Before Midnight...

To start off with, Jim Carrey has been officially cast in Kick-Ass 2: Balls to the Wall and that gives an added reason for watching this one-of-a-kind superhero flick releasing in June 2013. Also It’s been a week where Marvel Studios has not come out with another The Avengers’ goodies, thankfully, making it a week where attention can be diverted to other movies in the queue. 

And one that has caught the attention is the already-completed sequel to Before Sunset which was a sequel to Before Sunrise, titled for now Before Midnight. The film is going to be floated around for potential buyers in the coming week. Set in Greece, Before Midnight brings back the lovely couple, Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy, and follows the story after Hawke was on the verge of missing his flight in Before Sunset. There is a cult following that the first two movies enjoy and for easy-to-guess reasons, not only for the clever witty intertwined dialogues of the leading cast (for both the movies are largely about the couple sharing their ideas and philosophies on a range of topics), but also for the boldness of making such different movies without the melodramatic drama and the gun-blazing action that usually hit the big screens. A refreshing change indeed! While the audience may or may not subscribe to the ideologies of any of the characters, the openness with which the thoughts are shared as the couple walk around the streets of Vienna in Before Sunrise and in Paris in Before Sunset, the playful banter mixed with the meaningful discussions, and the bond which two strangers end up sharing, has for some reason a very calming effect, that one can appreciate only when one has been a part of this journey. Hoping that Before Midnight lives up the standards set by the previous two! Before you step in for this one, grab onto the other two, if you still haven’t seen them.

While emergence of Before Midnight has brought in exciting news, the recently released trailer of Hansen and Gretel: Witch Hunters has left a bad taste in the mouth. This was one of the movies I was looking forward to (and would probably still end up at the theatres cringing my way though it with the help of a tub of popcorn), not only for the appealing idea of the fairy tale brother and sister growing up to become hard-hitting ass-kicking witch hunters, but also to catch Jeremy Renner in action once again who seems to be doing nothing wrong. While roles in Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol and The Avengers left a strong impression about him, his lead role in The Bourne Legacy has done nothing but enhance his reputation further, as he has managed to leave his own mark on the famous series. But somewhere something has to go wrong, right? With the rather sleazy dialogues and the appearances of laughable than scary witches in the first trailer, I would be betting that Hansen and Gretel: Witch Hunters, releasing in January 2013, might turn out to be the movie that Renner would want to smudge from his resume. Maybe I might be proved wrong, and if that turns out to be the case I would happily add a coke as well to the tub of popcorn! Till next time...

Justice League??

Sigh... no matter how much we loved this movie aka The Avengers, I for one want to move on from it for now. But Marvel Studios will not let me. The latest tidbit thrown for The Avengers by Marvel is an alternate opening sequence that probably would be part of the special features section in the DVD/Blu-Ray versions. Then there are talks of a separate TV series spin-off for the S.H.I.E.L.D. While all this would no doubt please the comic fans (and stalkers) and make them gush-gush and blush-blush, I would prefer to simply keep the special memories of The Avengers intact and wait patiently for the next set of superhero movies to hit the screens from 2013 onwards. Till then, there are other movies to watch too, remember?

But what do we end up with!? Now Warner Bros wants to cash in further on the superhero craze and on the lines of The Avengers, it has been planning a Justice League film. For the ones totally unaware (and if you are, do not admit it in public), Justice League is the DC Comics' equivalent of Marvel Comics' Avengers and features the likes of childhood favourites Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman along with the lesser famous heroes Green Lantern, Aquaman, Flash etc. forming a mighty tough group to take on the bigger evils of the world. The reasons that Warner Bros is adamant on making this feature film is obvious. It can cash in on the frenzy around the superhero flicks being seen in the recent times; it needs a new franchise to work on ever since Christopher Nolan wrapped up his Batman trilogy and the reboot of the Superman series still remains untested; and it needs to do something with its oh-so-famous Batman series given that the last one has grossed more than a $1 billion around the globe and no studio is content to simply live with the riches, A Justice League feature film could provide a beginning for a new Batman series, and possibly even a Green Lantern series after the last one went so terribly astray. The trick would however be to get the tone and the script of the film perfectly right after the seemingly new heights of awe and excellence created by the likes of The Avengers and The Dark Knight trilogy, Nolan has distanced himself from the Justice League movie; Ben Affleck was another one that Warner Bros negotiated with to direct the movie but he has also stepped away. There are a few other established names that could be roped in once the right script is in-place. For now, we can simply wait and watch as to how this movie shapes up! Rest assured, we will keep hearing about it and the voices would grow only louder, if the production work finally materialises. But what I want, I really really want for now, is simply a day's rest when no superhero comes to save my day! Sigh... 

