Future Film Round-up

January 29th, 2008

- The Dark Knight executive producer Michael Uslan has revealed that the next Christian Bale Batman film should hit theatres in 2011.
- Paramount has let lapse their rights to Torso, about the life of Eliot Ness (The Untouchables) after he captured Al Capone. David Fincher had been attached.
- Paramount has also let lapse the rights to the Tomb Raider movies, and warner Bros are now planning a reboot of the series. No directors, writers, or stars are yet attached.
- Fox will release the A-Team in June of 2010. Joe Carnahan (Narc) will direct. If there is a god, Mr. T will have a cameo.
- Filming has started on Tintin, from director Steven Spielberg. Jamie Bell will be Tintin. The film will be released in 2011.
- Disney has decided not to finance and release the third Narnia film, Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Trader, so Fox has now stepped in to take over the series.

Sharks In Venice

I will do everything in my power to acquire this movie and screen it.

Upcoming movies in the next week

It's not the greatest batch this week, especially at the chain theatres, but there some things of interest. If none of these interest you, and they may not, then it also gives you a chance to catch up with some of teh great films still in town, like The Wrestler, Milk, Revolutionary Road, etc..

Anyways,


Wednesday

Sick Nurses
The Mayfair brings you more extreme Asian cinema.




Friday

Liam Neeson stars in Taken, from producer Luc Besson. Neeson plays a hitman/kipnap recovery expert who’s daughter is kidnapped … so he goes to recover her. Supposedly a good little action flick.




The Uninvited
If I asked you where The Uninvited was derived from, wouldn’t you be an idiot not to say, “it’s a remake of an Asian horror film from 5 years ago, but not as good.”? Yes, you would be an idiot.




New In Town
Renee Zellwegger tries to prove she’s still a viable romantic comedy lead. Hopefully she will be proven wrong. (I’ve backed off on my certainty about these things after having been wrong about Kevin James for two straight weeks.


The Class
The winner of the 2008 Palme D’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, about a teacher who aims to reach a class of trouble impoverished youth. Sure, maybe you’ve seen that exact film before, but have you ever seen it in French?




Saving Luna is a Canadian documentary about a young orca who gets separated from its family/pod off Vancouver Island.




Visitor Q
Yet more Asian extreme cinema, from Takashi Miike.




Saturday

James Bond continues at the Mayfair

Octopussy
The point where the Bond producers got just a little TOO cheeky with the Bond girl names.




A View To A Kill
This, on paper, should be the greatest Bond film, because the villain is played by none other than Christopher Walken. But … it’s really not that good. Roger Moore’s last stint as Bond.




Vigilante
This month’s edition of Saturday Night Sinema, the first since the change of management at the Mayfair. The screening is free to all member of the Mayfair, so it may be busy/sold out. Get there early.




Sunday

West Side Story
The 1961 Academy Award for Best Picture winner, this is the musical redoing of Romeo & Juliet, but with dancing. Sharks vs. Jets, take your pick.




Monday

Labyrinth
David Bowie, pre-teen Jennifer Connelly, and Jim Henson puppetry. Need I say more?

Screening # 4: The Proposition

The Proposition (2006, John Hillcoat)
1 hour 44 minutes

This week's screening is the Australian Western film, The Proposition from director John Hillcoat and written by musician Nick Cave. The film stars Guy Pearce, Ray WInstone, Danny Huston, and Emily Watson. Ray Winstone is a lawman assigned to the Australian outback who offers to spare the life of Guy Pearce's younger brother if he'll turn in his older brother, a notorious and murderous outlaw, played by Danny Huston. This is a great modern western, a bloody look at the untamed Australian outback.

This Thursday Night, January 29th, at 9 pm. Come check it out at my place, in 1080p blu-ray High Definition.

Seriously, what the hell are you watching?

Steph and I headed to Silvercity this weekend to see Slumdog Millionaire, because she hadn't seen it, and the experience proved that although I'm convinced my tastes are better than most, they're obviously not in line with the masses. While buying tickets, I looked up at the board to make sure Slumdog wasn't sold out, and it wasn't. In fact, in a theatre showing many good and great films including Slumdog, Revolutionary Road, The Dark Knight, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Valkyrie, and other interesting possibilities like Seven Pounds, Gran Torino, and Defiance, there were only two films that sold out on Saturday night:

Bride Wars
and
Paul Blart: Mall Cop

Are you fucking kidding me? Why do people watch this shit? I'm honestly curious. help me out.

Academy Award Nominations

This year's (or last year's, technically) Oscar nominatiosn were announced this morning. Here they are, along with my pick for what was sorely missing:

Best Picture
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
“Frost/Nixon”
“Milk”
“The Reader”
“Slumdog Millionaire”

missing: The Dark Knight


Best Director
David Fincher, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
Ron Howard, “Frost/Nixon”
Gus Van Sant, “Milk”
Stephen Daldry, “The Reader”
Danny Boyle, “Slumdog Millionaire”

missing: Chris Nolan, The Dark Knight


Best Actor
Richard Jenkins, “The Visitor”
Frank Langella, “Frost/Nixon”
Sean Penn, “Milk”
Brad Pitt, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
Mickey Rourke, “The Wrestler”

missing: Leonardo Dicaprio, Revolutionary Road


Best Actress
Anne Hathaway, “Rachel Getting Married”
Angelina Jolie, “Changeling”
Melissa Leo, “Frozen River”
Meryl Streep, “Doubt”
Kate Winslet, “The Reader”

missing: Cate Blanchett, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button


