Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Yeah. Push 'Star Wars 7' Back a Couple Years. Makes Sense.

I like the sound of that. Joss Whedon is currently leading most polls (I've seen one but it's all they're talking about) to direct Disney's new 'Star Wars' movie (get used to the sound of it -- Disney's 'Star Wars').

Jahns is predicting SW7 will get pushed back a couple years from 2015 so Whedon can direct it after wrapping 'Avengers 2' which is also scheduled for a 2015 release. And...so is everyone else.  

Sure. I like that. Really, is there anyone else that could do the job? JJ Abrams, maybe. Nah.



















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Megan Fox for Acer






















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Witch Uniforms Have Changed...

Remember when proper witches wore solid black from head to toe?


















Well, not anymore. Now, it's skin-tight, low-cut, and pushed up, with the front of that dowdy witch skirt cut away to reveal leggings that leave little to the imagination, thank you very much.










































Those full-length seriously spiked boots send a message, too. You've come a long way, baby.






















































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Another Bad Light Fixture

Flashlights, regular overhead light fixtures, candles, the sun, you name it. They never work right in horror movies.





















Drones But It's Fun To Watch

Reminds me of the short animated films PBS used to run when I was a kid. Filled with non sequiturs but, somehow, there's a thread. Could be worse, I suppose. These guys are kinda cute. I'll pass on the action figures, though.





















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Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Japan: A Skier's Journey Ep 1

Nicely done.

Japan: A Skier's Journey EP1 S3 from Jordan Manley Photography on Vimeo.















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Sexual Subtext

First poster is better, more conceptual, and graphically a nod to the style of the day, but this one is more fun in a purposefully not-that-subtle way.

Hitch's attitude toward women has been taking a beating lately.



















































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Twisted and Gnarled

Both the vines in the poster and the threads in the story. There's nothing about the rollout for 'Stoker' I haven't liked.

By itself the poster is captivating.



This new video works both as a music video and short film. If this were all there was it would still be pretty damn good.

'Stoker' opens February 28 in Hong Kong. I've always wanted to visit Hong Kong.



























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Monday, October 29, 2012

Kubrick at LACMA

Love the stills. LACMA November 1 - June 30. Here's the site














































































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Spoiler Alert: John Dies At The End

Try to imagine if Paul Giamatti wasn't in this.





















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With a Face Like That I'd be Angry Too




















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Friday, October 26, 2012

Short Short Gerard Butler

Love the title -- 'Movie 43' -- as if they couldn't give a damn whether it means anything. Footage looks great. Love this still. Can't wait.









































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Way-Back Poster for 'Django Unchained'

Just like the good old days.
























































































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Thursday, October 25, 2012

Arnold in 'Ten'

So, just this morning we get a trailer for 'A Good Day to Die Hard', which was very good, I thought. Tight, nice visuals, and (somehow) promising.

Now, we get a still from 'Ten', directed by David Ayer, which is a good sign -- 'End of Watch' being so cool in a dramatic vérité sort of way, and all.

Connection? Both are written by Skip Woods and I'm thinking the guy delivers. He's got chops for rhythm and the conventions of genre and maybe he's turned it up a notch. He must have something going on having been tapped to write 'Kane & Lynch' (with Bruce Willis and Jamie Foxx) for F. Gary Gray no less. (The guy knows Story. I don't think F would work with just any writer).

So, what's 'Ten' about? From IMDb:

  • Members of an elite DEA task force find themselves being taken down one by one after they rob a drug cartel safe house. 

Sure. That could work. 

Here's that picture. Arnold looks great, yes? Spiky, at least.

























































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Dew on Insects

Lovely, mysterious. Shots by David Chambon















































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"Let Me Touch You With My Words. For My Hands Are Limp As Empty Gloves."

Everything about 'The Sessions' is eloquent.




















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Great Posters. Hope The Movie is Good.

Posters for 'Killing Them Softly' have been excellent. I can't remember a movie that had as many notable graphics.

We're seeing more roll out. I like this one.










































Really, I like it better this way.
















































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Dad?

Pretty good reveal and the Ode to Joy, as many times as you've heard it (in this franchise and elsewhere), grows on you.

Gotta say, this is looking pretty fresh.






