RIP Top Gun Tony Scott!

This week has been marked with the sad demise of Top Gun director Tony Scott, the younger brother of Ridley Scott. While Tony Scott’s reasons for jumping off the Vincent Thomas Bridge in Los Angeles continue to elude the investigators, the film fraternity has of course lost a director with panache to spread thrill amongst the audiences with ease and perfection. While Top Gun that brought Tom Cruise to stardom would no doubt remain the epitome of his work, two of his other films define his style of movie making more clearly, the 1995 Denzel Washington and Gene Hackman starrer Crimson Tide and the 1998 Will Smith and again Gene Hackman starrer Enemy of the State. If you have not set your eyes on these flicks yet, you are missing out on something. Both these movies move at such a brilliant pace, never losing their focus from the theme at hand, oozing with style, keeping the audience at the edge of their seat, wanting for more. These are what Tony Scott movies delivered – 2 hours of freedom from the outside world, with the tempo so quick that even a blink could be distracting. RIP Tony!

There have been a number of casting news and rumours floating around this week. The one that is most intriguing is the possible casting of Jim Carrey in Kick-Ass 2 to reportedly play Colonel Stars, the creator of a group of superheroes called Justice Forever. Not having read the comic series, I cannot comment on the suitability of Carrey in this role (if they can cast Tom Cruise as Jack Reacher, anything can be done right?), though there is a lovely star presence that he would bring to this franchise (no repeat of a Riddler, please!). Kick-Ass had earned rave reviews when it released in 2010, bringing forth some talents like Chloe Grace Moretz aka Hit Girl, apart from providing old timers like Nicolas Cage with one of his better performances in recent years. Am hoping for a bigger release for Kick-Ass 2: Ball to the Wall, currently scheduled for June 2013. This would be a superhero group, with lotsa difference! 

Action Heroes and Super Heroes!

 You could be forgiven to believe that you have been magically transported back to the 80’s. With The Expendables 2 releasing last weekend, all that you would have heard or seen around were the stills of men your father idolised, or maybe you did as a kid! Old men, who should be hunched and walking with a crane, seated on a bench in a peaceful garden catching up on reading books that youth never had the time for. But as they say, the spirit never dies! These so called old men are not going down, at least not any time soon. Their muscles have not flattened, they carry machine guns and other assortments, they hit, they scream, they fight like vicious animals, and they still get the adrenalin pumping. When Stallone created The Expendables in 2010, it became a raving success for the studio, a definitely unexpected one, that not only warranted a sequel but also more oldies / action stars, more firepower and more fun! And from what I hear, The Expendables 2 is exactly that. Talks are already doing the rounds for The Expendables 3 and names are being thrown around with vigour, Clint Eastwood, Harrison Ford, Nicolas Cage, etc etc. This series is not gonna go away mates! And then to top it all up, two of the veterans are returning for more action stuff in early 2013 with the trailers for Arnie’s The Last Stand and Sly’s Bullet to the Head coming out yesterday. Quite exciting to see the return of the former Terminator back to the big screen, with the teenager inside rooting for his success. And the trailer for The Last Stand has not disappointed yet again. His growling accent is still there, his on-screen presence is still mesmerising and he could teach a less or two to the wannabe action heroes (Collin Farrell, you listening?) on how you make a punch count. Eagerly awaiting the release of this flick in January 2013.

And once you manage to take a breather from the bodies flying around, there is further news that Marvel Studios keeps throwing at us. They cannot stop being in the limelight anymore, can they? So The Avengers 2 has been given a release date. May 1, 2015. Uhhm... ok, I’ll wait! Joss Whedon is back in the realm of things for the sequel. Yay! But what I am more intrigued about is the buzz on the Guardians of the Galaxy. Created in the same Marvel universe, Guardians of the Galaxy is likely to throw more superheroes our way who could find themselves mixing up with the original Avengers some way in the sequel. The way Marvel has managed the integration of all the different characters in their respective movies to finally culminate in The Avengers has been unique and highly appealing, thus leading to the understandable buzz about the Guardians of the Galaxy. With standards set so high, we can only hope that the scripts for the individual superhero movies continue to be water-tight. 

