I really don’t care what anybody says about George Lucas (I think I’ve proven it time and again) I think he’s a helluva filmmaker and an incredible producer.
We have a new look at Red Tails and I really couldn’t be more excited. I love World War II movies and other films about the Tuskugee Airmen have left me wanting. This looks fantastic and the dog fights look like some of the best committed to film since Return of the Jedi.
Red Tails hits theatre’s January 20th according to the new poster.
Tobe (Dustin Ingram) is an awkward teenager that spends his time selling hotdogs from his Weenie Wiz mobile and watching old ’80s porn staring Monica Velour AKA Linda Romanoli (Kim Cattrall). Velour’s fame has long since expired, forcing the now 49-year-old single mother to take small-time jobs at sleazy strip clubs. Learning about one of Velour’s performances Tobe sets out to meet his celebrity crush. The years haven’t been kind to the former superstar but Tobe still sees her as the woman of his dreams.
Tobe is sort of a Napoleon Dynamite with his small-town roots, quirky personality and curly hair but Meet Monica Velour is a decidedly different film from Napoleon Dynamite as it adopts a darker, more realistic tone. In fact, Meet Monica Velour’s themes are far closer to The Wrestler than your traditional oddball comedy. It’s still too goofy to be taken completely seriously, but it is nice to see some substance in a film that easily could have been complete fluff.
Director/writer Keith Bearden has done a commendable job with his first feature film and Cattrall sets aside the glamour of her Sex and the City persona for a refreshingly unappealing role that suggests that she’s a better actress than I previously thought. Ingram’s Tobe doesn’t have the same amount of depth of Cattrall’s Velour but ultimately this is due to the character’s youth rather than a poor performance. Meet Monica Velour is a little too naïve and optimistic to be life changing but it still makes for a solid film.
Anchor Bay’s Blu-ray release of Meet Monica Velour has nice sense of depth, detail and colors are fairly vibrant. It’s a little grimy but it suits the film perfectly. Bonus features include a nice commentary from Bearden and Cattrall and a handful of deleted scenes that would have made the film raunchier and Tobe a less sympathetic character.
It was announced today that Ridley Scott has come aboard to produce and direct a new Blade Runner film. This project has been circling as a remake (which seemed unnecessary because the original still stands up so well as a masterpiece) but now this changes the game significantly.
Will it be a sequel?
Will it be a prequel?
Who knows. I saw Ridley Scott at Comic-Con a couple of years ago and he mentioned that he’d love to get back into the world and he’d love to do a sequel about Deckard’s life on the run with Rachel. Sean Young was in attendance and reminded Scott that she’d be happy to return. Would Harrison Ford come back? Would a movie about them thirty years later and on the run even work?
Who knows.
That was the same panel that Ridley Scott came out and proclaimed quite boldly that Deckard was a Replicant the whole time. Though Harrison Ford denies it vehemently.
From the Hollywood Reporter:
While the new movie is being described as a “follow-up” to the first film, the filmmakers have not yet disclosed whether it will function as a prequel or a sequel to the original.
Based on that, I would say it feels like this film is a long ways out. Aside from the fact that Scott is hip-deep in production on Prometheus, it sounds like they have no idea whatsoever what this film will be yet. But if we can get Ridley Scott back in the saddle telling another story in one of the most beloved Science-fiction universes ever created, then this is good news for all of us.
If, by some random accident, you haven’t seen the original Blade Runner, get the director’s definitive cut on Blu-ray. You can snag the five disc set on Amazon for less than $30. It’s a movie you’ll want to watch over and over again to study.
Tomorrow brings us the beginning of the Salt Lake City Film Festival. And as promised we are going to be highlighting a few movies day by day before releasing reviews of the screenings we’ve attended. Yesterday, we discussed “Silver Tongues” and “Bad Fever”. Here are today’s previews!
Everyday Sunshine: The Story of Fishbone
Co-written and co-directed by Chris Metzler and Lev Anderson, this fantastic documentary discusses one of the most influential bands from the 80’s. Showing an all-star cast of interviews such as Flea, Les Claypool, Ice Cube, etc. This film grabs the emotion behind being in one of the most influential bands of a generation and never quite hitting the next level. I highly recommend you see this one.
Everday Sunshine will be playing at 9:30 pm on Saturday, August 20 at the The Tower Theater, and again at the tower at 12:00 PM on Sunday, August 21. The writers and directors will be on hand for Q+A after the screening.
At the heart of Fishbone’s story is lead singer Angelo Moore and bassist Norwood Fisher who show how they keep the band rolling, out of pride, desperation and love for their art. To overcome money woes, family strife, and the strain of being aging Punk rockers on the road, Norwood and Angelo are challenged to re-invent themselves in the face of dysfunction and ghosts from a painful past.
Trailer:
Between Floors
Directed by Jen White, “Between Floors” has several groups of people trapped in an elevator forced to deal with their personal issues and confront their isolation in unique ways. The film itself was shot in 1 hour snaps, where the actors followed a loose script and improvised throughout the rest. This is also on my must see list. You can catch the film on:
Friday, August 19, at Brewvies Cinema Pub at Midnight or
Sunday, August 21, at the Post Theater at 5 pm.
Trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_hsJdHbjzkv
Surrogate Valentine
Written by Dave Boyle, Joel Clark, and Goh Nakamura: “Surrogate Valentine”‘ stars Goh Nakamura as himself, teaching a TV star how to play guitar while the TV star teaches him valuable life lessons. The film itself looks intensely interesting, yet another highly recommended one, if you can fit it into your busy film festival schedule.
San Francisco musician & rising star Goh Nakamura’s (playing himself) life of solitude is disrupted when he is hired to teach TV actor Danny Turner (CHADD STOOPS) how to play guitar for an upcoming film. Hellbent on accurately portraying Goh’s mellow vibe for his role, Danny meticulously
studies his every move. Together, the two embark on a hilarious West Coast adventure involving live gigs, groupies, shotgun-wielding record exes and an unexpected friendship. Along the way, Goh discovers that Danny may be the missing puzzle piece in his life-long chase for Rachel (LYNN CHEN), the one that got away.
“Surrogate Valentine” will be playing Friday, August 19, at 9:30 PM, at the Tower Theater and again on Saturday, August 20, at 11:59 PM, at Brewvies Cinema Pub.
trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2E4ihPOvIvAv
Ray (Dave Bautista) is a cop with a sordid past reduced to working as head of security at a strip club that serves as a front for an illegal gambling operation. When the club is robbed and its owner’s son shot dead Ray finds himself set up to take the blame. Determined to clear his name Ray looks to find the person responsible before the cops or the mob catch up with him.
The easy way out of reviewing House of the Rising Sun would be to simply say that it stars a WWE superstar as an ex-cop working in a strip club. It’s no secret that, unless you are Dwayne Johnson, the track record for films starring wrestling celebrities is almost on par with films starring Curtis ’50 Cent’ Jackson. There’s a reason why wrestlers are often cast as killers with a limited ability to speak. While the over-the-top grandstanding might work in a wrestling ring it doesn’t translate very well to films. So, when I say that Bautista is far better than I expected don’t start engraving an Oscar with his name. He’s wooden, but restrained in a way that makes the film, as absolutely ridiculous and clichéd as it is, fairly entertaining in a generic B-movie sort of way. Sadly Danny Trejo’s role as Carlos, the crime boss, is nothing more than an extended cameo and I have no idea how Amy Smart was convinced to jump into the fray.
Bonus features include an earnest, but often boring, audio commentary with director Brian A. Miller and Bautista, interviews with the cast, the film’s trailer and a making-of featurette. None of which add up to much.
With Kung Fu Hustle actor/director Stephen Chow was able to incorporate slapstick comedy within a Hong Kong action film creating what Roger Ebert described as “Jackie Chan and Buster Keaton meet Quentin Tarantino and Bugs Bunny.” The Last Godfather attempts to bring slapstick to the mafia epic with a Korean twist. The results are something like Jackie Chan and Jerry Lewis meet Francis Ford Coppola, Yakko, Wakko and Dot and only Jerry Lewis wants to be there.
Korean superstar Hyung-rae Shim directs, writes and stars as Young-gu, the idiot son of mafia godfather Don Carini (Harvey Keitel). Carini wants to retire and leave his empire to Young-gu but Carini’s associates are plotting to upset the current balance of power. Will Young-gu be able to rise above his bumbling behavior and protect his father’s interests or will the bad mafia guys take over?
Honestly, I don’t know how I made it to the end of this film without suffocating on Shim’s cheese-ball antics. Shim’s performance is like watching an old and unrestrained Jim Carey on amphetamines and because Shim is directing there’s no one powerful enough to reel him in. The film is so incredibly stupid that it was originally called The Dumb Mafia. A title that, apparently, was too honest of an assessment of the film’s worth. There’s probably a drinking game that could be based around The Last Godfather but I don’t see how even intoxication will make the film bearable.
Here is your first look at Amy Adams as Lois Lane in Zack Snyder’s Superman film, Man of Steel.
As you can see it looks like they have decided to not give Lois her typical dark locks and have instead decided to stick with what appears to be something close to Adams’ natural hair color.
For me, this change doesn’t really bother me. It’s quite clear at this point Snyder is looking to separate himself from the previous Superman films and completely do his own thing and a change of hair color won’t bother me so long as the spirit of the character is still the same. That being said, I can already hear the outrage ringing across the internet, “OMG! LOIS LANE HAS DARK HAIR!!!1!!1!1!! THIS MOVIE IZ GOING TO SUK SO HARD!! I H8 ZAK SNIDER!!!!11!!!ONE!!!ELEVENTEEN!!!!” Seriously. Search the internet and I bet you can find that exact comment somewhere on a message board because I left it.
