Monika Bartyzel
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Cinematical Seven: The Orson Welles Primer
Filed under: Fandom, Cinematical Seven, Lists
This week Richard Linklater's Me and Orson Welles is finally making its way to the big screen. It's not a big buzzed-about film, but it is, indeed, one worthy of your time. The movie offers a peek at Efron's possible future (which the abysmal 17 Again completely failed to do), a delightful look into creating art in the '30s, and it recreates the nuances of theater on the big screen. And hey, it's a Linklater film, which seems to be painfully rare these days.
But none of those reasons are why I urge you to see it. It all rests on the shoulders of actor Christian McKay, who plays Orson Welles. I missed the film at TIFF, and spent the next year listening to raves over McKay's performance before I finally got the chance to make it to a screening. Even with the rave reviews and raised expectations, it was quite easy to get mesmerized by McKay, who not only bears an uncanny resemblance to the iconic actor and filmmaker, but also adeptly embodies the man's larger-than-life ways.
To get the full experience, you must be familiar with Welles, and if you're not, well, good lord, now's the time to change that. What follows are some of Welles' essential work, as well as glimpses into the man's real life so you can see just how good McKay's performance is.
WTF? Girl Bitten by Pervert at 'New Moon' Screening
Filed under: New Releases, Celebrities and Controversy, Newsstand
We keep hearing about the annoying Twilight Saga fans and their ever-loyal fandom, but there are other crazies coming out of the woodwork. An ABC affiliate in Michigan reports that while watching New Moon at the Norton Shores theater, a teen girl was harassed and bitten by an old perv while watching the vampire/werewolf blockbuster.It seems that in the midst of a screen full of vamps and wolves, an old, short, white dude believed to be about 45 years old starting throwing "sexual comments" at a 17-year-old girl sitting in front of him. But he didn't just assault her with words. When the movie was over, he decided to give her a taste of the "real deal" and allegedly bit the girl on the neck (lucky for her, he didn't break the skin). Right now, the perv is at large, and the police are asking anyone with any information to contact the Norton Shores Police Department.
Attention pervy men: While it might seem like biting is the new flirting, especially with the hordes of girls begging Robert Pattinson to bite them, you are not RPatt and that is not cool. And for you fellow filmgoers -- don't let the sickos get away, okay? Do you want to worry about who sits behind you or walks too close as you exit a theater?
You can watch the newscast after the jump.
Spin-ematical: New on DVD for 11/24
Filed under: New Releases, DVD Reviews, New on DVD, Home Entertainment
Angels & Demons
The first was met with much critical disdain, but fought back to earn over $750 million at the worldwide box office. Angels & Demons still managed to make money, but less than $500 million (needing worldwide take to even make up for the budget) as Tom Hanks tries to hunt down a symbol-loving murderer. Eric D. Snider called it: "is as overly serious as its predecessor, and poor Mr. Hanks -- the world's most likable man, for crying out loud! -- is still dour and intense." Skip it. Also on Blu-ray.
Add to Netflix queue | Buy at Amazon
Four Christmases
Just as the title implies, Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon are forced to stop avoiding their crazy families and must hit four households over the holidays. In his review, William Goss wrote: "The rest makes for an occasionally amusing, mostly shrill series of encounters with an ensemble that only encourages misanthropic ideals, and maybe if Four Christmases had decided to extend itself beyond white trash targets and projectile vomiting, we could've found ourselves talking about a new Christmas classic right now." Rent it if you want some uncomfortable holiday humor. Also on Blu-ray.
Add to Netflix queue | Buy at Amazon
Funny People
If ever there was a reason why Adam Sandler has been sticking to the ridiculous fluff, this is it -- a dramedy with a lot of heart that couldn't even make back its budget after worldwide release. In his review, Todd Gilchrist said: "Funny People is one of the summer's, if not the year's best films, because it's a comedy that inverts the medium's typical use – effectively revealing feelings rather than concealing them – and invites the audience to share in that discovery." Buy it and give the film some love. Also on Blu-ray.
Read Our Blu-ray Review | Add to Netflix queue | Buy at Amazon
Hit the jump for a peek at Shorts and other new releases...
Can Joseph Gordon-Levitt Bring Showmanship Back to Hollywood?
