Obsessed With Film

Remake Machine: THE MONSTER SQUAD

Ray DeRousse — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 02:22:16 +0000

In yet another bewildering bit of entertainment news, Mike Fleming of Deadline Hollywood Daily is reporting that Rob Cohen and the infamous Michael Bay will be producing a big screen remake of the 1987 cheese-fest Monster Squad. Cohen, who was a producer on the original film, wants to direct this remake. Like most crap from the eighties, this film has a devoted cult following primarily because it was played continuously on cable stations for years, imprinting itself on their collective psyches. The film is much worse than they remember. The makeup effects used were typical for the period, and the storyline is sub-Goonies. Nostalgia has a funny way of glossing over a lot of the defects, doesn't it? Someday all of this horrible cheese will be remade; I'm looking forward to a 3D remake of Ghoulies, which would be the official bottom of the barrel. So what can be done to make this remake of The Monster Squad worthwhile? Here are a few suggestions: 1. Improve the monsters. I'm not necessarily advocating CGI here, but I am advising that the monsters not look like stuntmen in silly rubber suits. Kids are much savvier today than they were in the eighties, and the film will need ...

The PREDATORS Trailer Ups The Ante!

Ray DeRousse — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 01:57:19 +0000

Fresh off the positive reception of the Predators footage released at SXSW, producer Robert Rodriguez has wisely decided to show the first full trailer for the upcoming summer film. The SXSW reel was fine, but this is a better and more effective look at the film. It's well-cut, it feels dense, and appears to have an interesting band of characters. I just wish they hadn't recycled that net-in-the-jungle business from the first film, because it makes the film look like a parody or remake. Otherwise, this is exactly how you build anticipation among fanboys:

WTF: A TOWN CALLED PANIC

Ray DeRousse — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 01:18:36 +0000

Movie critics from time to time bemoan the lack of originality and creativity of the films coming out of Hollywood. The story formulas, the stock characters, and the by-the-numbers direction often make critics cranky and cynical. To anyone complaining about such things, I offer A Town Called Panic as the antithesis of modern movie malaise. Just bring some aspirin. Quite possibly the cheapest-looking stop-motion film ever made, A Town Called Panic features a bunch of plastic toys that go on ceaseless, careening adventures. The protagonists - Cowboy, Indian, and Horse - all live in a peculiar house in an unspecified (possibly French) countryside. The "plot" of the film involves Cowboy and Indian accidently ordering 50 billion bricks as a birthday present for Horse. The ensuing narrative that arises from that tiny germ of an idea could not be divined by God Himself, nor ever understood. While I admire the painstaking work involved in making these simple-looking toys come to some sort of life, this is simply not a good movie. No matter how crazy a film gets, it still requires a tangible plot or character arcs that justify sitting in a theater for ninety minutes. This film, however, plays like a never-ending freefall ...

Willis & McClane

Matt Holmes — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 00:20:35 +0000

Can you think of a major Hollywood star that in recent years has been phoning in so many half-assed performances, and is so obviously relying on former roles & screen persona's to earn a sweet pay-check, than Bruce Willis? Seriously, think about it. In the past decade (and be honest with yourselves), how many lead performances from the once great Hollywood risk-taker, who once upon a time wasn't afraid to step outside of the safe zone for smart genre fare like Unbreakable, Twelve Monkeys and The Fifth Element, have you actually enjoyed? How many have lived up to a '90's billed Bruce Willis feature? His Hartigan in Sin City; check. His aging John Wayne take on a retiring cop in 16 Blocks; yup. But outside of that it's mostly slight variations on John McClane and I'm sick to death of the predictability of it all. (You'll probably be checking IMDB right now because you can't think of any other roles since, what, Unbreakable in 2000). When Willis signs on to a movie these days it's a big case of "who cares, I won't be seeing it!". That's my predominant thought on the news from Deadline that Lionsgate/Millenium's Kane & Lynch video game adaptation is to film this August, with screenwriter Kyle Ward announcing via ...

Singer offered X-MEN 4 and WOLVERINE 2?

