Frickin' Eh Movie News 06.29.08: O Canada! Edition

Posted by Matthew Motiuk on 06.29.2008

Polanski's Ghost cast, School of Rock 2, Greek mythology, Eagle Eye trailer, and more!



Tuesday is Canada Day, the day when we celebrate Canada, mostly by drinking, looking at old shiny cars, and watching fireworks. Well, at least, that's how I celebrate Canada Day. Last year I went to a Show ‘n' Shine with my dad so I wasn't in Edmonton for the fireworks, but this year, I'm inviting some friends over for the celebration. My apartment is only five blocks away from where they're setting off the fireworks, so it won't be too hard to go and see them. But enough about Canada Day. On with the movies!


Cage and Brosnan Are Ghosts

MTV reports that Pierce Brosnan and Nicolas Cage will star in director Roman Polanski's political thriller The Ghost.

The film, based on Robert Harris' novel of the same name, centers on a ghostwriter who is hired to complete the memoirs of a former British prime minister. He uncovers secrets that put his own life in jeopardy.

Brosnan would play the prime minister, Adam Lang, and Cage the ghostwriter.

Most of the story takes place in an oceanfront house during the middle of winter.

Robert Benmussa and Alain Sarde will produce the film, slated to begin shooting in Europe next fall.

Roman Polanski, combined with two great actors? This is going to be a really good movie. The story sounds pretty intriguing, but it definitely needs the right cast to pull it off. Pierce Brosnan and Nicolas Cage should be perfect for the roles, and I'm looking forward to seeing how this turns out.


New Eagle Eye Trailer

Paramount/DreamWorks have unleashed the new trailer for the Eagle Eye, hitting theaters on September 26. The D.J. Caruso-directed thriller stars Shia LaBeouf, Michelle Monaghan, Rosario Dawson, Michael Chiklis, Anthony Mackie and Billy Bob Thornton.

In the fast-paced race-against-time-thriller LaBeouf and Monaghan are two strangers who become the pawns of a mysterious woman they have never met, but who seems to know their every move. Realizing they are being used to further her diabolical plot, they must work together to outwit the woman before she has them killed.

Wow, this looks better and better the more I see of it, and it has me really excited. It looks like the story is original and intriguing, and the action is good, too. I really want to see this one now. Check it out and see for yourself.


School of Rock 2 is Composed

Defamer reports that School of Rock screenwriter Mike White attended the Los Angeles Film Festival on Sunday and revealed that has finished a script for the sequel to the 2003 film, that starred Jack Black.

"I actually just completed a draft of what's potentially the sequel, and I'm still, like, crying as I'm writing the script," he said. "I try to come at it from a personal place..."

He said he couldn't say what it was about yet. "I literally just turned it in," White added. "It's a little too fresh off the boat for me to get into right now. And I don't even know if it's gonna be made."

The original music comedy, made for just $35 million, earned an impressive $131 million worldwide.

Of all the movies that I thought didn't need a sequel, this was one of them. First off, I've kind of forgotten about the movie – it's been five years since it came out, and it wasn't exactly the stand-out movie of that year. It wasn't bad, but it was a good one-time, Jack Black movie. But, if the script is solid and Jack Black returns, this could be a decent comedy. I wouldn't be willing to bet on it, but anything is possible.


A Kung Fu Panda Sequel in the Works Already

An interesting post was made on the TAG Blog:

"Every building of the DW campus is bursting with activity. Monsters and Aliens, Shrek, Madagascar Deux, and on and on. DreamWorks' Lakeside Building is getting enlarged, and the administrative staff is gone from the upper floors.

But down on the lower levels, artists are working. A story crew has started early work in Kung Fu Panda, the Sequel, even while animators are hand-drawing new material for the DVD of Kung Fu Panda, the original."

It's not surprising considering the DreamWorks Animated hit has made about $230 million in 19 days of release worldwide. The film cost about $130 million to make.

Well, they certainly aren't wasting any time, are they? Yes, the movie did respectably, and I've heard from a couple people that it was actually pretty good, but let the dust settle a little bit. There's also the chance of overkill. Of course, they could take their time with this and we might not see it for a while. Fans of this movie will be happy, that's for sure.


Sarah Jessica Parker to Chronicle Ivy?

Sarah Jessica Parker (Sex and the City) is in talks with Warner Bros. to star in The Ivy Chronicles, a story of class and the single woman in contemporary New York.

The Hollywood Reporter says the story centers on Ivy Ames, an Upper East Side woman who, after losing her high-powered job and getting divorced, starts over again in a less ritzy downtown apartment. After pulling her children from private school, Ames starts a business to help upper-middle-class women get their children into elite kindergartens.

Jerry Weintraub will produce the project, based on Karen Quinn's eponymous novel.

Oh god, this sounds sappy. It doesn't help I don't like or watch these movies to start with, but this just sounds . . . well, sappy is the best word I can think of to describe it. The empowerment of single mothers in a daunting city . . . no. Just . . . no.


RocknRolla Trailer Is Here

Empire Online has debuted the new trailer for writer/director Guy Ritchie's RocknRolla, opening in theaters on October 31.

In the flick, starring Gerard Butler, Thandie Newton, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, Jeremy Piven, Idris Elba and Tom Wilkinson, a Russian mobster orchestrates a crooked land deal, causing millions of dollars to be up for grabs, and all of London's criminal underworld wants in on the action. Everyone from a dangerous crime lord to a sexy accountant, a corrupt politician and down-on-their-luck petty thieves conspire, collude and collide with one another in an effort to get rich quick.

