Film Junk

Open Forum Friday: Richard Kelly… Visionary Director or Flash in the Pan?

Sean — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 23:00:18 +0000

Richard Kelly's new film The Box hits theatres this weekend, and although I have yet to see it, I will probably check it out based on his name alone (okay, and maybe because of the Twilight Zone connection). It's hard to believe, but this is only his third feature film, and his first to get a wide release. As the director of the cult favourite Donnie Darko, you might assume that his name would hold some serious weight with a certain audience, but there doesn't seem to be a ton of excitement surrounding the movie right now. Are people still willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, or have they finally moved on and forgotten about him? I don't know if I'll ever fully understand why Donnie Darko became such a big underground hit; it got a very minor theatrical release, but when it hit DVD, things really took off. It became so popular that it eventually spawned a sequel, although Kelly was not involved in it. He was busy recovering from the relative failure of his second film, Southland Tales, which I don't think many of the Donnie Darko fans ever saw. It's clear that Kelly is a director who thinks big, and is not afraid to take on some ambitious ideas with his movies. That being said, I still feel like he needs to do something more than Donnie Darko to prove himself as a true artistic genius. What do you think? Is Richard Kelly the real deal or did he just get lucky with his first film? Was Southland Tales a disaster or was it just misunderstood? Will The Box be the movie that redeems him? Give us your thoughts here on Open Forum Friday.

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Movie Poster Round-Up: The Wolfman, Green Zone, Kick-Ass

Sean — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 22:43:06 +0000

It's been a while since I've done a round-up on some of the latest movie poster designs (you'll notice that I've removed "weekly" from the title of this post), but the truth is, it's not entirely my fault. The selections have been pretty far and few between as of late. However, thanks to few movies that have put out collections of multiple posters, we've got more than enough cool stuff to look at here. First off, although I'm a little late getting these up, I have to draw your attention to the additional posters that were released for Ti West's The House of the Devil, all just as gloriously retro as the first one was. Also out this week, four new character posters for Kick-Ass, some rather minimal posters for The Wolfman and Green Zone, and a cheesy one-sheet for Sherlock Holmes. Last but not least, we can't forget Jay's favourite: four posters showcasing the wacky rules of Zombieland! Which ones do you like the best? Check out the rest of the gallery after the jump.

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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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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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Film Junk Poll: What is Your Favourite Jim Carrey Movie?

Sean — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:01:35 +0000

I still remember my first introduction to Jim Carrey as the sole white guy on the hilarious Wayans Brothers show In Living Color back in the early '90s. It was pretty obvious that he was going to be a big star even then, but he managed to jump to the top of the Hollywood A-list quickly with a series of very funny films. Eventually he even managed to branch out with some acclaimed dramatic performances as well. With the release of A Christmas Carol this weekend, I was thinking it might be worth looking back at the man's filmography and everything he has done to date. There are definitely some classics in there (and a few duds too), but what is your all-time favourite Jim Carrey flick? Is he still funny nowadays, and do you buy him as a serious actor? Cast your vote in the poll below and feel free to discuss his career further in the comments section.

Online Surveys & Market Research

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Dan Aykroyd, Anna Faris and Justin Timberlake Join Yogi Bear

Sean — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:45:02 +0000

Live action/CG family comedies for everyone! That's right, yet another hybrid animated film is moving forward this week, with the announcement of some pretty big names entering discussions for the Warner Brothers adaptation of the classic Hanna-Barbera cartoon Yogi Bear. It looks like the studio has found voices for both Yogi and Boo-Boo, plus an actress for their first live action role. According to Variety, Dan Aykroyd is currently in talks to headline the film as the mischievous bear Yogi, while musician turned actor Justin Timberlake will play his faithful sidekick Boo-Boo. Anna Faris will play a documentary filmmaker who comes to Jellystone Park. Aykroyd in particular seems like a solid choice, although I'm wondering whether or not Timberlake will try to put on a cartoony voice or just be himself (he previously voiced a character in Shrek the Third). The Yogi Bear script was written by the same guys who did Tooth Fairy starring Dwayne Johnson, and will be directed by former visual effects supervisor Eric Brevig (Journey to the Center of the Earth). Yes, it's going to be shot in 3-D. I can't say I'm looking forward to it, but I suppose there's at least a chance it will be better than The Flintstones and Scooby-Doo movies. Only one question remains: who should play Ranger Smith? Shooting starts next month in New Zealand.

