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Showing posts from July, 2012

Olympic 'Skyfall' Teaser

Wow. I have no words for how spectacular that footage looks. That would have made for an excellent Olympic opening in itself.

Christopher Nolan's Farewell Letter to Batman

Thanks to a very devoted fan over at SuperheroHype , we have access to a letter closing out Christopher Nolan's ties to Gotham and the guardian who watches over it. Alfred. Gordon. Lucius. Bruce . . . Wayne. Names that have come to mean so much to me. Today, I’m three weeks from saying a final good-bye to these characters and their world. It’s my son’s ninth birthday. He was born as the Tumbler was being glued together in my garage from random parts of model kits. Much time, many changes. A shift from sets where some gunplay or a helicopter were extraordinary events to working days where crowds of extras, building demolitions, or mayhem thousands of feet in the air have become familiar. People ask if we’d always planned a trilogy. This is like being asked whether you had planned on growing up, getting married, having kids. The answer is complicated. When David and I first started cracking open Bruce’s story, we flirted with what might come after, then backed away, not wanti

What to See in Toronto

The Toronto Internation Film Festival is the most accessible of film fests, but this year a few of the artier films are making their debut along with the more mainstream fare. Two of my most anticipated films are included on that list such as Derek Cianfrance's followup to Blue Valentine and Ben Affleck's third directorial effort. The film that is sure to get the most attention, however, is Terrence Malick's To the Wonder . Whatever the reaction will be to Malick's latest tone-poem, it will be fun to see first-hand. The Place Beyond the Pines Derek Cianfrance, USA (World Premiere) Luke (Ryan Gosling) is a professional motorcycle rider who turns to bank robberies to support his newborn son. But when he crosses paths with a rookie police officer (Bradley Cooper), their violent confrontation spirals into a tense generational feud. The Place Beyond the Pines is a rich dramatic thriller, tracing the intersecting lives of fathers and sons, cops and robbers, heroes and

Review: The Long Goodbye (The Dark Knight Rises)

"Because he's not the hero we need right now, but he's the one we deserve." Eight years have passed since Gotham last needed Batman. Without the ornaments and implements of Batman, Bruce Wayne rings hollow. When we last left the Dark Knight he was on the run from the police and held in contempt by virtually all of Gotham. Shouldering the weight of Harvey Dent's crimes and suffering the loss of Rachel, he is in his own personal hell. Any semblance of a normal life ended with a sick joke and a cleansing burn. Gotham itself is also in a transitional phase. The dark, transient city from Batman   Begins was melded into a shiny metropolis for The Dark Knight and now is waiting to be torn apart in Rises. The have-nots have dragged on for far too long and now the socialites are ticking down the seconds before the doors burst open. What Christopher Nolan does with this Batman trilogy is take a mirror and—under the guise of being only a comic book movie—hold

'Man of Steel' Teaser Trailer

Masterful use of scoring music to what's onscreen. This teaser resembled less a cookie-cutter comic book trailer rather than a Terrence Malick film. Most importantly, there is none of the slow-motion expected of a Zack Snyder film.

Just How Big Will 'The Dark Knight Rises' Be?

According to the folks over at Visible Measures , The Dark Knight Rises could be even bigger than The Dark Knight . I'm going to let that wash over you for a moment... bigger than one billion dollars worldwide. When comparing internet views of the respective trailers for each film, Rises quadruples the 2008 release. Perhaps even more interesting is how it compares to  The Dark Knight  when it released back on July 14, 2008. As of its release date,  The Dark Knight  had scored 48+ million views, with no views coming from the movie studio.  Of course 2008 was a different time for online video – there was less content and less people watched less frequently – but a discrepancy of over 150 million views between the two films is titanic. How that translates into ticket sales is anyone's guess, but it can only mean good things for Christopher Nolan as he prepares to send Batman to take a bow.

'The Master' Has A Poster

The is-it-about-Scientology-or-isn't-it film that has easily swept most of the conversation of the blogosphere has debuted its new poster exclusively to  The Huffington Post . One of the more unique pieces of marketing that I've seen in a while. Kudos to the team behind Paul Thomas Anderson's latest feature, you've done a great job.

