Trailer Debut: Fruitvale Station

May 13, 2013 by Simon Miraudo 0 Comments

The trailer for Ryan Coogler’s Fruitvale Station, 2013′s big Sundance sensation, has arrived online.

Fruitvale Station

Starring Michael B. Jordan (Friday Night Lights, The Wire, Chronicle) as Oscar, it relays the tragic, real-life events of December 31, 2008, which saw the 22-year-old father fall victim to extreme police brutality.

The picture claimed the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award at Sundance under the name Fruitvale, and will compete in the Un Certain Regard category at the upcoming Cannes Film Festival.


The Weinstein Company snapped up the distribution rights for $2 million, no doubt with the intention of positioning it as the ‘little movie that could’ come Oscar time.

If Beasts of the Southern Wild could score Best Picture, Director, Actress, and Screenplay nominations at the Academy Awards, the same could likely be achieved for Fruitvale Station (particularly for up-and-comer Jordan, though in the Best Actor category, obviously).

Melonie Diaz and Octavia Spencer also star.

It does not yet have a local release date.

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Owen Wilson set for P.T. Anderson’s Inherent Vice

May 13, 2013 by Simon Miraudo 0 Comments

Owen Wilson is in negotiations to join the cast of Paul Thomas Anderson’s Inherent Vice, The Wrap reports.

Owen Wilson

PTA has already set Joaquin Phoenix to play pot-smoking P.I. Doc Sportello in the adaptation of Thomas Pynchon’s acclaimed novel (which is something of a shaggy-dog crime noir set in 1970s Los Angeles).

According to Anderson fan site Cigarettes & Red Vines, Wilson would play surfer dude/saxophonist Coy Harlingen; a key role.

Benicio Del Toro is in talks to play Doc’s lawyer, while Charlize Theron is also rumoured to be in the mix for a leading part.

Production begins later this month.

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Robert Downey Jr. joins Jon Favreau’s indie Chef

May 13, 2013 by Simon Miraudo 0 Comments

Robert Downey Jr. will reunite with his original Iron Man director, Jon Favreau, on the indie dramedy Chef, Variety reports.

Downey Favreau

Favreau is set to star in the flick as a chef who loses his job and begins working in a food truck.

He will direct from his own screenplay.

Favreau helmed the first two Iron Man movies, before exiting the franchise to focus on Cowboys and Aliens, as well as the long-delayed Magic Kingdom.

Chef will mark the first small-budget venture for both Downey Jr. and Favreau in quite some time (perhaps exactly the thing required to get their creative juices flowing once again).

Sofia Vergara and Bobby Cannavale are also set to appear in the picture.

Shooting begins in July.

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Teaser Debut: Gravity

May 10, 2013 by Simon Miraudo 1 Comment

Ladies and gentleman, that recurring nightmare you’ve been having has been brought to life by Alfonso Cuarón!

Gravity

The teaser for his long-awaited Gravity has arrived online, and it’s about as claustrophobic and stressful as promotional materials get.

Sandra Bullock and George Clooney star as astronauts who are stranded in space following a technical malfunction.

According to reports, this is basically a one-woman show, with Bullock spending much of the feature in complete isolation.

Nonetheless, the teaser footage shows off some of the more action-packed moments. And boy oh boy, is this going to be a tough watch.


We are, of course, incredibly excited. It hits cinemas in October.

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Trailer Debut: Captain Phillips

May 10, 2013 by Simon Miraudo 0 Comments

The trailer for Paul Greengrass’ Captain Phillips, Tom Hanks’ best Oscar hope in years, has arrived online.

Captain Phillips

Hanks stars as Richard Phillips, whose cargo ship – the Maersk Alabama – was hijacked by Somali pirates in 2009.

Though the teaser boasts Greengrass’ credentials as director of The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum, the better comparison seems to be his United 93, which similarly took on a violent historical event in gut-churning, pulse-quickening real time.


Hanks’ Bostonian accent aside, this looks like a cracking thriller.

We’re a bit wary of the film’s racial politics – particularly the depiction of the pirates – but we’ll reserve our judgement until we witness the final product.

It hits cinemas this October.

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Talk Hard – John Rhys-Davies (Indiana Jones, Lord of the Rings)

May 9, 2013 by Simon Miraudo 0 Comments

Bad dates. Good interview. Quickflix critic Simon Miraudo chats with John Rhys-Davies; best known as Sallah from the Indiana Jones series and Gimli from Lords of the Rings. An entirely unnecessary review of the classic Raiders of the Lost Ark follows. Wait, why does the floor move? Give me your torch. Asps. Very dangerous. You go first.

