Phil's Pointless Humour Sunday: 'The Siskel & Ebert Mysteries'

Jamie always wanted to see this as a syndicated animated series in the 1980's but I don't have a studio of under-paid Koreans to draw it so this will have to instead.

So enjoy this never before seen pilot for a spin-off show which saw America's favourite critics leave the balcony to solve murders and mysteries on the mean streets of Hollywood.  They're fighting crime.........on Chicago time.

Movie Review: Source Code

The sophomore directorial effort for new up and comer Duncan Jones is "Source Code". Before even seeing the film I heard comparisons to last years surprise hit "Inception" being thrown around. In my opinion "Inception"was the best picture of last year, so needless to say I went in to "Source Code" with the bar set extremely high. I was slightly worried, much like I was with "Inception", that there was no way it could live up to the hype. Thankfully, once again I was proven very wrong. Not only did it exceed my expectations, but it brought me to the conclusion that it’s not really fair for it to be compared to any other film. The plot, directing, cinematography and acting performances were the best I’ve seen this year. The film truly deserves to stand on its own as a near perfect example of film making and a story as being told by a more then capable and talented director.

The plot starts by introducing us to Captain Colter Stephens (Jake Gyllenhal) who’s aboard a commuter train in Chicago which is set to explode. The only thing is he has no recollection of ever getting on board or knowledge of the bomb about to be detonated on it. Before he can figure out what happened between being in command of a military fighter helicopter in Afghanistan and how he came to board the train it explodes. Stephens wakes up inside what appears to be a space capsule, he’s alone and there’s a video monitor in front of him with a woman in military attire ( Vira Farminga) on the screen, she’s questioning him as to the location of the bomb and whether or not he was able to determine the culprit responsible as of yet.

Very little is revealed right up until the slightly shocking and ambiguous ending. But what we are made aware of is Stephens purpose on the train and how he was more or less placed there, however what we’re never made privy to is why he was specifically chosen. The military was able to create a technology (the source code) where they can send someone into the mind and technically body of someone who has recently died. The only stipulation is that they can only re-live the last eight minutes of their life. The one advantage they do have though is the ability to be limitless in the action they take while within the source code. Stephens is able to exit the train and even explore an entirely alternate universe, as is vaguely explained to him by source code creator and mysterious character Dr. Walter Rutledge (Jeffrey Wright).

The tone of the film is set in place early on and for the remainder of the movie you’re left guessing as to who Stephens should be looking for, why they chose him to take part in the highly secretive and conspicuous source code program, and where he literally physically is in between sending him back into the source code. Every time he re-enters the source code he's able to examine the scene of the crime over and over until he can piece together enough information to prevent the next attack.

The performances from the core cast were top notch. Not surprisingly though Gyllenhaal steals the show. Farminga and Wright did a great job fleshing out characters which had little development and vague descriptions into their backgrounds. Taking on a pivotal and strong supporting role was Michelle Monaghan who added the emotional involvement to the plot for the audience to become more invested in Gyllenhaal's character.

Without giving too much of the intricate and thought provoking plot away I would easily say that the film was able to keep me not only entertained but thoroughly interested and engaged in the outcome right up until the reality altering conclusion. It would be an understatement to say that Duncan Jones has progressed immensely from the style he applied to "Moon" which made it such a huge critical success. Although his style is still very much apparent it’s obvious he’s not afraid of thinking outside the box or applying new ideas and techniques to his films.

I’m giving "Source Code" an overall 9/10

Teaser Trailer for 'Conan The Barbarian' Online!

I'm not gonna lie, I only put that exclamation point at the end of that title to draw attention to this teaser trailer.  Why you ask?  Because if this is all they could muster up for a film that's been in the can for almost a year now, an exclamation is definitely needed.  You be the judge for yourself:

Conan The Barbarian opens in 3D (OMG!) August 19th.

Teaser Trailer: New Ninja Turtles Series

Just two days ago the first image from the new Ninja turtles series was revealed. Th picture didn't reveal much, and to be honest the new teaser trailer doesn't either. But for life long fans of the character like myself and fellow contributor Matt Rapier every little bit of info is something.

I have to admit even though we don't see a whole hell of a lot in the short clip, it looks a lot more like a shitty new video game than an exciting new series. I'm definitely with Matt in the sense that it'll be hard for anything new to live up to the original series from 87'. I think the biggest fail in the new series will be trying to make the turtles too modern, not just with the sleek new CGI animation look, but also their origins as well. Studios really need to step back and remember, sometimes less is more.

Men in Black 3 Has Problems, Huh?

Don't know exactly whose bone Amy Paschal is gnawing on this morning. That's assuming she's already discovered the identity of the mole. I'm speaking, of course, about the recent THR post that painted a bad picture on the production of Men in Black 3. No disrespect whatsoever to the author(s) of said article because it was an interesting (translation: in a good way) read.

But acting like a big studio-driven tentpole intended for mass-market consumption getting greenlit despite gaping, wounding script/story-problems and a looming release date practically with a gun to its head is unusual, it isn't. Not by a long-shot. Yes, it is news-worthy to discuss. But it's nowhere near a rarity as been played up by some.

Everyone online can talk a shit-storm up along with doom-and-glooming this production. But at the end of the day, the general public doesn't pay attention to any of this as the following five words proved; X-Men: The Last Stand.

While the Bryan Singer-directed Superman Returns had overwhelmingly favorable press during its development, the Brett Ratner-directed Last Stand was endlessly ridiculed for how rushed it was with major script-woes, its game of directorial-musical chairs and, once again, a release date that had to be met. Yet despite all that, more people chose to spend their $8-$10 on the third X-Men movie than the first (and ultimately ill-fated; until last year thanks to Christopher Nolan) new Superman movie.

Curious if there'll be anywhere near as much nay-saying towards, say, Star Trek 2.

Here's another big sequel set for summer 2012 release; specifically, June 29th. But as it stands (as I type this), still has no finished screenplay submitted to Paramount. All we kept hearing last year was, "The script will be turned in right before Christmas." Then it changed to "The script will be turned in when we get back for the new year."

A recent post by my alma-mater Screen Rant stated while there's still no submitted screenplay, Paramount executives do know the story, have approved it and it's supposed to be in their hands this month. It's also still unresolved if J.J. Abrams will sit in the director's chair again although to be fair, all signs point to "Yes." They also have a release date casting a large shadow over them and the production (scheduled to start up around August) will rushed to make it to the finish line. So again I wonder if they'll get any shit for gunning through this. Doesn't sound too far off from Men in Black 3, if you ask me.

Mind you, I'm not knocking either production here. Like many of you, I can't wait for the Trek sequel and couldn't care less about another Men in Black. In fact, I've stated it on multiple articles here, forums I frequent, the Movie Hole podcast Hole Cast that I've been fortune enough to appear and our own Movie Moan podcast that Sony is full retard to put The Amazing Spider-Man anywhere near Star Trek 2 because it will be eaten alive.

In fact, if you're listening to me right here's your out, Sony. Swap Men in Black 3 and Spider-Man's release dates. Trek 2 will still be a formidable foe, and will still win out regardless. But you stand a better chance with Will "King of July 4^th" Smith facing off against Captain Kirk and Spock instead of a commercially-unproven new web-slinger in Andrew Garfield. It would also give that troubled production additional time to get done where the Spider-Man reboot is now four months into filming.

Just putting it out there for you to consider, Sony.

Movie Review: The Lincoln Lawyer

It wasn’t all that long ago that when you thought of actors like Mathew McConaughey movies like Sahara and Failure to Launch came to mind. Not many people even care to remember anymore that he was once a rising star with some real talent, obviously because he seemed to have thrown all that away for some shitty rom-coms and a few good pay cheques. At this point it should come as no surprise that very few people are looking forward to his name appearing on posters. Well now I can honestly say that I believe Lincoln Lawyer marks the return of McConaughey as a serious actor. There isn’t another actor that could have embodied this character better. The help of an amazing supporting cast and terrific direction were only the cherry on top to his charismatic performance.

Lincoln Lawyer is an adaptation of the novel of the same name. The plot follows criminal defense attorney Mickey Haller (Mathew McConaughey) who works out of the back of a Lincoln sedan in Los Angeles. Haller is the scummiest and sleaziest of lawyers you’ll meet. Most of his clients are gangbangers and drug dealers, and he’ll lie cheat and steal to get them off. It’s not until he’s hired by the son of a wealthy business man Louis Rolet (Ryan Phillippe) who’s been accused of rape and attempted murder that you really see him shine.

We’re initially led to believe that Rolet must be innocent allowing Haller to make a pretty solid defense. But as things begin to unravel and the true story comes to be revealed there are a lot of twists and turns that keep you on edge until the end. The surprising revelations made throughout bring Haller to believe he may have even assisted in a wrongful guilty plea made by a previous client currently serving time for a similar crime. As he begins to unravel the truth and come closer to what might have really happened his straight forward career case begins to fall apart in front of him.

The development of the characters right down to the supporting cast members was incredible. Although McConaughey clearly steals the show Ryan Phillippe and Marisa Tomei both deliver amazing performances as well. Director Brad Furman did an amazing job of bringing Haller and his journey to life on the big screen. Not often do you see an adaptation as true to the source material as this was. Everything right down to the score and the near perfect cinematography were spot on with the tone and look of the film. After all there’s only so many ways you can film a court room scene, but Furman was continuously able to make it more about the characters.

