Trailer for upcoming "9/11" featuring Charlie Sheen and Whoopi Goldberg is just as awesomely bad as you might have thought it would be

There's no hiding the fact that Charlie Sheen was, maybe still is, a conspiracy-chaser that believed "9/11" was an inside job. He hasn't been shy about it either saying publicly "The 9/11 story is a fraud," among many other things. So, it's quite surprising to find him starring in an upcoming fall movie about the tragedy. 

"9/11" is set for release this September and will be distributed by Atlas. It is based on Patrick Carson's stage play "Elevator," they should have probably kept that title, and is being geared up with the tagline "The world watched it, we lived it." Yikes.

According to EW: "The film recreates actual events adapted from voicemail messages left by victims. The story follows five people trapped in an elevator inside the World Trade Center’s North Tower. The group works together to find hope amid seemingly inescapable circumstances."

Martin Guigui directs and one look at his filmography tells you everything you need to know about the man. 

Courtesy of Metacritic:

Whoopi Goldberg, Luis Guzman, Gina Gershon and Jacqueline Bisset complete the main cast. What could possibly go wrong?

Movie images before and after visual effects

"Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets"

"Valerian" is a film that half works and half doesn't. It is one of the most frustrating and, at the same time, dazzling movies that I have ever seen. The visuals are astonishing, some of the best use of 3D in quite some time. The story is basically a hodge-podge reason for its director Luc Besson to make the most visually arresting movie possible. Think "Avatar,"  to which this film bears many similarities. The actors are well cast, I can see its leads Cara Delevingne and Dane DeHaan, having a great future in the industry. It's really top-notch casting just for the sheer fact that these actors don't look ridiculous at all spewing the ridiculous dialogue of this silly Besson screenplay. 

In the 28th century, Valerian (DeHaan) and Laureline (Delevingne) are special force operatives working together to "maintain order throughout the human territories." The plot thickens when the minister of defense sends them to Alpha on assignment. Alpha is the stuff that dreams are made of, an ever-growing metropolis with diversity which blooms its colorful culture. All is not well however in Alpha, as our heroes scramble to rescue their superior, Commander Filitt (Clive Owen) from an unknown group of aliens.

The plot is a non-starter. The highs are the near euphoric visuals. It's the kind of world-building unseen since Cameron suited up for "Avatar" almost 8 years ago.  It's not just the city of Alpha that feels like an ever-shifting character in the film. The technology, the habitats, and the creature design make you remember the possibilities that cinema can bring if imagination is used to create whole new worlds. 

Director Besson has a mixed bag filmography, but his highs (Leon: The Professional, La Femme Nikita, Taken and, even, the ludicrously brilliant Lucy) have made him a formidable and influential voice in cinema. "Valerian" is an ambitious attempt to create a new world like James Cameron did with Pandora. If the result is problematic, we need more people like Besson to push the envelope and refuse to adhere to the current sequelitis infesting the industry. The fact that he decided to take this risk should be acknowledged. [C+]

DC Confirms 'Shazam!' Happening in 2018

THR has all but confirmed that “Shazam!” will be the next movie greenlit for DC Films. Production will likely start January of 2018 with David Sandberg (“Lights Out,” “Annabelle: Creation“) helming as director. A good choice, he really did a wonderful job with a slim budget on "Lights Out." There has always been the long rumored release date of April 5, 2019 for the film so it seems like that might be a possibility. Up next for DC films is “Suicide Squad 2,” shooting mid 2018, and “The Flash” which currently has no director, but what I'm really looking forward to is  Joss Whedon‘s “Batgirl,” which was revealed to be a passion project o his for years and to which he convinced DC he was the man for the job 

'Lady Macbeth' Director William Oldroyd Talks Going From Theater To Cinema & Shooting A Movie In 24 Days [Interview]

Original interview published for The Playlist

Christopher Nolan Slams Netflix, Not Interested In Working With Them

There are three Christopher Nolan movies currently available on Netflix: "Following," "Memento," and "The Prestige," but don't expect Christopher Nolan to join Martin Scorsese and work with the streaming company anytime soon. Here's what he had to say about Netflix [Courtesy of IndieWire]

“No. Well, why would you? If you make a theatrical film, it’s to be played in theaters. Netflix has a bizarre aversion to supporting theatrical films. They have this mindless policy of everything having to be simultaneously streamed and released, which is obviously an untenable model for theatrical presentation. So they’re not even getting in the game, and I think they’re missing a huge opportunity."

