celluloidnotes

FILM OF THE WEEK:
The Limits of Control
dir. Jim Jarmusch
Starring: Isaach De Bankolé

All that really needs to be said is new Jim Jarmusch. But since that would be the short way out I’ll continue with that Jarmusch never misses. This film looks mysterious and fantastic - the buzz is positive. I see no way this can go too wrong.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine
dir. Gavin Hood
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Liev Schreiber, Ryan Reynolds

Despite the early leak of a rough cut of this film there has continued to be a lot of positive buzz about the fourth live action X-Men film. The other three were essentially about Wolverine, but this Wolverine focused film comes on the heels of Wolverine month at Marvel (how coincidental) and appears to be a success. This film will definitely be at the top of box office charts to be sure.

Battle for Terra
dir. Aristomenis Tsirbas
Starring: Evan Rachel Wood, Luke Wilson, Justin Long

Despite the absurd looks of this debut animation endeavor from Snoot Entertainment there has been nothing but positive buzz about this film. IMDB is predicting a big success here, I wouldn’t be surprised. Kid’s movies have done very well at the box office so far this year, and we’re waiting for something to displace the mediocre Monsters vs. Aliens as this year’s reigning kid’s champion.

Ghosts of Girlfriends Past
dir. Mark Waters
Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Jennifer Garner, Emma Stone

Dear lord, make it end. It’s sure to be a disaster.

PICK OF THE WEEK:
The Informers [limited]
dir. Gregor Jordan
Starring: Billy Bob Thornton, Kim Basinger, Mickey Rourke, Winona Ryder, Brad Renfro

There has been some nasty buzz on this one. From IMDB: “he rage for all things 1980s ends here, since Gregor Jordan’s adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis’s novel was all but disowned by the Sundance set after its premiere back in January. The idea of a nearly always nude Amber Heard should not conjure up notions of it’s-so-bad-it’s-Showgirls-good here. Seriously, just move away and move on from this one.” And Brett Easton Ellis (who wrote the novel) seems to be very displeased with the outcome, even though he wrote the script. Nonetheless, Ellis’ writing is generally fantastic and - despite his relentless focus on the disillusionment of the 80s - we can’t help but have a little bit of excitement over the potential behind another Ellis driven film.

Mutant Chronicles [limited]
dir. Simon Hunter
Starring: Thomas Jane, Ron Perlman, Devon Aoki

This film was initially panned hard at Comic-Con last year, but Magnolia passed along some more control to director Hunter to retool the film. This has series written all over it. It’s a sort of post-apocalyptic version of Pitch Black meets X-Men (kind of). Four corporations battle to save Earth from a mutant menace that was unleashed by an explosion at a prison - in the future.

Earth [on 04/22]
dir. Alastair Fothergill Mark Linfield
Starring: Patrick Stewart

Earth is a sort of Blue Planet revamp that follows four families of animals through their migration cycle.

The Soloist
dir. Joe Wright
Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Jamie Foxx, Catherine Keener

An odd release date for a film that looked, initially, like it was surely Oscar bait. B=Maybe it’s part of a new plan to get in the mind of the Adacemy early on, or maybe Dreamworks has completely lost faith in the film.

Obsessed
dir. Steve Shill
Starring: Beyoncé Knowles, Idris Elba, Ali Larter

Obsessed can be counted in for next week’s top ten biggest grossers, but there are real questions about it’s ability to stay there for more than one week. Lots of negative buzz already. We have little faith here.

Fighting
dir. Dito Montiel
Starring: Channing Tatum, Terrence Howard, Luis Guzmán

A kid gets caught up in an underground world of fighting and finds Terrence Howard and Terrence Howard acts like Terrence Howard.

Tyson [limited]
dir. James Toback
Starring: Mike Tyson

Tyson, a documentary about the life of legendary boxer Mike Tyson, was a smash at Sundance this year. This is the doc to see this year, so far. Don’t miss it (it’s pretty fantastic).

As is often the case around this time of year, the trailers are appearing everywhere you look. And, as is also typical this time of year, I want to see everything that looks even remotely interesting because I’ve got the thirst to see new films and know by the time these come out I’ll take any excuse to get out the heat. So, hear are some new trailers that are just hitting the InterWebs:

Trailer for Valhalla:

Edgar Wright gives the first glimpses of Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (which The Playlist is following better than anyone else):

Blog One - Introduction - Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World from Scott Pilgrim The Movie on Vimeo.

