Category: Action Movies (Page 43 of 165)

Trailer time: “The Green Hornet”

I’m taking a brief hiatus from my hiatus to present the first trailer for one of the most widely discussed upcoming films on the ‘net. First impression: no surprise that Seth Rogen and Michel Gondry’s “The Green Hornet” appears to be another slacker superhero flick, but take a look for yourself.

The performances from Rogen and highly skilled costar Jay Chou look reasonably okay. (You probably also noticed that we get a very brief look at Tom Wilkinson, Cameron Diaz, and villain Christoph Waltz, who I’m sure will be fun.) Still, I can’t get over my vague disappointment that it’s not a period piece, even though I probably already knew that it wasn’t and forgot.

Even though the sixties TV show was set in the same out-of-time contemporary time period as the “Batman” TV show, I’ll always associate the Green Hornet with the thirties and forties, the era in which the original radio show was made and set. There’s just something very old fashioned about the entire character and concept — Britt Reid is actually supposed to be the great nephew of the Lone Ranger, which was created by the same team of writers — but since I’m one of the very few people whose ever even listened to more than one classic-era radio broadcast of any sort, I don’t imagine that will be a commercial problem. There may be others, however.

H/t Pajiba.

Blu Tuesday: Green Zone, She’s Out of My League and Entourage

With the World Cup in full swing, you’d think that the studios would have taken advantage of the event by releasing a few soccer-related titles on Blu-ray. (“Bend It Like Beckham” or “Victory,” anyone?) It was definitely a lost opportunity, but that’s okay, because there are still plenty of great titles to choose from, including the Blu-ray debuts of two HBO comedies.

“Green Zone” (Universal)

Though not as exhilarating as the “Bourne” films, or as poignant as “United 93,” director Paul Greengrass’ post-9/11 thriller, “Green Zone,” is still a damn fine movie that takes a politically-charged look at the botched search for WMDs in Iraq during the infancy of the 2003 United States-led invasion. Matt Damon once again teams up with Greengrass as the Chief Warrant Officer in charge of the investigation, only to realize after coming up empty on several occasions that the “solid intel” he’s been given may not be as reliable as his superiors believe. Greengrass’ trademark shooting style will still have some popping Dramamine just to keep from feeling dizzy, but the chaotic nature of the action makes sense in a war zone environment. I’m not entirely sure why this bombed so badly at the box office, but Universal clearly still believes in the film enough to release a Blu-ray that’s been adorned with plenty of bells and whistles.

“She’s Out of My League” (Paramount)

It’s not exactly the most original romantic comedy to come down the pike, but thanks to some sharp writing and great performances from its cast, “She’s Out of My League” is a great Judd Apatow clone that will have you laughing more than you might expect. Jay Baruchel is like a young Ben Stiller as the anemic geek who can’t believe he’s dating someone as hot as Alice Eve, and though the movie never gets quite as crazy as “There’s Something About Mary,” there are definitely shades of the film throughout. But just like that movie, as well as Apatow’s “The 40-Year-Old Virgin” and “Knocked Up,” “She’s Out of My League” really gets a lift from its supporting players, particularly T.J. Miller and Kristen Ritter as the mean-spirited best friends of the two leads. Pity Paramount couldn’t scrounge up better special features, because while “She’s Out of my League” is worth owning, the lackluster Blu-ray is better off just renting.

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It’s tougher, it’s darker — of course, it’s better!

Once upon a time, the movies used to take properties from other fields, plays and novels mainly, and clean them for the nation’s theaters, removing excess sexuality and violence until, sometimes, what was left made almost no sense at all. Couples who lived “in sin” found themselves with marriage licenses or merely dating, soldiers and prison inmates never cursed but were occasionally permitted to use poor grammar, gay characters went straight — and, in the case of the great noir thriller, “Crossfire,” became Jewish into the bargain — and so it went.

More recently, the trend has been to either completely send something up or to darken it and make it more “real,” as if darkness and reality were identical. (Closer, maybe, but not identical.) Still, we can rest assured that, like “The A-Team,” the proposed movie version of “The Equalizer” with Russell Crowe will be a gazillion times more violent than the television series it was based on — and I’m just talking about the moment when Crowe finds craft services forgot to provide that brand of organic ketchup he really likes. Heck, even the 100% inevitable sequel to “The Karate Kid” will surely be darker than the first because, you know, this time, he’s pubescent!

Still, as the studios grow so desperate for a hit that some, perhaps, might be willing to consider making something not fully recycled, there’s always someone willing to take a property in the darker direction it really needs to go. Who cares if the core audience is under five? Someone’s got to show those goldbricking preschoolers the way the world really is. Are you with me? Well, Rob Bricken (who gets the h/t) and the creative semi-geniuses of It’s Not a Book get it. See the future of cinema, below.

Movie news for now people

Get hip, hepcats and hepkitties.

* Somewhere between a rumor an an actual story, the ‘net geek movie item of today has to have been the flurry of speculation around the notion of Harry Potter director David Yates taking on the two-film directing gig on “The Hobbit” recently vacated by Guillermo del Toro. The Playlist claims to know that Yates has actually been offered the position though, even if true, in Hollywood there are a millions slips twixt cup and lip, so to speak, and the fun debates over who would be available and appropriate for the job continue. My first response was that Yates, a highly competent craftsman, wasn’t really enough of a visionary for the gig but, considering that del Toro and Peter Jackson remain pretty deeply involved, perhaps they’ve got visionaries enough on that project.

* On a somewhat similar note, Robert Rodriguez has possibly been offered a shot at directing a Deadpool movie. Since I missed the Wolverine movie and haven’t read Marvel Comics in a very long time, I have no idea what this actually means. I’ll learn.

Deadpool_Wallpaper_by_Vulture34

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The box office kung-fu of “The Karate Kid” proves strong; “The A-Team” does B-grade business

It’s probably not a completely original thought of mine and it’s obviously a vast oversimplification, but it’s always seemed to me that what audiences really seem to want is more of the same, but different. If something is too unfamiliar, only a limited portion of viewers will be adventurous enough to try out a brand new movie flavor. If it’s too familiar, on the other hand, it’s kind of a bore, at best.

That formula has apparently been in full effect this weekend as a film which put a few gentle twists on a very familiar property prospered at the box office. A second movie — in terms of marketing, at any rate — was an apparent carbon copy of its source material, notwithstanding a new cast, more violence, and a bigger budget (too much bigger, probably). That film will prove vastly less profitable, at best.

Jackie Chan and Jaden Smith in

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