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18 articles
Beauty Break: Herculean Edition
11 hours ago
Have you heard that there are two competing Hercules movies next year? I can't imagine many Tfe readers list Brett Ratner or Renny Harlin as big "draws" from Tinseltown's director pool, but they've enlisted The Rock and Kellan Lutz as their beefcake titular demigods. There's more info at Towleroad if you're so inclined.
poll by twiigs.com
If you don't know how to read there's Herculean Beefcake Visuals to gawk at after the jump »
- NATHANIEL R
Oscar Preview Time? The Tentative Release Dates
20 hours ago
I was more than a little surprised to read this week that the Weinstein Company had chosen a summer release date for their Sundance pick-up Fruitvale whilst Fox Searchlight went with the Weinstein-like December 27th for Steve McQueen's Twelve Years A Slave. While summer is by no means a bad move for Fruitvale (movies without stars, instant hooks, or famous directors need time to build) and Fox Searchlight can sell a movie to Oscar with any date, it's weird to see the Weinstein Company go this route; Harvey Weinstein is more than a little responsible for the modern "December Or Bust!" fanaticism that awards campaigns live by. For a moment I worried that they might have no faith in Fruitvale at all.
It's never been true, of course, that you have to release a movie in December to be an Oscar player but the important thing in regards to »
- NATHANIEL R
Yes, No, Maybe So: "Carrie 2013"
6 April 2013 8:01 AM, PDT
If you remake Carrie they're all going to laugh at you!
the Mean Girls of Thomas Ewen Consolidated High School.
Or, if not laugh, than shake their heads in annoyance that you've dared to keep company with a 70s classic. I've never disguised or hedged my opinion here. I think Carrie (1976) is a Great motion picture. Not just a good one. Since it can't really be improved upon (specifically in the performance arena since Sissy Spacek and Piper Laurie both did risky revelatory Oscar worthy work) there's no reason to remake it. Unless of course you have a fresh take on it, which is the only reason to ever remake anything that's great to begin with.
The teaser which featured merely voiceover about the telekinetic PMSing high school misfit over a zoom in on Chloe Grace Moretz as Carrie White as Firestarter was a hit as teasers often are (leave them wanting more! »
- NATHANIEL R
Four Reasons Why Jurassic Park's Visuals Still Amaze
5 April 2013 7:00 PM, PDT
by Tim Brayton
Twenty years ago – an eon in filmmaking years – Jurassic Park was the shiniest new toy on the block. Now it’s getting an anniversary release as a bona-fide classic, having existed for more than the entire lifespan of the teenagers that make up the target audience for splashy popcorn fare. Those twenty years have seen the computer-generated visual effects that were so radical in 1993 become more commonplace and utilitarian than ever seemed plausible back then; we live in an age when even romantic comedies and family dramas have CGI work in them. Summer tentpoles of the Jurassic Park lineage exist only in computers to such a degree that it’s really little more than convention that makes us refer to them as “live-action”.
You’d think, with all that time gone by to refine the technology, that Jurassic Park would look hideously outdated, or at best charmingly quaint. »
- Tim Brayton
At the Linkies
5 April 2013 4:44 PM, PDT
It's been ages since I had a moment for a link & news roundup so here you go. If you've already read some of these I apologize for my tardiness. If not, enjoy them.
Big Screen
Huffington Post I have to give Peggy Siegal's Oscar Diary pride of place because if you haven't yet read it -- it debuted a few days ago -- you must. Peggy is fabulous and after which movie stars show at her parties here in NYC the thing I'm always most intrigued to see is what she'll be wearing.
MovieLine a sequel to The Host is now more than a little unlikely and it won't be the next Twilight. That's Ok because we didn't want Saoirse tied up with a franchise for aeons.
NPR Saoirse Ronan loves Clueless. See, she's just a regular teenager. (as if!)
Encore's World a fun appreciation of Anne Baxter in The Ten Commandments »
- NATHANIEL R
For Roger Ebert.
4 April 2013 1:06 PM, PDT
Hard to put into words exactly how much this means to the film community in general. Suffice it to say, one of the great film critics, one of the kindest, most influential, most humane since the birth of cinema is going to be deeply, deeply missed.
Please share in the comments any thoughts or feelings or memories you may have about his writings, his musings, his blogs, his bantering with Siskel and/or Roeper.
Sound off, lovelies. »
- Beau McCoy
Reader Spotlight: Zé Vozone
4 April 2013 12:21 PM, PDT
We're getting to know The Film Experience community with little spotlights on You the readers. Here's Zé from Portugal who you've talked to in the comments section as he's a regular.
What's your earliest movie memory?
Zé: The dinner scene in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, what with the beetle hors d'oeuvres and the "chilled monkey brains". I live for Kate Capshaw's histrionics in that scene and throughout the whole movie.
Your three favorite directors?
