Jennifer Lynch’s Surveillance Trailer

It took Hollywood 15 years to give Jennifer Chambers Lynch a second run at directing. Lynch’s first film, 1993’s disturbing and generally hated Boxing Helena, was a disaster and some would say tasteless. I didn’t love the film, and saw it with no knowledge of who had made it, but I’ve always had a bit of a soft spot for being the first movie I saw that really messed with my head.

It was announced last year that Lynch would be stepping behind the camera for a second time, directing Julia Ormond and Bill Pullman in a sci-fi crime thriller titled Surveillance about an FBI agent who tracks a serial killer with the help of three of would-be victims.

Sounds pretty run of the mill but considering this is being directed by Jennifer Lynch and produced by father David Lynch, it’s bound to be a bit creepy/weird and that’s exactly what this trailer is: creepy and a bit strange. It reminds me of The Flock (our review) which is not necessarily a good thing but I am curious to see what comes of it.

Surveillance is scheduled to open in Germany on July 17th. Don’t hold your breath for a North American release but if all goes well, we should see it later this year.

Check out the trailer under the third row.

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Planet B-Boy

So I suspect that this may be old news, but at my screening of CJ7 this weekend, I saw a trailer for a new documentary entitled, Planet B-Boy.

If you’re a child of the 80’s and have interest in the latest documentary craze, this one is probably right up your alley. Director Benson Lee has spanned the globe interviewing and filming these so-called “urban dancers” as they follow their dreams, despite being ostracized from society and sometimes even their own families. What’s most interesting to me however, is the history of breakdancing and how it became a phenomenon, even a cliche, complete with vintage clips and interviews.

Of course, as is the norm with many docs these days, a film of this ilk would be nothing without the prospect of finishing the movie with some sort of competition. In Planet B-Boy, that competition is the World Cup of “b-boying” held annually in Germany.

The film is currently in limited release, but coming soon (hopefully) to a theater near you.
You can check out more (including local release dates) here:
Official Site
IMDb

And I threw the trailer under the row of seats…
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Machete Still a Go

Frickin’ LOVED Grindhouse from last year. Arguably the most fun parts of the film were the faux trailers. One of the more popular of these ridiculous, over the top trailers was Danny Trejo in Machete and we’ve been hearing rumors for a while now that a real, feature length film about Machete is going to be made. But rumors and speculation aren’t always something we can count on.

But today the rumor moved its status to a real possibility. Bloody-disgusting, via our good friend Richard recently had a quick chat with Trejo, who insists that Robert Rodriguez is indeed getting the ball rolling on Machete and will not only be producing, but also directing. What’s most interesting is that Trejo breaks the news that studio Dimension plans on making the Machete story a full fledged trilogy!

If this is accurate, I couldn’t be happier. With the box office blunder that was Grindhouse and the critical slamming of the fantastic Doomsday (our review), I would’ve thought that the studios would be leery of churning out more of these campy, gore fests. But apparently Dimension and Rodriguez have no fear and will continue making what they want. Boss.

Check out the trailer for Machete under the seat (NWS)…
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Screen Shot Quiz #9

Challenging? Not if you’ve seen this film. It’s an image that should stick in your desensitized brain.

Mos Def Rocks!

Yahoo! movie news is reporting that Mos Def will play legendary rocker, Chuck Berry. Turns out we’re probably not looking at the usual biopic movie here. Instead, it’s a look at Chess Records and all of its artists.

Set in Chicago in the 1950’s Mos Def is just one of the players in an ensemble cast that includes Adrien Brody, Jeffrey Wright, Beyonce Knowles and Cedric the Entertainer.

Titled Cadillac Records, I’m kind of anticipatory to see what Mos Def pulls out of his hat next. I remember heading to the theater a couple of years ago to check out 16 Blocks and thinking to myself, “here we go again;” another rapper turned actor that will stink up the screen. Then I was pleasantly surprised to find that I quite like Mos Def’s quirky demeanor and vocal qualities. He’s also got a seemingly easy going persona and has no trouble commanding the screen. After his role in Michel Gondry’s Be Kind Rewind, I’m actually convinced that the guy can act and is actually fairly enjoyable to watch perform.

