Sasha Grey recently starred in the indie movie The Girlfriend Experience. We now learn from her interview for CNBC that she did 200 “movies”… (straight-to-cd releases).
No wonder TGE was a bit of let-down for me, Sasha’s dead-pan performance is a result from her being overworked!
Now, this isn’t a review of Transformers 2… I haven’t seen it myself yet.
I have seen part one and it was typical teenage fair. In typical Michael Bay tradition, he amped it up in the sequel. The most obvious result is that Megan Fox is SO sexy, it hurts my eyes.
That’s her at the LA Premiere of Transformers… The only way for Michael Bay to go further will be to have Megan Fox go topless in T3!
The new Conan has finally found a lead. You might find it hard to believe but the new lead shares a LOT of similarities with Arnold.
Roland Kickinger
I guess the list could go on and on. I could imagine someone from Nu Image is having a DUH moment right now. They’ve looked everywhere but the one place where Arnolds are born and bred. They gotta be careful though, so that photos of him in skinny jeans don’t surface anytime soon.
Don’t worry! How to Win Friends and Influence People is not essential reading in order to enjoy this movie.
The movie is based on a memoir by British writer Toby Young. So you could say, this is a TRUE story. Or rather, it would’ve been, if the the script writer didn’t change the memoirs almost completely… which is an irony itself.
The plot is straight-forward: Sidney Young, a small time journalist, goes to New York City. His task is to cover the world of celebrities. In order to keep his job, he has to do a favorable article about Sophie Maes (sexy Megan Fox even without makeup).
Sidney is attracted to Sophie and all the glitz. However, when Sophie is high and he has a shot, he … well, misses.
The movie has a few funny moments but it goes too many times from romantic comedy to satire and back again. The only redeeming feature is that we get to see Megan Fox wet and almost nude.
Christian Bale is one of my favorite actors and I gotta give it to him, he can chew the scenery even off camera.
It just occurred to me, however, that is probably the result of anabolic steroid abuse, a.k.a. ROID rage!
It’s been a while since I’ve seen a movie coming from Eastern Europe with decent production values. And I’m not talking about the crap-o-rama coming from Nu Image.
Tobruk is a solid war movie. I’m not using the term drama here because it’s next to non-existent. Some reviewers have attributed it to lack of action scenes. Not so.
Tons of TNT have apparently been used to recreate the battle of Tobruk. Yet, I couldn’t care less if anyone from the section (about 10 men) dies or lives.
Part of the reason is we don’t get a lot of background on them, e.g. protagonist Liebermann wants to open a bookstore when the war ends…
This kind of shallow characterization is one reason why the movie seems to go for hours, when in fact, it’s just a bit over the bare minimum (at 100 minutes). Maybe if you’re writing a thesis on squad-level tactics, you could put the movie in your footnote.
I’m not going to ruin the “suspense” by describing the last scene but it felt anti-climatic and cliché.
To sum up, the production values are what sets this movie apart. When you look at some of the desert cinematography, you feel this could be The English Patient or Lawrence of Arabia. Unfortunately, the similarities end there.
Sony HC3 is an amazing little HD camera for any aspiring filmmaker on a budget.
B&H have a used one (in excellent condition) for around $500. You can get it here.
While in B&H used equipment department, check out the other HD camcorders too. They’ve got discounted Canon H1, Sony FX1, and even Panasonic HVX200 but you’ll need more than $500 for these babies.
I saw Killshot for one reason only – Mickey Rourke. After his acclaimed performance in The Wrestler, he has made an impressive comeback. So has he the Midas touch too?
The short answer – NO. Long answer is NO because a good actor needs a lot more than just good acting to make a come back. He needs a good plot, a good director… the list goes on.
At least on surface, Killshot has a good plot. After all, it’s based on Elmore Leonard’s book by the same name.
Mickey plays a Toronto hitman who messes his last job and has little choice but to take an unlikely partner – Richie Nix (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) – a petty thief and extortionist.
