Edge of DeNiro Comeback?

Well, here is some good news for all your pissy pants who got all offended by my Top 10 worst DeNiro movies.  Looks like he has signed on for a leading role in the Mel Gibson comeback, Edge of Darkness. Bobby will play “an operative sent to clean up the evidence”, whatever that means.  The film, directed by Martin Campbell (new Bond flicks) is about Gibson’s search for his daughter’s murderer, and all the crazy shit he uncovers about her during his investigation.  I know I have been a little harsh on DeNiro in the past, but it’s only because I love him, right?  I mean…the fact that he has reduced himself to terrible comedies and underwhelming action movies just breaks my heart.  One could argue that those movies were “pretty good” and what-not, but I don’t want pretty good with fucking Robert DeNiro…I want amazing!!  This could have poential.  I mean, if it can break Mel Gibson out of his 6 year semi-retirement, then it the script must have something a little juicy in it, right?

Let’s hope.

Source: Coming Soon

Ben Review’s: The Dark Knight (Spoiler Alert)

Editors Note: There are some spoilers ahead, so reader beware!

I generally enjoy playing the Devil’s advocate, but more so against the cynical fanboys. The new Indiana Jones is an example. People have been pissing and moaning about that movie for so long now, it’s just getting irritating. Me? Well I will go fanboy taboo and say I liked it. NO, scratch that, I loved it! In fact…I’ll go one further and say that the monkey scene didn’t bother me at all. And I’ll take THAT a step further and say I even liked the fridge scene! Blasphemy, I know, but it’s true.

So in being anti-fanboy, it would stand to reason that I would favor more negatively towards the new Batman adventure, The Dark Knight. Well, surprise, surprise…just like the masses, I loved it. The Dark Knight struck new chords within the way people view Batman. No longer is he just a comic book hero, but now he’s actually pretty much a real guy. The stunts, action and things he does to battle crime all seem relatively believable. That was a big selling point to me. The Joker was the same way. He seemed like a real guy, who was just insane, and it worked for the most part.

We might as well get the issues I had with the movie out of the way first, as they are few. My qualms with the movie were actually pretty much non-existent as I felt excited for the most part of the 2 hour 20 minute time length. It’s a major feat to make a film so long yet exciting that even my wife wasn’t bored, but it was accomplished here. I felt that the storyline and dialog were a little too thick for only a single viewing. Sometimes I was left feeling like “what are they talking about?” only because I was still trying to process what they had just said in the scene before, but it didn’t really hinder or confuse the rhythm of the movie for the most part. I was never left feeling empty. I think my biggest problem was Maggie Gyllenhaal. As an actress, I don’t like her. As a sex symbol, I don’t like her. Asthe character Rachael Dawes, I don’t like her. So all in all, I just didn’t like her. I didn’t feel that there was any time where she was important to me and when she was killed off, I actually only felt bad for Harvey Dent. I didn’t sense any real connection between her and the others. It seemed that Bruce was almost apathetic to her, even when he was trying to save her and she seemed pretty flighty with boththe boys who were supposedly in love with her. Only Harvey Dent could really pull off kinda liking her, but it felt more like a 6th grade romance, awkward and one sided for the most part. I was left sort of happy that she was killed, because now I won’t have to deal with her in part 3.

My next problem wasn’t really a problem, but more of a case of higher expectations. This one belongs to Heath Ledger/The Joker. I wanted more. Now, I’m not one of those people who saw this movie and is now comparing Ledger’s performance to that of DeNiro in Raging Bull. Not at all. Not the best performance of the century, decade or when 2008 is over, the year even. It was just plain and simple, a great performance in general. Ledger was a fine actor and it is very tragic that he died on the cusp of absolute super stardom, but in no way was the the NEXT Marlon Brando or a James Dean. He was the FIRST Heath Ledger; a good actor who died before he became great. I can remember seeing The Patriot when it came out in 2000, and I thought Heath was great in that. I remember when he and Mel Gibson were sharing an apple together in that movie and they both smile and I thought to myself, “Is that apple like a torch? Could this kid be the next Mel Gibson?” And like I just said before, no…he wasn’t the next Mel
Gibson, he was the first and only Heath Ledger, and that is what he will remain forever. As for the Joker, he was great. He was scary, funny, cool, suave in a psychotic way…I liked it….but didn’t love it. There wasn’t enough screen time for him…and when he was on (save for a few great scenes), he just seemed scattered. Not to say he wasn’t enjoyable, he sure was…but I wanted more…and I suppose in a way, that is a major complement. Ledger did transform into the character, which made it exciting and fun, almost like watching an unknown play him. Definitely the brightest star in the Dark Knight galaxy.

