The poster for A Might Heart, the story of the wife of slain journalist Daniel Pearl, is really sort of horrible.



The trailer is a little bit better but looks like Angelina Jolie in brownface. Also, every time I read the title I think of A Mighty Wind.

This is from Joblo. I'm not really sure what the story is, something about Bruce Willis not wanting to work with Michael Bay again. It's really not important, what is important is the photo below. I don't know, I thought it was funny.

A list of movies where nothing really happens by Chuck Klosterman. Not really notable except for the fact he mentions Security, Colorado, the worst movie Paul Schneider was ever in.

I know I've already posted a link to the trailer for Once but now you can see it here in HD. I don't know much about the movie and I'm trying to keep it that way. I'm looking forward to it so much that I actually went and dug out my Frames cd to give it another listen.

Now that Mark Cuban has more time on his hands he has decided to he wants to change the movie going experience. Cuban and 2929 partner Todd Wagner are going to pour millions into newfangled multiplexes for sophisticated datenight crowds, even inventing a concession concept dubbed the "Wall of Popcorn" and putting beanbag chairs in living room-like theaters.

They will start with these experimental cinemas in their Landmark chain, including one at the Westside Pavilion in Los Angeles. Sites in Baltimore and Denver are launching soon.

Wagner and Cuban want to create a world of moviegoing for adults.

"In our new Denver theater, we completely removed the concession stands," says Cuban. "The original design had the traditional concession stand taking up prime real estate and dominating the look and feel of the theater. We decided that we would rather use that space for amenities, retail sales (movies, books, indie cinema related items), and 'interstitial' type entertainment that complements our 'datenight for grownups' concept in a lounge-like environment. Basically it became a place where you could go on a date, have a drink, food and be entertained before and after seeing a movie."

More information about the project can be found at Variety

An article on the busiest man in comedy, Judd Apatow. The man behind two of my favorite tv shows (Undeclared and Freaks and Geeks) and one of my favorite comedies (The 40-Year-Old Virgin).

From Indie Wire, Francis Ford Coppola stopped by the Hogg Auditorium in Austin on Monday night to screen his wife's new hour-long documentary (CODA: Thirty Years Later) which follows the filmmaker during production of his upcoming feature, Youth Without Youth. He also answered a few questions after the film, here are some details.

- When young filmmakers ask him how to be a success, he often suggests, "get married." He recalled how nothing drove him to be a successful Hollywood screenwriter (he won an Oscar for writing Patton) more than a wife with a kid on the way.

- Coppola acknowledges that he made many films in the 1990s as a way to finance his dream project, Megalopolis. But even critical failures like Jack (1996) were things he was excited about (in that case, it was the chance to work with Robin Williams).

- After the monumental financial failure that was One From the Heart (1982), he took a lot of jobs-for-hire. They included Peggy Sue Got Married (1986), which he admitted on Monday was a hard film for which to get motivated. Until he realized that he should make it like the famous play, Our Town.

- During this slow creative period in his career, Coppola remembered days driving to the set and hoping the car wouldn't make it there. Which is why, he said, being the financier and producer of Youth Without Youth meant going to the set "with more anticipation."

- He said the realization of a planned adaptation of Jack Kerouac's On the Road (which he is set to produce and Walter Salles will direct) will entirely depend on who is cast in the lead roles.

- Which of his wines would he recommend to a film student on a budget? "You can't go wrong with Rosso & Bianco. It's $11."

I keep trying to think who would be a good cast for On the Road and keep coming up with nothing. I remember reading a long time ago that Brad Pitt and Billy Crudup would be playing Sal Paradise and Dean Moriarty but they seem a little old now. Mabye have Ryan Gosling as Sal and hell, I'm drawing a blank for Dean. I'll tell you who does look like Kerouac though, Daniel Craig.

In honor of the Sky Movies poll (and Delaney's comment) about which movies are watched most by men and women I decided to list my top five. These aren't necessarily my top five favorite movies (though number one lines up nicely) but the movies I watch the most. I'm sure I could list twenty more, but that would get boring.

1. Sideways
2. Hoosiers
3. Breaking Away
4. The Shawshank Redemption
5. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Okay, I had to add two more:

The Fugitive
Die Hard

A somewhat interesting article about the directors of the 90's. It focuses a little too much on the poor box office outings but I agree that these people should make more movies.

