True Grit Returns to the Screen

The John Wayne classic True Grit (1969) directed by Henry Hathaway is about to be remade by The Cohen Brothers set for Christmas of this year.

Personally, I'm not exactly sure of the wisdom of the release date. Seems to be all you want to do on the holidays is sit down to a nice, rugged Western movie, right?

The role of Rooster Cogburn, made famous by Wayne, is to be played by the current favorite, Jeff Bridges, who recently won an Oscar for Best Actor, among INNUMERABLE other awards for his role in Crazy Heart (2009).

Joining Rooster on his quest to find the outlaw Ned Pepper (played, coincidentally, by Barry Pepper) are Texas Ranger La Boeuf (Matt Damon) and Mattie Ross (new actress Hailee Steinfeld), who are each after one of Pepper's gang, Tom Cheney (as yet, no word who plays this role) for their own reasons.

I'm on the fence on this one, to tell you the truth. Remakes are nice and all, but damn... there sure do seem to be a lot of them floating around nowdays.

A Restoration of Faith

You know, I've never been a great fan of Tom Cruise. His movies are good, I will admit, but nothing spectacular. Usually, if one of his movies was spectacular, it probably didn't have a great deal to do with him, the writing was good, someone else was better, etc. etc.

Personally, I think the dude's a douchebag.

I mean, all that crap between him and Brooke Sheilds, about how you don't go to a psychotherapist because they're all quacks, and in turn, she's a quack, or whatever the hell all that crap was, not to mention all the Scientology bullshit. Douchetastic.

All that said, I want to see Knight and Day (2010) because he's in it, and he looks funny.

Why the sudden change in perspective? Why do I suddenly enjoy the idea of watching Tom Cruise, specifically, on screen? Find out after the jump.

Upcoming Look - A Nightmare on Elm Street

 

In the quiet town of Springvale, Ohio, a group of teenage friends finds themselves being stalked in their dreams by the ghost of a child serial killer, burned alive by vengeful parents. The only chance they have is to stay awake, but if they fall asleep, there's no escape.

This is a remake of the 1984 classic slasher film by Wes Craven. This version is directed by first time filmmaker Samuel Bayer, with Jackie Earle Haley in the role of Freddy Krueger.

More and a recently released trailer after the jump.

The Word - Arrrgh

It appears, and none of us are really surprised, that there will be a new Pirates of the Caribbean coming out sometime this year or next. The new film, entitled Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides will indeed feature Johnny Depp in his brilliant and swarthy role of Jack Sparrow.

Some new developments have come up concerning it's casting.

In a press conference, Depp had revealed that "there’s no Keira or Orlando in there." But what about the favorite Jack Sparrow? "I don’t know. I don’t think we’d ever throw too much Jack Sparrow in there. There will be a little bit of everybody."

When we left Sparrow in "At World's End" he was on a personal mission to find that which he wanted most: The rum, next to him. Once he had that, the thing he wanted most was immortality, through something known as the Fountain of Youth, which brings us to the premise of On Stranger Tides.

On Stranger Tides is a book, written by Tim Powers, which concerns the pirate Blackbeard and his quest for the Fountain. So who shall play the feared Edward "Blackbeard" Teach?

Ian McShane, that's who! Fans of HBO's "Deadwood" should definitely be excited by this news, as I was. McShane was absolutely brilliant as Deadwood's brash mobster-like tavernkeep, and will now be playing the brash, powerful Blackbeard. I think it's a perfect fitting.

It appears that filming for the fourth Pirates movie will commence sometime this summer. Certainly looking forward to a sweet trailer!

JC's Theater Review - Avatar

 

Alright, so it might be just a tad late to be writing a review about James Cameron's latest film, Avatar (2009). Better late than never, as the saying goes, so here we go:

The beautiful and deadly moon of Pandora is inhabited by an indigenous blue-skinned people known as the Na'vi. They are much taller than humans (nearly twice as tall) and much stronger, with a powerful bone structure that makes them quite resilient.

