Movieblaze

Starring: Owen Wilson, Jennifer Aniston, Alan Arkin, Kathleen Turner, Eric Dane

Director: David Frankel

Writers: Scott Frank, Don Roos

Cinematography: Florian Ballhaus

Original Score: Theodore Shapiro

Running Time: 111 mins.

When Marley & Me opened across the pond back in December it dumb-founded critics and studio bosses alike, making a hefty $50 million in just 4 days off the back of largely mediocre reviews, more recently Paul Blart: Mall Cop has done just the same thing, proving that some films simply are critic proof.

Approaching this film with very low expectations I expected some dog based slapstick and an abundance of cheesey romance, which in itself is not neccessarily a bad thing, if done well, and wouldn’t you know it, Marley & Me could well be one of the best examples of how to make a crowd pleasing rom-com that not only makes you laugh, but also cry through sheer engagement with the actors, and one heck of an endearing doggy performance.

Looking at Marley & Me through the eyes of a dog lover obviously helps, but it’s about more than the trials and tribulations of dog ownership, and Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson put in truly heartfelt turns taking material that could so easily have been dull and generic and injecting some real emotion, you really believe in them as a couple.

Of course it helps that behind the camera is David Frankel of The Devil Wears Prada, fame once again bringing a zip and energy that is much needed in a premise this flimsy, and unlike the dire He’s Just Not That Into You the running time flys by, leaving you yearning for more time with Marley and co., something I thought I’d never feel about Aniston!  

Following his breakdown, this is Wilson’s first significant role and regardless of what he went through, he seems to have come out fighting. Here he is more likeable than ever before and though it’s no major departure from past characters there seems to be a level of maturity to balance out the surfer-dude personality of old. The only slightly jarring factor is the relationship, or lack thereof, between he and his ‘children’, it matters little though as the importanat relationship is between man and dog, something that, once again, any dog lover will appreciate and love in equal measure recognising trait after trait.

Clearly aided in the newspaper setting of the The Devil Wears Prada the scenes of Wilson at work also have a real joy expecially in the interplay between Alan Arkin and Wilson, again it’s far from revolutionary but it IS hugely fun and entertaining and in all honesty if a films goal isn’t to do this, what is it?

VERDICT

Marley & Me is the labrador of the film world, reliable, loveable and truly heart warming, with three winning performances in Wilson, Aniston and of course, Marley! The best in show, quite frankly your unlikely to see a better Rom’Com this year.

Of course, that isn’t exactly news to anyone who stayed through Iron Man’s closing credits to see the sting, in which Jackson shows up as the gruff, one-eyed leader of S.H.I.E.L.D., and recruits Robert Downey Jr’s Tony Stark into his Avengers initiative.

The intention was clear: that Jackson, cast because of the uncanny resemblance he bore to the Ultimates version of the classic Marvel character (he’s white in regular continuity), was set to play Fury in future instalments of Iron Man, The Avengers, Captain America, Stilt-Man, you name it.

But over the past few weeks, Jackson’s continued commitment to Fury and Marvel’s various projects had seemed in doubt, with the actor himself openly admitting that a deal had not been struck, with the rumour persisting that Marvel Entertainment were being more than a little parsimonious.

But the piggy bank has finally been opened, it would seem, for Marvel today announced that Jackson has signed a deal to play Fury in the forthcoming Iron Man 2 and – wait for it – up to nine other projects, including a possible SHIELD movie, once again showing that Marvel’s plans for its back catalogue are very much of the long-term variety.

First up, though, is Jon Favreau’s sequel to last year’s smash hit, Iron Man. No word yet on how big Jackson’s part will be (steady…), but we’re looking forward to seeing the great man get to do more than growl a few lines this time around. Filming starts on Iron Man 2 in the spring.

Someone tell me that I’m dreaming. Or that I’m suffering from a bad memory implant. Can it really be that Columbia Pictures has announced plans to remake Total Recall?