But someone who is not going to be part of the Avengers group, and is walking a solo path, which only he can do best, is Wolverine. The initial pictures of a ragged looking Hugh Jackman as Wolverine has already been doing the rounds and with the official synopsis being released (summary of synopsis: Wolverine in Japan to fight with some samurais! Crunch, wack, rip!), The Wolverine goes in my watchlist too for next year. Wolverine, Superman, Iron Man, Thor... hmm am I missing anyone? Gonna be another superhero year in 2013!  

Characters Legendary...

Back to blogging after a long time! Have decided to kick-start this again and probably reinvent it. Seems that the monies earned by movies are not that fun to read about. Except maybe for the studios that make these movies. And since they are the ones who declare the figures, they will probably not be checking it up on my blog. So keeping the bucks away for the time being, figured to write on something that probably is easily the most debated and never easily accepted topics of all: The Greatest Characters of Hollywood! Goodness me, aren't there thousands of cool, grand, charismatic, witty, splendid characters that Hollywood has created or featured? And so the toughest job is to figure out the ones which would make to your top five list. Here is mine, like it or not.

5.  Dr. Hannibal Lecter (played by Anthony Hopkins): Thomas Harris created Dr. Lecter in his book series but it was Anthony Hopkins who really gave him life. Star of the 1991 classic The Silence of the Lambs, Anthony Hopkins made his first appearance as Dr. Hannibal Lecter in a phenomenal role that won him an Academy for Best Actor despite have a screen time of only 16 minutes. Now that is how you leave an impression! A brilliant psychiatrist, who is also a cannibal and a serial killer, Dr. Hannibal Lecter has been one of the strangest protagonists to appear on the large screen. He is not the good guy, mind you, for eating other people cannot be termed as ‘good’, but he is not the antagonist in the movie as well. Dr. Hannibal Lecter in fact plays an important part in the chase of another serial killer while at the same time scheming his own escape from the cell he has been put in. While one would shudder at the very thought of being near him (the way he hisses with his tongue while speaking to Clarice, remember?), one cannot but admire the brilliance of the mind that runs within this man. This duality is probably what made the character so intriguing. And for the brilliance of Anthony Hopkins, Dr. Hannibal Lecter would go down as one of the greatest roles enacted in cinematic history. (PS: A television series currently under-production called Hannibal too!)

4. The Joker (played by Heath Ledger): “Why so serious?” Words that would never fade from memory. A performance that would never fade with time. Heath Ledger gave the most outstanding performance of his career, and probably one of the greatest performances in cinema as Joker in The Dark Knight that rightly won him the Academy for Best Supporting Actor. While the script was water-tight, the dialogues were exceptionally well-written and Heath Ledger had lots of literature to fall back upon to understand the character he was about to play, he managed to weave everything so beautifully so as to carve out a niche performance that made Joker of The Dark Knight simply his own. The true nemesis of Batman, the Joker has always been the scariest of them all, relying on trickery and delusions rather than brute force. While the name is misleading, Joker is no fool, posing problems for Batman that brings out the best from Gotham’s saviour. “You complete me!” is what Heath Ledger’s Joker says to Batman towards the end. And that is how he played this character, the missing piece of the jigsaw, a perfect adversary to Batman, focused on destroying everything that Batman stood for. A character famous amongst all comic fans, a character that will now forever bring to the minds of one and all Heath Ledger’s extraordinary performance. R.I.P. Heath!  

3. Vito Corleone (played by Marlon Brando): As the legendary story goes, Francis Ford Copolla had to work hard to convince Marlon Brando for undergoing a make-up test to play the role of Vito Corleone, and for which Brando filled his mouth with cotton balls so as to give what is now the legendary puffed-up cheeks look. And thus came to life the famous and unforgettable character of Don Corleone from the pages of Mario Puzo's ambitious novel, The Godfather. Strangely enough, Don Corleone too demonstrates the grey patches that lie between right and wrong. A Mafia Don, a criminal mastermind with people on the streets ready to kill for him, and yet he serves justice in his own way. He fights for his family and his people, he bends rules where he thinks they need to be reworked, he does favours for his men, expects loyalty in return. His code book punishes treachery with death. And who is to say he is wrong? An eye for an eye, when needed. But business is simply business, in other times. Marlon Brando brought these qualities of Vito Corleone with ease and finesse, an elegance that made you understand the character better, and rejoice with him in the good times while grieve with him during the dark ones. Awarded the Academy for Best Actor for this classic film of 1972, Don Corleone is a character that will never age with time.