Matt Holmes — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 17:38:08 +0000

A snippet from another A* interview conducted by Hero Complex's Geoff Boucher, this time with Bryan Singer and his X-Men: First Class producer Lauren Shuler Donner; Shuler Donner also has pitched Singer on doing a fourth installment of the previously established "X-Men" franchise and Jackman had that lunch with Singer to coax him into a project as well, which may or may not be a "Wolverine" film, which Jackman has said will be set in Japan and released in 2011. "I wish I could be four people," the director said with a moan. "I could make everybody happy." Singer turned to Shuler Donner and said of "X-Men 4": "Hold that one off for just a little, I'm fixated on the other one right now." She nodded and answered, "I will, I will ... I'm holding it open with high hopes. It's totally different [from 'First Class'] and it will be so interesting for you." Singer's back into the X-Men groove to stay, and the way he is talking, you can probably forget about his Battlestar Galactica big-screen reboot or his Excalibur movie, although the latter looks like it has been over-taken by several other King Arthur projects anyway. The in-depth interview, which does more ...

75 Tickets to the Star Studied London premiere of KICK-ASS to be won!

Matt Holmes — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 12:39:09 +0000

Kick-Ass is the real deal folks. It is Spider-Man for our generation, only we didn't have to wait 40 years to see Mark Millar's creation hit the big screens. It's coming in a few short weeks. Half of the OWF staff have seen Matt Vaughn's movie already and folks, we love it. It's gonna be one of the top movies of the year, of that I'm certain. Darren's review called it "the film that saves the superhero movie". I just received this from Lionsgate and I had to share it with you guys; MARK MILLAR and JOHN ROMITA Jr will be signing the graphic novel KICK ASS and the movie companion book KICK ASS: CREATING THE COMIC, MAKING THE MOVIE at Forbidden Planet Megastore, 179 Shaftesbury Avenue, London WC2h 8JR on Sunday March 22nd 2 – 3pm. The first seventy five customers at this event will receive two tickets to the star studded premiere of 'Kick Ass'. http://forbiddenplanet.com/events/2010/03/21/mark-millar-and-john-romita-jr-signing-kick-ass/ Kick-Ass opens March 26th in the U.K. and we'll have a few more reviews before then, so stay tuned.

Depp/Jolie’s THE TOURIST could be Christmas release?

Matt Holmes — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 11:48:39 +0000

Consider the image of Johnny Depp above (found via The Playlist). Menacing, foreboding, protruding the eyes of a confident man; the eyes of the thesp who played John Dillinger. This is the Johnny Depp we admire, the one who is so often disguised by Tim Burton and taken away from us in a grotesque and ungainly manner. The above still is from The Tourist, the Hitchcock style sexy spy remake of the 2005 French movie Anthony Zimmer and after seeing this image, I'm relied and duly reminded that there is a Johnny Depp that exists without hours and hours of make-up. Deadline report that the film which pits Depp alongside Angelina Jolie (a few set pics here) possibly the two most lusted after actors on the planet, had to shut down filming yesterday in Venice because there were amazingly too many fans wanting autographs and taking photo's. This comes after Fox News reported that Depp's wife Vanessa Paradis begged and pleaded (of course she did, hmmm) with Depp to leave the project in fear of him being sucked in and seduced by the man-eater Jolie, as soon as she heard they were to share a passion love scene together. It's Mr. and Mrs. Smith ...

UPDATED: Columbia have slimed Ivan Reitman off GHOSTBUSTERS 3?

Matt Holmes — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 09:29:30 +0000

UPDATED: It's true... Reitman looks like he has been whacked. Variety later reported that the veteran helmer will indeed direct Friends With Benefits, the formerly titled "Fuckbuddies" starring Ashton Kutcher and Natalie Portman which films this May. This is the exact same month a second draft of Ghostbusters 3 is expected to arrive at the desk of Columbia from The Office writers Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky. Columbia want GB 3 out in Summer 2011 and were set to film this year (Sony's only announced 2011 tentpole), and Friends With Benefits (released in Jan 2011) will keep Reitman busy for the rest of 2010 so there's just no way. Either Reitman's done and will be replaced, or the whole project is at best delayed a year or at worst dead completely. There's tell-tale signs of trouble at Columbia over Ghostbusters 3. The first "uh-oh" moment came earlier this month when Bill Murray appeared on Letterman showing very little affection towards the franchise; talking like he was dreading a forthcoming visit to the dentist rather than reprising his most famous film role one more time. But we mostly laughed that off; it's Bill Murray after all, and he never seems to look forward to anything. However, the second ...