I think overall my biggest problem was one that the filmmakers could not have foreseen, and that is the ending. I don’t blame anyone, obviously, for the death of Heath Ledger, but it just sucks in a selfish way that his death really screws up Batman 3. I cannot think of a single way to save it. Recast? Lame. Write the Joker out of
the story? Lame. Kill him off in the beginning somehow? Lame. There really is no good way to do it. I think that part 3, if there will be a part 3, has major obstacles ahead and honestly, will not be able to surpass what fans expect because of this movie.

Ok, so the good: Well…I have to say that my favorite part of this movie was totally unexpected. Aaron Eckhart was amazing as Harvey Dent. I am not the biggest fan of Aaron Eckhart, but in this movie he nailed it. He commanded the screen every time he was on it, and I thought his transformation into Two Face was totally awesome. I
understood completely his anger and insanity which made him become Two Face. I loved that character.

The story was overall exciting and believable. I loved the Joker working for and against the mob. I loved Batman’s story arc with his love/hate relationship with Dent. I loved the Joker’s dialog about how he and Batman will be bitter enemies till the end because they need each other (another unfortunate turn of events that really hinders the Batman 3 storyline.)

The action was intense and I loved the last battle between Batman and the Joker, when Joker was tossed over the side of the building and cackling all the way down. The capture and escape of the Joker was also intense and white knuckled. It had just really well shot action sequences overall.

The writing really made this movie. The dialog could have so easily been goofy, like most comic book movies, but this one was really written within the boundaries of reality and it never took me out of the story. Even when Harvey became Two Face, I believed it. Just great old fashioned good guy vs. bad guy stuff.

So in finishing this strange review, I have to say that the good very much outweighs the bad in this movie. I saw on IMDB that it is now voted the number 1 movie of all time in the Top 100. That is just stupid. It’s a great movie…but in no way does it compare to Raging Bull, The Godfather, etc. It’s just a great and fun popcorn movie that didn’t change my life…but gave me a Joker sized grin as I exited the theater…mostly because for the first time in a long time, it was money well spent.

Check Out an alternative viewpoint: Sam’s Review of ‘The Dark Knight’

Inglorious Bastards just got a little more glorious?

Quentin Tarantino’s Inglorious Bastards has been wrung through the rumor machine over and over again.  We all know the insanity of getting Schwarzenegger, Stallone and Willis to team up, NOT promoting Planet Hollywood, but blowing up Nazi tanks with bazookas.  These three have been linked to this project since the dawn of time, but alas, no official announcement as of yet from anyone’s camp. Read more

1st Pic from ‘Ashecliffe’

Okay…I know this isn’t exactly earth-shattering, but it looks like the first pic of the newest Leo/Scorsese opus has been released.  This pic shows our good ole’ DeNiro substitute Leonardo DiCaprio holding a shotgun behind a fence, looking for God knows who.  The film is still being called Asheclliffe, which I really hope reverts back to shutter Island.  I mean, why would it stay Ashecliffe?  The book is freakin’
titled Shutter Island, and it is so much more of a spine tingling title than Ashecliffe.  I honestly don’t understand why Hollywood always insists on screwing around with stuff when it is perfectly fineunscrewed.  Let’s hope this is just the Blue Harvest of Scorsese films.  Anyway…kinda cool pic for a hopefully very cool movie.

Source: The Boston Herald

Bilbo Not a Dildo

Well…I guess there is a short list of names that Peter Jackson and Guillermo Del Toro have for the replacement of Ian Holm as Bilbo Baggins in the upcoming Hobbit and Hobbit 2. I’ve heard some pretty awful names tossed around (Jack Black!!??) but I actually think they might have picked a winner here. It looks like James McAvoy of Atonement and Last King Of Scotland fame could be the mane they pick to play Bilbo.

I think this is a smart play. I mean, Ian Holm was amazing as the crazy old Hobbit, but the man is in his mid 70s…don’t make him pry himself off of his hemorrhoid donut and jump around with wizards and dwarves. Give him a break!

