Movie News & Opinions

A Good Day to Die Hard: Casting Updates and Why I’m Even More Excited Than I Was Yesterday…

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The term ‘geek’ can be used or taken in a lot of different ways. Mostly though, it’s commonly used to describe someone with an abundance of knowledge on a particular subject, combined with a genuine love for said topic. For example, I could be easily referred to as a ‘Batman Geek’. I have a love for the mythology, I’m knowledgeable about the subject matter, and I’m passionate about what it all means to me. Perhaps that is why the abortion of a movie known as Batman and Robin is so painful for me to watch.

The Batman Mythos isn’t the only thing I geek out about however. There is another do-gooder that I find myself attached to as well – John McClane. Played by Bruce Willis and star of 4 Die Hard movies (with a cameo in Loaded Weapon 1), McClane was the ultimate ‘wrong time-wrong place’ guy. Through four movies he’s fought and defeated Hans Gruber, John Amos, Scar from the Lion King, and U.S. Marshall Raylan Givens – all the while, arguing with either his wife, his daughter, or Sam Jackson.

In addition to my love of Die Hard (and of Batman), I’ve also got what you might call an ‘uber-crush’ on one Ms. Mary Elizabeth Winstead. I mean, come on, who wouldn’t? So imagine my surprise when I first heard she had been cast to play Lucy McClane in 2007’s Live Free of Die Hard. She obviously owned the role, and I loved the movie and I believe her to be the most promising female movie star to come along in quite a while. Just look at her script selection – Black Christmas, Death Proof, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, The Thing, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter – she picks the movies I would pick if I were her. So awesome.

So anyhow, when news broke of the impending 2013 Valentine’s Day release of the franchise’s fifth movie – A Good Day to Die Hard – I was pretty bummed that it seemed she wouldn’t be involved. And then today, news broke which indicates otherwise! Booyah! According to The Film Stage, Ms. Winstead spotted on the set in Budapest:

Now the extent of her role is not yet known, so it could be anywhere from an extended cameo, to an actual role, but her mere presence makes me swoon excited elated confident that I won’t be disappointed on Valentine’s Day.

In addition to this, we have some other casting updates, four of them actually. Cole Hauser (Pitch Black) will appear as a supporting villain, marking his 3rd time in a Bruce Willis movie, previously appearing in Hart’s War and Tears of the Sun. In addition to Mr. Hauser, we will be seeing Megalyn Echikunwoke who has a funny connection to the film. She played ‘Nicole Palmer’ during the first season of 24, and just a few years ago FOX was kicking around the idea of crossing over the 4th Die Hard movie with a 24 film launch, pairing up the wise-cracking John McClane with the ultra serious and stoic Jack Bauer. It would’ve been epic. ALSO cast was Amaury Nolasco (Southland) who most people will likely recognize from Prison Break. If that’s not enough, we’ll throw in Russian Model Anne Vyalitsyna just for good measure.

There is also a rumor that Captain Picard will be playing the villain in this newest installment, but it’s not yet confirmed…

Combine those four with Willis, Winstead, and Jai Courtney (John McClane Jr) and you’ve got a damn solid cast. Aside from casting, there is actually some other news as well. Director John Moore, whose resume ranges from ‘disappointing and mediocre’ to ‘down right effing terrible’ has been handed the reins to one of the greatest Action franchises ever, and I’m a little worried. But he talked to Empire and said something I found interesting:

EMPIRE: …this is a Die Hard movie, pure and simple. In other words, no glib jokes then? No “How can the same shit happen to the same guy five times…” lines?

MOORE: “No, because that’s preposterous! I don’t know whether it’s post-financial crash or whatever, but I don’t think people are in the mood for that bollocks anymore. People are well savvy to the cynical reheating of any product, any franchise. Any shit won’t do. The bar’s a bit higher.”

EMPIRE: But what about the fish-out-of-water element, with McClane in Moscow?

MOORE: “There are a couple of great gags and a couple of great McClanisms. It’s not like he this idiot, bumbling around Moscow making ‘America won the Cold War’ jokes. It’s not Carry On Die Hard, I can assure you…”

EMPIRE: And what about the scale of the movie? So far, each Die Hard has been bigger than the one before… 

MOORE: “The scope along goes from New York to Moscow. It’s very, very international. There’s a car chase through Moscow that’s taking us 78 days to shoot. So… yeah. That should answer your question!”

