Public Enemies - What Did You Think?
Movie Review: Visioneers Starring Zach Galifianakis (Man Vs. Office Culture Continues)
Posted on Friday, July 3rd, 2009 by Hunter Stephenson
Thirty minutes into Visioneers—a high concept indie dramedy that is, well, brand new to the public—I was consumed by the thought that I, most likely, will never see the movie for sale in a really choice record store. (Don’t worry, this movie review will not serve as a wistful rant on the music industry courtesy of a wannabe Nick Hornby or Chuck Klosterman.) The realization got me down for a half-a-second. Nevertheless, calling Visioneers a “prized would-be staple of the ‘choice record store movie genre’” is a tidy complement that sums up how I feel about it.
In the mid/late ‘90s and early ‘00s, one could find a softly-curated section of DVDs in many independent record stores. Browsing the small selection was a welcome, habitual cool-down after hours spent listening to and considering albums. Generally, the selection amounted to: concert films like Ziggy Stardust, The Show, and Bill Hicks Live. Drug movies like Easy Rider and Neco z Alenky. Godzillas. Tromas. “OG”-flicks like New Jack City and Fresh. Usually a movie starring Natasha Lyonne that wasn’t American Pie. Docs like Grey Gardens and The Corporation. And odd movies starring great comedians like The Magic Christian and The Razor’s Edge. Right, Visioneers would be bunched in with those two.
Of course, “cult movies” is a broad umbrella term for these films, then and especially now, but their location under a roof housing infinite great music birthed the silent notion that the works belonged to a cinematic family. The odd symbiotic relationship is perhaps why the DVDs were rarely purchased; another reason is that, while the DVDs were new, the hands of countless gross nerds, junkies, and patchouli weirdos had flipped them over in states of blank studiousness and after many months of this they felt second-hand. Yet another reason is that most of the diehard culture addicts were shopping for music and…had already seen the majority of these films multiple times.
Robert Schwentke’s big screen adaptation of The Time Traveler’s Wife has been sitting on the shelf for over a year. To give you an idea of how long that has been, The Time Traveler’s Wife went into post production before the non-canceled television series Journeyman even premiered.
I mention Journeyman because many people accused the show of borrowing conceptual elements from the Audrey Niffenegger novel. The film is a romantic drama about a Chicago librarian (Eric Bana) with a gene that causes him to involuntarily time travel, and the film deals with the complications it creates for his marriage. Rachel McAdams and Ron Livingston co-star.
The film really is going to hit theaters on August 14th 2009, and I know this because New Line Cinema have finally released a movie trailer for the film. Watch the trailer after the jump, and leave your thoughts in the comments below.
A Must Watch Video Clip From 500 Days of Summer: Expectation vs. Reality
Posted on Wednesday, June 10th, 2009 by Peter Sciretta
One of the many reasons I loved 500 Days of Summer is the clever screenwriting. And by clever writing I don’t mean overwritten dialogue ala Diablo Cody, but fantastic story beats that take full advantage of the film medium. Fox Searchlight has released a new clip which perfectly illustrates what I’m talking about. As you might already know, the film stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Tom, a hapless greeting card copywriter and hopeless romantic, who is blindsided after his girlfriend Summer (Zooey Deschanel) dumps him (this is how the movie begins), he shifts back and forth through various periods of their 500 days “together” (hence the title) to try to figure out where things went wrong.
The video clip after the jump takes place after Tom and Summer reconnect after the breakup, and Tom is invited to a party at his ex-girlfriend’s house. Tom, of course, thinks this is an opportunity to rekindle their relationship, but as you might expect, expectations and reality diverge. Screenwriters Scott Neustadter and Michael Weber have expertly crafted a scene that I believe is so brilliant, that it makes you wonder why no one had come up with this concept prior. Everyone has encountered this situation at one point in their life, and everyone knows how it feels - yet I’ve never seen a movie portray the feeling so accurately, visually, without employing a ton of exposition before hand. The scene in the movie goes on a bit longer, and has more of a dramatic effect on the story (as you might expect, reality gets worse). The sequence works better in the context of the film, but you’ll get the point. Watch the clip embedded after the jump.
High Res Photos: Disney’s The Princess and The Frog
Posted on Tuesday, June 9th, 2009 by Peter Sciretta
Walt Disney Animation Studios has released a batch of new images from The Princess and the Frog. This is Disney’s return to hand-drawn animation, a new take on E.D. Baker’s novel The Frog Princess (which was actually the original title of the film). If you haven’t seen the theatrical trailer, check that out here. The new images that Disney has released are just so beautiful and stunning, they beg to be viewed in high resolution. I’ve included the 4000 pixel wide digital files. Click on any of the images after the jump to view them in super high resolution.
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Shia LaBeouf No Longer Interested in Y: The Last Man?
