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Moviewatch: February 2010
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Quotation Quiz:
"It's our motto.
"What's a motto?
"Nothing. What's a motto with you?"
Not quite the Marx Brothers, but from which film does that play on words come? The answer
is at the bottom of the page.
This month's featured release:
Not too many films currently down to be released in March, but a long awaited one is coming out on 5th March. It’s Tim Burton’s "Alice In Wonderland" and is based on Lewis Carroll's children's classic about a girl who disappears down a rabbit hole into the bizarre Wonderland. Stars Mia Wasikowska, Anne Hathaway, Johnny Depp, Michael Sheen, Helena Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman and Christopher Lee.
Forthcoming attractions:
Out on the 5th February, there’s "The Princess and the Frog". Walt Disney returns to traditional animation with this twist on The Frog Prince. Set in 1920s New Orleans, it focuses on Tiana (Anika Noi Rose), who kisses a frog Prince (Bruno Campos) and is herself turned into a frog. The two have to work together to regain their human form. Terrence Howard, John Goodman, Keith David and Oprah Winfrey also star.
The following week, "The Wolfman" comes out. A British man returns home to Victorian England from America, only to be bitten by a werewolf and start the painful transition from man to beast. With Benicio Del Toro, Anthony Hopkins and Emily Blunt.
And also released on the 12th March, there’s "Takers". A detective (Matt Dillon) ruins the plans of a group of bank robbers on a $20 million dollar heist. Hayden Christensen, Idris Elba, Matt Dillon, Paul Walker and Zoe Saldana also star.
Moviewatch grapevine
John and Drew Dowdle, the brothers that were behind horror remake "Quarantine", are staying with gory scares for their next movie which is an adaptation of John Kilborn’s novel, "Afraid". The book revolves around a group of highly-trained, government-sponsored torture specialists who are erroneously sent to a sleepy American town to carry out a mission. When they start running amok, laying waste to the town’s frightened residents, the government sends in Navy SEALs, marines, Green Berets and Special Forces teams to stop them… but it may not be enough.
Jason Momoa has been named as the new Conan the Barbarian. He’s best known for his role as Ronon Dex in "Stargate Atlantis".
Michael Winterbottom is getting both dramatic and historical for his next project which looks set to be "Promised Land". This will take place against the lead-up to the 1948 partition of Palestine and the subsequent creation of the Israeli state. "Across The Universe" star Jim Sturgess has been cast as a British officer who must track down Jewish extremists who launched terror attacks against both Arabs and British forces during their campaign for statehood.
Samuel L Jackson and Josh Duhamel have signed on to supernatural thriller "Sympathy For The Devil", from director Boaz Yakin. The plot finds Duhamel and Jackson as Louisiana lawmen who are tasked with stopping the assassination of a charismatic preacher. But they soon discover that far more powerful forces are behind the crime, and that they're facing a cosmic confrontation between Heaven and Hell. Apparently it needs to sort out the final bit of financing, but once that is done it should then be ready to shoot.
Robert Pattinson is in talks to run away with the circus, joining the already-attached Reese Witherspoon on "Water For Elephants", which is Francis Lawrence's adaptation of the Sarah Gruen novel. The story, set during the American Depression, is about the recently orphaned Jacob, who takes up with the misfits and freaks at the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show On Earth as a vet, falling in love with the married star-of-the-show Marlena (Witherspoon). The unfortunate part of the story is that Marlane is married to the animal trainer August.
"The Electric Church" may be set for a cinematic release at some stage, thanks to Sony Pictures who've picked up the movie rights to Jeff Somers' novel and the other two books in his cult sci-fi series. It’s set in a dystopian future ruled by an Orwellian council that exercises its will through the sinister System Security Force (SFF), "The Electric Church" follows hitman Avery Cates who's forced to go on the run after killing an SFF crony. Luckily, Cates is taken in by a monk from the titular Church who offers him not just protection but salvation. Unluckily, salvation will, for all intents and purposes, turn him into a zombie. To make matters worse, the powers-that-be demands he kill the head of the Church.
It appears that Stieg Larsson's Millenium Trilogy seems to be very popular and now the first of the books has been adapted for the screen. The story focuses on two characters, investigative reporter Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nyqvist) has been convicted of libel and, with his career in ruins, accepts an offer from a wealthy recluse to write a family history. Researcher and computer hacker Lisbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace) agrees to help him - but her troubled past means that she has more serious problems than merely sorting through family records. "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" is out on March 12 here in the UK, followed by "The Girl Who Played With Fire" on September 10 and "The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest" on November 5.
And Marc Webb, the director of "(500) Days Of Summer", has been officially announced as the man to make the next Spider-Man movie. Apparently, the next film is being budgeted at about $80 million which implies a big helping of teen angst and a smaller helping of superheroic action.
And the quote came from Ernie Sabella as Pumbaa, Jonathan Taylor Thomas as young Simba, and Nathan Lane as Timon in "The Lion King".
Until next time...
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