A new trailer for Rian Johnson’s The Brothers Bloom:

The trailer for Moon, a new Sci-Fi film starring Sam Rockwell and directed by Duncan Jones (he’s David Bowie’s son):

Also there is a trailer for the sequel to Descent here (obviously called Descent 2).

PICK OF THE WEEK:
State of Play
dir. Kevin Macdonald
Starring: Russell Crowe, Rachel McAdams, Ben Affleck, Helen Mirren

Only positive things seem to be coming about this political thriller. Macdonald is a rising director, and has been given a great cast for this film. Let’s hope it lives up to expectations.

Crank: High Voltage
dir. Mark Neveldine, Brian Taylor
Starring: Jason Statham, Amy Smart, Clifton Collins Jr.

This sequel seems ill advised from the get-go. I seem to be one of the few who thought the first Crank was an abysmal train-wreck. The commentary to that film only confirm the notion that this debut directorial team phoned this one in. At the end of the first film Chev Chelios (Statham) seems to be dead - as you might have guessed he is not. Now instead of adrenaline to keep himself alive he needs regular shocks of electricity to his heart to seek his revenge. The directorial team definitely has a stylized visual palate, but we hope that the script has a little more style than their last one.

17 Again
dir. Burr Steers
Starring: Zac Efron, Matthew Perry, Leslie Mann

Hillary Duff isn’t the only child star that is struggling to be taken seriously by adults…Only this probably isn’t the film that’s going to do it for Efron

Every Little Step [limited]
dir. Adam Del Deo, James D. Stern

This documentary follows a series of actress auditioning to be in the latest Broadway revival of Chorus Line. Looks interesting despite the less than interesting subject matter.

Is Anybody There? [limited]
dir. John Crowley
Stars: Michael Caine, Bill Milner

this drama focuses on a ten-year-old boy (Milner) who is growing up in a retirement home that his family owns and his relationship with a retired magician (Caine). Looks quirky, funny, sad, about everything you’re looking for if you aren’t excited about the oncoming Blockbuster season.

Last Week’s Top Ten
1. Hannah Montana: The Movie
2. Fast & Furious
3. Monsters vs. Aliens
4. Observe and Report
5. Knowing
6. I Love You, Man
7. The Haunting in Connecticut
8. Dragonball: Evolution
9. Adventureland
10. Duplicity

PICK OF THE WEEK
Anvil! The Story of Anvil [LA/NY]
dir. Sacha Gervasi
Stars: Robb Reiner, Steve ‘Lips’ Kudlow, Tiziana Arrigoni

Anvil! has been getting nothing but a ton of positive buzz. Since the 2008 Sundance fest there has been a lot of anticipation for this film. It’s finally seeing a limited theatrical release and certainly has the potential to expand to more theaters if there are still cinema-goers looking for something a little more meaty than the pre-summer releases that have been flooding theaters since the end of Oscar season.

Observe and Report
dir. Jody Hill
Stars: Seth Rogen, Anna Faris, Ray Liotta

This seems to be the Apatow family equivalent of Paul Blart: Mall Cop, except funny. Though what do I know? I said Paul Blart was a terrible film and it’s made more money than about anything in 2009 so far. Maybe you’re best off not listening to me, though I’m still going to say that this is probably a whole lot better than Blart.

Hannah Montana: The Movie
dir. Peter Chelsom
Stars: Miley Cyrus, Emily Osment, Billy Ray Cyrus

The first step in what is largely seen as Miley Cyrus’ attempts to become a little bit more of an adult star. Nonetheless, I’m going to go out on a limb and assume that this film isn’t really for adults.

Dragonball: Evolution
dir. James Wong
Stars: Justin Chatwin, James Marsters, Yun-Fat Chow

As the IMDB buzz says this is just part of the stream of films that includes last summer’s SpeedRacer, which sees Hollywood trying to create feature films out of anime. We’ll see if this winds up being a little more interesting than SpeedRacer.

Last Week’s Top 10:
1. Fast & Furious
2. Monsters vs. Aliens
3. The Haunting in Connecticut
4. Knowing
5. I Love You, Man
6. Adventureland
7. Duplicity
8. Race to Witch Mountain
9. 12 Rounds
10. Sunshine Cleaning

Missed you last week. We had to go on a short hiatus there while some other things got lined up. But, back to our regular programming. What to see this weekend:

PICK OF THE WEEK:
Adventureland
dir. Greg Mottola
Stars: Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, Ryan Reynolds

Another creation from the (more-or-less) Apatow factory. This time Mottola (Superbad) is opting for some huge stars with the great Jesse Eisenberg in the lead. We’ll see if it lives up to the recent spat of solid Factory films, but it looks fairly promising.

