Cruise signs up for Mission: Impossible IV

source: variety.com

Ethan Hunt will ride again! Paramount Pictures have announced that Tom Cruise will star as the legendary super-spy in a fourth installment of the Mission: Impossible franchise.

Mission: Impossible IV will hit cinemas May 31st, 2011. It will go up against The Hangover 2 and the 2nd weekend of Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.

Cruise will also produce the film alongside J.J. Abrams, director of the third installment of the series. The screenplay for Mission: Impossible IV has been written by Josh Appelbaum and Andre Nemec, the duo who penned the screenplay for the third film based on Cruise and Abrams' original idea.

Paramount and Cruise's 14-year relationship came to an end in 2006, following the not-so-spectacular success of Mission: Impossible III. It looks as if the studio and the superstar have finally kissed and made up.

Abrams will not direct Mission: Impossible IV, as he will be busy with Star Trek 2 (another Paramount franchise). You could say the studio is on the ... hunt ... for a director.

You're welcome.

Discuss: My adoration of Tom Cruise has been well documented throughout this blog, so I'll hand it over to you. How do you feel about Cruise's acting career? (Let's keep the weird personal stuff out of it.)

Lars von Trier follows up Antichrist with Melancholia

source: theplaylist.blogspot.com

For those of you who survived the visceral onslaught of Antichrist, strap yourself in for another dose of devilish Danish delight. Details of Lars von Trier's latest cinematic escapade, Melancholia, have emerged.

According to a couple of European sources, Penelope Cruz will star in von Trier's latest project, which supposed explores the "psychology view of a disaster." Although von Trier is not known for his sensitive approach to female actresses, his films have brought many an actress critical acclaim. Charlotte Gainsbourg picked up the Best Actress award at Cannes last year for her brave work in Antichrist.

The first details of Melancholia were revealed in September 2009. The Danish auteur revealed that the film's title referred to Planet Melancholia, an enormous celestial body that looms threateningly close to Earth.

Little else is known about the sci-fi thriller, but von Trier added to his original press release, "no more happy endings", making Lars officially the master of hilarious soundbites.

The film will begin production in Sweden and Germany later this year, on a budget of $5 million. Melancholia will also feature some special effects; another step away from the minimalist Dogme movement that von Trier himself co-founded.

Lars von Trier hopes to debut the film, based on his own screenplay, at Cannes 2011. Because as we all know, no one loves von Trier more than the folks at Cannes.

Check out my review of Antichrist, which I loved, here.

Discuss: OK, so what horrible things is Lars going to make Penelope do in this film?

Details on new Muppets movie emerge!

source: theplaylist.blogspot.com

The first plot details from the upcoming Muppets movie, modestly titled The Greatest Muppet Movie of All Time, have emerged.

The film will bring the Muppets out of retirement and back into the world of show business. The Playlist has a brief synopsis of the picture from an unnamed source.

"The Greatest Muppet Movie of All Time" is about Gary, Mary, and Walter (a man, his girlfriend, and the man's life-long nondescript, brown puppet best friend) getting the old Muppet gang — now retired entertainers known for the same Muppet show we know them from — together to save the TV studio that the original show was shot in. A villain, Tex Richman (nice name, on par with Doc Hopper), bent on drilling for oil underneath the studio, is due to take over the studio in weeks and the only way to stop him? Putting on a show that draws ten million viewers."

We first learned that Jason Segel (screenwriter and star of Forgetting Sarah Marshall) would pen a new Muppets movie back in March of 2008. His Sarah Marshall director Nicholas Stoller now has a co-writer credit on the picture. The duo are well versed in the world of puppetry, with one of the major plotlines in Sarah Marshall following the desire of Segel's character to stage a puppet musical.

Disney intend to begin production of The Greatest Muppet Movie of All Time mid-2010. James Bobin, co-creator and director of the television show Flight of the Conchords, will helm the movie.

Discuss: This project was formerly titled The Cheapest Muppet Movie Ever Made. Which title do you prefer?

Christopher Nolan working on Superman 3.0; Dark Knight sequel

source: deadline.com

Christopher Nolan, the writer/director who rebooted the Batman franchise with billion-dollar success, has been enlisted by WB to shepherd their upcoming big-screen re-imagining of Superman.

I'll get this out of the way early. CHRISTOPHER NOLAN IS NEITHER WRITING NOR DIRECTING THE NEW INCARNATION OF SUPERMAN. As Nikke Finke and Mike Fleming put it at Deadline Hollywood Daily, "[Nolan] has been asked to play a 'godfather' role and ensure The Man of Steel gets off the ground after a 3 1/2 year hiatus." Apparently, Nolan is considered "something of a God" at Warner Bros, and with good reason.

Finke and Fleming refer to the film as version 3.0, no doubt in reference to the fact that this will be Warner Bros' 3rd attempt at a Superman franchise.

The Man of Steel was long touted to be the sequel to Bryan Singer's 2006 film Superman Returns, which picked up directly after Superman 2 (thus making the lamentable Supermans 3 and 4 non-canon).

Although the expensive Superman Returns didn't become the hit WB had anticipated, Singer and star Brandon Routh were still attached to the sequel as recently as mid-2009. Not so anymore.

According to the report, The Man of Steel will now be the title of an entirely new Superman franchise. It's hard not to notice the similarity between that title and Nolan's The Dark Knight, Warner Bros highest ever grossing film.

Finke and Fleming also add that Nolan has finally hatched an idea for the third installment of his Batman series, and his brother Jonathan and David Goyer are off writing the script. Christopher and Jonathan co-wrote The Dark Knight, while David Goyer helped pen the story.

Nolan's next film, Inception, is set to hit cinemas July 22nd, 2010. No doubt we will learn about both of his high-profile projects closer to this date.

Discuss: Hypothetical situation for you. Batman 3 or Superman 3.0 - You can see one of them tomorrow. Which do you choose?

Valentine's Day sequel in the works

source: variety.com

A sequel to Valentine's Day has been announced by New Line - mere days before the film makes its official debut.

Entitled - ahem - New Year's Eve, the film will focus on some of your favourite characters from Valentine's Day. Of course, having not yet seen the film, it's unlikely that you will have favourites yet. Let's just say, it will be the actors with the most malleable schedules.

VD screenwriter Katherine Fugate has already penned the screenplay and director Garry Marshall will return to direct the sequel to his (likely) hit film.

Valentine's Day opens this Thursday, and stars Jessica Alba, Jessica Biel, Bradley Cooper, Anne Hathaway, Patrick Dempsey, Eric Dane, Hector Elizondo, Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Garner, Topher Grace, Ashton Kutcher, Taylor Lautner, Shirley MacLaine, George Lopez, Queen Latifah, Julia Roberts, Emma Roberts and Taylor Swift. It follows a bunch of Los Angeleans over the course of the most romantic day of the year.

New Year's Eve will begin production later this year, and will likely hit cinemas late 2011. Of course, this is all dependent on the success of Valentine's Day at the box office this weekend. Considering the film's surprisingly small $US50 million budget and the success of romcoms on this holiest of holidays, I think we can assume NYE is a lock.

Discuss: OK, so Fugate is clearly doomed to write holiday themed romantic-comedies for the rest of her life. Any proposed sequels to New Year's Eve? How about Foundation Day? Queen's Birthday? Winter Solstice? Or, for all the Sufjan Stevens fans out there, how about Casimir Pulaski Day?

Mr. and Mrs. Smith reboot in the works

source: vulture.com

Regency Enterprises is developing a sort-of-reboot-more-like-a-prequel to their 2005 hit Mr. and Mrs. Smith. The original film starred Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie as married assassins unaware that their spouse shared the exact same profession.

