I don’t want to be bailed out of anything. January 12, 2010
Posted by Paula in Cinematics.Tags: Emilie de Ravin, New Moon, Pierce Brosnan, Robert Pattinson, Stephanie Meyer, Twilight
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It seems Robert Pattinson has been advised to take action lest he be forever typecast as an other-wordly being. Remember Me, released here this April, stars Pattinson as, wait for it…a human. No Quidditch, no fangs, and sadly no shimmering upon exposure to sunlight. Pattinson is a little less superhuman and a little bit rougher around the edges this time around.
Remember Me is a love story with a handy little bad-guy-gone-good plotline thrown in too. Pattinson plays Tyler, a defiant young man who thinks nothing of getting into scraps and being bailed out of jail by his father (Pierce Brosnan). That is, of course, until he finds his soulmate (Lost‘s Emilie de Ravin).
The film seems to be directed more to those members of the Twilight/New Moon audience who are not pre-teens, given that it contains a bit of excess raunch and debauchery. Whether it will fare well at the box office without the suport of the younger Twi-hards remains to be seen.
An ugly coincidence December 24, 2009
Posted by Patrick in Cinematics.Tags: brittany murphy, deadline, redbox
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As everyone knows, actress Brittany Murphy died tragically last week after she went into cardiac arrest. She was found in the shower by her mother.
By dire chance, the movie Deadline is currently on DVD release in the US and its poster (partially pictured above) depicts Murphy seemingly dead in a bath tub.
The company RedBox, who distribute the film through their 19,000 rental machines throughout the US, are now working to remove the posters from every one of their units and change the DVD cover.
The company said it started removing the artwork following the actress’s death on Sunday, but it will take 7 to 10 days to get rid of it all.
“To my knowledge, it was art that we had scheduled at all of our locations,” said Laura Dihel, a spokeswoman for Redbox.
Brittany’s funeral will be held today, on Christmas Eve, which was, apparently her favourite time of year. R.I.P.
Portman and Pride and Prejudice and Zombies December 19, 2009
Posted by Patrick in Cinematics.Tags: Jane Austen, Natalie Portman, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Seth Grahame-Smith
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Last week, Natalie Portman signed on to produce and star in the movie adaptation of the Seth Grahame-Smith/Jane Austen novel Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. And I am extremely excited at the prospect.
If you haven’t heard of the book (which is unlikely, as it’s topped the bestseller lists of 2009), it’s basically Austen’s classic novel Pride and Prejudice with the added subplot of a zombie plague sweeping England. The novel’s heroine Elizabeth Bennet is, in this version, transformed into a trained zombie fighter. Jane Austen may be turning in her grave, but her novels are now in the public domain, which is how Quirk Books, who commissioned the series, are getting away with it.
The selection of Portman is quite encouraging – she’s proved she can do period dramas in The Other Boleyn Girl, and she’s not afraid to laugh at herself, as shown by her gangsta rap on Saturday Night Live.
I really must get around to reading Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. I bought it months ago and it has been sitting on a shelf in my room gathering dust. Bad form.
It’s all very Up in the Air December 19, 2009
Posted by Patrick in Cinematics.Tags: Anna Kendrick, George Clooney, Golden Globes, Jason Reitman, New Moon, Twilight, Up in the Air
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I was lucky enough to go along to Paramount’s press screening of Up in the Air on Thursday, which has been getting a lot of buzz this week following its six Golden Globe nominations.
Generally a George Clooney movie is a safe bet (unless it’s Leatherheads), and after hearing good things my expectations were high. Due to some miscommunication, Cineworld started the film 20 minutes ahead of schedule, so I’ll have to wait til next month to see the opening, but what I did see of the film was amazingly good.
Based on the book by Walter George Clooney plays Ryan Bingham, a corporate downsizer whose job essentially involves jetting around the United States to tell people they’ve been fired and make them think it’s a good thing. When Natalie Keener (played by the wonderful Anna Kendrick), a naive but idealistic young associate who pioneers the firm’s new system of downsizing – firing people over a webcam chat – comes on board, Ryan shows her how to fire people and tries to prove that the face-to-face approach works best.
George Clooney is predictably good in the film, but the role isn’t really out of his comfort zone at all – a just about-middle aged charmer who can’t be tied down by marriage and the like. Anna Kendrick is the real revelation of this film however, and deserves every bit of her Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actress. Previously seen as Jessica in Twilight and its sequel New Moon (and given a grand total of about 5 minutes screen time combined), she finally has a chance to shine here as the hilarious and clueless but loveable Natalie.
Vera Farmiga (who has also received a Golden Globe nom for Best Supporting Actress) is excellent as Alex Goran, Bingham’s regular ‘booty call’ who lives a similar jetset lifestyle. As she says, she’s like Ryan, “but with a vagina.”
The film is a good companion piece to this year’s also-excellent Away We Go, asking questions about what makes a home and what makes a good relationship. The changing landscape of different parts of the United States keeps things visually dynamic for the duration.
