Editor of FILMdetail
Those clever folks at Improv Everywhere (the acting troupe behind the brilliant Frozen Grand Central) have now turned their attention to little league baseball.
They recently turned a regular kids game in Hermosa Beach, California into a major league style event:
> Official site for Improv Everywhere
> Find out more about Improv Everywhere at Wikipedia
Kevin Spacey stars in and also produced 21, which is the new film about a group of MIT students who use their math skills to count cards in Las Vegas.
Spacey plays Mickey Rosa, the professor who tries to persuade Ben Campbell (Jim Sturgess) to join his blackjack team.
Based on the bestselling book ‘Bringing Down the House‘ by Ben Mezrich, it is currently the number 1 film at the US box office.
I recently spoke to him about the film and his work at the Old Vic Theatre in London.
Listen to the interview here:
[audio:http://filmdetail.receptionmedia.com/Kevin_Spacey_on_21.mp3]DownloadĀ it as a podcast via iTunes by clicking the image below:
21 opens in UK cinemas this week
> Download this interview as an MP3 file
> Kevin Spacey at the IMDb
> Official site for 21
> The Tech at MIT on the students who inspired the film
Rescue Dawn sees director Werner Herzog revisit the story of Dieter Dengler with Christian Bale in the lead role.
Herzog is one of the true mavericks still working in cinema and over 40 years since his first film, it is heartening to see him still active.
The success in 2005 of his brilliant documentary Grizzly Man not only introduced new audiences to his marvellous back catalogue, but also afforded him the opportunity to make a more mainstream film with a high profile star.
Although the making of Rescue Dawn was filled with the storm and stress that has been a hallmark of Herzog’s productions, it was probably his most accessible film in years, despite the fact that it didn’t really set the box office on fire.
The story of Dieter Dengler was one familiar to the director as he had made the documentary Little Dieter Needs to Fly about the German-born US fighter pilot for German TV back in 1997.
Dengler managed to overcome extreme poverty during his childhood in Germany and when he emigrated to the US, joined the army.
Achieving his dream of becoming a pilot, he was then shot down on a mission over Laos during the Vietnam war. He was a POW for several months before somehow managing to escape after an epic struggle through the jungle.
Although on the surface Rescue Dawn is a more straightforward retelling of Dengler’s story, it has much in common with the themes of Herzog’s work, notably that of man struggling against the odds in a hostile world.
Unlike many films set in the Vietnam War, it eschews any wider political context, focusing on the human struggle of Dengler and his will to survive against incredible odds.
On first viewing, some aspects may puzzle fans of Herzog’s earlier work (in particular the final shot) but much of the power of the film comes from the lack of irony and melodrama that has plagued war films.
The DVD has a good selection of extras that includes:
If you haven’t seen Little Dieter Needs to Fly, then it is essntial viewing for anyone interested in this film or Herzog’s documentaries. It fills in a lot of Dengler’s backstory and it would actually make an excellent 2nd disc extra for a future edition of this DVD.
> Buy Rescue Dawn on DVD from Amazon UK
> Listen to our interview with Werner Herzog about Rescue Dawn
> A long and interesting profile of Herzog in The New Yorker by Daniel Zalewski that details the difficulties in making Rescue Dawn
> Official site of Werner Herzog
> Check out reviews of Rescue Dawn at Metacritic
> Find out more about Herzogās career at the All Movie Guide
> A lengthy Senses of Cinema essay on Herzog by David Church
> See Werner get shot at during a BBC interview with Mark Kermode
> A collection of photos from the set of Rescue Dawn on Flickr
> Find out more about Dieter Dengler at Wikipedia
> Buy Little Dieter Needs to Fly at Amazon UK
German uber-hack director Uwe Boll has said he will retire if a million people sign this online petition for him to stop making films.
The people behind it state:
To Dr Uwe Boll,
We, the undersigned, respectfully ask that Uwe Boll give proper weight to the wishes of the video game community, the horror community, and the film going community in general and stop directing, producing, or taking any part in the creation of feature films.
His distasteful handling of the subject matter and lack of acknowledgement of his failures simply cannot be abided any longer.
Mr. Boll has repeatedly shown a complete lack of comprehension regarding the videogames he has dragged, kicking and screaming, to the silver screen and his ham-fisted approach to horror has soiled future possibilities for anyone else who may attempt to bring videogames to film.
Sincerely,
You can sign it here.
> Uwe Boll at the IMDb
> Some reviews of his work at Rotten Tomatoes
The Watercooler has been posting some of the worst movie scenes ever.
Here is Part 1, featuring Steven Seagal in a hilariously awful fight scene from On Deadly Ground:
Charlton Heston has died aged 83.
BBC News report:
Heston died on Saturday at his home in Beverly Hills. His wife Lydia, whom he married in 1944, was at his side.
Heston also portrayed Michelangelo, El Cid and other heroic figures in movie epics of the 1950s and 1960s.
He stepped down as president of US gun lobby, the National Rifle Association (NRA), in 2003, citing ill-health.
The previous year, he had revealed he had symptoms consistent with Alzheimer’s disease.
In a long career he became best known for his roles as Moses in The Ten Commandments, Colonel George Taylor in Planet of the Apes and Judah Ben-Hur in Ben-Hur.
