In Contention

Category: Daily

  • What are the greatest taglines ever?

    In the “Appaloosa” post below, I mention how striking the tagline for the film was: “Feelings get you killed.”  So cold, so direct, so perfect in so many ways.

    It has me wondering, what are the greatest movie taglines of all time?  “Look closer” from “American Beauty” comes to mind.  I also always loved “The man with the barbed-wire soul” from “Hud.”  “Don’t go in the water?”  “In space, no one can hear you scream?”  “An adventure 65 million years in the making?”  “There’s something about your first piece?”

    I don’t know, you guys tell me…what’s the greatest film tagline of all time?

  • ‘Appaloosa’ gets a poster…and a hell of a tagline, too!

    The trailer debuted earlier this week, and now we get a spiffy new one-sheet:

    New Line Cinema's Appaloosa

    I like it.  It’s simple, not TOO cliche, has a sense of danger to it.  But I ADORE the tag line.  “Feelings get you killed.”  How cold-blooded badass is that?!

    Check out the “Appaloosa” buzz page here.

  • About those buzz page things…

    All the films predicted in the sidebar have been updated with links to their respective buzz/film/individual pages. We’re slowly working through The Contenders pages to do the same, but it’s a process. By the end of the month every film should have it’s own place on the spot for updated information, Oscar buzz, external and internal stories, etc.

    If you come across a story you think would be a valuable addition to any buzz page, don’t hesitate to let us know. We’d like to be as comprehensive as possible.

  • Woody through the years

    Woody AllenHe may be the finest American screenwriter of the last 40 years, having redefined the romantic comedy, explored relationships with a biting audacity and authenticity, provided women with marvelous roles,  and like all great writers, exposed a portion of his soul on screen.

    Now in his 70s, Woody Allen seems poised to once again become an important and vital American director after more than a decade of weak efforts that seemed to signal his decline. His new film, “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” (reviewed by Kris here) is superb, a return to form for a master seemingly charged with renewed energy and vigor.  The film is funny, robust, and with an under-current of danger and nastiness that gives it an edge his previous work, “Match Point” excepted,  simply did not have.

    It was with “Annie Hall” that Allen broke through as a major filmmaker, winning the Academy Awards for Best Director, Best Screenplay and Best Picture.  Another award came for actress Diane Keaton, while Woody himself was nominated for Best Actor. It was a case of the hard core New York artist being embraced by the Hollywood community he so despised.

    A ground-breaking romantic comedy,  “Annie Hall” took the tried and true “boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl back” and created a fourth rule, being “boy loses girl forever,” pumping authenticity into the genre, reality, a reflective slice of life.

    In the immediate years that followed Allen directed and wrote his tribute to Ingmar Bergman, “Interiors,” and then gave us “Manhattan,” which many consider to be his masterpiece.  It was a breathtaking valentine to New York City, a superbly written and directed love story, with remarkable performances from the cast.

    (more…)

  • Wells on the Factor

    Not Oscar-related, but after that whole Jon Voight New York Times op-ed brou-ha-ha, Jeffrey Wells appeared on “The O’Reilly Factor” to speak up on his position (there’s a lot more to the story, so read here for more).

    Check it out…he holds his own pretty well but O’Reilly is expert at bullying, so even someone as steadfast as Wells looks to be on the defensive:

    httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Arivh4sf7-Q

  • Standard DVD vs. BluRay

    A friend passed this along recently.  It’s probably old, you’ve all probably seen it, but the “300” bit at the end had me laughing my ass off:

  • NYT Mag chats it up with Seth Rogen and James Franco

    Lynn Hirschberg of The New York Times Magazine sat down with the two stars of David Gordon Green’s “Pineapple Express” recently for a couple of in-depth interviews.  They’re pretty insightful little chats, I have to say.

    Here’s Rogen, who talks about the desire to get laid being at the root of all comedy, his awkward status as a sex symbol and his experiences within the studio system as of late…some brief stuff on “The Green Hornet” as well:

    httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02Jjayjmu_M

    And Franco, who, in addition to talking “Pineapple” specifics, reveals that “My Own Private Idaho” was a big impetus for his acting career and even gets into “Milk” a little bit, including what it’s like to kiss Sean Penn:

    httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5Pupmdeang

    You can also watch the interviews here.

  • Rebecca Hall talks ‘Vicky’

    I guess “Lunch with David” has morphed into DP/30.  I’m never quite sure what’s going on over there, but in any case, this video interview with “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” star Rebecca Hall is totally worth a look.  She’s an intoxicating beauty and, as noted, she does a lot of the heavy lifting in the film while being surrounded by an intimidating amount of beauty and talent.

