Monika Bartyzel
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Is This the World's Worst Film Critic?
Filed under: Newsstand
Hate and ye shall have a voice. Exercise shocking taste and ye shall have a voice!I guess it was inevitable. News programs have slowly become overrun with sensationalism, voices comfortably spewing out the most shocking commentaries they can, annoying those who disagree and rile up those who love a little inappropriate sass with their politics. And it's only natural that this would slowly leak into the movie reviewing world. Guardian has thrown up a love/hate piece for film critic Fiore Mastracci, who they call "a critic so dreadful he's bordering on genius." A once under-the-radar critic, his review of The Road has been making the rounds.
Where many critics love flicks like The Road or Fantastic Mr. Fox, Fiore is a lover of Punisher: War Zone, The Pink Panther (2006), Hitman, Transporter 2... In other words, he's that Regular Joe type moviegoer who equates good cinema with those brainless adventures on the big screen. Then again, the Guardian says he was also a film teacher and used to have his own cable show. So, somewhere, there seems to have been some schooling.
Maybe he's the Gwar of the film critic set, one whose fame and art is nothing like their education and smarts. Whatever the case, his reviews are full of catch-phrases like "celluloid masturbation" and "excrement on celluloid," and he loves throwing in an Obama jab when he can.
Is he merely the best-worst film critic out there? Or an expert in sensationalized film critique for that part of the public that hates to feel anything but laughter and adrenaline rushes while in that theater seat?
'Shakespeare in Love' Helmer Circles 'My Fair Lady'
Filed under: Music & Musicals, Deals, Remakes and Sequels
There is still no solid agreement for Keira Knightley to take on one Miss Eliza Doolittle, but it looks like the remake of My Fair Lady may finally have found a director. One who is not Joe Wright. Variety reports that the helmer behind The Debt -- John Madden -- is currently in talks to direct the film. Seeing that The Debt hasn't come out yet, let's be more clear: The director behind Shakespeare in Love, Captain Corelli's Mandolin, Proof, and Killshot is the guy circling this feature.That should be pretty decent news for the film. While I can't say that his subsequent work has brought him the same acclaim, getting an Oscar nomination for Shakespeare proved that he's at his best when dealing with classic literary romance. And while I would've loved to see Baz Luhrmann take it on (he was previously linked to the shebang), I can't really argue with the directorial direction they're going ... although I would very much prefer a stab at the original Pygmalion. Alas, no music-free wordiness for me.
The plan is to retain the film's 1912 setting and score, shooting in a number of London locales. But the big question will be whether audiences will care. Can rain in Spain bring in box office numbers? And when will ANYONE officially sign on to this sucker? Stay tuned!
Girls on Film: The Academy's Shallow Actress Pool
Filed under: Awards, Girls on Film
With the werewolves out of the way, back to our regularly scheduled programming. A few weeks ago, The Hollywood Reporter ran a piece called "Shallow pool for Oscar's actress contenders." The basic premise: While the list of female directorial hopefuls is stronger than ever for the 2010 Academy race, the actress nods aren't so hot with Meryl Streep leading only a handful of other front-runners (Carey Mulligan and Gabourey Sidibe). The piece also noted the other potential Best Actress candidates, the possibility of notable performances in the remaining releases, the struggles women still face in Hollywood, and -- egads -- the fact that some are talking about Sandra Bullock getting a nod for The Blind Side.
Reading the article through, I quickly had a thought .... and it was most definitely not about that previously mentioned werewolf flick getting any award love. Usually a discussion like this might be disheartening or aggravating, but the thought wasn't negative. It was, in fact, quite positive.
Why don't we use this "shallow pool" as a reason to celebrate unconventional roles and performances?
Old Doctor Who to Play John Lennon
Filed under: Drama, Music & Musicals, Casting
It looks like The Beatles are going to get a good dose of Doctor Who in the coming year. Variety reports that in a rather nice twist, the man who kicked off the Who revitalization, Christopher Eccleston, is slated to star as John Lennon for an upcoming BBC Four biopic called Naked Lennon. The story will focus on the big turning point for Lennon between 1967 and 1971 -- the dissolution of the band, death of manager Brian Epstein, the end of his first marriage, and then, of course, the entry of Yoko Ono into his life.Naoko Mori, who played Toshiko in Torchwood, will play Yoko Ono. (For Hackers buffs out there, she also played the Tokyo Hacker back in the 1995 movie.) Rounding out the cast is Rory Kinnear as Epstein, Claudie Blakley as Cynthia, and Andrew Scott as Paul McCartney.
