Cast-a-palooza

It's election day. Obviously, unless you are intentionally hiding it from yourself, you can guess the direction my voting lever pulls. This is a movie blog, and I won't stand up on this soap box and rail on about who you should vote for and why...or even do the whole "I don't care who you vote for, just vote" schpiel because I DO care who you vote for, and if you're going to vote for someone stupid and evil I would, in fact, prefer that you stay home. This is me asking everyone to just do a little thinking, a little objective research, and THEN vote. I truly believe if everyone voted out of reasonable research and not fear, anger, or because they were told to be some media personality, we would be far, far better off. So do that. K?

Now, I mention the election stuff because it set me back a bit. See, I had to vote this morning, which means not starting this blog writing until later, which means I'm running behind. So I had two choices: I could either give you SOME of the casting news explosion today in multiple posts or I could deliver one giant kablooooooey of casting shenanigans all at once. I opted for the kablooey because, hello have you ever met me?

Ladies and gentlemen...start your moderately-interested engines, it's time for CAST-A-PALOOZA!!!! I ask and answer the following questions:

1.) Wolverine may be in X-Men: First Class? - Hugh Jackman took a cab to the set of X-Men: First Class, according to rumors from....someone. There is nothing backing this up, but it's probably true. Why? Because ever since Marvel did that cool Iron Man/Avengers bit at the end, all comic movies (especially Fox copycats) want to do that too. A cameo from Wolverine would fit, Jackman is already preparing for Wolverine 2: Talk to the Claws right now so probably looks like this:
And he's a good guy, a team player, and probably thinks it would be cool. It's a rumor, yes, but I'd like to believe it so I will.

2.) Leonardo DiCaprio is a serial killer? Take that, ladies. The drool-inducer is now going to carve up ladies in Devil in the White City. Not a whole lot of news beyond that, but it's good news. Apparently the giant book that this is based on is really good and DiCaprio hasn't done his obligatory "I'm a famous actor who everybody loves playing against type as a bad guy" role yet. My prediction? His first Oscar. We love to reward people for shit like this.

3.) Tarsem Singh directing Snow White? - Apparently, visionary director Tarsem Singh, who also keeps himself busy composing my nightmares, is going to do the serious, Brothers Grimm version of Snow White, not to be confused with the potential Johnny Depp/Cameron Diaz vehicle that's more goofy and action based. Singh has done some brilliant stuff with more placid, boring material...so the thought of him uncorking on a fairy tale is pretty friggin' great. This is one of those decisions that moves the film from so far off my radar it's not even a blip to OH MY GOD I CANNOT WAIT! Nicely played.

4.) Cameron Crowe wants Scarlett Johansson, Amy Adams, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, or Rachel McAdams? - Just not for the same things I want them for. What? I want them to write haikus for me. What did you think I meant? Apparently one of the following women will be Matt Damon's wife and live in a zoo in We Bought a Zoo, which is the most literal title for a movie since The Dilemma.

She would be a great choice because she loves animals. You can tell by the leopard print.

She would be great to star against Matt Damon because she worked at Hooters. I don't know why that prepares her, but everyone keeps talking about how she used to work at Hooters.

Um, not sure about this one. She was considered for the role of Mary Jane or Gwen Stacy in the Spidey reboot, so being Matt Damon's wife seems a little creepy. Damon's down though.


She deserves the part BECAUSE I SAY SO, OKAY?!

Whoever wins, if this is the actual shortlist, audiences are going to be very happy.

5.) Baz Luhrmann wants Natalie Portman or Keira Knightley? - But not for the same things I want them for. What? I want them to write guest columns on the blog. Jeez, guys, what did you think? Luhrmann is casting his Daisy in The Great Gatsby, which may have Leonardo DiCaprio and Tobey Maguire in it. He has about 5 names on the list, but you remember how I said I was running behind right? Here's the two that matter, the ones who would do the best job:

She who is rumored for every movie ever: Natalie Portman!!!!

She who only does period pieces: Keira Knightley.

Like I said, there are others, but that's not important right now. I actually think this adaptation could work. Luhrmann is often good (when he's not doing Australia), and the cast seems strong with DiCaprio and Maguire. That's the extent of my thoughts. Gotta run!

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Movie Review: Never Let Me Go

Justin turns in a review of a movie I desperately want and need to see but just haven't had the time for yet. It sounds as though it's going to be imperative for me to locate that time, however, after reading what he has to say about it. That fact is rather depressing after a weekend that saw me rising at the crack of 4:30 am on both Saturday and Sunday. Can you say Monday-morning-pukey-tired? Anyway, here's Justin's take on Never Let Me Go.

Lives for Sale
Never Let Me Go is a time-trapped tragedy
Justin Senkbile

In the special club of music video directors turned mainstream feature filmmakers, Mark Romanek is certainly one of the least visible members. That's probably because he hasn't actually made a film since 2002's creepy-but-minor Robin Williams vehicle One Hour Photo. Who would've thought, with only a handful of music videos made between then and now, that his latest feature, Never Let Me Go would be so good?

A medical breakthrough in the early fifties, which we learn all about soon enough, has precipitated the need for special boarding schools that keep their students regimented in health and behavior…and completely isolated from the outside world. One such school is Hailsham, located in some dreary English countryside, where we meet Kathy (Carey Mulligan), Ruth (Keira Knightley) and Tommy (Andrew Garfield, from The Social Network and last year's fantastic Red Riding Trilogy).