Sadly, the answer is yes, with the studio set to team up with producer Neal Moritz’s Original Films to remake the Arnold Schwarzenegger sci-fi actioner… despite the fact that it’s just nineteen years old. Is it just me, or is the statute of limitations on remakes getting shorter all the time? Before we know it, films will be remade before the original itself has even come out.

Anyway, I digress. As you may totally recall, the Paul Verhoeven-directed film starred Arnie as Doug Quaid, a regular Joe on Earth who, plagued by recurring dreams of Mars, has memories implanted by Rekall Inc., a company that specialises in making dreams come true. When the process goes wrong, Quaid – who’s actually a secret agent called Hauser – travels to Mars and becomes embroiled in the resistance’s fight against Ronnie Cox’s tyrannical villain. Or does he? For, what with this being based on a Philip K. Dick short story, We Can Remember It For You Wholesale, nothing is what it seems…

A huge hit back in 1990, there had been talk of a Total Recall sequel for many years, but though various companies tried their hand at coming up with a story, nothing was doing. Finally, Columbia picked up the rights from Miramax, and have finally decided to go down the remake route instead, perhaps adhering more closely to the Dick short story.

The announcement of the project is extraordinary, given yesterday’s news that Matt Damon is shopping around another Dick adaptation, The Adjustment Bureau, which with its reality-skewing plot comes across like Total Recall’s cousin. Might the two films now be pitted against each other?

We’ll be honest – when I first heard about this, we screamed ‘noooooooo!’ for a good twenty seconds, followed by a mantra of ‘Too soon! Too soon!’ After all, there are a number of reasons why remaking Total Recall is a very bad idea, not least of which is the fact that the Paul Verhoeven-directed original is a stone-cold sci-fi classic, smart, brutally violent, and often very funny.

But there are also many good reasons why it might work. The original features wonderful, if dated, prosthetic work by Rob Bottin – the potential for improvement in effects is almost limitless. Then there’s the Arnie factor – although Total Recall is easily Schwarzenegger’s smartest, densest film, the mindfuck element sometimes comes a distant second to the need to see Arnie smash heads and shoot lots of people. With a different actor on board, the new Total Recall could be a much more unsettling affair.

It’s all early days yet, with no writer or director on board, but this is one remake we’ll be keeping a close eye on. Thoughts, readers?

Record the date, February 26th 2009, because this may be the day when we are all officially branded old. Yet another remake of our youth is upon us, with the magical fantasy that was The NeverEnding Story set to continue with an undoubtedly CG-tastic modern reboot.

Producers from Leonardo DiCaprio’s company Appian Way – who are also developing a live-action remake of the 1988 dystopian anime flick Akira, plus the people that brought us The Curious Case of Benjamin Button are in talks with Warner Bros. about a revival of the 1984 classic based on a German children’s book.

Just as Karate Kid is now in production for a return to the screens 25 years on from the original, studios are picking up ’80s and ’90s favourites, ripe for a new audience who have no memory of them.

The original movie had a cast of virtual unknowns portraying the fantasy and real worlds surrounding the introverted young protagonist Bastian. Seeking solace in a magical book, he finds himself intrinsic to the plot where a hero sets out to save the land of Fantasia and the life of its young empress from an impending vacuous doom named The Nothing.

The new take will apparently focus on some of the finer detailing from Michael Ende’s novel that was cast aside for the original movie and its subsequent two sequels. No writers or directors are attached so far, but the project will no doubt be fast-tracked in order to coincide with the imminent finish of the family-friendly cashcow that is the Harry Potter franchise.

So, what other ’80s classics do you think could be in line for a do-over?

It’s been rumoured for some time, but it has now been confirmed that Cate Blanchett will play Maid Marion in the probably-titled Robin Hood, formerly Nottingham, from Ridley Scott and starring Russell Crowe, making this English tale thoroughly Australian.

The story, as described by Variety, will apparently stay fairly close to the historical facts of the 12th century, and casts Robin of Loxley (Crowe) as an abandoned child brought up by the people of Nottingham, who therefore develops a strong sense of community feeling.

