Nymphomaniac character posters
No doubt you guys have already seen these, but just in case, I thought I would share. I would feel bad if you guys happened to miss out on literally the worst thing ever on my watch.
I am looking forward to Lars von Trier’s Nymphomaniac (2013). I don’t think his films always work entirely. But they definitely always make you think which is more than you can say about most directors. And to those of you who think that character posters should be just for superhero films, our man Lars has no time for you.
Seriously though, posters of the film’s characters at the point of climax is exactly as gross and disturbing as you suspect. Check them out below and… erm let me know your favourite, if you are weird and have one. There are 14 of these, but I felt a random selection of six was more than enough.
Stellan Skarsgard plays a dude who takes in the film’s main star as she tells her life story.
Charlotte Gainsbourg is turning into a bit of a von Trier go-to star. She plays the titular sex addict.
Shia Lebouf who since filming has gone on a bit of a Joaquin Phoenix style very public (staged?) anti-fame breakdown style thingy.
Connie Nielsen plays the mother of the Gainsbourg character.
Billy Elliot, presumably not playing Billy Elliot.
Sophie Kennedy Clark in a role which I assume is a slight change of pace from Philomena (2013).
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Trailer for your Weekend: The Grand Budapest Hotel
Apologies for the slow week on the blog all. The day job has been hectic and I have had my old man around helping me do some work on the house as well.
Back in time for a weekend trailer as always. A new Wes Anderson film is always anticipated by many. I have not always really clicked with his films, but I really loved his most recent Moonrise Kingdom (2012) and as such was keener to see what he came up with next. This trailer makes me very excited indeed for the joys that The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) may well hold for us. For starters there is the cast which I was going to list but it’s too long. Think of a cool actor and then just assume they are in it. Then there is what appears to be more of Anderson’s schtick, which can be delightful, consisting of a whimsical tone, incredible design (4:3 aspect ration anyone?) and shots composed down to the most minute of details. I think Anderson’s films work the best when there is a solid narrative drive to them and it looks like this one has a reasonable level of plot to keep things moving along.
So all in all, I massively excited for this one. How about you guys? Also, what are your favourite films of Anderson’s? I need to go back and explore some of his earlier stuff.
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A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors
Well as advertised by many of your comments last week, A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987) is a massive improvement over the second entry into the series and not too far off matching the first. The return of key creative figures such as Wes Craven and Heather Langenkamp, in addition to a sense of continuity with the first film, go a long way to achieving what is a cracking sequel.
The film opens with the Edgar Allan Poe quote “Sleep. Those little slices of death. How I loathe them.” It is a fantastically dark note to open on and permeates the opening act of the film. Perhaps the only thing that prevents A Nightmare on Elm Street 3 from joining the first film as a true classic of the genre is that the film does descend into silliness for about half an hour through the middle. There are definite joys to this silliness, but it does detract from the overall film. The early parts of the film show that Freddy is back once again and this time he is making kids commit suicide during their dreams, targeting descendents of the people who burned him alive. This leads the return of the main character from the first film Nancy Thompson, played by Langenkamp, as a young psychologist. This is a great ‘in’ into the main narrative for the audience and will also excite fans of the first film. The casting is all pretty good with Robert Englund sufficiently menacing and the younger kids all solid, led by a young Patricia Arquette who gives a really good performance. A young Laurence Fishburne (credited as Larry) also pops up in a small supporting role.
The opening half hour is really atmospheric, perhaps the most successful at creating a sense of dread out of any of the films so far. This is a film that for me took itself a lot more seriously than the second and it pays off. As the killings escalate, the action does go into some silly and absurdist territory. But just when the film feels like it is losing its way, a seemingly random subplot really brings that attitude back as a mysterious nun gives a lot of insight into the genesis of Freddy. One thing this film does is show off a lot of strong imagery, often gothic, often Freddy showing his increasing power, and these stark pieces of photography definitely stick in the mind. It is not hard to create chilling, iconic images with the character of Freddy and his distinctive look and thankfully this film does not waste that potential and we are treated to Freddy as a TV, a puppet master, a huge head/slug/vacuum cleaner thing and plenty more.
