One of the hits at this year's Cannes Film Festival was "Che," the 4-hour $60 million dollar epic starring Benicio del Toro as Che Guevara. It earned him the best actor award there. The New York Post has written that "Che" has been bought by Magnolia. Most people know that Magnolia isn't the biggest movie distributor ever, and usually their films are released into at the most 100 theaters at a time, so chances are that unless if "Che" is up for many nominations come Oscar time, it won't be playing anywhere but L.A. or New York. According to the NYP, the announcement is premature, but another insider is saying that they are already booking theaters (more than likely NONE in New Jersey). This actually makes me wonder what they're going to do with the film. It is pretty damn hard to market a film that is more than three hours long unless if you're Peter Jackson. Since it is a foreign film, I'm beginning to wonder if they are going to release the film in two separate parts ("Kill Bill," anyone?) as "The Argentine" and "Guerilla." We still have a while that we will find out about this, but I'm looking forward to see more response to this film as more reviews come pouring in from the festival.
UPDATED!!!: Cinematical reports that Magnolia DOES NOT have the rights to "Che," but rather IFC Films does. This is somewhat good news because Magnolia was planning on splitting the film in two. IFC is planning on giving the film (notice how I said FILM) a one week release in both New York and L.A. in order to qualify for the Oscars, then in January once the buzz gets bigger, they will be releasing "Che" into a few more select theaters and releasing it onto On Demand in their IFC in Theaters section. I really wish that more film companies did stuff like this. We'll have a release date for you when it is announced.
Yes, I know that this little bit really isn't Toronto International news, but this is under that section because it's making its North American premiere tonight there. Darren Aronofsky's latest flick "The Wrestler," starring Mickey Rourke, has been giving the highest prestigious(sp?) award at the Venice Film Festival. This is easily one of the films that I'm looking forward to the most this year now. I LOVED "The Fountain" and in my opinion "Requiem for a Dream" is the scariest movie of all-time (even though it isn't a horror flick). I'll bring you the reviews from the TIFF later tomorrow night, but for the lucky bastards that are going to see it tonight - have fun.
UPDATE!!!: While looking through the text messages that I got from Twitter, I had one from /Film that read "I think Alex (Billington) just pissed off Harvey Weinstein LOL." I don't know the story between this, but this is taking place at the after-party for the North America premiere of "The Wrestler." Then about twenty-minutes later I got a text message that said, "which reminds me... Harvey spotted at Wrestler party, could that mean that Twc bought the film?" TWC is the Weinstein Company, and it makes sense. The last ten years, they had Oscar winning films for six of them? Or something like that. Anyway, we'll be posting the reviews later today, but look out for some kind of update later if this is true or not.
Hey everyone! I hope everyone had a nice weekend. I would have… but the only thing that was on my mind is how I’m NOT at the Toronto International. I’m that jealous of everyone there. I would love to watch films like “Che,” “The Wrestler,” “The Brothers Bloom,” “Appaloosa,” and “Zach and Miri Make A Porno” now. But anyway, I’ll be seeing them all sometime or later.
Here are a few films that have also caught my eye that have been shown at the fest. I know I didn’t update it yesterday, but I have a reason – everyone was at some party for “Blindness.” So they slacked with the reviews. So here are a few reviews for a few films.
The first one is for the new Coen Brothers movie “Burn After Reading.” I found reviews from a few internet bloggers that I really liked (and I stayed far away from big websites for this one).
Alex Billington at FirstShowing.net writes, “Essentially this film is a chaotic ensemble drama about six intersecting characters - but remarkably it's hilarious. I don't know how the Coen Brothers did it, but all of the eclectic characters they gathered together in “Burn After Reading” all really shined through in the finished product. The only problem was the felt it a bit skimpy, like there could have been so much more.”
Kim Voynar at Cinematical writes, “I would rank it up there with my two favorite Coen films, Fargo and O, Brother Where Art Thou?. Burn After Reading is a sharply written film that revolves around intrigues and deceptions, where most of the darkly comedic moments happen when a character's flaws collide with reality; most of all, its a fun ride down the roller coaster of the dark side of human nature as only the Coens can explore it.”
Emaneul Levy writes, “True to their roots, the Coens are first and foremost stylists, and the new picture shows how visually brilliant they are. You can fault the picture for having montages of courtship and dating (though some are priceless), but I can assure you that some bravura camera movements and sharp positions (high and low-angle) will command your attention.”
The verdict? “Burn After Reading” is funny, even though it has some problems, but it won’t be able to compare to the Coens’ last film. It comes out September 12.
The second one is for the new Michael Cera flick “Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist.” I’m really interested in this one surprisingly. It looks really funny and a lot of fun.
Peter Sciretta at /Film writes, “What the film does get right is the wonderful little moments of a blossoming relationship, for example, one sweet moment when Nick offers to washes off Norah’s hands with a wet nap that he got at a resturant the week before. But the fantastical story gets in the way too often. Kat Dennings is the perfect go-to non-perfect girl you can’t help but love, and Michael Cera elevates the film with the wonderfully awkward comic timing we have come to enjoy.”
Devin Farici at CHUD writes, “Thinking back on the film I wonder if the problem isn't that I'm too old for this movie but that the filmmakers were. There's nothing, outside of the soundtrack, that screams right now to me in this film. Obviously a teen movie should be hitting universal aspects of being a teen - anyone who has ever been young should identify with the gist of it - but a movie that is almost crying out about how it's about 'today,' about 'now' should have something more modern than just a casual acceptance of homosexuality and an iPod. I'd like to thank you all for listening to me as I worked out my early midlife crisis - it's not me that's out of touch with the modern world, it's the music that's boring and the movies that are empty.”
James Rocchi at Cinematical writes, “Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist has the chiming, catchy and ultimately transient charm of the rock tunes that are scattered though its soundtrack with a backbeat of broad jokes and bigger moments giving enough forward motion to get to the happy ending while keeping it from outstaying its welcome.”
The verdict? “Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist” has a few problems, but it’s good for what it is worth. It comes out October 3.
The Toronto International Film Festival has just started, and already I’m hearing some extraordinary things from there. Today, I decided to give a look at three films that were shown yesterday at the festival – “JCVD,” “O’Horten,” and Guy Ritchie’s “RocknRolla.” This is only the start of several days of coverage.
The premise of “JCVD” sounds pretty damn good: Being Jean-Claude Van Damme is tough. Sure, he is an internationally recognized celebrity (and possibly the world's most famous Belgian), but this star seems to have fallen from grace with a recent history of direct-to-video flicks. But the "Muscles from Brussels" is back! In JCVD, Van Damme plays himself – with all his foibles in plain view – in this comeback story of a screen hero who has been on the receiving end of kicks that are getting harder and harder to take. Directed by Mabrouk El Mechri, "JCVD" is a rollicking action-comedy that explores the nature of fame.
I haven’t found too many reviews of the film, but here are a few that caught my attention:
Alex Billington at FirstShowing.net writes about the film, “Not only does “JCVD” never really have any action scenes again (it's a Van Damme movie, come on!), but as the story progressed, it started to turn lose all that energy that it had so brilliantly kicked off with. There's a rather jolting scene part of the way through where in the middle of the action, Van Damme literally stops to explain why his life is what it is and how much it means nothing compared to so many other people out there. He's just a regular guy who learned karate as a kid, then went to Hollywood and some how made it big. At this point the film was already snowballing out of control, without any hope for redemption. Thankfully there's a moment of relief at the end, but that didn't make up for lost time.”
The Arrow at Arrow in the Head writes, “We had the film played straight as an entity on its own. Think “DOG DAY AFTERNOON” by way of “PULP FICTION” in terms of the back and forth way the narrative unraveled. The unorthodox method that this story was communicated made for a surprise filled watch that kept me on my toes. The flick often misled me while playing on my expectations resulting in a couple of "I didn't see this coming" turn of events.”
Todd Brown at TwitchFilm writes, “I like Van Damme movies and I’ve seen a lot of them. Up to a certain point - I believe it was “Hard Target” - I saw every one of them in the theatre in its first week of release. But I would never have dreamed of saying that Van Damme was a good actor. Until now. Jean Claude Van Damme, when given the right material and a director who knows how to work with him, is one hell of a good actor. His face has taken on a good amount of character as he has aged, he makes himself remarkably vulnerable in this which works wonders, he proves to have natural timing and a gift for comedy and he should have started working in his native language years ago. He’s got the goods, he’s just never really been given much of a chance to show it before.”
For now, the verdict remains that it is a pretty damn fine film. I haven’t heard of it until reading Billington’s review, but I really must say that I’m looking forward to it. “JCVD” will be released in a limited amount of theaters on November 7.
