Inglourious Basterds Wins the Weekend

Making $38 million over the weekend, “Inglourious Basterds” had the best opening of any Tarantino film.  The movie was pretty damn good too, with Christoph Waltz (Col. Hans Landa) stealing the show.  I’d have to say that Brad Pitt gave the worst performance of his life (though his Italian was hilarious), but it didn’t hurt the film too much.  Some people are complaining that it was too talky, but I could listen to Tarantino’s dialogue all day long.  He’s still easily one of the best writers around.  8.5/10

Most Anticipated Movies for 2009

Despite the fact that my top 20 list from last year turned out to be a bit of a disaster (5 of the films got pushed to 2009, and 8 other films ended up ranging from bad to mediocre), I’m going to give it another shot. 

20.)  Whatever Works

– The new Woody Allen comedy starring Larry David as the “Woody Allen character.” 

19.)  Watchmen

-It’s much farther back on my list than most, mainly because I’m not a huge fan of Zack Snyder or 300.  He’s great visually, but he can’t direct dialogue or drama very well, and considering neither trailer for Watchmen has had more than one line of dialogue, I remain skeptical.  But if it lives up to the graphic novel at all, then it’ll be amazing.

18.)  Terminator Salvation

-Christian Bale really is the go-to-guy for big summer action movies now.  The trailer looked good, and I trust Bale, so I’m excited.

17.)  The Limits of Control

-Jim Jarmusch always makes great, quirky movies, and this looks no different.

16.)  Bruno

– Hopefully it’ll earn enough money to pay off all the inevitable lawsuits and still make a profit.

15.)  Public Enemies

-Bale vs. Depp.  Should be pretty amazing (assuming Michael Mann’s still got it).

14.)  Dodgy Dealings by the Dozens

– A new comedy by the director of Amelie.

13.)  The Lovely Bones

– Peter Jackson’s new movie.  The only thing that keeps me from being really excited is that Ryan Gosling was replaced by Mark Wahlberg for the lead role, but other than that, this looks to be pretty incredible.

12.)  Nine

– It’s by the director of Chicago (which I didn’t care for), but it stars Daniel Day-Lewis, which means I’ll be at the theater opening day.

11.)  Avatar

– James Cameron’s follow-up to Titanic.  Rumored to have groundbreaking special effects.  If nothing else, it’ll be amazing to see it just for the spectacle.

10.)  The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

–  Heath Ledger’s final role.

9.)  Biutiful

– By the director of Amores Perros and Babel. 

8.)  Coraline

-Based on the Neil Gaiman graphic novel, and by the director of A Nightmare Before Christmas.

7.)  Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

– My favorite book in the series.

6.)  Lost Embraces

– The new Pedro Almodovar film.  He’s one of the best writers/directors around, and he’s been on a role lately.

5.)  Shutter Island

– The new Martin Scorsese-Leonardo DiCaprio collaboration.  Considering how good of an actor Leo’s become (I thought he was the best part of Revolutionary Road), I think this could be their best yet.

4.)  Inglorious Basterds

– Finally! After a decade of rumors, it’s finally being made.

3.)  The Road

– John Hillcoat (The Proposition) directing a Cormac McCarthy (No Country for Old Men) novel starring Viggo Mortensen (Lord of the Rings; Eastern Promises).  Should be out of this world good.

2.)  Ponyo On A Cliff

– Miyazaki’s anime was released last year in Japan and received amazing reviews.  It’ll be out in the states soon with an English dub voiced by Cate Blanchett, Liam Neeson, Tina Fey, and Lily Tomlin.  Spirited Away is one of my all time favorites, so I can’t wait for this.

1.)  The Tree of Life

– The new Terrence Malick (Days of Heaven) film with Sean Penn and Brad Pitt.  I think he’s one of the best living directors, and he’s been wanting to make this for over 30 years.  I think this has the potential to be, well, one of the best films ever made.  I know, I’m probably setting myself up for disappointment, but Malick can do no wrong.

Barely missing the list were The Wolfman (starring Benicio Del Toro), Where the Wild Things Are (directed by Spike Jonze), Mammoth (Michelle Williams and Gael Garcia Bernal), and Year One (Michael Cera and Jack Black).

The Pellet 1.4.09

THE PELLET

(one of many)

Crank 2: High Voltage

Why? Why? Why is there going to be a Crank 2?

Earth

… Earth, narrated by James Earl Jones, tells the remarkable story of three animal families and their amazing journey across the planet we all call home. Earth combines rare action, unimaginable scale and impossible locations by capturing the most intimate moments of our planet’s wildest and most elusive creatures. Directors Alastair Fothergill and Mark Linfield, the acclaimed creative team behind the Emmy Award-winning “Planet Earth,” combine forces again to bring this epic adventure to the big screen, beginning Earth Day 2009.

