As If We Needed Pursuading

A few seconds new footage but, really, is there anyone who isn't going to see 'Skyfall'.






















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Still from 'Skyfall'

Javier Bardem in full Chigurh as Silva.

As we know, the protagonist can only be as good as the antagonist is bad. Weak bad guy, lame good guy. As such, if they can sell Silva as someone so dangerous he has to be held in a special cell, well, Bond will have to rise to the occasion, and we'll have a story we can sink our teeth into.

'No Country for Old Men' proved how intense a portrayal Bardem is capable of. The guy brings it. So, I have high hopes for his turn as Silva. I mean, why would an actor with that kind of track record accept a role as a half-assed politically correct bad guy?

It follows that Daniel Craig's Bond will be swinging for the fences.

The writers certainly have pedigree. Patrick Marber (Notes on a Scandal, Closer). John Logan (Hugo, Rango, Gladiator, The Last Samurai). Neal Purvis and Robert Wade (Quantum of Solace, Casino Royale, Die Another Day).

Then, of course, there's the direction by Sam Mendes (American Beauty) and the transcendental cinematography by Roger Deakins.

'Skyfall' is looking like the best Bond yet.

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Glorious Trailer for 'Skyfall'

Glorious? Yeah. Every bit. And, I hate Bond.

A blond Javier Bardem -- devastating. Daniel Craig looking sharp. And, that picture courtesy Roger Deakins -- just plain beautiful.

Oh, by the way...this looks close to redefining the franchise. 

Check the wink at 2:20.

















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Visually Stunning Trailer for 'Skyfall'

I don't care for Bond. Never have. The sexism always made James come off a tad insecure. Never liked the look, either. Camera work has always been perfunctory. Here, though, we've got an entirely new ball game with Sam Mendes helming and Roger Deakins behind the camera. This trailer is cut. Very easy on the eyes.

Don't know if Craig's Bond will seem insecure or not but whatever he does he'll look good.

Try it without sound.

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Jon Favreau and Daniel Craig talk Cowboys, but not Aliens

Here's part I, about 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo'

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Jon Favreau and Daniel Craig Talk 'Girl With The Dragon Tattoo'

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Twisty Turny Trailer for 'Dream House'

Did. Not. See. That. Coming.

Atmospheric. Great production value. Both creepy and conceptual. Love how they pull the rug out from under you -- again, and again. The creepy Für Elise rendition, especially how it degrades to a single repeated note, is very effective.

My kinda movie. Have heard mixed reviews. Hope this one comes through. With Daniel Craig, Naomi Watts, and Rachel Weisz executing those plot twists, could be good.

But, plot twists cut both ways -- can be too conceptual for some, may not draw a huge audience. If they work though, if word of mouth is good, could do well. Needs good buzz, though. Tons of marketing won't be enough, not with this kind of story.

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'Dream House' Gets a Poster

Love this. Great execution. Clever. The tag: Once upon a time there were two little girls who lived in a house. -- just great. Very storybook.

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'Cowboys & Aliens' Cast Interview

This is a good one. Worth 12 minutes.

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Clip from 'Cowboys & Aliens'

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'Cowboys & Aliens' Making-Of Teaser Featurette

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Now With More Geek Appeal

They took the right approach with selling 'Cowboys & Aliens'. First trailers sold the concept of a western with tech elements. This trailer sells the idea of a tech/sci-fi horror thriller with spaceships, monsters, and steel laser weapons that are grafted to Daniel Craig's arm that happens to take place in the old west.

Nice. The geeks are loving it. There's nobody saying 'A western with spaceships?' anymore.

Trailer success.

Oh so Euro Poster for 'Girl with the Dragon Tattoo'

(from ToH)

"Leaked" Red Band Trailer for The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

'Cowboys & Aliens' Trailer

'Cowboys & Aliens'

Some very nice new footage.

'Cowboys & Aliens'

Jon Favreau is staking a claim as the guy who can take comic book material and infuse it with life, story, depth of character.

Trailer grabs you, won't let go. Hints at plot, makes you want to know more. I never would have thought a movie about people in the old west battling space aliens could come off this real. Rarely seen in genre work.

This has Story.

Poster Needs Work

There's something(s) way off about the poster for 'The Invasion'. The font, for instance -- too clean, looks like a good choice for a musical set in the near future. The digital 'melt' effect of the bad guys at top of poster is too photo-shopped looking, also too clean. The placement of the two stars is very retro, like what you would have seen in the 50s. Their faces take up too much space (I didn't want to say 'their heads are too big'). Craig's head should be lowered so there's less vertical space taken up.

