Tag Archives: Bradley Cooper

Movie Trailers

Hilarious Trailer For Writing and Directing Debut from Dax Shepard called ‘Hit & Run’

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A lot of people remember Dax Shepard as being that guy who was famous for a little while in the mid 2000s and then sort of fell off the wagon as far as being famous goes. I really don’t know why though. He’s talented, funny, and actually a talented actor. I think that both Without a Paddle and Employee of the Month, and even Let’s Go To Prison are all completely underrated comedies that really showed Shepard’s range as a comedian.

Anyway, after taking some time off from the limelight, Shepard is back with a hilarious trailer for his writing and directing debut. The film is called Hit & Run and it follows a former getaway driver nicknamed Charlie Bronson, who’s in witness protection, and his girlfriend (and real-life fiance), the always lovely Kristen Bell. After landing a dream job in LA, the two plan to make a trip out there, but Charlie’s past gets in the way. An old accomplice played by Bradley Cooper swoops in looking for money that Charlie owes him, explaining that he spent 8 months in prison for this money.

Now, Charlie has to find a way to get the money before things go really bad. Also in search of Charlie is a federal agent played by Tom Arnold who is in charge of keeping him safe at all costs. The whole thing amounts to what looks to be a wild and hilarious ride from the mind of one of the most undervalued comedians in Hollywood. The trailer itself is frenetic and chaotically funny as it goes from one wild scenario to the next. From Tom Arnold accidentally catapulting a bowling ball from his car, to the gang busting in on a hotel room full of naked old people, to seeing Bradley Cooper in a believable set of dreads, Hit & Run seems to have it all and then some.

Check out the trailer right here:

http://youtu.be/9FyKg1w23Rc

Booyah.

MOVIES

Grizzly Review: New Year’s Eve

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Garry Marshall, the director of 1990’s Pretty Woman, has become the official go to man for the “ensemble romance director revolving around a holiday”. In 2010, he released Valentine’s Day, a critically panned movie that follows about 12 couples preparing for everything going on during Valentine’s Day. As a sucker for romance regardless of the cheesiness, I’m a fan of Valentine’s Day only because it stars a surprising amount of my favorite actors, and manages to keep me entertained for its 125 minute running time, otherwise known as “bloated”. Now, his follow up, which is called New Year’s Eve, stars about half of the cast of Valentine’s Day, replacing the other half with equally as talented stars who probably needed a paycheck.

New Year’s Eve takes the word “cheesy” to a whole new plateau that I didn’t even think was attainable, but goddammit, I enjoyed it anyway. By incorporating what seemed like less storylines, New Year’s Eve manages to have a little more focus than its predecessor while still maintaining the choppiness that we’ve come to know and love from each and every plot. The stories are as cliché as ever, but come on, love is grand and we all want to see the happy couples inevitably make it through whatever they might be going through.

The writing is god awful, but I think that’s to be expected and really not worth commenting on since the reason you go see these movies isn’t believability, quality, or even the potential gem. No, it’s not happening, so get it out of your mind now. The sole purpose New Year’s Eve exists it to make money, and I’m okay with that, because I got my $7.50 worth of movie, and I really can’t complain about getting what I paid for can I?

This whole ensemble comedy romance thing was really catapulted with 2009’s He’s Just Not That Into You, which is by far the best and most coherent entry in this little “series”. Starring talent like Ben Affleck, Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Aniston, Justin Long, Scarlett Johansson, and many, many more, we as audiences saw that big name stars really can share the screen without trying to one-up each other. The film, which is based off of a self-help book, was a hit, a hit that inevitably lead to even more successful sequels that compromised quality for quantity.

Frankly, I don’t care why they make these movies, why they make them, who the demographic is, or whether or not they’re considered “good movies” or not. I like watching them because I get to see some of my favorite young, and even seasoned, professionals make absolute fools of themselves by spouting cringe-worthy dialogue and dishing out performances that are akin to a high school play. There’s a scene in New Year’s Eve involving Halle Berry, Hilary Swank, and Robert DeNiro. It’s the best acted scene in the entire movie, but it made me think how a collective 7 Oscars in one room can equate to a movie so gleefully awful, that you just have to see it.

It also seems like each of these movies gets less and less raunchy in its content. I swear, if it weren’t for one f-bomb in this entire movie, it probably would’ve been rated PG, which I’m not totally opposed to. It really is an innocent movie, which is kind of nice to witness. A romantic comedy that the whole family can enjoy, even those as young as 10 or 11. New Year’s Eve is on the safe side of PG-13, and hey, we all need a little bit of kid friendly movie-going in our lives.

New Year’s Eve is prime cheesiness, bearing no resemblance to what a human being would call realism. The acting is atrocious as is the writing, but you can’t help but be sucked in by the almost overamplified barrage of cliché, and the heartwarming scenes that may make you shed one little manly tear. It’s the perfect movie to see with a loved one on a rainy day, because you’ll walk out feeling great regardless.