Halfway through the 22nd century, a paraplegic marine, Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) arrives on a Pandoran mining colony after the death of his identical twin brother. He is selected, in place of his brother, to enter into the Avatar project, led by Dr. Grace Augustine (Sigourney Weaver). An Avatar is a life-form shell created from the merged genetics of the Na'vi and humans, where the consciousness of a human is transmitted into the Avatar's brain.

The Avatars are used for diplomatic endeavors, to form an understanding between the two races. In a fluke of circumstance, Jake Sully is given a very unique and personal education of the Na'vi world by Neytiri (Zoe Saldana), and soon he must choose between his loyalty to the marines at the mining colony and this newfound world.

It might be a little pretentious to call it the best film of all time, but I personally believe I'm rather safe. Find out why after the jump.

JC's New Release Review - Inglourious Basterds

 

Once upon a time

in Nazi occupied France...

The place is France, during the time of the Nazi occupation. A notorious Nazi colonel, Hans Londa (Christoph Waltz in his first American film), aka "The Jew Hunter" slaughters a family in hiding, save for one girl, Shosanna (Mélanie Laurent) who escapes. Years later, Shosanna, under a new identity, has acquired a theater, and soon discovers that it shall premiere a German war film, with only the cream of the Nazi military in attendance, including the Fuhrer himself. Shosanna devises a plan for ultimate revenge.

Meanwhile, Lt. Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt) leads a group of Jewish-American commandos on a very simple mission. Kill Nazis.  He bears his men with only one demand, that each give him 100 Nazi scalps. They call themselves "the Basterds."

The Basterds discover the location of the premiere, and begin following their own plan to take down the German High Command.

This is... a Quentin Tarantino movie. Tarantino has managed to create a genre of film specially reserved for him, and this is, obviously, no exception. More after the jump.

HL's New Release Review - The Time Traveler's Wife

The Time Traveler's Wife (2009) is a romance-drama about Chicago librarian Henry DeTamble (Eric Bana) with a genetic anomaly that causes him to involuntarily time travel, based on the novel by Audrey Niffenegger.

When Henry meets Clare Abshire (Rachel McAdams) in the library where he works, she reveals that she knows that he is a time traveller, and that he himself told her that they would one day meet. It is quickly revealed that she knows much more about time travel than he does, as he has not yet visited the times and places where they meet previously. He falls for her, as she has already been in love with him 'her whole life', and they eventually get married. His continuing and sudden travels through time, and the subsequent learning of their future, makes things ever more difficult on their marriage.

Read the review after the jump.

JC's Favorites - Australia

 

In 2008, a story of adventure, of intrigue, and of romance swept into US Theaters late in the year. Baz Luhrmann's Australia is one of my favorite films of all.  

Lady Ashley (Nicole Kidman), in her estate in England, decides to travel to her husband's Australian cattle ranch, Faraway Downs, and sell the failing ranch for some much needed quick cash to the cattle monopolizer Leslie 'King' Carney (Bryan Brown). She is escorted by the rough-and-tumble Drover (Hugh Jackman) to Faraway Downs.

Her husband, Lord Maitland Ashley, had been murdered just before her arrival. The accused: an aboriginal gulapa, or magic-man, King George. A small aboriginal boy, Nullah (Brandon Walters), tells Ashley that the ranch's manager, Neil Fletcher (David Wenham) is not all he seems, that he has been creating the problems the ranch has been facing, even stealing cattle and driving them into Carney's property. 

Ashley dismisses Fletcher upon learning this, and forms a grudging alliance with the Drover to drive 1,500 head of cattle into the wharf in Darwin to sell to the army and break Carney's monopoly on the cattle business. 

And that is where the story REALLY begins, and truly is only the beginning. The review, however, begins after the jump.

