Movies and DVDs

Sure, Spielberg has some corny sensibilities, plus a fear of nuance and ambiguity that makes him dumb things down too much, with the pat happy endings and such.

But don't let all that fool you, he's still one of the greatest of our lifetime, and this looks like the type of project that brings out the best in him:

• War of the Worlds Trailer
• Interview with Spielberg and Tom Cruise

A huge collection of pictures / photos from Star Wars Episode III Revenge of the Sith (Episode 3) were just posted here.

BE WARNED, IF YOU CLICK THAT LINK YOU WILL SEE SPOILERS OUT THE WAZOO! Although it doesn't reveal much about the two characters I care about, Mace Windu and Yoda.

Also, reportedly Star Wars Episode III, Revenge of the Sith will be opening Cannes this year:

Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith will open the 58th Cannes Film Festival. According to This Is London, a deal was recently struck after months of negotiations between Star Wars creator George Lucas and festival coordinators.

Festival De Cannes takes place May 11th-22nd in the south of France.

The UK-based website is also reporting that Ewan McGregor may be in attendance. McGregor is preparing to star in Michael Grandage's new London stage version of Guys and Dolls at the Piccadilly Theatre.

If you're not on the Cannes guest list then you'll have to wait until May 19th (in most countries) to see Revenge of the Sith.

The final chapter of the Star Wars prequels takes place three years after the events of Attack of the Clones. The Clone Wars are nearly at an end as the Jedi Council dispatches Obi-Wan (McGregor) to bring General Grevious, the deadly leader of the Separatist droid army, to justice. Meanwhile, back on Coruscant, Chancellor Palpatine has grown in power. His sweeping political changes transform the war-weary Republic into the mighty Galactic Empire. To his closest ally, Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen), he reveals the true nature of power and the promised secrets of the Force in an attempt to lure him to the dark side.

The Ballad of Jack and Rose trailer is here

And here's an early review from the Miami Herald:

...Director Rebecca Miller (Personal Velocity), who is married to Day-Lewis, has crafted some intriguing, complex characters and stranded them in a muddled story that doesn't know quite what to do with them. With actors of this caliber, The Ballad of Jack and Rose is always watchable (the young Belle more than holds her own against Day-Lewis and Keener). But the script, which includes a wan subplot involving Jack's battle against a land developer (as well as some creaky symbolism with a snake and the garden of Eden) lacks the realism and gravity of the performances.

The Ballad of Jack and Rose is the story of a man so desperate to hang onto his ideals, he has reshaped his environment to suit his needs. But it's hard to feel any sense of tragedy, much less sympathy, for a parent whose idea of child rearing borders on abuse. And for all the creepy undertones bubbling beneath their relationship, Jack and Rose are a rather dull pair. Whenever they are left to their own devices on their remote island, which is often, your eyelids start to grow heavy.

The trailer for Upside of Anger is here, and here's early word from Rolling Stone.. looks promising:

Terry Wolfmeyer, indelibly played by the reliably brilliant Joan Allen, knows from pride and prejudice. This diva of the Detroit burbs wants the best in schools, jobs and men for her four daughters -- Hadley (Alicia Witt), Emily (Keri Russell), Andy (Erika Christensen) and Popeye (Evan Rachel Wood). Always determined, Terry is now royally pissed off. Her husband has split (she's sure it's with his Swedish secretary), and, using alcohol to fuel her fire, she's on the attack, starting with her family. From that premise, director-writer Mike Binder, himself a child of divorce, hits us with the first film of the new year that stays with you -- a fiercely funny human comedy with jokes that sting and leave marks. Allen is the blaze that lights the film, and Witt, Russell, Christensen and Wood complement her beautifully with their own distinctive shadings. But the whopper surprise is Kevin Costner, back at the top of his game after years of coasting. He digs into the role of Denny, a retired baseball star turned stoned radio DJ who offers Terry a famous shoulder to lean on. OK, when she offers him a quickie, he hides in his yard, but Denny knows to stick around. Costner is a marvel, lacing the role with unforced humor and charm. Binder, best known for HBO's The Mind of the Married Man, springs a contrived twist ending but otherwise keeps the emotions real and played close to the bone. He also excels as Shep, Denny's radio producer who seduces young Andy and incurs her mother's wrath. The scene in which Terry imagines Shep's head exploding exemplifies the bold strokes of a film that manages to be both hilarious and haunting.

