It's true, I've been holding back on writing up number 9 on the countdown all evening, but here is it Knight & Day.
I am, after all, expecting some stick for this one. The title is awful, the trailer looks confused and neither Tom nor Cameron are the draws they used to be... But dammit this could be so much fun. The sort of fun we've forgotten about when we go to the movies.
Over the last few years fun has disappeared from the action movie template. We have darker than black Batman films, depressed teen vampires, moody Bonds and parables about the decline of our natural world. Even the last Die Hard movie was po-faced.
The trailer for this does show that Cruise is having a good time, being a bit bonkers, almost playing to the character type we've defined him in his personal life. I think this will be utterly barmy, leave your brain at the door action.
Director James Mangold has shown us he can manage effective action scenes in the past (Cop Land, 3:10 to Yuma) so we know that that side will be competent. Lets just relax about the way this film is being marketed and get ready for 2 hours of rollercoaster fun.
Saturday, 9 January 2010
20 for 2010 - Knight and Day
Film News (09/01/2010)
It's been an incredibly busy week, with rumour and counter-rumour flowing about many of the studio tent-poles of this year and next, as well as some delicious indie features. I won't bore you with US release date changes - but May 2011 was all a flurry on Wednesday - but we've still got loads to get through.
Bond 23
At the beginning of the week the news was not good - the sale of MGM meant that some high profile projects, such as the Bond franchise, were on hold until completion. Of course MGM denied it and surprisingly a day later the story leaked that Sam Mendes (Away we Go, Road to Perdition) was in negotiations to direct the next episode.
There's been no official confirmation yet, but equally none of the major players have denied it. It's an odd choice for both parties, especially coming after the last off-the-wall director choice (Marc Forster) made the underwhelming Quantom of Solace. Saying that we know that Mendes can build tension in a scene, and he's probably got enough clout to force the film to delay if he's not liking the script.
Oh, and I'm using this post as an excuse to remind everyone what Daniel Craig looks like in his Casino Royale swimming trunks... Here you go:
Read on for child killers, nuclear bombs and Soderbergh doubles.
Hanna
Killer teenage girls have been dominating the press this week with the release of the Kick Ass trailer and the casting of Saoirse Ronan in Hanna, reuniting her with her Atonement director Joe Wright. It's a story about a girl bred as pat of a secret CIA assassin experiment, sounds half Bourne, half Leon. Maybe half good.
Ron Howard/Vince Vaughn collaboration
Vaughn, who is probably desperate for a hit, has pitched a comedy about infidelity to his mate Ron Howard, probably aware that Ron says yes to everything. The concept is simple, and instantly recognisable, revolving around a guy who finds his best mates girls has been cheating but can't tell his friend. It probably sounds more like a soap opera twist than a mvie, but if it's handled correctly there could be the basis for a likeable farce of co-incidences.
The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Even though variety reported that Chris Robots Wedge was directing this childrens fantasy back in May the rumours of Martin Scorsese holding the megaphone have not died down. I guess Marty has nothing to prove at this stage of his career so there is no longer a need to make biopics or gangster dramas - see his pulpy Shutter Island for proof.
Invention concerns a small boy living in the rafters of a Paris train station and fixing the clocks, as well as a small curious device left to him by his father. I don't know what that device does so I guess that's the invention of the title.
Knockout
Steven Soderbergh's martial arts movie has been gaining some fantastic actors to support MMA fighter and cinema newcomer Gina Carano, including Ewan MacGregor, Michael Douglas, Dennis Quaid and Michael Fassbender. It's that sort of delightful mix of ators that gets so interested in Soderbergh's work, even the likely popcorn efforts such as this female Bourne rip-off. (Carano plays a Black Ops soldier who's been cut off by shadowy governement figures - yawn!)
Talking about Steven Soderbergh it's emerged in the Sydney Herald that whilst he was over in Australia directing for the stage he may have shot a quickie using the same, unknown cast. Nothing official or plot-based yet, but I'm thnking that if this is the same sort of quality as The Girlfriend Experience then we could be in for another great year of Soderbergh output.
Last Train to Hiroshima
We were all saddened to hear of the death of Tsutomo Yamaguchi, the last survivor of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki nuclear bombs, this monday. It's easy to forget just how awful and indiscriminate a nuclear device is and only by talking to the survivors can we understand why we must never let them be used again.
Curiously, following his death, it emerged that James Cameron had visited him to talk about his experiences in December. It look likely that Cameron was researching in order to adapt The Last Train to Hiroshima, the heavyweight non-fiction account of the afteraffects of the blasts, based on interviews with survivors. Whether Cameron has ideas of making a documentary or a fiction piece based on the transcripts remains to be seen, but we should support whatever his efforts are as this is a shameful chapter in 20th century history that has yet to be fully explored in film.
Thor
Adriana Barazza has become the latest cast member to sign onto the Norse epic due to start filming next week, as a yet to be disclosed human character. It's good to hear there will be some human characters among all the gods, it will make the drama of the story a little more interesting. Oh, and going full circle Thor is one of the films shifting it's release date in response to the Spider-man delay rumours. 
Susannah York
Happy birthday to
Susannah York
69 today
Ms York is a wonderfully pouty actress, probably best remembered for ebing a costume drama clothes horse in the 60's as she went from Tom Jones to A Man for All Seasons to They Shoot Horses, Dont They. Last year saw a supporting role in twisty sci-fi Franklyn and this year we need to on the look out for her performance as a nun. It's good to see she's still trying new rags on.
Friday, 8 January 2010
20 for 2010 - The Ghost
Straight in at number 10 (appropriately for a movie about the British Prime Minister) is The Ghost.
Richard Harris' pageturner about the former PM's memoirs, and the naive ghost writer he hires to write them was an immediate best seller on both sides of the Atlantic, mainly because the politician in question so closely mimics Tony Blair in his behaviour and manner that it's hard to believe Blair didn't sue.
The film though has had some even more bizarre press, with director Roman Polanski finishing post production whilst under house arrest for the child sex allegation dating back to the 70's.
Whether the film will survive the stink of the case will remain to be seen, it premiers at the Berlin Film Festival in February and the reviews will be hotly anticipated in only so that can be trashed by everyone else. A good review will be seen as sticking up for the man during these testing times, a bad one will be punishment for the crime. The only way we'll be ale to judge this one is to see it for ourselves.
Pierce Brosnan plays the PM, Olivia Williams his cryptic Cherie-alike wife and Ewan MacGregor will be investigating Brosnan's lifestory in more ways than one.
PS. I've read the novel, and therefore know what happens in it's final shocking chapter, so I'm not putting in any more plot lest I give away the ending.
Out this week (08/01/2010)
You've actually got a decent chance of seeing a film worth the ticket price this week, with 5 that look just as good, if not better, than last weeks victor (there're also 3 Bollywood releases if you fancy that). Personally I'm going to be seeing Meryl Streep (I just can't help myself) but the most interesting looking project, and therefore the film of the week, is The Road.
Daybreakers
Sometime in the not too distant future a virus will come along which turns most, but not all people, into blood thirsty vampires. Faced with a limited supply of non-vampiric humans to feast upon there is a moral dilemma of whether to farm people or create a synthetic substitute - that is before it descends into a chaotic third act, probably.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●●○○○○○○
Dulha Mil Gaya
The first of our Bollywood releases is a look at 4 different modern relationships and how the couples live their lives. Doesn't sound innovative or ground-breaking, but apparantly the lead has remarried to publicise the film.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●○○○○○○○○
Exam
A mixed bunch of job candidates have to take an exam in a closed environment, only to find the sheet has no question. Naturally the candidates turn on each other in increasingly violent ways. Taut looking Brit thriller from debut director Stuart Hazeldine.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●●○○○○○○
Fireball
Have you noticed that all future set sports dramas have seen the rules relaxed so much that death is an acceptable by-product, but in reality competitive sports are getting less and less about contact? Anyway, this Thai drama sees a game where the first basket leads to a win, but that's the only rule. Immensely missable.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●○○○○○○○○
It's Complicated
So, Meryl Streep used to married to Alec Baldwin, who had an affair and left her for the much younger Lake Bell. Only now he's missing what he's left behind and Alec is having an affair with Meryl. Add to this a new beau for Ms Streep in the guise of Steve Martin and we have the potential for a superb farce. We'll see.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●●●○○○○○
Mitti
Bollywood drama with a poster involving a large army and a set of four young men with their faces plastered at the top. The only plot outline I can find, which is about corrupt politicians, makes no sense in relation to the image. I don't know: See it, don't see it... Up to you.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●○○○○○○○○
Pyaar Impossible
I could have sworn this came out last year... The tagline to the Hindi version of Notting Hill is 1 beauty plus 1 geek equals Pyaar Impossible, which will probably pack them in.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●○○○○○○○○
The Road
It's not really my cup of tea but it's hard to argue the raw power of Cormac McCarthy's Pulitzer prize winning novel The Road. Here John Hillcoat has tried to distill the sense of foreboding as the Man and the Boy move through the desolation of a post-apolcalyptic America. It's had mixed responses but you cannot take away the ambition of such an endeavour.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●●●●●○○○
Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll
It's rare that Andy Serkis plays a person, let alone a historical figure as he does in this warts and all biopic of legendary punk rocker Ian Dury. It's getting some very early buzz for next years awards season so it might sitting through it.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●○○○○○○○
Treeless Mountain
Two young sisters are left to fend for themselves when their Mother goes in search of the father who abandoned them in this rich film from South Korea. It's done well on the festival circuit, winning the best film award in Dubai. Art-house certainly but well worth the trip if you want something a little different.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●●○○○○○○
Ron Moody
Happy Birthday to
Ron Moody
86 today
Amazingly Moody was only in his thities when he defined the role of Fagin in Lionel Bart's musical adaptation of Oliver Twist, later translating that success to the screen in 1968. Whilst that success was worthy he never managed to escape from the shadow, so there is little else on his CV to commend him - last seen in long running TV drama The Bill.
Thursday, 7 January 2010
20 for 2010 - You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger
Next on the countdown, and just missing the top ten at 11, is Woody Allen's You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger.
At 74 Woody Allen is showing no signs of letting his work rate slip - he has made at least one film per year since 1982 and there were a further 10 in the 15 years previous, and it's fair to say that within that time he's made more than his fair share of masterpieces. But will this be one of them?
I have been a loyal fan for most of those years, I evenly enjoyed Anything Goes, and the mere mention of Allen will usually get me into a theatre so there's no surprise in seeing this on my list. Saying that there is no denying the general direction the quality of the films is going. Even Vicky Cristina Barcelona, which had some of the best reviews Woody's seen in years, was markedly below his best output. In fact last years Whatever Works still doesn't have a UK release date, some 7 months after it was seen in America.
His latest London-set project - which should make it more likely to score over here - has a truly international flavour with a cast that includes Antonio Banderas, Frieda Pinto, Anthony Hopkins, Naomi Watts, Josh Brolin and Carla Bruni(!).
That sort of cast alone is enough to get me tingling. But I'm reserving judgement on the film itself until I see it.
Terry Moore
Happy Birthday to
Terry Moore
81 today
Known for her hourglass figure and numerous marriages (officially 5 but after the death of Howard Hughes claimed they were secretly wed) Moore was often on the edge of stardom in the 40's and 50's. The lead in Mighty Joe Young (as the girl not the ape) and a supporting oscar nod for Come Back, Little Sheba being the highlights. Who knows what she might of achieved had she not been on the front page of the gossip rags every few weeks.
Wednesday, 6 January 2010
20 for 2010 - Number 12 (Untitled)
At least number 12 might be untitled, or it might be called How Do You Know, I guess we'll have to wait on James L. Brooks for confirmation of a title.
I will admit upfront that this film is my little cheat in the top 20 as I know it won't be coming out in the UK until 21 January 2011, but in the spirit of the rules of my countdown it fits in as a 2010 film (and I'm more curious about this than, say, Valentine's Day).
The plot revolves around a girl (Reese Witherspoon) choosing between the two men in her life played by Owen Wilson and Paull Rudd - I should imagine that the working title refers to how you know whether you're with "the one". I can also imagine that if you have Wilson and Rudd both throwing themselves at you then it would be hard to choose between them.
Brooks has previously directed 5 feature, 3 of which were critical and commercial hits with recognition from the Academy, and all of those starred his luck charm: Jack Nicholson. Jack is back for this piece, as the father of one of Reese's suitors so we can probably expect some metal on the matlepiece for someone involved.
Let's start the best supporting actor campaign for Owen Wilson now, even if he will be playing a thinly veiled version of himself no-one does that better.
Tuesday, 5 January 2010
20 for 2010 - The Debt
That's right, we're at number 13 in the countdown of top films to look out for in 2010 and already we've had 3 titles starring Helen Mirren.
The Debt is a remake of the 2007 Isreali drama Ha-Hov which was nominated for 4 Awards for the Isreali Film Academy. The script has been Westernised by Matthew Vaughn and Peter Straughan making it onto the prestigious "Blacklist" before it was picked up for productioon by Miramax.
The story relates how three mossad agents (Sam Worthington, Martin Csokas and Jessica Chastain) round up and assassinate a Nazi War Criminal, only for the same criminal to unmask himself 30 years later. The agents (now grown into Ciaran Hinds, Tom Wilkinson and Helen Mirren respectively) must reunite to discover whether he is who he says he is and how their mission went wrong.
Without reading the script it's fair to say this could go one of two ways. It could be an introspective drama about the desire for vengeance and the way it rots the soul or it could be a gung ho kill the Nazis adventure. Director John Madden is certainly more experienced with the former, so I'll be happy if that's the way it goes.
Curiously, even though principle photography finished over 8 months ago we haven't seen a single still from the production of this film, and the cast have been extraordinarily tight lipped on where it is. You would have though someone might has asked Sam Worthington where it was during the Avatar publicity tour.
Apparently not which is why I would probably gues that this film may just disappear without trace by the end of the year.