    Also, from a while back, DP chats up director David Gordon Green.

  • Vulture on David Gordon Green’s action prowess

    (from left) James Franco and Seth Rogen in Pineapple ExpressIn my review of “Pineapple Express” yesterday, I mad it a point of mentioning director David Gordon Green’s salute to the greatest (or worst) of 1980s action cinema.  At the time I wrote:

    Green’s obvious devotion to the action epics of the 1980s that his generation grew up on makes its way to the surface more than a few times (I swear I’ve seen that knife toss before…can’t place it). He makes no bones about an affinity for Steven Seagal and lord knows he found a proper outlet to show his respect for what I like to call the “Steven E. de Souza subgenre” of actioners. But to mix it in with a pothead extravaganza…absolute genius.

    And today, it looks like the ever-insightful writers of New York Magazine’s Vulture blog have taken it a step farther, asking with the utmost sincerity, “Who’s the better action director: David Gordon Green or Christopher Nolan?”

    Take a look:

    Obviously Green is no John Woo, but the [finale] is lucid, well paced, and nowhere near as stupid-looking as one might reasonably anticipate, especially considering that it includes shots of Rogen firing an automatic weapon. There are explosions, bleeding injuries, and some passably impressive stunt work, not bad for a freakin’ Judd Apatow movie.

    They then go on to point out the problems with Nolan’s handling of action sequences in “The Dark Knight” that have been mentioned in a number of mixed or negative reviews of the film.  “Sure, the action in Nolan’s film is more ambitious,” they write, “but the fact that Green’s is infinitely more coherent and suspenseful is…well, sort of funny, right?”

    Gotta love those caljones.  And it’s not exactly an out-of-bounds observation.  Read the full post here.

  • In praise of Craig Robinson

    Craig RobinsonOne of our readers reminded me in the comments section of yesterday’s review of “Pineapple Express” that I failed to spotlight one of my favorite performances in the entire film, and a character actor who has quickly become one of the best go-to guys for comedic value.

    Craig Robinson is probably most often associated with his Darryl Philbin stockroom character in television’s “The Office.”  His matter-of-fact attitude and cadence go a long way whenever his character is utilized and never fails to make me smile.  But he’s also begun making quite a mark on the big screen as of late.

    It reall started with Judd Apatow’s “Knocked Up,” in which Robinson stars as a steadfast but introspective nightclub security guard.  You’ll recall the laugh-out-loud dialogue that Robinson handled so perfectly:

    I know… you’re right. I’m so sorry, I fuckin’ hate this job. I don’t want to be the one to pass judgement, decide who gets in. Shit makes me sick to my stomach, I get the runs from the stress. It’s not cause you’re not hot, I would love to tap that ass. I would tear that ass up. I can’t let you in cause you’re old as fuck. For this club, you know, not for the earth.  You old, she pregnant. Can’t have a bunch of old pregnant bitches running around. That’s crazy, I’m only allowed to let in five percent black people. He said that, that means if there’s 25 people here I get to let in one and a quarter black people. So I gotta hope there’s a midget in the crowd.

    Absolutely brilliant.

    Robinson also starred in the Apatow-produced “Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story,” but I can’t comment on the performance because I ejected that piece of shit ten minutes into it.  HOWEVER, I’m sure he was a diamond in the rough.

    Well in “Pineapple Express,” Robinson hits consistent high marks as Matheson, one of Gary Cole’s two henchman hunting down Seth Rogen and James Franco’s bumbling stoners.  As usual, he holds court on the screen with specific and hilarious line readings.  His exit from the film is one of the funniest scenes of the piece and he plays it up for all it’s worth.

    I’m frankly ashamed that I didn’t mention this cat in the review.  So I felt compelled to dedicate a post to what I hope is a prolific new comedic talent.

    Robinson has a number of films on the horizon, including Kevin Smith’s controversial “Zack and Miri Make a Porno,” and as one might expect, the roles all seem to be supporting ones.  But I’d like to say it now and say it proud: give this guy his own stage!  Robinson needs his own show, his own starring role, SOMETHING!

    Heck, I’m tempted to write something for him right now, dust off the screenwriting software and be inspired because he’s going places.  He can’t just wither away just outside the spotklight, he has to shine, and someone, somewhere, better be of the same mind or it’ll be our loss.

  • New images from ‘The Road’

    (from left) Viggo Mortensen and Kodi Scott-McPhee in The RoadOur friends at Cinematical point us this morning to six new images from John Hillcoat’s “The Road,” debuting over at USA Today with a nice accompanying story from Scott Bowles.

