In Contention

Category: Daily

  • Things I care about at this year’s Comic-Con: part two

    Disney doesn’t seem to have a whole lot to offer at this year’s exhibition, though everyone will certainly be greatly anticipating any goodies from the upcoming Pixar effort “Up,” announced today as part of the proceedings.  From the press release:

    From the inventive storytellers that have taken you into the worlds of space, toys and superheroes, comes the extraordinary adventure that will take you to a lost world where anything can happen, and everything will. Meet director Pete Docter (Monsters, Inc.) as he presents the first-ever look at Disney•Pixar’s new animated 3-D adventure comedy, UP in Hall H on Saturday, July 26th 3:00 – 3:30 PM.

  • 12.21.2012

    The Milky WayI have my own fascinations with the year 2012, by now making leaps and bounds in the pop culture stratosphere some 20 years since Jose Arguelles first began scaring the shit out of everyone back in 1987.

    I’ve read the books.  I’ve always got one toe in the cosmos, so I’m certainly interested in the harmonic convergence that is supposed to occur on December 21, 2012.  At 11:11 a.m. GMT, to be exact.

    Frankly, most of the stuff that fascinates me about the fated day has less to do with the Mayan long count calendar than it does with the expected geological turmoil forecast.  I recommend Lawrence Joseph’s “Apocalypse 2012” despite its hyperbolic (or perhaps not-so-hyperbolic) title.  If a former New York Times journalist can dig into things with such precision, it’s no longer safely reserved for the loonies.

    So despite the fact that Rolland Emmerich was obviously going to be the guy to exploit the supposed apocalypse around the corner, I still had a strange sort of anticipation built up.  Then, this afternoon, I saw that the folks at Collider had gotten their paws on a copy of the script…and boy did my heart sink.

    This thing (I know — duh, right?) looks to be a total rehash of everything we’ve seen out of the “disaster movie” genre before, and that’s too bad.  Despite the hysteria, it really is a concept worth exploring in a film.

    Also this month, LA City Beat is carrying a cover story about 2012.  It’s a good primer for those somewhat interested, but I’d suggest digging into Joseph’s book for a good immersion.  And if you really want to go out there a bit, I recommend Daniel Pinchbeck’s “2012: The Return of Quetzalcoatl.”

  • ‘Gangster’ stinger

    Regarding today’s post about movie stingers, was anyone aware that this scene from “American Gangster” (which was featured in trailers for the film), actually shows up after the credits?  I didn’t discover this until today.  Had no idea.

    httpv://youtube.com/watch?v=8hyWalAVo7s

  • Things I care about at this year’s Comic-Con: part one

    I really won’t be caught dead at another San Diego Comic-Con so long as I live (though I will be attending what should be a fun after party Friday night).  But studios are beginning to announce their line-ups and I guess it’s time to start rooting through what would be worth checking out.

    Warner Bros. has apparently revealed its schedule, though the only thing I’m interested in is “Watchmen” and “Terminator Salvation.”

    But let’s face it, the “Terminator” thing will be a whole lot of hot air, much like the “Watchmen” thing was last year.  In any case, I’m hoping Zack Snyder has some schnazzy stuff to reveal this time around.  I have high hopes (and a really good feeling) about this thing.

  • Michael Bay’s ‘Dark Knight’

    It seems Spill.com got a hold of the very same “Dark Knight” script “written by Michael Bay” that landed in my inbox this week and has apparently been making the ha-ha rounds.  All in good faux fun, of course, but I’ll let /film’s link take you there.

  • Movie stingers: do they work?

    Columbia Pictures\' Hancock

    If you saw “Hancock” over the weekend, you probably noticed a brief scene in the middle of the closing credits sequence featuring Mike Epps and meant as a funny punch for your theater exiting pleasure.

    It got me thinking about inter- and post-credit sequences — called “stingers” — and whether they ought to be eliminated altogether.  I ask this despite a history that includes a precious few great examples in films like “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” and perhaps extending way back to the point-and-shoot moment of “The Great Train Robbery” that sent audiences screaming out of nickelodeons in 1903.

    Most of the time, these moments are random, useless and nothing more than a send-off treat (like in “Hancock”).  Other times, they might be an “Easter egg” for those who know to stick around, like Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury scene at the end of “Iron Man.” (There are also stingers after the credits of “WALL-E” and “Kung Fu Panda” this year.)

    More often, however, they have the potential to leave viewers who weren’t aware somewhat burned.  Or otherwise irritated — like Eric Snider of Cinematical, who dug into this issue in May.

