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Bloody Girl is Having a Bad Day in the Eli Roth Produced ‘Cotton’
10 minutes ago
I often wonder if there is anyone else out there who is as ambivalent to Eli Roth as a director or producer as myself. Sure, Roth has proven himself to be a more than capable badass with a baseball bat in Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds. And he's also proven himself to be an interesting guy in the many passing conversations he's shared with Fsr staffers. But as a producer or director, he's wholly underwhelming and lacks anything resembling creativity or ambition. That is, unless you consider his dungeon of torture-porn titles to be creative. Which I don't. Enter the first still from his upcoming flick Cotton, which the chaps at Bloody-Disgusting have called a "Cloverfield-inspired exorcism movie" about an evangelical minister who turns against his religious higher-ups, participating in a documentary that will chronicle his last exorcism. In the image (seen above and enlarged by clicking and visiting the source) we see a possessed girl who has been »
- Neil Miller
Aronofsky’s Black Swan Goes to Searchlight, Adds Cast
26 minutes ago
There's been a lot of news in the past 24-hours around the next project of director Darren Aronofsky (The Wrestler). Titled Black Swan, the new pic tells the story of Nina (Natalie Portman), a veteran ballerina who finds herself locked in a competitive showdown with a rival dancer named Lilly (Mila Kunis) “with the stakes and twists increasing as the dancers approach a big performance.” Of course, there is also the connundrum of whether or not Lilly is real, a supernatural apparition or if she's just delusional. Either way, it has been reported that Nina and Lilly have "ecstasy-induced hungry aggressive angry sex." That last tidbit has been the source of much talk on the web, naturally. On to the news -- our friends at /Film reported Sunday that Vincent Cassel, Winona Ryder and Barbara Hershey have all joined the cast of the film, which is set to shoot very soon. Ryder »
- Neil Miller
This Week in Blu-ray Special Report: Pixar’s Up Invasion
1 hour ago
It is Tuesday, which means that it is time once again for me to avoid writing my long-running column, This Week in Blu-ray. But this week, unlike the past two weeks, I just cannot get around the sheer awesomeness of the HD releases hitting your local retailers. Which is why I'm currently working through my official report for later today -- including reviews of Godzilla (1998), Logan's Run and The Negotiator. But before I get to all of that, I wanted to file this very special edition of This Week in Blu-ray dedicated to the three releases from Walt Disney Home Entertainment, a trifecta of beautiful Pixar movies coming at you in 1080p. Needless to say, I'm recommending that you pay close attention and quite possibly that you pick up all three of these titles. We being with Pixar's tenth (and most recent film) Up. Up (2009, Pete Docter) The Up Blu-ray release is something that I, for »
- Neil Miller
Everyone Needs a Co-Pilot: Up in the Air’s Mad Men TV Trailer
3 hours ago
On Sunday night during the season finale of Mad Men on AMC, Paramount Pictures ran a new TV spot for the upcoming Jason Reitman film Up in the Air, starring George Clooney, Vera Farmiga and Anna Kendrick. This new spot is titled "Everyone Needs a Co-Pilot," a piece of advice that Clooney's character Ryan Bingham gives to Danny McBride's Jim, in one of the film's more heartfelt scenes. My review of Up in the Air is still in the works, but here's a preview. This is one of the most heartfelt, fun and full-of-life films that I've seen this year -- one that will easily slip into and root itself in my yearly top ten. Once again, Jason Reitman has chosen pitch-perfect source material and brought it to life with an excellent cast and an energy that is all his own. With that in mind, please enjoy this new TV spot, courtesy »
- Neil Miller
Universal Takes Blu-ray and iPhone Interactivity to the Next Level
3 hours ago
Unviversal Studios Home Entertainment just dropped a press release in our mailbox that we'd like to share with you. It becomes increasingly relevant as I prepare several articles on the Blu-ray format for later this afternoon -- including my long awaited This Week in Blu-ray column, which is frighteningly overdue. Alas, the news today is that Universal is adding a very cool set of new features to their Blu-ray releases -- namely Bruno, Funny People, 9, American Pie Presents: The Book of Love, Public Enemies and Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds. These new Blu-ray features will integrate applications for the iPhone and iPod, as well as a newly redesigned Bd-Live center that will deliver a new and improved connected experience. It's enough to have me itching to pop in the Bruno Blu-ray copy that is currently sitting on my desk, waiting to be reviewed. For all of the details, please see the official press release below: Universal City »
- Neil Miller
Shit My Dad Says: The Next Big CBS Sitcom?
