, but she’s worked steadily and still looks pretty cute, which puts her at least one leg up on me. And a faux-strapless turquoise “dress,” I guess… <b>but what’s with the high school yearbook senior portrait pose?</b></p>
<div class=)
Monthly Archives: September 2007
The Intruder/Eat My Dust
For a short time after first moving to
Angeles
shall now remain nameless. It was an eye-opening experience, watching this guy
turn over movies and stay just ahead of collections, surfing through stacks of bills
by flipping short-term profits from one project to the next. Taking a short-term
lease on a giant warehouse in downtown
he would set up anywhere from six to eight movies at a time, shooting
back-to-back (-to-back, -to-back…), and incorporating both like-minded archival
and second unit footage into each project. Part shyster, part trash-heap
collagist, he would peddle his hearty genre wares back to European countries at
markets.
His artistic instincts were reliably awful, but in his own
way this producer was indulging in the sincerest form of flattery toward
super-low-budget indie producer Roger Corman (Rock and Roll High School, Death
Race 2000, Big Bad Mama), who
over the course of more than two decades would have a hand in the launch of
more than a couple significant Hollywood careers, and in doing so lay the
groundwork for guys like Lloyd Kaufman and Nelson Zigler. Now, the improbable
revisionist king-making of Corman continues with the special edition DVD
release of two more movies from his vault of over 50 years of filmmaking — the cult
classics The Intruder and Eat My Dust.
 and<br />
stirring up all sorts of trouble. Striking up an affair with a married woman<br />
(Jeanne Cooper), Adam soon gets his angry mob, but eventually discovers their<br />
rage might be too much for even him to control.<o:p></p>
<p></o:p>1976’s <i style=)
Eat My Dust,
couldn’t be more different — an action-comedy that tracks a young hero who
abandons innocence for a wild ride in a stolen race car. Fledgling
actor-director Ron Howard made a deal with the prince of junk-food cinema that
would forever alter the course of his career; Corman would produce Howard’s
feature directorial debut, Grand Theft
Auto, if Howard would star in his quirky car comedy. Written and directed
by Charles B. Griffith (Corman’s Little
Shop of Horrors), Eat My Dust is
the story of Hoover Niebold (Howard), a small-town teen destined to fade into
obscurity until he gets the guts to ask out the most popular girl in school
(Kathy O’Dare), who says she’ll only hitch up with him if he steals a
professional race car. He drops his innocence, snags the ride and the girl, and
naturally much automotive mayhem ensues. Notable for its brilliant, low budget,
hood-mounted camerawork, the movie still packs a decent action punch even if
its teen angst and stereotypical bumpkins now come off as cornpone.
Attractively packaged, both titles here come in regular
Amray cases, with cardboard slipcases, and are presented in 1.33:1 full screen
with relatively shallow Dolby digital 2.0 mono soundtracks, even though Eat My Dust’s outer cover touts a Dolby
digital 5.1 surround sound track. As far as supplemental material, The Intruder features a nice, if brief, retrospective
look back at what Corman calls his personal favorite film, through the eyes of always
amusing star Shatner and Corman himself. Eat
My Dust, meanwhile, includes an introduction to the movie by Corman, the
film’s original theatrical trailer and a 10-minute, making-of featurette that explores
filmmaking on the cheap. Entitled “How to Crash a Car on a Dime,” this segment of
reminiscences includes interview snippets with editor Tina Hirsch, director of
photography Eric Saarinen and the aforementioned O’Dare. To purchase the latter
movie via Amazon, click here;
to purchase the title via Half, meanwhile, click here.
For The Intruder, do me a favor and click
on those links and just type in the title yourself. Thanks. B/C+ (The Intruder/Eat My Dust) B- (Discs)
On Milla Jovovich’s Evil Bankability
Star bankability is a subject of endless debate around Hollywood,
especially when it comes to female leads. Studios want guarantees on
their investments, which increasingly means big opening weekends and
overseas receipts equal to — or greater than — a film’s domestic yield.
Respect, photogenic worth and the ability to sell magazines are of far
less importance than the simple ability to put butts in seats.
Resident Evil: Extinction, the series looks alive and fresher than ever, despite its co-starring hordes of the undead.
Sure, the data can be cherry-picked in Bush-ian fashion (2006’s Ultraviolet, after all, only grossed a combined $31 million the world over), but since 2002 (and not yet counting Extinction),
Milla Jovovich has had the same number of $100 million movies as
Academy Award-winning Best Actress Hilary Swank, and one more than
fellow Oscar winner Charlize Theron. And with the release of Extinction this past weekend, Jovovich did something that even Angelina Jolie couldn’t do with the Tomb Raider
franchise — lay claim to an action heroine videogame franchise that
will feature three $100 million international hits. All of Theron’s
smoldering sex appeal could barely push Aeon Flux past the $50 million mark worldwide. So what gives? For a Jovovich-centric review of Resident Evil: Extinction, from FilmStew, click here.