JG's Theater Review - From Paris With Love

Okay, so here's the deal; I can't decide between whether or not to treat this movie as your average shoot em up style action flick, or a movie with something of a deeper meaning, so I won't. For my first ATM review I will give you two sides of one very mismatched coin, possibly its one of those funny Canadian pieces, the loonie if you like.

Read the rest of my review after the jump.

Upcoming Look - Clash of the Titans

Director Louis Leterrier hasn't got many films under his belt, but those he does (Transporter 2 (2005), The Incredible Hulk (2008)) are known blockbusters. His new project, Clash of the Titans, a remake of the early 80's classic, has blockbuster written all over it.

Sam Worthington plays the protagonist Perseus, the mortal son of Zeus (Liam Neeson) who must journey into the underworld to stop the evil machinations of Hades (Ralph Fiennes) and battle against such mythological beasts as the feared Kraken and the deadly Medusa. Read more and watch the trailer after the jump.

Upcoming Look- The Last Airbender

Water Tribe siblings, Sokka and Katara, find a small boy encased in ice. His destiny is that of the Avatar, one who brings balance to the world. Join Aang and his friends as he battles against the imperial Fire Nation in The Last Airbender the 2nd of July.

Avatar: The Last Airbender was a very successful animated show on Nickelodeon, and I've personally been a rather big fan ever since it came on. A great deal of good action, an excellent storyline, well rounded characters with more than enough comical moments (especially from Sokka and Aang). The trailers do not hint at this comedy, but hopefully it makes it through to the movie versions, as well. Read more and see the trailer after the jump.

Upcoming Look - Get Him to the Greek

 

Aaron Green has 72 hours to get a Rock Star

from London to L.A.

Pray for him.

From Nicholas Stoller, who brought us Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008) continues with the story of declining Aldous Snow (Russell Brand), rock-star/sex-guru who is given one last shot at glory, a comeback concert at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles. The only problem? He's currently partying in London. It's up to intern Aaron (Jonah Hill) to escort him there in three days; that's if he can survive Snow's antics. Also starring Sean Combs as the media mogul who needs to see this concert happen.

Fans of "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" should be seriously looking forward to this picture. The trailer shows us some incredibly wild scenes which involve some of the following: Adrenaline, Absinthe, Pope Outfit, Nude Mini-Car driving, complete with a disgusted Meredith Vieira.

You can follow Aldous Snow's journey June 4.

JC's Favorites - Tropic Thunder

 

Tropic Thunder (2008) is the epic action comedy written and directed by Ben Stiller (Zoolander) starring Jack Black, Jay Baruchel, Brandon T. Jackson, Ben Stiller, and Robert Downey Jr. Also making an appearance is Tom Cruise as the unforgettable Les Grossman, media mogul extraordinaire.

The main characters, five actors with various problems ranging from cocaine to naïveté to extreme over/method acting ruin and nearly sink a movie based on a story by ex-soldier Four Leaf Tayback (Nick Nolte). The director (Steve Coogan) decides to ship out the problem actors to a remote location and film them in a much more real and dangerous setting... until everything goes wrong.

This movie is HILARIOUS. The pure insanity of each of the five actors is one of the most entertaining things I've seen in film. I have to point out the pure genius of two actors in particular: Robert Downey Jr. and Tom Cruise. 

Kirk Lazarus, aka Sgt. Lincoln Osiris (Downey Jr.) is virtually unrecognizable not only in facial features, but in attitude and mannerism. Several people I've shown this movie to couldn't believe who they were watching. 

However, above all else, this is the movie that restored my faith in Tom Cruise. Les Grossman delivers to us what I believe is one of the most memorable and awesome characters in film. Every muscle he moves is a sight to see (not to mention the character, itself).

This is not a must see. This is a Must-See-Many-Times film. Buy this movie. Buy it for your friends. Buy it for your enemies, and they might become your friends.

The Word - Resurrection

The Apocalypse is coming. You better be ready for it, children, for it's a-comin'. The dead have been rising from the graves to feast upon the souls of the living.

 

They're not lookin' too good.

If you're looking out your windows for the zombies, shame on you! I'm talking about our movies, of course.

Tidbits - Super Bowl XLIV Movie Spots

It's hard to get a good feel for an upcoming film based on a 30 second ad, long enough to put up some action and give us the title, and that's just about it (and it cost about $3 million for any of the commercials to get a 30-second slot). Here's a list of the films represented this year: (all videos provided by spike.com)

• Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Trailer
     Jake Gyllenhaal plays the title role of the Prince (Dastan, that is), done by Disney and Jerry Bruckheimer, who also brought us Pirates of the Caribbean in '03. The Super Bowl spot (along with the full-length trailer that was also released) promises that Prince of Persia will feature much the same action and wit, even if it doesn't promise us Johnny Depp. This movie will hit theaters May 28th. 

• Alice in Wonderland Trailer
     Speaking of Johnny Depp, you'll see much of his corrupted face on television in the coming months, with Alice in Wonderland being the next Tim Burton movies, which typically are composed entirely of some form of delicious artwork and the equally delicious Depp. Depp plays The Mad Hatter, and the relatively unknown Mia Wasikowska plays Alice as she takes a tumble down the rabbit hole. The remainder of the cast plays much like a who's-who of Hollywood, including: Helena Bonham Carter, Crispin Glover, Anne Hathaway, Stephen Fry, Christopher Lee, among many others, including the 92-year-old Michael Gough (remember Alfred from the 90's Batman movies?) who also is a frequent player in Burton's movies. You can see Alice and her adventures March 5th. 

• Robin Hood Trailer
    The Hero of Sherwood forest is back again, this rendition of the British hero played by none other than Russell Crowe. Cate Blanchett will appear as the Maid Marian. The Super Bowl spot told us that the plot will take place "Before Sherwood Forest", which would imply Robin's adventures abroad, however, the cast listing includes "Sheriff of Nottingham", "Friar Tuck", and "Little John"; perhaps this movie will encompass much more of Robin's epic tale. The adventure begins May 14th. 

• The Last Airbender Trailer *
* - via YouTube.com - Apparently Spike.com didn't list this one as part of the Super Bowl commercials, perhaps because it appeared right before kickoff.

     "Avatar: The Last Airbender" was a very successful animated show hosted by Nickelodeon. The story centers around Aang (Noah Ringer), the playful remnant of a race of peaceful and reclusive Airbenders (people with mastery over the element of air), his friends, Sokka and Katara (Jackson Rathbone and Nicola Peltz, respectively), of the Southern Water Tribe, and their battles against the warmongering Fire Nation. The original series was a blend of lighthearted humor and exciting action, and hopefully the movie, written, produced, and directed by the famous M. Night Shyamalan, will promise the same. Aang and company will come to theaters July 2nd. 

• The Wolfman Trailer
    Directed by Joe Johnston, who is known mostly for effects driven family films (Hidalgo (2004), Jumanji (1995), The Rocketeer (1991), and others), this remake of the 1940's horror classic stars Benicio Del Toro, Anthony Hopkins, and Hugo Weaving. In Victorian England, Lawrence Talbot (del Toro) visits his ancestral homeland and father (Hopkins) after the disappearance of his brother. The bestial murders of several villagers brings Scotland Yard detective Aberline (Weaving) to investigate. The transformation begins February 12th. 

• Shutter Island Trailer
     In this feature, directed by the legendary Martin Scorsese, U.S. Marshall Teddy Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio) tracks the mysterious disappearance of a deadly inmate from an asylum for the criminally insane on Shutter Island, and discovers that the island is not all that it seems. Rounding out the cast are Mark Ruffalo, Patricia Clarkson, Max von Sydow, and Ben Kingsley. This nail-biting thriller can be found in theaters February 19th.