Taglines, clunky -- also seem like they're from the 50s when an audience would have had to have been told what to expect from a new genre.

'Do not trust anyone'. -- we already knew that. Being unable to trust anyone is de rigueur for paranoid thrillers.

'Do not show emotion'. -- well, duh. You don't joke with zombies or people whose minds have otherwise been commandeered. As for laughing or crying, please. We know we have to be stonefaced around the living-impaired.

'Do not fall asleep'. -- okay, that's pretty good. The 'avoid REM sleep' thing is alright. That should probably stay.

Okay, on to layout. The title at the bottom doesn't work here. Should be moved to the traditional placement below the names of the stars at the top of poster. Should also be shifted off-center, probably to the left, to work with the arrangement. Also, put it all on one line. Stacking the 'the' on top doesn't work -- there's plenty lateral space, not much vertical space. (On second thought, title should stay in the center -- composition should be changed so it will look good in center).

Okay, from the look on her face I don't think she's too happy with my suggestions, but I have just a couple more.

The color scheme is too simple, too flat -- there's just too much red. Try adding some depth and layers, use some dark purples with very grayed-down green around the edges (something that says 'My soul no longer exists').

Daniel's head is floating in space -- give some definition to his shoulders. (And, what's with Craig's expression? Not very paranoid, heroic, or 'you can't trust me even though you think you can'. What does that expression say? 'Look, I think there's a parking spot half a block up on the right.')

Where's the 'mother protects her child' element seen in the trailer? This poster makes the movie look like it's all about the relationship between Craig and Kidman, when the trailer hardly shows this at all. Trailer emphasizes the relationship between Kidman and her son. Come on, guys. This is Movie Poster 101 stuff.

Net effect: looks like someone slapped this together on a laptop in their spare time. Please apply above fixes.

Get Your Movies Free

Online piracy of movies at sites such as Peakvid.com

And, In A Related Story...

This is too good -- you'd think I had made it up. The star of the new James Bond movie "Casino Royale", Daniel Craig, was offered an illegal copy of the 'Casino' DVD while in a Beijing market. Stay tuned... THR Digital Spy

Simpsons Clip (But, Wait! There's More!)

Ropeofsilicon has "The Simpsons Movie" clip.

But, wait! There's more! Yes! More! They also have 10 clips from "Casino Royale"! That's right! 10 clips!

Hey, I've watched these and they're all good. People are saying this is the best Bond pic ever and I have to agree -- the pithy quips actually move the plot along and have a natural feel (as natural as dialogue gets in a Bond movie), thanks to writers Neal Purvis and Robert Wade. The editing and camera are top drawer material -- nod to director Martin Campbell. The action sequences have a lot of pop while maintaining plausibility (unlike previous Bond fantasies), and the babes are the hottest ever in a Bond film -- bar none. Don't believe me? See for yourself.

Fur
The Reeler has a podcast interview with "Fur" director Steven Shainberg. Here is their intro:

As reported last week on The Reeler, there's been a lot of weirdness surrounding director Steven Shainberg's latest film Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus, which opens today in New York. There's lead actress Nicole Kidman absent at her own premiere, Robert Downey Jr. covered in hair, a combustible exchange or 10 between Shainberg and his critics, and God knows what else I'm missing. But set all of that aside for a second and just consider the film, which is actually a well-made little fairy tale about Arbus' transition from loyal housewife and her husband's photography assistant to being a internationally acclaimed photographer in her own right. It has its narrative flaws, agreed, but it also wields its titular imagination in wildly revealing and magnanimous ways, and should be considered on its own terms rather than those demanding a Behind-the-Musicesque concession to bloodless melodrama.

But enough of me: I asked Shainberg about where Fur came from, where he tried to take it and what he makes of the reaction it has received since its festival roll-out late last summer. It's an intriguing listen.

Podcast

November 13, 2006
Apocalypto
Will Mel's recent PR blip vitiate the box office of his Mayan opus "Apocalypto"? How strong will the Latino audience be? From NPR's Morning Edition:

Mel Gibson's new movie, Apocalypto, opens on December 8.

The film is performed entirely in a Mayan dialect and has not stars. So its distributor, Walt Disney Company, faces quite a marketing challenge.

Gibson is hoping to generate support for his project through a grass-roots movement among Latino audiences.

Report by Kim Masters