He also played a part in getting Orson Welles to direct the classic 1958 film noir Touch of Evil, in which he also starred.
Reuters have compiled a factbox about him:
Here is the famous ending to Planet of the Apes:
> BBC News report on Charlton Heston’s death
> Charlton Heston at the IMDb
> Find out more about Charlton Heston at Wikipedia
This we we take a look at Funny Games and Son of Rambow.
Listen to the reviews here:
[audio:https://www.filmdetail.com/podcast/get.php?fla=podcast-2008-04-04-49444.MP3]Download and subscribe to the review podcast via iTunes by clicking on the image below:
> Download this review podcast as an MP3 file
> Get local show times for your area via Google Movies
> Check out other reviews for these films at Metacritic
> Listen to our interview with Funny Games producer Chris Coen
> Listen to Garth Jennings, Jessica Hynes, Will Poulter and Bill Milner discuss Son of Rambow
> Check out our interview with Sylvester Stallone about the latest Rambo film
Breach sadly didn’t find the audiences it deserved at the cinema but is a well crafted and compelling spy drama.
It is based on the real life story of Eric O’Neill, a young FBI agent working under Robert Hanssen, who was an agent convicted of spying for the Russians in 2001.
Starring Ryan Phillippe as O’Neill, Chris Cooper as Hanssen and co-starring Laura Linney, Dennis Haysbert, Caroline Dhavernas and Kathleen Quinlan it was written and directed by Billy Ray, who also made the similarly under-rated Shattered Glass in 2003.
The highlight here is the terrific central performance from Chris Cooper, who gives a haunting turn as the enigmatic traitor. He skilfully teases out the contradictions at the heart of Hanssen’s life: why would a religious patriot who railed against the godless Soviet Union then sell secrets to them?
In certain respects, this is the polar opposite of the Bourne and Bond spy movies. Instead of gunfights and chases, it focuses of the sobre reality of law enforcement –Ā a world where beaureacratic infighting slowly grinds agents down. A pre-9/11 environment where a clever man like Hanssen could deceive his unwitting colleagues.
The story itself is quite incredible – the film opens with real footage of then Attorney General John Ashcroft describing a “serious breach in the security of the United States“. It was was one of the most embarrassing episodes in the history of US intelligence and Hanssen only escaped execution by co-operating with the FBI. He is currently serving a life sentence in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day at the Supermax Federal Penitentiary in Colorado.
The extras aren’t extensive but have some good insights into the events surrounding the film. They include:
Check out the trailer here:
> Buy Breach on DVD from Amazon UK
> Official site for Breach
> Reviews of the film at Metacritic
> Find out more about Robert Hanssen at Wikipedia
The first photos of Green Zone have surfaced over at The Bad and Ugly.
Matt Damon was pictured on set in Central London.
Directed by Paul Greengrass, it is based on the 2006 book Imperial Life in the Emerald City by journalist Rajiv Chandrasekaran.
Here is a breakdown of the cast, courtesy of Wikipedia:
Apparently Paul Greengrass was at the Emirates Stadium last night to see Arsenal draw 1-1 with Liverpool in the Champions League.
He’s a Crystal Palace fan so I wonder who he wanted to win?
UPDATE 04/03/08: Some more photos have surfaced on Flickr. It looks like they are filming at Freemasons’ Hall in London. I guess it is doubling for a building inside the Green Zone?
(Photos via Matt Dell)
Someone has also posted a video on YouTube:
> Green Zone at the IMDb
> Original post at The Bad and Ugly
> Guardian interview with Paul Greengrass last year
The last couple of weeks has seen a rash of US film critics at established publications get fired, laid off or take early retirement.
The latest high profile casualty is David Ansen of Newsweek, who is stepping down from his full time role at the US weekly magazine and leaving at the end of the year.
He joins an ever expanding list of film writers who’ve recently retired or been let go. Amongst them are: Nathan Lee of the Village Voice, Jack Matthews and Jami Bernard of the NY Daily News, Jonathan Rosenbaum of the Chicago Reader, Michael Wilmington of the Chicago Tribune, Terry Lawson of the Detroit Free Press, Jan Stuart and Gene Seymour of Newsday, and several more.
Three high profile producers and distributors are quoted in the New York Times by David Carr. Producer Scott Rudin has calls it āA dire situationā, Tom Bernard of Sony Pictures Classics says it is āa terrible lossā and Mark Urman of ThinkFilm says it āputs serious movies at riskā. All three, it must be noted, produce or distribute the kind of films that rely on good critical word of mouth.
But how big a crisis is this? Is the traditional film critic soon to be a thing of the past?
Anne Thompson at Variety recently asked some interesting questions about the role of the critic on her blog and although I initially wrote this up as an email, I thought it made sense to post my answers here:
Do we need film critics? Yes, but not just to say what’s good and bad.
What is their purpose? Like any good writer they should inform, enlighten and entertain. Providing context and perspective will increasingly become more important than dishing out 5 stars – but then for the best critics, this has always been the case.
Is it being served by something else? I guess one of the big changes is how criticism has been eroded by buzz. For example, a lot of people have formed opinions on blockbusters like Indy 4 and The Dark Knight from all the production and pre-release chatter, so they will go and see it. In a sense their opinion of the film is almost confirmed just by seeing it. Check out this ABC News report about the release of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom from May 1984. There was hype then about what was a huge release, but what’s changed is that the web has amplified buzz and chatter (some good, some bad) to the point where considered reviews by print critics are merely a footnote rather than a key aspect in the opening of a film.
