“Fantastic Mr. Fox” Trailer is Fantastic
I’ll be honest, I’ve been mostly ho-hum about the pending release of the new stop-motion picture from the great Wes Anderson (Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums). The original trailer was underwhelming and the stills have been fairly uninspired. Now comes this 2nd trailer which finally got me excited for the film. The usual Anderson suspect actors lend their voices to the film (George Clooney, Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, Jason Schwartzman, etc). And you can see the same visual artistry that you’ve grown to love/hate in a Wes Anderson film.
The chinese water torture-type production in stop-motion animation is presented HERE in the featurette on the official website. I can’t think of anything more trying on ones patience than creating this type of animation.
I wish I had my own whistle/clicking trademark. Maybe I’ll start one… Enjoy the trailer.
A wily fox uses his formidable cunning to outsmart three feeble-minded farmers who resort to extreme tactics to protect their chickens in director Wes Anderson‘s animated adaptation of the popular Roald Dahl children’s book. For twelve years, Mr. and Mrs. Fox (voices of George Cloony and Meryl Streep) have lived a peaceful life in the wilderness with their son Ash (voice of Jason Schwartzman). Shortly after their young nephew Kristopherson (voice of Eric Anderson) arrives for a visit, Mr. Fox’s long-suppressed animal instincts begin to take over and the faithful family man resorts back to his old ways as a cunning chicken thief, endangering not only his family but the entire animal community as well. When evil farmers Boggis, Bunce, and Bean force the animals underground in a desperate attempt to capture the audacious Mr. Fox, dwindling food supplies force the frightened animals to band together in one last attempt to fight for the land that is rightfully theirs.
“I’m your boyfriend now, Nancy”
Since we’re talkin’ Nightmare on Elm Street, I figured we could re-look at the original trailer from 1984. Robert Englund is just as creepy; time did not take that away. And yes, that’s Johnny Depp getting sucked into the bed before he reenacts the inside of a blender.
There are many similarities between this trailer and the 2010 new trailer. The bathtub claw is still there. The rising from the bed scene is here. But as much as a remake should stay true to the original, the hope is that it finds its own voice. We all learned from the shot by shot remake of Psycho that staying too true is just a waste of time. The start of the Freddy franchise was frightening and violent, everything you want from a slasher flick. But it quickly moved to campy and predictable. This 2010 remake/reboot hopefully stays away from the campy one liners and focuses on the scariest place to haunt someone — their dreams and mind.
“Nightmare on Elm Street” Teaser
Just when you thought safe to sleep at night, Freddy Krueger is back!
Much like casting the Mr.T role in the A-Team movie currently filming, I really thought there was no chance for anyone to step into Robert Englund’s creepy shoes. He IS Freddy Krueger. But anyone who has been following Jackie Earle Haley’s work of late (Little Children, Watchmen) knows the creep factor will get amped up in his version of Freddy.
In this clip, we get a quick glimpse at the Freddy origin story. Maybe he’s not such a bad guy. And of course, we get the scariest nursery rhyme of all time. “One, two Freddy’s coming for you…” Rising star Katie Cassidy is sadly not playing the lead Nancy Thompson role which probably means, well, a sequel might not be in the cards for her.
Sleep tight.
Release Date: April 30th, 2010
Hollywood Plans to Ruin More of Your Childhood Memories
They tried it once in 1987 and failed miserably. Remember Masters of the Universe with Dolph Lundgren as He-Man? He-Man action figures were always readily available in my toy chest. I had Skeletor’s castle with the voice changing microphone. I WAS the target demo for the He-Man series. And I still thought the film version (when I was 10) was terrible.
To keep the Hollywood trend of digging up all things sacred from the 1980′s, talks are heating up to bring another He-Man movie to the big screen. A new script has been in the works described as Lord of the Rings meets The Matrix (trying not to laugh). But of course, this brilliant script has been trashed and they are starting from scratch. I’m not so sure a buffed out blond dude in speedos fighting a skeleton will translate to today’s audiences. But who knows.
Oh, and for the girls…there’s another piece of toy information for you. The producer of Jerry Maguire and Julie & Julia is going to produce a Barbie movie. Read all about it HERE. The Hollywood Reporter article sums it all best with “It is unclear how the toy will translate. Barbie’s full name is Barbara Millicent Roberts; is sometimes a high school teen, but at times a pilot, military officer, teacher or astronaut; drives a slew of cars; dates a man named Ken; and has friends straight out of a United Colors of Benetton ad.”