2. T-800 Terminator (played by Arnold Schwarzenegger): For teens, many will say! Well if you were a teenager when this epic sc-fi action packed film rolled out in 1991, or if you were not but seen it for the first time as a teenager, it will never ever leave your psyche. That cool black leather jacket, the grunting bike, the dark shades and the 'I'll be back' line, these would continue to linger and never lose their touch. Terminator 2 impacted popular culture, defined sci-fi once again, made one-liners the coolest thing in town. It was not just an action movie, but held a deeper message talking control and power and the potential of its misuse, of the naivety of handing over of power by man to machine and its impact that one fails to see. With limited dialogues and expressions, the character of Terminator needed an actor who would grab the attention of the audience simply by his presence. And no one could have done this better than the former Mr. Olympia, Arnie! Do what he may, the tag of Terminator would never leave him. Such has been his impact in the franchise that they modelled a brief cameo of a younger version of him in the latest instalment, just to fill in that void. The iconic theme of the Terminator plays repeatedly in my head as I relive once again the Terminator clad in all-black roll over in his bike and step down with a handgun in his hand. Ah, what a way to begin the 90s!

1. Darth Vader: Power, style, hunger and greed, a red lightsaber, ability to move objects and bend people's minds, the greatest character for me to have ever graced the cinematic world has these all. And he would too ask the same question of what exactly is good and what is coined as evil. The antagonist of the original Star Wars trilogy, Darth Vader or Anakin Skywalker turns out to the protagonist of the prequels. George Lucas has, in this epic saga, mapped out the journey of Skywalker, a young Jedi, who grows up believing in the teachings of his masters, in the good within the world, but eventually gets drawn to the dark side of the Force, lured in order to save his loved ones. It is a journey each one of us would engage in during our lives, when in the toughest of times you start questioning all that you ever believed in and are forced to choose between the paths of the Jedi or the Sith (maybe not that dramatic, but you get the point). Played by Hayden Christiansen as the younger version, Darth Vader would be more remembered for the voice of James Earl Jones in the original trilogy and especially the loud breaths that Vader would take, sending a shiver through many a spines. Vader would be remembered for his dark skull-like mask, for his flowing black cape. Vader would be remembered not only as the Jedi who turned against his masters, but the father who still loved, a husband who cared, and a Jedi who eventually realised that there was still some good left in him after all. A lesson to take, from the greatest movie character to have ruled this galaxy or any... far far away... 

Will Animation resurface?

2010 had been an year famous for the animated work we got to see on the big screen. The revenues that animated studios garnered had been mind-boggling with 5 movies featuring in the top 10 highest earning movies in the US released that year. Such was the impact of the animation industry which I duly noted in my post 'The Year for Animation!' (flashback link: http://bucksandcorn.blogspot.com/2010/10/year-for-animation.html). So you would have expected something similar or better to happen in 2011, right? You did, but the industry disappointed. For starters, none of the animated movies crossed the $200 million mark at the US box office, whereas four had achieved this feat in 2010. Two movies that had some good collections in international markets were both sequels, and both failed to achieve the kind of acclaim their predecessors had gathered - Kung Fu Panda & Cars. With Cars 2, Pixar probably noted its first critical failure in a so far immaculate 15-year old movie making history. Towards the end of the year, Puss in Boots, the spin-off from the Shrek series got a somewhat positive response, but it was too little too late. And right at the end came the much awaited flick by Steven Spielberg, The Adventures of Tintin, which I found to be rather refreshing as well as true to a large extent to the spirit of the book series, though it too did not light up the box office as many had expected it to.

So after 2011 dulled the impact that the animation movies of the previous year had created, what would one expect from 2012? I would not blame you if you remained skeptical about it. But the animation studios have a lot of redemption work ahead of them. And no one more so than Pixar Animation Studios. Pixar is hitting the theatres with is first animation flick that has a lady in the leading role, titled Brave releasing in the coveted month of June. The initial trailers are making me forget about Cars 2 and being a loyalist, I am praying that we will have the old Pixar works back again. Two series' are coming back to set things right for animation industry; the trio of Manny, Sid and Diego returning back along with the ever adorable Scrat in the new Ice Age movie called Ice Age: Continental Drift, and another bunch of animals regrouping in the next of the Madagascar series, Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted. Usually you wonder about the quality of the work when hit movies are packaged and repackaged in form of sequels, but I was not particularly disappointed with the previous movies of these two franchises. In fact Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs had churned a mind boggling number close to $900 million in worldwide revenues. Also, with 2011 making me a bit worried, it would be better to see some familiar faces on the screen again.

