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Oliver Stone Denounces BREAKING BAD Finale and Makes Himself Sound like an Idiot

by Posted in Television


Oliver Stone, former auteur responsible for Platoon and, of late, political hack responsible for Alexander, World Trade Center, W., Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps and Savages , felt that he needed to speak up against the much-heralded final episode of Breaking Bad. Now taken out of context, Stone’s accusations of unrealistic, aggrandizing violence may have some credence but he admits to not “watch[ing] the show very tune” and that he “tune[d] in and saw…15 minutes”. That’s like sporadically tuning in and out of The Sopranos for six seasons and catching the last scene and calling it a masterpiece. In short, it makes the commenter sound uneducated and, well, like a bit of an idiot.

Not only does Stone’s denouncement of Breaking Bad hint at a touch of jealousy (creator Vince Gilligan’s star is on the rise as Stone’s career has been plummeting for years) but it’s very much a case of the pot calling the kettle black. 1994’s Natural Born Killers is one of the most sadistic and twisted films I’ve ever seen and in no way is less aggrandizing of violence than Breaking Bad. In a lot of ways, Stone’s comment kind of sounds like the desperate plea of an aged talent who wants to make his way back into the public eye, even if it is for these type of misinformed comments.

Take into account that the following quotation from Stone contains major spoilers for the finale of Breaking Bad so only read on if you’ve finished the series:

“There’s too much violence in our movies – and it’s all unreal to me. I don’t know if you saw the denouncement [of ‘Breaking Bad’], I happen to not watch the series very much, but I happened to tune in and I saw the most ridiculous 15 minutes of a movie – it would be laughed off the screen. Nobody could park his car right then and there and could have a machine gun that could go off perfectly and kill all of the bad guys! It would be a joke.

“It’s only in the movies that you find this kind of fantasy violence. And that’s infected the American culture; you young people believe all of this sh*t! Batman and Superman, you’ve lost your minds, and you don ‘t even know it! At least respect violence. I’m not saying don’t show violence, but show it with authenticity…

“If people think that bringing a machine gun to your last meeting is a solution to a television series that’s very popular, I think they’re insane. Something’s wrong. It’s not the world we know.”

It seems that ol’ Mr. Stone is suffering a bit of late-term amnesia, forgetting about the violent films that made his career what it is today. Honestly, I think that starting an intelligent debate about violence in pop culture is all well and good but to do it from an uninformed standpoint is a major waste of words. My words to Stone: Go back, watch the series in its entirety, and then make some public comments.

 

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Round One of the 2014 Oscar Predictions

by Posted in Film Editorials Tagged , , , , , , ,


As 2013 races to a close, it’s time for the first round of Oscar predictions. 2013 started with a whimper with a truly slumping spring season that moved into a relatively disappointing summer slate of blockbusters (at least from a critical perspective). But the fall season hopes to make up for any inadequacies of the rest of the year with a lump sum of certifiably great films. Although some of my predicted contenders have yet to see the light of day, there are now enough pieces in play to make a fair judgement as to what may and may not make the cut come the year’s end. Come join us to discuss our first round of 2014’s Oscar predictions.

I’ve personally only seen a few of the big contenders for Best Picture (Gravity, Dallas Buyers Club, Captain Phillips), some have played their way through the festival circuit (Inside Llewyn Davis, Saving Mr. Banks, 12 Years a Slave, Inside Llewyn Davis) and the remainder have yet to be seen at all (The Wolf of Wall Street, American Hustle, The Monuments Men). But even for these unknown qualities, all you have to do is look at the talent and directors and a shoe-in is the rule rather than the exception.

Coming off a fiery debut at TIFF, 12 Years a Slave seems the clear front runner and is sure to nab nomination across the board (including Steve McQueen‘s first directing Oscar nomination as well as first time nominations for Chiwetel Ejifor and Lupita Nyong’o). Others such as Inside Llewyn Davis and Saving Mr. Banks won high praise out of Cannes and the AFI fest respectively and will similar play across many categories.

