J.J. Abrams may be methodically busting up my dream Trek crew, but Zoe Saldana claiming what was rightfully Rihanna’s is acceptable; after all, she was in Center Stage (which should’ve been one of my Guilty Pleasures entries, even though the write-up would’ve violated the terms of my probation). For the record, anyone who was even … Continue reading
Here’s hoping Tobey Maguire isn’t over Jake Gyllenhaal’s near-theft of his leading role in Spider-Man 2, ‘cuz all that tension could help turn Jim Sheridan’s remake of Susanne Bier’s very good Brothers into the male version of Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?. In fact, I’d drop the wife character (played in the original by the … Continue reading
Q: A natural fit for you would be George [W. Bush]. With the father, the son, the war and conversations with God, it sounds like something right out of a movie. Is that something that might interest you?Oliver Stone: (Big smile) Yes. Very much so. (The room echoes with laughter and scattered applause.) Q: How … Continue reading
I don’t know the first thing about Max Makowski’s work, so it’s entirely possible that the "Hong Kong-based" director is just the guy to bring the popular 1970s television series Kung Fu to the big screen. But until I have a better sense of his worthiness, I am going to make light of his presumed … Continue reading
As we near the December start date for the as-yet-untitled twenty-second installment in the James Bond series, plot and character details are beginning to get meted out in a very controlled, supremely boring fashion. Thus far, we’ve learned that the story will pick up right after the finale of Casino Royale, with Bond facing down … Continue reading
When Variety first reported about The $40,000 Man back in June, I was cautiously optimistic. The idea of a Steve Austin-esque astronaut being injured in a car accident and rebuilt on a tight budget sounded promising enough, even though the writing team of John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein (you know the former as Sam … Continue reading
If you haven’t seen Michael Haneke’s original Funny Games, not to worry; it looks like you’ll be seeing the same thing this December with recognizable stars and updated technology. I have no idea if that’s a good thing. Haneke’s too much of a bastard for me to decide whether he’s cashing in or subverting the … Continue reading
I imagine Craig Gillespie would’ve preferred a little distance between his Toronto Film Fest fave, Lars and the Real Girl, and the wide theatrical release of Mr. Woodcock, the "comedy" from which he was "removed" a year ago. Reshot by Wedding Crashers‘ maestro David Dobkin, and frantically shuttled around the schedule by New Line like … Continue reading
America is in distress. There. I just saved you two hours and ten bucks. But if you’re still hot to see whether Paul Haggis has matured as a storyteller after ramming Crash down your gullets, In the Valley of Elah offers signs of progress; even though every perception shift is, once again, too telegraphed to … Continue reading
It’s been a while since I got good leakage from the agencies (do with that what you must), so I was thrilled to run across Film Jerk proprietor Edward Havens’s list of 300 active and in-development pre-strike projects (link courtesy of Hollywood Elsewhere). The last time I saw this list, it was much shorter and … Continue reading