Monday, September 5, 2011
Monday, August 8, 2011
ON SET PHOTOS: "Total Recall" remake-now shooting in Toronto
Although the new monster-budget remake of 1990's Total Recall has been filming in Toronto for almost two months, thus far the action has been mostly confined to the sound stage at Pinewood Studios on Commissioners Street in the Port Lands. Earlier this week, however, the production got a whole lot more public. With stars Colin Farrell and Jessica Biel in tow, film crews descended on Lake Shore Avenue East to shoot one of what will likely be a number of chase scenes in the $200 million movie, the most expensive to be shot in Toronto to date.
I'm not one to gawk at celebrities, but I've always been fascinated by behind-the-scenes shots of film productions, particularly those which promise to feature gratuitous special effects. While I have little difficulty suspending disbelief in the theatre, it remains intriguing to see what the filmmakers and editors have to work with, even if it's invariably less exciting than the final product.
The stretch of Lake Shore where the filming took place is back open today, but one suspects this isn't the last time that the Total Recall cast and crew make an appearance outside the studio. Check out the photos below, and if you have shots of the production, send them to the blogTO Flickr pool. Lead shot by syfractal.
Photo by dtstuff9
Photo by Max Quijano
Friday, August 5, 2011
The Spielberg Curriculium: 206 movies u must see in order to work with him.
How Many of The Movies On This Arbitrary List of 206 Have You Seen?
Reposted from www.filmschoolrejects.comFeatures By Cole Abaius on August 1, 2011 | Comments (5)
As do many things on the internet, this completely official-looking Google Document titled “Spielberg’s Curriculum” is working its way around twitter and RSS feeds like a beautiful virus.
It originated in some dark corner of the planet, but it was first written about by screenwriter Scott Myers over at Go Into the Story. It was sent to him by guest writer for the site/guy hustling hard to work in the business, Nate Winslow (who is sadly not Carl Winslow’s son). It was apparently sent to Nate by “someone” over twitter.
The point? It’s not exactly verified that this is the list that Spielberg uses to cut the wheat from the chaff (considering that he also famously shows people movies while working on movies with them).
But, all of that curriculum nonsense is just a hook for what turns out to be a phenomenal list of movies from 12 Angry Men to The Young Lions (alphabetically, not chronologically).
Check out that last link and see how many you’ve seen (my number was a paltry 121), and you can always brush up on older films by reading Old Ass Movies where we’ve covered a handful of the films on this thing.
Thursday, July 28, 2011
REVIEW-Captian America; The 1st Avenger
Viewing MARVEL STUDIO's latest installment in the "Avengers" saga made me feel good about the impending franchise and well assured that Hollywood understands the importence of making better movies.Hopefully, the star-studded ensemble in "The Avengers" (coming May 2012) will be well worth the wait, if "Captian America" is any indication of MARVEL's continued excellence in scriptwriting, acting, editing and production design.
The film's premise centers on (our hero) Steve Rogers (played by CHRIS EVANS ; Fantastic Four) a puny-yet-determined Military enlistee who is deemed unfit for service.
After being noticed by a compassionate U.S. Scientist (played with heart by cameo Stanley Tucci), our man Steve volunteers for a top secret research project that turns him into Captain America, a superhero dedicated to defending America's ideals.
What better actor to play the diabolical villian RED SKULL than our favorite MATRIX bad guy HUGO WEAVING (V for Vendetta) who potrays a disfigured Nazi official-gone-rouge, hellbent on harnessing the power of ODIN (Thor's father, for those of you playing at home) which is embedded in a desert artifact that crashed on earth years before.
Expect huge explosions, great car chases, amazing stunts and above average special effects. Also expect a bit of corny chiches and obvious comedic relief - but hey, it's summer, it's MARVEL and the word 'America" is in the title. Shut up and chew ya twizzlers.Not only was it good to see Hugo Weaving chizel his mark in the movie villian's hall of fame (with Jack Nicholson's "Joker", James Earl Jone's "Darth Vader" and Terrence Stamp's "General Zod") but it was also refreshing to see Chris Evans in a role where he doesn't play a smarmy playboy with a cocky attitude.
I wonder if he begged for that role as a way to further develop his personal best as an actor. Maybe it fell in his lap. Either way, you can see him working from a different performance energy center, and that's a good thing.
Best wishes to MARK RUFFALO (The kids are alright, Shutter Island, Date Night) as he takes over the role of BRUCE BANNER in the Avangers movie. EDWARD NORTON is no longer huge and green.
Directed by popcorn vet JOE JOHNSTON ( Jumanji, Hildago, Jurrassic park 3) this film has the feel of a classic movie like "Raiders" with breakneack action sequences and slick production design. The costumes and shots of New York in the 40's were top-notch. Great use of REAL 3d tech from the first frame to the last. Worth the admission price.
TICKET WORTH: Full price (2D and 3D)
RENT THIS MOVIE?: Hellz yeah! Watch it with the kids.
BUY THE DVD?: Hellz yeah. Blue-ray, 3D - all the bells and whistles.
J/A
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Monday, June 6, 2011
X-MEN: First Class- Prequel 101
X-Men: First Class takes a cue out of the franchise handbook like STAR WARS: THE PHANTOM MENACE and BATMAN BEGINS and returns to the story's beginning; the formation of the X-Men and how the future Proffesor X and Magneto met.