23 posts tagged “films”
"Alvin and the Chipmunks" opened this weekend and made 45 million dollars.
And "Juno" is still only playing in New York and Los Angeles.
Why is this happening?
A happy belated Thanksgiving to everyone in Web Land!
Y'all need to go out and see "Enchanted." Like right now. It's such a fun movie! It was great to see Disney make fun of itself. Probably the best thing they've done in a while (I'm not counting Pixar productions). Amy Adams makes the movie. She's so funny and natural, even though she's playing a pretty silly character. She also does her own singing, and Alan Menken is still using his black magic to create great music (though he is paying homage to his own stuff, especially with the calypso-enfused "That's How You Know"). James Marsden is great too. I want his velvet jacket with the ridiculously overstuffed shoulder puffs. Susan Sarandon was the only stinky part, which doesn't happen too often. Check it out.
I wish I could write fantasy fiction. Perhaps of the young adult variety. I think a lot of great stuff comes out of the genre. The best of it is full of meaning and enjoyment for adults too.
This is probably why so much of it is being optioned by movie studios. So far we've had Harry Potter, the Lord of the Rings (doesn't necessarily fit the YAF designation, but it definitely helped jumpstart the fantasy trend in Hollywood), the Chronicles of Narnia, Bridge to Terabithia, the Dark is Rising, and His Dark Materials. Those are just the ones I can think of off the top of my head; there may be others. And Terabithia is the only one of those titles that has not or will not spawn at least two sequels. There is a buttload of money tied up in these movies. It seems as though anyone with a half-decent fantasy story stands a chance of getting their work adapted into a blockbuster.
I chose to post on this because I just finished "The Golden Compass" (AKA "The Northern Lights"), the first book in Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy. I wanted to read it before the film came out, and I really enjoyed it. I'm about ready to tear through the next two, which may also be produced by New Line if "The Golden Compass" fares well at the box office. I'm not happy about the news that the last three chapters of the first book will be tacked onto the beginning of the second movie, however. That'll be pretty unsatisfying for anyone who is a fan of the story.
And as a total non sequitur (because Bridgid requested it), here's a photo of the tastiest luggage I've ever seen:
What's worse: the adaptation of a book to the screen or the adaptation of anything to a Broadway musical? I'd have to go with the latter.
I thought that the Onion A.V. Club was pulling another one of its fun sarcastic jokes when they mentioned a Spiderman musical.....especially when they claimed that it would feature original music by Bono and the Edge. It came at the tail end of an announcement about other Marvel properties that are in various stages of development.
But they weren't kidding. I wasn't the only one who was fooled, judging by the talkback. I got the feeling that the poster found the news ridiculous to a degree to which attempting to make it sound more so would be an exercise in futility. While this would have worked well as a gag, it is instead a rather discouraging reality. A Spiderman musical?! Come on! "With great power comes great responsibility" may be the most hackneyed motto in the vastness of the comic book superhero universe. Do we really need Bono turning that into an anthem, with the Edge's signature (and by that I mean tiresome) delay pedal tagging along? I suppose it'll be interesting to see how they translate webslinging and swinging into choreography, but this just smacks of opportunism. Marvel has milked an awful lot of money out of this franchise, and they're going for every last drop. They have an admirable stable of characters, but the recent glut of superhero has proven once again that every barrel has its bottom (evidenced by the announcement of the upcoming Ant-Man adaptation).
The Marvel nerds barely even seem to be aware of the existence of Broadway theater; only one of the twenty comments on the announcement page made reference to the musical. This appears, however, to indicate a cultural divide rather than an intellectual one; the rest of the posts were devoted to the neglect of black superheroes (there are several notable examples) in film adaptations.
On an unrelated note, how crazy is this casting call for the upcoming Star Trek flick? I'm not at all surprised that they're looking for fit people, but some of the language they use is hilarious! In an obvious bid for people who look like aliens, they encourage actors with facial deformities to audition. Along with anyone who looks very plain, perfect, or ugly. And my personal favorite: "emaciated talent."
......KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL!!!!!! What the hell does that mean?! I have no clue, but a crystal skull sure does sound neat. They better not ruin this with loads of computer effects and awful "romantic" dialogue. I'm looking at YOU, George Lucas! Consider this gem from the remarkably wooden Hayden Christensen in "Attack of the Clones":
"I don't like sand. It's coarse, rough, irritating and it gets everywhere. Not like here. Here everything is soft... and smooth."
I know Lucas didn't write this one, but I still fear his latent determination to drive his work into the ground with the march of time. Hopefully Speilberg will keep him in his cage. At least the lovely Karen Allen is returning. And she looks as good as she did in "Raiders." I'll definitely be seeing this one on May 22nd. Book it, son!
Man, the model for Grendel in the new CG Beowulf movie looks awful. I'm not looking forward to seeing this. I really like the story, especially after reading "Grendel." I don't like what Zemeckis is doing with Grendel's mother either; he's turning her into some sort of temptress modeled after and voiced by Angelina Jolie.
I am, however, very excited about "Death Proof." It's showing at the Arts Picturehouse on Sunday. This is the extended cut that Quentin Tarantino has prepared for release independent of the Grindhouse project. I was pretty bummed that the double feature didn't make it over to the UK after bombing at home, so it'll be good to see Tarantino's half. In addition to the screening of the film, there's also going to be a live satellite Q&A period with the man himself. That should be interesting. He's pretty unhinged in interviews.
That's the title of a new movie starring Jeff Garlin, Sarah Silverman, Bonnie Hunt, and Amy Sedaris. I think the title is great, because isn't that what we all want? I know I do. This really is an amazing comedic cast. A joining of forces between "Curb Your Enthusiasm" and "Strangers with Candy" (a hilarious show that yielded a reportedly awful movie) should bring good things. And Sarah Silverman is hot. It'll be good to see Garlin in something on the big screen that isn't "Daddy Day Care."
On a related note, I've been making a lot of grilled cheese sandwiches lately. Kickin' it old school. I hadn't had one in ages, but then Dad bought me a book with loads of grilled cheese sandwich recipes, mostly ingredients more exotic than Kraft singles and Wonder Bread. I haven't really dabbled in them yet, but it has gotten me back in the grilled cheese spirit.
That's what Hollywood seems interested in these days. I know the studios are afraid to try new things, but going forward with new Hercules, Thor, and Conan films at the same time is a bit much.
To anyone looking to write screenplays reviving the Masters of the Universe or the Beast Master franchises, the iron may never be hotter.
Man, Bergman and Antonioni both went on the same day. Crazy. If I were Jean-Luc Godard I'd start counting my blessings right about now.
I really need to see more of Bergman's stuff, especially his trilogy dealing with the existence of God (or rather the lack thereof). "The Seventh Seal" is the only film of his that I've seen thus far, largely because his Criterion DVDs all cost at least thirty (but usually forty) bucks.
Back when HBO was still available to me, I followed "The Sopranos" pretty closely. It hasn't been very good recently in my opinion, but I've still been following the episode synopses online because I know that the series finale will be ruined for me whether I try to avoid hearing about plot points or not. The media is talking about it too much.
Hence I've read a number of predictions for the ending, which airs tonight. A lot of them call for Tony entering witness protection, and Ain't It Cool News even has his daughter Meadow getting whacked instead of him. These situations are ripped directly from the endings of "Goodfellas" and "The Godfather," respectively. I seriously hope that they don't go with either of these. At its best the show redefines the gangster genre; it doesn't need to fit into it by emulating the endings of two of its undisputed classics.