Without giving too much away, it's important to mention that, although a title card informs us that the average life-expectancy has passed 100, the students of Hailsham are destined for a short, controlled existence in service of “the greater good.”

We watch Kathy, Ruth and Tommy as children at Hailsham, puzzled by the mysterious outside world and the looks of guilt and pity elicited by deliverymen and teachers (primarily the one played by the always wonderful Sally Hawkins). As adolescents, they gain a bit more freedom and a painful awareness of their destiny. Anger, malaise and hormones swell but are assumed to be particular to their own special societal status and not necessarily typical traits. For all three, adulthood seems to bring a calm but fragile acceptance of fate.

Although the foundation of the story (based on the novel by Kazuo Ishiguro) is an inherently political bit of science-fiction, Never Let Me Go keeps itself staunchly apolitical, with no denouncing or indicting. That's the key to this film's success and also what makes it so bleak. The idea of our heroes escaping the life laid out for them, or overcoming the authority that laid it out, isn't even so much as whispered. The most they ever hope for, and gingerly fight for, is a little extra time.

And time is what Romanek is most interested in here. The always-too-few precious moments, the interminable distance between them and, in the case of these particular characters, the ache that accompanies having to live in the past-tense.

Mulligan, Knightley and Garfield are all exceptionally good here, but special attention should be paid to the young actors portraying the child versions: Izzy Meikle-Small as Kathy, Ella Purnell as Ruth and Charlie Rowe as Tommy. It's their work that grips us from the beginning, and these kids play out the intricacies of this love triangle just as impressively as their older counterparts.

Never Let Me Go is depressing as hell—no one is going to argue with that. But it's also very beautiful; it’s a sincere, totally unassuming movie that has you drawn in long before you realize it…perhaps even in spite of yourself.

Grade: A

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It's Colin Farrell's world, we just live in it

David Cronenberg is a visionary filmmaker who is suddenly becoming a prolific visionary filmmaker. He's currently making A Dangerous Method, with these guys:

I can only hope for her sake does not involve a steam bath with Viggo because that would not work out well for her mental state. Cronenberg has decided to roll full steam ahead setting up a new project while working on this project with the following folks:


That's right, even though he looks like he wants to say "shhh" in the image above, Farrell is screaming about his career right now, as Variety is reporting that these two are going to star in the adaptation of Cosmopolis, which is about an asset manager who loses all his wealth over the course of one day. He must not be a very good asset manager, because all those other dudes on Wall Street lost a ton of money in 5 minutes last week. This is interesting to me because what I remember of Cronenberg is all body horror and weird; it's all The Fly and Crash (the one about people borking after car crashes, not the one that wants us all to sing kumbaya after finding racial harmony) in my memory. Now Cronenberg is Eastern Promises and A History of Violence. So, basically, he went from body parts falling off to Viggo Mortensen showing clearly that his body parts have not fallen off (yep, that's a second Mortensen showing his no-no joke in one post, happy FRIDAY!). I find the latter Cronenberg actually more compelling, even though many of my peers would disagree. Then again, who are my peers? Dudes with blogs making Viggo Mortensen peen jokes? We're a rare breed.

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This much I know: I will NOT be Captain America

Oh, hi there. Call me old fashioned...okay, now I have to show "The State" clip. It's short.



Hi, I'm back. Where was I? Oh, yes. Call me old fashioned, but I believe that when you make a movie that largely centers around one character, you should have a good idea of what you're looking for in the actor to play that character sooner than a few weeks before shooting. Oh, and call me old fashioned, but I believe when you make a "short list" you shouldn't ADD actors to it. You should only cut the "short list" down to one. On both of these points, Marvel could not disagree more. When it comes to Captain America, Joe Johnston (the director) said that casting needed to be complete by March 1 (uh oh), that the main star wouldn't be that well known (uh oh), and that they were "narrowing things down" (uh oh). Well, it's March 16 and we've added several high-profile actors to the mix. List one was: John Krasinksi, Scott Porter, Mike Vogel, Michael Cassidy, Patrick Fleuger, Chace Crawford, and Garret Hedlund. Then we heard that all but Krasinski were cut. Then we heard that Vogel and Hedlund WEREN'T cut but that Krasinksi WAS cut. Then we heard that Chris Evans and Wilson Bethel were added to the list. Then Ryan Phillippe was added. Now, Channing Tatum was added. I've said it before, and I'll say it again...I have no idea what a Channing Tatum is. So, as near as I can tell. The requirement to play Captain America consists of the ability to pee standing up. I am still reluctantly supporting Ryan Phillippe for this list, although now that they've widened things, I recommend considering Ryan Gosling, who is actually a good actor. The rest of the people on this ever-expanding list kind of suck or at least are totally underwhelming. Now, the second part of the news today is that they are putting out feelers for the female role of Peggy. If you're unfamiliar with the comic, Peggy is the person who is dating Steve Rogers when he becomes Captain America, and she then waves goodbye as he goes to war. Yes, her role is a rich, deep one, consisting of both crying when he says he wants to go to war and then waving when he does go to war. How can any one actress possibly live up to these standards? Clearly, what they're going to do over at Marvel is conduct some kind of exhaustive search based on talent and potential to mine the depth of character. Here are the three choices (so far):

Kiera Knightley
Alice Eve

Emily Blunt

Yes, three British women of suspect talent but inarguable hottitude are being sought to play a weepy American. I'm beginning to think this movie is being cast on some kind of dare or at the very least it's being done by drunks.