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November 21, 2012

ANNA KARENINA (2012) – The Review

Filed under: Adaptations,Based on a Book,Classics,Drama,Movies,Romance — Tags: , , , , , , , , — Jim Batts @ 12:30 am

How do you breathe new life into a 100 plus year old story that’s known by mullions worldwide? First you cast one of the most popular young actresses in the title role. And so Keira Knightley stars as Leo Tolstoy’s ANNA KARENINA. But that’s not quite enough for director Joe Wright (ATONEMENT) working from Tom Stoppard’s (SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE) screen adaptation. Wright doesn’t change the time period (the 1880’s) or the setting (Russia), but he uses several modern technology film tricks to make a version that is like no other. But will all these bells and whistles really enhance this new telling of romance and scandal?

The plot primarily centers on Anna (Knightley), the wife of older statesman Count Alexei Karenin (Jude Law) and mother to their 8 or 9 year-old son Sergei. She travels to visit her brother Stepan (Matthew Macfadyen) in order to mend the rift when his wife Dolly (Kelly Macdonald) learns of his affair with their children’s nanny. On the train Anna meets the dashing young cavalry officer Count Vronsky (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), a suitor of Dolly’s younger sister Kitty (Alicia Vikander). Vronsky is immediately smitten with the older Anna, and at a party for Kitty he lavishes all his attention on Anna. Kitty then turns to another suitor, Levin (Domhall Gleeson). In a subplot the two marry and return to his expansive country estate and farm. Meanwhile the affair between Anna and Vronsky causes a scandal in Moscow society circles. When Anna tries to leave her husband, Karenin threatens to cut her off from their son. Soon Anna is shunned by the aristocracy. Will she follow her passion with Vronsky or return to her former dull life?

For this new version we must believe in the passionate romance at the story’s center. Unfortunately Ms. Knightley and Mr. Taylor-Johnson just never seem to really click on screen. I’ve enjoyed much of her work (particularly in A DANGEROUS METHOD) and he was very strong in NOWHERE BOY and KICK-ASS, but there’s no real screen sparks here. She seems much too young to be the mother of a nine year-old (and too close to Vronsky’s age) and doesn’t possess the worldliness the character demands. Her infatuation with the young officer is too manic and her final desperate act reeks of selfishness. That same selfishness emanates from Vronsky also. With his impeccable fashions and preening (no hair is ever out of place) he comes across as a 19th teen pin-up. His immediate fixation on the married Anna remains a mystery. Her husband Count Karenin isn’t a cruel monster who would drive his wife into the arms of another. The film makes try to de-glamorize him, but Law’s handsome features are only slightly dulled by a poor haircut, spectacles, and scratchy beard. Sure the guy’s a bit of a cold fish, but he’s got more patience for his wife’s histrionics that most men would have. A great supporting cast can’t make up for the film’s problems with the central love triangle.

The staging (emphasis on stage) also hinders our emotional involvement in this tale of doomed, forbidden love. Wright has set the proceedings in an elaborate, fantasy theatre. The action spills from the stage onto the orchestra pit, then goes backstage with flats and scenery tucked into corners. Characters even climb stairs and have dialogue in the theatre’s rafters next to cable and sandbags. These intricate camera tricks just distract us from the plot and make everything seem distant and artificial. Wright does a bit of cheating when dealing with Levin’s country home (we’re trudging through endless fields of snow with him), a horse race, and a fireworks display (the theatre’s roof opens up to allow the rockets to explode in the night sky). I’m reminded of the elaborate Busby Berkley numbers from his thirties musicals. The sequences would end with unintended laughter when the final shot revealed the appreciative theatre audience split screened with the waterfalls and dancing multitudes. The actors are also saddled with outrageously intricate hand gesturing at a formal dance and the rhythmic filing and stamping by the minions at Stepan’s massive office. It’s clever, but they ultimately get in the story’s way. The costumes and hair styles are lovely, but they can’t overcome the film’s forced theatricality. Either make a movie or produce a play for goodness sake!  The decision to do both does no service to Tolstoy’s immortal heroine.

