Monday, July 27th, 2009

Well, thus begins the week of movie blogging after the San Diego Comic Con. With the endless news flowing out with feverish fluidity that made every blogger out there, be it the big timers at Cinematical or AICN, or the nobodies like myself whom, with giggly ecstasy write about our passion of cinema to a handful of readers if that, it makes the week after seem completely dead and void of any real news. But before we put the conventions of all conventions behind us, MaximumPC has a huge 600+ picture gallery of the excellent cosplay that went down. The one pictured, admittedly has more to do with the fact that somebody actually cosplayed as PedoBear than anything in the movie blogsphere, although to make it relevant, I found him sexually badgering some of the Disney movie princesses, in which the cosplayers could be of questionable age.

On to some news... the biggest of the day is the shock that Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince didn't take the box office for the second straight weekend. I don't think anyone expected the live action/CGI combination of hamster secret agents in G-Force could outdo the absolutely massive and fanatic fanbase of the highly anticipated sixth Potter film. Completely mind-boggling. On a lighter shock for myself, The Ugly Truth beat out Orphan for the third spot. I just didn't see a lackluster romantic comedy that has been panned making more money than a horror film that good or bad, had a bit of a draw. So, what do you think for next week? Will Funny People take the top spot? Will Half-Blood Prince not take a huge drop from this week, and capture it again? Or will G-Force get two weeks as number one over these other blockbuster events? Let's hope against that last one at least.

MTV's movie blog has a bit of a surprising casting rumor. MTV had an interview with Robert Rodriguez about his upcoming film Machete, in which the director wouldn't confirm or debunk the rumors earlier this month about the possible casting of Robert De Niro and Jonah Hill, but added another name to the already motley crew of possibilities with Lindsay Lohan. The controversial tabloid grabbing actress was said to have a role waiting if she wanted to partake. How could Lohan not take it? She would be perfect for an exploitation film, as her acting wouldn't be on a spotlight, and is one of the few ways she could rejuvenate the minuscule film career she has left. But then again, do we want this? Couldn't Rodriguez, even if he thought he needed a publicity stunt, go elsewhere for someone that has already been in films that are more suited to the exploitation fan's tastes? Who knows.

Finally, The Hollywood Reporter confirms that Mila Kunis has been cast in Darren Aronofsky's upcoming supernatural story of dueling ballerinas, Black Swan, with Kunis taking the villainous role, that has been hinted might actually just be part of the main character's sub conscience. That main character has already been confirmed to be Natalie Portman. Excited about Aronofsky's latest head trip yet? I'll have to admit that I wasn't as hot about The Fountain as everyone else, although I absolutely love Requiem for a Dream, Pi and The Wrestler. I don't think there is any denying however, that even if I don't deem the movie a classic, it will certainly be worth a view.

P.S. I may or may not post tomorrow. I am going to King's Island just outside of Cincinnati. Since the park isn't owned by Paramount any longer, I don't think I'll find anything pertaining to my blog, but I will look diligently for nougat of something to post on here.

Friday, July 24th, 2009

Another day that I should be sleeping due to my work schedule, yet like yesterday, a plethora of geeky wonderdom has come out of the San Diego Comic Con for all of us cinephiles to gawk at, complain about and rejoice over. First, the picture there is the first poster for 2010's Jimmy Hayward directed Jonah Hex.

Maybe the biggest story to come out of the convention today comes via the panel promoting The Book of Eli, the Hughes Brothers' upcoming film set in a post apocalyptic dystopian society, starring Denzel Washington as the protagonist and Gary Oldman taking on the villainous role. Mila Kunis, Michael Gambon and a few others star in a film that we are yet to find much out about the plot. However, via I Watch Stuff, we get to see the initial trailer, and during the interview itself, Oldman dropped a bomb that took a little of the focus away from The Book of Eli for a moment. Cinematical reports that Oldman, who plays Commissioner James Gordon in Christopher Nolan's reboot of the Batman franchise, claims that a sequel to The Dark Knight will begin filming next year with a potential theatrical release as early as 2011. This announcement brings up a lot more questions than it answers. Of course, the most worrisome of those questions, that the Cinematical staff promptly points out, is with Nolan busying himself finishing his anticipated film Inception, as well as touring for press junkets and whatnot up until at least the middle of 2010, then how quick could a blockbuster of Dark Knight stature be shot and ready to be in theaters by 2011? Does this mean Nolan is out?

Cinematical's affiliate SciFiSquad also has a very interesting review of the Peter Jackson-produced science fiction film District 9, that seems to be continually overlooked. I was hoping for more information of the plot, as well as maybe some questions directed towards Jackson about his film The Lovely Bones, or of course, a little something about The Hobbit; however, after already being a little stoked for Niell Blomkamp's tale of alien life in Johannesburg, South Africa, the ecstatic review from Kevin Kelly is one of the first detailed pieces I've read on this movie and increases my level of excitement quite a bit.

Stepping away from the Comic Con bubble for a moment, Variety has announced that there will be a Saw VII, with David Hackl returning to direct. Does this inevitable story make the entire advertising campaign for Saw VI being the "final chapter" even more annoying to anyone else?

It's also Friday, so for those of us unfortunate enough to be outside of San Diego, we can go see a few flicks this weekend. Orphan is probably the highest profile release this week. The film seems like one that is either hit or miss, no in between feelings. It holds a 50% on Rotten Tomatoes, was slammed by Variety and The New York Times, and given a three and a half star rating from Roger Ebert. It advertises a twist that could make or break the film, and has the star power of the incredibly talented Vera Farmiga and Peter Sarsgaard. The other two movies that will be wide release this week might not be so good. First, G-Force, despite having Zach Galifianakis and the voices of Tracy Morgan, Penelope Cruz, Sam Rockwell and Nicolas Cage, I just don't think anything could save this Disney film. Also, The Ugly Truth, a romantic comedy starring Katherine Heigl. Despite her likability, I can't see it being worth seeing. Some overlooked films for the week that will almost certainly go under the radar is the raunchy indy bromance comedy Humpday, Kevin Spacey as a quirky psychiatrist in Shrink, with appearances by Gore Vidal, Robin Williams and many others, and finally The Answer Man, which I want to find more out about, stars Jeff Daniels, nabbing supporting roles from two up and coming actresses Kat Dennings and Olivia Thirlby.

And finally, from TrailerAddict, Where the Wild Things Are author Maurice Sendak speaks about Spike Jonze and his upcoming, highly anticipated adaptation. Enjoy.