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Idris Elba Guards the Bifröst Bridge in 'Thor'

Colin Boyd — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 03:02:19 +0000

Kenneth Branagh keeps gobbling up talent for Thor. The last time we talked about the Marvel movie, arguably the trickiest of any Marvel flick so far because a fair portion of it plays in another plane and the leads are relative unknowns, we remarked that Branagh was actually putting together one of the better casts any of the brand's superhero movies has seen. And it just improved yet again.

Idris Elba (Rocknrolla, Obsessed, The Wire) has been added to the ensemble, portraying Heimdall, the guardian of Asgard who protects the Bifröst Bridge. That comes to us from The Hollywood Reporter. It might seem strange that Elba is playing a Norse God, but not to me; I'm the guy who thought Will Smith would make a better Captain America than any other choices being bandied about and campaigned for 2012's Chiwetel Ejiofor to play Dr. Watson in Sherlock Holmes.

Full-Length Trailer for 'Season of the Witch'

Colin Boyd — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:21:47 +0000

Season of the Witch looks like it could be a pretty effective Dark Ages action movie...were it not for Nic Cage. There are things Cage can do really, really well, and in fact, he's getting his best notices in years thanks to Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans, which opens today in some cities.

However, he looks suspiciously out of place here, along with Ron Perlman, as the only Americans in 14th century Europe, who are providing a kind of police escort to a witch believed to be responsible for the Black Plague. Witch though she may be, history will prove that she has nothing to do with the plague. Thanks, science.

But as I said, it looks like it has a lot of pieces in place, and the witch - Claire Foy - might be one of those surprising little breakout performances. But Perlman and Cage should have tried accents or the producers should have tried other actors. There's just simply too wild an inconsitency between the setting and the other characters and Hellboy and Memphis Raines. It might be fine in a movie that doesn't look like it has any life to it at all, but based on the limited amount of stuff we've seen, that doesn't appear to be the case here.

Dustin Hoffman Out of 'Little Fockers'?

Colin Boyd — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:16:04 +0000

If conditions hold, it looks as though Dustin Hoffman is out of Little Fockers. Entertainment Weekly says Hoffman wants a more sizable role in the threequel, in addition to squabbles about the shooting schedule.

Although Hoffman was not going to carry much of the action - he was only planned for an extended cameo - it does crack the shell of this movie just a little bit. Le Babs will still play Ben Stiller's mother, according to the report, which neither Hoffman's reps nor Universal would confirm nor deny.

Box Office: 'New Moon' Breaks $20 Million at Midnight

Colin Boyd — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:48:05 +0000

We knew New Moon would be headed for a great big weekend, but this big? Even that's a little surprsing. Deadline Hollywood cites sources from other studios saying that the Twilight sequel has debuted in the mid-$20 million range for midnight showings, slightly better than Harry Potter, and substantially more than The Dark Knight last summer.

Dark Knight set a towering 12:01 mark at $18.4 million, which lasted a year. Half-Blood Prince raised the bar to $22.2 million, and the estimates for New Moon are about a million bucks ahead of that. "It could break every existing record for Friday," one executive claimed. "But Saturday will be a different story."

And indeed, it probably will be. Twilight slumped 40% in just its second day, and dipped another 40% on Sunday, meaning its day three tally was only about one-third of the Friday high. Our own estimate for New Moon takes on a similar model, but the raw numbers are much higher - $51 million today, $31 million tomorrow, $18.5 on Sunday. Again, that's just our estimate, and for the Friday totals, I lumped midnight screenings in with the regular show times.

Video - Inside the 'Fantastic Mr. Fox' Puppet Shop

Colin Boyd — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:52:12 +0000

I can't even begin to fathom how exacting the work is to make a film like The Fantastic Mr. Fox. A feature-length production that is literally shot frame-by-frame instead of scene-by-scene is grueling enough to consider, but then there's the mechanical setup required for every frame, which as you probably know, only constitutes 1/24th of a second. Now extend that amount of work over 87 minutes...that's over 125,000 frames, and each one (not counting credits, obviously) has to be completely engineered from the ground up.

There's a new featurette for Mr. Fox that goes inside the puppet shop with Wes Anderson, so you can see a little bit about the sort of determination and dedication required to make a film like this, to say nothing about making a film like this good or entertaining.

I do wish it were a bit longer - I know, I know: That would be even more work - because once you start watching something like this, it's so fascinating that you just want to learn more about it.

'Jackass' Returns...In 3-D

Colin Boyd — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:06:39 +0000

Well, all I can say is I hope there's still enough story left to tell: Cinematical reveals that Paramount is pushing a Jackass 3-D into theaters next year. Clearly falling into the "better you than me" category, watching the Jackass stunt players risk life and limb in the most ridiculous, grotesque fashion imaginable has been downright huge business for the studio, which of course, always had an inside track thanks to the show's MTV roots.

The two films have combined for over $150 million and cost about one-tenth of that amount, and I apologize for calling them "films." A term like "geek shows" seems more appropriate, and I'm sure Johnny Knoxville and company would find that rather flattering. And after four long years, they'll be back with more things you can't bear to watch.

