August
13
8/13/08: Today's Linkage
[Posted by Jeff Sneider]
Jeff Wells has an interesting piece about films that time forgot, in this case, "The Black Pearl." He even throws in some old-fashioned Hollywood sex gossip for good measure. The post brought to mind a little-seen Alicia Silverstone-Kevin Dillon mystery called "True Crime" that I always enjoyed as a teen who fancied himself Silverstone's self-proclaimed #1 fan. When "Entourage" filmed in Variety's offices a while back I mentioned the movie to Johnny Drama and he was quick to disown it and tease me for liking it, but what can I say? We all have our guilty pleasures that people (including those in the movie) would like to forget.
Empire Online lists their 50 Greatest Comic Book Characters. Now I don't know enough about comics to raise any objections but I will say that the fact that James O'Barr's "The Crow" is not on this list raises questions about its credibility. I'll leave it at that.
This new "Body of Lies" trailer ran in front of "Tropic Thunder" last night, and while it's certainly better than the first trailer WB rushed online, question marks still surround the project for me despite really liking William Monahan's script. The trailer is still confusing and while this one showcases more action, it's missing that line that sends shivers down your spine. Of all the A-List talent involved in the film, Crowe stands the best chance of receiving any awards attention but if he couldn't earn a nomination for last year's "American Gangster," why would this year be any different? As for DiCaprio, we all know his real shot at Oscar glory this year "lies" with Sam Mendes' "Revolutionary Road." Of course, the Academy could get everything backwards as they did with "The Departed" and "Blood Diamond" so who knows?
AICN's Massawyrm forgives Ben Stiller for years of cockblocking, calling "Tropic Thunder" "a genius piece of satire" and "one of the smartest comedies you are bound to see all year." I saw the film last night at a packed 12:30 screening at The Grove and thought it was hilarious. Tom Cruise's studio boss lives up to the hype but the film ultimately belongs to Robert Downey Jr. who is "the real deal, head to toe." I also loved Danny McBride's mangled ear and how no one mentions it throughout the film. Stiller's latest is an inspired way to end the summer movie season with a bang. Get some!
JoBlo has a new "Hamlet 2" poster that continues to emphasize the whole "Rock Me Sexy Jesus" thing. I saw the film a few weeks ago and while I laughed a lot (mostly because I'm a huge fan of Steve Coogan), I was also pretty disappointed by Pam Brady's lackluster third act that runs out of steam and fresh comic ideas. It's definitely worth seeing but feel free to lower your expectations. It sold for a lot at Sundance but it'll still be a tough sell to the general public.
On his MySpace blog, funnyman Dane Cook trashes the poster of his next film, the Lionsgate comedy "My Best Friend's Girl." Cook's self-deprecating shtick is refreshing and the pic's red-band trailer actually looks pretty decent but he's right, the poster screams "DVD!" When are marketers going to realize that floating heads don't cut it in today's cutthroat competition for moviegoers' attention and if they're lucky, dollars?
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I'm glad to hear that Tropic Thunder is worth seeing. I might still wait for DVD, though, what with ticket prices and such.
Posted by: Liz | August 13, 2008 at 11:07 PM
Am I just imagining this, or did I hear that Steve Zaillian rewrote Body of Lies? Zaillian is pretty awesome and one of the up-and-comers. Can't wait for Body of Lies of course!
Posted by: Gus Simpson | August 14, 2008 at 06:48 AM
The Crow was a great little book when it came out but the character is pretty one dimensional and hardly worth appearing on a top 50 list. The Crow works as a passion project, a way for O'Barr to deal with his feeling surrounding a loved one's death but it's strictly revenge fantasy and a lot of better characters and books have been created since then.
Posted by: Court | August 14, 2008 at 11:18 AM
Court, point taken, but there were a ton of characters on that list that are nowhere near as cool as The Crow. Look at the superhero movies of today. They're all CGI-driven, $200 million blockbusters. The Crow was made relatively inexpensively and was driven by emotion, not effects, but I realize the list is about comic book characters, not movie characters.
And Gus, Zaillian did do a rewrite on Body of Lies, but he's hardly an up-and-comer. The guy won an Oscar for Schindler's List 15 years ago.
Posted by: Jeff | August 14, 2008 at 01:38 PM
The Top 10 is way to Vertigo heavy (2 out of 10). Constantine and Dream? Really? Sandman is a great book, maybe one of the top 10 books ever, but Morpheus is just a Peter Murphy/Daniel Ash fusion.
Why isn't Captain America in the top 10? WTF?!
We're talking the characters here, not the books people.
Posted by: Christian Lindke | August 14, 2008 at 02:47 PM
Oh...wait...Empire is a British Magazine.
Posted by: Christian Lindke | August 14, 2008 at 02:48 PM
Actually, Zaillian was approached to rewrite Body of Lies by Ridley, but cried off it.
Posted by: Dave | September 03, 2008 at 07:54 PM