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New To Theatres This Weekend: A Christmas Carol, The Box, The Men Who Stare At Goats

Sean — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:28:45 +0000

Happy holidays everyone! Robert Zemeckis' A Christmas Carol starring Jim Carrey hits theatres today, and regardless of the fact that it still seems a little early for a Christmas movie, it's expected to do quite well. There are three other major releases it has to compete with, however, including Richard Kelly's The Box, The Men Who Stare at Goats starring George Clooney, and the alien abduction flick The Fourth Kind starring Milla Jovovich. In limited release we have the critically acclaimed Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire, plus a pair of documentaries from two masters of the form in Chris Smith's Collapse and Frederick Wiseman's La Danse. Do you plan on seeing anything this weekend?

A Christmas Carol
The Box
The Men Who Stare at Goats
The Fourth Kind
Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire (limited)
Collapse (limited)
La Danse: Le Ballet de L'Opera de Paris (limited)
Splinterheads (limited)
That Evening Sun (limited)

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The Men Who Stare At Goats Review

Sean — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 07:14:02 +0000

The Men Who Stare At Goats Directed by: Grant Heslov Written by: Peter Straughan (screenplay), Jon Ronson (book) Starring: George Clooney, Ewan McGregor, Kevin Spacey, Jeff Bridges Since the dawn of modern warfare, people have fantasized about the concept of super soldiers, enhanced human beings that could defend their homeland and give them the edge over their enemies. At this point, we're not just talking about fictional characters like Captain America, either; today's soldiers really are trained to push their body beyond its physical and mental limits, and outfitted with bleeding edge technological advancements. Military interests drive scientific research like few other fields, leading to all kinds of wacky pills and biological experiments. But would it surprise you to learn that U.S. military has delved into even stranger realms in the past, and may still be doing so today? In his 2004 book, The Men Who Stare At Goats, Welsh journalist Jon Ronson reveals the eye-opening story of a top secret program that had been set up in the 1980s to research applications of paranormal and spiritual techniques in the military. Based on interviews with actual personnel involved, he relays tales of officers who attempted to train themselves to walk through walls, read minds, and even kill living creatures just by staring at them. Apparently some of them actually succeeded. While there may be some debate over just how true it all is, the scary thing is that it's not hard to believe certain world leaders would turn to wacky, unproven theories in their time of need. It's definitely another great example of how reality is quite often stranger than fiction, and of course, someone eventually saw the potential for a pretty funny movie in all of it. The project ended up attracting some serious A-list talent in the form of George Clooney and Ewan McGregor, but could it hold up on screen in the hands of a relatively inexperienced director? The movie adaptation of The Men Who Stare At Goats constructs a fictional storyline that finds a journalist named Bob Wilton (Ewan McGregor) stumbling into the middle of a psychic soldier's top secret mission in Iraq. After he meets Lyn Cassady (George Clooney) at his hotel, he convinces him to bring him along into the desert. Along the way, he learns about the history of the First Earth Battalion (told largely through shaggy-haired flashbacks), a program headed up by Bill Django (Jeff Bridges), a Vietnam vet turned New Age hippie. As things go terribly awry during their mission, however, Wilton starts to wonder if Cassady really is a Jedi Warrior with paranormal abilities or if he's just plain crazy. As you might imagine, a large part of this movie is quite simply The George Clooney Show. Clooney hams it up just as much here as he has in such movies as The Coen Brothers' O Brother, Where Art Thou? and Burn After Reading. If you don't like comedy Clooney, you probably won't like this movie, that's not to say that he isn't required to bring a little bit of depth to the character as well. Personally, I can't get enough of his wacky facial expressions and fast-talking ways. Speaking of Coen Brothers films, here Jeff Bridges is probably the closest he's come to reprising his now legendary role as The Dude from The Big Lebowski. His casting as Bill Django was spot on, although I suppose a little bit predictable as well. There are definitely some straight-up stoner comedy moments in the film, and Bridges nails them all. Ewan McGregor makes the perfect wide-eyed reporter, while Kevin Spacey plays the would-be villain of the piece, a fellow First Earth Battalion trainee named Larry Hooper who is jealous of Cassady's gift for all things mental. The Men Who Stare At Goats delivers a good mix of broad laughs along with some dry British humour, and it truly is a movie that draws alternating waves of laughter from two different sections of the audience. The latter half of the film tries to get a little more serious by introducing doubt into the equation, and eventually pulls out a strange last-minute subplot about freeing some prisoners. Although it loses a bit of steam somewhere in the middle, it manages to go out on a fairly high note. I guess one of the problems with a fictional adaptation of a non-fiction book is that sometimes you have to shoehorn characters into a convenient story arc in order to make it work. Screenwriter Peter Straughan previously adapted Toby Young's hilarious memoir How to Lose Friends & Alienate People with much less success, but here he does a good job of creating a loose narrative while also incorporating many memorable and funny elements from the book. (Although I haven't read the book, I've seen part of the accompanying documentary and I was surprised by how many things were taken directly from it.) He also plays it with just the right level of farce, leaving it somewhat open-ended as to whether or not some of the First Earth Battalion techniques really are possible. Grant Heslov, a long-time actor turned producer and now director, co-wrote and produced George Clooney's Oscar-nominated Good Night, and Good Luck. He also previously directed some episodes of Soderbergh's Unscripted series for HBO (the movie also shares a similar incredulous tone with Steven Soderbergh's The Informant) but other than that, his only feature-length directorial credit was an original indie comedy called Par 6. Heslov brings an artful eye to what would otherwise be just a goofy comedy, along with brilliant director of photography Robert Elswit (There Will Be Blood, Michael Clayton, Syriana). The Men Who Stare At Goats may not the best movie of the year, nor the funniest, but it is a solid comedy full of thoroughly entertaining performances and just enough mystique to keep you thinking about it after the fact. Fans of the book may balk at a few of the fictional fabrications, but if you enjoy quirky comedies and oddball true stories, you won't regret seeing this flick. Just remember, at the heart of it all is a cold, hard truth: people will believe just about anything. Whether that's good or bad is up to you to decide. -- Sean

