Huzzah! After years of waiting, fans of the popular and long running The Secret of Monkey Island computer games will see it finally make the leap to the big screen. Lucasarts has had a slew of fun and exciting 8-bit time wasters but none has had a better shot at being adapted to a feature length film than Ron Gilbert’s above mentioned game. This film, called simply Monkey Island will be financed and produced by Lucasfilm Ltd. Since seeing the staggering success that Disney and Jerry Bruckehimer had with their own Pirates series, George Lucas’ electronics division Lucasarts has been charged with breathing some cinematic life into those long dormant pixelated stories.…
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G-S-T Review…Wrath of the Titans
I, like Jonathan Liebesman’s Wrath of the Titans, am wracked with indecision. On the one hand I want to go to bat for the film on the virtues of its better elements– excellent eye candy, including, but not limited to, some eye-popping creature design– but Wrath’s tonal incongruity holds me back. There’s a place in the Hollywood ecosphere for fantastical sword and sandal films boasting either serious or silly makes, but Wrath can’t decide which of the two models it wants to follow and ends up existing as an unsatisfying halfway point between them; it’s silly, but not silly enough. It’s epic, but it’s not epic enough. If the film needs anything, it’s direction,…
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G-S-T Review…Mirror Mirror
Forget the story you know, or think you know. Tarsem Singh (The Fall, Immortals) takes the famous Brothers Grimm fairy tale and looks at it through his insanely stylized goggles. Add to it an Oscar-winner, a dash or two of campiness, some wonderful set designs and the result is something that even the happiest fairy tales couldn’t come close to. While the trailers looked to contain off-putting levels of saccharine laced kid friendly material, there’s actually a lot of fun that won’t necessarily cause parents’ eyes to continuously roll. Simply put you don’t have to go in with low expectations to have a good time. Snow White is the fairest maiden in…
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Sweet Trailer…'The Giant Mechanical Man'
From Dallas native Lee Kirk comes this charming and quirky ensemble romantic comedy akin to Little Miss Sunshine or Garden State. Playing the titular Mechanical Man is Chris Messina (one of the standout performances in Devil) as he and Jenna Fischer help each other to realize that in this crazy world it only takes one person to make you feel important. Behold, The Giant Mechanical Man (disclaimer: not a real mechanical man or sequel to The Iron Giant…bummer). Written/directed by Lee Kirk, The Giant Mechanical Man stars Jenna Fischer, Chris Messina, Malin Ackerman, Topher Grace, Bob Odenkirk and Lucy Punch and is set to play at the Tribeca Film Festival next month (hmmm,…
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“The CineMagic 8-Ball” – In Theaters 3/30/12
When so many movies are released each weekend and trailers often seem better than the movie itself, what should one do? In this precarious situation, we consult the The CineMagic 8-Ball (TM) to help us see through the nebulous marketing haze. Doing so just might save us all a disheartening trip to the cinema and spare us unnecessarily springing for $7 popcorn. See what the 8-Ball says about this week’s releases… ——————————————————————————————————————————————- MIRROR MIRROR An evil queen steals control of a kingdom and an exiled princess enlists the help of seven resourceful rebels to win back her birthright. Not sure just how many times Snow White has been told on the screen but even if you’ve…
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DIFF 2012 Announces Honorees and Additions to Schedule
The Dallas International Film Festival presented by Boardwalk Auto Group Volkswagen Dealers announced today that a Dallas Star Award would be presented to one of the great legends of costume design, Mr. Bernie Pollack. DIFF also announced that rising star, Ms. Gabourey Sidibe will be honored with the Dallas Shining Star Award for the contribution she has made to film in her short, yet impressive career to date. Both Pollack and Sidibe will receive their awards at DIFF’s annual awards dinner, the Dallas Film Society Honors on Friday, April 20, 2012. Other announcements include the full line-up for the South Korean International Spotlight and programming duo James Faust and Sarah Harris have announced the titles of additional films which…
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Ohhh, Look…'Dark Shadows' Character Posters
Tim Burton‘s adaptation of the TV show Dark Shadows, starring Johnny Depp, will hit theaters this May. A few weeks ago the first trailer hit the web and I have to say it looked surprisingly good. Delightful with Burton’s signature combination of creepy/cheerful story and characters. Well if you missed it we have it posted below but right now, have a look at these 9 vibrant character posters from Apple. Annnd here’s the trailer in case you missed it… Directed by Tim Burton and starring an impressive cast featuring Johnny Depp, Eva Green, Helena Bonham Carter, Chloe Grace Moretz, Johnny Lee Miller, Jackie Earle Haley, and Michelle Pfeiffer, Dark Shadows…
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Sweet Trailer…'Free Samples'
For those in the mood for something a little less Hollywood, this might be up your alley. This deliciously indie-feeling and quirky drama stars Jess Weixler as Jillian, a Stanford law-school dropout, who is trying to figure out what she wants to do with her life. On the day of her college boyfriend’s birthday, she finds herself stuck running an ice cream truck fending off Los Angeles locals and oddball friends alike. Free Samples takes place all in one day and shows Jillian waking from her aimless daze as she begins to see that life doesn’t stop just because she wants it to. Check out the trailer below and thanks to The Film…
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Documentary ‘Bully’ Will Be Released Unrated (and Unedited)
The Weinstein Company’s powerful and much criticized documentary Bully will be hitting select theaters this weekend. Over the last few weeks there had been much debate (and controversy) due to the rating of this particular doc. As the titles suggests, it deals with bullying; a problem in schools that is abundant enough to deem it an epidemic. Yet for as much as the doc does to bring the problem to light, the MPAA just can’t get past the two F-bombs in it which automatically label it with an R-rating regardless of the overall content. Public and critical disagreement with the MPAA is nothing new but if there’s one man who will go toe-to-toe with them…
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Sweet Trailer…'Sleepless Night'
The first US, not to mention highly praised, trailer for Tribeca Film’s Sleepless Night has hit the web. Written & directed by French filmmaker Frédéric Jardin and co-written by Nicolas Saada, the film follows a police officer (played by Tomer Sisley) who gets mixed up with a night club owner/drug lord. When he’s double crossed and his son Thomas is taken hostage, he goes all out to rescue him, facing obstacles both good and bad, from Internal Affairs to the drug lord himself. There’s more quotes and praise than actual edge-of-your seat action but still, the sources quoted and the soundtrack make a good case for this even if it…
