Summer Movie Preview 2010

Posted on May 3, 2010 at 3:59 pm

When the weather gets warm, the movies get big! The summer of 2010 will be filled with big-budget sequels and remakes along with some newcomers hoping to establish new franchises. Get ready for chases, sword fights, karate, 3D, many brinks of disaster, and lots and lots and lots of stuff getting blown up.

Sequels!

“Iron Man 2” Mickey Rourke and Scarlett Johansson are just two of the challenges our metal-suited arms dealer has to face. One of the most intriguing elements of the film, though, is the appearance of Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury.

“Toy Story 3” Buzz Lightyear, Woody, Jessie, and the rest of the toys find a new home at a day care center when Andy leaves for college.

“Sex and the City 2” Charlotte, Samantha, Miranda, and Carrie are back, and they are, fabulous. So are their shoes!

“Shrek Forever After” The crowd from Far Far Away is back in an “It’s a Wonderful Life” type story where Shrek gets to see what life would have been like for his friends and family if he had never met them.

“The Twlight Saga: Eclipse” Team Edward? Team Jacob? They are going to need to work together to fight off some very scary vampires. But when it comes to Bella, the teamwork ends.

“Step Up 3D” More dance-offs. In 3D.

In the mood for love? We’ve got date movies!

“Just Wright” A basketball star (Common) falls for a pretty girl (Paula Patton). But when he is injured, he realizes that his physical therapist (Queen Latifah) may be more than just a friend.

“Letters to Juliet” Amanda Seyfreid discovers a 50-year-old unopened letter and takes a journey to reunite two lovers that will teach her some important lessons about love.

Action!

“Prince of Persia” They’re calling this one the next “Pirates of the Caribbean.” Jake Gyllenhaal must recover the Dagger of Time in this sword and sandal epic movie based on a computer game.

“The Expendables” It would be easier to tell you which big-screen action heroes are not in this movie than to list the ones who are in this film from writer-director-star Sylvester Stallone. Even California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis show up, along with Dolph Lundgren, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Terry Crews, Danny Trejo, and Steve Austin. The plot? Stuff blows up!

Ready for some deja vu? Remakes!

“Robin Hood” The “Gladiator” team is back with their take on one of the most frequently filmed stories of all time. Russell Crowe is in the title role with an all-star cast that includes Cate Blanchett as Maid Marian, Mark Addy as Friar Tuck, and Mark Strong, Oscar Isaac, and Danny Houston.

“The Karate Kid” Jaden Smith (son of Will and Jada Pinkett Smith) takes over the role of the kid who finds a teacher (Jackie Chan) to help him learn the discipline and skill of karate.

“The A-Team” The 70’s television show comes to the big screen with Liam Neeson and Bradley Cooper. I pity the fool who doesn’t know this movie is going to sell a lot of tickets.

“The Last Airbender” A popular animated series comes to the big screen with live action directed by M. Knight Shyamalan. “Slumdog Millionaire’s” Dev Patel co-stars in this story of a boy who has the power to control the elements and the responsibility of saving the world.

“Dinner for Schmucks” Based on a French film called “The Dinner Game” about a mean game where friends compete to see who can bring the biggest loser to dinner, this film reunites two “Anchorman” stars, Paul Rudd and Steve Carell.

Based on a best-seller

Eat, Pray, Love Julia Roberts stars in this adaptation of the best-seller by Elizabeth Gilbert about a woman who traveled to Italy, India, and Indonesia in her “search for everything.”

“Ramona and Beezus” is the first feature-film version of the classic stories about the irrepressible Ramona from Beverly Cleary. Disney pop princess Selena Gomez stars as big sister Beezus.

Intriguing….

“Charlie St. Cloud” Zac Efron plays a young man mourning the loss of his brother, who goes to work in the cemetery to be near him.

“Inception” Christopher Nolan (“Memento,” “The Dark Knight”) is behind the most mysterious film of the summer. All we know is that it stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Oscar-winners Marion Cottilard and Michael Caine and that it looks…spooky.

“Scott Pilgrim vs. the World” Michael Cera has to defeat all of his new girlfriend’s exes. There are seven of them and they are evil. And the girlfriend is the fabulous Mary Elizabeth Winstead, who was terrific in both “Sky High” and “Grindhouse.” I hope this is a breakthrough for her.

Love to laugh?

“Get Him to the Greek” Enfant terrible Russell Brand plays an over-the-top rock star (the Aldous Snow character from “Forgetting Sarah Marshall”) and Jonah Hill is the shy music industry executive who has to make sure he arrives at the concert venue.

“Despicable Me” Two evil geniuses compete to take over pretty much everything in this animated film with the voices of Steve Carell and Jason Segal. Russell Brand is in this one, too!

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Smile of the Week: ‘Werner Herzog’ reads Where’s Waldo?

Posted on April 28, 2010 at 1:57 pm

The brilliant movie director Werner Herzog (“Grizzly Man,” “Encounters at the End of the World,” “Aguirre: The Wrath of God,” and of course “Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe”), here is gently spoofed by an actor for his inclination toward dark interpretations as he tells us what he thinks is going on with Waldo.