Regency, whose films are distributed by Fox Studios, is now moving ahead with the imaginatively titled Mr. and Mrs. Jones. The new film will follow a pair of twenty-something spies who are set up as a married couple upon their graduation from spy school.

It seems likely that Pitt and Jolie are too expensive for a Mr. and Mrs. Smith sequel, hence the "convenient" reboot that features vastly younger actors.

Although we do not know who the two (expectedly sexy) stars will be, we can only assume that they will begin a torrid affair following production, adopt a bunch of foreign babies, and then dissolve publicly before a sequel to Mr. and Mrs. Jones can be made, forcing the studio to, once again, hit the reset button.

Oscar winning screenwriter Akiva Goldsman (A Beautiful Mind) will produce the project. He also acted as producer on the now-ancient original film.

Discuss: Too soon?

Joel Edgerton to star in The Thing

source: thr.com

Aussie Joel Edgerton is set to star alongside Mary Elizabeth Winstead in the latest cinematic incarnation of The Thing.

The project, intended as a prequel to John Carpenter's classic 1982 film of the same name, was first announced by Universal 12 months ago.

Ronald D. Moore (Battlestar Galactica showrunner) wrote the screenplay with Eric Heisserer. It focuses on a Norwegian research team in Antarctica that discovers an alien ship trapped in the ice. Edgerton will play a "blue-collar mercenary helicopter pilot" who helps the Norwegians defeat a violent, shape-shifting alien that escapes from the ship. Winstead will play a Ph. D. candidate also working with the research team.

According to last year's report, Edgerton's character will be the brother of R.J Macready (played by Kurt Russell in the 1982 version), who was working on a separate base in Antarctica. Not sure if this remains true or even if this new incarnation is still a prequel. Until we hear otherwise, let's say it is. (UPDATED: Slashfilm debunked the 'brother' rumour - back in January).

Television commercial director Matthijs van Heijningen Jr will direct. Production starts in Toronto next month.

Before everyone gets all in a huff about their beloved film essentially being remade, don't forget that Carpenter's The Thing was itself a remake of Howard Hawks' The Thing from Another World (1951). This new film, much like the previous two films, will also be based on John W. Campbell Jr.'s short story "Who Goes There".

Discuss: Joel Edgerton? I guess Hollywood is looking for the next Sam Worthington!

This is not a love story - 500 Days of Summer review

(500) Days of Summer – Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel. Directed by Marc Webb. Rated M. Originally published September 19, 2009. By Simon Miraudo.

(500) Days of Summer is as close to perfect as a movie gets. A highly subjective claim? Sure, but so are all movie reviews, and this is hardly the time to get into that argument. As far as I’m concerned, Marc Webb’s directorial debut is a wondrous gift; a reminder why people devote their lives to making movies and why the rest of us devote our lives to loving them. Should the human race ever meet an alien species, (500) Days of Summer deserves to be presented to them in a basket of DVD’s alongside Eternal Sunshine for the Spotless Mind and Annie Hall, reflecting what humanity can be at our best, and what we are capable of creating. Sure, movies like Inglourious Basterds and There Will Be Blood are cinema at its finest, but this movie is about as truthful a documentation of love and heartbreak you’ll find on celluloid. If you believe there is anything worth capturing on film more than those two things, I suggest an urgent visit to the cardiologist.

As the film’s narrator reminds us in the opening minutes, (500) Days of Summer is not a love story; it is a story about love. Tom Hansen (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) meets and instantly falls for Summer Finn (Zooey Deschanel) on the 8th of January. He will spend the next 500 days loving her, crying over her, desiring her, hating her, adoring her and wishing he had never met her (although not necessarily in that order). You can hardly blame him. Summer is the kind of girl that doesn’t believe in love, keeps relationships casual, has a gorgeous singing voice and claims her favourite Beatle is Ringo. Like the song Octopus’s Garden, she’s frustratingly lovable. Deschanel positions herself as the Number 1 crush for indie boys and girls all over the world by making Summer a realistic, but ultimately unattainable, dream girl.

Although her name might be in the title, this isn’t Summer’s movie. That honour belongs to Gordon-Levitt’s Tom, who deals with his breakup with Summer by reflecting on their relationship the way most-people do: completely out of order. Tom’s memory is understandably fractured and the film jumps back and forth to reflect this; we see them break up, then we see them meet, then we see them falling apart, then we see them falling in love. It’s a genuinely interesting take on the romantic-comedy genre (although I’m apprehensive about designating this film a ‘romantic-comedy’; they’re not usually this truthful). Webb deftly handles the film’s non-linear narrative (from a script by newcomers Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber) far better than any first-timer has the right to. His history in music-video direction is glaringly apparent, with quite a few gorgeous segues involving an Anything Goes-esque musical number and a hilarious tribute to French cinema. I wish I could elaborate, but you really need to see these beautiful little elements for yourself.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt cements his position as possibly the best actor working under the age of 30 with this film. Who would have thought the kid from 3rd Rock from the Sun would go on to have one of the most interesting careers in Hollywood. He’s delivered stunning work in smaller flicks like Brick, Mysterious Skin and The Lookout, and even managed to be the best thing in GI Joe: Rise of the Cobra (although there wasn’t really much competition there). But in (500) Days of Summer, he is really something else. As a graduate-architect slumming it as a greeting-card writer, Gordon-Levitt’s Tom is a heartbroken boy on the verge of manhood; as close to a modern-day Benjamin Braddock we’ve seen this decade. Performances as subtle and real as this rarely get Academy Award recognition; Gordon-Levitt will have to suffice being the object of affection for every Gen Y girl for the rest of the year.

(500) Days of Summer feels fresh and unique without being too cute. It’s a tightrope walk trying to avoid being either overly-quirky or overly-conventional. Compared to say Juno (a film I also loved, although not quite as much), the pop-cultural references littered in (500) feel organic and not a desperate grab for indie-credibility. Band names such as The Smiths and Belle and Sebastian are thrown around by our not-so-star-crossed lovers because this music is a part of their relationship, just like the movies they watch and the conversations they share. If you disagree with this sentiment, try and listen to a song you used to enjoy with an ex-girlfriend or ex-boyfriend and watch the memories flood back. We live in an age where our relationships are tied to pop-culture; sometimes even consumed by it. I sense that (500) Days of Summer will soon become a very popular date movie; eventually there will be just as many people who can’t bring themselves to watch it because it reminds them of someone they used to love.

The emotional impact of (500) Days of Summer is devastating. Although I (some would say unusually) avoided tearing up, my girlfriend was a weeping wreck for the final fifteen minutes, and for even some of the drive home from the cinema. For all its quirkiness and hilarity, it is as emotionally truthful as movies get. It is the kind of film that could tear lesser couples apart and make other couples even closer. It could inspire marital separations as much it could spur marriage proposals. Overreactions? I don’t think so. While no movie could ever make you love or stop you from loving someone, (500) Days of Summer accurately portrays what each of these experiences are like. It’s a risky film, and perhaps an even riskier film to take a date to see. But if it teaches us anything, sometimes the biggest risks are the most worthwhile.

5/5

Check out my other reviews here.

500 Days of Summer was Simon's 2nd favourite film of 2009.

Red Hill - Australia's answer to No Country for Old Men?

source: youtube.com

The trailer for Aussie western Red Hill has debuted online, and it has to be one of the most entrancing and exciting teasers I've seen in a long time.