I really don’t know much about “O’Horten,” but from when it played at the Cannes, I heard it is a pretty decent film. I found two reviews on the web that I really enjoyed here. There will probably be more throughout the next few days, but we can expect some pretty good reviews from the film.
James Rocchi at Cinematical writes, “”O'Horten” doesn't have much of a plot, but then again, if you asked most people for the three-act structure of the day they're having (or the life they're living) I doubt they'd give you much of an answer. “O'Horten” is a smaller film, a slice of life, but it's so well-done -- so generous and smart and funny and sympathetic -- that it completely wins you over.”
Alex Billington at FirstShowing.net writes, “Owe's portrayal of the humble and quiet Horten is definitely impressive, but not necessarily at the emotional levels I was hoping for, but it's hard to critique someone that charming. The film attempts to show you the rather eclectic experiences that Horten goes through after retiring, but the end result is a bit of a mess - the film really needed some actual direction and some actual progression to the story, rather than just a collection of experiences.”
Right now, “O’Horten” isn’t released in theaters, and a release date isn’t set, but the film is currently being distributed by Sony Classic.
And finally, the big headliner last night was Guy Ritchie’s “RocknRolla,” which many people have been saying that this should be a return to form for the guy since he married Madonna and made “Swept Away.” The reviews are in… and a lot of them are mixed. But the positive ones are very positive, so I can assure that this will be a love it or hate it film.
Alex Billington at FirstShowing.net writes, “Like a cross-country road trip with your friends, there are scenes that are slow and tedious, and others that are so energetic and vibrant, that it creates a dynamic that Ritchie fans will hopefully find as entertaining as I did. As with Snatch as well, the climax near the end needs to be unforgettable, and in “RocknRolla” it certainly is – you'll never look at Russian thugs and Gerard Butler the same again - and you won't soon forget it. This film isn't out to win an Oscar, but it is still stylistic cinematic entertainment at its best.”
Liam Cullin at Empire Movies writes, “The movie is pretty damned entertaining. While it took a little bit to get into (the first 20 or so minutes dragged), the opening scenes set things up nicely and, once I got into the story, I was hooked. And although there was a moment in the middle involving Johnny Quid that brought the worst parts of "Revolver" to mind, overall the movie was well worth the time.”
Joe Laydon at Variety writes, “"RocknRolla" barrels along at a brisk clip that's never noticeably decelerated by the occasional inclusion of flashbacks and flash-forwards. In a pic chockfull of kinetic set pieces, it's almost unfair to single out individual sequences. But it's safe to say that auds may get giddy watching a robbery that begins with a purposeful collision of car and truck, continues with a frenzied battle involving golf clubs and automatic weaponry, and climaxes with an audaciously extended foot chase. Through it all, Ritchie steadily ratchets up the thriller-diller quotient by suggesting two Russian thugs (who resemble refugees from “Eastern Promises”) are, quite literally, unkillable.”
But not all reviews were positive. Peter Bradshaw at The Guardian writes, “That title of Mr Guy Ritchie's new featcha. Means geeza. Or mobsta. Top bruisa. In his London manna. Sad to say, the film's a shocka. A right depressa. Bit of a dispirita. For this directa, it ain't exactly a departcha. And the title means as well as everything else Mr Ritchie's become a dodgy spella. What a dismaying orthographical decline since his last pictcha. Which we must now think of as Revolva. This was influenced by the belief system known as Kabbala. Rememba? Espoused by his spouse, whose name may originally have been spelt "Madonner".” His review is kinda annoying, but he does bring up a couple of good points.
“RocknRolla” comes out October 8 in LA, Toronto, and New York, but it opens everywhere October 31.
Tomorrow, I’ll cover “Ghost Town,” “Burn After Reading,” and “Appaloosa.” Until then, keep reading.
Hey everyone! I just wanted to give you the lowdown now. In the first of hopefully many, we will be covering the Toronto International Film Festival. Not from Toronto, though, we tried but got there too late, but there's always next year (and now I know). Whenever you see a post that says TIFF '08, it means that... well... it's from the Toronto International. We will be covering everything from studio deals to reviews for movies not yet released in theaters to everything else that is going on at the festival. If we here about it, and we like it, we'll post it. For now, I'll just comment and say that I will post back tomorrow with reviews for Guy Ritchie's "RocknRolla," but there is a chance that I might get back later and write about some deals or something other.
