'INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS': THE VARIETY REVIEW

VIA Variety:

"Inglourious Basterds" is a violent fairy tale, an increasingly entertaining fantasia in which the history of World War II is wildly reimagined so that the cinema can play the decisive role in destroying the Third Reich. Quentin Tarantino's long-gestating war saga invests a long-simmering revenge plot with reworkings of innumerable genre conventions, but only fully finds its tonal footing about halfway through, after which it's off to the races. By turns surprising, nutty, windy, audacious and a bit caught up in its own cleverness, the picture is a completely distinctive piece of American pop art with a strong Euro flavor that's new for the director. Several explosive scenes and the names of Tarantino and topliner Brad Pitt promise brawny commercial prospects, especially internationally, as the preponderance of subtitled dialogue might put off a certain slice of the prospective domestic audience.

To read the rest of the review, click HERE.

Read More

WHY WHY WHY? 'CLIFFHANGER TO BE REMADE

Cover of Cliffhanger (Collector's Edition)

Proving yet again that Hollywood has all the creativity of a brain dead knat, Variety reports that StudioCanal and Original Films are planning a remake of the Sylvester Stallone-led 1993 mountain climbing action thriller "Cliffhanger."

We ask again? WHY???

In the Renny Harlin-directed original, Stallone played a park ranger who is forced help a group of terrorits recover three suitcases containing $100 million lost in the Rocky Mountains.

A huge hit for Sly, it grossed $255 million worldwide and scored generally positive reviews for its impressive action including a mid-air hijack sequence and the famous opening suspense set piece involving a woman whose equipment fails during a perilous climb across a deep chasm.

According to the trade, the new version will center on a group of young climbers and will "feature multiple cliff-face locations". A screenwriter is being sought with production aiming to kick off next year.

Neal Moritz, who is also producing the upcoming "Escape from New York" remake for Warners, will produce.

Enjot the kick ass trailer...



To watch the full movie, click HERE.

Read More

JERRY LEWIS RETURNS TO THE BIG SCREEN

Variety reports that comedy legend Jerry Lewis will take the top billing in his first film since Martin Scorsese's "King of Comedy."

It's based on Daniel Noah’s screenplay "Max Rose" and centers on a widower who “revisits key moments” of his life in order to understand them better so there’s every chance a younger actor as a younger Max Rose will do the heaviest lifting.

Little details... But we're stoked nonetheless...

Here's a look at his last film, "The King of Comedy"

Read More

VARIETY'S REVIEW FOR STONE'S 'W'

The first review is in for Oliver Stone's take on the George W. Bush presidency. Far from a rave, far from a pan...

Via Variety:

Oliver Stone's unusual and inescapably interesting "W." feels like a rough draft of a film it might behoove him to remake in 10 or 15 years. The director's third feature to hinge on a modern-era presidency, after "JFK" and "Nixon," offers a clear and plausible take on the current chief executive's psychological makeup and, considering Stone's reputation and Bush's vast unpopularity, a relatively even-handed, restrained treatment of recent politics. For a film that could have been either a scorching satire or an outright tragedy, "W." is, if anything, overly conventional, especially stylistically. The picture possesses dramatic and entertainment value, but beyond serious filmgoers curious about how Stone deals with all this president's men and women, it's questionable how wide a public will pony up to immerse itself in a story that still lacks an ending.

To read the rest of the review, click HERE.

Read More

'CHE' TO GET PALM D'OR? PLUS VARIETY REVIEW

Director Steven Soderbergh’s four-hour subtitled Che Guevera biopic, "Che" (presented as two films entitled "The Argentine" and "Guerilla") recently premiered at the Cannes Film Festival.

The online critical reception is already pretty good but a tad divided. The movie's questionable prospects and albeit controversial depiction of the Argentine revolutionary, (an uncanny Benicio Del Toro), have some waiting on the sidelines. That said, Cinematical’s Kim Voyer is incredibly stoked on both films and believes that bespeckled Soderbergh is a lock for the festival’s top prize, the Palm d’Or.