TOY STORY 3 early ShoWest reviews; another Pixar tearjerker…

Matt Holmes — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 14:46:17 +0000

Toy Story 3, in unfinished 2-D form (temp score, animation not quite there - said to be 85% done) premiered at ShoWest yesterday in L.A; the very first outside of Disney/Pixar screening held anywhere in the world. A handful of embargo-friendly musings (i.e. general reactions but nothing in-depth that could bring about a lawsuit) have begun popping up all over the place and the general consensus is that the movie is excellent and Disney have a massive hit on their hands. As with all of these occasions though, we should be reminded to wait until the giddy excitement has settled down before truly weighing up the facts. But positive word of mouth is good and after the incredible run of Wall*E and Up, two movies that damn well left me in tears, it sure sounds like Pixar are working their magic once again. From the sounds of things, there's not a dry eye in the house. Jim Hill Media (The ultimate Disney authoritarian) called the film "terrific" and said; So what can I tell you about “Toy Story 3” without revealing any significant surprises? … Er … Um … Well, for starters, you should bring Kleenex. Lots & lots of Kleenex. Because I ...

Hurray! PTA’s scientology take-down movie THE MASTER finds home

Matt Holmes — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 13:08:39 +0000

Deadline are reporting that Paul Thomas Anderson (There Will Be Blood, Magnolia) is close to securing funding for his $35 million take-down of religious cults (specifically Scientology), widely expected to be titled The Master. Red River have "serious interest" in financing the whole package which includes Phillip Seymour Hoffman as "The Master", a charismatic and conniving version of L. Ron. Hubbard; And Jeremy Renner, who is circling the supporting role of "Freddie"; the young drifter on the brink of ruining his life to raging alcoholism who becomes "The Master's" apprentice. And then of course there's Anderson's well-received controversial screenplay and his electric directorial talent.... Interestingly the "Freddie" role in a very early draft is written for an impressionable young twenty-something with a weak physicality, more to the liking of Eli Sunday in There Will Be Blood, whereas Renner himself is 39 and by all accounts, a commanding screen machismo. However, the Oscar nominated Hurt Locker actor has considerable buzz right now and is unquestionably versatile. He has already under-gone a reported five meetings with Anderson for the part and in truth looks more like 29 than his actual age of 39; so I could buy him as a mid 20's guy. I think. I can't ...

CLASH OF THE TITANS 3-D concerns

Matt Holmes — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 10:35:44 +0000

This morning, a London-based SFX industry chum informed me via e-mail about Clash of the Titans, which remember had less than 10 weeks from the end of January for this late in the day 3-D conversion; Apparently they've had 100s of Indian SFX sub-contractors working round the clock to 3D it. The SFX teams that did the primary effects aren't overly pleased. Everyone knows and expects by now that Clash will be the Diet Coke of 3-D. This is common knowledge. Any movie that is shot in 2-D and later post-converted into 3-D is an inferior product and just won't have the same effect on the eyeballs as films shot with 3-D camera's. This message needs to be delivered to the masses who will be unsuspecting. They will see 3-D and expect an Avatar-like experience every time they lay down their extra few quid/dollars but it's just not going to happen with post-converted tinkering.

SERBIAN FILM Raises The Bar On Lowering Standards

Ray DeRousse — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 18:26:32 +0000

Three long years ago I wrote an article which discussed the exploitation of the media by torture-porn producers like Eli Roth. In it I said the following: In the end, the people who complain about these types of films – and especially their advertising – only fall right into the game plan of these sleazy lowlifes. Eli Roth doesn’t care one bit about artistic merit or the values of a percentage of the population. His entire machine runs on the promise of grossing people out for one weekend, and walking away a rich man. Apparently some things never change. The SXSW film festival is currently being rocked by a little film called Serbian Film. The odd title replaces, for American audiences, the original-language title, which references the film's pornographic interests. This new title, however, will not mask the filthy machinations of the movie. Most of the critics stumbling out of the SXSW screening have been left speechless, describing such atrocities as child pornography, mutilation, necrophilia, and, most disturbing of all, sex with a newborn baby. While it's safe to say the film won't be playing at a multiplex near you (at least not in Puritanical America, for which I am, for once, thankful), ...

