Film Junk » Drama

Cillian Murphy to Star in Danny Boyle’s 127 Hours?

Sean — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 15:10:09 +0000

Just a rumour right now... but is he the right guy to pull off a largely dialogue-free performance? He did it in 28 Days Later. (via Cinema Blend)

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Lee Daniels in Talks to Direct Civil Rights Movie Selma

Sean — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 15:08:48 +0000

Good move signing him on now before Precious wins a bunch of Oscars!

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Carl Rinsch to Direct Samurai Flick 47 Ronin Starring Keanu Reeves

Sean — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 14:31:16 +0000

If the name Carl Erik Rinsch sounds familiar to you, that's because this up and coming filmmaker was once being touted as the director of the Alien prequel, before Ridley Scott decided to take over the reins himself. Now, however, Rinsch is in talks to make his feature film debut with another fairly high profile studio flick. According to The Hollywood Reporter, he has been hired to helm a movie called 47 Ronin for Universal. It's a period action drama starring Keanu Reeves as the leader of a group of 18th century samurai hellbent on avenging the death of their master. The script was written by Chris Morgan (Wanted, Fast & Furious), and apparently has no relation to Frank Miller's Ronin, which is also in development. Rinsch has an impressive body of work in TV commercials, and it will be interesting to see how he puts these skills to use in 47 Ronin. I'm guessing the thing that may turn some people off is the fact that Keanu is starring, but I'm not one to write the guy off... yet. Thoughts?

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Does Anyone Want to See a Gilmore Girls Movie?

Sean — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 22:23:19 +0000

Series creator Amy Sherman-Palladino does, apparently.

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Crazy Heart Trailer Starring Jeff Bridges

Sean — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 14:16:45 +0000

Is Crazy Heart going to be this year's The Wrestler? Fox Searchlight is certainly hoping so... they've even inserted the phrase "broken-down" into the movie's synopsis. The film stars Jeff Bridges as an alcoholic country singer named Bad Blake, who takes one last shot at redemption after meeting a journalist (Maggie Gyllenhaal) who is trying to get to the real story about his life. Okay, so maybe there's a little bit of Anvil in there too? The movie is the directorial debut of Scott Cooper, who up until now was best known as an actor (his previous credits include AMC's western mini-series Broken Trail). Fox Searchlight was originally going to release Crazy Heart in the spring but decided to move up the release date in order to make a push for the Oscars. I'm sure we'd all love to see Jeff Bridges win one at this point in his career, but the field is looking crowded this year. What do you think, could this be the role that puts Bridges over the top? Crazy Heart hits select theatres on December 16th. Check out the trailer in HD over at Apple.com, or watch it embedded below.

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Extraordinary Measures Trailer Starring Harrison Ford and Brendan Fraser

Sean — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 17:13:22 +0000

Harrison Ford is, and always will be, the man. Unfortunately, that doesn't change the fact that his career has been sputtering for some time now (Indiana Jones notwithstanding), and with his latest film Extraordinary Measures, it seems unlikely that he is going to reclaim the audience that has been slowly slipping away from him. The movie co-stars Brendan Fraser, and while I might have been interested if this was a buddy comedy (ha!), instead we have a serious drama about a father looking for someone to help him cure his children of a rare genetic disorder. Just look at that picture... even these guys can't believe they ended up in this movie. Extraordinary Measures is based on the true story of John Crowley as documented in the book The Cure: How a Father Raised $100 Million – And Bucked the Medical Establishment – In a Quest to Save His Children. The book was written by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Geeta Anand, and adapted for the screen by Robert Nelson Jacobs (Chocolat, The Shipping News). Sounds like potential Oscar bait, until you realize that it was directed by the same guy who did the Ashton Kutcher/Cameron Diaz comedy What Happens in Vegas. I'm not saying people can't branch out, but the odds are kind of stacked against this one. Extraordinary Measures hits theatres on January 22nd; check out the trailer after the jump and see what you think.

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A Single Man Trailer

Sean — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 18:42:34 +0000

Prior to watching this trailer, I didn't know too much about Tom Ford's A Single Man except that it was one of three movies playing at TIFF this year with similar sounding titles (The Coen Brothers' A Serious Man and Brian Koppelman's Solitary Man being the other two). After watching this new trailer, I still can't say that I know very much about it, but in a way, that's actually a good thing. This is an artfully constructed trailer that relies more on atmosphere and imagery than plot elements to sell you on it (okay, and a little bit of Oscar buzz as well). Based on Christopher Isherwood novel, the movie stars Colin Firth as a gay college professor in the '60s who loses his lover and is stricken with grief. After a night out with his friend Charley (Julianne Moore), however, he starts to see the possibility of moving on with his life. The production design is done by the same folks who work on Mad Men, which is certainly a selling point for me. Interestingly, first-time director Tom Ford is also a well-known fashion designer, so I think we can assume there is a lot of attention given to the period clothing too. All that being said, I still have no idea what the story is about. I guess I'll just have to see it to find out. A Single Man hits select theatres on December 11th; check out the trailer after the jump.