3/5 Bears

Movie News & Opinions

The Concept Art for ‘The Crow’ Remake Looks Lame

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The Crow is a movie that, like its protagonist, managed to find a second life for itself long after its release in 1994. It continues to hold a cult status today for its dark theme and pioneering of the gritty superhero story arc, but of course it bears even more recognition as the film which resulted in the tragic death of its lead, Brandon Lee.

Much like the recent passing of Heath Ledger and The Dark Knight (Nobody saw ‘Imaginarium‘ so it doesn’t count, before you jump down my throat), The Crow stands as the final showcase of Lee’s promising talent, so it carries an almost memorial-like status for fans. It’s a delicate thing to steamroll over, but that’s just what Relativity Media are trying to do.


In April, Relativity was interested in Bradley Cooper to star, but he had to drop out for ‘scheduling reasons’ and while the studio looked at replacing him with Channing Tatum or Mark Wahlberg, the project inevitably was put on hold (hopefully to beat the casting director with a chair), as quoted here by Hollywood Reporter:

“Bradley Cooper was to have played the title character but sources tell The Hollywood Reporter that he has now exited due to scheduling conflicts. Cooper has David O. Russell’s Silver Linings Playbook shooting this fall and then dives straight into Legendary’s Paradise Lost, which shoots first quarter next year…the exact time Relativity plans on making the high-priority Crow […] But akin to the project’s rock musician who is killed and resurrected, two new names have surfaced as possible replacements: Channing Tatum and Mark Wahlberg.”

 

With Cooper out and director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo following suit, the production seems to be dead in the water, but we are now able to check out a slew of just-released concept art by Diego Latorre, courtesy Shock Till You Drop, which gives us a look at the general tone and direction the remake would have followed:


From Latorre himself: “‘The Crow’ images published are very early production sketches and are based in my own visual interpretation of the character and not necessarily in Apaches Entertainment and director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo’s vision.”

For all the concept art, click here. To reminisce on the days before they tried to give The Crow cornrows, click here.

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#4 – Countdown to Halloween: THE MIDNIGHT MEAT TRAIN

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About three years ago, I was watching the trailer for this movie and my initial reaction was “whatever”.  Then the title of the movie was flashed on the screen – The Midnight Meat Train – it became a must see for me.    Although the trailer itself seemed bland, I figured with a title like this, what would it be that would make this movie seem terrible.  Oh, but when I actually watched it; there was nothing terrible about it at all.

Continue reading #4 – Countdown to Halloween: THE MIDNIGHT MEAT TRAIN →

Movie News & Opinions

The Crow: Nothing Says ‘Undead Vigilante in Detroit’ More Than…Bradley Cooper?

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In my time at Bam Kapow I wrote multiple articles on the impending remake of The Crow. For those not in the know, The Crow was an early 90’s comic book action movie set (though not filmed) in Detroit, in which a spirit of vengeance comes back from the dead on Devil’s Night and rains havoc on the city’s worst scum. When I was 12 it was maybe the coolest thing ever. The lead character, Eric Draven, was played by Brandon Lee. The son of none other than the Legendary Bruce Lee.

In the movie Eric, who along with his girlfriend, had been killed the year before, and a mystical crow brings him back to exact revenge for the woman he failed to protect, his fiancée Shelly. He is impervious to pain and seemingly can’t die. He oddly befriends police officer Winston Zeddmore when he isn’t murdering people or scaring junkies into taking care of their kids.

He proceeds to hunt down the people who had a hand in destroying his happy life. From Steve Crosetti the pawn dealer that paid for Shelly’s jewelry to T-Bird (played by the guy in the video below), the gang leader that tossed him out the window to his death.  Eventually Eric works up the ranks to T-Bird’s boss ‘Top Dollar’, who is played by Michael Wincott, who is creepy in everything. It’s all very entertaining.

Tragically however, Brandon was killed while filming the movie, due to a mistake with the prop gun. This in truth probably added to the mystique and helped make it more of a success. It cost only $15 million to make, but grossed near $100 worldwide. And as someone who spent 5 years behind video store counters, I can tell you it did quite well in the VHS after market as well.

But like most good ideas, it was bogged down and played out by not 1, not 2, but 3 terrible sequels, and a remake in 2000 that like 54 people actually saw. It has a 3.9/10 on IMDb. All of these movies obviously absent the star of the first film.

Now, Hollywood, never to let something die is trying once again. This time the budget will surely exceed that of the previous 5 movies combined, as will the advertising. But with Lee in the grave for nearly 2 decades, who should portray our protagonist? Well, after years in development, we may have an answer to that.

Bradley Cooper.


Cooper is in talks, and appears to be set to play Draven in this most recent reboot. I don’t dislike Cooper by any means. He was funny in The Hangover and Wedding Crashers, and I always liked him during his days on Alias. But to be honest, I’m having trouble seeing this…


What do you think about this? I guess I’d be ok so long as it still takes place in Detroit and is shot here…