Best Supporting Actor
Josh Brolin, “Milk”
Robert Downey Jr., “Tropic Thunder”
Phillip Seymour Hoffman, “Doubt”
Heath Ledger, “The Dark Knight”
Michael Shannon, “Revolutionary Road”

missing: James Franco, Milk


Best Supporting Actress
Amy Adams, “Doubt”
Penelope Cruz, “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”
Viola Davis, “Doubt”
Taraji P. Henson, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
Marisa Tomei, “The Wrestler”

missing: Emily Watson, RedBelt


Best Adapted Screenplay
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
“Doubt”
“Frost/Nixon”
“The Reader”
“Slumdog Millionaire”

missing: Chris Nolan & Jon Nolan, The Dark Knight


Best Original Screenplay
“Frozen River”
“Happy-Go-Lucky”
“In Bruges”
“Milk”
“WALL-E”

missing: Woody Allen, Vicky Cristina Barcelona


Best Animated Feature Film
“Bolt”
“Kung Fu Panda”
“WALL-E”

missing: Waltz With Bashir


Best Foreign Language Film
“The Baader Meinhof Complex”
“The Class”
“Depatures”
“Revanche”
“Waltz with Bashir”

missing: Let The Right One In


Best Documentary Feature
“The Betrayal (Nerkhoon)”
“Encounters at the End of the World”
“The Garden”
“Man on Wire”
“Trouble the Water”

missing: My Winnipeg


Best Art Direction
“Changeling”
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
“The Dark Knight”
“The Duchess”
“Revolutionary Road”

missing: The Wrestler


Best Cinematography
“Changeling”
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
“The Dark Knight”
“The Reader”
“Slumdog Millionaire”

missing: Encounters At The End Of The World


Best Costume Design
“Australia”
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
“The Duchess”
“Milk”
“Revolutionary Road”

missing: The Dark Knight


Best Film Editing
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
“The Dark Knight”
“Frost/Nixon”
“Milk”
“Slumdog Millionaire”

missing: Synecdoche, NY


Best Makeup
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
“The Dark Knight”
“Hellboy II: The Golden Army”

missing: Synecdoche, NY


Best Music (Original Score)
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
“Defiance”
“Milk”
“Slumdog Millionaire”
“WALL-E”

missing: The Dark Knight


Best Music (Original Song)
“Slumdog Millionaire”
“Slumdog Millionaire”
“WALL-E”

missing: The Wrestler, by Bruce Springsteen


Best Sound Editing
“The Dark Knight”
“Iron Man”
“Slumdog Millionaire”
“WALL-E”
“Wanted”

missing: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button


Best Sound Mixing
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
“The Dark Knight”
“Slumdog Millionaire”
“WALL-E”
“Wanted”

missing: Iron Man


Best Visual Effects
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
“The Dark Knight”
“Iron Man”

missing: Hellboy II


Best Documentary Short Subject
“The Conscience of Nhem En”
“The Final Inch”
“Smile Pinki”
“The Witness - From the Balcony of Room 306″

Best Short Film (Animated)
“La Maison de Petits Cubes”
“Lavatory - Lovestory”
“Oktapodi”
“Presto”
“This Way Up”

Best Short Film (Live Action)“Auf der Strecke (On the Line)”
“Manon on the Asphault”
“New Boy”
“The Pig”
“Spielzeugland (Toyland)”

Future Film Round-up

- Keanu Reeves has been confirmed a live-action version of the Anime sci-fi classic Cowboy –Bebop. Keanu Reeves in a futuristic sci-fi film … why hasn’t anyone thought of that before?

- Warner Bros. and Fox have confirmed a settlement with regards to The Watchmen, so the release will happen as planned on March 3rd.

- In October, Joaquin Phoenix announced his retirement from acting, and has embarked on a music career, with his first album to be produced by Sean Combs/P. Diddy/Puff Daddy/whatever. Casey Affleck (who happens to be Phoenix’s brother-in-law) has now announced that he will be making a documentary about Joaquin’s music venture. Just remember, though, Joaquin Phoenix also retired from acting once before, after his older brother River’s untimely death.

- Philip Seymour Hoffman will be making his directorial debut with Jack Goes Boating, based on the off-Broadway play. Hoffman will also co-star with Amy Ryan.

- Jim Sheridan will direct Black Mass, about collusion between the Irish Mob and the FBI. The film will be loosely based on the life of Whitey Bulger, who also partially inspired Jack Nicholson’s character in The Departed.

- Roland Emmerich (Stargate, Independence Days, and hours of crap since then) will be directing Foundation, based on the Isaac Asimov stories.

- Staying with Emmerich, his latest disaster film 2012 has been moved from July 10th, 2009 to November 13th.

Upcoming movies in the next week

Hey all; not quite the load we had last week, but there’s still some more interesting films opening this week, plus one big one that’s returning. Let’s get to it.

Wednesday

Not Quite Hollywood
This documentary about the Australian Exploitation Film Industry is playing ahead of the third Mad Max movie at the Mayfair Wednesday through Friday. Not sure what else it will cover, although it will hopefully mention a small film called Sleeping Dogs, the first feature from Roger Donaldson and the debut role of Sam Neill (Jurassic Park).




Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome
The third, and in my opinion weakest, of the Mad Max films, this flic is also the beginning and the end of Tina Turner’s film career. Probably better known for inspiring a Tupac video than anything else.





Friday

Sukiyaki Western Django
At the Mayfair, from Japanese horror master Takashi Miike, the film is done in English, and features director Quentin Tarantino.




Inkheart
Brendan Fraser is going on an adventure, but not to find Mummies or to the centre of the earth. Nope ... ANOTHER adventure.




Underworld: Rise of the Lycans
Not only could they not get Kate Beckinsale, even though her husband is directing, the studio also couldn’t bring themselves to advertize that fact. Sad, and shameful. Skip it, go see Let The Right One In. You’ll thank me.




The Dark Knight comes back to the Imax screen at Silvercity. If you haven’t seen it in this format, go check it out, it may be your last chance. Plus, it only needs to make another 5 million dollars to reach the 1 Billion mark Worldwide.





Saturday

The Mayfair continues its James Bond Festival with a few more films this weekend.

On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
George Lazenby had the shortest Bond stint of anyone, but many people consider this one of the best.




For Your Eyes Only
After Connery and Lazenby came Roger Moore, who made more official Bond films than anyone. And in honour of the NHL All-Star game, this is the Bond film where he gets attacked by an evil hockey goalie at a mountain resort.




