Jun 18 2009 'Bored to Death' Trailer: The Next HBO Series You'll Try to Eventually Watch
Hey, everyone, the Jonathan Ames-written, high-concept HBO series that stars Jason Schwartzman as an alcoholic writer operating illegally as a would-be detective is coming out this September, and the network has released a trailer to remind us how Zach Galifianakis, Parker Posey, Ted Danson, and Kristen Wiig are also involved.
With a cast like that, we have to give it a chance. By law. Even if it does give off a strange, unexplainable aura of being from the mid-'90s:
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Mar 16 2009 Gary Oldman and Bono Hate 'The Perfect Sleep'
We've gone so long without solidarity among Gary Oldman, Bono, and mixed-martial arts star Bas Rutten that I'd started to wonder if it would ever happen. Until now, that is! Finally a cause has emerged that the bad guy from Fifth Element, the singer of The Sweetest Thing, and a professional puncher/strangler can get behind: fake-hating the new film The Perfect Sleep even though none of them are in it. And just to prove the like-mindedness of their fraternity, there's a video:
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Jan 15 2009 'Franklyn' Poster: Franklyn Has a Really Great Mask
As far as I know, Franklyn still doesn't have an American deal set up despite appearing to be a better film than Paul Blart the Mall Security Guard, but in Europe--specifically, in Italy--they've got some posters to promote the release. Apparently the mask covers his face, plus makes his head inexplicably Art Deco? The neo-noir future is such a strange and wonderful place.
Franklyn Posters [BadTaste.it]
Jan 13 2009 Stare into the Gaping Eye-Holes of the 'Franklyn' Trailer
Remember that neo-noir, parallel-universe, Ryan-Phillipe-as-Rorschach-but-in-Dark City, if-Alan-Moore-wrote-Love Actually movie that had a low-res trailer a few months ago (high-res is so much better than low-res)? Well, here's another, better quality trailer, and the film still looks intriguing enough that the lack of a U.S. distribution deal is a concern. How am I going to see this thing? Importing it when it comes out in the UK? Some kind of world-wide network that's places on-demand media viewing at the push of a button? Yeah, I suppose those are valid options. So feel free to enjoy unconcerned:
Continue Reading " Stare into the Gaping Eye-Holes of the 'Franklyn' Trailer "
Nov 19 2008 'The Spirit' Posters Poster
"Guys, I've got this great idea for a poster. OK, so it's a poster, right? But also, it has all these other posters within that poster. Posters within a poster. The sheer audacity will shock everyone into seeing the movie. It's just so many posters, how could you not?"
It's true. Meta posters of the stars' faces are the new standard posters of the stars' faces.
Final Poster for 'The Spirit' [Cinematical]
Nov 17 2008 'The Spirit' Still Attempting to Create Interest with Clips Set to Music
No one seems too convinced by the last few trailers for The Spirit, so Lionsgate has pushed out one more quickie to remind everyone that the film comes out CHRISTMAS DAY. If your gifts aren't enough of a let down for the family, pack the kids in the Aerostar and take them to The Spirit, show them the true meaning of Christmas (disappointment). I particularly like the rockin' version of "Carol of the Bells" in this. It makes me feel like I'm watching a ridiculous, noir-based Home Alone sequel.
Continue Reading " 'The Spirit' Still Attempting to Create Interest with Clips Set to Music "
Oct 16 2008 'The Spirit' Still Cranking Out Posters
Good idea getting in for a close-up. After the last few trailers, the less you show of this thing the better.
Sep 19 2008 'The Spirit' Posters Make You Feel Like YOU ARE (Near) The Spirit
New character posters for The Spirit have taken a novel approach to showing the opposition of the film's hero and villain. For the first poster, we get a bullet-riddled Spirit as seen from the perspective his arch-nemesis, The Octopus. So naturally, for the second, we see The Octopus, this time from the viewpoint of... an unseen third-party observer whose view is being obscured by The Spirit's flapping tie? Yes:
Continue Reading " 'The Spirit' Posters Make You Feel Like YOU ARE (Near) The Spirit "
Aug 12 2008 'The Spirit' is Looking Really, Really Bad
Though I've still never picked it up, I always hear how Will Eisner's The Spirit is a groundbreaking, must-read comic series for anyone at all interested in the medium. That information directly contradicts what I'm seeing in this fight scene that was shown at Comic Con, which paints The Spirit as a slapstick comedy with more getting-hit-with-objects-for-comedic-reactions than Home Alone. Also, it takes place in a sewage nebula? Just watch it.
Continue Reading " 'The Spirit' is Looking Really, Really Bad "
Jul 29 2008 New 'Spirit' Poster from Some Art School Punks
Lionsgate had a pretty good idea. Instead of continuing to overlay text on cheeks and add accompanying audio, how about letting some art school kids have at it? So they did, and here's the first from the Art Institute of California-San Diego. I wonder how many attempts it took to get a design that didn't have "sort of an anti-war thing, man, because I'm totally getting into political shit."
Jul 15 2008 'The Spirit' Trailer Has Girls, Ridiculous Costumes, '80s Sex Romp Movie Poster Imagery, Girls
It looks like it's of questionable origins, so hurry up and watch this trailer to The Spirit before it's replaced by a take-down notice. My first thought was, "This is like if Frank Miller directed the intro to The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis." My next thought was, "Why was your first thought of a show that went off the air almost two decades before your were born?" I have no idea. Subliminal Nick at Nite?
