One film I’ve been decidedly mixed on is John Carter, Andrew Stanton‘s live-action debut. Much as I love the talent involved — stars Taylor Kitsch, Willem Dafoe, Mark Strong, etc., screenwriter Michael Chabon, and of course Stanton — I haven’t loved the footage we’ve seen of it so far. But trailers, clips, and Super Bowl spots only tell us so much, and some of the buzz from the early screenings have made the project sound a bit more promising. Hit the jump for more.
Posted on Thursday, February 2nd, 2012 by Germain Lussier
When people think of 1999 movies, titles like Fight Club, The Matrix and Being John Malkovich are just a few of the influential titles mentioned. One that regularly gets overlooked is American Pie, which not only was a massive hit, it launched a franchise, multiple catchphrases and the careers of several actors. It’s now 13 years later and 2012, once again, has a very impressive set of films coming out and, once again, American Reunion is getting overlooked. The fourth theatrical Pie film returns the entire cast for their 10 year high school reunion and will be released on April 6.
The film test screened earlier this week in New York and Los Angeles and fans took to Twitter to voice their opinions. What did they think? They loved it. Read some early buzz after the jump. Read More »
Posted on Tuesday, October 11th, 2011 by Angie Han
Hugo represents unfamiliar territory for Martin Scorsese, being both his first family film and his first 3D project, but you wouldn’t know it from watching the movie. The legendary director has crafted a charming piece of all-ages entertainment that’s absolutely stunning in its use of live-action 3D — even in the unfinished version I saw, a work in progress with visible green screens, some very rough CG, and a temporary sound mix. This is the kind of work filmmakers are talking about when they insist it isn’t just a cheesy, money-grabbing gimmick, but a true next step in cinematic technology, because this is the kind of movie that’s actually worth shelling out the extra bucks and dealing with those uncomfortable disposable glasses for. Read on after the jump.
Posted on Thursday, September 22nd, 2011 by Peter Sciretta
Paramount Pictures has begun test screening Martin Scorsese‘s Hugo, with screenings in New York City and Chicago. Like many of you, I’ve been anxiously awaiting this film. Not just because its a new Scorsese film, but I’m really interested to see what a master filmmaker can do with the 3D camera. Advance buzz coming out of the first test screenings is quite positive. Read the first spoiler-free reactions, after the jump.
Posted on Tuesday, September 20th, 2011 by Peter Sciretta
For a while now we’ve been hearing about Todd Phillips and Joel Silver-produced low-budget hard-R comedy film Project X. The project was set-up at Warner Bros with a $12 million budget, with Phillips serving as producer and creative godfather’ for commercial turned first time feature film director Nima Nourizade. The comedy follows three high school seniors who “throw a birthday party to make a name for themselves,” but as the night progresses, “things spiral out of control as word of the party spreads.” Warner Bros has been test screening the film recently, and members of the recruited audience in attendance have been chatting it up on the IMDB message boards and twitter.
What did they think? Find out after the jump.
Posted on Friday, August 12th, 2011 by Russ Fischer
We’ve got advance word today on two films. One, the prequel to The Thing, is an object of great curiosity to many fans of John Carpenter’s 1982 film, which stands as a benchmark for practical creature effects. The other, Joel Schumacher‘s home invasion movie Trespass, which stars Nicole Kidman and Nicolas Cage, just seems like an oddity at this point. Surprisingly, the word on both is relatively positive. Read More »
Posted on Tuesday, May 31st, 2011 by Germain Lussier
As the summer movie season rolls along and most of us anticipate films like Super 8, Transformers: Dark of the Moon and Cowboys and Aliens, Entertainment Weekly suggests the movie of the summer might be Crazy, Stupid, Love. Yes, the cheesy looking romantic comedy starring Steve Carell as a newly single man who splits with his wife (Julianne Moore) and attempts to reenter the dating scene with the help of womanizer Ryan Gosling, who himself falls for a girl played by Emma Stone. That movie. In the latest issue of Entertainment Weekly, the film is widely praised with the headline “Best Romantic Comedy Ever Made (Recently)” and is favorably compared to Jerry Maguire and About a Boy. Read some of the quotes after the jump. Read More »
Posted on Friday, May 20th, 2011 by Peter Sciretta
I was a huge fan/supporter of Jonathan Levine‘s 2008 film The Wackness, which premiered years ago at Sundance and got dumped at the box office by Sony Pictures Classics. Levine has had some tough luck in terms of distributors — his debut feature, the critically acclaimed horror film All The Boys Love Mandy Lane premiered at the 2006 Toronto International Film Festival, yet has still never gotten a US release (both theatrically and even on dvd/blu-ray). But as they say, the third times the charm, right?
50/50 (originally titled I’m With Cancer) is an autobiographical story based on the experiences of Will Reiser, a producer on HBO’s Da Ali G Show and VH1′s Best Week Ever. Joseph Gordon-Levitt stars as Adam, a 27-year-old who is diagnosed with cancer, and his sometimes funny “struggle to beat the disease.” The film, funded with Summit Entertainment’s giant pile of Twilight money, co-stars Seth Rogen, Anna Kendrick, Bryce Dallas Howard and Anjelica Huston. 50/50 won’t hit theaters until September 30th 2011, probably after a film festival run. We should see a trailer next week.
I’ve heard some amazing buzz about the film, and now I have something in print. /Film Reader Ben has seen a completed cut of the film, and has filed a reader review (much in line with what I’ve heard). Read his thoughts after the jump.