Now this is a BBC movie, but considering the reach of Red Riding, I imagine this could stretch beyond the UK's TV screens. There's the fact that The Beatles have been seeing a lot of love in the CD and video game world, and Lennon usually doesn't get much cinematic love save retro pieces in a cameo capacity. The tide changed this year with Nowhere Boy -- so we'll have to wait and see. But what do you think about the casting? Can Naoko and Who pull off a convincing John and Yoko?
Actors Weigh In on Lost Stars & Oscar Hopefuls
Filed under: Awards, Casting, Newsstand
When you've glutted yourself on Turkey, must take a break from New Moon reportage, and want to get busy with the Oscar race, it's time to turn the writing work over to the celebs. Both Variety and Entertainment Weekly handed the pens over to the stars recently for two very different reasons -- one, to remember stars we've lost this year like Patrick Swayze, and two, to highlight Academy Award hopefuls in the ever-increasing Oscar race.Of course, EW wants you to buy the mag, so they're only including one of the movie tributes online, and that's C. Thomas Howell writing about his memories of working with Swayze. The two worked together on The Outsiders all those years ago, and Howell writes: "The one thing that was great about him was also the most irritating fact about him: He was always somehow better than you, no matter what it was you were doing. It didn't matter if you were on horseback, shooting weapons, roller-skating, or reciting Shakespeare. He was a tough f-er and a free spirit." I don't know if I could pick a more apt description for him. Swayze always had that sense of ease about him, whether it was looking smooth on the dance floor, getting in on the Point Break action, or crying away his self-help guru woes. (Further tributes include Matthew Broderick on John Hughes and Keith Carradine on David Carradine.)
A Trailer for Jean-Claude Van Damme's 'The Eagle Path'
Filed under: Action, Trailers and Clips
It's time for the second feature written, directed, and starring the Muscles from Brussels Jean-Claude Van Damme. First we had The Quest, a story he whipped up with the help of Frank Dux (the man Bloodsport was based on). Now there's The Eagle Path. Once called Full Love, this sucker is all-out classic Van Damme with faux serious acting, violence, and of course, the potential love of a sexy woman -- and you can check out a trailer for the film after the jump, courtesy of THR's Heat Vision Blog. Van Damme plays "Frenchy," a military vet and former mercenary who hides from his past by working as a taxi driver in East Asia. When he picks up a sexy woman one day, he becomes obsessed with the idea of improving her life and decides to do so without her approval. With help from his special ops friends, he sets out to "save" her, and as the official synopsis says: "War is hell, but nothing they've done could have prepared them for this."
From what you can see in the trailer, that "this" involves a bad*ss special ops friend in a wheelchair, some mustachioed undercover work, and a whole lot of action carnage. Oh, if only they could score this with some '80s music. It would be like going back to the good ol' days of Van Damme.
Review: New York, I Love You
Filed under: Romance, New Releases, Theatrical Reviews, Shorts
Armed with a collection of the world's notable directors, Paris je t'aime hit screens with a good deal of impact and buzz. It was to be the first piece in producer Emmanuel Benbihy's "Cities of Love," a collection of films detailing romance and metropolitan life across the globe, a series planning to travel to the likes of New York, Rio, Shanghai, Jerusalem, and Mumbai.
Three years later, the second installment is finally upon us with New York, I Love You. With only minor changes, the film continues the tradition of joining many internationally diverse filmmakers for the journey through a popular city, but the buzz has diminished. The film is slowly making its way across screens in the U.S., and will break into Canada come November 27. But how could one of Hollywood's most beloved cities find its ode so woefully under the radar? It's not an easy question to answer because while New York, I Love You might be flawed, it's also sweet, engaging, and nicely representative of that small island cluttered with millions of people.
'Teardrop Diamond' Finally Finds a Trailer
Filed under: Drama, Trailers and Clips
I was convinced this day would never come... I first wrote about The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond over three years ago when the forgotten Tennessee Williams screenplay got tapped for a feature film. Lindsay Lohan was set to star in it, before her heaps of turmoil turned her career sour. In 2007, Bryce Dallas Howard stepped in to replace Lohan, and in 2008, we finally got a still from the film. Now the movie has quietly swam through the festival circuit and is slated for release at the end of the year, which means we finally get a trailer, which you can see after the jump, courtesy of Coming Soon.The trailer can certainly send you back in time, but maybe not to the right time. The whole thing reeks of 1980s Hallmark melodrama, from the scenes to the text and somber voiceover. Bryce Dallas Howard stars as Fisher Willow, a '20s debutante who decides to get back at her greedy dad by taking a poor young man (Chris Evans) to a high-profile party. She borrows her great Aunt Cornelia's (Ann Margret) teardrop diamond earrings to the event, and when she loses one, she accuses her date of stealing it.
What might be more intriguing than the work (which Coming Soon says was written as a film for Elia Kazan to direct), and the cast (which also includes Ellen Burstyn), is the idea of Lohan in this movie. I can't begin to imagine her taking on the style and accent Howard pulls off. But what do you think?
Will you hit the theaters to see this lost work from Tennessee Williams?
This is the Ape that Climbed the Empire State Building?
Back in 1933 there was this little movie called King Kong. While not an epic award-winner, the film instantly became a legend for stunning special effects and arguably the most iconic Hollywood monster of them all. Whether you've seen the film or not, you've no doubt witnessed the scene, where the large ape grabbed Fay Wray's Anne Darrow and carried her to the top of the Empire State Building, where he fought off planes and machine gun fire to be with the unwilling object of his affection.
MSNBC reports that the specific metal skeleton used in that iconic scene has sold for approximately $200,000 at a Christie's auction in London. Talk about a killer find! The 22-inch figurine was originally "covered in cotton, rubber, liquid latex, and rabbit's fur," but being over 70 years old, that covering has rotted away to reveal what you see above -- a collection of metal, rivets, and screws fashioned into an ape skeleton.
While there's a whole lot of great computer-generated effects out there, I can't help but feel a pang for the good old days of tangible creations and miniature models. They gave an added sense of realism to special effects-laden filmmaking. You can check out the scene (colorized) after the jump.
Free Flick of the Day: Pieces of April
Filed under: Home Entertainment
In this current world where Katie Holmes is wife to Tom Cruise and mother of Suri, it's easy to forget she used to have a pretty solid indie career intermingled with her days on the popular Creek -- Libbets Casey in The Ice Storm, Claire in Go, Hannah in Wonder Boys, Jessica in The Gift, Nurse Mills in The Singing Detective, April Burns in Pieces of April, and Heather Holloway in Thank You For Smoking. But there is one starring role in there that's quite applicable this week: Pieces of April. *Her last big role of worth (she played only a supporting character in Smoking and she was bad enough to be axed from Gotham law after Batman Begins), Pieces of April finds Holmes the black sheep of a dysfunctional family. Living a life on her own in New York with her boyfriend Bobby, April decides to tackle the daunting halls of turkey roasting and have her family over for a Thanksgiving feast. Unfortunately, her oven fails and throws her into ultimate turkey turmoil as she struggles not to be seen as a failure (again) by her family. The film earned Patricia Clarkson an Oscar nomination for her role as Holmes' cancer-plagued mom, and is a pretty decent indie as a whole.
So, as you gear up for your own turkey feast:
Head over to SlashControl and watch Pieces of April for free!
*And one supporting gig that's prime for the more cynically holiday-minded -- The Ice Storm.
Check Out Concept Art From Marvel's Futuristic Theme Park
Chris Weitz to Direct Two-Part 'Breaking Dawn' Finale?
Girls on Film: The Academy's Shallow Actress Pool_thumbnail.jpg)
Alec Baldwin Becomes Latest to Threaten Retirement
The First 'Iron Man 2' Poster Appears!
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