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Conan The Barbarian: Movie Review

Mali Elfman — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 17:11:02 +0000

That’s right, Conan is back in yet another beefy form in the 2011 adaptation Conan the Barbarian. Jason Mamoa, the man who has recently caught the attention of audiences for his massive physique and his role on the hit TV series “Game of Thrones” suits up, or rather, takes it of, for his latest role as the epic character. It’s hard to really critique a film like this, because its goal is not something I seek out in films. It’s specifically tailored to fans of Conan and action, dramas with nearly no humor or character development. That being said, for what it was, the film was a good time and had some of the best 3D that I’ve seen in a while…

The Players:

Directed By: Marcus Nispel
Written By: Thomas Dean Donnelly, Joshua Oppenheimer, Sean Hood
Character Created By: Robert E. Howard
Starring: Jason Momoa, Stephen Lang, Rachel Nichols, Ron Perlman, Rose McGowan
Original Music by: Tyler Bates
Cinematography by: Thomas Kloss

The Plot:

Really? Conan gets pissy about things, bangs broads and bashes peoples heads in, in a variety of ways. What are you doing looking for plot? Alright fine. His family and people were slaughtered when he was a young boy and he seeks revenge with the help of a very sexy virgin (like that’ll last!).

The Good:

The Special Effects: This movie was made on an incredibly tight budget and most of it was CGI. Often that gives a film a very “fake” touch and the 3D doesn’t always help. Thanks to the mazing special effects team and Thomas Kloss the the cinematographer, the film had a great sense of texture and depth that was unexpected and yet appreciated in a smash-um-up, action film.
Embracing The Genre: No one in this film is winning an Oscar, the story is just good enough to get you from point A to point B, there are plot holes you couldn’t drive your car over, but what’s important is the film delivers what people want when they walk into see “Conan the Barbarian” — There’s an aggressive tone that the films holds onto throughout, it’s visually appealing, easy to follow, and overall, a fun, violent time.

The So-So:

Violence: Though there were a few great action shots (most of which were in the trailer), it’s hard not to compare this film to the “Game of Thrones” series with the era and the lead actor. “Game of Thrones” is a far superior show with better storylines (though they have more time to develop them) but more importantly, more impactful violence. For some reason the violence in this film didn’t always have enough meaning to really have it hit home. Yes, certain scenes are cringe-worthy, but others could have been even more intense. “Game of Thrones” is the perfect example of how to use violence most effectively for the audience. Though this film has violence in spades, not all of it hits home as much as it should.

The Bad:

The Horseback Riding: Many of those, not as OCD about this as I would never notice that Khal Drogo, his character on “Game of Thrones” never actually does more than walk a horse or sit on one. He merely need to look good. In this film he has to actually ride, and for anyone who knows what they’re looking at, the riding is BAD. Keep your hands down!

Overall:

This is by no means a bad film, I don’t think it will have long legs, but if you find yourself debating whether or not you want to see it, just think “am I in the mood to see a fetus cut out of a woman’s stomach so she can see it?” If the answer is yes, go get yourself some popcorn, you’re in for a treat!

Rating: 5.5/10

Conan the Barbarian hits theaters today, August 19th.

Photo Gallery:

TV Castings: Stephen Lang to Terra Nova, Rachael Taylor to Grey’s Anatomy

Krystal Clark — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 20:08:05 +0000

Contrary to popular belief Isabel Lucas and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley weren’t the first blonds to be featured in the Transformers franchise. Back in 2007, Australian actress Rachael Taylor wore a power suit and heels in the first film. Since then we haven’t seen her in anything nearly as high profile but she’s landed a gig on the small screen that might jog our memories. According to EW, she has a new role on ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy.”

Taylor’s character is still being conceived at the moment and not expected to appear on the show until mid-season, but an insider reveals that she will be playing a doctor — gasp!! Well, at least she’s not a patient who’s specifically brought on to start a relationship with one of the staff members only to die and make them go crazy. Not that we are talking about anyone in particular (cough**Denny**cough).

Over on the Fox Network they are currently in negotiations with Avatar star Stephen Lang to join the cast of the sci-fi series “Terra Nova.” The actor is in talks to play the villain (shocking), “a merciless leader of a prehistoric settlement.” The time traveling show is slated to air during the fall of 2011.

What do you think of these two casting announcements? Which one are you more excited for?

VOTD: M. Night Shyamalan Parodies Devil With Escalation

Krystal Clark — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 00:02:23 +0000

M Night Shyamalan has been on the receiving end of some pretty harsh words via critics and movie goers alike. His last film, The Last Airbender was a mess, and prior to that The Happening wasn’t exactly a fan favorite. At this year’s Comic-Con they showed the trailer for the latest film he’s producing called Devil, and the audience reacted with boos, laughter, and groans. Not good. Word must have spread to him because he’s trying to get back on our good side — through comedy.

He recently shot a parody trailer featuring Stephen Lang from Avatar and MTV correspondent Josh Horowitz that intercuts footage from Devil. Instead of it being about a group of people trapped in an elevator, they’re trapped on an escalator. Take a look…

How many of you wish you were Hororwitz in that scene where he’s slapping the crap out of Shyamalan? You can just imagine what was going through his head. This is for The Village (cold slap), Lady in the Water (damp slap), The Happening (pollen covered slap), and The Last Airbender (super spin-slap powered by all four elements)!