His movies, at least those post-2005, are best seen on the big screen. Why do you think he's so adamant at shooting in 70mm and IMAX? Similar arguments have cropped up around the release of "Okja." The simple fact is this: More people in the US have probably seen "Okja" thanks to it being on Netflix. It's all well and good when you're Christopher Nolan and can get your film released on 5,000 screens. But the reality is that 99% of filmmakers don't have Nolan's luxury. There are a vast amount of cities, not just in this country but worldwide, where nobody will ever get the chance to see anything besides major blockbusters in their local theaters. Netflix is spreading quality cinema worldwide, for everyone to see, isn't that a beautiful thing?

"Venom" Will Draw Inspiration from John Carpenter & David Cronenberg Movies

Ruben Fleischer, the director of Sony Pictures' upcoming Venom film is amping up to start shooting the movie this fall. "Venom" will star Tom Hardy as Eddie Brock, as well as the Klyntar symbiote . Columbia Pictures president Sanford Panitch has stated that his Venom director, Ruben Fleischer, will be borrowing the style of some of the great body-horror filmmakers for his upcoming film on the ultra-violent Sybian.

Panitch says “Venom” will draw on the work of John Carpenter or David Cronenberg while promising “more pop and fun.” to which I say: Hell yeah. It's a no brainer to have both of these filmmakers cited within the Venom project. After all, Venom stems from a body-horror tradition which dates back to these venerable filmmakers. Is an R-rating possibly the next thing to be confirmed by Mr. Panitch?

"Venom" is due for release October 5th, 2018

[Variety]

Official poster for Taraji P. Henson hit-woman thriller 'Proud Mary'

Tomas Alfredson's "The Snowman" feels Fincher-esque

This is right up my alley of cinematic obsessions. David Fincher has influenced countless filmmakers this last decade, just look at Denis Villeneuve as a prime example. It seems like Tomas Alfredson ("Let the Right One In" and "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy") has more or less used Fincher's visual palette from his remake of "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo," nothing wrong with that. Alfredson is very talented, helming from Sweden no less, and, if this film has the critical backing, he will likely take the next step forward in Hollywood.

“The Snowman” stars Michael Fassbender, Rebecca Ferguson as Katrine Bratt, J.K. Simmons, Toby Jones, Jakob Oftebro, Chloë Sevigny, and Val Kilmer and opens on October 20th.

Michael Haneke's "Happy End" channels top-tier Bunuel

Here's my Cannes dispatch:

"Michael Haneke’s "Happy End will be divisive, but it’s also the film that Haneke needed to make at this stage in his career, a sort of reinvention that tackles his obsessive, familiar themes, but feels purposely polarizing and creatively freeing for Haneke. in its lack of a narrative structure. Yes, "Happy End" even has comedic moments, a rarity for the venerable Austrian filmmaker whose reputation has been that of heavy, morosely-driven dramas. The film stars Isabelle Huppert, Jean-Louis Trintignant and Matthieu Kassovitz and revolves around a dysfunctional family falling apart. Each has their own problems and, yet, they represent what is wrong with the bourgeoisie these days: all pent-up, airless frustration at the most unimportant topics. In fact, this is Haneke’s most meta movie, a self-referential farce about all the themes that he’s tackled so far in his illustrious career. The film is reminiscent of a Luis Bunuel’s provoking cinema of the 1970’s. The film might as well be called "The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie."

Guillermo Del Toro's "The Shape of Water" [Trailer]

Guillermo Del Toro is a cinematic treasure. You can dislike the genres he tackles or the fanboy themes he is obsessed with, but he's a visualist in the truest sense of the word. In 2006 Del Toro finally made a film worthy of his immense talent: "Pan's Labyrinth." Everything clicked in that movie, it brought all sets of movie fans together to hail it for what it was: a masterpiece. This was no "Blade 2" or "Hell Boy," instead it was a cinematic triumph with enough stunning images to pop your eyes wide open. A modern day "Wizard Of Oz" with a schizophrenic little Dorothy, the most imaginatively created monsters and an open ended finale that made us all talk about it when the lights came back on. Del Toro has always had a knack for visuals but never had the story to back it up - here he did. His last film was "Crimson Peak," which I very much admired for its visuals more than its tiresome story, was met with a polite shrug, but now he's back in "Pan's Labyrinth" territory "The Shape of Water."

“The Shape of Water” is the upcoming film written, produced, and directed by Del Toro. The film takes place in the United States in 1963, where there’s a hidden, high-security government laboratory that is housing a secret experiment. If you guessed that the secret experiment is related to a monster, per usual del Toro style, then you’d be right. Sally Hawkins and Octavia Spencer star in the film as two workers who stumble upon the classified experiment. Michael Shannon, Richard Jenkins, Michael Stuhlbarg, and Del Toro regular Doug Jones round out the cast.

This could either be a visually sumptuous nothing-burger like "Crimson Peak" or investigate the deep depths of human emotions like "Pan's Labyrinth." Stay tuned.

Fox Searchlight will release “The Shape of Water” on December 8th

"The Disaster Artist" has James Franco playing Tommy Wiseau

"The Room," a film funded by "entrepreneur" Tommy Wiseau for $6 million, was supposed to be a serious movie, but what turned out instead was, what many consider, one of the very worst movies of all-time. 

Wiseau wrote, directed and financed "The Room" back in 2003, a film so bad that it has transcended genres and is now known as a "cult disaster comedy." The film was so fascinatingly inept that it seemed too good to be true. Were Wiseau's intentions genuine? Did he really set out to make a good movie? The answer, we found out, was, quite certainly, yes. And that added to the allure, charm if you will, of the film.

The dialogue was the stuff a third grader would write, the performances wooden and the sex scenes some of the most howlingly funny in cinematic history. Little did we think that Wiseau would ever want to make another film after his first catastrophic effort, but if there is anything that sets Wiseau apart from the rest it's his undying and overtly relentless passion for moviemaking.

"The Disaster Artist" could become a cult classic of its own as it is a behind-the-scenes look at the making of Tommy Wiseau's 2003 abomination.  The film stars James Franco, Dave Franco, Seth Rogen, Alison Brie, Zach Efron, Sharon Stone, Melanie Griffith and, yes, Bryan Cranston as himself.

Here’s the official synopsis:

"A delightful tribute to the joy and madness of making movies, The Disaster Artist follows the outrageous adventures of eccentric filmmaker Tommy Wiseau and his best friend, actor Greg Sestero.  These two endearing misfits move to L.A. and try to live the Hollywood dream by making their very own feature film, but end up embarking on a wildly unpredictable and hilariously unforgettable production. Leading to one of the most infamous, bizarre, and beloved midnight movies of all time, The Room."

“The Disaster Artist” opens on December 1st in limited release and goes wide on December 8th.

‘Barry Lyndon,’ ‘Personal Shopper,’ ‘Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me’ & More Coming to Criterion in October

Courtesy of Criterion press release:

"Two of cinema’s most idiosyncratic geniuses headline this month’s announcement, with David Lynch’s Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me and Stanley Kubrick’s Barry Lyndon joining the collection. Also in October: new editions of films by Orson Welles, Olivier Assayas, and Agnieszka Smoczyńska, and a Blu-ray upgrade of Carl Theodor Dreyer’s Vampyr."

It has been no secret that Stanley Kubrick's masterpiece "Barry Lyndon" has been messed up with the wrong aspect ratio for decades on home video. So it is great to see Criterion finally cleaning this mess up and releasing it the way it was supposed to be released. Kubrick shot the film in 1.66, so why did it take 4 decades to finally have a release in that aspect ratio? Bewildering, but I'm glad we're finally having it. Coincidentally, this is the only Kubrick film on Criterion, that I know of at least, and is also one of the most uninspiring cover arts, basically retaining the original movie poster's image. Did the Kubrick estate not allow Criterion to go beyond what was already available? That would be my bet.

