Lawrence of Arabia (1962) is one of the greatest films ever made and a tie for my number one favorite film alongside Dr. Strangelove (1964). It is one of director David Lean’s most lasting legacies in Hollywood and a truly epic one-of-a-kind film. It was a film that was the inspiration to future filmmakers Steven Spielberg, Sam Peckinpah, Martin Scorsese, and George Lucas.

I first saw the film at the age of twelve when my father took me to the Ziegfeld Theater in New York City in 1989 for the film’s restored re-release. My father told me that it was his most favorite film and that I was very privileged to see it on the big screen. I will never forget when the lights dimmed and Maurice Jarre’s score played before the opening credits of the film. It was the first film that I can remember where my eyes were completely fixed to the screen in fear that if I turned away for a spilt second that I might miss a pivotal moment.

As I began rummaging through the popcorn bag, I looked over to my father who smiled and gave me a wink. My experience seeing the film on the big screen was like for so many others, a film, which made me want to become a director and it solidified my love of cinema from that moment forward.

Continue Reading →

One of the great ancillary effects of the popularity of The Hunger Games is the renewed exposure it is generating for the certified classic, Battle Royal. The Japanese film is a bit over a decade old and has grown a huge international following, yet it never really broken out overseas.

Hopefully that will change now that the film is getting it’s first US official Blu-Ray release.  For those of you who are unfamiliar with Battle Royal here is the official synopsis:

In the near future, the economy has collapsed, unemployment has soared and juvenile crime has exploded. Fearful of their nation’s youth, the Japanese government passes The BR Law: Each year, a 9th grade class is sent to a remote island where they will be locked into exploding neck collars, given a random weapon, and forced to hunt and kill each other until there is only one survivor left.

To celebrate the new release we have two new clips from the impending blu-ray set. The first clip is from the film itself and showcases some of the harsh brutality of the film. Keep in mind this is a red band clip, but for those of you who are on the fence this should help convince you. The second showcases  behind the scenes footage of that same scene, giving you a sense of how deep the extras content truly goes.

The Blu-Ray set hits March 20th and you can check out the clips after the jump.

Continue Reading →

While the first half hour or so will keep you wondering where all the accolades came from, once the movie gets rolling (and when it does, you’ll know), it’s worth it.

The separation refers to Nader (Peyman Moaadi) and Simin (Leila Hatami), an Iranian couple living in Tehran with their 11-year-old daughter Termeh (Sarina Farhadi) and Nader’s senile father (Ali-Asghar Shahbazi). Simin wishes for Termeh to leave Iran and seek a better life elsewhere. Nader does not want to leave his father. At least those are the reasons they give, but it’s implied that both are merely using the family as an excuse for their own desires to stay or go. Their refusal to compromise leads to divorce proceedings, with Simin going to live with her parents and Nader left to care for his father by himself.

Unable to hold down a job and tend his father alone, Nader hires a young woman Razieh (Sareh Bayat) to help, though she doesn’t do a very good job. Her deeply held religious beliefs conflict with her duties, such as washing the father; she leaves for hours at a time to do personal errands; and she’s finally relieved from duty when Nader suspects her of stealing. And then something happens.

Continue Reading →

The much-deserving winner of the 2012 Academy Award for Best Foreign Picture (in a precedent-making move, it was also nominated for Best Screenplay, the first time a foreign film has won a nomination outside the foreign category), A Separation is as far as can be from those facile Hollywood flicks in which not a single character behaves from any recognizable impulse or motivation. Although set in an Iranian culture that is in many ways truly foreign (for one thing, the judiciary system, in which much of this story is set, operates completely differently from anything I have seen; this is no Law & Order), the complex intent and heart of each character is absolutely clear, if at times mysterious.

The story is set around a marital rift—the Separation of the title—but it is in many ways the larger tale of an Iran separated by religion, class and privilege. An upper-middle class couple seek to separate because Simin (the beautiful Leila Hatami), the wife, wishes to leave Iran for better opportunities for their teenaged daughter Termeh (played with moving intelligence by Sarina Farhadi, writer/director Asghar Farhadi’s daughter). Her husband Nader (Peyman Moaadi) insists on staying in Tehran to care for his aged father, who suffers multiple health problems, including dementia.

Both characters and their motivations are fully sympathetic and diametrically opposed. Stuck at this impasse, Simin goes to live at her parents’ apartment. The family is split, and Termeh chooses to stay with her father and grandfather.