Simon revs it up with STREET HAWK on DVD

Simon Gallagher — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 17:53:28 +0000

When youre presented with a synopsis anything like the one that follows, it becomes incredibly difficult to not eat it up and then bask in the undiluted awesomeness of the DVD... When Jessie Mach is crippled after an assault by an old enemy, his position as motorcycle cop seems finished. That was before a computer technician named Tuttle recruits him for a special government project. He is to be the test pilot for the Street Hawk, an advanced motorcycle that carried tremendous firepower and capable of speeds of over 300 MPH while in a city with little risk of collisions with Tuttle staying at the command center seeing everything Jessie does through the camera in the helmet. This deal includes special surgery to repair his legs while keeping him the facade that he is still handicapped. Unfortunately for Tuttle, Jessie insists to get involved in stopping crime rather than the simple tests Tuttle wants. So now the city has the additional protection of the mysterious superhero known as Streethawk. Fan-written IMDB synopsises are fantastic. They combine facts with fan passion, and are generally littered with terrible terrible grammatical errors that somehow make them all the more charming. For me, this particular one was the reason ...

Darren says KICK-ASS really does KICK-ASS!!!

Darren Moverley — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 11:25:59 +0000

The comic book movie juggernaut that had dominated the summer season over the last decade was totally derailed by the preposterous abomination that was Spider-man 3. After Sam Raimi’s ill-conceived mess it was clear that the comic-book movie badly needed a reinvention or else audiences would suffer superhero fatigue. Watchmen was the first film to reinvigorate the beleaguered genre, and this adaptation of Mark Millar’s revered graphic novel brings the super-hero – sometimes quite literally – kicking and screaming into the modern world, grounding costumed vigilantes in the laws of reality more than any film before and thus making the notion of caped crusaders absolutely enthralling again. Dave Lizewski aka Kick-Ass is every-bit the people’s hero: a spectacled, nerdy high-school weed who makes Peter Parker or Clark Kent seem like suave charmers in comparison. He hasn’t been mutated by the bite of an arachnid, and doesn’t hail from some super-power bestowing distant planet. He’s just a guy, who sees injustice, and decides to take a stand against the maddening apathy to crime shown by all, including the police. When he dons his comically bland, emerald green, mail order lycra jump suit, he looks less imposing than a toddler trick or treating; the muscle ...

The Burning Issue # 5 – Scorsese’s still got it

Laurent Kelly — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 11:01:29 +0000

Has it become cool now to slate Martin Scorsese? Now first of all I respect the opinions of Shutter Island's reviewers who were very clear about their objections to the film and made a convincing case about why it didn't move them on a dramatically emotional scale. So much of the negative feedback however has focused on such overblown minor details that in essence have no real impact on the quality of the film itself. Take this obnoxious paragraph from The Independent's John Walsh as a prime example: It's awful. It's not just full of ridiculous clichés of 1950s movies (when a psychiatrist routinely used to appear, like in Psycho, to explain the oddness of the human mind), it features the most enormous "twist" seen in the movies since Shyamalan's The Village. Okay, for a start Psycho is not a film from the 1950's. Let's get that right to begin with, and secondly the scene in that film with the psychiatrist is kind of called for seeing as the character Norman Bates is being analysed in an asylum; the manner in which we see the psychology come into play with Bates harbouring thoughts in his mother's voice is one of the most chilling endings to a horror film ...

Channing Tatum & Keira Knightley in CAPTAIN AMERICA contention?

Matt Holmes — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 10:19:52 +0000

According to Mike Fleming, former model turned actor Channing Tatum is now being considered for the role of Steve Rogers, aka Captain America in Marvel's June 2011 released tentpole which begins filming at the end of next month. So first there was Chris Evans, then Ryan Phillipe and now Tatum after the original bunch of t.v. actors and unknowns. There's certainly a pattern forming here. These are actors who have a number of big features under their belt (despite two of them struggling to win roles right now) and it's pretty clear that the bunch of guys Joe Johnston was originally given to consider for a March 1st casting deadline, just weren't up to snuff. Marvel are deepening their $300,000 pockets, and are now looking at the kind of talent we originally thought would be considered for this. After the jump, a look at three British actresses' up for the love interest part, one of which is Keira Knightley; Tatum, of course, feels right physicality wise. He has charisma too, even though he kinda went missing in G.I. Joe but nobody really survived that picture with much pride. The guy has momentum with Dear John performing at the box office and with Knockout and The ...

UPDATED: Scorsese casts Gandhi & Borat in THE INVENTION OF HUGO CABARET!

