Chris’ Most Anticipated Films of 2010
The Movie Overdose’s newest, and essentially lone writer Chris Inman outlines his most anticipated movies of the coming year. Listen to Sam, Tom and John’s choices on Episode Number 48.
The Rum Diary
Why the buzz? : Johnny Depp has been a little disappointing of late, starring in major films where he seems to play a caricature of himself, so a return to a more intimate character-driven role will hopefully see a return to form. His performance in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas shows that he is able to ply his trade in supposed ‘unfilmable’ Hunter S Thompson adaptations. Giovanni Ribisi and Aaron Eckhart also star in this story of a freelance journalist writing for a paper in the Caribbean who develops a fixation for rum and a businessman’s fiancée.
Chris’ Twenty Films of the Decade
Our brand new writer, Chris Inman, has not only provided the world with his top five movies of 2009, he now furnishes you lucky people with his top twenty movies of the decade. A couple of controversial more recent choices are included and should be debated immediately, but otherwise it’s a bloody strong list that will definitely find one followers amongst the existing MOD clan who will thoroughly agree with the winner.
Onwards then, and look our for more articles to come from Chris in the very near future as he kicks off his tenure with us in earnest.
Sam’s Top 42 Films of the Decade
Just for the sake of my own sanity and desperate need to have these written somewhere, I give you my favourite forty-two films of the past decade. There are at least fifty-six other films I would like to put onto a list, but I think I need to forcefully prevent any more decade-based listmaking as quickly as possible. So beneath is the top ten list, along with a sentence or two on each film and then thirty-two, out-of-list-order, films which I had to include.
Bellucci Joins Sorcerer’s Apprentice
Monica Bellucci has joined the likes of Nicolas Cage and Jay Baruchel in The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, the story of a young man with job noted in the title who is left to look after a magic workshop when his master leaves him in charge. The apprentice, being played by Baruchel, will have a broom do the majority of his chores until this cushy arrangement is broken when the broom takes on a life of its own.
The Sorcerer will be played by Nicolas Cage, fresh of a run that no one would ever envy in the terrible likes of Knowing, Bangkok Dangerous and Ghost Rider. Adaptation a few years back showed he could be good still but he seems entirely determined to prove that film wrong. He does have the curious Bad Lieutenant reimagining with Werner Herzog to come though, and I’ve have high hopes for a truly ridiculous performance from him in that one.
Bellucci is to play his love interest in the film, a role which will surely require her to act to the fullest of her ability as Cage does his thing in scenes with her.
The story itself is reportedly based on a section of Fantasia, the surreal Disney musical from 1940, and the elements of that film which concerned Mickey Mouse. The film is due to come out next year on the same weekend as Christopher Nolan’s Inception, surely a chance for people to measure up the relative box-office draws of Nolan and Cage.
Hardy and Watanabe Incepted
Christopher Nolan’s Inception, the sci-fi action movie involving itself with ‘the architecture of the mind’, has added yet more stars to its cast.
MOD favourite Tom Hardy, so brilliant in his role in Bronson earlier this year, is to join the cast along with Ken Watanabe. The latter worked with Nolan previously in Batman Begins and has also been excellent in Letters from Iwo Jima and The Last Samurai in the past.
Good to see yet more work coming Hardy’s way in the wake of his breakout performance in Bronson and a brightspot turn in Guy Ritchie’s wretched RocknRolla. He’s been an interesting acting presence for some time and, for those interested in more on him, he gives an amazing performance in Stuart: A Life Backwards, a BBC drama from a couple of years back.
Inception continues to be kept heavily under wraps as far as any sort of plot details go but it’s cast is now looking mighty impressive. Along with the two announced today, they’ve also secured the services of the likes of Marion Cotillard, Ellen Page, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Cillian Murphy and Michael Caine.
I’d have to guess that, by this point, Nolan has pretty much carte blanche to do whatever he likes with the film given both the critical and commercial reception for The Dark Knight. Add to that an already acclaimed career and Memento’s place among the best-loved films of the past twenty years, I think you’ve got a director with some serious credit to burn.
Enormo Round-Up
So I’ve been extremely busy with film-watching and outings all this week, so I have had no time to put together nice posts and news for you all to enjoy. Today though, sitting in bed and vegging like a pro, I will provide a round-up of all the interesting happenings from the past week in film.
It’s been confirmed that Jonathan Nolan will not be credited for writing Terminator Salvation. In laterally-related news, Christian Bale said he will commit to the next Batman movie, with or without the presence of Christopher Nolan.
