Real Topeka People

The preview to ‘Public Enemies’, director Michael Mann’s new pic, with Johnny Depp as notorious bank robber John Dillinger is here:

The movie also stars Christian Bale as FBI Agent Melvin Purvis the man determined to bring Dillinger down (Sidenote: How many kids born in 2009 will be named Melvin? Six? Four?).

Much of the negative slanted discussion in the comments section at Hollywood Elsewhere is focusing on the digital look of the film, a style of cinematography Mann has embraced since ‘Collateral’. I personally don’t think it will weaken the film, even though it is a period piece. I like the unusual vibe it gives Mann’s films (I thought it was one of the best qualities of ‘Miami Vice’).

I’m happy to see Depp stretching his acting muscles outside of a friggin pirate film. He’s the perfect conduit for Dillinger’s dangerous charm.

Mann is certainly one of the best directors working today (he’d make my top 5, with Paul Thomas Anderson, David Fincher, Scorcese and Darren Aronofsky) and I look forward to seeing how he his Mann-isms work in a period crime drama.

You’ve gotta have a bit of knowledge of the source material to get the humour - here’s an alternative universe version of ‘Watchmen’ had it been made into a Saturday morning kid’s cartoon.

The first international trailer for the Transformers sequel, ‘Revenge of the Fallen’:

Not sure if I’ve ever gone into details with my feelings on the first Transformers here, but they can be pretty aptly summed up with the word ‘massivedisappointmentthanksMichaelBay’. The first script was an abomination. Apart from the virtually non-existent plot, the writers also came up with one of the dumbest names for a movie protagonist ever; Shia LaBeouf’s ‘Sam Witwicky’. I was buying early on LaBeouf stock prior to seeing the first ‘Transformers’, but I quickly morphed into the stock trader standing on the ledge after realising his portfolio is worth about as much as a turd. The last Indiana Jones film actually made me jump. I don’t think my opinion of LaBeouf will ever recover.

I liked Transformers as a little kid. I thought the concept could have made for a goofy yet wildly entertaining action movie. I even love some of Michael Bay’s films (’The Rock’ is brilliant). But almost every decision made by the creative team of the first Transformers, from script to cast to production, bled all the goodwill I had going into the movie.

And don’t get me started on the ‘battles’ between the Transformers in the first movie - a ridiculous, physics-defying, cartoony-fake, CGI Cluster F.

Transformers 1 is waiting for a rewatch on my DVD shelf at the moment, and as much as I wish it won’t be doubly disappointing on a second viewing, I have no doubt it will. And unfortunately, with the same creative team behind Transformers 2, I’m expecting the same from ‘Revenge of the Pixels’… I mean, ‘Revenge of the Fallen’.

Check out this clip from ‘Extras’, where Kate Winslet gets spookily prescient with her reasoning behind choosing to star in a ‘Holocaust movie’ (like ‘The Reader’, for which she just won the Best Actress Academy Award):

Clever girl. I’m sure Cuba Gooding Jnr has his agent on the phone at the moment….

First off, a big thanks to Channel 9 for making me so pissed off I couldn’t even be bothered blogging about the Oscars yesterday. I’d love to know which moron thought it would be a great idea to a) run an episode of Underbelly 2 beforehand, pushing the start time back to 9:30 p.m., and b) cut up the show like Edward Scissorhands, excluding plenty of major awards (no screenwriting awards, no documentary awards) and ruining the flow of the show. Bravo idiots.

I only realised when they got to the major awards that this was why the rhythm of the show was so off; would it have hurt to let the whole three and a half hours play out? The diehards want to watch it all – in fact, some like me plan whole evenings around it. If the late finish was such a worry, why not hold off on Underbelly for one frikkin’ night?

Anyway, as far as the show itself went, my feelings were mixed. Here’s my pros and cons of the 81st Oscars:

+ Hugh Jackman
Brought real showmanship to the hosting role, surprisingly confident, had a good repartee with the audience members he talked to. Definitely did not embarrass himself but…

- Hugh Jackman
Not especially funny, not all that great on the improv front, and we hardly saw him thanks to Scissorhands. A solid B- in my opinion. I personally like the presenters with comedy chops, but in a perfect world they would also have a dash of Hugh Jackman’s showmanship.

+ The Opening
Embracing the dismal economy in the opening musical sequence should have been funny, and it was at times – especially when they brought Anne Hathaway into the mix – but….

- The Opening
I like my Oscars to take themselves a little seriously. They’re not the MTV Movie Awards. They should have honour and dignity and a lot of the show felt like this had been forgotten by the new producers. Also the effects of these terrible economic times seemed to permeate the whole show, making it look very cheap and Rock Eisteddfod at times.