As far as those that have yet to play for any audience, David O. Russell’s sterling track record speaks for itself and, depending on how well-received American Hustle is, he may prove to be 12 Years a Slave and Steve McQueen‘s biggest challenge. While The Wolf of Wall Street is involved in a bit of a juggling act, it’s darkly comic tone may keep it from being amongst the top tier, a similar situation to George Clooney‘s The Monument’s Men. Although Clooney’s name, an all-star cast, and a historic context have proved successful in the past, the first trailer looked a little too light to make it a serious player in a very heavy year.

Gravity still sits pretty as a critical darling that will have the backing of the mainstream, who rushed out to see it this weekend to a tune of more than $50 million and for it, is likely to take home a bulk of the technical categories.

Probably one of this year’s biggest talking points will orbit the discussion of an unprecedented amount of African-American nominees. Steve McQueen may not be the first black director to be nominated (he would actually be the third after John Singleton (Boyz n the Hood) and Lee Daniels (Precious)) he is the first who actually stands a fair chance at winning. Likewise, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Lupita Nyong’o lead their respective category. Even more impressive is the fact that the Best Supporting Actress category is likely to see nominations for three black actresses (Nyong’o, Oprah Winfrey, and Octavia Spencer)

Best Picture:


1. “12 Years a Slave”

2. “American Hustle”
3. “Gravity”
4. “Saving Mr. Banks”
5. “Captain Phillips”
6. “Inside Llewyn Davis”
7. “Dallas Buyers Club”
8. “The Monuments Men”
9. “The Wolf of Wall Street”

Fringe:
10. “August: Osage County”
11. “All is Lost”
12. “Nebraska”
13. “Rush”
14. “Before Midnight”

Best Director:

1. Steve McQueen “12 Years a Slave”

2. Alfonso Cuaron “Gravity”
3. David O. Russell “American Hustle”
4. John Lee Hancock “Saving Mr. Banks”
5. The Coen Bros “Inside Llewyn Davis”

Fringe:
6. Paul Greengrass  “Captain Phillips”
7. George Clooney “The Monuments Men”
8. Martin Scorsese “The Wolf of Wall Street”
9. JC Chandor “All is Lost”
10. Alexander Payne “Nebraska”

Best Actor:

 
1. Matthew McConaughey “Dallas Buyers Club”
 
2. Chiwetel Ejifor “12 Years a Slave”
3. Tom Hanks  “Captain Phillips”
4. Robert Redford “All is Lost”
5. Forest Whitaker “Lee Daniel’s The Butler”
 

Fringe:
6. Leonardo DiCaprio “The Wolf of Wall Street”
7. Christain Bale “American Hustle”
8. Bruce Dern “Nebraska”
9. Joaquin Phoenix “Her”
10 .Oscar Isaac “Inside Llewyn Davis”

Best Actress:

blue_jasmine_640.jpg


1. Cate Blanchett “Blue Jasmine”
2. Judi Dench “Philomena”
3. Meryl Streep “August: Osage County”
4. Sandra Bullock “Gravity”
5. Emma Thompson “Saving Mr. Banks”
 
Fringe:
6.Amy Adams “American Hustle”
7. Julie Delpy “Before Midnight”
8. Brie Larson “Short Term 12”
9. Adèle Exarchopoulos “Blue is the Warmest Color”
10. Berenice Bejo “The Past”

Best Supporting Actor:

 
1. Jared Leto “Dallas Buyers Club”

2. Daniel Bruhl “Rush”
3. Michael Fassbender “12 Years a Slave”
4. Tom Hanks “Saving Mr. Banks”
5. John Goodman “Inside Llewyn Davis”

Fringe:
6. Bradley Cooper “American Hustle”
7. Jake Gllyenhaal “Prisoners”
8. Barkhad Abdi “Captain Phillips”
9. Sam Rockwell “The Way, Way Back”
10. Andrew Dice Clay “Blue Jasmine”