Universal has confirmed plans to remake Drop Dead Fred, the cult classic early-90s movie starring Rik Mayall, with Russell Brand to take over the lead role. This will go alongside the previously announced remake of Dudley Moore-vehicle Arthur for our cheeky chappy.
An interview with Lauren Shuler Donner has seen her say that spin-off vehicles for both Gambit and Deadpool will come, if she has her way. Given the utterly awful Wolverine, that would be something of a result to have a movie which will provide us with easily the two most interesting characters from the film.
Todd McFarlane has entered talks over bringing Spawn back to the screen. It was made before to a very poor reception in 1997. During the interview, with IESB, he also talked a little about the David Fincher-helmed Torso, the adaptation of the Brian Michael Bendis graphic novel. That was dropped by Paramount but McFarlane believes another house will pick it up given the presence of Matt Damon in the lead and Rachel McAdams alongside him.
Some photos have emerged of Megan Fox in Jonah Hex, the adaptation of the John Albano-penned DC series. As you would imagine from a movie about a gonzo version of the Wild West, Fox has eschewed the demure look in favour of chicken house chic. Fox did experience a mild disappointment this week, beat to the FHM 100 Sexiest Women poll’s top spot by Girls Aloud’s Cheryl Cole.
Rainn Wilson, Joseph Gordon Levitt and Natalie Portman have joined the cast of Hesher, an indie dramedy to be directed by Spencer Susser. /Film has a host of extra information on this, including a really bewitching zombie short directed by Susser.
Here’s an odd one. The next movie coming from Zhang Yimou, the helmer of the astounding Hero and House of Flying Daggers, is reportedly a remake of the Coens’ Blood Simple.
McG and Michael Bay could well end up slapping ’em out on the table and bringing out the rulers, should the challenge put forth by the former to the latter become reality. Yes, McG has challenged Bay to a dick-measuring contest.
So apparently Oliver Stone, Michael Douglas and Shia LeBoeuf have signed up to take on a sequel to Wall Street, Stone’s visceral attack on the lack of ethics involved in big money trading. It seems a little late at this point but, praise be, no Charlie Sheen.
On the business side, the merger between agency giant William Morris and Endeavour has been approved. Relativity and Lionsgate have brokered a distribution agreement which will cover around five movies per year. Time Warner has announced a 14 per cent fall in profits in the first quarter, primarily owing to problems with AOL, which it is looking to spin-off imminently, and in Time Inc, the magazine side of the conglomerate.
Cinematical has a review of Departures, the Japanese foreign film Oscar winner from this year.
Francis Ford Coppola’s Tetro will open the Director’s Fortnight at Cannes.
Benicio del Toro is reportedly in talks to play Brett Easton Ellis in an adaptation of his Lunar Park.
Here’s a first look at Robert Downey Jr in Iron Man 2.
The Forgotten, the indie comic series by Evan Young and Jareth Grealish, has been optioned for a movie adaptation.
Bruce Willis is reportedly being courted to star in Red, an adaptation of the Warren Ellis-penned series.
The BBC has commissioned more The Thick of It from Armando Ianucci, coming on the back of the success of In the Loop.
Warner Bros has acquired the rights to Death Note, the manga series written by Tsugumi Ohba.
Mike Newell is in talks to direct a new version of The Lone Ranger.
Fox Searchlight has picked up Whip It, the directorial debut of Drew Barrymore starring Ellen Page.
Iran’s About Elly has won the jury prize at Tribeca.
Trailers: Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen – District 9 – Mother
New Recruits for Nolan’s Inception
More recruits have been brought aboard for Christopher Nolan’s Inception, his follow-up to that movie about a man in a rubber suit and a clown.
Leonardo DiCaprio had already committed to star in the film, described thus far only as a science fiction action work set in the “architecture of the mind”. Now, Ellen Page, Marion Cotillard and Cillian Murphy have all signed up to join Leo on the project.
The article on the news from Cinematical reports that DiCaprio is to play a “CEO-type” with Cotillard as his wife and Page a grad student and sidekick character.
I cannot at the moment gain a grasp on what kind of film this will be but, as I have been saying since Memento, In Nolan We Trust.
Alternatives to the EW Twenty-Five Directors
Entertainment Weekly recently posted a list of the top twenty-five active film directors. These lists will forever cause disagreement and controversy but some of the inclusions, and subsequent exclusions, on this list are pretty unforgivable. Even if you don’t find it too irratating, as a film fan and blogger I feel it only necessary to present some arguments both against the inclusion of some and against the exclusion of others while I would also like to take some time to argue for the inclusion of a few that I think may brook argument elsewhere.
The Movie Overdose 
Recent Comments