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| 022709 'Gigantic' trailer thanks to 'FirstShowing.net'..... |
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. . . . . .If it is possible to rank such things as performances, then Paul Dano is one of the best young actors working today. He was phenomenal in 'There Will Be Blood' (and supposedly he didn't have much prep time as was a last minute replacement. You can see my full review of the film HERE.) Anyway, the great movie site FirstShowing.net posted the trailer for an upcoming film Dano is starring in called 'Gigantic'. The movie looks like it could be very enjoyable and Dano is joined by a strong cast including: Zooey Deschanel, John Goodman, Edward Asner, and Jane Alexander. You can take the jump to FirstShowing.net and see the trailer HERE. -Nate |
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| 022309 The Oscars came and went. |
. . . . . .The Oscars had their annual showing and I got a little charge out of 'Slumdog Millionaire' winning several awards. I just saw the film (and am still finishing the review.) I must say, the film really grabbed me. I was a bit disappointed to see Mickey Rourke did not get the Oscar for 'The Wrestler' (reviewed HERE) as the guy really is a great actor. I'm not sure anyone else could have made the role of Randy “The Ram'' Robinson as real and powerful as Rourke did. Of course, the Oscars don't change that but he has been good for so long it would have been nice to see him get the recognition from the academy. Actually, in a way he did, as winner Sean Penn mentioned Rourke in his acceptance speech.
. . . . . .There is an odd parallel between filmmaker Darren Aronofsky, his film 'The Wrestler' and one of his previous films 'Requiem for a Dream' and one of its stars Ellen Burstyn. Both films were phenomenal, both films should have been nominated (and were not,) and both films sported amazing performances that were nominated but that did not win. 'Requiem for a Dream' is arguably even a stronger film than 'The Wrestler' and not unlike Rourke, Burstyn was so good, I have trouble believing someone else could have done it better. No disrespect to the other nominees (and hell, I haven't even seen 'Milk' yet.) Anyway for a breakdown of the Oscar results go HERE. -Nate |
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| 022109 A review of 'Taken'. |
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. . . . . .Coming at you with a review of the spy/action/crime drama 'Taken'. Liam Neeson takes on a role that in the late 80s/ early 90s would have been played by Steven Seagal. The film seems to be built on the style of 'The Bourne Identity' and that is not a bad thing. While some bits didn't work for me as well as others, I can still recommend it. You do sort of have to drink the kool aid, not unlike the recent 'Friday the 13th'. If you are prone to enjoy this sort of thing give it a try, you might enjoy it. My full review can be seen HERE. -Nate |
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| 022009 A review of 'The Wrestler'. |
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. . . . . .Darren Aronofsky is one of several directors that I feel should have gotten an Oscar. Yes, I know the Oscars are just a show and they are not any measure of the quality of a filmmaker or film. Still, they somehow seem like a sort of broad acknowledgement for filmmaker's, performer's, or film's achievement. (Others that come to mind off the top of my head are Takeshi Kitano and Paul Thomas Anderson, to say nothing of cinematographer Roger Deakins or actor Jeff Bridges but I could go on forever.) Actually, I feel |
| Rourke is also in a similar boat. I've been a fan of his for awhile now and seeing him give some great new performances is wonderful. The guy's filmography may be spotty in terms of quality but in the mix are also some excellent performances in films like 'Angel Heart', 'Barfly', 'Domino', 'The Animal Factory', 'Sin City' and 'The Pope of Greenwich Village' (amongst others.) Anyway, I was disappointed that Aronofsky was not nominated for an Oscar (he deserved it for 'Requiem for a Dream' several years back) but I was pleased to see Rourke nominated. He certainly deserves it and no disrespect to any of the other nominees but I am routing for him. Anyway, all this incessant babble is my lead in to my review of 'The Wrestler'. It is a great (but sad) film. See the full review HERE. -Nate |
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| 021909 A review of the new 'Friday the 13th'. |
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. . . . . .'Friday the 13th' is making quite the profit and part of a record breaking box office return. The film restarts the 'Friday the 13th' series and is said to be a remake of the original film. This new 'Friday the 13th' is more or less a mishmash remake of the first couple of films, incorporating some material from both. While the film was pretty thin and I can't remember much character or plot, I am still giving it a recommendation for fans of the series or slasher films in general. You will have to “drink the cool aide” as they say, to overlook some of the weaker elements. If you are not a fan, this film will not change your mind. See the full review HERE. -Nate |
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| 021609 My crummy animation in the documentary 'The People vs George Lucas'! |
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. . . . . .Awhile back I had been asked if it would be ok to use some of my crummy 'Real Political Face Talk' animation in a documentary called 'The People vs George Lucas'. Frankly, I was exited to hear that someone wanted to do anything other than throw up on my stuff. The film's release was moved and it is now scheduled for sometime in 2010. However, the trailer for the film was just uploaded to Youtube.com and is available to check out. I didn't have anything to do with the film and I don't know if my animation will be anywhere in the final product but you can see a brief snipit of |
| my stuff roughly 2:09 minutes into the trailer. If you are up for the punishment, you can see all of my 'Real Political Face Talk' animation under the 'Real Political Face Talk Episodes' category to the left. 'The People vs George Lucas' looks interesting and I'm just psyched that my crap ended up in anything! You can see the teaser above or go to the official site HERE. -Nate |
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| 021409 Happy Valentine's day with the early teaser for 'Give 'em Hell, Malone'.... |
. . . . . .I kept forgetting to post about this film and then had some computer issues that further delayed my update. Above you will see an early teaser for the upcoming film 'Give 'em Hell, Malone'. From what I have read online, 'Give 'em Hell, Malone' is an action/ crime drama slated for release this year on April 1rst. (I'm not sure I believe that release date but there is no official site for the movie yet and no way for me to verify when the film will come out.)
. . . . . .'Give 'em Hell, Malone' is directed by Russell Mulcahy and the teaser is composed of some rather fluid looking, hard boiled, action. Thomas Jane stars as the titled Malone and the teaser certainly looks encouraging. There isn't really enough to get a sense of what pace the actual film will be but the trailer certainly boasts some down and dirty action. There are some quick throwbacks to Film Noir (such as a shot of Jane that replicates a shot from 'The Lady From Shanghai' (which oddly enough is being remade by Wong Kar Wai but that is another story.)
. . . . . .I think Jane is perfect for the role of a tough, hard boiled, private detective and I'm hoping this film's action will pack a punch. Jane certainly has played the lead in an action film before ('The Punisher') but I prefer an underrated film he starred in called 'Stander' (reviewed HERE.) The last film I saw by Mulcahy was the third 'Resident Evil' feature and I have to admit, the film was easily my favorite of the series. Anyway, like I said, there is no official site for 'Give 'em Hell, Malone', so in the meantime you can check the IMDb.com page for the film HERE (and for those that are interested, the page for Wong Kar Wai's upcoming film is HERE.) -Nate |
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| 020509 Sean Penn removed from recut 'Crossing Over', possibly without the support writer/director Wayne Kramer. |
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. . . . . . I've been meaning to post about the film 'Crossing Over' for quite a long time now. Filmmaker Wayne Kramer first came to my attention with the excellent film 'The Cooler'. If you haven't seen 'The Cooler' yet and are up for a crime drama, do yourself a favor and give it a try. Kramer wrote and directed the film with skill and his only previous credits listed in IMDb.com are short films. He followed up 'The Cooler' with another, more actiony', crime drama called 'Running Scared'. I enjoyed that film as well (although not as much as 'The Cooler'.) Kramer wrote and directed both films and I have been curious to see what he would do next. That brings me to 'Crossing Over', his most recent outing as both writer and director. Going by IMDb.com, the film appears to be a remake of one of Kramer's two short films.
