Joaquin Phoenix is apparently still alive and kicking in this new documentary by Casey Affleck about the rise and fall of a man who was once on top, struggling to make it from the bottom.
I'm excited to see this because I've followed Phoenix's story on and off for the past year. His attempts to become a hip hop star, and his anti-social behavoir at film related events, have led people to believe he has "flipped his lid." We've seen celebrities breakdown, and/or go through an unstable point in life -- ie. Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan, etc. -- but I don't think we've seen it hit quite as hard as it has for this bearded gentleman. Check out the trailer and see for yourself.
I've always appreciated Oliver Stone as a filmmaker. Wall Street (1987) never interested me as much as Platoon (1986), JFK (1991), or Nixon (1995). I feel like I'll have to really submerge myself in Stone's techniques to truly appreciate Wall Street 2. I plan to relive the greedy tale of Gordon Gekko before continuing this story, twenty-three years in the making.
I have one minor concern, in particular. Shia Lebeouf is a fantastic actor with a terrible résumé. It's sad when your best work is a television show you were in as a kid (ie. Even Stevens). The trailer lays on the one-liners pretty thick, so I fear this will be just another sequel to an undeserving movie. But I won't know until I see it. Until then, see for yourself.
Let Me In, by director Matt Reeves (Cloverfield), is the American remake of Tomas Alfredson's 2008 film, Let the Right One In. I can't tell you how disappointed I am to hear about this remake because the Swedish version was easily the greatest vampire film since Werner Herzog's 1979 remake of Nosferatu. I haven't read anything to argue against my theory that the film is being made so people don't have to read subtitles. It's a sad time when we spend millions of dollars to pointlessly reproduce a film, only to change a language and eliminate the wonderful act of reading.
However, I will say that I am interested in seeing how they attempt this seemingly impossible feat. America doesn't have the best track record for remaking foreign gems. So I will try to give Reeves a fair shot. After seeing several clips (which I have linked below the trailer) I have more faith in Reeves than I did, but can you blame me for being skeptical nonetheless?
I enjoyed a lot of Cloverfield, but thought the acting was unbearable -- borderline laughable -- and the story was highly improbable. However, I did appreciate the giant monster and the way the unbelievable story evolved. I have low expectations seeing that where Reeve's failed in Cloverfield is what makes Let the Right One In so extraordinary. But I guess we'll just have to wait and see.
For Clips from this film, click the following links:
This is the new film from the director of Quarantine (2008), John Erick Dowdle. I've raved about how intense and thrilling Quarantine was, but this film looks bittersweet. The fact that they are in a small setting is appealing -- seeing as how Quarantine took place in a small, four-story apartment building -- but toward the end of the trailer there is one scene that makes me say, "Really!?" (HINT: look for the face in the mirror, Eh...)
M. Night Shyamalan co-wrote and produced this film, so we'll see if he can write something better than his most recent works. What happened to the M. Night that made The Sixth Sense (1999), Unbreakable (2000), and Signs (2002)?
French director Jean-Luc Godard said, "All you need to make a movie is a girl and a gun." Well, according to the title, Zhang Yimou(Hero, House of Flying Daggers) has made a real movie with his latest picture, A Woman, A Gun, and A Noodle Shop. The most interesting thing to me about this film is that it is a Chinese remake of the Coen Brothers 1984 cult-classic, Blood Simple. I'm pumped to see this film!