Continue Reading →

The casting has not come particularly quick or easy for the Spike Lee directed remake of the Korean thriller Oldboy.

Josh Brolin (No Country For Old Men, Men In Black III) locked in as the lead character quite early in the process but the quest for a villain so far has involved names ranging from Christian Bale to  Clive Owen, with even Colin Firth being in the mix. All have passed for various reasons and the search continues.

Filling the role of Brolin’s love interest, Marie, has been an equally difficult task. Both Rooney Mara and Mia Wasikowska have been offered and rejected the part of the female lead role. It is now being reported that the role of Marie has been offered to Elizabeth Olsen.

The film follows an average man who is kidnapped and imprisoned in a shabby cell for 15 years without explanation. He then is released, equipped with money, a cellphone and expensive clothes. As he strives to explain his imprisonment and get his revenge, he soon finds out that his kidnapper has a greater plan for him and is set onto a path of pain and suffering in an attempt to uncover the motive of his mysterious tormentor.

The lesser known Olsen sister, Elizabeth seemingly sprang out of nowhere at Sundance 2011 to become one of America’s most sought after young actresses thanks to parts in the soon to be released Silent House and the under the radar film Martha Marcy May Marlene. With three other projects listed to start in 2013, she’s not going away anytime soon. She’s also got a sizable gap in her schedule before those projects are due to start, which makes this a very plausible option.

This week’s pick is the final chapter of the Mad Max Trilogy, or at least it is until George Miller gets Fury Road out of the film can and into theaters after almost thirty years since the franchise dried up. Mel Gibson stars for the last time as the post apocalyptic do-gooder in Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985).

Thunderdome is my least favorite of the films for several reasons, mostly because of how soft Max has gotten in his old age. The film opens where it’s obvious that it has been several years (namely by Mel’s long 80s metal do) since Max helped the outpost settlers of the wasteland battle the Humungus and his barbarians.

As Max is trucking across the desert, he is knocked clear off his camel driven monster truck by a plane piloted by Jedediah (played by Bruce Spence from The Road Warrior). Jedediah steals Max’s rig and leaves him marooned in the desert with nothing. Following the tracks, Max arrives at what is known as Bartertown, a desert outpost where survivors of the nuclear holocaust come to trade precious materials.

Continue Reading →

This week’s pick is The Road Warrior (a.k.a. Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior) (1981). Mel Gibson dons his black leather uniform once again in this second installment of the franchise.

The Road Warrior begins with a narration sequence with an elderly man’s voice as it is shown to the audience the widespread pandemonium, which has steered the world towards nuclear Armageddon. Mad Max I shows the audience the beginning of the end. The Road Warrior picks up after the world has been destroyed and society hangs by a narrow thread.

Max roams the wasteland of Australia with his battle-torn black V-8 interceptor and his cattle dog foraging for supplies mainly food, and fuel for his gas-guzzling supercharger. Much like the first film, the first several minutes of the film offer an amazing chase sequence where Max is being pursued by a band of marauding punks led by the vicious Wez (Vernon Wells) who plan to kill Max and take his vehicle and what precious supplies he has left.

Max foils their attempt and wreaks two vehicles in an amazing crash sequence. Max commanders what fuel he can from one of the wreaked cars and fends off an attack by Wez who was shot in the arm with an arrow.  Collecting what he can Max sets off again with his dog and his even more damaged vehicle.

Continue Reading →

This week’s Monday Pick is the 1979 action thriller Mad Max, a film that lunched one of the most lucrative franchises in film history. The Mad Max trilogy has spawned many imitations over the last thirty plus years, but they fail to add up to George Miller’s fantastic vision of the ultimate dystopian future.

Mel Gibson (who was virtually unknown at the time) stars as police pursuit man Max Rockatansky. He patrols the highways of the not too distant future Australia that is on the verge of complete anarchy and lawlessness. In the first installment of the series, Miller shows the audience that in this future, resources like food, water, and gasoline are becoming scarce and society is beginning to break down. The Main Force Patrol (MFP) is the uniformed highway safety enforcement whose main purpose is to stop marauding gangs who pose a threat to the society they are desperately trying to preserve.

