Film Junk » Indie

Leaves of Grass Trailer Starring Edward Norton and Edward Norton

Sean — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 18:55:44 +0000

Ed Norton starring in a stoner comedy? Yep, it sure looks that way. Leaves of Grass played at the Toronto Film Festival earlier this year and the only thing I remember hearing about it is the fact that Norton plays the two lead roles. I guess he's taking a page out of the Eddie Murphy and Jim Carrey playbook. Either way, I didn't realize this was a comedy about pot... which apparently it is. Writer/director Tim Blake Nelson is also a character actor who you might know as Delmar from O, Brother Where Art Thou? and also Samuel Sterns (aka The Leader) from Incredible Hulk. (I guess that's probably how he recruited Ed Norton for this film.) He has previously directed a few things before including the Shakespeare adaptation "O", but there sure isn't any iambic pentameter here. I can't say this promo trailer did much for me, but if you like to "hit the hippie lettuce" then I guess you'll have to add this to your Netflix queue. Leaves of Grass is getting a limited theatrical release on December 25th; check out the trailer after the jump and see what you think.

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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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The Messenger Trailer Starring Woody Harrelson and Ben Foster

Sean — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 16:12:22 +0000

With all the critical acclaim and Oscar buzz surrounding Kathryn Bigelow's The Hurt Locker, it begs the question: are audiences finally ready to embrace movies about the war in Iraq? Oren Moverman's The Messenger looks like the next movie to put that theory to the test, but unlike The Hurt Locker, it's another intimate drama that deals more with the people back home than the soldiers in the line of fire. The movie stars Woody Harrelson and Ben Foster as two officers who work for the Casualty Notification Office in the U.S. military (ie. the people who notify the next of kin when someone is killed in action). When one of them becomes romantically involved with a fallen soldier's widow (Samantha Morton), things get... complicated. This is Moverman's directorial debut, but one of his previous credits was co-writer for Todd Haynes' I'm Not There. I can't say the trailer really hints at anything groundbreaking or mind-blowing, but based on the strong cast and a very straightforward premise, I'm pretty sure this will be a solid flick. The Messenger hits select theatres on Nov. 13th; check out the trailer after the jump or watch it in HD over at Apple.com.

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Is Now the Right Time for Another Blair Witch Sequel?

Sean — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 21:40:25 +0000

It's been 10 years now since The Blair Witch Project proved that a clever idea and creative marketing could turn a $25,000 film into a $250 million phenomenon. Its influence is still being felt today, particularly over the past few years with movies like Cloverfield and [REC] ushering in a new wave of handheld horror. But was The Blair Witch Project just a fluke, or was it really a brilliant piece of filmmaking? For years we've been waiting to see if directors Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez could repeat the success of their directorial debut, but after they allowed Joe Berlinger to take over the reins on the sequel Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2, the movie bombed and all interest in any subsequent Blair Witch films went right down the drain. Fortunately, Myrick and Sanchez haven't given up hope yet. Believe it or not, after all this time, they are now closer than they've ever been to getting a sequel off the ground, and they expect to have some news before the end of the year.

"Ed and I feel that the timing is right and enough time has gone by that the backlash to Blair Witch has kind of subsided and a new generation of kids are out to embrace a Blair Witch franchise on the merits of the movie itself rather than it trying to live up or be what the first film was, which it never will be. Our hope is that the sequel will stay within the mythology that we created in the first film and stand on its own two feet; just be a good, cool, thoughtful scary movie that resurrects a franchise that we feel very close to. Hopefully Lionsgate will agree and want to move forward on it."

And yes, this would be a sequel... not the prequel that they had been planning for so long. With the current hype surrounding Paranormal Activity, it does seem like this is the perfect time to bring back The Blair Witch Project. The only question is whether or not the backlash really has subsided. I still feel like a lot of people have come to see the original film as a joke now, which is unfortunate because it's a great horror flick. Would you be interested in a new Blair Witch sequel?

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Black Dynamite To Get Animated for The Cartoon Network

Sean — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 21:08:57 +0000

After a successful festival run throughout most of the year, it's great to see that Scott Sanders' blaxploitation parody Black Dynamite will finally hit select theatres later this month. Not only is the movie hilarious and stylistically authentic, but it also has some pretty kick-ass action courtesy of Michael Jai White. While the movie is probably destined to be a cult classic that finds the majority of its audience on DVD, it's looking like Black Dynamite may soon find his way onto the small screen as well... in animated form! According to Latino Review, Michael Jai White recently mentioned in an interview that one of the guys behind the popular Adult Swim series The Boondocks is currently working on bringing Black Dynamite to The Cartoon Network (most likely for Adult Swim). It sounds like a perfect match, and I, for one, would love to see it happen. After the success of Afro Samurai on Spike TV, this should be a no-brainer. Of course, a sequel is still possible too, but it all depends on how well the movie does. Check out the most recent trailer and a couple of viral PSAs after the jump. Black Dynamite hits select theatres on October 16th.

