Posts Tagged ‘Cinematical’
Watch This: The Muppets’ ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’
Watch This: The Muppets' 'Bohemian Rhapsody'
There are times in this busy world when I forget just how cool The Muppets are. Randomly mention the beastly little guys and gals, and I’ll smile politely, vaguely remembering the good old days. Put them in front of me, however, and it’s a challenge to not let out a real world, ear-breaking shriek of squee. I don’t care how long they’ve been around — The Muppets are cool, and they are no cooler than when they’re delighting in the epic grandeur of rhapsody … Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody,” that is.
We all know the song. It was pretty epic in its own right, and then soared to new levels in Wayne’s World, where it grabbed the #2 spot on the Billboard charts almost two decades after its release. Now the MuppetsStudio on YouTube have released the ultra-awesome clip you can see after the jump — an arseload of Muppets singing the classic Queen song just like the old-school music video. And it’s convinced me that Beaker is a lost member of the band.
The bad thing about all of this is that it’s making me wish for a whole different sort of Muppet movie. Sure, Jason Segel is planning The Greatest Muppet Movie of All Time, and the project will involve the gang reuniting to save the studio. But considering this video, and the utter awesomeness that is Segel’s rock opera inForgetting Sarah Marshall, couldn’t they halt things, change scope, and make thisThe Greatest Muppet Rock Opera of All Time? The possibilities are wonderfully epic and so utterly perfect. Who’s with me?
Anne Hathaway Up for ‘Spider-Man 4′ Role?
And the list of women who may or may not appear in Spider-Man 4 continues to grow. Now Nikki Finke over
Anne Hathaway Up for 'Spider-Man 4' Role?
at Deadline Hollywood reports through her sources (who, when it comes to Marvel, seem to be pretty reliable) that producers have “approached” Anne Hathaway regarding a starring role in Spider-Man 4. It doesn’t say she’s been offered the role, or that she’s in negotiations to take on the role, only that she’s been approached.
Finke also wasn’t sure which role it would be, though all signs point to it being that of Black Cat — who, in the past couple weeks — has seen everyone from Julia Stiles to Rachel McAdams vying for a piece of that pus … Spidey pie. Hathaway definitely showed off her acrobatic side in last summer’s Get Smart, and certainly has enough of that hottie-yet-down-to-earth sex appeal to draw Mr. Parker into a web of problematic romantic entanglements. Personally, I still like Stiles for the role, but that’s me. The studio, however, probably figures they’ll get more butts in the seats with Hathaway. So we’ll see. Regardless, we’re getting close to an official announcement. Who do you want?
Robert Pattinson to Star With Uma Thurman in ‘Bel Ami’
Robert Pattinson to Star With Uma Thurman in 'Bel Ami'
The rumor mill was buzzing earlier this month with news that Nicole Kidman was going to, once again, go for the younger guy and star opposite Robert Pattinson in the adaptation of Guy De Maupassant’s Bel Ami. While it turns out that Kidman isnot taking the project on, another famous blonde is. The Hollywood Reporter posts that Uma Thurman will star opposite Pattinson, and Kristin Scott Thomas has also joined the roster.
The film will star Pattinson as George Duroy, an aspiring journalist who finds his success by bedding many of Paris’ rich and powerful women. Thurman will play Mme Forestier, the married woman who sparks his ascension and later marries him, while Thomas comes into the picture as “a socialite who falls for Duroy, becoming clingy in the process.”
Now, much has been said, or argued, about Pattinson’s talents as an actor, and I’d say this will be the ultimate test — whether he can hold his own against Thurman and Thomas. Pattinson won’t be able to hide behind sparkles or quirky, mustachioed mannerisms this time around! Both have considerable talents, although Thurman in particular is long overdue for some meaty and buzz-worthy dramatic fare (it’s also about time she got into some retro wordy romance as well, a la Henry and June). The drama will shoot next year in Paris.
Review: The Blind Side
Review: The Blind Side
The trailers for The Blind Side triggered my “oh geez, another sports-related Triumph of the Human Spirit” cynicism, and I might not have seen the film at all if I hadn’t been assigned to review it. That would have been my loss, and I experienced the lovely surprise of having a movie turn out far more enjoyable than I expected. The Blind Side has no twists or gimmicks other than being a very good example of a sports-related family film, with quality performances and writing.
The movie’s title is a football reference, which the voiceover of Leigh Anne Touhy (Sandra Bullock) explains at the beginning. Michael Oher (Quenton Aaron) is sweating out a tough but unspecified situation in an office, when we flash back a few years and meet him as Big Mike. An African-American staff member at a mostly white Christian private school is trying to get his athletic son into the school, and the school’s coach also spots some athletic potential in Big Mike, granting him a scholarship. Big Mike has terrible trouble keeping up in school, and when his friend’s family stops helping him out, he is virtually homeless — sleeping in the school gym, eating popcorn left there after events, wearing the same thin clothes daily.