The two are seen by a couple going through divorce and in Mickey’s character’s world that means a death sentence. The couple is supposed to have their own problems but they are so cliche that one is forced to look for entertainment in Joseph Gordon-Levitt performance who chews the scenery both literally and metaphorically.
Guy Ritchie has finally divorced Madonna, so let’s see if the curse has been lifted.
A bit of a disclosure: I’m a big fan of Guy and I love Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch.
I haven’t seen Cast Away and I don’t intend to. Finally, I didn’t understand Revolver no matter how many explanations were posted on this very site!
Back to the main attraction: RocknRolla delivers on the promise of London gangsters, and more London gangsters. Admittedly, they’re not as tough as Brick Top or Mickey but Guy has done a nice job of providing some variety.
The characters are interesting and likable too – especially Gerard Butler’s and Thandie Newton’s. In fact, a femme fatale is much welcome addition to the gangster movie. Some of the side characters are cliche – but I guess it’s to be expected since it’s Guy’s third movie covering the same ground.
The plot has taken a step back as well. It’s convoluted with a few side plots that act as leaking steam valves – the trains slows to a crawl and the audience starts looking around for any OTHER source of entertainment.
Overall, if you’re a Guy Ritchie fan, it’s a must see. However, expect that after seeing it ONCE, you’ll feel a powerful urge to revisit Lock, stock and Snatch. I saw Snatch 7 or 8 times when it came out. I expect to go into double digits now!
Elegy is based on Philip Roth’s The Dying Animal. First off, I’m a big fan of Philip Roth and I also like Ben Kingsley and Penélope Cruz.
If you hate any of these three, you are better off going to another movie! Ben Kingsley carries the whole movie and you can find hardly a frame where he’s not in. Another word of warning, there’s a lot of skin the movie. Ben Kingsley looks OK for a sixty-year-old guy but there are also Penélope Cruz breasts.
Moving on to the movie itself… Ben Kingsley is an aging intellectual (professor, talk-show host, etc.) who is hitting on a different student each semester. He’s careful. He waits for the END of said semester and then holds a cocktail party. Obviously, his trick works flawlessly with years of practice.
With that kind of an attitude, it’s hardly surprising Ben’s characters is deeply cynical and doesn’t believe in LOVE (capitalized for added effect). So when Penélope Cruz enters his exquisitely-calibrated trap, he hardly expects to see her again – after the SEX, of course.
As luck (I mean Philip) would have it, Penélope Cruz comes back but Ben’s character fails to appreciate the change that has occurred.
Overall, the movie poses a lot more questions that it answers – especially about age, and change of old habits. I wouldn’t be surprised if the movie gets an Oscar nod.
If you haven’t done so already, check out the trailer for Quantum of Solace.
I know the movie is not indie by any stretch of imagination but I still like it (yes, even Olga Kurylenko).
Normally, I’m not a big fan of comic book movies – 300 and Sin City being the two recent examples. You gotta check out the Spirit trailer though, if only to see Scarlett Johansson …
I tried to enjoy August – it’s really the only portrayal of the dot com bubble I can think of.
I’ve read quite a few (good) books about it and I have been a part of it in a minor way, so I expected to empathize with the protagonists. It proved to be rather difficult as right from the start, Josh Hartnett is tough pill to swallow. He’s too good looking (too sexy for our lady viewers too) to picture him as a real CEO. Don’t get me wrong, there are good-looking CEOs but that happens only AFTER the VCs take over the company and put their own puppet to run the show.
Now, despite Josh’s appearance, you can tell she’s trying hard to pull off a convincing portrayal. My problem with the support cast is that as out of place as Josh is, there’s no one else that steals scenes. I recently saw Charlie Wilson’s War and I watched in awe how Philip Seymour Hoffman steals EVERY scene he’s in.
I guess the moral of the story is: no matter how sexy you make a business guy, he always falls short of keeping the interest in the cinema. If only I didn’t have Wallstreet as a perfectly good example of a business movie!
None: The movie looks good and has been shot digitally with a Sony CineAlta rig!
Postal is finally out in the USA! Unfortunately, it seems that no one cares much…
According to Los Angeles Times:
Boll, who said even his German investors were “80% upset with him when they saw it,” claimed “Postal” was too much of a political hot potato for AMC or Regal to touch (its opening sequence has two 9/11 hijackers arguing about the virgins coming their way and a simulated explosion on impact).
The IMDB forums are quite active, with some real doctors (MDs not Dr like Uwe) prescribing Venlafaxine so that Uwe can get over his most recent flop. They warn that the possible side effects could be: muscle twitching, weight gain, and finally, problems with orgasms.
I say No way!. This could very well affect Boll’s performance in the upcoming box match between him and Michael Bay.
I have just seen it and I must say I’m not impressed. The two previous movies (with Richard Chamberlain as Allan) were not perfect but at least they have stuck to the original books.
If you have any doubt that this is exploitation film, supposed to ride on the back of Indy 4 – just check out the trailer. Even the title letters at the end copy Indiana Jones.
Back to the movie. Shot on location in South Africa with (mostly) local actors, Sean Michael is Allan. The cast could be redeemed if only they had thrown in Megan Fox as an object of desire. female The sound mix doesn’t cut it – background noises often obscure speech because they are too loud.
The camera’s panning movement takes forever (the opening sequence and elsewhere). There are multiple repetitive shots, e.g. first guy riding, second guy riding after him, rinse and repeat 5 times.
The villain is ridiculous – and you know he’s the bad guy immediately because he’s showcasing a nasty grin and an ugly set of teeth. We’re 50 minutes into the movie before we see natives – and they remain on screen, singing and dancing, for at least 15.
Finally, at the end, when Allan finally finds the Temple of Skulls – guess what – it’s simply a cave with lighting that’s worse that most of tourist caves I’ve been too. A stalagmite and a skull next to it = Temple of the Skull.
Bad guy is there already – holding the girls as a hostage. Boom boom and the girl is reclaimed but the temple crumbles to pieces. Cue more native songs and dances.
THE END
Uwe Boll has gone Postal. First, he goes to Blizzard, asks them for the movie rights to World of Warcraft. Then, he said Postal will beat Indy 4 at the box office.
Now, he’s fighting Michael Bay in a box match!
Apparently, the much anticipated (not!) premiere of Postal, has made Uwe even more beligerent. An unfavorable review by Wired had him sent this email to the reviewer Chris Kohler (read the whole drama here)
chris
your review shows me only that you dont understand anything about movies and that you are a untalented wanna bee filmmaker with no balls and no understanding what POSTAL is. you dont see courage because you are nothing. and no go to your mum and fuck her …because she cooks for you now since 30 years ..so she deserves it.
people like you are the reason that independent movies have no chance anymore.
uwe boll
PS: POSTAL is R RATED . The MPAA understood the satire — you not — you dumb fuck
In a totally unrelated story, Uwe Boll has gone to Blizzard with an offer to purchase the movie rights for a World of Warcraft movie (source: WoW Insider).
Uwe himself quoted Blizzard’s response: “We will not sell the movie rights, not to you…. especially not to you.”
I wonder if Uwe had the brains to ask for the Diablo movie rights? Blizzard have just announced Diablo 3 (btw, you can download Diablo 2 cd keys), so maybe that’s why they don’t Uwe to spoil it for them.
Anthony Minghella died earlier today. What a loss. He was only 54.
I loved The English Patient, I feel his treatment of the material has converted a so-so novel into a masterpiece.
Most recently, I saw Breaking and Entering which isn’t in the same league as The English Patient but it’s still an interesting and thought-provoking movie.
Goodbye and rest in peace.
Mike Curtis has a sensual (no other word could describe it) unwrapping session with the unique RED camera.
Mike has endorsed the RED camera before but this time he actually gets to unwrap his very own RED cam.
OK, Rambo 4 is only out in the US, so for the rest of us, here’s the trailer: