"Good For Nothing" Review: A Refreshing Gallop Into The West

To simply say this film is about a Clint Eastwoodesque cowboy on the other side of the law who forcibly captures a seemingly naive English woman and hurls her over the back of his horse hoping to have his way with her, doesn't really do it justice. Good For Nothing is not your typical spaghetti western, there is a lot more sauce and much less cheese than you would think. You're watching the vulnerability of the most grizzled of outlaws being melted into a tenderfoot at the hands of a curvaceous fair skinned city slicker. His manhood is literally and figuratively taken away from him when he can't perform during his attempt to "poke" his newly acquired female treasure.

Good For Nothing glides across the scenic landscapes of New Zealand where it was filmed, painting a stunning sun stroked canvas in which the typical wild west stereotypes are turned on it's ear. The moment Inge Rademeyer steps off the train as the soon to be captive Isabella she steals the show. She takes her lumps as the damsel in distress but the dirt and grime doesn't take away from her sex appeal as you wonder if she is ever going make it to her Uncle's house after her father's death. Cohen Holloway plays it straight as The Man, and although he is gruff and thick skinned he grows as an actor on screen along with his character.

Director Mike Wallis has crafted a most unorthodox medley of action, romance, and comedy, against the backdrop of a straight forward frontier Western. There is plenty of violence for fans of the genre, guns are fired and blood is spilled. One of the bodies that is left behind causes an good ole' posse to tail the lady thief and the lady herself, who is mistaken as whore. The pursuit adds the right amount of suspense as The Man attempts to figure out why can’t function below the belt by visiting medicine men of Asian and Native American descent. It’s not as if Wallis is reinventing the wheel but his knowledge of the genre is apparent and you seems like his time working closely with the likes of James Cameron and Peter Jackson have paid off.

The dialogue is sparse but relevant giving the actors a chance to actually harness their craft on screen before you.  When The Man storms into a doctor’s office under the guise of a serious sequence and utters the phrase “My dick is broke.” you can’t help but chuckle. The methodical exchanges and well planned visuals are accompanied by some impressive melodic sounds courtesy John Psathas and the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. The music only adds to the illusion that you are hiding in the brush watching these interesting characters in this most curious predicament.

Good For Nothing is not going to break box office records and may not be the best Western you’ll ever see, but any fan of Westerns can easily note the appreciation that Wallis has for the genre. He understands what is required of of taking on a Western and also knows how far you can push it without upsetting the nostalgia fans are accustomed to. Interested to see what Wallis is going to dig his spurs into next, and whatever it is I hope that his companion Inge Rademeyer is attached to it. Good For Nothing opens March 9^th in select theaters. 

Hunger Games Clip: Katniss Meets Cinna

Since The Hunger Games shaping up to be huge hit, what with advance ticket sales breaking a record previously held by one of the Twilight films (yay!), mall tour mania, and tracking for an opening weekend that could wind up anywhere from $70 -$100 million, the movie probably doesn't need any other extra help getting the word out that it's about to hit theaters, but a new clip is more than welcome anyway, so that's just what we have.

This new clip, called "Here to Help You" features Lenny Kravitz's stylist Cinna introducing himself to a frightened Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence), and subtly explaining his plan to make her and fellow District 12 tribute Peeta "make an impression" before they're paraded for the Capitol before the start of Games.  That of course, leads to the infamous "Girl on Fire" costume that should look pretty damn cool if it's done right (and for the record, I have no idea how the hell they're going to pull that off).

You can watch the clip here, courtesy of Yahoo Movies:

Lenny Kravitz is going to be a great Cinna.  That is exactly how I pictured him from the book.

The Hunger Games opens in theaters on March 23. 

New Cabin in the Woods Trailer is a Terrific Tease

Friend to the site Robert Meyer Burnett told us in no uncertain terms would he dare reveal the secrets of Cabin in the Woods. Other than how great the final film would be based on the power of the script he'd been privy to read.

The first trailer showed just enough for me to want to see more and the second trailer, courtesy of Fear Net, offers a tad more insight... but not really. No idea what Drew Goddard and Joss Whedon are up to and I love that!

It hits theaters next month and is set to open the SXSW Festival this week. So it's going to be hard to resist reading reviews in fear of major spoilerage not to mention plenty of jackasses yapping away on Twitter, which you know they will.

Will Smith Steals Show In Campy New "MIB 3" Trailer

In Men in Black 3, Agents J (Will Smith) and K (Tommy Lee Jones) are back… in time. J has seen some inexplicable things in his 15 years with the Men in Black, but nothing, not even aliens, perplexes him as much as his wry, reticent partner. But when K’s life and the fate of the planet are put at stake, Agent J will have to travel back in time to put things right. J discovers that there are secrets to the universe that K never told him — secrets that will reveal themselves as he teams up with the young Agent K (Josh Brolin) to save his partner, the agency, and the future of humankind.

YahooMovies

Weekend Box Office: March 2 - 4

Courtesy of Box Office Mojo:

1.  The Lorax - $70.7 million

2.  Project X - $20.7 million

3.  Act of Valor - $13.7 million

4.  Safe House - $7.2 million

5.  Tyler Perry's Good Deeds - $7 million

6.  Journey 2: The Mysterious Island - $6.9 million

7.  The Vow - $6.1 million

8.  This Means War - $5.6 million

9.  Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance - $4.7 million

10.  The Artist - $3.9 million

His name is The Lorax, and he speaks for the trees...and a crapload of people showed up to listen this weekend as the animated version of Dr. Suess' classic environmental tale earned a whopping $70.7 million this weekend.  That's the biggest opening of 2012 so far, and the sixth-biggest opening for an animated film of all time.  Lou Dobbs must be pissed.  But I bet Universal has already started looking into how to stretch Green Eggs & Ham into a full-length animated movie next.

Project X proved yet again that people are not quite sick of the whole found-footage genre, as that house-party-gone-viral project earned $20.7 million, make it it third straight shaky cam film (behind The Devil Inside and Chronicle) this year to open with more than $20 million.  With a budget of only $12 million, this is already a nice little hit.

Last week's winner, Act of Valor, only dipped a respectable 44% in its second weekend, earning $13.7 million to bring its domestic total up to $45 million.  This one is also budgeted at $12 million, so that's a big win for the Navy SEALs action spectacle.

Denzel Washington is still cleaning up the box office with Safe House, as that film has now grossed a very successful $108 million.

This is also marks the first time a Tyler Perry movie didn't fade into obscurity in its second weekend, although Good Deeds is not big hit for a Perry film with only $25 million earned so far.

And...is that The Artist I see in the top ten?  It's about time.  Fresh off its Best Picture win at the Oscars last week, the little silent film that could has earned just $37 million. 

Next week could be a tough one for 2012's excellent box office streak, as the big-budgeted John Carter is expected to be a spectacular misfire on its opening weekend.  But there's a little movie called The Hunger Games not too far away, so if John Carter flops as predicted, just consider it a bump in the road.

10 Minute Scene From John Carter

From Academy Award®--winning filmmaker Andrew Stanton comes "John Carter"—a sweeping action-adventure set on the mysterious and exotic planet of Barsoom (Mars). "John Carter" is based on a classic novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs, whose highly imaginative adventures served as inspiration for many filmmakers, both past and present. The film tells the story of war-weary, former military captain John Carter (Taylor Kitsch), who is inexplicably transported to Mars where he becomes reluctantly embroiled in a conflict of epic proportions amongst the inhabitants of the planet, including Tars Tarkas (Willem Dafoe) and the captivating Princess Dejah Thoris (Lynn Collins). In a world on the brink of collapse, Carter rediscovers his humanity when he realizes that the survival of Barsoom and its people rests in his hands.

Harry Potter Definitive Collection - This is a Joke, Right?

If you bought the blu-ray edition of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 last year, you may recall seeing this trailer comfirming that the long-rumored "Definitive Collection" box set of all 8 Harry Potter movies was indeed headed for release in 2012:

Cool, right?  Not so fast...

Some details on the set have emerged, via Collider, and let's just say that if you really want this set, you better start saving now.  It's $500.  That is not a typo.  Amazon has it discounted on pre-order right now...but even there it's $350.  Whoa.

Granted, it is 8 movies, and it's a 31-disc set that will arrive in some truly wild packaging:

But let's take a closer look at those 31 discs.  According the specs, 18 of these discs are "movie discs", and this set is going to include the blu-ray and DVD versions of all 8 movies.  That's 16 discs right there.  It's also going to include the 3D versions of Deathly Hallows 1 & 2.  That's two more discs, bringing us up to 18.

So basically, if you were planning to buy this set so you could finally replace your DVD versions of the earlier films, guess what?  You're buying the DVDs again too.  And if you don't have a 3D TV, there's two more discs you can use as coasters.

I'm not going to harp too much on the reported 5 hours of extra features, since the details of what those are haven't been revealed yet - but that does seem relatively light on features, since the specs say that the other 13 discs will be the "special feature" discs. 

And all for the bargain basement price of $350.  That's crazy.  Obviously, any sort of 'ultimate' box set for a series this big was going to be expensive...but this is pretty extreme, especially when a lot of is going for a whole bunch of discs most of us already have or can't use.  Why not just have separate ultimate sets for blu-ray and DVD instead? 

Oh well.  Hopefully more details of the set will emerge soon that try to justify why on earth they thought pricing this thing into the stratosphere was a good idea. 

Cobie Smulders Brings It As Maria Hill In "The Avengers "

Based on the ever-popular Marvel comic book series, first published in 1963, Marvel’s The Avengers brings together the mightiest super hero characters as they all assemble together on screen for the first time. Continuing the epic big-screen adventures started in Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2, Thor, and Captain America: The First Avenger, Marvel’s The Avengers is the super hero team up of a lifetime. When an unexpected enemy emerges that threatens global safety and security, Nick Fury, director of the international peacekeeping agency known as S.H.I.E.L.D., finds himself in need of a team to pull the world back from the brink of disaster.

New "Men in Black 3" Still

Opening in 3D, 2D and IMAX 3D theaters on May 25, the new film features the return of Agents J (Will Smith) and K (Tommy Lee Jones). They're back... in time. J has seen some inexplicable things in his 15 years with the Men in Black, but nothing, not even aliens, perplexes him as much as his wry, reticent partner. But when K's life and the fate of the planet are put at stake, Agent J will have to travel back in time to put things right. J discovers that there are secrets to the universe that K never told him -- secrets that will reveal themselves as he teams up with the young Agent K (Josh Brolin) to save his partner, the agency, and the future of humankind.

Yahoo! Movies

"Jeff, Who Lives at Home" Clip

In the film, written and directed by Jay and Mark Duplass, Jeff (Segel) looks for signs from the universe to determine his path on his way to the store to buy wood glue. However, a series of comedic and unexpected events leads him to cross paths with his family in the strangest of locations and circumstances. Jeff just may find the meaning of his life... and if he's lucky, pick up the wood glue as well.

ComingSoon.Net