The film stars Ryan Kwanten as Constable Shane Cooper, a young police officer who relocates to the small country town of Red Hill with his pregnant wife in tow. However, his first day on the beat will be one he never forgets. A prison break sends the town into a panic, and a murderous convict returns to Red Hill to seek revenge.

I'm picking up a real No Country For Old Men/Unforgiven vibe from this trailer, and that's not a bad thing. In the past few years, Australian filmmakers have proven to be just as adept at making Westerns as their American counterparts (see: The Proposition, The Tracker).

Check out the gorgeous trailer below, and let us know your thoughts!



Red Hill is the feature film directorial debut for Patrick Hughes, who made his name with the Tropfest winning short film The Lighter. At last year's Cannes film festival he won a Cannes Lion award for his short-film/Schweppes promo Signs.

Hughes looks set to further his already impressive film festival reputation when Red Hill makes its debut at the prestigious Berlin International Film Festival in the Panorama section, where the world is presented with films that 'provide the market with inspiration'.

The 60th Annual Berlin International Film Festival kicks off February 12 and wraps up on the 21st. Here's hoping that Red Hill sees the same success at Berlin that fellow Aussie feature Animal Kingdom saw at Sundance.

Red Hill is set to hit Australian cinemas mid-2010. The film also stars Steve Bisley, Claire Van Der Boom, Kevin Harrington and Tom E. Lewis.

Discuss: Who could have imagined that Ryan Kwanten would be one of our best acting exports?! He's doing some great work on True Blood, and Red Hill could be a big step forward for him. This is Vinny from Home and Away we're talking about here!

Lake Mungo makes waves in the U.S.

source: if.com

Low budget Aussie thriller Lake Mungo has made an auspicious debut at the fourth annual After Dark Horrorfest in the U.S. The faux-documentary is now lined up for an American remake.

Lake Mungo's U.S. poster.

The Joel Anderson directed flick tells the story of Alice Palmer, a teenager who drowns while swimming in the local dam. Following her burial, the Palmer family begins to experience a series of unsettling events in their home. They seek the help of a psychic, and together they discover that Alice had a secret past, inextricably connected to Lake Mungo. The film incorporates "found footage" of Alice's past, as well as of the supernatural events occurring in the Palmer household.

The film was booted out of Australian cinemas seemingly before it had even arrived. Although I haven't seen it, it is now available on DVD in Australia, so I hope you will join me in checking it out immediately.

Lake Mungo's Australian poster.

Apparently, the Americans love it. Paramount Vantage just signed a deal back in December to develop a U.S. remake of the film with producer Roy Lee (the man responsible for the American remakes of The Ring and The Grudge).

Orphan screenwriter David Leslie Johnson is writing the remake's screenplay, while Australian producers David Rapsey and Georgie Neville are executive producing.

It would have been nice if the original Lake Mungo could have been released to mainstream American cinemas, a'la Paranormal Activity. Rapsey rationalises the remake by saying, "the Australian dialect is too difficult for a mainstream audience."

Hmm.

Check out the American trailer for Lake Mungo here, seemingly featuring a voice-over from the narrator of (500) Days of Summer.

Discuss: What are your thoughts on Lake Mungo? Did it have the potential to be the next Paranormal Activity?

Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans heading to DVD in Australia!

Hold on to your iguanas ladies and gentlemen! Werner Herzog's crack-infused Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans has finally been given an Australian release date. The bad news is that it will be skipping cinemas, but the good news is that it arrives on DVD in just a couple of months, on the 1st of April 2010.

I know Nicolas Cage, I'm shocked too!

Cage stars as a drug-addled police sergeant (or bad lieutenant, if you will) investigating the murder of a family of Senegalese immigrants, while trying to deal with his own personal problems.

The film is inspired (very, very loosely) on Abel Ferrara's harrowing 1992 film Bad Lieutenant, despite the fact that Herzog claims to never have seen Ferrara's picture.

We first discussed BL:POCNL almost six months ago, right before it debuted at Cannes. The baffling trailer was, quite simply, astounding. The moment pictured below alone had me salivating with anticipation!

The film scored a small release in the U.S. late last year, and received some very impressive reviews. In fact, it holds an 85% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Of course, everyone agrees that it's crazy, and coming from Herzog and Cage, I wouldn't expect anything less.

Check out the trailer and the hilarious feud between Herzog and Ferrara here.

In the meantime, everyone save the date! April 1, 2010!

Discuss: Did you know Werner Herzog once ate his own shoe? You can watch it, in his evocatively titled 1980 film: "Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe"

Fast and Furious 5 confirmed; saddled with silly name

source: variety.com

See, I knew Vin Diesel would never lie to us. Back in January, Vinny announced via his unintentionally hilarious Facebook page that Universal were developing two more films in the Fast and the Furious franchise. Variety confirmed today that the fifth film of the series had been greenlit. And keeping with the series' tradition, it has a ridiculous name:

Fast Five.

Stars Paul Walker and Diesel will return, as will director Justin Lin, who helmed the last two installments of the saga.

The film will begin shooting later this year for a 2011 release.

As discussed previously, the F&F films are the closest thing Universal have to a regular cash cow. Fast and Furious, the fourth film of the series, was the studio's biggest grosser in 2009, taking in $US350 million worldwide.

Discuss: The Fast and the Furious. 2 Fast 2 Furious. The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift. Fast and Furious. Fast Five. OK, so what are they calling #6?

Clash of the Titans, Harry Potter to be released in 3D

source: slashfilm.com

The worst kept secret in Hollywood has been confirmed. Warner Bros will release Clash of the Titans and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 in 3D.

Desperate to get some of that sweet Avatar coin, WB commissioned a 3D conversion test of Clash of the Titans late last year. They must have been happy with the results, because the film's release was delayed an entire week (!) to accommodate a full conversion.

Clash of the Titans will now hit cinemas worldwide on April 2nd, 2010, in both 3D and 2D.

In their press release, WB also confirmed the 3D conversion of other 2010 releases, including:

Cats and Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore (July)
Guardians of Ga’Hoole (September)
Harry Potter and Deathly Hallows Part 1 (November)

No doubt WB will soon announce their plans to release Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 in 3D also.

Leading the conversion is Prime Focus, one of the visual effects vendors that worked on Avatar. Of the sci-fi epic's $2.075 billion gross, nearly 81% came from 3D screenings.

Discuss: 3D - is this a fad or here to stay?

Blood brothers - Daybreakers review

Daybreakers - Starring Ethan Hawke, Willem Dafoe and Claudia Karvan. Directed by Peter and Michael Spierig. Rated MA. By Simon Miraudo.

Seriously, must every film be about vampires these days? I’m not trying to sound facetious; I’m being deadly serious. In the past 12 months, I feel as if I have endured every possible interpretation of the vampire mythos possible. There have been excellent films about vampires (Thirst, Let The Right One In), bad movies about vampires (Lesbian Vampire Killers, Rise: Blood Hunter) and The Twilight Saga, which are a whole category of terrible unto themselves. What with two more Twilight films to go, as well as a new Dracula film starring Sam Worthington on the horizon, surely it’s only a matter of days before my job title is changed from: “amateur film reviewer” to “amateur vampire film reviewer”. This is surely the only logical progression.

So, where do writer/directors Michael and Peter Spierig GET OFF? Who do they think they are to just waltz into the vampire genre (two years too late, mind you) and expect audiences to fork out money for their own unique twist on the classic tale of the undead? Well, I’ll tell you who they are. They are two of the most talented exports Australia has to offer, and their latest film Daybreakers is one of the most entertaining genre flicks I’ve seen in the past twelve months. While America continues to produce interminable undead dross (excluding True Blood), Australia can now proudly announce itself as being home to two of the best genre auteurs working today.

