The studios clearly aren't sure what to do with this Comic book adaptation maybe because of the difficult production history and slightly fun look to the trailer. Originally slated for a Autumn release it's been pushed back into the gravyard of January Stateside. Of course I'm going to go to reward the Seth Rogen weight loss plan which seems to have done wonders for the formerly chubby comedian.
The Green Hornet is released on 14 January 2011.
Tuesday, 30 November 2010
Tuesday Trailers - The Green Hornet
Amy Ryan
Happy Birthday to
Amy Ryan
41 today
Like yesterday's birthday honouree Amy slogged away in the business for many years before breaking out in TV's "The Wire" and an oscar nomination for Gone, Baby, Gone - a performance so good Blake Lively was clearly channeling it in Ben Affleck's directorial follow-up this year. Next up for Amy in Win Win where she play the wife of part time wrestling coach Paul Giamatti.
Monday, 29 November 2010
Don Cheadle
Happy Birthday to
Don Cheadle
46 today
Cheadle first came to my attention as the scene-stealing Mouse in 1995's The Devil in a Blue Dress but he had been working steadily on TV and in films for over 10 years before that knockout performance. Short of his Mockney in the Ocean's movies he is always putting in considered and solid performances.
Sunday, 28 November 2010
Peronal News - 28/11/10
As promised last week here is a very small snippet of persoanl news - I have applied to go back to school.
That is to say I have applied to a couple of Drama Schools to do a one year masters course. I believe that training in technique is not only vital if I want to progress in the quality of my acting, but also in the future of any career.
I won't tell you which courses I have applied for, but I will tell you the first audition will be in December. Wish me luck!
Ben
Brake, brake, brake! (Film news - 27/11/10)
It almost goes without saying but the last couple of weeks where I've been unable to access a computer for lond stretches of time there were news stories coming thick and fast, exciting new projects on the go every few minutes. Now that I'm back, gently typing away at my desk with all the time in the world, the presses seem to have stopped. It's been Thanksgiving week, of course, which had led to many news organisations running on lower staff and consequently fewer stories, but ultimately I'm left with just two items which got my attention. Luckily we have some release date changes otherwise I'd be considering if it was worth coming home this weekend at all.
Jayne Mansfield's Car
In a fit of pique at the current state of cinematic releases actor/director Billy Bob Thornton has decided to just write his own. He is quoted as saying: "I think because of the nature of movies they are making these days. They are really not my bag as much. I figured that instead of sitting around complaining that I really don’t want to be in a superhero movie or cartoon or a 3D vampire movie and all that kind of thing, I’ve written movies before, so why not write one."
I personally feel the star of Eagle Eye and Faster may have more of a point if he had touch more integrity in his film choices, but that's by the by.
The title is probably going to be a bit of a red herring. Jayne Mansfield, as you probably know, was tragically killed in a car crash in 1966 with less than 25 films under her belt. This film won't be a biopic of Mansfield (below) or even her car (not pictured). Instead it will focus on the randomness of life and death and the impact of the Vietnam war on a community in Alabama.
Thornton has made a number of films in the late 90s, notably Sling Blade which garnered mass acclaim and an Oscar so it will be good to see him back in the directors chair.
Read on for a surprise return to Anarene and the latest changes to release dates.
Saturday, 27 November 2010
Runaway movies (Out this week - 26/11/10)
Last week all the studios were afraid to compete with the might of Harry Potter, so now we're facing a tsunami of mid range fodder none of which are likely to break into the top slot in the box office. There are a few that could be worth a look though. Film of the week is a toughie but I think assassin George Clooney is beaten at the last fence by Denzel Washington's train driver in Unstoppable
Allah Ke Banday
Not only is it a busy week for US output it's also a bumper week of Bollywood offerings - not that any of them are really jumping out at me. This one concerns two slum kids getting involved in crime gangs.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●○○○○○○○○
Tuesday, 23 November 2010
Tuesday Trailers - True Grit
Here's the thing, I have recently rewatched the original John Wayne starring adaptation of Charles Portis' Western novel and I confess to enjoying it more than I emember, sure it's uninterestingly directed and a little uncertain of tone but I can't see why the Coen's have decided to return to the book for a new version - especially as watching the trailer it appears most of the dialogue is identical. I realise the clamour on the internet is that this will be the best thing since sliced bread but I have my doubts. Will definitely see it though.