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Wednesday, October 24, 2012

New Look at 'Citadel'

Lotta potential. Could be a great rental. May make a nice study.






















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No Shootouts? What? Are We Making French Movies Now?

This is good. I like this one.




















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Lonely Cabin in Middle of Woods? Check. Secret Trap Door in Floor? Check.





















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Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Beautiful Spanish Poster for 'Django Unchained'

This is nice. Elegant, with a classic western look, yet contemporary at the same time. Again, as usual, a foreign poster is better than our own efforts.





























































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Smooth Is More Important Than Fast. More Important Than Smooth, Is Accurate.

"You mean you wanna dress like that?"

Best trailer yet for this. Looking good.




















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A Few New 'IM3' Stills

Apple has more























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Didn't See That Coming

Yeah, there's a couple nice surprises. This actually looks interesting. Might see this in a theater.



Are people interested? With over 800,000 views from one YouTube source alone in less than 24 hours, yeah, I'd say so.





























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Monday, October 22, 2012

Denzel Talks Character in 'Flight'

This is a pretty good talk especially as junket gab goes. These guys connect, actually talk. New footage as well. Worth a look.



















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Smart Writing Avoids Being Too Smart

Easy to watch. They're tough yet vulnerable. Need each other but won't admit it even to themselves. Nicely cut.





















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Sunday, October 21, 2012

Ooh. A Look at 'Iron Man 3'

Okay, I'll go out on a limb. Gwyneth Paltrow is straining to fit into the Iron Woman suit.



















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The Sea Water Drinkers

Here's a short doc by Philip Bloom.




















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Friday, October 19, 2012

Reviews Are Bad

PA4 is getting raked over the coals. It also comes on the heels of 'Sinister', so it'll be interesting to see how this one plays.

LAT has a round-up with lines like:

"Paranormal" film manages "to wring more scares out of empty rooms than previously thought possible."

"(The movie makers) ... rely on goosing the audience with false scares and bland jolts."

"Asymmetrically framed scenes, staccato editing techniques and oppressive ambient sound (and the ominous lack of a score) are substituted for any real narrative development, leaving a plot essentially consisting of a series of setups followed by frightening payoffs."

Here's Jeremy Jahns' take.




















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Minimalist, Good

Nice grainy 35mm look.








































































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Glossy But Still Not Getting The Hook

Moment to moment the CGI goes from being astounding to meh, barely adequate. Storywise, (strikes me as) one of those I tend to get tired of quickly because the visual spectacle is all there is. Jury's out, waiting.

















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Thursday, October 18, 2012

'Django Unchained' Character Posters

There's a full set, but I like this one. Would not have expected Tarantino to want this look. Figured he'd go for something less 'studio'.











































The thick sepia tone is okay but it looks better in pure black and white.

























































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Oof. International Trailer for 'Mama'

Very creepy visuals. So creepy.



First trailer and the short directed by Andres Muschietti (who directs the feature as well) that 'Mama' is based on.




















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Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Skyfall/Omega Watch Commercial






Yes. Looks very nice.

Let's have a look at the watch itself, shall we. On the front, very tastefully done, is the 007 logo with a diamond at the 7 o'clock position.








































And, see, on the back there's the rifling from the opening sequence along with what looks like the back of a center-fire round.


























Interested? Currently for sale here for $4680.00. Was $5200.00. You save 10% and -- that's not all -- shipping is free!










































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International Trailer for 'Killing Them Softly'

I think this is a new cut. Looks new. Hard to remember every edit, though. I think there's new stuff.



And, here's the same thing but dubbed in French. I would never want to see such a product. How often do we get foreign films dubbed in English? Except for animation, never. This is bad. A bad thing. Although, the guy that covered Gandolfini did a nice job. But, that's beside the point.

Bad. Not good.



















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Spooky Tree

A tree up my street. People say it's haunted. This was taken at nightfall, right before the hauntedness starts. I had to run home.












































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You Will Like 'Jack Reacher'. Oh, Yes You Will.

It's like we don't have a choice. Trailer redefines 'hard sell'. I still don't think this will fly but Reacher has taken a step in the right direction. A very blunt and forceful step.






















