December 07, 2007
Be Kind, Be Smart, See this movie.
Jack Black and Mos Def star in 'Be Kind Rewind": an upcoming comedy about a couple of friends who undertake the task of making low budget versions of classic films after every movie in Mos Def's rental store is erased by Jack Black. The plot spirals out of control when Black and Def become local celebrities for their work in remaking the classics. Among their new version of film are Driving Miss Daisy, RoboCop, Rush Hour 2, Boyz in da Hood, et cetera.
At first glance, this film seems like sketch comedy gone awry. Upon further investigation, it is still sketch comedy gone awry, but for some intangible reason, it still seems to have potential. That intangible may lie in the plot. I love parodies, so seeing them done poorly by two big name stars is pretty funny. Check out the trailer, Jack Black wearing an afro wig as a young black man in South Central LA (per Boyz in Da Hood) is pretty entertaining to watch.
Jack Black is very hot and cold as far as humor is concerned, but his on-screen chemistry with Mos Def (who will be visiting UM's Hill Auditorium pretty soon!) is pretty impeccable. The two go together well, to my great surprise.
The Be Kind Rewind website also strikes my interest. It's obvious that someone took way too much time to put this thing together. Its a total sleeper, but quite funny though(this leads me to think that the movie could have the same effects). The concept of the page is similar to the movie: Upon entering the site someone accidentally "erases" the internet, and Mike and Jerry (Def and Black) are left to rebuild popular sites (imdb.com, facebook, myspace, youtube) on a low budget. The intracacies of the webpage truly excite me for the movie
The flick is written and directed by Michael Gondry. I started to think that I had never heard of Gondry, but on second thought I realized that he wrote and directed one of my favorites: The Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind (Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet), as well as Block Party (Dave Chappelle's Block Party) and The Science of sleep (I don't know any of the actors but I heard it was pretty interesting).
All in all, I think this flick has crazy potential to be crazy funny. Mos Def has a tendency to be hilarious when he wants to be, Jack Black is often infectious, and Gondry's quirky style always makes for a interesting film, if nothing else; put him in movie that's purely comedy and he could be dangerous. Don't look for Oscar buzz here, but check it out anyway, it's a cult classic for sure. See for yourself:
Read me later,
Leap
ps. Check out some of the films 'remade' in this upcoming comedy.
Posted by dlheart at 10:23 AM | Comments (0)
December 06, 2007
Juno is a January yes.
I'll watch just about anything on the big screen. The small screen is a little bit different. I'm way more selective when it comes to television. So when I saw two actors from the cast of Arrested Development (one of the funniest television shows every created) in an upcoming film I freaked out (to see exactly why, check out the trailer below).
'Juno' stars Jason Bateman and Michael Cerra in this romantic comedy about a teen pregnancy in suburbia. The film also boasts Jennifer Garner (Alias, The Kingdom), J.K. Simmons (Thank You For Smoking, Spiderman 1-3), and Ellen Page (X2: X-men United) as the expectant mother.
This romantic comedy was directed by Jason Reitman, the genius behind 2005's Thank You For Smoking. The film is being distributed by Fox's indie offshoot, Fox Searchlight pictures. Searchlight has been responsible for cult classics galore: Little Miss Sunshine, Napolean Dynamite, and Garden State, which gives me hope for this quirky film.
'Juno' cleaned up at the Toronto and Telluride Film Festivals, and is repping a strong 92 on Rottentomatoes.com. Life lessons and a storyline that shouldn't be funny destine this movie for cult/comedic greatness. If that's not enough, it's going to be playing at the State Theater, that's gotta be a good sign right?
Read me later,
Leap
Posted by dlheart at 03:25 PM | Comments (0)
December 05, 2007
There's no debate, this is a good one.
Above is the preview for another holiday movie. But heres the catch: it's not just another holiday movie. It makes sense if you think about it. Around the holidays, a bunch of movies are released. They all have some of the same things in common: Big stars, and little, if any, plot. This is a trend that will never stop. From this season alone: This Christmas (With Pop Superstar Chris Brown) Fred Clause (Vince Vaughn), The Perfect Holiday, Alvin and the chipmunks, et cetera. Entertaining as these flicks may be, they really just capitalize on the "feel good" mood of the holidays with minimal effort. "The Great Debaters" is not that.
A few things separate this film from that archetype. The main differe is that this movie is based upon a actual events, even more inspiring is that the events are interesting! This is a rarity in recent holiday film. The film stars Denzel Washington as Melvin B. Tolsen, a Harlem Renaissance man. He inspires hope in the nation when he starts a debate team in at a black college in Marshall, Texas. Forest Whitaker also plays a supporting role as one of the debaters' father.
