Archive for September, 2008

Say Your Name Bond!

Monday, September 29, 2008 3:00PM - By Mali Elfman

Watch This: Taxi To The Dark Side

Monday, September 29, 2008 1:45PM - By Liana Aghajanian

taxi to the dark side Watch This: Taxi To The Dark SideMake sure your Tivo is in working order tonight, as “Taxi to the Dark Side,” a look into the frightening and illegal use of torture by the United States after Sept. 11 at Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo Bay and Bagram prisons debuts on HBO at 9 p.m.

Directed by Alex Gibney, who is also responsible for “Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room,” this documentary, which one the 2007 Academy Award for Documentary Feature follows Dilawar, an Afghan taxi driver who ended up inside the Bagram prison, where he was eventually beaten to death.

With Dilawar’s story, Taxi to the Dark Side explores America’s policy on torture and interrogation, especially the CIA’s research into sensory deprivation.

In his acceptance speech, Gibney spoke about why he decided to make the film. “This is dedicated to two people who are no longer with us, Dilawar, the young Afghan taxi driver and my father, a navy interrogator who urged me to make this film because of his fury about what was being done to the rule of law,” he said. “Let’s hope we can turn this country around, move away from the dark side and back to the light.”

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Blade Runner 2 Rumors

Monday, September 29, 2008 1:41PM - By Mali Elfman

harrisonbr08 09 29 Blade Runner 2 Rumors
You just hang on Mr. Ford, we’ll figure this out…

So we’ve been hearing on /Film all weekend about some HUGE rumor that they were trying to break. Well, it’s been posted, and I hope you are just as disgusted.

A reader wrote in saying that she attended a Q&A with the screenwriters of Eagle Eye, last week and that Travis Wright (who was at the event) and John Glenn, discussed possibly writing a sequel for Blade Runner… WHAT!
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Seven Pounds Trailer

Monday, September 29, 2008 1:21PM - By Mali Elfman

 
7spounds08 09 29 Seven Pounds Trailer
Below is a clip of the new Gabriele Muccino film Seven Pounds, starring Will Smith, co-starring Rosario Dawson, Michael Ealy, Barry Pepper and Woody Harrelson. It seems as if the The Pursuit of Happyness crew has all joined forces again for another emotional drama. Will Smith, plays Ben Thomas, an IRS agent who sets out on a redemption journey to help the lives of seven strangers. Personally the second I heard the first line “The earth was created in 7 days” I became a little hesitant. Please don’t let this film be preachy, please don’t let this film be preachy. 

The film opens in theaters on December 19th and you can catch the trailer below the jump…
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Russel Crowe The Sheriff AND Robin Hood

Monday, September 29, 2008 12:24PM - By Mali Elfman

russelcrowe08 09 29 Russel Crowe The Sheriff AND Robin HoodRumors about the casting for Ridley Scott’s new Robin Hood film have been flying between Christian Bale, Russel Crowe, Sam Riley, and others. The question was who would play the Sheriff and who would play Robin Hood? Well, apparently someone thought it would be easier to just pick one character and call it quits.

So, that’s what they’ve done. Ridley Scott’s announces himself that it was with script revisions Crowe will play both parts that with “a good old clever adjustment of characters. One becomes the other. It changes.”

Now don’t get me wrong, I think Crowe is more than capable of playing either role, but both? Is Robin suffering from Schizophrenia? Does one become the other? This could be really interesting or really shitty depending on how it is done.

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Poll: Is Bond Still Bond Without Saying Bond

Monday, September 29, 2008 11:59AM - By Mali Elfman

bondjeadhsot08 09 29 Poll: Is Bond Still Bond Without Saying BondIt was released a couple of weeks ago that in the new James Bond film, Quantum of Solace, Bond will not say the classic line” Bond. James Bond.” Although they are going for a “new” take on the film, they need to play by the rules.

Director Marc Forster told The Independent:

“There was a ‘Bond, James Bond’ in the script. There are several places where we shot it as well, but it never worked as we hoped. I just felt we should cut it out, and Barbara Broccoli and Michael Wilson [the film's producers] agreed, and Daniel [Craig, who plays Bond] agreed, too. It’s nice to be open-minded about the Bond formula. You can always go back to them later on.”

“His announcing of himself had become a bit corny. Casino Royale gets back to the spirit of the books, rather than all the silliness.”

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Hear Ye Hear Ye! Branagh to Direct Thor!

Monday, September 29, 2008 11:34AM - By Mali Elfman

kenneth branagh09 4 23 Hear Ye Hear Ye! Branagh to Direct Thor!

Time for Superhero flick’s to have some dignity, a bit of class, a bit of DRAMA! That’s what are superheros have been missing, so why not change that? According to Variety, Kenneth Branagh, (who you may know from such films as Henry V, Much Ado About Nothing, Hamlet) will be directing the new Marvel Studios film, Thor. Seem like an unlikely pick for you too?

Well, scriptwriter Mark Protosevich told the Daily Herald last year that he saw the story of Thor in Biblical terms: “It’s going to be like a super hero origin story, but not one about a human gaining super powers, but of a god realizing his true potential. It’s the story of a Old Testament god who becomes a new Testament god.”

So it seems we have a bit of Shakespeare, a bit of the bible, and of course Thor:

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New Benjamin Button Trailer

Monday, September 29, 2008 9:20AM - By Mali Elfman

I hate trailers that give too much away. For the most part I try and avoid them. Although when I saw the first trailer for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, I was just confused. The second trailer has me fascinated. Aside from the absolutely stunning shots, the story actually is beginning to make sense in a fantastical sort of way. Perhaps I just needed some time to wrap my head around the idea?

I think at the hands of almost anyone else than David Fincher, this film could have been a disaster, but with his creativity and talent, it may just be a knock out.

The trailer of below of for a higher quality version go here.

It’s still weird seeing and hearing Brad Pitt without Brad Pitt, isn’t it?

The New Spirit Trailer

Monday, September 29, 2008 8:00AM - By Mali Elfman

samnthespirit08 09 29 The New Spirit Trailer

Well, with Frank Miller at the helm there is (was) hope for The Spirit. But this new trailer is just not cutting it for me. Miller walks the line between visionary and cheesy, which when done right adds a flare of humor to the dark and odd. But if not pulled off, it just comes off as pointless. Hopefully the movie will revive what this trailer has killed.

But don’t listen to me, watch for yourself and tell us what you think:

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