    The question actually brings up another point, which is, are the closing credits of a film a part of the greater artistic whole?  Plenty of opening credit sequences provide direct commentary on a film and could therefore be argued part and parcel of the piece.  But with few exceptions, closing credits are a tacked-on necessity that even those featured in the roll wouldn’t consider any part of a directorial vision or collective filmmaking result — even if they are beautiful or interesting (i.e. “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King”).

    Then again, used to the right artistic effect, a subtle stinger might actually add to the overall canvas of a film.  Such is the case, I thnk, with the sound of children’s laughter after the credits of “Children of Men.”

    Typically, the existence of stingers just annoys me.  I’m more at ease with the inter-credits stuff.  As I was leaving “Hancock,” the Mike Epps scene kicked in and we all stopped and watch — har, har — off we go.  Fine, fair enough.  But if I miss something I realy want to see (like in “Iron Man”), it’s quite irritating.

    That doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy the scenes, however.  And I do have a few favorites.

    My top 5 movie stingers of all time after the jump! (spoilers obviously involved)

    (more…)

  • Nolan for Best Director?

    Christopher Nolan and Aaron Eckhart on the set of The Dark KnightAlways willing to be a bit brazen with his predictions (I like that), Nathaniel Rogers is busy updating his picks over at The Film Experience.  My favorite left-field notion is his choice of Christopher Nolan in the lone director slot for “The Dark Knight,” naturally.

    I had the same idea in mind three years ago, right up until the day before the nominations, even.  I caught some email flack for thumping the fanboy drum in the process, but it really felt like a possibility.  Well, I’ve learned my lesson (somewhat) and haven’t bothered bringing it up this year, despite a nagging feeling that this critically acclaimed effort could indeed surprise us along these lines in January.

    But let’s just say I’m glad Nat’s here to help carry the burden this time around.  As he shrewdly notes, “This isn’t as far-fetched as it sounds.”

    Elsewhere, Rogers is hanging onto his “Miracle at St. Anna” forecast in the Best Picture arena, allowing “Australia” to join the party, while he finally finds some room for a little “Revolutionary Road” love in the lead actor and actress categories.

    Read his expanded thoughts here.  The updates are on-going this week.

    And while I’m busy tossing up pics from the set of “The Dark Knight” — I’ve always loved this shot:

    Director Christopher Nolan (hands folded leaning on rail) watches as Christian Bale prepares for a scene in The Dark Knight

  • Uh…‘Good Shepherd’ was always part of something more

    Universal Pictures\' The Good ShepherdI’ve read three stories today indicating that Robert De Niro wants to spin “The Good Shepherd” into a trilogy.  This…is not news.  Not exactly.

    The first mention was an aside in this Variety story, which was simply a “by the way” kind of thing.  Then Cinematical got a hold of it and passed the news along, and now I see The Movie Blog is sourcing Rope of Silicon (should have sourced Variety, but there’s that whole boycott brouhaha), and suddenly a couple of comments have become a “news item” for the day.

    I’d like to, if I may, quote my own words from a New York Times story nearly two years old:

    But Mr. De Niro, who was developing a C.I.A. project of his own at Tribeca Productions, agreed to a deal that kept things moving: He would consider directing or starring in “The Good Shepherd,” if Mr. Roth would write the Tribeca film, which deals with the period from the Bay of Pigs invasion to the fall of the Berlin Wall.

    At least one other CIA film was always in the cards, though the reception of “The Good Shepherd” (for which I have great respect despite its flaws) may or may not have slowed that train a bit.  Eric Roth told me about the possibility of a trilogy in the above interview, but that didn’t make the edit.

    Anyway, looking back at the Roth piece, I’m reminded of two of his scripts that I desperately hope find traction: “Hatfields and McCoys” (with Brad Pitt chomping at the bit to make it a reality) and “Comanche” (pitting Roth with Michael Mann once again for a western that sounds like it could be out of the park).

    This year, of course, Roth will be pushing the envelope as always with “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” one of my most anticipated films of 2008.

  • Sigourney Weaver + who in ‘Alien 5?’

    Sigourney Weaver and Carrie Henn in AliensMeredith Woerner at io9 is wondering this week whether sci-fi/action writers will finally bone up and produce a sidekick to our modern cinema heroes and heroines worth the price of a ticket.

    She’s rightly spotlighting recent examples in “Live Free or Die Hard” and “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” as reason to change the tide in the wimpy second fiddle circuit.

