The recent trailer for Adam Sandler’s next movie I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry made me reminisce back to a time when Sandler was king. I remember his work on SNL fondly; when I was in high school his first comedy album They’re All Gonna Laugh At You was the absolute pinnacle of humour for me and just about everyone I knew. His first few feature films were hysterical and still hold up today if you ask me, but lately I haven’t been all that interested in seeing any of his new movies. I think the last Sandler movie I saw was The Longest Yard, a pointless remake that made me chuckle maybe once or twice. It just made me think, is this guy even relevant anymore?

I know that Adam Sandler still has a lot of dedicated fans out there. Heck, Click was the 13th highest grossing movie of 2006. Maybe I’m in the minority here, but you can’t tell me that he still has the same mischievous charm today that he did in Billy Madison. His attempts to branch out have met with mixed results; Punch Drunk Love was critically acclaimed, Spanglish and Reign Over Me less so, but I still have a problem seeing him in anything other than comedic roles. So let me throw it out to you, the readers… is Adam Sandler washed up and past his prime? Have his movies stopped making you laugh? Or is he still finding a way to stay on top with his choice of roles and Happy Madison production company? Give us your thoughts here on Open Forum Friday.

A lot of times we wonder how movie stars get so messed up, and of course, it’s easy to dismiss it as a result of the pressures of fame and an excessive lifestyle that comes from being rich. But sometimes I think the real reason is a lot more obvious… like say, their parents! There’s a bizarre story going around this week about actress Thora Birch (American Beauty, Ghost World) and the disturbing behaviour exhibited by her father during the shooting of her latest film, Winter of Frozen Dreams.

Her father, Jack, reportedly stormed a closed set and demanded to be present during the filming of her sex scene with Dean Winters, threatening to pull her off the movie with 3 days of shooting left. He then proceeded to creep out the crew members by giving Winters a thumbs up while director Eric Mandelbaum barked out orders like, “Harder! Faster!”. Apparently a girl on the crew even broke down crying as a result of the ordeal. Sounds like quite a scene. Now I’m not sure if Birch’s father is her manager or not, but either way, she’s 25 years old and this just seems wrong. However, I suppose it makes sense when you consider that her parents are both former porn stars that met on the set of Deep Throat! (Seriously. You can look it up.)

Earlier in the week I posted about an upcoming comedy called Walk Hard, a music biopic spoof starring John C. Reilly. The co-writer and director of that movie is a guy named Jake Kasdan, who previously worked on Freaks & Geeks and Undeclared with Judd Apatow. Now before Walk Hard hits theatres, Kasdan has another movie coming out that he has written and directed called The TV Set. A trailer has just gone online over at Apple, and it looks quite funny.

The movie is about a writer (David Duchovny) who is trying to get a TV pilot made while dealing with clueless network execs and arrogant stars. In a way, it seems like the television version of Christopher Guest’s For Your Consideration, although perhaps a little bit less silly. Given Kasdan’s involvement with the ill-fated Freaks & Geeks and Undeclared (he directed the pilot episodes for both), you have to wonder if some of the movie is based on personal experience. They must have some great stories about dealing with the dumbasses at Fox. Either way, I love Duchovny as a comedic actor and the supporting cast (Sigourney Weaver, Ioan Gruffudd, Justine Bateman, Judy Greer) ain’t too shabby either. The TV Set hits select theatres on April 6th. Check out the trailer over at Apple, and when you’re done watching it, go rent “The Taxi Driver”.

More remake news today, and once again, all I can do is shake my head. I’ve never seen the original Straw Dogs (which, if I am a good representation of most moviegoers, may make a decent argument for remaking it) but I do know that it’s highly regarded as a classic despite its controversial nature. The 1971 film features a powerful performance from Dustin Hoffman as an American who moves with his family to the U.K., where they face increasing harassment from a group of locals, leading to the rape of his wife. Needless to say, he takes revenge in a violent and cathartic killing spree. Now director Rod Lurie (The Last Castle, The Contender) has signed on to direct a remake, which will be written by Reed Steiner (The Shield, Invasion).

As I ponder what a modern retelling of this story would be like, all I can think of is movies like Hostel, The Hills Have Eyes and Sin City, and how the violence would probably have to be kicked up a notch in order to register with audiences nowadays. Will they turn it into an action movie? Who will star? I’m trying to be less critical of all the damn remakes lately, but this is an important movie that seems rooted in its own era and I can’t see a new version being particularly useful. I don’t think it brings much name recognition with it either… why not just make a completely new movie?

Fans of Asian cinema have been anxiously awaiting the next movie from Hong Kong superstar Stephen Chow, and it looks like we are now one step closer to seeing it. The sci-fi/comedy A Hope has reportedly wrapped production and is now moving into post; meanwhile Columbia Pictures Film Production Asia have acquired the rights to distribute the film outside of China. It will be handled by Sony Pictures Classics in North America.