from IGN:

Last Star Wars Trailer Debuts Revenge of the Sith goes to hell, says Lucas. March 11, 2005 - The trailer for Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith made its world premiere last night during the airing of The O.C. on FOX. Anticipation, as always, was high and the new preview was instantly met with a mix of giddy excitement and skeptical critiquing in the fan community. The predominant feeling seems to be one of cautious optimism, with fans awed by the trailer remembering how they felt the same way after the previews for the previous prequel films only to be disappointed by the final product.

Links to illicit copies of the trailer have been floating around the Internet all day, with the only official version available in the subscriber section of the official Star Wars website. The preview debuts on the big screen tonight (Friday) in front of Fox's new CG-comedy Robots.

Highlights are Windu and friends vs. Palpatine, Chewie (always a hit), Anakin vs. Obi-Wan, Palpy vs. Yoda and numerous space battle shots. The most promising thing about the preview is that several characters are actually shown expressing emotion – something rarely seen in the previous prequels. Lowlights include some slightly stilted line delivery and an awkward-feeling final shot of Vader crossing his arms on the bridge of ship – IGNFF resident curmudgeon Ken Plume has dubbed this shot "Take your Vader to work day..."

from IGN:

Scary Movie 4 Goes Ahead
Actress back for another go.

March 11, 2005 - Today's Hollywood Reporter reveals that the highly-anticipated sequel... err.. umm... Scary Movie 4 is getting underway at Dimension Films. The spooky spoof, which we actually have gotten some email about, will once again star Anna Faris (Lost in Translation) who has appeared in all three films in the franchise as Cindy Campbell.

Director David Zucker is also returning and screenwriters Craig Mazin and Pat Proft, who wrote the third installment, will once again pen the script.

According to the trade's sources, Dimension honcho Bob Weinstein will take an active role in the production, even though he and his big-shot bro, Harvey, are currently caught up in mad drama with Disney on the terms of Miramax's split from the studio. It's tough being a mogul.

THR scoops that Faris will be paid in the low-to-mid seven figure range to star in Scary 4. Must be nice. She next appears in Lions Gate's Waiting, the New Line comedy Just Friends, and Ang Lee's Brokeback Mountain.

There's no word on the story for the next film in the Scary series, but it'll no doubt poke fun at recent and upcoming horror flicks like The Ring Two, the Amityville Horror remake, SAW and more.

Michael Mann is doing a movie version of his quintesential 80s cop show Miami Vice, set to star Jamie Foxx and Colin Farrell. More info from countingdown.com:

Writer-director Michael Mann penned Universal's big-screen version of the 1980s TV series (created by Anthony Yerkovich), which Mann executive produced. This 104-page first draft is dated 9/22/04. Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx will star as detectives Sonny Crockett and Ricardo Tubbs, respectively (played on the original series by Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas). Filming on Miami Vice begins filming late spring for a July 28, 2006 release.

Two things before I begin. First, please be advised that there are some MINOR SPOILERS in this review. I'm trying to be on my best behavior here. Second, I'd like to give a shout-out to Latino Review for their cool write-up on the script a few weeks back. Now on with the show ...

This Miami Vice is not set in the 1980s. It is a contemporary cop movie set in Miami, which Mann describes as having become Casablanca. A place where anything goes if the price is right. This is not an "origin" story. There is no background on how or why detectives James "Sonny" Crockett (Farrell) or Ricardo Tubbs (Foxx, in a role that should be largely dramatic) became partners. Mann's script is more of a police procedural focusing on the dangerous lives of two veteran undercover narcotics officers in the Miami-Dade Police Department (never once does anyone say "Miami Vice" since, as any fan can tell you, there is no such squad).

After there has been a tragic security breach in (or worse, a mole operating inside) the Joint Interagency Task Force, the Feds ask for help from the Miami vice cops since they weren't part of that compromised group. This job goes to Crockett and Tubbs, the latter of whom has a personal stake in seeing these killers brought to justice. Their mission is to use their cover as offshore boat racers/outlaw smugglers to penetrate the narcotrafficking network of the mysterious Archangel de Jesus Montoya-Londono. A wild band of Aryan Brothers and Nazi Low-Riders are also mixed up in all this but the trail leads to Montoya's doorstep.

Crockett and Tubbs' mission is especially dangerous. It will require them to travel outside the territorial United States to Port-Au-Prince, Haiti (with a stop in Cuba along the way). Their badges mean nothing abroad. They're not authorized to carry guns (like that's going to stop them). And, if they're busted, then re-patriation could take awhile (that's assuming they live). In other words, they are on their own, although squad mates Switek (described as 6'4" of "white bling") and rake-thin adrenaline junkie Zito act as back-up.

As smugglers Sonny Burnett and his partner Rico (he never uses the surname Cooper), Crockett and Tubbs eventually navigate their way into running some loads for Montoya via his main man Jose "Cochi Loco" Yero. They also meet Montoya's banker (and lover) Isabella, an Angolan-Cuban beauty with a European education and street smarts. Crockett is smitten but thinks he can play her to gain information. Things are never that simple, even in the movies.

Like other Michael Mann protagonists, Crockett and Tubbs are professionals who have dedicated themselves to a certain way of life and a certain credo that requires strict discipline. But there would be no tension or drama if these weren't put to the test. Crockett and Tubbs are both aware that things aren't supposed to get emotional. You lose your cool detachment, your professional distance, then you could lose your life or someone else's. This story is really all about how this code is put to the test, about how these two undercover cops risk their lives (and their badges) for the women they love.

The great Tsui Hark is working on a monster of a martial arts epic right now, named "Seven Swords." The equally great and badass Liu Chia Liang (Lau Kar Leung) is action director, and also in the cast! along with Lai Ming, Charlie Yeung, Donnie Yen, and a bunch of top martial artists. Now that Ong Bak and Kung Fu Hustle (soon) are finally hitting our shores, Seven Swords should be the one to watch for in 2005. Asskicking shall abound.

Apparently it's not related to Seven Samurai, it's based on a Wuxia novel named "Seven Swords Leave Mount Heaven." Monkeypeaches has all the inside dope, and the film's official site is here.

Peter Jackson is talking like a Hobbit movie is possible, but not any time soon:

Hobbit picture 'four years away' Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson has said that it will be up to four years before he starts work on a film version of The Hobbit. The Oscar winner said on a visit to Sydney there was a "desire" to make it, but not before lengthy negotiations.

"I think it's gonna be a lot of lawyers sitting in a room trying to thrash out a deal before it will ever happen," said the New Zealander.

The rights to JRR Tolkien's book are split between two major film studios.

Jackson, who is currently filming a remake of Hollywood classic King Kong, said he thought that the sale of MGM studios to the Sony Corporation would cast further uncertainty on the project.

The 43-year-old was in the Australian city to visit a Lord of the Rings exhibition, which has attracted 140,000 visitors since it opened in December.

These all-star director anthology films can bring mixed results (Four Rooms, New York Stories), but Steven Soderbergh, Michelangelo Antonioni and Wong Kar-Wai is a pretty awesome Marvel Teamup. It's due out April 8, probably only in selected cities.. Here's the official site, and a rundown of each segment:

"The Hand": Gong Li stars as a 1960s high-end call girl in an impossible love affair with her tailor.

"Equilibrium": An advertising executive (Robert Downey, Jr.) is under enormous pressure at work. During visits to his psychiatrist (Alan Arkin), they delve into the possible reasons why his stress seems to manifest itself in a recurring erotic dream.

"The Dangerous Thread of Things": The story of a ménage-a-trois between a couple and a young woman on the coast of Tuscany.