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The New Uwe Boll Film Is… Good?

Kasper — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 15:34:00 +0000

I'm amazed and confused. In a surprising turn of events, the new Uwe Boll film Rampage is getting reviews that don't depict Boll as a disgrace to modern cinema, but actually give kudos to the man and the movie. Sites such as /Film and Film School Rejects have reviewed the movie, and come out liking it. "Uwe Boll made something solid, memorable, and well worth seeking out," says Film.com. "There comes a shocking 9 out of 10. Well earned," concludes QuietEarth.us. Has the world gone mad, or has Boll finally followed through? Rampage revolves around a guy named Bill who in his hate to this world decides to stockpile an arsenal of powerful weapons, build his own full body Kevlar suit of armor, and go on a killing spree through his hometown. While that does sound awesome, so do the premises for a lot of Boll's films actually. I am just surprised that he actually pulled through for once and delivered on the synopsis. I am definitely looking forward to buying this on DVD once it gets released. What about you, have you seen the flick, and if so, what was it like? If not, do you believe the hype? Check out the trailer after the jump.

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Darren Aronofsky to Direct Heist Movie About MMA Fighter Lightning Lee Murray

Sean — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 22:07:43 +0000

As far as we know, Darren Aronofsky's next film is going to be the ballet thriller Black Swan starring Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis, but this week he has added another project to his upcoming slate. It's a heist film based on the odd story of UFC star "Lightning" Lee Murray. In 2006, Murray was arrested for his alleged involvement in a Securitas depot robbery in England that is known as the biggest heist in British crime history. The project is being produced by XYZ Films and Time Inc. Studios, who set up a partnership last year to adapt various non-fiction articles from Time publications into feature films. This particular story comes from a Sports Illustrated article written by Jon Wertheim called "Breaking the Bank", and a Howard Sounes book called Heist: The Inside Story of the World's Biggest Robbery. Kerry Williamson (Fork in the Road) will write the script. There seem to be a lot of movies coming out lately that are based on strange but true stories (Steven Soderbergh's The Informant! is the most recent example to hit theatres). Personally I'm all for it, and I am definitely interested to see Aronofsky's take on a heist flick as well. But what will this mean for his Robocop reboot?

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Harmony Korine’s Trash Humpers Trailer

Sean — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 16:11:38 +0000

There are a lot of weird filmmakers out there in the world, but there is only one Harmony Korine. After getting his start as the writer of Larry Clark's Kids, he went on to direct his first feature-length film Gummo, and from there has continued to shock and confuse audiences with his aggressively anti-mainstream projects. He would be an easy guy to write off if he wasn't so good at capturing striking imagery and exploring strange subcultures. I don't always love his movies, but at least you know you can count on them offering something out of the ordinary. His latest film Trash Humpers premieres at the Toronto Film Festival this weekend, and I think the lo-fi trailer for said film can easily be summed up with a simple... WTF? The movie apparently follows a group of elderly people (read: actors wearing old man make-up a la Jackass) who vandalize and terrorize everything around them. It is also partially a musical... go figure. Yes, it's going to be an interesting year at TIFF, that's for sure. Check out the trailer for Trash Humpers after the jump.

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John Krasinski’s Brief Interviews with Hideous Men Trailer

Sean — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 19:14:02 +0000

Whenever an actor or actress decides to try their hand at directing a feature film, you never know what you're going to get. You might see the promise of another multi-talented actor/director like Clint Eastwood or Mel Gibson, or you might just end up with Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (ha... that one was for Reed). John Krasinski of The Office has been making the best of his rise to fame, and in between starring in George Clooney's Leatherheads and Sam Mendes' Away We Go, he also managed to write and direct his first movie. Not just any movie either: an adaptation of Brief Interviews with Hideous Men by the late David Foster Wallace. Wallace committed suicide just last year, and this is the first adaptation of his work to hit the screen. Brief Interviews with Hideous Men is a collection of short stories about men, their insecurities, and their weird sexual hang-ups, each presented as an interview transcript. In the movie, Julianne Nicholson plays a woman conducting these interviews for her grad studies. Krasinski himself stars, along with Will Arnett, Will Forte, Bobby Cannavale, Max Minghella, Timothy Hutton, and yes, Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie fame. The movie received mixed reviews at Sundance, and the jury is still out on whether or not Krasinski might have a directorial career ahead of him. IFC will release it simultaneously in select theatres and through VOD on September 25th; scope out the trailer after the jump.

