Furious on Film Movie News Report 05.14.08

Posted by Arnold Furious on 05.14.2008

Spielberg’s Lincoln biopic, Kevin Smith’s porno movie, new Witchblade, no new Spaced, possible Thor rumours, Dr Phibes nostalgia, plus reviews on We Own the Night, Rescue Dawn, 1408 and Starter for 10!

Furious on Film Movie News 05.14.08

Spielberg's Lincoln biopic, Kevin Smith's porno movie, new Witchblade, no new Spaced, possible Thor rumours, Dr Phibes nostalgia, plus reviews on We Own the Night, Rescue Dawn, 1408 and Starter for 10!

Check out Footy Fact or Fiction in which I make my second appearance in this week. Good stuff. If there had been an FA Cup Final question on there btw I'd have gone for Pompey. I have a fiver on them to take Cardiff at the weekend. Update on the Never-Ending Movie Quiz. After being really tired after work the other day I was watching TV and just tapping away answering questions. I didn't even notice how many I'd gone through. Current world rank; #1673. Boo ya.

Oh and the archive process is very slow. I have posted a few things on a blog entitled "Arnold Furious Archive". That's available here. I could really do with someone to give me a hand with that. Or even better if they can just organise something where I can post shit in order. Anyone? Drop me an email to the usual address.

Issue 139

HERE IS THE GNUS



Spielberg's Lincoln biopic close

Credit: Screen Daily

Steven Spielberg's long-gestating project about US president Abraham Lincoln will be the director's next project after the first live-action Tintin film which goes into production this September. Spielberg says he will begin shooting of the Lincoln biopic at the beginning of 2009 "so that it can also open in the same year as Lincoln's 200th anniversary which comes round then." Originally, Spielberg had been planning Chicago Seven as his next project about the famous 1960s trial of the protestors at the 1968 Democratic convention in Chicago.

However, this project had to be postponed since the screenplay was not yet ready, leading to the Lincoln project being brought forward in its place. In an interview with the German weekly magazine FOCUS ahead of the world premiere of the new Indiana Jones film in Cannes, Spielberg also said production on Tintin would not be threatened by a possible actors' strike.



Forescore and one world series ago…go Sox.

I don't which one I'm more jazzed about. As an almost lifelong fan of Herge's Tintin books I'm excited to see what Spielberg does with that. They still haven't cast anyone other than Andy Serkis as Captain Haddock. Given that Haddock would have a few wacky movements and more than a few pratfalls I think that's probably a good call. But still no word on who will play Tintin. I think that's the key to a successful Tintin movie. Finding someone who can portray the character effectively. I mean, he's such a goody-toe-shoes and yet he's a detective and a fighter. It might be a tough ask of any actor to find the right balance.

As for Abraham Lincoln it's a surprise no one has gone the biopic route with him before. But Spielberg is the kind of guy to search out things that interest him and make them. He also has Interstellar in pre-production although the 2009 release date on IMDB is optimistic because they haven't cast any of the parts yet and Spielberg has three films to make before then. The Trial of the Chicago Seven is one of those movies that you know is going to have a stellar cast and there are already a load of people rumoured as being involved from Will Smith to Kevin Spacey to Sasha Baron Cohen. Its clear the script isn't ready though and Spielberg won't be rushing that one when he has other projects he's equally interested in making. End of the day; its Spielberg. And how many misfires does he ever come up with? (I count 4 actually; AI, Lost World, Hook & Always although the Terminal wasn't great).

Kevin Smith's porno out soon

Credit: SilentBobSpeaks.com

Been knee-deep in "Zack and Miri Make a Porno" type stuff, preparing for our first official test screening on Tuesday night (somewhere in the midwest). The flick's current running time is 1:45, so we'll see if putting it in front of an audience sheds light on any further possible cuts. Fingers crossed the flick plays great.