Jun 23 2008 New 'Spirit' Posters Add Voices to Motionless Heads
There are two new The Spirit posters! One features the Spirit swiping my famous sexual maneuver (that maneuver being pretending a girl's lip is a button, then going into extreme detail about how my pressing the button sets her mouth to blowjob mode); the other shows Lorelei, the Spirit character most like a cast member of Cats.
But the real story isn't in the images, it's that Yahoo has taken a giant leap in movie poster technology: they've added speech! Moving the mouse over the posters cues an audio file of each actress reading her respective sexually-charged face tattoo. Think of it as the antithesis of Guess Who?, because these faces actually do talk (fuck you again, Milton Bradley).
The degradation of forcing Scarlett Johansson to repeatedly insist I get on my knees was entertaining for about 30 seconds, at which point my focus shifted to finding the dirtiest thing I could make them say by quickly moving the mouse from face to face ("Keep the come on your knees"). Maybe someone else can figure out something better to do with this function.
Oh, and I guess this isn't really safe for work, just because it's going to take too much explaining to clarify why a woman's sultry voice is giving you dominatrix commands.
Talking 'The Spirit' Poster Things [Yahoo!]
Jun 16 2008 Scarlett Johansson's (Scar-Jo, as is said) 'The Spirit' Poster
The practice of waiting until someone passes out at a party and scrawling vulgar comments on their face undoubtedly makes for a good poster, but I wish they'd gone with the writing on her other cheek: a crude drawing of an ejaculating penis and the claim that she "hearts" boners. That's the Spirit I want to see.
Jun 9 2008 'The Spirit' Poster Asks, Eva Mendes: Good or Bad Girl?
Uh, no, I guess you're not a good girl. Assuming we go by a good girl/bad girl scale that's based entirely on the amount and size of jewelry in your mouth at once time, you're a fairly bad girl. Moreover, I'm confident that if you keep all that jewelry hidden safely in your mouth, Mama Fratelli will never figure it out, and you'll escape with enough of One-Eyed Willy's rich stuff to save the Goon Docks.
Apr 25 2008 'The Spirit' Teaser Trailer Reveals Spirit May Wear Some Type of Neck Adornment
Talking at the Spirit panel at New York Comic Con, the lecherous director Frank Miller (strangely, while dressed as a unshaven Spirit) spoke of his unending admiration for his mentor Will Eisner's comic, and of his hope of faithfully recreating it on the screen. So I find it a bit odd that, as many expected, Miller has made the film look like a slightly cleaner Sin City. True respect = smothering the original vision with your own high-contrast fantasy world? Judge the teaser trailer for yourself here, then let me know what you think. Is this guy more obsessed with his city screaming or that f***ing red tie?
And I'm aware this has been up for a few days. Deal.
Apr 21 2008 'The Spirit' Teaser Poster: [Spirit's] City Screams!
Continuing the trend started with the sectional outdoor art, the new poster for The Spirit reinforces the idea that this guy's city is definitely screaming. Because nothing is more appealing than a f***ing nag of a city. You can click above to get the super-high-resolution version, but sadly I don't have the Arial-Narrow-Made-of-Buildings font for you to download. You'll have to stick with Comic Sans for now.
Apr 21 2008 'Spirit' NYCC Promo: Eva Mendes is Sand Seref?
I think the largest obstacle Frank Miller's adaptation of The Spirit will have the overcome is that, although the title is undoubtedly a classic, it's not particularly well known to modern audiences. People are still wondering, what's it all about? I think this new character poster promo photo should clear up a lot of that confusion: it's about a sexy, voguing bobsled team.
Click for the high-resolution, to really see that piping.
Apr 4 2008 'The Spirit' Feeds His Cats and Other Set Shots
IMAGE REMOVED AT REQUEST OF LIONSGATE.
Finally someone is dropping all the exaggerated action of comic book movies and giving us what we really want: lonely domesticity!
Update: Sorry, had to take it down. Just imagine a shirtless man in a mask feeding some cats from a comically over-sized bag.
Nov 29 2007 'Franklyn' is Your New Favorite Sci-Fi Neo-Noir Thriller
Has your life been missing a certain, sort of pretentious, convoluted sci-fi element since you lost your copy of Dark City? Fear not: a new entry is on the horizon. It's called Franklyn, and here's a plot summary and the first image from the film.
Franklyn is basically about four intertwining stories, three of which are based in contemporary London and one of which is based in a kind of parallel fantasy environment called Meanwhile City. Our hero in that strand is this sort-of masked vigilante detective who's the only atheist in Meanwhile City, played by Ryan Phillippe, who basically runs around trying to extract people from cults, has a big cynicism about the whole thing and hates The Ministry with a vengeance.
Setting aside how much this sounds like a first-year film student's ham-handed attack on modern religion, does this image remind anyone else a little too much of Rorschach from Watchmen? If you aren't familiar with him, how about Jack Skellington if he were piloting an airship?
Sci-Fi Neo-Noir Thriller Franklyn [First Showing]
Mar 27 2007 Depp and Banderas Headed to Sin City?
Might Johnny Depp and Antonio Banderas be in Sin City 2? Yes, they might. In an interview, director Robert Rodriguez said Depp was interested in the Jackie Boy role that eventually went to Benecio del Toro but now may play the character of Wallace. Meanwhile, a meeting between Frank Miller and Antonio Banderas now has the writer/co-director convinced he should find a role for the cologne baron (Antonio Banderas makes cologne). It sounds like Rodriguez is trying to bring as many of his mainstays as he can into the sequel. Also, the part of Sin City will now be played by Mexico.