But, psychology fans, that early abandonment means he has Trust Issues, making it hard for him to fall in love. He meets his match in Blanchett’s strong and independent Maid Marion.

Brian Helgeland (the man who made jousting cool in A Knight’s Tale) wrote the latest version of the story, which is described as the “Gladiator version” of the legend, and filming on the $130 million-budgeted film is due to start in April. Scott is apparently aiming for a PG-13 rating, presumably with Mild Scary Scenes and Fantasy Archery.

Starring: Clint Eastwood, Christopher Carley, Bee Vang, Sue Lor

Director: Clint Eastwood

Screenplay: Nick Schenk, Dave Johannsen

Cinematography: Tom Stern

Original Score: Kyle Eastwood, Maichael Stevens

Running Time: 116 Mins.

Every so often a film comes along that knocks you for six. Not because it’s a major feat in film-making, not because it’s especially original and not because it’s a masterpiece but simply because it holds a certain poignancy and emotes to you in ways that few other things can. Gran Torino is one of those films for one simple reason, Clint Eastwood.

This is Eastwood’s second directorial effort in the last 6 months and on many levels is far inferior, technically, structurally and in a cinematical sense but it beats with one thing Changeling lacked…real emotional heft. Walt Kawalski could have quite easily turned into a walking cliche, a bitter old war vet befriended by an outsider and learning to ‘love life’ again and it’s hard to see anyone other than Eastwood in the role. For if it’s a Dirty Harry revisited in his retirement years you want, look no further.

However, to simply dismiss Gran Torino as an amaganation of past glories is to do the film a disservice, certainly elements of many, if not all, of Eastwood’s iconic guises from’ The Man With No Name’ to William Munny can be spotted in Walt, but there is a freshness to the man that comes from more than mere nostalgia.

Oddly humour is a major player here, to the point where one could almost call it a black comedy/drama, and these aren’t just raise a smile laughs, they are the whole hearted belly laughs usually reserved only for the likes of Will Ferrell or Adam Sandler! True, the comedic elements are largely observational from Walt’s world weary, and it must be said overtly racist, observations with terms such as spook, gook and fishhead thrown around, no minority is safe, but somehow from Walt’s mouth we can see beyond mere hatred and believe in his journey in bonding with next door neighbour Tao, whilst never fully losing his cynical side.

It is fair to say that through the course of Gran Torino’s running time you never really feel the plot is heading anywhere in particular, instead you will revel in the time spent with Eastwood, clinging to every word he growls as he becomes close first to Sue then Tao. The plodding narrative is punctuated by some truly shocking acts of violence which come as both unexpected and incur even more unexpected outcomes, who thought someone pointing a finger at you could be so scary!

If there is any criticism to be made it’s that the support cast are either a.)given poor material, Walt’s sons in particular are a waste of time, or b.) struggle with what they have, with the Hmong family varying from good to poor. Not a majot issue as Tao is excellent in his scenes as Walt’s foil, it’s just that when he is required to get TOO emotional he has a tendency to overact, not helped by Walt’s understated reactions. These though are minor gripes and as the film comes to its denouement you are led to expect something explosive, almost Death Wish like in it’s demeanour, instead you get a finale that cements all that has come before leaving you with a film as touching as you might hope.

VERDICT

At once touching and unexpectedly funny, Gran Torino is as moving a film experience as your likely to have all year. Let us pray this isn’t Eastwood’s acting swansong, but if it is it’s one hell of a way to go!  

Because nothing will stop the rumbling bandwagon that is cartoon-to-film adaptations, Yogi Bear now has himself a new director in the shape of Eric Brevig. He’s replacing Surf’s Up director Ash Brannon, who has left the film to concentrate on something that hopefully won’t make us regret throwing down the money to see it.

As for Yogi, he’ll now also be shot in 3D, which is no surprise since Brevig just had a somewhat successful summer with Journey To The Centre Of The Earth, notching up $230 million around the world. That ‘70s Show writers Joshua Sternin and Jeffrey Ventimilia are hard at work fashioning a screenplay that will allow a CG Yogi and Boo Boo to interact with real humans.