. . . . . . Now, I had been writing this update and reading a few articles about 'Crossing Over' when I started to notice some oddities. Actually, to be honest, I more or less finished my update when I stumbled upon an article called 'The Agony of the Kramer' by writer Jeffry Wells on his blog 'Hollywood-elsewhere.com' (see it HERE.) Wells writes a sad tale of a movie sitting on the shelf way too long and being recut in rather drastic ways. I haven't seen 'Crossing Over' and really can't speak to how entertaining it is but what Wells talks about is definitely eyebrow raising.
. . . . . . For instance, Sean Penn shot a small supporting role for the film. He is not onscreen long but according to some of the posts I read, it sounds like it was a fairly important part. Penn, it seems, decided that he was not comfortable with some of the story elements in the film and asked to be removed from the film. Not only does it appear that he was taken out but also, according |
| to Wells, the movie was recut against the wishes of Kramer (who supposedly had final cut on the film.) If this is all true where is the Director's Guild of America in all this? Why are they not helping Kramer? |
| . . . . . . To me, the film could be offensive and terrible but if the director has final cut, then that is what he should have. It seems Harvey Weinstein may be involved with the recutting of 'Crossing Over' (his company is releasing it) and I have to say that it is disappointing to read about all of the changes made with out the support of Kramer. I can only hope that, at the very least, Kramer gets a director's cut on the home movie market. I still want to see the film but now want to hear what Kramer has to say about all this before I shell out cash to see it on the big screen. Even worse, the return of Harrison Ford to theaters also is a big draw for me. Ford is one of those actors that brings up memories from my childhood. Seeing him back in cinemas just seems right somehow. (He was the sole reason to see the most recent 'Indiana Jones' film.) |
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| . . . . . . That being said, I am concerned that all the delays and rumors really spell a film that will seem somehow watered down. I do need to say that I am basing this all on the little bits I read about on the Internet thanks to Jeffery Wells writing about the problems. I certainly hope he is wrong but sadly this sounds all too believable. Kramer's previous films certainly had their merits and I was looking forward to what he would do next. If everything is true and his film is crippled and worsened by the studio, I only hope that Kramer gets back on his feet with a follow up feature. Even without Penn 'Crossing Over' still has a strong cast including Ashley Judd, Ray Liotta, and the underrated Cliff Curtis. Currently, 'Crossing Over' is listed as having a February 27th release date. There is only a placeholder page for the film Weinstein's company page HERE. You can see the trailer for 'Crossing Over' in 480p HERE, 702p HERE, and 1080p HERE. My thanks to Jeffery Wells for writing the article, you can see it HERE and his homepage HERE. -Nate |
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| 020209 Super Bowl ads for 'G.I. Joe' and 'Transformers 2' online... |
. . . . . . The Super Bowl hath' come and gone. Pittsburgh won and I hear it was a good game, especially towards the end. (I had to work and didn't get to see it.) So besides the game and the ads, what did I miss out on? Why movie trailers of course! Thankfully, there are many dorks like myself out on the web and some of the trailers are already online. 'G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra' and 'Transformers: Return of the Jedi Revenge of the Fallen' both had trailers durring the game and if you are like me and missed 'em, you can see them below. I can't help myself, I must have the mental capacity of a 6 year old to be posting about these trailers. Michael Bay has returned to direct the follow-up to the first 'Transformers' film and I'm looking forward to all the mechanical mayhem he dish out. If nothing else, Bay can make some entertaining action (I still think 'Bad Boys: II' is something of an underrated action flic'.) Steven Sommers directed the 1999 film 'The Mummy' which I'll admit I enjoyed quite a bit. I can't say the same for its sequels (one of which Sommers directed) or Sommer's film 'Van Helsing' but that is just me. Anyway, the trailers are below and at least I'm not posting about the 'Care Bares' too. Should you want more you can find the official 'G.I. Joe' site HERE and the official 'Transformers' site HERE. (You can also see my review of the first film HERE.) -Nate |
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You can see old updates in the "Old News " section of this site.
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