Tidbits - You Gotta Be Kidding Me

• Rorschach Keeping Busy
      Jackie Earle Haley seems to be in just about everything since his brilliant role as Rorschach in "Watchmen" (2009), from the humorously sadistic and slightly sociopathic Guerrero in Fox's "Human Target", to playing an inmate in a criminally insane asylum in "Shutter Island" (2010), as well as becoming the iconic Freddy Krueger in "A Nightmare on Elm Street" (2010). Oh, and he's also becoming the villian Sinestro in DC's movie make of "Green Lantern" (2011)... sounds like Hollywood has finally found a villian/psychopath that we can depend on! Keep up the good work, Jackie! 

• WarCraft... the Movie?
    Apparently the online sensation The World of Warcraft will attempt to do the same to the box office what it did to the internet. Warcraft (2011) doesn't have a cast listing up, at least on the IMDB, at the date of this posting. The game-to-movie horror, Uwe Boll, had asked Blizzard to sell him the rights. If you're in for a giggle, check out the Trivia section of this film on IMDB to see how the Blizzard burned Boll. That's okay, Sam Raimi seems to have picked it up again. We'll see how he does, we're still trying to forgive him for "Spider-Man 3" (2007).

• While We're on the Subject

   It seems that Sam Raimi is no longer on the Spider-Man 4 project. In fact, there doesn't seem to BE a Spider-Man 4 project. Instead, it seems that Sony will reboot the franchise, with a release date set to be in Summer of 2012, when "Peter Parker is going back to high school" (according to a Sony press release featured on Deadline.com) If you've seen the monstrosity that is "Spider-Man 3" (2007), you'll understand why Parker needs a little more education.

JC's New Release Review - The Goods: Live Hard. Sell Hard.

"The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard." (2009) is the tale of mercenary used car liquidator, Don Ready (Jeremy Piven) and his team of associates (Ving Rhames, David Koechner, Kathryn Hahn) who settle into a doomed car lot to clear out the inventory during the Fourth of July weekend to save the business.

This movie had a great deal of hype, and trailers were simply awesome. With all the previews and sneak peeks, we were looking forward to what we believed was one of the prime examples that we simply couldn't stop watching. That said, we will likely never watch this movie again.

Don't get me wrong, this movie boasts a LOT of comedic gold. Unfortunately, we had seen nearly all this precious material in the trailers already. Mixed in is a great deal of heavyhanded dark comedy that disturbs more than it delights, as well as seemingly unimportant subplots and side characters.

If you see this movie on the shelf, our recommendation: Rent it, don't buy it.

JC's Favorites - Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World

"Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World" (2003) follows Captain "Lucky Jack" Aubrey (Russell Crowe) and his crew aboard the R.M.S. Surprise during the Napoleonic Wars in it's quest to find and capture its nemesis, the elusive and dangerous Acheron of France.

This film instantly establishes itself as an action packed adventure, yet writer/director Peter Weir delivers so much more, giving us the depths of characters and their interactions throughout the movie. The two most prominent examples is between Captain Aubrey and the ship's unruly Irish surgeon, Stephen Maturin (Paul Bettany), showing these two very clear and outspoken opposites are still the best of friends.

The film also features the very young midshipman, Blakeney (Max Pirkis) who could potentially hold the title of "Youngest Badass to Ever Appear in Film" and if you watch, you'll see why.

This film also delves deep into immersion, showing you the excessively crowded vessel, with dozens of crew members constantly working at all times, and the constant calls of overseers in the background. You truly feel as if you are on an historic ship.

"Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World" won two Oscars in 2004, and was nominated for a whopping 8 others, also netting several awards from the far side of the world. Sorry, little joke, won't happen again, I promise.

JC at the Movies - An Introduction

This is the blog about movies, but not just those you see in the theaters, oh no. I'm much too poor to go to the theater every week. However, I will talk about both new and old releases, and maybe a movie or two that may have been overlooked. It is my mission to keep this updated at LEAST once a week, but hopefully I'll do more.