Thomas Jane's Punisher Comic-Con Short

I wanted to make a fan film for a character I’ve always loved and believed in – a love letter to Frank Castle & his fans. It was an incredible experience with everyone on the project throwing in their time just for the fun of it. It’s been a blast to be a part of from start to finish — we hope the friends of Frank enjoy watching it as much as we did making it. One of the best aspects of Comic-Con is that true appreciation of character and art is often found on display. Moments when Ryan Reynolds recites the Green Lantern oath with a small fan, when Andrew Garfield dressed up in costume for the press conference for  Amazing Spider-man , so on and so on. This year we got to see Thomas Jane give back to the fans with a fan-film short featuring the Punisher (whose rights belong to Marvel again, btw). Maybe Jane will see himself in a Marvel-production of The Punisher, maybe not, but the sentiments are welcome.

Unscripted Movie Magic

Some of the best lines in cinema history are completely made up on the spot. Here are twenty-five of the best unscripted movie quotes of history.

Warner Bros. Goes Dark with 'Man of Steel'

As the saying goes, if one of your properties makes billions of dollars, then  just keep applying that same treatment to all of your films. That's not a saying? Oh well. You still have a Man of Steel comic-con poster to enjoy.

Edgar Wright Teases Our Obliteration

One can't help but wonder if this poster for The World's End  is a barebones layout of the plot via this exchange in Shaun of the Dead . Deceptively simple, yet brilliant.

Marvel's Avengers Assemble Epic Box-set and Artwork

It is a little too early to think about Christmas shopping, but if there is a geek in your family, than this is the Holy Grail of gifts. Marvel recently announced the release of a six film box-set including all of Marvel's outings from Iron Man  to The Avengers . The set not only includes ten disc with a great deal of special features but each film is housed in its own must-see sleeve created by Matthew Ferguson. The box-set is available for pre-order on Amazon now, but for a look at the artwork head below. (Courtesy: Marvel.com )

Skyfall Debuts New Q

Dapper, young fellow isn't he? This is our first look at the character in Sam Mendes' Skyfall .  Ben Whishaw is stepping into some rather large shoes following Desmond Llewelyn's turn as Q for thirty three years of the Bond franchise.  It will be interesting to see if he brings his own comic edge to the films, or is relegated as a background character with lots of shiny objects at his disposal. (Courtesy:  007.com )

Aronofsky's 'Noah' Not What You Expected

Many were surprised when Darren Aronofsky announced that his next film would be an adaptation of the tale of Noah. Not surprisingly, Aronofsky's tale will be a tad different than you may have imagined, including "six-armed angels". Hi t-Fix's Drew McWeeny says this after reading the script for Noah : Sure, the basic broad strokes of the story are pretty evident. Noah (Russell Crowe) hears the voice of God warning him that the world cannot be allowed to survive in the corrupted, ruined form Noah sees around him. It is a violent, freaky, scary world that Aronofsky and his co-writer Ari Handel have created. I’m particularly excited to see how Aronofsky brings to life the Watchers, eleven-foot-tall fallen angels with six arms and no wings. They have a major presence in the script, and they’re fascinating. Early on, when Noah needs to go see his grandfather, he has to move through the homeland of the Watchers, something that is not easy to do.   Yep. Just like t

Second 'Gangster Squad' Trailer

So much testosterone. Between Sean Penn and Josh Brolin alone, they could get flood the entire state of California.

Bane Wants You to See 'Dark Knight Rises' In IMAX

Did I mention that he isn't very good at asking? No? Well I'm sure he won't mind if you don't go... it's not like he is a terrorist or anything. As a reward, if you go to the midnight showings on July 19th, you well receive one of these posters. Presumably to scare visitors in your home. 

Nolan "Finished with Batman" After Dark Knight Rises

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, director Christopher Nolan  confirmed his involvement regarding a potential Batman reboot and a Justice League film. Batman will outlive us all, and our interpretation was ours. Obviously, we consider it definitive and kind of finished. The great thing about Batman is he lives on for future generations to reinterpret, and obviously, Warners will have to decide in the future what they’re going to do with him. We’ve had our say on the character. I’ve got no plans to do anything more, and certainly, no involvement with any  Justice League  project. Obviously this comes as a disappointment to Warner Bros., but letting Christopher Nolan pursue his own creative interests is in the best interest of all involved. Keeping him around in a producer's role for a project he isn't interested in helps no one.

Review: Along Came A 'Spider-man' Reboot

It has hardly been ten years since Spider-man  made its onscreen debut. A journeyman director known for horror took a well-known comic book and turned it into one of the largest global franchises in movie history. Two years after that, Spider-man 2  overtook its predecessor, raking in over $700 million worldwide in the process. It seemed that there was no limit to the heights Tobey Maguire and Sam Raimi could reach. That is until Spider-man 3 . While the third installation of the Spider-man franchise made the most amount of money, it also left most moviegoers discontent with what they had received. Too many villains, too much mascara-clad Peter Parker, too much everything. Raimi, Maguire and company had lost their way. The phoenix burned itself into ashes. Enter a new Peter Parker for a new generation. He is an outcast, he is angsty, he is English. Andrew Garfield endured a great deal of vitriol when he was announced as the new face of Marvel's most famous web-slinger. Wha

Rest In Peace: Ernest Borgnine

ERNEST BORGNINE January 24, 1917 – July 8, 2012 Ernest Borgnine died today at the age of 95.   He was best known for his roles as  Lt.  Com. Quinton McHale of TV's McHale's Navy, for which  he was nominated for  an  Outstanding  Lead Actor In a Comedy Series Emmy in 1963, and for 1955's Marty , where he played the title role of a lonely Italian-American butcher, and for which  he won an Academy Award for Best Actor.   A  versatile  actor, Borgnine was also known for his more  villainous  roles, such as the role of Coley Trimble in Bad Day at Black Rock , the sadistic Sgt. 'Fatso' Judson in From Here to Eternity,  and as Dutch Engstrom in Peckinpah's iconic The Wild Bunch .    He is survived by his wife Tova Traesnaes, four children, and his  impressive six decades  of work.  Rest in Peace, Ernie.

Monsters and Mecha-Suits? Must Be Pacific Rim's Poster

If there is ever any doubt that Guillermo Del Toro is beloved, go to Comic-Con, you'll notice the legions of fans chanting his name. Those unfamiliar with Pacific Rim  should read the synopsis below. Do so quickly, the chanting starts in about twenty minutes. Guillermo Del Toro... Guillermo Del Toro... Guillermo Del Toro... When legions of monstrous creatures, known as Kaiju, started rising from the sea, a war began that would take millions of lives and consume humanity’s resources for years on end.  To combat the giant Kaiju, a special type of weapon was devised: massive  robots , called Jaegers, which are controlled simultaneously by two pilots whose minds are locked in a neural bridge.  But even the Jaegers are proving nearly defenseless in the face of the relentless Kaiju.  On the verge of defeat, the forces defending mankind have no choice but to turn to two unlikely heroes—a washed up former pilot (Charlie Hunnam) and an untested trainee (Rinko Kikuchi)—who are teame

Review: Vets Outshine Leads in 'Savages'

Business makes for strange bedfellows, but for Chon, Ben and O, strange bedfellows makes for everyday life. Audiences watching Savages  may be wondering how their shared relationship works, but they are asked to accept it relatively early as intimate scenes come fast and frequently.  The film depends on the audience's ability to believe that Chon, Ben and O really love one another and that love never seems to coalesce. Taylor Kitsch, Aaron Johnson and Blake Lively perform admirably, but their chemistry is always in question.  That wouldn't be a problem if we weren't asked to believe that Chon (Taylor Kitsch) and Ben (Aaron Johnson) are best friends and they would do anything to save O (Blake Lively), currently held in a compound guarded by a particularly psychotic Lado (Benecio Del Toro, in gleeful killer mode). Elena (Salma Hayek) wants Ben and Chon's successful drug business, and if she has to kill people to get it, she will. Yet, Elena underestimates these two

'Dark Knight Rises' Imax Poster Suggest Unthinkable

Will Batman live to see the end of Christopher Nolan's epic trilogy? Perhaps. Yet, with every new tagline, every line of dialogue introduced in the trailers, and each poster like the one above, the possibility exists. Killing off the face of a franchise is almost unheard of, but Christopher Nolan has made the better part of nearly $2.5 billion worldwide for Warner Bros., so we may very well be saying goodbye to Dark Knight on July 20th.