Jack Brooks Monster Slayer
This is a local horror from Brookstreet films, and the filmmakers will be in attendance at the Mayfair on Saturday night.




32 Short Films About Glenn Gould
At the Canadian Film Institute on Saturday they will be playing the Genie Award winning film, starring Colm Feore as the genius Canadian pianist.





Sunday

Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
The Mayfair’s Sunday family movie this week is this Gene Wilder classic of the 1970s, based on Roald Dahl novel. No Johnny Depp anywhere in sight.





Monday

Best of the Banff Film Festival
If For Your Eyes Only wet your appetite for mountain sports, you can check out these films Monday and Tuesday at the Bytowne.




Plus on Tuesday, the Mayfair is playing the two Daniel Craig Bond films back to back, Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace.

Have fun!

We Can Be Happy Here

Revolutionary Road
2008, dir. Sam Mendes. 1 hour 59 minutes
Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, Michael Shannon, Kathy Bates

In 1999, British theatre director made his film debut with American Beauty, a film about, among other things, suburban ennui. The film won the Academy Award for Best Picture, and since then, suburban ennui has been seedy ground for many a film, from We Don't Live Here Anymore to Life As A House to The Ice Storm to Little Children. It's said that original book that started this whole genre in Richard Yates' 1961 novel Revolutionary Road, which has now been made into a film by none other than Sam Mendes.

Leo and Kate, in their first appearance together since Titanic 11 years ago, star as a young couple who start out with dreams of high life, but end up in the Connecticut suburbs with a cookie cutter house and cookie cutter lives, just like every one else.
The happy facade has slowly fallen away over the course of almost a decade, and they decide to move to Paris. They even have passage booked on a steamboat (not that anyone wants to be on a boat with DiCaprio and Winslet), but as often happens, best laid plans ...

The two leads give as good performances you're going to see this year, but the film is just so relenting in its misery that it's hard to feel good about what you're watching. It's likely than everyone watching will be uncomfortable because either a) they don't want to become like this couple, or b) they're worried they already are. The best performance comes from Michael Shannon, who plays a young man from a mental institution who tries to befriend the couple. His character is only person in the film who is perceived as not normal within the world of the story, yet it is only her who can truly articulate the obvious truths of every other character. In any year that Heath Ledger hadn't accidentally killed himself AND played The Joker, Michael Shannon would be winning an Academy Award. If you can stomach it, this is a film to see, but it's not a good time, and probably not a date movie.

4 stars out of 5.

Saw Sunday night with Steph and Paddy at the World Exchange.

If You Don't Invite Me, I Can't Come In

Let The Right One In
2008, dir. Tomas Alfredson. 1 hour 55 minutes

Supposedly, Bram Stoker's novel Dracula was the first book to ever have its film rights sold to a motion picture studio, and its said that Dracula is the most filmed fictional character in cinema. Combine that with all the films about vampires that don;t include Dracula, and its clear that vampires are very popular material indeed. The latest literary (and now cinematic) fad are the Twilight novels (if you haven't read them, then congratulations, you're not a 13 year old girl). Now, from Sweden, also based on a best-selling novel, is the film Let The Right One In, and it is one of the best vampire films ever made, because it eschews all the classic (and thus cliched) aspects of the vampire tale and replaces them with the chilling realism of what it is to be undead.

The film is about a young 12 year old boy, Oskar, who is an outcast and loner in school, frequently the target of sadistic bullies. A similarly-aged girl, Eli, moves into Oskar's apartment building, and Oskar slowly befriends her, despite her reservations. She resists, because although Eli is 12 years old, she has been 12 for a very very long time. This relationship between the two young outcasts looking for friendship at the cusp of adolescence is at the heart of the story; Oskar feels like he'll never grow up and escape it all, and Eli KNOWS she won't.

Let The Right One In's strengths are in what other films may think of weaknesses. Instead of artificial looking CGI and special effects, This film uses camera angles and other optical effects to give the impression of things like a vampires power to fly without actually having to show it. You think you see it, which is sometimes better than having actually seen it. The two young actors feel intensely believable in their roles, and the film retains enough gore and thrills to please to usual horror fans, too. Hopefully, people can overcome any resistance to subtitles they may have and go check out this film.

5 stars out of 5.

Steph and I saw this at the Bytowne on Friday night.

This Could Be My Ticket Back To The Top

The Wrestler
2008, dir. Darren Aronofsky
starring Mickey Rourke, Marisa Tomei, Evan Rachel Wood

I saw one review for The Wrestler that said, "Witness the resurrection of Mickey Rourke," and I don't think anyone could have put it any better. After years of small roles and b-movies with cookie cutter performances, Rourke has again showed the kind of acting skill he routinely displayed twenty years ago. In the film, Rourke plays the eponymous character named Randy The Ram Robinson, a wrestler once at the top of the game in the 1980s, but who has, with age, fallen to wrestling in community centres and high school gymnasiums for a couple hundred bucks at a time. His body, and spirit, are broken from the toll pro wrestling takes on a person, almost every person, who has ever been in the industry. After a heart attack, Rourke is told he must quit, and he does try, but he finds he has no other place in this world than in the ring, and is drawn back in for a rematch of a classic main event battle he had in the 80s.

Supporting Rourke are Marisa Tomei as a stripper that Randy is friendly with, and Wood and Randy's estranged daughter. Tomei's character Cassidy, like Randy, is also a performer in an industry that does not bode well for the aging, and who also finds that she must move on, but proves to have a bit more strength to do so, probably because she has some family left, whereas Rourke really doesn't. Wood, as Randy's daughter Stephanie, has all but given up on him, basically because he all but gave up on her when she was growing up. Randy tries to reconnect with Stephanie after his heart attack, but finds that his problems still prevent him from fully taking responsibility for his relationship with his daughter.

The Wrestler is only the fourth film from Darren Aronofsky, and although it may not seem to have anything in common with Pi, Requiem For A Dream, and The Fountain, at the heart of it, all are about the failings of the body holding back the strength of the mind. Rourke, like the protagonists of those other films, has desires of greatness, but is held back by his weaknesses and the passages of time, which are inescapable for us all. Rourke is any many ways a doppelganger for Randy, but hopefully this performance will allow him to escape those trappings.

