Universal Pictures has released a zany first trailer for the comedy HAIL, CAESAR!
Hollywood stars galore, over-the-top production numbers and lavish sets – count me in for the upcoming hit of 2016!
Four-time Oscar-winning filmmakers Joel and Ethan Coen (No Country for Old Men, True Grit, Fargo) write and direct HAIL, CAESAR!, an all-star comedy set during the latter years of Hollywood’s Golden Age.
Starring Josh Brolin, George Clooney, Alden Ehrenreich, Ralph Fiennes, Jonah Hill, Scarlett Johansson, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton and Channing Tatum, HAIL, CAESAR! follows a single day in the life of a studio fixer who is presented with plenty of problems to fix.
The comedy is produced by the Coen brothers under their Mike Zoss Productions banner alongside Working Title Films’ Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner.
If it’s Summertime at the cinema, then it’s sequel time once again! Hey, it was just a couple of days ago when that foul-mouthed toy returned in TED 2. A few weeks ago another entry in the scare series arrived with INSIDIOUS 3. And this all really began on the first of May when those mighty Marvel movie heroes reunited to take down Ultron, while another team, the singin’ Bellas, headed back to the multiplex a couple of weeks later in PITCH PERFECT 2. And now movie fans are treated to another epic return gathering of several big screen icons. But this titanic team appeals to a slightly more mature demographic, hence the truly earned “R” rating. Unlike Tony Stark’s crew, these bigger-than-life beef cakes aren’t using their talents against lethal robots. The power of pleasure provides the energy, and propels the plot, in MAGIC MIKE XXL.
So, it’s been three years since we last saw Mike Lane (Channing Tatum) excite the ladies on stage. But, he’s given up his g-string for a tool belt as he devotes his time and energy into a fledgling interior design business in Tampa, Florida. But a phone call from one of his old dancing pals tricks him into a reunion with the other club vets: Ken (Matt Bomer), Tito (Adam Rodriguez), “Tarzan” (Kevin Nash), Tobias (Gabriel Inglesias), and “big” Dick Richie (Joe Manganiello). After the owner of that venue skipped the country, the fellas split with several leaving the adult entertainment biz (Tito’s got a food truck that sells his “all natural” frozen yogurt). But, now the guys have a plan to compete as a group at the big stripper convention happening in Myrtle Beach in only a few weeks. Mike takes a pass, but later that night, as he toils in his workshop, the booming hip-hop beats from his radio act as a siren’s song. That next morning he joins the guys at Tito’s yogurt truck for one last glorious gig. During the long trek, they stop off in Jacksonville where Mike meets the flirtatious photog Zoey (Amber Heard). Hey, with old club owner Dallas AWOL, the gang needs a new master of ceremonies, so they stop again at a very exclusive ladies’ club in Savannah where Mike attempts to recruit former flame Rome (Jada Pinkett Smith) along with two of her prized performers, Malik (Stephan Boss) and Andre (Donald Glover). As the group nears the big event, Mike convinces the crew to ditch their old act. But can they come up with a sensational new routine in the scant hours before they take the stage, one that will literally knock the attendees socks (and stockings) off?