Also, here's an excerpt of the not-so-positive Variety review:

"No doubt it will be back to the drawings board for “Che,” Steven Soderbergh’s intricately ambitious, defiantly nondramatic four-hour, 18-minute presentation of scenes from the life of revolutionary icon Che Guevara. If the director has gone out of his way to avoid the usual Hollywood biopic conventions, he has also withheld any suggestion of why the charismatic doctor, fighter, diplomat, diarist and intellectual theorist became and remains such a legendary figure; if anything, Che seems diminished by the way he’s portrayed here. Originally announced as two separate films, “The Argentine” and “Guerrilla,” to be released separately, the film was shown as one picture, with intermission, under the title “Che” (although neither this nor any other credits appeared onscreen) in its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. Neither half feels remotely like a satisfying stand-alone film, while the whole offers far too many aggravations for its paltry rewards. Scattered partisans are likely to step forward, but the pic in its current form is a commercial impossibility, except on television or DVD."

To read the rest of the reveiw, click HERE.

Read More

VARIETY & HOLLYWOOD REPORTER NEED TO GIVE PROPS

"Frosty" over at Collider has raised too strong a point to ignore. He's got a viable beef with Variety and Hollywood Reporter who continually piggyback the work of online bloggers and journalists, reporting news as their own without attribution. Check it out. It's a fun, necessary read for all online bloggers.

When will Variety and The Hollywood Reporter Credit Online Websites for Breaking a Story?

I’ll admit I’m very sick of Variety and The Hollywood Reporter not crediting the online movie community when they write a story. Time and again I’ve watched as either myself, or one of my fellow online journalists (cause that’s what we are) break a story only to be reported sometimes days later in Variety or The Reporter with no mention the news was already online. Like before they posted it…no one had the story.

The thing that bothers me the most is…we link to them almost everyday. Look on Collider right now and you’ll see tons of links to Variety. We always credit them…like we do for any website when they break a story.

While you might think I’m complaining over nothing….trust me…ask any webmaster on any of the big movie sites and they’ll have at least one example of a story being stolen with no credit given.

To read the rest of his piece click HERE.

Read More

THE BROADS ARE BACK - 'SEX AND THE CITY' - VARIETY REVIEW

Papa H would've been down with about half the chipees in the "Sex and the City" quartet. We figure Carrie would be his intellectual favorite during those quiet times on safari in a candlelit tent. That said, Samantha would undoubtedly be the one up with him boozin' and bangin' all night. The first reviews for the long-awaited big screen version of the hit HBO show are trickling in and they ain't all that positive.

Says Variety: "For a series so steeped in romance, the eagerly awaited “Sex and the City” movie feels a trifle half-hearted. Although there’s pleasure in seeing HBO’s fabulous four reunited, writer-director Michael Patrick King doesn’t fully bridge the gap between TV and film — delivering major story flourishes but, too often, playing like a regular episode bloated to five times its customary length. Best in its small moments, the movie should find receptive gal pals congregating for the mother of all viewing parties, but appeal beyond that core should present New Line with less of a storybook finish than it doubtless would like."

To read the rest of the review, click HERE.

Read More

VARIETY'S 'IRON MAN' REVIEW

OK ... The reveiws for "Iron Man" are starting to trickle in and the first one out of the gate is Variety's positive review.

By TODD MCCARTHY

Finally, someone's found a sure-fire way to make money with a modern Middle East war movie: Just send a Marvel superhero into the fray to kick some insurgent butt. The powerhouse comicbook-inspired actioner "Iron Man" isn't principally about this fantasy, but it won't hurt at least American audiences' enjoyment of this expansively entertaining special effects extravaganza. Having an actor as supercharged as Robert Downey Jr. at the center of such a tech-oriented enterprise reps a huge plus, and Paramount should reap big B.O. rewards by getting out ahead of the summer tentpole pack with such a classy refitting of an overworked format.

To read the rest of the review, click HERE.

Read More