Frickin' Eh Movie News 09.16.09: Crazy Swayze Edition

Posted by Matthew Motiuk on 09.16.2009

This week, news on Superman, the world says goodbye to Patrick Swayze, new trailers for both Surrogates and Solomon Kane, the new release date for The Smurfs, and even some Spider-Man news!

I shouldn't buy jelly beans. As I've been writing this article I've been eating them constantly and it's probably not too good for me. Damn snacks. Oh well.

University is in full swing and already the deadlines are looming. I've got a book report due at the start of October (which means I have to read the book first, plus some of the other textbooks for that class, which are brutal), a quiz coming up soon for philosophy, lots of writing to do for my writing nonfiction class, and of course, reading in everything. Fun! So let's get right into things . . .


The Mid-Week Box Office Time Machine

So the top spot of the weekend was a surprise and disappointment to me, as it went to Tyler Perry's I Can Do Bad All By Myself, which made $24 million. The second spot went to 9, which opened with $10.9 million. Inglourious Basterds fell a spot to third with $6.5 million. All About Steve fell a spot to fourth with $5.8 million and The Final Destination fell from first to fifth with $5.5 million. Sorority Row opened at sixth with $5.3 million, and Whiteout opened at seventh with $5.1 million. District 9 fell from fifth to eighth and Julie & Julia fell from sixth to ninth. Gamer rounded out the top ten, dropping from four and making a meager $3.2 million in its second week.

What's opening this weekend? First off you've got Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, the animated adaptation of the children's book which I have never heard of. Second is The Informant!, Soderbergh's latest starring Matt Damon which looks like it will be fairly entertaining all around. Third is Jennifer's Body, Megan Fox's latest, this time a horror movie about a teenage girl who goes around killing guys. We'll see if Fox's recent bouts of incredible stupidity deter audiences at all. And finally, Love Happens, starring Jennifer Aniston and Aaron Eckhart, the sappy movie of the weekend, but it's a strong cast, so we'll have to see. So take your pick!


R.I.P Patrick Swayze (1952 – 2009)

Actor Patrick Swayze, who went from Broadway dancer to Hollywood star in box-office hits like Dirty Dancing and Ghost, died on Monday after a two year battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 57.

"Patrick Swayze passed away peacefully today with family at his side after facing the challenges of his illness for the last 20 months," said a statement released Monday evening by his publicist, Annett Wolf.

Swayze was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer, one of the most deadly forms of the disease, in January 2008. He said at the time that the cancer had already spread to his liver. Since then, he starred in the TV series "The Beast."

Swayze became a pop culture icon with 1987's Dirty Dancing, which earned Golden Globe nominations and spawned the Oscar-winning hit single "(I've Had) The Time of My Life." The film earned $214 million worldwide. Swayze co-wrote and performed the song "She's Like the Wind" for the movie's soundtrack, which went to No. 3 on the pop music charts.

In 1990 Ghost was an even bigger hit than Dirty Dancing earning $505 million around the world.

His breakout roles came in 1983's The Outsiders and 1984's Red Dawn in which he and future Dirty Dancing co-star Jennifer Grey played teenagers fighting invading Russians.

Swayze's credits also included Steel Dawn, Road House, Point Break, To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar, and the TV mini-series "North and South."

A sad day for Hollywood indeed, although one we knew was coming soon. He was battling cancer for a long time and there's only so much a person can do sometimes, and he wasn't looking particularly well for a while. May he rest in peace.


Harrison Ford Talks a Little Bit About Indiana Jones 5

Harrison Ford told France's Le Figaro (via People) that "the story for the new Indiana Jones is in the process of taking form. Steven Spielberg, George Lucas and myself are agreed on what the fifth adventure will concern, and George is actively at work. If the script is good, I'll be very happy to put the costume on again."

The fourth film, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, was released on May 28, 2008 and earned $786.6 million worldwide. It was made for about $185 million.