This looks like a Guy Ritchie movie, that's for sure. It doesn't look like it will be any new ground for him, just more of the same, but lately I've really been getting into Guy Ritchie movies, so I'm looking forward to seeing this one. Anyway, the last real movie he put out was Revolver three years ago, so it's about time we got another dose. This looks quirky and witty with some strong acting, good action, and the usual interesting cinematography. Check out the trailer and then wait patiently for October 31.


Swinton Also a Ghost

Tilda Swinton has joined the previously-announced Nicolas Cage and Pierce Brosnan in Roman Polanski's political thriller The Ghost, an adaptation of the Robert Harris book.

Variety says that production begins this September in Europe.

Cage will play a ghostwriter hired abruptly to finish the memoirs of an ex-British prime minister after the first scribe turned up dead. The ghostwriter's research leads him to uncover skeletons in the politician's closet that put the writer's life in danger.

Swinton will play the wife of the former prime minister (Brosnan). Her marriage is crumbling, and she falls for the writer.

I suppose this story could have been lumped in with the first one, but I was feeling a little lazy. Anyway, this is another good addition to the cast of an already strong movie. Tilda Swinton is a strong actress to begin with, and after her role in Michael Clayton, I think she's getting some real acknowledgement of her skills. She should mix with this one very well.


Leterrier Directing Clash of the Titans

Yesterday, we mentioned that Tarsem Singh had signed on to direct the Greek film War of Gods.

Now, Variety says that Warner Bros. has signed The Incredible Hulk director Louis Leterrier to helm its Lawrence Kasdan-scripted remake of Clash of the Titans.

While the subject matter of the two films is different, each shares a preoccupation with Greek mythology, and that has created a full-fledged chariot race to be first, adds the trade.

Warner essentially greenlit "Titans" right after landing Leterrier. WB is co-financing and co-producing the film with Thomas Tull's Legendary Pictures.

And Relativity, which is fully financing War of Gods, has fast-tracked its film to start production by year's end.

Both pictures are expected to use the greenscreen techniques used for 300.

War of Gods is a mythological tale set in war-torn ancient Greece, as the young warrior prince Theseus leads his men in a battle against evil that will see the gods fighting with soldiers against demons and titans.

In Clash of the Titans, Perseus, the son of Zeus, must overcome a series of obstacles to save his beloved Princess Andromeda, including cutting off the serpent-tressed head of Medusa, who can turn a man to stone with a single glance.

This is going to be mythology overload when these two come out, and I'm not sure if that's a good thing. I suppose it depends on a number of factors that won't be known for quite some time. Obviously both are going to borrow heavily from the success of 300, but if they're done right, I don't really mind. Personally, War of Gods sounds better to me, just because I think it will be more of an epic, fantastical film, but both sound good. Let's wait and see how these two turn out, then we can see which reigns supreme.


Rapid-Fire: Revolver (2005, starring Jason Statham, Ray Liotta, Vincent Pastore)

I was doing a Guy Ritchie theme so I decided to try this one, which appears to be one of his lesser known films. I also seem to be doing a Statham run, and so I present one of the few movies where Jason Statham actually appears with hair:

This is a seriously twisted, confusing, odd movie. It's just one of those movies that, about halfway through, you have absolutely no idea what's happening or where it's going to go. Well, for the most part. It's a very psychological drama, and I enjoyed it.

The acting is pretty good. Statham is the best, although Andre Benjamin does a really good job, too. Liotta is fine in his smaller role. Pastore doesn't really do that much and he comes off as just kind of a body standing there, which is odd. Other than that, everyone is fine, and the acting holds well throughout.

The story is good, and it actually turns into a highly psychological film near the end, which is brilliant. Too bad they couldn't carry that theme better throughout, or else this would truly be a great film. There are, of course, aspects of the story that don't make sense, although I won't say what they are. Near the end it gets really crazy and weird, but it actually works quite well, escalating the feel of the movie from a fairly straightforward story to a good portrayal of the mind. The movie revolves around chess a lot, and it's paralleled subtly throughout the movie, which is fun, especially if you know the game.

The one thing that disappoints in the movie is the twist, which isn't too hard to guess right from the start. I suppose there are actually two twists, but the second is more confusing and only after the movie is done can you really piece together what happened throughout. Which is one of the things about this movie: a second viewing is going to change the entire way you look at it, and although I haven't watched it again, I expect the next time it's going to be even better. Kind of like Memento.

If you like a weird, smart drama, then this is the movie for you. It might not be as good as something like Fight Club or Memento, but it's still definitely worth a viewing.


Closing Time . . .

I'm still not used to working nights. My body frequently has trouble adjusting, especially after the last shift of a week. Most of the time I can't sleep at all Saturday night. But that's the fun of working nights, I guess. I'm quite sad, though, that it cuts into my movie watching time. A coworker of mine lent me Arachnophobia, which I have never seen, so I'll watch that when I get a chance. I'm not sure I really want to, though. Spiders aren't my favourite thing in the world, and giant ones are probably not going to help out this opinion. But I'll watch it anyway. For any Canadians reading this, Happy Canada Day, and enjoy the festivities!


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