February 2010 - Posts
Over at The Hollywood Reporter they have this interesting article on the nominees for Best Director and their thoughts on who will win. Personally I think it'll go to Bigelow (Tarantino a close second). The Academy will be making up for the 1991 snub.
I knew very little when I sat down to watch this film. I knew aliens landed in Johannesburg in 1982 and now live in
District 9. That was it. I had no idea where the story could go, or that it would be so incredibly gripping. Part documentary, part live coverage, part "The Fly," part action flick. All these styles should be distracting, but they manage to flow together and tell a wonderful, disgusting story.
And there's that word. Disgusting. I have always had a bit of a queasy stomach, and District 9 put it to the test. So be warned, if the idea of seeing a man popped like a water ballon makes your stomach quiver, you may want to take some dramamine before watching. But regardless of the way it makes my stomach feel, it's no surprise District 9 is up for a best picture oscar. It's core story is, pardon the term, universal.
Oliver Stone is bringing us a sequel to his 1987 film Wall Street. They're calling this one Wall Street, too, yet with the subtitle Money Never Sleeps. Michael Douglas is back as Gordon Gekko (although he looks like Robert Evans in the above photo). Charlie Sheen will be making a cameo.
My movie blogging co-worker Phil astutely noted that Shia LaBeouf is again being called on to breathe new life into something popular from the 1980s. Let's hope the results are more impressive.
Head over to The Art of the Title Sequence and take a closer look at the amazing title work in Sherlock Holmes. You can get a good look at Creative Director Danny Yount's creative process and see some outstanding visuals that never saw the light of day. As an Art Director, I get pretty excited when I find stuff like this.
Sherlock Holmes will be available on DVD and Blu-ray at the end of March.
Spin-offs are usually a phenomenon of television (see
Joanie Loves Chachi), but more and more they are becoming a tool of the film industry. Hot off the success of
Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Russell Brand returns as the obnoxious and highly sexual rock star, Aldous Snow. Jonah Hill also returns (as a different character) and has 72 hours to escort said rock star from England to L.A.
Both Hill and Brand played wonderful supporting characters in Forgetting Sarah Marshall. I hope the roles can translate properly into leads and not just be a one trick pony. Time will tell, but the trailer looks promising.
Check it out.
Noah Baumbach has a new film coming out this spring entitled Greenberg. Baumbach made one of my favorite comedies, Kicking and Screaming (NOT the one with Will Ferrell) as well as the very good The Squid and the Whale. He also co-wrote The Life Aquatic and The Fantastic Mr. Fox with Wes Anderson.
This new film stars Ben Stiller as a 40-something committed to doing nothing. Nice to see Mumblecore favorite, Greta Gerwig do a mainstream film.
Enjoy the trailer.
Trivia: His wife, Jennifer Jason Leigh, plays a part as well as producing and receiving co-credit on the story.
Director Duncan Jones presents the story of Sam Bell, a man alone on the moon. What does a man do alone on the moon? He mines for Helium-3, plays ping-pong (against the wall), runs on the treadmill and whittles. That's about it. Sam is lonely, bored and probably has a few screws loose. Worst of all, he has no direct contact with the outside world because of a damaged satellite. He's truly, utterly, alone.
Moon, on the surface, may sound boring, but it's easily one of the best science fiction movies of the decade. It excels by sticking to great storytelling and not using CGI and special effects as a crutch (cough James Cameron cough). Credit must be given to Sam Rockwell. The film completely rests on his performance, and he delivers big time. Moon is out now on DVD & Blu-Ray, so put it in your Netflix queue or pick it up at the store, because I cannot recommend it highly enough.
F. Gary Gray has made seven features over the last 15 years as well as directed music videos for the likes of Ice Cube, Cypress Hill, OutKast and Jay-Z. He's an extremely versatile and entertaining filmmaker. I first became aware of him watching the DVD extras of the utterly hilarious Friday. He most recently helmed Law Abiding Citizen. Here is a link to a short GQ interview and slide show.
Gray's Klipsch connection is that he made Be Cool, the sequal to Get Shorty, which features our products on set. I have to be honest, the movie is my least favorite of his works. Why couldn't there be a pair of Klipschorns in the background on the Jones' porch? Oh, well. Hopefully there are more fruitful collaborations in our future.
This February 2nd at 7:20 and 30 seconds, Punxsutawney Phil, the seer of seers, prognosticator of prognosticators, emerged reluctantly, but alertly, in Punxsutawney, PA and stated in Groundhogese, "I definitely see a shadow."
Yes it's true that Phil saw his shadow, and to celebrate the occasion of a large squirrel predicting the weather, we Klipsch employees decided to watch the wonderful film
Groundhog Day. What an absolute blast, and it sounded amazing in 5.1 sound in the Palladium room. It's quite possible I've seen this film over 100 times. The film runs at 101 minutes, so here's a wonderful
list of 101 reasons why we love groundhog day.
Today the nominees for the 82nd Academy Awards were announced. For the first time since 1943 there are ten Best Picture nominations. This is an interesting decision, since in my opinion it has been tough most years this decade to fill the usual five slots with deserving movies (for comparison, 1939 might be the best year ever when Gone with the Wind, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Ninotchka, Stagecoach and The Wizard of Oz were amongst those competing).
For kicks I am going to jump back in time and pretend they never stopped picking ten films. Here are a few years with my subjective choices (listed in order) to go along with the five that were picked (actual Best Picture winner in all caps).
1996 Academy Awards (films released in 1995)
The Nominees: BRAVEHEART, Apollo 13, Babe, Il Postino, Sense and Sensibility
My 5 Additions: Heat, Before Sunrise, To Die For, Seven, 12 Monkeys
1995 Academy Awards (films released in 1994)
The Nominees: FORREST GUMP, Four Weddings and a Funeral, Pulp Fiction, Quiz Show, The Shawshank Redemption
My 5 Additions: Ed Wood, Three Colors: Red, The Hudsucker Proxy, Léon, Speed
1987 Academy Awards (films released in 1986)
The Nominees: PLATOON, Children of a Lesser God, Hannah and Her Sisters, The Mission, Room with a View
My 5 Additions: Down by Law, Hoosiers, Blue Velvet, Stand by Me, Aliens
1974 Academy Awards (films released in 1973)
The Nominees: THE STING, American Graffiti, Cries and Whispers, The Exorcist, A Touch of Class
My 5 Additions: The Last Detail, Paper Moon, Mean Streets, Serpico, Badlands
1963 Academy Awards (films released in 1962)
The Nominees: LAWRENCE OF ARABIA, The Longest Day, The Music Man, Mutiny on the Bounty, To Kill a Mockingbird
My 5 Additions: Ride the High Country, Lolita, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, The Trial, Long Day's Journey into Night
I would break this one down for you, but the title says it all. Ok, I'll do it. Four guys get in a hot tub and travel back in time to 1986. There I said it. The trailer looks pretty funny, but I thought the
R rated trailer was even better. [WARNING: Strong language and nudity].
Check it out.