Celluloid's Cannes Coverage: Day 1

Robin Hood: Expectations for Ridley Scott's epic adaptation were considerably high, and reviews have been mixed to average. I can't say that's surprising, because it doesn't look like the tale of Robin Hood at all, but people have been in complete disagreement on the merits of the film. Guy Lodge from In Contention gave a medium review stating "It’s a fairly rote critical bitchslap to say that the closing credits are the best part of movie, but that’s quite literally the case in Ridley Scott’s Robin Hood. I say this not in snark, but in praise: it’s a genuinely remarkable credit sequence."

Leo Robson of the Financial Times completely bashed the film, stating "If Ridley Scott’s aim was to bewilder, then Robin Hood must be counted a storming success. From the opening scene, we are offered little idea of who is doing what to whom. As for why: forget it." Depending on how this weekend goes, the film could either prove to be a hit with audiences, or this year's Narnia: Prince Caspian.

Celluloid's Cannes Coverage: Opening Night

I'm not actually at the Cannes Film Festival, but I've got the next best thing: My computer at home. Why see the movies first-hand for myself, when I can find out what other people think, and then learn several months later that they were wrong (ex. Inglourious Basterds)? Isn't this the greatest way to handle this sort of situation? Yeah, I agree. This situation totally sucks.

Either way, I'll do whatever I can to give you an in depth look at the films premiering at Cannes, as well as the different deals that are made, and the awards that are doled out. Tomorrow I'll give you a heap of reviews concerning the opening night release, Robin Hood, and so it will be until Cannes finishes. I'll still try to keep up on the latest news and regulars.

Trailer Tuesday: Winter's Bone, Machete

I've gotten tired of watching the Inception trailer over and over again, so I'm done until I see the footage in the movie, or when the trailer plays in front of some other movie. So now we can get on to the other trailers of the week. First is the trailer for Winter's Bone, one of the biggest films that premiered at Sundance this year. The trailer gives us a good idea of the plot, but you have to see it for yourself to fully take it in. It's very mysterious, but the plot looks extremely original for that type of film. Expect a potential Oscar campaign in its future.

Next is the new trailer for the adaptation of the Grindhouse trailer, Machete. I'm excited to see this film, because when Robert Rodriguez takes on a dark subject, he turns it into a visual feast. When he takes on a childrens film (Spy Kids), it's a trippy childrens film nobody wants to see ever again. But Machete has been under his wing for a while, and to see that it's actually coming is just an amazing thing in itself. The trailer isn't too different from the original, but it does add some new characters, and cheesy but enjoyable dialogue ("We didn't cross the border! The border crossed us!"), so it actually seems like there will be an actual reason to go to the movies this Labor Day.

Winters Bone Trailer
Machete Trailer

Matthew Vaughn takes X-men: First Class

The success rated for the X-men franchise has been 2 out of 4 if you count Origins: Wolverine. The first two films were smart, action-filled, political, and emotional, and then Brett Ratner raped the franchise. Alright, everybody has to admit that despite how awful it was compared to the first two films, The Last Stand was pretty enjoyable. Then our favorite character (Logan) was ruined by revealing how he really came to be, in an extremely boring fashion.

Now it looks like we may actually get an amazing X-men film, since Matthew Vaughn (Kick-Ass) has taken the reigns of the series. As much as I love Kick-Ass and want a sequel to that, the box office gods don't seem to be favoring such an occurence. So now I completely believe that X-men: First Class will be a return to form for the series, seeing as it's being penned by two of my favorite Fringe writers, Zack Stentz and Ashley Miller. The film is currently set for release in June of next year, an already awesome summer for movies (ex. Harry Potter 7, Hangover 2, Super 8, etc.)

Iron Man 2 not as solid as expected?

I'm literally reporting on everything semi-significant happening in the world right now, and this news counts as that. After predictions on sunday posted that Iron Man 2 brought in $133.6 million, already far below expectations, it has turned out that the film brought in a good $5.5 million less than that. This brings into question just how well the film is playing to audiences. For even medium quality films I'd occasionally here a slight clapper of applause at the end credits. I heard no such reaction in either of the screenings I attended.

The most applause I heard was at the Inception, and Super 8 trailers, which were admittedly better than the actual film. I got the feeling that the audience wasn't quite embracing the film. There's a point where it's too grounded in reality, and yet too corny. The film wasn't bad, but it's not the type of film I'd ever want to see again. It doesn't merit a second viewing, which is something that's very important for a film to do. I guess we'll truly get a scope of the success of the film after this weekend when Robin Hood releases and takes much of the audience.

Inception Trailer Link

It doesn't feel like the trailer is just being officially released now, after being on the internet several days now. Still, here's the link for the trailer, and I promise it won't disappear any time soon. Also below are links for new TV spots for the film Inception, as well as for a snippet of the score by Hans Zimmer, so check it out.

Inception Trailer 3

TV Spot 1

TV Spot 2

TV Spot 3

Inception Score Sample

Iron Man 2 Review

Seeing as for the past three years the most anticipated summer movie has failed to meet expectations, it shouldn't be surprising that the same thing happened this year with Iron Man 2. Taking more cues from Transformers than Star Trek, the action sequel does a passable job at following up the gargantuan success of the first film, but suffers from a convoluted and shallow plot.

The film follows Tony Stark (Portrayed by Robert Downey Jr.) as he deals with his imminent death from palladium poisoning, the government attempting to seize the Iron Man tech to create an army of super-soldiers, and new villain Whiplash (Played by Mickey Rourke) casting doubt on Stark's ability to keep America safe. Any one of those plotlines would have sufficed for the entire film, but director Jon Favreau tries to fit too much information in, and not enough character development.

Downey Jr. does as great a job as ever, but is forced to portray Stark in such a negative light that by the end we seriously doubt that we really care about the hero of our story. I found myself enjoying Sherlock Holmes more than this, and found Iron Man 2 a little too cold and clinical going into the second and third acts. Sam Rockwell is one of the unadmired gems of the picture, offering much needed comic relief in a semi-villainous role. Mickey Rourke does an decent job with Whiplash, but the character is far to one dimensional and cartoonish to really take seriously. He's certainly no Heath Ledger.

Even the technical departments have difficulty putting something comprehensive together. Cinematographer Matthew Libatique’s work makes Cloverfield look like Citizen Kane. John Debney’s score is corny, and melodramatic, lacking any main musical theme to pull the film together. Even the visual effects look like they were taken out of a Saturday morning cartoon. Despite those problems, Iron Man 2 managed to avoid total ridicule using witty dialogue, humor, and charisma, and is far better than most of the films released previously this year.

B-

Box Office Report: Iron Man 2 Smashes Competition

As was expected several weeks ago, Iron Man 2 conquered the weekend and reduced the competition to ash. While Iron Man 2 opened spectacularly with 133 million, it's still well below projections stating the film would beat The Dark Knight's opening weekend record. Perhaps people saw little sense in seeing the film after the Inception and Super 8 trailers reached the internet.

Everything else in theatres was pretty standard. Babies with 1.5 million, which is pretty respectable given its limited release and heavy competion. Nightmare on Elm Street dropped by %72, taking in a measley $9 million. Overall the market was up from the same weekend last year when Star Trek premiered to much buzz. We should see things at the market start to pick up with the summer movie season official commenced.

Fringe: Northwest Passage Review

Last week was a nice breather, if a little corny at times, but we'll allow it because it's Fringe. This week we got back on task with what could also be classified as a filler episode, but it was just as juicy as any of the mythology episodes. The main showcase of Northwest Passage was Peter Bishop, and Joshua Jackson shows us why he's one of the main players of the show. More and more each week we are reminded that he is the only Peter there ever will be in any reality, and if we lose him, we may never know where to go next.

Peter helps a sherrif from Noyo County, Washington investigate a case he believes to be the work of Newton and the shapeshifters. It turns out that Newton is looking for him, but it doesn't have anything to do with the case. The last minute shock of seeing who Mr. Secretary may have been noticable from a mile away, but the moment played as perfectly as it could. Meanwhile Walter is having trouble coping with life without Peter, and prepares for the possibility of being sent back to St. Claires mental hospital.

In short appearances, Olivia, Broyles, Walter and Astrid each show how much of a family the group has become, and how shaken it is by Peter's disappearance. Peter shows that he doesn't need the rest of the group to figure his way around a case, but he is certainly lost without them. The episode feels different from many other episodes of Fringe, and really evokes The X-Files, but it does so intentionally and tastefully, that it passes off as more of a tribute to the old show.

Next week we head into the final stretch with the first part of the epic finale.

8.5 out of 10

Trailer Talk Exclusive: Super 8, and Inception!

I went to see Iron Man 2 yesterday, and I'll have a review for that up later on today. On a less busy weekend I'd just post it all up at once, but for now you'll just have to live with this. Most of the trailers playing before Iron Man 2 are unextraordinary, but there are two in particular that truly stick out. The first was Super 8, the still mysterious project from J.J. Abrams and Stephen Spielberg. The trailer didn't give us too much to go on, but it was certainly effective.

I was kind of hoping that there'd be some sort of delicious melody in the trailer, but it was pretty standard. The trailer does leave a feeling of excitement, and plenty of questions. Why was Area 51 shut down? Who was behind the wheel of that truck, and what pushed him to sacrifice his own life to derail that train? What the hell was in that cargo container? And most importantly, what does a Super 8 film camera have to do with all this? We'll have to wait to see how this film develops over the next year.
After the Super 8 teaser, we got the epic trailer we'd been hoping for for Inception. I've been waiting for this trailer with ridiculously high expectations for a trailer, and it exceeds all of them. Christopher Nolan hasn't let us down before, and he won't this time. The trailer does give away a bit of the plot, but it leaves us with many more questions, but not in the wrong way. Half the fun of the movie is discovering the secrets as they unfold before you.

Nolan's been holding this trailer for a while, and now I can see that he was just perfecting it. I have a hunch that Hans Zimmer's score for the trailer isn't the one he made for the film, but if it is I'm not complaining. The acting in the film looks at a level I haven't seen from them before. The dialogue is perfect as ever, not lacking a humorous touch ("You mustn't be afraid to dream a little bigger"). Wally Pfister's cinematography is at its here, and I could go on about the subtle details that make this trailer so compelling, but you really have to see it for yourself, so as soon as the trailer becomes available online, I will post it.

Needless to say that this is the current front runner for the awards race, in so many categories. Off the top of my head I'd put it down for Best Picture, Actor (Leonardo DiCaprio), Director, Supporting Actress (Marion Cotillard), Supporting Actor (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), Original Screenplay, Visual Effects, Score, Cinematography, Film Editing, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, and Art Direction. That's 13 nominations that it stands a very great chance of winning. We'll just have to wait and see how it turns out.

Weekend Update: 2nd Week of May

This weekend was set in stone a long time ago. It's already common knowledge that Iron Man 2 will dominate the weekend. The question is, by how much? Many have estimated it breaking The Dark Knight's opening weekend record. Somehow I don't think that'll happen, but it'll come close. I'm guessing the sequel will land around $140 million this weekend, which is not something to throw a fit about at all.

The only other major(ish) release this weekend is Babies, but don't expect that to beat Iron Man 2. Ultimately, there is nothing to see this weekend other than the superhero adaptation, so enjoy.

Brad Bird Officially Directing Mission Impossible 4!

We've gotten quite a bit of Abrams news in the past week, and this should be a pretty good cap-off for the recent events. Brad Bird (The Incredibles, Ratatouille) has been confirmed to direct Mission Impossible 4, from a story forged by J.J. Abrams and Tom Cruise. While it may not be the 1906 that everybody's been hoping for, it's a solid step in that direction. Brad Bird has delivered some of the most amazing action films already, but for some reason animated films don't count.

If Bird gets this right, which he will, then there shouldn't be any doubt in his directing ability anymore. Plus this means that, along with Super 8, we will get two new Michael Giacchino scores next year. Today is a good day.