Just thought I'd throw up a Clerks 2 poster to remind everyone how great Smith's last movie was. This one features Seth Rogen, Elizabeth Banks and very few of the usual Smith crew although both Jason Mewes and Jeff Anderson appear for the first time as characters other than Jay & Randal. Screenshots released by Smith this week show Anderson and Rogen in hockey gear playing for the Monroeville Zombies. I'm always keen on new Smith films because its rarely a disappointment. I've been a fan since Clerks, which is rare as I find most people saw Mallrats or even Dogma first, which I bought after a got a tip from a friend of mine who worked in a video store. I was working in an off-licence at the time trying to write a film about slackers working in a small store and Kevin Smith totally beat me to it. In a way I was disappointed but in another way I was happy for him because he did a better job and covered more ground than my film would have done. Since those early days I've followed his career with great interest and I own all his films (yes, even Jersey Girl) and I can always find something to like about them. It's a pity he's still struggling to grow up or his fanbase can't accept him as an adult because he really did have a few things to say in Jersey Girl. It just didn't pan out right. I'm looking forward to this and also the projected release of Red State in 2010.

Well it can't be any worse than the last one…

Credit: Variety

Platinum Studios, Top Cow Prods. and Arclight Films will team on a live-action feature adaptation of "Witchblade," based on the Top Cow comicbook franchise.
The comicbook introduced the Witchblade mythology, which centers on an ornate jewel-encrusted gauntlet that gives extraordinary powers to the wearer, a specially chosen female from each generation.

Pic will be produced by Arclight's Gary Hamilton and Nigel Odell, Platinum Studios' Scott Mitchell Rosenberg and Steve Squillante of Havenwood Media. Top Cow's Marc Silvestri and Matt Hawkins will be exec producers with Platinum Studios' Rich Marincic and Greenberg Group's Randy Greenberg.



They did a TV movie of Witchblade in 2000, starring Yancy Butler, which was fucking awful. It might be the worst comic book movie I've ever seen. But then staying true to the original would begin with the costume, which is almost non-existent. Whoever is playing this role is going to have to be very comfortable with their own body. Here's how Yancy played it…



You can almost hear the teenage boys booing. It didn't help that the script was terrible and the action was worse. Here's hoping for a significant improvement this time around and at the very least some skintight lycra.

A little positive TV news…

Credit: Deadline Hollywood Daily

Despite all the buzz, and exec producer McG, and a "phenomenal cast", Spaced is a no-go, I'm told. FBC just turned thumbs down on the WBTV/Wonderland pilot, which was adapted from the successful British TV series.



I'm hoping this will provide each of you the opportunity to go and get the original show Spaced, which may be the greatest sit-com ever made. It had normal boundaries and felt like a regular sit-com and every now and again something wholy surreal would interject itself. Like zombies. Or a tank. Or agents from the Matrix. I dread to think how little McG actually got from it, although he probably liked the Terminator reference at the end of the one episode "a storm is coming". The Red Dwarf conversion didn't work because it was just too English to cross over. The same is true with Spaced. Its quintessionally English. But if you enjoyed Shaun of the Dead or Hot Fuzz its great news because they did two series of Spaced and they're all really good.

Marvel thinking big with regards to casting?

Credit: the rumour mill

Seeing as this is just a rumour knocking around I'll write it myself. Word on the street has Marvel considering Brad Pitt for the role of Thor. There's debate over whether Pitt is too old for the role or a needlessly good actor for a basic role. What you can get from this is that Marvel has become very serious about making good movies. You look at the inspired casting of Robert Downey Jr in Ironman and that's the way they're going. They want great actors and directors behind their projects and if they keep thinking big it seems they'll keep making money and if that happens then the sky is the limit. Interesting to note that other studios are becoming so jealous of Marvel's success they've made up their own superhero, Hancock, to try and win a little of Marvel's money off them. However you look at it this is a great time to be a comic book fan. Whether Pitt is even remotely interested in playing Thor is another thing and yet again whether Marvel can afford a mega-star cast for the Avengers is another thing. Watch this space for more inevitably updates over the next 2 years!




What do you mean you've never seen…?