And now they’ll be throwing picnic baskets at the screen. Okay, maybe not – but it’s 3D, so they’ve got to do something…

Yes, it’s that time again when all resources have failed and producers begin Scrabbling around to Monopolise any intellectual properties that could be developed into movies. And the latest phase is taking the games market by storm.

With Uwe Boll having well and truly sapped the energy from video game adaptations, Universal have gone back to basics by acquiring the rights to what Americans call Clue - otherwise originally known as Cluedo to us Brits.

By lining up Gore Verbinski – who previously made a good job of the unprecedented theme-park-ride-adaptation that was Pirates Of The Caribbean – Universal hope to get in on the $1billion market which Cluedo has generated since its conception in 1948.

A previous comedy adaptation of the murder mystery game, made in 1985 and also titled Clue, starred Tim Curry and Christopher Lloyd, and was written by John Landis. But despite offering not one but three alternate endings, the film was a flop – so Verbinski will have to work hard for this version to cut the Colonel Mustard.

Who would you like to star in the movie version of the much loved game? Scarlett Johansson? And maybe Christopher Plummer? And how about Meg White from the White Stripes?

On a related note where this leaves Verbinski’s mooted adaptation of computer game Bioshock is anyone’s guess…

In possibly the greatest slice of weird/cool news I’ve heard in a long time, Michel Gondry has signed on to direct Sony’s Seth Rogen-starring revamp of The Green Hornet.

Gondry’s presence on the project does two things. One, it puts paid to rumours that the action comedy, in which the hugely slimmed-down and buffed-up Rogen will play the eponymous millionaire playboy by day, masked crimefighter by night, was in danger of having its plug pulled after the original director, Stephen Chow, left late last year. (Chow, incidentally, remains attached to play Kato, the Chinese assistant to Rogen’s Britt Reid.)

And secondly, it reinforces the notion that this won’t be your average blockbuster. As if the initial hiring of Chow – the demented genius behind Shaolin Soccer and Kung Fu Hustle – hadn’t tipped us off that Rogen, his co-writer Evan Goldberg and producer Neal Moritz wanted a visual style and an approach far outside the norm.

With Gondry, the idiosyncratic genius behind dozens of boundlessly inventive music videos and, of course, the brilliant Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind, they’re sure to get that. And don’t just expect a lo-fi approach – Gondry has plenty of experience working with CG, but I’m excited about the tone he’ll bring to this thing. Will it have the air of dreamlike reality that defines his best work? We’ll see.

In another surprise move, Gondry courted the project, putting together a proposal for production executives at Sony that apparently blew them away. We’d love to see it – that is, of course, what Blu-rays are for.

Is he a fan of the original Green Hornet TV show/comic book? Maybe. Is he perhaps keenly aware that he needs a big hit under his belt to continue making small, personal films? Perhaps. But whatever the reason for Gondry’s involvement, I welcome it.

Sony will release the movie on June 25, 2010.

Even though Talladega Nights and Step Brothers didn’t hit the heady heights of the wonderful Anchorman, a new comedy from the team of Will Ferrell and Adam McKay is always cause for celebration round these parts – which is why I am so delighted to hear that the duo have been pitching a new action comedy round town in Hollywood.

B Team will star Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg as cops, with McKay directing from a script by Chris Henchy. And that’s all I know about it – and frankly, all we need to know. Ferrell and Wahlberg as cops? Quite possibly idiot cops, out of their depth and in over their heads? Sold. Bring it on.

Ferrell and McKay, of course, are a wonderful team, currently working together on their Broadway show about the most recent outgoing US President, entitled You’re Welcome America: A Final Night With George W. Bush. It’s Wahlberg’s presence here that is most intriguing – normally best-known for po-faced fare like The Happening, Wahlberg can be a scream when he turns his hand to comedy, as anyone who saw I Heart Huckabees, Boogie Nights or, well, The Happening will know.

But can he hold his own against the improvisational powerhouse that is Ferrell? Time will tell, with a studio expected to commit to the package before the end of the week.