The Movie Thread

[RGMike]

Bizarre movie item of the week: Steven Soderburgh is planning a rock musical about Cleopatra -- in 3-D!  With Catherine Zeta-Jones as Cleo. And music by Robert Pollard of Guided By Voices.

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117994550.html?categoryId=13&cs=1&nid=2854

He's also working on a Liberace biopic with Michael Douglas as Liberace (!) and Matt Damon as his boyfriend.

Ya can't make this stuff up!

[princessofcairo]

Bizarre movie item of the week: Steven Soderburgh is planning a rock musical about Cleopatra -- in 3-D!  With Catherine Zeta-Jones as Cleo. And music by Robert Pollard of Guided By Voices.

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117994550.html?categoryId=13&cs=1&nid=2854

He's also working on a Liberace biopic with Michael Douglas as Liberace (!) and Matt Damon as his boyfriend.

Ya can't make this stuff up!

? well, i'll definitely catch the cleopatra!

just finished watching "birds of america". great acting!! and zoë kravitz is in it! she's 20 already!

ETA: and she acts about as well as her mother.

[Alicat]

Zack and Miri banned in Utah

http://movies.yahoo.com/feature/zackandmiri_blog.html

[Lightnin' Rod]

Zack and Miri banned in Utah

http://movies.yahoo.com/feature/zackandmiri_blog.html

Loved the last line of the article:  "But at least they didn't see Seth Rogen in his underwear."

Has there ever been a less likely box-office star?

[ggould]

http://media.entertainment.sky.com/image/unscaled/2008/10/29/Quantum-of-solace-Background.jpg

[mshray]

Mshray's review of Quantum Of Solace:

A) You gots to pay attention.  Lot's of David Mamet style insider dialogue & almost complete lack of exposition.  Paul Haggis has a screenwriting credit on top of Bond vets Neal Purvis & Robert Wade, which tells you something.
B) You need to remember Casino Royale pretty well, because this is definitely a sequel & they don't stop to do any flashbacks (even though I saw at least one trailer that did contain one).  If you don't remember who Mr. White, Vesper & Mathis are (as well as the 21st century version of Felix Leiter), go back and rewatch.  In fact I think this is actually the middle chapter of a trilogy.  At least one person's fate is unresolved, and at the very end another's fate is slightly different than what you thought (if you're paying attention).
C) Building on a long term 007 trend, Dame Judy's M continues to have a significantly greater dramatic role each time.
D) Olga Kurilenko is HAWT!!! (and sorry for the spoiler, but that's even though she doesn't disrobe).
E) The minor character Strawberry Fields, who does disrobe, is also easy on the eyes, and according to IMDb, she was born with 6 fingers on each hand(!).
F) I'm becoming a huge Daniel Craig fan ever since Munich, but even in Lara Croft he was pretty cool.  Hope he keeps the franchise for a couple more films. Physically he's my favorite Bond now, although Connery still #1 for style.  Looking forward to him in Defiance.
G) There are a couple of very nice blink-and-you-miss-them touches to the production, that don't have anything to do with the plot, but when you do notice them you can pat yourself on the back for being observant.  For example, watch the MI6 computer screen when Bond is being debriefed on the name of the villain.  Makes someone like me want to get the DVD and see what else I may have missed.

I can see how some might think this movie is a little too fast paced, too many rapid jump cuts, not a lot spelled out for the viewer, in general kind of challenging a la the last two Bourne flicks.  But how the Merc can accuse it of being 'bland' is incomprehensible to me.  Crowd I saw it with during lunch hour definitely seemed to enjoy it.

(oh, and we got to see the first trailer for the new Star Trek, smartly taking a page from Batman Begins & reinventing the whole thing from Kirk's & Spock's childhoods forward, as well as the trailer for Watchmen.  I can NOT WAIT for Watchmen, which is coming out on my birthday no less!)

[Gazoo]

the trailer for Watchmen.  I can NOT WAIT for Watchmen, which is coming out on my birthday no less!)

As indifferent as I am to film, even I am anxious for Watchmen.  The illo novel affected me heavily.  I'm not sold on the castings, though Jackie Earle Haley as Rorschach seems inspired.