Having said that, besides this upcoming role of Chuck Berry, which I think could be a great fit for him, he’ll also be appearing in the new Eddie Murphy “comedy” entitled Meet Dave, which, after release of the trailer, seems to be getting unanimous hate from internet fan boys.

Either way, here’s hoping Mos Def can continue to deliver. I think he’s got great potential and this Chuck Berry role may be meaty enough for him to show off his true talent… or it could cause him to sink like a rock if he isn’t able to pull it off.

Oh yeah and I think he needs to change his screen name to something a bit more conventional to really be taken seriously (e.g. The Rock becoming Dwayne Johnson).

After the Credits Episode 17 - Bridging Media

 

 After the Credits Episode 17 - Bridging Media [29:35m]: Play Now | Play in Popup

Dale (Digital Doodles/Group 42), Colleen (353 Haiku Movie Review) and Marina discuss some of the fall out from “Bridging Media“, a conference which took place over the weekend and focused on opening the lines of communication between the broadcast and digital communities.

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Show Notes:

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Tom Hanks Leaves Fahrenheit 451

I just got sent this article from MTV Movies Blog, that I somehow missed the other day, with news that Tom Hanks has dropped out of Frank Darabont’s adaptation of Fahrenheit 451 due to scheduling conflicts with other projects he’s committed to.

“I see this movie so clearly in my head. It’s flowing in my veins,” Darabont said. “And just because you think of books first when you think ‘Fahrenheit 451,’ don’t expect something akin to Jane Austen. One character in the script says, ‘It’s not really even about books. It’s about control.’ It’s about the control of government and authority. It’s one of the greatest books ever written. It’s got all that great political stuff underneath the skin of it but really what it is is a great galloping tale.”

We’ll get to talking about the character here in a minute, but I’m a little skeptical about Darabont’s interpretation of Ray Bradbury’s masterpiece. While the book certainly has elements of politics and governmental control, I never felt that was the main message Bradbury was trying to convey with his novel. The last thing we need is another “Oooo, the American government is bad and controlling” kind of movie. In my eyes (and I believe that this was Bradbury’s intention), Fahrenheit 451 was more about the ignorance of society and the obsession with easy, mindless entertainment such as television over books - the way he felt society was headed when he wrote this. I think this is especially relevant today with movies like Meet the Spartans being made and the 7 billion mindless, stupid reality shows on television.

As for the new leading man though? “It needs to be somebody like [Hanks] who has the ability to trigger a greenlight but is also the right guy for the part. It’s a narrow target. It’s a short list of people.”

I wasn’t upset that Hanks was cast as the lead character Guy Montag, the guy can do great work, but I always felt the role was miscast. I say this for just about every movie, but why not get Guy Pearce (I mean, they even share the same first name! FATE)? Sadly, I think the studio would never agree to this, since he really isn’t a big, money-making Hollywood name and this is such a high profile project.

Any ideas on who would be the perfect Guy Montag (waiting for the inevitable Christian Bale and Johnny Depp suggestions)?

The Goblin Man of Norway Documentary Looks Awesome

Where did this come from?

Accompanying the recent video diary entry for the upcoming XBox 360 video game “Too Human” is some unexpected bonus footage. Although the video as a whole is clearly designed to sell the game play (which looks great), the real jaw dropper of this latest video entry is the first clip form a documentary titled The Goblin Man of Norway.

A search for Goblin Man doesn’t give you much information and visiting the Norwegian Film Committee website doesn’t provide too much more about the project other than the name of director Howard Byrackk (who doesn’t appear to have directed anything else before this). The mystery is intriguing enough on its own but throw in the fact that the footage looks gorgeous and I’m that much more excited to see the rest of it.

We’ll be sure to keep you posted as the next parts become available or if we learn anything more about the production. In the meantime, just enjoy.

Updated to include only documentary footage.

 

 The Goblin Man of Norway Documentary Footage: Play Now | Play in Popup

Screen Shot Quiz #8

I think this is an easy one. Try to do it without looking it up on the web.

Hidden Treasures - Week of March 30th

I present yet another installment of Hidden Treasures, with three films that deserve much more recognition that they’ve received.