Fast & Furious
dir. Justin Lin
Stars: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Michelle Rodriguez

The series is back with Paul Walker and Vin Diesel in the lead. Which leads us to believe that people are still paying to see these films for some reason.

Sugar
dir. Anna Boden Ryan Fleck
Stars: Algenis Perez Soto

HBO films biopic of Miguel Santos journey from The Domincan Republic to the US to play minors baseball looks interesting. But will the biopic really stray from the well worn path of most boring biopics that are flooding the cinema?

Gigantic [limited]
dir. Matt Aselton
Stars: Paul Dano, Zooey Deschanel, John Goodman

Gigantic looks like a really great film, with a pretty amazing cast. Dano has been in some fantastic films since his great performance in There Will Be Blood, and this doesn’t look like it’ll stray too far from the mark.

Paris 36
dir. Christophe Barratier
Stars: Gérard Jugnot, Clovis Cornillac, Kad Merad

Paris 36 is the story of the residence of a poor northern Paris neighborhood who decide to put on a musical. Those crazy Parisians. Meh.

Alien Trespass [limited]
dir. R.W. Goodwin
Stars: Eric McCormack, Jenni Baird, Robert Patrick

A mock B-movie (clearly) that looks kind of funny, but you never can tell with a film that is intentionally flaunting itself as a B film.

LAST WEEK’s TOP TEN:
1. Monsters vs. Aliens
2. The Haunting in Connecticut
3. Knowing
4. I Love You Man
5. Duplicity
6. Race To Witch Mountain
7. 12 Rounds
8. Watchmen
9. Taken
10. The Last House on the Left

PICK OF THE WEEK:
Duplicity
dir. Tony Gilroy
Starring: Julia Roberts, Clive Owen

Going a little mainstream on the pick of the week, and putting some blind faith in tony Gilroy’s ability to deliver in his second directorial adventure. It’s another spy thriller, which is hopefully as surprising as his great Michael Clayton. Like every other spy thriller this year it stars Clive Owen. Meh, I’m going with it.

Knowing
dir. Alex Proyas
Stars: Nicolas Cage, Chandler Canterbury, Rose Byrne

Remember when Nicolas Cage used to do films that were at least mildly interesting, I don’t anymore. This film is about Cage’s family and their son who discovers an artifact that predicts natural disasters. Sounds like a snooze-fest that you surely be on next week’s top ten list.

Sin Nombre [limited]
dir. Cary Fukunaga
Stars: Paulina Gaitan

Sin Nombre was second in the running for this weeks PICK OF THE WEEK. It’s a story of two teenagers from Honduras who hop aboard a freight train bound for America. Both are running from their past. The trailer is very enticing.

I Love You, Man
dir. John Hamburg
Stars: Paul Rudd, Jason Segel, Rashida Jones

Next up from the Apatow factory: I Love You, Man. All of the promo has given very little away about this film, or there is really no plot. Expect a funny first act, a mildly funny second act - with lots of zaniness, and a third act where morality surfaces and everyone learns a little something about themselves.

Lesbian Vampire Killers
dir. Phil Claydon
Starring: James Corden, MyAnna Buring

I don’t know what to say. Only AWESOME comes to mind. (Kind of looks like an Edgar Wright film, no?)

The Great Buck Howard
dir. Sean McGinly
Starring: John Malkovich, Colin Hanks

This honestly looks like it could be a great film, or another semi-boring idea that got watered down by focus groups. Great guest stars (Conan O’Brian, Martha Stewart, Tom Hanks), and Malkovich is always great (we think).

Super Capers
dir. Ray Griggs
Stars: Justin Whalin, Ray Griggs, Danielle Harris

Not sure about this. It almost sounds like it should be thrown in with the Scary Movie lot, but who knows. I’ve got no faith in this and the early signs seem to say I’m right.

Last Week’s Top Ten:
1. Race to Witch Mountain
2. Watchmen
3. Last House on the Left
4. Taken
5. Madea Goes to Jail
6. Slumdog Millionaire
7. Paul Blart: Mall Cop
8. He’s Just Not That Into You
9. Coraline
10. Miss March

Bit by bit we’re learning more and more about Jim Jarmusch’s forthcoming new feature The Limits of Control. You can see the new poster, which was just unveiled, above. Has a nice retro vibe, right? (Anyone else see the Sunn O))) in there?)

