities of a revenge thriller director with The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, but his lead actor and the pulp material failed him ultimately. So for his English language debut, Oplev took his best asset (Rapace) and paired her with one of the more underrated actors working today.
Colin Farrell is past the stage of his career where he is forced into the typical Hollywood leading man mold, but he has found his niche with morally grey characters in more independent features.
Noomi Rapace takes what could largely be a thankless role in another film and offers a layered woman instead of the helpless victim portrayed so often in revenge flicks.
Dead Man Down works for the most part, which makes the decidely silly turn during its last act particularly hard to stomach. Thugs walking around with automatic weapons in broad daylight, plowing vehicles through buildings, and odd character motivations all rear their ugly heads when a film should be flourishing in its last stretch. All of these things invalidate the drama that came before.
That is a shame given Oplev had, up until that point, crafted an intimate portrayal of grief and the wrecking ball effect revenge takes on a life. Even with the flair Oplev employs during chase sequences and shoot-outs, the high is never recaptured.
**/****
Friday, March 8, 2013
Following another massive hit in The Dark Knight Rises, Christopher Nolan has already selected his next feature, Interstellar.
Directed and written by Academy Award-nominee Nolan (“INCEPTION,” “THE DARK KNIGHT RISES”), “INTERSTELLAR” is based on a script by Jonathan Nolan. The film will be produced by Emma Thomas and Christopher Nolan of Syncopy Films and Obst of Lynda Obst Productions. Kip Thorne will executive produce. The film will depict a heroic interstellar voyage to the furthest reaches of our scientific understanding.
Brad Grey, Chairman and CEO of Paramount Pictures said, “As a filmmaker and storyteller, Chris has continuously entertained the world with his extraordinary and unparalleled talents. I am pleased beyond measure to welcome him to the Paramount Pictures family. Partnering with Chris, Emma, Lynda and Warner Bros. to release this original idea next November is the perfect way to start the Thanksgiving and holiday movie season for audiences around the world.”
Jeff Robinov, President, Warner Bros. Pictures Group, said, “Christopher Nolan is truly one of the great auteurs working in film today, and we’re extremely proud of our successful and ongoing collaboration with him and Emma Thomas. We are excited to be teaming with Paramount, and look forward to working with the Nolans, and producer Lynda Obst, on this extraordinary new project.”
Interstellar arrives November 7, 2014, in theaters and IMAX®
Interstellar arrives November 7, 2014, in theaters and IMAX®
Thursday, March 7, 2013
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Part five of a continuing series of movie rules, to catch up with parts 1-4 click here.
If you toke, you croak.
Robberies are discussed in diners.
Teapots boiling sound like screams.
Psychiatrists only want to talk about dreams.
No one says goodbye on the phone. Ever.
007 is always down for a tryst.
Black leather looks awesome.
Minions can't shoot worth a damn.
All submarine movies end in disaster.
In every heist there is an insanely unhinged person in the crew.
Half the time, Robert DeNiro is a cop.
Meals are always unfinished.
Mel Gibson hates English people.
Male romantic rivals are assholes.
Bullets don't go through wood.
Keanu Reeves kills himself. A lot.
Unseen persons from behind are friends.
Nothing good happens to beloved Kings and Queens expecting child.
There's always a loudmouth from the Bronx in a WWII film.
People wander into the street without looking get hit by a car.
If you toke, you croak.
Robberies are discussed in diners.
Teapots boiling sound like screams.
Psychiatrists only want to talk about dreams.
No one says goodbye on the phone. Ever.
007 is always down for a tryst.
Black leather looks awesome.
Minions can't shoot worth a damn.
All submarine movies end in disaster.
In every heist there is an insanely unhinged person in the crew.
Half the time, Robert DeNiro is a cop.
Meals are always unfinished.
Mel Gibson hates English people.
Male romantic rivals are assholes.
Bullets don't go through wood.
Keanu Reeves kills himself. A lot.
Unseen persons from behind are friends.
Nothing good happens to beloved Kings and Queens expecting child.
There's always a loudmouth from the Bronx in a WWII film.
People wander into the street without looking get hit by a car.
Monday, March 4, 2013
Freddie Quells (Joaquin Phoenix) is the textbook definition of a scoundrel. Contained on a vessel in the Pacific he could pass for normal, but only due to the distressed nature of war-time. He remains in company purely due to his innate ability as a mixologist. Still, his cocktails possess the kinds of contents that bootleggers would consider hazardous.
Following his naval tour, Freddie is a veteran who finds himself without a place. Jobs come in an erratic order and he finds himself out of them just as quickly. He looks as uneasy in the world physically as he is mentally. Perpetually hunched, Freddie makes everyone around him a little more uncomfortable. He has a convicts' eyes, constantly searching for exits.
When Freddie seeks a free ride boarding a yacht, he finds himself under the inquisitive gaze of Lancaster Dodd (Philip Seymour Hoffman). Dodd takes Freddie in, for what reason is unknown, but he sees something in the feral cat of a man that no one else does. In the interest of science, Dodd must know what makes Freddie tick.
Dodd is the leader of The Cause, a group dedicated to returning to the perfection in man by finding our flaws in our past. To his detractors, Dodd preys on the willing belief that his audience offers, much like a magician. He offers solutions in a life that has few following the second World War. Peggy (an increasingly varied Amy Adams) appears to be the steady hand behind Lancaster, but she is a driving force. Where he is weak, she pushes him, the movement must not fall prey to outsiders or critics.
Freddie presents a major road block to legitimacy in Peggy's mind. Especially when naysayers start appearing in door wells of Cause gatherings. Some changes in language of "processing" does not ease the minds of benefactors. Dodd simply just dances around these questions with light jokes and casual asides, forever the showman.
L. Ron Hubbard is a reference, but nothing Paul Thomas Anderson nor Hoffman offers is reverent to the actual man. The Cause's expansion is hinted at, but never fully acknowledged. And Freddie, well, his enigma will forever remain unsolved.
As perfectly rendered as every technical aspect of The Master is (including the sumptuous 65mm print), the film's lack of emphasis on the story it tells is frustrating. Joaquin Phoenix and Philip Seymour Hoffman embody the id and ego relationship that makes them both so interesting to watch, but ultimately it feels like it didn't mean anything. When two performances are as strong as Hoffman's at times charismatic and at others Dodd and Phoenix's total devolution into a madman, that is a shame.
Paul Thomas Anderson has slowly transitioned the structure of his pictures from ensemble pieces to character studies replacing the inherently likable with cast-outs like Daniel Plainview and Freddie Quell. One man learning to obey his master, the other forced to roam the world without one.
Is it an evolutionary leftover that plagues man to place such faith in alpha members of society? Anyone with a polished image of themselves and a confident message can become a prophet. Placing your faith in the hands of these men is a dangerous game and one that rarely ends without displeasure.
One can only characterize watching The Master as holding a match, watching the embers slowly burn their way down to your fingers, but you don't care because you are entranced by it, you will pay for staring into the fire, but you don't know it yet. Eventually the light of The Master is gone and the only thing that remains is a burn of lingering questions.
**1/2 out of ****
Blu-ray review at Film Annex
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