The teaser for Where the Wild Things are just came up online. I think its look fantastic. Honestly, someone like Spike Jonze is the only person I can think of for this kind of project.
via Trailer Addict
Even outside the inescapable storm of publicity and ultimate release of Watchmen, film freaks across the country collectively nerd-gasm’d this week with the release of new trailers for three huge franchise films: Star Trek, Terminator: Salvation, and X-Men Origins: Wolverine.
Ok, despite what many who know me might think, I’m really not that much of a geek. Well, ok… let me back track by just saying this. I’ve never liked Star Trek (or even Star Wars really, also a major barometer for geek-dom, but I’ll discuss that another time). I’ve never really watched Star Trek on television. I happen to have seen the movies because, well, they are movies, and as a film freak I’ll watch anything for free. For the record I like most of the even number films in the Star Trek franchise. Anyway, this latest trailer for the franchise reboot has really peeked my interested. The shots moving through space in the action sequences really have a good sense of vertigo going on. Also, the music really makes a good difference. Despite that this trailer features a lot of the same footage from the last one, the music here really gives it the dramatic weight it needs. Suddenly I feel like its not just targeting an audience half my age.
Next up: Terminator. Love the new trailer. Love the use of the Nine Inch Nails song. Finally we get a good sense of the plot. Granted we’ve all seen a good deal of the machines-that-think-they’re-human brand of existentialism in science fiction before (from Blade Runner to Battlestar), but also remember that I am legally required to see anything starring Christian Bale. So I don’t really have a choice. Also those new motorcycle looking machines are pretty bad-ass sliding underneath the wreckage of a flying truck. Seriously.
Last: Wolverine. I guess we’re three for three today. I’m pretty damn excited about this one too. To be honest I really liked the last trailer better. Just felt more clearly structured and the shots were beautifully composed. But hey, you can make anything look good in slow-motion, no matter how week the script (see anything by Zack Synder). But generally I’m enthused about Gavin Hood at the helm of the project and overall the cast is fantastic. And screw many of you I know reading this, that also includes Taylor Kitsch as Gambit. Number 33 forever!
So almost every day I hear that Hollywood has green lit a yet another remake, reboot, re-up, re-whatever. Take a look at the release of My Bloody Valentine, Friday the 13th, Halloween, the forthcoming Last House on the Left, The Ocean’s 11 films, King Kong, Psycho, Planet of the Apes, the list goes on. Though admittedly somewhat different beasts, you could extend the list to include the recent Batman and Bond films too. Inevitably I’ll hear someone bemoan, “Oh they’re not really going to remake insert-movie-here! I watched that film 87 times when I was a kid! You can’t make the original better. Man, Hollywood is just running out or new ideas.”
I get so tired of people complaining about this and claiming Hollywood’s well of creativity has run dry. I know what you’re thinking… “Well what if Michael Bay desecrated your favorite childhood treasure?” (sorry horror fans, Mr. “fast cars are my only vice” has got the rights to everything you’ve ever loved). It’s true everyone has “their” film; that sacred cow that no one should ever be allowed to touch. I guess I don’t feel much is sacred. I take it all with some amount of ironic detachment (”Ha, really? They’re remaking Friday the 13th and Marcus Nispel is directing again? Well at least there’s a bar next to the theater”). But even I have my limits. I’ll admit a little piece of died when I heard about the Nightmare on Elm Street update in the works (scroll to the bottom). Maybe I’m just a cynic, but I we should all suck it up. Here’s why:
At the end of the day, my dear disgruntled friends, I’ll have to remind you that it is business, not an art. If art happens along the way its always a bonus or a byproduct. Remakes have built in brand recognition. It’s no coincidence half of the remade films are also genre films and franchises. There’s a lot less financial risk in putting out a known product. So, hunker down film freaks. In this economy we can expect to see a lot more of your favorite films, now with nameless hot teens and a better cinematographer. But hey, at least Hitchcock is still untouchable, right? Cause adding some cheesy gimmick to his work would just be sacrilegious.
Despite many thinking the last Bond film “Quantum of Solace” was too much Bourne, not enough Bond, I (still) really liked Marc Forster. He was someone with a really varied resume and I knew, love it or hate it, he’d come up with something we hadn’t really seen before.
Well, fresh of his multi-award winning “Slumdog Millionaire,” rumors abound that director Danny Boyle has been offered to helm the next installment of the Bond franchise. Personally I love the idea. Much like Forster, Boyle is someone who can work just as well in just about any genre. Since the franchise was rebooted in 2006 with Daniel Craig (now featuring grittier action and themes and a lot more abs), I’ve been a believer.
The Sun via Dark Horizons
So with all this excitement brewing over the imminent release of “Watchmen” and the new trailer for “Terminator: Salvation” I didn’t want another eagerly anticipated film (well for me at least) lose out on any promotion. Though other flick addicts here may disagree, I think Michael Mann is this shiz. So if you like the idea of Johnny Depp, Christian Bale, and Marion Cotillard in a Michael Mann film check out the trailer here.
Everyone’s favorite faux metal band, Spinal Tap, will kick off their reunion tour (really, what band doesn’t need a reunion tour these days?) in Vancouver on April 17th. The tour, titled “Unwigged and Unplugged” will rock 30 cities across the country in honor of the film’s 25th anniversary. Unfortunately as the tour title suggests, the guys will not be donning the full wigs, leather, and pyrotechnics this time around. But, rumor has it they’ll also be performing folk songs featured in “A Mighty Wind” to balance out the night. Additionally Spinal Tap has also got some new studio material coming later this year.
via Variety
Last Friday saw a nice smooth return to form for Battlestar Galactica’s last run of episodes. After the nail biting two part roller-coaster that was “The Oath” and “Blood on The Scales” BSG took a bit of a turn in the two episodes that followed.
First up was “No Exit.” An informative, but talky episode. Don’t get me wrong I appreciated all of the backstory and reveals about The Final Five, and definitely have respect for the amount of information jam packed into the episode, but it really bogged it down the movement of the season. I also give the writers mad props for jamming so much information into a single episode (presumably to make way for some fast moving drama and action in later eps). But really, I have to wonder if it was really necessary. Could it have been spread over at least two episodes? It’s just so unsatisfying when both your A plot and B plot are two people throwing out mad amounts of exposition.
Next came “Deadlock,” which, despite my BSG evangelism, may be even more of a waste of time. Ellen Tigh returns to her old manipulative ways when she finds Tigh and Caprica Six are having a child. Even more overtly operatic, Six’s baby dies, making me wonder why it was ever introduced in the first place (I still am not quite sure I buy Tigh and Six’s relationship fully anyway). And, to top it off, the B plot goes nowhere. It’s basically Adam walking around grimacing at the crew putting Cylon putty in the ships walls. The ep doesn’t take the season anywhere and it seems silly since there are clearly a finite number of minutes left for the series!
Luckily, the most recent installment “Someone to Watch Over Me,” really turns things around. At first it seemed like we were getting more of the same: Tyrol and Boomer rekindling their romance, Starbuck hitting the bottle because she doesn’t know her place in the new world. Basically, the show’s prioritizing character over plot. Normally this is great. But after 4 seasons of character development and with only 3 episodes left I’d love the feeling we are pushing towards a climax (with Cavil?). Without giving too much away for those who haven’t seen it yet, let’s just say the two threads from “Someone to Watch Over Me” really bring it in the last 10 minutes by piling one revelation and dramatic action on top of another (and the show’s uber-bitch has officially been anointed).
For further reading on the latest ep (as well as others) check out Nar Williams’ excellent review.
If you haven’t yet and live in the Los Angeles area I highly recommend checking out PaleyFest. It’s put on each year by The Paley Center for Media (formerly Museum of Television and Radio). The Fest is a series of events and panels spanning three weeks all featuring your favorite television shows, starts, and writers.
I managed to get a last minute ticket to the Buffy Reunion last year and it was fantastic. This year features a host of great panels, from “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” to “Tru Blood” to “Dollhouse” (full list linked below).
Tickets are on sale for members today (membership is absolutely worth it) and the general public March 1st. Yours truly will be attending several panels.
PaleyFest09 | The Paley Center for Media
In a brief red carpet interview before Sunday’s Oscar ceremony Ron Howard commented that he’d been in touch with Mitch Hurwitz, the show’s creator about the script. I was surprised to hear about Michael Cera being uninterested in the project, going so far as to say:
“I don’t think I would want to see a movie of the series if I was a fan, anyway. And I don’t really see a need for it if you can get the three seasons on DVD”
and that he might even
“put the script in a shredder.”
WTF Cera?
via The Huffington Post “Arrested Development” Movie “Going Ahead” (VIDEO)
As a huge fan of Joss Whedon I’ve been anticipating “Dollhouse” for months now. Now that we are a few episodes in I am still excited to see where the show is going but not without some reservation. The show opened to mixed reviews which included some strong criticism about the show feeling empty or potentially offensive. Both of these sentiments come directly from the show’s premise: Echo, and any other active in the dollhouse, can be hired by those with money to fulfill their every wish and desire.
I too can echo (no pun intended) Mary McNamara’s feeling that Dushku’s Echo is “a non-person, which makes it a little hard to get attached.” There’s little we have to carry us over from one episode to the next emotionally. Even episodic shows and sitcoms carried something over show to show, just by virtue of the fact we were spending more time with the same person. In Dollhouse, its a little like watching a new pilot episode every time. And even though we see Echo remembering bits of her experiences after she’s been erased, it still doesn’t give us insight into who she really is.
Onto the other complaint, that the show smacks of misogyny. While given the premise, I think this is a valid concern. But I’m willing to give Whedon the benefit of the doubt here… and not because of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and its nearly universal adoption as a feminist text by both academics and fans, nor because of Whedon’s connection with women’s rights organization Equality Now. Between the overarching melodrama of Buffy and Firefly to Dr. Horrible’s webisodes to Runaways, The Astonishing X-Men, and Buffy Season 8 one thing remains pervasive: Whedon’s love for serial storytelling. This style of drama is what I hope will ultimately push “Dollhouse” towards something more complex and potentially empowering and should also address the help us to identify with Echo more strongly as I described above.
With Echo taking on a completely new persona and plot, the show is a one-off procedural week-to-week, but since she appears to retaining experiences and moments that should have been wiped, its also a serial melodrama unfolding over a season (or, hopefully, several). For example, what will it mean for Echo to become self aware over the course of the season? Will she remember who she was before she became an operative? Might she eventually gain back the humanity The Dollhouse has stripped of her and decide to revolt against the very institution that has oppressed her? So, while the self-contained one-offs could, on the surface, look like they are just playing out male fantasies of shaping and controlling women, Echo’s long-term character arc could push the show into a more empowering and complicated place.
I realize too this may take some patience on both the part of the network and the viewers. There is danger in a show becoming too heavily serialized too quickly and external forces like the network and production will influence over when this shift will take place. Heavily serialized television rarely makes it beyond a niche audience because viewers can’t just jump in at anytime as they can with more episodic shows like CSI. Despite their loyal and vocal following serialized shows like “Buffy” or “Battlestar Galactica” live forever just outside the world of mass appeal or simply just get canceled altogether (R.I.P. “Firefly” and “Arrested Development”). It’s in the networks’ interest to push for one-off episodes (much to the chagrin of fans) as frequently as possible so they can garner maximum viewership without making the audience feel lost if they haven’t seen the show before or can’t follow regularly. So, Dollhouse may be slightly shallow and empty feeling for a while, but I do think in time it will payoff.
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