No surprises here, and no real news, either. Ford will be in this movie no matter what he says about the script having to be good or anything. If he won't do it they'll change it until he will do it. It's just a matter of what the story is and when they get the ball rolling. Hopefully it comes soon; I was never as opposed to the last one as others were (every Indiana Jones movie is ridiculous, that's one of their marks) and I'm looking forward to seeing where they go next.


New Surrogates Trailer

Touchstone Pictures has released the new trailer for director Jonathan Mostow's Surrogates, opening in theaters on September 25th. The graphic novel adaptation stars Bruce Willis, Radha Mitchell, Rosamund Pike, Boris Kodjoe, James Francis Ginty, Michael Cudlitz, James Cromwell and Ving Rhames.

In the film, people are living their lives remotely from the safety of their own homes via robotic surrogates—sexy, physically perfect mechanical representations of themselves. It's an ideal world where crime, pain, fear and consequences don't exist. When the first murder in years jolts this utopia, FBI agent Greer (Willis) discovers a vast conspiracy behind the surrogate phenomenon and must abandon his own surrogate, risking his life to unravel the mystery.

Call me a sucker for these ‘perfect future through technology that goes wrong' type movies, but damn, does this look good. It's got action, it's got what looks like a good story, and good acting all around. Add all of that on top of this fantastically done trailer and I'm itching to see how this one does. Check out the trailer and see for yourself.


McAvoy and Penn Are Conspirators With Redford

James McAvoy and Robin Wright Penn are set to star in the Robert Redford-directed The Conspirator, reports Variety.

The project, scheduled to start filming in October, is a period drama based on true events following the assassination of President Lincoln.

Wright Penn will play Mary Surratt, the only woman among a group charged with conspiring to kill the president. McAvoy will play Frederick Aiken, an idealistic young war hero who reluctantly defends Surratt and in the process comes to believe she is innocent.

James Solomon wrote the script.

Penn is a great actress and should be able to pull off this role very well. As for McAvoy, however . . . I wasn't impressed with him in Wanted (although that might be the movie more than him) so I'm unsure of how well he'll be able to handle this role, particularly if he is one of the major actors in the movie. But as I said, it may well have been the movie that weighed him down, so maybe he'll break into his own here in a more serious and less ridiculous role. This should be one to look out for.


Bruce Campbell Getting a Larger Role in Spider-Man?

At the premiere for Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs on Saturday, Bruce Campbell told Access Hollywood that Spider-Man 4 will start shooting in January 2010 and that he'll have a larger part:

The actor, who has a long relationship with director Sam Raimi via his lead role in the "Evil Dead" trilogy, made memorable cameos in the first three "Spider-Man" films.

However, he may have a bigger role this time around. Bruce told Access that in the next installment in the superhero franchise, he's been told he has a major part – but didn't yet know anything about his character.

Columbia Pictures has scheduled the fourth installment for a May 6, 2011 release.

I am not a fan of either element of this story so I don't want to say too much. Yes, Raimi and Campbell are old buddies and Campbell isn't exactly what you'd call a star nowadays, so any help Raimi can give him with a big role is probably well appreciated. Could the major part be the villain? Or just another character – a new mentor or friend of Peter Parker, perhaps. It would make sense to have him as the villain, but we'll just have to wait and see what he's actually handed – and if it's actually as big as he wants everyone to believe.


Smurfs Fall Back to July 2011

As was expected, Sony Pictures has moved the CG-animated The Smurfs away from a December 17, 2010 release, where it would have faced The Green Hornet, Tron Legacy and Yogi Bear.

Instead, the studio is eyeing a July 29, 2011 release date for the 3D adaptation of the characters created by Belgian cartoonist Pierre Culliford (AKA Peyo). The film currently has the slot to itself. Marvel Studios' The First Avenger: Captain America is scheduled to be released a week earlier, on July 22, 2011.

It was expected, because The Green Hornet is also a Sony release and the studio announced that film was going to be moved to Dec. 17, 2010 just a couple of weeks ago.

The Smurfs will be directed by Raja Gosnell.