4 hours ago
It isn't exactly Texts from Last Night: The Movie -- a concept that I've long-contended would be one of pure brilliance -- but it is something new. Shit My Dad Says, the extremely popular Twitter account from 29-year old Maxim.com senior editor Justin Halpern, is becoming a book -- then it's becoming a television show courtesy of the folks at CBS and the producers of Will and Grace. After 72-tweets and the flooding of over 700,000 followers to the account, CBS seems more than confident that Halpern can take his concept -- based on the fact that he recently moved in with his 73-year old father -- and turn it into the next in a long line of successful sitcoms, along the lines of Two and Half Men and the aforementioned Will and Grace. The feed is based on tidbits of wisdom and observations made by Halpern's father, Sam, throughout the day. Today's »
- Neil Miller
Francis Lawrence Takes ‘Sgt. Rock’ to the Future
4 hours ago
Borys Kit over at Heat Vision is reporting today that the long-gestating Sgt. Rock movie is being given to a new creative team by producer Joel Silver. Silver, who is producing through is company Silver Pictures, had originally set up Sherlock Holmes director Guy Ritchie to work on the script and direct, but has since moved him to the DC Comics adaptation of Lobo. Now, Silver is bringing in I Am Legend director Francis Lawrence to direct Sgt. Rock, with scribe Chad St. John on to work on the script. Up to this point, the Sgt. Rock project has retained the World War II setting of the original DC Comic, in which Sgt. Frank Rock is the leader of the infantry unit known as Easy Company. But now according to this new report, Silver and Co. are looking to move the project to a futuristic setting. The success of Inglourious Basterds notwithstanding, period »
- Neil Miller
Len Wiseman Gets Apocalyptic with ‘Nocturne’
4 hours ago
Roland Emmerich isn't the only director thinking about the end of the world this year. According to THR, Underworld and Live Free or Die Hard directer Len Wiseman (aka Mr. Kate Beckensale) is also looking to put an end to humanity. His pitch, titled Nocturne, has been picked up by 20th Century Fox. It is based on an original idea about a group of people who survive the end of the world and the mystery surrounding how they got through it. There is no script yet, but the studio is currently shopping the idea around to writers. This makes for three projects in development for Wiseman, who is quickly becoming the next major director with everything to do, and no time to actually do it. After directing Live Free or Die Hard and producing this year's Underworld: Rise of the Lycans, he has had nothing actually get the go-ahead for production. He's »
- Neil Miller
Pete Docter Developing His Next Pixar Movie, Not Monsters Inc. 2
4 hours ago
With today's release of Up on DVD and Blu-ray, there is also some news from Pixar central about director Pete Docter and his next project. According to an interview with New York Magazine (via Upcoming Pixar), Docter says that he's already working on his next Pixar-based film: “I’m mostly focused on the next film that I have in development already,” said Docter. “That one I just started. We finished Up, I took some time off, spent some time in Europe and Japan doing publicity over there, so I’ve only been on this for like a couple weeks.” Of course, the instant assumption is that Docter is hard at work on a sequel to Monsters Inc. (also on Blu-ray this week), which was the previous word from various sources around the time of Comic-Con in August. Back then, Docter admitted that Pixar had thought about the prospect of another Monsters movie, and »
- Neil Miller
10 Fun Facts About Pixar’s Up
5 hours ago
As you might have learned from Rob Hunter's This Week in DVD column this morning, the masterwork known as Pixar's Up has hit DVD and Blu-ray today. And while my own special report for This Week in Blu-ray is still upcoming (I'm still sifting through the ridiculous amount of special features), I will say this: you should own this title on the most advanced format you can find. But enough of that. The folks at Pixar were kind enough to send us over a very cool list of 10 facts (as Up is Pixar's tenth film) from the production of Up that you might find interesting. Check them out below: During the production of Up, the Animation Department produced an average of 4 seconds of animation a week. Paradise Falls is based on the world-famous Angel Falls in Venezuela. Up’s version is 1.8 miles tall or 9,700 ft., which is almost three times higher than Angel falls which stands »
- Neil Miller
Have Spielberg And Smith Said Goodbye To Remaking Old Boy?
