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Trailer Park: Inception
Teaser trailer up for Christopher Nolan's next movie Inception. If Matrix looking sci-fi floats your boat, don't get too excited - it's not out until July.
25th Aug 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Captain Blood
Looks like Errol Flynn favourite Captain Blood might be getting a sci-fi re-boot. Aaaaar!
25th Aug 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Tony Blair vs Jet Li
"Don't make me execute my 9 point plan Mr Li!"
Actually, it's more a case of Tony Blair & Jet Li vs Climate Change, as Ten Toes Tony hooks up with Jet Li's One Foundation for some charity work. Video by Dan Chung.
See tonyblairoffice.org for more info.
25th Aug 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
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Loo Tube
Nice documentary series going up at Merge Records in support of Lou Barlow's forthcoming new album. Here's part 1.
21st Aug 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Terry Gilliam on Parnassus, Watchmen etc
interesting Ain't It Cool chat w Terry Gilliam - think he's right about the pacing of Watchmen, and will be interesting to see how Parnassus has turned out after Heath Ledger's death.
21st Aug 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
In Flight Entertainment
Where would we be without the trusty in-flight movie? The Times archive have an article about the first in-flight movie in 1925 and even a reproduction of the original article.
The Lost World was the movie and a restored version funded by Hugh Hefner is available on YouTube.
21st Aug 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Trailer Park: The Wolfman
not really surprising that there would be a werewolf movie following all the vampire action recently - here's one with Benicio Del Toro, Anthony Hopkins, Hugo Weaving and Emily Blunt. No prizes for guessing who's the hairy monster here
21st Aug 2009 - 1 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
Trailer Park: Avatar
Trailer up for James Cameron's long-awaited movie Avatar. Looks alright, but I'm not holding my breath. 3D motion capture, blah blah blah. Looks a bit like one of those cheapo saturday morning Channel 5 animations to me.
Am I the only one who doesn't worship at the altar of Cameron?
20th Aug 2009 - 1 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
Van Morrison: To Be Born Again
he may have questionable taste in leather jackets, but there's no doubting Van Morrison's recent musical judgement. following the Astral Weeks revival (and the sublime versions of Fair Play and Linden Arden that Dr Chimp and I were blown away by in Cardiff earlier this summer) he's released details of a film documenting the recording, rehearsals and tour of it all on To Be Born Again. too late to stop now, indeed…
20th Aug 2009 - 1 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
Top Tarantino
I haven't seen Inglorious Basterds yet, so Tarantino is still in my bad books - but that didn't stop me catching some of his themed screenings on Sky Movies last weekend. It was basically him giving intros to some of the movies Sky had rights to show his all time favourite movies.
Here's a nugget of, perhaps surprising, info though: Tarantino's favourite movies that have been made since he began directing. In alphabetical order, with the exception of Battle Royale, which claims the number one spot. If that's not a surprise, then the fact that Matrix was a long-standing number one might be. It was only toppled by the watering down of the franchise by numbers 2 & 3.
Battle Royale
Anything Else
Audition
The Blade
Boogie Nights
Dazed and Confused
Dogville
Fight Club
Friday
The Host
The Insider
Joint Security Area
Lost In Translation
The Matrix
Memories of Murder
Police Story 3 aka Supercop
Shaun of the Dead
Speed
Team America
Unbreakable
19th Aug 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Phoenix v John Hughes
nice Brat Pack mashup w Phoenix's Lisztomania, tipped by Alan McGee
19th Aug 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Inglourious Basterds
(dir. Quentin Tarantino)
Miramax
After the pasting that Death Proof got here (we even had to get Tech Support to code us up a special Zero Stars graphic) expectations haven't exactly been riding high for Tarantino's Nazi-bashing opus. It's also had one of those long gestation periods that puts you off, with rumours flying around that he's had to cut chunks out/ add loads back in, that it was going to be split in two (again!) or was so long he was going to have to turn it into a TV series (actually, it would be kind of fun if HBO would let him loose some time); the mixed reviews at Cannes certainly didn't seem to bode well either.