5 stars out of 5

Seen Friday night at the Bytowne with Steph, Paddy, and Gary. Had some popcorn and a diet Pepsi.

Future Film Round-up

A new feature to this blog, every Wednesday or so I’ll put up some notes on developing films to be released in the future, whether in 6 months or a few years from now. I’m only going to put stuff that’s been confirmed by the filmmakers themselves, as I’m not terribly interested in rumours and such. So, news for this week:

- Director McG (Charlie’s Angels, Terminator Salvation) is making a new version of 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, and he wants Will Smith to star in it.

- A hearing between Warner Bros. and Twentieth Century Fox to decide the future of The Watchmen has been cancelled, which probably means that a settlement has been reached, and the film was be released as scheduled on March 6th.

- Getting back to the Smith family, Jaden Smith, Will’s son, is playing the lead in a new version of the Karate Kid, and now Jackie Chan has been cast as Mr. Miyagi. Pat Morita was nominated for an Oscar when he played the role, so we’ll see. Personally, I actually think Jackie Chan makes a good choice.

- A new version of John Steinbeck’s novel East of Eden is being developed, to be directed by Tom Hooper, who made this year’s John Adams mini-series for HBO. It promises to be more faithful than the 1955 version starring James Dean, which only covered The fourth and last section of Steinbeck’s novel.

- Apparently, there is a biopic of Steve McQueen in the works. Maybe they’ll explain why his car loses 6 hubcaps during the car chase from Bullitt.

- Johnny Depp is scheduled to start filming The Run Diary this March, based on the book by Hunter S. Thompson. Bruce Robinson is directing.

- Andrew Stanton, director of Finding Nemo and Wall-E will be moving to live action and directing John Carter of Mars, based on the books by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Though it will be live action, expect a considerable amount of CGI, so in the end, it shouldn’t look much different than Wall-E.

- Steven Spielberg should start filming Lincoln this year, starring Liam Neeson as the theatre-hating President of the United States.

- And finally for this week, Mickey Rourke and Sam Rockwell have been cast as villains in Iron Man 2, with Rourke as Crimson Dynamo and Sam Rockwell as Justin Hammer.

What Would Jesus NOT Do?

Choke
2008, dir. Clark Gregg. 89 minutes.
Starring Sam Rockwell, Anjelica Huston, Kelly MacDonald, Bijou Phillips, and Clark Gregg.

Choke is the story of Victor, played by Sam Rockwell, who dropped out of medical school to support his Alzheimer's-afflicted mother (Anjelica Huston), but frequently abandoned him throughout his childhood and would then kidnap him from his various foster homes. Victor is also a sex addicted, and we see various quick flashes of all the women he's had sex with as he sees them again in the hallways of his mother's hospital, or at the Colonial Recreation Park where we works. To pay for his mother's medical care, Victor pretends to choke on food at restaurants, after which the people who rescue him feel obliged to send him money from time to time. If I ever give you the Heimlich maneuver, don't expect a cheque afterwards. In fact, you should be writing me a cheque.

I have to confess that I have not read Choke, the novel by Chuck Palahniuk, but I have read some of his other novels, such as Survivor and Fight Club. So after watching the film version of Choke, I have the distinct impression that what I saw on screen was not a completely accurate adaptation of Palahniuk's novel. To give you an idea of what I mean, imagine if David Fincher had changed the end of Fight Club (the movie) so that Edward Norton realized he was Tyler Durden, and this gave him a new lease on life which allowed him to reacquire all his success, get his job and old apartment back, and become a well-adjusted member of society. I'm thinking that film would not have had the same impact. But that is how I'm guessing actor Clark Gregg, in his screenwriting and directorial debut, has changed Choke. It ends with a message, yet as Gary said to me after the movie was over, "I'm not sure it's supposed to."

That all of course leads to a few questions of film reviewing in general. One is, can you (or should you) review a film based on how it's different than its origin novel, especially if you haven't read that novel? I want to say no, whether you read the novel or not, because deep down I feel a film should be critiqued on its own merits, and not on any external sources. That said, this lingering feeling that Choke was missing something will not go away. And since I have some experience reading novels by Mr. Palahniuk, I can't help but thinking that there is far more to the novel than there is to the film. Is that fair to the film? Maybe not. But on a more selfish note, if there is stuff missing, is the film fair to the audience?

Leaving that feeling aside for a minute, I will say that despite its patchiness, Choke is a very funny, sometimes off-puttingly so, film. I laughed out loud throughout the film, and never got bored of it (though no 89 minute film should ever bore you). Sam Rockwell is always better when he plays weird or off-balanced characters, and he's no different here. Anjelica Huston in particular impressed me, and I thought that this was some of her best work in years. In the end though, I think the acting elevated a weak script and even weaker direction by Clark Gregg, who gave it a good try, but should probably stick with acting, where I've always liked his work.

2 1/2 stars out of 5

Saw Choke Tuesday night at the Mayfair (where the heat was working better) with Gary, Kris and Ryan. Had some popcorn and a can of diet Pepsi.

Upcoming movies in the next week

There are a whopping 18 new films choices this week, plus several good choices still in theatres. If you like movies, you can't complain this weekend that there's nothing for you.


Wednesday

On Wednesday the Mayfair brings us two more extreme Asian flicks, Machine Girl and Tokyo Gore Police. They’re playing back to back on Wednesday and Thursday, and late night screenings on Friday and Saturday. I’m told that Tokyo Gore Police is the most offensive film ever made. I’ve read that in several places. It says you should imagine the most offensive thing you can think of, get used to that, and you’ll still be grossly offended by Tokyo Gore Police. So … you know … leave the kids at home.

Machine Girl




Tokyo Gore Police





Friday

Ballast premieres at the Mayfair on Friday. The story of how one person’s suicide affects the lives of three other people, set in Mississippi, Ballast won awards at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival and is nominated for Best Picture at the Independent Spirit Awards.