The year is 2019. It has been 10 years since much of the world’s population was transformed into a race of blood-sucking vampires; the result of a bat-related plague. Isn’t that always the way? Turning into a vamp hasn’t exactly changed the way society functions. In fact, with the exception of the insatiable thirst for blood and the need to constantly avoid the sun, being a vampire seems like a pretty trouble free existence. That is, until the humans start to run out. If the humans die, there will be no blood left for the vampires to survive. And no, just because they’re immortal doesn’t mean they shouldn’t worry. In this world, vampires don’t just get parched; they turn into even less human monsters. They mutate into a breed of giant, ravenous bats that see no problem feeding off other vampires, or alternatively, themselves.

Faced with the seemingly impossible task of developing a blood substitute is haematologist Edward Dalton (Ethan Hawke), a self-hating vamp who is weaning himself off humans. Sam Neill plays Charles Bromley, an evil CEO (is there any other kind in movies?) who funds Dalton’s research, ironically, by farming humans and selling their blood to the hungry, deep-pocketed masses. Understandably, a small band of surviving humans don’t appreciate the way they are being treated by Bromley, and recruit Dalton to help them ‘cure’ vampirism. Led by the intense Audrey (Claudia Karvan) and the formerly undead Elvis (Willem Dafoe, not playing the actual Elvis), the trio struggle to save the vampire race from itself.

The Spierig brothers have positioned themselves as the worthy descendants of Australian genre film extraordinaire Alex Proyas and New Zealand’s thoughtful Andrew Niccol. Daybreakers feels like a cross between Gattaca and Dark City, both in style and in substance. There is an intriguing film noir vibe to proceedings here, but not in as flagrant a manner as the other films I mentioned. The picture exists in a realistic (albeit, vampire inhabited) near-future. A lot of thought has gone into the Daybreakers universe, and the enhancements made by the vampire government make a surprising amount of practical sense. The little touches make this low-budget flick feel whole.

Also like these other films, Daybreakers has a clear political agenda. Well, perhaps not a clear political agenda, but it clearly has a political agenda. Drawing similarities between blood-sucking vampires and blood-sucking corporations is no real stretch, but it’s a little bit of food for thought to enjoy amidst the hilariously gory eviscerations that occur throughout the film. And boy is this film gory. Perhaps most surprising is the Spierig brothers’ handle on action sequences; there is more than one impressive set piece in the film, and the picture concludes in a flurry of blood-letting that is sure to quicken the pulse. Perhaps I’m bias. Maybe I was just filled with patriotic pride seeing this Australian production (filmed on the Gold Coast and seemingly starring the entire cast of The Secret Life of Us). If filmmakers can produce vampire pictures as good as Daybreakers, then I’d say there’s life yet in this genre. It’s just a shame that a Daybreakers only comes along once in a blue moon. Or should that be once every New Moon?

4/5

Check out my other reviews here.

Oscar fallout - the biggest snubs and shocks of this year's nominees!

“Dear Hollywood. You’re great. From Hollywood.” We can only assume that these six words were etched upon the envelope containing the nominees for the 82nd Academy Awards. Yep, the Oscars are the most self-congratulatory event on the Hollywood calendar.

But you know what? I love ‘em. I love ‘em love ‘em love ‘em. I love evaluating the nominees each year; celebrating the worthy and decrying the ridiculously undeserving. Sure, movies are works of art, and they shouldn’t be forced to compete against one another. But I don’t follow any sports, so for a movie buff like me, the Oscars are the closest thing to a Grand Final.

“And the actors who will lose to Christoph Waltz and Mo’Nique are...”

Perhaps the most surprising thing about this year’s Oscar nominations is just how unsurprising they were. Pretty much all the acting categories filled out exactly as expected, with all of the nominees having picked up at least one prior nod during the torturous flesh parade that is the ‘Awards Season Circuit’. There’s not an unworthy nominee among the 20 actors; 16 of which now have approximately one month to prepare their ‘losing face’ when their name isn’t announced on the night. Good luck everyone!

Jathryn? Bigeron?

Ex-husband and wife James Cameron and Kathryn Bigelow are going head to head this year at the Oscars, with their respective films Avatar and The Hurt Locker dead-even in the Best Picture race. Bigelow is edging slightly ahead of Cameron in the Best Director category; if she wins she will become the first female in the history of the festival to do so. You may accuse the Academy of being behind the times for taking this long to recognise a lady director, but in their defence, women have only been allowed to vote for a couple of years now (that’s a joke).

Unfortunately, Cameron and Bigelow have a solid relationship, and the estranged couple have publicly encouraged and praised one another’s films. So, even though we probably won’t see any fur fly at the ceremony, there is a chance that they will accidentally reveal that they're engaged in a post-divorce affair, a’la It’s Complicated. Perhaps during the Oscar telecast, host Steve Martin will accidentally walk in on a nude Cameron!

“Eeny, meeny, miney, Blind Side!”

The Best Picture category is where the action is truly at. Sure, we all knew that Avatar, An Education, The Hurt Locker, Inglourious Basterds, Precious and Up in the Air pretty much had their names inscribed in stone. But the Academy, now with an extra five spots to play around, delivered more than a couple of surprises.

Sleeper hit The Blind Side scored a Best Picture nod, despite only having one other nomination to its name (for Sandra Bullock in the Best Actress category). The film is the one tepidly reviewed film amongst the ten nominees; a long-standing Academy tradition in which one undeserving film would replace three or four worthier pictures. Remember last year when The Reader trumped The Dark Knight, WALL-E and The Wrestler for a Best Pic nomination? Shudder.

Also surprising was the Best Picture nomination for Neill Blomkamp’s low-budget sci-fi satire District 9. Well, can a $US30 million film still classify as low-budget? It sure can when placed next to Avatar (which at this point, has a budget estimating ∞).

I was very happy to see Up become the first animated film since 1992’s Beauty and the Beast to score a Best Picture nomination. Of course, this watershed moment should have arrived in 2008 with WALL-E, or even in 2006 with Ratatouille. OK, every Pixar film (except Cars) should have been nominated for Best Picture in the past 15 years. But that’s OK Academy, no time like the present to make amends.

Aussies snubbed. Was it something we said?

Despite a history of stealing Oscars from the damn Yankees, there are only two Australian nominees to gloat about this year. Sydney director Luke Doolan and producer Drew Bailey have a shot at Best Live Action Short for Miracle Fish, a film about a young boy’s birthday. Jane Patterson is also in the running for an Oscar, for her work as costume designer on Bright Star. It is her fourth nomination.

Australian film Samson and Delilah missed out on a Best Foreign Language Film nomination. Perhaps because voters saw it and realised that the film barely features any language, let alone a foreign one. Regardless, it deserved a nod. But hey, if the Oscars gave awards to deserving films, than Crash wouldn’t be a Best Picture winner.

Aside from this snub, I have few complaints about this batch of nominees. Sure, my Oscar wishlist wasn’t entirely fulfilled, but I didn’t really have my hopes set on Seth Rogen scoring a Best Actor nomination. And frankly, I approve of the Academy’s decision to expand the Best Picture category to 10 nominees. There are at least 5 films here I would like to see take home the prize, and the other nominees are all solid entries.

Saying that, if Inglourious Basterds doesn’t win, I’m gonna cut somebody.

Oscar pool tips!

