(Note: This is a reprint of our Mud review from Sundance 2013. The film opens in a limited run today.)
For his follow-up to Take Shelter, director Jeff Nichols smartly casts Matthew McConaughey as a violent drifter who slides into the lives of two young boys whose families eke out a bare existence on the Mississippi River. Using the gift for gab that any character played by McConaughey must automatically possess, this outlaw wraps the boys up in his plan to achieve true freedom.
While Take Shelter trafficked in heavy ambiguity, Mud does away with uncertainty, at least with respect to the story. This is a straightforward tale that rides on the shoulders of McConaughey and two excellent young actors, Tye Sheridan (The Tree of Life) and newcomer Jacob Lofland.
Mud is a riff on Mark Twain, and an exploration of the relationships between generations of men. It could be a Tom Waits song, perhaps a long-lost cut from Swordfishtrombones, revolving as it does around a man with a dark past who seeks to build an escape engine out of cast-off parts, with love as his fuel. The film casts a keen eye on people living a mostly bygone lifestyle, and wraps those observations in a rollicking little adventure that you might find in the yellowing pages of an old pulp novel.
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Christopher Nolan‘s career has so far been all but synonymous with that of cinematographer Wally Pfister, as the latter has shot all of Nolan’s features since Memento. (Nolan shot his debut, Following, himself.) Now, with Pfister working on his own directorial debut, Nolan has to look for a new shooter to make his own new film, Interstellar. According to one interview, his choice seems to be The Fighter and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy cinematographer Hoyte Van Hoytema. Read More »
Briefly: Two words from Matthew McConaughey, “I’m confirming,” are all we need to go forward with the knowledge that he’s playing the lead role in Christopher Nolan‘s next film, Interstellar. The actor said as much to the Star Tribune (via Chud) in a phone interview, when asked if he could confirm that he’s taking the gig.
Other than that, all we know about Interstellar is that it was originally inspired by the theories of theoretical physicist, gravitational physicist and astrophysicist Kip Thorne. Steven Spielberg developed the film, but Nolan took it up not long ago as his follow-up to The Dark Knight Rises. Jonathan Nolan’s original script is being revised by Christopher Nolan. The film “depicts a heroic interstellar voyage to the furthest borders of our scientific understanding” and features “explorers [who] travel through a wormhole.”
The film is scheduled for release on November 7, 2014.
What a run the past couple years have been for Matthew McConaughey. He went from a period in which he staffed cookie-cutter rom-coms to a series of pictures that used his talents spectacularly well. From The Lincoln Lawyer to Bernie, Killer Joe, Magic Mike, and Mud, he’s had a string of roles any actor would be proud of.
Now he has reportedly been offered the male lead role in Christopher Nolan‘s next film, Interstellar. Read More »
Posted on Friday, March 1st, 2013 by Angie Han
Who’s ready to think about next year’s Oscar race? Paramount has just announced a November 15 release for Martin Scorsese‘s The Wolf of Wall Street, putting the crime drama right in the thick of prestige pic season. It already has some stiff competition lined up for that day, including Ridley Scott’s The Counselor, Bill Condon’s The Fifth Estate, Grudge Match, and The Best Man Holiday. Don’t be surprised to see that lineup shift again before we get there.
The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio as real-life stockbroker Jordan Belfort, chronicling his dramatic rise and fall on Wall Street in the ’90s. Jonah Hill, Matthew McConaughey, Kyle Chandler, and Jean Dujardin also star.
After the jump, find out release dates for The Bling Ring and The Spectacular Now.
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Posted on Wednesday, January 16th, 2013 by Angie Han
With the releases of Bernie, Magic Mike, and Killer Joe, 2012 may very well have been the best year of Matthew McConaughey‘s career. And don’t expect to see that momentum flag in 2013. McConaughey is starting the year off with Mud, a coming-of-age tale directed by Jeff Nichols (Take Shelter).
The Tree of Life actor Tye Sheridan and newcomer Jacob Lofland play a pair of friends who come across a mysterious man named Mud (McConaughey) hiding out in the woods along the Mississippi. While he soon admits that he’s on the run for killing a man, they’re charmed by his romantic tales and agree to help him out. Their boyish adventure takes a sour turn, however, when Mud’s real problems entangle them in some very adult complications. Watch the trailer after the jump.
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Posted on Monday, January 14th, 2013 by Angie Han
Based on the header image, can you guess who’s coming back for Breaking Bad‘s final stretch? Also after the jump:
- Sam Mendes and a Skyfall co-writer team for a Showtime project
- Rupert Wyatt gets hired for AMC’s period drama pilot Turn
- Disney XD’s Tron: Uprising desperately needs more viewers
- Check out two new stills from Arrested Development
- Could Michael Cera be angling for an Archer guest spot?
- Michelle Monaghan joins Cary Fukunaga‘s True Detective
- The CW’s Amazon and Arrow could be set in the same universe
- Dexter and Stephen King‘s Under the Dome get premiere dates
- A&E’s Bates Motel unveils five creepy new posters
- Here’s a new cast photo for Mortal Kombat: Legacy
- Watch the season premieres of Californication and Shameless
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There’s a lot to be said for timing when it comes to film awards, and in that respect things couldn’t have worked out better for Kathryn Bigelow‘s Zero Dark Thirty. While most audiences won’t even have a chance to see the film until early next year, the first screenings of the movie have drawn rave reviews. And now it has picked up what will likely be the first of many awards.
Today the New York Film Critics Circle voted on awards for 2012, and Zero Dark Thirty and Lincoln were the big winners, with nothing scored by The Master, Django Unchained, Les Miserables, or other potential awards faves. Kathryn Bigelow took Best Director and her movie won Best Film, which is the same dual wins the filmmaker enjoyed in 2009 before The Hurt Locker went on to Oscar success. Get the full list of recipients below. Read More »
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