With the case of lower grossing awards season movies like No Country for Old Men and There Will Be Blood, it gets a little more complex. There’s no doubt that a lot of online buzz and writing helped those films but key older outlets (e.g NY Times) still play a big role in framing these debates. In fact, the brilliant job Miramax did marketing NCFOM was in how they cleverly surfed this wave of chatter, to the point where possible negatives (e.g the violence, subtle ending) became reasons to actually see the film rather than avoid it.
As aging film critics retire and move on, who will replace them? Younger ones. Or perhaps film sections in papers and magazines will become more like forums, with established critics acting like moderators. The films sections of The Guardian and the New York Times would appear to be models of what may become the norm. But it could be a more gradual process than one might think.
Are there some younger leading lights? This is an interesting question as I can’t think of many ‘established’ critics under the age of 40. Is this because you need to build up many years of movie going in order for your opinions to carry weight? I’m not sure, but it seems to be the case. It also depends what you mean by ‘younger’, as I tend to judge on the quality of opinion rather than the age of a particular writer. What will replace print film criticism? The web. But I wouldn’t declare print dead just yet. Chunks of it will die but in free sheets and magazines it still has a future, albeit one that is tied with an online presence as that’s where the advertising bucks will be coming from.
Should every print critic with a job build a blog following ASAP? Sort of. But as long as its done right. I think the print outlet should help their journalists interact with their audience whether it is via a blog, a podcast or even just an email address (e.g. Roger Ebert’s letter page). It is the interaction that’s important, not necessarily the technology. One thing I think that people underestimate about blogs is that your opinions are spread more efficiently and effectively online and you have a useful archive that anyone can see at anytime. Some traditional outlets have got to seize the opportunity of the web rather than keep moaning about declining sales and standards.
If the younger generation doesn’t read newspapers and doesn’t seek out that one person who reflects their taste online, where will they get their information on what to see? Can one person truly reflect another’s taste? Did they ever? Viewers will still get coverage, as it is just human nature to find out more about something you like. I guess people will just gravitate to sites they like and find helpful. I also think review sites like RT and Metacritic help you get in touch with opinions you disagree with, which is actually healthy and also strangely addictive. Plus, despite what some sceptics might think, debates on blogs aren’t always Bourne vs Bond spats or arguments about the latest Iron Man trailer, they can also be in depth discussions of quality films. The beauty of the web is the breadth and depth. A single critic on a newspaper can’t even expect to compete with this. For myself, I use Netvibes or Google Reader to pull all the feeds of sites I’m interested in – which is a lot – and I just browse and rearrange from there. But I also use essential sites like Google, IMDb, Wikipedia, YouTube, Flickr – and more recently Twitter – for any film related stuff.
What is the impact on Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic on film criticism? Overwhelmingly positive as it gives viewers a wider range of opinion. It really is as simple as that. But I don’t get why Rotten Tomatoes is always quoted more – Metacritic is actually the more useful site. Maybe it is because RT has been around longer.
In case you missed it last October I wrote about a panel at the London Film Festival that covered similar issues. It was chaired by Variety’s Lesie Felperin and featured Peter Bradshaw from The Guardian, James Christopher from The (London) Times, Steve Hornby from BBC Movies and James Fabricant from MySpace.
What do you think about these issues? Leave any comments below or email me.
> Anne Thompson’s post at Variety
> David Poland reacts at The Hot Button
> David Carr (aka ‘The Bagger’) with a piece in the NY Times
> Jeff Jarvis with a prescient post from April 2006 about the death of traditional critics
> LFF Panel on ‘Is the Internet Killing the Film Critic?’ from last October
Son of Rambow is a charming coming-of-age tale set in the 1980s about two young boys who make their own short film after seeing Sylvester Stallone as Rambo in First Blood.
I recently spoke with the director Garth Jennings, Jessica Hynes and the two young leads Bill Milner and Will Poulter.
Listen to the interviews here:
[audio:http://filmdetail.receptionmedia.com/Garth_Jennings_Jessica_Hynes_Bill_Milner_and_Will_Poulter_on_Son_of_Rambow.MP3]DownloadĀ it as a podcast via iTunes by clicking the image below:
Check out the trailer here:
Son of Rambow is out at UK cinemas this Friday and US cinemas on May 2nd
> Download these interviews as an MP3 file
> Garth Jennings, Bill Milner, Will Poulter and Jessica Hynes at the IMDb
> Official site for Hammer and Tongs – the production company behind the film
> Find out more about the original Rambo at Wikipedia
> Check out the official site of the Rex Cinema in Berkhamstead where some of the film was shot (and where I saw films in the 80s as a kid)
> Get showtimes for Son of Rambow via Google Movies
I’ve added a Twitter sidebar to the site.
I want to log every film I see with a quick update, plus its also there for things that are a bit too short for regular blog posts.
Plus, if you are a Twitter user you can also follow the feed here.
Let me know what you think.
> The FILMdetail Twitter feed
> Find out more about Twitter at Wikipedia
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford is a very rare thing – an arthouse movie released by a major studio.
