Mean Streets, Taxi Driver, New York, New York, Raging Bull, The King of Comedy, Goodfellas, Cape Fear, Casino and, now, The Winter of Frankie Machine brings the grand total of Martin Scorsese/Robert De Niro director/actor collaborations to nine. That strange popping sensation you just felt was the universe clicking back into place. Why has it … Continue reading
This sounds about right. The reinvented Bond franchise doesn’t need a heavy hand behind the camera, and while Marc Forster hasn’t been shy about enforcing David Fincher’s style on his movies, he can also dial it down (e.g. Finding Neverland, which was so dialed down I made like Little Nemo at the WGA screening room). … Continue reading
Looks like Fox’s lack of invention has finally bled over into their usually creative marketing department. Had to happen sooner or later. That’s Christopher Eccleston doing his best Viggo Mortensen on the horse, btw. Susan Cooper’s Dark is Rising series was one of several kiddie-skewing fantasy series I tore through between grade school and junior … Continue reading
If I were Guy Ritchie, I’d want to be Matthew Vaughn right now. It’s not enough that the Brit filmmaker’s longtime producer has gone on to out-direct and out-marry him (Layer Cake and Claudia Schiffer respectively); now, Vaughn’s MARV Films has just struck a three-year first-look deal with Sony Pictures that could allow him to … Continue reading
What’s with all the non-Judd Apatow comedies being announced tonight? I didn’t know you were allowed to make a comedy in Hollywood without winning the kingpin’s approval. Thankfully, this one sounds much, much better than Man-Witch. Truth be told, I think it sounds downright hilarious. Written by Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley (Freaks and … Continue reading
Disclaimer: Judd Apatow has nothing to do with this comedy. Todd Phillips has had a rough go of it since breaking through with 2003’s Old School. His follow-up, Starsky and Hutch, was extremely light on laughs, while his last film, School for Scoundrels, was seen by few and liked by even fewer. Oh, and then … Continue reading
I take it back. All that stuff I said about enjoying the sight of vital organs being ripped out of living human beings? Well, I meant it at the time. And, as a rule of thumb, I’m still pretty into it. It’s not like I went retarded overnight. But I’m really, truly, madly, irrevocably, insanely, … Continue reading
Not since the heyday of Burton and Taylor (Richard and Elizabeth, not Tony and Dub) has Hollywood dared to team a pair of noted… how do I say this without getting sued for libel… bon vivants on a major motion picture. And I applaud Dreamworks’ and Ben Stillers’s bravery in hiring Owen Wilson and Nick … Continue reading
Even though it’s probably a damning commentary on the psyche of America that audiences (or, at least, filmmakers) seem so eager to revisit the blockbusters of their youth with late-in-the-day sequels like Rocky Balboa, John Rambo and Indiana Jones 4, I still get a little giddy when I hear talk of a Beverly Hills Cop … Continue reading