Zé: Roman Polanski, David Lynch and John Cassavetes
When did you start reading The Film Experience?
During the 2006 Oscar season. I had always been a huge movie and awards buff and in that year I was particularly outraged that Helen Mirren (who I nevertheless thought was wonderful in The Queen) was steamrolling what I thought was one of the best Lead Actress line-ups ever. So more than ever I started looking up »
- NATHANIEL R
Burning Questions: Can a Bad Sequel Diminish a Classic?
4 April 2013 9:30 AM, PDT
Michael C here. When you tune in to the movie chatter frequency one of unavoidable refrains you hear is that such and such sequel has spoiled a classic film. You know the drill. Part III forever tarnished The Godfather, turning a perfect two-part saga into a disappointing, lopsided trilogy. Oliver Stone ruined Gordon Gekko by dragging him out for a belated encore. “Blah blah Jim Carrey blah blah The Grinch blah blah blah My Childhood!”
And so on.
This chorus was most recently heard lamenting the way Oz the Great and Powerful helped itself to a box office bonanza by trampling the sterling legacy of the Judy Garland classic. Next it will be Evil Dead’s turn to besmirch the memory of a cult classic. Amid all outraged accusations of violence towards film history shouldn’t we stop to consider if the basic idea has merit? Can an inferior sequel »
- Michael C.
Hit Me With Your Short Film Double
3 April 2013 10:28 PM, PDT
For this week's abbreviated edition of Hit Me With Your Best Shot I asked y'all to watch two short films with me (both available online if you click on the titles). Shorts sometimes function like auditions or training ground for feature directors but many artists, animators in particular, often stay with them exclusively. Certain feature auteurs return to them periodically for experimentation or creative rejuvenation or even, if they're music videos, cash. Short films are their own curious artform. Movie blogs should care more about them and this week's double feature, an ode to Short Film of the Week, is my own wee effort in stating so.
A short film also presents an ideal opportunity to acknowledge the original quite succinct concept of this series which was to choose a single image and discuss it. More often than not we end up with a screenshot party because a) it's too »
- NATHANIEL R
Catching Teaser
3 April 2013 11:31 AM, PDT
Get More: 2013 MTV Movie Awards, Latest Movie News, Jennifer Lawrence, Elizabeth Banks
Ja from Mnpp here, with another example of what's become commonplace these days - the teaser for the trailer for the movie. In this case we have a preview for the trailer premiere of the second Hunger Games movie Catching Fire; the trailer proper will be unvelied during the MTV Movie Awards on April 14th, but for now they're giving us three whole shots amid flashes of fire and "Hosted By Rebel Wilson"-isms. We have a shot of the crowd waiting for Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) and Peeta (Josh Hutcherson), we have Effie (Elizabeth Banks, all cotton-candy'd up) about to lead them onto the stage, and we have a typically forced smile from everlasting sourpuss (with good reason, of course) Katniss as she greets her admirers.
I can't decide if this is more or less egregious an empty »
- JA
Reader Spotlight: Tony T
3 April 2013 10:00 AM, PDT
In our ongoing 'get to know The Film Experience community' project, here's another Reader Spotlight. This time we're talking to Tony who grew up overseas and now lives in Texas. He sent me the nicest note once about the site that really cheered me up on a down day.
What's your first movie memory?
Tony: I spent my entire childhood watching Disney movies. It was literally everything I did when I wasn't in school. They were mostly dubbed in French so it was a little bit of a revelation to rediscover them in English when I grew up. But my very first movie memory that I can recall semi-vividly is watching The Beauty and the Beast with my cousins. I was so captivated that I had to move to a different row in the movie theatre to sit away from my cousins because they were distracting me so much.
I love it. »
- NATHANIEL R
Team Top Ten: Best Directors of the 21st Century
2 April 2013 1:00 PM, PDT
Steve McQueen didn't make the list but Fassy still loves him (as do many of our contributors)Amir here, to bring you the first edition of Team Top Ten, a communal list by all of Film Experience’s contributors that will sit in for our regular Tuesday Top Ten list once a month. For our first episode, we’ve decided to rank the best new directors of the 21st century. These are all directors who have made their first film after 2000. (Short films, TV and theatre work didn’t render anyone ineligible. Only feature length fiction and documentary films were considered.)
I had a blast compiling the 18 lists of our contributors to arrive at the final ten because their submissions were incredibly eclectic and surprising. I’d made a bet with myself that Steve McQueen (Hunger, Shame) would top the list, and lo and behold, he failed to make the cut altogether, »
- Amir S.