Ryan Gosling on Physicality, Mannerisms
At the Los Angeles press day for the forthcoming Lars and the Real Girl, Ryan Gosling talked about finding the look and actions of his characters, and in particular the Midwestern loner he portrays in his latest film. “Those things — like I had a beard and I was shaving it off
for the film,” explains Gosling, interrupting himself. “Then I caught a glimpse of myself with the
mustache and I saw him, I thought, ‘There he is.’ So the mustache just came
that easily. And everything, for me, I have all these, what I think are great
ideas about the character, and then they never make the movie. They are never
very good. But then in the process of me trying to attain these goals, all
these little things happen. They are things that are specific to each movie
that I work on.”
“All
those mannerisms and stuff are not conscious is I guess what I’m saying,” continues Gosling, “or
things that I plan. They just kind of happen. It’s up to the filmmaker whether
he wants to put them in or not. And most films that I work on, directors always
cut them out because they think they are distracting or something. Craig is
great because he recognized they are specific to that character. And in Half Nelson they included a lot of that
stuff too. Then when I finish the film they kind of go away.”
A Weekend Love-In
Robert Benton’s Feast of Love opens today, September 28, and while I didn’t get to tap out a full-fledged review, it is worth pointing out that it’s a frank movie, about adult problems and told at a deliberate
pace, and yet it still has a sheen of positivity to it. All of which means it will probably completely bomb at the box office — sacrificed at the altar of The Game Plan.
Movie Ads Don’t Talk Good
FilmStew has up an amusing piece today about the increase in grammatical laxness with respect to critics’ quotes and blurbs on movie ads. Among other bits, it rants about misplaced hyphens, ampersands, generally mangled sentiments and of course, words that don’t exist. I heartily second a lot of their points, and also would like to add that the recent poster for The Kingdom baffled me a bit, because of its mixture of fragment and sentence: “An elite FBI team sent to find a killer in Saudi Arabia. Now they have become the target.”
Happy Birthday, Hilary Duff
It’s a happy birthday to Hilary Duff, who takes a producer credit on her 20th birthday today, and in the process moves one step closer to eventually tasting alcohol. That is, if she hasn’t already pounded a few brews with John Cusack and Ben Kingsley…
The Pink Floyd and Syd Barrett Story
The story of Pink Floyd wunderkind Syd Barrett is at once a sad
and familiar one, but a story still fused with its own alluring mysteriousness.
That tale, as well as the formation and rise of the famous band, get a fine
overview in this engaging mid-form (which is to say halfway between short-form
and long-form) 2003 documentary from producer-director John Edginton, a title which
includes interviews with all the members of Pink Floyd.
The Pink Floyd and Syd
Barrett Story retells the fascinating story of the launch of one of the most
influential bands in rock ’n’ roll — named on a whim for an album by obscure bluesmen
Pink Anderson and Floyd Council — and the drug-induced breakdown of their
original songwriter and lead singer. As one of the most famous creators and
characters of the psychedelic era, Barrett conducted no interviews and released
no music between the early 1970s and his recent passing, yet his self-imposed
anonymity still fascinates fans old and new. The prodigiously talented original
songwriter for Pink Floyd was only with the band for a vibrant three years when
he left in 1968, yet when the group released their greatest hits album in 2001 Barrett’s
fingerprints were on over a fifth of the tracks.
The film incorporates rare early footage of the band
performing, including a live show at the UFO Club, and an appearance with
former landlord Mick Leonard on Tomorrows
World. Roger Waters, Dave Gilmour, Nick Mason and Rick Wright retell how Barrett’s
disconnection from reality happened rather quickly, yet still haunted the band
for many years, informing tracks like “Shine on You Crazy Diamond” and, of
course, “Wish You Were Here.” Their recollections are candid (“Should I roar
with laughter or try to kill him?” muses Mason at one point, then adding, “I
don’t remember being overcome with compassion”) and sometimes downright harsh,
particularly as Gilmour was groomed to take over for an unreliable Barrett. Intervention
and drug treatment programs, it seems, were not part of the 1960s
musical scene.
Running around 50 minutes, the movie at times feels like it
could use a bit more fleshing out, either from others who knew Barrett outside
of the band (an old girlfriend provides key reminiscences, for instance,
including the revelation that “Arnold Layne,” the tune that helped the group
first ink a record deal with EMI in 1967, was actually about a local
panty-sniffer) or critical-minded music authorities. Still, there’s no denying the
fascinating value of the insights and anecdotes that the major players all
provide. Brief guitarist Bob Klose even half-jokingly notes that the band “needed
me to leave” to hone their signature sound.