[mshray]

the trailer for Watchmen.  I can NOT WAIT for Watchmen, which is coming out on my birthday no less!)

As indifferent as I am to film, even I am anxious for Watchmen.  The illo novel affected me heavily.  I'm not sold on the castings, though Jackie Earle Haley as Rorschach seems inspired.

Agreed on Jackie Earle Haley, although in an interesting coincidence, I read that they almost gave the part to the aforementioned Daniel Craig (!)

[mshray]

Zack and Miri banned in Utah

http://movies.yahoo.com/feature/zackandmiri_blog.html

Loved the last line of the article:  "But at least they didn't see Seth Rogen in his underwear."

Has there ever been a less likely box-office star?

Maybe not, but it was a pretty good flick imho.  I cannot believe Brandon Routh is still doing such a complete Christopher Reeve impression, up to and including taking a gay role after playing Superman (a la Reeve in Deathtrap).  Justin 'I'm-aMac' Long is utterly hysterical as Routh's boyfirend, that's his line in my sigquote.

[RGMike]

Mshray's review of Quantum Of Solace:

I saw it last nite and was underwhelmed. It's an OK action film, but the chase scenes all seemed cribbed from the Bourne flicks. (Maybe they should call the next one The Bond Ultimatum?)  I did like the nod to Goldfinger near the end, and the continuing theme of "what Bond does actually has real-world consequences for people he cares about -- innocent people who should never have gotten hurt". And that's something. But it's a pretty average action pic. (Worth noting, perhaps: the first Bond flick directed by an American, and the shortest at 106 mins).  Thank gawd for The Dench. And more Jeffrey Wright next time!

[RGMike]

From Peter Hartlaub's review of Twilight in today's Chron:

"One more small note, which is very important for the future of our economy: Several characters in this film have George Michael's gravity-defying bird's-nest hair from the Wham Make It Big sessions, which looks only slightly less ridiculous now than it did in 1984. Invest any spare cash you have in companies that deal in hair gel. I have a feeling this film is going to be huge."

[ggould]

Mshray's review of Quantum Of Solace:

A) You gots to pay attention.  Lot's of David Mamet style insider dialogue & almost complete lack of exposition.  Paul Haggis has a screenwriting credit on top of Bond vets Neal Purvis & Robert Wade, which tells you something.
B) You need to remember Casino Royale pretty well, because this is definitely a sequel & they don't stop to do any flashbacks (even though I saw at least one trailer that did contain one).  If you don't remember who Mr. White, Vesper & Mathis are (as well as the 21st century version of Felix Leiter), go back and rewatch.  In fact I think this is actually the middle chapter of a trilogy.  At least one person's fate is unresolved, and at the very end another's fate is slightly different than what you thought (if you're paying attention).
C) Building on a long term 007 trend, Dame Judy's M continues to have a significantly greater dramatic role each time.
D) Olga Kurilenko is HAWT!!! (and sorry for the spoiler, but that's even though she doesn't disrobe).
E) The minor character Strawberry Fields, who does disrobe, is also easy on the eyes, and according to IMDb, she was born with 6 fingers on each hand(!).
F) I'm becoming a huge Daniel Craig fan ever since Munich, but even in Lara Croft he was pretty cool.  Hope he keeps the franchise for a couple more films. Physically he's my favorite Bond now, although Connery still #1 for style.  Looking forward to him in Defiance.
G) There are a couple of very nice blink-and-you-miss-them touches to the production, that don't have anything to do with the plot, but when you do notice them you can pat yourself on the back for being observant.  For example, watch the MI6 computer screen when Bond is being debriefed on the name of the villain.  Makes someone like me want to get the DVD and see what else I may have missed.

I can see how some might think this movie is a little too fast paced, too many rapid jump cuts, not a lot spelled out for the viewer, in general kind of challenging a la the last two Bourne flicks.  But how the Merc can accuse it of being 'bland' is incomprehensible to me.  Crowd I saw it with during lunch hour definitely seemed to enjoy it.