+ The five award presenters gimmick
Didn’t like it to begin with, yet I think it grew on me as the show progressed. But….

- The five award presenters gimmick
It only works when the person speaking is genuine and not just a robot regurgitating stuff off the teleprompter… or getting the nominees name wrong, like Alan Arkin did with ‘Seymour Phillip Hoffman’. Plus I missed seeing clips from the nominated performances.

+ The intimate audience arrangement
Liked the new arrangement of the Kodak Theatre and the smaller stage.

- The Tacky ‘Sale of the Century’ nomination prop set-ups
How bad was the camera movement over the prop set-ups for art direction etc? And the camera movement during the ‘In Memoriam’ sequence, not to mention Queen Latifah singing. Ugh.

+ Kate Winslet’s win
Absolutely well deserved, and a nice speech to accompany it. And no ‘I can’t believe it’ histrionics.

- Penelope Cruz’s win
I’m not really entitled to comment on this, because I haven’t yet seen ‘Vicky Cristina Barcelona’, but Cruz’s Best Supporting Actress win seem to be the token “hot chick” win, like Marion Cottilard last year. I will be surprised if her performance is anywhere near Viola Davis or Taraji P. Henson.

+ John Mayer
Sitting next to Jennifer Aniston. Not for me, but for my wife who got all hot and bothered everytime they cut to Mayer’s row.

- The ‘Return of the Musical’What the hell was the relevance of the ‘Return of the Musical’ sequence? It felt like just a gratuitous excuse for Hugh to sing and dance. Since when did the musical ever go away? Apparently Baz Luhrmann directed this onstage Cluster F. Reverse Midas touch?

+ Heath’s win
Had to shed a tear at that one. Still hard to believe we are never going to see another full movie from this brilliant actor at the top of his game.

- Greasy Reece
Five words that do not sit well with me: “Academy Award Winner Reece Witherspoon”.

+ ‘Slumdog’ and ‘Button’ splitting technical awards
Nice to see ‘Button’ pick up make-up and effects awards, as those two needed to go hand-in-hand for Fincher’s revolutionary technique to work, but I was also happy with a ‘Slumdog’ win for cinematography and editing.

- “Salute to” sequences
Hated the cheap looking titles, hated the editing, hated the musical accompaniment. Again, it felt like I was watching the MTV Movie Awards. Shouldn’t the Oscars be a bit classier than the Golden Globes?

+ Sean Penn’s win
His transformation into Harvey Milk was the most ‘active’ character role he’s played in years, and the beating heart of that great film but….

- Mickey Rourke’s loss
That being said, I still think Rourke was a more deserving choice. His Randy ‘The Ram’ Robinson was a rebirth, a rising from the ashes, and an unforgettable, gut-wrenching performance. I get the feeling he’s burnt too many bridges in his years in the wilderness.

+ A.R. Rahman
What a legend. Not only does he win Best Original Score, he’s back onstage 30 seconds later to perform not one but two songs from ‘Slumdog’. Now that is show business.

+ Best Actor Nominees
I would have to say that this batch of nominees was hands down the best five ever nominated for that award. The only year (of my generation) that would come close would be 1994 - Morgan Freeman’s ‘Red’ from Shawshank, vs. Tom Hank’s ‘Gump’ vs. John Travolta’s ‘Vincent Vega’ (and Paul Newman and Nigel Hawthorne along for the ride).

+ Danny Boyle’s Best Director win
Boyle is a class act, and probably the most versatile director working today. I love that the director of a zombie film can also take out a Best Director at the Oscars.

- Best Picture?
Will we really look back on ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ in 10 years time and go “Wow. Now that was a deserving Best Picture.” I personally don’t think so. I think it’s more likely we will file it in the ‘Crash’ zone; good film that snuck by a more deserving winner on its sheer likeability.

I don’t view George Lucas as ‘the Antichrist’, or think that he ‘raped my childhood’, but I can agree with a lot of the sentiment in the trailer for this upcoming documentary. Particularly the evident disappointment in the voice of the subject who reveals Lucas’ ‘pile of scripts’ that he really wanted to make but never did. It’s crazy to make him into a deity for what was 15 years of well-made popcorn films (a period spanning ‘American Graffiti’ to ‘The Last Crusade’), but it’s also clear that his output in recent years has been devoid of the ingenuity and obvious love for storytelling that marked his early works. Perhaps one day he will return to those ‘passion projects’. With his power and wealth, there really seems to be no excuse for him to do so, but fear.

