It seems that in the medium of film, animals really do not like us. In reality most animals like us or tolerate us at best. But in the movies they really have a grudge against us. Any part of the animal kingdom can become a killer. The more famous ones you may be aware of are birds (The Birds), pigs (Razorback), spiders (Arachnophobia), sharks (Jaws, Shark Attack 3) and dogs (Cujo). But there is a whole heap of animals out there waiting to kill us.
It is no secret that I am a huge Tina Fey fan. If I had a patronus, it would be either Julie Andrews or Tina Fey without a doubt. I like to keep up with most former SNL cast members (Rob Schneider being the exception, sorry Rob), but Tina is at the top of my list.
Daniel Day Lewis plays the namesake in Lincoln, Steven Spielberg’s latest theatrical release, which seemingly has Oscar written all over it. [checklist]
Legendary director? Check.
Epic period piece? Check.
Daniel Day Lewis being Daniel Day Lewis? Check.
A ridiculously talented supporting cast? Check.
Sappy American back story that everyone thinks they are familiar with? Check.
[/checklist] If only there were some hookers or handicaps to round out the story you could guarantee the film would sweep the Oscars this year…
Let’s face it Daniel Day Lewis is awesome, and you know he is going to hit it out of the park when it comes to his portrayal of Lincoln, but it almost seems too easy. Lincoln is one of the most beloved and revered historical figures in American history so hopefully this film will not simply be a further exploration of what we already know, but instead a glimpse into the darker sides of the President’s life. Early indications from the trailer are that we will see Lincoln’s struggle to lead a nation through its greatest conflict and moral dilemma but you have to wonder if that is enough of a challenge for the great Daniel Day. He is at his best when portraying flawed characters and I’m not sure if Spielberg’s Lincoln will be more than a Patriotic shadow of the towering icon, but you might not imagine that Lewis would sign on for that kind of project.
This particular trailer is light on the battle action but it seems like there will be some spectacular recreations of the Civil War in a Saving Private Ryan-esque style. Lincoln clocks in at 149 minutes which is less than you might expect from a movie of this scope but does indicate that there will probably be some long boring court scenes to balance out the battlefields. As far as I can tell there will be no zombie killing in this retelling of the Lincoln story, but Spoiler Alert: Lincoln dies in the end!
Oh, we are getting so close. So very, very close. The long-awaited and much-anticipated new film from Peter Jackson will open in theatres a month from today we’ve been treated to another little teaser.
Looks good! We’ve seen most of that before but as is customary with new spots, they added in a little bit more. This movie is nothing if not beautiful and given that the trailers and teasers just show a snippet, I can not wait to see it in its full scope. It was nice to see a bit of humor in this spot with Balin (Ken Stott) telling Bilbo (Martin Freeman) that what he is carrying around is not a sword, but rather a letter opener. Ha! Well done Balin.
If you are planning to head to the theatres opening weekend, it might not be a bad idea to go ahead and get tickets. They went on sale on the 7th and you can purchase them online or from your local theatre (obviously if they offer that, which they surely will because it would be foolish not to). If you order your tickets through Fandango, you receive a free download of the Howard Shore song, “The Adventure Begins”.
However, if you are like me and are a fan of film scores, you can head over to Empire Magazine where they have the entire film score available for streaming. There are some who won’t listen to it in order to experience the score for the first time with the movie, but I’m of the thought that you can never hear good scores enough. The score will be released on cd and digital formats on December 10th and can be purchased from both Amazon and iTunes.
So there you have it. All that’s left is to start the countdown until we join Bilbo Baggins on his adventure! The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey opens on December 14th.
Well, it happened. It’s finally here. Our beloved Max Brooks, author of best selling classics The Zombie Survival Guide and World War Z has been adapted to film. The first official trailer for World War Z starring Brad Pitt and Mireille Enos was released today, and it is nothing short of intense. I have never seen so many bodies stacked on top of each other before. The trailer gave us some truly stunning visuals of panic that I’ve never imagined. Due out next summer, will it be in time or will the zombie craze have starved itself by then? My projection is that it will be a delicious treat.
I loved seeing the first trailer of a zombie inspired film without having truly received a great image of the antagonist. I compare it to the build up of when Jaws finally pops out of the water. Considering this is the first trailer and the film isn’t due out until next summer, this was a great reveal. We have been enticed, but there is still much awaiting the audience.
There are two different types of zombies as I classify them. There is the Romero, and the Boyle. The Romero is slow moving with poor motor skills and possesses its greatest strength only when accompanied by numbers. Then there is the Boyle, an energized take on the classic zombie that appears to be fueled by the crazed fires of hell. We’ve seen this type represented as the newer generation in such modern classics as the 2004 Dawn of the Dead remake, and the 28 Days/Weeks Later series.
It appears World War Z is utilizing the latter to create a truly action packed, ride of suspense and excitement. I feel it’s a good direction when all things considered, the zombie genre has been beat to death in the past ten years. This trailer presents the sheer panic of numbers with the intense violence of the Boyle zombie.
When considering if the film is landing too late, I would have to say no. For one, its got Brad Pitt. Two, its got Brad Pitt. And three, there are lunatic fanatics such as myself that would even sit through trash like Survival of the Dead because it has Romero’s name on it. Zombie flicks are like the Field of Dreams. “If you build it, they will come.” So far, I can’t tell how closely the film adaptation will follow the literary excellence of Brooks, but that can only be concluded upon actually seeing it. What I can guarantee is that Brooks is a great place to start when it comes to great zombie story telling.
When reading about the possibility of a Casablanca sequel on Huffington Post, I could not stop shaking my head. I thought this must be some sort of joke, and there is no way this will happen. Well, my friends, it is true. A sequel to one of the greatest films of all time has already been written… the strange part is by whom. Howard Koch, one of the co-writers of the original Casablanca script, wrote Return to Casablanca in 1980, about 40 years after the original was released. Cass Warner, who is part of the WB family, discovered this script and intends to have it made into a film.
Another concern I have is who would play Rick and Ilsa? Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman both passed away quite some time ago and I cannot think of a single actor or actress who could bring these two characters to life again. While Cass Warner searches for a filmmaker for this sequel that was turned down by WB a year and a half ago, I deem it already doomed. Casablanca is one of the most beloved films of all time. Several other films, TV shows and music artists have paid homage to the classic, verifying its huge impact on the world. From time to time, you’ll notice your friends quoting Casablanca. I cannot imagine that the sequel will have nearly as much impact. Generally, sequels are not nearly as good as the original. And with such a classic as Casablanca, WB would need one hell of a script.
Grizzly Bomb 