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I'm searching for the right word to describe this trailer, and I guess the best way to go would be to say it's fantastical. Like with most Tim Burton-directed films, Sweeney Toddlooks wonderful -- I love what he's done with the sets, and I especially love the way the trailer (most of which is dark and grim) suddenly bursts into color before falling back to eerie and sinister. The only issue I have with it -- and I can see why they didn't play this up more in the trailer -- is that, randomly, toward the end, Johnny Depp breaks out into song. Considering the fact that Sweeney Todd is based on a musical, and that there will be plenty of musical numbers included within, you'd think they'd tack on more of that here. Instead, we get a trailer for a movie that, if you weren't previously aware included a bunch of musical numbers, would have no idea after watching it -- and subsequently think that Depp singing scene was weird and out of place.
I imagine they wanted to leave the singing out in order to draw more people in. Fact is, musical-movies don't do so well unless they carry a lot of buzz, and I guess the idea here is to build the buzz off a trailer that doesn't advertise the musical aspect in order to surprise people with song and dance when they show up to the theater. Who knows. Regardless, the film, visually, looks pretty spectacular. I can't vouch for the singing since we don't see much of it at all, but based on what we do see, Depp gives another wicked performance as the Demon Barber of Fleet Street. Don't know about you, but I'm a sucker for Burton's creations, and I'll definitely be there for this one. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is due out in theaters on ... December 21.
Over the past century, the Western ranged from being by far the most popular genre to almost dying out completely. But as often as it has been pronounced dead, it has been resurrected. One of the genre's key resurrections was Clint Eastwood's Unforgiven (1992), which emerged almost instantly as a masterpiece and a landmark film, but, despite that, actually went on to win four Oscars. After Unforgiven (and a previous Oscar-winner, Dances With Wolves), the Western had a minor resurgence; by one count, there were more Westerns produced in the 1990s than in the 1970s and 1980s combined. This year three excellent Westerns have been released, prompting many writers to use phrases like "the best Western since..." or, more specifically, to measure the landmarks. Here, to put the record straight, are the seven best Westerns sine Unforgiven.
Jim Jarmusch's brutal, black-and-white poem of a movie was, like Unforgiven, as well as Ride the High Country and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, a Western death-rattle, but it was something entirely unique as well, like a dream or a primal odyssey. Johnny Depp stars as William Blake, not the poet, who comes to the town of Machine for a job but winds up shot and dying in the woods, aided by an American Indian called Nobody (Gary Farmer). The great Robert Mitchum co-stars -- in one of his final roles -- as a monstrous town boss who sends out a band of killers after Blake.
I've been thinking about Paul Haggis' new movie In the Valley of Elah (9 screens). It's not a good movie, with its awkward mix of mystery and soapbox and its blatant attempt to snag a few Oscars. Poor Charlize Theron is stuck in the same kind of role that netted her an Oscar (Monster) and another nomination (North Country), wearing boxy clothes and no makeup and working in an all-male workplace, teased by her heartless co-workers. But Tommy Lee Jones' performance struck me as something special. Like Theron, he is also repeating a previous performance. But while Theron's role is all about its external factors, its layers of significance, Jones' performance has sprung organically from his personality.
For The Fugitive (1993), Jones won an Oscar for playing the relentless, meticulous pursuer, chasing Harrison Ford throughout the picture, and -- by some accounts -- stealing the film from its star. Jones made the role unique by dropping the typical "obsession," a word that is overused in Hollywood today, and concentrating on emotionless process and routine. It's a stripped-down performance; he saves his energy for his clipped, barked line deliveries. But at the same time, Jones' sad, droopy eyes revealed just a hint of his character's origins. He repeated the role, literally, in U.S. Marshals(1998), and again, figuratively, in Double Jeopardy (1999) and The Hunted (2003), as well as a comic version in Men in Black (1997).