Grand Hotel (1932)
There was something magical about the movies of the early 1930’s, when films told big stories, and required even bigger stars to tell them. Classics like The Champ, Captain Blood, My Man Godfrey, It Happened One Night, The Thin Man, and many others did their part to put Hollywood on the map during these early years, yet no film was quite as elaborate, quite as magnificent as 1932’s Grand Hotel. The setting is Berlin’s finest lodgings; an establishment aptly named Grand Hotel. Baron von Geigern (John Barrymore) has both the title and bearing of an aristocrat, yet is, in reality, a notorious jewel thief. He’s checked into the hotel in order to steal a pearl necklace that belongs to the world-famous ballerina, Grusinskaya (Greta Garbo), who’s staying in an adjoining room. Mr. Preysing (Wallace Beery), an important executive who has a nasty disposition, hires Ms. Flaemmchen (Joan Crawford), a secretary, to accompany him to the hotel so that he may catch up on his correspondences. While there, Preysing runs into Mr. Kringelein (Lionel Barrymore), a sickly employee who works in the accounting department of Preysing’s firm. Kringelein is terminally ill, and has spent his entire life savings on a room at the hotel, all in the hopes of experiencing the glamorous life just once before reaching the end of the line. Grand Hotel was the first bone-fide ‘star-studded extravaganza’ ever produced in Hollywood, and its stars certainly did their part to make it a memorable one. Wallace Beery bellows and huffs as the egotistical Mr. Preysing, a man who’s used to getting his own way, and whose arrogant demeanor ultimately leads to a tragic turn of events. Joan Crawford is sexy in the role of Ms. Flaemmchen, perhaps a bit sexier than I would have thought possible for a film made in 1932. Her Ms. Flaemmchen is alluring enough to capture any man’s heart, and she damn near captures all of them. John Barrymore and Greta Garbo generate a great deal of passion as star-crossed lovers who throw caution to the wind, undertaking an intense love affair despite the fact they barely know one another. Then there’s Lionel Barrymore as Mr. Kringelein, the everyman who longs to live like a king. Like us, Kringelein is an outsider to this world of opulence, which essentially makes him our guide throughout the film. In a lively barroom scene, Kringelein lives out the dream of every employee when he stands up to his boss, Mr. Preysing, and tells the villainous executive exactly what he thinks of him. Lionel Barrymore, who became well-known years later for his role as the infamous Mr. Potter in Frank Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life, is Grand Hotel’s lone heroic figure, a man who maintains his moral bearing to the very end.

The Wild Angels (1966)
Directed by Roger Corman, The Wild Angels was a surprising success. Budgeted at only $360,000, the movie would take in millions at the box office, and was even selected to be an official entry to the 1966 Venice Film Festival. Heavenly Blues (Peter Fonda), the leader of a Hells Angels biker gang, leads his men into the desert so that they can retrieve a stolen chopper that belongs to his best friend, Loser (Bruce Dern). When a run-in with the local authorities results in a shoot-out, Loser is critically injured, and taken by the police to a hospital for treatment. Refusing to abandon their friend in his time of need, Heavenly and his gang break Loser out of the hospital with the intention of mending his wounds themselves, an action that brings about a tragedy none of them are prepared to face. The Wild Angels is presented entirely from the point of view of the Hells Angels, which just about guaranteed that the movie would be both shocking and controversial. Yet the film struck a nerve with young audiences, who in 1966 were looking for some sort of relief from the war in Vietnam. The Wild Angels gave them an outlet for their pent-up frustrations, and the success of the film would lead to the launching of a completely new genre; the biker movie. Aside from such follow-ups as Devil’s Angels, Angel on Wheels and Hells Angels Unchained, The Wild Angels would also manage to influence its star, Peter Fonda, who, two years later released his own biker movie; a little film he made with Dennis Hopper called Easy Rider. Quite innocently, director Roger Corman, who once called himself the “squarest guy in a hip crowd”, had, with The Wild Angels, sparked the creation of a whole new breed of film.

Bully (2001)
Director Larry Clark’s Bully is based on an actual killing that occurred in Florida in 1993. Marty (Brad Renfro) and Bobby (Nick Stahl) are best friends, yet their relationship is far from friendly. For starters, Bobby likes to bully Marty, lashing out at him, both verbally and physically, every chance he gets. Things go from bad to worse when Marty falls in love with Lisa (Rachel Miner) and Bobby extends his abusive treatment to her as well, even going so far as to rape Lisa on a number of occasions. With cruelty stalking them day in and day out, it isn’t long before Marty and Lisa decide they’ve had enough. With the help of their friend Ali (Bijou Phillips), the two concoct a plan to murder Bobby. But can they live with the consequences once the deed is done? Larry Clark was attacked on several fronts following the release of Bully due to its frank depiction of teen sexuality (“It feels like a peek into the closet of a pedophile”, wrote critic Sean Axmaker of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer). However, far from being merely exploitive, the depths to which Clark sinks in relating this woeful tale works to the advantage of his young actors, who are here given just enough leeway to drive their performances home. I give the stars of this film a hell of a lot of credit; they took chances, and never once shied away when things got raw. Nick Stahl is awesome as the abusive Bobby, a kid with a mean streak that may be masking a homosexual attraction to Marty. Renfro, Miner, and Phillips are also excellent, the perfect embodiment of burned-out teens from good homes whose lives are going nowhere. If you’re a parent, then I should warn you that Bully will not be an easy film to watch. It explores a side of teenage angst and confusion that will send shivers up your spine. As I watched Bully, I found myself hoping that some sort of “moral to the story” would make itself known, something that might shed a little light on what these kids could have possibly been thinking to act as they did. Unfortunately, what I found was the realization that they just weren’t thinking at all.

Cinecast 82 - Ends Not with a Bang, But with Bewilderment

 

 Cinecast Episode 82 [116:18m]: Play Now | Play in Popup

This Episode:
Southland Tales, The Counterfeiters, another Top 5 list and DVD picks.

Unwrap the complete Show Notes…
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Review: Run Fatboy Run

Director: David Schwimmer
Screenplay: Michael Ian Black, Simon Pegg
Starring: Simon Pegg, Thandie Newton, Hank Azaria, Dylan Moran
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Running time: 100 min

I was left confused and torn on what to think when I first heard about Run Fatboy Run. On one hand, it stars the brilliant Simon Pegg, best known for movies he starred in and co-wrote with Edgar Wright such as Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead. But then I saw that it was the feature film directorial debut of David Schwimmer – yeah, that Ross dude from Friends – and was immediately left questioning if this movie was going to be worth my time and hard earned money or not. The humor of Friends couldn’t be any further away from that of what Pegg has done in his career thus far. Yet, due to my undying love of Simon Pegg, I gave him the benefit of the doubt and found myself checking it out anyway.

The movie follows a hopeless, but kind-hearted women’s clothing store security guard named Dennis (Pegg) who on the day of his wedding to his pregnant fiancée Libby (Thandie Newton), freaks out and splits just before the ceremony. Five years later, Dennis and Libby are on talking terms, but mostly for the sake of their son – although over the years Dennis has come to realize what a fool he was for running out on Libby and that she is the true love of his life. Telling him that he can never finish anything he starts, Libby refuses to take him back, partially because she’s been wooed by a rich and charming businessman named Whit (Hank Azaria). When Dennis learns of Whit’s love of running and his entrance into a marathon, the out-of-shape and chain-smoking Dennis decides he’s going to run this race as well – and prove to Libby (and maybe himself) that he has enough discipline to finish something in his life.
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Nicolas Cage is Back?

This is really Kurt’s territory, but Asian directors Danny and Oxide Pang newest film entitled Bangkok Dangerous is slated for release this coming August. You might’ve seen a bit of the the Pang Brother’s other work in the original version of The Eye and its sequel; as well as quite a scary, surreal, but compelling little story about a novelist’s nightmare, translating into a pro-life message, movie entitled Re-Cycle.

At any rate, the newest from the Pang brothers bring aboard Nicolas Cage as an international hitman who falls for a local woman while in Bangkok on a job. I pulled down the poster that was just released and am posting it here for your viewing pleasure or displeasure. Ladies and gentlemen, meet Nicolas Cage and his pores:

click image for hi-res

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No Vampires for “The Informers”

So we’ve been talking quite extensively in the third row lately about the studio’s involvement with Where the Wild Things Are and how they want it re-done without Spike Jonze’ “darkside” attached to it. Now imagine if they’d removed all the mosters from the movie completely. Pretty weird right?