True Grit is released on 14 January 2011.
Monday, 22 November 2010
Tom Conti
Happy Birthday to
Tom Conti
69 today
I wanted to find a screen capture of Tom in The Tempest, Julie Taymor's on screen adapatation of Shakespeare's fantastical tale set on a deserted island, however none seem to exist. I guess this Scottish actor is just too far down the pecking order in the cast list that includes Helen Mirren and Russell Brand.
Sunday, 21 November 2010
The parallel is too obvious to comment on (Film News - 20/11/10)
Another week - another chance to make disconnected irreverent comments about the state of modern Hollywood. Still no pictures, and I still don't have a real clue what I'm doing. By the way thanks for the comments over the past couple of weeks I promise to reply to them on my return to Manchester next weekend - I may even spill the beans on some personal stuff (oh, how I love to trail the real world for you).
Vulture
This week may be chock full of remakes, the first of which is a English language attack on an Argentinean success story that's still to reach the pinnacle of it's achievements. At the moment Comancho is best known for it's inclusion in the Un Certain Regard selection at Cannes, by the end of the year it could well find itself Oscar nominated after having been selected by it's home country. The story revolves around a less than perfect ambulance chasing lawyer who finds his loyalties and his courage in question after stumbling across a wider conspiracy.
Scott (Crazy Heart) Cooper is set to call the shots on this, which does give me hope that it will be slightly better than most US remakes. (I realise I am an incredibly hypocrite having only seen one picture not in the English Language at the cinemas this year.)
Read on for Fashion, the future, Tolstoy, international police, bad parenting, cat burglars, assassinated presidents and a warning to the studios.
Goldie Hawn
Happy Birthday to
Goldie Hawn
65 today
This perky star may have retired from acting (it's been 8 years since we last saw her on screen) but her influence in modern cinema can't be underestimated. She remains the model for fluffy rom-coms, every Katherine Heigl and Amy Adams out there needs to thank Goldie for shoing them how it's done.
Saturday, 20 November 2010
He who must not be named gets the upper hand (Out this week - 19/11/10)
I'm writing this in advance, so some of the excitometer scores are yet to be confirmed, but saying that I'm still taking a punt on the film of the week. I would love to pick out the Cuban romantic animation Chico and Rita, but frankly unless the reviews are dreadful the box office champ and my own personal film of the week is Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1.
Adrift
No, it's not the Open Water sequel, but instead a Brazilian drama about a 14 year girl old on holiday discoveries her fathers (Vincent Cassel) infidelities and developing a burgeoning romance of her own.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●○○○○○○○
Friday, 19 November 2010
Kathleen Quinlan
Happy Birthday to
Kathleen Quinlan
56 today
Kathleen's been plodding away at her career since the early 70's, always working which is a great sign of quality. Bonus points for anyone who can tell me her one line in American Graffiti?
Thursday, 18 November 2010
Chloe Sevigny
Happy Birthday to
Chloe Sevigny
36 today
Known as a fashion icon and a disco dancing it girl as well a varied and exciting acting career working with direcors as diverse as Lars von Trier, David Fincher and Woody Allen. It's a shame whenever her name is mentioned we tend to think first of a certain scene in 2003's Brown Bunny.
Wednesday, 17 November 2010
Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio
Happy Birthday to
Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio
52 today
I'm really not sure what happened with Mary Elizabeth, oscar nominated when supporting Tom Cruise, facing The Abyss with James Cameron and an incredibly sexy Maid Marian. Since then she's pretty much disappeared from the radar. Currently appearing in a Law & Order spin-off series.