The film is presented in widescreen, with superlative audio in
the form of complementary Dolby digital 5.1 and DTS surround sound tracks. Supplemental
extras on the first disc include a few interview outtakes, and though these
seem to be mixed a bit lower, they include Gilmour’s thoughts on “Wish You Were
Here,” and him noodling around on what he recalls as the actual guitar that
birthed the original riff. There are performances, too: Blur guitarist Graham Coxon,
who talks up “Bike” during the movie, performs “Love You,” while Robyn
Hitchcock performs “Dominoes” and “It Is Obvious.” There’s also a detailed text
biography of Barrett. The release’s second disc contains the supplemental jackpot,
however, with more than two hours of unedited interview footage between an
offscreen Edginton and his subjects. Overall, this great disc strikes a great
balance; it’s accessible enough for casual music fans looking to learn more
about Pink Floyd, while the high quotient of the never-before-seen footage (there’s
even some home video footage of one of Barrett’s first LSD experiences) is
impressive enough to woo longtime fans as well.
To purchase the film via Amazon, click here. B+ (Movie) A- (Disc)
On Airport Security on Screen
Good Luck Chuck isn’t going to win any awards, that’s for sure, especially for real-world accuracy and honesty, but one thing I did really appreciate in the movie was its airport security bit. Films have been struggling, ever since September 11, with ways to portray the new hassles and humor of air travel. In Good Luck Chuck, when Dane Cook’s Charlie is making his requisite madcap dash to the airport to win back Cam (Jessica Alba), he gets stuck in a security line, with first his shoes and then a pocket full of change setting off the metal detector. Sensing Charlie’s urgency, the wand-waving guard instructs him to take off his pants to hurry matters along. When Charlie starts to oblige, the guard quickly interrupts him: “Why would you do that, you weirdo?” On one level, it’s a silly moment, nothing more, but it’s also a smart, sly goof on the sheep mentality we’ve come to embrace at said security checkpoints.
More Thoughts on Resident Evil: Extinction
If there’s a notable silver lining to be found for cineastes in the
third installment of the Resident Evil franchise, it’s that a bravura, mid-film
zombie crow sequence may have squelched the need for Michael Bay’s
long-rumored remake of The Birds. In Extinction, Milla Jovovich returns
as dispassionate butt-kicker Alice, the former head of security for the
shadowy, powerful Umbrella Corporation. In a land where an experimental
virus has transformed most of the population into a mass of shambling
flesh-eaters, Alice herself is marked by biogenic experimentation that
left her genetically altered. While a shady Umbrella scientist (Iain
Glen) works to capture and/or kill Alice for his own purposes, she
hooks up with a roaming band of survivors (including returnees Oded
Fehr and Mike Epps and newcomer Ali Larter). A planned escape to Alaska
is scotched by a pit stop gone awry in Las Vegas, where O.J. Simpson
shows up and angrily demands the return of his sports collectibles.
 each set piece<br />
becomes more emotionally inconsequential than the one prior, leading to<br />
a denouement that nicely echoes a slice ’em, dice ’em bit from the<br />
original film, but still leaves one feeling empty. <a href=){kind=spacer}
For the original capsule review, from CityBeat, click here and scroll down.
Alfred Hitchcock Gets Blocked
For those in and around Chicago, the Block Museum of Art is hosting a special exhibit on Alfred Hitchcock entitled Casting a Shadow, from September 28 through December 9. In canny fashion, Hitchcock (and certainly his Hollywood financiers) presented himself as the sole author of his films. In reality, however, Hitchcock was a deeply collaborative
artist, working intensely with actors, producers, cinematographers,
screenwriters, editors and production and sound designers to feed the myth of what the public knew only as “an Alfred Hitchcock film,” sometimes even crafting storyboards after the completion of principal photography.
This exhibition — presented in collaboration with the Margaret Herrick Library of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences — makes use of drawings,
storyboards, paintings and other production documents, showing that the
director’s colleagues often contributed critical ideas frequently credited solely to Hitchcock. For more information, click here.
Jamie Foxx on The Daily Show
I just put a bullet in an episode of last night’s The Daily Show, which featured Jamie Foxx as its guest, promoting The Kingdom. Foxx has descended into full-fledged slap-happy celeb-promo mode, which means pretty much shamelessly milking the crowd everywhere he goes. Last night, that meant plenty of dancing in place before sitting down, playing with his own nipples, and an extended bit talking about the astrological sign he and host Jon Stewart share (that would be Sagittarius). Stewart had the best bit of the interview, when he asked Foxx what part of Toronto stood in for Saudi Arabia during The Kingdom‘s shoot; he also asked Foxx to come to the Oscars next year, saying of his previous hosting gig, “Your laughter was the only thing that sustained me during the first 10 minutes.”