Confessions of a Porn Addict is a film from Spencer Rice, of Kenny vs. Spenny. It’s about a porn addict. At the Mayfair.




Let The Right One In.
Fuck Twilight, critics are raving about this Swedish film about a young pre-teen vampire. Apparently it is very very good AND very very creep. Premieres at the Bytowne.




Also up for Best Picture at the Independent Spirit Awards, and recent winner of the Golden Globe for Best Song (Bruce Springsteen) and Best Actor (Mickey Rourke), The Wrestler opens this Friday at the Bytowne. From Darren Aronofsky, director of Pi, Requiem For A Dream, and The Fountain.




Defiance opens at theatres everywhere on Friday. It is the story of a set of Jewish brothers who decide to fight back against the Nazis and the German Army. Directed by Edward Zwick (Glory, Legends of the Fall, Last Samurai) and starring Daniel Craig and Liev Schreiber.




Revolutionary Road is the latest film from director Sam Mendes (American Beauty) from the novel by Richard Yates. The grandfather of all stories of suburban angst, it is also the reunion of Titanic stars Leonardo Dicaprio and Kate Winslet, who won the Best Actress Golden Globe for her performance. Playing exclusively at World Exchange.




Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson grabbed Golden Globe nominations for their parts in a romantic comedy for the older set, Last Chance Harvey.




If you like your horror remade, rehashed, and in 3-D, you can check out My Bloody Valentine 3D. 3D glasses will be provided to you outside the theatre.




The life and death of rapper Notorious BIG come sto the screen in Notorious. Also portrayed are Tupac Shakur, Puff Daddy, and Lil' Kim.




Kevin James desperately tries to eke out a film career with Paul Blart: Mall Cop. He will most likely fail, deservedly so.




And … someone made a film called Hotel For Dogs. I don’t even know what to say.





Saturday

On Saturday, the Mayfair begins its James Bond Film Festival begins with the very first two Bond adventures, Dr. No and From Russian With Love. Also playing on Monday. These films are two for the price of one (so for members of the Mayfair, that’s $2.50 a film if you see both. That’s cheaper than renting them, and more fun.)

Dr. No




From Russia With Love





Sunday

Mayfair’s Sunday family movie is Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, from the novel by James Bond author Ian Fleming.





Monday

On Monday night, The Bytowne is showing the 1960 Academy Award Best Picture winner The Apartment, from director Billy Wilder, and starring Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine, and Fred MacMurray.





Tuesday

Mean Streets, Martin Scorsese’s breakthrough hit from 1972 (and also the picture that launched the careers of Harvey Keitel and Robert Deniro) plays on Tuesday night at the Mayfair. It’s also playing next Saturday in a late night screening.




Also playing this weekend in case you missed them before are Vicky Cristina Barcelona (this year’s Best Comedy at the Golden Globes) at the Bytowne, and RocknRolla at the Mayfair.

Have fun!

Golden Globes Results

FILM

Best Picture, Drama: Slumdog Millionaire
Best Picture, Comedy Musical: Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Best Director: Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire
Best Actor, Drama: Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler
Best Actress, Drama: Kate Winslet, Revolutionary Road
Best Supporting Actor: Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight
Best Supporting Actress: Kate Winslet, The Reader
Best Screenplay: Simon Beaufoy: Slumdog Millionaire
Best Foreign Language Film: Waltz With Bashir
Best Animated Feature: WALL·E
Best Actor, Musical/Comedy: Colin Farrell
Best Actress, Musical/Comedy: Sally Hawkins, Happy-Go-Lucky
Best Original Score: A.R. Rahman, Slumdog Millonaire
Best Original Song: Bruce Springsteen, The Wrestler

Steph got 10 of 14 correct, whereas I only got 5, so props to her.

Dancing Ain't F__King

Showgirls
1995, Paul Verhoeven, 131 minutes.
Starring Elizabeth Berkley, Kyle MacLachlan, Gina Gershon, Glenn Plumber

As a disclaimer, I should say that I carry more respect for filmmakers who try really hard and take risks in the hopes of making a good film, but fail, than I do for directors and producers who make merely make by-the-numbers films that always ok. When I played baseball, I always swung as a hard as I could. Most of the time, I struck out. Occasionally, I hit home runs. Some people hit the ball everytime, but never got more than a single.

Showgirls is for me in the upper pantheon of cinematic swings for the fences, up there with Heaven's Gate, A.I. Artificial Intelligence, and Spike Lee's 2004 film She Hate Me. Don't get me wrong, Showgirls is an awful film, but underneath its dreck, I feel that there are massive piles of potential.

Starring Saved By the Bell sweetheart Elizabeth Berkley, Showgirls is about a girl who hitches in to Las Vegas with only a suitcase to her name, and within an hour has even less than that. Her dream is to become a dancer in one the extravagant Casino dance shows, but of course ends up at a sleazy strip club. A series of chance encounters eventually gets her a shot at the big show, where she eventually realizes how much the classy dance performance, the strip club, and even prostitution are all really the same thing.

Don't kid yourself, the film is truly awful, and is known as much for being the highest grossing NC-17 film of all time as for anything else. Berkley can't act, that's for sure, but I can't help think that beyond Berkley's piss poor lead performance, and the occasionally painful dialogue, the film does get across exactly what it is trying to say about Las Vegas, and by extension, the entertainment industry as a whole. It's probably not inconceivable that the Hollywood system is not different, and I think that that may have hit too close to home for many people, which probably lead to some overly harsh reviews. MacLachlan, Gershon, and Plumber do credible jobs in their roles, and the set design and choreography is appropriately cheesy. The films does drag on longer than it needs to, and the ...

SPOILER ALERT





... rape scene near the end is more graphic than it needs to be ...






SPOILERS OVER

... but overall it's not a bad film, and one wonders what a more credible actress might have brought to the role. Widely available on DVD, Steph and I saw this on Saturday night at the Mayfair, where they may not have had any more heat, but at least they had some popcorn.

2 1/2 stars out of 5.