Manoel de Oliveira's Belle Toujours is back on the charts this week, playing on one lone screen, in Denver, according to my information. Among its other qualities and achievements, it marks the fourth collaboration of director Oliveira and actor Michel Piccoli (a fifth, a short segment in an anthology film, appeared earlier this year). At 81, Piccoli is practically a living legend, having worked with Alfred Hitchcock, Luis Buñuel, Jean-Luc Godard, Jacques Rivette, Louis Malle, Mario Bava, and many other greats. He also appears in Jean-Pierre Melville's 1962 Le Doulos, currently re-released on 2 screens. It's a delicate relationship between director and actor; Piccoli and Oliveira seem to be developing a comfortable working relationship in which each brings out the best in the other. This has happened relatively few times over the past century. When it happens, it can be very exciting, but when a director and an actor don't click, everything can fall to pieces.
Milos Forman has coaxed and guided some great performances over the years, notably Jack Nicholson in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Tom Hulce and F. Murray Abraham in Amadeus and Jim Carrey in Man on the Moon. But he has rarely been praised for directing women, as evidenced by his awkward handling of Natalie Portman in the awful Goya's Ghosts (37 screens). The movie earned advance attention for its nude/sex scene, but will probably be remembered for fitting Portman with a set of humorously bad fake teeth and for her self-consciously dazed walk, newly released from prison, through a chaotic town square. Forman may be to blame, but Portman is out there, on the screen, all alone and in front of everyone.
We were thoroughly sequel-ized this summer; just about every movie that made any money in the past coughed up a remake or a sequel. And because the target audience apparently isn't old enough to know about any movies made before 2003, it's all as good as brand new. (You'll note that few, if any, of this summer's sequels had a number attached to it, as in Rush Hour 3. All the better to fool the young-uns in the audience.) Four such sequels have tumbled down into my humble less-than-400 screen territory, so I thought I'd take a moment to discuss some of the rules of good and bad sequels.
1. If you're starting up a superhero franchise, the "origin" part in the first movie is pretty dull and takes up a lot of screen time. The second in the franchise is always better, simply because we get to dive right in without a long setup. Even a movie as terrible as Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (187 screens) improves upon its even more terrible predecessor.
The greatest promise of Tim Burton's Sweeney Todd: Demon Barber of Fleet Streetis that it's not like other musicals. After all, the film is about a homicidal barber (played by Johnny Depp) and it is expected to have lots of violence and gore. It's no Sound of Music or Mary Poppins, that's for sure. But a rumor going around yesterday claimed Warner Bros. wants it to be more like those other family friendly kinds of musicals. After screening a cut of the film, during which WB execs were reportedly a tad squeamish, the studio had supposedly ordered a tamer, "PG-13" version. This was all according to The Daily Mail, a UK tabloid. Even if this were true, though, Warners is only the film's overseas distributor (co-producer Paramount/DreamWorks has domestic). So, the call for a cut would probably only be for the British market, which has always had more problems with violence than the U.S. Right now, the film is looking at a British rating of 18, and the studio reportedly wanted it down to a 15 (in case you can't tell, the UK ratings refer to the age allowed to see the film). For some reason, American media translated this to be the same as R and PG-13, which it isn't; British and U.S. ratings are decided by different groups and are based on different criteria.
Anyway, Variety's Anne Thompson got the real story from DreamWorks on Sunday night. The studio stated its intention has always been to release Sweeney Todd with an R rating. Then, on Monday, Thompson added that neither Paramount/DreamWorks nor Warner Bros. has seen the finished film, that they won't see it until at least the third week in September. It is possible that Warners has seen a lot of clips, some of which are rumored to be making a debut at the Venice Film Festival. By Monday evening, Variety had an article confirming that Paramount/DreamWorks is going wider with its domestic release of the film than originally planned. Instead of opening with a limited run on December 21 then going wide on January 11, Sweeney Todd will now bow on more than 1,500 screens on December 21. Apparently the studio is very happy with what it has seen of the film and thinks it has a very wide appeal, even with the fully intentioned R rating. This has to make Burton and producer Richard Zanuck happy; they didn't want the public to think it is too artsy, which could be assumed with a limited, Oscar-run type of opening.
This was one of the things that almost got lost in the shuffle of Comic-Con -- the poster image for Tim Burton's Sweeney Todd. Johnny Depp really does look like the demon barber of Fleet Street in this image, while echoing a few shades of Edward Scissorhands and From Hell. In fact, this is one of the first times in recent memory that a poster has me more jazzed about a film than I thought I would be. It looks as dark and disturbing as the source material, and just the idea of bringing Tim Burton and Johnny Depp back together has me excited. Let's just hope there are no chocolate bars or Oompa Loompas in sight.
