Late in the movie there’s a scene where a child is playing with a toy train set. As the little model ’rounds the corner, the boy pushes the accelerator, and the toy derails, crashing onto the floor. The railroad owner, who’s lodging the boy, gives him a light talking-to, “Slow it down at the curves, speed up on the straight tracks.” The boy in turn gives him a look that shouts But crashing it is the whole point! No other scene better sums up the movie.
It’s Disney. And Gore Verbinski and Jerry Bruckheimer and Johnny Depp and Hans Zimmer and all those cogs and moving pieces that make it big and loud and hard charging like the locomotives The Lone Ranger delights in crashing, plunging, derailing, and blowing up. And when it is, it’s a lot of fun. Yeah, the trailer’s given a lot away (which has, sadly, been a major problem for many summer blockbusters), but there’s a lot more that isn’t spoiled.
As for the spoilers in this review, I’ll try to keep them to the general plot. The movie opens in 1933 at a carnival in San Francisco. A tyke named Will, dressed in the garish outfit of the ’30s Lone Ranger, wanders through a makeshift museum of the Wild West, one of those galleries with big cardboard dioramas and plaques that state the obvious (“Buffalo: King of the Plains”). Munching on his carny peanuts, he stops at a display of an elderly Comanche, and the camera lingers just long enough to let you know that something’s not quite right with…
“Kemosabe?” the figure asks, and the startled boy confesses that he’s not the real mysterious masked man. The figure, again in turn, reveals that he’s the actual Tonto, and begins to recount the origin of his partnership with the Lone Ranger — beginning with the time they robbed a bank.
As big budget movies go, Disney’s The Lone Ranger starring Armie Hammer and Johnny Depp is, surprisingly, one of the biggest. Budgeted at upwards of $215 Million, it ranks as one of the most expensive movies ever made.
And now, we can see where at least some of that money went as the first trailer for the movie has been released. Check it out below and let us know what you think.
Twitter is fast becoming a reliable and consistent news stream. A place where people can share comments, pictures or videos directly with fans. Case in point, Jerry Bruckheimer took to his twitter to release the first official image from the upcoming film The Lone Ranger.
The image reveals the updated look to the classic Lone Ranger and his faithful sidekick Tonto. Underneath the crazy make-up on Tonto is Johnny Depp, who seems to be on a mission to have a more elaborate face make-up every time he is on screen.
The very dapper looking Lone Ranger is played by Armie Hammer, who many still don’t realize is the single person who played both Winkelvoss twins in The Social Network. He actually strikes as a very good Lone Ranger, he has the look down pat, and his ability as an actor has been proven.
It will be interesting to see what tone The Lone Ranger is going for. The idea of a western franchise that has the same scope and demeanor of the Pirates films could be pretty great. Somewhere inbetween The Mask of Zorro and Wild Wild West there lies a pretty awesome western adventure, hopefully this film will be it.
You can check out the full new image after the jump.
Upon leaving J. Edgar, neither my buddy nor I could nail down the point of what we just watched. Was it a hard look at the man? The film takes a vague stance on Hoover’s actions, and there’s not a very well-defined character arc—Hoover starts out as a stiff prima donna and ends up pretty much the same. And it’s certainly not an action flick.
The best I can surmise is that it’s a look at the relationships of someone who closed himself off from all human contact. Maybe that’s the reason the film’s titled “J. Edgar”–the first name is closed off while the second is used. There’s a lingering shot of the first time Hoover signs his name as such, so it’s obviously important, but then again the context is Hoover opening a new account in a men’s clothing shop. Anybody’s guess.
Hoover is played by Leonardo DiCaprio, using a slightly affected accent that’s not quite convincing but isn’t distracting. He goes through a number of emotions, and I suppose plays that part well, but I think the weakness is in the writing: He’s just not a very compelling character. Of course he’s underplayed and quiet—that’s the point, right? But even a dull character well played is still a dull character.
The Snow White movie wars are heating up folks. Last week we got a look at Universal’s Snow White and The Huntsman directed by Rupert Sanders and starring Kristen Stewart.
Now, we’ve got the trailer for director Tarsem’s take on the story called Mirror Mirror. This one features a cast that includes Julia Roberts, Lily Collins, Armie Hammer and Sean Bean.
One thing you can say about Tarsem’s films is that they are stylish and his visuals are often stunning. Plus, he knows his way around an action sequence.
In truth, I was not a fan of his first film, The Cell. That said, his most recent project, Immortals, is quite good so I have a bit of hope for this one.
Plus, this is also the Snow White film that doesn’t feature Kristen Stewart, which is a big plus in my book. Look for Mirror Mirror to arrive in theaters on March 16.
