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Showing posts from July, 2010

Thor Trailer

It's a little lengthy and some spoilers could be had, but after watching the Comic-Con trailer for Thor I feel more comfortable with the casting of Chris Hemsworth. Kenneth Branagh has full confidence, but Alexander Skarsgård (True Blood) seemed like the better fit. Agent Coulson is featured again in the trailer and he may very well be the funniest player in the Marvel universe.

Review: Dinner for Schmucks

They should have called this Brick Tamland meets the straight man. Tim (Paul Rudd) is a 6th floor analyst for a distressed assets firm (this alone would be the basis for a movie about schmucks) and with the dismissal of a higher-up, Tim has the opportunity to break it big-time. Fender Financial is in the red and could use a big boost to its liquidity with the addition of Swiss millionaire Müeller to the firm.  Unfortunately if Tim wants to get to the 7th floor to play with the big dogs William (Daily Show's Senior Black Correspondent Larry Wilmore) and Caldwell (Ron Livingston) he'll have to invite an idiot to dinner with big boss Lance Fender (Bruce Greenwood). Oft-proposed girlfriend Julie (Stephanie Szostak) doesn't like this side of Tim and tells him to decline, which he would have done had an prime candidate not came into his life in the form of taxidermy enthusiast Barry (Steve Carell). Paul Rudd has made a career as of late playing the straight man to t

What's Next for the Nolans?

With Inception placed firmly into the history books of cinema it is now a good opportunity to look at what the Nolan Bros. will do with their other superhero story. I may be the only one that feels this way, but after watching Cillian Murphy as Robert Fischer Jr. in Inception , his performance made me think he could pull off the Clark Kent/Superman dynamic. The problem with the casting of a Superman (one actor rumored right now is Joe Manganiello) is that you are also casting Clark Kent. Murphy can pull off that believable fragile Kent down-to-earthness where others cannot. It also helps that Murphy has those intense blue eyes that could register as alien-like to some degree. While he is a tad slim, so was Tobey Maguire before Spider-man, muscle can be put on. Another persistent rumor is Jon Hamm, but he has skirted the issue several times when asked and he might not be the right choice for WB if they are looking for a younger actor. But if WB is willing to go older (Robert Dow

Listen to Scott Pilgrim vs. the World Soundtrack

I can't believe that Edgar Wright had the Universal theme done up in an 8 bit video game intro vibe. From the soundtrack "Black Sheep" from Metric and Beck's "Ramona" are my favorites. On the score Beck's "We Are Sex Bob-Omb" & "Death to All Hipsters" are fun to rock to as well. This movie is going to be great fun. Spaced fans rejoice!

Give Him the Kick!

In case the ending needed any clearing up... (Courtesy:  Last Exit to Nowhere )

Black Swan, The Town, & Buried Hit Toronto

The highly anticipated thriller from Darren Aronofsky starring Natalie Portman will be seen at Toronto's International Film Festival. Along with that is crime-caper The Town  starring Ben Affleck and Jon Hamm and the Ryan Reynolds led indie hit that premiered at Sundance Buried. Other noteables to hit the Festival are Robert Redford's The Conspirator , Casino Jack , Alejandro Gonzalez Innarittu’s Biutiful and   a sure-fire contender for Best Animated film The Illusionist.

The Vault: Space Camp

Relatively enjoyable because of the fantasy aspects, SpaceCamp 's downfall is the poor execution of the details. As is standard in children's films, each of the characters is introduced by the archetype they are most immediately identifiable with. This isn't really a bad thing; there are only so many minutes in a movie, and it's often better in a simple film like this just to reference which character a role is and get on with the plot. You don't watch a movie about four nerds accidentally being shot into space by an overly literal robot for the character study. The acting errs toward the ham-fisted, with the worst performance being turned in by eventually Oscar nominee Jaoquin Pheonix. He was only 12 at the time, so you can give him a break for that. Lea Thompson turns in her usual (at the time) nerdy pretty girl routine, but it was done much better in Back to the Future . The most entertaining part of the movie was yelling at it about all of the logical inco

Stone Trailer

It shall be seen whether or not Stone will be the gritty crime thriller that one would expect with the involvement of De Niro and Norton, or Righteous Kill redux. Edward Norton hasn't had an intense role in a while and the trailer looks like he's been given a shot at a solid performance.