In Heaven, Everything Is Fine

Eraserhead
1977, David Lynch. 90 minutes
starring Jack Nance, Charlotte Stewart, Jeanne Bates, Jack Fisk

If you've seen Eraserhead, and you're talking to someone who hasn't, their inevitable question will be "what is it about?", and that will probably be a question you dread. Most people who have watched the film will probably argue that it is also an irrelevant question, but for the sake of simplicity, let's just say that, loosely, Eraserhead is about a man who finds out that he fathered a child prematurely, so he moves in with the mother and the child, and discovers that the child is severely deformed. And yet as I write that, the plot seems even more irrelevant than ever.

Eraserhead isn't really a narrative film, per se, and yet it does have a fairly straightforward plot line. In that way, it's one of the mot narrative surrealist films. If you were having a party and wanted weird video installations throughout your home as decoration or art, Eraserhead might be a wise DVD to purchase. David Lynch shot it on a shoestring budget over a period of 5 years, which adds to its disjointed feel. Upon this viewing, for the first time on a big theatre screen, it struck me how much its style and plot foreshadowed most of Lynch's later work, for everything from Blue Velvet to Lost Highway to INLAND EMPIRE. If you do get a chance to ever see this film on the big screen, be sure to check it out.

4 stars out of 5

Steph, Gary and I made our first trip to the new Mayfair, where I wanted to have popcorn, but they were sold out, something I've never seen in 23 years of going to the movies. Poor form Mayfair, poor form. Also, someone please turn on the furnace in that place ... it's freezing.


Fun Fact of the Day: The general rule of thumb for film screenplays are that one page of script equals one minute of film. So, for example, a 90 minute film should have a script between 90 and 100 pages. Eraserhead's script was about 18 pages long.

Will & Steph's Golden Globe picks

The Golden Globes are tomorrow night. Steph and I have made our picks for the film categories, but as always, who really knows?

Golden Globe Picks 2008.

Film
Best Actor - Drama
• Leonardo DiCaprio - Revolutionary Road
• Frank Langella - Frost/Nixon
• Sean Penn - Milk
• Brad Pitt - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• Mickey Rourke - The Wrestler

Will: Sean Penn, Milk
Steph: Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler


Best Actor - Musical or Comedy
• Javier Bardem - Vicky Cristina Barcelona
• Colin Farrell - In Bruges
• James Franco - Pineapple Express
• Brendan Gleeson - In Bruges
• Dustin Hoffman - Last Chance Harvey

Will: Javier Bardem, Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Steph: Colin Farrell - In Bruges


Best Actress - Drama
• Anne Hathaway - Rachel Getting Married
• Angelina Jolie - Changeling
• Meryl Streep - Doubt
• Kristin Scott Thomas - I've Loved You So Long (Il y a longtemps que je t'aime)
• Kate Winslet - Revolutionary Road

Will: Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married
Steph: Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married


Best Actress - Musical or Comedy
• Rebecca Hall - Vicky Cristina Barcelona
• Sally Hawkins - Happy-Go-Lucky
• Frances McDormand - Burn After Reading
• Meryl Streep - Mamma Mia!
• Emma Thompson - Last Chance Harvey

Will: Rebecca Hall, Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Steph: Sally Hawkins - Happy-Go-Lucky


Best Animated Film
• Bolt
• Kung Fu Panda
• WALL-E

Will: Wall-E
Steph: Wall-E


Best Director
• Danny Boyle - Slumdog Millionaire
• Stephen Daldry - The Reader
• David Fincher - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• Ron Howard - Frost/Nixon
• Sam Mendes - Revolutionary Road

Will: David Fincher, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Steph: Danny Boyle - Slumdog Millionaire


Best Film - Drama
• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• Frost/Nixon
• The Reader
• Revolutionary Road
• Slumdog Millionaire

Will: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Steph: Slumdog Millionaire


Best Film - Musical or Comedy
• Burn After Reading
• Happy-Go-Lucky
• In Bruges
• Mamma Mia!
• Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Will: Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Steph: Happy-Go-Lucky


Best Foreign Language Film
• The Baader Meinhof Complex (Der Baader Meinhof Komplex) • Germany
• Everlasting Moments (Maria Larssons eviga ögonblick) • Sweden
• Gomorrah (Gomorra) • Italy
• I've Loved You So Long (Il y a longtemps que je t'aime) • France
• Waltz with Bashir (Vals im Bashir) • Israel

Will: I've Loved You So Long
Steph: I've Loved You So Long


Best Original Score
• "Changeling" - Clint Eastwood
• "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" - Alexandre Desplat
• "Defiance" - James Newton Howard
• "Frost/Nixon" - Hans Zimmer
• "Slumdog Millionaire" - A. R. Rahman

Will: A. R. Rahman, Slumdog Millionaire
Steph: A. R. Rahman, Slumdog Millionaire


Best Original Song
• "I Thought I Lost You" - Bolt
• "Once in a Lifetime" - Cadillac Records
• "Gran Torino" - Gran Torino
• "Down to Earth" - WALL-E
• "The Wrestler" - The Wrestler

Will: The Wrestler
Steph: The Wrestler


Best Screenplay
• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - Eric Roth
• Doubt - John Patrick Shanley
• Frost/Nixon - Peter Morgan
• The Reader - David Hare
• Slumdog Millionaire - Simon Beaufoy

Will: Eric Roth, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Steph: John Patrick Shanley, Doubt


Best Supporting Actor
• Tom Cruise - Tropic Thunder
• Robert Downey, Jr. - Tropic Thunder
• Ralph Fiennes - The Duchess
• Philip Seymour Hoffman - Doubt
• Heath Ledger - The Dark Knight

Will: Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight
Steph: Heath Ledger - The Dark Knight


Best Supporting Actress
• Amy Adams - Doubt
• Penelope Cruz - Vicky Cristina Barcelona
• Viola Davis - Doubt
• Marisa Tomei - The Wrestler
• Kate Winslet - The Reader

Will: Penelope Cruz - Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Steph: Kate Winslet - The Reader

Tricky Dick

Frost/Nixon
2008, dir. Ron Howard. 2 hours.
starring Frank Langella, Michael Sheen, Sam Rockwell, Toby Jones, Oliver Platt, Kevin Bacon, Rebecca Hall.