Tatum effortlessly slips back into the role of leader to this motley crew, shaking off the sawdust as those old moves return to him (like riding a bike!). We get a good dose of the comedic skills he’s sharpened in the JUMP STREET franchise (especially in his banter with Zoe over pastry preferences-he’s a “cookie man”) and even a taste of his dramatic range from flicks like FOXCATCHER. But best of all is his impeccable physicality as he seems to defy gravity in his early workshop dance, which plays as a thumping tribute to the barn-raising number SEVEN BRIDES FOR SEVEN BROTHERS and Donald O’Connor’s wild “Make ’em Laugh” from SINGING IN THE RAIN. Here’s a movie star with really great moves. The most entertaining of the troupe may be Manganiello who has terrific comic timing whether he’s bemoaning the lack of a lover (they just can’t accommodate his…er…gift) or treating the convention as the Super Bowl (he’s got that endearing goofball “jock” quality). And he’s gives us some smooth moves, too, in that big show doing a riff on 50 SHADES OF GREY that out steams the original. And especially during the film’s best sequence, as he performs (fueled by the club drug Molly) only for a bored convenance store clerk. Plus he really knows his “boy bands”. Bomer also grabs some laughs as his Ken spouts endless “new age-y” babble and “self-help” speak (he’s a “third level healer”). In addition to his dance skills, he’s got quite a set of pipes as he croons sweetly to his clients (who, in turn, swoon). Rodriguez is all boundless youthful enthusiasm as he rattles off his love of fresh, organic ingredients in his home made frozen treats. And he’s a great comedic partner with Inglesais, who does a killer McConaughey impression. Oh, and he’s a roly-poly Carman Miranda, too. Nash is still stoic and somber as the world-weary, somewhat battered “Tarzan” (he poses more than he dances on stage), but we get an insight into his dark past and see him utilize his artistic talents in the big finale.
Hope that I’m not giving the impression that this film is a complete, what’s the phrase the youngsters are using, “sausage fest”. There are several ladies in prominent roles. The alpha female is definitely Pinkett-Smith as the formidable Rome (hey, her club is named “Domina”), who seems to be a mix of Eartha Kitt, TV’s “Claire Huxtable”, and Tina Turner in MAD MAX: BEYOND THUNDERDOME (and seems a bit too much like her role as crime boss “Fish” Mooney on the current Batman prequel TV series “Gotham”). While Dallas revved up the club audience with his smooth Southern drawl, Rome preaches at the pulpit of empowerment (“We are all…queens!!”). Heard gives off a sexy “tough girl” vibe as the somewhat cynical photog and possible paramour for Mike (his gal from the first flick turned down his proposal…yes, really!). Also making an impression is the still radiant Andie MacDowell as a true “cougar” queen who never stops undressing the guys with her half-mast eyes. Hey, and there’s this Summer’s busiest lady, Elizabeth Banks, co-star of LOVE AND MERCY and PITCH PERFECT 2 which she also directed, grabbing some chuckles as the big convention’s prissy and slightly frazzled organizer. Now, I don’t want to leave out an impressive trio of men from Rome’s staple. Glover (AKA “Childish Gambino” and Troy on TV’s “Community”) charms as the rap improviser Andre, Boss lives up to his name as the impeccable Malik (he even goes toe to toe with Mike), and “Mr. morning TV” himself, ex pro-footballer Michael Strahan serves up a superb high-spirited dance (using a massage table) as club fave Augustus.
The director of the original, Steven Soderbergh, has relinquished those duties this time out to his longtime assistant Gregory Jacobs, but is literally still behind the camera as the film’s cinematographer (and producer/editor). Jacobs is able to capture that film’s original rhythms, and, unfortunately, its weaknesses. While much of the first outing was an introduction to the “club life” told through the eyes of a new addition (“the Kid”), this is mainly a “road picture” with their adventures on the way to “Oz” (the big SC event). Reid Carolin once again provides the screenplay, but many of the scenes (as in the first flick) have a meandering “improv” feel. This works a few times with the crew busting b*#ls on the bus, but often it feels as though the actors are flailing about without a map (most apparent in Mike and Zoey’s awkward first meeting). And another old problem occurs here, too. The film never really comes alive until the guys perform (and boy, they whip the ladies around like rag dolls and position them like “Barbies”), be it on stage or in the “mini-mart” aisle. And McConaughey’s not around as the shot of adrenaline needed to energize the slow stretches. Yes, those folks looking to gaze at taut eight and ten-packs will be most rewarded (the mostly female attendees are in a constant state of frenzy during the big finale, so maybe Jackie Gleason was mistaken about Miami audiences), but movie lovers looking for a compelling story will feel as though they never got past the “bouncers” at the door with MAGIC MIKE XXL.