Best Supporting Actress:

 
1. Lupita Nyong’o “12 Years a Slave”

2. Oprah Winfrey “Lee Daniel’s The Butler”
3. Julia Roberts “August: Osage County”
4. Octavia Spencer “Fruitvale Station”
5. Cameron Diaz “The Counselor”

Fringe:
6. Margo Martindale “August: Osage County”
7. June Squibb “Nebraska”
8. Melissa Leo “Prisoners”
9. Jennifer Lawrence “American Hustle”
10. Carey Mulligan “Inside Llewyn Davis”

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First Round of 2014 Oscar Predictions

by Posted in Awards Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

As 2013 races to a close, it’s time for the first round of Oscar predictions. 2013 started with a whimper with a truly slumping spring season that moved into a relatively disappointing summer slate of blockbusters (at least from a critical perspective). But the fall season hopes to make up for any inadequacies of the rest of the year with a lump sum of certifiably great films. Although some of my predicted contenders have yet to see the light of day, there are now enough pieces in play to make a fair judgement as to what may and may not make the cut come the year’s end. Come join us to discuss our first round of 2014’s Oscar predictions.

I’ve personally only seen a few of the big contenders for Best Picture (Gravity, Dallas Buyers Club, Captain Phillips), some have played their way through the festival circuit (Inside Llewyn Davis, Saving Mr. Banks, 12 Years a Slave, Inside Llewyn Davis) and the remainder have yet to be seen at all (The Wolf of Wall Street, American Hustle, The Monuments Men). But even for these unknown qualities, all you have to do is look at the talent and directors and a shoe-in is the rule rather than the exception.

Coming off a fiery debut at TIFF, 12 Years a Slave seems the clear front runner and is sure to nab nomination across the board (including Steve McQueen‘s first directing Oscar nomination as well as first time nominations for Chiwetel Ejifor and Lupita Nyong’o). Others such as Inside Llewyn Davis and Saving Mr. Banks won high praise out of Cannes and the AFI fest respectively and will similar play across many categories.

As far as those that have yet to play for any audience, David O. Russell’s sterling track record speaks for itself and, depending on how well-received American Hustle is, he may prove to be 12 Years a Slave and Steve McQueen‘s biggest challenge. While The Wolf of Wall Street is involved in a bit of a juggling act, it’s darkly comic tone may keep it from being amongst the top tier, a similar situation to George Clooney‘s The Monument’s Men. Although Clooney’s name, an all-star cast, and a historic context have proved successful in the past, the first trailer looked a little too light to make it a serious player in a very heavy year.

Gravity still sits pretty as a critical darling that will have the backing of the mainstream, who rushed out to see it this weekend to a tune of more than $50 million and for it, is likely to take home a bulk of the technical categories.

Probably one of this year’s biggest talking points will orbit the discussion of an unprecedented amount of African-American nominees. Steve McQueen may not be the first black director to be nominated (he would actually be the third after John Singleton (Boyz n the Hood) and Lee Daniels (Precious)) he is the first who actually stands a fair chance at winning. Likewise, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Lupita Nyong’o lead their respective category. Even more impressive is the fact that the Best Supporting Actress category is likely to see nominations for three black actresses (Nyong’o, Oprah Winfrey, and Octavia Spencer)

Best Picture:


1. “12 Years a Slave”

2. “American Hustle”
3. “Gravity”
4. “Saving Mr. Banks”
5. “Captain Phillips”
6. “Inside Llewyn Davis”
7. “Dallas Buyers Club”
8. “The Monuments Men”
9. “The Wolf of Wall Street”

Fringe:
10. “August: Osage County”
11. “All is Lost”
12. “Nebraska”
13. “Rush”
14. “Before Midnight”

Best Director:

1. Steve McQueen “12 Years a Slave”

2. Alfonso Cuaron “Gravity”
3. David O. Russell “American Hustle”
4. John Lee Hancock “Saving Mr. Banks”
5. The Coen Bros “Inside Llewyn Davis”