2.5 Out of 5 Stars

June 26, 2012

Win Passes To The Advance Screening Of SAVAGES In St. Louis

Filed under: Contest,Featured Articles,Free Passes,General News — Tags: , , , , , , , , , — Movie Geeks @ 2:00 pm

Three-time Oscar®-winning filmmaker Oliver Stone returns to the screen in this first trailer for the ferocious thriller SAVAGES, featuring the all-star ensemble cast of Taylor Kitsch, Blake Lively, Aaron Johnson, John Travolta, Uma Thurman, Benicio Del Toro, Salma Hayek, Emile Hirsch and Demian Bichir. In theaters on July 6, the film is based on Don Winslow’s best-selling crime novel that was named one of The New York Times’ Top 10 Books of 2010. The screenplay is by Shane Salerno & Don Winslow & Oliver Stone.

Universal Pictures and WAMG invite you to enter for your chance to win passes to the advance screening of SAVAGES in St. Louis on July 2nd.

OFFICIAL RULES:

1. YOU MUST BE IN THE ST. LOUIS AREA THE DAY OF THE SCREENING.

2. FILL OUT YOUR NAME AS IT APPEARS ON YOUR DRIVER’S LICENSE AND E-MAIL ADDRESS BELOW.

3. ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTION: Are you a savage? Tell us in 2 – 3 sentences about your savage life.

WINNERS WILL BE CHOSEN THROUGH A RANDOM DRAWING OF QUALIFYING CONTESTANTS. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. PASSES WILL NOT BE SUBSTITUTED OR EXCHANGED. DUPLICATE TICKETS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.

Laguna Beach entrepreneurs Ben (Johnson), a peaceful and charitable Buddhist, and his closest friend Chon (Kitsch), a former Navy SEAL and ex-mercenary, run a lucrative, homegrown industry—raising some of the best marijuana ever developed.  They also share a one-of-a-kind love with the extraordinary beauty Ophelia (Lively).  Life is idyllic in their Southern California town…until the Mexican Baja Cartel decides to move in and demands that the trio partners with them.

When the merciless head of the BC, Elena (Hayek), and her brutal enforcer, Lado (Del Toro), underestimate the unbreakable bond among these three friends, Ben and Chon—with the reluctant, slippery assistance of a dirty DEA agent (Travolta)—wage a seemingly unwinnable war against the cartel.  And so begins a series of increasingly vicious ploys and maneuvers in a high stakes, savage battle of wills.

Visit the film’s official site:  www.savagesfilm.com

“Like” on Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/savagesfilm

Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/savages

April 5, 2012

Oliver Stone’s SAVAGES Trailer

Filed under: General News,Posters,Trailer — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , — Michelle McCue @ 9:37 pm

Three-time Oscar®-winning filmmaker Oliver Stone returns to the screen in this first trailer for the ferocious thriller SAVAGES, featuring the all-star ensemble cast of Taylor Kitsch, Blake Lively, Aaron Johnson, John Travolta, Uma Thurman, Benicio Del Toro, Salma Hayek, Emile Hirsch and Demian Bichir. In theaters on July 6, the film is based on Don Winslow’s best-selling crime novel that was named one of The New York Times’ Top 10 Books of 2010. The screenplay is by Shane Salerno & Don Winslow & Oliver Stone.


(via MTV)

Laguna Beach entrepreneurs Ben (Johnson), a peaceful and charitable Buddhist, and his closest friend Chon (Kitsch), a former Navy SEAL and ex-mercenary, run a lucrative, homegrown industry—raising some of the best marijuana ever developed.  They also share a one-of-a-kind love with the extraordinary beauty Ophelia (Lively).  Life is idyllic in their Southern California town…until the Mexican Baja Cartel decides to move in and demands that the trio partners with them.

When the merciless head of the BC, Elena (Hayek), and her brutal enforcer, Lado (Del Toro), underestimate the unbreakable bond among these three friends, Ben and Chon—with the reluctant, slippery assistance of a dirty DEA agent (Travolta)—wage a seemingly unwinnable war against the cartel.  And so begins a series of increasingly vicious ploys and maneuvers in a high stakes, savage battle of wills.