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Michael Winterbottom’s The Killer Inside Me Trailer Starring Casey Affleck

Sean — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 19:34:32 +0000

I'm not always eager to post promo and sales trailers for movies when they find their way online because they're usually too long, rough around the edges, and quick to be pulled off the web anyway. They're not intended for the general public, and shouldn't really be judged as such. In this case, however, we've got our first look at what appears to be a very promising flick, and with all the talent involved I simply couldn't help posting about it. Michael Winterbottom's most recent film Genova didn't get a ton of attention at TIFF last year, but his previous two films, A Mighty Heart and The Road to Guantanamo both made my top 10 lists in their respective years. This time around he's teaming up with Casey Affleck, who is riding a wave of critical acclaim from outstanding performances in Gone Baby Bone and The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, for an adaptation of the book The Killer Inside Me by Jim Thompson. Affleck plays a deputy sheriff in Texas who also turns out to be a cold-blooded killer. The trailer shows a couple of potentially disturbing scenes, but it also gives off a pretty awesome No Country for Old Men vibe. Kate Hudson and Jessica Alba co-star, offering them both a chance to prove their acting chops. What do you think, does this look like a winner? The movie is currently in search of a distributor but will probably be hitting the festival circuit in 2010. Check out the promo reel after the jump.

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Danny Boyle to Direct Stranded Mountaineer Story 127 Hours

Sean — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 22:15:01 +0000

2008 was quite a year for Oscar-winning director Danny Boyle, and as he has been winding down from the roller coaster ride that was Slumdog Millionaire, he has also taken some time to carefully choose his next project. He had been attached to possibly direct a handful of projects including Johannesburg (a movie about South Africa based on the novel Ponte City by Norman Ohler), and Solomon Grundy (which has since been shelved due to its similarity to The Curious Case of Benjamin Button). There had also been rumours about him possibly returning to direct another sequel to 28 Days Later. This week, Variety has confirmed that his next movie will be none of these. Instead, Boyle will helm a project called 127 Hours, about a mountain climber named Aron Ralston. Ralston had a pretty harrowing experience during a climb in Utah in May, 2003, when his right arm was accidentally pinned under a boulder. After waiting for five days he was forced to amputate the limb with a dull knife, and then scaled a 65-foot sheer wall in order to seek rescue. Sounds a bit like a cross between Touching the Void and Castaway (minus Wilson). I'm assuming it will be a challenge to turn it into a film, however, since the main character will be completely immobile for a large chunk of the film. Boyle will reteam with Fox Searchlight, producer Christian Colson and screenwriter Simon Beaufoy for this one, while Ryan Gosling has been rumoured as a possible star. Thoughts?

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Armond White At It Again: Hates on Multiple Award Winner Precious

Sean — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:44:55 +0000

Everyone's favourite contrarian critic Armond White has once again made his presence felt this week, after delivering a scathing review of the Lee Daniels film Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire. The movie, which hits select theatres this weekend, is riding a massive wave of Oscar buzz after picking up awards at Sundance, TIFF and the San Sebastian Film Festival earlier this year. (Last year's People's Choice Award winner in Toronto was Best Picture winner Slumdog Millionaire.) Precious is currently sitting at 86% on Rotten Tomatoes, so of course White doesn't like it. However, the fact that he gives it a negative review isn't all that surprising -- it's what he says about it that will blow your mind.

"The hype for Precious indicates a culture-wide willingness to accept particular ethnic stereotypes as a way of maintaining status quo film values. Excellent recent films with black themes—Next Day Air, Cadillac Records, Meet Dave, Norbit, Little Man, Akeelah and the Bee, First Sunday, The Ladykillers, Marci X, Palindromes, Mr. 3000, even back to the great Beloved (also produced by Oprah)—have been ignored by the mainstream media and serious film culture while this carnival of black degradation gets celebrated. It’s a strange combination of liberal guilt and condescension."

Did you catch that? He actually calls Meet Dave, Norbit and Little Man "excellent recent film with black themes". It also goes without saying that he thinks they are better films than Precious. Well, I have yet to see Precious, but I am now entirely convinced that this man is insane. Read his full review over at the New York Press, and check out a trailer for Precious after the jump.