The story revolves around a poor father who is down on his luck and can’t afford a toy for his son. When he finds one in the trash, it turns out to be a creature from outer space! Chow has stated before that his favourite director is Steven Spielberg, and this could end up being his most Spielberg-esque project to date. I always found his movies quite clever and funny, not to mention impressive in how they are able to translate across many different cultures and languages. This is one movie I can’t wait to hear more about. Although a release date has yet to be set, it’s looking like A Hope may be ready sometime in late 2007. On the other hand, apparently it’s another big special effects vehicle so there’s no guarantee on that.

Opening this weekend we have the Will Ferrell/Jon Heder figure skating comedy Blades of Glory, the new Disney CG flick Meet The Robinsons, and Scott Frank’s crime thriller The Lookout starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt. The Lookout has been getting amazing reviews, but unfortunately it’s only opening in a semi-limited release. Korean horror flick The Host is also expanding to more screens this weekend. What’s on your “must see” list?

Blades of Glory
The Host (expanding)
The Lookout (semi-limited)
Meet The Robinsons

After some set photos of Sylvester Stallone from the upcoming Rambo 4 (now titled John Rambo) appeared online, it sparked a lot of debate about whether or not he was physically ready to play the part. He successfully bulked up for Rocky Balboa, and although the movie did little to hide his age, it was important for Rocky to look old and past his prime in that film. However, now there are reports that the 60 year old Stallone has decided to hire a 30 year old body double to tackle some of the more physically demanding scenes in John Rambo.

Although people may be quick to jump on this news as proof that Stallone is “copping out” because he is simply too old for another Rambo flick, I am not convinced that this is anything out of the ordinary. Don’t most action movie stars have stunt doubles? I think the terminology being used here is a little misleading. A “body double” would only be someone used in place of Stallone strictly to give him the illusion of possessing a younger body. I am willing to bet that the professional hired in this case is in fact a “stunt double”. There’s a difference. Although Stallone was recently busted for importing a large quantity of the human growth hormone Jintropin into Australia, it seems unlikely that this has anything to do with the decision either. John Rambo is currently being shot on location in Thailand.

As much as I’m sure we all generally hate advertising and ubiquitous marketing campaigns, sometimes you come across a promotional idea so clever that you have to stop and give props to whomever managed to dream it up. Although The Simpsons Movie will require little promotion in order to get people into the theatre to see it, that hasn’t stopped their marketing team from coming up with a cool rebranding concept that’s sure to turn a few heads.

A deal is currently being finalized that will allow select 7-Eleven stores across the U.S. to be “redecorated” to look like Kwik-E-Marts. Current plans would call for 11 of the 4,700-some odd stores to receive the cartoon makeover, where they will also sell fictional products such as “KrustyO’s cereal, Buzz Cola and iced Squishees”. Will they also be hiring Apu lookalikes to man the counter? The whole situation is kind of strange when you consider that Kwik-E-Mart was essentially created as a spoof of 7-Eleven. Either way, you know that business is going to spike for those few lucky locations as Simpsons fanatics flock to them to experience the thrill of purchasing junk food from a real-life Kwik-E-Mart. No word yet on which cities are currently under consideration for the promotion.

Damn, I knew it was too good to be true. Yesterday there were some unconfirmed reports floating around that stated that Paul W.S. Anderson had left the Castlevania feature film project, and that he was now turning his attention to a remake of Death Race 2000. Anyone who is a Castlevania fan probably breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing the news, but don’t get too excited… we’re not out of the woods yet.

According to IGN, Anderson still has his paws on the project, but his role in the production may simply have changed, nudging him out of the director’s chair. Anderson had this to say: “I am very passionate about Castlevania and whatever happens I will remain actively involved in my role as writer and producer.” Now the weird thing is, he says that Universal wants to do both Castlevania and Death Race, but there is currently a scheduling conflict that needs to be resolved. If he’s not directing Castlevania, then is there really a conflict there? It seems like a strange thing to say. Either way it looks like Anderson will be writing the script, but at least the movie may still get made in the near future.

On a related note, there is also a second Castlevania movie in the works right now: a direct to DVD feature called Castlevania: Dracula’s Curse. The movie being written by Warren Ellis and brought to life by artist James Jean. You can get updates on this project by following the film’s recently launched production blog.

Although Adam Sandler continues to attempt to expand his repertoire as an actor (Punch Drunk Love, Reign Over Me), he still can’t let go of those same stupid comedies that have made him a star all these years. Although I still think some of Sandler’s earlier films are pretty rewatchable and genuinely funny, lately it’s been painfully obvious that he’s just calling in his performances. Just look at the trailer for his latest movie I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry. It sounds like a bad idea on paper, and looks even worse on screen. Sandler plays a guy who helps his firefighter buddy scam his life insurance policy by faking a gay marriage together. From that point on, they must convince the world around them that they really are gay… even though they’re not. Sandler just looks uncomfortable in every scene in the trailer; he clearly is afraid to invest himself in the role at the risk of looking gay for real. The fact that it was directed by The Benchwarmers director Dennis Dugan does little to inspire confidence (although to be fair, Dugan also helmed one of Sandler’s best, Happy Gilmore). The movie co-stars Kevin James, Jessica Biel, Steve Buscemi, and Dan Aykroyd, but it still looks like an absolute dud if you ask me. Check out the trailer over at Yahoo! now; Chuck and Larry hit theatres on July 20th.