Clip of the Week: Behind the Scenes of “The Goonies”
This video is all kinds of awesome. Here is a behind the scenes featurette that was recently unearthed deep inside a Warner Brothers vault. It’s fun to see a different vantage point on a film that meant so much to me (and probably many of you) as a kid. A good 3 minutes is devoted to Richard Donner complaining about working with child actors. And I’ve always heard that the Goonies kid actors were banned from seeing the famous pirate ship set and waterslide until they were being filmed. The only thing missing is Sloth. But it’s probably for the better…it’s good to leave a bit of magic within the film. Enjoy.
Youth In Revolt Pushed to January 2010; No longer 2009 Obsession
Our 2009 Obsession list is quickly dwindling. First Shutter Island was pushed into 2010. Now the Michael Cera alter ego mustache wearing film, Youth In Revolt, has been pushed to January 2010.
A quick glance at our updated 2009 Obsession List:
(500) Days of Summer — Fantastic
Inglorious Basterds — Great Film
Where The Wild Things Are — Can it live up to this extreme hype?
The Road — Not confident on this one.
Avatar — Who knows?!
The Kung Fu Kid
This post has to be one of the toughest I’ve ever written. It pains me more than words can describe. Sigh.
Here is a first look at set pictures from The Kung Fu Kid. Confused? It’s a remake of The Karate Kid.
With Jackie Chan.
And Will Smith’s Son.
That’s right. I won’t give you a synopsis…it’s a remake. And EVERYONE has seen The Karate Kid. Oh yeah, it’s directed by the guy who helmed The Pink Panther 2.
R.I.P. Hollywood.
WTWTA Character Posters
We’re slowly creeping toward that 10/16 release date of Where the Wild Things Are. There was a time when it seemed so far away…2009? No reason to even think about it. And here we are. Now the anticipation looms on whether it will actually live up to the extreme hype by the movie geeks, hipsters, and adult children all over.
Below are 4 Character posters recently released. You get a better sense of the detail focused on the Wild Thing’s look and realistic expressions.
Continue reading “WTWTA Character Posters” »
“Up In The Air” Teaser Trailer
Jason Reitman has been a perfect 2 for 2 so far. His directorial debut, Thank You for Smoking, was an indie critical hit. His next film had a tidal wave of buzz and positive word of mouth. You may have heard of it, it’s called Juno. Juno earned Reitman a Best Director Academy Award nomination. You might not have known this since all the buzz was on writer Diablo Cody. In December 2009, Reitman will release his 3rd film, Up In the Air, starring George Clooney. Early positive buzz has already made this film as one of the main contenders for major awards at the Academy Awards.
George Clooney stars as Ryan Bingham, “a corporate downsizing expert whose cherished life on the road is threatened just as he is on the cusp of reaching ten million frequent flyer miles and just after he’s met the frequent-traveler woman of his dreams.” The job downsizing storyline has made this a very timely film release during this down economy and struggle.
The attached trailer was created specifically for the internet by Reitman with the real trailer coming soon.
We are really looking forward to this one.
Clip of the Week: “Are You Awake?”
For the few of you who haven’t seen The Jerk, do yourself a favor and rent this Steve Martin classic. You can add it to your Netflix Queue HERE
Carl Reiner directs Steve Martin in this gag-laden comedy about an idiotic white man, raised by a poor family of black sharecroppers, who doesn’t realize he’s not black. Navin R. Johnson (Martin) is told the horrible truth when he finds himself instinctively tapping his feet to an easy listening tune on the radio, instead of a low-down blues. His mother tells him he’s white and Navin takes to the road (in a World War II bomber helmet and goggles) to start a new life in St. Louis.
The video here shows Steve Martin in top form. The simple fact that he could keep a straight face throughout this ridiculous dialogue is beyond me. This film is a comedy classic that still holds up.
Bright and Shiny New WTWTA Poster
What’s that? I couldn’t hear you.
You want to see the new Where The Wild Things Are poster, do ya?
First play the song HERE off the soundtrack from Karen O. (Yeah Yeah Yeahs) and the Kids (many others).
Is it playing? OK, Check it out after the jump… Continue reading “Bright and Shiny New WTWTA Poster” »