Based on Ron Hansen’s 1983 book, Brad Pitt stars as the infamous US outlaw in what is a slow, revisionist Western directed by Andrew Dominik. Think McCabe and Mrs Miller crossed with Days of Heaven mixed with Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid.
So how did Warner Bros end up financing and releasing it? Brad Pitt was a huge fan of Dominik’s first film – the brilliant Chopper – so when the director suggested adapting Hansen’s book, production went ahead.
It soon became apparent that this was not the film the studio was expecting – the release was delayed by up to a year after the star, director and studio were at loggerheads over the final cut.
When it eventually got released last Autumn, it had it had a number of admirers but didn’t do much busines. Despite a few award nominations (Brad Pitt won Best Actor at the Venice Film Festival) it will probably go down as a film the beancounters at Burbank regret making.
My feelings on seeing at the cinema were mixed. The dazzling technical achievements of the film and excellent performances were offset by the frustrating sense that this wasn’t the finished product. The narrative seemed too disjointed and although some people complained about the 160 minute running time, I would be keen to see a longer version that plugged some of the narrative gaps. The result was a film and story that just wasn’t as involving as it should have been.
But despite those problems, there is much to admire here. Roger Deakins’ cinematography is some of the best of his career as he manages to depict both the grime and beauty of the American West. This doesn’t really look like any other Western and some of the individual shots – such as the train robbery sequence – are breathtaking.
Added to this are some excellent performances. Brad Pitt doesn’t always get to show his acting chops, but here he gives his role just the right amount of charm, ruthlessness and mystery. Casey Affleck is equally good as the protege who betrays his idol, with his awkward deference masking a steely ambition. The supporting cast, which includes Sam Rockwell, Jeremy Renner, Mary Louise-Parker and Sam Shepherd, is also very good.
Disappointingly, the DVD is bereft of any significant extras. Although the 2-disc collector’s edition contains a beautifully illustrated 44-page booklet, the only extra is on the second disc. It is a 30 minute documentary called āDeath of an Outlawā, which examines the life and death of the real Jesse James and includes interviews with all the key cast and filmmakers.
Sadly, there is no commentary and although Dominik has said he is willing to do a director’s cut at some point in the future, I have a feeling that won’t see the light of day for a while. But despite that it remains a film worth revisiting on DVD becuase what’s good here is very, very good indeed.
> Buy the DVD from Amazon UK
> Official site for the film
> IMDb page
> Reviews at Metacritic
> Andrew Dominik interview with LOVEFiLM
> Find out more about the real Jesse James at Wikipedia
In 1997, director Michael Haneke made Funny Games – a disturbing but memorable film about a middle class family terrorised by two young sociopaths.
In 2005, producer Chris Coen approached Haneke with the idea to remake the film in English and he agreed to direct this new US version.
It stars Naomi Watts and Tim Roth as the married couple, Devon Gearhart as their young son and Michael Pitt and Brady Corbet as the mysterious men who turn up at their holiday home.
I spoke to Chris recently about various aspects of the film including: how the remake came about, the recent reception certain US critics gave the film and the challenges of remaking it shot-for-shot.
Listen to the interview here:
[audio:http://filmdetail.receptionmedia.com/Chris_Coen_on_Funny_Games.MP3]To download the interview as a podcast via iTunes just click the image below:
Funny Games is out at UK cinemas this Friday
> Download this interview as an MP3 file
> The official site for Funny Games
> Buy the original Funny Games on DVD from Amazon UK
> Chris Coen and Michael Haneke at the IMDb
> John Wrayās lengthy profile of Michael Haneke in the New York Times last September
> A previous post on the US critical reaction to the film
Martin Scorcese now has a MySpace page:
This week we review Drillbit TaylorĀ and 27 Dresses.
Listen to the podcast here:
[audio:https://www.filmdetail.com/podcast/get.php?fla=podcast-2008-03-28-80942.MP3]Download and subscribe to the review podcast via iTunes by clicking on the image below:
> Download this review podcast as an MP3 file
> Get local show times for your area via Google Movies
> Check out other reviews for these films at Metacritic
Popular Mechanics have a short interview with Grant McCune – the man who designed R2-D2 and the Millenium Falcon.
Here is an excerpt:
Whatās the secret to making a good model?
For motion picture miniatures and production miniatures, Iāve always told people to get a good background in photography first.
The most important thing is what you see with your eye. Movies are a lot different from reality. This is because youāve isolated the viewerās eye to a certain spotāyou canāt look anywhere else.
If youāre a photographer, you get the idea of what you need to do by analyzing what it is that needs to be set and where it is and how much detail it should have. All the best people who ever worked for me were first good with the eye.Ā
Check out the full interview at the website of Popular Mechanics.
[Link via Digg]
> Grant McCune at the IMDb
> The website for Grant McCune Design
Stephen Fry with some thoughts on Web 2.0 courtesy of VideoJug:
Actor Richard Widmark has passed away at the age of 93.
BBC News report:
Hollywood star Richard Widmark has died at the age of 93 after a long illness, his wife has announced.
The prolific actor, who often portrayed killers and gunslingers, made a memorable big-screen debut in 1947 as a giggling psychopath in Kiss of Death.
He went on to star in such 50s classics as Night and the City, Pickup on South Street and the western Broken Lance.
The craggy-faced actor died at his home in Connecticut on Monday, according to his wife Susan Blanchard.
His last film role came in the 1991 thriller True Colors, although he made occasional appearances afterwards in TV documentaries.
Although not a huge star, he was memorable in Kiss of Death, Panic in the Streets and Night and the City.
In the 1960s perhaps his most notable role was in Judgment at Nuremberg, whilst in the 1970s he was effective as the villian in Coma.
> Richard Widmark at the IMDb
> BBC News obituary
It looks like Ian McKellen will return as Gandalf in the upcoming film version of The Hobbit.
In the E-Post section of his official website, he indicates that he’ll be back as the wizard:
THE HOBBIT
Q: So has it come to pass, good Sir McKellen?
Shall the dreaming masses with their musty books andĀ their blackened pipes at long last hear those immortal words issue from under that famous nose?
“Yes, yes, my dear sir-and I know your name, Mr. Bilbo Baggins. And you do know my name, thoughĀ you don’t remember that I belong to it. I am Gandalf, and Gandalf means me! To think I shouldĀ have lived to be good-morninged by Belladonna Took’s son, as if I was selling buttons at the door!”
Looking about, I find I share the same hopes asĀ millions of others, so I ask, a single query in aĀ chorus… Will you again be our Gandalf in “The Hobbit” now that the deal is settled?
A: Yes I will, if Peter Jackson and I have anything to do with it, he being the producer and me being, on the whole, a very lucky actor.Ā I’ve just read your quote out loud – fabulous speech.
The Hobbit is scheduled for release in 2011 and will be produced by Peter Jackson and directed by Guillermo del Toro.
> Ian McKellen’s official site
> The Hobbit at the IMDb
> The announcement in December about The Hobbit (finally) getting greenlit
> Find out more about Gandalf at Wikipedia
[Link via First Showing]
This is a rather impressive montage of films by the Coen Brothers by Paul Proulx – the man behind the recent Paul Thomas Anderson video:
One of the best documentaries to come out last year was In the Shadow of the Moon, which explores the Apollo space missions in the late 60s and early 70s.
Containing interviews with the surviving Apollo era astronauts, including Al Bean, Michael Collins, Buzz Aldrin, Charlie Duke, and Harrison Schmitt, it also contains previously unseen NASA footage from the time.
I spoke recently to director David Sington about the film and we discussed a number of things including who came up with the idea for the documentary, the legacy of the Apollo program and the reception the film in the US.
You can listen to the interview here:
Or here:
[audio:http://filmdetail.receptionmedia.com/David_Sington_on_In_the_Shadow_of_the_Moon.MP3]To download the interview as a podcast via iTunes just click the image below:
In the Shadow of the Moon is out on DVD on Monday 31st March
> Download this interview as an MP3 file
> Buy the DVD from Amazon UK
> The official site for In the Shadow of the Moon
> David Sington at the IMDb
> Find out more about the Apollo space missions at Wikipedia
Why We Fight is a 2005 documentary that explores why the US has engaged in military conflicts since World War II.
Directed by Eugene Jarecki, it uses as its’ starting point the speech President Eisenhower gave in 1961 warning about the dangers of a military-industrial complex.
Containing interviews with John McCain,Ā Richard Perle, William Kristol and Gore Vidal it also explores the story of a Vietnam vet whose son died in the 9/11 attacks; a newly enlisted soldier and a former Vietnamese refugee who now develops weapons for the US military.
A fascinating and provocative look at the American war machine, it is well worth checking out if you didn’t catch at cinemas or on TV.
Extras include:
It is released today in the UK by Axion Films
Watch Eisenhower’s speech here:
> Buy the DVD from Amazon UK
> Check out reviews of the film at Metacritic
> Official site for Why We Fight
Have you ever wanted to check TV listings on your mobile phone?
One of the best is Andrew Flegg’s wonderful TV listings site which has listings for nearly all the UK channels.
But there is also a mobile version – written by Chris Lloyd – which you can access via your mobile’s WAP browser.
Just enter http://bleb.org/waptv and you can access the listings which look like this:
There is even an option where you can check out what films are about to screen, which is very handy indeed.
If anyone knows a US version or any equivalents for other countries then just leave them in the comments below.
> Andrew Flegg’s TV listing site
> The WAP version
> On The Box – Another useful TV listings site
The legendary Farrah Fawcett interview on Letterman from June 1997 (in three parts):
You can see a transcript here.
UPDATE 27/06/09: As CBS have ordered YouTube to take down the videos tryĀ this one instead (it might take a minute to load).
Here is a picture of Ray Park as the character of Snake Eyes in the new G.I. Joe movie:
On other casting, USA Today report:
Channing Tatum (Step Up) plays all-American team leader Duke.
Rachel Nichols (Alias) plays the crossbow-wielding Scarlett, Marlon Wayans is paratrooper Ripcord and Dennis Quaid is the commander, Hawk.
On the evil-doer side, Sienna Miller plays the raven-haired Baroness, Christopher Eccleston is Destro, the arms dealer who hides behind a silver mask, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt (3rd Rock From the Sun, Brick) plays multiple roles, including the Cobra Commander.
Directed by Stephen Sommers (who made The Mummy) it is set for release in the US on 7th August 2009 and here in the UK a week later.
> IMDb entry for GI Joe
> Find out more about Snake Eyes at Wikipedia
This week we review The Spiderwick Chronicles, Lars And The Real Girl and The Orphanage.
Listen to the reviews:
[audio:https://www.filmdetail.com/podcast/get.php?fla=podcast-2008-03-21-19657.MP3]Download and subscribe to the review podcast via iTunes by clicking on the image below:
> Download this review as an MP3 file
> Get local show times for your area via Google Movies
> Check out other reviews for these films at Metacritic
The movie version of 80s TV show The A-Team is finally in the works.
Variety are reporting that John Singleton will direct:
Twentieth Century Fox has skedded John Singleton‘s film version of 1980s TV series “The A-Team” for release on June 12, 2009.
Singleton will direct the action-adventure from a script by writing partners Michael Brandt and Derek Haas (“Wanted,” “3:10 to Yuma”).
Film will bring to the bigscreen the exploits of Hannibal Smith and his team of former special forces soldiers, who have been set up for a crime they didn’t commit.
No cast members have been announced yet but the June release date would seem to indicate to me that some decent names are likely.
For those who don’t remember the show here is the old TV opening sequence:
> Report at Variety
> The A-Team movie at the IMDb
> Find out more about the show at Wikipedia
Actor Paul Scofield has died aged 86.
In a sad week that has seen actor Anthony Minghella and writer Arthur C Clarke die, news comes through that the Oscar winning actor – famous for his role on screen as Thomas More and on stage as King Lear – has passed away.
The Guardian report:
The British actor Paul Scofield, who won an Oscar for his portrayal of Thomas More in A Man for All Seasons, has died, aged 86.
His agent said he died peacefully yesterday in hospital near his Sussex home after being diagnosed with leukaemia.
Scofield was voted to have produced the finest ever performance as Shakespeare’s King Lear by his contemporaries and was widely thought of as one of the best actors of his generation.
He made his name on the London stage as a classical actor and also won several Baftas.
Noted for his powerful voice and a presence described as “monumental but reassuring”, he achieved fame for his role as the tormented composer Salieri in Peter Shaffer’s play Amadeus, and as Thomas More in Robert Bolt’s A Man For All Seasons, for which he won an Oscar in 1966.
If you have never seen A Man For All Seasons, which dramatises the dilemmas of Thomas More in the reign of Henry VIII, then it should be an immediate DVD purchase.
Scofield’s towering central performance is just one of the many highlights in one of the finest historical films ever made. It deservedly won Oscars in 1966 for Scofield, director Fred Zinneman, writer Robert Bolt (who had written the original play), cinematography, costume design and Best Picture.
Scofield also reprised his role as King Lear in Peter Brook’s 1971 film version of the play and in recent times had memorable supporting roles in Quiz Show (1994) and The Crucible (1996).
> Guardian obituary
> A Man For All Seasons at the IMDb
> Trailer for A Man For All Seasons at YouTube
The new Bond film Quantum of Solace will now get released in the UK on Friday 31st October.
Here is the official press release with a synopsis of the film:
LONDON,Ā Wednesday 19 March 2008 ā Sony Pictures Releasing (UK) are pleased toĀ confirm that the UK release date for the eagerly anticipated 22nd James Bond adventure QUANTUM OF SOLACE will be Friday, 31st October 2008, opening at the Odeon Leicester Square and all over the country.
QUANTUMĀ OFĀ SOLACEĀ continuesĀ theĀ highĀ octaneĀ adventures of James Bond (DANIEL CRAIG) in CASINO ROYALE.
BetrayedĀ byĀ Vesper,Ā theĀ woman he loved, 007 fights the urge to make his latestĀ mission personal.Ā
Pursuing his determination to uncover the truth, BondĀ andĀ MĀ (JUDIĀ DENCH)Ā interrogateĀ Mr White (JESPER CHRISTENSEN) who revealsĀ theĀ organisation which blackmailed Vesper is far more complex and dangerous than anyone had imagined.
Forensic intelligence links an Mi6 traitor to a bank account in Haiti where aĀ caseĀ ofĀ mistakenĀ identity introduces Bond to the beautiful but feisty CamilleĀ (OLGA KURYLENKO), a woman who has her own vendetta.Ā
Camille leads BondĀ straight to Dominic Greene (MATHIEU AMALRIC), a ruthless business man and major force within the mysterious organisation.
OnĀ aĀ missionĀ thatĀ leadsĀ himĀ to Austria, Italy and South America, Bond discoversĀ thatĀ Greene,Ā conspiringĀ toĀ takeĀ total control of one of the worldās most important natural resources, is forging a deal with the exiled General Medrano (JOAQUIN COSIO).Ā
Using his associates in the organisation, andĀ manipulatingĀ hisĀ powerfulĀ contactsĀ withinĀ the CIA and the British government,Ā GreeneĀ promisesĀ toĀ overthrow the existing regime in a Latin American country, giving the General control of the country in exchange for a seemingly barren piece of land.
InĀ aĀ minefieldĀ ofĀ treachery,Ā murderĀ andĀ deceit, Bond allies with old friends in a battle to uncover the truth.Ā
As he gets closer to finding the man responsible for the betrayal of Vesper, 007 must keep one step ahead of theĀ CIA,Ā the terrorists and even M, to unravel Greeneās sinister plan and stop his organisation.