Notorious B.I.G.: Bigger than Life
The Notorious B.I.G., né Christopher Wallace in 1972, is no
doubt on every hip-hop fan’s short list of the greatest rappers of all time.
B.I.G. was respected and revered by his peers in the game; everyone from Jay Z and
Tupac Shakur to Sean “Puffy” Combs became captivated by the
big guy’s velvety flow and unparalleled rhyme style. He left behind a legacy
that reached mythic status.
Biggie and Tupac,
but director Peter Spirer’s superlative Notorious
B.I.G.: Bigger than Life gives a new and different perspective, celebrating
the rap superstar’s life and investigating the East Coast/West Coast beef that
fed into his death without getting bogged down in specific conspiracy theory.
machine messages introducing the rapper in tangential fashion, and conveying
the immense love and respect out there for him in the industry. The rest of the
film is powered by interviews with not only rap heavyweights like Method Man,
Common, P-Diddy, Matteo “Matty C” Capoluongo, E-40, Raekwon and many more, but
also plenty of childhood friends, and academicians like USC cinema professor
Todd Boyd and author Cheo Hodari Coker. The firsthand accounts of Biggie’s
youth from his closest friends are fascinating, and Method Man spins some
interesting stories about Biggie’s personality and their collaboration on “The
What.”
Spirer (Tupac Shakur:
Thug Angel) knows his stuff, and gets great material from his interview
subjects, especially Ready to Die
producer Easy Mo Bee and “Unsigned Hype” Source
columnist Capoluongo — seminal figures within the industry that aren’t your
obvious, top-level, go-to interview “gets.” Additional feathers in the title’s
cap include rare home video footage, a never-before-seen interview done with
Biggie shortly before his death and
undisclosed home video footage from the night of his murder outside the
in
that Bigger than Life shines. Without
direct implications, the film paints a gripping, sad portrait of how Shakur’s
paranoia over his first, non-lethal shooting fed unfounded rumors about Biggie’s
involvement, and in turn how Puff Daddy made several miscalculations (including
releasing the single “Who Shot Ya” so close after Shakur’s shooting) that would
create or at least engender the sort of toxic environment preceding Biggie’s
own murder. While somewhat hamstrung by a lack of music rights licenses (when
you’re hearing about the crafting of a track like “Juicy,” well… you want to hear it), Bigger than Life is still a fantastic look at a rap superstar taken too
soon.
The film comes housed in a stylish, gatefold case which
slides into a thin, clear, plasticine slipcase, saving a bit of shelf space and
making for an attractive, tightly packaged title. Bigger than Life is presented in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen, with
solid Dolby digital 5.1 surround sound and Dolby 2.0 stereo audio tracks. DVD
bonus features include a seven-minute, music-set photo gallery montage and nine
minutes of classic
jam footage. The latter is definitely a kick, just to see a young Wallace
enjoying life and rocking the mic with his pals. To purchase the title via Amazon, click here.
A- (Movie) B (Disc)
Net Worth of Jessica Alba’s Penguin Panties?
It’s a serious big screen analytical question that bears asking: exactly how much of Good Luck Chuck’s $13.6 million opening weekend gross was due to this heavy-rotation shot of Jessica Alba from
the movie’s trailer?
The Nines was subjected to biogenic<br />
testing that left her genetically altered. With an experimental T-Virus<br />
having been accidentally unleashed on the world, <b>transforming most of the<br />
population into a scourge of shambling zombies with a taste for flesh</b>, <st1:City><st1:place>Alice</st1:place></st1:City><br />
now wanders about, trying to help pockets of survivors while also avoiding<br />
detection by her former employers.<o:p></p>
<p></o:p>Alice soon meets up with a caravan led by Claire Redfield<br />
(<a href=)
Ali Larter), a group of around 30 people that includes Carlos (Oded Fehr) and
Lindsay Lohan), she’s shown a fun and flirty side, but also
Good Luck Chuck saw more modest returns, pulling in $13.7 million on around 3,100 screens, while Amanda Bynes’ Sydney White couldn’t capitalize on her 
Daily finds himself unable to find happiness in love.<FONT><o:p></o:p></FONT> At the wedding of an ex-girlfriend, when word gets around that every woman who sleeps with him will marry the next man she meets, <B>Charlie becomes an in-demand good-luck charm, with all sorts of ladies — from sexy strangers to his overweight receptionist — lining up for a quickie</B>.<BR><BR>This doesn’t qualify as a problem to Charlie’s best friend Stu (Dan Fogler), a lecherous cosmetic surgeon who has a shrine to Pamela Anderson’s removed breast implants in his office. For a while Charlie indulges this casual carnality, but comes to find a life filled with all sex and no love a lonely one indeed — especially when he meets accident-prone Aqua World penguin habitat keeper Cam Wexler (<A href=)
Jessica Alba).