This movie could make John Moore, and I really hope it does, because that would mean it was good. If it sucks though, I’ll have to add him to a list with Paul WS Anderson (who ruined Alien vs. Predator) of Directors I won’t watch anymore.

Finally, we have some footage. And SPOILER ALERT – At some point John McClane will bleed…

And just for fun, here’s some history you might not have known. Keep in mind though, she is totally wrong in thinking that Die Hard 2 is better than Die Hard: With a Vengeance…

And for good measure…

TV

Cinemax’s Femme Fatales: 211 – Bad Christmas/Hell Hath No Furies

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It’s Christmas in Cuesta Verde, so that means we got some gifts for you today! In the latest installment of Femme Fatales, it looks like we are getting a bit old school up in this joint. From the get go, you’ll notice the look and feel to be a bit different. That’s right boys and girls, we are seeing Femme Fatales in a new manner: Grindhouse style. And guess what people, it works like a charm and makes you wonder why didn’t they get to this sooner?

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Movie Trailers

‘Premium Rush’ – New Trailer and Featurette

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Premium Rush kind of looks like one those films that I would normally pass over, but with a cast including Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Michael Shannon, I will actually give this a chance and I hope it does well. I haven’t seen a bad film which stars Joseph so my hopes are high there. The film centers on a New York City bicycle messenger (JGL) who picks up an envelope from Columbia University. A dirty cop (Shannon), desperate to get his hands on the envelope, chases the messenger around the city. It’s sounds basically like Citizen Kane with bikes!

Here’s the trailer:

Its looks like high-octane fun on bikes. “Got a name, got family…people who care if they see you again?” That’s what we like to hear from a bad guy, and I think Michael Shannon will easily do a great job as a corrupt cop (see his work on Boardwalk Empire).

Here’s a Behind the Scenes Featurette

All I can say is that director David Koepp has some balls letting his main actors do some of that stuff, because I mean look at Josephs arm at the end of that video. I didn’t expect this film to feature so many of the actors doing their own stunts, especially when it was shot using real traffic, because that seems to be insanely dangerous. On the other hand…if they die for the entertainment of the viewing public, that would show great devotion to their craft.

TV

Breaking Bad: 504-“Fifty-One”

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In the fourth of episode of Breaking Bad‘s final season, much of the season’s plot has been put on hold to take a moment and focus on the dynamic between Walter and Skyler. Their rapidly deteriorating marriage is the major focus of this episode. Words are exchanged, things are said, and Walter continues to be the most intelligent man on the entire show. Meanwhile, Mike, Walt, and Jesse are looking to find a way to handle Madrigal, who may or may not have betrayed them.

What could have been this episode’s strengths end up being the major weaknesses. The emphasis on how much of a raging bitch Skyler is, versus how much of a controlled family man Walt is – makes itself apparent within the first five minutes of the episode, where Walt gets himself and his son extremely expensive cars. The sequence is oddly hilarious and I’m not sure how much I was supposed to laugh, but I’ll admit I was definitely cracking up.

I never liked episodes that focused on Skyler, and here we see everyone in a panic because of her. She’s really the only reason everything isn’t going according to plan, and what she says to Walter at the end of the episode is unforgivable and wrong. She may have proved herself momentarily a couple seasons back, but she’s just reverted to her old nosy, selfish, and frankly unintelligent ways. On the other hand, Marie is proving to be a valuable addition to the White family. She and Hank (who’s losing weight faster than a cancer patient, ironically enough), are definitely stepping up to the plate as both siblings-in-law to Walt and Skyler, but also as aunt and uncle to Walter Jr. and Holly.

Stepping away from all of that, though, another major issue I had with this episode was the mild usage of Jesse and Mike, and the complete absence of Saul. Breaking Bad works mainly because of the chemistry between Walter and Jesse (I swear, these [Breaking]bad puns are completely unintentional), but the lack of that here is really apparent. That is, of course, until the end.

*SPOILERS*

Jesse buys Walt a watch for his 51st birthday. In fact, he’s the only person to get him a gift and it’s a beautiful watch that Walt genuinely likes. He wears it, brings it back to Skyler and explains to her that the watch was given to him by someone who was pointing a gun at his head just a couple weeks ago. They’re now good partners and friends, so if their relationship can be mended, so can Walt and Skyler’s marriage.

He then leaves and takes the watch off, putting it on his nightstand. It ticks, and ticks, and ticks, and as the seconds get closer to the next minute, the ticking becomes louder and more intense until the end where it sounds like a gun cocking or the minute hand changing (or both).

