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Exclusive: 'Big Man Japan' Poster Premiere!
5 December 2008 9:02 AM, PST
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Cinematical has just received this exclusive poster for Big Man Japan, which is part of Magnolia Pictures/Magnet Releasing's Six Shooter Series, and is being described as "Godzilla meets Katamari." Personally, I'm immediately sold on that alone, but for those who need a bit more awesome with their plot descriptions, here ya go: "A middle-aged slacker living in a rundown, graffiti-ridden slum, Daisoto's job involves being shocked by bolts of electricity that transform him into a stocky, stick-wielding giant several stories high who is entrusted with defending Japan from a host of bizarre monsters. But while his predecessors were national heroes, he is a pariah among the citizens he protects, who bitterly complain about the noise and destruction of property he causes. And Daisato has his own problems - an agent insistent on branding him with sponsor advertisements, an Alzheimer-afflicted grandfather who transforms into a giant in dirty underwear,
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Erik Davis
Philip Seymour Hoffman Defends the Titular Notion of 'Doubt'
5 December 2008 8:25 AM, PST
Having just seen the film version of Doubt, based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning play of the same name, I was encouraged to dig up this Defamer post in which Philip Seymour Hoffman goes off on a junket journalist who couldn't help but ask whether or not his priest character had indeed done the dirty with a young boy at his Catholic school.
Don't worry, there aren't any spoilers to be heard there or read here, but believe me when I say that whether or not Hoffman knows the truth is more important than whether or not we, the audience, know. To a greater point, such an admission would dilute only the whole purpose of the film and play, the relentless ambiguity of the story at hand, and Hoffman -- surely having feared this inquiry, and perhaps already having tackled it elsewhere -- clearly suffers no fools.
For my money, though,
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William Goss
'Fanboys' Director Nabs 'Emo Boy'
5 December 2008 7:45 AM, PST
Today is a day for celebration, since it seems director Kyle Newman has finally washed the Weinstein stench off him and landed another gig! The Hollywood Reporter tells us Newman will direct an adaptation of the cult comic book Emo Boy, which is described (in tone) as being like Napoleon Dynamite, Harold and Maude and Zoolander. From the Amazon description: "Poor Emo Boy- he's unpopular. Unloved. He has no family. Not only does he need to deal with things like pondering suicide and questioning his sexual identity, but on top of that he's got these emo super powers that only seem to bring destruction and disaster, causing everyone to hate him more than they already do. His first love suffers a head explosion, the football team wants him dead, and he got an F in English. No wonder he's so depressed!'
Sounds perfect for Newman, who previously helmed the
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Erik Davis
'Hancock 2' On Its Way
5 December 2008 7:02 AM, PST
Superhero movies are like Lay's potato chips (it is Lay's, isn't it?) -- you can never have just one. JoBlo caught up with Will Smith during his press rounds for Seven Pounds, and asked him if we would ever see any more of his reformed superhero, Hancock. The answer? "Definitely."
In fact, Smith is uninterested in ever playing another superhero because there's enough franchise potential in this one. He told JoBlo that there's plenty of unexplored characters in Hancock's universe that would be ripe for a sequel -- and that we'll find out who they are in an eventual sequel. It's not expected for a few years, which is puzzling. It did well at the box office, but it wasn't particularly memorable. In two or three years, will anyone actually remember Hancock enough to flock to a sequel? Won't their brains be overloaded with all those Marvel and DC movies?
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Elisabeth Rappe
Review: Punisher: War Zone
5 December 2008 6:03 AM, PST
Punisher: War Zone is proof of just how tenacious the people at Marvel Comics are. They're going to keep remaking and rebooting their characters' franchises whether anyone likes it or not!
This is the third time they've taken a stab at Frank Castle, aka the Punisher, the sourpuss vigilante who's been murdering villains in comic books for over 30 years. The first film, in 1989, starred Dolph Lundgren. It turned out as well as could be expected, considering it starred Dolph Lundgren. The reboot, in 2004, starred Thomas Jane and was ridiculed by critics and ignored by audiences.