Visit the film’s official site:  www.savagesfilm.com

“Like” on Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/savagesfilm

January 26, 2012

ALBERT NOBBS – The Review

Filed under: Adaptations,Drama,Review — Tags: , , , , — Jim Batts @ 11:52 pm

Gender disguise has been used most predominately in movies for generating laughs. As a matter of fact, the American Film Institute, in their list of the greatest movie comedies ( via their TV special ” 100 Years, 100 Laughs ” ) , had TOOTSIE as number two and SOME LIKE IT HOT as number one. Most feature men dressing up as ladies to get a job in the former and escape gangsters in the latter. Occasionally dressing in drag has been used in dramatic films as in YENTL in which a woman assumed a male persona in order to gain an education. This theme is explored in the new film ALBERT NOBBS in which the title character attempts to circumvent nineteenth century society’s rules and create a better life for his/herself. Actress Glenn Close played the title character in an off-Broadway stage production thirty years ago. Since then she’s established herself as one of the great screen stars, but bringing this story to the screen has eluded her till now. Does this tale still resonate three decades later?

The slight, quiet, soft-featured Mr. Nobbs has worked as a waiter/valet at a luxury hotel ( for many guests, it is a boarding house ) for the owner/ operator Mrs.Baker for many years. Each night Nobbs retires to his sparse, meager servant’s room in the hotel and counts his tip money. He jots down the totals in a small diary, hides his savings under a floor board, and dreams of a better life. His plans are almost sidetracked by the arrival of a house painter, Hubert. Paige ( Janet McTeer ) . MINOR SPOILER ALERT ( well if you know the actors involved, it’s not too much of a twist ). Mrs. Baker insists that Mr. Paige share a room (and bed ) with Mr. Nobbs despite Albert’s protests. His fears come to pass as Paige learns Nobbs’s secret: he is a she ( a flea had made its way under Albert’s tightly strapped corset. Nobbs is more skittish than usual around Paige over the next few days until Paige reveals that he shares the same secret. Not only that, but she’s married and has a home in the back of his wife’s seamstress shop. Nobbs is fascinated and soon visits the couple. Can they give any advice on how Albert can follow his dream of owning a tobacco shop and sharing the living quarters with a wife ( perhaps the hotel’s lovely, young blonde housekeeper Helen Dawes ( Mia Wasikowska ). VERY MINOR SPOILERS DONE!

For such an unusal premise, the film is very low-key. It’s almost a PBS or BBC-America Victorian drama ramped up with a star cast and spiced up with gender disguise. Perhaps the main problem is Hobbs. We learn little of what drove him to this subterfuge besides a vague story about being poor, orphaned, and abused as a child. For most of the time he blends into the hallways of the hotel. A great deal is made of her perusal of the young Helen, but he has no real passion for her. When she demonstrates a ” lovers’ kiss” on Nobbs, he almost has an attack. Helen ‘s just one step of the big plan for Nobbs, who seems to be more passionate about operating the tobacco shop than romance. The shallow young woman only really cares for the hotel’s bad-boy Joe ( Aaron Johnson ), who’s the robust young eye candy for the hotel’s ladies. Wasikowska is not given a chance her to flex her acting chops here as she did in JANE EYRE and THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT, while Johnson is riffing on the anti-social aspects of his young John Lennon from NOWHERE BOY. Close makes for a believable, wispy, older gentleman ( although the scenes of Albert going over his plans aloud don’t translate well from stage to screen ) and has a great rapport with McTeer’s Mr. Paige. Hubert is burly, rough, and quite a flirt with the maids and hotel owner ( who reciprocate ). It’s a role requiring charm and tenderness which McTeer nails down confidently. What perhaps resonates most from the film is not the gender politics ( or the affairs and secrets of the staff ), but the treatment of the working or servant class by the upper-crusts of high society. The bullying and the verbal (and often physical ) abuse is quite startling. ALBERT NOBBS is a well made journey through this long ago era, but unfortunately like it’s title character, the film is too formal and reserved. The film is strapped down tighter than Albert’s corset.