Posted on Tuesday, June 9th, 2009 by Peter Sciretta
In a day of superhero overload, Brian K Vaughn’s Y: The Last Man is the perfect comic book series for a Hollywood big screen (or even small screen) adaptation. If you haven’t yet read the series, pick up the paperback (or the new hardcover) of the first volume, as I very highly recommend it.
Disturbia director DJ Caruso has been trying to get the project off the ground for a few years now, and Caruso’s frequent star Shia LaBeouf was interested in starring in a film adaptation. A script was in development, the first in a reported trilogy of adaptations — a potential franchise. But as time has passed, so has Shia’s interest. The Transformers star now tells Wizard Magazine that he’s not currently willing to make the film, and he may be too old for the role by the time that the project does get greenlit.
Orange UK has released an international trailer for 500 Days of Summer, which presents the movie as a much more traditional romantic comedy about a couple falling in love. And I’m not saying that the film isn’t a love story, it is, but if anything it isn’t traditional.
The movie is told in flashbacks and flash forwards, the film begins with Summer and Tom’s break up, and the story is also largely about Tom trying to figure out what went wrong, trying to reestablish a connection, trying to get over the break-up…etc. And that story seems to be completely absent from this new trailer. That said, its not a bad trailer, its just a bit misleading. Fox Searchlight is releasing the film in the US starting on July 17th, I highly recommend it! Watch the trailer after the jump.
First Look: Satya Bhabha in Costume as Matthew Patel in Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
Posted on Friday, June 5th, 2009 by Peter Sciretta
Edgar Wright has posted the first photo of Satya Bhabha in costume from the set of Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. As you probably know, Scott Pilgrim is is based on the Oni Press graphic novel written by Bryan Lee O’Malley. In the film adaptation, Michael Cera plays 23-year-old Canadian slacker Scott Pilgrim, who must battle and defeat his dream girl’s (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), seven evil ex-”boyfriends” in order to win her heart.
Bhabha plays Matthew Patel, the first of Ramona’s evil ex-boyfriends. The fight which took place at the end of the first graphic novel, was depicted in a style reminiscent of Street Fighter meets Bollywood musical. Full photo after the jump.
New Marvel Movie Logos and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World Teaser Poster
Posted on Tuesday, June 2nd, 2009 by Peter Sciretta
A bunch of cool artwork is on display at the Las Vegas Licensing International Expo, including the first promotional poster for Edgar Wright’s big screen adaptation of Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, and updated logos for the four upcoming Marvel productions: Iron Man 2, Thor, The First Avenger: Captain America and The Avengers which have popped up over at AICN.
I’ve cleaned up the photos of the Marvel logos and Scott Pilgrim poster (corrected aspect, color corrected, sharpened…etc) and have included them after the jump. Head on over to AICN for the original higher resolution snapshots. They also have snaps of posters for Gore Verbinski’s animated Rango starring Johnny Depp, DreamWorks Animation’s How To Train Your Dragon, and Steve Carell’s Despicable Me. Head on over to AICN for more.
Edgar Wright has finally released a first real look at Aubrey Plaza as Julie Powers in Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. Some of you might remember that we posted a half concealed photo of her giving the middle finger in March. In the film adaptation, Plaza (seen above) plays bitchy Julie Powers, the obnoxious on-off-on-again girlfriend of Stephen Stills, the lead singer and guitarist of Scott’s band, Sex Bob-omb, and Stacey Pilgrim’s (Anna Kendrick) coffee shop co-worker.
You might not know who Plaza is right now, but you will soon enough. The Upright Citizen’s Brigade comic was featured in the Sundance comedy hit Mystery Team and has co-starring roles in Judd Apatow’s Funny People, Scott Pilgrim, and Parks and Rec.
Slumdog Millionaire Deleted Scene: Prem Visits the Police Station
Posted on Friday, May 29th, 2009 by Peter Sciretta
Fox Searchlight has provided us with a deleted scene from Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire to promote the UK DVD release on June 1st 2009. The scene, which can be viewed after the jump, features Prem Kumar (Anil Kapoor), host of the Indian version of Who Wants To Be a Millionaire, visiting the police station where Jamel (Dev Patel) is being interrogated.
Scott Pilgrim Video Blog #6: Fight At The After Party
Posted on Wednesday, May 27th, 2009 by Peter Sciretta
The sixth video blog for Edgar Wright’s big screen adaptation of Scott Pilgrim vs. The World is now online. The new behind the scenes video shows the production of a fight sequence between Romona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) and Roxy Richter (Mae Whitman), pictured above, at the crowded warehouse after party. Watch the new video blog after the jump.
Michelle Lehman’s Marry Me is a 7-minute short film about “a little girl who likes a little boy and a little boy who likes his BMX bike.” The charming love story was partly inspired by events from the director’s childhood, where at the age of 5, she would would chase a boy around school in a pretend wedding dress (her mother’s nightgown). The short won 1st prize and Best Actress at last year’s Tropfest Australia. Watch the short after the jump.
