Showing posts with label 12 Years A Slave. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 12 Years A Slave. Show all posts

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

"Prometheus" marks end of arrival for Michael Fassbender

I always feel robbed when an indie film star finally hits a stride of mainstream hits, and very quickly ceases to be mine. Michael Fassbender wasn't a cinder of non-existence at the start of last year, having had plenty more than memorable roles in the few years prior. His winning single-chapter stint in "Inglourious Basterds" was my first brush with the transformative actor, playing a charismatic connoisseur of cinema. Indeed he has taken in cinema of a rather wide branch, from his less known, but far more devastating work on films like "Hunger" and "Fish Tank", Fassbender is now one of the latest exciting commodities in mainstream film.

"Prometheus", which released recently to high buzz followed by declining critical and box office returns, does mark a certain climax in terms of this massive arrival party for Fassbender. It seems all too appropriate, given he's playing a corporate robot of massive intellectual properties who defies rational behavior to achieve his goals. The fact that Fassbender has had such a dynamite reception as of recent is some kind of oddity, though he has honestly been silently paving the way for a boom of activity that rushes him into the public interest. His work in mainstream cinema actually goes all the way back to 2007.

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

McQueen takes on "12 Years a Slave"

 I don't remember the last time I wrote about simple news such as this. Then again, I don't remember the last time news truly warranted my attention enough for me to write about it. I guess I'm just in too much of a rut to pass up an opportunity. In any case, Steve McQueen is currently in a tight position to prove himself, which some could say he already has with "Hunger". I admit that hardly a day goes by that I don't think about the thoughts and emotions that his debut feature stirred up, but that was a debut feature. McQueen is in need of another success to make this news remain news.

McQueen has just been attached to direct "12 Years a Slave", based on the autobiography written by Solomon Northrup. The film would follows the kidnap and slavery of Northrup, despite being born a free man. Depending on what McQueen's next film, "Shame", turns out like, this might be a fantastic third project for the up-and-comer. We won't know for sure until Venice, but I'm still on the side of caution. I trust McQueen not to fail, but I also know that I can't place trust in somebody I've only met once. I'll still probably have "12 Years a Slave" high on my must list for whenever it arrives.