Overall Rating: Three and a Half Out of Five Stars

October 13, 2011

ALBERT NOBBS Trailer Starring Glenn Close

Filed under: General News,Trailer — Tags: , , , , , , , — Michelle McCue @ 12:48 pm

Award winning actress Glenn Close plays a woman passing as a man in order to work and survive in 19th century Ireland in this trailer for ALBERT NOBBS. Some thirty years after donning men’s clothing, she finds herself trapped in a prison of her own making. Mia Wasikowska (Helen), Aaron Johnson (Joe) and Brendan Gleeson (Dr. Holloran) join a prestigious, international cast that includes Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Janet McTeer, Brenda Fricker and Pauline Collins.

The film showed to rave reviews and a bustle of Best Actress Oscar buzz for Close at Telluride Film Festival and Toronto International Film Festival in September. The 15th Annual Hollywood Film Festival and Hollywood Film Awards will honor the five-time Oscar nominee with the “Hollywood Career Achievement Award” at the festival’s Hollywood Film Awards Gala Ceremony on October 24, 2011.

Glenn Close’s connection to the character of Albert Nobbs stretches back almost three decades to her 1982 performance in Simone Benmussa’s theatrical interpretation of the short story, Albert Nobbs, by nineteenth century Irish author George Moore. “I think that Albert is one of the truly great characters, and the story, for all its basic simplicity, has a strange emotional power,” begins Close, whose turn in the Off-Broadway production prompted rave reviews and garnered the actress an Obie Award.

Even as Close’s career skyrocketed the character remained with her. “There’s something deeply affecting about Albert’s life,” the actress continues, “She never stopped continuing to move me. I became very busy in my career, but always thought that Albert’s story would make a wonderful movie.”


Glenn Close and director, Rodrigo Garcia, on the set of ALBERT NOBBS Photo Credit: Patrick Redmond

Rodrigo Garcia directs from a script that Glenn Close, along with Man Booker prize-winning novelist John Banville and Gabriella Prekop, adapted from a short story by Irish author George Moore.

ALBERT NOBBS will be in theaters December 2011.

October 15, 2010

Review: NOWHERE BOY

Filed under: Movies,Review — Tags: , , , , , , , — Melissa Howland @ 6:05 pm

As a Beatles/Lennon fan, I was very skeptical of this film. Especially with John Lennon being such a charismatic individual. I must say, they pulled it off well!

NOWHERE BOY is the true story of John Lennon’s childhood in Liverpool, England. As a youth, Lennon (Aaron Johnson) was constantly in trouble for his tom foolery and shenanigans in school. Raised by his Aunt Mimi (Kristin Scott Thomas) and his Uncle, Lennon was brought up on classical music and rules. After his grandfathers death, he reconciles with the mother that gave him to her sister to raise at the age of 3-4 years old. Julia (Anne-Marie Duff) was a lovely woman, but fought a horrible case of depression that left her unable to raise Lennon herself. During their reconciliation, Julia taught him to play music, inspiring his first band, The Quarrymen. Through music, he would eventually meet a young Paul McCartney (Thomas Sangster) and George Harrison (Sam Bell). Lennon would never be the same once music touched his life.

The movie does a decent job telling the tale of Lennon’s childhood. The one thing to take into consideration is that it is, after all, a movie. Things are going to be left out, distorted, or crunched together to tell a story in a couple of hours. I was actually quite impressed by Johnson’s portrayal of Lennon. Whenever anyone plays an iconic historical figure (which Lennon truly was) the bar is going to be set high. Johnson did a great job of capturing Lennon’s dialect and attitude.

For those of you expecting more of a Beatles history, you will be disappointed. I was not a fan of the casting  Thomas Sangster as Paul McCartney. Don’t get me wrong, he isn’t a bad actor or anything, but he did not do McCartney justice. He looked way too young for a 15 year old, and didn’t really capture Paul McCartney’s personality or musical charisma. The kid could be great in other roles, but this was not the role for him.