According to a poll conducted by Sky Movies Star Wars and Dirty Dancing are the films people most love to watch over and over again. The top five for for each sex follows...

MENS' MOST-WATCHED FILMS
1. Star Wars trilogy
2. Aliens
3. The Terminator
4. Blade Runner
5. The Godfather

WOMENS' MOST-WATCHED FILMS
1. Dirty Dancing
2. Star Wars trilogy
3. Grease
4. The Sound of Music
5. Pretty Woman

Conan O'Brien visits ILM and talks with George Lucas.

The Brazos Drive-In in Granbury has seen better days. I guess this is what happens when severe thunderstorms run through Texas once a week.

Spider-Man 3

Spider-Man 3 is basically the antithesis of your normal big budget comic book adaptation. Sure it cost hundreds of millions of dollars and sure it features plenty of action set everywhere from an under construction sky scraper to the pipes below New York, but this is not the main focus. Fanboys be damned, the majority of this movie is centered around the relationships of the characters. We get characters singing, crying, more crying, and basically facing the problems that occur in everyday, ordinary lives (that is, ordinary if you happen to have been bitten by a radioactive spider).

Spider-Man 3 is essentially a romantic drama punctuated by special effects chases. Even the action scenes are built off of emotion. Revenge, love, guilt all play into the characters lives and lead them toward their actions. I can't remember a summer blockbuster that wears its heart so openly on its sleeve.

Part of the charm of the Spidey movies has always been its inherent goofiness. My favorite scene in Spider-Man 2 was the montage after Peter Parker had given up on trying to to save the world. We follow him as his new life is easy and care free and it's all set to Rain Drops Keep Falling on My Head. Here we get an extended sequence of how it is to be Peter Parker with the added power of the black suit. It's basically Tobey Maguire channeling Tony Manero from Saturday Night Fever. The whole montage (and a few scenes that follow) are corny and out of date and I loved them.

With the inclusion of this film, The Spider-Man saga has set the gold standard for comic book movies. Sure there are better movies within the genre (Batman Begins) but none that match the joy and charisma of this series. Will there be a Spider-Man 4? I'm almost sure of it and it doesn't matter, this film is a great ending for the three film strory arc and the best comic book trilogy in film history.

So you already have George Clooney and Brad Pitt set to be in your upcoming movie then who do sign to be the star? John Malkovich of course. Malkovich is in negotiations to star opposite Clooney, Pitt and Frances McDormand in the Coen brothers' Burn After Reading for Focus Features and Working Title Films.

The dark screwball comedy centers on Ozzie Cox (Malkovich), a former CIA agent who loses the disc of the memoir he is writing. McDormand will play Cox's philandering wife. Clooney is set to play an assassin. Because the screenplay is being kept under wraps, it is unclear what Pitt's character will be.

I know very little about the comic character Iron Man. I do know that the movie version has an impression cast that includes Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeff Bridges, and Terrence Howard and will be directed by Jon Favreau. Anyway, Entertainment Weekly got the first look at the suit for the movie (below) and has a little more info about it on their sight.

CBS has announced the line up to Pirate Master. It's nothing more than a list of their names, locations, and professions but one name did catch my eye...

CHRISTIAN OKOYE

45

Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. (originally from Enugu, Nigeria)

Former NFL Player

That's right, The Nigerian Nightmare will be on a quest to find the largest booty, worth $500,000, and claim the title of "Pirate Master."

On the right side of this page you can see a promotional trailer for Nightwatching, Peter Greenaway's biopic of Rembrandt van Rijn. Greenaway doesn't always make the best movies but he is always interesting. What really drew my attention to this though, Martin Freeman is starring in the titular role. Obviously quite a departure from Tim on The Office.

Rainn Wilson will star in the comedy "Girlfriend Experience" for DreamWorks, with Montecito partners Ivan Reitman and Tom Pollock to produce.

Wilson, who came up with the idea, will play a lonely geek who, in an effort to make himself seem more desirable, hires a prostitute to pretend she's his girlfriend.

Wilson approached the writers, Mark and Brian Gunn. after reading "Juvie," a Universal script they wrote for Wilson's "The Office" co-star Steve Carell about a man sentenced to a prison for juveniles.

Even more Star Wars news, this is a little different though. "Robot Chicken" creators Seth Green and Matthew Senreich are channeling their inner geeks with "Robot Chicken: Star Wars," a special for Adult Swim.