I’m thinking that the watch is either bugged (unlikely) or that it’s merely a visual representation of Walt’s literal ticking clock. It’s possible that the cancer may come back and kill him since, as of this point, there isn’t anyone on the street who serves as some kind of imminent danger. But I guess we’ll have to wait until Sunday to find out.

3/5 Bears


TV TRIVIA: This episode, titled ‘Fifty-One’ in reference to Walt’s 51st birthday, aired the same night as the latest episode of HBO’s Newsroom, which was titled ‘5/1’. Weird. Right? No. Whatever.

Movie Trailers

Judd Apatow’s ‘This Is 40’ Has A New Trailer, Fills Me With Existential Dread

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Judd Apatow is one of those strange curiosities in the filmmaking industry. He made his name blending bro-humor, stoner comedy and genuine emotional earnestness with the 1-2 knockout punch of 40 Year Old Virgin and Knocked Up, and has since put himself on the map as the go to guy for a successful mainstream comedy. Then as his career continued, he started putting in more of the earnest emotional stuff back into his work, which isn’t anything new for him at all. Longtime Apatow fans will be familiar with his TV projects, Freaks And Geeks being the most notable for being a perfect encapsulation of a generation’s awkward teen years, that had a timeless relatability to it despite being set in the 80’s.

Continue reading Judd Apatow’s ‘This Is 40’ Has A New Trailer, Fills Me With Existential Dread →

Movie News & Opinions

Your Writer/Director for The Avengers 2 is…

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Joss Whedon, come on down! You’ve just been chosen to continue on the path of greatness and while adding to your god-like status amongst the human population! According to several news sources, ranging from the Hollywood Reporter, EW.com, Newsrama etc., Joss Whedon is back in the saddle as your writer and director for Marvel’s The Avengers 2.

In the deal, Mr. Joss “I Own The World, Bow Before My Awesomeness” Whedon, signs a deal with Marvel Studios that keeps in the fold through the end of June 2015. In that, he will cover his duties as director and writer for The Avengers 2, as well as helping develop a live action series for ABC and, according to the Marvel Studios’ press release, “will also contribute creatively to the next phase of Marvel’s cinematic universe.” Basically, as I have read it, he will take the Jon Favreau role in making sure that the universe that Marvel Studios has cultivated will be ushered into the next set of movies, culminating in The Avengers 2 movie. You can bet that the TV show will deal in the Avengers universe and it is safe to say that it is NOT the Guillermo del Toro Hulk series being developed for ABC apparently. Excited much? Yessir. Let us face it, Joss Whedon knows his characters and his television. While not successful all the time in terms of nielsen ratings, his television shows always are great and at least will cater to the cult crowds and die hard geeks his drops his wisdom on. Plus if it’s set in the Marvel Universe, umm, insta-hit?

A live feed from the Whedon household after the deal

From a Hollywood perspective, this should be zero surprise of course. The Avengers has made 1.5 BILLION worldwide. A large part is because not only the commercial acclaim of putting together the most brilliant way to market your movie (uhh, Iron Man, Iron Man 2, The Incredible Hulk, Thor, Captain America: The First Avenger? Yeah, those were basically marketing teasers for that movie, profitable ones too at the very least), but the critical acclaim that got people coming back for more. The onus on Whedon and Marvel was making sure the characters were enjoyable to watch and developed to where they both electrified the screen individually AND as a team. Whedon solidified the Marvel Studio’s universe in this movie because he made sure this ambitious project did not implode like a dying star. With egos and sheer enormous size of this project, this could have been an unmitigated disaster with everything that was going on but instead, Mr. Firefly himself controlled the movie and its stars (and the future of this universe) and made sure the next several movies are events flicks that people of all walks and sizes will need to see.

So let’s recap, this will be Joss Whedon’s universe for the next three years and with Iron Man 3 for May 3rd, 2013; Thor: The Dark World in November 8th, 2013; Captain America: The Winter Soldier for April 4th, 2013; Guardians of the Galaxy launching on August 1st, 2014; with possibly Edgar Wright’s Ant-Man figuring into the equation too, this will probably confirm Avengers 2 hitting theaters in 2015, right when the contract ends. Not too mention the TV show that, crossing my fingers and just a hypothetical guess, will probably be S.H.I.E.L.D. related? Excited? You know it baby. So much that this ScarJo pic will be used to match the badassness of this news.

Conveyors of Common Sense…

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