The first ten minutes of Mad Max are filled with some of the most impressive and dangerous stunts ever performed in any film before or since. The MFP is in pursuit of an escaped convict who calls himself the Night Rider. Along with his girlfriend, the two take off in one of the force’s fastest V-8 pursuit vehicles and are successful in evading several pursuit units.

Continue Reading →

Those who caught Rooney Mara and Daniel Craig get in all kinds of trouble in the American remake of Girl with the Dragon Tattoo probably left the theater wanting more. And even though the film didn’t do very well in theaters, they’ll be getting just that.

Entertainment Weekly brings us the exclusive.

According to Sony, the Girl With the Dragon Tattoo sequel, The Girl Who Played With Fire, is still moving forward despite the lingering perception that Dragon Tattoo has underperformed. “[Dragon Tattoo] continues to do strong business and nothing has changed with respect to development of the next book,” a Sony rep tells EW.

In November, Sony Pictures co-chairman Amy Pascal told us that The Girl Who Played With Fire was definitely a go, with a targeted late-2013 release date.

But Dragon Tattoo, which has grossed $60 million in the U.S. since its release on Dec. 20, is being perceived as something of a box-office disappointment (although moviegoers are enthusiastic — it received an A from audience-survey firm CinemaScore — and it seems to be holding up well over time as it chugs toward the $100 million mark).

So if you haven’t seen the film yet, you had better rush out while it’s still in your local theaters. And if you have, and don’t feel like waiting a year+ for more, check out the original Swedish trilogy on Instant Netflix today.

The third score from this year’s Golden Globe nominated set that I have the pleasure to review is from The Artist. The film is an interesting one, a silent film shot in black and white, set during Hollywood’s golden age. The film goes through great lengths to simulate the style of films the movie is about, and one of it’s biggest assets is it’s score.

Musically this could have come right out of the late 20s, it has a timeless quality, that allows it to feel fresh at the same time it transports you back to film music of a long passed era. Silent films used to rely heavily on music to help convey emotion, and as a result the music would often tell you as much of a story as the pictures did. It is exciting to hear that style of music in cinema again.

There is also a tremendous positivity abound in the music. Ludovic Bource has crafted a musical composition that damn near forces you to smile. One of the things that we too often hear these days is dark, monotone notes played for a mildly uncomfortable effect. This score excels at the exact opposite, and is incredibly fun.

Continue Reading →

We feel bad for the people in charge of Will Ferrell’s next career moves. Between random commercials for the town of Davenport, Iowa, or his newest film, which is done entirely in Spanish, we can’t seem to pinpoint where the comedian is coming or going these days.

His upcoming film, the aforementioned Casa de mi Padre, stars Ferrell as a gun-slinging Mexican hero, who needs to save the day, while speaking poor Spanish and looking good. Here’s the synopsis.

Armando Alvarez (Ferrell) has lived and worked on his father’s ranch in Mexico his entire life. As the ranch faces financial strains, Armando’s younger brother Raul (Diego Luna) shows up with his new fiancee, Sonia (Genesis Rodriguez) and pledges to settle all his father’s debts. It seems that Raul’s success as an international businessman means the ranch’s troubles are over, but when Armando falls for Sonia, and Raul’s business dealings turn out to be less than legit, the Alvarez family finds themselves in a full-out war with Mexico’s most feared drug lord, the mighty Onza.

Starring alongside Ferrell are a collection of famous Spanish-speaking actors, who are probably best known outside these states. Take a look at the head-scratching new teaser after the jump and bring your laughing bone to the flick on March 16th.

Continue Reading →

Just when you thought Michael Fassbender couldn’t get any more serious and awesome, the redband trailer for his new NC-17 rated film, Shame, hits the web. In it, Fassbender is staring down a young redhead on a train, letting his mind do the wandering, and things come across a bit creepy.

The film was just today nominated for a Spirit Award in the Best Foreign Film category, and has made tons of news in terms of how raunchy the film is (much like any NC-17 film gets). Here’s the premise of the film:

Brandon (Fassbender) is a New Yorker who shuns intimacy with women but feeds his desires with a compulsive addiction to sex. When his wayward younger sister (Carey Mulligan) moves into his apartment stirring memories of their shared painful past, Brandon’s insular life spirals out of control.

For the ladies, you’ll get tons of Fassbender in many different positions, and for the dudes, you’ll get Fassbender putting plenty of young ladies in many different positions. Take a look at the new trailer after the jump and catch the film in select theaters this weekend.

Continue Reading →