5 hours ago
Word on the web is that the answer to that question is a big old fat Hell Yeah! Latino Review is reporting that the oft-discussed, continuously derided pairing of director Steven Spielberg and megastar Will Smith on a remake of Park Chan-wook's film Old Boy is officially Doa. News of the planned remake was revealed almost a year ago and was met with immediate criticism. Everytime we covered it on Fsr (here, here, and here) the comment sections were over-whelmingly anti-remake (and anti-Spielberg/Smith). Well now everyone can relax because Dreamworks will not be getting their hands on the film's rights. Per the Lr post, Dreamworks was in negotiations with their Korean production counterpart, Mandate, but "didn’t see eye to eye therefore DreamWorks has apparently walked away." Without Dreamworks there's little to no chance of Spielberg's involvement. And without Spielberg the assumption is that Smith will drop it as well. Lr »
- Rob Hunter
Drinking Game Double Feature: Up and Watchmen: The Ultimate Cut
5 hours ago
We at Fsr love to drink. And we know that many of you love to drink, as well. This shared love has led us to a brand new (though not exactly new) feature here at Fsr: The Weekly DVD Drinking Game. Every week we will chose a DVD release (or in this case, two releases) and give you a few simple steps toward drunken stupidity (or cinematic tolerance). This week... Up (2009, Pete Docter) Well, Pixar has done it again with another hit, one of the best animated films of 2009. Now, it’s available to enjoy at home on DVD and Blu-ray, and that means you don’t have to look like a weirdo sneaking booze into a theater filled with families to enjoy the Up drinking game. And now, to cover our butts… This game is only for people over the age of 21. Please drink responsibly, and don’t wait until retirement to follow your dreams. Take »
- Kevin Carr
Ruining Film: The Fourth Kind of Spoilers
6 hours ago
Editor's Note: It goes without saying that in discussing the idea of spoilers ruining a particular film, we'll be throwing out a ton of spoilers, so don't read this until after you see The Fourth Kind. Or, you know, if you've already had it ruined or if you just plain don't care. Consider yourself spoiler-warned. I want you to think of your favorite movie. Think about why you love it, the impact it had on you the first time you saw it, the twentieth time you saw it. Let it live in your mind for a second. Play it out on the big screen in your head and fall in love with it all over again. Now I want you to imagine that someone ruins it for you before you get to see it. Spoilers are nothing new, but with the release of The Fourth Kind, it seems like a new conversation needs to be had about »
- Dr. Cole Abaius
This Week In DVD: November 10th
6 hours ago
Rob Hunter loves movies. He also loves working for the local "retirement home" as head geezer catcher... basically he gets a call whenever one of the elderly residents escapes wanders off in a daze from the home. These two joys come together in the form of cash money payments that he receives every week and immediately uses to buy more DVDs. So join us each week as he takes a look at new DVD releases and gives his highly unqualified opinion as to which titles are worth BUYing, which are better off as RENTals, and which should be AVOIDed at all costs. Click on any of the titles below to magically head over to Amazon.com and pick up the DVD. And don't forget to check out Neil Miller's hilariously titled This Week In Blu-ray column for reviews on the latest high definition Blu-ray releases! The General (Blu-ray) Pitch: The story of a man, his »
- Rob Hunter
Margot Kidder Writing a Morbid Chick Flick
18 hours ago
During a Q&A session at Minneapolis' Crypticon horror convention this weekend, guest Margot Kidder revealed she's writing a script for what could be a badass chick flick. The revelation was quite a treat for this Kidder fan. I've enjoyed her work since I was in Superman Underoos and loved the shit out of her performances in a trio of '70s horror classics: Sisters, Black Christmas and The Amityville Horror. Kidder said her script-in-progress is "about a group of women helping an elderly woman get out of the hospital to die somewhere nice and peaceful, without doctors around her." The women conspire to smuggle their friend out of the hospital and spirit her away to a remote cabin, where she can die amidst nature. Sounds like it could be a depressing-ass flick, but Kidder described it thusly: "It's sort of a romp and a middle-aged babe sisterhood kind of thing." "It's »
- J.L. Sosa
Culture Warrior: Slow Isn’t Boring
18 hours ago