I’m sure you, like us at Quickflix, are already deciding on your Oscar pool picks. Here’s a couple of not-so-secret insiders tip to help you choose Best Picture.

1) Since 1981, every Best Picture winner has also been nominated for Best Film Editing. That means, of the 10 films nominated for Best Picture, you should place your money on one of the Editing nominees, which include Avatar, District 9, The Hurt Locker, Inglourious Basterds and Precious (sorry Up in the Air fans!).

2) Only 3 films in the history of the Oscars have won the top prize without having also received a Best Director nomination. Therefore, you can further narrow down the likely winners above to just four: District 9 did not get a Best Director nod.

Check out the entire list of nominees here!

Discuss: Finish this sentence. “I’m putting all my money on ...”

Mama drama - Precious review

Precious - Starring Gabourey Sidibe, Mo'Nique and Paula Patton. Directed by Lee Daniels. Rated MA. By Simon Miraudo.

If the seriousness of a film's subject directly correlated with the film’s excellence, then Lee Daniels' Precious would be one of the greatest motion pictures ever made. However, that formula does not always prove true. We've seen bad films about unrepentant Nazis and brilliant films about forty-year-old virgins. Precious falls somewhere in-between on the ‘brilliance scale’, achieving moments of haunting, devastating power, yet too often lapsing into laughably ridiculous melodrama. One thing is certain; Precious is no easy ride. As far as harrowing films go, it makes The Road seem like The Wiz.

The movie is based on the novel Push by Sapphire, adapted for the screen by Geoffrey Fletcher. It takes place in 1986, and tells the story of Precious (Gabourey ‘Gabby’ Sidibe), an illiterate 17-year-old girl who lives with her monster of a mother (Mo’Nique) in Harlem, New York. She already has one child (with Down Syndrome) and another on the way. They are both the product of her father. The young girl is struggling at school, and her home life isn’t any better, with Mommy Dearest physically, emotionally, and sexually abusing her. Having been kicked out of school, she joins an alternative classroom especially for troubled teens learning to read and write. At first she’s apprehensive, but with some nudging from her no-nonsense teacher (Paula Patton), Precious discovers that there is something more to life than that which the system has forced upon her.

The troubles that befall Precious are horrifying; burdens that I would not wish upon my worst enemy. Perhaps saddest of all is the fact that there are young women out in the world who face nearly identical horrifying situations, without any possibility of rescue. However, this film is not real life; it is a film. And as horrifying event occurs after horrifying event, the realism evaporates quickly. By the time the film’s closing credits roll, the awfulness of Precious’ situation simply seems ridiculous. Director Daniels just keeps piling it on; as if he believes that it keeps increasing the film’s power. Sometimes less truly is more.

Throughout the film, Precious escapes into her fantasies, in which she is white and skinny, with a light-skinned boyfriend, worldwide fame and unequalled adoration. During one of her fantasy sequences, she imagines being photographed for a fashion magazine. Briefly (but not so briefly that you can’t notice it), a clapperboard appears in front of the camera indicating that the photo shoot has been led by Lee Daniels himself. Perhaps it seems like an insignificant point, but it speaks volumes. Why would Precious fantasise about being photographed by Daniels, a filmmaker who she would have never heard of? It cannot be denied that the shot is a shout out to himself. Much like Peter Jackson sticking himself in the middle of The Lovely Bones, all it does is serve to remove the viewer and remind them that this film is “directed by Lee Daniels”. He adds garish touches to all these fantasies, eventually even stretching out into the so-called ‘real world’ of Precious’ life.

Thankfully, Sidibe holds it all together with defiant restraint in the face of Daniel’s obtrusive filmmaking. She is subtle, devastating, and somehow charming and sweet in the face of all this horror. Mo’Nique is also earning some (not undeserved) Oscar attention for her performance, but it’s not quite the revelation that Sidibe is. They are also assisted, impressively, by performers in small roles, including Mariah Carey as a world-weary social worker, Lenny Kravitz as a kindly nurse and Xosha Roquemore as Precious’ mouthy friend Jo Ann.

Precious won the audience award at Sundance back in January 2009, and has since ridden a wave of critical acclaim in America on its way to six Oscar nominations, including Best Picture. No longer the ‘indie darling’, Precious arrives on Australian shores atop a veritable mountain of hype. We no longer have the opportunity to discover the film; only to verify (or disprove) the praise. I write this as a disclaimer, because I do not want people to assume that I am not rapturous in my acclaim because it did not meet my unreasonable expectations. A film should never have to live up to the hype; it either affects you or it doesn’t. If it made you laugh, it was funny. If it scared you, it was scary. If it touched you, it was touching. Sadly, Precious did not touch me. In the past year, I have been deeply touched by films about an old man attempting to fulfil a final promise to his wife, an aging rock band trying for one last shot at greatness, and a smarmy corporate downsizer who learns that a life of isolation isn’t a life at all. By comparison, the story of Precious’ struggle should have yanked at my heartstrings like nothing else.

But, as mentioned, despair does not a great film make. That’s not to say that Precious is not very good, because it is. The cast are able, and willing, led by the spectacular Sidibe as our titular heroine. However, Daniels seems intent on impeding the work of his fine cast by leaving his directorial fingerprints all over the film in the most obtrusive, and frankly, annoying, ways. I’m not saying that a director should not make their mark on a film; the greats always do. But the director should never let their ego get in the way of the film’s success, and sadly, the film shifts away from being about Precious and eventually becomes a film about Daniels.

3.5/5

Check out my other reviews here.

Head to Head - Big Fish

Welcome to the latest edition of Head to Head, in which our Quickflix critic takes on our readers in a rip-snorting battle to the death! You pick the film, and we pick the fight!

This week, Matt Allpress expressed his adoration for Tim Burton's Big Fish. For his troubles, he picked up a double pass to Toy Story 1 and 2 (in 3D). You can win free movie tickets too by sending your mini-reviews to us here at Quickflix!

Matt Allpress will argue FOR the film while Quickflix critic Simon Miraudo will argue AGAINST it. Let us know in the comments section below who you agree with. Spare no vitriol! Choose your side! There can only be one winner!

Matt Allpress - 4/5

Is there anything more refreshing than Tim Burton working with someone other than Johnny Depp? I think it is unlikely. Ewan McGregor, in all his innocence and glory is loveable throughout; Helena Bonham Carter gives a performance that almost makes forgivable her effort as Bellatrix Lestrange in the Order Of The Phoenix, and the exaggerated, luscious palette create a welcome diversion from the general matte and ill-vibrance Burton is so well acquainted with. The flawlessly positioned parallels of Spectre and the ‘real’ world only serve to make the Big Fish universe a striking allegory for the cultural binary oppositions we face in our real world. Big Fish stretches the imagination with such beauty and a clear acceptance of its implausible plot that no amount of cynicism from Simon could make this any less than one of my favourite movies.

Simon Miraudo - 2/5

Cynicism?! From me! I resent that Mr. Allpress. That being said, I am not a fan of Big Fish (or Burton's work in general). The man made one genuinely great film the in 1980s (Beetlejuice) and has spent the past 20 years rehashing the same old shtick over and over again. Sometimes it works (Ed Wood, Mars Attacks), but as the years go on he slides further into self parody (Corpse Bride, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory). "Oooh, look how kooky and weird my films are." Not quite Mr. Burton. What you call kooky, I call soulless. Big Fish isn't his worst offender, but seeing Burton attempt something so saccharine is kind of unsettling. Although the film features some great performances from McGregor, Billy Crudup and Albert Finney, it cannot make up for its emotional shortcomings. Burton is the Tin Man, and here he is pretending to have a heart.