This is Kubrick's letter to a projectionist regarding "Barry Lyndon."



Here is something  wrote on Barry Lyndon last year:

"Barry Lyndon. It’s one of Stanley Kubrick’s greatest achievements, and yet it is has rarely been uttered in the same league as A Clockwork Orange, 2001: A Space Odyssey, or Dr. Strangelove. However, as the years have gone by they’ve been very kind to Kubrick’s 18th-century tale. It was ranked 59th on Sight & Sound’s prestigious critics poll of the greatest movies ever made and has been hailed by Martin Scorsese, among many others, as his favorite Kubrick film. John Alcott’s cinematography also ranks as one of the landmarks of the field of photography, with its ingenious natural lighting that, in one very famous scene, lit up rooms with dozens of chandeliers. Its impact has been felt all the way to last year’s The Revenant, which also used natural lighting and was clearly inspired by Alcott’s famous lens."


The other Criterion titles:

'Avengers: Infinity War' Respects James Gunn's 'Guardians of the Galaxy' Style

You can watch Dave Bautista talking about how James Gunn's Guardians style was ultimately used for "The Avengers 3" HERE.

"Iron Man" started the trend, most of the Marvel movies that followed were influenced by the vision Jon Favreau brought to that movie. After too many ripoffs, Marvel's vision started to stall a little and so they were in luck when James Gunn's "Guardians of the Galaxy" was such a major surprise hit. The fans LOVED IT. Even, non-Marvel aficionados. It felt like a breath of fresh air, a film that didn't take itself as seriously as the other Marvel juggernauts and had a strikingly fresh visual aura. It felt like this generation's "Star Wars," and even brought those baby boomer fans along for the ride.

Ever since "Guardians" we've, more or less, had Marvel movies that have been influenced by it. So it is then no surprise that Dave Bautista says "Avengers: Infinity War" follow's Gunn's style. It will most likely have the quirks, quips if you will, of Gunn's films. It will most likely have very light moments that don't make you take it so seriously, something "Avengers: Age of Ultron" severely lacked. James Gunn IS Disney's prized possession at the moment when it comes to Marvel, that is until the next whiz kid enters the block ...

Dunkirk Has 98% Rotten Tomatoes Score, 97 Metacritic score.

I saw Christopher Nolan's harrowing "Dunkirk" yesterday at the Commons in IMAX. The sound was boomy, too-bassy, but it didn't deter from the fact that this is a harrowing film. I will be watching it again tomorrow afternoon, but this time in 70mm at the more cinematic Sommerville Theater, which, it seems, is how Nolan wanted us to watch it. Be warned: There's barely any character development in "Dunkirk." It means to immerse you directly into the battlefield from its eye-opening, suspense-filled opening frame.

The reviews are astounding. I mean, a 98% with 9.1 RT score is as good as they come these days. On Metacritic it has a 97 metascore. "Dunkirk" is a slam dunk. It will likely give Christopher Nolan his first Best Director Oscar. The story is set. He's due. "Dunkirk" is the film to honor him with. All the superlatives have been used when it comes to raving about this movie, but I'll try to ponder all this on Wednesday.

Box Office Week: War for the Planet of the Apes opens worse than Dawn but still takes #1 with $56.5M. Spider-man: Homecoming has worst 2nd weekend drop in MCU history, dropping 61% to come in #2 with $45.2M. The Big Sick expands meekly to #5 with $7.6M and Wish Upon bombs opening at #7 with $5.5M.

[Box Office Mojo]

'Blade Runner 2049' has a new trailer

I've been hearing rumors that "Blade Runner 2049" will indeed be at TIFF this September. A no-brainer decision if you ask me since much of the production crew helms from Quebec.

The good news is that not only is it Villeneuve behind the camera, but Hampton Fancher, who wrote the original Blade Runner, and Michael Green (Logan), have collaborated on the new script. But, that's not the best part. Quite possibly the greatest cinematographer of my time, Roger Deakins, is photographing the film. Can the anticipation get any greater? This trailer is better than what we received a few months ago. It adds to the layers of mystery and keeps stunning our eyes with incredible visuals. 