Week in Review: 'New Moon,' Oscars, 'Batman 3'

Colin Boyd — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:34:57 +0000

Hey, whaddya know: It's New Moon weekend, and it's bound to be a big one. In fact, we break down the potential box office for the film and its remarkable pre-sale numbers below, as part of our weekly bite-size news bundle. But put it this way: It's pretty much going to be the dominant movie headline of the weekend. The kinds love their vampires.

However, that's the future, and unlike Mark McGwire, we're here to talk about the past. So let's reflect on the week that was, which including another crushing defeat for Will Ferrell, a pretty solid list of the decade's best films, notable exclusions in the Oscars documentary pool, and another smokin' trailer for Nine.

New Moon Money #1: Pre-sale record shattered

New Moon Money #2: Anybody got change for $100 million?

The decade's top film accoring to Paste

Kate Hudson sings, dances in hot new Nine trailer

We know we'll know something about Batman 3 in January

Casting rumors for Spidey 4's Black Cat heat up

Will Ferrell named Hollywood's most overpaid actor

No Michael Moore, No Tyson: The Oscar documentary shortlist

Speaking of Oscar, can Inglourious Basterds win Best Picture?

Robert Downey, Jr. wants some time off...maybe lots and lots of it

Movie Review - 'The Twilight Saga: New Moon'

Colin Boyd — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:11:24 +0000

The Twilight Saga: New Moon

Starring Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, and Taylor Lautner
Directed by Chris Weitz
Rated PG-13

Like last year's toy left out in the yard to endure the elements, The Twilight Saga has lost its novelty with the second entry, New Moon. Fans of the series probably won't be disappointed, but that's what fans are for. If you're only mildly curious or in any way objective, it's hard to call this movie a success.

On a certain level (and only one), it's slightly better than Twilight, but that film had a greater sense of arrival and better storytelling. New Moon is at odds with itself, alternately taking itself way too seriously and interjecting uncomfortable humor where it's not necessary.

The best thing about New Moon is probably its moody cinematography. It shares that, generally speaking, with its predecessor, but Chris Weitz is a more assured visual director than Catherine Hardwicke, and the film looks like the world it's supposed to portray. And unfortunately, Weitz doesn't even make the most of his best feature, never trying with any consistency a more Gothic directorial style that could certainly feel at home here. It's fairly pedestrian outside of its color palette.

The visual effects, which have to be considered under the same umbrella, show the seams of a cheap production, or at least a production not at all concerned with realistic werewolves. If you're making, I dunno, The Godfather, CGI werewolves probably aren't a top priority. But if you're making a film that is in part about a guy who transforms into a wolf, it's rather important. It undercuts, to a degree, the accomplishment of the cinematography.

But the praise for New Moon more or less ends there, and I think you'll admit, it was fairly faint praise. The great Michael Sheen, who should have at least one Oscar nomination based on his work in The Queen and Frost/Nixon, was apparently handsomely paid for playing the evil, calculating vampire mafioso Aro, and the producers got their money's worth. His performance is the only standout, and it's all too brief.

Movie Review - 'The Messenger'

Colin Boyd — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 07:02:51 +0000

The Messenger

Starring Ben Foster, Woody Harrelson, and Samantha Morton
Directed by Oren Moverman
Rated R

The best parts of the Mel Gibson Vietnam film We Were Soldiers did not take place on the battlefield. Instead, they were the quiet moments when the bad news was delivered to loved ones that a soldier was killed in action. And it's an interesting perspective to see if you've never really thought about it, particularly in that environment, where it is balanced with the a different kind of savagery altogether.

Or so I thought at the time. And now I've seen The Messenger.

Centered on the unenviable task at hand and the relationships these soldiers forge with each other and - in a turn of events that is strictly against protocol - the next of kin (stripped of its emotional impact by the military abbreviation NOK), The Messenger is a poignant film without wringing the tears out of you at every opportunity. And it features very strong performances by Ben Foster, Woody Harrelson, and Samantha Morton.

Staff Sgt. Will Montgomery (Foster) is new to the job, and is obviously not prepared for what it entails. The first rule of delivering this news to the next of kin is to never make physical contact with them, which could be for personal safety, emotional distance, or both. He is shown the ropes by grizzled veteran Capt. Tony Stone (Harrelson), who we can imagine was a lot like Montgomery once upon a time, before the rigors of the job turned him into something else, someone more mechanical, and probably because he had no choice.

The conflict arises from a meeting that has unexpected fallout: Montgomery tells Olivia (the always strong Samantha Morton) that her husband was lost in battle and she reacts in an unusual way: She feels sympathy for her messenger, forced to to be forever linked with the deaths of all of these soldiers. What's the protocol for that kind of response?

Cool 'For Your Consideration' Ads and Posters

Colin Boyd — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 05:50:37 +0000

Kudos to Awards Daily for putting together a nice gallery of posters specifically tailored to the awards season. It's beginning to look a lot like Oscar, of course, and the studios spend, spend, and spend to get the attention of Academy voters and press members alike.

We won't steal their thunder, so please check out Awards Daily to see the gallery, which is sure to expand in the coming weeks. But here's a sample: "Please vote for us" posters for Up, Fantastic Mr. Fox, and the Coen Brothers' A Serious Man. Click on any poster to see the full image.