Filed under: Trailers and Clips
If you didn't catch it over the weekend, Joseph Gordon-Levitt hosted Saturday Night Live, and kicked things off with a huge recreation of Donald O'Connor's slapstick performance of "Make 'Em Laugh" in Singin' in the Rain. He didn't just sing the song, thank everyone, and let it go to commercial. He performed many of the moves from the film himself, and if you're at all familiar with the scene, you know it's not just simple jive. For a live performance that has no benefit of retakes, it's darned impressive. Of course, it's yet another example of the actor's impressive talents; that man's got mad skills. It's not too often these days that we get an actor who can be funny, serious, and an impressive live showman all in one package. Heck, the most we can usually get is a funny singer who dances, a mediocre hottie who dances, a funny man who can deliver some drama, or something similar. All of the above? Not these days.
Yet here Gordon-Levitt is, with one of my favorite SNL introductions ever. Movieline described Joseph as having "showman skills so hyperkinetic and gooey that Marc Summers might've Febrezed his screen." But what I want to know is: Could he help revive the idea of multi-talented show-people in Hollywood? Even if you don't like song and dance numbers (which, I admit, I usually don't), it can't hurt for Hollywood to start pressing the importance of a wide skill set. These days most actors are a one-note wonder, and here is JGL tackling every genre with ease while making this girl mourn a cinematic style she's never missed.
Does JGL make you miss the days of that flamboyant business we call show? Check out the original performance and the SNL stint after the jump and weigh in below.
Girls on Film: Sparkly Vamps, Sweaty Wolves & Skin Flicks
Filed under: Fandom, Movie Marketing, Girls on Film
I had a whole other topic prepared for this week's Girls on Film, but to follow that plan would ignore the large, sparkling elephant in the room. I'm sorry, but I've got to write about New Moon. I'd been planning to hit a screening sometime mid-week -- a nice and early matinee that would free me from the headaches of super-excited fans under 18 (which goes for any cinematic fandom for the pre-to-teen lot ... Harry Potter? egads...).
But then I read Eugene's aside in his weekly Box Office report: "Along these lines, I wonder if the egregious objectification of men in New Moon's marketing campaign is a victory for feminism. I vote yes." While I don't equate my feminism with show-me-yours-too ideology, it brings up a really good point that really hadn't occurred to me before: Twilight isn't just a rampant fangirl phenomenon of pent up adolescent and homemaker lust. It's a female skin flick for the younger set, both in marketing and execution.
And no one seems to know how to react to that.
Exclusive: Title Track for 'The Road' Soundtrack
Filed under: Drama, Music & Musicals, New Releases, Fandom, Home Entertainment
Cinematical has just received the following title track for Nick Cave and Warren Ellis' original and haunting film score for The Road. It's simple and chilling -- just as any accompaniment to a post-apocalyptic world should be -- full of violin and piano tunes, some wind instruments and sound loops. The soundtrack is being released digitally today over at Amazon, with further digital retailers tomorrow and a CD release to follow on January 12, 2010.We first alerted you to the score back in March, and then to the duo's Soundtrack Collection in September. As you might have gathered, some of us are big Cave & Ellis fans. And rightly so. They provided an award-winning score for John Hillcoat's earlier feature The Proposition (which Cave also wrote), and also scored The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. And of course, that's besides their work in Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, which has memorable cinematic ties to Wings of Desire (before Ellis teamed up with Cave).
Too often these days it's easy to get pulled out of movies due to overly imposing and grandoise film scores desperately trying to yank at emotions, rather than just lightly coaxing the right feel for a particular scene, and Cave and Ellis definitely know how to let simplicity reign. Check out the clip and track list after the jump and grab it over here at Amazon.
What a Surprise: 'The Howling' Gets a Remake
Filed under: Horror, Deals, Scripts, Remakes and Sequels
What a complete non-surprise! Now that New Moon is raking in the cash, and doing what very little it can for the werewolves of the world, the vamps are gearing up for some further sharp-toothed competition. Variety reports that The Howling will return to the big screen by the hands of indie producers Joel Kastelberg and Etchie Stroh under the name The Howling: Reborn. Since it's been over three years since we first heard rumors of a remake, my guess is that this is a whole new can of worms.A former marketing executive for studios like MGM and New Line, Joe Nimziki wrote the script and will direct it when the feature starts shooting this February. Once that's all done, they're hoping to get this howler into theaters for Halloween. The plot is being kept under wraps, but the original followed a TV newswoman who goes on a retreat after an ordeal with a serial killer, only to be thrust into a world of
Now here's where I say this is a missed opportunity. It's inevitable that each old-school horror flick will get rebooted. But why not try to up the ante, or at least insert wow-factor? We've seen the increased interest in Elm Street since Jackie Earle Haley took over, and that's a pretty mainstream franchise. Now imagine what The Howling could be if they coerced John Sayles into writing it again -- maybe not to be campy like the first, but a well-written piece of horror. That man is a pro at taking characters and situations and spinning an intricate web, so imagine if he intermingled his indie talents with his old-school horror ways. At the very least, it'd make the project immediately buzz worthy to a larger audience.