The guys + shirtless + dancing equals what else? MAGIC MIKE XXL.
Get ready for some eye candy in the new trailer for MAGIC MIKE XXL.
Picking up the story three years after Mike (Channing Tatum) bowed out of the stripper life at the top of his game, MAGIC MIKE XXL finds the remaining Kings of Tampa likewise ready to throw in the towel. But they want to do it their way: burning down the house in one last blow-out performance in Myrtle Beach, and with legendary headliner Magic Mike sharing the spotlight with them.
On the road to their final show, with whistle stops in Jacksonville and Savannah to renew old acquaintances and make new friends, Mike and the guys learn some new moves and shake off the past in surprising ways.
The comedy also stars Matt Bomer, Joe Manganiello, Kevin Nash, Adam Rodriguez, Gabriel Iglesias, Amber Heard, Donald Glover, Stephen ‘tWitch’ Boss, Michael Strahan, with Andie MacDowell, Elizabeth Banks and Jada Pinkett Smith.
Here’s a movie oddity for this time of year. While we’re shoveling and shivering, a big-time space epic blasts into theatres. But, to borrow a phrase from the airlines, its arrival was delayed just over six months. Hmm, odd indeed. Oh, and this one isn’t completely set in one of those galaxies far, far away. A good chunk of this tale rests on that city of big shoulders. It purports that alien races are battling away, hidden from view, right under our noses. I flashed right back to one of those classic made-for-TV flicks from 1970, “The Love War” about aliens in human form fighting on Earth (Lloyd Bridges and Angie Dickinson are from opposing forces who, of course, fall hard for each other). And with this story we’ve got a downtrodden human unaware that they have special gifts that can save the planet. That theme goes back to the Man of Steel, followed by THE LAST STARFIGHTER, and, in a twist, THE MATRIX. Well in another odd circumstance our new movie is from the minds behind that 1999 game-changer. Time for another mind-trippin’ flight from the Wachowskis as we all observe JUPITER ASCENDING.
Strapped in then? Here’s the wild story. We first meet two star-crossed lovers in Russia. When Tragedy strikes, the woman, along with her family, leave their homeland for the great USA aboard a freighter, where, inside a boxcar, she gives birth to a baby girl. Years later, said grown-up gal Jupiter (dad loved gazing at the stars) Jones (Mila Kunis) works as a house cleaner alongside her immigrant family in Chicago. Meanwhile on a far-off planet, the members of the Abrasax family dynasty have plans for Earth and Jupiter. When she goes into a health care clinic, the staff members are really spindly aliens out to kill her. Luckily military hunter Caine (Channing Tatum) zooms in for a rescue. Turns out the dazed damsel is, due to her genetic make-up, really the Queen of Earth (really). The devious evil member of the space clan, Balem (Eddie Redmayne) had sent the assassins in a scheme to take over our planet and harvest its riches. Seems that Caine has been sent to whisk her away to his brother Titus (Douglas Booth) and sister Kalique (Tupence Middleton). But Balem will stop at nothing and soon Caine battles insurmountable forces to save Earth and its royalty, the stunned and smitten former maid Ms. Jones.
