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October 21, 2005
Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang - Sneak Preview
Posted by Kyle Cummings at 11:16 AM | Comments (29)
Shopgirl - Sneak Preview
Posted by Kyle Cummings at 10:17 AM | Comments (11)
October 07, 2005
Curious George
Just yesterday I was complaining about the way animation companies have forsaken the hand-drawn looks of traditional animation for all-CG toons that look too bright, too shiny, and much too phony (Over the Hedge brought it on) when along comes this delightful glimpse at the new Curious George movie. Now here's an adaptation that Ron Howard and the folks at Imagine couldn't seem to make up their minds about how to animate, but from what they're showing us here, it's clear that they made the right decision.
Continue reading "Curious George"
Posted by Peter Debruge at 06:55 PM | Comments (6)
October 06, 2005
Over the Hedge
Sometimes I miss traditional hand-drawn animation. Over the Hedge is the perfect example. Why are these adorable little forest critters (a turtle, two possums, a skunk, a chipmunk, and a family of porcupines) computer-animated? When the movie comes out, the filmmakers will talk about how tough it was animating everybody's fur or getting the quills just right, when the truth is, their animated animals look like escapees from some 1995 After Dark screensaver.
Continue reading "Over the Hedge"
Posted by Peter Debruge at 01:40 PM | Comments (3)
October 05, 2005
Syriana
I can't decide whether I like the poster or the preview more for Stephen Gaghan's Syriana. For the past few months, I've been working my way into festival and test screenings of the fall's most anticipated films, ticking off the blockbusters that might qualify as Oscar contenders (Walk the Line, Memoirs of a Geisha, Jarhead and The Producers) and so far, I've come away almost empty-handed (I'll make an exception for Brokeback Mountain). Finally, a trailer that suggests a major studio movie of some merit!
Posted by Peter Debruge at 09:19 PM | Comments (1)
October 03, 2005
Nanny McPhee
Who's that knocking at my door?
Imagine Mary Poppins as a sinister old hunchback with hairy warts, crooked teeth, and a big bulbous nose. That's Nanny McPhee for ya. Where Mary Poppins insisted on curing her charges with a spoonful of sugar, fearsome old McPhee offers them a generous helping of sludgy brown measle medicine and insists they say "please." This is the stuff great children's movies are made of: Plenty of suffering mixed with a little bit of magic. How else to explain the success of the Harry Potter books -- or classics like Cinderella, Matilda, and the Narnia series, for that matter?
Continue reading "Nanny McPhee"
Posted by Peter Debruge at 03:31 PM | Comments (0)
October 02, 2005
Good Night, and Good Luck
First, let's just say that Good Night, and Good Luck is one of the best movies of 2005. It's a smart, eloquent representation of a grim chapter in American history, that rare Hollywood film made with adult audiences in mind and yet still clean enough to qualify for a PG rating. The movie is co-written and directed by none other than George Clooney (a nice surprise after Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, which struck me as a snappy debacle). So why is the trailer such a misfire?
Continue reading "Good Night, and Good Luck"
Posted by Peter Debruge at 01:56 AM | Comments (0)
October 01, 2005
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
More like Harry Potter and the World of Tomorrow.
I know it's blasphemy to do anything but drool over every new Harry Potter preview, but from the looks of the latest Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire trailer, the boy wizard's next adventure will be more CG than it is live-action. Sure, one of the pleasures of J.K. Rowling's books is that she presents us with creatures that defy imagination, but they're only interesting insofar as they seem to be integrated into the real (Muggle) world. The more video-gamey the effects, the less tangible her elaborate fantasy becomes. CG run amok always reminds me of Sky Captain, where it was sorta the point, or worse, those cruddy Spy Kids sequels. But Harry belongs in a league of his own.
Continue reading "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire"
Posted by Peter Debruge at 12:55 PM | Comments (138)