My Easter Movie: The Wicker Man (1973)
2 April 2013 9:42 AM, PDT
[Editor's Note: My apologies to Deborah Lipp (and you!) Since I forgot to post her review of her favorite Easter movie this weekend. Pretend it's still Easter for us! Here's Deborah to sing that movie's praises. - Nathaniel R]
The Wicker Man is one of my favorite movies. There's a lot to be said about it, and I'm not going to say it all here. I'll start with the obvious: Different people perceive this film in very different ways. It's horror, it's a musical, it's kitsch, but it's also, quite blatantly, religious. Despite the fact that it takes place around the Pagan holiday of Beltane (May Day), I am going to argue that it's an Easter movie, dealing with sacrifice and resurrection.
May Morrison (to Sergeant Howie): You'll simply never understand the true nature of sacrifice.
The Wicker Man's horror centers on the conflict between two spiritual world views that are alien and opposite to one another. Sergeant Howie (Edward Woodward) is a pious, not to say priggish, Christian, while the residents of Summerisle are Pagan. (Spoilers aplenty once you proceed.) »
- Deborah Lipp
April Fools Oscar Delay
2 April 2013 7:00 AM, PDT
My apologies but the regularly scheduled first April Fools Year in Advance Oscar Predictions -- foolish because who knows this early! -- are going to be delayed by a week or so.
Things have come up on my end. I know that patience is rarely a virtue among Oscar watchers (I'm also guilty! Hence the countdown on the left hand sidebar) but experiment with it, alright?
More soon »
- NATHANIEL R
Curio: Film Devotionals
1 April 2013 9:12 PM, PDT
Alexa here. This Easter/Passover time of year is always replete with biblical references; for me, most are tied to film. For instance, my main understanding of the significance of Passover is through my repeated childhood viewings of The Ten Commandments. As one of the heathen mob, I am more likely to light a candle to mourn the loss of Ryan Gosling from the screen than ask saints for intercession. Religious or not, I thought Tfe readers would enjoy some curios that aid in the practice of film idolatry, like these devotional candles from this etsy shop.
Who would you light a candle for this year?
More false idols including Tim Burton, Steve Buscemi and The Avengers after the jump... »
- Alexa
Box Office "Rock"ed. How Was Your Easter Weekend?
1 April 2013 6:24 PM, PDT
Easter is quite a benevolent holiday what with the fluffy bunnies, pastel eggs and resurrection from the dead sans zombie feelings. But the world wanted big explosive violence and big muscled men at the movies. Does anyone remember on Monday how troubled GI Joe: Retaliation once was, what with the very expensive "oops, we're not going to release it after all!" that it went through last year.
The Rock was top of the box office.
1,000 + Screens
01 GI Joe: Retaliation $41.2 *New*
02 The Croods $26.5 (cum. $88.6)
03 Tyler Perry's Temptation To Put His Name In Every Title $22.3 *New*
04 Olympus Has Fallen $14 (cum $54.7)
05 Oz The Great And Powerful $11.69 (cum. $198.2) Review
06 The Host $11 *New*
07 The Call $4.8 (cum. $39.4) comment discussion
08 Admission $3.2 (cum $11.7) on Tina Fey / on Paul Rudd
09 Spring Breakers $2.7 (cum $10.1) False Advertising?
10 The Incredible Burt Wonderstone $1.3 (cum. $20.5)
So the gamble to waste all that prep P&A last year and pull the movie last minute in »
- NATHANIEL R
Monologue: "Like a Virgin"
1 April 2013 9:41 AM, PDT
Having revisited Tarantino's love of little piggies and Jackie Brown's Best Shots we end the Tarantino 50th Birthday festivities at the appropriate place given the director's love of circular plotting: The Very Beginning. When Quentin Tarantino was, essentially, a nobody, he was still Quentin Tarantino. Long before he was training his camera on knives and hands threatening Jamie Foxx's upside down junk in Django Unchained, he had the balls to open his debut feature with a monologue about big dicks... or Madonna's suggested love for them in her then 8 years old hit single "Like a Virgin".
This is the very first shot of Reservoir Dogs (1992).
Over the black of the credits Mr Brown (Quentin Tarantino) has introduced his thesis "The entire song is a metaphor for big dicks." more »
- NATHANIEL R
Happy Easter, Dakota!
31 March 2013 8:00 PM, PDT
Dakota Fanning photographed by Matt Jones
I totally forgot it was Easter but appropos of nothing I did wake up this morning wondering where Dakota Fanning went to. Where ya been, girl? Didn't you film Effie like 2 years ago? And no the Twilight films don't count so you've really been slacking since The Runaways (2010).
Or it seems like it. Do you think Dakota can pull a Jodie and become an important adult actress? The 19 year-old star does seem to be challenging herself with multiple genres and adult topics. Will the next two years be big for her? Up next: The Motel Life a thriller with Stephen Dorff (DVD release?), Very Good Girls a loss of virginity drama with Elisabeth Olsen, Night Moves from acclaimed indie auteur Kelly Reichardt about young environmentalists, Effie a period romantic drama biopic that seems like it films years ago, and the Hollywood scandal drama The »
- NATHANIEL R
18 articles
company.