Fringe:
6. Paul Greengrass  “Captain Phillips”
7. George Clooney “The Monuments Men”
8. Martin Scorsese “The Wolf of Wall Street”
9. JC Chandor “All is Lost”
10. Alexander Payne “Nebraska”

Best Actor:

 
1. Matthew McConaughey “Dallas Buyers Club”
 
2. Chiwetel Ejifor “12 Years a Slave”
3. Tom Hanks  “Captain Phillips”
4. Robert Redford “All is Lost”
5. Forest Whitaker “Lee Daniel’s The Butler”
 
Fringe:
6. Leonardo DiCaprio “The Wolf of Wall Street”
7. Christain Bale “American Hustle”
8. Bruce Dern “Nebraska”
9. Joaquin Phoenix “Her”
10 .Oscar Isaac “Inside Llewyn Davis”

Best Actress:


1. Cate Blanchett “Blue Jasmine”
2. Judi Dench “Philomena”
3. Meryl Streep “August: Osage County”
4. Sandra Bullock “Gravity”
5. Emma Thompson “Saving Mr. Banks”
 
Fringe:6.Amy Adams “American Hustle”
7. Julie Delpy “Before Midnight”
8. Brie Larson “Short Term 12”
9. Adèle Exarchopoulos “Blue is the Warmest Color”
10. Berenice Bejo “The Past”

Best Supporting Actor:

 
1. Jared Leto “Dallas Buyers Club”

2. Daniel Bruhl “Rush”
3. Michael Fassbender “12 Years a Slave”
4. Tom Hanks “Saving Mr. Banks”
5. John Goodman “Inside Llewyn Davis”
Fringe:
6. Bradley Cooper “American Hustle”
7. Jake Gllyenhaal “Prisoners”
8. Barkhad Abdi “Captain Phillips”
9. Sam Rockwell “The Way, Way Back”
10. Andrew Dice Clay “Blue Jasmine”

Best Supporting Actress:

 
1. Lupita Nyong’o “12 Years a Slave”
2. Oprah Winfrey “Lee Daniel’s The Butler”
3. Julia Roberts “August: Osage County”
4. Octavia Spencer “Fruitvale Station”
5. Cameron Diaz “The Counselor”

Fringe:
6. Margo Martindale “August: Osage County”
7. June Squibb “Nebraska”
8. Melissa Leo “Prisoners”
9. Jennifer Lawrence “American Hustle”
10. Carey Mulligan “Inside Llewyn Davis”

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Will Disney's FROZEN Freeze Up Animated Competition's Oscar Odds?

by Posted in Trailers Tagged , , , ,

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With Pixar in a bit of a tailspin following their triple-decker slump in quality (Cars 2, Brave, Monsters University), “rival” studios like Disney (who actually owns Pixar, but that’s neither here nor there) and Dreamworks have been given more of a chance to step into the spotlight and try and carve out their own day in the spotlight. It seems clear that Monsters University, Despicable Me 2, and The Croods are shoe-ins for Best Animated Picture nominations but none of them seem primed to take home gold. Considering this largely lackluster spread of animated features (the best of which, in my opinion, has been Turbo), Disney’s Frozen stands a good chance at nabbing the coveted top spot come award’s season.

Directed by Chris Buck (Tarzan, Surf’s Up) and Jennifer Lee (in her first directorial gig), Frozen follows Anna, a fearless optimist, who teams up with Kristoff in an epic journey, encounters Everest-like conditions, and a hilarious snowman named Olaf in a race to find Anna’s sister Elsa, whose icy powers have trapped the kingdom in eternal winter.

At this point, what sets Frozen aside from the approach of many other similar budget animated features is the voice talent (or lack their of.) While most animation studios these days spend a pretty penny on well-known celebrity voices, Frozen‘s vocal department is characterized by Hollywood outsiders, but cult-favorites, Kristen Bell and Alan Tudyk.