Here's what I wrote a few months ago:

"On a more personal note, I lived through the Montreal film scene when Villeneuve, Jean-Marc Vallee, and an 18-year-old Xavier Dolan among others, revolutionized French-Canadian cinema for the 21st century, and in the process paved their way to the Hollywood studio system. It was a very exciting time, but it was always Villeneuve that I kept an especially close eye on. It was the images Villeneuve conveyed with his camera, the powerful impact they had on me, especially in his three Quebecois opuses "Maelstrom," "Polytechnique" and "Incendies." It's been incredible seeing his ascension to the American filmmaking elite. You don't know how many film fans in their twenties have told me he is their favorite filmmaker, in a way, he's surpassed Nolan with that age group, the 18-29. Just look at the IMDB ratings of "Prisoners," "Sicario" and "Arrival" for further proof."

Official Synopsis:

"Thirty years after the events of the first film, a new blade runner, LAPD Officer K (Ryan Gosling), unearths a long-buried secret that has the potential to plunge what’s left of society in chaos. K’s discovery leads him on a quest to find Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford), a former LAPD blade runner who has been missing for 30 years."

“Blade Runner 2049” will be released on October 6th.

George A. Romero: "Zombies Can’t Run"

It was with a real heavy heart that I learned the passing of George Romero. I can't explain the effect his movies have had on cinema. He invented Zombies! I mean, what an accomplishment. I remember seeing "Night of the Living Dead" on late night cable, transfixed, amazed by its black and white horrors, and that is absolutely the way to see that 1967 classic. 

I don't just recommend that classic. Romero wasn't a one hit wonder. He ended up with a few note-worthy films in his career: "Dawn of the Dead" and "Day of the Dead" being the other essentials to his collection. Another addition to the canon of essentials could be 1973's underrated "The Crazies," which, contrary to the aforementioned titles, had nothing to do with zombies, but instead focused on a virus that caused people to go insane in a small Pennsylvania town. It was remade this decade, but that film had none of the flair for horror that Romero brought to the original. 

He was still making movies well into his 70s, obsessed with zombies more than ever, while the genre was expanding all around him, his creating having become the monster that he didn't want it to become. You see, zombies were always a personal thing to Romero. As their creator, he always took to heart whatever depiction was happening in pop culture. Prime among them was, of course, "The Walking Dead," which became a real phenomenon for a few years. However, the zombies were different, they could run, something that basically started with 2002's "28 Days Later." Yes, the quicker pace at which zombies would chase you made them scarier, but it also deviated away from Romero's original vision.

“The dead can’t run. Their ankles would break. It doesn’t make sense to me,” Romero told NWA. “The dead move slowly. But they keep coming.”

One thing you have to understand is that a zombie can vary. The typical Romero zombie was a slow-moving thing, which fits quite well with the tense and slow pace of his films. He was the director that created the typical "zombie" monster as we know it. So I guess he would have a strong opinion on them. But what about the people that are bitten and then become zombies? Surely their health would still be in tact. Romero seemed to be bummed that people were messing with something that he created. He thoroughly enjoyed the notion of a PURE zombie, didn't we all, but this generation has embraced the sprinting zombie as the scarier monster. In a way it is, but it makes for a totally different experience.

Mark Hamill Was Hoping For More Darth Maul in the Prequels

D23 is happening as we speak at Disney’s convention in Anaheim, California. Lots of intriguing "Star Wars" related stuff happening over there. They offered me to come this year but I chose Fantasia in Montreal, which I will be covering next week. 

An interesting quote I gathered from Anaheim comes from none other than Mark Hamill, who seems to be sharing the same sentiment that most of us had when saw Darth Maul in "The Phantom Menace." We were truly amazed and wanted more, much more, than ended up on-screen. Hamill shares our frustration saying how Darth Maul was one of the coolest villains, adding that he was disappointed by how rapid his doom was in the series (the Sith Lord was cut in half by Obi-Wan Kenobi "The Phantom Menace.") You know, I think Lucas could have built something with Maul, he could have had the three prequel films revolve, in some way shape or form, around him. Alas, there are tons of "what ifs" with fans when it comes "Star Wars," but this is one of the more frustrating examples of Lucas, for a better word, fucking it up.