It is exceptionally difficult for any sequel to both invoke aspects of an earlier film in the series and to also feel fresh. A Nightmare on Elm Street 3 manages this invocation through the use of imagery, soundtrack and the recurring character of Nancy, whilst the quite chilling (at times) content lends the film a freshness. Whilst the tone lightens at various points, any time a film is focused on the suicide of teenagers, that is some dark stuff right there. The mysterious nun subplot nicely recalls the combination of genres that the first film excelled at. I was genuinely intrigued with where that was all going and the payoff ends up being the creepiest moment of the entire film as the audience gains more of an insight into Freddy’s mortal past. There is an interesting reinforcement as well of a Christian worldview in the latter stages of the film, with holy water and the cross exhibiting great power. I am not sure what the film is saying with that, I definitely do not think it is intended to be evangelical. But the references do stand out in comparison to the rest of the series so far. It is interesting to see the imagery and references in the films evolve in such a way, something I would love to see continue (though I have my concerns it won’t) in the fourth film.
Erm… best behind the scenes photo ever?
Given that this film wisely ignores that the first sequel ever really happened, if you are going to start exploring these films, I would advise you to just go straight from the first to this one. Dark, dripping in imagery, atmosphere and adult themes, this is a cracker of a horror film, even if you are not a particular fan of the series. Highly recommended.
Verdict: Pint of Kilkenny
Next week I will be checking out the fourth entry in the series. Check out my reviews of the classic first film and A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge.
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The Lego Movie character posters
Some of you lucky jerks have already seen and enjoyed The Lego Movie. Over here in Australia, we still have a fair while to wait. But I have really liked a lot of the marketing that they have done for this film, including the posters. They released some great character posters for the film as well as the stock standard ones. Given I have a bit of a thing for character posters, I thought I would share them here, even though you’ve probably seen them everywhere else by now. These all look a little similar, but they still help me to get really psyched for the film. I think the coolest thing about them is the facial expressions from each lego character.
First up is Benny, voiced by Charlie Day. I have to admit that I have no idea who this character is and am trying to avoid all spoilers so don’t want to find out.
Next up is Emmett, the every-man main character voiced by Chris Pratt. I love Pratt and think is comedic stylings will lend themselves really well to voice work.
Batman has been the most hilarious character in the trailers so can’t wait to see his role in the film. Tis cool that D.C are happy for one of their very top properties to be used in this amusing way.
No matter how many rubbish films Ferrell brings us, I will always be a fan of his. No doubt his voicework will be very ‘Ferrelly’ in this, but I am ok with that. I think this is my favourite of the posters actually.
Elizabeth Banks is another person I am a big fan of and I like the spirit of this character that has come through in the trailers.
Morgan Freeman playing almost God. Say no more.
Let me know what you think of these, and the film if you have seen it, in the comments section below.
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Trailer for your Weekend: Neighbours
This trailer for Neighbours , has to be one of the worst trailers I have seen in a long time. Seriously, if these are the best moments of the film it is going to be dire. Which is a shame. Because even though the concept is achingly unoriginal, the cast is led by charismatic actors who I quite like in Seth Rogen, Rose Byrne and Zac Efron. Who knows, maybe they can work magic and get this over the line.
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Guest Post: Rush
I was one of the few that was not really a big fan of Ron Howard’s Rush. However, with the film recently being released on DVD and Blu-ray in these parts of the world, guest reviewer extraordinare ‘my cousin Damo’ thought he would take a look.
Rush (2013) is a biographical drama that depicts the six year rivalry between Niki Lauda (Daniel Bruhl) and James Hunt (Thor), two Formula One drivers and the events leading up to the 1976 Formula 1 final at the Japanese Grand prix.
Honestly, I was a little wary to watch this movie; the only credits I could remember for director Ron Howard were Happy Days (had some good times with that show) and that horrible movie about the Grinch…. If you want to check that out; don’t. Ever. Seriously. So given my knowledge of his track record – car racing themed pun, hahah – I wasn’t sure what to expect.
I was pleasantly surprised with this film though. For anyone unaware of the story, Lauda’s comeback is really the most awe-inspiring thing I’ve ever heard about, (won’t give anything away but it really is amazing). The way the film depicts the drivers’ rivalry is done quite effectively. The comparisons of their Yin and Yang personalities; Lauda and Thor – I mean James Hunt – are done in a way that highlights the events and happenings that caused the friction between the two.
