future movies Burlesque now has a website so you can actually try to work up excitement from the sparkly logo design until a teaser hits. Hurry up, teaser! In Contention has a teaser poster for Sofia Coppola's Somewhere. I like it. I'm sure we'll get something more generic before release though. /Film Sam Raimi for Oz, The Great and Powerful. Not a bad choice Movie|LineScott Pilgrim vs. The World. Ramona's seven evil exes get their own posters Low Resolution says what needs to be said about the Tom Cruise Les Grossman pic. Just Jared Reshoot set photos from The Adjustment Bureau with Emily Blunt & Matt Damon MTV Movies Charlize Theron joining Tom Hardy for the next Mad Max film
And here's the first official still from The Tourist (2011)
Jolie means Pretty in French... or any other language.
randomness Natasha VC speaks wise words about Adrien Brody. Old Hollywood Barbara Stanwyck will own it. Movie|Line funny bit on the first official still from Mad Men season 4. Twitch a promo for HBO's new series Boardwalk Empire about Atlantic City. Good luck being as good as Atlantic City (1981)... no relation but for locale. Noh Way on the upcoming revival of Evita. Deadline Hollywood on Karate Kid's resounding box office beat down over The A Team. Towleroad Joan Rivers and my continued plea for Friday Night Lights Emmy love. A Socialite's Life celebs galore at the AFI party honoring Mike Nichols.
Is there a true movie superstar we've discussed less than Will Smith? I was thinking about him last night since he's foisting his son upon the world again this weekend in The Karate Kid (2010 version).
<-- Smith with both Karate Kids. But, heyyy, where's Hilary Swank?
Some celebrities hide their kids away but Smith has seemingly always been okay with dragging his kids to public things like awards show and even awards show podiums. What would that do to you to regularly experience thunderous applause and flashing paparazzi bulbs as a toddler?
I haven't seen The Karate Kid yet because the original is like a sacred part of any 80s childhood/adolescence and the switch in venues will surely bring one of my least favorite things to the surface: That arrogant childish American notion that we are always better at everything than people anywhere else are, even if it's something we've never done before or are statistically comparatively inept at (like eduction and healthcare but we still scream "#1!" to our own detriment. It sure makes improving difficult when you always know you're the best).WHOA. Off Topic.Sorry, you know how pet peeves can get to you. My point is this: I'm assuming little Jaden gets better at martial arts -- within about a month -- than the Asian bullies you see in the trailer who've presumably been studying it their whole lives. I'm guessing.
The Will Smiths: How many have you seen?
Where the Day... (92) | Made in America (92) | 6 Degrees of Separation (93)
Bad Boys (95) | Independence Day (96) | Men in Black (97)
Enemy of State (98)| Wild Wild West (99) | Legend of Bagger Vance (00)
Ali (01) | MIIB (02) | Bad Boys II (03)
I, Robot (04) | Hitch (05) | The Pursuit of Happyness (06)
I am Legend (07) | Hancock (08) | Seven Pounds (08)
He's only starred in 18 movies. (I thought it'd be more... but I've only seen 11.) Strangely he was absent from cinemas last year and will be again this year. What's going on? Don't tell me he's veering towards Tom Cruise's unmistakable crazy. I suppose that could happen. In regards to these posters. I was surprised the marketing departments don't use the dread "floating movie star head" that often with his movies. His body shows up frequently, too.
You have to admire his (contractual?) consistency. Almost exactly one picture a year. It splits the difference between "out of sight, out of mind" and "absence makes the heart grow fonder".
I actually think he's sometimes quite a good actor or at least far better than is required of someone in his position (see: I Am Legend) and I don't really understand the anger some people had about his Ali nomination (though that was certainly a competitive year with lots of good choices snubbed). But overall he tends to make the kind of corporate blockbusters that never excite me -- too processed.
Usually when I can remember that the general public doesn't go to the movies to see movies but to be a part of pop culture, I'm okay with the constant regurgitation at the cinema. When I don't remember... when I forget that people don't buy tickets to see CINEMA exactly... that's when the despair sets in and I wonder why they always want to see the same film over and over again. (I know, I know, that's the elitist side of cinephilia talking... but trust that I'm totally populist about the all access issue and I am generally angry with film geeks of any persuasion who automatically assume that the new difficult art film is worthier than the new accessible blockbuster or vice versa).
My friend Nick got angry about our heavily regurgitated culture with last month's Sherlock Holmes, giving it a savage beating in review form for all its shortcut identity theft. That Guy Ritchie flick is actually a perfect example. In order to fully enjoy it, you just have to remember that it's not a movie. Sherlock Holmes was a pop culture stocking suffer: Gobble it up, digest it without thinking, move on to other holiday prezzies. It already feels past tense, doesn't it?
