Mark Strong: Ubiquitous Bad Guy

One of the things that I find interesting as a devout moviegoer is how one particular character actress or actor will begin popping up with great regularity in one type of role. Sometimes it lasts forever: Steven Tobolowsky has been playing that annoying neighbor/coworker/teacher for as long as I can remember. Sometimes they branch out: Brian Cox got unusually famous as a supporting player but he cycles through a few signatures --bad guy, looney authority figure, kind father. He's versatile. But this default casting phenomenon usually lasts for just a couple of years before there's a new face in the roles --remember Robin Bartlett as the sassy acquaintance in the early 90s... no? Well, I do. She traded quips with Meryl Streep as they went through rehab together in Poscards from the Edge. I still notice her popping up in similar roles on televison.

The current go to guy for roles that require an instantly sinister aura is Mark Strong. He's a regular face now. He played one of the heavies in the latest Oliver Twist, he made shady deals with George Clooney in Syriana and this summer he's working two pivotal and flashy evil roles. He's the murderous Prince Septimus in Stardust and the creepy Pinbacker in Sunshine.

Even if you don't already recognize the name you'll know his face very soon. Get this: he's got six (!) movies coming out next year. Who will he terrorize next?

Delpy Cheats on Hawke. Pfeiffer Completely Rocks. And Other New Releases

L I M I T E D

Dans Paris -Two very 'now' French stars Romain Duris (The Beat That My Heart Skipped) and Louis Garrel (The Dreamers) costar as brothers in this contemporary drama
Chak De India Hindi movie about a women's hockey team
Crossing the Line a doc about an American defector
Cut Sleeve Boys gay partyboy movies never stop do they. Can't remember the last time one was actually good
Descent -Rosario Dawson suffers through an NC-17 rape and seeks revenge. But wait --I thought the MPAA approved of rape? Oh right: This isn't a studio picture... different rules
Rocket Science -A sponsor on the sidebar (thank you!). The trailer makes this look like imitation Wes Anderson but the reviews are good
2 Days in Paris -Julie Delpy romances a scruffy American man in the city of love. The man in question is not Ethan Hawke which is freaking me out. But Delpy directed it, she's charming, and we should all go see it

W I D E

Daddy Day Camp -Cuba Gooding Jr wants you to know that he is still in possession of Edward Norton's Oscar. Or William H Macy's.
Rush Hour 3 -soul crushing = the career of Brett Ratner
Skinwalkers -Lycanthrophy. I hate it when there's an outbreak

<--- Stardust-Michelle Pfeiffer absolutely rocks in this movie. The rest of it is merely rocky. From my review...

"Neil Gaiman, the author of Anansi Boys, Neverwhere and Coraline (among other fine literary gems) is a highly imaginative writer. His dominant genre is fantasy though he’s something of a black sheep in that realm. If you peruse a cross section of fantasy novels, you’ll find that the standard goal is the imitation of JRR Tolkien: fantasy novelists are always busying themselves with the creation of entire foreign worlds complete with their own histories, languages, and sociopolitical structures. Gaiman doesn’t bother with most of that ...or at least not as strenuously. He drops the fantastical -- delicately or forcefully -- into the daily and familiar mundane. Or maybe it's the other way around: there’s more than a little of Alice in Wonderland in the way his adventurers come from our own approximated world but fall down the rabbit hole into another.

In Stardust the role of Alice will be played by Tristan (Charlie Cox)..." Read the Full Review
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Just Back From Stardust...

and I don't think it's much of a spoiler to tell you that within the magical logic of the movie Michelle Pfeiffer (absolutely rocking as an evil sorceress) needs to eat the heart of Claire Danes (a fidgety fallen star) in order to live for hundreds of years. Is it wrong to root for the heart eater? Because... Pfeiffer restored to full power??? Yes please! If Claire Danes really cared about the cinema, she'd carve it out and hand feed Pfeiffer herself. It's the least she can do.
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more later obviously...

Stardust (Talking 'bout That Trailer)

This past Friday Yahoo unveiled the first trailer for the summer fantasy epic Stardust. I've watched it several times now. Not because I loved it but because I've read the book and was trying to place certain scenes in--oh forget it...y'all know why I have it on loop. But more on her in a minute.

"My what green CGI you have!"

This preview does a good job of outlining the basic jumpoff of the story: Tristan (Charlie Cox), a lovestruck spontaneous young man vows to bring his wouldbe girlfriend (Sienna Miller) back a fallen star (Claire Danes). She doesn't take him seriously (no one ever leaves their village for the magic kingdom beyond its borders!) but he is quite serious about the vow. Unfortunately, retrieving the fallen star won't be easy and Tristan isn't the only one looking to possess it. Cue all sorts of shady characters including an evil sorceress (Michelle Pfeiffer) who needs the star to recapture her youth. Guess what will happen to that star should the witch prevail? Let's just say it won't be pretty. Adventure, chases, and battles ensue.

The trailers cutesy narration is actually less offputting than it might seem to those unfamiliar with the source material. The movie is based on Neil Gaiman's richly funny adventure novel of the same name. The book is not really in the somber bloodline of recent literary fantasy adaptations like Lord of the Rings or The Chronicles of Narnia. It's closer in spirit to something like The Princess Bride though his novel does have darker undercurrents than that film.

