Del Toro and Kaufman for Slaughterhouse-Five

Guillermo Del Toro will reportedly have help from writer Charlie Kaufman (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) in finally making an adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five for Universal.

Here’s what the acclaimed director had to say about one of his many long gestating projects in a recent interview:

“Charlie and I talked for about an hour-and-a-half and came up with a perfect way of doing the book. I love the idea of the Trafalmadorians [the aliens of 'Slaughterhouse-Five'] — to be ‘unstuck in time,’ where everything is happening at the same time. And that’s what I want to do.”

As for how close production may be to starting, Del Toro was quite candid about the kind of issues that have seen so many of his planned projects fail to become a reality:

“It’s just a catch-22. The studio will make it when it”s my next movie, but how can I commit to it being my next movie until there’s a screenplay? Charlie Kaufman is a very expensive writer!… I”ll work it out.”

If Del Toro ever manages to figure out how to fit in the new film alongside all his many other planned projects, it will be a feat of metaphysical genius that might equal Vonnegut’s surreal classic.

Now You See Me Review

The Plot:

The FBI and Interpol are left baffled when a team of magicians known as the Four Horsemen seemingly rob a bank in France during their Las Vegas magic show and give the money away to their delighted audience. It soon becomes clear that it’s only the start of an elaborate wider plan with mysterious motive, but the Horseman will have to evade a dogged FBI agent and infamous Magical expert if they’re to perform their best trick yet.

The Good:

The initial premise of Now You See Me is vaguely original and conveniently catches hold of the recent popularity surge for magicians. The film ambitiously aims to combine the fun of an Ocean’s 11 heist with the mind-boggling magical drama of The Prestige. It succeeds just enough on both fronts to be consistently watchable and occasionally captivating.

The film’s cast includes Morgan Freeman, Mark Ruffalo, Jesse Eisenberg, Michael Caine, Isla Fisher and Woody Harrelson. It a fortunate collection of new/old talents that explains much of the film’s recent box office success and instantly elevates the material. Morgan Freeman’s gravel voiced gravitas and Mark Ruffalo’s perpetual weariness lend the film some valuable credibility.

Director Louis Leterrier does a competent job of giving the film’s action a glossy style. It’ a polished look borrowed from the heist genre that fits in neatly with the elaborate world of professional illusionists. A perpetually free moving camera in particular helps give the film a sense of momentum and gives at least the impression of clever intricacy.

The Bad:

After a promising start it’s a little disappointing that the film’s a-list ensemble don’t get too many chances to dip beneath the surface. It’s a great cast, but it’s still typecast.

The conscious decision to avoid giving the Four Horseman ‘too much personality’, leaves them a little more two dimensional than mysterious or awe inspiring. Jesse Eisenberg talks very fast, Woody Harrelson is lazily sardonic and Dave Franco… still isn’t James Franco.

It’s a little ironic that a film about deceptive showmanship promises so much but ultimately delivers dissatisfying anti-climaxes. Perhaps part of the problem is that in a world of CGI and special effects trickery, ordinary sleight of hand and implausible plot twists don’t dazzle audiences quite so easily.

The Ugly Truth:

Now You See Me isn’t ever quite as clever or brilliant as its runaway box-office success might imply.  Perhaps the film’s best trick has been using a stellar cast to convince eager audiences that it’s “must see” magnificence. However, it remains a watchable addition to the heist genre that will particularly entertain anyone with a fondness for David Copperfield style theatrics.

Bula Quo! Review

The Plot:

Real life rock legends Status Quo find themselves in deep trouble during a tour of the island paradise of Fiji when they witness a murder. Pursued by local mafia thugs, the police and the clueless world’s press, Rick Parfitt and Francis Rossi must dodge danger at every turn to stay alive and keep rockin’ all over the world…

The Good:

Status Quo are one of the most enduringly and surprisingly successful bands on the planet precisely because their instantly recognisable songs and jovial disposition has a unique cheesy charm.  After recent documentary Hello Quo!, this new film sees the band’s mischievous frontmen making their most unlikely acting debuts. Though fans have enjoyed/endured decades of countless tours and albums, they’ll certainly never have experienced Status Quo like this before.

Bungling duo Rick and Francis have such an utter lack of acting ability and comic timing that there’s a perverse pleasure in watching them try. Their performances are packed with a steady stream of self-deprecating jokes and a blatant willingness to sacrifice all possible dignity. It’s actually oddly endearing and makes it very abundantly clear that nobody is taking things too seriously.

At times Bula Quo is so unashamedly ridiculous it actually threatens be a work of accidental comedy genius. It’s like watching the increasingly bizarre dream of a devoted Quo fan. A progressively ludicrous plot sees the geriatric rockers uncovering a black market organ harvesting scheme being run by a dastardly local mafia boss (Jon Lovitz). What follows is 90 minutes of painfully absurd action sequences, woefully inadequate acting and frequent breaks for impromptu music videos.

It’s difficult to adequately describe just how strange an experience it is to watch Bula Quo! It’s perhaps the first film in history to feature a ‘high speed’ chase that conveniently involves both kayaks and golf carts. It also features Idiotic thugs attacking our hard rocking heroes with deadly weapons that include… flip flop shoes. It’s really just a lot of tame family friendly shenanigans with occasional moments of genuine hilarity.  Whether it’s intentional or by happy accident, some of the film’s delightfully atrocious dialogue is actually memorably magnificent. Such occasional moment of insanity combined with an ashamedly familiar/catchy Status Quo soundtrack keep Bula Quo! tolerable and at times even enjoyable.

The Bad:

Being brutally honest Bula Quo has a production value akin to a Saturday morning children’s TV show and about the same level of sophistication in its heavy handed slapstick humour. Much like the band’s music, this film will immediately divide opinion between those won over by its brazenly silly charms and those simply left irritated or bored by it.

The fact that the film’s soundtrack is exclusively packed with the band’s own infamous back catalogue and a fresh batch of new Quo ‘hits’ certainly won’t help if you loath rather than love their music. The film isn’t shy about openly taking a break from the ‘action’ to squeeze in an arbitrary music video or two. It will be a pleasure for Quo fans, but a brutal test of patience for anyone else.

Memorably wooden acting and a fantastically farcical script will be a guilty pleasure for those with a fondness for kitsch comedy, but it will be utterly unbearable for anyone who doesn’t appreciate a 90 minute in-joke. In particular it doesn’t help that the film noticeably recycles both jokes and actual footage, presumably due to a shortage of money and ideas.

The Ugly Truth:

Bula Quo! will no doubt be a welcome treat for Status Quo fans, but should be approached with caution by anyone who lacks a fondness for the band or silly slapstick hijinks. The film could easily become a cult classic and remains consistently weird enough to be watchable and unforgettable. Whether you want to or not…

Red Carpet Video Interviews below with Rick, Francis their co-stars and Director at the London Premiere:

Terminator 5 Gets Official Release date

Arnold Schwarzenegger begins filming Terminator 5 in January 2014 and now the much anticipated action blockbuster officially has a release date. Skydance Productions, Annapurna Pictures and Paramount have confirmed that the next chapter in the Terminator saga will arrive in cinemas on June 26 2015.

Plot details remain undisclosed, but the new Terminator film is apparently due to be the ‘first in a stand-alone trilogy’. So should fan enthusiasm for unstoppable cyborg killing machines with suspiciously Austrian accents prove strong in 2015, Terminator 6 and 7 may soon follow.

Pixar Promises Less Sequels

Pixar Animations Studio President Ed Catmull has announced that the studio is going to cut back on their recent trend towards sequels, focusing instead on more original content.

Citing ‘artistic reasons’ the studio boss laid out Pixar’s plans to make a film based on an original concept every year, but only make one sequel every two year.

Toy Story, Cars, Monsters Inc and Finding Nemo have all spawned franchises in recent years, particularly since the studio merged with Disney. The announcement seems designed to combat recent criticism that Pixar was perhaps in danger of sacrificing creativity in favour of lucrative ‘sure thing’ sequels.

Disney has never been shy about capitalizing on its finest work through unnecessary sequels, prequels and spin offs. Typically these have been unforgivably lazy efforts, guilty of declining animation standards motivated by impatient greed. It will be a relief for fans to see Pixar take a deliberate and very public step away from that worrying trend.