Forrest Gump battles Opus Dei as Tom Hanks takes the lead in The Da Vinci Code, coming soon to a theater near you from Ron Howard and Brian Glazer (Apollo 13, A Beautiful Mind.) I haven’t read the book, so I can’t really vouch for the casting…but I presume this movie would make ridiculous bank with or without Hanks anyway.
Tag: Cinema
Detroit Red.
The trailer for the Assault on Precinct 13 remake, with Ethan Hawke, Lawrence Fishburne, Brian Dennehy, Ja Rule, Maria Bello, John Leguizamo, Drea De Matteo, and Gabriel Byrne as the Big Bad, is now online. It’s a bit depressing to see Tom Reagan of Miller’s Crossing clearly in the “Paying the Bills” phase of his career, but I guess you could argue it was already in full swing by 1999’s End of Days, versus the Governator.
Don’t Panic!
This is the way the world ends, this is the way the world ends, this is the way the world ends. Not with a bang but…Vogon poetry? The brief teaser for Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, rumored since Comicon, is now freely available online. Be sure to check out the production slideshow, which shows off the splendid designs of Marvin the Paranoid Android and the Heart of Gold. Oh, and don’t forget your towel. Update: More production art here.
Incredible Journey.
Well, the folks making next summer’s Fantastic Four film must be having a really bad couple of weeks. ‘Cause it’s hard to see how they can even close to topping the energy and fun of Brad Bird’s The Incredibles, Pixar’s new gold standard (and here I thought Toy Story 2 was going to hold that honor for some time to come.) More a film for comic fans than for little kids, The Incredibles is an inventive, madcap romp through superhero tropes that gives Spiderman 2 a serious run for its money as the best comic book film of 2004.
I must say, I was surprised right off the bat at how PG the film turned out to be. This is a darker film than most previous Pixar forays, with a surprisingly high body count and some mordant sight gags in the mix (for example, the montage explaining the trouble with capes). Whatsmore, Mr. Incredible’s most potent villain turns out to be existential ennui at the workplace, which seems as if it might fly right over the heads of the Finding Nemo age demographic.
Their loss, our gain. The Incredibles is a consistently clever ride, right down to the details. The writers and production designers have not only designed robots, ships, and a evil fortress that breathe originality while still paying homage to classic icons (Not unlike Brad Bird’s The Iron Giant in that regard — so take that, Sky Captain.) They’ve also come up with unique applications and situations for some of the hoariest superpowers going (strength, elasticity, speed, etc…Elastigirl’s break-in to Syndrome’s lair stands out as a particular highlight.)
The only real misstep in the film, aside from it feeling maybe 10-15 minutes too long (and, arguably, the Ayn Randish subtext), is the Brad Bird-voiced Edna Mode, who seems like some unholy cross between Vera Wang and Joan Rivers and comes off as somewhat embarrassing and misconceived. Better thought out is Mr. Incredible’s McNamara-esque boss and the “Issue No. 2” villain, The Underminer, whom I very much look forward to in the sequel. But, look, here I am monologuing again…To sum up, as the sinister mime Bomb Voyage might put it, “C’est incroyable!”
Leo Takes Flight.
Leonardo di Caprio (who still looks 18, despite the mustache) ventures into the mouth of madness in the full trailer for Martin Scorsese’s The Aviator. Cate Blanchett’s Katherine Hepburn seems quite good, but I’d say the jury’s still out on Kate Beckinsale’s Ava Gardner (and Gwen Stefani’s Jean Harlow, who didn’t make the cut here.) And is Alec Baldwin channeling his part from Team America?
Sai it ain’t so.
Alias meets Mortal Kombat (with a dash of The Next Karate Kid) in this rather goofy trailer for Elektra. I haven’t read anything other than the Frank Miller Daredevil arc, so I have no clue how this fits into the character’s continuity. But, I gotta say, this looks pretty dumb.
Stay on Target.
Empires collide as the Dark Lord of the Sith shills for Target (with Heidi Klum). Given that Star Wars was memorialized on Burger King glasses over 25 years ago, it seems a little late to bemoan the saga’s commercialization. Still, this makes it even harder to imagine Episode III as anything but another disappointment.
Phantom Menaces.
Some recent trailers: Jennifer Connelly, John C. Reilly, Pete Postlethwaite, and Camryn Mannheim need to call the Super in the Ring-esque trailer for Dark Water, and Joel Schumacher channels Troy McClure in this overstuffed Batman and Robin-ish look at Phantom of the Opera. I know I’m probably in the minority on this one, but if forced to choose between neverending streams of brackish water and the incessant playing of Andrew Lloyd Webber showtunes, I’d take the former.
The Land of Chocolate.
Wonka’s ready for his closeup…Dark Horizons displays the Depp-centric poster for Tim Burton’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
Heir to the Empire.
In case you couldn’t find it for some reason last week, the Episode III trailer is now officially available. And, if you’re looking for more SW news, Lucasfilm has also released the first film image of General Grievous, a.k.a. the new and goofily named Big Bad that was supposed to be voiced by Gary Oldman.