The hook that may draw in most of the non-SF fans will be the pairing of media magazine faves Tatum and Kunis. Unfortunately the sparks never really seem to ignite between them. Perhaps it’s because so much of their time is spent escaping capture and evading the baddies. The loose, easy-going side of Tatum is not found here as he sports a wispy gold goatee and pointy ears that make him resemble a Vulcan terrier. Oh yeah, he’s a ‘splicer’, someone who’s had his DNA mixed with an animal, in his case, a canine. O…kay.He handles the action well enough, blasting away with a mini cannon while swooping and hovering thanks to some anti-gravity boots looking like he just flew in from another TRON sequel or perhaps doing a riff on Marvel Comics’ classic cosmic crusader (the Silver Skater?). And Tatum had more chemistry with Jonah Hill in the JUMP flicks than with Kunis, who seems lethargic here. She may be trying to show the disoriented state of ‘Jupe’ as she tries to adjust to the new exotic surroundings and fantastical creatures, but it deprives the film from some much-needed energy. The always stunning actress dazzles in the other-worldly fashions, but can’t sell some of the script’s sillier passages (“I’ve always liked dogs”). Sean Bean pops in for a few scenes in order to trade punches with Tatum and give us some back story that does little to clarify anything. Booth is a coiffed, pouty playboy while Middleton seems to be the older, perky sis to Kunis as she too tries to cut through the plot. At least they fare better than Redmayne as the sneering, sloe-eyed despot who recites most of his lines in a breathy manner (like Kunis, he seems to have just awaken from a long nap), but will suddenly scream his commands (“you…must bring…her…to me……..DO IT NOW!!!). This won’t derail his Oscar chances for THEORY OF EVERYTHING (not his NORBIT flick), but it won’t win him many new fans.
The Wachowskis, working from their own script, have put together a couple of hours of sparkling eye candy and near incomprehensible story. The make-up, fashions, spacecraft, and scenery are top-flight even when there’s not a whole lot going on with the cast and dialogue. There’s some nifty CGI beasties including a spider-like take on the classic UFO probers and several hulking Gestapo dressed upright Kimono dragons (was anybody else reminded of the Koopas from Mario game fame?), but they’re no match for that racoon/tree team from this past Summer. And what’s with all the scenes atop the Windy City’s Willis Tower. Some tourists must have recorded the big battles (Caine explaining about “mind-wipes” doesn’t really cut it). The directors also really went in for extreme close-ups of the actors (I was counting Redmayne’s freckles), perhaps in attempt at heightening the human drama (nope). All this is accented by a so-so soundtrack from the gifted Michael Giacchino who gave us superb scores for THE INCREDIBLES and the last two STAR TREK flicks. The over-use of choral “ahh” “ahhs” robs the chases of real urgency. Attempts at romantic patter stumble (did they really do a big wedding disruption scene?), as do the swings at humor with Jupe’s wacky low-brow family and the planet’s soul-deadening bureaucracy (done better 30 years ago in BRAZIL), while the big revelation of the Abrasax’s real desire for Earth, harvesting humans, made me realize that the W sibs were doing some harvesting of their own, namely using much of the motivations from their 1999 classic. While I should have been wondering about the fate of our planet, I instead pondered the fate of these talented film makers. After two dismal MATRIX sequels, and two underperforming adaptations of SPEED RACER and CLOUD ATLAS, when will the majors cease to give them more blockbuster opportunities? A return to the noir world of BOUND would be most welcome. It would have to be more engaging than this warmed-over space opera that never reaches the goofy cheese fun of FLASH GORDON, KRULL, or THE ICE PIRATES. JUPITER ASCENDING fails to soar or enthrall.
International Star Registry is teaming up with Warner Bros. Pictures to celebrate the release of the new movie, JUPITER ASCENDING, in theaters beginning February 6thfrom Warner Bros. Pictures and Village Roadshow Pictures.
Channing Tatum and Mila Kunis star inJUPITER ASCENDING, an original science fiction action adventure from filmmakers Lana and Andy Wachowski.
Jupiter Jones (Kunis) was born under a night sky, with signs predicting that she was destined for great things. Now grown, Jupiter dreams of the stars but wakes up to the cold reality of a job cleaning other people’s houses and an endless run of bad breaks. Only when Caine (Tatum), a genetically engineered ex-military hunter, arrives on Earth to track her down does Jupiter begin to glimpse the fate that has been waiting for her all along—her genetic signature marks her as next in line for an extraordinary inheritance that could alter the balance of the cosmos.
Through Facebook, up to 25 Star Prize packages will be given away consisting of two tickets to see JUPITER ASCENDING and a film-themed 2015 calendar.