But hey, third time's the charm, right? Punisher: War Zone, which is as laughably campy and violent as ever, follows the same procedure as this summer's Incredible Hulk in that it's not another origin story, but it's not really a sequel to the last entry, either. 2004's Punisher had Castle's entire extended family being murdered; here,
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Eric D. Snider
'Dark Knight' Rerelease -- Standard and IMAX -- Set for January 23rd
5 December 2008 5:15 AM, PST
I was compiling my tentative best-of-the-year list yesterday (there are three or four contenders I have yet to see, but a Cinematical deadline forced me to jump the gun), and surprised myself somewhat by how high I wound up placing The Dark Knight. I loved the movie back in the summer, but my tendency with these films is to geek out initially, then come to my senses after a few weeks. But The Dark Knight stayed with me after two theatrical viewings, and the Oscar campaign Warner Bros. is ramping up suddenly seems like serious business.
If anyone is still on the fence about the film -- or if, God forbid, anyone hasn't seen it -- you'll get another chance to check it out in theaters on January 23rd, according to a press release making the rounds yesterday. There was some speculation just this week that the planned January rerelease
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Eugene Novikov
Cinematical Seven: Best Sequel Replacement Actors
4 December 2008 7:03 PM, PST
I'm hoping that Ray Stevenson will dominate the screen completely as Frank Castle, setting wrongs to right and creating utter mayhem, in Lexi Alexander's Punisher: War Zone, which opens wide tomorrow. I loved Stevenson as Titus Pullo in HBO's Rome, an atypical brute with a little boy's heart and a joyous young man's full-bodied embrace of life. At the very least, he should erase memories of Thomas Jane, who glowered and scowled without ever embodying the role in 2004's The Punisher.
With so many sequels being made, it's inevitable that some actors will not reprise their original role. (Just think of all the fuss kicked up by Don Cheadle taking over the part of War Machine from Terence Howard, in the Iron Man sequel.) Whether it's death, Broadway, pregnancy, caring for a family member, money, or the realization that the sequel will suck, sequel replacement actors face the daunting
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Peter Martin
Review: Cadillac Records
4 December 2008 6:03 PM, PST
Etta James blasts her way through a sad song, but it's not good enough. Leonard Chess taunts her and claims she's not "woman enough" for such a song. Didn't anyone ever walk out on her and leave her heartbroken? Take that and put it in the song, he suggests. She steps up for another take, and -- although she has tears in her eyes now -- it sounds pretty much the same. The main trouble with Cadillac Records is that no one took aside writer/director Darnell Martin with the same advice. Scene after scene, Cadillac Records is thin, flat and rote.
Like all biopics, the new film skims over years and years of history in a brief fling. All the moments are historical; they describe what happened, but not who they happened to. Sometime in the 1940s -- the movie is rarely very clear as to what year it
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Jeffrey M. Anderson
A Quick Peek at the New 'Day the Earth Stood Still' DVD
4 December 2008 5:02 PM, PST
No, not the remake -- although I am getting a little more excited about the flick than I thought I would, plus it's kinda silly to promote discussion on a film that isn't out yet. I'm talking about the original 1951 science fiction classic The Day the Earth Stood Still. (And "original" would really qualify, as this is one of the few genre greats that was based on an original screenplay and not adapted from an outside source.) Wrong-o! (See comments below.)
So it was next week's remake that first got me thinking, but what inspired me to bang out a few words was the brand-new two-disc special edition of Tdtess. (Standard or Blu-Ray!) More specifically, the awesomeness of this new edition. (Oh, and the Blu-Ray comes with a "Make Your Own Theremin Score" and a "Gort Command! Game." Nifty!) Those who own the older DVD will be pleased to note
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Scott Weinberg
Ray Stevenson Sheds Some Light On 'The Book of Eli'
4 December 2008 4:15 PM, PST
The Book of Eli had me halfway when they cast Gary Oldman -- but they got a guaranteed ticket sale from me when they cast Ray Stevenson. I'm disappointed that he's playing another badass assassin type, but hey, at least I'll believe he could kick Denzel Washington's ass.
The plot description has been incredibly dry thus far -- a man named Eli protects a book that may be humanity's salvation, Oldman is the despotic mayor of a struggling town, Mila Kunis is an assassin sent to kill Eli, but who ends up joining him. But we have a little more, courtesy of its newest cast member. Stevenson sat down with Reelz Channel, and shed a little more light on the bleak future this film will inhabit. "The world in which it is set is completely uncompromising. The most precious commodity is actually water, because virtually all of the water is poison,
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Elisabeth Rappe
Mark Romanek Finally Nabs a New Gig
4 December 2008 3:32 PM, PST
One of the most disappointing pieces of news this year was that Mark Romanek was dropping out of The Wolf Man. While I was never too fond of One Hour Photo, this is the man who brought us videos like "Closer," "Rain," "Cochise," "Criminal," and even that heart-breaking Johnny Cash cover of "Hurt." (Just seeing June look at him in that -- so powerful.)
Now, finally, he's picked up a new gig -- almost a full year later. /film posts that Production Weekly has reported that Romanek has signed on to helm a film adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go. Named a best novel by Time magazine, the book focuses on a woman who begins to remember her time at a private school as a few of her old friends come back into her life. "But she describes other scenes as well: of discord and misunderstanding that
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Monika Bartyzel
Russell Brand Eyeing 'Arthur' Remake
4 December 2008 2:45 PM, PST
So you remember those rumors a few weeks back that Russell Brand was signing up as Johnny Depp's 'heir apparent' in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise? Well, it looks like Brand might be playing a charming drunk, but it's not going to be as part of the Sparrow clan. The Hollywood Reporter announced that Brand has started putting together a remake of the 1981 Dudley Moore comedy, Arthur, for Warner Brothers (with an eye of making it a starring vehicle).
The original starred Moore as a boozy playboy who will only inherit his massive fortune on the condition that he marries an heiress selected by his family. When he falls for Liza Minnelli (in the form of a working class woman) he turns to his valet (John Gielgud) for help when forced to choose between money and love.
After making a splash in Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Brand started lining
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Jessica Barnes
400 Screens, 400 Blows - Everyone Has His Reasons
4 December 2008 2:02 PM, PST
400 Screens, 400 Blows is a weekly column that takes an in-depth look at the films playing below the radar, beneath the top ten, and on 400 screens or less.
Filmmaker Jean Renoir, the son of painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir, is inarguably one of the great cinematic poets. He established a fluid, almost unobtrusive style that allowed him to burrow directly into the souls of his characters. In his most acclaimed film, The Rules of the Game (1939), he appears as a kind of buffoonish party guest, and speaks a line of dialogue that has come to be associated with the real-life filmmaker and all his films: "Everyone has his reasons."
Just this week I caught up with Philippe Claudel's directorial debut I've Loved You So Long (52 screens), which some critics have compared to Jonathan Demme's Rachel Getting Married (216 screens). Both films feature contenders for Best Actress, both try to concentrate on human
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Jeffrey M. Anderson
2009 Sundance Film Fest Announces Non-Competition Films!
4 December 2008 1:20 PM, PST
Yesterday we shared with you the competition slate for the 2009 Sundance Film Festival, which, depending on the paper you read, was full of the dark and disturbing or the sad and melodramatic. Good to know we'll be smiling in the cold mountains of Utah come January. Today, the Sundance Institute has announced their non-competition films; this includes the Premieres section, which is usually full of studio flicks -- stuff that's set to debut in theaters the following month or so, and films that feature big stars; the big guns. Then we have the Spectrum section (with 16 dramatic films and seven docs), the Midnight section (eight films), and the Frontier section (six films).
Among the ones that stand out to me at first glance are:
I Love You Philip Morris (Premiere), with Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor playing prison lovers. Adventureland - The director of Superbad follows that flick up with
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Erik Davis
Fan Made: The Dark Campaign
4 December 2008 1:02 PM, PST
In an effort to reach those Academy voters who haven't a clue what The Dark Knight is or was or could potentially become, folks have kick-started something called The Dark Campaign -- a site dedicated to getting their favorite film of the year a little recognition come Oscar time. Personally, I'm not sure what an Oscar nod or two could add to this film's resume, especially since it definitely doesn't need the money. Not only is The Dark Knight approaching $1 billion at the box office, but chances are it will also become the year's hottest-selling DVD when it arrives in stores next week. Obviously it's a popular movie. Obviously a lot of people really dug it. Obviously the Academy could use its massive following to bolster ratings. So even if voters decide not to reward this Batman sequel for all its accomplished, something tells me the flick's already made its mark and done its job.