Though the comic tone of the trailer didn't surprise me at all, I worry about the abundant CGI. This is clearly overkill. Take a simple scene in a merchants shop wherein the sorceress shushes a merchant who is bothering her. Her magical silencing is accompanied by a green CGI thingie shooting from her fingertips to his lips. This is rather as pointless as visualizing the force in Star Wars. The wow effect should be in your head. Even George Lucas, whilst pissing all over his original Star Wars trilogy with needless f/x updates, didn't think to put glowy green CGI effects around the use of the force --imagine how silly it would be to see Yoda's levitation of a spaceship at Dagoba accompanied by colored energy or see Obi Wan's mind control illustrated with CGI. "These are not the droids you're looking for"

Pfeiffer pays homage to her Ladyhawke entrance 22 years ago.

When you've cast great actors (Stardust has a fine cast from top to bottom) and you've got a great story, a lot of your work is already done for you. When you cast an actress as exceptional as Michelle Pfeiffer as your villainess you really don't need to "help" her performance by making her face go all monstery to scare people. Had the filmmakers never seen White Oleander ? This bitch will cut you.

Matthew Vaughn sat in the directors chair for this adaptation and though the trailer's abundant special effects give me a haunting The Haunting vibe I am still somewhat optimistic. Vaughn's debut feature Layer Cake was tense, cinematic and clever. He also knew just how to use his terrific leading actor (Daniel Craig). But whether this new film is good, bad, or mediocre ... I hope everyone will read Stardust before seeing it. The very best thing about Neil Gaiman's writing is his prose: it's fanciful, witty and deliciously flavored with competing tones and wonderful turns of phrase. Great prose can't really transfer to the screen but great acting, direction and general visual creativity can achieve similarly dextrous moods, humor, and spirit. CGI on the other hand? That's a less supple filmmaking instrument.

We Can't Wait #16 Stardust

Michelle Pfeiffer works her magic. Literally.

I've posted about Stardust so often the readers probably feel as if they've read the cliff notes of Neil Gaiman's fine fantasy novel which is about a young man on a dangerous search for a fallen star in a magical land.

Save me my blog buddies from going berserk for the (15th?) time over Michelle Pfeiffer's reemergence (she's the sorceress villain). There must be some other reason to see this...

Gabriel: Well, there are a few other people in the flick, Nathaniel: Robert De Niro, Peter O'Toole, Sienna Miller, Claire Danes, Ricky Gervais, and Rupert Everett, to name a few. And Neil Gaiman's brilliant. But my main concern is execution: with an untested screenwriter (Jane Goldman) and a director with only one major work under his belt (Matthew Vaughn of Layer Cake fame, who gave up X-Men United to do this instead), the proof will really be in the proverbial pudding.

JA: I'm really hoping they get this thing right so a bunch of other Gaiman-movies can be made - films of Good Omens and American Gods would make my heart explode with glee (as long as they're done correctly, of course).

Also, a question: Is the Tori Amos Tree showing up? And if so, why isn't she voicing it?

Joe: Gaiman’s my #1 reason to see this. All of his books are so very cinematic, so I have no doubt this has some great potential. Sienna Miller notwithstanding.

Nathaniel: Stardust opens on August 10th in theaters everywhere. That gives you plenty of time to read the book beforehand. You'll want to. It's a unique joy.

The Official Site is mostly empty at this point but stay tuned. You can also check out Neil Gaiman's website where there's always something happening.

previously on "we can't wait"
#17 The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
#18 Spider-Man 3
#19 Rendition
#20 The Bourne Ultimatum
Intro -films that didn't make the list

Pfeiffer Watch: Stardust Testing

Maybe you've heard that I like Michelle Pfeiffer?

a little bit, yeah.

2007 will hopefully usher in a new productive Pfeifferian era. Three films are due, which is quite a lot considering her face hasn't graced the screen since her wicked genius spin in 2002's White Oleander (my review). Release dates keep shifting but it looks like Stardust, a Princess Bride-ish adaptation of Neil Gaiman's hugely entertaining novel, will be the second to arrive (after the romcom I Could Never Be Your Woman with Paul Rudd). Pfeiffer plays a very evil blood loving witch in Stardust.

Some early test screening reviews (beware of spoilers -unless you've read the book. Than just read away)

• #1 This moviegoers says that Michelle “chews scenery throughout most of the film” and deems her “over-the-top”
• #2 Another thinks she is "phenomenal" and compares the performance's power to her actorly swagger as Catwoman in Batman Returns.

Are you excited yet? Stardust Official Site still empty. Give me something. Give it to me! Give it to me!

(previously in my breathless anticipation of La Pfeiffer's return)

Stardust Approaches

Well, lookie here! La Pfeiffer working her magic (probably literally since she plays a witch) in Stardust [src]. You can see more new photos from the Stardust production here and here.

Methinks Claire Danes looks a little Paltrow-esque suddenly. Somebody translate this please --or at least summarize the pfun parts.

Pfeiffer is the new Swinton

thank you to a few readers who sent info on this in...

Aint-It-Cool-News gives early word on Neil Gaiman's "Stardust", a fantasy adventure film. If you haven't been living under a rock you know that genre is big these days after Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, and Narnia. Official casting announcements are still forthcoming but word has it that Michelle Pfeiffer will be playing the lead villain of a trio, an evil witch transformed into a beautiful woman to hunt down the film's heroine (Claire Danes). This article says it's "a genuinely scary role as written." We all know that La Pfeiffer gives great evil. gives great beauty. gives great performance. So bring this on. Now.

Can't wait.

But, again, as with all news regarding the world's most beautiful actress... we'll have to believe it when we see it. She does have a way of scampering off of projects before they ever start filming. And seriously, what was she thinking to have let Prairie Home Companion (the new Robert Altman) slip away... We also know that the last time she was rumored to be attached to a Neil Gaiman project (Coraline) it didn't work out. I won't hold my breath but it's still exciting news.