The curtain rises on Marvel Comics’ first in-house production to rousing results as their metal man of iron introduces himself to enthralled moviegoers everywhere. Just as billionaire playboy Tony Stark utilizes his technological know-how to fight evildoers, so does director Jon Favreau use his bag of cinematic tricks to lay the groundwork for yet another top-caliber franchise starring one of the biggest icons of the printed page. Delivering laughs as well as leaps of wonder, this comic-book fantasy gets it right across the board, with its buoyant tone never diluting the grounded dramatics of the story. For the flick to work, though, one needs an exceptional cast -– something this production has in spades. Sure, it’s an origin story, but to the cast’s credit, none of it ever seems tedious.
David Mamet’s Redbelt is a kind of Karate Kid for the intellectual, philosophical set; a sober, action peppered drama that asks what value there is in honor when one’s opponents - and even adversaries - are willing to deceive and destroy lives in order to make a quick buck. It’s a cynical meditation on the themes of nobility, integrity, and truth that successfully sidesteps the clichés of the typical action drama, while still managing to deliver everything that audiences love about those films – the struggling underdog, the serpentine villain, and the knockout final brawl – all in ways that are sure to pleasantly surprise.
Dark Sky Films has just released a new edition of Jim VanBebber’s violent cult classic Deadbeat at Dawn as part of their truly impressive four disc “Visions of Hell” DVD box-set (which also includes the unrated, two-disc special edition of VanBebber’s transgressive shocker The Manson Family), but those who still own the original Synapse release of Deadbeat at Dawn may not want to toss that old disc up on eBay just yet!
Manly cult cinema gets cooked up in a casserole of ultra-violent goodness in Doomsday, a revved-up, pedal-to-the-metal flick that’s sure to strike a bull’s-eye into the hearts of early-80s action enthusiasts everywhere. Take one part Escape From New York, one part Vestron Video medieval romp and a heavy dose of Road Warrior and that’s Doomsday in a post-apocalyptic piecrust. While to some, the recipe might stink of ridiculous rehash, it’s that exact reason that’ll drive others to eventually hoist this sucker onto their shelves right next to The Bronx Warriors or Raiders of Atlantis — satisfied in knowing that they’re not alone in their love for tough characters doing tough stuff in tough, time-is-of-the-essence situations. That’s not all to say that the picture is without its flaws – far from it. After the stunning achievement of The Descent, many would have expected something superiorly different from what director Neil Marshall delivers here. Akin to a kid playing in a sandbox, the filmmaker toys with much of his favorite genre milestones and mashes them together with the grace of a technically proficient gorilla. The result is a highly entertaining - yet nevertheless – slightly sloppy ride through big screen future motor mayhem as channeled through 1981’s sensibilities.
From Blue Velvet to Rushmore, well respected movies rarely end up as first-date material, and it’s not hard to see why: they frequently tackle difficult subject matter, and that’s seldom a pretty sight. As a movie geek, I have no problem with this. There are plenty of movies that I wouldn’t dream of unleashing on the friends who say they “didn’t get” Magnolia or thought sex, lies, and videotape was “over-hyped.” I just assume that these are the movies I should save for obsessive cinephiles who throw David Lynch parties and dress up like Wes Anderson characters for Halloween. So when David Fincher’s 1999 film Fight Club came up at a party recently, I was prepared for the non-movie-geeks to express a lack of enthusiasm: it’s got loud sex, painful looking violence, and Meat Loaf with an uncomfortable looking pair of mammaries.
In my original review of I Am Legend, I dubbed the film “more of a tantalizing, middle-of-the-road misfire than an outright failure.” Having recently had the opportunity to view the alternate theatrical version of the film included in Warner Brothers Home Video’s upcoming two-disc special edition of I Am Legend, that original sentiment takes on even greater meaning than it did in the original review.
Got a high-octane action flick (perhaps of the comic book variety) that you’re looking to sell to a multiplex crowd and wondering what music to slap over that seizure-inducing, seven-frames-per-cut-maximum trailer… might we suggest the track “Hell Above Water” by the now-defunct UK electronica-goth legends Curve?
Perhaps one of the most under-appreciated and influential techno-based bands of the 1990s, Curve was the collaborative creation of guitarist Dean Garcia and Toni Halliday, and created atmospheric music that could be at once ferocious, vulnerable, sensual, and hypnotic. Don’t believe us? Take a listen to any Garbage album and try to deny that it’s a more mainstream reworking of the exact same musical model. As enjoyably poppy and radio-friendly as the music of Garbage may be, it sounds downright anemic compared to the overwhelming sonic assault of their primary influence.
Beowulf: If you thought The Polar Express was great but would have been better with graphic violence and cartoon nudity, then here’s the flick for you, guy who only exists in Robert Zemeckis’s mind.
