Film Junk » International

The Orphanage Remake Loses Its Director

Sean — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:02:58 +0000

Larry Fessenden exits the redo, possibly due to a casting disagreement.

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Zhang Yimou’s Blood Simple Remake Trailer

Sean — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 18:34:48 +0000

Ever since it was announced earlier this year, a lot of people have been wondering what the heck is up with Zhang Yimou's remake of The Coen Brothers' very first film Blood Simple. It was believed that he would be turning it into a comedy, and with the odd title Amazing Tales: Three Guns, it seems clear that we should probably expect something completely different. And wow... that's exactly what we're getting. The Playlist found the first trailer for the film on YouTube, and if you're familiar with Hero, House of Flying Daggers and Curse of the Golden Flower, you won't be too shocked to see plenty of artistic slow-mo, thematic colours, extravagant costumes, and melodramatic acting. It looks like a Zhang Yimou film, except... what the heck does any of this have to do with Blood Simple?? Granted, the trailer is not in English (save for the voiceover) so it's a bit hard to piece together. It gets weirder though: according to Yahoo!, the movie features "a theme song rapped by the filmmaker himself"! Huh? Something tells me this may be the first Zhang Yimou film that Reed Farrington actually dislikes. Sony Pictures Classics will release the film here in North America sometime next year. Check out the wacky trailer after the jump and see what you think.

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Will Smith and Steven Spielberg Abandoning Oldboy Remake?

Sean — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 19:32:25 +0000

This should make more than a few people happy. After last year's announcement that Spielberg wanted to produce a remake of Chan-wook Park's Oldboy with Will Smith in the lead role, people freaked out insisting that this is one masterpiece that should not be marred by a watered-down American retelling. Eventually Smith tried to re-assure people by saying that it would be a different movie based on the original manga instead, but still doubts persisted. This week the folks over at Latino Review bring a pleasant update on the project indicating that it may be officially kaput. According to their source, Dreamworks and international distributor Mandate Pictures "didn't see eye to eye", and so Dreamworks simply walked away from the flick. It's unclear if they actually did acquire the rights to the original manga or not, but for the time being it looks like this is no longer happening. Does this make you want to jump for joy, or are you disappointed that we won't get to see what Spielberg and Smith could have brought to the story?

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Alfonso Cuaron to Direct The Tourist Starring Johnny Depp

Sean — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 22:16:14 +0000

Although Y tu mamá también was Alfonso Cuaron's breakout film in terms of proving his talent and putting him on Hollywood's radar, it was Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and Children of Men that made him an instant favourite among fantasy and sci-fi fans. Of course, Children of Men was released back in 2006, and Cuaron hasn't really done much since then outside of producing. Now this week it looks like his next directorial gig may finally be falling into place, picking up the pieces of a potentially high-profile project that has gone through multiple changes to cast and crew. If all goes according to plan Cuaron will direct The Tourist, a remake of the 2005 French film Anthony Zimmer, about an American vacationer in France who is unwittingly used as a decoy for a French spy. Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck (The Lives of Others) had previously been attached, as well as Bharat Nalluri (Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day). Cuaron would be inheriting a cast that includes Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie, who were recently brought on to replace Sam Worthington and Charlize Theron. (Tom Cruise was supposed to star at one point as well.) All in all, it sounds like they are potentially trading up here, no? Check out a trailer for the original film after the jump.

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Lars Von Trier’s Next Project is Sci-Fi Disaster Movie Melancholia

Sean — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 12:07:43 +0000

With Lars Von Trier's controversial film Antichrist finally getting a small U.S. theatrical release this past weekend, allowing even more moviegoers to enjoy the finer points of genital mutilation, a lot of people are wondering what the man can possibly do for an encore. With this movie bringing him so much attention, would the Danish director retreat to his art house roots, or would he go for something even more provocative? To be honest, I don't think anyone can answer that question as of yet, but either way, it seems like his next project is going to be something pretty unexpected. Earlier this month, Variety unveiled details of Von Trier's next film, a curious picture loosely titled Melancholia. It is being described as a "psychological drama-cum-disaster movie"... yes, that's right, a Lars Von Trier disaster movie. I'm not completely familiar with Von Trier's full filmography, so I'm not sure if he's attempted anything like this before, but it sounds like a pretty odd choice. The plot is being kept under wraps, but apparently has something to do with a planet called Melancholia, which comes "threateningly close to Earth". It will not have anything to do with an alien invasion, however. I can't help picturing Deep Impact or The Day After Tomorrow, but that certainly does not seem like Von Trier's style. Producer Peter Aalbaek Jensen says the project "will use some special effects, but nothing compared to Hollywood", while Von Trier himself said simply, "No more happy endings!" What do you think, does this sound cool? Is Lars Von Trier selling out, or is he simply having fun experimenting with genre filmmaking?

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Shocker: Showgirls Sequel Looking Questionable

Sean — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 17:32:44 +0000

For those of us hoping that Paul Verhoeven may one day return to his violent and campy b-movie roots, it still isn't looking likely to happen anytime soon. Until then, the only thing we have to turn to are the various direct-to-video sequels that have been churned out from his filmography. We've seen (or more likely, avoided) sequels to Starship Troopers, Basic Instinct and Hollow Man, and both Total Recall and Robocop are currently being prepped for remakes. Which leaves only one of his American films still untouched: the Razzie Award-winning Showgirls. Earlier this week a story surfaced over at German site Extratipp about a potential sequel to Showgirls called Showgirls: The Story of Hope being written and directed by a guy named Marc Vorlander (whose IMDb page is a completely blank slate). The movie would supposedly revolve around a minor character from the first film named Hope (Rena Riffel), who dies from a dose of contaminated cocaine. Her brother comes to Frankfurt in search of revenge. Now, although the project supposedly managed to land a $25 million budget from two Hollywood producers, someone from The Stranger contacted Rena Riffel to inquire about the validity of the project. As it turns out, she talked to Marc Vorlander once about a year ago, and hasn't heard from him since. The movie's hilariously awful website doesn't do much to instill confidence either. Something tells me that as of right now, Showgirls 2 is nothing more than a pipe dream... but oh, what a pipe dream it is!

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TIFF Review: Vengeance

Greg — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 05:59:26 +0000

Vengeance Directed by Johnnie To Starring: Johnny Hallyday, Anthony Wong, Lam Ka Tung, Lam Suet and Simon Yam For those that have read my TIFF reviews and updates over the past few years, you may remember me mentioning a director by the name of Johnnie To. Not only is he a great action director in Hong Kong, but I think he's one of the best ever in the world. There's something to his style that I just love, so you can imagine how happy I was that his latest film Vengeance came to TIFF. Vengeance is the story of an older man with a failing memory named Costello (Hallyday) whose daughter is in a hospital struggling to survive, while her Chinese husband and their two kids lay dead after a gang hit. Who wanted them dead and why? Costello is immediately warned by police to stay out of the way and let them do their jobs. He crosses paths with some hitmen and hires them to find the ones responsible for hurting his daughter. As the mystery begins to be solved we are treated to a number of scenes that can only be described as bullet ballets. We get shootouts at a picnic, gunfights in an apartment complex, and duels in an open field using tumbling bales of compressed paper as shields. Can Costello and the hitmen exact revenge on those responsible for the deaths of his family? Will his failing memory be the cause of their failure? Does the word vengeance have the same meaning when you can't remember those that have wronged you or those that you've lost? Go see the movie to find out. Obviously, since I'm a big fan of Johnnie To, I had high hopes. I love his action style. I like the slo-mo fight sequences. I love the shots of the guns in each holster and then the shots of the hands reaching for the guns all the way to having the weapons pointed at each other. To me, there's an art form to it and I think Johnnie To has it mastered. Once the hitmen find those responsible, the film becomes non-stop action with gunfight after gunfight. Each time in a different location to keep it all fresh. His regular cast of actors are all here, playing the three hitmen (Anthony Wong, Lam Ka Tung, Lam Suet) and the crime lord (Simon Yam). Solid performances from this crew as always. The one problem I had with this film was Johnny Hallyday. If you don't know who he is, he's a pop star in France. He's been known as the French Elvis Presley. Not only are his singing chops nowhere near the caliber of the King, but he's even a worse actor. It looked like Johnnie To showed up at the nursing home, checked Hallyday out for a bit and put him in the movie. Even with the laughable and somewhat bizarre performance of Hallyday being the core of this film, the fired bullets, the blood splatters and the rising death count made this film enjoyable to watch. The back drop of Hong Kong is always a good setting for a hitman versus hitman war and with Johnnie To at the helm, this bullet ballet gets an extra curtain call or two. - Greg

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Confucius Trailer Starring Chow Yun-Fat

Sean — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 18:02:06 +0000

Chow Yun-Fat may be known for his Hong Kong action movies and martial arts skills, but much like his peers Jackie Chan and Jet Li, he has been seizing the opportunity for more dramatic roles as he gets older. And really, you can't get much farther from the action hero stereotypes than to play the Chinese philosopher Confucius in his very own biopic. This movie, titled simply Confucius, is directed by Mei Hu (Times Away from War), and reportedly has a budget somewhere in the range of $20 million -- not much by Hollywood standards, but pretty expensive for a Chinese production. The first trailer has arrived online, and it features no dialogue, choosing instead to showcase three minutes of beautiful imagery set to an epic score. Unfortunately, for those of us unfamiliar with the life of Confucius, it's still not clear what exactly is going on here. I guess there's a love story and some sort of political struggle, but where does the invention of the fortune cookie come into play??? According to the trailer, Confucius will be released in the spring of 2010. Have a look after the jump and see what you think.

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From The Writer of City of God: Last Stop 174 Trailer

Sean — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 16:31:25 +0000

The success of the 2002 Brazilian film City of God helped launch a number of careers, not the least of which is director Fernando Meirelles, who went on to helm The Constant Gardener and Blindness. It also spawned a TV series spin-off and a sequel called City of Men, and even now any association with that original film is bound to draw some attention. With that being said, here's another gritty crime drama that was penned by City of God screenwriter Bráulio Mantovani, and well, consider me interested! Last Stop 174 is based on the story of a bus hijacking that happened in Rio de Janeiro back in 2000. When Sandro do Nascimento boarded the bus, he didn't intend to take hostages, but the situation quickly escalated and turned into a media circus. The movie delves into his life growing up on the streets, and the events that brought him to that day. Directed by Bruno Barreto (Bossa Nova, View from the Top, A Show of Force) it premiered at the Toronto Film Festival last year, and will be released by IFC On Demand on September 2nd. Check out the trailer after the jump and see what you think.

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Tokyo! Blu-ray Review

Sean — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 23:14:57 +0000

Tokyo! Directed by: Michel Gondry, Leos Carax, Bong Joon-ho Written by: Gabrielle Bell, Michel Gondry, Leos Carax, Bong Joon-ho Starring: Ayako Fujitani, Ayumi Ito, Ryo Kase, Denis Lavant, Jean-François Balmer, Teruyuki Kagawa, Yû Aoi Historically, short films have never really received much mainstream attention because, let's face it, you can't exactly put them in a movie theatre and charge full price for admission. They've mostly been relegated to the realm of film festivals and YouTube, but every now and then someone comes up with a clever way to package a collection of short films and sell it to the public. The 2007 film Paris, Je T'aime had a fairly successful (albeit limited) theatrical run collecting 18 shorts from such directors as The Coen Brothers, Tom Tykwer, Gus Van Sant and Wes Craven. It eventually spawned a sequel of sorts called, New York, I Love You. Following in the footsteps of these films comes Tokyo!, another movie that combines multiple short films inspired by and set in a particular city. While the two aforementioned films are from the same producers, however, Tokyo! has a completely different creative team behind it, and it feels like a different beast in a number of ways. The most obvious one is that there are only three short films here: Interior Design, directed by Michel Gondry, Merde, directed by Leos Carax, and Shaking Tokyo, by Bong Joon-ho. They are much longer than the ones featured in Paris Je T'aime, clocking in at around 30 minutes each. While this affords more room for storytelling, it also means that if you don't like a particular segment, it's going to be a long wait to get to the next one. The good news is that all three are worth checking out, making for a thoroughly enjoyable experience overall. Interior Design is an adaptation of a story from a graphic novel by Gabrielle Bell called Cecil and Jordan in New York, about a couple (Hiroko and Akira) who move to the city in search of jobs and a place to live. They take temporary lodging in a cramped flat with an old school friend, while they await the screening of Akira's film at a local movie theatre. As time goes on, the stress of their situation gets to Hiroko, who starts to worry that she is not pulling her weight. This feels a lot less like a Michel Gondry film than you might expect (partially because he didn't write it, I guess), but that's not a bad thing. There is nothing wacky or surreal about it except for the ending, which is simultaneously hilarious, touching and insane. Other than that, it's just a story about the sacrifices and pitfalls of relationships. Next up is Leos Carax's Merde, a satirical story about a strange creature who dwells in the sewers of Tokyo and comes up to terrorize people on the surface. I must confess that I knew nothing about Carax going into this film, and I can't say this really convinced me to check out more of his previous work. That's not to say I didn't like it, but only that it felt like it was trying a bit too hard. I think the concept is more interesting than the execution, although there were certain scenes that were a lot of fun (in particular, Merde's first rampage on the streets). Denis Lavant's twisted portrayal of the creature with his strange mannerisms and half-vocal/half-physical language of communication was impressive, but ultimately felt a bit too much like a sketch comedy character for me. The commentary on terrorism and the media was also heavy-handed, but underneath it all there is a tragic Tim Burton-esque story of a misunderstood outcast that I happened to like. Last but not least is Shaking Tokyo, my favourite of the three shorts. Written and directed by Bong Joon-ho (The Host), this is the tale of a young man who is a social recluse that never leaves his house. I guess there are so many people like this in Japan that they even have a term for it: "hikikomori". His home is packed to the rafters with stuff and organized with the utmost precision. He orders everything online or by phone and has it delivered to his house, until one day, after 10 years of seclusion, a pizza delivery girl faints at his doorstep during a minor earthquake. His life is turned upside down, and eventually he forces himself to venture outside into the great unknown, where he makes a shocking discovery. Shaking Tokyo is meticulously shot by Joon-ho and marvelously acted by Teruyuki Kagawa. It has a melancholic atmosphere but it is also quite funny at points, which helps make some of the apocalyptic twists that much easier to swallow. Overall, I enjoyed this triptych of films quite a bit, and while I had initially suspected that it might come off as more of an experimental art piece, the stories are straightforward and relatable, with just the right level of weird to keep you hooked. The movie looks gorgeous -- even moreso on Blu-ray -- and of course, it helps to have such a unique city as the backdrop for a story. Ultimately, though, these stories are not just about Tokyo, but also about urban life in general, and they're each brilliantly crafted in their own right. Extras on the Blu-ray include "Making Of" featurettes for each film, and a montage of interviews with all three directors (plus the writer of Interior Design). -- Sean

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Now Godzilla’s Getting a Reboot?

Sean — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 15:46:43 +0000

Well there's not much to report on this story as of yet, but according to a hot tip from Bloody Disgusting, it looks like there is a new Godzilla movie in the works -- a new big budget Hollywood version, that is. Apparently the folks at Legendary Pictures are in talks to pick up the rights, the production company behind such recent films as The Dark Knight, Watchmen, 300 and Where the Wild Things Are. Oh, plus Roland Emmerich's 10,000 B.C.... let's just hope he's not going to be allowed anywhere near it. The last official Godzilla movie in Japan, as far as I know, was Ryuhei Kitamura's Godzilla: Final Wars. The film series had supposedly been put on hiatus after that, although it was rumoured that Toho may bring back the giant monster for his 60th anniversary in 2014. Either way, like everything else these days this project is being described as a "reboot", so I think it's safe to assume it will not be a sequel to Roland Emmerich's widely panned 1998 film. Would you like to see a new big budget Godzilla flick? Who do you think should direct it?

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