Now it's over to you! What are your thoughts on Big Fish? Let us know in the comments section below. If you would like to be featured in the next Head to Head and possibly win some free movie tickets, send your mini-reviews to us here at Quickflix!

Things you are afraid of - Antichrist review

Antichrist - Starring Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg. Directed by Lars Von Trier. Rated R. By Simon Miraudo.

Lars Von Trier must have one hell of a sense of humour. I’m not saying that the Danish director’s films are funny per se (actually, that’s not the case at all). However, I can’t help but suspect that the filmmaker waits outside of screenings of his films, waiting for viewers to rush out in tears, angry disgust, head-throbbing confusion, or perhaps even stifling their own sick. Then, I imagine the baby-faced Dane releasing a happy chuckles knowing that his work is done. His latest film, the hilariously controversial Antichrist, has already, and will continue to elicit all four of the aforementioned reactions for as long as there will be people to watch it.

The film holds claim to having one of the most notorious screenings in the history of the Cannes film festival, where it debuted last year. Following claims that Antichrist was misogynist and evil, Von Trier replied calmly, and surely: “I am the best film director in the world”. Having finally seen the film (and believe me, I have been looking forward to this for a while), I can comment on whether these claims hold any water. Firstly, the film is neither misogynist nor evil, but it certainly deals with both of these concepts in a more confronting fashion than perhaps cinemagoers have ever seen. I do not think Von Trier is the best director in the world, but I certainly believe that he thinks he is. In fact, no one could have made this film unless they truly believed they were the best filmmaker in existence. It is unrelenting, terrifying and profoundly powerful. And it is really, really ballsy; a claim that viewers will recognise as being highly ironic considering the ball-related events that take place within the film.

Antichrist is divided into four chapters, book ended by a prologue and epilogue shot in brilliant black and white and super slow-motion. The picture begins with He (Willem Dafoe) and She (Charlotte Gainsbourg) making passionate love while their toddler escapes from his crib and accidentally falls out of a window to his death. The couple, riddled with guilt, fall apart. She is prescribed anti-depression medication, but He (a psychiatrist himself) believes it’s unnecessary. According to him, grief is a product of fear, and He decides to treat her himself by making her confront the things She find’s scariest. She reveals her fear of the woods (prophetically named here: Eden) where she spent some time writing her thesis on Gynocide (the systematic extermination of women due to the suspicion that they are evil). This, He decides, will be the location of her treatment. He will regret this decision immeasurably.

When watching any film, I do my best to write down notes for my review. Traditionally, the better the movie, the less notes I write. I have a lot of notes on Antichrist, but that doesn’t mean I think the film is bad. It’s hard to even call what I’ve written down ‘notes’. They are the equivalent of a nightmare journal that I might have kept under my pillow as I slept. As I write my review, I’m struggling to make sense of what I had written. It seems like I didn’t so much watch a film as experience a particularly nauseating fever dream. “Did these things actually happen?” Of course, to call the film a nightmare is to call it an unmistakable achievement, and perhaps even a masterpiece. Few films have inspired such gut-churning dread in me. I can think of David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive (which is the cinematic equivalent of a sorrowful, drug-induced panic attack) and Dario Argento’s Suspiria (which is scary enough as it is, but is also so garishly colourful it could make your eyes bleed).

The film does indeed feature two sequences that will live on in cinema infamy (scenes that would make Jigsaw himself flinch in disgust). Describing them on paper would elicit nothing but laughter. That goes for much of the film, from the film’s seemingly pretentious B&W prologue (inspired by Barney Gumble’s short film Pukahontus?) to the bizarre reveal of the movie’s tagline: “Chaos Reigns” (which bizarrely makes the film an interesting companion piece to Fantastic Mr. Fox – discuss!). But these moments are startlingly effective within the universe created by Von Trier. Aided by two (initially) grounded performances by Dafoe and Gainsbourg, the film conjures up the overwhelming sensation of grief and terror and hits you right in the gut. It’s as visceral as filmmaking gets. Whether the increasingly confounding events actually make any narrative sense is hardly important. Once you feel your mouth salivating in preparation for vomit, the film has succeeded.

Gainsbourg’s is worthy of a paragraph of praise alone, so allow me to wax lyrical for a moment. The actress intricately navigates the most complicated performance I’ve seen, perhaps ever. She must hit every beat, and be everything. She has to be fragile, sweet and sexy; then cruel, and dour, moving on to insane calm; finally evolving into the epitome of pure evil. Once again, I won’t reveal the events in the film that compliment her evolution, but it’s fascinating to plot the trajectory of her performance. At once subtle and completely over the top. The things she is asked to do require blind bravery. The fact she has not been nominated for an Oscar for this role almost proves the Oscars irrelevancy.

Now, despite the brilliance of Gainsbourg’s performance, many of the film’s critics have focused their scorn on Von Trier’s depiction of She. Is She supposed to be the defining woman? Perhaps. If so, the film is not exactly complimentary towards females. It’s not hard to see the links between this film and the story of Adam and Eve, which also suggested that the evil in the world was birthed from woman. Yes, She and Eve might both be the villains of their respective stories. However, Antichrist does not place all the blame on womankind; the roots of She’s eventual transformation into an evil monster can be directly traced back to He’s stifling oppression, masked as concern. He promises to fix her, having spent years inadvertently destroying her; resenting her relationship with their son, and later blaming her for his death. She suffers a panic attack and he insists to her: “Let me help you breathe”.

Earlier I mentioned Von Trier’s hilarious quote from the Cannes film festival. After proclaiming himself to be the best film director in the world, he also said the following: “I’m not sure if God is the best God in the world”. Is this quote the key to unlocking the meaning of his film? Perhaps Von Trier is not directing his scorn at woman or man or even humanity, but instead at Christianity. It could be argued that the story of Adam and Eve instigated centuries of Gynocide. Imagine He as representative of the male-led institution of Christianity, and the violence eventually brought against him by She begins to make sense. This film doesn’t claim women are the Antichrist. This film wants to be the Antichrist. Von Trier wouldn’t have it any other way.

4.5/5

Check out my other reviews here.

Head to Head - The Princess Bride

Welcome to the latest edition of Head to Head, in which our Quickflix critic takes on our readers in a rip-snorting battle to the death! You pick the film, and we pick the fight!

This week, Grant Stringer issued a warning: "Prepare to die". He unleashed a fantastic attack against the legendary family film The Princess Bride. For his troubles, he picked up a double pass to Toy Story 1 and 2 (in 3D). You can win free movie tickets too by sending your mini-reviews to us here at Quickflix!

Grant Stringer will argue AGAINST the film while Quickflix critic Simon Miraudo will argue FOR it. Let us know in the comments section below who you agree with. Spare no vitriol! Choose your side! There can only be one winner!

Grant Stringer - 1/5

One of the most over-rated films of all time (in my humble opinion) would have to be Rob Reiner’s The Princess Bride. I know that millions of people find it funny, charming and quirky, but for some reason it has always struck me as dull, smug and obvious. I’m not even sure if I’ve ever watched it the whole way through: once it moves away from Peter Falk & Kevin Arnold and into fantasy-land, my mind goes numb. With rage. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good fantasy, and I adore nonsensical comedy; it’s just that this film misses the mark by miles on BOTH counts. And if you try and play the “romance” card, I’ll punch you in the kidneys. This movie is about as romantic as Dawn of the Dead. I can sum up The Princess Bride’s popularity in one single, loathsome word: “Inconthievable!”

Simon Miraudo - 4/5

Have you no soul Mr. Stringer? I agree that The Princess Bride isn't the flawless classic some believe it to be, but I find it mind-boggling that you were unable to succumb to its undeniable charm. There is a real, classic romance to this picture. Over the past few years, as I am forced to endure more and more Katherine Heigl "romantic comedies", I've only grown to appreciate the heart of Rob Reiner's flick. And what a cast! Cary Elwes, Robin Wright, Mandy Patinkin, Peter Falk, Christopher Guest, Wallace Shawn, Billy Crystal, Carol Kane, Andre the Giant. Sure, it's not exactly the ensemble from Gosford Park, but they're a lovable bunch. I know you didn't want me to play the 'romance' card, but go and watch some recent romcoms, and then let me know how much you hate The Princess Bride. Seriously. Have you seen Fool's Gold?

Now it's over to you! What are your thoughts on The Princess Bride? Let us know in the comments section below. If you would like to be featured in the next Head to Head and possibly win some free movie tickets, send your mini-reviews to us here at Quickflix!

82nd Academy Award nominations!

source: oscars.org

The time for speculation is over! The nominees for the 82nd Academy Awards were announced on Tuesday morning in Los Angeles (Tuesday night in Australia) by Academy President Tom Sherak and 2008 Oscar nominee Anne Hathaway. So, who made the cut? Find out after the jump!

Box office behemoth Avatar and Iraq war thriller The Hurt Locker led the pack with 9 nominations apiece, including Best Picture. The films, respectively directed by ex-husband and wife James Cameron and Kathryn Bigelow, will face off against 8 other contenders in the Best Picture category. It is the first time since 1943 that this many films have competed for the Academy's top award.

Also nominated for Best Picture: The Blind Side (2 noms), District 9 (4 noms), An Education (3 noms), Inglourious Basterds (8 noms), Precious (6 noms), A Serious Man (2 noms), Up (5 noms) and Up in the Air (6 noms).

It's important to note that Pixar's Up became the first animated film since Beauty and the Beast in 1992 to be nominated for Best Picture.

Check out the rest of the nominees below and let us know who you think was snubbed, and who you'd like to see take home the gold!

BEST MOTION PICTURE OF THE YEAR

AVATAR
THE BLIND SIDE
DISTRICT 9
AN EDUCATION
THE HURT LOCKER
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS
PRECIOUS
A SERIOUS MAN
UP
UP IN THE AIR

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN DIRECTING

James Cameron - AVATAR
Kathryn Bigelow - THE HURT LOCKER
Quentin Tarantino - INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS
Lee Daniels - PRECIOUS
Jason Reitman - UP IN THE AIR

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE

Jeff Bridges - CRAZY HEART
George Clooney - UP IN THE AIR
Colin Firth - A SINGLE MAN
Morgan Freeman - INVICTUS
Jeremy Renner - THE HURT LOCKER

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE

Sandra Bullock - THE BLIND SIDE
Helen Mirren - THE LAST STATION
Carey Mulligan - AN EDUCATION
Gabourey Sidibe - PRECIOUS
Meryl Streep - JULIE AND JULIA

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Matt Damon - INVICTUS
Woody Harrelson - THE MESSENGER
Christopher Plummer - THE LAST STATION
Stanley Tucci - THE LOVELY BONES
Christoph Waltz - INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Penélope Cruz - NINE
Vera Farmiga - UP IN THE AIR
Maggie Gyllenhaal - CRAZY HEART
Anna Kendrick - UP IN THE AIR
Mo'Nique - PRECIOUS

BEST WRITING, SCREENPLAY WRITTEN DIRECTLY FOR THE SCREEN

THE HURT LOCKER - Mark Boal
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS - Quentin Tarantino
THE MESSENGER - Alessandro Camon and Oren Moverman
A SERIOUS MAN - Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
UP - Bob Peterson, Pete Docter, Thomas McCarthy

BEST WRITING, SCREENPLAY BASED ON MATERIAL PREVIOUSLY PRODUCED OR PUBLISHED

AN EDUCATION - Nick Hornby
DISTRICT 9 - Neill Blomkamp, Terri Tatchell
IN THE LOOP - Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Tony Roche
PRECIOUS - Geoffrey Fletcher
UP IN THE AIR - Jason Reitman, Sheldon Turner

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM OF THE YEAR

CORALINE
FANTASTIC MR FOX
THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG
THE SECRET OF KELLS
UP

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM OF THE YEAR

AJAMI
EL SECRETO DE SUS OJOS
THE MILK OF SORROW
UN PROPHET
THE WHITE RIBBON

BEST DOCUMENTARY, FEATURES

BURMA, VJ
THE COVE
FOOD, INC.
THE MOST DANGEROUS MAN IN AMERICA
WHICH WAY HOME

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN CINEMATOGRAPHY

AVATAR
HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF BLOOD PRINCE
THE HURT LOCKER
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS
THE WHITE RIBBON

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN FILM EDITING

AVATAR
DISTRICT 9
THE HURT LOCKER
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS
PRECIOUS

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN VISUAL EFFECTS

AVATAR
DISTRICT 9
STAR TREK

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN ART DIRECTION

AVATAR
THE IMAGINARIUM OF DOCTOR PARNASSUS
NINE
SHERLOCK HOLMES
THE YOUNG VICTORIA

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN COSTUME DESIGN

BRIGHT STAR
COCO AVANT CHANEL
THE IMAGINARIUM OF DOCTOR PARNASSUS
NINE
THE YOUNG VICTORIA

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC WRITTEN FOR MOTION PICTURES, ORIGINAL SCORE

AVATAR
FANTASTIC MR FOX
THE HURT LOCKER
SHERLOCK HOLMES
UP

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC WRITTEN FOR MOTION PICTURES, ORIGINAL SONG

Almost There - THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG
Down in New Orleans - THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG
Loin de Paname - PARIS 36
Take It All - NINE
The Weary Kind - CRAZY HEART

Check out the rest of the nominees here!

And then, check out our evaluation of this year's nominees!

The 82nd Academy Awards will take place on the 7th of March. Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin will co-host the ceremony.

Discuss: Your thoughts on this year's batch of nominees? How did expanding the Best Picture field to 10 nominees pan out?

Gervais and Merchant's Cemetery Junction feature trailer debut!

source: youtube.com

The trailer for Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant's latest film Cemetery Junction has leaked online. Check it out now before it's gone!



Cemetery Junction follows a couple of twenty-something's working as building society clerks in 1970's Reading. The film was written and directed by Gervais and Merchant (creators, writers and co-directors of The Office and Extras). Gervais made his directorial debut with last year's The Invention of Lying (a collaboration with American Matt Robinson). Although the film was mostly funny, it devolved into derivative sludge and was visually unappealing.

Well, I guess Merchant has the real directorial eye out of the two of them, because this trailer looks spectacular. We can only hope that lightning strikes a third time for the duo, and that Cemetery Junction becomes a worthy companion piece to their classic TV shows.

I just hope none of that Tooth Fairy awfulness has rubbed off on Merchant.

The film stars Gervais, Jack Doolan, Christian Cooke, Tom Hughes, Matthew Goode, Ralph Fiennes and Emily Watson. It hits U.K. cinemas on the 4th of April. An Australian release should follow soon after.

Discuss: We called Cemetery Junction the 4th most exciting upcoming release of 2010. Agree?

Razzie nominees announced! Transformers 2, Land of the Lost worst of 2009

source: razzies.com

The nominees for the 30th Annual Razzie Awards have been announced, celebrating the very worst in cinema. Leading the charge with the most nominations are the Michael Bay bland-buster Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and the Will Ferrell box office disaster Land of the Lost.

Check out all the nominees below:

WORST PICTURE

ALL ABOUT STEVE
GI JOE: RISE OF THE COBRA
LAND OF THE LOST
OLD DOGS
TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN

WORST DIRECTOR

Phil Traill - ALL ABOUT STEVE
Stephen Sommers - GI JOE: RISE OF THE COBRA
Brad Silberling - LAND OF THE LOST
Walt Becker - OLD DOGS
Michael Bay - TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN

WORST ACTOR

The Jonas Brothers - JONAS BROTHERS 3D
Will Ferrell - LAND OF THE LOST
Steve Martin - PINK PANTHER 2
Eddie Murphy - IMAGINE THAT
John Travolta - OLD DOGS

WORST ACTRESS

Beyonce - OBSESSED
Sandra Bullock - ALL ABOUT STEVE
Miley Cyrus - HANNAH MONTANA: THE MOVIE
Megan Fox - JENNIFER'S BODY/TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN
Sarah Jessica Parker - DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THE MORGANS?

WORST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Billy Ray Cyrus - HANNAH MONTANA: THE MOVIE
Hugh Hefner - MISS MARCH
Robert Pattinson - THE TWILIGHT SAGA'S NEW MOON
Jorma Taccone - LAND OF THE LOST
Marlon Wayans - GI JOE: RISE OF THE COBRA

WORST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Candice Bergen - BRIDE WARS
Ali Larter - OBSESSED
Sienna Miller - GI JOE: RISE OF THE COBRA
Kelly Preston - OLD DOGS
Julie White - TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN

WORST SCREEN COUPLE:

Any two (or more) Jonas Brothers - JONAS BROTHERS 3D
Sandra Bullock and Bradley Cooper - ALL ABOUT STEVE
Will Ferrell and any co-star, creature or 'comic riff' - LAND OF THE LOST
Shia LaBeouf and EITHER Megan Fox or any Transformer - TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN
Kristen Stewart and EITHER Robert Pattinson or Taylor Whatz-His-Fang - THE TWILIGHT SAGA'S NEW MOON

WORST REMAKE, RIP-OFF OR SEQUEL

GI JOE: RISE OF THE COBRA
LAND OF THE LOST
PINK PANTHER 2
TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN
THE TWILIGHT SAGA'S NEW MOON

WORST SCREENPLAY

ALL ABOUT STEVE
GI JOE: RISE OF THE COBRA
LAND OF THE LOST
TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN
THE TWILIGHT SAGA'S NEW MOON

The Razzies are also honouring the worst pictures of the past 10 years.

WORST PICTURE OF THE DECADE

BATTLEFIELD EARTH
FREDDY GOT FINGERED
GIGLI
I KNOW WHO KILLED ME
SWEPT AWAY

WORST ACTOR OF THE DECADE

Ben Affleck
Eddie Murphy
Mike Myers
Rob Schneider
John Travolta

WORST ACTRESS OF THE DECADE

Mariah Carey
Paris Hilton
Lindsay Lohan
Jennifer Lopez
Madonna

It's hard to argue with these nominees, although I've said it once, and I'll say it again: Land of the Lost isn't that bad! It's certainly not the black hole of entertainment that is The Ugly Truth. Not one nomination for that travesty?!?

Anyway, Transformers FTW!

Discuss: What Razzies would you hand out?

Edge of boredom - Edge of Darkness review

Edge of Darkness - Starring Mel Gibson, Danny Huston and Ray Winstone. Directed by Martin Campbell. Rated MA. By Simon Miraudo.

If you want to reboot a legend, Martin Campbell is the man to call, or at least he was. The New Zealand director reignited the James Bond franchise on two separate occasions; first with 1995’s GoldenEye (starring Pierce Brosnan) and again in 2006 with Casino Royale (introducing Daniel Craig). You could say that Campbell has an uncanny knack for re-establishing hard-drinking, womanising and somewhat dated screen legends. Therefore, he’s the perfect choice to helm Edge of Darkness, which features Mel Gibson’s first acting foray in seven years (I promise, that will be the one and only joke directed at Gibson’s indiscretions).

Gibson’s return to the screen has been something I’ve been looking forward to for a long time. Although I enjoy his work as a director (Apocalypto is a modern action classic), he has always been a charming and fascinating screen presence. I genuinely missed Gibson, who was last seen in 2002’s Signs. So, the news that he would be teaming up with Campbell and screenwriter William Monahan (The Departed) for a project based on the critically acclaimed British mini-series Edge of Darkness almost sounded too good to be true. Unfortunately, the final product turned out to be as limp as a man with one leg slightly shorter than the other, walking down a rickety staircase. You’ll forgive me for that terrible analogy. But this movie was really boring, and my imagination is working overdrive to at least make this review sound interesting.

Gibson stars as detective Tom Craven, whose daughter Emma (Bojana Novakovic) has returned home to Boston under vague circumstances. Craven picks her up from the train station and notices immediately that his daughter seems a little off, but she tells him not to worry. He asks how her job is, and she says that she enjoys working for the mysterious company Northmoor, but resents being little more than a receptionist. Call it Daddy’s intuition, but he can tell she’s hiding something. He doesn’t have to wait long to find his suspicions proven true. Within moments, Emma’s nose begins to bleed profusely, and she starts to panic, as if she knows exactly why this is happening. As Craven pulls her out the door and prepares to take her to the emergency room, a gunman assassinates Emma. This opening sequence is the best part of the whole film; Gibson and Novakovic’s relationship feels genuine, and Campbell’s handle on the tension is expert.

Following Emma’s death however, the film starts to fall apart. Craven vows to avenge his daughter’s death, as all movie dads must do. He investigates the various suspects in Emma’s life, including her boss (Danny Huston) and boyfriend (Shawn Roberts). Meanwhile, a CIA officer (Ray Winstone) is sent by the not-so-mysterious guilty party to cover up Emma’s murder. Now, if only that pesky Thomas Craven didn’t keep getting in the way!

For what it’s worth, Gibson is solid in the lead. However, not even his charm can save Edge of Darkness. As the film hobbles to its inevitable finale, it becomes more and more apparent that there is little here for any viewer to enjoy. The cast, all fine actors, are given little to work with; their roles are merely to explain plot points to one another. The action is non-existent. The so-called twists are about as surprising as being slapped in the face by the biggest hands in the world (again, I apologise for the laborious analogy – I’m reaching here). Monahan mistakes rambling exposition for captivating back-and-forth and Campbell doesn’t help any by making the film as drab and turgidly paced as possible.

The only reason for seeing the movie is for the occasionally beautifully inspired moments that emerge from the talented cast. They include the great character actors Jay O. Sanders, Denis O’Hare, Danny Huston and Ray Winstone (although, in Winstone’s case, I don’t know if he qualifies as a character actor considering he always plays the same basic role). Their little touches give the film brief moments of life, but not even they can escape the stifling matter-of-factness of their expository dialogue. Eventually, the only pleasure comes from evaluating each of their Bostonian accents (Gibson’s is the worst FYI).

In one of the film’s only semi-intense moments, it has the lazy gall to commit one of the cardinal sins of cheap shock cinema; a character steps into the middle of the road and is suddenly sideswiped by an oncoming car (which has apparently arrived in silence, only making a noise when it drives into frame). Seriously people, it is 2010, and filmmakers are still pulling this old trick out of the book? They might as well have included a scene in which Gibson walks into a party, when suddenly the record scratches and the music stops.

2/5

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