It feels like X-Men Origins: Wolverine just came out. Maybe it feels like that because it was such an ass-y film. But that doesn't change the fact that Hollywood is all ready to put out another one, this one called X-Men: First Class. And its release date is only six months away. There are a number of reasons we can expect First Class will be better than its predecessor. Among these are the director, Matthew Vaughn, who brought us Kick-Ass and Layer Cake. Also, and more importantly, January Jones is taking the usually scantily clad role of Emma Frost.
Emma Frost's mutant powers include an incredibly strong telepathic power. She can also take on a hardened diamond form that renders her virtually indestructible. Jones recently spoke to the LA Times about the role. She mentions hesitating before taking the character on because of possible body issues. She said, “It’s a lot of very body-conscious stuff. If you look at the comic book, she’s barely dressed. She’s got quite the bod, which is very intimidating.”
One of the quietest, yet most satisfying movie surprises of 2010 was Gareth Edward's breathtaking little art film about giant monsters along the Mexican/US borders, Monsters. Even more impressive is the fact that Monsters was Edward's first feature film directorial credit, and it was done on a rumored $15,000.
Now, HeatVision is reporting that Edwards is closing a deal with Legendary Pictures to develop and direct their remake of the creature feature classic Godzilla. Hollywood is just going crazy of the promising director, enthusiastic about his skill of making authentically soulful film on a shoestring budget. It's easy to understand the comparisons to Neill Blomkamp. Read our review of Monsters here.
Every holiday season needs that film that promises to make the spirit soar. And in a year where the major awards contenders are films about insanity, gritty westerns, and loneliness, this is even more true. Thanks must go to our friends on the other side of the pond for exporting this inspirational, and quite brilliant film just in time seasonal celebrations.
Boiled down to it’s core, The King’s Speech, directed by Tom Hooper of The Damned United, is the story of a budding relationship between a speech therapist and a king, a buddy film if you will. Unlikely circumstances bring the two together in a consociation that helps overcome obstacles at the most dire of times. It examines the events surrounding Albert Frederick Arthur George (King George VI), as his father, King George V, passes, his brother’s abdicates the throne, and the beginning of World War II against Hitler’s Germany. Bertie (as Albert Frederick Arthur George is known to friends and family) suffers from a severe speech impediment, and works faithfully in order to overcome it. For, as the film intimates, a country cannot gather a unified front against an enemy in war, without a man talented at public speaking leading them.
Somewhere is a continuation of Sophia Coppola’s melancholy exploration of loneliness. It’s Ms. Coppola’s fourth feature film, and it’s been terribly interesting, watching her evolve, and how she experiments with film. First, it was The Virgin Suicides, my personal favorite. A story full of isolation and the melancholy, but also plump full of plot. She departed from the normal expectations of plot in favor of mood and atmosphere which came off remarkably well in her second film Lost in Translation.
Next, she went on to Marie Antoinette, experimenting again with the other facets of film outside of solid storylines, focusing on the lack of happiness while surrounded by wealth and privilege. For me, Marie was a success, but that opinion seems to be polarizing. And now we have Somewhere, a strikingly beautiful film of more melancholy, isolation and loneliness surrounded by wealth and privilege.
In John Cameron Mitchell’s latest film Rabbit Hole, a short amount of time in the life of a married couple who lost a child eight months earlier is examined. It’s a quiet portrait that, for the most part, doesn’t seek to explain, or resolve anything. It directly compares and contrasts several of the film’s characters, examining the ways they’ve found to mourn. Becca and Howie (Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart) have arrived at different points in their grief and in their marriage. She has started purging physical reminders of her deceased son Danny, donating his clothes to Goodwill, speaking to a realtor about selling the house they all shared. Howie, on the other hand, is clinging to anything connected to his son, and attending group therapy. There’s a gap between the two that’s only growing larger.
It’s something that’s been seen and done hundreds of times. And it’s clear that neither Mitchell as the director, nor David Lindsay-Abaire (who wrote the play, and the film’s screenplay) aren’t attempting to say anything new about the process of death or grieving. Fortunately, they avoid the blame game as well. In a particularly well-written scene, the husband and wife make it clear that they are only blaming themselves for what they could have done to avoid what happened.
The world has changed considerably since Disney's original TRON was released in 1982. So has its star, Jeff Bridges, you may know his character as Flynn. That didn't stop the folks at Disney from attempting to graphically recreate a younger face for him, in the film's sequel, titled TRON: Legacy. For most of the film, this younger face is on a character named Clu. Clu is a program made to run a digital world in some other dimension when Flynn, the creator of that world, can't be there himself as he has to go back and forth between this reality, and that.
But this young face is also used in the film's opening scene, what is meant to be Flynn, many many years ago, telling a story to his young son. The camera weaves, and shadows are thrown, and we can't get a good look at Flynn until right before the scene ends, when he steps into the light. And we finally see what a poor graphic it is, a reminder that technology isn't quite there yet. It's strange that first time director Joseph Kosinski choose to maneuver the scene in that way, considering the endless bounty of imagination, and jaw-dropping graphics to follow.
The film world has been very excited about Terrance Malick's latest project, called The Tree of Life which will star Brad Pitt, Sean Penn, and Jessica Chastain. Now, it seems we have a trailer. It is, however, a bootleg. So enjoy it while you can. Youtube will undoubtedly take it down sooner or later. Click here to read a synopsis of the film on IMDb.
Just a few weeks ago, this beautiful one sheet appeared on the internet. It's for Steve McQueen's latest project, titled Shame. McQueen's first project was nearly a universal success, and featured Michael Fassbender as Bobby Sands during Ireland strife of the earlie eighties. The team seems to be a powerhouse, and Hunger has become one of my favorite films of the last few years. So no one was happier than I was to hear that Fassbender and McQueen would be teaming up again in Shame. Still, very few details are known about the plot. But the following was released:
Tom Tykwer's last high profile subject The International was a bit of a failure with critics. But you can't say that what he attempts isn't interesting. He made a name for himself with the German film Run Lola Run, and immediately started more ambitious projects. He even had the balls to make a film written by deceased Krzysztof Kieslowski. That's impressive. And even though the end result wasn't up to par, it was still a fun ride.
Ólöf Arnalds hasn't been a part of the American music scene for long, and as an Icelandic folk singer, she certainly isn't that well known. But as Jayson Greene of Pitchfork said, "those that do know about her, 'pass her around like a secret.'"