I’m giving Lincoln Lawyer and overall 8/10 

Super 8 Trailer Scratches That Kids Fantasy/Adventure Itch!

As its June 10^th release approaches, the mystery box surrounding Super 8 is being lifted; slowly but surely in typical J.J. Abrams fashion. What cracks we're being permitted by writer/director Abrams to view, I like what I see. A lot.

Not too long from now, I'll turn twenty-seven. Maybe it's the nostalgia bug biting. But I love that Abrams (with producer Steven Spielberg) is giving us a kids fantasy/adventure film. We just don't get those nowadays. I'd like to think I could present this to my two nieces (ages two and six) and they'd enjoy it much liky my sister and I did when we were little kids. Having shown them both Back to the Future and The Goonies in the past several months much to their approval, I like confident this is something I could show them.

But then again, we still don't completely know what's in store for Super 8; plot-wise. We all know how Abrams likes to keep the details closely guarded; something I love in this day and age of whole plot summaries (spoilers and all) getting out well before cameras roll.

Speaking of which, the official plot summary for the Abrams/Spielberg collaboration has been released:

"In the summer of 1979, a group of friends in a small Ohio town witness a catastrophic train crash while making a super 8 movie and soon suspect that it was not an accident. Shortly after, unusual disappearances and inexplicable events begin to take place in town, and the local Deputy tries to uncover the truth – something more terrifying than any of them could have imagined."

Now the full-length trailer to Super 8 has been released for mass consumption:

True, it is an extended version of that fantastic Superbowl TV spot. But as I said, I really, really like what I see. The question is will kids these days (including my nieces) care to see another kids-on-an-adventure movie? I, for one, hope so.

Movie Review: Red Riding Hood

 

Little Red Riding Hood is a classic fairy tale I’m sure everyone’s heard at least once over. When Warner Bros first announced they were developing a re-imagining of the classic tale I was weary at best. The casting news of Gary Oldman and Amanda Seyfried put some of my doubts to rest. Unfortunately the inclusion of director Katherine Hardwicke was somewhat of a downfall as I saw it. However,  I did find the first couple trailers were surprisingly intriguing. All in all I think given the impression I got from the trailers and the half decent casting I may have set my expectations far too high. The end result was a film that felt more so like a prequel to Twilight then a new darker and more interesting take on an already proven classic.

The plot doesn’t veer too far off from the original story. That is except for the redundant love triangle between the female lead Valerie (Amanda Seyfried), her childhood boyfriend Peter (Shiloh Fernandez), and her arranged fiancé Henry (Max Irons), both of which I have to add looked like underwear models. I also have to say that the addition of the dad from Twilight (Billy Burke) as Valerie’s dad, was also extremely inspired casting, once again couldn’t have seen that coming. Much like the predictable plot of the film the big twist isn’t all that hard to decipher either. I'm sure the general idea was to keep the audience guessing to the end, but they failed miserably both as a thriller and/or a murder mystery, leaving them somewhere in between a sad attempt at horror and a tween drama. The real challenge will more likely be keeping audiences interested enough to sit through the entire movie. The best part for me was the roll of the end credits.

Of all the cardboard acting and there was a lot, what stood out most was the very peculiar alternating accent of Gary Oldman. He couldn’t seem to figure out if he was Bram Stokers Dracula or an English Priest. Not that I’m really all that shocked, I’m pretty sure he only agreed to the role as it was another pay cheque and not his next possible nomination.

I would even go as far as to say it was very original of Hardwicke to use the same entire score from the first twilight film. Given that Riding Hood felt like a prequel to the sparkly vampire franchise it lent itself quite well. Aside from the obvious and continuous comparisons to the twilight franchise there’s not much else that can be said for the film, let alone anything good at all.

Trailer for "The Smurfs"

Sony Pictures Animation has unveiled the new trailer for The Smurfs, and yikes, it looks terrible.  I grew up in the 80s, so I loved The Smurfs when I was a kid.  I had a million of those little figurines and watched the cartoon every Saturday morning.  This, unfortunately, doesn't look anything like what I remember about any of it.

The Smurfs opens in theaters on August 3rd.  Parents who get dragged to see this, you have my sympathies.

Josh Hutcherson To Star in Benicio Del Toro's Short 'Monday'

TOLDJA! is reporting that former Spider-Man contender, Josh Hutcherson (The Kids Are All Right) will star in Benicio Del Toro's directorial debut short film, Monday.  The short, which will make up the feature, 7 Days in Havana, revolves around a young tourist (Hutcherson) taking in the city's culture for the first time.

The other six days (or shorts you could say) will have the talents of directors Laurent Cantet, Julio Medem, Gaspar Noe, Elia Suleiman, Juan Carlos Tabio, and Pablo Trapero.

The rest of the cast is expected to be annouced sometime soon as the film is set for a September 23rd release date.