It seems only natural that Johnny Depp would eventually want to play a vampire -- it wouldn't be the most eccentric in the long line of eccentric roles under his belt. And the actor, who just recently wrapped production on two big movies-- Sweeney Todd and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End -- may be just about ready to bite into that kind of part. Depp's production company Infinitum-Nihil and GK Films have just obtained the rights to and are currently developing a script for the film rendition of Dark Shadows. You may remember Dark Shadows as a 60s show that dealt with all things supernatural, including vampires, ghouls, zombies and more. One character, Barnabas Collins, sparked particular interest with Depp as a child -- he claims to have imagined playing the role on the big screen, so that's probably what we're in store for. Dark Shadows was a success in the 60s and 70s and continues to have a cult following; according to Variety there have been many attempted adaptations of the series but none as serious as what Depp and his team are up to. If you've never seen an episode or want to refresh you Dark Shadows memory then you can visit their official site. And if you are really aching to be a part of the action then you can join the yearly convention -- that should take place this August. Until then, happy dreams of Johnny Depp sinking his teeth into your neck.
I am a big fan of Stephen Sondheim's stage musical Sweeney Todd, so I've been following the news about the movie adaptation with interest. Tim Burton is directing the darkly comic film, which stars Johnny Depp in the title role. If you're not a fan of the play yourself, you might not know the storyline -- but Paramount has decided to share a synopsis of the film with us, which has just been published to the Sweeney Toddmovie website. The site is currently little more than a placeholder, with a "coming soon" message, but it includes a cast/crew list and synopsis.
The "synopsis" is more of a description of the characters in the film than a plot summary, which is good because of course you don't want the plot twists spoiled for you. (Especially that harrowing bit where ... well, never mind, but I hope they keep it in the movie.) Nothing in the description differs significantly from the play. Sweeney Todd himself is described as "a man unjustly sent to prison who vows revenge," and although he "becomes the Demon Barber of Fleet Street," the details are left for you to enjoy later. Mrs. Lovett, played by Helena Bonham Carter, is "Sweeney's amorous accomplice, who creates diabolical meat pies." The website also reminds us of other well-known actors in the cast: Alan Rickman as Judge Turpin, Timothy Spall as Beadle Bamford, and Sacha Baron Cohen as "flamboyant" rival barber Pirelli, which is a very small role in the play. As Cinematical reported last month, Christopher Lee's minor role was sadly cut from the film, so you won't find him on the cast list. Sweeney Todd is currently slated for a December 21 release.
Robert Rodriguez and Frank Millercollaborated on, in my humble opinion, the best-ever adaptation of a Miller work -- Sin City (Although admittedly, I didn't see Elektra, so don't hold me to that!) Sin City did pretty well at the box office, and critics and audiences loved it. You'd think the powers that be would be thrilled to have a sequel in production. Alas, that doesn't seem to be the case. There's been much talk lately that Sin City 2 has been officially delayed, and some are saying it might not even happen. The sequel, an adaptation of Miller's A Dame to KillFor and a prequel to The Big Fat Kill, has been pushed back due to Miller's gig directingThe Spirit and Rodriguez's planned remake of Barbarella. Miller is pretty sick of waiting, telling mtv.com "Robert (Rodriguez) and I have a script and we're all raring to go. We're aching to get started. I want to work with that crew again ... that wonderful cast."
Miller says "There was just some problems above us that I don't understand ... that I don't really want to understand." Still, Miller insists Sin City 2 is happening, and that he fully expects a Sin City 3 as well. Rodriguez has said the third film will focus on Miller's Hell and Back, about a hallucinating artist named Wallace -- a role that has repeatedly been linked to everyone's favorite pirate Johnny Depp. "I ain't talking cast until we're actually shooting or close to it!" says Miller, but the article makes it seem like Depp is a definite ace in Miller's sleeve. I sure hope we get a couple more of these flicks, because I thought Sin City was awesome. It took me a second viewing to come to that conclusion, but that is where I now stand, in case you are interested. From a nudity standpoint alone, the movie deserves two ... no, three thumbs up. Carla Gugino, if you're reading this -- wanna go out for a burger or something? Or get married?
So is it just me, or is the summer movie season off to a crappy start? Oh the numbers are big with both 'Spider-Man 3' and 'Shrek 3' breaking box office records, and 'Pirates 3' is sure to do some record busting of its own. But aside from 'Shrek 3' (which I liked a lot), 'Spider-Man' got caught in his own web of emo B.S. and 'Pirates 3' ... just blows. But I'm not giving up the ship just yet (or limiting my high expectations to indie fare). I have super high hopes for 'Knocked Up' and I actually think that 'Transformers' might rock the house.
But in the meantime, matey, here's my take on this weekend's wide releases. Oh, but first ... What do Captain Jack Sparrow and Colin Farrell have in common? They're both searching for booty!! (Ba-dum ching!) And what do you call a pirate who poses for Playboy? A Play-matey! Thanks, I'll be here all week.
OK, here we go. Yes, that's right, the much anticipated finale of the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' series sails into theaters.
(Announcer voice) Last time on 'Pirates' ... If you remember, at the end of 'Pirates 2,' Lord Cutler stole Davy Jones' heart and Captain Jack was sent to Davy Jones' locker at the end of the world. Now, Captain Barbossa, Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann lead the crew of the Black Pearl to the world's end to rescue Jack Sparrow and to find the Pieces of Eight to reunite the Pirate Council of Nine to fight against Cutler, Jones and the entire East India Trading Company armada.
About seven hours into Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, someone stuffs a monkey into a cannon, lights the fuse and sends it shooting across the deck to crash into another character. That monkey is like us, the audience -- bruised, confused and unsure what it did to deserve this punishment. We have to endure a hurricane of hooey, a hydra-headed story with more subplots and pointless reversals than a Raymond Chandler tale and more doodad MacGuffins -- a compass that points to this, a key that unlocks that -- than even a parody could endure, all of which leads to a sort of white noise of confusion where a plot should be. Even if that monkey-cannon were pointed at my head, I couldn't explain to you why, for example, the key pirates from the previous two films are now introduced to us as 'pirate lords' -- leaders of some kind of pirate's union, which, judging by Captain Jack (Johnny Depp) and Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) does not offer dental. It's their lordship, and what that means for pirates everywhere, that this trilogy capper is supposedly about.
You'll remember that at the end of the last film, Dead Man's Chest, Depp's swishy swashbuckler was betrayed by Keira Knightley's colonial babe Elizabeth Swann, left manacled to the deck of his ship as it was being eaten by a steroid-squid, in the hopes that a sticky pirate curse would drown with him and his ship. The audience wasn't fooled -- even the most casual moviegoer knew Depp would be returning for part three -- but films that include an easy-breezy transition between life and afterlife often find themselves having to paddle twice as hard to get dramatic tension going, which is one of the problems that most plagues At World's End. After all, if no one can really die, what's the worst thing that can happen? (One of the reasons I've never bothered to read a comic book in my life, by the way) Somewhere around the thirty-minute mark of this one, we're re-introduced to Captain Jack, who is stuck in some kind of Looney Tunes purgatory, commanding a ship sitting in the middle of a desert, and crewed only by multiple Jack Sparrows.
Cinematical recently sent one of our Netscape colleagues, Ryan Budke, to the Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End junket in LA on our behalf, where he was able to snag some one-on-one time with the film's director, Gore Verbinski and, later on in the day, with action-blockbuster maestro Jerry Bruckheimer. Each interview is somewhat short, but taken together they make for a nice read -- I found it especially interesting to hear Bruckheimer's thoughts about the potential continuation of the Top Gun series and his confirmation that someone is indeed hard at work on the continuing adventures of Axel Foley. For Verbinski's part, he seems to be completely exhausted by the experience of shooting the film and is only dreaming about taking a long, uninterrupted vacation, before rotating back to the movie world. So here are the two interviews, back to back -- enjoy!
Gore Verbinski I'm sure these next two weeks are gonna be ...
GV: They're mad, but they're nothing compared to actually making the movie.
I guess I should ask you the question you've been asked a million times -- when will we get to see 'Pirates 4'?
