Coming your way October 28th, The Rum Diary is the next motion picture from the mind of Hunter S. Thompson, and the trailer looks awfully good. Based on the novel, this one finds us following Johnny Depp as Paul Kemp, as a New York journalist who goes to work for a newspaper in Puerto Rico. Filled with an assortment of alcohol, hallucinations... maybe, and a wild ride of a humble journalist … [Read more...]
The name Jeremiah Chechik may be familiar to a certain crowd these days. As the director of many episodes of shows like: Chuck, Gossip Girl, Burn Notice, Leverage, and others, those that pay attention to such things may recognize the name. Out of films since the disaster that was 98's The Avengers, Chechik does not have a lot of movies under his belt, but he does have one of the best … [Read more...]
Few releases have offered less interest pre-viewing than Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. Not only was At World's End nearly indescribable in its awfulness, but the move to Rob Marshall as director didn't inspire a lot of confidence. Something about being a choreographer and/or directing the passable Chicago, and the abysmal Nine apparently translates into "obvious choice for pirate … [Read more...]
Bringing back The Man With No Name is a tricky enterprise in this day and age. Not only because of the obvious difficulties with putting out Westerns, but also because of the comparisons similar to those that floated around True Grit. There's little point trying to recast Clint Eastwood. Rango not only brings back The Man With No Name, but in some sense also brings back The Man With No Name, … [Read more...]
Much like Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland is a story that has become a bit lost in the many retellings. Tim Burton’s effort sidesteps (or hopes to) the difficulty by telling a different story. This story is a revisit, literally. Alice returns to Wonderland, meets the old crew, and embarks upon something like a similar adventure, but things are nevertheless rather different this time around (not … [Read more...]
Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland is coming to Blu-Ray and DVD on June 1st, and I've got a preview of the features for you. While your interest is piqued, make sure you check my review here. Tumble down the rabbit hole with Alice for a fantastical new adventure from Walt Disney Pictures and Tim Burton. Inviting and magical, ALICE IN WONDERLAND is an imaginative new twist on some of the most … [Read more...]
Much like Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland is a story that has become a bit lost in the many retellings. Tim Burton's effort sidesteps (or hopes to) the difficulty by telling a different story. This story is a revisit, literally. Alice returns to Wonderland, meets the old crew, and embarks upon something like a similar adventure, but things are nevertheless rather different this time around … [Read more...]
Public Enemies, a story about John Dillinger, recreates the 1930s admirably, but also takes a shot at recreating its movies. It's a complicated love affair this film is spinning, because it's trying to be true to the lives of its major characters, but it's also working on the aspects of their lives that aren't exactly real. It's a curious time and position to find yourself in really, and one … [Read more...]
If you happened to contribute your dollars to the slightly under $10 million amassed by 1995's Cutthroat Island, you don’t have to wonder what went wrong with that movie. What went wrong, that is, that turned that movie into the biggest money loser of all time (It has since been surpassed, and resides at number five on the list). The swashbuckling, pirate adventure, once a mainstay of Hollywood, … [Read more...]
There is something different going on in a “children’s story” in which fairies are said to “fall down dead.” They don’t “go away.” They don’t even “die.” No, they fall down dead. This something different has been abandoned by film and stage attempts at Peter Pan for so many years that the spirit of the story has been diluted into near meaninglessness. As an aside, … [Read more...]