    Woerner brings the scuttlebutt regarding Sigourney Weaver supposedly being game for a fifth “Alien” installment in to fuel the fire even more, adding that Newt (from “Aliens”) and Winona Ryder’s Annalee Call (“Alien: Resurrection”) didn’t exactly pan out as they should have for badass, woah-man E.T. brawler Ellen Ripley in the past.

    Personally — I liked Newt — but I dig this topic, so let’s discuss.

    Weaver managed the impossible in 1986 when she actually landed an Oscar nomiantion for her role in James Cameron’s “Aliens.”  Sure, people are talking up Heath Ledger for a supporting actor mention in this year’s “The Dark Knight,” but Weaver was banging alien heads and walking away with a LEAD actress nod over two decades prior (giving ammunition to many who had hoped for a similar trick to be turned by Uma Thurman in 2003’s “Kill Bill: Vol. 1”).

    We must protect the Ripley legacy!  And I actually think giving her one fiesty, ferocious co-star would do just that.  And if Ridley Scott is indeed “enthusiastic” about going there again, it could be (could be) something special.

    Anyway, I say put Ripley up there with someone able to take the throne.  Like Vera Farmiga.  Anything but another “AVP” massacre.  ANYTHING.

  • A guy of simple tastes

    httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PiZ-e0k50yc

  • The Netflix Player by Roku

    The Netflix Player by RokuSo…is this the future?  That’s the debate, and part of the reason why I’ve stayed out of the HD-DVD/Blu-ray pissing match for the last three years.

    Indeed, it’s probably safe to say by now, what with the drastic changing of the tide in the music industry, that streaming and internet downloads for home delivery is the wave of the future.  And Roku’s Netflix Player is a big step in that direction.

    Wired (among other outlets) already shot its load over the player back in May, when the $100 equipment first hit the market:

    On the technical end, this small set top box is dead simple to configure and use with my existing Netflix account. Plug it in, hook it up to the HDTV with an HDMI cable, plug in an Ethernet cord, and then use a confirmation code to link it to your account. I was running within five minutes.

    And today, our friend John Campea has got his box up and running in Los Angeles, with a number of choice comments to add:

    The video quality is FAR better than I was expecting…I’m watching it on a 42′* plasma TV and it looked GREAT. Not HD, but fantastic nonetheless…The future is here…instant streaming movies right to your TV over the internet. This must be how my parents felt when man first walked on the moon!!!!

    Maybe so.  Apple has been tinkering with this kind of thing for a while now, though they have their head in the end game: owning flicks, not just renting them.  That is the real future — huge databases packed with movies and in HD quality.  Basically where music technology is now, no?  And some intrepid folks have already made steps toward those ends, loading up their iTunes libraries and pushing their Front Row program to the limit.

    As long as we get to the stuff in “Minority Report” before I die.  That’s all I’m asking.

    *If John’s TV is 42 feet long, I’ll eat my hat.  We’ll chalk it up to a typo.

  • New ‘Dark Knight’ trailer and Thompson blows a raspberry

    I remember when I first heard about the footage shown to fans at Wizard World in Chicago last year.  I was partially still feeling burned from not getting anything at Comic-Con in San Diego, but the description still had me tingling with excitement (especially the Two-Face scene, which closed the trailer and was released almost a month ago).

    Well /flash film points us today to the old footage, which has finally been released online.  There’s not really much dialogue, but there’s plenty of action (and some nice shots of Batsy beating the hell out of the Joker).

    Take a look:

    Meanwhile, Variety’s Anne Thompson has published her review of the film, but she apparently was “overwhelmed” and must have been expecting something akin to the leisurely pace of “Wild Strawberries” or something:

    Finally, I would have preferred to see The Dark Knight in 35 mm, not IMAX. (I will go see it again when it opens July 18.) While the sequences that were shot with giant cameras were stunning at the IMAX venue–especially the deep detailed helicopter shots over Gotham and the amazing car/truck chase filmed in Chicago’s freeway tunnels–I found the movie overwhelming. My brain starts to shut down when it gets over-pixillated, and this film goes on for two and a half hours.

    I guess a dissenting opinion was bound to come down the pike sooner or later.  Jeff Wells is certainly happy about that.  Thompson’s colleague, Justin Chang, meanwhile, begs to differ.

