This is a new version of one of my favorite novels, and it's from English director Mike Newell (Four Weddings and a Funeral, Donnie Brasco, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire). My favorite version of this story is David Lean's film from 1946 (you should really check that one out if you haven't seen it, it's great), but I'm sure I'll see this one too when it comes around. Out in limited release Nov 8th.
Leonardo Dicaprio to play Woodrow Wilson?
THR reports that Leo Dicaprio is set to produce and star in a biopic (he sure does a lot of those) about our 28th president, based on the new biography by Scott Berg. Woodrow Wilson was one of our most controversial presidents, whose terms left us the Federal Reserve and the League of Nations, but he was very weak on things like civil rights and civil liberties. He was also the only president to marry in the White House, after his first wife died in 1914. His life provides movie material as good as any other, but I don't know if I can see Leo playing him. For some reason I think of him as more suited to somebody like Teddy Roosevelt. What do you think?
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Movie of the Day: "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" (1986)
Probably my second favorite John Hughes movie (I seem to be going in descending order), I can never get tired of Ferris's antics, no matter how dated they might now seem (would any high school principal be that obsessed over one kid missing 9 days in a semester? And how many has Cameron missed anyway? It's got to be at least that many). Matthew Broderick shines in the title role, as the cocky rich kid who gets away with everything, but has a good heart at his core and does it all for his miserable pal. It's the most lightweight of the John Hughes high school movie canon, but also the most fun. Plus, there's a young Charlie Sheen in a bit part that turned out to be kind of an eerily prophetic role.
Trailer from 1986:
Ben Affleck Responds to the Backlash
Here he is on Late Night, handling it in his usual charming way.
I'll say though that not everyone came through with that "great job" in the part he mentions. George Clooney, anyone? And I honestly don't remember anything close to this kind of complaining over Christian Bale either. Admit it, Ben. The level of response to you was by FAR the worst.
Blu-Ray Pick of the Week: "Bride of Frankenstein" (1935)
This cult classic is finally out on blu-ray this week, and it still stands up as one of the nuttiest, most subversive comedies ever to pass as a horror movie. Directed by James Whale, who'd done the 1931 original in a fairly straightforward fashion and decided to go all out with the sequel, tossing in double entendres and camp characters, all of which went unnoticed by the oblivious public at the time. The transformation scene is still awe-inspiring.
Original trailer from 1935:
TRAILER: "Nebraska" (2013)
Alexander Payne's latest film has been making the festival rounds since Cannes and has been warmly received at each one of them, especially for 77-year-old Bruce Dern's performance. It's coming out Nov 22nd and now it finally gets a trailer:
REVIEW: "This is the End" (2013) Seth Rogen, James Franco. Dir. Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg
I went into This is the End expecting to see kind of a smugfest of famous actors patting each other on the back while getting to have fun and hang out on a set while conveniently making a movie at the same time (I think the scars from Ocean's Twelve left a long lasting effect on my psyche regarding actors playing themselves on screen). So I couldn't have been more surprised that this turned out to be a hilariously funny movie with some literally explosive comedic sequences that had me in stitches.
In a story written by Seth Rogen and his writing partner Evan Goldberg (based on a short film they made in 2007 called Jay and Seth versus the Apocalypse), the Apocalypse does indeed come a'callin' while Seth and Jay (Jay Baruchel) are at a party at James Franco's house. A lot of celebrities cameo in this scene and get to have fun with their images, particularly a coked up Michael Cera, who also gets the first over the top death in the movie (it may be worth it for some people just to see that!). Jay and Seth have grown apart as Seth spends all his time now partying with the Hollywood crowd, but there's no time for all that when an earthquake rocks L.A., leaving a gigantic hole in the ground that random celebs literally start falling into. This early scene of crazed panic and hysteria was already one of those on-the-floor sequences for me, compounded by the spectacularly, intentionally cheesy special effects. After the initial disaster, Jay and Seth are trapped in James Franco's house along with Jonah Hill, Craig Robinson, and Danny McBride, all of whom get their moment to shine and have at least 6-8 hilarious lines each as the pampered group has to survive on alcohol, drugs, and the limited amount of food and water Franco has left.
As you can imagine, the interaction between these real life best buds is spot on and feels spontaneous and markedly improvised at various points along the way. Everyone is having a good time and you can feel it on the screen- the group's chemistry is at its best when reacting to one increasingly hellish situation after another, and any potential smugness factor is expunged by their total willingness to poke fun at themselves and their resumes, while of course getting fed up with each other's attitudes and habits as the days go by. What's happening here is the literal, Biblical apocalypse, which is an audacious idea that brilliantly provides simplistic solutions, as anyone who knows the Bible can tell you. And you really don't need more than that in a comedy, as Ghostbusters first showed us- place some inherently funny people in an over the top and unreal scenario and you can have the perfect blend of comedy and action (emphasis on the word can, I'm not saying it's as great as Ghostbusters, one of my comedy touchstones- that one's in a class of its own).
But any movie that makes me laugh pretty much the whole way through is worth its weight in change, and this movie embraces the silliness fully, even managing to sneak in that male-bonding affection (just a touch) that the Apatow crew is so known for. In fact, this time the girls are absent completely- it's a full on guy-buddy hangout movie and probably all the better for it, given the issues these guys have had with writing credible female characters in the past (an axe-wielding Emma Watson does get one pretty good scene though). And a special mention for James Franco, who was my favorite, standing out in particular by making fun of his uber-pretentious image and having a ball building up the seething hatred between himself and Danny McBride, which provides some of the funniest stuff in the movie. This turned out to be a sleeper hit of the summer, and no wonder- it's a true sidesplitter.
* * *
Movie of the Day: "The Breakfast Club" (1985)
In keeping with our Back to School theme this month, and because I didn't include him in any of the Monthly Movie picks, I'll be recommending a different John Hughes movie every day this week, starting with his 1985 classic. The Breakfast Club still holds up today and remains as funny and poignant as ever. You know the set-up: five kids in the library for an all day detention; the brain, the jock, the princess, the basket case, the criminal. Almost every scene in the movie is iconic- my only complaint has always been over Ally Sheedy's famous makeover from goth to preppie at the end. Why can't she get the guy as is?
Original Trailer from 1985:
12 Years a Slave wins Best Picture at Toronto
Well, it's officially our frontrunner. Steve McQueen's 12 Years a Slave won the audience award for Best Picture at the Toronto International Film Festival today, solidifying its status as an Oscar heavyweight headed into the fall season. Slumdog Millionaire and The King's Speech were the most recent Best Picture winners to take the Audience Award at Toronto first. The film comes out October 18 and stars Chiwetel Ejiofor as a free man kidnapped into slavery in 1841. The runners up were Philomena, starring Judi Dench and Prisoners (out next Friday), with Hugh Jackman.
Trailer for 12 Years a Slave:
BOX OFFICE 9/13-9/15: 'Insidious 2' Crushes the Competition
It was predicted to top, but Insidious: Chapter 2 came in much larger than expected, hauling in an estimated $41 million, and making it the biggest opening ever for a horror film in September. This is the second win for director James Wan this year, following the huge success of The Conjuring just a couple of months ago. Unfortunately for fans, Wan says he won't be taking on any more horror films, because he's set to move on to the Fast & Furious franchise next year, but his success in this genre remains the bar for future horror directors, and Insidious played well with the crowd ("B+" Cinemascore) despite negative reviews, so his fanbase appears to be pretty loyal.
The Robert DeNiro-Michelle Pfeiffer mob movie The Family opened better than expected, to $14.5 million in second place, but it received a pretty bad "C" rating from the audience, so don't expect it to hang around very long, especially with all the Oscar bait adult dramas set to come out in the coming weeks.
Top 5:
- Insidious: Chapter 2- $41.05 million
- The Family- $14.5 million
- Riddick- $7 million
- Lee Daniels' The Butler- $5.6 million
- We're the Millers- $5.4 million
In the holdovers, Riddick plunged 63% from last weekend, and The Butler finally crossed $100 million. We're the Millers sits in 5th place with a cumulative $131 million so far and is now Jennifer Aniston's fourth highest grossing film, behind The Break-Up, Marley and Me, and Bruce Almighty (although I'm not sure that one should really count as her film). And in global box office news, Monsters University is about to pass Up's $731 million gross to become the third biggest Pixar movie ever. Well, that's about it for this weekend, everyone! Next up it's the Hugh Jackman drama Prisoners and the 3D dance movie Battle of the Year as the two wide releases on September 20th.
TRAILER: "Grudge Match"
If you've ever wanted to see Robert DeNiro fight Sylvester Stallone in a boxing ring, here's your chance. The two go at it in Grudge Match, coming out Christmas Day.