Robocop

I had a source on the inside state to me and the other AICNers that Darren’s ROBOCOP will have balls, STEEL BALLS.

Bastards coming this August

Quentin Tarantino’s Brad Pitt-starring, spell-check-eschewing, controversial WWII-era epic Inglourious Basterds has received a release date courtesy of distributor The Weinstein Co., with the Nazi-hunting drama set to open Aug. 21.

Burn After Reading

Written and directed by the Coen brothers – you know, the guys that directed Fargo, The Big Lebowski, andNo Country for Old Men. In fact, the Coen brothers placed for something like five Owl Pellets in our first annual film awards (for No Country for Old Men).

In any case, I had a free evening a couple nights back and decided to go see Burn After Reading. Let’s just say I’m glad that I only had to drop $3 to see it.

Burn After Reading is essentially a series of wacky misunderstandings (think Friends.. yeah, the TV show) which lead to lack-luster punchlines. It’s half ass humor.

You might think that the cast of this movie would save it, but even the cast disappointed. Brad Pitt and John Malkovich where easily the most enjoyable characters, but, just like every other character, there was never enough space in the film to feel invested in them.

There are a few enjoyable moments in Burn After Reading, but not enough to redeem this disappointment.

At least the Coen brothers have something like four films coming out next year. I support, in their case, prolific film making.

C-

Inglorious Bastards, Pitt to star

Brad Pitt has joined the cast for Tarantino’s next film – a remake of Inglorious Bastards – as Lt. Aldo Raine who “leads a band of soldiers as they seek vengeance on Nazis in German-occupied France.” The synopsis for Inglorious Bastards is as follows:

A band of US soldiers facing death by firing squad for their misdeeds are given a chance to save themselves – by heading into the perilous no-man’s lands of Nazi-occupied France on a suicide mission for the Allies.

Shooting will begin in October and should be in theaters by June, 2009.

Perhaps even more exciting than Pitt starring in a Tarantino film is the fact that Simon Pegg (Shawn of the Dead, Hot Fuzz) “is in talks to join the cast.”

Trailer for the original, Italian Inglorious Bastards

Some good new red band trailers

Here’s one for the Coen’s latest, Burn After Reading:

Amazing cast, right? Plus Pitt looks pretty hilarious.

This next one’s for the new Kevin Smith project. I normally wouldn’t be too excited, but he’s got Seth Rogen in the lead:

Let’s hope Smith redeems himself with this one.

What’s Next for the Coen Brothers?

Flying high after the huge success of No Country for Old Men, the Coen brothers, who have also written and directed films such as Fargo, Raising Arizona, and The Big Lebowski, have 4, yes FOUR, new films on the way.

First we’ll get Burn After Reading, which the duo has already completed. It’ll be released this September and stars Brad Pitt, George Clooney, and John Malkovich. In Burn After Reading, Malkovich will play an ousted CIA official whose memoirs accidentally fall into the hands of two unwise D.C. gym employees (Pitt & Clooney) who intend to exploit their find.

In 2009, the Coens will release A Serious Man, which is said to be a dark comedy about a Jewish college professor. A Serious Man will be set in 1960’s Minnesota.

In 2010, the literary adaptation The Yiddish Policeman’s Union will be released. This will be the 4th film adaptation of a Michael Chabon novel. The premise is as follows:

“Set in an alternate America where Jews have taken refuge in an Alaskan district after the collapse of Israel in 1948, The Yiddish Policemen’s Union is a noir which follows detective Meyer Landsman as he attempts solving a murder, untangling a conspiracy, and generally reassembling his shambled life.”

THEN, after all that, we’ll get yet another Coen brothers film in 2011, assuming all goes to plan. This one’s untitled as of now, but the Coens have released this statement regarding the project:

“We’ve written a western with a lot of violence in it. There’s scalping and hanging … it’s good. Indians torturing people with ants, cutting their eyelids off. It’s a proper western, a real western, set in the 1870s. It’s got a scene that no one will ever forget because of one particular chicken.”

Some sources are reporting the project to be a “spaghetti western,” however this is of course false, as a true spaghetti western must be produced by an Italian studio.

In addition to the 4 films listed above, the Coen brothers also have two projects “on the backburner.” They are Hail Caesar, which is a comedy about a 1920’s theatrical troupe’s attempt to stage Julius Caesar, and an adaptation of James Dickey’s novel To the White Sea. No word on when, or if, these films will ever be completed, but here’s hoping for releases in 2012 and 2013, just after the Coen’s western.

The Coen brothers have always been prolific, but this is pretty extaordinary, especially considering the Coens write all their screenplays. Personally, I’m most excited for the upcoming western, but all 4 projects sound pretty wonderful.