  • Coming May 2009

    Man I hope this doesn’t miss the mark:

    20th Century Fox\'s X-Men Origins: Wolverine

  • Most anticipated of part two

    MGM\'s Quantum of SolaceLooking ahead to the second half of the year, there are more than a few films floating to the top of my list of anticipations.  Here’s what I’d call the top 10:

    1. “The Dark Knight” (hasn’t budged in six months)
    2.“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
    3. “House of Lies”
    4. “Quantum of Solace”
    5. “Appaloosa”
    6; “The Brothers Bloom”
    7. “Milk”
    8. “Australia”
    9. “Pineapple Express”
    10. “Religulous”

    Anticipating with caution: “W”
    Movie I hope disappears before it releases the most: “Ace Ventura Jr.”

    How about you?

  • Speaking of ‘Dark Knight’

    I was reading through a schedule of upcoming TV appearances from the cast, and noticed one interesting pairing on “The View,” July 15: Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman.  What a treat to get that duo in one spot.  I think they shared, what, one scene in “Batman Begins?”

    Check out the week ahead for the Maggie and the boys here.  It’s interesting that Christian Bale only has one show lined up (The Today Show on 7/14).  Maggie Gyllenhaal seems to be lifting the most weight with four separate appearances.

  • How much will ‘The Dark Knight’ make on opening weekend?

    How much will The Dark Knight be worth to audiences?In 2005, “Batman Begins” opened to just shy of $49 million. It’s fair to consider that a low number, because it came in behind the openings of such films as “2 Fast 2 Furious” and “8 Mile” of all things, even failing to best the $52 million mark of “Batman Forever” ten years prior.

    However, the film went on to gross over $200 million at the box office, displaying considerable legs built on word of mouth and repeat viewings.

    I think we all expect the film’s sequel, “The Dark Knight,” will open to larger numbers than that, but I’d like to get a gauge on just exactly where the readers expect this thing to drop.

    I’m on the record all over the place as thinking the film would be the biggest box office draw of the year, but I truly didn’t expect the $300 million ceiling to be crashed by “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” and especially “Iron Man.” Now I’m not as sure, but I also can’t shake the feeling that there is an incredibly unknown element at work here. This thing could obviously be MASSIVE.

    So tell us in this week’s poll: how much to you expect “The Dark Knight” to rake in when it opens in the U.S. on July 18?  And if you want to be a real smarty pants and offer a specific number, tell us in the comments below.  We’ll follow this up with a poll predicting the final box office tally for the film next week.

  • So…does Michael Mann have a SAG card?

    Michael MannI dropped in to see “Hancock” tonight and was frankly taken out of the film for the five minutes or so filmmaker Michael Mann was on screen.

    I noticed him initially, figured hey, Peter Berg let his mentor slide into the film with an on-screen cameo (Berg’s offices are two or three doors down from Mann’s Forward Pass headquarters over at the Tribeca West compound on Olympic).  But it turns out it’s a speaking part.  Two whole lines!

    Anyway, as for the film, I’m kind of compelled to comment on it now.  It’s not a total wash.  I need to read through the initial draft of the screenplay that Jeffrey Wells posted recently because I’m sure there is some more depth, but even for what this film is, Berg milks it for the drama that it’s worth.  I love the way he’s filmed this thing, as I typically respect the effort he puts into visually depicting the ambitious scripts he chooses.

    I’m not as thrown off by the mid-film twist as some were, either.  It’s a smart way to go, actually, but it needed some more fleshing out, a little more finessing, to fully work.  It makes me wonder if indeed producer Akiva Goldsman (who pops up in that executive meeting sequence as well) got his paws on it and squeezed the life out of it, as he indeed did with “I Am Legend.”  Perhaps not, but whatever the case, this one could have used a few more re-writes.

    All in all, a good flick.  Some genuinely hilarious moments blend with the pandering necessities that come with a summer tent pole like this and I’d call it another respectable miss from Berg.  I can’t help but thinking he’s practicing, gearing up for something truly exceptional, and having Mann take him under his wing has really made its mark as well.  It’ll come…sooner rather than later, I bet.

    And word up on The Roots over the closing credits!

    What did you guys think of “Hancock?”

  • I’m…still…here

    To the world, I am still alive.  I’ve been spending the last two+ months “studying” in England, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Holland, Belgium, France, Switzerland, Portugal and Germany and as such have been MIA.  I am, however, now back in Canada and hope and expect to be contributing regularly over the months and weeks to come.  I’ll be back soon!

    (Kris has also now seen how Canadians in London celebrate Canada Day — I’m not sure if that was a good or bad thing.)