(oh, and we got to see the first trailer for the new Star Trek, smartly taking a page from Batman Begins & reinventing the whole thing from Kirk's & Spock's childhoods forward, as well as the trailer for Watchmen.  I can NOT WAIT for Watchmen, which is coming out on my birthday no less!)

We went tonight, tried to get there early, and still couldn't get two seats together!  I really enjoyed it, and found the film quite graceful, if a little typical in the "why can't the bad guys shoot straight" sort of way.  The plane chase, for example!   Not at all a comedy, at all.

[Alicat]

Saw Quantum last night. Still selling out but got two seats in the back row, high up, not bad at all. I still prefer the classic Bond flicks but can't fault this for lack of action. Had me jumping in my seat. Took turns I didn't anticipate. It was worthy.

[mshray]

This could also go on the Prop 8 thread, but here it is:  I got this email from my cousin Jerome, who came out about 2 yrs ago to my dad (my other gay cousin came out to me a year earlier).  I had not heard about the Cinemark angle on this & want to be sure we all know about it & spread the word.

Friends, as you may or may not know, "Milk," starring Sean Penn, is opening nationwide this week.  Harvey Milk was a San Francisco politician in the '70s, was openly gay and fought a ballot initiative which would have 'rooted out' gay teachers in the public schools there.  That proposition failed, but, as you probably know, another proposition, Prop 8, DID pass in the elections a few weeks ago which changed California's constitution banning same sex marriage.  Since gay marriage was legalized in California earlier this year, over 20,000 couples were legally married, now their status is in question.  The larger question, whether you're gay or not, is a simple question of denying a whole portion of the population the basic right to love and marry whomever they want, with all of the responsibilities and benefits a legally recognized marriage brings.

Cinemark Theaters, which run Tinseltown, Century Theaters and CineArts Theaters is one of the largest distributors of this film.  Alan Stock, the CEO of Cinemark, contributed $9999 to the campaign to pass Prop 8.  There is a movement afoot which is requesting that you see this movie (and I think it's important that you do) in a non-Cinemark Theater.  You can find a non-Cinemark Theater showing the film on this website:  www.fandango.com.

If you feel even more motivated, email Cinemark and tell them that you're not going to see the movie at their theater and, better yet, tell them why...you can email them here: http://www.cinemark.com/contactus.asp

Please pass this on to whomever else you think may be interested in this issue.

Regards,

Jerome

[RGMike]

This could also go on the Prop 8 thread, but here it is:  I got this email from my cousin Jerome, who came out about 2 yrs ago to my dad (my other gay cousin came out to me a year earlier).  I had not heard about the Cinemark angle on this & want to be sure we all know about it & spread the word.

Friends, as you may or may not know, "Milk," starring Sean Penn, is opening nationwide this week.  Harvey Milk was a San Francisco politician in the '70s, was openly gay and fought a ballot initiative which would have 'rooted out' gay teachers in the public schools there.  That proposition failed, but, as you probably know, another proposition, Prop 8, DID pass in the elections a few weeks ago which changed California's constitution banning same sex marriage.  Since gay marriage was legalized in California earlier this year, over 20,000 couples were legally married, now their status is in question.  The larger question, whether you're gay or not, is a simple question of denying a whole portion of the population the basic right to love and marry whomever they want, with all of the responsibilities and benefits a legally recognized marriage brings.

Cinemark Theaters, which run Tinseltown, Century Theaters and CineArts Theaters is one of the largest distributors of this film.  Alan Stock, the CEO of Cinemark, contributed $9999 to the campaign to pass Prop 8.  There is a movement afoot which is requesting that you see this movie (and I think it's important that you do) in a non-Cinemark Theater.  You can find a non-Cinemark Theater showing the film on this website:  www.fandango.com.

If you feel even more motivated, email Cinemark and tell them that you're not going to see the movie at their theater and, better yet, tell them why...you can email them here: http://www.cinemark.com/contactus.asp

Please pass this on to whomever else you think may be interested in this issue.

Regards,

Jerome

indeed, I'd heard about the Cinemark boycott. Given that the film will be playing in other theaters as well, it seems a pretty easy way to "vote with your wallet".  (in SF it'll be at both the Castro and the Embarcadero).