The Town Trailer

This trailer is tense. While I held some interest in this before the spot, it shot right up to most anticipated right after the Coen's True Grit remake. Following Gone Baby Gone is no easy task, but this looks like it has a great chance. An ace cast in Affleck, Hamm, Hall, Renner and Cooper. I'll be waiting for this one eagerly.

Review: Inception

Kafkaesque is a word used frequently, and for the most part incorrectly, but an entirely appropriate term to reference Christopher Nolan's latest, Inception . Dominick Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) has one last score to make before he can get his life back. Saito (Ken Watanabe) needs Cobb and his crew to infiltrate the mind of Robert Fischer Jr. (Cillian Murphy) and plant an idea. Arthur (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is skeptical and very vocal about it. Inception, that is, the placing of an idea into someone else's subconscious hasn't been successful before, but Cobb is willing to risk it all. Deception has always been a motif in Nolan's films and Inception is no different. This film does not hesitate to subvert what the audience's expectations are and leave you grasping for air trying to figure it all out. Irrationality lurks everywhere in our dreams. Events taken and shoved into a random assortment of our collective conscience lead down rabbit holes too uncomfort

Here's Ryan!

Entertainment Weekly has the scoop on the new Green Lantern suit for the upcoming film. The suit is completely motion capture and, although it hasn't been seen in its entirety, it reminds me of Spawn, slightly. (Courtesy: EW)

Due Date Trailer

It's nice to see Downey Jr. in a full-fledged comedy and even better to see Galifinakis in a leading role that doesn't require him to be an idiot-savant. Shades of Planes, Trains and Automobiles can be seen but the Galifinakis's opening line eases any thoughts this is Oscar-bait.

My Favorite Scenes: Catch Me If You Can (2002)

A perfectly crafted opening introduction to the film. It explains what it's about without saying anything and it manages to integrate the credits without plastering some set designer's name over Tom Hanks face when the film opens. Plus, you just can't beat a score by John Williams.

Comic Book Films and the Psyche

This past decade saw an explosion in superhero films. With comic mainstays such as Batman, Spider-man and Superman, even lesser known ones like Daredevil, The Punisher, and Ghost Rider, seeing their films released in a span of time that needed heroes more than ever. Spider-man centered around a teenager in Queens, who, after receiving a bite from a radioactive spider, rose to meet the pressures of doing the right thing in a tumultuous time. For many New Yorkers it was too easy to relate to a character like that. Bruce Wayne becomes a vigilante after seeing his parents shot down and Tony Stark see his business turned against him as the weapons his company manufactures are used to hold him ransom. The X-Men are a group of societal outcasts who are fighting simply for the right to exist. All of these heroes compartmentalized what we wanted to believe about ourselves. Forced into rigid circumstances we can do what's best. For many these films represented a zeitgeist. Those wh

Review: Knight and Day

Girl meets boy, girl meets boy again on a plane, boy shoots everyone on plane and drugs girl so they can get away. It's a little spin on a familiar formula. Roy Miller (Tom Cruise) is a super-spy who might need a mental adjustment, and is on the run from the government. June (Cameron Diaz) is the woman stuck with him on a flight to Boston. Things start off friendly enough, they flirt, share their future "someday" dreams and when June goes off to the bathroom, Roy dispatches everyone on the plane. Of course he is kind enough to meet her with a drink when she comes out. A kiss is exchanged and he tells her he has to land the plane. June's flight from Wichita to Boston was to find a part for her father's GTO that she plans on rebuilding and then giving to her sister for her wedding that weekend. Unfortunately, with her new association with Roy she won't be going anywhere. Now on the run along with him, June must do everything she can to stay alive a

3D So Far

With Avatar's release last year 3-D became the instant "big thing" in Hollywood and so far it's resulted in some disappointment. Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland  did extremely well at the box-office, but most of that could easily be due to Johnny Depp, the 3D was panned by most reviewers. Post conversion attempts such as The Last Airbender and Clash of the Titans  were both met derisively for both their plot and 3-D, so not a successful venture either way . Most filmmakers are learning that post-conversion just isn't working and have decided to film with 3D cameras instead of making the hasty, grimy and often unappealing post process. Saw VII , Jackass 3D , and the rest of the offerings are expected to just more of the same, tired pop-out schtick that has been passed off as the real thing for years. One of the films being released made in production with 3D cameras is Tron Legacy . With that said that's why Tron Legacy  is the first big pictur

Listen to Inception Soundtrack Now

While the soundtrack for Inception won't be out for a few more weeks you can get a sneak peek at some of the tracks now at Amazon. So far my favorite tracks are "Radical Notion" and "528491".