Frozen is directed by Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee and stars Kristen Bell, Alan Tudyk, Idina Menzel, Jonathan Groff, and Josh Gad. It hits theaters on November 27, 2013.

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Elizabeth Olsen, Aaron Taylor Johnson Confirmed for THE AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON

by Posted in Casting News Tagged , , , ,

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Elizabeth Olsen (Martha May Marlene) and Aaron Taylor Johnson (Kick-Ass) are slated to play twin superheroes, Scarlett Witch and Quicksilver, in Joss Whedon’s The Avengers: Age of Ultron.

Samuel L. Jackson announced Elizabeth Olson’s involvement, while promoting Spike Lee’s upcoming adaptation of Oldboy, saying “I know we’re shooting in London, that James Spader is Ultron and going to be the bad guy, and that we added Ms. Olsen, but I don’t know what she’s doing, if she’s on the inside or the outside. I haven’t seen a script.” Deadline’s source confirmed.

The news lends credibility to the long-time rumors of Aaron Taylor Johnson’s involvement in the film, as he seems to be making his career on comic book movies.

Aaron Taylor Johnson’s Kick-Ass co-star, Evan Peters, is also playing Quicksilver in the upcoming X-Men: Days of Future Past, due to Fox and Marvel sharing the characters rights, so expect the incessantly obnoxious comparisons to begin, when The Avengers: Age of Ultron opens on May 1, 2015.

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Taylor Swift Cast in THE GIVER to the Excitement of No One

by Posted in Casting News

In a move to delight the singer’s tween audience, enrage readers of books, and generally boost box office returns, Taylor Swift has been cast in the movie adaptation of The Giver, Lois Lowry’s Newberry Medal winning 1993 children’s novel about a frightening dystopian future disguised as a utopia where pain has been eliminated along with emotional depth and memory. Although given that subject matter, Swift’s casting would seem to make sense. Director Phillip Noyce and The Weinstein Company have probably chosen Swift to boost box office returns and slowly chip away at a pillar of your childhood.

The seminal work, heralded ignorantly by Teen Vogue as “the original Hunger Games”, stars Jeff Bridges as the titular character, a community’s living receptacle of all emotion and memory as he trains a precocious youth to take over the role, Jonas (Brenton Thwaites, who will also star in Disney’s upcoming film Malificent in 2014). As you can imagine, things go wrong and the boy and his mentor fight the system in a tale with themes – Contentment vs. Integrity, the Great Society vs. Individual – meaty enough for most middle schools to assign the book to their students. Meryl Streep, Katie Holmes, Odeya Rush, Alexandar Skarsgard and Cameron Monaghan round out the cast.

Harvey Weinstein said of the production that, “We could not have assembled a more impressive cast for this project behind Lois Lowry’s beautiful novel and the directorial talents of Phil Noyce, and are tremendously excited to commence production,” set to begin on October 7th in Cape Town, South Africa.  Neither Weinstein or Noyce, who’s directing credits include Salt and Patriot Games, have commented on whether Swift will show up in the soundtrack as well, although the rumor mill is giving it pretty good odds.
           

It’s pretty ironic that in a work, which is opposed to sameness and uniform contentment, Noyce and his producers have made no breaks from the norm casting-wise to make this film. Whether it’s contempt for the tween audience The Giver adaptation is marketed to, or the producer’s blatant attempt at raking in the dough at the cost of the source material’s integrity, there are plenty of reasons to dislike this move. Given that it’s part of an increasing trend of pillaging school reading lists for movie ideas, it makes you hope that Weinstein & Co. don’t discover “Animal Farm”, “Lord of the Flies”, or any more childhood favorites to sell to today’s young adults.
 
The Giver is directed by Phillip Noyce and stars Jeff Bridges, Brenton Thwaites, Meryl Streep, Katie Holmes, Odeya Rush, Alexandar Skarsgard and Cameron Monaghan. It hit theaters August 15, 2014.