They definitely went the route of basing the majority of the story on the dysfunctional part of Lennon’s upbringing. He fought with wanting to know his mother and knowing where he truly belonged. There was the definite pain of wanting to be with his mother and realizing just how sick she really was. She had a family, and her present husband was very worried that surrounding herself with Lennon would trigger her illness again. In a way, it did. The film depicts a very manic side to Julia at times, which would flip to depressed and cold in an instant.

The problem I have with the portrayal of Julia is that they made her estranged. Julia was always present in Lennon’s life. She was present until his death, when he was just 17 years of age. They did the same type of alteration with Mimi. Mimi was a disciplinarian, but she was not nearly as cold as the film portrayed. In fact, Lennon always spoke highly of Mimi. Smith always knew that she would raise him. She was quoted to say “I knew the moment I saw John in that hospital that I was the one to be his mother, not Julia. Does that sound awful? It isn’t, really, because Julia accepted it as something perfectly natural. She used to say, ‘You’re his real mother. All I did was give birth.”” Still, Duff and Thomas gave magnetic and fantastic performances.

Also, while I do not dispute that Lennon was quite the troublemaker that they portray him to be, they concentrated more on that side than his happy-go-lucky nature. I was pleased to see that they included his fondness for drawing. His cartoons and illustrations are simply brilliant.

For a movie, I think that they did a decent job of making an entertaining, watchable film. As a Lennon/Beatles fan, I really wish that they didn’t stretch things so much. I would have appreciated a more straightforward story.

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

March 15, 2010

KICK-ASS Hyperbole to Spill Over Into a Sequel

Filed under: Action,Adaptations,Comic Books,General News,Sequels,Superheroes — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , — Kirk @ 12:11 pm

Some people can’t get enough Ass-Kick.  Cue Nic Cage’s giggly hiccup here.

The highly anticipated KICK-ASS has debuted at SXSW.  You can check out our very own, Travis’, review right here.  But, it’s not so much KICK-ASS premiering to hundreds of adoring fans (most of whom, I’m sure, were saying the film “kicks ass” all throughout the Texas night) that is causing buzz now some 48 hours later.  What is getting the buzz are the reports coming from the red carpet, wherein just about everyone involved in the film was talking sequel.

As evidenced by red carpet reports from Coming Soon.net and Film School Rejects, Mark Millar, John Romita, Jr., Aaron Johnson, and Christopher Mintz-Plasse all confirmed a KICK-ASS 2 is coming, and it could be coming soon.  How soon we can only assume at this point, but, once the film is released on April 16th, we may have a better idea just how quickly Lionsgate will want a sequel served up.  I’m sure, as soon as it is announced, it will already be dubbed as the “greatest superhero sequel in the history of the world.”

…or something like that.

March 13, 2010

SXSW Review: KICK ASS

Filed under: Film Festivals,General News,SXSW 2010 Movie Reviews — Tags: , , , , , , , — Travis Keune @ 3:53 am

Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson) is your average, middle-of-the-road nobody with a small entourage of nobody friends, invisible to girls and a prime target for bullies and teenage thugs. Beneath his seemingly harmless exterior, a drive to help others and make the world a safer place leads Dave to ask one question:

Why hasn’t anyone ever tried to be a super hero?

Dave is the last guy anyone would suspect to be a super hero, much in the same way Peter Parker was clearly the opposite of what one would expect a super hero to be. This works to his advantage for secrecy, but he soon learns being a hero also means taking a beating. In a strange twist of fate, a near death beating ultimately provides Dave a medical advantage in his heroic endeavors.

KICK ASS is a film based on the comic books created by Mark Millar, which he revealed after the screening was inspired by his own childhood contemplations strikingly similar to those of Dave’s. Matthew Vaughn (LAYER CAKE, STARDUST) directed this comic book movie, a film that is almost as amusing as it is, well…kick ass! For those who have read the comic books, the above statements will come as no surprise. KICK ASS will surely satisfy fans of the comic books, staying true to the overall theme and many of the key details with only a few deviations of note.

I will no longer use the term “kick ass” to describe this movie, as its obvious, cliched and most importantly, deserving of a more detailed explanation. KICK ASS has plenty of humor, but is surprisingly not strictly a comedy. In fact, the movie far better fits the classification of a hardcore, R-rated action movie.