    I didn’t realize Hillcoat was filming this in Pittsburgh, probably one of my favorite sleepy cities in the entire country.  Bowles quotes the director as follows:

    It’s a beautiful place in fall with the colors changing…But in winter, it can be very bleak. There are city blocks that are abandoned. The woods can be brutal. We didn’t want to go the CGI world.  We wanted the heightened reality in the book.

    Very cool.  Star Viggo Mortensen is also quoted.  You can read the rest here.

    I’m currently thumbing my way through Cormac McCarthy’s book.  I’ve told a few friends who loved that it hasn’t exactly blown my skirt up yet, though more often than not the answer is, “Finish it and we’ll talk.”  Fair enough.  I do love the atmosphere McCarthy creates, more so than any of his other works.

    Dimension Films will be releasing “The Road” on November 11.  The film will have its North American debut at the Toronto Film Festival on Steptember 11.

  • ‘I’ve Loved You So Long’ trailer

    Stealing this from Jeff Wells, but Kristin Scott Thomas’s performance in the upcoming “I’ve Loved You So Long” has made an early splash in the industry as the awards season looms on the horizon.

    Here’s a look at the new trailer:

    httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlMPS_qcRaM

  • If you missed tonight’s ‘Movie Blog: Uncut’ live show

    Just in case you guys missed the show tonight, John has it up at The Movie Blog. Same Bat-time, same Bat-channel on Friday, so be sure to check us out then.

  • Carr on the horror

    Just caught this at Hollywood Elsewhere.  Our good friend David Carr (a.k.a. The Carpetbagger) stopped by “Morning Joe” this morning to talk about his new tell-all “The Night of the Gun.”  I’ve been dying to read this ever since I heard about David hoofing it to commit this stuff to paper — the concept behind the self-reporting has fascinated me from day one.

    Take a look:

  • Ang Lee takes Woodstock

    Here’s what I love about Ang Lee: there is simply no way of anticipating what his next project is going to be. So far, the decade has seen him bounce from “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” to “Hulk” to “Brokeback Mountain” to “Lust, Caution” – a group arguably linked by thematic concerns of outsider identity, but with precious little in common besides. If there’s a more adventurous filmmaker at work these days, I don’t know his name.

    Now Variety confirms that his next project sees him revisiting Nixon-era America, the period having served him well in “Brokeback” (part of it, at least) and what I believe to be his finest work, “The Ice Storm.” Not that “Taking Woodstock” – Lee’s third film in a row for Focus Features – sounds like anything he’s done before either.

    The project, which enters production this month, has been adapted by James Schamus, Lee’s regular cohort, from the memoir of Elliot Tiber, a Greenwich Village interior designer who wound up in the creation of the biggest rock concert of all time when he lent his family’s motel to the event organisers.

    In an inspired piece of casting, Tiber will be played by “The Daily Show”‘s Demetri Martin, while other members of an interesting, and evidently complex, ensemble include Imelda Staunton as Tiber’s mother, Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Tiber’s closeted lover, Emile Hirsch as a Vietnam vet, Paul Dano as a hippie concertgoer, Liev Schreiber as a transvestite, and Eugene Levy as Max Yasgur, the owner of the farm where it all took place.

    Sounds like a suitably broad canvas for Lee to paint on – this should afford him plenty of room for a typically nuanced investigation of class, sexuality and popular culture, while offering him another completely new story world to explore. I can’t wait.

  • ‘Pineapple’ happy

    I want to properly review “Pineapple Express,” which I saw this evening at a packed and boisterous screening at the Mann Chinese Theater. But I can’t get to it just yet.  Suffice it to say it’s a gem of comedic and absurdist perfection, yet thriving inside a strikingly odd sort of reality (seriously).  I also don’t believe any director other than David Green could have elevated the material to this unexpected level.  What a strangely comfortable fit!

    The best movie of the year? Definitely.

    More tomorrow.

  • In honor of the comic book film summer that was…

    The cover of “The Invincible Iron Man” #9 with Stark duking it out with The Incredible Hulk and the cover of “Detective Comics” #583, the Dark Knight himself drawn by Hellboy creator Mike Mignola:

    Cover of The Invincible Iron Man #9 Cover of Detective Comics #583

  • ‘Appaloosa’ trailer

    This looks awesome.  Old fashioned, unassuming, shades of the simplicity Kevin Costner brought back to the genre with “Open Range” five years ago.  And I just realized Groundswell and Michael London are behind this.  Very nice.  Anyone with the balls to pump money into westerns at this stage and continue to breathe life into their potential is A-okay with me.

    The film makes its world debut at Toronto in a month.  Can’t wait to hear the reaction.

    httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kg3TaAPELkQ