Friday, March 14, 2008

Now Playing: Charlize Never Backs Down From Funny Games

What are you seeing this weekend?

L I M I T E D
Flash Point Well, that's one way to sell a foreign actioner. A trailer with absolutely no story or even words. None. Only fighting.
Funny Games The great Michael Haneke remakes his own audience punisher. Naomi Watts and Tim Roth sub for Susanne Lothar and Ulrich Mühe as the tortured spouses.
Sleepwalking (I'll be reviewing this for Pajiba next week so watch for that). Charlize Theron plays a neglectful mom. Anna Sophia Robb deals with her abandonment. Charlize was on David Letterman promoting this the other night and she was looking fine. ("duh", says everyone) But now that she's established herself as a serious actress, I would love it if she took a really glamorous role again soon. Use the beauty!

Charlize on Letterman, as Paul & David drooled: "I love it. Boys fighting over me!"

W I D E
Doomsday This looks atrocious. But then... The Descent was quite good and its the same director. So maybe it's only pretending to be utter crap hack moviemaking?
Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who I've been trying to understand my aversion to Seuss movies and I think it has a lot to do with the simplicity of line artwork w/ flat color versus over art directed multi billion dollar sets and, in this case, traditional CG three dimensional animation. That's my best guess. I just don't respond well... though I love the books.
Never Back Down When I wasn't really watching the tv commercials for this I thought it was Fight Club only younger...Baby Fight Club without politics, great acting, 12 step meetings with Helena Bonham-Carter and challenging psychologies. But now, watching the complete trailer, NBD looks more like Karate Kid only older. Djimon Hounsou stands in for Mr Miyagi in the 'exotic mentor' role. You know how struggling white boys always need one. Never Back Down is obviously aiming for Fight Club's overt beefcake, though.


But fight movies crack me up when they cast lookers (Sean Faris & Cam Gigandet here) because how long would these pretty boy faces last with this lifestyle? How long before these mugs look like Jared Leto's in Fight Club?

10 comments:

The Liz said...

Hey Nathaniel, has there been any chatter about releasing "Beaufort" in the States? I'm dying to see it.

FDot said...

"Never Back Down" reminds me of an 1993 B movie named "Showdown". Except in "Showdown", Billy Blanks was the one doling out the mentoring, and the Tae-Bo also I guess. Good cheesy film though.

Anonymous said...

Oddly enough your comment about "exotic mentors" reminds me of Strictly Ballroom. In this case, the mentors are Hispanic (although the grandmother looks a lot like my Italian great-aunt to me), but same thing. I guess it's a way Hollywood can avoid charges of rascism (see? We write roles for "ethnic" actors!") while avoiding actually having to make those same "ethnic" actors the protagonists of the story and having to...you know, make them actual people with real lives and such forth? And maybe then they'd have to delve into some uncomfortable issues regarding rascism and social justice and...no, no, no, can't go having that at ALL. Better to make another movie about white boys stealing the groove and the funk from some older (black, asian, hispanic, etc) dude who is more than glad to mentor them and give their coolness away at the expense of some young (black, asian, hispanic) youth. Those kids don't need mentoring, don't you know, because they come by their funk naturally. White kids have to steal it.

If they actually started making movies with 'ethnic' characters at the center, not at the edges, the world might be knocked off it's axis.

RedSatinDoll

Anonymous said...

Theron is glamorous in Hancock, released this summer. But she shouldn't play the damsel in a Will Smith comedy, she's better than this.

Anonymous said...

Nathaniel,

you seem to have weird fantasies about young white streetfighters being sexually harassed by not-so-good-looking older exotic men. It's called Never back down, not White boys in Korean bondage.

Jason Adams said...

I don't think that's that weird of a fantasy to have.

NATHANIEL R said...

armando i wasn't aware of this fantasy of mine but now that you mention it... someone please send me that movie. Only can we change the hot white guys to asian? and make the exotic mentors hot rather than "not so good looking" as you suggest. Because what kind of fantasy involves "not good looking" ?

and i wonder who you're referring to. Surely not Djimon "calvin klein steel" Hounsou?!!

the liz i think Beaufort cam e out already?!

fdot i think it's been a lot time since I saw a good cheesy film so maybe i should rent that.

or maybe i should just go to NEVER BACK DOWN!

Anonymous said...

Off-topic :

rumors for Cannes 2008 : Changeling, The curious case of Benjamin Button, Burn after reading.. Clooney & Brangelina again ?
Also, at least one film with Huppert and one with Magimel.

Anonymous said...

charlize would be a perfect madonna or debbie haryy not bloody kirsten dunce or if she really wants a 2nd oscar janis joplin or lana turner.

Glenn Dunks said...

Sleepwalking also has Mrs Hugh Jackman aka Deborra-Lee Furness. And that's a good thing!