House of Wax from 1953 has the distinction of being one of the first color 3D films released by a major studio. In the new 60th Anniversary Blu-Ray from Warner Brothers, you can watch the film in its original format; if, that is, you happen to be in possession of a 3D television and Blu-Ray player. Even without the benefit of 3D, House of Wax is a enjoyable and lurid slice of 1950s cinema, featuring Vincent Price and numerous severed heads.
Do you remember the last time you cried at a movie? I mean, had to stop the film for a few minutes just to recover kind of crying? I had that experience watching King Vidor’s World War I epic The Big Parade, now out on a beautiful Blu-ray from Warner Brothers.
Anyone remember that other franchise that Robert Downey Jr. was a part of? Anyone? It was called Sherlock Holmes, there were two films and both made a lot of money. Rumors of Sherlock Holmes 3 have been circulating for awhile now. The project was greenlit before the second Holmes film, Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows even came out, but very little has been seen or heard from the production front. It now appears that things are moving again for Sherlock Holmes 3, at least according to one of the major stars.
I do not ordinarily anticipate a Ridley Scott film with bated breath, but I'm making an exception for The Counselor. Based on the few trailers and TV spots we have been favored with, the Cormac McCarthy-scripted thriller will be a taut slice of pulp fiction as only the writer of No Country For Old Men can deliver. With a new clip hitting the Internet, featuring leads Michael Fassbender and Brad Pitt, the anticipation has only been heightened.
I might not be the biggest fan of the superhero franchise genre, but I continue to be a big fan of Joss Whedon. Having finally been given his due by the Hollywood establishment, Whedon has taken every opportunity to advocate for stronger female roles and more original content, ripping on the current Hollywood tendency to bring back franchise after franchise without actually taking the time to develop new ideas. In a recent interview with EW, Whedon said that he'd like to put some original ideas into practice, once he's finished with Avengers: Age of Ultron.
Kurt Russell has been known to go fast. He played the main character in Tarantino's oft-lambasted Grindhouse feature Death Proof, and seemed to enjoy himself a great deal there. For awhile now a rumor has circulated that Russell would appear in Fast & Furious 7, where he would again go rather fast. That's an unconfirmed rumor up until right now, as Vin Diesel recently posted a photo on his Facebook page showing Russell on the set.
Zombies! They're all the rage right now, though I guess they never really went out of style. But you know who has yet to make a foray into the zombie subgenre? Do you know who has been missing? The Governator himself, Arnold Schwarzenegger. Not to worry! His upcoming film Maggie is going to change all that.
You know those two films that make up the beginning of an adaptation of Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged? You know how they made almost no money and received a well-deserved critical drubbing for being terrible? Well, now you can contribute a Kickstarter to make the final film, Atlas Shrugged: Part III. Not that the filmmakers need your help; they just would really like your money. But they would never beg or ask for something that isn't their's by right.
I swear, every time I turn around there's another remake that no one ever asked for or wanted. I guess we're all just going to have to suck it up and deal with it, because no matter what people say, they're just going to keep rolling these things out. The latest is actually a a two-part television mini-series from a partnership between A&E, Lifetime and History (which should give you some idea about what we're in for), and it's all about Bonnie & Clyde.
If you know horror at all, you know Roger Corman's low-budget but often brilliant works of high-class camp. You also might know that Corman is responsible for giving directing and acting opportunities to the likes of Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, Jack Nicholson, Ron Howard, Peter Bogdanovich...the list goes on and on. Now Corman is getting his own biopic, called The Man With Kaleidoscope Eyes, with none other than Quentin Tarantino in the lead role.