Well not quite to that extreme, but apparently the film makers for Bret Eastin Ellis’ (American Psycho, Rules of Attraction) new adaptation, The Informers have decided to remove any of the supernatural creatures (vampires, monsters, zombies) from the story.

We get this from an interview with Jon Foster, playing Graham in the movie, over at comingsoon.net, via Dark Horizons:

“There are no more vampires. They took the vampires out. There are no zombies or monsters either. This is more about the narcissistic side of people’s characters. God knows why they took the vampire characters out. I can’t say if I was pleased or displeased, that is just the way it is.”

Now I haven’t read the book, but apparently one of the main thrusts of the story is the creature element; so much so, that in some parts of the world, the book is actually entitled “Zombies.” So it’s kind of perplexing as to why it was removed (assuming this is true). And since Brandon Routh (Clark Kent in Superman Returns) was slated to play the head vampire, I guess he’s out eh?

The film also stars Billy Bob Thornton, Mickey Rourke, Rhys Ifans, Kim Bassinger, Winona Ryder and is also the last film to include the late Brad Renfro.

Has anyone read the book and know what kind of impact this might have on the movie, if any?

IT’S HERE!!! X-Files Teaser in Glorious Bootleg!

Having just watched the teaser trailer for the upcoming and yet unnamed X-Files sequel, I feel ecstatic. So yes, I’m exagerating just a tad but who cares? Truth is that hearing Mark Snow’s theme put a smile on my face, as did seeing Scully and Mulder together again, as did the thought that Chris Carter (once a brilliant visionary working in TV land), David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson had all been reunited.

What’s it about? Your guess is as good as mine or anyone else’s for that matter as the film has been shrouded in secrecy. What we do know is that it’s a stand alone story and that the trailer looks good, even in poor, poor quality.

The film recently wrapped up shooting in good old Vancouver and with the release date of July 25th quickly approaching, I’m expected we’ll see an official release of this teaser and perhaps even a trailer in coming weeks (though these pictures and the this teaser should hold you over until then).

In the meantime, revel in the gloriousness that is the “X-Files” and give yourself into forgetting the disaster that were the last few seasons of the show.

Check out the trailer tucked under the third row!

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A Few Things I Noticed Today in Saskatoon

Since I have tomorrow off I figured I go catch a couple of flicks in the afternoon. I checked the movie list and here is what I discovered:

1. Funny Games is not playing in Saskatoon
2. Doomsday (Our Review) has already moved to the cheaper almost first run theatre
3. Stop-Loss actually made it to Saskatoon (I’ll be checking this out tomorrow along with The Bank Job
4. and finally The Bucket List is still playing in Saskatoon and its not at the cheap theatre.

This made me think about the following:

1. I wasn’t as big of fan of Doomsday as everyone else around here and it was panned by most critics but wow I didn’t imagine it dropping that quickly.
2. I didn’t expect Stop-Loss to make it here in the Multiplex for some reason.
3. and finally why in the name of all that is worthwhile in movie watching is The Bucket List still playing here? I know I could just go watch the original Funny Games but I’d really like to do the comparison. Are people still going to see Bucket List? The reviews were not good. If not one is going to see it then why not just dump it already and give me Funny Games.

First 3 Minutes of “Chapter 27″

Thanks to Comingsoon.net, we got our hands on the first three minutes of Chapter 27; the new Jared Leto role in which it’s pretty obvious he’s taking not only this part very seriously, but also his career.

In the film, Leto plays Mark David Chapman; the troubled young man who on December 8th, 1980, altered the course of history by assassinating The Beatles’ John Lennon. Chapman was delusional and psychotic, brought on partly by an idolization of Lennon, but also an obsession with the fictional character, Holden Caulfield, from JD Salinger’s “Catcher in the Rye.”

“No one can survive being a legend.” Enjoy.

Screen Shot Quiz #7

Another in my Michael Caine screen shot series. This one might be pretty hard so I’ll give one clue… “Aspect Ratio”

After the Credits Episode 16 - Studio Debacles

 

 After the Credits Episode 16 - Studio Debacles [39:43m]: Play Now | Play in Popup

Dale (Digital Doodles), Colleen (353 Haiku Movie Review) and Marina look over the latest studio/fan screwovers and reviews of Funny Games and The Grand.

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Show Notes:

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