No surprise there for anyone. That was a busy spot, unnecessarily so, and none of the movies would have held up that well if they'd stayed put. Sony can hope to rake in even more money now. It's a long way off, though, and a lot can change in the intervening period.


Pirates 4 Speculation Already

This afternoon, Walt Disney Pictures made the big announcement at the D23 Expo that the fourth "Pirates" film will hit theaters in Summer 2011 and be titled Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.

Speculation has already begun that the subtitle "On Stranger Tides" refers to author Tim Powers' novel with the same name. The following is the official description of the book:

Puppeteer John Chandagnac, who was sailing to Jamaica to get revenge on the uncle who had stolen his father's inheritance, has no choice but to join the buccaneers who have taken him prisoner--and soon, known now as the pirate Jack Shandy, he finds himself learning to survive in a treacherous new world of cutlass-fights, sea-battles, and voodoo magic on sun-blinded tropical islands. The legendary Blackbeard is assembling a ruthless navy of pirates living and undead to voyage to the fabled Fountain of Youth, and Jack Shandy must use magic, swordsmanship, and even his puppeteer skills to free himself and the girl he has fallen in love with from Blackbeard's deadly supernatural domination.

At the end of the third "Pirates" movie, it is shown that both Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) and Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) are next eyeing the Fountain of Youth. Barbossa has "stolen" the Black Pearl back from Sparrow, but Sparrow has cut out the most important part of Barbossa's map to the Fountain of Youth.

If they will be adapting the book, will Sparrow and Barbossa have to team up again against Blackbeard? We'll have to wait and see how it will turn out.

I want to say that this is just aimless speculation and pulling for any link they can to figure out what the movie will be about . . . but they make a good point. The Fountain of Youth is specifically mentioned and would have to work into the next movie somehow. While you'd think the title might be coincidence, it sure sounds like it might not be. Maybe not Blackbeard, that might be getting a little too close to traditional lore, but something along those lines, sure. Hopefully not the puppeteer nonsense, either. I've still got high hopes for this one, and we should be hearing a lot more soon, so let's wait and see.


True Grit From the Coens

The Coen Brothers, Joel and Ethan, have gained an entirely new level of respect and appreciation as filmmakers over the last few years thanks to their Oscar-winning adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's No Country for Old Men and last year's box office hit Burn After Reading. Having their names attached to a movie called True Grit has gotten a lot of interest because the 1969 John Wayne movie of the same name is a popular Western. In fact, the Coens have decided to go back to the Charles Portis novel of the same name to create their own movie based on it.

ComingSoon.net had a chance to interview the Coens with a small group of journalists for their new movie A Serious Man and eventually, they were asked about the Western.

"We did see it as kids. I don't know if Joel's seen it since," Ethan said once the movie was mentioned. "It made very little impression on me, the movie. We subsequently both read the book and the book made a huge impression and I guess that's kind of why we're interested in doing the movie."

"It's not a great movie but it is a great book actually," his brother continued.

"It's not really a remake, it's an adaptation," Ethan admitted to which Joel added, "Yeah, we were trying to figure out what it was the other day, too. What do you call it?"

They're hoping that this project will be next although they're not sure and are hoping that it will get done in the spring.

Despite there having been word out of Toronto that Jeff Bridges aka "The Dude" from The Big Lebowski was the frontrunner for the John Wayne role in the new movie, the brothers remained coy about confirming that, merely saying, "We're talking to somebody."

I have a lot of respect for the Coens, although they have definitely had their ups and downs, and they're you have to know what you're getting in to a lot of the time. That said, I think it's best when they step out of the usual and do something like this. I am really hoping this is going to be something like an O Brother, Where Art Thou? project for them – obviously not quite the same, but something along those lines, if we're lucky. I think Jeff Bridges would be a good fit, especially with their past work together, but it's still a ways off.


English Trailer for Solomon Kane

Had a hard time understanding what was going on in the Russian trailer for Solomon Kane released earlier this week? Then here it is, in English!