And sure, I’m not accusing him of defiling my childhood but I would like my $15 and two hours back after last years ‘Crystal Skull’ travesty (I’m laying most of the blame on Lucas, not Spielberg, as he was apparently the brains behind the imbecilic plot). This ‘trailer’ is pretty much how I remember the film (spoiler warning):

I still contend that ‘vine swinging with the monkeys’ sequence was the worst part of that film, but this ‘trailer’ reminds me that it has stiff competition.

Sorry for the lack of posts this week, been inundated with real work and in the little down time remaining been hard at work on a little project that should see the light of day next week. So expect a few catch-up posts today.

First up, here’s the first teaser trailer for Quentin Tarantino’s bombastic World War II actioner, ‘Inglourious Basterds’:

It’s not due for U.S. release until August, so I expect we will see more in the next few months. Jeffrey Wells at Hollywood Elsewhere called the script “pure popcorn, pure shit-kickin’ Quentin, pure movie poontang.”

Eli Roth, director of ‘Cabin Fever’ and ‘Hostel’ and pal of QT is acting in this one (he’s the weaselly guy with the evil smirk, the one swinging the baseball bat) and I will be interested to see what he brings to the other side of the camera.

Farewell to veteran actor James Whitmore, who passed away in his Malibu home on Friday. Whitmore’s brief yet unforgettable performance as institutionalised inmate Brooks Hatlen in ‘The Shawshank Redemption’ is one that haunted and moved me. To see a man so beaten down his inability to catch up with a world that “went and got itself into a big damn hurry” always brings me to tears. Perhaps my favourite sequence in one of all time favourite films.

Whitmore was fantastic in a recurring role on the TV show ‘The Practice’. Twice nominated for an Academy Award, he was also know for his outspoken and impassioned political views.

Farewell Mr. Whitmore. Rest In Peace.

For my money, Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly are the most consistently entertaining comedians working in film today, so it’s no wonder their second team-up in the hilarious ‘Step Brothers’ is such a success. Expanding on the comedic chemistry they first generated in ‘Talladega Nights’, director Adam McKay has a particular talent for making an ordinary moment or scene inexplicably funny with his use of non-sequiturs and the improvisational humour of his leads. The ‘Line-O-Rama’ special feature on the recently released DVD is a perfect example of how McKay works, taking a dozen or so different moments in the film and showing the frequently hilarious improvised riffing of the cast.

‘Step Brothers’ tells the story of Brennan Huff (Will Ferrell) and Dale Doback (John C. Reilly), two chronically unemployed men in their late thirties who still live with their respective single parents, played with warmth and gentle comedic flair by Mary Steenburgen and Richard Jenkins. When the parents get married and move in together, Brennan and Dale become reluctant ‘brothers’. That they are so similar is not immediately evident to Brennan and Dale, and their early relationship is a comically brutal battle for ascendency. Both Ferrell and Reilly play Will and Dale as sixteen year old boys trapped in forty year olds bodies, complete with the requisite adolescent posturing and immature aspirations (Brennan wants to be a singer but can’t sing in public, Dale makes beats that never leave his bedroom).

It’s only after Dale is confronted by some pre-pubescent bullies and Brennan is punished for coming to his defence (in a funny but wince-inducing scene involving white dog excrement) that a real friendship and alliance develops between the two, leading them to form a plan for their future careers that involves starting a company called ‘Prestige Worldwide’ (it’s never quite clear what this ‘company’ intends to do). With their parents cutting them off after a music video shoot on Dale’s father’s boat leads to disaster, it’s up to the brothers to try and fend for themselves in a world that doesn’t offer much for two teenagers in men’s bodies.

Sure the humour is juvenile and at times nonsensical, but it is almost always laugh-out-loud funny. One very memorable scene involves Brennan and Dale dressed as a Nazi and KKK member, attempting to dissuade new homeowners from buying their parent’s house. Adam Scott and Kathryn Hahn both bring a lot to the table comedically as Brennan’s successful but slimy younger brother and his adulterous, easily aroused wife. Scott in particular feels like he’s channelling an evil Tom Cruise, with his too-big grin and relentless swagger.

Producer Judd Apatow and Director McKay are comedy home run hitters and ‘Step Brothers’ continues this hot streak.

Check out this great Vanity Fair actor-director photoshoot.

Shot by the immensely talented Annie Leibovitz, it captures some of the great teams behind many of this year’s Oscar nominated films in compelling, beautifully shot portraits. Here’s my personal favourite: