Archana Ram at EW informs us that the latest bestseller to be the subject of a big-time Hollywood movie adaptation is the instructional tome, What to Expect When You’re Expecting that will become a sort of “Pregnancy, Actually” multi-story/multi-star film.
No wonder Hollywood’s interested. It’s a sequel.
Big movies are in the news today.
* James Cameron apparently won’t be directing the latest iteration of legend of Egyptian queen Cleopatra. Instead, he’ll spend the next few years doing the inevitable: “Avatar 2” and “Avatar 3.” Apparently, the commitment now is partially in return for Fox making a large donation to green causes Cameron supports.
* Christopher Nolan gave Geoff Boucher the title of the next Batman installment “The Dark Knight Rises” — not very inspiring. Having previously eliminated Mr. Freeze as the film’s big bad, he also eliminated the Riddler. That leaves Catwoman, the Penguin, and…Man-Bat?
I like movie about movies, and this one,”Brothers Justice,” features co-writer director Dax Shepherd, Jon Favreau, Tom Arnold, and, er, Ashton Kutcher, playing themselves (which in the latter two cases is preferable to them playing someone once) and has my attention. Following the lead of Dustin Rowles, I’m not going to say much more than that. See what you think. (A bit NSFW because of some of F-words and a homophobic slur on a martial art.)
It’s easy to see why this 1983 film version of the famed Joseph Papp production of the 1879 Gilbert and Sullivan comic opera has its fans. As the absurdly honorable orphan hero, Frederic, former teen idol Rex Smith is surprisingly funny and perfectly cast; rock star turned all-around diva Linda Ronstadt warbles tunefully as the lovely Mabel; the great Angela Lansbury as nursemaid-turned-pirate Ruth is, if not quite at a hilarious career high, close enough; and, in the role that made him a star, Kevin Kline is the ideal Pirate King, milking every ounce of cheerful self-regard out of a professional blackguard who is pretty much unable to harm a fly. However, there are big problems. Director Wilfred Leach had the right idea in filming this ultra-silly musical on a lavish, completely non-realistic set, but his staging lacks taste. He often pushes the comedy several steps too far, even resorting to speeding up the film at one point in an ill-advised homage to Mack Sennett’s Keystone Kops. The coup de gras, however, is actually delivered by something that’s very much of this film’s day — its synthesizer driven musical adaptation. The music of Arthur Sullivan is often on the borderline between huge listenability and complete preciousness. The insanely chirpy synths employed by conductor William Elliot and further denatured by Linda Ronstadt’s producer, Peter Asher, destroys the charm of Sullivan’s melodies, for me anyhow. Since “The Pirates of Penzance” is pretty much wall to wall music, that’s a problem.
Today we have two videos promoting upcoming films that I’m expecting to be deeply silly while exciting their core demographic to it’s very, er, core.
Via Mike Fleming, this first look online at Disney’s “Tron: Legacy” featuring the music of Daft Punk. I have to say, I recently took a second look at the original “Tron” and the less I say probably the better, but watching this doesn’t cause me pain. There was a 20 minute preview and I wonder how that would hold up.
Geek though I be, such is my dislike of the original “Tron” movie that I’d probably be more appropriate reviewer of the following movie: “Never Say Never” a music documentary/promotional vehicle starring the one, the only, Justin Beiber — because every generation needs its own Frankie Avalon.
After the flip, a bonus video which, given the title of the Beiber-flick, I’d really like to see Beiber perform. I mean, I know the Beiber “Never Say Never” is different, but it would certainly increase my respect for him if he could come up with a medley of his song and the one after the flip.
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