Michael J. Bassett's film is an epic adventure adapted from the classic pulp stories by Robert E. Howard, creator of "Conan the Barbarian." Solomon Kane (James Purefoy) is a 16th Century soldier who learns that his brutal and cruel actions have damned him. Determined to redeem himself, Kane swears to live a life of peace and goodness but is forced to fight once more when a dark power threatens the land.

Epic is definitely the right description for this, because it looks like it will be epic in just about every way – and that's pretty awesome. And it's from the guy behind Conan, so you know it's going to be pretty great to start with. I think this one will be pretty good. Check out the trailer and see what you think.


Superman Won't Be Appearing Anytime Soon

With the formation of DC Entertainment, many thought a new film in the "Superman" franchise would be one of the big things the company would concentrate on. Not so, DC Entertainment Diane Nelson told MTV:

"We actually don't have any current plans for Superman," said Nelson when asked if the new environment (and the recent legal decision regarding the character) made a "Superman" movie more or less likely in the near future... We've obviously done a lot of great things behind the property in our history, and it's a key part of the family, but we don't have current plans behind Superman," she said.

Of course this doesn't mean that there couldn't be plans tomorrow, but for now nothing is happening.

Not necessarily a bad thing. Rushing the next Superman after the last one would be a huge mistake. Maybe, for once, someone will have some sense and let a franchise rest for a while, maybe for a long while. Let Superman be remembered for the great heydays. Maybe?


Rapid-Fire: Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005, starring Robert Downey Jr., Val Kilmer, Michelle Monaghan)

So this is one I've been meaning to watch for a while, that keeps coming up in conversations or being spotted whenever I wander through the movie store, but finally I stumbled across a copy in the bargain bin and had to grab it. And I'm glad I did. This week I present:

I would compare this to my favourite Guy Ritchie movies but it's not really that; it's a movie entirely unto its own. It's a comedy, and a noir, and an action movie; it's quirky and fast-paced, fun and confusing, everything at once. And does it ever work.

One of the most difficult things in movies is balancing the pace of the movie. A lot of movies will start out slow and then pick up only about halfway through; others will start on a high note and then trip along the way; some just never get going. This is one of the few movies that handles the problem of balance very well. In the first bit, Robert Downey Jr.'s character Harry Lockhart narrates the story, in a quirky, random way; playing on clichés from other movies and intertwining his own character into it. This keeps the opening fresh and fun. As the movie goes along that is lost but the story and action pick up, and at the end, as everything is about to wrap up, the narration is brought back. It's an interesting and unique way to do things.

Downey Jr. as Harry Lockhart is absolutely fantastic; it's hard to imagine anyone else in the role. A criminal turned actor (only out of convenience) turned detective, he's the bumbling fool who gets wrapped up too much in the case, while still following his childhood sweetheart, and it's just perfect. His narration, too, is engaging, lively, and hilarious. Kilmer steps into an interesting role as Gay Perry, a gay detective, whose constant sarcasm balances the other character's unbridled enthusiasm well. The gay jokes are pretty hilarious too, within the context of the movie and the characters. Monaghan as Harmony is mostly there for her looks but she's the perfect choice for the enthusiastic, naïve failing actress. The cast fills out nicely from there; Dash Mihok and Rockmond Dunbar as two idiot bad guys, Corbin Bernsen as the omnipresent Harlan Dexter; Larry Miller as Dabney Shaw, whose small role is still hilarious. It all works together so well.

Yes, this is my usual bumbling crime kind of movie, but it's a very unique take on the idea, and you have to enjoy the many risks taken in the movie. The plot is solid, although there are definitely leaps of faith involved (but, of course, that's part of the appeal of the movie, considering it's making fun of detective movies). It's just a thoroughly enjoyable, different movie. I highly recommend it.


Closing Time . . .

Time to get back to reading. I'd better enjoy these last couple breaths of summer and read my textbooks outside, because pretty soon, that won't be an option. Until next week . . .


[All news, images, and other stuff from www.comingsoon.net, www.imdb.com, www.rottentomatoes.com and www.youtube.com.]