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Erik Davis
A Message for Hollywood -- Go Romance Some Other Stone!
4 December 2008 12:15 PM, PST
As I sit here in the middle of the night, three remakes hit the wire. Is there something in the air? All are annoying, and I'm sure some of the other lovely Cinematical writers will deal with them, so I'm going to stick with Kathleen and Michael.
The Hollywood Reporter posts that Fox wants to bring Romancing the Stone back to the big screen. Kathleen Turner. Michael Douglas. Danny Devito. If you don't remember, or know (sacrilege!), the film focuses on a romance novelist who goes to Colombia to deliver a package and free her kidnapped sister, but she ends up in a jungle with the sexy Jack T. Colton and heads off on an adventure that brings thrills as much as romance.
Isn't there some other stone they could romance? Couldn't Fox merely take the basic idea and run with it? Why bother taking the exact story and try
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Monika Bartyzel
Viggo Mortensen On 'Good', 'The Road', and 'The Hobbit'
4 December 2008 11:32 AM, PST
Interviews with Viggo Mortensen are a rather rare and wonderful thing -- or at least ones that don't get all coy and snarky over his remarkable intelligence and publishing company. So, when I saw Capone's interview with Mortensen over at Ain't It Cool News, I had to share it with you all.
His thoughts on the upcoming Good are too long and interesting to crop and paste here -- but what I will post is his disappointment over The Road being delayed. Despite starring in the film, he is unsure what's going on with it. "My understanding is that they know that they've got a story that a lot of people want to see, because of the book. And, the people that read the book, which are many, were very moved by it and by this relationship between this boy and this man, in particular, in that setting. And, I
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Elisabeth Rappe
Holiday Movie Junk: 'I Am Legend' Ultimate Collector's Edition
4 December 2008 10:45 AM, PST
Since it looks like we're going to get some sort of I Am Legend prequel or sequel down the road, leading to what could be a new, hip movie franchise featuring Will Smith, why not spend some time this holiday season with the newer original remake (that sounds weird, right?), and learn a bit more about the mythology behind the film. I know a lot of people aren't too keen on I Am Legend (The Smith Version), though I kinda dug it on my first viewing. Granted, I didn't see the film until it hit Blu-ray last year, and I watched it with the alternate (and better, in my opinion) ending, but ultimately I thought it was a fine, entertaining little creepshow.
Those willing to give the film a second chance (or watch it for the first time) might want to dive into this pretty nifty Ultimate Collector's Edition, in
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Erik Davis
'They Live' Again in Remake Form
4 December 2008 10:03 AM, PST
Once you've remade John Carpenter's Halloweeen and The Fog, where else do you go? We've been hearing about an Escape from New York re-do for quite some time now, and we all know it's just a matter of time before someone re-remakes The Thing -- but what else? Starman? Could be. Big Trouble in Little China? Please, no. Prince of Darkness? Ye gods, no!
But They Live? Hmm, now there's a Carpenter favorite that actually Could be good-lookin' in a shiny new suit. That's not a knock in the 1988 original, but I think the themes and ideas found in They Live could work extra-well in a modernized version. (For those who don't know, They Live is about decent homeless dude who happens to stumble across an outrageously elaborate "alien invasion.") Based on the Ray Nelson short story Eight O'Clock in the Morning, They Live has a fantastic concept and
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Scott Weinberg
Sneak The New 'Terminator: Salvation' Trailer
4 December 2008 9:20 AM, PST
There's a brand spanking new Terminator: Salvation trailer arriving next week in front of The Day the Earth Stood Still, and Entertainment Tonight (along with director McG) will introduce it to the world next Tuesday on TV (we assume it will appear online at the same time). But before it arrives in full, Et did a little sneak preview of the trailer last night and that little sucker squirmed its way online today. There's not a whole lot to go by, but I'm definitely interested in learning more about the giant robot that shows up to play house at the end. Check out the preview below, then let us know what you think of the flick so far. Will McG come through with a special sorta sequel, or are you still not feeling it?
Terminator: Salvation strikes on May 22.
Filed under: Action, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Fandom, Movie Marketing, Remakes and Sequels,
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Erik Davis
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