Kenny Ortega might be known around Hollywood right now as one of the masterminds of the lucrative High School Musical phenomenon, but, in my heart, he’ll always be the director of Newsies. (Look, you can throw Batman Begins, The Prestige and Reign of Fire at me all day long, but Christian Bale was never more … Continue reading
That it’s become cliche to lament the passing of Steve Martin’s credibility leaves me with no option but to curse one of my comedy heroes for hatching an uninspired spy thriller premise that, on its face, wouldn’t pass muster as a made-for-cable movie. If you’re so goddamned determined to wreck movies, Steve, could you at … Continue reading
Note to publicists: this extremely NSFW clip from Cashback shall be considered the gold standard for CHUD-linked promotional materials henceforth. If you cannot favor us with this much gratuitous nudity, please don’t bother. Important: this does not apply to Calendar Girls II: Gravity’s Sorrow. If this clip triggers a glimmer of recognition, it’s probably because … Continue reading
Missing from Anne Thompson’s article relaying Kevin Spacey’s plans to reprise his role as Lex Luthor in the sequel to Superman Returns, currently titled Man of Steel, are a number of things: 1) a budget, 2) a credible explanation as to how Bryan Singer will begin production on Supes 2 next year after completing the … Continue reading
Imagine if Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro suddenly decided they hated each other and would never work with each other again. In my mind, the apparently now-permanent break-up of John Woo and Chow Yun-fat is that catastrophic. Though the two men haven’t worked together in a director-actor capacity since Hard Boiled, most of us … Continue reading
You may not have heard much about Gavin Hood’s Rendition, but, by the end of this September’s Toronto Film Festival, it could very well be a frontrunner for Best Picture. It’s not like this is a stretch; Hood’s Tsotsi won the 2005 Oscar for Best Foreign Film, Kelly Sane’s screenplay made the 2006 industry Black … Continue reading
Is July 10th National Theatrical Trailer Day or something? First, we get In the Valley of Elah. Then Get Smart. Now Jerry Seinfeld’s perilously hyped (see the photo to your right) Bee Story and Kenneth Branagh’s Harold Pinter-scripted remake of Sleuth! Which looks better? As Harold Pinter is one of the greatest dramatists on the … Continue reading
I am no fan of Paul Haggis outside of the Bond franchise (where he should be permanently ensconced until whatever’s cooking there goes cold), but I’ll say this much about the screenplay for his Iraq War drama In the Valley of Elah: it didn’t make me want to be racist. Actually, I didn’t actively hate … Continue reading
It’s amazing how much people can love a dumb animal – especially single women with no romantic prospects whatsoever (there might be some confusion as to who the dumb animal is here; so be it). Take Barbaro, for instance. This phenomenon was documented tirelessly by the good scoundrels at Deadspin until the mighty colt went … Continue reading
My desire to completely expunge The Hours from memory is so all-consuming that every time I consider Nicole Kidman’s impressive filmography, I completely forget that she’s a Best Actress winner. It’s not easy to get consensus on Kidman. Many people think she’s had a great career; I tend to think she’s had a smart career. … Continue reading