Jason Reitman directs and co-writes the film, best known for his previous work on Juno and Thank You for Smoking. It should also bring his reputation back from the knock it got after he produced this year’s Jennifer’s Body, which was slammed by critics but loved by me.
There’s an unexpected twist at the end of the film which caught me by surprise, although I won’t spoil it here. The ending is quite a fitting one, although there’s a lot of loose ends left untied, and a lot of things left (pardon the pun) Up in the Air. Now, just to see those pesky opening 20 minutes…
Up in the Air comes to Irish cinemas on 15th January 2010
The Aw Factor December 11, 2009
Posted by Patrick in Cinematics.Tags: Babies, thomas balmes, trailer
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If you, like so many others, found yourself tearing up during March of the Penguins then expect to do the same when you see Babies.
The film, set to be released next year and directed by Thomas Balmes, follows the first year in the lives of four infants growing up in Mongolia, Namibia, San Francisco and Tokyo.
The trailer unleashes ridiculous amounts of cuteness on us, from the babies banging their rocks and getting into a fight over a bottle, to the Tokyo baby’s bath being invaded by a goat.
And it scores bonus points for using The Perpetual Self, Or ‘What Would Saul Alinsky Do?’ by Sufjan Stevens as its soundtrack.
Check out the trailer below.
ZOMG December 3, 2009
Posted by Patrick in Cinematics, Misc.Tags: absolut vodka, cocktail, cosmo, kate beckinsale, zooey deschanel
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Wow. Hard to believe, but yes, that futuristic Barbie girl above is indie darling Zooey Deschanel, as photographed for the latest Absolut Vodka campaign.
Each photo, taken by fashion photographer Ellen Von Unwerth, is themed around a different vodka cocktail. Zooey’s, for example, is based on the Cosmopolitan cocktail:
In the ABSOLUT Cosmo ad, Deschanel adds a science-fiction flair to the traditional ABSOLUT® CITRON cocktail in a retro-hip yet modern lounge as she plays the role of a “cosmo”-naut.
Three other photos from the campaign feature Kate Beckinsale, focusing on cocktails Bloody Mary, Tonic Twist and Crush.
Personally I’d have liked to see Zooey in all four, but there ya go.
Click here to see the full version of Zooey’s ad as well as the other three.
[via The Huffington Post]
Lame Year November 17, 2009
Posted by Patrick in Cinematics.Tags: amy adams, Cardiff, Dublin, leap year, Matthew Goode
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Let me preface this post by assuring you that I am a big Amy Adams fan and I do not have my doubts about this film just because I didn’t get a callback to be an extra in the film. It has nothing to do with that whatsoever.
Leap Year is a romantic comedy starring, as you may have guessed, Amy Adams, as a woman who “has an elaborate scheme to propose to her boyfriend on Leap Day, an Irish tradition which occurs every time the date February 29 rolls around, faces a major setback when bad weather threatens to derail her planned trip to Dublin. With the help of an innkeeper, however, her cross-country odyssey just might result in her getting engaged.”
That’s fine, it all sounds like a very pedestrian rom com that just might be watchable and half-decent due to the presence of Oscar-nominated Amy Adams. But then you watch the trailer and em…she’s actually hitching a lift from Cardiff, Wales to Dublin, Ireland. Considering that this is actually an American-Irish co-production I really hope that there’s a ferry journey included in there somewhere.
The rest of the film looks fairly unfunny, with the usual slew of Irish stereotypical characters and awful accents (although Matthew Goode manages to do marginally better than Gerard Butler did in P.S. I Love You). Any Ireland-set scene in the trailer looks like a carbon copy of something from P.S. I Love You (which wasn’t great in the first place), or the Irish scenes from Marley & Me.
I’m disappointed that Adams signed on to something that really doesn’t seem to have much going for it. Hardly a great follow up to Doubt, or even Sunshine Cleaning. Although, I’ve never not liked an Amy Adams film, so who knows.
Maybe if my expectations are this low I might actually enjoy it. After all, I liked Bride Wars…
Leap Year is released, at least in the US, on January 8th. Maybe for the Irish release they’ll do it around the end of February. Because that would make sense.
Mariah in Barefaced Shocker November 16, 2009
Posted by Paula in Cinematics, Muzak, Trashion.Tags: mariah carey, precious, push novel
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Following in the footsteps of Charlize Theron in Monster, Mariah Carey will reveal herself without make-up to filmgoers everywhere. A ticket to her new movie Precious is all you need to see Carey, hideously underlit, looking decidely worse for wear.
The film, released here in February, stars Carey as a counsellor who helps a sixteen-year old mother of two to get her life back on track. Precious is based on the 1996 novel by American author Sapphire. The film’s executive producers include Oprah Winfrey and Mary J Blige.
Carey says that with some persuasion, she was happy to go without make-up. “It was cool because a lot of people say they don’t recognize me in the film. They don’t know it’s me and, to me, that was a great gift that [director Lee Daniels] gave me to be able to really go that far away from who I am.”
Whether or not the chance to escape from her diva persona was the real motivation behind Carey’s decision to bare all remains to be seen. In an interview in this week’s Sunday Times magazine, Carey discusses her new marketing and promotion model, with which she aims to sell herself to fans all over again. Her plans include strategic leaking of information over the Internet, product endorsement deals, and a number of Mariah’d product lines. Perhaps the bold choice to leave mascara and blusher at home is just all part of the plan.
An Education November 10, 2009
Posted by Paula in Cinematics.Tags: An Education, Carey Mulligan, Lone Scherfig, Lynn Barber, Peter Saarsgard
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Terming this as a “coming-of-age” film makes me think of The Karate Kid, but the term definitely suits An Education. Based on the memoir of English journalist Lynn Barber, An Education is an example of the immense personal growth that occurs as we enter adulthood.
16-year old Jenny (Carey Mulligan) wants nothing more than to be mysterious, to speak in a sultry French accent, and to spend all day smoking cigarettes. The problem is, she’s a schoolgirl living in a decidely unglamourous London suburb. It’s 1961, the Swinging Sixties have yet to start swinging, and Jenny has nothing to look forward to but Latin tests. Mulligan was 22 at the time of filming, but she slips comfortably into the role of a bright-eyed schoolgirl, playing it with charm and wit.
When Jenny meets the older David (Peter Saarsgard), she is convinced that he possesses every quality that is missing from her life. And for a while, we are convinced too. David is smooth-talking, professional, wealthy, and best of all, he can speak French. He succeeds in seducing not only Jenny, but her parents, who warm immediately to David’s flattery and his fast car.
A short time into the relationship, David’s sparkle begins to fade. After a few shouting matches and some signs that his wealth has been earned by suspicious means, David no longer seems charming and mysterious, but slightly unnerving. Jenny is clearly out of her depth, but is happy to go along with anything if it means she is that bit closer to living out her dream as a French sophisticate. Orlando Bloom was originally set to play the part of David, but got cold feet at the last minute. The more reserved Saarsgard seems a better fit for the role.
Though Barber’s memoir mentions that her parents practically “threw” her into bed with this older man, Nick Hornby’s screenplay interprets the situation a little differently. The affair, though engineered by David, is aided greatly by the naievté of Jenny’s parents, who believe everything they are told by their daughter and her suitor. Hornby’s writing captures the early sixties as an age of innocence, but risks being a little hammy at times. Luckily the roles of Jenny’s mother and father are saved by the skill of Cara Seymour and Alfred Molina.
An Education is directed by Danish director Lone Scherfig, and it set off a huge bidding war between production companies when it premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. On seeing the movie, it’s easy to see why Sony Pictures were so eager to pay an advance of millions to purchase the distribution rights. It’s a beautifully shot, beautifully acted film, and captures perfectly the youthful belief that one is always right.
An Education is currently showing in the Irish Film Institute, Templebar
Sweet Cody High November 8, 2009
Posted by Patrick in Cinematics.Tags: diablo cody, eating disorders, jennifer's body, juno, random house, sweet valley high
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Back in September, it was announced that Diablo Cody, of Juno and Jennifer’s Body fame, will be adapting the Sweet Valley High book series into a film. The prospect is quite intriguing, considering the fact that the last time Sweet Valley High made it on to our screens was in the form of the 90s television series of the same name.
With Cody’s involvement I imagine something a little more self-mocking and snarky will be the end-product. However, judging by what Cody has written in her EW column about the project, it looks like she is desperate to stay true to the world of the books – not that I especially care since I’ve never read one, but I’m sure there are thousands of rabid fiercely protective fans out there.
A few months ago, I sat down with Sweet Valley High creator Francine Pascal. I wanted to write and produce a movie based on the books, but I could never do that without the involvement of the twins’ ”mom.” I’ve gotten somewhat proficient at keeping my s — – together during business meetings, but this time, my heart was pounding against my ribs. I wanted so badly for Francine to see how much I enjoyed her creation and how for me, Elizabeth and Jessica were guides to another universe, a place full of possibility and good hair. Luckily, she listened patiently to my excited babbling, and we found ourselves on the same page. All I have to say is: RADICAL. Wish me luck, people. Sweet Valley High is fantastic, fabulous, a little bit campy, and — dare I say it — cinematic.
I wonder whether Cody will include some of the changes that were instituted for the books’ re-releases last year, some of which are detailed below, extracted from a letter sent by the books’ publishers, Random House Children’s Books.
I guess size 6 isn’t perfect enough for today’s standards? I’m surprised they got away with this change, considering the amount of press devoted to eating disorders these days. And the ‘anonymous blog’ sounds like an unnecessary copycat of Gossip Girl. Oh well, whatever it takes to stay relevant.
Patrick and Paula
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