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Nine

Posted on April 27, 2010 at 8:08 am

High profile director Guido Contini (Daniel Day-Lewis) has everything he needs to make his ninth movie and more. Much more. It is Italy in the early 1960’s and Guido is a glamorous celebrity, a name brand, a commodity. His production team is ready, including his close friend and adviser, costume designer Lilli (Judi Dench), his star and muse Claudia (Nicole Kidman), and his producers. He also has a devoted wife Luisa (Oscar winner Marianne Cotillard), a mistress Carla (Penelope Cruz), a mother (Sophia Loren), a pretty reporter from Vogue named Stephanie who wants more from him than an interview (Kate Hudson), and memories of the first woman to teach him about desire Saraghina (Fergie from the Black Eyed Peas).

What he does not have is a script, or even an idea of where to begin.

Which gives him something in common with director Rob Marshall (“Chicago”), because beyond the idea of a director who has too much on his mind and not enough ideas this movie does not have anything to say. Marshall has a great appreciation for female beauty and a lot of style. That’s a great reason to watch a music video but it is not really a reason to make or watch a movie.

Marshall trots out his bevy of international beauties, and each gets a musical number, some of them stunning. Fergie’s deep, rich-throated “Be Italian” and an almost-endless chorus line of tambourine-beating back-up singers, is sheer electricity. But the only one that comes close to reaching that level is Hudson, channeling her mother, Goldie Hawn, in a spangled silver mini-dress and go-go boots.

Cruz finds some sizzle in the notorious “Call from the Vatican” number, though no one can match the late Anita Morris, whose performance was considered too incendiary (and her costume too revealing) for the Tony Awards broadcast in 1982. But the musical numbers are not up to the level of “Chicago” and the lyrics in particular cannot stand up to the loving attention given to them by these actresses. At the end, it’s as empty as its subject.

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Based on a play Musical Remake

Play the Game

Posted on April 26, 2010 at 12:00 pm

The players get played in a romantic buddy comedy with one important distinction — one of those players is the resident of an assisted living facility who gets some assistance he was not expecting when a frisky fellow resident slips him some Viagra. And that resident is played by Andy Griffith. Opie, I don’t think we’re in Mayberry any more.

Paul Campbell (“Knight Rider,” “Battlestar Galactica”) plays David, a car salesman whose standard operating procedure is spin, whether with the customers or the ladies. The one true thing in his life is his relationship with his grandfather, Joe (Griffith). David visits Joe regularly and makes sure he is well taken care of. And since David’s idea of being well taken care of includes female companionship (and more than companionship), David starts to coach his grandfather on how to get as much action from as many ladies as possible. Joe is not the quickest of studies. It has been a while since he dated. But he has one thing going for him — numbers. Most of the residents of the home are women, and it seems that almost all of them are very interested in some companionship themselves. And more than companionship. At least one of them, Edna (played by “Seinfeld’s” Liz Sheridan) is quite frisky. But we know she will not be The One because she has a funny old-lady name. Rose (“Everybody Loves Raymond’s” Doris Roberts), on the other hand, has a pretty name. And a pretty grand-daughter.

She has a pretty name, too — Julie (Marla Sokoloff of “The Practice” and “Dude, Where’s My Car?”). David tries his best maneuvers on her. But she manages to evade them and he finds himself caring about her.

It all feels thin and sit-com-y, in part because its quintet of performers are all associated with television. It slides uneasily from frothy rom-com to raunchy ew-fest, with sexual references and situations so explicit the film would have qualified for an R-rating without Griffith’s disinfectingly innocent line readings and the MPAA’s automatic assumption that geriatric sex is more comic than erotic. The plot twists are awkwardly handled. And Campbell is bland. But the film shows promise in its writer-director Marc Fienberg, whose affection for his senior citizen characters is palpable and whose commitment to making them real characters is appealing. Too often, older characters are one-dimensional, on screen just to pass along life lessons, usually involving their deaths. But even with the heightened rhythms of a broad comedy, these are vibrant, engaged, real people. Campell is bland by comparison. But Sokoloff is a find, and she makes Julie so appealing we can see how she has David wondering if he’s been playing for the wrong team.

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Comedy Romance

News-Gazette Report on My Ebertfest Panel

Posted on April 25, 2010 at 9:28 am

Champaign’s News Gazette wrote a nice piece about our panel discussion on “Synecdoche, New York” with writer-director Charlie Kaufman. Reporter Melissa Merli called it “perhaps the liveliest post-screening discussion so far.”

said he explores themes in which he’s interested and that are going on in his life.

“It gets complicated and messy,” he said. “I usually don’t have an outline unless I have to pitch. I try to keep it honest and emotionally kind of naked.”

During the audience Q-and-A, Roger Ebert, who lost his speaking voice due to complications following surgeries for thyroid cancer, had his wife, Chaz, ask the Kaufman panel to discuss the film from the aspect of life and death. The critic said he watched “Synecdoche” at a time of illness and that it “enormously helped” him understand his life.

Kaufman said it was very meaningful for him to hear that. The writer-director also said the most any writer in general can offer as a creative person is to be themselves and to be as honest as they can be “because maybe then you can bridge a distance between you and other people” and make them feel less alone.

“We should recognize we are not in opposition to one another,” Kaufman said. “I think we live in an alienating culture that puts people at odds with each other. To what end, I don’t know.

“Worry about illness and missed opportunities and missed connections with people — that’s what I tried to put in the movie.”

For this panel and more, check out the Ebertfest webcast.

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