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Big Fan Review

Sean — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 13:39:20 +0000

Big Fan Written and Directed by: Robert Siegel Starring: Patton Oswalt, Kevin Corrigan, Michael Rapaport, Marcia Jean Kurtz, Jonathan Hamm When Darren Aronofsky's The Wrestler started to gain a lot of attention last year, people were pretty shocked to find out that the man who came up with the story and the screenplay was none other than Robert Siegel, former editor of the satirical newspaper and website, The Onion. How someone could go from peddling fake news to weaving such a dark, heartbreaking tale of redemption is beyond me, but if nothing else, Siegel certainly proved his versatility as a writer. Then he decided to take it a step further, and find out if he could not only write a script, but also direct it as well. Following on the success of The Wrestler, Siegel managed to pull together a fairly low budget independent production for his directorial debut, Big Fan. It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, and once again, turned out to be another gloomy character study set in the world of sports. However, whereas The Wrestler was all about a man who used to be in the spotlight, trying to get it back, Big Fan takes the perspective of someone who is outside that spotlight, looking in: the die hard fan. Paul Aufiero (Patton Oswalt) is just your average New York Giants fan. Every Sunday, he's either at a tailgate party or watching the game on TV with his buddy Sal (Kevin Corrigan). During the week, he spends every waking moment listening to talk radio, preparing diatribes and rants that he can call in and deliver on the air. He's 36 years old and still lives at home with his mom, who nags him about finding a girlfriend and a better job, but he doesn't care. He just wants to watch football. One night, a chance encounter with star linebacker Quantrell Bishop leads to a misunderstanding in a New York City nightclub, and Paul finds himself faced with the agonizing realization that maybe his hero isn't the man he thought he was. Casting Patton Oswalt in the lead role was an interesting choice, and perhaps a bit of a risk, considering that he is mostly known for his stand up comedy and his role on the sitcom The King of Queens. Fortunately, he turns in a strong performance here, continuing to build on some of his smaller dramatic roles (ie. Observe and Report, United States of Tara). Although Oswalt is not a sports fan in real life, he is a self-confessed geek, and in a way, I think that informs his portrayal of Paul. Plenty of hardcore sports fans are really just wanna-be jocks who feel the need to belong. Oswalt certainly pulls off the lonely and alienated vibe quite well, and for the most part he keeps his intensity hidden just below the surface. As you can probably guess by now, Big Fan is not a comedy, and anyone expecting broad laughs will be sorely disappointed. Although there are comedic situations, Oswalt is generally the straight man. Most of the comic relief comes from Paul's family, who seem to be based on various Staten Island stereotypes. His mother (Marcia Jean Kurtz) is an overbearing Italian woman, while his brother (Gino Cafarelli) is a slimy personal injury lawyer who has a trophy wife with fake breasts (Serafina Fiore). Kevin Corrigan is great as his agreeable sidekick Sal, while Michael Rapaport is the perfect choice for Paul's obnoxious rival Philadelphia Phil. Big Fan brings up some interesting questions about the nature of celebrity and fan culture. There are plenty of testosterone-fueled athletes out there who have such huge bank accounts and egos that they think they are above the law. Shouldn't they be held accountable for their actions? On the other hand, sometimes fans can get too close and cross that thin line between public and private. Is Paul's obsession dangerous or unhealthy? Siegel doesn't claim to have the answers, he just leaves it for us to judge. The movie is pretty bare and straightforward; there are no overly complicated plot twists, and it doesn't ever really step into thriller territory except towards the end. For the most part, it's just an unsettling drama, with traces of dark humour rooted in reality. There is a stretch of the film after the "incident" occurs where we simply watch Paul's internal conflict play out, perhaps for a little too long. The movie is short as it is (86 minutes), but it felt like it could have used an additional curve ball or two. The ending is also pretty predictable, but fortunately there is a minor twist that keeps things from getting too melodramatic. Siegel's inexperience as a director is evident in Big Fan, and visually speaking, the movie leaves much to be desired. However, for what is literally his first time ever behind the camera (he hadn't even directed any short films before this) it's a pretty commendable job. Obviously it's totally unfair to compare this to The Wrestler; Aronofsky's vision and Rourke's powerhouse performance take that film to a whole other level. Here, Siegel has still managed to capture another facet of the dark underbelly of sports, and the movie is an absorbing watch even if it doesn't pack quite the same emotional wallop as his previous script. Big Fan is definitely worth checking out... especially if you happen to be a fan of the Giants. -- Sean

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Youth in Revolt Trailer Starring Michael Cera

Sean — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 21:45:12 +0000

Michael Cera haters... prepare to hate on this. The first trailer for the upcoming film Youth in Revolt has arrived online, and it is chock full of Michael Cera's shy, awkward persona and deadpan comedy. But while some may be quick to write this off as another Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, take note that the book it is based on by C. D. Payne is apparently a little bit darker than that, and a lot funnier too. (Or so I hear.) Cera plays Nick Twisp (the main character even has the same name!), a slightly nerdy teenager who falls for Sheeni Saunders, the new girl in the neighbourhood. Unfortunately, she is looking for someone slightly more rebellious than Nick, so he invents a badass alter-ego named Francois Dillinger. I like how the dual identity concept plays out in the trailer, but something about it still felt a little too "twee" for me. You've gotta love the opening appearance by Zach Galifianakis though. Youth in Revolt is directed by Miguel Arteta (The Good Girl) and hits theatres on October 30th. Check out the trailer after the jump and see what you think.

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