Remember in High Fidelity where the potential record buyer is confronted by Jack Black? "Don't tell anyone you don't own Blonde on Blonde?" Well, if you were to enter a serious film buff's rental place, which sadly doesn't exist nowadays thanks to Blockbuster and online rentals, and happened to make a comment about liking movies then I like to think somewhere out there that a clerk still exists who would chastise you for not having seen certain movies. Seeing as that place doesn't exist you'll just have to imagine you're walking into my rental place and happened to mention Final Destination and the innovative death scenes found therein. Of course weird deaths are nothing new. But what's that? You've never seen…

#9The Abominable Dr Phibes (1971)



Vincent Price starred in this tale of death from beyond the grave. When his wife dies on the operating table Dr Anton Phibes (Vincent Price) rushes to be with her only to be ‘killed' in a car crash. It turns out he's only badly burned and recruits a young lady (Virginia North) to help him get revenge on the doctors who failed to save his wife. All nine of them. And he gets Biblical on their asses by using the plagues from the Old Testament. Yanno, locusts, frogs, death of first born. That sort of thing. It's ridiculously camp and over the top. The scene with the rats in the aeroplane is hilarious. As is the long organ playing introduction complete with wind-up band and Phantom of the Opera inspired dancing. Price hams it up a treat despite not being able to speak due to burns to his throat. He drinks a glass of wine through the side of his neck in one scene. It's campy, over the top and extremely ridiculous. There are some fine supporting roles including Terry-Thomas playing a dirty old man with aplomb before being drained of all his blood. Joseph Cotton (Citizen Kane, Third Man, Shadow of a Doubt) also pops up as head doctor Vesalius. While its clear he's not too worried about the content of the film is more there for the paycheque he gets visibly more animated around the whacked-out looking Vincent Price. The film spawned a sequel the following year called Dr Phibes Rides Again. I've not seen it but I imagine its more of the same. The characters returning unscathed always struck me as a bit odd especially with the acid shower the one character receives. But then there do appear to be supernatural powers at play and its all a bit weird. Incidentally Saw borrows wholesale from Dr Phibes including the surgically implanted life saving key and the man hell bent on revenge because of a medical procedure with the female assistant.

BEST BIT – Perhaps the most ridiculous death in any film as one of the doctors is about to leave his residence he's impaled by a brass unicorn catapulted from across the street. I laughed for a good 5 minutes the first time I saw that ridiculous visual. The whole movie is on YouTube if you want to see it.



THIS WEEK'S REVIEWS

We Own the Night, Rescue Dawn, Starter for 10, 1408

We Own the Night (2007)



EXPECTATIONS – When the trailers came out last year I was quite jazzed at the prospect of seeing We Own the Night. It looked interesting and the central cast looked to be great. I've liked Joaquin Phoenix for a while but since he played Johnny Cash he's had a whole different swagger about him. This is his first movie since Walk the Line. It took him two years to get past playing Johnny Cash. Sometimes there's a big life changing, career changing part and I think that was Joaquin Phoenix's. This is his chance to build on that. Along with Robert Duvall, Eva Mendes and Mark Wahlberg he's in decent company.

TRAILER –



PLOT – Brooklyn, 1988. Russian mafia has begun to make inroads into America by successfully running drugs and laughing in the face of the police. Bert Grusinsky (Robert Duvall) has sons on both sides of the conflict. Joe (Mark Wahlberg) joined the force and became a captain. Meanwhile Bobby Green (Joaquin Phoenix) is a club manager working for the Russians. His life is one long party from the clubbing to the drugs to the girl (Eva Mendes). Things come to a head when a known drug dealer starts frequenting his club and Joe raids it.