Two of my all time favorite films are All The President's Men, from 1976, and Nixon, from 1995. This new film from Ron Howard, about the infamous television interviews between David Frost and Richard Nixon, covers similar territory as those two films, but doesn't have as much poignancy or quality as either.

Frank Langella plays Richard Nixon, the 37th president of the United States, and as yet the only one to resign from office. Michael Sheen plays David Frost, the talk show host and international playboy who had zero industry respect until he managed to scoop up this interview from the hands of CBS and 60 Minutes. Many critics have lauded Langella for his performance, reprised from the Tony and Pulitzer winning stage play, but for me it pales in comparison to Hopkins as Nixon in Oliver Stone's Nixon, and also Philip Baker Hall in Robert ALtman's Secret Honor. Langella comes off flat, neither interesting, nor even even unintentionally funny, like a SNL impression. Sheen isn't much better, since I'm not sure how he's any different here than in his Tony Blair portrayal from The Queen.

Unfortunately for the film, strong performances (that I feel don't exist) are what's supposed to save this film from the fact that it has nothing new to say on either Nixon, Watergate, or television news for that matter. Ultimately, I'm not sure what you'd get from this film that you wouldn't get from just watching the actual interviews, which are now available on DVD.

Overall, a weak and dull film from Ron Howard, who is known for making some weak and dull films.

2 stars out of 5.

Seen Friday afternoon at World Exchange. Had a bottle of Coke Zero.

The Worst Films of 2008

As I said last week, I'm not ready to make a Top Ten list for 2008, because I still have a few movies to see over the next couple months (Frost/Nixon, Gran Torino, The Wrestler, Let The Right One In, The Class, Revolutionary Road, Defiance, and Che parts 1 and 2) ... however, I can safely say that although I may not love all of those films, I doubt I will hate any of them with a passion, as I do the following ten films.

Bear in mind that I am an ordinary (if excessive) movie-goer, but not a critic, so I'm not paid to see movies. So I avoided stuff like Mamma Mia!, Sex And The City, Beverly Hills Chihuahua, Bolt, Journey To The Centre of the Earth 3d, etc... I only saw movies I thought would have some redeeming value. In all these cases, I was wrong.

From 10 to 1, with 1 being the worst:

10. London to Brighton
This film just bothered me. I'm not sure why. It's probably the least known (and seen) of the films on this list, which is probably good, because it's just unrelentingly depressing without anything insightful to say.

9. Wanted
I can handle ridiculous, but what I can't handle is derivatively stupid.

8. The Day the Earth Stood Still
The original is great. Trust me. Keanu ... not so much.

7. Speed Racer
My retinas are still burning.

6. 88 Minutes
Apparently Al Pacino was once in classic films like The Godfather, Serpico, Dog Day Afternoon, and Heat. I'm not sure I believe that anymore.

5. Baghead
Also not widely known or seen. Don't bother. It's just stupid.

4. 10000 BC
I still don't remember why I bothered to see this.

3. Happening
Really?

2. Run, Fatboy, Run
The actual worst film of the year. Paul owes me two hours of my life back for asking us to see this with him. Where do I begin? Let's start with Simon Pegg isn't actually fat, and go from there.

1. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Not as bad as some of these, but the worst because I had so such hopes. Let's begin:

Steven Spielberg, Fuck You!
George Lucas, double Fuck You!
Shia Leboeuf, pray you and I don't meet in a dark alley some day.
Fuck all of you. You are all worthless to me.

Upcoming New Movies This Week

Hey all, another week, and another slew of new movies at theatres around Ottawa.

Wednesday

At the Mayfair is a double bill of Canadian movies about marijuana;

Growing Op




and,
Down In The Dirt, and coming-of-age story from Newfoundland. Stars Hugh Dillon.


Friday

At the Mayfair, David Lynch's debut feature Eraserhead is playing at Midnight.

Before that is a documentary about the rise of midnight movies in the 1970s, called, appropriately, Midnight Movies. Among the films discussed included Pink Flamingos from John Waters, ALejandro Jodorowsky's El Topo, and Eraserhead.


At the chain theatres, opening on Friday is Clint Eastwood's latest, Gran Torino, about a retired korean war veteran who grudgingly accepts his new Korean neighbours and helps them out with their gang problems. His help involves a shotgun.




Also opening Friday is Ron Howard's latest, Frost Nixon, about the infamous 1977 television interviews between David Frost and disgraced US President Richard Nixon. Frost is played by Michael Sheen, and Nixon played by Frank Langella, who's racking up awards for his performance.
Exclusively at World Exchange.




Two films I don't give a shit about, but will let you know about anyway:

The Unborn (I've heard this described as a Jewish Exorcist (rabbi instead of priest))



and, sadly, why has Anne Hathaway done this (I hope she got paid well and lives off the money while making great work like Rachel Getting Married)

Bride Wars




Saturday

Saturday Night, the Midnight Movies continue at the Mayfair with Showgirls, Paul Verhoeven's now classic camp film from 1995. Starring Elizabeth Berkley (who will always be Jessie Spano in my heart), Showgirls is to this day the highest grossing NC-17 film of all time. Midnight at the Mayfair.




Sunday

At the Bytowne, is Repo, The Genetic Opera, featuring none other than Paris Hilton. (Raise your hand if you never thought you'd see a Paris Hilton movie at the Bytowne).




Monday

Monday Night at the Bytowne is a personal favorite of mine, Akira Kurosawa's High And Low. Known more for his samurai films, this Kurosawa film is about a wealthy executive whose son is held for ransom, When he discovers that that the wrong boy was kidnapped, he has to decide what is the most honorable course to take. A great crime film, it's currently being developed for a remake by Martin Scorsese.




Also playing this weekend at the Mayfair, in case you missed them this fall, are Speed Racer, Happy-Go-Lucky, The Changeling, and Choke.

Lots of choice, go have fun!

Doubt Can Be As Powerful As Certainty

Doubt
2008, John Patrick Shanley.
Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams, Viola Davis


Based on the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winning play, Doubt is the story of a Catholic priest and two nuns, and question whether the priest acted inappropriately with a young altar boy. When performed as a play, there was only one single act. Shanley had intended for the second act to occur after the play was over, in the thoughts and conversations of the audience as they pondered whether or not the priest was guilty.

Steph and I saw this at the Bytowne on New Years Day, and many of my friends and family have also seen the movie in that time. Everyone has had an opinion; some say he's guilty, some innocent, and some are just not sure, which is as equally valid as the first two opinions.

One friend pointed out various shots and plot points as way to come to a conclusion, but I believe those clues to merely be red herrings. In fact, I'm not sure there is an actual answer (supposedly there is, and the director and Hoffman are the only ones that know it, but as its not in the text itself, I believe it to be thus irrelevant). The purpose of the story is not to make you decide whether the priest is innocent or guilty, but to examine the way that you decide such things.

Meryl Streep gives a performance as the head nun that is subtle in the way that it is theatrically over the top. It is arguably one of her best, but the list is a very very long one, going all the way back to The Deer Hunter 30 years ago, and never missing more than a couple years in a row since. Hoffman, I believe, has the most difficult role, including his two sermons that frame the film, put comes off superbly, avoiding moments where it would have been easy to over-act. Viola Davis, although she only appears in the two scenes of one single sequence, demonstrates how determining whether the priest was right or wrong may be over simplifying things. Amy Adams, although I believe she is the weak link in the film, manages to stay afloat between the heavyweights of Streep and Hoffman.

This is a great film, and one that everyone I know that has seen it is still talking about. Playing now at all the major theatres, and for the next week or so at the Bytowne. Check it out.

5 stars out of 5

Upcoming Movies for the Next Week

Sorry this column was delayed, but there is absolutely nothing new at the big theatres this week. There are, however, a few repetory selections.

Friday

At the Bytowne, opening today is A Christmas Tale, from France.




AND, the Mayfair reopens under new management with screenings of some shorts from the folks at IFCO, plus at 9 pm a screening of the 1929 silent German classic sc-fi from director Fritz Lang, Metropolis.



By the way, these screenings are FREE tonight as a grand re-opening celebration


Saturday

At the Mayfair:

A Very British Gangster




Annie Leibovitz: Life Through a Lens




Mad Detective




Sunday

At the Mayfair

The Black Stallion




Monday

Monday at the Bytowne is Danny Boyle's classic film about heroin addiction, Trainspotting, which launched the career of Ewan McGregor and was as well known for its soundtrack as for the film itself.




Have Fun!

Will O'Neill Film Screening # 3 - Cat People

The next film screening is going to be the 1942 horror film, Cat People, after which whoever is up for it can head down to the Mayfair for a midnight screening of Eraserhead.

Cat People is about a woman who believes she has been stricken with an ancient Serbian curse which causes her to turn into a cat whenever a man tries to make love with her. She meets a man at the zoo who falls in love with her and sends her to a psychiatrist to be cured, which proves more difficult than initially believed. The film was followed by a sequel a year later, and then by a remake in 1982, from director Paul Schrader. There are even rumours of a remake of that remake.

Cat People. 1942. dir. Jacques Tourneur, producer Val Lewton (who also produced I Walk With a Zombie, Curse of the Cat People, and The Body Snatcher). Stars Kent Smith, Simone Simon, and Tom Conway (who returned for the sequal, and the Val Lewton film The Seventh Victim, which exists in the same universe).
1 hour 13 minutes.

Friday, January 9th, 9:30 pm. Will's apartment.





Trailer for the sequel




Trailer for the remake




and finally, the trailer for Eraserhead
Eraserhead. 1977. dir. David Lynch. 1 hour 29 minutes.
Friday, January 9th, at Midnight. The Mayfair.




PAST SCREENINGS

1. Europa (191, Lars Von Trier)
2. To Live And Die In L.A. (1985, William Friedkin)
2.5. Repo Man (1984, Alex Cox)

2009

Happy New Year, everyone. Living in Ottawa, we don't get to see all of one year's movies until about February of the next year, so I'm not quite ready to make a 2008 Top Ten list yet. However, I can list my most anticipated films of 2009. I've attached some trailers, where available. So without further ado:

10. Duplicty (dir. Tony Gilroy [Michael Clayton]). Stars Julia Roberts, Clive Owen, Tom Wilkinson, Paul Giamatti. April.




9. Adoration (dir. Atom Egoyan). Stars Scott Speedman. May.




8. Terminator Salvation (dir. McG). Stars Christian Bale. May.




7. Sherlock Holmes (dir. Guy Ritchie). Stars Robert Downey Jr., and Jude Law as Dr. Watson. No trailer available, but supposedly a period take on the classic detective with a modern attitude. November.


6. Star Trek (dir. JJ Abrams). May.




5. The Box. New film from Richard Kelly, director of Donnie Darko. ALl I know is it involves a box that grants wishes. No trailer yet. October.


4. Shutter Island. New film from Martin Scorsese, based on the novel by Dennis Lehane (Mystic River, Gone Baby Gone). About the investigation of some disappearances at a psychiatric hospital on a mysterious island. Stars Leonard Dicaprio, Max Von Sydow, Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsly, Emily Mortimer. No Trailer available. October.


3. Inglorious Basterds. Quentin Tarentino's new World War II action flick, starring Brad Pitt as a Nazi-hunter. No trailer available. August.


2. The Watchmen. The long-awaited adaptation of the most revered graphic novel ever written. Directed by Zack Snyder (300) and starring Billy Crudup, Malin Akerman, and Patrick Wilson. March, unless a judge says otherwise.




1. Public Enemies. Michael Mann has never gone wrong for me, and I don't think this is the year he starts. The movie is about the gangsters of the Great Depression, with Johnny Depp as John Dillinger. Also stars Christian Bale and Marion Cotillard. No Trailer available. Hits theatres on my birthday, July 1st.