The clash of Lauda’s “its all business” mindset and Hunt’s “lets do whatever we want, drink as much as we want and do naughty things with girls whenever we want” outlook on life made it hard for me to choose who I liked more. Whether to choose Hunt’s unmatched passion for racing and cheating death whenever he could, or Lauda’s neutral outlook on the sport he was so good at paired with his unabashed confidence in himself and his abilities. I’ll leave you guys to decide that one.
Hemsworth’s job at playing James Hunt was well done, but jeez it unfortunate that his English accent made him sound just like Thor the whole time.All we needed was the switch to Shakespearian language and I would have been asking “Doth Mother know you weareth her drapes?”
Yes I know that line by heart; and yes I enjoy a bit of The Avengers (2012), what of it!?
As for Bruhl – a guy who I don’t even remember in Inglorious Basterds (2009)_– I thought his performance made the film. His ability to portray Lauda so close to perfect left nothing to be desired. I loved every aspect of his portrayal and it was really just flawless.
There are some great action shots during some of Lauda and Hunt’s races, some metaphoric visuals of Hunt’s heart beating in time with his F1 car before a race and the mutual respect they both felt towards each other is all depicted really well, although neither driver would willingly admit that respect to the other. One thing I didn’t find particularly good, was the introductive narrations by Lauda and Hunt. I found them a little too re-tell and reminiscent, like the ones in the beginning of Sin City (2005).
I enjoyed Rush, Ron Howard did a good job; Daniel Bruhl created a stunning reflection of one of F1 racing’s most well-known names; and though Hemsworth will forever remind me of Thor, known from movies like Thor (2011), Thor: The Dark World (2013) and Thor: The Christmas Special (forthcoming), he held his own well in a good performance. This film hit me on an emotional level and I enjoyed it even though there were small setbacks that occurred in the film for me. Just a heads up, though this film is an essential and should be seen by all; there are some specifically graphic scenes from which I cringed (cough cough hospital scenes including some old 70s way of vacuuming a guy’s lungs out instead of giving him a needle of sleepy stuff). But this is coming from a kid who has chosen to not see most scary movies and who even got scared in Life of Pi (2012), so on second thoughts, you should be right.
Verdict: Pint of Kilkenny
Damo is my first cousin carrying on the family trade with his film reviewing chops. Damo is also a killer singer-songwriter, so give his stuff a play right here and like his music facebook page here.
Robocop (2014)
I was not aware that there was much interest at all in Robocop (2014), the remake of Paul Verhoeven’s iconic film from 1987. The session I attended though, an early morning one on opening day, was quite packed. That interest will soon pass though, as the film is pretty terrible and will generate nothing in the way of positive word of mouth.
The film surprisingly starts out uber-political with a pre-credits sequence set in Tehran showing the U.S. utilising its robot weaponry (the word drone is dropped) on random searches throughout the Iranian capital. The film is clearly decrying the use of drones in warfare and saying some very timely things. It also touches on the hypocrisy of American policy regarding drones, with the government of this near-future country refusing to allow robots to be used domestically. Whatever your thoughts on the political line that the film is pushing, this is probably the best sequence of the film, showing off some quite slick futuristic design, both on the audio and visual fronts.
With robots essentially outlawed at home, those in charge of pushing the tech see an opportunity with our man Robocop. The evil organisation that creates all of this robotic military hardware sees him as a great public relations opportunity. Putting a man (in this case a Detroit policeman badly injured by a bomb that was meant to kill him) inside a robotic suit will hopefully sway public opinion toward approving of robotic military and law enforcement hardware. Unfortunately the film really starts to unravel when action shifts back to the States. The acting is clunky, the storytelling the same and the early nice design barely shows its face again (a shootout in driving rain a rare exception). Actually the plot is close to non-existent. Man becomes Robocop. Loses his emotional connections. His military bosses turn out not to have his best interests at heart. Robocop finds his emotions again. They throw in a twist literally no one in the world will care about. Robocop wins. The poor darlings throw in some setup for a sequel that will never get made. That’s it. The interesting themes and political point of view is still there… but only sort of. Essentially you have to inject them into the film yourself, rather than the filmmakers actually running with those ideas as I wish they had of.