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Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Alan Arkin Gets The Line(s) Of The Year














At about the 1:20 mark in the latest featurette for 'Argo' Alan Arkin delivers a line. Okay, so what. Movies are filled with lines. But, this isn't just a line of dialogue, it's a one-liner and we don't get those anymore.



"It means Argo fuck yourself."

Yeah, that's a line. Nothing but. That could be, language aside, from a black and white 50s or 60s flick delivered by a sharp-eyed square-jawed cigarette smoking guy in a crumpled suit and a tired fedora. We don't have those anymore, either.

Lines are forbidden in screenwriting these days. Cheeky, easy, convenient, lazy. They're red flags for audiences. They indicate characters that are paper thin, and mean there's likely no subtext or theme worth a damn, and are a sign the movie is a by-the-numbers exercise designed simply to relieve you of some cash.  And, so, they don't make it into scripts (even for movies that meet the above criteria) and, if they do, they're cut or re-written before production starts.

(ADDED A WHILE AFTER POSTING: The assumption is the above doesn't apply to 'Argo'. Not from the looks of it, anyway).

I love this zinger from Arkin. Captures a lot of what's going on. The old-school approach of Arkin's character Lester Siegel -- a composite of various real Hollywood producers -- who has no qualms when it comes to speaking his mind. You also get a sense of the pressure Siegel is under, and the line provides a good chuckle, much needed.

Arkin gets another line. At 1:30, he says "(In the Army) we did suicide missions that had better odds than this."

Drives the point home and it's a pure one-liner. Only thing missing is the snare drum sting.

Here's my favorite. At :28 (in the featurette below) Siegel proclaims, totally full of himself, "If I'm doing a fake movie it's going to be a fake hit."

Nice. Well written by Chris Terrio, nicely directed by Ben Affleck, and probably couldn't have been delivered by another actor. Arkin scores.

Cue the drummer.























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Making of Pi

Everything I see from 'Life of Pi' impresses me as high-end eye candy -- shiny on the surface but don't look too closely. Can't shake it. Seeming like one of those fairy-tales where there's a tad bit of magic and it makes you shake your head because, essentially, it means anything can happen.

But, still, it looks good. However, not even that impresses me so much. Is the CGI really that good? Seems a bit rough, somehow. My imagination? Prejudice?

The kind of flick I watch on Blu-ray a few minutes at a time, probably with the sound off and some classic rock on the radio.

























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Monday, October 15, 2012

'Carrie' Tease

Not bad. Not bad.





















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Clip from Trainfall. I Mean 'Skyfall'

Hard to find fault with this flick.





















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Sunday, October 14, 2012

Asian 'Flight'

How strong is Denzel? This poster design/concept is pretty weak but it still works. Why? Because Denzel is front and center. His presence just says 'believe in this'. Substitute another actor and it falls flat.

Can anybody carry a film like this guy?



























































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What Was That Girl's Name Again?

Nice first look.


























































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Friday, October 12, 2012

"Argo Fuck Yourself"

Alan Arkin... I'd watch anything with him. I should get all his movies and watch one after another.

'Argo' is looking so good. Smart but not intellectual. Sweeping but not full of itself. Exciting but not cheesy. Suspenseful and actually suspenseful.

Nobody's talking about Affleck's 'comeback' anymore.





















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Airbrushy, Too Smooth, No Hook

'Gangster Squad' continues its ungainly roll-out. Trailers are good, but soap-opera-y. Posters are similar. Here's a couple new ones (there's a few more) that don't capture the violence or grit of the story but, rather, focus on a kind of dreaminess that isn't what the movie is about. The air-brushed smoothness doesn't help.

This campaign is in a bit of trouble. Not too late to switch tacks. 'Gritty' is what posters for this flick should be. As is, it's like a movie about producing radio dramas in the 20s and 30s. They ain't working. Nobody really wants to see this.


















































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Thursday, October 11, 2012

Pure Atmosphere And Innuendo

So far, it's like this movie is as top-secret as the mission it's based on. Trailers have been high-quality visually, to be sure, but give us little to work on story-wise. But, then again, we already know the plot, yes?

So, what's to complain about.






















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Buttery Popcorn Crowd-Pleaser Trailer for 'Flight'

Fun. All this needs is a nice twist and it'll score. But, even without a twist, even if it's by-the-numbers with a predictable ending, it'll still score.
