The 30-minute stop-motion animation special, directed by Green, spoofs key scenes and favorite characters from the "Star Wars" universe, including the sci-fi saga's creator, George Lucas. It was done in collaboration with Lucasfilm, and Lucas is on board to voice the animated version of himself.

Robot Chicken isn't the greatest show on Earth but occasionally it can be funny. I'm not a normal viewer but if it's late at night with not much else on I will watch an episode. I like the fact that there is a stop motion animation show on television and of course I will be tuning in to see this special.

There is more news about the project here.

Movie City News posted this first but I have no problems ripping it off.

Below is the original trailer for Star Wars. 2007 marks the 30th anniversary of the movie so you will be seeing a lot of items like this in various places. Actually, after I post this I'm off to look for a new making of book that is supposed to be the definitive version.

Either way, it is interesting to see how this was marketed at first. It seems much more of a serious, almost scary, science fiction film. There is no sense of the adventure or light hearted humor from the film. I guess they were trying to amaze people with their special effects and creature, which seemed to have worked out for them in the long run.

I also really like the opening line from the trailer, "Somewhere in space this may all be happening right now."

Roger Ebert has updated the public once again on his health. On the eve of his Overlooked Film Festival he has posted a message on his website. This is just another reason that he is by far my favorite movie critic. Other than being a great writer he doesn't take himself too seriously and he seems to love movies more than just about anyone. The message is reprinted below.


My Ninth Annual Film Festival opens Wednesday night at the University of Illinois at Urbana, and Chaz and I will be in attendance. This year I won’t be speaking, however, as I await another surgery.

I have received a lot of advice that I should not attend the Festival. I’m told that paparazzi will take unflattering pictures, people will be unkind, etc. Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn. As a journalist I can take it as well as dish it out.

So let’s talk turkey. What will I look like? To paraphrase a line from “Raging Bull,” I ain’t a pretty boy no more. (Not that I ever was. The original appeal of Siskel & Ebert was that we didn’t look like we belonged on TV.)

What happened was, cancer of the salivary gland spread to my right lower jaw. A segment of the mandible was removed. Two operations to replace the missing segment were unsuccessful, both leading to unanticipated bleeding.

A tracheostomy was necessary so, for the time being, I cannot speak. I make do with written notes and a lot of hand waving and eye-rolling. The doctors now plan an approach that does not involve the risk of unplanned bleeding. If all goes well, my speech will be restored.

So when I turn up in Urbana, I will be wearing a gauze bandage around my neck, and my mouth will be seen to droop. So it goes.

I was told photos of me in this condition would attract the gossip papers. So what? I have been very sick, am getting better and this is how it looks. I still have my brain and my typing fingers.

Although months in bed after the bleeding episodes caused a lack of strength and co-ordination, the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago restored my ability to walk on my own, climb stairs, etc. I no longer use a walker much and the wheelchair is more for occasional speed and comfort than need. Just today we went for a long stroll in Lincoln Park.

We spend too much time hiding illness. There is an assumption that I must always look the same. I hope to look better than I look now. But I’m not going to
miss my Festival.

Why do I want to go? Above all, to see the movies. Then to meet old friends and great directors and personally thank all the loyal audience members who continue to support the Festival. At least, not being able to speak, I am spared the need to explain why every film is “overlooked,” or why I wrote “Beyond the Valley of the Dolls.”

Being sick is no fun. But you can have fun while you’re sick. I wouldn’t miss the Festival for anything!

P.S. To Gossip Rags: I have some back pain, and to make it easier for me to sit through screenings, the Festival has installed my very own La-Z-Boy chair. Photos of me in the chair should be captioned, “La-Z-Critic.”

There is probably a 99.9% chance that I will never see this movie. Jenifer Lopez hasn't made a good movie since Out of Sight, and that was in 1998 and something about her just really annoys me. As for Marc Anthony, he has actually done okay in the movies, taking smaller roles and working with some interesting directors. That being said, I do like this poster for their new movie, It has that hand drawn seventies feel. They also got the names in the right order which is always appreciated.

This probably won't interest many of you (though there aren't many of you reading this so the number just became lower) but Yahoo Movies has posted the new domestic trailer for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. I have never read the books and don't really get too excited to see each new film but the last two have been really above average fantasy/adventure movies and this one looks to be much of the same

Revolutionary Road is becoming even more of a Titanic reunion. Kathy Bates is joing Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet in the Sam Mendes directed film. Somewhere Billy Zane is hoping they can find a role for him.