The “R” – for those who give a rat’s ass about the MPAA – is very much a product of both language and graphic, violent action, much of which comes from the pre-teen character Hit Girl, played by Chloe Moretz. Perhaps the best part of KICK ASS, Moretz offers over-the-top action galore, amazing comic book action stunts, fight scenes and weapons proficiency. If she were to keep up her training, Moretz could literally have a good shot at being the western hemispheres first female action star since, say, Cynthia Rothrock?

Hit Girl’s father Big Daddy (Nic Cage) has trained her well, creating a powerfully non-super powered vigilante duo out to rid the city of criminals. Especially key to the father-daughter agenda is the removal of crime boss Frank D’Amico, played by Mark Strong (SHERLOCK HOLMES).

Nicolas Cage is a riot, one part well-mannered father and ex-cop and one part merciless vigilante with an alter ego likened to that of Adam West’s Batman. After seeing KICK ASS, it would be difficult to imagine anyone else filling Big Daddy’s black cape and body armor any better. Likewise, Mark Strong plays a slightly more subdued, but sinister crime boss and arch-nemesis, somewhat oblivious at first to Big Daddy’s vendetta. Christopher Mintz-Plasse (SUPER BAD) plays D’Amic’s son, who dawns the alter ego of Red Mist as a way to vie for his father’s attention and convince him to bring him into the family business.

While there’s not a significant underlying theme, the moral of the story remains consistent with the idea that we can all do more to help make the world a better place. In reality, isn’t that the ultimate theme of all super hero stories? On some minor level, KICK ASS is a loving parody of comic book movies, respectfully poking fun with inside jokes and details not likely to be caught by those outside of the comic book subculture.

Vaughn has managed to create a film that is stronger than it appears on the surface, displaying a keen sense of direction, especially within the realm of action. Killer fight sequences abound, brimming with high-octane energy. Vaughn’s choice of music for these scenes (strike that, for the entire film) are perfectly symbiotic, conjuring nostalgia and emotional ambiance alike.

Overall, KICK ASS is am enjoyable ride that focuses on one otherwise invisible kid’s dream to be something more. Dave Lewinski is a character we can all relate to on some level, making him an easy hero to root for, an everyman without super powers or massive bank accounts, a kid who wants to do more in life.

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

January 18, 2010

New KICK-ASS Poster Kicks a Little Ass

Filed under: Comic Books,General News,Posters,Superheroes — Tags: , , , , , — Kirk @ 12:26 pm

Another week.   Another piece of promotional material for Lionsgate’s upcoming movie, KICK-ASS.   Unfortunately, if you listened to our Golden Briefcase last week (and, if you haven’t, why the hell not?), you heard Don Lewis and myself agreeing that the time for KICK-ASS’ mega blockbuster opening may have already come and gone.   If anything, Lionsgate hyped the hell out of this movie too early, and, now, with three months left before the film debuts, the fizzle seems to be setting in.   Don even went so far as to say the film would tank, but I’m not sure if I agree with that wholeheartedly.

Nonetheless, with this new poster, courtesy of HitFix, the overkill and tedium of said marketing strategy is setting in.   It’s another poster featuring characters we’ve seen plenty of.   Bring on the movie, already.

You can check out HitFix‘s site for the hi-res version of the poster.   KICK-ASS hits theaters on April 16th, which already seems too late for fans frothing at the mouth to see this thing.

November 12, 2009

New KICK-ASS Poster Can Do Two Things At Once

Filed under: Adaptations,Comic Books,General News,Movies,Posters,Superheroes — Tags: , , , , , , , , — Kirk @ 7:16 am

kickass poster

The marketing for KICK-ASS is amping it up something fierce.  We’ve just recently had these character posters, then this teaser trailer hit yesterday, and, today, the film’s Myspace page gives us the poster you see above.  It, essentially tells us two things about this movie.  This isn’t going to be your typical, run-of-the-mill, PG-13, superhero movie.  What this is going to be is an in-your-face, kick-ass action movie whose main characters just happen to be superheros.

KICK-ASS is set to (not) fly into theaters on April 16th, 2010.

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