OPINION – We Own the Night has the considerable misfortune to have been released shortly after American Gangster. Had it come out first I might have been able to get excited by the retro and drug heavy vibe combined with some fun car chases and shoot outs. But having seen American Gangster it makes this pale in significance. Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe both towered above normal actors in that film. In We Own the Night it's the Joaquin Phoenix show but he has very little to work with aside from Robert Duvall. But with no major conflict to play off (the Russian mobsters seem so interchangeable) he's somewhat lost in self destruction. Which was fun when he was doing it as Johnny Cash but as a nameless son of a cop it has less effect. He's still very good in We Own the Night and one the films saving graces but is 2 hours of Joaquin Phoenix enough to save a relatively weak script? No. But a great car chase in the rain that was like, but better than, the car chase in the snow during Four Brothers? Yeah, that'll do it for me. Director James Grey clearly wanted to make a different picture with We Own the Night and its his misfortune that its not anywhere near as good as either American Gangster or the Departed. But then with films like that being popular this was a case of the studios striking while the iron was hot. And We Own the Night tries very hard to break away from many of the cliches it almost walks into. I can't really go into what those are without spoiling the film and from the box office ($27M, although that was an overall gain thanks to a small budget) not many of you saw it. Suffice to say it's a surprising movie because it strays away from some of the more cliched things that could have happened. I found it surprisingly tough to predict who was going to get killed and who would survive. Normally during this type of film you can put on odds on various people getting snuffed and I felt for sure one of the characters was definitely going to die and they didn't. Kudos for keeping a degree of edge and unpredictability about the film then. The script is a little too clunky and the plot is implausible (like the mobsters don't know Bobby is connected to the cops by blood and then apologise when they find out, or the shooting of a defenceless suspect where the entire police force turn a blind eye or the hitmen sent after one target mysteriously losing interest) but Joaquin Phoenix is very good and a few scenes are really good. If only the rest of the film had the intensity of the visit to the drug den.

BEST BIT – The car chase, which came as a pleasant and unexpected bonus.

RATING - ***. Not without its moments but lacking in consistency. Some good acting from Phoenix but no real support from the rest of the cast. Inexperience from the director didn't help matters. Certainly everyone involved shows plenty of promise but this was pretty unrealistic throughout. I don't want to pick too many holes in it because I quite enjoyed it as a movie experience but there are enough things wrong with it that I expect a fair few people to hate on it.

Rescue Dawn (2007)



EXPECTATIONS – Werner Herzog has always had a level of insane genius about him. When he shot Aguirre; the Wrath of God he took a film crew into the middle of a jungle and watched them all go mad then captured it onscreen. It takes a rare brand of director who's willing to sacrifice his own sanity along with that of those around him to make a movie. Like Francis Ford Coppolla & Apocalypse Now. Herzog has a level of demented genius about him. For all his arthouse success during the 1970's Herzog never broke America. His American movies (like 2001's Invincible) never made any money. Herzog returned to form with Grizzly Man. A documentary about a man who loved bears so much he went to live among them and was promptly killed and eaten by a bear. Herzog already had much of the material he needed to make a compelling documentary but nevertheless delivered his best film in decades. This gave him a new opportunity. Having made a documentary in 1997 on German-turned American pilot Dieter Dengler he felt compelled to make a feature film based on his life.

TRAILER –



PLOT – Dieter Dengler (Christian Bale) became a US Fighter Pilot because he was so desperate to fly. He left his native Germany in order to follow his dream. On his first mission in Laos, during the Vietnam War, he was shot down and taken prisoner by the Viet Cong. He was placed in a POW camp in Laos along with helicopter pilot Duane Martin (Steve Zahn) and Air America crew including Eugene DeBruin (Jeremy Davies).

OPINION – It's quite amazing that Herzog could shoot this movie for $10M. Especially when you consider how expensive movie making has become. It seems like every film costs $25M or more. Rescue Dawn is not only a cheap film but it's also a beautiful one. There's that same feeling present in Aguirre that Herzog has taken his cast back into the jungle and several of them look more than a little frazzled. Not so much Bale who seems intent on becoming the most prolific actor of his generation. His dedication is frightening at times. Like his huge weight loss for the Machinist followed by his bulking up for Batman Begins. And along the way he seems to turn out really consistent performances. Rescue Dawn probably won't be one of the films he's remembered for and yet in many ways it should be. He's playing a slightly off-beat character who uses humour in the most dangerous of situations and has incredible faith in his own abilities. Dengler was himself an extraordinary man and sadly didn't live to see his life immortalised on film. I think he would have approved. Bale is, as always, on form. The surprises come from the supporting cast however. Jeremy Davies is absolutely out there as Gene. It should, by all rights, have been a breakout performance. Unfortunately for him no one saw Rescue Dawn ($5M at the box office). So no one saw Steve Zahn play it straight in an unrecognisable and sympathetic performance. Those three members of the cast alone make Rescue Dawn well worthwhile. The direction from Herzog is even more interesting. He throws in short scenes with one line of dialogue before fading away to black again. He throws in quick cuts where they don't seem to belong. And he blissfully avoids the presence of shaky-cam. So everything that happens is clearly visible. Incredible how some films spend $100M on enormous action sequences where you can't see a thing and this film spends $10M on some small effects but films them clearly. I know which one I prefer. Herzog isn't quite the maverick he used to be and this trip back into the jungle doesn't have the same lunatic edge of Aguirre but it's still a very strong film. It doesn't quite create the level of emotional attachment it should, which is mostly due to Herzog avoiding sentimentality in his approach.

BEST BIT – Dieter telling Duane about his childhood experience of a plane shooting at his house. Duane's response: "You're a strange bird, Dieter. A man tries to kill you and you want his job".

RATING - ****. Had Herzog not demonised Gene DeBruin (by all accounts a decent man who did the right thing) this might have played out even better. As it stands it feels twisted in a way. As if he created another bad guy where there didn't need to be one to stack the odds further against Dengler. Which is simply not necessary. It lacks of the fire of Aguirre but has much of its spirit. Who knew Herzog would make a comeback? Certainly not the film going American public who didn't support the film. Check it out on DVD instead.

Sidenote – Hats off to all the actors for dropping so much weight for their roles. Bale, as per usual, lead the way with 55lbs of weight loss but Jeremy Davies was frighteningly thin. His almost skelletal performance was made all the more insane by his lack of body weight.

Starter for 10 (2006)



EXPECTATIONS – James McAvoy is really growing on me as an actor. His turn in Atonement was enough for me to throw another of his movies onto the rental list. This was the one selected. Also being 89% fresh on RT I figured it wouldn't be bad at all.

TRAILER –



PLOT – University Challenge fan Brian (James McAvoy) battles his way into Bristol University during the 1980's. There he battles his way onto the University Challenge team and into the bosom of team-mate Alice (Alice Eve). Things don't go too smoothly for him though as he gets stoned and sees Alice's parents (Charles Dance and Lindsay Duncan) naked. Life at uni isn't much better as grades begin to fall and the girl he should be interested in Rebecca (Rebecca Hall) seems more interested in politics. Plus his mate from Southend Spence (Dominic Cooper – Dakin from History Boys) has turned up to make sure he's not turning into a wanker.

OPINION – Initially Starter for 10 is quite charming although I found McAvoy as an 18 year old a bit hard to swallow (he was 27 when filming it). His mother is played by Catherine Tate who's only 11 years older than him. I know age gaps tend to be screwy in movies (like Angelina Jolie playing Colin Farrell's mom) but it shouldn't be this obvious. The problem they have is McAvoy is by far the best thing about the movie so him being the wrong age is irrevelent. The script sticks to familiar rom-com boundaries. The disguise and pretense of it being a nostalgia film, featuring an able Bamber Gascoigne impression from Mark Gatkiss, provides a backdrop for only a tiny part of the film. The rest of it straightforward rom-com stuff. Characters saying the wrong thing when they've been drinking, the three act approach to romance, the naked bloke hiding in the wardrobe and in general seems loaded with sit-com humour. Misunderstandings and punch up's at the drop of a hat. None of the characters seem to go anywhere. Even Brian with all his attempts at moving forward as a person. He ends up basically where he began. All of which leaves me feeling like I lost 95 minutes of my life. There are moments where Starter for 10 is extremely charming and deserves all the praise it received but they're few and far between. For every headbutt there's three CND rallies. For every naked Lindsay Duncan there's Brian's unfunny flat-mates playing ping pong in drag. It's a film that thinks its smarter than it is and romanticises a time and a place without really thinking about why its doing so. The problem with Starter for 10 is its another pleasant British movie. Like Four Wedding and a Funeral or Notting Hill. You know…shit. As much as I tried to like it Starter for 10 is just a Hugh Grant movie where he was too old to play the lead role. Hell, McAvoy is too old to play it himself but at least he could scrape the age at a push.

BEST BIT – University Challenge. Although they blew the whole set up by having such a rubbish conclusion.

RATING – **. Starter for 10 has moments but when you're relying on a handful of jokes and some 80's and university nostalgia (neither of which I particular wanted although hearing "Ever Fallen in Love" by the Buzzcocks is always good) you're in trouble from the off. McAvoy's stock may be high right now, so much so he can even make this genre passable, but if he carries on making movies like this he won't have a good career. Charming but dull and lightweight.

1408 (2007)



EXPECTATIONS – There's a misconception about my taste in film and its that I don't care for horror movies. That's not true. I merely got tired of slasher movies where a bunch of teens get cut into pieces. They got very repetitive and stopped being even remotely scary a long time ago. However when an experienced and capable actor makes a horror movie (Harrison Ford in What Lies Beneath for example) I'm pretty much onboard for it. Double up that this is a Stephen King adaptation and I'm there. King has been responsible for so many great stories (some of which are unfilmable like Insomnia or Gerald's Game) but he has a great track record; Shawkshank Redemption, Green Mile, The Shining, Stand By Me, Misery, Carrie, the Running Man, It, Apt Pupil, Christine, Firestarter.

TRAILER – I'd advise you not to watch the trailer if you've not seen the film because it gives away my favourite jump.



PLOT – Mike Enslin (John Cusack) is a disillusioned writer. He's not been the same since his young daughter died and his work has become increasingly bland. He writes about haunted hotels and spends his time doing research and staying the night in various ‘haunted' rooms. He has discovered that most of them are completely harmless. But one day he receives a postcard from the Dolphin Hotel in New York warning him "do not enter 1408". When he approaches the hotel manager Gerald Olin (Samuel L. Jackson) he warns Enslin not to enter the room because 56 people have died in it and no one lasts longer than an hour. Enslin scoffs at him and enters anyway.

OPINION – John Cusack appears in pretty much every moment of every scene of 1408. If he wasn't taking it seriously it wouldn't work. But Cusack is a model professional and channels emotion into his performance. He's totally believable. The room basically breaks him down step at a time. It messes with his senses, confuses him, backs him into a corner and makes him believe things that aren't true. 1408 makes the very smart play of starting out slowly. 30 minutes of humdrum everyday life. It sets the scene. We get to know the character and how he reacts to various situations. Its smart directing from Swedish helmsman Mikael Hafstrom. Then when we get into the room the pace slowly gets going and we get little bits of creepy tension appearing. The radio playing "We've Only Just Begun" by the Carpenters, the absence of noise, the toilet paper folding itself up, the welcome mints. Its all very freaky up until the point where he finds he can't escape and spots a man in the room across the road. That was the point at which 1408 went from your basic creepy horror to something very surreal and, yes, scary. The scene I'm describing there was the only jump I had in the film but I had a sense of unease for many of the sequences inside the room. There were only a couple of instances of the film degenerating into farce. I felt the ‘corpse' was all a bit Scrooged and some of the setup for the twist was a bit corny. It felt like nothing new. But despite the odd moment where the film lost its way it was genuinely scary in many places and atmospheric as fuck. Cusack did a great job of carrying his end and Samuel L. Jackson provided a degree of authenticity. Lets face it, if Sam Jackson is too scared to go into a room should we really be going in there? Cusack is a big enough star that he does. But as a viewer we feel we probably shouldn't be following and we're proven right.

BEST BIT – When Cusack looks across the street and sees another man in the window. Only his movements seem to echo his own. Why is that?

RATING - ***1/2. At times very effective and one of the more atmospheric horror films of recent years. Cusack does a fine job of holding everything together and looking suitably deranged during his stay in the room. Some of the tricks the room plays are superb while others are less effective but help to progress the story, filling in pieces of Enslin's past. A refreshing change to torture porn and loaded with tension.

HOLLYWOOD WHORES

This week an unnamed minor part, credited as Hooker #2, for budding TV actress Melissa Peterman.



She's since gone on to work alongside Reba McEntire on the show "Reba" and works mostly as a stand up comedienne. Her role as a prostitute though came in the movie Fargo. I actually got a screencap but she's just nodding and saying "yaa" a lot, which happened in Fargo, while looking fairly hideous. I think that was intentional on the part of the Coen's though. The other hooker looked even worse. Great scene though. "He was funny looking".

You can get that here

Damn you for allowing me to embed the video. What the fuck difference does it make? Incidentally…

SHILL – Every "yah" from Fargo. Condenses the movie into 1.26.





You stay classy…The World.