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In Your Face -- Or, Put Your Cards On The Table Poster for 'The Last Stand'

Come on. You gotta like this. Unpretentious, fun. My only quibble -- a black background would have been better, yes? Not sure white works. I suppose it's neither here nor there. I'd like this on the wall.
























































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Wednesday, October 10, 2012

On X-Mas?

Love this trailer. Better than the first. But, all I thought while watching is, who will want to see this on Christmas Day? Who wants to see Tarantino's take, that brand of ultra-stylized hyper-action and dialogue, in a movie about race and violence, a movie filled to the brim with killing, on that particular day?

For instance, take this gem. Who, sitting there with visiting family, people -- your parents, grand kids, whatever -- you only see once a year when this line floats by: "Why don't they (black slaves) just rise up and kill the whites?"

Really. That's what people are going to want to see.



















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'American Horror Story: Asylum' - First Five Minutes

Well, themes are pretty clear: queasiness/guilt/fear about sex, bondage, rape. Every show will be like this? Guess so.




















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Poster for 'Gangster Squad'

Nice triangular composition both in the fire and the three male leads. The only elements that don't fit into this neat shape are the barrels of the guns, the hand holding a burning cigarette, and the woman.

The tagline: No names. No Badges. No Mercy. is a bit much, but the footage we've seen is over-the-top violent. Makes me wonder if it was really like that back then in Los Angeles. 



























































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'You've Got Nudity In Here!'

Captivating. Can't take your eyes off. Everything, all the period stuff, Hopkins as Hitch, the forward motion, all look great. Great trailer.




















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Tuesday, October 09, 2012

Beautiful French 'Looper' Poster

Wow, that's nice. Great job. Looks like a classic. Again, as usual, a foreign poster is far better than the domestic versions. Would love to have this one.





















































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Stills From 'Hitchcock' Nail The Look

Gotta admit, even though I don't usually get caught up in how good period stuff may look, this is exceptional. Great attention to detail. Uncanny is a word that gets thrown around a lot for no good reason but here it fits.
















































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'Hitchcock' Gets Classic Shattered Glass Poster

Not bad. Hopkins looks great.
























































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Monday, October 08, 2012

Karenina's Contemporary Vibe

Joe Wright's take on 'Anna Karenina' is nothing if not fresh. Controversial, perhaps double-edged, risky, but to me, very smart.

The new posters capture this freshness.  This first one, for example, is loaded with reflections -- not something you'd expect from a 'classically' shot and presented rendition.



























This, except for the fur coat, feels like a contemporary romantic dramedy. You almost expect the camera to pull wide revealing they're on a Manhattan street in front of a Starbucks. It also has a bit of blur -- a very modern touch that imparts a sense of motion and action, a live-ness, which is just about as opposite from the staid, almost dusty, visuality of most period pieces.




























This one looks like an iPhone snapshot you might see on Flickr.



























And the subject motion in this one would never be allowed to advertise the standard-issue AK. This one goes beyond 'sense of motion'. It's just soft. Another type of imagery you wouldn't normally associate with this title.




























There are a few more



















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If It Wasn't A True Story, If It Didn't Really Actually Happen, It Would Be Stupifyingly Offensive

As is, though, it's pretty compelling.





















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Poster/Trailer for Shakespeare Doc 'Last Will & Testament'

One of these days I'm going to have to look into this. Some call it smoke and mirrors, others say there's real controversy -- both groups stick to their guns, neither gives an inch.

Apparently, this doc is set for theatrical release October 23. Could be a fun rental/TV night.



























































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Sunday, October 07, 2012

New 'Zero Dark Thirty' Images Just Have That Look

Looks real, shows a lot of confidence. I like how the guy's eyes are out of focus. Talk about assurance.













































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Friday, October 05, 2012

Chris Walken Cooks Chicken With Pears (Again, But That's Okay)

Yeah, he did a video years ago. Same recipe. It's on YouTube, somewhere. But, now he's got another. This time with Richard Belzer. It's right here. Just click play. Enjoy.






















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A Few New Posters for 'Seven Psychopaths'

These are sprouting like weeds. Not bad, though.

There's more (yep), but I like these.


































































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