Although Big Mike is an oddity at the private school, he gets along well with smaller children like S.J. (Jae Head), and thus attracts the attention of S.J.’s parents, Leigh Anne and Sean Touhy (Tim McGraw). The upper-class family takes him in and encourages him — they’re very much into sports both as former participants and current fans, so they encourage him in football and in schoolwork so he can possibly win a football scholarship to college. Will he be able to succeed, or will he return to his neglectful, drug-addicted mother?
The Blind Side is based on the nonfiction account of Michael Oher by Michael Lewis, which was adapted by the film’s director, John Lee Hancock. If you’ve read the book or know about Oher, the outcome of the movie won’t surprise you. But that’s not the point — this is a movie about characters and relationships, and the effects of great acts of kindness. Bullock, Aaron and Head are the highlights of the film; other characters tend to border on stereotypes, but these three have depth and warmth and fit together beautifully. Kathy Bates has a small but amusing role as a tutor.
The real-life basis for the film may explain some of the difficulties with the story. It’s hard to get past the seeming visual message that the African-American community can’t or won’t care for their own, and that the saviors here are rich white conservatives. The movie is more complicated and personal than that, for the most part. However, I couldn’t believe the scene in which the family that knew about Michael’s situation, and offered him a warm place to sleep, suddenly kicked him out and neglected him. It may reflect real life — I can’t tell without reading the book or asking Oher himself — and real life often makes no sense, but it doesn’t work in the context of the film.
And if this were a purely fictional story, I’d wonder why Longview, Texas native John Lee Hancock and current Texan Sandra Bullock had set a film about intense football fans in Memphis and not in Texas. The rhythms of the dialogue often sound more Texas than Tennessee, although the Touhy adults are actually Ole Miss alumni. Hancock does have some fun casting the college football coaches inThe Blind Side — they all play themselves. Some of the coaches are not quite comfortable speaking lines someone else wrote, but then-LSU coach Nick Saban may have missed a calling as a character actor.
If you can get your head past the dicey racial issues — nearly all African-American characters in this film live in the projects, and I know Memphis is far more diverse than that – The Blind Side is a very entertaining family film that avoids the maudlin cliches of “inspirational” films, or at least pads them out with some depth or humor. I’m not fond of football myself, or intense football fans, but the characters appealed to me and I didn’t even mind the long running time (128 minutes). This is a movie I’d love to take my mom to see — she wouldn’t find anything offensive, and we’d both be entertained. Sandra Bullock fans who may have tolerated some stinkers in order to watch their favorite actress will be rewarded with one of her better performances and one of her better movies.
For the Real Vampire Lovers: A ‘Daybreakers’ PSA
It’s time for a brief reprieve from the romantic battles between painted-on vampiric pecs and CG fur. As you might know, the Spierig Brothers have whipped up an excellently dark vampiric flick calledDaybreakers, which William Goss reviewed last month. The film is gearing up to hit screens on January 8, 2010, and in the midst of all the other vampire
For the Real Vampire Lovers: A 'Daybreakers' PSA
chatter out there, Lionsgate has whipped up a rather excellent public service announcement which you can see after the jump.
If you have any questions or concerns about the movie, this PSA should answer them because it’s a dead-on representation of the feature. It explains the film while also managing to describe the tone and style of the pic: dark, sleek, modern, and scary with a healthy dose of ridiculousness and comedy mixed in. These things might sound like they clash — and to be honest, they do a little bit — but not in any way that ruins the movie.
You know that whoever made this clip had a perfect understanding of the film and could sum everything up with delivery rather than unnecessary exposition. (Yes, there’s a voiceover in this, but it’s different than saying: “Daybreakers serves chills and laughs.”) If only we could get this with all the trailers and marketing that floods our way…
Does the PSA tantalize you into seeing Daybreakers?
Johnny Depp to Bail Out Nicolas Cage?
Johnny Depp to Bail Out Nicolas Cage?
To further prove that people with lots of money still care about people who used to have lots of money, The Daily Express reports that Johnny Depp may help bail actor Nicolas Cage out of his growing financial problems. Cage, as you may or may not know, is in some serious debt. He’s already had two of his homes go into foreclosure, he owes something like $6 million in back taxes and he’s currently suing his former business manager for $20 million claiming he sent “him down a path toward financial ruin.”
Now, though, things may be looking up for Cage as Depp could be coming to his rescue. The Daily Express says that Depp has contacted Cage and told him not to worry, that he’ll sort everything out. Why Depp, you ask? Isn’t that sorta random? What, was Depp a big fan of Con Air or something? Actually, no — Depp feels like he owes his career to Cage in a way since Cage reportedly recommended Depp to his agent wayyy back in the day when Depp was a struggling musician. The story goes that Cage’s recommendation led to Depp nabbing a role in the original Nightmare on Elm Street (his first), and the rest is history.
So, is Johnny Depp really going to pony up some crazy cash to bail Nicolas Cage out of trouble? And can Hollywood somehow find a way to turn that into a movie with both power actors starring opposite one another? And would you go to see it?