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A Serious Man Review

Goon — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 07:48:31 +0000

A Serious Man Written and Directed by: Joel and Ethan Coen Starring: Michael Stuhlbarg, Richard Kind, Fred Melamed, Aaron Wolff In an age of high profile franchise blockbusters, months in advance it becomes very apparent via very expensive marketing campaigns what the year's event films are going to be. For me though, it is instead a handful of directors' names that predetermine who is getting my money and attention. It should be obvious by the fact that I'd even write this that the Coen Brothers are on this list, and it's wonderful to have such a list when it means you can walk into one of their films relatively cold. It also brings an entirely different set of expectations than you'd give something that has spent months doing everything it can to impress you. My expectations from the Coens have become numerous -- I now demand a higher level of quality. I look forward to a certain kind of dialogue, where side characters repeat each others' names with condescending derision and yes, may even have catchphrases. They are realistic but ridiculous, lovable but also worthy of being shit upon by each other at any given moment for my entertainment. I expect that the plot will have moments where doing the right thing is punished worse than doing something underhanded. And of course, if Roger Deakins is on board, it will look fantastic. The Coens tick off all these marks with ease here, in a film I would argue is a Coen film for Coen fanboys. Do the Coens have a formula? Sort of, but to use a catchphrase from A Serious Man, they're also Fuckers. This is their true trademark, and I am happy to say I was fucked with more than enough times in A Serious Man to get more than I expected. A Serious Man takes place in the late '60s (when the Coens would have been coming of age), specifically within a suburban Jewish community. A professor named Larry Gopnik (played brilliantly in a reactive performance by Michael Stuhlbarg, who I had never seen in anything else before) faces a number of mundane stresses: relationship issues, a son about to go through his bar mitzvah, apprehension over getting tenure, a property line issue, an unhappy student, an overdue record club bill, and a brother going through a personal (and grossly physical) crisis. Gopnik tries to cope with these issues by consulting a progressively aged triad of rabbis who may or may not be doing him many favors. While this may seem dry, the Coens' sense of character and dialogue make A Serious Man very darkly funny. It is also extremely bleak though, perhaps devastating for some, as it basically retells the book of Job through the Coens' twisted lenses, shitting all over Gopnik at every opportunity. This is a screwball tragedy, made all the worse by unleashing this hell upon a very sympathetic character. The religious framing keeps the film moving along at a strong pace. Gopnik's Dante Hicks-ish cry of "I didn't do anything!" summarizes much of his plight as he tries to find an answer about what he can do for others - or for God so he will stop the onslaught. By the end, the point is made pretty clear: God can do whatever he wants. He has the power in the relationship, you don't. In dealing with one specific problem he is encouraged to "accept the mystery", and his failure to do so may be his undoing. His search leads him to a series of rabbis; one (fantastically hinted at by the wonderful shot which cuts "Rabbi" off his nameplate) young and hard to take seriously, another who spins detailed yarns that don't really point to anywhere, and one which is too busy for his most needy follower. The story the second rabbi tells may be my favorite moment of the entire film; its specific choice of soundtrack and the way it is told reminded me very much of how Quentin Tarantino has his characters tell stories. Like most Coen movies, there is quite a bit that comes across as silly, and it is clearly by design. Many have often said the Coens take too much glee in the horrors their characters go through, and none of them would change their mind after seeing A Serious Man. Some characters are not much more than caricatures, possibly even less, who exist to annoy and make the protagonist's life all the more worth letting go of. But others take these restrictions and just run with them. Fred Melamed is particularly great as Sy, who is deceptively casual in his dealings with Gopnik's wife. Also good is Aaron Wolff, Gopnik's son, who has his own mundane problems involving twenty dollars, a radio, and F-Troop. Richard Kind is utterly pitiable as Larry's brother, a mathematical genius who has even less to be happy about in life. This ensemble cast may overall be less recognizable than any of the Coens' casts to date. Fyvesh Finkel may be the most well known actor, who appears in a strange preamble to the film as a possible ghost (the nature of whom is still a mystery even through the credits). The point of this initial scene isn't crystal clear to me, but until proven wrong I prefer to think it suggests a curse has been following Gopnik's family, which would now include his son, for generations. Roger Deakins' photography work is a treat once again, subtle compared to some of his recent work because most of A Serious Man is happening inside and just outside of very ordinary track houses. He still manages to capture great shots including an elderly rabbi's study and a view from the ceiling of the Jewish temple. It made me want to rewatch Doubt and look if he is repurposing any of his ideas from that film. I don't know if A Serious Man is for everyone, but for my tastes it is a perfect film. I immediately knew after seeing it that it was my favorite film of the year to date -- even more so after a second viewing. The only thing I don't like about A Serious Man is that it has to move so many of my other favorite Coen films down a notch in my overall ranking of their filmography. The Fuckers. - Goon

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Clint Eastwood’s Invictus Trailer Starring Matt Damon

Sean — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:25:49 +0000

Two Matt Damon trailers in less than 24 hours? Apparently the man has been keeping busy. Well, it's almost November which means it's time for the Oscar bait to start rolling out, and with that you can always expect at least one new Clint Eastwood movie. This one is based on a true story about Nelson Mandela's first term as president of South Africa, and how he pinned hopes for uniting the country on the 1995 Rugby World Cup. Morgan Freeman is a no brainer to play Nelson Mandela, while Matt Damon plays South African team captain Francois Pienaar. Clint Eastwood's films always seem to walk a thin line between real drama and cheesy sentimentality, and this one looks like it could go either way. However, the uplifting nature of the story is appealing, and really, who can resist a good underdog sports movie? I'm sure Matt Damon will be a big draw as well. Invictus hits theatres on December 11th; check out the trailer after the jump or watch it in HD over at Apple.com. Give us your thoughts in the comments below.

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