Nov 3 2009 'Prince of Persia' Trailer: Jake Gyllenhaal Finds the Slow Motion Knife!
Massive CGI landscapes; vague, unplaceable accents; nonstop exposition; an utter lack of any sort of chemistry between "romantic" leads; jumping. If those are things you look for in a film, you are going to love this trailer for Prince of Persia. If not, then, well... prepare to have your eyes stained bronze for a few minutes.
Continue Reading " 'Prince of Persia' Trailer: Jake Gyllenhaal Finds the Slow Motion Knife! "
Oct 28 2009 New 'Shutter Island' Trailer: Leo's Gone Crazy!
New trailer for Martin Scorsese's latest and Leonardo DiCaprio's most recent somewhat convincing accent! And something about these scenes tells me Leo's investigation into a criminally insane asylum isn't going as planned. In particular, the scene where he's cradling Michelle Williams before she crumbles into a pile of ash. That's just something you can't plan for, even if you are visiting an insane asylum:
Continue Reading " New 'Shutter Island' Trailer: Leo's Gone Crazy! "
Jul 21 2009 First Look at Ben Kingsley in 'Prince of Persia'
Welp, looks like Disney decided to save some money and hire Wax Figure Ben Kingsley (WFBK) instead of Actual Ben Kingsley (Sir Ben Kingsley). Which isn't a bad deal, actually. Going with WFBK, you won't get a Gandhi performance out of those glassy eyes, but you might get something better than a Love Guru.
Big version at Coming Soon.
Jun 11 2009 Leonardo DiCaprio in a Mental Hospital -- FOR THE CRIMINALLY INSANE!
Martin Scorsese has got Leonardo DiCaprio doing funny voices again! This time it's for Shutter Island, Scosese's foray into the the crazy-spooky-shit-in-a-mental-hospital fare usually reserved for straight-to-video horror starring lesser Baldwin brothers. Take a look:
Continue Reading " Leonardo DiCaprio in a Mental Hospital -- FOR THE CRIMINALLY INSANE! "
Mar 20 2009 50-Cent, E-Rob Join 'Expendables'
You can stop looking for Idi Amin or Gandhi in Stallone's The Expendables. Forest Whitaker and Ben Kingsley are out! And in their place, you're getting a 50-Cent and an Eric Roberts, respectively. Sly lays it out in the following message he sent to AICN:
Hale Caesar is Curtis Jackson Toll Road (new character) is Randy Couture Monroe is Eric Roberts Tool (an ex-Expendable) is Mickey Rourke Bao is Jet Li Lee Christmas is Jason Statham Lacy is Charisma Carpenter Sandra is Giselle Itie (famous Brazilian actress) And Barney 'the schizo' Ross is Yours Truly.The anger of the casting of 50 Cent is understandable,
but not fair. A player is only as good as his coach. If a man can
communicate in one medium, he can communicate in another if his strengths
are brought out and he has the support of well-wishers. So, trust me, the
change of Forest Whitaker to 50 Cent AKA Curtis Jackson is a good one.Nobody wanted Eric Roberts over Ben Kingsley, but I believe it's a vastly
improved casting. The point is, you either believe in me and the project,
setting your personal feelings aside, or you take a darker approach, which
really serves no purpose since your insight and suggestions and overall enthusiasm are a great thrill for me to behold everyday I sign on.
Of course nobody wanted Eric Roberts over Ben Kingsley, but you don't have to say that, Stallone. Don't rub it in Eric Roberts' face that he is Eric Roberts. He managed to get in The Dark Knight. Let him have that for few years before reminding him he will never, in any way, be more desirable an actor than Ben Kingsley.
It's alright, E.R. At least you still have your hair.
Jan 7 2009 Mickey Rourke and Every Other Action Star Considered 'Expendable'
It gets tedious covering every piece of casting news--there's only so much you can say when Kate Hudson joins another romantic comedy--and thus I often overlook it. Generally it isn't a big deal, but in the case of my ignoring casting on Sylvester Stallone's upcoming action/adventure, The Expendables, I admit I've made a mistake. He's been putting together a crew of classic action actors that rivals even when there were two Jean-Claude Van Dammes in Double Impact. Just look at this group:
Mickey Rourke has joined the ranks of "The Expendables," joining the ensemble of the Sylvester Stallone-directed action adventure for Nu Image/Millennium Films.Rourke will play an unscrupulous arms dealer who becomes the go-to guy for a group of mercenaries planning to topple a South American dictator.
Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Randy Couture and Dolph Lungdren play the title characters. Forest Whitaker and Ben Kingsley are also circling the project.
So it's the most definitive bad-ass team you can imagine (minus Arnold, Seagal, and Van Damme, obviously), plus Ben Kingsley. It's like he's there to sanction all the murdering. It would just be senseless violence with that crew shoving their boots in people's brains, but if you've got Gandhi on the team, it must be for the greater good.
Mickey Rourke joins 'Expandables' [Variety]
Oct 13 2008 Ben Kingsley Blames YOU for 'Prince of Persia'
That's right. Because you decided it wasn't worth your time to see Elegy, The Wackness, House of Sand and Fog, Sexy Beast, or many other of his films with more reputable roles, Ben Kingsley is blaming you for his starring as the villain in Prince of Persia. He'll still take responsibility for BloodRayne and The Love Guru though.
Ben Kingsley Loves You And You [Defamer]
Jun 19 2008 'The Wackness' Red-Band Trailer is Totally Wack, Other Crazy '90s Slang
Still aren't sure you're willing to buy into a "period piece" set in mid-'90s? Uncomfortable paying to see Mary-Kate Olsen attempting a role that isn't half of a madcap twinship? The sight of a depressed, 18-year-old, drug-dealing virgin all too familiar? Then you probably don't want to see The Wackness when it hits theaters July 3. But if you want to see a first-person POV of flicking off people and a former Gandhi taking a bong hit, then you're definitely going to want to at least watch the red-band trailer. And it's under the cut!
Continue Reading " 'The Wackness' Red-Band Trailer is Totally Wack, Other Crazy '90s Slang "
Jun 6 2008 Ben Kingsley Will Be 'Prince of Persia' Villainy Fellow
Earlier this week, news came that Ben Kingsley had joined the cast of Jerry Bruckheimer's attempt at making Prince of Persia: The Game into Prince of Persia: The Universally-Panned Movie, but it was unclear exactly which role the actor would later regret taking. Variety has now clarified:
Ben Kingsley will play the villain in Disney and Jerry Bruckheimer's bigscreen adapatation of the Ubisoft vidgame "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time."In the fantasy actioner, Kingsley portrays Nizam, who plots to kill his brother King Shahrman and blame it on Prince Dastan so he can take the throne.
Everyone can now rest well tonight, knowing Kingsley will be playing the stock evil-relative-after-the-throne villain.
Jun 3 2008 Respectable People Unexpectedly Join 'Prince of Persia'
Sir Ben Kingsley and Alfred Molina have joined Jerry Bruckheimer's Prince of Persia video game adaptation, adding some unexpected credibility to the project that was already cleverly being referred to as "Prince of Turdsia" (by me).
Alfred Molina will join Jake Gyllenhaal, Gemma Arterton and Ben Kingsley in Disney's "Prince of Persia," the Mike Newell-directed adaptation of the Ubisoft fantasy actioner. Jerry Bruckheimer is producing.Molina will play Sheik Amar, who becomes a mentor to the prince.
Sounds like Bruckheimer has finally figured out what separates the typical, detestable video game adaptation from the hypothetical idea of a good one: distinguished British accents. After all, what made the first two X-Men films some of the better comic book adaptations? The charming accents of Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen, of course. Why was the fantasy world of Lord of the Rings so rich and immersive? Because Ian McKellen's voice told us it was. Why did we believe that we too could enter a chalk drawing and sing nonsensical songs with cartoon horse spectators? Only because of the utterly convincing Cockney accent of Dick Van Dyke. It all makes sense now. If someone can get John Hurt to play Dr. Wiley in a Mega Man adaptation, it will probably win an Oscar.
Alfred Molina joins 'Prince of Persia' [Variety]
May 7 2008 New 'Love Guru' Trailer: Midgets, Various Funny Hair Still Prominent Themes
You've probably heard racist jokes about how the Chinese drop silverware to name their children, or have hilarious penis-length-implication names like Long Wang (if not, now you have, and you should try to meet more racists). But you don't know the whole story. Mike Myers has some startling new racial naming evidence: it turns out Indians have funny names too! As the new Love Guru trailer shows, his Guru Pitka character was born in the town of--wait till you hear this--Harenmahkeester. Harenmahkeester! Like "hair on my keester"! Butt hair! Also proved funny: midgets, adult heads on child bodies (someone else has also just realized this), midgets, cross-eyes, and midgets.
Continue Reading " New 'Love Guru' Trailer: Midgets, Various Funny Hair Still Prominent Themes "
Apr 15 2008 Fly Teaser Trailer to 'The Wackness'
Looking for a new way to show off your premature nostalgia for the early '90s (your neon hightops aren't cutting it), possibly via the art of cinema? Try on this teaser trailer to Jonathan Levine's The Wackness! Here is the enticing summary:
Story, set in 1994, centers on a troubled teenage drug dealer and a drug-addled psychiatrist -- after the former trades pot for therapy sessions, then falls for the doctor's daughter.
Seriously though, it might be worth checking out. The film has been getting a lot of positive buzz at festivals, and features a diverse cast that includes Famke Janssen, half of the classic Nickelodeon duo Josh & Drake (the Drake Josh half), half of the classic rap/Right Guard duo Redman & Method Man (the Method Man half), and two of our greatest fasting icons: Ben Kingsley and Mary-Kate Olsen. And did I mention there are fly girls in it? No, not the bullshit Flygirls of In Living Color; I'm talking real, honest-to-goodness girls who are (or at least were) fly. So watch them be fly, for god's sake, below the cut.
Apr 4 2008 New 'War, Inc.' Trailer for 'Grosse Pointe Blank'
Do you ever see a movie, then years later see it again and you realize a lot of your memory of it was wrong? I ask not because a reassessment of Short Circuit revealing that a remake isn't really that tragic, but because that's how it just was for me, watching this trailer to War Inc. I swear to you, when I saw this a decade ago, it was set in Michigan, and was called Grosse Pointe Blank! Where did all this political stuff come from?! And I would have sworn Minnie Driver was the love interest, not Marisa Tomei--and that Hilary Duff was far too young to play a legal lust object. But since everything else is the same, I'll have to just attribute this one to bad memory. Weird!
Aw, who am I kidding. Cusack, you old dog, you've charmed me again with your lovable everyman of a hitman. When can I get my ticket?
Continue Reading " New 'War, Inc.' Trailer for 'Grosse Pointe Blank' "
Mar 25 2008 'War, Inc.' Poster/Quotes Page
How often I've watched CNN--during the hypothetical times between celebrity gossip and Nancy Grace when they have relevant news--and thought, man, if only we could somehow insert John Cusack's character from Gross Pointe Blank into this Iraq situation, along with Hilary Duff doing a horrible accent. Who would have thought my dream could become movie reality, with a poster with multiple taglines and more quoting than some frat boys remembering an Old School scene?
Despite making some pretty blatant political points (such as the eye-rolling money/bullet comparison above), the film looks kind of charming in a typically Cusackian way, and has a solid cast. So if you haven't seen the trailer, check it out under the cut.
Jan 15 2008 AM Poster Post: 'The Wackness' Proves Graffiti is So Hot Right Now
Which is more "wack": that Ben Kingsley is a drug-addicted therapist trading sessions for drugs, when the young drug dealer falls for his daughter (the actual plot), or that Mary-Kate Olsen is being treated as both an individual and an actual actress? I say the latter, though I admit to never seeing her part in Weeds or any of the 30 pun-filled misadventures she had with her twin sister.
The Wackness Poster [IMPA]
Dec 4 2007 Kingsley Catches Either Shutter Bug or Island Fever
When you need to add a certain bald sophistication do your movie, while at the same time avoiding thoughts of Star Trek: The Next Generation, can you do any better than the honorable Sir Ben Kingsley? The answer is no, which is why Martin Scorsese has added him to the cast of his period thriller, Shutter Island.
The film, adapted by Laeta Kalogridis from Dennis Lehane's 2004 novel, centers on a U.S. marshal (Ruffalo) who along with his new partner (DiCaprio) travels to a Massachusetts island to investigate the disappearance of a patient from a hospital for the criminally insane. During their inquiry, the two encounter a web of deceit, experience a hurricane and become involved in a deadly inmate riot that leaves them trapped on the island.Kingsley will play Dr. Cawley, the hospital's enigmatic chief physician who must reluctantly play host to the two U.S. marshals.
In announcing the news, Hollywood Reporter had a hard time deciding which part of the title makes for a better pun/more likely fanciful disease. In the title, they went with "Kingsley catches 'Shutter' bug," while the article insists he "caught a case of island fever." Which is it, guys? And why not: "Kingsley 'shutter'-ing after catching 'island' fever"? Or "Shutter Shutter! Island Island! Shutter Ben! Island Kingsley!"
Kingsley catches 'Shutter' bug [Hollywood Reporter]
Oct 26 2007 See 'Ten Commandments' in Style of Local Commercial
I guess this computer-animated Ten Commandments trailer has been around for a little while, but hopefully you can excuse my missing it once you see it. I must have initially confused this for a Biblical local insurance commercial, or a new local trade course in changing a staff to a snake, or a gateway to 1988.
How did they even find someone willing to make such terrible computer animation? Was the effects team from Xena: Warrior Princess charging too much?
You'd think this is just some low-budget, straight-to-video thing for Christian audiences that think the Charlton Heston is "too real," and you'd mostly be right, except when you see the voice talent.
Who's that gentleman narrating? Is that...? Yes. That's Ben Kingsley. And Ramses is Alfred Molina. And Elliott Gould is God. And Christian Slater is Moses. CHRISTIAN SLATER IS MOSES.
What the hell?
Elliott Gould commands you to watch this in disbelief, under the cut.
Continue Reading " See 'Ten Commandments' in Style of Local Commercial "
Oct 24 2007 First Look at Mike Myers as Guru, Jessica Alba as Self
Behold, the first shot from Mike Myers' newest comedic endeavor, The Love Guru, featuring Myers in the eponymous role alongside Ben Kingsley, Jessica Alba, and Justin Timberlake.
Explaining the long stretch of time from Austin Powers to his newest incarnation, Pitka, an American left in India as a child, Myers said:
I enjoy having the Lamaze birthing process of it. It usually takes me three, 3½ years in between characters. I've written and created everything I've done, and it takes me a year to reflect on what I've done, a year to let the idea incubate and a year to create.
Meanwhile, when asked how she was able to create yet another deep character that smiled and looked pretty, Jessica Alba, as usual, simply smiled and looked pretty, creating yet another layered character to use in a future role.
Comedy guru Mike Myers loves his characters [USA Today]
Sep 28 2007 Some Other Crap That Happened...
- Jessica Biel decided to pass on a role in Justice League of American, meaning the actress won't be wearing the Wonder Woman outfit. Guess it's back to drawing Jessica Biel wearing the Wonder Woman outfit. [EW]
- Jackass's Steve-O mentioned to Howard Stern that he's resting up for a third film in the series, which will start shooting in January. This means no hanging things from his scrotum until after the new year. [/Film]
- David Goyer, writer of Batman Begins, Blade, Dark City, The Crow: City of Angels, will direct Baltimore, or The Steadfast Tin Soldier and the Vampire. His parents and teachers pray this "dark and stormy vampire thing" is just a phase. [Variety]
- Wes Anderson's first film, Bottle Rocket, is finally getting the high-end DVD treatment it deserves with Criterion re-releasing it in their usual glory. It's now officially pretentious and cool to like it. [MTV]
- Sir Ben Kingsley announced plans to play the emperor who built the Taj Mahal in memory of his late wife. It's all part of Kingsley's greater plan to play every historical Indian guy. [Reuters]
Jun 5 2007 You Kill Me Trailer
Ben Kingsley doing a dead-on impression of yours truly
You Kill Me stars Ben Kingsley as a hitman whose alcoholism starts interfering with his work. (He should try movie blogging, I don't even wear pants!) It's got a great cast - though I'm not a huge Luke Wilson fan, I do envy his prominent jawline, and Kingsley's an inspiration to bald Jews everywhere. It was also directed by John Dahl who did Rounders.
All in all, it looks somewhat promising. Here's to hoping this hit-man comedy is more Grosse Point Blanke and less Be Cool - that wasn't even a good book. (Again with the need to praise something by trashing something else. I may have to see my shrink, Dr. Zima about this one. Uh, I mean Professor Jim Beam. STOP LOOKING AT ME!)
UPDATE: A couple of readers have pointed out that Ben Kingsley isn't really Jewish. If you read closely, you'll realize I never said he was, just that he was an inspiration to Jews. What, you people think you can only be inspired by your own kind? Racists.
