15 posts tagged “movie”

"If you are good at something, never do it for free."

There are several sequels and adaptations (into movies, that is) that I've been on the lookout for. Let me use this place to sum up what I know so far (be most grateful if you could let me know something I'm not aware of).

Sequels

* Alien 5 : Ever since I caught the rumor that Ridley Scott is showing interest in directing the 5th installment of Alien saga, I've been waiting to hear something concrete. This prospect is fascinating because, according to the artile I read,  he wants to go back to the first Alien movie, and that creepy starship (designed by H.R. Giger) with full of Alien eggs. He wants the movie to be about that starship, where it came from, and how it came to be infested with Alien eggs. My guess is that, from studio point of view, this would certainly result in the first Alien movie without Leutenant Ripley in it, and that won't do for marketing reasons. (On the other hand, if they want to continue the story from Alien: Resurrection, the 4th movie in the series, they have to deal with Winona factor which is another marketing issue, I guess)

* Silent Hill 2 : The director and the producer who made the first film surprisingly good one, both for the fans of the original game and for the horror fans who never played the game, won't participate in this. I would predict this would be a disaster unless someone could bring in some real surprise. The story will be based on Silent Hill 3, I read (in the game version, 3 is the direct sequel to 1 in terms of story). The ending of the movie was different from the game, so I'm not sure how they would establish the connection to the first one.

* White Jazz : This will be the sequel to L.A. Confidential. The last time I read about it, David Fincher and George Clooney are showing interest; hmm... doesn't sound very promising. Anyway in the movie version of L.A. Confidential, they killed a main villain in White Jazz so I'm not sure if they can pull this one off.

* The Bourne (some word they would come up with): Just read that the 4th Jason Bourne movie is a go. There are two more Bourne novels written by some guy, but the screenplay will not be based on neither of them, it seems. The article said the setting will be in South America. I love this series so I'm really curious about what's gonna happen next!

Adaptations

* Metal Gear Solid : I guess I'm kind of relieved there's been no word on this one. Who would you cast as Solid Snake??? My answer is no one.

* Ghost in the Shell : I heard non-anime, live-actor adaptation of the original movie is in the pipeline in Hollywood. Please. I hope they are not serious...

* Max Payne : The movie version of this game-noir will feature Mark Wahlberg. Meh. I would cast Dominique West (from the TV show The Wire) as Max Payne. Don't know who will play Mona Sax, his femme fatale sniper, though.

* Brave New World : This I want to see! Last I heard Ridley Scott will direct this sci-fi classic.

Not sure all or any of these will actuall be made though. But it's fun to follow these things.

"You should spit on my face. They think you are dirt. The West think you are dirt, dung, worthless.  You are not even a n****r. You are an African."

Apparently, a Japanese film critic has run into Leos Carax (!) shooting his new film (!!) in Tokyo (!!!).

It must have been like a decade since "Pola X" which for me was a huge disappointment. Honestly I don't have much expectation in him anymore. He probably will go down into history of French/European cinema for "Les amants du Pont-Neuf". Personally I prefer "Mouvais Sang" though. Anyhow, let's see what he comes up with...

No, it's not about World of Warcraft (haven't played that one).

For once, the Japanese title for the movie sounds better than the orignal English title (I believe it's called "War"). This action movie is basically Jet Li vs Jason Statham (!!). Cool! Jason Statham does some mean action. Although I'm sure Jet Li will kick his sorry white ass in the end v(^o^)v

Movies arrive late in Japan, partly because they'd have to put subtitles on it (or so they say), and partly because that's how the movie studios in the U.S. (and Europe, I guess) want it. Their basic marketing plan is like, theater release in the U.S. -> DVD/rental release in the U.S. -> theater release overseas -> DVD/rental release overseas. Seems like the only movies they are not sure if they succeed will be released simultaneously in Japan and the U.S. (notable example of this is Titanic; people don't remember this but it was said to be the biggest disaster in the American cinema history before release).

I also can't wait to see "Bourne Ultimatum". I may get the U.S. DVD before it comes here depending on the release date.

This is a rumor that appeared for a short period in a Japanese game rumor site; I'm pretty sure it's unsubstantiated, but it claims the actor Sean Bean (probably best known for his appearance in Lord of the Rings saga) is considered to play the role of Solid Snake in the movie version of Metal Gear Solid.

Hm, come to think of it, it's probably worth noting that he did appear in the movie adaptation of another popular Konami franchise, Silent Hill. He might look a bit like him..

But playing Snake must be hard for any actor who would actually get the job; I guess it's like becoming new James Bond, fans all over the world will have something to pooh pooh about you no matter how good you are:-)

"I don't regret a thing I have done. I only regret things I didn't do."
Ingrid Bergman

Swedish film director Berman has died at the age of 89. (which, sadly, CNN didn't even report while spending 15 minutes on hair style change of Katie Holmes (>_<) )
I remember when I was 15 and discovering the magic of the cinema, I found a video (there was no DVD back then, kids- or movie download either) of "The Seventh Seal" in my local rental store and it left me a huge impression like certain things can only leave their mark on you at that age. So did "Silence" (unsure of the original Swedish title...).
I won't pretend that I "get" his films, but that's part of the charm of watching films like his; keep watching, coming up with different interpretation and finding my own way of enjoying them.
Along with my teen age favorite films like "Death in Venice", "Pierrot Le Fou", "The Silence of the Lambs", "La Double Vie de Veronique", "Carlito's Way", "Les Amants des Pont-Neuf", "Prospero's Books", "Eraserhead" among many others, aforementioned films of his have been a part of my "creative education". The world needs filmmakers like him while it can certainly use hit makers.

The horror film "The Hills Have Eyes" was not released in Japanese theaters and, from what I read, it will not be coming out on DVD in this country, ever. The reason behind it is, according to this company which apparently owns the right, "the subject matter may cause sensitive problems considering Japan's position as the only victim country of nuclear weapon".

Now if you don't know what this film is about, it's about these people who were near the nuke testing site, and got deformed by the radiation and now is hiding away, attacking few people coming in to their territory and eating them for nutrition. The film is pretty well-made in terms of horror film genre, it's got good visual style and the director knows how to build suspense. (some geek-y minded audience may also appreciate the fact that, gun-toting texans get whacked pretty quickly and glasses-wearing, liberal IT dude ends up saving the day:-)

I've bought the DVD via Amazon.com (US) and fairly enjoyed it, I'm not sure if the original (this is a remake) was released in Japan or how well it was received- I guess there's some sense in their decision not to bring this over to Japan, but- well, what about mutha-fecking Godzilla???? You know, that H-Bomb mutated, fire spitting and train ripping reptile? In terms of number it must have killed more people than these bunch of mutated cannibals combined. And the underlying message here (at least for me) was that thinking nuclear weapon don't leave any mess behind is a wrong idea and one day it could come back and bite you so to speak...
In principle I'm against keeping what could be controversial material out of reach of the public so there will be no controversy. People should be given a chance to choose whether or not to watch/read/observe/whatever and make their own decisions.