Shopaholic Trailer!

Due out February 2009. Can. Not. Wait! Hugh Dancy is dreamy, and Isla hilarious! "You speak Prada?!" LOL

Zack and Miri Make a Porno -- Red Band Trailer

Not Safe for Work!!! For my friend Janene, who loves red band trailers (the trailer is rated R!). I wasn't that excited about this movie, even though I like Kevin Smith, but this trailer is hilarious! I do like Seth Rogen, too. Something about that Jew-fro!

Is McCain Palin's Bitch?

I love LisaNova! Not Safe For Work!

Where are the American tough guys?

Anne Thompson of Variety has written an interesting article saying that the U.S. is short on tough guy actors. She says that we are far from the days of Steve McQueen, and directors seem to need to turn to other countries to find tough guys. Most American male stars are boy-men. Johnny Depp can be fey, and Brendan Fraser is goofy. Ed Norton? Tobey Maguire? Most definitely boy-men.

Casting the titular tough-guy New York hero of his upcoming adaptation of “The Spirit,” Frank Miller also had trouble finding the right actor.

“Hollywood is great at producing male actors, but sucks at producing men,” says Miller. “I found them all too much like boys.” (He hired New York TV actor Gabriel Macht, 36.)

Two of the top rising action stars right now are both from the U.K.: “300” star Gerard Butler and Jason Statham (“Death Race”).

“We all wish there were five more guys like Jason Statham,” says producer Mark Gill. “There’s no shortage of roles for them. There’s a shortage of guys who can plausibly do them. The more expensive the budget, the narrower the list.”

Having just seen a series of Jason Statham movies on DVD in the past month, I see what Anne is talking about. I cannot think of an American actor who has his charisma of toughness. Not one his age, anyway. Crank was set in the gang culture of L.A., and here was Jason Statham with his English accent. But no one else could do it like him! And of course, I've always admired Gerry, and look forward to his upcoming action roles in RocknRolla and Game. It's not just the accent, there's just something about these real men, who are most definitely NOT boy-men. Read the whole article here.

Harry Hotter!

Got to agree with Perez's headline for this magazine cover. Holy Crap when did Daniel Radcliffe get so grown up ... and hot?!

Brideshead Revisted - Mini-review

So, I went to see Brideshead Revisted, starring Matthew Goode, a couple weeks ago. I have been mulling over my review since then. I liked the film, and I'm convinced that Emma Thompson is likely to get a supporting actress Oscar nod for her excellent portrayal as the matriarch of the ultra-rich Catholic Flyte family. This adaptation was written by Andrew Davies, who has taken so many other classic English literature to the movie and TV screen. Matthew Goode was fine in the film. I can't think of a current actor who would have been better as Charles Ryder, young artist who falls in love with first Sebastian, then Julia Flyte, but in the end, he's no Jeremy Irons.

Jeremy Irons starred as Charles Ryder in the 11 episode mini-series back in 1981. It made him a star, and that mini-series is held up as one of the best mini-series ever, especially in England. The mini-series has everything in the Evelyn Waugh book, and cutting down to a two hour movie, obviously many subplots were lost. The movie still has the essence of the book, and even uses the same gorgeous Castle Howard as the Flyte mansion. It just doesn't pack the same emotional punch for me. It just can't when you've seen the mini-series. It's been at least 25 years since I've seen the mini-series, and yet it stays with me, and this movie just couldn't quite measure up. If you've never seen the mini-series, and don't have hours and hours to watch all the DVD's, this is a very fine adaptation. Three and a half stars. But if you do have the time, trust me, it's worth it to watch Jeremy Irons in the original.

Much has been made of the fact that the homosexual relationship between Charles and Sebastian was more subtle in the mini-series, and the film has a kiss, which I don't believe is in the book either. The kiss didn't bother me, but there was something to that constant tension and undercurrent in the original and the wondering if there was one off screen! I love Matthew Goode, and I think he'll have a long career. He's due up in Watchmen next year which should really make a big splash for him.

Millar Writing Wanted 2

Mark Millar has spilled the beans to Newsarama about his plans for the sequel to his Wanted adaptation.

He reiterated his pledge not to write a comic book sequel to the original miniseries, saying, "That six issues were the end."

Instead Millar said he would write some new original storylines that fit into the film's universe, but that will also use some of the elements from the original comics that didn't find their way into the first movie.

"It will be some of the stuff that we didn't utilize from the first book for the movie - like chapters three and four - there will be some stuff from that," said Millar, "so in the loosest sense it will be based on the book, but only very little."

Director Temur Bekmambetov, scribes Michael Brandt and Derek Haas, producer Marc Platt and star James McAvoy are already signed up for the sequel.

Crank - mini-review

I am beginning to love Jason Statham.

The premise of Crank is that Chev (Jason Statham) is a contract killer in LA, and he wakes up groggy & blurry eyed after being poisoned by another bad dude. He discovers that adrenaline is the only way he can keep his heart pumping and stay alive. So he seeks adrenaline every way he can: doing drugs, picking fights, rock & roll, speeding his car and being chased by cops, and my personal favorite, having sex with his girlfriend in the middle of the street in Chinatown. So, if the description doesn't scare you off, you'll love it. The filmmakers have a wild different kind of style. They use split screens and wild cuts, and it feels like you're in the middle of a violent video game. There are in fact, a lot of video game references in the film. and Chev has told his girlfriend he is video game programmer. I found Jason's relationship with his sweet naive girlfriend just a riot. One minute he'll be cussing out someone on his cellphone, and his girlfriend will call, and his demeanor completely changes as he's gentle and soft with her. He screams as her answering machine answers one of his calls, and then calms down and says quietly, "Honey, please get a cell phone." It's quite violent in parts, too, but it was one 90 minute adrenaline rush! It's mindless trash, but if you're in the mood for this kind of thing, it gives a good ride. Jason Statham just has that perfect mix to play this part, too: determination, sweet love and protection of his girlfriend, and explosive violence at the drop of a hat. Three stars.

This was the first film of the writer director team of Brian Taylor and Mark Neveldine. Their film Game, starring Gerard Butler is due out in 2009. I wanted to get a taste of their style, and now I am really pumped for Game! Watch the trailer for Crank here.

Passengers Trailer

Passengers

I had not heard about this horror film starring Anne Hathaway and Patrick Wilson. Passengers is due out late October. Interesting career direction for Anne, and cool to see our Raoul (Patrick Wilson) get some starring work. Hat tip: Ain't It Cool

BBC RocknRolla interview

BBC Breakfast had an interview with Guy Ritchie and Gerard Butler this morning about RocknRolla, which is out in the UK. They show the robbery of the car scene, more extended than we've seen before. Watch it here!