It's a David vs. Goliath film where David is the debate team and Goliath is racial injustice. Lofty? Yes; but it looks like a good film non the less. I see it and I think of 'Remember the Titans,' one of my all time favorites.
Let's talk about production: Denzel Washington is directing his second flick in this film. Antwon Fisher (his first film) wasn't wildly successful in the box office, but it was a damned good film, with a breakout actor in Derek Luke. 'Debaters' has got a few new actors looking for break out roles. I couldn't really tell from the trailer as to whether these young actors were spectacular, but with Denzel behind the lens, they can't be doing too poorly.
The film is produced by Harpo, Oprah's company, with Ms. Winfrey herself listed as the producer. This movie has smash potential, and hopefully Denzel, Oprah, and Forest Whitaker live up to it.
Posted by dlheart at 03:52 PM | Comments (0)
December 04, 2007
Different Looks, All of them good.
Vantage Point
I caught the preview for a movie called Vantage Point this weekend, and was automatically intrigued. This film follows the form of the Japanese classic film, Rashomon. This is a style in which the film circles around a single event, but in order to form a truthful account of the event (in this case an assassination attempt on the President of the United States), the film looks at different perspectives of the same event. In this case, the points of view are witnesses at different vantage points.
This style is increasingly popular in recent cinema (Crash, Babel, Inside Man, Bobby), and is an extremely original way to approach cinema. All of these movies have been wildly successful and Oscar worthy. This being said, the Academy Award winners of the group applied the Rashomon technique to a plot about the human condition, while Vantage point simply focuses on a thrilling murder (attempt) mystery.
This may be why the movie was heavily considered as the script for the upcoming “24” movie. It has all the elements of an episode of 24 (murder, mystery, daring hero, loftier attempt at terrorism), but so much so that the producers decided it was too like the plots for the other seasons of the TV show.
The film stars heavy hitters Dennis Quaid, Sigourney Weaver, and Forest Whitaker. Quaid and Weaver are old-timers in the industry, and Whitaker, in my opinion is just now picking up steam. His performance in The Last King of Scotland warranted the Academy Award that he won. He is quietly taking the industry by storm and is poised to do so with a solid performance in this upcoming political thriller. Unfortunately, the director and writer are lightweights, which could be cause for rookie mistakes.
I think the combination of this unique and trendy filming style, well known names, and a “24” worthy script will combine for an entertaining film to say the least. I am worried about the fact that the production crew is inexperienced and that I’ve been seeing previews for this release (Feb. 22) for a few months now. When a trailer is out for so long, I tend to get antsy about the quality and widespread release of a film.
Read Me Later,
David Leapheart
Posted by dlheart at 02:48 PM | Comments (0)
December 02, 2007
Cold War, Hot Movie
A movie movie caught my eye last week, and I got a great vibe from it. Upon seeing the preview for Charlie Wilson’s War, I had three thoughts: Star power, star power, star power. Who in the Hollywood thought it would be a good idea to put Tom Hanks, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, and Julia Roberts in the same picture? Answer: Mike Nichols, who hasn’t directed on the silver screen since 2004. Don’t let this lapse in time fool you though; Nichols has a respectable rottnetomatoes.com rating, and an award/nomination list longer than my arm.
The big names speak for themselves. Tom Hanks is, and always has been a Hollywood golden boy, and as far as I’m concerned, can do no wrong. Even though I was only mildly entertained with his performance in his last movie, the Da Vinci Code, I blame the screenwriters for that. The character Hanks is an impeccably smooth congressman, whose motives are less than innocent. This dark protagonist is the perfect role for Hanks per “The Road to Perdition”
Phillip Seymour Hoffman is still thriving off of his Capote Oscar hype. He’s made magic on screen since that buzz began (The Savages, Before the Devil Knows you’re Dead). From what I’ve seen, his character provides a comic relief of sorts by being a man with an inept man in a place of power in this latest film, Charlie Wilsons War. Hoffman has proven himself a great source of comedic relief since his early career (as Dusty in Twister), and I think he will most definitely add charm to this high-potential flick.
Julia Roberts. ‘Nuff said.
America’s Sweetheart, and one of America’s Golden boys will combine with an up-and-comer for a fantastic political thriller about American involvement in the Afghan-Soviet War. Now, that being said, I can’t guarantee a box office smash. The film has had some screening woes to say the least. Very little (other than the trailer) have been released on this film, leaving critics (and potential Oscar Buzz) in the dark. This last week has been one of the final weeks for early screenings before the Oscar race begins, but still nothing from director Mike Nichols. Does this spell trouble?
Probably not. I think this movie is going to be a classic, regardless of how many people come out opening weekend.
Read me Later,
Leap
Posted by dlheart at 02:45 PM | Comments (0)