It will be the 22nd Bond film.
> Official site for Quantum of Solace
> Check out the photos from the launch press conference
> Get all the latest info about the film at Wikipedia
Science fiction writer Sir Arthur C Clarke has died in Sri Lanka at the age of 90.
Ravi Nessman of the AP reports:
Arthur C. Clarke, a visionary science fiction writer who won worldwide acclaim with more than 100 books on space, science and the future, died Wednesday in his adopted home of Sri Lanka, an aide said. He was 90.
Clarke, who had battled debilitating post-polio syndrome since the 1960s and sometimes used a wheelchair, died at 1:30 a.m. after suffering breathing problems, aide Rohan De Silva said.
Although he had a considerable body of literary work, film fans will best remember him for writing The Sentinel – the short story that was made into 2001: A Space Odyssey by director Stanley Kubrick in 1968.
His visions of technology and space travel captured the popular imagination and had an enormous influence on subsequent writers and filmmakers.
He also published a paper during World War 2, in which he predicted that communications satellites would sit in geo-stationary orbit above the Earth’s surface – thus allowing electronic signals to be bounced around the globe.
The geostationary orbit is now sometimes known as the Clarke Orbit or the Clarke Ring in his honour.
Satellite technology had a profound effect on communications and the broadcasting industry, which meant media barons like Rupert Murdoch and Ted Turner could be counted amongst his friends.
On his 90th birthday last December he recorded a video message with reflections on his life:
> AP article in full
> Find out more about Arthur C Clarke at Wikipedia
Check out what the Internet was like in 1995 with this promotional video that Waxy.org have posted:
My favourite bit:
“You’ll need a device to access the online world. That device is a Computer, with at least 386 power and 8 megabytes of RAM and has a modem installed that has 14.4 or greater speed or ‘baud rate.’
And of course, access to a phone line. If you have a slower modem, you will not be able to enjoy the growing multimedia aspects of the Internet, such as graphics, sound, and video.
You will also need a connection to the Internet that connects your computer to the millions of other computers that make up this Superhighway of Information.”
Director Anthony Minghella has died aged 54.
BBC News report:
He had an operation for a growth in his neck last week and the operation seemed to have gone well.
But he had a fatal haemorrhage at 0500 GMT on Tuesday.
It is very sad loss for the British film industry, as Minghella had achieved critical and commerical success in Hollywood, but also helped get other films off the ground as a producer.
Early in his career he won awards for his radio plays and was a script editor on Grange Hill in the mid 80s.
But it was with Truly, Madly Deeply in 1990 that his film career really began, even though it was initially a TV movie that went on to get a theatrical release.
After the relative disappointment of his next film Mr Wonderful – a 1993 romantic comedy with Matt Dillon and Annabella Sciorra, he took on the challenge of adapting Michael Ondaatje‘s novel The English Patient.
Despite numerous financial difficulties in getting the film made, it ended up at Miramax and the end result was a critical and commercial triumph as it won 9 Oscars.
His next film was The Talented Mr Ripley, another literary adaptation (based on Patricia Highsmith’s novel) and although it was not quite as successful, it may perhaps thought of as his finest work.
In retrospect, the cast reads like a roll call of actors who would go on to greater success in the ensuing decade: Matt Damon, Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Cate Blanchett.
His next two films were ambitious: 2003 saw him direct Cold Mountain – an accomplished adaptation of Chalres Frazier’s civil war set novel with Jude Law and Nicole Kidman in the lead roles, whilst his most recent work was 2006’s Breaking and Entering, a drama set in contemporary London with Jude Law, Robin Wright Penn, Juliette Binoche and Ray Winstone.
Along with Sydney Pollack, he set up Mirage Pictures and helpedĀ produce a diverse slate of films such as Heaven, The Quiet American, The Interpreter, Catch a Fire and Michael Clayton.
His most recent work was a 90 minute pilot for The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, which was scheduled to air on BBC1 this Sunday. Based on the novel by Alexander McCall Smith, it is about a Botswanan woman starts up the country’s first female-owned detective agency.
He was also chairman of the British Film Institute between 2003 and 2007.
Despite his undoubted filmmaking skills, a lot of people in the industry had an enormous amount of time and respect for Anthony as person. One actor I spoke to today – not a huge star by any means – told me that he received a hand written letter after enquiring about a possible supporting role in Cold Mountain. He didn’t get the part but it was a measure of the man that he took the time out to reply personally.
Although I never met him, people who worked with him always had good things to say about him – both on and off the record – and in the film industry that isn’t always the case.
This is a short video of Anthony talking about his life and career to producer Duncan Kenworthy:
This video is Anthony and Micahel Ondaatjie talking to Charlie Rose about The English Patient in 1996:
UPDATE 20/03/08: Friends of Anthony have set up a blog where people who knew or worked with him can leave a message or memory.
Mail can be sent to Old Chapel Studios, 19 Fleet Road, London NW3 2QR.
The trailer for the sequel to the 1987 film.
And here is the trailer for the original:
The US remake of Funny Games has just opened in the States and currently has a Metacritic score of 39.
Such a low score for a film that is clearly well made and acted is a little puzzling.