John Rhys-Davies

Show Notes:

Hey there, thanks for listening! You’re great.

Please subscribe to us on iTunes. If you enjoyed the show, feel free to leave us a review.

All titles mentioned in the show can be found at Quickflix.com.au.

Remember to send all thoughts, comments, feedback, and general well-wishes to talkhard@quickflix.com.au

You can find me on Twitter: @simonmiraudo.

Thanks to Blue Ducks for our theme, “Four, Floss, Five, Six.” You can find more of their work at www.recordsonribs.com

A special thanks to RTRFM for their recording facilities.

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Teaser Debut: The World’s End

May 9, 2013 by Simon Miraudo 1 Comment

The teaser trailer for The World’s End, director Edgar Wright’s latest collaboration with Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, has arrived online.

Worlds End

The trio has described their long-awaited follow-up to zombie spoof Shaun of the Dead and cop-movie satire Hot Fuzz as the final instalment of their Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy.

As you may be able to guess by it’s title, this one takes on the apocalypse genre. And, as this trailer newly reveals, it has an alien-invasion flavour to it.


Here’s the official synopsis:

“20 years after attempting an epic pub crawl, five childhood friends reunite when one of them becomes hell bent on trying the drinking marathon again. They are convinced to stage an encore by mate Gary King, a 40-year old man trapped at the cigarette end of his teens, who drags his reluctant pals to their home town and once again attempts to reach the fabled pub, The World’s End. As they attempt to reconcile the past and present, they realize the real struggle is for the future, not just theirs but humankind’s. Reaching The World’s End is the least of their worries.”

The World’s End also stars Martin Freeman, Eddie Marsan, Paddy Considine, and Rosamund Pike.

It hits cinemas this October.

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Andrew Garfield signs on for Scorsese’s Silence

May 9, 2013 by Richard Haridy 0 Comments

It’s all system’s go on Martin Scorsese’s long gestating passion project Silence, as Variety reports Andrew Garfield has been signed for the leading role.

AndrewGarfield

Garfield will star as a young Portuguese Jesuit who is sent to Japan in 1638; a time when Christian missionaries were being persecuted in the region.

Legendary Japanese actor Ken Watanabe will support Garfield as his local interpreter.

The film, which will be a mostly Japanese language production, has been on Scorsese’s radar ever since someone slipped him the novel not long after the premiere of The Last Temptation Of Christ, his last religious provocation from 25 years ago.

Scorsese is currently finishing post-production on The Wolf Of Wall Street with Leonardo DiCaprio but has already pencilled in production on Silence to begin mid-2014.

It seems one of our greatest working filmmakers still has a few interesting projects up his sleeve.

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Trailer Debut: The Butler

May 9, 2013 by Richard Haridy 0 Comments

Lee Daniels is a strange filmmaker, and, from the looks of this recently released trailer, the strangest thing about his latest film, The Butler, is how conventional it appears.

TheButler

Forest Whitaker stars as Eugene Allen in this true story of one man who served as a butler in the White House to eight separate presidents over 30 years.

The trailer has a feel-good ‘Forrest Gump’ vibe about it, as we see glimpses of famous actors playing presidential dress-ups; from John Cusack as Richard Nixon to Robin Williams as Eisenhower, and even James Marsden as JFK. Oprah Winfrey also stars in her first acting role in over 15 years.


After Daniels shocked us all with his bizarrely gonzo and campy recent effort The Paperboy, it seems he is stepping it back about a thousand notches for this big time Hollywood drama.

It could either be an elegant and austere Oscar-bait film, or a hammy slice of stinky cheese. After watching this trailer I’m on the fence.

It does not yet have a local release date.

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Al Pacino abandons Despicable Me 2; Benjamin Bratt fills in

May 8, 2013 by Jess Lomas 0 Comments

Al Pacino is out of Despicable Me 2 and Benjamin Bratt is in, Deadline reports.

Al Pacino

This worrying development sees Pacino exit the anticipated sequel due to creative differences with Universal Pictures.

Bratt (Miss Congeniality) will step in to voice new super villain Eduardo, alongside Steve Carell’s Gru, ahead of the film’s July release in the US.

According to Universal, “Over the production of Despicable Me 2, there were creative differences between us and Al Pacino, who had been cast as the voice of Eduardo in the film. We have mutually decided with Al to replace the voice of Eduardo with a new actor. Universal and Illumination thank Al for his many contributions to the process and look forward to a new actor bringing this memorable character to the screen upon its release this summer.”

Universal has confirmed that the film’s release date will not be impacted by this casting news, although one must wonder whether the changeover will be seamless this late in the production.

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