  |
In today’s episode Marina, Dale and Colleen talk about a classic, a few modern classics and some movies that will make you laugh out loud.
We encourage you to send us feedback on the show by leaving us a comment below!
Play the Show:
Download the Show directly here.
Subscribe to the Show:
| 
Show Notes:
It’s been a week of pulling out hair but we’re back! Apologies to our regular readers who were looking for their daily fix only to find us wiped from the face of the webosphere. Huge kudos to Dale, the guru of all things tech, for getting the site back up.
Now that we’re back I can share a big announcement that was actually to be posted last week but, due to the difficulties, sort of took place under the radar. Effective immediately, MAD About Movies is no more.
Yes, you read right. We’re closing our doors - much sooner than I ever would have anticipated when I started this en-devour a little over a year ago. That doesn’t mean that we’re done for good though. We’re joined forces with Andrew James (Movie Patron), Kurt Halfyard (Movie Patron Cinecast/Twitch), John Allison (Film Grotto) and Jonathan Burdick (Cinema Fusion) to create a new site called Row Three.
There you’ll get more of the same great news and trailer coverage along with more in depth discussion of films and the industry.
There are a few little odd bits that still need to go up here at MAM including our very last podcast (which has been replaced by the equally fantastic After the Credits which can also be found over at Row Three - along with 2 other podcasts for your listening pleasure). For the most part, this site will remain up for archival purposes but all activity will now be over at Row Three.
It’s amazing how the movie world almost comes to a grinding halt during the holidays. I’ve never noticed it much but I sure am noticing the slow news/posting day today. One of the few things that did see the light of day this morning was the new North American trailer for Dario Argento’s Mother of Tears.
It seems like this has been coming for months (I first posted the teaser months ago) but, for what ever reason, it’s still to see the light of day outside of festivals and a short run in Italy which started on October 31st.
The conclusion to the “Three Mothers” series which was started in 1977 with Suspiria, this particular film has Asia Argento playing Sarah, an art student who is the only person left to prevent the Mother of Tears, the third of a line of witches who have been spreading terror and death for centuries, from destroying Rome.
I’m not sure what to make of this. It still looks totally bizarre and rather crazy but I’m still interested in checking out what Argento is pumping out. Interesting to note the subtle differences between the American and International trailers. They’re subtle changes but the voice over by ‘the trailer guy’ immediately rubs me the wrong way.
We’ll keep you posted on any news about the release of the film. I have a nagging feeling it may simply appear on DVD.
Check out the American and International trailers after the jump!
Sidney Lumet has had one of those hit and miss careers with more of the latter over the last few years. To be fair, I thoroughly enjoyed Find Me Guilty which not only showed that Vin Diesel could be good at more than just the action hero but actually managed to be a funny and touching little film. Unfortunately, it was badly marketed and though the Rotten Tomatoes meter sits at 57%, the fan meter at IMDb, has it a little higher.
Thankfully for the critics his newest offering, the family drama/heist film Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead is more than a knockout – I’d argue that it’s sensational and apparently, almost everyone else agrees.
And now it looks like the money men are paying attention again. Variety is reporting that Lumet has signed a deal for two more films with an option for a third. I’m of the mind that this is great news, especially considering that I’ve liked his last two films.
So up next Lumet will be working on bringing to the screen a film he’s also writing called Getting Out; a prison breakout movie which is either so secretive or so new that there’s no information on casting. I’d venture to guess that with the success of Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead, we’re likely to see some heavy weights jump on board.
I’m not sure where to start with this. I wasn’t even going to post it but I have too much to say not to post it.
The new offering from director Andy Tennant re-teams Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey in a movie that’s a lame mix of How to Lose A Guy in 10 Days, Sahara and Into the Blue. What pisses me off even worse is that everyone involved with this project is so much better than this!
McConaughey hasn’t been good in a few years but early in his career he was in some great films including Dazed and Confused, A Time to Kill, Amistad and The Newton Boys. Hudson’s career hasn’t been quite as illustrious but she’s been good in Almost Famous and The Four Feathers. And director Andy Tennant has directed a couple of my girlie guilty pleasures, namely Ever After and Sweet Home Alabama. What I want to know is how a group that, collectively, have a decent track record, to make something that looks so down right bad?
I don’t know what’s worse: Hudson and McConaughey’s forced acting or Donald Sutherland’s bad tan.
I guess there’s a reason why Fool’s Gold is scheduled to open in the deadlands of February.
If you’re looking to shake your head in despair and wonder “Why?”, check out the trailer after the jump!
The Setup
In Vancouver for a screening of her romantic comedy Falling for Grace at the Vancouver Asian Film Festival, independent film maker Fay Ann Lee contacted Tinseltown, the local Cinemark theatre, about a Vancouver opening. They agreed. The Saturday showings included a Q&A with Ms. Lee.
The Interview
Ms. Lee graciously granted me an interview after the screening. She is charming with a wry sense of humour, characteristics that come through in her film, and great fun to talk to. (And please Law and Order franchise, forgive me for my faux pas in referring to you as LA Law)
Download audio directly here.
The Q & A
Mad About Movies is pleased to present audio from one of the Q & A sessions. The crackling you hear at the beginning is people opening individually wrapped fortune cookies that were handed out at the beginning of the Q&A! It quiets down after the first two minutes.
Download audio directly here.
The Film
And the film, itself? Historically I haven’t enjoyed the Cinderella sub-genre of romantic comedy. I didn’t like Pretty Woman or Maid in Manhattan. I did like Falling for Grace. I especially loved the family moments, which were both funny and genuine. There’s no question in my mind that if Falling for Grace had a name actor in the lead, it would be in distribution and at the very least make back its production cost.
On Fay Ann Lee
It’s ironic that Fay Ann Lee used luck to make her character’s dreams come true when she’s using hard work to realize her own dreams. Ms. Lee is someone to watch. She not only has talent, she knows how to focus it to get results. I liked her vision of the world reflected in her film and her handling of family and friendship relationships. I think she has the potential to create some great films, and I hope she gets the chance to try. Please Hollywood studios, give her a project!
|
Related Articles
Access to movies I haven’t seen but want to is always of interest. Over at Read/WriteWeb there’s an interesting piece on Blockbuster’s current machinations to rent me, and others, a video or three: Blockbuster Sees Future in In-Store Kiosks, Movie Downloads. The referenced USA Today article is the most informative reference (According to the article, late fees were formerly one fifth, aka 20%, of Blockbuster’s revenue!).
Ironically, nothing Blockbuster is doing addresses the reasons I avoid them, though if I’m honest I’m not 100% sure I know them all myself. In spite of having a Blockbuster in the next block, I go 17 blocks down the road to an independent called Schockbuster, even for my “mainstream” stuff. They carry obscure/controversial titles, they know film, their price is competitive, their space has a more welcoming feel, and they’ve verified their DVDs are not modified from the original versions (I asked the local Blockbuster, but they didn’t know. They said I could call head office, but why should I bother when they wouldn’t?).
Maybe I’m not their demographic. If Blockbuster fails, will anyone notice besides the shareholders? It wouldn’t impact my viewing habits.
Starring: Gale Harold, Fay Ann Lee, Margaret Cho, Christine Baranski, Ken Leung, Roger Rees
Written by: Fay Ann Lee, Karen Rousso
Directed by: Fay Ann Lee
Rating: 
In mid 2005, there was an announcement that American McGee’s Alice video game would be adapted for the big screen with Sarah Michelle Gellar to star in the lead role of Alice.
At the same time of that announcement, it was also noted that Marcus Nispel, of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake and the abominable Pathfinder, would direct the project. Though neither of these films is particularly great, Nispel has shown signs of improvement with each one and he certainly has a visual style that fits into McGee’s macabre portrait of Alice.
Since that original announcement, the project has been pretty quiet and then yesterday our good friends at Hollywood North Report announced that the Langley, BC is prepping for the production which is due to start filming soon. This came as a bit of a shock since I assumed the project had simply died. Especially interesting is that this announcement comes on the heels of last week’s announcement that Tim Burton will be helming a 3D version of Alice for Disney.
I have my own reservations about this project, particularly because neither the director or Gellar have been particularly good lately but the tides have to give at some point and if the videogame trailer I’ve seen is any indication, this may be movie that turns it around for both of them. I hope so!
Alice is scheduled to open in July 2008.
Check out the videogame trailer after the jump!
The high quality trailer for producer J.J. Abrams’ upcoming film has been kicking around since late last week but yesterday fans got to experience the second trailer in watchable quality.
The first teaser had the web abuzz, mostly because no one knew what the hell it was for. There had been no talk about the project, something which is nearly impossible in today’s connected world, but more than that the trailer actually looked promising.
There’s been a lot of other stuff around the project and I’ve ignored posting most of it while still reading the updates and people still don’t know what it is exactly but the conclusion everyone seems to come to is that there’s a giant monster. Yeah, I kinda guessed that.
In general, I like this new trailer which recycles some of the teaser footage and edits it in with some new stuff but we still don’t get to see the entire monster and there’s a quick clip behind a plastic curtain that has me intrigued – it looks and sounds like a woman being bit into by some pretty big, body-builder type figures. I particularly like the 28 Days Later rip-off of the people running down the street with the bright light at the end. Although it all looks to be hand-held, this is no low budget film and from the glimpses, the cinematography looks pretty good to boot.
I’ll admit it: I’m sold on Cloverfield. The film will open January 18th.
Check out the trailer after the jump!
I never imagined that I would have the good fortune to see this come to life. Maybe I should go and play the lotto…
According to Variety two of my favourite things in this world are coming together: Tim Burton and Alice in Wonderland.
Ever since I first read Lewis Carroll’s twisted and bizarre story of a young girl following a white rabbit down the rabbit hole, I’ve been in love with it. An adventure story with a girl! Then there was the first time I saw Disney’s adaptation of the story that, though kid friendly, suggested that everything wasn’t quite what it appeared to be. Over the years, I’ve revisited that classic story and with age has come another realization: this is one messed up story with much more going on than any kid could realize.
If the announcement that a new Alice in Wonderland movie wasn’t enough, they go and throw master of the gothic chic Tim Burton into the picture. Oh, life is good.
This early on in the game, I have only one concern: the announcement that this project will be making full use of the motion capture and the apparently updated 3D technology which was also used in Robert Zemeckis’ Beowulf. The technology certainly has potential but I’d be much happier if this were to take on more of a Sweeney Todd look and considering the film is a Disney production, this doesn’t come as much of a surprise.
Whichever way it falls, adult or child oriented, you can bank on my $10.
Oh, and Burton has also signed on to direct a 3D version of his 1984 short film Frankenweenie about a pet dog brought back to life by his owner.
I hate to admit it but the film adaptation of Stephenie Meyer’s teen vampire trilogy, which begins with Twilight, is a project I’m really interested in. The books were much better than I ever could have anticipated and I was, and am, particularly impressed with Meyer’s ability to create rather odd – they’re vampires people – characters that are not only appealing but that readers, primarily teen girls, can relate with.
I was pretty darn excited when it was announced that the film project had been given the go ahead with some talented folks behind the scenes, namely Catherine Hardwicke, best knows as the director of Thirteen and Lords of Dogtown, set to direct and now it looks like the lead character has been cast.
Variety reports that Kristen Stewart, who I best remember as the best thing in In the Land of Women, has been cast as Bella, the teen girl who crosses paths and falls in love with a ‘family’ of vampires. I didn’t really have a mental picture of what the character would look like but Stewart certainly fits my vision of Bella.
The key now is to fill the rest of cast and though they’re all fairly important in their own way, Edward, the object of Bella’s devotion, is right at the top of the list. I’m sure they’ll throw us a blood pack over the next few weeks.
Starring: Ellen Page, Michael Cera, Allison Janney, JK Simmons, Olivia Thirlby, Rainn Wilson, Jason Bateman, Jennifer Garner
Written by: Diablo Cody
Directed by: Jason Reitman
Rating:
Gotta admit, I’m a little confused.
One of the films that everyone and their mother seemed to be buzzing about coming out of this year’s Sundance was director Mitchell Lichtenstein’s (great name uh?) first full length feature, Teeth. The film was a pretty big hit with audiences and critics and lead actress Jess Weixler even took home the Special Jury Prize for her performance as a high school student who discovers she has a physical ‘abnormality’ that makes teen dating and relationships a little - difficult.
I debated whether to share what exactly the abnormality is but have decided against it after seeing the trailer. True, most of the regular readers probably know what it is but the trailer is brilliantly, if deceptively, vague about the entire thing. From the clips, quotes and music they’ve spliced together fort he trailer, not to mention the new poster, this is coming off as a full on horror. It’s likely to intrigue and eventually disappoint and/or confuse horror fans but I’ve got to admit, I’m actually not pissed off that they’re selling this as something it’s clearly not.
Teeth is scheduled for limited release in February.
Check out the trailer after the jump!
During our November preview show, we talked about a couple of horror movies but one that looked particularly good was P2.
A debut feature from actor-turned-director Franck Khalfoun, the film has a couple of good things going for it. The first is that the film is co-written by Alexandre Aja, the director of the apparently great High Tension (I say apparently because it’s still on my DVD queue) the man behind the surprisingly good The Hills Have Eyes remake. For safe measure, they’ve thrown in the wonderful Wes Bentley and Rachel Nichols who, I must admit, I’ve never noticed in anything else.
The film tells the story of a woman trapped in a parking garage with a crazed guard who’s been watching her obsessively for months. Obviously this isn’t a new story but I have to admit that the trailer shows a lot of promise and I must say I’m rather impressed by the way this is shaping up not to mention that I’m always curious about films with only two central characters.
P2 opened on November 9th and I noticed it’s playing locally this week. If all goes well, I can squeeze it into next week’s schedule.
Check out the trailer after the jump!
Post a Comment »