Friday, February 29, 2008

Beowulf DVD Review

by: Doug
From: MovieBlog

I had the glorious task of watching Beowulf on DVD today. It was the director’s cut and I was looking for new scenes, but if they existed - they escaped my notice. I am guessing some of the battle scenes were a bit more violent, and a few shots simply escaped my eye. None the less, it was great to see the film again and although I preferred it with 3-D glasses; the picture quality was incredible and the film was still very watchable a second time around.

The special features on the DVD included: A Heroes Journey: The Making Of Beowulf, Beasts Of Burden: Designing The Creatures Of Beowulf, The Origins Of Beowulf, Creating The Ultimate Beowulf, The Art Of Beowulf, Deleted Scenes, Theatrical Trailer and Previews. I will not go into details on all the special features but will discuss a pair of my favorites. I am not a huge fan of special features; but this set kept me entertained (which is certainly a break from the norm). My love for the film fueled my interest, and I assume those that purchase this DVD will be in the same boat.

A Heroes Journey: The Making Of Beowulf

Love it or hate it, motion capture takes a ton of fucking work; and peculiar work it is. All the neon props and costumes made it look like everyone was acting in the world of Tron. To see the confused looks on the actors faces the day before shooting was hilarious, even when they first started acting in the suits - they seemed embarrassed. Only when the art director showed them concept pictures and “made them up” as costumed characters did their countenances start to change. They realized that they were skeletons for the characters that they could now see, take pride in and ownership of. Tom Hanks shows up in this segment for a quick pop in to say word to Zemeckis, and we also see them pitch Grendel to the man that was born to play him - Crispin Glover.

This segment was my favorite part of the special features. I thought this mini documentary was put together quite well.

The Art Of Beowulf

The art direction on this film was insanely thorough. The concept paintings are delightfully detailed and were very inspirational for the overall look of the film. They created additional miniatures, paintings, props and costumes as points of reference for the actors and animators. With so many talented artists on board, it made me wish they used costumed actors as opposed to motion capture. When possible I always prefer “man i suit” and I certainly think they had the talent here to make Beowulf motion capture, animated or live action. The artistic team behind this film was outstanding and it was a pleasure to see them build a world up from the script.

In Conclusion

This film is an over the top, testosterone-fueled adventure tale where demons are slain, legends are born and kings are made by way of the sword. I love this film and think it should be a staple in every home library. It reminds us that: forgotten mistakes can live on to haunt us later in life, it is essential to know your weaknesses, and when fighting a dragon always go for the tender underbelly.

The only thing I would have added to the special features is a Crispin Glover / John Malcovich commentary track; that would be the stuff of legend.


Thursday, February 28, 2008

'Golden Compass' is big in Japan

TOKYO -- "The Golden Compass" has had a golden bow at the Japanese B.O.

Skedded for a 700-screen release by Gaga on Saturday, the pic scooped Y270 million ($2.5 million) in sneak screenings last Saturday and Sunday.

The audience demo was wider than expected, mixing families, teens of both sexes and fans in their 50s and 60s.

Gaga has not set a B.O. target, but the pic's take was 159% better than sneaks for "Night at the Museum," which scooped $33.4 million in Japan. A reasonable B.O. projection would be $51 million -- not bad for a pic that finished in the U.S. with $70 million.

let us hope thats as muchs as they nee to do the sequel.

Source: variety

Leonado DiCaprio is transporting drugs

You may have read - heck, you may have even read it here - that Mark Wahlberg is set to star in a film based on the life of infamous 1970s drug kingpin Jon Roberts (the guy featured in the doco "Cocaine Cowboys") for director Peter Berg ("Friday Night Lights"). Well, that's still the case - only now it's taking the form of both a) a two-hander b) a "Basketball Diaries" and "Departed" reunion. Yes, Leonardo DiCapio is set to join Marky Mark in the film, says the foxy femmes of Page Six.

And who is Leo to play in the film? "the airplane pilot who travels with Mark's character to obtain kilos of cocaine from Pablo Escobar."

Cool.

On a side note, Did you know that when Berg was attached - he isn't any longer -to helm the film version of the video-game "Splinter Cell" that he wanted Mark Wahlberg to play Sam Fischer? Yup, true.
Seems he's got a big man-crush on Wahlberg.

'Bourne Ultimatum' film of the year

"The Bourne Ultimatum," winner of three Oscars and two British Academy film awards, has won the British public's vote for film of the year.

The prize -- voted for online between Jan. 31 and Feb. 15 -- was organized by the Richard Attenborough Film Awards and is the kudofest's seventh and final prize.

The six main Attenborough awards, selected by the U.K.'s regional film journalists, were announced Jan. 31 and were dominated by Joe Wright's "Atonement," which won four.

The public were invited to cast their votes on an industry selected list of 30 pics including "No Country for Old Men," "La Vie en Rose," "The Lives of Others" and "Atonement."

The Attenboroughs are organized by Cinema Days, the U.K. trade events body for regional staff and freelance journalists working in all the media.

Source: Variety

Salva talks Jeepers Creepers 3

Salva talks Jeepers Creepers 3

"Jeepers Creepers" helmer Victor Salva tells Fangoria a little about the the film's second sequel and states that it may still get a theatrical release.

The film, tentatively titled 'Jeepers Creeper 3: The Creeper Walks Among Us', "includes a prologue in the Old West and might bring back several characters from the first two films 20 years later. The script and story will be big on scares and give us plenty more of the traditional Creeper creepiness, with a few more bits thrown in about what it might be and where it came from", says the filmmaker.

MGM had "suggested that we go direct to video with the third in the trilogy, but we hope that the exciting entity that the new MGM is becoming realizes that both 'Jeepers Creepers' films set [then-] records for their Labor Day weekend box-office openings, before each went on to make over $100 million apiece on DVD," he tells Fangoria. "I believe a theatrical release is critical to this kind of success on video. I don’t think you can have one without the other, and it would be a shame not to be able to see what I have planned for 'Jeepers 3' up on the big screen."

Indeed.

Source: MovieHole

New Hulk, Iron Man and Wolverine Photos

The latest issue of Empire magazine (featuring Iron Man on the cover) includes new photos from The Incredible Hulk and a new image from X-Men Origins: Wolverine. You can check out the cover and pictures by clicking the links above.
Iron Man kicks-off the summer on May 2 and is followed by The Incredible Hulk on June 13. X-Men Origins: Wolverine is coming to theaters on May 1, 2009.


Source: Sumit

Italy's animation fest draws on Asia

The accent will be on Asia at the Cartoons on the Bay animation fest, which will run April 10-13 in Salerno on Italy's Amalfi coast.

The 12th edition will feature 176 works from 24 countries including a copious contingent of toons from China, Japan, South Korea, India and Malaysia alongside the usual European and Hollywood content.

The 40 titles competing for the Pulcinella Awards include Japan's green-themed "Miyori in the Sacred Fest" from Nippon Animation, and MICO's "Hooray for Fizi," based on British book "Hooray for Fish!"; South Korea's "Wanted," from Electric Circus; and "Sally Bollywood," the kiddie series with a Bollywood look from Gaul's Teleimages Kids.

'SuperHeroe' Poster

Dimension Films and MGM have provided us with the new poster for Superhero Movie, opening in theaters on March 28. The superhero movie spoof comedy stars Drake Bell, Sara Paxton, Christopher McDonald, Kevin Hart, Brent Spiner, Jeffrey Tambor, Robert Joy, Regina Hall, Pamela Anderson, Leslie Nielsen and Tracy Morgan. You can click Here for a bigger version.

Source: Dimension Films, MGM

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

The rock a man to fear

I don’t know why Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson is so determined to steer clear of action films. I mean, aren’t biffo movies the stuff he’s made for?

Yes, I’ll admit that Johnson does seem to have a bit more talent, and obviously more charisma, than someone like Sylvester Stallone but he really does need to remember that there would be no ‘The Rock : Movie Star” if it weren’t for the action films he did earlier on – films like “The Rundown” and “Walking Tall”.

Whatever the case, Johnson is following up his role in Disney’s “Witch Mountain” -which itself is his follow-up to Disney’s “The Game Plan” - with another kiddie picture – he’ll play “The Tooth Fairy” in a new Fox comedy of the same name.

Michael Lembeck, who helmed the second and third installments of "The Santa Clause," will direct the film, which sees Johnson play an ordinary man who's brought in to try to save the tooth fairy kingdom. So it’s essentially “The Santa Clause” all-over-again, right?

The only thing going for the project, as I see it, is that Lowell Ganz & Babaloo Mandel, who wrote such terrific comedies as “Parenthood” and “City Slickers”, were involved in writing the screenplay.


'Step Up 3' will be in 3d??

Disney planning a 3D “Step Up” movie? I could not think of anything worse (OK, I can… but at least having your nipples twisted with a wrench starts off pleasurable), can you guys?

Does a film like “Step Up” really need to be in 3D? If it didn’t work for “Jaws”, what’s to say it’s going to work for a cheesy little dance film? Does a film like that demand we get up close-and-personal with someone’s ballet slippers? Me think not.

Read more about this preposterous plan at Variety

'Starship Troopers 3' Trailer

“Starship Troopers 3 : Marauder” is on the way and StarshipTroopers3.net has found the official trailer on You Tube.

Enjoy. Cause i ddnt.

Realy a expect this to be on the top 10 list "Crap of The Year"



New face for 'The Grudge 3'

Seems spooky spirit types don't go for direct-to-DVD gigs...

"The Grudge 3" has put out a casting call for the new Kayako and Toshio - now that both Takako Fuji (Kayako) and Yuya Ozeki (Toshio) have passed on the opportunity to reprise their roles for sequel two.

Do you fit the bill?

KAYAKO
FEMALE - appears to be early to mid 30s, JAPANESE WOMAN, The iconic monster of the Grudge franchise. After being killed in a fit of jealous rage by her husband, Kayako has returned as a ghost to kill those who come in contact with the curse.



TOSHIO
MALE - appears to be 10 or 11 years old, JAPANESE BOY, Kayako’s son who was tragically killed after his mother. He has returned as a ghost to haunt those who have become victim of the curse.

The film, directed by Toby Wilkins and starring Matthew Knight, begins its three week shoot in Bulgaria on March 3rd.

Source: MovieHole

Meaning of 'Quantum of Solace'

The upcoming James Bond prequel sequel title was released and the title still has people wondering what it means. Quantum of Solace?? What is that? I have an idea, lets see what the writer of the screenplay has to say.

MTVMovies quotes:

You’re probably still wondering what the title of the next James Bond movie, “Quantum of Solace,” actually means. Star Daniel Craig insisted that the oddly-phrased moniker “ties into the plot,” but don’t tell that to the Oscar-winning writer of the script…because he’s just as confused as the rest of us.

“I have no idea,” Paul Haggis admitted when I asked him for the meaning on the Oscar red carpet Sunday. “It’s not my title.”

So Craig says it has something to do with the plot. A tie in. It will all make sense kinda like when we all couldnt figure out what “The Phantom Menace” meant and finally got it after the movie came out. Some titles just sound stupid but become part of the accepted genre after a while and you kinda forget how dumb it sounded.

According to Ask Yahoo the answer states: “Quantum of Solace” is a small degree of comfort that can exist between two people emotionally in a relationship. The Governor character in the Ian Fleming short story of the same name defines it as “… a precise figure defining the comfort, humanity and fellow feeling required between two people for love to survive. If the quantum of solace is nil, then love is dead.”

I am still at a loss as to what this will mean. Bond is dealing with his feelings over Vesper Lynd’s death in the previous film and perhaps this alludes to the shaping of the cold womanizer that Bond becomes later in his career. Keeping that “quantum” at nil, he can avoid falling in love.

Or maybe I am just grasping.

What do you think?

Source: TheMovieBlog

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Superheroes fly to Canada?

The Cat’s out of the bag, so, er, I guess I’m allowed to hit with a shovel – “Mad Max” star Hugh Keays-Byrne will indeed play ‘The Martian Manhunter’ in a film that’s been on and off more times than Pammy and Tommy Lee – “Justice League” (only now the film’s been retitled “Justice League Mortal”).

Keays-Byrne’s involvement in the film was first mentioned in an article in The Sydney Morning Herald (and then later at Aint it Cool, who added the ‘Manhunter’ titbit), in which the paper stated that the production may be moving from Australia to Canada because some producers believe Justice League is not Australian enough to qualify for the tax scheme. This’ll hurt like a knee to the balls for locals - it means the crew’s that were hired to work on the film’s Sydney shoot will no longer be required, and some of the actors – many Australians have been cast, like Teresa Palmer and Megan Gale – may be recast with Canadian actors.

"One of the reasons for doing Justice League in this country is the opportunity to bring back all the people we lost on Happy Feet who went overseas," Miller said. "We spent four years developing this talent and the cream of them left because they didn't have another film to go on to ... The idea is to say come back, start off on Justice League then move onto Happy Feet 2."

Be interesting to see what happens…

Source: MovieHole

Vantage Takes the advantage

The ComingSoon.net Box Office Report has been updated with studio estimates for the weekend. Be sure to check back on Tuesday for final figures based on actual box office.

With a strong ensemble cast including Dennis Quaid, Matthew Fox from "Lost" and Forrest Whitaker, Sony's political thriller Vantage Point carved itself a definitive lead at the box office this weekend, grossing an estimated $24 million for first place in 3,149 theaters, averaging roughly $7,600 per site.

Second place was a horse race between the top two movies over Presidents' Day weekend,
Doug Liman's sci-fi action flick Jumper (20th Century Fox) and Paramount Pictures' fantasy The Spiderwick Chronicles, both which grossed roughly $12.6 million in their second weekends. Despite its 54% drop from last weekend, Jumper is being given a slight advantage, having grossed $56.2 million in 11 days, compared to the $43.6 million for the children's fantasy film.

Touchstone Pictures' latest dance hit Step Up 2 the Streets added another $9.8 million this weekend, a drop of 48% from its opening weekend, with a total box office of $41.4 million.

Fifth and sixth place were filled by two romantic comedies with the action-adventure
Fool's Gold (Warner Bros.), starring Matthew McConaughey and Kate Hudson, amassing another $6.3 million to bring its total to $52.4 million. In its second weekend, the Universal romantic comedy Definitely, Maybe, starring Ryan Reynolds, grossed $5.2 million, down 47% from its opening weekend.

Michel Gondry's Be Kind Rewind (New Line), starring Jack Black and Mos Def, tied for seventh place with the indie comedy Juno (Fox Searchlight). Both movies grossed approximately $4.1 million for the weekend, with "Rewind" averaging roughly $5,000 in just 808 theaters. Enjoying its tenth weekend in the top 10 after opening in limited release back in early December, Juno has grossed nearly $130 million to date, more than all of the other Best Picture nominees have grossed. Last night, the film, lead actress Ellen Page and screenwriter Diablo Cody won Independent Spirit Awards on its way to tonight's awards ceremony, and the movie was down just 11% from the holiday weekend.

Also in preparation for its big Oscar night, Paul Thomas Anderson's There Will Be Blood (Paramount Vantage), up for eight nominations including Daniel Day-Lewis for Best Actor, saw a ground swell of viewers, reentering the Top 10 with an estimated $2.6 million bringing its total to $35 million. It's Anderson's highest-grossing film in his eleven year career. Its main Oscar competition, Joel & Ethan Coen's No Country for Old Men, also saw a bump back into the Top 12 with $2.3 million, bringing its own total to $64 million.

Opening outside the Top 12, Larry the Cable Guy's third solo comedy Witless Protection (Lionsgate) did worse than last year's Delta Farce, making just $2.2 million in 1,333 theaters, but coming out ahead of the indie comedy Charlie Bartlett (MGM), starring Anton Yelchin and Robert Downey Jr., which ended up with just $1.8 million in 1,222 theaters.

In limited release, the Oscar nominated Austrian film The Counterfeiters (Sony Classics) took in $100 thousand in its opening weekend in 8 theaters, an average of $12.5 thousand per venue.

Based on estimates, the gross of the Top 10 movies was down 11% from the same weekend last year when Ghost Rider reigned in its second weekend over Jim Carrey's thriller The Number 23 and Fox's comedy Reno 911!: Miami.

Click here for the full box office estimates of the top 12 films

Monday, February 25, 2008

And the winners are...