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New Teaser Trailer and Poster for ENEMY

by Posted in Trailers

Not much has been released or even said about Enemy, the second work by Denis Villeneuve starring Jake Gyllenhaal since Prisoners, the powerful drama that premiered at TIFF on September 20th, 2013. No US release date has been set, but from the poster and the just-over-a-minute teaser trailer, replete with ennui from the content to the wandering and sorrowful music, we can expect the same moody introspection and desolate spaciousness that characterized Prisoners. Screened as a special presentation at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival, the trailer asks more questions then answers, providing just enough information to set the scene without revealing any of the plot.

The teaser is full of disjointed and interconnected beats of Gyllenhaal, giving a lecture at a University where he teaches about dictators and control in some moments, interspersed with Gyllenhaal’s seemingly despondent relationship with his girlfriend, coitus and walk-out included. Gyllenhaal seems disheveled, preoccupied and uninterested; his world is beige, poorly furnished and bleak. That, coupled with the vaguely insidious soundtrack, is all we have to go on so far, and it is definitely enough to get the wheels turning about the emotional undertow of the plot. In text it’s apparent that Gyllenhaal gets double-billing for playing his doppelgänger, but only time and more released information will tell what will come of this meeting outside of scattered hints that the results will be grim.

An adaptation of Nobel-Prize-winning author José Saramago’s novel “The Double”, this work proposes to solidify the brooding, expansive aesthetic that Villeneuve gave glimpses of in Prisoners.  The film’s cast also features Mélanie Laurent, Isabella Rosselllini, Sara Gadon, Stephen R. Hart and Jane Moffat and has recently been picked up by A24 for US distribution. Set to release in Spain on December 13th, 2013, it’ll be interesting to see how this film compares and measures up to Prisoners for Thrills, aesthetic, and overall artistic merit.

Enemy is directed by Denis Villeneuve and stars Jack Gyllenhaal, Mélanie Laurent, Isabella Rosselllini, Sara Gadon, Stephen R. Hart and Jane Moffat. There’s no official release date yet set.

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Second Trailer for OUT OF THE FURNACE is More Exciting, Just as Heartbreaking

by Posted in Trailers

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The second trailer for Out of the Furnace, the Scott Cooper film staring Christian Bale and Woody Harrelson, pounds its pulse a little more wildly then the first trailer, but overall still conveys the sense of despair and futility associated with poverty that the first one did. The film, also starring Casey Affleck as Bale’s disillusioned brother, home from the army and in incredible danger, along with Zoe Saldana and Willem Dafoe, is set to release in theaters on December 6, 2013.

 

 While the first trailer focuses more on painting a picture of the rust belt, complete with character portraits and the sprawling industrial landscapes, the second trailer is far more visceral. This one, drawing more from fight/crimes movies and the impoverished alienation capitalized and other Appalachian desperation films, gives you more of an idea of the “whole ‘nother world up in there” which Affleck has gotten himself entangled in. Bale, who’s character Russell has just gotten out of jail, has to decide whether to take his freedom and run or put it all on the line, guns blazing, as he treks into the lawless backwoods of Appalachia to get his brother back from the villain, played by Woody Harrelson.

Taken in aggregate, these trailers shine most in their immaculately crafted interiors, their character designs, and their wide shots of beautiful yet filthy industrial landscapes that sustain and oppress the cast of characters.  Neil Young’s “Heart of Gold” is covered sorrowfully in the second trailer to emotional impact, and along meticulousness shown in both trailers to the environment and to the performances, the general vibe evokes Winter’s Bone and other horror stories of American poverty. If Scott Cooper pulls performances out of his cast anywhere near as good as the one he got out of Jeff Bridges for Crazy Heart, this film will not be one to miss.

Out of the Furnace is directed by Scott Cooper and stars Christian Bale, Woody Harrelson, Casey Affleck, Zoe Saldana, Willem Dafoe, Forest Whitaker, Sam Shepard. It hits theaters on December 6, 2013.

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