A favorite item of Hollywood’s brightest stars since 1979, recipients have included celebrities, dignitaries and even royalty. “When people name a star, they feel connected to their unique place in the universe,” said Rocky Mosele, President of ISR. “We all need to ‘reach for the stars’.”
Call (800)282-3333 or visit www.starregistry.com to see the full range of products. International Star Registry is headquartered in the United States with affiliate offices worldwide.
From the streets of Chicago to far flung galaxies whirling through space, JUPITER ASCENDING is written and directed by the Wachowskis. Award-winning producer Grant Hill, with whom they have collaborated since The Matrix Trilogy, is producing, together with Lana Wachowski and Andy Wachowski. Roberto Malerba and Bruce Berman serve as executive producers. Jupiter Ascending is a Warner Bros. Pictures presentation, in association with Village Roadshow Pictures, in association with Anarchos Productions. It will be distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company, and in select territories by Village Roadshow Pictures.
Opening in theaters on February 6, Channing Tatum and Mila Kunis star in JUPITER ASCENDING, an original science fiction action adventure from filmmakers Lana and Andy Wachowski.
Jupiter Jones (Kunis) was born under a night sky, with signs predicting that she was destined for great things. Now grown, Jupiter dreams of the stars but wakes up to the cold reality of a job cleaning other people’s houses and an endless run of bad breaks. Only when Caine (Tatum), a genetically engineered ex-military hunter, arrives on Earth to track her down does Jupiter begin to glimpse the fate that has been waiting for her all along—her genetic signature marks her as next in line for an extraordinary inheritance that could alter the balance of the cosmos.
From the streets of Chicago to far flung galaxies whirling through space, JUPITER ASCENDING is written and directed by the Wachowskis.
Channing Tatum (“Magic Mike,” “Foxcatcher”) and Mila Kunis (“Oz the Great and Powerful”) lead a starring cast that includes Sean Bean (“The Lord of the Rings” Trilogy), Eddie Redmayne (“The Theory of Everything”), Douglas Booth (“Noah”), Tuppence Middleton (“The Imitation Game”), Doona Bae (“Cloud Atlas”), James D’Arcy (“Hitchcock”) and Tim Pigott-Smith (“Alice in Wonderland”).
10 passes (good for 2 seats) are up for grabs to the advance screening of JUPITER ASCENDING on February 2nd at 7PM in the St. Louis area.
To enter, you must:
1. Submit a photo of what you believe is St. Louis’s most iconic representation (i.e. The Arch) under the stars or moon with a description of why it’s amazing to you.
High hopes were had but the award for biggest disappointment of 2014 goes to….FOXCATCHER. I like the trio of actors it stars, it’s based on a true crime that I once read a book about (Blood Money : The Du Pont Heir and the Murder of an Olympic Athlete by Carlton Smith – not the basis for the new film’s script) and it won Best Director at Cannes for Bennett Miller (CAPOTE and MONEYBALL), but I found FOXCATCHER a meandering bore lacking any tension. What should have been a compelling tale of money and madness is instead one long, suffocating 135 minutes.
FOXCATCHER is mostly told through the eyes of loner Mark Schulz (Channing Tatum), an Olympic wrestler who has lived in the shadow of his older brother Dave (Mark Ruffalo), an even more successful wrestler with a gorgeous wife (Sienna Miller) and kids. When we meet the Schulz boys in 1986, they’re training potential young wrestlers in Wisconsin. Mark is confronted by the employees of billionaire John Eleuthère du Pont (Steve Carell), who has somehow decided that the most patriotic way to leave his mark on the world is to open a deluxe clinic on the grounds of his family’s estate in rural Pennsylvania that he christens ‘Foxcatcher National Training Center’. There he can personally oversee, with Mark as a coach, the training of a new U.S. wrestling team to compete in the 1988 Olympics. He claims his motivation is to prove something about American exceptionalism, but it’s soon obvious he simply wants to escape the influence of his disapproving mother (Vanessa Redgrave). John du Pont would indeed leave his mark but in a way never anticipated by his family. After winning Mark over, he succeeds in bringing Dave and his family to the compound as well. Du Pont not only enjoys wrestling, he likes birds, stamps (a proud philatelist), high-powered weapons and drugs, a combination of interests that eventually spells doom for one of the Schulz brothers.
There may be a decent 95-minute movie buried in the bloated FOXCATCHER but Miller lets scene after scene ramble on and on, an instance of a filmmaker overvaluing his material beyond all good sense. If you know where it’s all leading, it’s frustrating waiting for the story to develop. There is no momentum and the many training scenes at Foxcatcher are redundant. Tatum and Carell speak in hushed tones that underscore the film’s sluggish pace. What drives the eccentric du Pont is a mystery. He may simply enjoy watching sweaty young men flop around on the mat, but any gay angle is dialed way down here as are the depictions of du Pont’s drug use. A character left out of this drama (but discussed in the book I read) is du Pont’s dealer who kept supplying him with increasingly powerful and expensive product that likely affected his judgment. The movie offers as explanation Du Pont’s mother disapproving of wrestling and he of her horses, but every single encounter with du Pont is ominous, odd, or off-putting. This all may be true but it just comes across as creepy.
Steve Carell has Oscar buzz for his work in FOXCATCHER, but to me he’s more a sickly weirdo you’re forced to spend time with than a great movie character. Carrel whispers a slow monotone, and recites goofy lines I can picture Michael Scott saying like “Most of my friends call me Eagle or Golden Eagle” and “Horses are stupid!” I like the way his head is always bent back so he can gaze down his prosthetic beak on those bigger than he, sort of like Carell’s Gru character from DEPICABLE ME but without the charm (like du Pont, I can see Gru complaining about the tank he just bought!) While this may be a different Steve Carell than we’re used to, it’s hardly one of the top performances of the year. I think the best acting is from Channing Tatum who plays Mark as a slow-witted neanderthal easily seduced by attention and cocaine. It’s a tricky, physical role (what other A-lister could do a standing back flip?) with Mark going through the most changes and I liked the combative way the brothers bonded in the beginning by grappling each other until Dave’s nose bleeds. Like Carell, Mark Ruffalo has scored an Golden Globe nod – his Dave is the most engaging character onscreen.
FOXCATCHER isn’t a fiasco, but it’s definitely a big letdown and my low rating is a reflection of expectation. Bennett Miller is capable of much better than this so let’s hope he gets back on track with his next film. FOXCATCHER has little to say and takes far too long to say it.
Steve Carell, Channing Tatum and Mark Ruffalo are featured in the new theatrical poster from Sony Pictures Classics’ Oscar-y film FOXCATCHER.
Based on true events, director Bennett Miller’s FOXCATCHER tells the dark and fascinating story of the unlikely and ultimately tragic relationship between eccentric multi-millionaire John du Pont and two champion wrestlers, Mark and Dave Schultz.
Having seen the film at the press screening this week, I can say Carell gives a chilling performance of du Pont and is the highlight of the film. Expect to hear his name, a lot, over upcoming awards season. Bennett Miller won Best Director at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival in May and the film has screened at the Telluride, Toronto, New York, and London film festivals.
When Olympic Gold Medal winning wrestler Mark Schultz (Channing Tatum) is invited by wealthy heir John du Pont (Steve Carell) to move on to the du Pont estate and help form a team to train for the 1988 Seoul Olympics at his new state-of-the-art training facility, Schultz jumps at the opportunity, hoping to focus on his training and finally step out of the shadow of his revered brother, Dave (Mark Ruffalo). Driven by hidden needs, du Pont sees backing Schultz’s bid for Gold and the chance to “coach” a world-class wrestling team as an opportunity to gain the elusive respect of his peers and, more importantly, his disapproving mother (Vanessa Redgrave).
Flattered by the attention and entranced by du Pont’s majestic world, Mark comes to see his benefactor as a father figure and grows increasingly dependent on him for approval. Though initially supportive, du Pont’s mercurial personality turns and he begins to lure Mark into an unhealthy lifestyle that threatens to undermine his training. Soon du Pont’s erratic behavior and cruel psychological game-play begin to erode the athlete’s already shaky self-esteem. Meanwhile du Pont becomes fixated on Dave, who exudes the confidence both he and Mark lack, knowing that these are things even his money cannot buy. Fueled by du Pont’s increasing paranoia and alienation from the brothers, the trio is propelled towards a tragedy no one could have foreseen.
FOXCATCHER is a rich and moving story of brotherly love, misguided loyalty and the corruption and emotional bankruptcy that can accompany great power and wealth. As with Academy Award nominee Bennett Miller’s previous feature films, CAPOTE and MONEYBALL, he explores large themes in society through his complex character portraits of real people.
FOXCATCHER opens in theaters November 14.
Photos by Scott Garfield, Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics
The great “schnozzola” Jimmy Durante’s signature catch phrase “Everybody wants ta’ get into da’ act!’ couldn’t be more true when it comers to animated features these days. Perhaps this may be a result of the incredible all-ages success of Pixar. Or it might be the love of animation held be many aging “baby boomer” film makers who awaited Saturday mornings in front of the tube (which just ended now that no broadcast networks run weekend ‘toons) or those grand ole’ special kiddie matinees. Tim Burton may have kick-started this trend by coming off his big Batman flicks to produce THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS and later direct THE CORPSE BRIDE and FRANKENWEENIE. Johnny Depp and his PIRATES director scored a hit with RANGO. And recently Adam Sandler started a new franchise with HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA. New to the animation arena, but a big name in the fantasy/horror genre is Guillermo del Toro (PACIFIC RIM ). Now he’s not jumping in with a princess fairy tale or a forest animals united-type story. This new film covers much of the same territory as his PAN’S LABYRINTH and is a post-Halloween love letter to his south of the border roots. Settle back in your theatre seats and experience an entry from THE BOOK OF LIFE..
It begins as a school bus full of bored, rowdy pre-teens pulls up to the steps of a museum. Luckily their tour guide Mary Beth (voice of Christina Applegate) knows just how to entrance them. They enter through a secret magical passageway to an area dedicated to the legends and lore of Mexico. Using small carved figures, Mary Beth begins a story about a small village and the realm just below the surface, a colorful land full of spirits called the “Land of the Remembered” run by the beautiful La Muerte (Kate del Castillo), while beneath them is the dank, dismal, dark “Land of the Forgotten” lorded over by the foul Xilbaba (Ron Perlman). On the annual Day of the Dead festival, the two rulers pay a visit to the village. There they observe two boys and a girl at play. Xilbaba proposes a bet over which lad the lass will marry once they’re reached adulthood with the loser of the bet remaining in charge of the Forgotten realm. Years later the young men eagerly await the arrival of their friend’s return after years at a far-off school for young ladies. La Muerte’s choice, Manolo (Diega Luna), has been groomed to follow in a long family line of matadors, but he prefers the guitar to the sword, while Xilbaba’s pick, Joaquin (Channing Tatum), is a much decorated soldier who protects the village. When they re-unite with Maria (Zoe Saldana), all are surprised by her independent attitude (and she’s very good with a sword!). Later, a scheme by the devious Xilbaba sends one of the suitors off to his ancestors. With the help of the wise Candle Maker (Ice Cube), can he make his way back to the land of the living in time to save the village from an unstoppable bandit army?
Just two weeks ago I remarked that THE BOXTROLLS was a visual feast. Well I could say the same for this film, although it may be more of a spicy, Latin buffet. While the denizens of Cheeseburg had a squishy, pliable look owing to the stop motion figures, BOOK’s main characters look to be carved right out of different varieties of wood. But this film is made up of pixels which simulates the look of string puppets or marionettes (no bouncing from overhead wires, though). The modern-day museums wrap-arounds have the usual CGI rounded feel, but Manolo and Joaquin in particular have great carved, smoothed heads while their arms seem to be composed of wired together blocks. the hands separate as the fingers curl. Instead of knees, their legs bend with a middle hinge. Several of the village extras (like the ineffectual soldier) have a built-up 2D effect with eyes and lips jutting out of the side of the head like Picasso’s art. The backgrounds are just as striking. The village has a golden, dusty, lived-in beauty. Below, in the land of the Remembered, it’s a dazzling fiesta with explosions of color. Farther below is a cool mix of mists and moonlight broken up by a wonderful living statue and an ornate maze to challenge the hero. The skeletal denizens have intricate designs carved around their faces with deep, black eyes and holes where the nose should be. One of the best character designs is the hulking bandit leader whose arms flail about like spiked cannonballs atop “slinkees”. This is a world that begs to be explored again and again.
All the voice actors are superb with kudos to Luna who croons several new and classic tunes (including an Elvis standard). Gustavo Santaolalla’s original score weaves in familiar ballads and makes good use of a signature riff from Ennio Morricone. Director Jorge R. Guiterrez (who co-wrote the script with Douglas Langdale) keeps the dramatic story flowing while including many wonderful sight gags and tossed-off humorous asides. The very young viewers may get a tad spooked by the spooks and ghoulies, but older audiences, including adults, will be mesmerized by the stunning visuals and clever script. Here’s hoping that there will be at least one more volume of THE BOOK OF LIFE.
Sony Pictures Classics has sent us the new theatrical trailer and photos from director Bennett Miller’s film FOXCATCHER, starring Steve Carell, Channing Tatum, Mark Ruffalo, Vanessa Redgrave, Sienna Miller and Anthony Michael Hall.
Based on true events, FOXCATCHER tells the dark and fascinating story of the unlikely and ultimately tragic relationship between eccentric multi-millionaire John du Pont and two champion wrestlers, Mark and Dave Schultz.
FOXCATCHER is a rich and moving story of brotherly love, misguided loyalty and the corruption and emotional bankruptcy that can accompany great power and wealth. As with Academy Award nominee Bennett Miller’s previous feature films, CAPOTE and MONEYBALL, he explores large themes in society through his complex character portraits of real people.
Steve Carell’s fans will be surprised to see him in a role as dark and challenging as John du Pont, a man of immense wealth and power whose downward spiral culminates in murder and imprisonment.
Miller, winner for Best Director at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival, knew from the outset that the actor could play awkward, eccentric, and even violent. He also knew that it was useless to try and cast a conventional or expected actor in the role of a character whose nature was so unexpected.
“Nobody believed what du Pont was capable of,” says Miller. “But when I met Carell I realized how many layers there are to him – he is one of those actors with a public self and a private self. And you never see the private self, ever. I thought those protected, guarded areas might help him to relate to this character in some way.”
To prepare for the exacting role, Carell studied du Pont’s physical demeanor and speaking manner by watching hours of the Team Foxcatcher video footage Miller provided his cast. “I listened to his cadence — not only how he spoke physically, but the actual words he chose to express himself,” says Carell. “Bennett would sometimes have us improvise, so I allowed room for that. But there were certain affectations that were specific to him which I thought were important and lead with.”
His fellow actors were unprepared for the total transformation Carell brought when he arrived on set, already in character. “When Steve first walked out as du Pont, it gave me a shiver,” says Ruffalo. “In the thousands of hours of video footage I watched to prepare myself, two hundred of them included Dave interacting with du Pont in a coaching capacity. So I became very intimate with that man — who he was, how he sounded, how he moved. Steve’s ability to capture the physical qualities of du Pont was creepy and uncanny.”
Check out Carell’s Oscar chances over at Gold Derbyas the pundits predict the upcoming awards race.
FOXCATCHER opens in theaters November 14.
Photos by Scott Garfield, Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics
