MSN Movies UK - Blog
Greenberg review
by Andy Gibbons
What is it?
Writer / director Noah Baumbach’s (The Squid And The Whale, Margot At The Wedding) latest examination of the human condition, only this time he swaps coasts from his native New York and relocates the to ‘action’ to LA.
Ben Stiller stars as Roger Greenberg, a man whose recent 40th birthday coincided with a bit of a breakdown. When his successful brother heads of to Vietnam for six weeks, Roger flies in from New York to look after the family home and recuperate. And there he meets Florence (Greta Gerwig), his brother’s personal assistant and an uncomfortable relationship starts to form between the two while Roger also begins to reconnect with the friends he left behind.
What’s good?
After films like The Royal Tenenbaums, there’s been no doubt in my mind that Ben Stiller can deliver a good performance when he wants to and Greenberg gives him a solid chance to escape the mainstream shtick that pays his mortgage and flex his acting muscles (think Jim Carrey in The Truman Show or Man In The Moon). And Greenberg certainly sees him in decent form. But surprisingly for me the best thing on screen comes from Rhys Ifans as Roger’s friend Ivan, whose own personal problems barely register on Roger’s selfish radar.
What’s bad?
To say that Greenberg lacks any discernible plot is a bit of an understatement as Roger and Florence simply flit from one navel-gazing episode of self-angst and quirky dialogue to another without any real sense of connection. Roger himself is a pretty petty and unlikable character – sure, he’s recovering from various issues but his mood swings make him really hard to warm to. And a quick note to Baumbach; having your main character write spurious letters of complaint to various companies doesn’t make him interesting – it makes him annoying.
So basically…..
While I’ve never exactly been a fan of Baumbach’s previous films, I’ve always found something to like in them. But while I didn’t hate Greenberg I found it very hard to get a grip on – it’s too aimless and meandering and never really goes anywhere. I don’t want to use words like pretentious or self-satisfied but for me Greenberg is the cinematic equivalent of sitting in a coffee shop with a soy latte while reading The Complete Works of Chekov and stroking your goatee.
Greenberg is in cinemas now
New Eclipse details confirmed
Just a quickie this morning ‘cos I’ve got some news for you Twihards – Eclipse, the third part of the Twilight Saga, has been through the UK censors (that’s the British Board Of Film Classification). The movie, which is due to open here on July 9th, has been given a 12A certificate – that’s the same as the original Twilight and New Moon – and boasts a running time of 123m 47s (there’s nothing like being precise). But the BBFC are warning that the film ‘contains moderate fantasy violence’.
And in related news, Summit Entertainment have confirmed the rumour that the final Twilight book, Breaking Dawn, will be adapted as two separate films. Oscar winner filmmaker Bill Condon (Gods And Monsters, Dreamgirls) will direct both parts, the first of which is due late next year.
Killers premiere report
by Andy Gibbons
“Good evening Ladies and Gentlemen. Due to unforeseen circumstances we’re going to be running about twenty minutes late”. When you’re sitting in a cinema waiting for the movie to start, that’s not what you want to hear. But I guess when you’re waiting for Katherine Heigl to arrive at her own premiere then you can’t do anything but sit back and accept that normal time doesn’t apply to Hollywood types.
Last night I went along to the European prem of Heigl and Ashton Kutcher’s new action / romcom Killers (I’ll review it in full next week) and for those of you who think that premieres are nothing but glamour, then think again ‘cos there’s a huge amount of waiting around. The ticket requested the audience be decked out in ‘killer style’, seated and ready to go by 6.45pm but when I walked along the red carpet at just after 6.30pm there wasn’t hide nor hair of Heigl and considering she still had to talk to the various press outlets patiently awaiting her arrival, things weren’t looking good.
I’m not sure what time she did rock up but we got the ‘running late’ message just before 7pm which meant the staff at the Odeon West End in Leicester Square had more time to sell beer and popcorn to those who’d deemed to get there on time. Finally, at about 7.20pm an unusually brunette Katherine and the film’s director Robert Luketic were ushered into the cinema where they introduced the movie. Luketic was up first to talk about how Killers is a bit different from his usual fare, saying “I guess with a guy who has Legally Blonde on his resume, giving you a whole bunch of money to blow things up is not something they (the studio behind the film) do very often.” He then gave way to his leading lady, who he described as “a wonderful woman who I consider a friend, she’s a neighbour and one of the most talented actresses I’ve ever worked with”.
Heigl shuffled on stage (she was having a few problems walking in a very tight LBD and very expensive looking shoes) and a bunch of camera flashes immediately lit up the auditorium. She thanked her patient audience, saying “This is just so exciting to be here. Coming to London and showing our movie is such a rewarding experience and so thrilling ‘cos everyone is so warm and accepting and excited and enthusiastic. It just makes me feel so fabulous so thank you for being here and thank you for the warm welcome.”
I guess the lesson to be learned here is if you get a free ticket to a movie premiere, be patient ‘cos if you haven’t paid, you don’t have the right to whinge.
Frost and frights….
by Andy Gibbons
So a couple of news stories have caught my eye this morning. Ok, the first is more of a rumour than a bona fide news story but the folks at Forces Of Geek are claiming that Rosamund Pike may well be playing mutant telepath Emma Frost in the increasingly Brit-centric X-Men: First Class. Apparently the former Bond Girl has been seen in the offices of director Matthew Vaughn’s casting director and carrying comic books featuring the character.
I’ve got to say that this all seems very plausible. In the comic books Frost is a good looking blonde (she was named IGN Comic’s "Hottest Comic Book Babe" in 2005) so Pike more than fits the bill and given that First Class looks to be going more-a-less entirely British (James McAvoy is already on board as a young Professor X) with filming due to start in the UK towards the end of the summer, she won’t have to travel far to set – expect official conformation soon!
And in more official news, it’s been announced that Avatar’s second unit director Steven Quale is to take charge of Final Destination 5. Is it just me or is it a bit hard to care? Ok, the original movie was great but as far as I’m concerned, this is one franchise that’s pretty much past it’s sell-by date now. The second and third films were nothing special while last year’s The Final Destination tried to breathe new life into the series by going all 3D so what on earth can a fifth film have to offer that we haven’t seen before? Well you won’t be surprised to hear that Final Destination 5 will also be in 3D and apparently the big set up will involve various people cheating death on a suspension bridge. *yawn*
A day trip to Pixar
by Andy Gibbons
Sometimes I love my job. It is without doubt, the greatest job in the world. And today is one of those days as I’ve just spent the best part of the last 24 hours holed up at Pixar in Emeryville, CA to watch and talk about Toy Story 3. I’m going to give you a full run down of events nearer the film’s UK release (for the record it’s July 21st) but here’s a quick taster of what went on.
I arrived at the studio Friday night for a special screening of the movie ahead of a bunch of interviews which were scheduled in for Saturday morning and the second I walked into the huge atrium, I was in geek heaven. To my left were huge figures of Mike and Sully of Monsters Inc., to my right were Luigi and Guido from Cars and dead ahead was a huge, full size replica of Ken’s Dream House from Toy Story 3 – complete with stitch perfect recreations of Ken’s many outfits from the film.
After a bit of a snooping around it was time to head into the cinema for the screening which was introduced by director Lee Unkrich and producer Darla K. Anderson. As usual, before the main movie, we were treated to the latest Pixar short – the wildly creative Day & Night which is frankly rather hard to describe, when you see it you’ll understand why – but then it was on to the main event. However we got two minutes in and suddenly the movie stops, the house lights come up and Darla pops back out to tell us there’s a problem with the sound and they need ten minutes to fix it. Ooops. Anyway the film is back up and running soon enough – I wish I could tell you more about the movie itself but the nice people from Disney would do unsavoury things to me if I did so you’ll just have to wait for my full review.
(Yes, they are made of Lego)
Then it’s on the bus to the hotel for a couple of hours sleep before heading back out to the studio for a guided tour around the building, a quick tutorial on the main technical differences between TS2 and TS3 from Unkrich himself and a whole host of interviews with the likes of the director, Michael Keaton (Ken), John Ratzenberger (Hamm), Estelle Harris (Mrs. Potato Head), Joan Cusack (Jessie) and a bunch of the technical geniuses who made the film happen – all of which I’ll post in greater detail at a later date.
Oi, Keaton – look at me when you’re having your picture taken
Ok, so it may sound a bit whistle-stop but for a Pixar geek like myself it was a real treat and I REALLY wish I could tell you more about the movie. But keep checking back as the blog is going to be rather TS3 heavy in the coming weeks.
A little Hollywood experience…
by Andy Gibbons
So being in LA (I’ll tell you more about why in the next few days) I figured it would be perfect to do a bit of star spotting and what’s easier than hanging round while someone gets a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame. And it just so happened that while I was in town multi-award winning singer / songwriter Randy Newman (his credits were read out before the ceremony and to call them extensive would be an understatement – Google him and you’ll see what I mean) was being honoured with a spot on Hollywood Boulevard. And seeing as all recipients are asked to bring along a couple of ‘celebrity friends’, it was odds-on there’d be some top talent on hand. And we weren’t disappointed as Woody and Buzz Lightyear came out to support Newman, who has written songs for two of the three Toy Story movies.
Fortunately Pixar / Walt Disney bigwig John Lasseter and former Python Eric Idle also showed up to praise Newman. Lasseter was first, describing his friend as a “great composer, a great songwriter, a great conductor of orchestras and a ‘good’ singer” while Idle suggested that Newman “looks like a dentist, writes like Voltaire and sings like a frog on heroin”. Of course it was all very good natured and Randy stood there and took and their good natured jibes and insults in the manner in which they were meant.
Then it was Newman’s turn to take centre stage, thanking his wife and his family for their support over the years. But he then urged the citizens of LA to do “whatever the hell you want” seeing as June 2nd 2010 had officially been designated ‘Randy Newman Day’.
Finally it came to the big moment as Randy unveiled his star, accompanied by his friends and various members of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce (who run the Walk Of Fame).
So if you’re coming to LA and want a sure fire way to see celebs in action, get along to one of these ceremonies. They’re free to attend, don’t drag on too much and you can usually grab the honouree and his guests for a chat and an autograph after the ceremony – depending on the crowds obviously – just as I did with John Lasseter (I’m a HUGE Pixar geek!!!!). To find out who is being honoured with a star while you’re in town, you can click here for a schedule.
The Killer Inside Me review
by Andy Gibbons
What is it?
Director Michael Winterbottom’s big screen take on pulp writer Jim Thompson’s classic novel about a small town Sheriff with a deep, dark secret.
Lou Ford (Casey Affleck) is a lawman in the West Texas town of Central City where a personal vendetta starts to leave a body count and however crafty Lou may think he is, those around him are starting to sense that all may not be right with the unassuming Sheriff.
What’s good?
Affleck gives a career best performance as the chilling psycho with a penchant for opera and revenge while Jessica Alba and Kate Hudson more than hold up their ends as the two women in his life – Alba especially catches the eye as a hooker who you sense Lou has real feelings for but her ability to play a key part in his master plan eventually outweighs her allure. Production designers Rob Simons and Mark Tildesley have created a setting full of ‘50s Texas charm while you can almost feel the dry summer heat catching in your throat as the net inevitably closes in on Lou.
What’s bad?
This is one of those films which is going to split audiences right down the middle and it’s all down to one issue – the vicious attacks Affleck’s character launches on Alba and Hudson. There’s no doubt that they are incredibly shocking and hard to watch (I thought one woman was going to walk out of the screening I was in) and had I not known they were coming, they would probably of affected me even more than they did. But in context they do perfectly illustrate the brutally sociopathic side of Lou’s nature.
So basically…..
If you can stomach the scenes everyone will be talking about, there’s a lot to like about The Killer Inside Me and its pulp roots. And it further proves that as a filmmaker Winterbottom is still looking for challenges – you certainly can’t accuse him of ever making the same movie twice.
3/5
The Killer Inside Me is released on June 4th 2010.
Rings prequel loses its shine
by Andy Gibbons
Nooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!! Gutted on hearing the news that Guillermo Del Toro has had to pull out of directing The Hobbit. The Mexican moviemaker has had to walk away from filming the two-part prequel to The Lord Of The Rings saga after to the financial meltdown over at MGM (who co-own the rights to The Hobbit movies with New Line) caused the project to get caught up in all kinds of delays. Apparently a frustrated Del Toro spoke to LOTR guru Peter Jackson over the weekend and told him that he was bowing out.
On the bright side (if you can see one), Jackson has confirmed to TheOneRing.net that Del Toro is still collaborating on the screenplay and that some of Guillermo’s imagination will still be seen on screen when the films finally arrive. “Guillermo is one of the most remarkable creative spirits I’ve ever encountered and it has been a complete joy working with him. Guillermo’s strong vision is engrained into the scripts and designs of these two films, which are extremely fortunate to be blessed with his creative DNA,” Jackson told the fan site.
This news officially sucks and if you read Jackson’s full statement it really seems to me like they’re trying to put a brave face on things ‘cos Del Toro is one of the most creative minds at work today and anyone who’s seen Pan’s Labyrinth will know that his style would have suited Middle Earth perfectly.
So the big question now is who is going to take over? Well whoever it is is going to have to spend a considerable amount of time in New Zealand and show an extraordinary commitment to the project. Jackson has already ruled himself out so I guess the speculation will run wild but it looks like we should get an answer sooner rather than later as Jackson and co. are due to sit down with the studio suits later this week to try and fill the significant gap left by Del Toro’s departure.
50 Cent loses 50 pounds
The shock-horror photo on the internet this week has been this. Yes that is formerly muscular rapper 50 cent. He dropped over 3 stone for his part as a cancer-stricken football player in Things Fall Apart, due out next year.
“Fitty” 34, removed his tattoos for his upcoming flick as well as losing the weight. Anyone who’s questioned his commitment to acting, enjoy your serving of humble pie.
McAvoy proves a First Class choice
by Andy Gibbons
There’s good and bad news for James McAvoy this morning. On the down side, he’s due a trip to the barber’s for a major buzz cut. But on a more positive note, he’s only gone and landed the role of the young Professor Charles Xavier in new X-Men spin-off First Class.
This won’t be the first time McAvoy has starred in a comic book movie (he headed up Timur Bekmambetov’s rather over-rated Wanted and is due to return for a sequel) so he’s got form and I’ve got to say that I think he’s a pretty good choice to follow – or precede, this is a prequel after all – Patrick Stewart as the telepath with a heart of gold. But seeing as this outing will apparently examine the early relationship between Xavier and Eric ‘Magento’ Lensherr, the big question is who will star opposite him as the metal manipulating mutant? I know it’s total pie in the sky but I’d quite like to see Jude Law give it a go…
X-Men: First Class is being directed by Matthew Vaughn (who recently impressed with the fantastic Kick-Ass) while original X-Men director Bryan Singer is back on board the franchise as a producer which gives things good dose of credibility for me compared to the thoroughly slap-dash Wolverine. Expect X-Men: First Class to arrive in about a year from now.