What do you think of the video? Has his ability to make fun of himself won you over?

Source: MTV

Avatar’s Stephen Lang Offered Conan Villain Role?

Krystal Clark — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 20:27:31 +0000

After watching Stephen Lang’s performance as Col. Quaritch in Avatar, you could tell he was good at playing the bad guy. Seriously, they might as well have put a stamp on his forehead that said “Villain,” because he was pure evil. Other people in the industry must have taken note of his devious portrayal because we’re hearing that he’s been offered the part of the main villain in the upcoming Conan movie.

According to Latino Review, Lang has been offered the role of Khalar Singh. The people over at Millenium are still in negotiations with the actor’s representatives so nothing has been set in stone. But in my humble opinion this role is his for the taking. The only setback would be his actual look in comparison to the character’s description. Singh is said to be “in his 40s to 50s, Asian or Middle Eastern, Central Asian, Mongol, Turkish, or Persian,” yet the role is open to all ethnicities

We all know Hollywood can work wonders in the makeup department, just ask Robert Downey Jr. As for the character’s physical prowess, he’s said to be “commanding in size and manner, a warlord and formidable warrior, brilliant, cruel, weathered and tanned by the many campaigns he has waged and won.”

Within the character description they do manage to give a few spoilers about the plot so be careful before reading…

His goal is to find the Queen whose blood will bring life to the demonic minions of Acheron while making himself king of this hellish power. With this power, Khalar will protect his legacy against the onslaught of master sorcerer, Thoth-Amon so that his weak son, Fariq may rule after his death. While riding into a Cimmerian village to recruit his old comrade, Corin, his large collection of mercenaries slaughters them to the last soul when Corin refuses to join them. The village’s only survivor was young Conan. When Khalar’s search has finally narrowed to the likely discovery of the queen at a monastery of female monks, he also learns Conan is older and hungry for revenge…

I think this could work. After seeing Lang at Comic-Con last year he seems like a cool dude. Hopefully everything works out and we get to see him and Mickey Rourke (Corin) go at it.

Do you think Stephen Lang should star as the villain in Conan? Who else should they consider for the role?

Avatar Red Carpet Premiere Broadcasted Live, See Making of Now

Mali Elfman — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 17:54:59 +0000

Tonight at 5:30pm (PST) you’ll be able to watch the UK red carpet premiere of James Cameron‘s upcoming epic Avatar live, right here on ScreenCrave. We’ll be streaming the event for you below so that you can watch as the stars of the film Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Michelle Rodriguez, Giovanni Ribisi, and many more walk the red carpet (or maybe it will be blue?) and talk about the film.

You can watch the action below starting at 5:30pm and until then we’ll be playing a a series of clips from the movie and interviews with the cast and the director. I’ve been watching them for a little while now and they get me excited for the film and I’ve already seen it! Pretty awesome…

Webcam chat at Ustream

And if that interests you, you might want to check out…

Stephen Lang Avatar Photo

Krystal Clark — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 16:25:41 +0000

It’s been a while since the last time any promotional photos were released for James Cameron‘s Avatar. There’s been so much coverage of the film, that the recent gap in marketing seemed almost unnatural. Thank goodness the people over at Market Saw got their hands on a new production still from the movie. It features actor Stephen Lang in the no nonsense role of Col. Quaritch. With a name like that you have no choice but to be hard as nails.

Take a look at the Colonel giving his best blue steel impersonation…

If you need to feed your Avatar appetite with more promotional goodies check out the first official teaser trailer, and this batch of film photos that we posted previously on the site.

As you can see, Col. Quaritch means business. He keeps a gun and a face mask within reach at all times. That tells us a lot about the setting of this film and what their trying to imply. I’m looking forward to seeing more photos like this that feature the supporting characters from the film. It would great to get an idea of what everybody’s role is or what they contribute to the story.

What do you think of this photo of Stephen Lang as Col. Quaritch?

Check out more Avatar photos now!

5 New Avatar Photos

Mali Elfman — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 05:30:05 +0000

The trailer for James Cameron‘s upcoming film Avatar will be hitting theaters tomorrow at midnight ahead of Inglourious Basterds (hopefully it will pop up online as well), but until then check out five new awesome, never before seen character photos of Sigourney Weaver, Michelle Rodriguez, Giovanni Ribisi, Stephen Lang, and Sam Worthington, as well as a new still from the trailer (can be seen above).

Check out all 5 photos below…

Synopsis: In the future, Jake, a paraplegic war veteran, is brought to another planet, Pandora, which is inhabited by the Na’vi, a humanoid race with their own language and culture. Those from Earth find themselves at odds with each other and the local culture.

Source: FirstShowing

What do you think of the photos?

ScreenCrave.com » Stephen Lang

Conan The Barbarian: Movie Review

The Players:

The Plot:

The Good:

The So-So:

The Bad:

Overall:

Rating: 5.5/10

Photo Gallery:

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