BEST PICTURE
"No Country for Old Men" (Miramax and Paramount Vantage) A Scott Rudin/Mike Zoss Production Scott Rudin, Ethan Coen and Joel Coen, Producers
DIRECTOR
Ethan Coen & Joel Coen - "No Country For Old Men"
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Daniel Day-Lewis in "There Will Be Blood" (Paramount Vantage and Miramax)
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Marion Cotillard in "La Vie en Rose" (Picturehouse)
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Diablo Cody - "Juno"
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Ethan & Joel Coen - "No Country for Old Men"
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Tilda Swinton in "Michael Clayton" (Warner Bros.)
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Javier Bardem in "No Country for Old Men" (Miramax and Paramount Vantage)
COSTUME DESIGN
"Elizabeth: The Golden Age" (Universal) Alexandra Byrne
ANIMATED FEATURE
"Ratatouille" - (Pixar; Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Distribution) Brad Bird
MAKEUP
"La Vie en Rose" (Picturehouse) Didier Lavergne and Jan Archibald
VISUAL EFFECTS
"The Golden Compass" (New Line in association with Ingenious Film Partners) Michael Fink, Bill Westenhofer, Ben Morris and Trevor Wood
ART DIRECTION
"Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" (DreamWorks and Warner Bros., Distributed by DreamWorks/Paramount) Art Direction: Dante Ferretti; Set Decoration: Francesca Lo Schiavo
LIVE-ACTION SHORT FILM
"Le Mozart des Pickpockets (The Mozart of Pickpockets)" (Premium Films) A Karé Production; Philippe Pollet-Villard
ANIMATED SHORT FILM
"Peter & the Wolf" (BreakThru Films) A BreakThru Films/Se-ma-for Studios Production
SOUND EDITING
"The Bourne Ultimatum" (Universal) Karen Baker Landers and Per Hallberg
SOUND MIXING
"The Bourne Ultimatum" (Universal) Scott Millan, David Parker and Kirk Francis
FILM EDITING
"The Bourne Ultimatum" (Universal) Christopher Rouse
FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
"The Counterfeiters" - Austria
ORIGINAL SONG
"Falling Slowly" from "Once" (Fox Searchlight) Music and Lyric by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova
CINEMATOGRAPHY
"There Will Be Blood" (Paramount Vantage and Miramax) Robert Elswit
ORIGINAL SCORE
"Atonement" (Focus Features) Dario Marianelli
DOCUMENTARY SHORT
"Freeheld" A Lieutenant Films Production; Cynthia Wade and Vanessa Roth
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
"Taxi to the Dark Side" (THINKFilm) An X-Ray Production; Alex Gibney and Eva Orner

Matt Damon aim's for Bourne 4

I find it funny that Matt Damon would want to do a fourth “Bourne” movie – especially because the last one (“Ultimatum”) wrapped things up so nicely. But then, Damon doesn’t seem to be the type to do things for money, so all I can assume is that he and director Paul Greengrass have come up with one killer story for the next installment. We hope.

Whatever the case, Jason Bourne will be the subject of a forthcoming DVD Quadrilogy box set – with word from Variety that Universal, Damon and Greengrass (director of the last two “Bourne” flicks; Doug Liman did the first) are brainstorming over ideas for another sequel.

As I believe the original “Bourne” book series ended at “Ultimatum” and the series then went on to tell the story of – granted, Ludlum didn’t write these ones – Bourne’s son, they'll probably be writing something from scratch this time around (not that they basically didn't do that for the "Bourne" films anyway - the books didn't really resemble the movies).

X-Files Treiler

f you were at Wonder Con in San Francisco on the weekend you’ll no doubt have heard the ruckus coming from the big room down the hall – that, it seems, is where FOX’s “X-Files” panel was being held.

The stars of the film, as well as creator Chris Carter and writer Frank Spotnitz, talked about the-sequel-that-isn’t-about-a-werewolf (you can view clips of the panel here) –oh, and Carter confirmed Mitch Pileggi’s involvement in the film - but more so, they unveiled the first trailer.
To see how white Billy Connolly’s hair has gotten…. Press play!





Sunday, February 24, 2008

Oscar Night

Its Oscar Night tonight, Lets See once again the list of nominees

Best Motion Picture of the Year

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role

Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen

Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published

Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score

Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song

Nominees:

August Rush (2007): Jamal Joseph, Charles Mack, Tevin Thomas("Raise It Up")

Enchanted (2007): Alan Menken, Stephen Schwartz("Happy Working Song")

Enchanted (2007): Alan Menken, Stephen Schwartz("That's How You Know")

Once (2006): Glen Hansard, Markéta Irglová(“Falling Slowly” )

Best Animated Feature Film of the Year

Best Foreign Language Film of the Year

Nominees:

Fälscher, Die (2007)(Austria)

Beaufort (2007)(Israel)

Mongol (2007)(Kazakhstan)

Katyn (2007)(Poland)

12 (2007)(Russia)