As much as I would love to see Holm subtract 20 years off his age and leap and jump with the rest of them, I just don’t think its gonna happen. His replacement did actually worry me and I thought that perhaps an unknown might be the best choice, but if McAvoy is actually picked, I think its smart casting. He looks the part and he is actually a terrific actor. Just watch the two films listed above and you’ll see what I mean. So kudos
Jackson and Del Toro, if you indeed make it happen. Just as long as you don’t cast Ashton Kutcher to reel in the tweenies, I’ll be happy.

Rums-found. W. Casting Announcement

Looks like good ole’ Ollie has cast has Donald Rumsfeld.  Stone has announced his next piece on the strange George W. Bush project, so creatively titled W.  Scott Glen (Backdraft, Silence of the Lambs), has been cast as Rumsfeld, Bush’s military cronie.  I think its a pretty good casting choice, as far as looks go, and I’ve always been a subtle fan of Scott Glen.  He is a pretty underrated supporting actor, who could really shine through in this role.  My problem is with the
movie itself.  To me, it just seems a TAD soon for anyone to be making a film about President Bush.  I mean, when the film is released, he won’t even be out of office yet.  What if something humongous happens to him or the world on October 20th?  Then the movie will ALREADY be dated.  I know they’re going to go more into his past and rise to the
presidency, but still, to need to have a SMALL amount of the present in this movie.  The man has made major modern waves in the world.  I don’t really think him drinking his brain cells away in college really has much more importance than his endorsement of John McCain, or even his reaction to his last days as President.  Just seems like this
movie would serve more of a purpose for 2010.  But…I guess since everyone seems to hate the guy, they just can’t wait to translate that hatred onto the silver screen.  Cowboy Oliver Stone hog-ties this story to us on October 17th.

Scorsese’s ‘Wolf’ Howls Again

Well, according to an odd German interview with Martin Scorsese, the man himself finally breathes life back into an exciting former project of his, The Wolf Of Wall Street. Read more

Brand Spankin’ New Indy Trailer!

It’s about time, but with only a few weeks to go…here is the new Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull trailer. I’m likin’ what I’m seeing, and there are a lot and I mean A LOT of cynical people out there who like to rag on every single tiny detail about this flick. It’s almost as if they feel like they’re going to transform into an 8 year old as soon as the movie starts. Not gonna happen. What is gonna happen is that you will be seeing an new Indiana Jones movie at the current adult age that you are and you can either be a prick about it and harp on every stupid little thing you see. (Indy’s hat isn’t brown enough…his voice sounds cracked, I don’t like Shia’s shoes) or you can just pay your damn 10 bucks, sit back and watch a MOVIE, cuz at the end of the day…that’s all it’s gonna be. Remember…you’re not 8 anymore and you can understand that Indiana Jones is not a real guy. So just have some fun with it, for Christ’s sake! Here’s the new trailer!!

GG Allin - Rock ‘n’ Roll Terrorist

Every time I see some 17 year old girl wearing a t-shirt that says “I love punk rock boys”, I laugh my ass off. I laugh because I think deeply into the meaning of that shirt. I like to picture these same preppy chicks come face to face with the king of Punk Rock, G.G. Allin. Read more

Feature: Top 10 Worst De Niro Films

De Niro used to be my favorite actor, about 15 years ago. Let’s face it, the man hasn’t made a great film since 1995’s Casino and Heat. Read more

Oscars: Best Director

This year, for me anway, is a pretty exciting year for the Oscars. The best director category usually has at least one of my favorite directors hanging around. Last year, we had Clint Eastwood and the long long overdue win for Mr. Scorsese. The year before held Steven Spielberg and the win for Ang Lee and the year before that had Clint Eastwood narrowly defeating Scorsese again, with a little hello nod for a hugely underrated director, Alexander Payne.

Read more

Replacing Heath Ledger

So there have been many rumours abound as to what would happen to the final Heath Ledger film by Terry Gilliam entitled: The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus. Apparently, he had shot so much footage in the film, that it would have been a major waste of money and talent to just scrap it. There had been whispers in the air that he would either be repleaced by CG (yeeccchh) or that other actors would come in and fill the spot and sort of transform into him. The story says that Heath jumps through magic mirrors, so why would it be so unbelievable that he would become other people?

 

Well apparently 3 actors have just announded that they are stepping up into the role.

Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell.

Personally I enjoy all three of these actors and I think that a nice challenge and tribute in this film would be a great career move…and besides, everyone should be kind to Terry Gilliam. The man is an amazing filmmaker who just cannot ever get cut a break. It must suck to be cursed…so do your part and slap down your money for this. You’ll be supporting a great director and getting to see Ledger’s final film.

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