Really there is nothing too surprising throughout this whole film. Actually that’s not true, the main surprise is the calibre of cast that they managed to attract to it – Abby Cornish, Gary Oldman, Jackie Earle Haley and Michael Keaton. They are all perfectly fine, managing to neither stick out as terrible whilst putting in what appears to be the bare minimum of effort and passion. As the titular character, Joel Kinnaman, fares rather worse. He is terrible in the beginning when he is just plain old Alex Murphy, Detroit detective. Once he Robocops up he is somewhat more bearable but never reaches any heights. The only actor who does reach any heights is Samuel L. Jackson, who has a small role as Pat Novak, a hilarious Bill O’Reillyesque right wing newsman. The film starts with him riffing on Ron Burgundy and his role is one of the very few delights that the film contains.
After a promising start, this film gets bogged down and just turns silly, annoying and predictable. The engagement with political issues of the day might be refreshing (depending on your point of view) but it is doubtful that it will make this feel worth your while. Though if you are a Samuel L. Jackson fan, then this is probably worth grabbing on blu-ray down the line so you can just fast forward to his hilarious scenes.
Verdict: Schooner of Carlton Draught
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RIP Philip Seymour Hoffman
I am rarely affected strongly by celebrity deaths. It is not that I am cold hearted or unfeeling. It’s just that I guess to live in a world like ours full of endless war and tragedy, rightly or wrongly you need to build up some level of ambivalence to the world around you. The sudden death of Philip Seymour Hoffman has cut through all of that though and affected me quite deeply.
A couple of days ago, I probably wouldn’t have thought of Phillip Seymour Hoffman as one of my favourite actors. But looking over his filmography, it is inarguable that he is one of the greats. Of this or any generation. Rare is the actor who can totally inhabit any role. But he did it as well as anyone. Whilst, especially over recent years, he has developed a reputation as a dramatic powerhouse, he could really do it all. He could be the absolute best thing about otherwise middling fare such as in Along Came Polly and Mission Impossible 3. He could elevate blockbuster material with his turn such as in Twister or The Hunger Games Catching Fire (I really loved what he was doing with the Plutarch Heavensbee character). He could be exuberant and fun as in The Boat That Rocked. And of course he really could be the emotional, dramatic powerhouse as shown in numerous films including The Ides of March, Capote, Doubt, Moneyball, Charlie Wilson’s War and Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead.
Perhaps one of the reasons the passing of Phillip Seymour Hoffman has affected me so much is because it brought a couple of things to light I never knew. Firstly that he had a young family. Three kids under 10 now no longer have their old man and that’s fucked up. Secondly, the fact that he died of a heroin overdose. Or more specifically, the fact that he had overcome addiction for 23 years. For me, that is Philip Seymour Hoffman’s most powerful achievement. To beat something like addiction for so long is an exceptional achievement and one that makes his eventual death to heroin all the more heartbreaking. There are some out there who choose to tear people who suffer from addiction down from on high. Unfortunately an ugly example of this reared its head in Australia’s ugliest tabloid The Daily Telegraph yesterday when they ran the headline “Kids Grieve for Junkie Actor Dad”.
Philip Seymour Hoffman did not choose drugs over his family or life. He was claimed by a disease he was able to beat for so long. You find it is always those who have never experienced addiction who feel they can judge those that have been afflicted with it.
The man is gone and all we have left is his work. So reflect on that and revel in it. As for me, I think I will set aside some time this weekend for a Philip Seymour Hoffman double header. I’m thinking the deliriously fun Twister into what I think is his best performance in Doubt (though I would chuck his performance in Charlie Wilson’s war in that conversation too). Reflect and revel.
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A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge
When discussing my love for Wes Craven’s A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), which I reviewed here, I was constantly warned by people that I should not bother with the sequels. They told me to either steer clear completely, or to focus on a couple of specific ones that were decent, generally those that Craven returned to direct. But I thought it would be fun to check them all out and track the evolution of the series, beginning with A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge (1985).
Craven chose not to return for this sequel, passing on the film after reading the script. Some of his concerns that came through in the film include the trashing of the mythology around the character of Freddy Krueger that had been built in the first film. In the first film, Krueger can really only cause damage inside dreams, but in this second entry he seems to have attained the ability to leave the dream world and hit up pool parties at will. It is a frustrating dilution of part of what made the first entry such an original horror story. Missteps such as that are even more annoying because there are some very good ideas contained in the script. Much of it concerns Freddy attempting to recruit a the main character Jesse, through intimidation and trickery, into murdering on his behalf. As the deaths start piling up, so does Jesse’s mental instability as he becomes more and more convinced that he is the one doing the deeds.
The action starts out rather originally with a set piece involving a school bus and a bus driver who turns out to Mr Krueger himself. I was pretty hopeful at that point, but most of the film from there on out is content to just hit the same notes as the first film – falling asleep in class, a gory death or two, doubt over who is doing the killing, boiler room showdowns and so on. When the film does try and do something more original, it does not do it very well. I have already mentioned Krueger being able to escape dreams in the film, which just confuses his menace. Add to that the film’s most bizarre sequence where the teenage protagonist Jesse goes to a leather bar, sees his bully of a gym teacher and then gets invited back to the school. Whilst he is having a shower, Freddy Krueger appears and kills his teacher in a really homoerotic fashion. It is totally absurd. I am not sure if there was meant to be a little commentary in there, but it definitely did not come through clearly. Also, I really hope that every film in the series is not going to finish with the same lame little coda/epilogue style sequence. I don’t mind some ambiguity or sequel bait, but the first two films both end in cheap little scenes that add nothing to the film and just serve to undermine the satisfactory (sort of) resolution of the main narrative.
There is something pretty timeless about the first film in this series. In comparison though, A Nightmare on Elm Street 2 is beset by 80s-ness. The wooden performance from Mark Patton as Jesse definitely plays into that. Luckily though both Robert Rusler as Ron and Kim Myers as Jesse’s love interest Lisa are much more comfortable and mitigate the bad acting somewhat. Actually the most surprising bit about this film for me was that the teen romance sub-plot between the two main characters was actually pretty decent. A shame it is wasted in this film. More disappointing than the poor acting is the change in genre. The first film was a really innovative mixture of supernatural horror and the slasher film. This film dumps all of that I think for what is basically a straight up supernatural film, with a few teen film subplots going on as well. Aside from a couple of moments, the stark and horrifying imagery that was all through the first film is also lessened a great deal here. Freddy still looks very cool and the scene where he bursts out of an old dude’s chest is satisfyingly gruesome. But there is nothing that really matches a couple of the great and gory kills that take place in the first film in the series. Especially not dogs with baby masks on. What the hell was that?
A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge has some really interesting ideas that if done right would have made this a worthy follow up to a true horror classic. Unfortunately though the film is not done properly and a combination of poor acting, the rubbishing of some of what made Krueger such a great villain and tamer kills make this pretty weak. Which is such a bummer, because the convergence of the characters of Freddy and Jesse is an idea that deserved to be pulled off much better.
Verdict: Schooner of Carlton Draught
I’m going to be reviewing one of the Nightmare on Elm Street films every week for the next little bit. So I hope you enjoy reading the reviews and looking forward to hearing your thoughts on all of these films if you have seen them.
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Captain America: The Winter Soldier character posters
I generally don’t write about posters on here. Despite being a massive fan of film posters, I think in the mainstream that most of the work is a little samey and the best posters these days are done by fans and non-official artists.
But for some reason, I am really digging character posters of late. This is not to say that anything about the character posters being churned out is particularly innovative or more inspired than standard posters. That is not true in essentially all instances. I guess the concept is just a little new and I like having the whole frame devoted to a single character. Captain America: The Winter Soldier is one of my most anticipated films of the year and this week three character posters were released for the film. Thought I would share them with you here.
First up is Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow. So far Marvel have really done nothing with this character in her couple of appearances in the cinematic universe. I’m not really sure how much of a role the character has in this film, but hopefully they can capture the interesting character from the comics.
Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury has been in more of these Marvel films than anyone else. I kinda like this poster. Having him leaning over a desk makes him look like the most badass boss you ever had. I hope Samuel L. doesn’t just phone it in. He is starring in these lame sports betting ads out here these days. And every time he turns in a lazy performance, I can’t help thinking of those infernal ads.
Lastly is the main guy, Chris Evans’ Captain America. I really liked him in the first film and am hoping this next one delivers too. I like this poster as well, being a closer in shot than is standard. Looks kind of cool and contemplative whilst rocking the awesome shield on his back.
What do you guys think about these new posters for the film?
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