As it stands, do you want more Howling?
Free Flick of the Day: The Doom Generation
Filed under: Home Entertainment
The '90s were a good time to be a teen -- especially if you were itching for more than just the mainstream. Nestled between the John Hughes '80s and the bubbly Disney '00s, the '90s were a time when teen films thrived in tunes-led rebellion. It wasn't all about spunky mainstream music marketing and bubbly personalities. Scores and strangeness got to go a little wild, and Gregg Araki ran with that idea when he made The Doom Generation. Dubbed Araki's "heterosexual movie," the film starred then-newcomer Rose McGowan as Amy Blue, a tough-as-nails, filthy-mouthed, self-proclaimed virgin in love with one Jordan White (James Duval). Their rather mundane lives are thrown through the ringer when they help out a strange boy named Xavier (Johnathan Schaech), who leads them through an insane road trip of unintended violence. A trip, mind you, that showcases a slew of names from all walks of life -- Skinny Puppy (band), Margaret Cho, Dustin Nguyen (21 Jump Street), Heidi Fleiss (the Hollywood madam), Perry Farrell (Janes Addiction), Parker Posey, Nicky Katt (Dazed and Confused), Zak Spears and Rex Chandler (gay adult film stars), Christopher Knight (Brady Bunch), Lauren Tewes (The Love Boat)...
It is, however, a film spliced in tone. The first three quarters are violent, black comedy, while the last third makes the violence personal as the trio faces off against Neo-Nazis -- a rather apt juxtaposition between pulpy imaginary thrills and violence laced with a sense of reality.
Get dark with The Doom Generation now on SlashControl!
Mike White Starts a Santa Claus Civil War
Filed under: Comedy, Deals, Scripts
Not pleased with the likes of our latest serving of A Christmas Carol? Want a little more originality served with your ho-ho-ho's? This might be the answer: Variety reports that Paramount Pictures has tapped Mike White to write the script for a new comedy called Santa Wars. Oh yes, it's just like you'd imagine.This project will follow the story of two rival factions that emerged within a group of professional Kris Kringles, and how they "became arch enemies during a Santa Claus civil war." And I should probably point out -- this concept is based on a true story. It all stems from a segment on Ira Glass' radio show This American Life, which aired last December and talked about how two professional Santas formed the Amalgamated Order of Real Bearded Santas, only to become bitter rivals.
Talk about picking the perfect pen. White is the writer of all things weird, whether that be with creepy stalkers, transcript trouble, discontent with mundane life, rock 'n' roll classes, strange wrasslers, or dog obsession. Furthermore, he's jumped back and forth between mainstream and edgy indies, which means the potential for a film that will appeal to more than just the casual, family fare moviegoer. Let's just hope Paramount ignores this year's strange release schedules (Valentine's Day in the summer, Christmas before Thanskgiving) and serves this puppy up during the right season.
Forbes Determines Hollywood's Most Overpaid Actors
Filed under: Celebrities and Controversy, Box Office
Just the other day, I tackled the notion of whether A-List actors were becoming an endangered species. Now Forbes is adding to the celebrities woes with a list of Hollywood's 10 Most Overpaid Stars. Their criteria for the list: Look at the 100 biggest stars who have starred in at least 3 flicks opening in more than 500 theaters in the last 5 years, and calculate a return-on-investment by dividing total operating income on the 3 movies by the actor's total compensation (salaries and sales earnings). So, who could possibly end up on such a list? Hazard a guess? Well, here are some hints. The 10-spot actor, who has the biggest earnings for his pay, earns an average of $8.62 for every $1 paid, while the worst offender skyrocketed to the #1 spot with a pretty big flop this year, earning only $3.29 for every buck paid. Some of the names in the middle are quite expected, especially Tom Cruise and Eddie Murphy, the former still dealing with image issues, and the latter found out that his silly-comedy formula isn't working like it used to. Also, there is one lone woman on the list, but this actress might be a little hard to guess.
Considering the previous post and some of the names on this list, I think we might be seeing a big decrease in star-power pay over the next few years. But for now ... Who's the least-bad investment, the worst, and the woman? Can you figure out the names in-between? Take a stab and then check out the list after the jump
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Spin-ematical: New on DVD for 11/24
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