Pacing is a tricky thing to pull off in movies. It takes a truly talented filmmaker (and editor) to maintain a rate of movement, events, or forward-moving plotting that sustains audience interest while avoiding the potential to overwhelm. In an era where Adhd music video editing has become a decades-worn norm (with, admittedly, a great deal of its own unique artistic merit), a fast pace can become a fruitful means for audience engagement or an all-too-evident handicap trying to cover up a film’s inadequacies through distraction—in other words, it could run the gamut between Trainspotting and Crank 2, or from Martin Scorsese to recent Tony Scott, or…well, you get the picture. But what’s even harder to pull off is the effective slow-paced film. It’s not something that comes around very often, but when it works it can result in some magnificent cinematic revelations. I’ve been guilty of this just as much »
- Landon Palmer
Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland Gets a Trippy Poster
22 hours ago
The Mad Hatter is assembling his army, and Tim Burton is getting ready to bring a wicked vision of Alice in Wonderland to the big screen this coming spring. And with that in mind, Disney has released a brand new teaser poster -- and it is quite a trip. It features a creepy smile from the Cheshire cat, as well as the über-creepy Helena Bonham Carter as the Red Queen. And some other characters you might recognize. Give the poster a look for yourself below (click to enlarge), followed by the film's official synopsis: Want to see more? Join The Disloyal Subjects of the Mad Hatter on Facebook and help prepare his army! The Mad Hatter is giving his army the first look at exclusive images, but you have to follow his orders to receive them. From Walt Disney Pictures and visionary director Tim Burton comes an epic 3D fantasy adventure Alice In Wonderland, a »
- Neil Miller
Boiling Point: Whiskey Bites
23 hours ago
Listen, I can respect the actor's trade. Not everyone respects it. How hard is it to make believe, after all? But not me, I get it. It can be hard to channel the right emotion at the right time. Arguing with a tennis ball on a stick for a CGI movie is probably not only a little difficult, it's also mighty embarrassing. But there are a few things I can't ignore when it comes to the craft. Number one is that no actor ever insists on having something actually in their cup. I ranted against empty cups before. No actor can sell drinking out of an empty cup. It fights physics and loses. My second major gripe comes right back to cups, but this time, what's in them - alcohol. Liquor, specifically. Every character in every show and movie ever, unless they're comically nerdy, can handle the hard stuff without so much as a squint. I »
- Robert Fure
Mad Men Finale Review: Shut the Door. Have a Seat.
9 November 2009 9:50 AM, PST
Synopsis: The season finale begins with Don ending his business partnership with Conrad Hilton and ends with him starting a new job somewhere else; Betty wants to go forward with divorce proceedings. Review: Season 3 of Mad Men is now in the books. First let me discuss the season as a whole before going into the finale. There were lots of great moments in this year's season. I loved "My Old Kentucky Home" and how much fun it was seeing Pete and Trudy dancing, Peggy getting high, and Joan playing the accordion. "Guy Walks Into an Ad Agency" was another homerun. Hilarious, well-written, and some juicy character tidbits from Joan, Don and others -- essentially, what Mad Men should always be about. Though some portions of the season were without much in the way of conflict, we still took in the lives of Don Draper, his family, and his co-workers. Peggy's independence was displayed a little more each »
- Josh Radde
Will Smith Buying Flowers for Algernon?
9 November 2009 9:42 AM, PST
It wouldn't be Monday without a rumor or two. We kick off today's spinning of the rumor-mill with a story from the folks at Pajiba, who seem to be more than on top of Hollywood lately. According to their "inside source," multi-hyphenate Will Smith is developing an adaptation of the classic Daniel Keyes story Flowers for Algernon, in which he will star as well as produce. For those who missed the fifth grade, Algernon follows the story of Charlie, a mentally handicapped man who is the first human test subject in an experimental surgery that artificially increases intelligence. After seeing his Iq go from 68 to 185 following the surgery, Charlie loses the ability to socialize normally and becomes alienated from those around him. As Charlie begins to learn the truth behind the effects of the surgery -- as seen through the reaction of a mouse test subject named Algernon -- he is struck with the weight of how »
- Neil Miller
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