GV: There are no plans for four. Ted and Terry and I are not spending nights until three in the morning writing and coming up with ideas. That's certainly what we did once we agreed to do the second and third one. We spent a lot of time just figuring out what story we wanted to tell. It doesn't mean that somewhere down the road we might not decide to jump in, and we've certainly left that option open, but I think everyone needs a little time off. And it really depends on -- is there a story worth telling? I don't think anyone wants to jump back into a 'here's your release date and there's no script.' I think we have a very talented crew and we've done what I think is some pretty amazing work under those circumstances, but they're not circumstances you want to engage in time after time.
You could always go the Indiana Jones route, and just take fifteen or twenty years off.
GV: See, that sounds good to me. I don't think it sounds so good to the studio.
So if we're not gonna get part four next summer, what's up next for you?
GV: Next summer ... insane. I'm looking forward to vacation, actually. This has been such a long time with no light at the end of the tunnel. I made the ring and couldn't go to the premiere because I was shooting Pirates. Then made The Weatherman, then Pirates, then Pirates3 ... so its been about seven or eight years or solid movie after movie. I'm looking forward to not knowing what I'm doing next, not owing somebody a movie, reading some books, reading some scripts ... just taking a little bit of time to just live instead of work.
When we first told you about a Salvador Dalí biopic in the works, the project was to be helmed by Simon West (Con Air). Ten months later, we got more news on the film, which had seemingly replaced West with Andrew Niccol (Gattaca). But now it seems we may have been discussing two different pictures. According to producer Peter Rawley (1975's Ransom), there was once nine projects in the works based on the surrealist's life. Now there are only four (known about), including Rawley's Dalí, which so far has a script by Philippe Mora (Howling III) and for which Rawley is trying to woo Johnny Depp to play the title role. According to the producer, Dalí will also be about the artist's whole life -- unlike the other films, which he claims are more about Dalí's wife and art-dealers -- and will be shot in Barcelona and Prague as soon as a cast is in place.
Did you have trouble following the plot of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest? Well, get ready to be more confused by the next installment, which arrives in theaters May 25. Entertainment Weekly has a cover story about the movie in its latest issue, hitting newstands (and my mailbox) today, which includes quotes from stars Orlando Bloom and Johnny Depp and director Gore Verbinski. All three seem to be in agreement that audiences and critics are going to have just as tough a time with Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End.
Bloom goes so far as to joke that writers Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio can't even explain what's going on in the new movie. Verbinski claims he doesn't mind if people are confused, though. He says the Pirates movies are made to be watched multiple times in order to be fully clear to the viewer. Of course, he seems to think that having a convoluted story means having a deep and intelligent story, because he goes on to tell the magazine that he doesn't want to dumb the movies down to where they are "processed cheese". He wants us to think about Pirates of the Caribbean afterward. Funny, I am one of the few critics who was able to enjoy Dead Man's Chest, but I never once thought about it afterward. Except maybe to tell someone how cool the Davy Jones character looks.
As for the critics, who universally panned the second movie (I didn't review it, unfortunately), Depp says they are going to attack At World's End just as much if not more. He understands the reasons why critics took "a dump" on the previous film, predicts that they'll "go below the belt" with the new film, and he says it's all "cool". The villains from the movies had a bit to say on the subject, too. Geoffrey Rush says that when you're doing such complex stunts and action sequences, you can't be thinking of the critics. Bill Nighy adds that the grosses point to the idea that the movies are doing something right, implying that the minority opinions of film reviewers don't seem to matter. Of course, Nighy will never have to worry about what critics say about him, as he's one of the most enjoyable actors working today. And Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End will likewise not have to worry about negative reviews, because it will make a bundle regardless -- that is, as long as enough people don't care about being confused again.
I'm searching for the right word to describe this trailer, and I guess the best way to go would be to say it's fantastical. Like with most Tim Burton-directed films, Sweeney Todd looks wonderful -- I love what he's done with the sets, and I especially love the way the trailer (most of which is dark and grim) suddenly bursts into color before falling back to eerie and sinister. The only issue I have with it -- and I can see why they didn't play this up more in the trailer -- is that, randomly, toward the end, Johnny Depp breaks out into song. Considering the fact that Sweeney Todd is based on a musical, and that there will be plenty of musical numbers included within, you'd think they'd tack on more of that here. Instead, we get a trailer for a movie that, if you weren't previously aware included a bunch of musical numbers, would have no idea after watching it -- and subsequently think that Depp singing scene was weird and out of place.
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