http://www.filmjunk.com Blog And Podcast Fri, 06 Nov 2009 23:03:24 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en 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 ... http://www.filmjunk.com/2009/11/06/open-forum-friday-richard-kelly-visionary-director-or-flash-in-the-pan/ 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 ... http://www.filmjunk.com/2009/11/06/movie-poster-round-up-the-wolfman-green-zone-kick-ass/ 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 ... http://www.filmjunk.com/2009/11/06/alfonso-cuaron-to-direct-the-tourist-starring-johnny-depp/ 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 ... http://www.filmjunk.com/2009/11/06/michael-winterbottoms-the-killer-inside-me-trailer-starring-casey-affleck/ 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 ... http://www.filmjunk.com/2009/11/06/film-junk-poll-what-is-your-favourite-jim-carrey-movie/ 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 ... http://www.filmjunk.com/2009/11/06/dan-aykroyd-anna-faris-and-justin-timberlake-join-yogi-bear/ 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 ... http://www.filmjunk.com/2009/11/06/new-to-theatres-this-weekend-a-christmas-carol-the-box-the-men-who-stare-at-goats/ 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 ... http://www.filmjunk.com/2009/11/06/the-men-who-stare-at-goats-review/ 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 ... http://www.filmjunk.com/2009/11/05/etch-a-sketch-movie-now-a-distinct-possibility/ 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 ... http://www.filmjunk.com/2009/11/05/danny-boyle-to-direct-stranded-mountaineer-story-127-hours/ 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 ... http://www.filmjunk.com/2009/11/05/mandalay-picks-up-max-barrys-real-time-novel-machine-man/ 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 ... http://www.filmjunk.com/2009/11/05/armond-white-at-it-again-hates-on-multiple-award-winner-precious/