What else do we have? For those who have loved the Dr. Seuss books, there is another animation movie releasing in March on one his books titled Dr. Seuss' The Lorax. While the initial rushes are looking good, what is more comforting is that Illumination Entertainment is working on this project and after watching their previous flick, Despicable Me, I am buoyant about the prospects of this studio. Rise of the Guardians is another animation movie that has got me interested with its imaginative storyline that if pulled off well, would be spectacular - "Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, Jack Frost and the Sandman band together to form a united front against the Bogeyman." There is Hugh Jackman as one of the star voices for the project and it has the name of DreamWorks Animation behind it, so hopefully things will turn out for the best. Hotel Transylvania is the last of the anticipated animated movies I can think of. Voices of Adam Sandler and Kevin James, so it is a no-brainer that this one is intended to be a laugh-riot. I hope I have not missed out on any of the big projects due in 2012 (not counting re-releases such as Beauty and the Beast and Finding Nemo). But all said and done, the animation world is irreplaceable for any movie goer; it adds an extra dimension, an extra feature, a different kind of thrill to watching movies. So I do hope that this year, the animation studios will stand up and be counted... and recreate the magic of 2010! Here's to hope... and to the world of animation!

Warrior: Tom Hardy

I just finished watching 2011's Warrior, though I am late by about 4 months. For those of you who watched it on time... well-done; and for those who are yet to see it, do it soon! With meagre earnings of $18 million worldwide, Warrior came and disappeared from the cinema halls in the blink of an eye. But it has garnered about 41,000 votes (and counting) on Imdb so far and features on the Imdb #250 list as of now! Which if one sees the movie, is not really surprising. It is likely to become one of those movies that does not fare well on the box office but later on develops a cult following. While Nick Nolte would no doubt take away many plaudits for his outstanding (and award deserving) characterisation of the estranged father who is valiantly trying to correct all the mistakes of his past life, I was pleasantly introduced to the wonderful performance of Tom Hardy in this movie.

With a decade long track record in the movie industry, Tom Hardy really came in the spotlight with his role as the identity forger, Eames, in the massive hit Inception of 2010. But what has really made him or will make him a household name in the future is his role as the hefty Bane, the new nemesis of Batman in the yet to be released The Dark Knight Rises. And with the responsibility of taking on such a massive role on his shoulders, after all he will be drawing comparisons with Heath Ledger's Joker, I wanted to see how really big those shoulders are. And if Warrior is anything to go by, those shoulders are huge... literally and figuratively. Tom Hardy plays Tommy Conlon, the younger of the two sons left to look after themselves after their dad, played by Nick Nolte, turns out to be a violent non-caring figure. With such a father and having had to bury his mother, Tommy develops a deep loathing in his heart which he tries to fuel through his fights. Tom Hardy has worked on this character so beautifully that you love his arrogance and sympathise with the reason for his rage. While Joel Edgerton as the older brother appears to have more human like emotions, you still root for Tommy in each fight and can feel what is burning inside him. The tattoos on the body, the sharp punches, the stern look, they all come together for a splendid performance! And one of the scenes that takes the cake for me is when he puts his drunk father to bed after having burst out on him the previous night.

Hooked on to his performance now, I looked up on the other roles Tom Hardy would be working on. He is part of the mouth-watering cast in Tinker Tailor Solider Spy; have been looking forward to this flick for quite sometime and really eager to watch it. Tom Hardy would be also appearing in a not-so-serious role in This Means War where he would be competing with Chris Pine for Reese Witherspoon's attention; action comedy flick that seems so-so to me. What has really got me interested is the period flick called Wettest Country to be released in August 2012 which has Tom Hardy along with the likes of Gary Oldman and Shia LaBeouf. A tale about a bootlegging gang in the Depression-era, it has got a premise that has piqued my ears, and hopefully it will not disappoint. By then though, many would have already formed a stronger opinion about Tom Hardy, based on his performance in The Dark Knight Rises, to be released in July 2012. I hope he rises up to the challenges that such a role demands, but the initial signs are definitely promising! We could be hearing about Tom Hardy a lot more in the future...