Superman is screwed.

Hot Fuzz

I missed Shaun of the Dead when it originally came out. I really had no interest since I didn't know anything about Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Edgar Wright and I usually shy away from the zombie genre. I skipped it again when it was released on DVD. By this time I had heard more about it but still didn't even attempt to see it. When I finally got around to watching, a while after it had been playing on cable, I discovered it was one of the funniest movies of 2004. Both a comedy and zombie film, each standing on its own while creating three dimensional characters with even a little bit of social satire thrown in. The reason I have taken this long before even mentioning Hot Fuzz is because it does the same thing, just replacing the zombies with police officers.

This film works both as an out-and-out comedy but also as a high paced action film. The movie doesn't play out like a parody of the genre, it uses cliches then changes them half way through. It's like a good version of Bad Boys II but actually funny.

My only complaint is that the film might be a bit too long. A mintute over two hours, there were a few scenes that probably could have been tightened up and an epilogue that felt unnecessary. This doesn't detract from the entire movie, though. Watching the characters in ridiculous situations and trying to notice all the movie references is more than enough for me.

I have never been much of a fan of Hal Hartley. Actually, let me change that. I have never been a fan of Hal Hartley and have never enjoyed any of his movies. It was of course no surprise to me that I didn't enjoy the trailer to his newest one, Fay Grim. Watching this trailer did make myself ask one question though; what the hell is up with all the dutch angles?

I really hate the news section on IMDB. I know it's not all their fault since they use the services of WENN but shouldn't the greatest source for info on movies and television shows takes theirs news a little more seriously. A few examples from today are below.

Scarlett Plays It Ugly on 'Saturday Night Live'

Scarlett Johansson put her title as one of the world's sexiest women at risk on Saturday when she appeared as an ugly, balding alien living in a comedienne's stomach on TV. The actress was hosting satirical show Saturday Night Live when she dressed down to play a 'quatto' who had taken over cast regular Maya Rudolph's stomach in one sketch. She ended the hilarious skit by tongue kissing a fellow quatto, played by comedian Andy Samberg, while human guests at a party threw up. Johansson further showed off her comedy skills on the show by playing Donald Trump's socialite daughter Ivanka Trump, a bratty socialite on the hunt for a trampy prom dress and the daughter of a New York marble column salesman.

Hilton and Blunt an Item?

The Simple Life star Paris Hilton is rumored to be romancing British singer James Blunt, after the pair were spotted smooching in a Los Angeles nightclub. The heiress, who was recently reported to be dating Depserate Housewives hunk Josh Henderson, partied with Blunt and her sister Nicky Hilton at LA hotspot Teddies on Wednesday night. According to PageSix, the pair "danced and held hands" before kissing. But a spokesperson for the singer - who recently split from supermodel Petra Nemcova - dismissed the reports, saying, "This sounds like gossip to me!"

Well, basically, there was this little dot, right? And the dot went bang and the bang expanded. Energy formed into matter, matter cooled, matter lived, the amoeba to fish, to fish to fowl, to fowl to frog, to frog to mammal, the mammal to monkey, to monkey to man, amo amas amat, quid pro quo, memento mori, ad infinitum, sprinkle on a little bit of grated cheese and leave under the grill till Doomsday.

I was watching Casino Royale again last night and was once again impressed with the opening chase scene. It is probably the best pure action scene from any movie from last year and also takes place in one of the best movies from 2006.

So while Roger Ebert has been sick Ebert and Roeper has had a revolving door of guest critics sit in for him. Everyone from A.O. Scott (film critic for The New York Times) to Kevin Smith (vastly overrated director) to just about anyone else. For this weekend I think they have reaches the zenith though, sitting across the aisle from Richard Roeper will be none other than...John Melllencamp.

Fox Searclight has added the trailer for once. Outside of anything directed by David Gordon Green this is my most anticipated film from the Sundance Film Festival this year.

You will have to click on the trailer once you go to the website, I couldn't link right to it.

The trailer for The Brothers Solomon has shown up online. It could be funny or it could be horrible (Bob Odenkirk hasn't directed that best of movies) but it features Will Arnett and Jenna Fischer and that's enough for me.