But forget all that. About five minutes into this film, you'll remember what it is you liked about Tarantino in the first place. Yes, he's a total film geek whose only frame of reference seems to be other films - but when he pulls it off, he's more than capable of turning that encyclopedic knowledge into something thrilling. Basterds is exciting, has something to say, has a great cast - and more than anything, it's surprisingly fun.
Here, we've got two main threads running in tandem through five chapters. On the one hand, the Basterds - a kind of Dirtier Dozen, with Brad Pitt leading a commando unit of Jewish avengers on a rampage through second world war Germany, scalping as many Nazis as possible and generally causing total havoc. That's the story that's featured in the early trailers, and again, the prospect of watching a bloodbath for two hours didn't really seem that promising.
The other thread involves a Jewish woman (a brilliant Mélanie Laurent) who's running a small cinema in the heart of Nazi-occupied Paris. She's living in secret, passing herself off as a gentile, when a German war hero falls for her, and convinces Goebbels and the rest of the Third Reich (including Hitler) that her little cinema would be the perfect venue for the premiere of Nation's Pride, a propaganda film about his real-life war exploits (which he's also starring in)...
Tarantino pulls these two stories together with typical flair, but it's much more subtle than the tricksiness of Pulp Fiction. There's real drive and tension here as the pieces weave together - don't want to go into too much more plot detail here, as half the fun is not knowing how it fits together.
What's also worth noting is that Brad Pitt aside, this is a cast of relative unknowns - you may have seen Diane Kruger in Troy, but don't hold that against her - she's great here as a German movie star. Hostel director Eli Roth plays one of the Basterds, Sgt Dony Donowitz (and he also shot the footage for Nation's Pride). Michael Fassbender (Bobby Sands in Hunger) is the British spy teaming up with the Basterds. Daniel Brühl is the smooth-talking German war hero. Even Mike Myers is hilarious again in a cameo as a British army officer barking out mission instructions. But the real stand-out is Christopher Waltz as the creepy Nazi Col Hans Landa - effortlessly flipping between German, French, English and Italian (in one of the film's most hilarious/tense scenes). He's a character that lingers long after the credits have rolled. And you won't look at a glass of milk in the same way for a while.
It's heavily subtitled, which Tarantino uses to great effect. Unlike a lot of second world war films, he's not afraid to let everyone speak in their own language, which builds a sense of the war taking place across the continent; language becomes something to hide behind, or give people away. Even Pitt's Southern-drawling Lt Aldo Raine could do with some explanation at times - his accent is so hilariously OTT it should come with subtitles...
For film buffs there's plenty to enjoy - although you may want to brush up on your war films before watching if you want to get all the references here. The title of the first chapter - "Once Upon a Time in Nazi-Occupied France" - sets the tone. This is a fantasy, a film that's not afraid to take history and play fast and loose with it; to talk about cinema's power and potential, and ideas of revenge; and also, for once, to start to examine some of the more gratuitous aspects of the QT violence in the cinema aesthetic (alright, while still giving us some more insanely gratuitous moments). It's also just really enjoyable - much more of a romp than you'd expect.
18th Aug 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Read more 4 star reviews
Trailer Park: Gentlemen Broncos
didn't really like Napoleon Dynamite, but the new comedy from writer/director Jared Hess Gentlemen Broncos looks a lot more promising - especially with a post-Conchords Jemaine Clements in it as fantasy author Dr Ronald Chevalier
17th Aug 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Architect's Journal: Top Ten Star Wars Architecture Moments
nice list of Star Wars architecture like the eco-friendly Ewok town (knew they were good for something), with links to some buildings in a galaxy much, much nearer - check the Sandcrawler influence on Rem Koolhaas, or the plans for the Full Moon Hotel in Azerbaijan
14th Aug 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Larry David v Jon Stewart
A masterclass in the art of talking about nothing
14th Aug 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Beautiful Losers
Aaron Rose's Beautiful Losers movie is finally coming to the UK, with screenings at the ICA followed by a DVD release through Revolver on August 24th. Buy your copy here.
The Guardian has a piece on the film and the scene it documents, focusing on Barry McGee's tragically deceased wife - the artist Margaret Kigallen.
An exhibition inspired by and featuring some of the artists starts on August 17th at Watch This Space, Unit 11, The Market, London WC2.
13th Aug 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
The Usual Cylons
Not sure we need another re-boot (if this is a re-boot), but it seems that Bryan Singer is in talks to direct a big-screen version of 80's / 00's classic Battlestar Galactica. No word on Dirk Benedict's availability as yet.
13th Aug 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Top References
References don't come better than that. Literally watching Midnight Run as we speak.
- "I think I'll have the steak - what about you?"
- "I'm not hungry"
- "Well, why don't you get the lobster, then I can get a little surf-and-turf going"
10th Aug 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
10 Tips From Shane Black
Just stumbled across this entertaining how-to guide for action movies, from Hollywood screenwriting legend Shane Black.
In Kiss Kiss Bang Bang I had a character playing Russian roulette. He put a single bullet in a gun and spun the chamber. The tension built - and then he blew his own brains out.
7th Aug 2009 - 1 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
Trailer Park: An Unlikely Weapon
doc looking at the career of photographer Eddie Adams
7th Aug 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
RIP John Hughes
RIP John Hughes, director of 80s classics like Ferris Bueller's Day Off, The Breakfast Club and Pretty In Pink
7th Aug 2009 - 1 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
Trailer Park: The Lovely Bones
Trailer up for Peter Jackson's new movie - The Lovely Bones. It gives me the shudders, as the title and concept just make me think of What Dreams May Come - a strong contender for worst movie of all time.
5th Aug 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Trailer Park: The Invention Of Lying
new Ricky Gervais comedy - like one of those generic 80s films where they invent an imaginary problem - here a world where everyone tells the truth all the time - and then solve it - Gervais starts lying! hilarity! with Jennifer Garner, Tina Fey, Rob Lowe etc
5th Aug 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Trailer Park: A Serious Man
trailer for the new Coen Bros film A Serious Man
3rd Aug 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Trailer Park: The Fantastic Mr. Fox
I'm not too familiar with the Roald Dahl book, but I would certainly say that Wes Anderson could do with a bit more guidance with his stories .....so The Fantastic Mr Fox could work out nicely.
Clooney and Bill Murray amongst the voices. Trailer here.
31st Jul 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Aerosith
These guys probably would have rocked the house at Queen Amidala and Anakin's wedding. www.aerosith.com
31st Jul 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Alien vs Russell Crowe
Looks like Ridley Scott is going to be taking a crack at re-re-booting the Alien franchise, signing on to direct a prequel. No word on what part Russell Crowe will be playing as yet.
Writer Jon Spaihts is having a pretty incredible career, with nothing produced, but 5+ scripts in development.
Variety has the story.
31st Jul 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Pimp/Unpimp My Ride
Turn your car into a low-budget Transformer (AKA 2010 Transformers Special Edition Chevy Camaro) with this kit.
31st Jul 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Cronenberg's Cosmopolis
David Cronenberg is lined up to direct Don DeLillo's yuppie haircut short novella Cosmopolis
31st Jul 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Judgement Day: An Update
Scientists Worry Machines May Outsmart Man
30th Jul 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Trailer Park: Hot Tub Time Machine
super dumb time machine antics with John Cusack
30th Jul 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Purefold
Strange goings-on from Ridley Scott's AG8/Free Scott partnership, as they try to group think entertainment and marketing through the Purefold project. If you get a handle on it, please explain in the comments.
29th Jul 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Tron-a-thon
I remember seeing Tron in 1982. It was alright. Clever, and Jeff Bridges was cool - but a bit boring (check out the original trailer). Let's just forget about Steven Lisberger's later films, especially Slipstream.
All that seems to have been erased by the geeks though, who hold it as some holy grail of greatness - so with Comic-con last week, some more details were unveiled about the upcoming sequel - now titled Tron Legacy - and the anticipation and hype is building quickly.
Here's some titbits:
- Daft Punk seem to be doing the soundtrack - and then may or may not be touring to support it.
- Kevin Flynn lives on at this 1990's style website, which appeared a couple of months ago and now hosts HD downloads of the new concept footage (embedded below) amongst other things.
- Flynn's arcade has been re-created, where you can play a load of 80's style games.
28th Jul 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Trailer Park: Whip It
Juno and Maybe from Arrested Development?! it's a sassy kid overload in Whip It, the roller derby debut from Drew Barrymore
28th Jul 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Trailer Park: The Book Of Eli
looks like it's Denzil Washington's turn to save us from a post-apocalyptic future
27th Jul 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Star Wars Uncut
results coming in from the Star Wars Uncut project - Ep IV chopped into 15 sec chunks, and reworked by people all over the internet. no end to the time on their hands there is
27th Jul 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Tony Kaye vs Seth Rogan
Advertising bad-boy Tony Kaye has been making some tentative steps back towards Hollywood, following the debacle surrounding American History X.
He's made a short film in support of Kevin Smith's Zach & Miri Make A Porno feature, which you can watch over at Vimeo.
24th Jul 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
The Best Title Sequences Of All Time
Nice run down on 30 of the best title sequences of all time over at Creative Review. Not sure all my favourites are in there, but it's a pretty thorough list.
We all wet our pants at film school when the Se7en titles first rolled out. Stan Brakhage goes mainstream.
23rd Jul 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Making Of
A lot of celebs seem to be investing online these days. Natalie Portman is one of the creators of film website Making Of - with behind-the-scenes film community type stuff to help and inspire potential film makers.
23rd Jul 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Trailer Park: Taxidermia
freaky-looking Hungarian comedy Taxidermia
23rd Jul 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Dude 2.0
The Dude himself made a satellite appearance at the latest Lebowskifest, reporting live from the set of the Tron sequel.
I attended Lebowski Fest here in Seattle last night and it was great, man. The Dude made a special "satellite appearance", apologizing for not making it since he's up in Canada doing that whole Tron revival thing. I didn't watch my friends die face down in the muck to let this picture go unviewed, so I present it to you.
Calmer than you are,
Walter Sobchak
AICN has the full details.
22nd Jul 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Trailer Park: Despicable Me
New cartoon w Steve Carrell, Russell Brand and Jemaine Clement on voice duties.
22nd Jul 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Moviedrome
Caught myself reminiscing with someone recently about Alex Cox's excellent Moviedrome series from the late 80's / early 90's, where Cox would introduce a (usually rare) film, followed by a screening.
The Last Picture Show, Coogan's Bluff, Rumblefish, Rope / 84 Charlie Mopic (double bill!) and THX1138 were among some of the more main-stream US movies, while more obscure screenings like Weekend, The Spider's Stratagem (outstanding), Q The Winged Serpant, Vamp and Yojimbo provided otherwise unseen screenings.
It's hard to believe there was ever a time when you couldn't watch anything you want whenever you want to, never mind even further back (pre-VHS), when film makers like Coppola and Scorcese would have pulled all their knowledge from actual cinema screenings.
Check out an archive listing of what was screened here, and a list of DVD-available titles over at Lovefilm.
Alex Cox is also on YouTube. And I heard rumours of a Repo Man sequel, entitle Repo Chick.
21st Jul 2009 - 1 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
Please, Please, Please Let Me Zooey What She Wants
Zooey Deschanel and Monster Of Folk dude M Ward cover Please, Please, Please on new indie kookcom 500 Days Of Summer.
21st Jul 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Ad Nauseum: Samsung Jet
You might have seen this lovely new ad for Samsung's new Jet mobile. I have no doubt that it's being pitched as an iPhone killer, but the ad's nice at least.
Ad up top, making of below. Some boring details here.
20th Jul 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Trailer Park: World's Greatest Dad
Robin Williams in an OK-looking comedy? Look forward to other movies based on greetings cards and bumper stickers: World's Greatest Boss, You Don't Have To Be Crazy To Work Here, Happy Birthday etc etc
20th Jul 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