I personally can’t wait to see what Snyder has up his sleeve for Superman. I’ve seen and very much appreciated the Christopher Reeves-style Supes multiple times over, now I want to see something different and a little more action-oriented. For all I know this film may end up being the worst Superman film ever made, but at least WB and DC have finally grown the stones to try to take him in a new direction.
Man of Steel is aiming to hit theaters on June 14, 2013.
[Source: SHH!]
What do you think of this first look at Amy Adams as Lois Lane? Is the hair color going to completely ruin this movie for you? Sound off in the comments below!
It’s here! It’s finally here! In case you didn’t see our announcement last week. This is the week of the Salt Lake City Film Festival ladies and gentlemen. Whether you are a film junkie, a local looking for entertainment, or a traveler looking to catch exclusive screenings of some of the nations top festival films, this weekend is your chance. We here at BigShinyRobot will be on hand Thursday August 18 through Sunday the 21st giving you coverage of the goings on at our local film houses. To help prepare you movie minded folk, we’ll be posting daily summaries of a few films as well as some insight into what inspired the directors, actors, members of staff, etc.
Here are the first highlights.
Written, produced, and directed by SLC native Dustin Defa this movie will have its hometown premiere at the festival. It was shot entirely in Salt Lake and was reviewed warmly at SXSW in Texas.
Starring Indie-Cinema darlings Kentucker Audley and Eleanore Hendricks, “Bad Fever” is the story of a humorless loner (Audley) who attempts to win the admiration of a drifter (Hendricks) with his debut performance at the local comedy club. The film is an exploration of loneliness and debilitating social
solitude
You can catch Bad Fever at the Tower Theater on Friday, August 19th at 4:50 pm. or Saturday, August 20th, at 7 PM at the Post Theater.
Trailer:
Following a middle-aged couple that constantly changes who they are to stir up other peoples lives, Silver Tongues looks to be an interesting look into addiction. The movie seems to look into exactly how much damage two people can do to other folks via manipulation and lies. Written and directed by Simon Arthur “Silver Tongues” will be playing Thursday, August 18, at 7:30 at the Broadway. Friday, August 19 at 7:00 PM at the Tower, and Saturday, August 20, at 10:00 PM at Brewvies.
Trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oezBWyUv0l4v
Silver Tongues is not a film about redemption. It’s also not about triumph in the face of adversity. Or finding love in the strangest place. It’s about people who need the new. The desire to change, and never stop changing.
The World Cosplay Summit, a tournament and festival for cosplayers from around the world, was held in Nagoya, Japan last Sunday. An annual event, the Summit is a chance for international cosplayers to come together and share a passion for all things cosplay. Each country is represented by a team of 2 people in the competition, and this year’s tournament had 17 countries competing – Australia, Germany, Spain, Italy, Finland, Denmark, Thailand, Mexico, the USA, China, Korea, Brazil, Japan, Singapore, France, the Netherlands and Malaysia. 17,000 attendees watched as the teams gave it their all in their performances.
Judges selected winners based on evaluation criteria regarding the costume, the performance (acting, creativity, entertainment value), and how faithful the performance was to the original story. After presenting an amazingly choreographed performance and mesmerizing costumes from Final Fantasy XII (Balthier and Ultima), it was Brazil that went home with First Place. This same pair from Brazil had also won in 2006, making this their second World Cosplay Summit win.
The champions were presented two round trip airline tickets between Brazil and Japan and a special award from the Foreign Ministry of Japan. Winners Monica and Mauricio Somenzari were extremely grateful for the honors bestowed upon them. Mauricio told reporters – “I’d just like to express my gratitude to everyone who supported us, our Brazilian friends who came to this event, and to our father who stuck with us even in tough times.”
Runner ups in the tournament were second place Italy (Sugar Sugar Rune), third place China (Dynasty Warriors 7), Brother Award (best costume) winners Australia (Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust), and Cyperous Award (best wig) winners the Netherlands (Mai Otome). The United States was represented by Alexandra Weber and Ashley Laure Rice (XXXHolic) but did not place this year.
And now, please enjoy these stunning photos from the Championship, the Nishiki-dori Parade, and the Osu Parade provided to us by T.V. Aichi! All images © TV Aichi Broadcasting Co., LTD.
A very special thank you to TV Aichi for providing us with photos for this special report! All images © TV Aichi Broadcasting Co., LTD. For more information, visit the World Cosplay Summit Website.
Filming for The Dark Knight Rises continues in Pittsburgh and set photos roll in at a steady pace. Nothing has been too exciting until today when Ross Petrocelli tweeted a picture of what appears to be a new vehicle near the Wabash Tunnel.
It definitely has a style similar to Batman’s tumbler, but looks to be some sort of craft “capable” of flight. So, could this be Nolan’s take on the Batwing or is it something else entirely? Of course, Nolan is playing his final installment of the Batman films close to his chest, but there have been rumors that Bats will be sporting some sort of new Bat-vehicle. At this point we will all just have to speculate as to what exactly this could be and if it is in fact a Tumbler-Jet thingy.
Speculate away in the comments below!
[Source: Batman-news.com]