Tuesday, 16 November 2010
Tuesday Trailers - Next Three Days
And before you know we're looking at films opening in 2011, the barrier has been broken. As with any year January is full to the brim with high end prestige pictures, but for some reason this prison escape drama, as corny and predicatable as it looks, is appearing high on my radar. Maybe it's just the thought of Russel Crowe kicking some serious ass but I'm really excited to see how this remake of the French hit works.
The Next Three Days is released on 07 January 2011
Maggie Gyllenhaal
Happy Birthday to
Maggie Gyllenhaal
33 today
The older of the Gyllenhaal siblings manages to combine raunchy comedies, blockbuster sized hits and arthouse crossovers nicely, piking up her first Oscar nod for Crazy Heart last year. She's married to Peter Sarsgaard, and I can't help trying to work out which is the luckiest in that coupling.
Sunday, 14 November 2010
Unusual method for an Alien Invasion (Film News - 13/11/10)
Stand by for a stream of conciousness - I am literally writing this on the hoof. One window with the news on and one window writing it up. It's going to be very quick, very unstructured and may even border on plaguarism. All I know is that I will ignore any casting rumours and stick only to the big stuff - new projects on the go. As I don't have access to my own 'pooter for two more weeks this is may be an interesting news style. Hopefullly it won't be horribly disappointing for you!!!
Under the Skin
I have to say the concept of Scarlett Johannson's latest project so shlocky and exploitative I almost just jumped ahead to the next story. In the movie, based on the novel by Michel Faber, she will star as an alien invader who uses her powers of seduction to lure men to their deaths - which allows them to be packaged off as haute cuisine on her home planet.
There are two interesting twists though. The first is plot related and involves her allegiances to her job and to her prey - is that spoiler free enough? - and the other is that Jonathan Glazer (Sexy Beast, Birth) is set to direct. In his two previous films Glazer proved he could mix potentially distasteful subject matter with classy production standards. I'm very interested to see how he works with this sort of material, though.
Saturday, 13 November 2010
Just an average family (Out this week - 12/11/10)
It's certainly not a classic week with some right stinkers coming out of the studios this week. There are plenty of foreign language options this week though with China France and Mexico all presenting hig qulaity work. Film of the week is the Mexican option, a down to earth cannibal family drama We are what we Are.
Aftershock
Chinese film about the events leading to and following the Tangshen earthquake of 1976 which took the lives of 240,000 people. It's an unusual blend of domestic drama and spectace, being the first Chinese film made for IMAX screens.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●●○○○○○○
Whoopi Goldberg
Happy Birthday to
Whoopi Goldberg
55 today
Actress/Comedienne Whoopi Goldberg struggled on the fringes of show business for many year, taking jobs as a brickie and in a funeral home before the big break with The Color Purple. Since then she's been a household name across most of the Wester world. Has been starring in "Sister Act" in the West end recently - as amazing as you can imagine.
Friday, 12 November 2010
Ryan Gosling
Happy Birthday to
Ryan Gosling
30 today
Not conventionally attractive but containing sexual magnetism by the bucket load Canadian Gosling is impossible to turn away from on screen. He's getting some very nice notices for his turn in Blue Valentine, and I'm really looking forward to seeing him in George Clooney's Ides of March next year.
Thursday, 11 November 2010
Stanley Tucci
Happy Birthday to
Stanley Tucci
50 today
Character actor Stanley has been steadily building up his profile over the past ten years culminating with a best supporting actor oscar nomination last year (I still haven't seen The Lovely Bones, he confesses). I've been looking at his quotes on IMDB and I'm detecting a small amount of flouncy behaviour backstage, so he should fit in Burlesque, with Cher, like a glove
Wednesday, 10 November 2010
Another Year
2010. Dir: Mie Leigh. Starring: Jim Broadbent, Lesley Manville, Ruth Sheen, Oliver Maltman and Peter Wight. ●●●○○
Mike Leigh's process is often as fascinating as the final product. His modus operandi involving months of improvisation and character building with the actors before a full structure is agreed upon. This normally results in a slice of life that occurs over a very short time period, maybe a few weeks or months. In Another Year the timescale of the piece is extended so we see the relationships subtly develop through four seasons.
Tuesday, 9 November 2010
Tuesday Trailers - The Way Back
If last weeks dramedy isn't to your taste then this alternative programming on new years eve may be the film for you. From Peter Weir comes the true (ish - the main premise has been contested by the Russian authorities at the time) story of a ragtag group of prisoners escaping from the Gulags of Siberia and trekking to India to escape the communists. Financed by National Geographic, stunning vistas are guaranteed.
The Way Back is released on 31 December 2010.
Sunday, 7 November 2010
Amnesia again (Film News - 06/11/10)
It's not been the busiest week for news, only a couple of new projects kicking off, but there has been an avalanche of casting rumours and with our monthly scour of IMDb there are a load more potential movies that have begun the production process.
Trap for Cinderella
Loss of memory has been a plot standby of thrillers since cinema began, no matter how unlikely it actually is it's amazingly how many characters wake up next to a corpse with no idea of how they got there. So whilst this latest take on the subgenre may lack originality it's good to see it's going to be taken seriously.
Iain Softley is directing and producing this production which sees it's main character (Micky) wake up terribly burned after a house fire in which her childhood friend (Do) has been killed. But is Micky really Do and is she really involved in the attempted murder of herself. Or something like that.
Sure this sounds like first class tosh, but we're a little short on new films this week so bare with me.
I'm not completely sure how Cinderella is involved with this story. I suspect there's a major subplot I've not picked up on yet...
Read on for recurring nightmares and literally half a dozen casting moves.
Saturday, 6 November 2010
How Time Passes (Out this week - 05/11/10)
Happy Diwali (apologies for the delay), for those of you celebrating the festival of light and anyone Bollywood curious you do have a fine selection however there isn't really a competition for this weeks most anticipated film, every time Mike Leigh makes another picture it's an event. That said I believe the Robert Downey Jr. comedy vehicle will take the box office championship - personally I'd rather steam clean the cinema seats than watch that! Film of the week is Another Year.
Another Year
Following a normal happy middle class couple (played by Jim Broadbent and Ruth Sheen) over the course of one year, and a number of Sunday lunches, Leigh's latest looks at the varyiong fortunes of their friends and relatives. Lesley Manville and Imelda Stanton are among the supporting cast.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●●●●●●●○
Ethan Hawke
Happy Birthday to
Ethan Hawke
40 today
I feel sorry for Ethan, he always seems to be the second best thing about everything he does. Not as good as Robin Williams in Dead Poets Society, or Denzel Washington in Training Day, or Vienna at night in Before Sunrise. Need I go on?
Friday, 5 November 2010
Tilda Swinton
Happy Birthday to
Tilda Swinton
50 today
Iconoclast Swinton is a uniquely gifted actress, not just because of her icy perfection and multiligual talents but also because of her androgenous quality which has enabled her to shine in gender confused roles such as Constantine and her collaborations with Derek Jarman. Next up is a virtual cameo in Voyage of the Dawn Treader (but I fully expect her White Witch to steal the show as always).
Tuesday, 2 November 2010
Tuesday Trailers - Love and Other Drugs
Our trailers for December continue with the latst film from Ed Zwick. The good news is that it doesn't look like it's going to be painfully pretencious too, focussing on a modern relationship between a phamaceutical rep and a girl he meets battling illness. There's sure to be smiles and tears based on this trailer, plus an awful lot of the incredibly attractive coupling of Jake and Anne jumping into bed with each other.
Love and Other Drugs is released on 31 December 2010
Monday, 1 November 2010
Jeannie Berlin
Happy Birthday to
Jeannie Berlin
61 today
It's not the most exhaustive back catalogue, after a very busy start to her career in 1970-2 - culminating in an Oscar nomination as the Charles Grodin's ghastly wife in The Heartbreak Kid (curiously directed by her mother so you have to wonder what their relationship is like) - Berlin has only occasionally returned to acting. Her latest role, should we ever get to see it, is in Kenneth Lonergan's long delayed Margaret.
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