Matt Holmes — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 02:17:47 +0000

Mike Fleming followed up his scoop with news that Chloe Moretz (Hitgirl from Kick-Ass, and leads the upcoming Let The Right One In remake) and Brit Asa Butterfield (The Boy With The Striped Pjama's) have joined Scorsese's adventure movie. Moretz, who has considerable Kick-Ass buzz, will play the lead. As Fleming says, so strange to see Scorsese handle a kids movie when there probably isn't one of his features you would ever show to a kid. So Sir. Ben Kingsley (as silent filmmaker George Melies in a major role) and Sacha Baron Cohen (as a train inspector) are the first two names cast in Martin Scorsese's next picture, a children's fantasy adventure based on Brian Selznick's book The Invention of Hugo Cabaret. Great, no complaints here. Selznick's illustrated novel centers on a 12 year orphan who lives within the walls of a Paris train station in 1930, which by my account makes it Scorsese's first ever family orientated motion picture. With the novel celebrating gorgeous black-and-white images reminiscent of the silent movie era, and because of the setting; classic French movies - do we expect Scorsese; the walking film encyclopedia to reference these genres in Cabaret as much as he did Val Lewton and film noir with Shutter ...

Eulogising Miramax

Simon Gallagher — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 00:18:47 +0000

Disney are most certainly feeling the pinch. The hot news this month from the studio giant with the big round ears is that Robert Zemeckis' ImageMoversDigital is set to be no more, following hot on the heels of the decision to get rid of the sadly declining Miramax. Personally, I will shed far more tears for Miramax, than I will for IMD (though I wouldnt ever go as far as this). Flicking through this month's 250th Birthday Issue Empire mag (I honestly despair at their continued level of self-congratulation) the one thing that stuck out the most for me was the final page- a memorial of sorts for the now sadly departed Miramax in the genius shape of a scene from modern classic sex, lies and videotape. While the scene wasnt actually the most memorable of the film, it brought back to me just how much I adored the film, and specifically James Spader's performance in it, the first (and astoundingly, only) time I saw it. Any film of any sort that manages to tease a good performance out of stoney-faced Andie MacDowell has got to be a winner in life as well. And now Miramax, it seems, is officially no more. Of course this ...

Matt says you must be criminally insane not to visit SHUTTER ISLAND

Matt Holmes — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 00:07:59 +0000

Creepy German scientists! Nazi's! Holocaust! Menacing lighthouses! Chain-smoking Marshalls! Atmospheric RAIN & Fog! An insane asylum... FOR THE CRIMINALLY INSANE!! There's not a single frame in Martin Scorsese's Shutter Island, a stimulating and effective celebration of 40's & 50's B-movie horror's and American film noir that isn't heightened and cranked up to 11. It's a movie about atmosphere and style, and how it evokes an experience on the senses. At the core of Shutter Island is a Leonardo DiCaprio performance commanding order evoking the best of this era of leading men. It's multi-layed with the longing and the desperation of a broken man with an Out of the Past lock & chain on his psyche. DiCaprio's fourth collobration with Scorsese has resulted in by far his most complex character and it may take a few viewings before you realise just how mature his work is here. The expressionistic claustrophobic atmosphere is heavy but it's merely used to serve a deeper emotion than you'll appreciate on the first time around. I'll be seeing it again this week for sure, probably twice more before it finishes it's run in theatres. It demands this repeat factor. I saw Scorsese's latest at a 5.30pm showing on Saturday amongst a 75% full crowd, which ...

Now Ryan Phillippe As CAPTAIN AMERICA?

Ray DeRousse — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 20:26:06 +0000

The search for the perfect Captain America continues, just days after Hugo Weaving's casting as Red Skull. In the latest news, Ryan Phillippe is the next actor seriously being considered for the role of Steve Rogers, a sick young man transformed by a serum into the indestructible superhero. I doubt if many Captain America fans would like that casting choice, but I don't think they'd be happy at this point if Captain America rose from the pages of the comic book to portray himself. I personally love the idea of Phillippe playing the character, if only from a physical perspective. Phillippe has the all-American, apple-pie looks and is in terrific shape. While looks are a fairly superficial reason to cast someone, an actor playing a character like Superman or Captain America needs to have a certain instant eye appeal. Phillippe has that in spades. Out of all of the nominees for the role thus far considered, I like Phillippe, Chris Evans, and Mike Vogel for the role. Here are all of the actors currently aligned for the role. Which one do you prefer?