Here's Hamill's exact quote:

“Darth Maul was just the coolest looking, I couldn’t believe they disposed of him so quickly. I thought he would last through all three movies."

[Polygon]

'Poltergeist' is CONFIRMED by its DP to have been directed by Steven Spielberg

"Poltergeist," still spooky after all these years, its special effects have held up so damn well 30+ years later. 

"Texas Chainsaw Massacre" director Tobe Hooper has always been credited as the director of the movie, but tell me you don't feel a Spielberg-ian vibe when you watch the film, of course you do. There have always been rumors — as well as accounts by cast and crew — that Steven Spielberg did, in fact, direct the movie. 

The rumors began when the  L.A. Times interviewed Spielberg about the film and nabbed this curious quote from him: “Tobe isn’t what you’d call a take-charge sort of guy. He’s just not a strong presence on a movie set. If a question was asked and an answer wasn’t immediately forthcoming, I’d jump up and say what we could do. Tobe would nod agreement, and that became the process of the collaboration.” 

The article sparked an investigation by the Director’s Guild of America into Spielberg’s involvement as a potential director; Nothing came of it. Spielberg then apologized to Hooper in The Hollywood Reporter right: “Regrettably, some of the press have misunderstood the rather unique, creative relationship which you and I shared throughout the making of Poltergeist, I enjoyed your openness in allowing me, as producer and writer, a wide berth for creative involvement.” 

What has Hooper had to say about this over the years? Well, in a 2000 interview with the AV Club he had this to say “When we were shooting the practical location on the house, the first two weeks of filming were exterior, so I had second-unit shots that had to be picked up in the front of the house. I was in the back of the house shooting Robbie [actor Oliver Robins] and the tree, looking down at the burial of the little tweety bird, so Steven was picking those shots up for me.” 

Zelda Rubenstein, who plays the film’s creepy spiritual medium, told AICN, “I can tell you that Steven directed all six days I was there. I only worked six days on the film and Steven was there.” JoBeth Williams also starred in the film and had this to say  “It was a collaboration with Steven having the final say.” 

Will the question of who really directed "Poltergeist" ever be answered? Today it seems to be a little clearer as the brother of the film's Director of Photography Matthew Leonetti has all but confirmed it was Spielberg and who better to know than the DP, right? He has to work with the director on every shot and frame every scene. Here's Leonetti's brother talking to Blumehouse:

“The really cool thing about POLTERGEIST – I’ll never forget the very first time I walked on the shooting set, there were 4 x 8 foam core boards with 8 ½ by 11 storyboards on them, and I’d never seen anything like that before. It was a very intense, very fun, very technical movie to work on. There’s a lot going on. And candidly… Steven Spielberg directed that movie. There’s no question. However, Tobe Hooper – I adore. I love that man so much. But, had I known you were going to ask me that question, I would’ve brought this one picture I have, which is the whole movie in one shot!” 

“It’s the scene where the tree comes in to grabs the boy, and we have two cameras set up. In the foreground on an apple box is (an excited) Tobe, standing right behind him is Spielberg pointing. Next to him was my brother on camera and me.”

 “It was both fun and intense. Spielberg, after work was the nicest guy on the planet. We’d even go to his house in Beverly Hills and watch dailies. On the set, he was very intense.”

“Hooper was so nice and just happy to be there. He creatively had input. Steven developed the movie, and it was his to direct, except there was anticipation of a director’s strike, so he was “the producer” but really he directed it in case there was going to be a strike and Tobe was cool with that. It wasn’t anything against Tobe. Every once in a while, he would actually leave the set and let Tobe do a few things just because. But really, Steven directed it.”

I guess we might have to dust off that DVD copy of the film and rewatch it again. Maybe it needs to be officially included in Spielberg's filmography as well.

[Blumhouse]