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Etch A Sketch Movie Now a Distinct Possibility

Sean — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 22:15:13 +0000

Someone stop the madness already! This toy and board game licensing thing is already way beyond out of control. Yesterday we reported on Sony's acquisition of the screen rights to the board game Risk, the latest in a long line of questionable movie deals involving branded playthings. The Wall Street Journal followed up with an article on the phenomenon today, addressing the "herd mentality" in Hollywood and the fact that somehow this is all a direct result of the success of Transformers. Go figure. The article also goes on to reveal a handful of other interesting tidbits including:

J.J. Abrams is in talks to produce a Micronauts movie
Will Smith and producing partner James Lassiter are developing a Big Wheel TV series
There might actually be an Etch A Sketch movie!

"The Ohio Art Co., which owns Etch A Sketch, says it has received numerous calls from producers interested in acquiring the rights to make a stand-alone film based on the toy. The company has yet to sign a deal." Can you imagine being the owner of the Etch A Sketch, and one day out of the blue getting like 10 phone calls from Hollywood producers wanting to make a movie? I'm guessing they probably would have just hung up on the first few callers. I have no idea how it got to this point so quickly, but to the outside observer it is absolutely insane. The deals will probably continue until at least one of these movies bombs, causing all studio interest to evaporate. What do you think, is a recognizable brand really that valuable? Can an Etch A Sketch movie possibly give Michael Bay a run for his money?

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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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Mandalay Picks Up Max Barry’s Real-Time Novel Machine Man

Sean — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 18:04:25 +0000

There's a growing trend in Hollywood where studios buy the screen rights for books before they are even released (see the recent acquisition of Daniel H. Wilson's Robopocalypse for just one example). I suppose it makes sense that if you have a big name writer (ie. Dan Brown) or a property that will probably be a big hit, you should get on board before anyone else finds out about it (and before the price goes up). But in some cases, it strikes me as a little odd that a studio might option a book before it has even been fully written yet. This is definitely the case with Mandalay Pictures, who have just picked up the rights to Max Barry's sci-fi thriller Machine Man, a serianlized novel that is being written and posted online daily, page by page. It's a pretty interesting experiment in writing, and the premise is kind of cool (a tech engineer is replacing body parts with "titanium upgrades of his own design"). You can read the first 43 pages online here, but you have to pay to read further. Barry previously wrote Jennifer Government, an awesome action-packed satire of corporations in the future, which Steven Soderbergh currently owns the rights to. As a fan of his writing, I'm definitely intrigued, although I am curious as to why they felt this was worth buying before it was even finished. Then again, I guess if they don't like how it ends, they can always change it afterward! The book will officially be published by Vantage Books in 2011.

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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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