30 Days of Night: This film tells the terrifying tale of a small-town in Alaska that’s forced to spend a month in the dark with Josh Hartnett. Fortunately, a group of merciful vampires comes along to put them out of their misery.
The Darjeeling Limited: Easily among the top-nine best Darjeeling-centric movies of 2007.
Sure it might be a time for love and romance, but a science fiction film will be the box office champ this weekend. Doug Liman’s Jumper should score big with no other film like it out there in the marketplace. For that same reason the big screen adaptation of The Spiderwick Chronicles has the kind of built-in name recognition that should drive it to within striking distance of the top spot. Step Up 2 The Streets should quietly amass solid attendance numbers thanks to the popularity of the first film. Fool’s Gold will tumble due to the increased competition, but should round out the top five along with Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins.
How It Will Look on Monday: Jumper: 30 Million The Spiderwick Chronicles: 28 Million Step Up 2 The Streets: 14 Million Fool’s Gold: 10 Million Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins: 9 Million
The Kung Fu Flicks series at National Amusements theaters is well underway, and moviegoers are having a hell of a good time at the local multiplex. The projected video (occasionally VHS in origin) has been at best poor-to-adequate, the dubbing atrocious, and the action ridiculous… and the viewers can’t seem to get enough. On the heels of their successful “Attack of the B Movies” series in the summer of 2007, programmers at National Amusements were looking to keep the spirit of the drive-in alive on local screens by expanding the scope of their series’ to include some of the strangest kung-fu movies ever committed to celluloid. Whether you’re into kung-fu or not, one would be hard pressed to deny that they’ve accomplished their goal with this series featuring a truly gonzo programming schedule and a nifty little selling gimmick.
Daddy Day Camp: If you squint, the leads in this look a lot like Eddie Murphy and Jeff Garland. And if you squint harder and plug your ears, watching it might not make you want to jump out a window.
The Comebacks: If you’re one of the people who propelled Meet the Spartans to the top of the box-office over the weekend… well, you probably aren’t able to read this, are you?
Ricco the Mean Machine: The English translation of the original Italian title for this 70s exploitation flick is Some Guy with a Strange Face is Looking for You to Kill You. And yes, the movie pays off on the promise of that title.
King of Kong - Fistful of Quarters: See the film critics have called one of the fifteen greatest documentaries about Donkey Kong released in the second-half of this decade so far.
Bloated beefcake brawn rules in Rambo, the fourth entry that picks up twenty years after audiences last saw Sylvester Stallone stretching his pumped up musculature as the disillusioned action hero, John Rambo. This time, the character is pulled into the war-torn country of Burma, where genocide runs rampant as Christian peasants are blown to bits by meth-addled soldiers just waiting to get their throats ripped out by the puffy workhorse that is Stallone. Something the film is not, is schmaltzy — which is where one would think the aging screen star would skew the franchise after the saccharine-filled sentimentality of Rocky Balboa released just one year before. No, this Rambo is a mean buffet of kinetic action filmmaking that dares audiences to sit up in their seats and root for gore-filled retribution served up Stallone-style. The question is – are they ready for it?
Once upon a time in Ann Arbor, there was a grand old movie house known as The Michigan Theater. To walk inside the Michigan Theater was to be transported back in time to the days when silent films were accompanied by live organ music (the theater still sports a fully functioning 1927 Barton Theater Pipe Organ that is used quite frequently even today), and the balcony was always open. The Michigan Theater was the place to go for limited release art-house flicks that the local multiplex chains couldn’t seem to squeeze in due to the fact that three of their twelve screens were often dedicated to the same surefire sell-out box-office record breaker, but they also had some fun with their programming every now and again. I vividly remember going to an all-day James Bond marathon at the Michigan when I was a freshman in high school, hitting a beach-ball from the balcony during a Godzilla double feature (complete with old movie trailers) when I was a senior, and even screaming along to Lucio Fulci’s Gates of Hell with a rowdy crowd back in college. Sadly (at least for the eclectic-minded movie lover) those days are long gone, and a glance at the listings for the Michigan read like a checklist of foreign-language Oscar contenders.
Good gravy — it’s 1981 all over again. Universal has just posted the new trailer for Neil Marshall’s ’80s action throwback, Doomsday. After stunning the horror world with The Descent and before that, Dog Soldiers, this UK golden boy is back with a return to big stunts, big mohawks, and big vehicles busting through other big vehicles. Rhona Mitra stars as an agent for the government who has to brave a no man’s land filled with virally-infected inhabitants that hold the key to the future of humanity. Along the way, she battles crazy tattooed chicks with swords and whacked-out dudes in suits of armor. And waiting for her at the end of the journey — Malcolm McDowell in a monk’s outfit. Sounds like Excalibur Escapes From the UK to the US, making it one of the must-see flicks in 2008. Follow the link for the trailer and then be sure to click through to catch more stills from this exciting project that’ll turn on the nostalgic taps for genre-guzzling followers of guns, car chases, and wild mash-ups of the movies of yesteryear.
Ol’ Hornhead is back and ready to kick wicked monster tuckus in Hellboy II: The Golden Army. Guillermo Del Toro addicts will recognize a few of the director’s trademarks in this teaser trailer — most notably the Pan’s-like fairies as well as the jolly filmmaker’s knack for gears. Blade 2 freakazoids should also be doing a jig for it looks as if Guillermo is back in mano-e-mano fighting mode from the brief glimpses of a fight between Big Red and Prince Nuada (played by Blade 2’s Luke Goss). Even the comic’s fans should be happy, as the trailer showcases a quick glimpse of BPRD member Johan the Ectoplasmic Agent, whose domed head - though a slight departure from his renderings on the comic page - looks simply Del Torotastic here. Looks like we’ll all have a hot dose of fun come July of ‘08.
So many attempts to get it right, but now more than fifty years after the fact, it’s beginning to seem as if Richard Matheson’s landmark 1954 novella may simply be unfilmable. Sure, the long-in-development I Am Legend is a serviceable action horror flick when all is said and done, but the reality is that fans hoping for a faithful adaptation – as the title would suggest – will have to put their expectations on hold if they hope to enjoy this dodgy but passable take on the oft-told tale. Truth is that a large part of the story is deeply psychological as it hones in on the gradual mental breakdown of a man left completely alone in the world, a concept that few would deny is better suited to the written page than the silver screen. No doubt Will Smith does a commendable job of conveying the scientist-turned-vampire slayer’s inner torment as he chats up mannequins like they’re old friends and goads his dog on to eat vegetables, but it’s when the film starts to stray from its origins that it becomes a bit generic and uninvolved. On the one hand, there isn’t as much action here as there is in The Omega Man, but on the other, it doesn’t come anywhere near to rivaling the brooding quality of The Last Man on Earth - rendering it more of a tantalizing, middle of the road misfire than an outright failure.
When word came earlier this week that a big-screen A-Team movie might be in the works, it got the old brain-juice flowing around the AMG offices. So much so that they overflowed and spilled all over the carpet. It actually made quite a mess, but we were able to put together the following dream casts.
Enjoy, and be sure to share your own choices in the comments.
Here’s a taste of what’s hitting home-video today:
The Bourne Ultimatum: The third outing cements the Bourne saga as one of the most satisfying and consistent trilogies in recent history. There’s also a four-disc Safe Deposit Gift Box out, so grab a case of Red Bull and see if you can watch all three back-to-back-to-back.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix: After five installments, I’m starting to lose track of the plots of these movies. I’m pretty sure this is the one with all the magic and whatnot. There’s also a 12-disc box-set being released today featuring all five Potter flicks.
December Boys: If that aforementioned dozen-discer somehow doesn’t quench your thirst for Daniel Radcliffe, then you’ll be interested in this Australian coming-of-age flick starring the billion-dollar kid. You might also be served with a restraining order by Radcliffe’s reps.
Everything’s Cool: Taking the message of An Inconvenient Truth and adding a spoonful of sugar, this documentary out of Sundance is billed as a global-warming comedy.
As if I wasn’t nerding out about Jumper enough, this new trailer is even cooler than the first one. Notice too that the release date has been moved up one day. The flick will now be out on February 14. It’s a Thursday, which is weird, but it’s Valentine’s Day, which is not.
The other thing worth noting is the fact that Fox has provided embed code for the trailer right on the movie’s official site. Allowing bloggers and Myspacers to embed trailers on the up-and-up is something that’s long overdue, so kudos to Fox, and here’s hoping other studios will be quick to follow.
The trailer for the new Wachowski-helmed Speed Racer flick is online and boy, oh boy, is it a teeth-rotting, pulse-pumping bucket of eye-candy! Jeremy Wheeler called it Cars meets Spy Kids 3-D. I say it’s Tron crossed with Willy Wonka. Either way, it’s awesome on a stick, and I hope they release it in IMAX 3-D.
Dark Sky Films has just released a new edition of 
In my original review of 
Got a high-octane action flick (perhaps of the comic book variety) that you’re looking to sell to a multiplex crowd and wondering what music to slap over that seizure-inducing, seven-frames-per-cut-maximum trailer… might we suggest the track 
Sure it might be a time for love and romance, but a science fiction film will be the box office champ this weekend. Doug Liman’s 
Once upon a time in Ann Arbor, there was a grand old movie house known as 
When word came earlier this week that 
Here’s a taste of what’s hitting home-video today: