You know who is a workaholic? Clint Eastwood. The dude is pumping out movies lately like nobody’s business. And the great thing? They are movies that actually don’t suck. So, not only does he work his bahookey off, but he picks his projects wisely. Check out this track record since 2003: Mystic River (2003) Million Dollar Baby (2004) Flags of our Fathers (2006) Letters from Iwo Jima (2006) Changeling (2008) Gran Torino (2008) And now, in limited release in December, …
Category: Coming Soon
Remember pre-crazy-man Mel Gibson? Mel the action hero? Mel the actor? I do–vaguely– and I’ve missed him so. Sure, there’s no doubt Mel Gibson makes for a very competent and interesting director, but I kinda like seeing him get all fierce while he punches sharp objects and bullets into bad guy bodies with the power of his will alone. Enter: Edge of Darkness. Taking a directorial break and getting himself in front of the camera with a little less clout …
You know how you can tell summer has officially bought the farm? Trailer Tuesday. Bombastic musical beats and explosions are gone. Angst-filled yelling and tears and dramatics are the new hotness in pursuit of accolades and the palm logos adorned with “Winner of”. Take Andy’s Precious pick for example: harsh and bleak with a touch of hope. Or Werner Herzog’s Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans*. Harsh and bleak… with a touch of CRAZY. A sequel/remake (but don’t call …
One of my favorite films of all time is Monster’s Ball. It’s full of bleak, despairing truth, as well as hope and life. It’s heartbreaking and heartwarming all at once. It’s no surprise to me that Precious, a film about an illiterate, obese teenager living in Harlem in the late 1980s, is directed by Lee Daniels, as he was one of the producers of Monster’s Ball. In fact, the novelist behind Precious (the novel is actually called Push), a woman …
It’s no secret that Peter Jackson’s The Lovely Bones is one movie I’m looking forward to this December. Alice Sebold’s novel touched me and I consider it one of my favorite books. I had always hoped to see it brought to the big screen. I was absolutely thrilled when the multi-talented Peter Jackson (The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, King Kong) was announced as the director of The Lovely Bones. However, since then my enthusiasm, while present, has somewhat cooled. Why? …
John Woo. JOHN WOO! Yeah. Used to be a time when the name John Woo meant something: Glorious action, slow motion symphonies of leaping, shooting and fiery explosion, doves (he’s a Christian, you know) and over-the-freakin’-top John Travolta. But that was then. Now, it’s 2009 and America’s love affair with John Woo–a brief fling that launched with Broken Arrow, culminated in Mission Impossible: II then quickly hit the skids with Windtalkers— is on the backburner. Woo’s done some producing and …
Duh-duh-duh-duh-dun-dun-duuuuuuh! What, you don’t recognize that? That’s the textualized theme from the 80’s TV action extravaganza about ex- special forces turned do-good mercenaries, The A-Team: The show that introduced the world to Mr. T. and a young, impressionable Dan to the fact guns are only used for making dirt shoot up the ground around people’s feet. Casting was only just filled out, but the The A-Team is already cranking in full-on production and is well on its way to hitting …
Both 2012 and it’s film prequel, 2012, march steadily closer. One will entertain us in a thrill-ride of white-knuckled apocalyptic escapism. The other will explode the earth and send us burning, drowning, suffocating and crushed to an early grave. Can’t wait! While 2012 (The Movie!) holds no allure for me –as no massive annihilation spectacle has since 9-11/New Orleans/ Thailand/China– it sure does pack a lot of spectacle. The sheer amount of destruction is a feat of modern CGI science …