But if you look at the tidal wave of indignation gushing forth from some of the best critics in the US, one can only assume Mr Haneke has somehow touched a nerve.
A.O. Scott of The New York Times says:
The film calls attention to its own artificial status. It actually knows itās a movie! What a clever, tricky game! What fun! What a fraud.
Joe Morgenstern of the Wall St Journal says:
In addition to being borderline unendurable, Funny Games is inexplicable, and I don’t mean in any philosophical sense.
J. Hoberman of the Village Voice says:
Professional obligations required that I endure it, but there’s no reason why you should.
As shocking and deliberately manipulative as the original movie and — some may reckon — even more pointless.
David Edelstein in New York Magazine so disliked the original that he says:
I watched to the end, removed the DVD from the player, and snapped it over my knee.
Then, with a pair of scissors, I cut the halves into quarters, walked the pieces to the kitchen garbage can, and shoved them under the debris of the previous nightās dinner.
Now, most of the time, all of the above critics are sober and intelligent judges of films, whether you agree with them or not.
So why do these all critiques have the tone of a child who has just learnt that Santa Claus doesn’t actually exist?
Let’s rewind.
If you haven’t seen the original Funny Games, the basic premise involves two young men who hold a family hostage and slowly terrorise them in their own home.
Director Michael Haneke (best known for dark dramas like The Piano Teacher and Hidden) has now remade the film in the US with Tim Roth and Naomi Watts as the married couple and Michael Pitt and Brady Corbet as the two young sociopaths.
Strangely he has opted for an almost shot-for-shot remake which both looks and feels remarkably like the original in nearly every respect. Despite the change of country, even the locations appear eerily similar.
It is not an easy film to sit through. When I saw it, some of the audience had walked out in disgust before the end and you could feel a palpable sense of unease in the screening room.
After it had ended, I wasn’t sure what to think. After all, why make a film so similar to the original? And why does this version feel even creepier than the original?
One thing I felt quite sure about was that certain US critics would loathe the film. Is it because they secretly loathe what they perceive to be Haneke’s condescending attitude to some of the darker and dumber aspects of US culture?
Are they subconsciously offended that the terrorised middle class couple in the film would almost certainly be avid readers – if not subscribers – of publications like the New York Times or The Wall Street Journal?
Well, perhaps that is part of what’s going on, but I think the main reason is that Funny Games – in both incarnations – is simply a film that gets right under your skin, whether you like or loathe it.
A lot of the discussion about it – both positive and negative – appears to be based around the idea that it toys with how an audience views violence on screen.
In a New York Times magazine piece on Michael Haneke last year John Wary articulated this view:
āFunny Gamesā is a direct assault on the conventions of cinematic violence in the United States, and the new version of the film, with its English-speaking cast and unmistakably American production design, makes this excruciatingly clear.
More surprising still, Haneke remade this attack on the Hollywood thriller for a major Hollywood studio, Warner Independent Pictures, and refused to alter the original filmās story in the slightest.
Whilst it is mystifying – though also refreshing – that a company like Time Warner are releasing a film as disturbing as this, the view that Funny Games is some kind of lecture on US attitude’s to violence is a reductive one.
Haneke himself has said that:
āFunny Games was always made with American audiences in mind, since its subject is Hollywoodās attitude toward violence…”
But I think he is being a little disingenuous here. Although it certainly does play around with this idea, the film burrows a lot deeper.
In fact, many volatile ingredients are bubbling beneath the surface: class, sex, violence, the absence of God, the nature of evil and perhaps most effective of all, the ‘game’ Haneke is playing with the very type of people who are likely to see this film.
Added to all that, is the interesting difference between the two versions. With all the care that has been taken to make them look and feel visually similar, it is notable that the US villains are somehow even more repellent – and therefore more effective – than those in the European film.
Why is this? I don’t think it is just a case of Haneke taking a cheap shot at Americans in the climate of anti-US feeling in an age of Bush and the Iraq war. Rather, he has found a way of enhancing the inherent darkness of his original for a culture more acquainted with optimism and hope.
The bad guys here feel as monstrous as Anton Chigur in No Country for Old Men but there is no dignified old timer played by Tommy Lee Jones to remind us that some people do care. The suffocating world of Funny Games is disturbingly plausible – a place where hope is violated relentlessly with a cold, almost scientific, precision.
I doubt that this remake will do much business at the US box office, but in an age when horror films like Saw 4 and Hostel 2 are notable for their high level of sadism but lack of anything really disturbing, it is interesting to see Michael Haneke ruffle some feathers with a truly scary movie.
Funny Games opens in the UK on April 4th.
> Official site for Funny Games US
> John Wray’s lengthy profile of Michael Haneke in the NY Times last September
> Michael Haneke at the IMDb
> Reviews of Funny Games at Metacritic
> A.O. Scott with a more reasonable audio assessment of Haneke’s work
This week we review 10,000 BC, The Cottage and Redacted.
Listen to the reviews here:
[audio:https://www.filmdetail.com/podcast/get.php?fla=podcast-2008-03-14-29188.MP3]Download and subscribe to the review podcast via iTunes by clicking on the image below:
> Download this review as an MP3 file
> Get local show times for your area via Google Movies
> Check out other reviews for these films at Metacritic