The film is the story of a hitman, who adheres to a strict code of conduct, as he wanders across Spain searching for someone or something (nothing released really makes that clear). The brief and elusive synopsis makes it seem more like a Jarmusch film than that first sentence might lead you to believe. “His journey, paradoxically both intently focused and dreamlike, takes him not only across Spain but also through his own consciousness.”

The film features Issach De Bankole as the loner, with support from John Hurt, Gael Garcia Bernal, Bill Murray, Tilda Swinton and many other great and unknown stars of international and American cinema. It was shot by Wong Kar-Wai stand-by Christopher Doyle (which basically ensures that it’s going to be a sweeping beautiful film). And it is being scored by a handful of post-rock-minimalist ensembles including Boris (who seems to be at the helm), Sunn O))), and Earth.

The trailer for The Limits of Control is definitely nothing more than a teaser, but it definitely piques our interest. The film is going to be released on May 22. Looking forward to it.

There have been a big pile of trailers released for the summer blockbusters in recent weeks and I’m going to attempt to round some of these up here for your viewing pleasure. If this doesn’t make you a little excited for the summer films it’s quite possible nothing will.

The Star Trek Trailer:

Public Enemies. The new Michael Mann film with Johnny Depp and Christian Bale going to it.

Terminator Salvation, another Christian Bale summer flik.

Harry Potter & The Half Blood Prince:

There you’ve got it. That’s all for today, but a few intriguing trailers. Lots of great indie pictures coming out right now, but I’m ready for some blockbusters.

PICK OF THE WEEK
Sunshine Cleaning [limited]
dir. Christine Jeffs
Starring: Amy Adams, Emily Blunt, Alan Arkin

This was last years Sundance darling. The buzz is still all positive. the film is a quirky sentimental comedy that the studio is hoping is this year’s Little Miss Sunshine. Is there an Arkin connection?

Race to Witch Mountain
dir. Andy Fickman
Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Carla Gugino, AnnaSophia Robb

Dwayne Johnson. Self explanatory.

Last House on the Left
dir. Dennis Iliadis
Stars: Garret Dillahunt, Monica Potter, Tony Goldwyn

A remake of the classic horror film. A sentence that appears on this site weekly. If you don’t know my feeling about this sub-genre: I think it’s crap.

Miss March
dir. Zach Cregger, Trevor Moore
Starring: Zach Cregger, Trevor Moore, Raquel Alessi

The kids from Whitest Kids You Know have made a film. One guys goes into a coma and wakes up to discover his high school sweetheart is now a model for Playboy. Hijinx surely ensue.

Brothers at War [limited]
dir. Jake Rademacher
Stars: Jake Rademacher, Isaac Rademacher, Joe Rademacher

Jake Rademacher takes cameras into the war in Iraq to discover what his brothers Issac and Joe are experiencing in the war. This is a slightly lo-fi but engaging film that should be seen (and might be now that the heavy slurry of Iraq films has subsided.

Sex Positive [limited]
dir. Daryl Wein
Starring: Richard Berkowitz

Three Monkeys
dir. Nuri Bilge Ceylan

This is the newest film from Turkish director Nuri Bilge Ceylan. Becoming known for his plodding nearly ambient films Ceylan is trying a more plot driven approach with this film. A politician kills a man with his car and decides to turn himself in, but the story is much more complicated than he realizes. Ceylan won the Best Director award at last years Cannes festival for this film.

Severed Ways [limited]
dir. Tony Stone
Starring: Gabriella Mary Hoffmann, David Perry

Severed Ways is a film about the Nordic discovery of America. I think there will be a little less Pathfinder in here, and maybe a little bit more Mongol. Dear lord, let’s hope so.

Z [limited]
dir. Costa Gavras
Starring: Yves Montand, Irene Papas

The Z is not for Zombie. The 1969 Oscar winning film is getting a fresh theatrical release in New York on a fresh 35mm print.

This is a historical-political thriller from cinematic master Costa Gravas. This is fantastic. Pray that people go out and see this and that it winds up in your town. In the meantime find more Gavras and watch it.

Edge of Love [limited]
dir. John Maybury
Starring: Keira Knightley, Sienna Miller

Edge of Love is a story about two women who were connected by the occasionally philandering poet Dylan Thomas. The film has got a decent buzz, and hopefully isn’t too sentimental, because Thomas never was (except in his love letters, which were often far over the top).