But things are getting worse.
The recent cancellation of Sam Raimi's Spider-Man franchise -- they'll reboot it and go back to high school nerd Peter Parker -- is cause for alarm. I can see rebooting things when the originals are generations ago (Star Trek). But Peter Parker graduated from high school not 10 years ago! People don't start getting nostalgic about going back to high school that soon. That happens when they're in their 30s or 40s and then they go and see movies like Peggy Sue Got Married. Freaky Friday or 17 Again. If that yearning for high school starts in your 20s, you're doing your 20s wrong... sorry, Drew! Why do we need to see this again when we can pop in the DVDs any time and watch Sam Raimi, Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst work their pop culture magic? Rebooting it doesn't even make sense from a nostalgia perspective since it's not "old". There's no new generation to sell it, too. You kind of need a twenty year gap for that excuse.
Spider-Man thru the years: debuted in '62, his own comic by '63, cartoon by '67, live action by '77, saturday morns in the '80s. The blockbuster swings in the '00s. This decade might bring a Broadway musical (long delayed) and a fourth "reboot" film.
There's no movie teaser for my usual "yes, no, maybe so" exercize but Spider-Man 4 breaks down like so in concept...
yes: Marc Webb, the franchise's new director, is talented. (500) Days of Summer shows that he's got a playful streak (Spider-Man would be abysmal if it was trying to be Batman) and a real cinematic sensibility -- even those who dislike his breakout film would be hard pressed to say that it's a hack job: there are actual visual and thematic ideas at work. It's no point and shoot job.
no: no cobwebs on the original trilogy. What's the point?
maybe so: I guess we'll see who they cast as Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy before we decide whether we'll lineup... now that there's a real director on board.
It's too bad that the huge failure of Land of the Lost last summer didn't impede Hollywood's lust for all this recycling. In fact the remake/reboot craze makes no sense to me at all because of the dominance of three things: DVD, Cable and Blu-Ray. When movie culture was confined to actual movie theaters, remakes made sense. Now that everyone can watch the things they love over and over again... well, why stare at a xerox when you can look at the original?
What hath Star Trek (XI) wrought? More TV shows turned movies and more movies turned movie reboots. Not that The A-Team and Karate Kid are sacred entertainment vessels. Although don't tell that to my younger self who wanted to "wax on" and "wax off" until Elisabeth Shue materialised as my real life girlfriend.
The original mainstream 80s classic (of sorts) was so huge it even won an Oscar nomination: Best Supporting Actor for Mr. Miyagi himself, Pat Morita (RIP). Oscar always did love the teachers and mentors... it's a pretty common awards thread. This retread is not likely to win Jackie Chan similar prizes... there's no way a money grab can come across as sweetly likeable and innocent as the original film. The new version also stars genetic lottery winner Jaden Smith. Would you have any concept whatsoever of reality if you grew up with über famous shockingly wealthy parents and were headlining your own movie by the time you were 11 years old? That's like Liza Minnelli mental territory... only quicker like and with deeper pockets.
yes:Taraji P. Henson (!) The P stands for "love" in Swahili. And I kinda do.
no: Ugh. China as the setting. Even though the lead is black, we've still got to make every foreign or "other" story somehow subtextually about white American superiority. In mere weeks, little Jaden will become better at martial arts than any of the Asian boys who've been doing it their whole lives.
maybe so: We already know that 'wax on/wax off' has become "take your jacket off". But what will painting the fence translate to? Remakes have to spin the famous parts and occasionally that's fun (yes... I'm grasping at straws)
I'm more okay with this one in concept because the original was such disposable entertainment. The Karate Kid (the original) sticks, you know? It's got heart and a fundamental kindness to it which is so not in vogue anymore that I'm scared to think of how comparatively soulless its remake will be. The A-Team is riper for a remake -- even though TV series don't make for great movie concepts -- it was always dumb junk food.
yes:Liam Neeson as "Hannibal". Something about this totally works for me (at least in teaser form) but then I have a hard time resisting him every 4th movie or so for some reason.
no: I can already tell this is one of those movies wherein the action doesn't make any sense. I hate that. This is why James Cameron deserves his unfathomable riches. Explosions and crazy ass cutting do not, in and of themselves, make for satisfying action.
maybe so: Bradley Cooper as "Faceman". I'm still deciding about that one... Bradley Cooper, not "Faceman". You?
Do you feel like Hollywood ate too much and vomited its leftovers all over you? *
future movies
randomness
Posts
