“Of course you should be cynical,” said Sylvester Stallone to me two years ago during a promotional interview for “Rocky Balboa.”
Who knew the aging Stallion would upend everyone’s cynicism regarding the project with a terrific sixth chapter of the “Rocky” saga.
Stallone couldn’t pull off a similar revival trick with “Rambo,” now available on DVD. That Stallone should follow up “Rocky Balboa” with “Rambo,” the resurrection of his other long-dormant franchise, is the equivalent of a reality check.
My Washington Times review that ran during its February release shares just where the latest “Rambo” saga went wrong. The film proved a modest hit … and there’s still talk of another Rambo offering. That might depend on whether or not Stallone’s follow up films - like the proposed “Death Wish” remake - prove his star is on the rise once more.
(Photo: Sylvester Stallone blasts away in “Rambo,” his fourth film featuring the tortured Vietnam vet)
I’d rather get root canal by Laurence Olivier than suffer through the indie thriller “Teeth” again.
The new film, now out on DVD, involves a young woman whose most intimate of areas is crowned by a set of jagged teeth.
Still with me?
Now, “Teeth” could have been a satire of our uptight sexual culture, and it is for fleeting moments. Or, it might have examined sexual empowerment - which it does oh, so briefly.
Instead, it’s a clunker that tries to do too many things and fails on every level. [click to continue...]
Will any of the laughs in Sacha Baron Cohen’s upcoming “Bruno” comedy catch us off guard?
News broke today of the comedian’s latest prank - a steel cage match that took an amorous turn. It’s clear what the stunt was all about … shocking very hetero men with some less than hetero behavior, all for the sake of a few laughs.
Well, it won’t make us laugh when we see “Bruno” next year. We’ll know it’s coming a year away. How many more pranks will hit the news between now and the film’s 2009 release date? (I wrote about this very topic yesterday over at Movies in Toto)
Singers have a rocky history in their transitions to the big screen. Do we need a better example than Mariah “Glitter” Carey?
Norah Jones doesn’t embarrass herself to that degree in “My Blueberry Nights,” which came out on DVD last week. But she doesn’t distinguish herself as a bona fide movie star, either. Then again, the fine cast around her also struggles with the material before them.
My Donne Tempo review expounds on the film’s beautiful veneer - and its deeply shallow surface.
(Photo: Jude Law, left, plays Norah Jones’ love interest in “My Blueberry Nights”)
I’m all for Warren Beatty getting a lifetime achievement award from AFI. I just hope he keeps his acceptance speech under two minutes.
The actor/director/Casanova has produced a body of work that deserves his industry’s praise, something we’ll witness at 9 p.m. EST tonight on USA Network. Classics like “Bonnie & Clyde” and “Heaven Can Wait” proved Beatty was far more than just another handsome Joe.
But he’s a horrible interview subject and I fear any speech he gives will have more ‘ums’ and ‘ahhs’ then any viewer can stand.
Beatty already received the honor last month - the show is a telecast of that event. Expect the usual faces to fete Beatty, from wife Annette Bening and his sister Shirley MacLaine to Julie Christie, Robert Downey Jr. and Jack Nicholson. Even former President Bill Clinton made an appearance. Maybe they compared black books backstage.
“Four Seasons Lodge” documents a group of 70- and 80-somethings who gather each summer in the Catskill Mountains to party and recall old times. Hardly sounds like a stirring way to spend 90-plus minutes? But these guests are Holocaust survivors, and first-time director Andrew Jacobs has created a stirring tribute to their resilience and love of life.
The documentary is still looking for a distributor, but I can’t imagine the search will take long. For now, check out my review over at Pajamas Media. It’s the kind of documentary that, while far from perfect, deserves an audience.
What do you do when you’re promoting a superhero with 1/10th the brand awareness of Spidey and friends?
You schedule your hero on a mock “Inside the Actor’s Studio,” of course.
The folks behind “Hellboy II: The Golden Army” have unleashed a series of funny ads including one in which Hellboy sits down with James Lipton himself.
Their chat can be seen on various TV commercials airing in the run-up to the film’s release this Friday. Another TV ad features Hellboy in a spot reminiscent of those “And now you know …” PSAs.
Smart marketing. Let’s hope the movie is just as canny.
(Photo Credit: Egon Endrenyi)
Isn’t mindless entertainment what summer movies are all about? Some say no, including the folks at Pixar who delivered the nuanced, message-laden “WALL*E” two weeks ago.
My Washington Times feature examines whether or not modern audiences really want to turn their brains off this time of year. Should “WALL*E” continue to pile up the big bucks, and so far my prediction that the film would fade has been wrong-o, it could impact the movies we see in the Summer of ‘09.
“Of course you should be cynical,” said Sylvester Stallone to me two years ago during a promotional interview for “Rocky Balboa.”
