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HBO’s Luck Teases Dustin Hoffman

Damon Houx — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 19:34:23 +0000

Michael Mann and David Milch make one heck of a combination. The creator of Miami Vice – and one of the greatest filmmakers on crime – and the creator of Deadwood working together? Sold American. Then there’s their cast: Dustin Hoffman, Nick Nolte, Dennis Farina, John Ortiz, Richard Kind, Kevin Dunn, and Michael Gambon. It’s now hard to wait until 2012 for the new series Luck on HBO, but here’s a tease. Check it out.

The only question that comes with such great artists involved in a project like this is if they can deliver the goods. Hoffman stars as Chester Bernstein, who comes out of prison to enact a possible heist with his former muscle Gus Economou (Farina). Gambling, horse racing, crime – this could be something special.

And HBO has been good at getting the right team together, though after the collapse of Deadwood, seeing Milch back is exciting, and this cast is the right sort of men you’d expect in the Michael Mann (and David Milch) universe. Though network television is currently launching their fall seasons, we’re seeing more and more shows have their own schedules, and HBO has had a number of shows blossom by following the British formula of letting a show have a limited run instead of the more standard 24 episodes a year. It’s been working well for them, and it’s also great to see them give homes to filmmakers like Martin Scorsese and Michael Mann. Luck hits in early 2012, and it’s hard to wait.

Do you hold out hope for a Deadwood movie?

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 – Movie Review

Mali Elfman — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 23:30:02 +0000

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, the long awaited finale is finally here, and though fans will be able to cheer along to the film, my biggest problem is that they won’t really be able to cry. It’s hard not to like this film on some levels because even though it would never stand alone and won’t be the film we all remember from the series, it’s the finale! As always there’s plenty of fine acting, another special effects Oscar win for them lined up, and our lovable characters, BUT it’s all turned into a bit of a Soap Opera and for the end of something SO grand, the film never really makes the decisions to emotionally or tonally go HUGE which was needed in order for it to truly succeed.

(Note: And if you want me to talk about the 3D I can’t and won’t. For all of the other films to be made in 2-D and then this one to swap at the last second was a miss-step and only showed a side of the series that Harry Potter himself would scoff at — it’s not all about money for the viewers. It’s a “smart” business move, but this film should be in 2-D, is beautiful that way, and the 3D is a waste of your time, money and integrity.)

The Players:

Director: David Yates
Actors: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Ralph Fiennes, Alan Rickman, Michael Gambon and MANY more
Screenplay: Steve Kloves
Novel: J.K. Rowling (“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows”)
Original Music by: Alexandre Desplat
Cinematography by: Eduardo Serra

The Plot:

The last film of the Harry Potter series. It all comes to an end.

The Good:

Our Trio: I still don’t know if it’s great casting, great teachers, growing up around such amazing actors, or just three amazing kids, but not only have our three main characters grown throughout the films, but they’ve grown into three mighty fine actors. Equivalents to the greats that supported them throughout the series. Despite the problems with the film, they’re always believable and seem to bring you back into almost any scene. This is their world and they were the ones who brought it to life for the audience – beautifully done.
Supporting Cast: Through the years, this has always been one of the highlights of the series, and once again it hasn’t failed them. Alan Rickman has always played one of my favorite characters and again he gives a great performance, Matthew Lewis who plays Neville Longbottom gave my favorite monologues of the film, Julie Walters as Molly Weasley fills your with delight and with one foul word will have you cheering… I can’t list everyone because I would just be listing the entire cast. All the little moments with the actors were really well done and appreciated.
The Effects: As always the Visual Effects department has stretched themselves and created an absolutely beautiful world for us to feast our eyes on (and no need for it to be done in 3D, the 2D color is better and gives you everything you need!.)

The Bad:

No Tears: I walked into this wanting to cry, wanting to get emotional, wanting to cheer and then sob my heart out — and there was nothing. There were moments of cheering, which was nice, but never I was never moved to emote anything more.Which leads to my overall problem of all of this being far too happy and never allowing for the film to settle in those dark moments and really revel in everything that’s happened and let the audience feel the severity of the situation. Also (SPOILER) when Voldemort finally faces off with Harry Potter, the last thing we want it a gag from Beatrix (who is great but was wrongly used in the moment). This was the moment we’ve been waiting for, for ten damn years! It’s a shame that it wasn’t taken more seriously.
Soap Opera-y: They had too much to explain and too many special effects to get in and as a result, it started to feel like they were forced to cram in as much information in one scene as possible so that they could spend time blowing up stuff in another. Harry was where? When? With who? She did what? Which means? Oh someone is running! But the action never had enough meaning to really hit home mainly because some of the exposition was weak at best and felt almost like an after-thought needing to tie things together.
Alan Rickman’s Make-Up: No excuses! A film like this should be visually perfect and despite the impressive special effects, Alan Rickman’s make-up was horrible! His eye liner looked like it was from Pirates of the Caribbean not ANY of the other Potter films! Small detail, but one that kept driving me nuts seeing as he’s one of my favorite characters!
The VERY End: (SPOILER) They’re supposed to have aged 19 years, Hermoine (Emma Watson) looked 25 tops, I don’t think it’s possible for a woman to age THAT gracefully (though maybe she knows a spell?). The only one who actually might have looked realistic was Ron (Rupert Grint), but overall the aging was really poorly done.
Didn’t Work as “Part 2″: I thought by them turning the last film into two films that they would have the time to really delve into the drama of it all, but instead the first film took away the severity needed to make the second film work. Without that direct pressure that the first film built, the second film is flimsy at best. Though I was excited about the idea of there being two films, they didn’t do it right. The ending would have meant so much more if both films would have been tied into one and they took out the excess and allowed the serious subject matter to really hit home.

Overall:

I loved Hogwarts the first time I saw it on the screen and the idea of it being destroyed and the series coming to a close is emotional, and I wanted to sob as I saw it fall to the floor, but the film just never moved me. The saddest part about this ending is the lack of sadness in the film. That being said, I’m still a fan of the series and perhaps watching both Deathly Hallows films back to back would give me the emotional closure I was hoping for. If you want to full effect, I’d recommend giving it a try.

Rating: 5/10

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 hits theaters July 15th!

Photos:

Trailer:

Helena Bonham Carter Cast in The King’s Speech

Krystal Clark — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 23:03:21 +0000

The King’s Speech is turning out to be a film of epic proportions in terms of its cast. The movie already had Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush taking on the lead roles, and now according to Variety, a slew of new actors have joined in on the fun. We’re talking Academy award nominees, winners, and a few stage and screen legends.

According to the trade, Helena Bonham Carter, Guy Pearce, Jennifer Ehle, Derek Jacobi, Timothy Spall and Michael Gambon have all joined the cast of Tom Hooper‘s film, The King’s Speech.

This period drama follows the young King George VI — the father of the current Queen Elizabeth II — as he reluctantly assumes the throne after his brother, Edward, abdicates. Considered unfit to rule and cursed with a nervous stammer, the unprepared monarch turns to an unorthodox speech therapist, Lionel Logue. The two men form an unlikely friendship as King George finds his voice and leads the country into war against the Nazis.

Colin Firth will play the king in question and Rush will play his therapist. Hooper will direct from a script written by David Seidler. The film recently began shooting in England and upon completion will be distributed by the Weinstein Company in North America.

This movie has prestige written all over it, and hopefully it has a kick ass screenplay to match its gifted cast. One can only hope that this would be the film that places Oscar gold in Firth’s hands. He’s a great actor, so why is it taking so long for him to get his proper recognition?

What do you think of the latest casting for The King’s Speech?

Michael Gambon Joins ‘The Book of Eli’

Krystal Clark — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 00:00:12 +0000

More casting news for the Denzel Washington futuristic epic, The Book of Eli. As previously reported Washington will play the lead in the Hughes Brothers project that co-stars Gary Oldman, Mila Kunis, Ray Stevenson and Jennifer Beals. A new mystical element has been added to the film as Irish actor Michael Gambon has just joined the cast. According to THR, “Gambon will play one half of a strangle couple that holds onto old traditions in the futuristic tale.”

Prior to this casting development there wasn’t a final release date set for Eli, but that is no longer the case.

Warner Bros.-based Alcon Entertainment and Silver Pictures are co-producing the film, which Warners will release domestically Jan. 15, 2010, while Summit Entertainment handles international sales. Alcon’s Andrew Kosove and Broderick Johnson are producing “Eli” along with Joel Silver and Washington.

Michael Gambon is best known for his role as Albus Dumbledore in the Harry Potter film series. He replaced Richard Harris in the role after the actor died of complications from Hodgkins disease in 2002.You can see Gambon in full Dumbledore mode when Harry Potter and the Half- Blood Prince is released this summer.

ScreenCrave.com » MICHAEL GAMBON

HBO’s Luck Teases Dustin Hoffman

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Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 – Movie Review

The Players:

The Plot:

The Good:

The Bad:

Overall:

Rating: 5/10

Photos:

Trailer:

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Helena Bonham Carter Cast in The King’s Speech

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Michael Gambon Joins ‘The Book of Eli’

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