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Film Review: ‘Tunnel’
16 hours ago
We’ve sort of seen it before: A guy is driving home for his daughter’s birthday, enters a tunnel, and gets trapped inside. Yet while Kim Seong-hun’s “Tunnel” sounds like it resembles any number of creepy tunnel pics or grand catastrophe epics, it’s actually a lean, enjoyable disaster story with enough distinctive elements to make it feel relatively fresh. Though unlikely to match the success of the director’s earlier “A Hard Day,” it shares with that film a biting critique of Korea’s government, wrapped in the kind of direct, personal drama that climaxes with lump-in-the-throat pay-offs for the emotionally susceptible. Home B.O. earnings after an Aug. 10 opening have been strong, with 1.8 million admissions the first weekend; a targeted stateside release Aug. 26 should see a small but enthusiastic response from Asian action fans.
Much of the film’s appeal is that it tosses aside the »
- Jay Weissberg
A Lesson of the ‘Ben-Hur’ Debacle: Movie Stars Still Matter
21 hours ago
Up until recently, when a movie turned out to be a major bomb — not just a financial failure but a symbol of waste, a legend, a stink bomb — there was usually a movie star’s name imprinted on it. The star became part of the movie’s infamy, and he also took on some of the blame. Just think of a folly like “Ishtar” (1987), in which the combined star wallop of Dustin Hoffman and Warren Beatty couldn’t add up to a hill of beans in the desert, or “Battlefield Earth” (2000), which proved that John Travolta in the middle of the Travoltassance couldn’t sell a sci-fi epic that was really an obsequious vanity project. “Heaven’s Gate,” the movie that brought down a movie studio, was the exception that proved the rule: No one really thought of it as a Kris Kristofferson film, but that’s because there was »
- Owen Gleiberman
Film Review: ‘Mister Universo’
22 hours ago
The reality of fantasy is the playfully paradoxical focus of “Mister Universo,” the third feature from filmmakers Rainer Frimmel and Tizza Covi to gently scrutinize the lives of circus performers beyond the big top. Revisiting one of the young subjects of their 2009 breakthrough “La Pivellina” — the now-grown but still-naive lion tamer Tairo Caroli — the Austrian-Italian duo’s airy docu-narrative approach once more yields wry, humane rewards, particularly once Tairo embarks on his own sort of modestly mythic quest. Honored with a special jury citation following its Locarno premiere, this grit-and-glitter charmer will draw a few “been-there-done-that” shrugs from critics and specialists acquainted with Frimmel and Cozi’s oeuvre. But it should cast more of a spell on the uninitiated further along the festival circuit — including an upcoming Toronto berth — and is likely to build on the marginal U.S. distribution accorded the helmers’ previous features.
“La Pivellina” and 2012’s “The »
- Guy Lodge
Box Office: ‘Ben-Hur’ Left in the Dust by ‘Suicide Squad,’ ‘War Dogs’ with $4 Million Friday
20 August 2016 7:38 AM, PDT
After pulling in about $4 million on Friday, “Ben-Hur” is looking at a dismal opening weekend at the box office in the range of $11 million at 3,084 locations.
The film, from Paramount and MGM, is eyeing a fourth or fifth place finish this weekend despite a big budget of about $100 million.
Warner Bros. is staying on top as “Suicide Squad” will most likely keep the throne with a third weekend in the $20 million range at 3,924 locations. The same studio’s “War Dogs” is looking at about $15 million at 3,258 locations after pulling in $5.5 million on Friday.
Sony and Annapurna’s second weekend of “Sausage Party” is eyeing a second weekend in the $15 million range at 3,103 locations after a $5 million Friday.
The tight box office race is only squeezed tighter by Focus’ launch of the animated adventure “Kubo and the Two Strongs” from Laika, which looks to open to about $12 million at 3,260 locations. Its »
- Seth Kelley
Morelia Film Fest To Unveil Demian Bichir’s Debut ‘Un Cuento de Circo & a Love Song’
20 August 2016 3:32 AM, PDT
Mexican thesp Demian Bichir, Oscar-nommed for his lauded perf in 2011 drama “A Better Life,” is staging the world premiere of his directorial debut “Un Cuento de Circo & A Love Song” (aka “Refugio”) at Mexico’s prominent film showcase, the Morelia Int’l Film Fest.
Produced by Ag Studios’ Itaca Films, “Un Cuento de Circo…” turns on a young man called Refugio who was born in a circus and journeys from Mexico to New Orleans in search for his lost love. Its cast is led by Bichir, his co-star in FX’s “The Bridge” Diane Kruger, and Jason Patric and Eva Longoria.
Meanwhile, Sebastian Cordero, Ecuador’s most renowned helmer (“Europa”), has chosen Morelia for the Mexican debut of his latest pic, “Sin Muertos No Hay Carnaval,” a co-production between his shingle, Carnaval Cine, with producing partner Arturo Yepes, Mexico’s Salamandra Prods. and Germany’s Atkis Film Prod. Bowing in Ecuador on Sept. »
- Anna Marie de la Fuente
Bollain’s ‘Olive Tree,’ Almodovar’s ‘Julieta,’ Ortiz’s ‘Bride’ On Spain’s Oscar Short-List
20 August 2016 3:03 AM, PDT
Iciar Bollain’s “The Olive Tree,” Pedro Almodovar’s “Julieta” and Paula Ortiz’s “The Bride” have made Spain’s short-list for its Oscar submission. The country’s final Academy Award candidate will be announced on Sept. 7.
The short-list pits three titles by auteurs from three Spanish filmmaking generations, each offering, in different measure, an offshore appeal beyond their arthouse-to-crossover Spanish market base.
“The Olive Tree” (pictured) marks the seventh film by actress-turned-director Iciar Bollain, whose feature helming debut, comedy “Hi, Are You Alone?,” dates from 1996.
Produced by Madrid-based Morena Films and Germany’s Match Factory Productions, and sold internationally by eOne’s Seville Intl., “The Olive Tree” is written by Ken Loach’s regular scribe Paul Laverty, who was inspired by a newspaper article he read.
Indirectly addressing the social, economic and emotional effects of Spain’s still-recent boom-to-bust crisis, the film follows a family in a village in Eastern Spain, »
- Emiliano De Pablos
Film Review: ‘Call of Heroes’
19 August 2016 6:54 PM, PDT
A dauntless sheriff and a roving bladesman defend a city under siege in “Call of Heroes,” a solid, muscular action period film with an apt if overstated political allegory. Hong Kong action blockbuster director Benny Chan (“The White Storm”) gamely riffs on Westerns and samurai films, while Sammo Hung’s sinewy action choreography is a glorious throwback to the rustic vigor of Shaw Brothers films of the ’80s.Overseas buyers from multiple territories have responded favorably to “Call,” but its China opening hasn’t quite taken off. If anything, the lukewarm response confirms that mainland audiences either prefer contemporary subjects or like their period films larded with fantasy and visual effects. The film can be viewed as a 3D conversion in China.
The setting is China’s Warlord Era (1916-1928), when military strongmen commanding armies of thugs ran rampant in the north. Early on, warlord Cao Ying seizes Stone City, »
- Maggie Lee
Paramount Promotes Peter Giannascoli to Co-President of Domestic Marketing
19 August 2016 5:31 PM, PDT
Paramount Pictures has promoted veteran executive Peter Giannascoli to the post of co-president of domestic marketing to lead creative marketing and advertising efforts.
The move comes a month after the studio tapped Google executive Rebecca Mall as co-president of domestic marketing and launched its first-ever brand strategy division and moved Steve Siskind out of the domestic marketing post and into home entertainment. Giannascoli will jointly run the department with Mall.
As part of the executive shuffle, Erik Counter is leaving his post as president of worldwide creative marketing.
Giannascoli will report to Paramount Vice Chairman Rob Moore and oversee all creative marketing efforts including creative content, digital creative and creative advertising. The research teams will also report into him.
“As a longtime member of the Paramount family, Peter is a gifted marketer and a well-respected veteran who has led numerous successful marketing campaigns for our studio,” said Paramount Pictures Chairman & CEO Brad Grey. »
- Dave McNary
Film Review: ‘Kampai! For the Love of Sake’
19 August 2016 5:04 PM, PDT
As a movie genre, food porn came of age in the 1980s, when art-house curios like “Babette’s Feast” and “Tampopo” left audiences salivating into their popcorn buckets. To this foodie, however, the taste-sensation aspect of those movies tended to be superior to the stories they told. If you asked me whether I’d prefer to watch a mouth-watering documentary about the succulence of Japanese noodle soup or a wild fairy tale about a samurai/cowboy searching for the ultimate noodle-soup recipe (“Tampopo” was that movie, and it had its fans, though I wasn’t among them), the answer is: The documentary, please!
A great many of us were made for the Food Channel era, in which the spectacle of chefs and recipes and kitchen-confidential trade secrets became a theater all its own. That, in fact, is why the food-porn genre ultimately evolved into documentary — impassioned portraits of culinary mania »
- Owen Gleiberman
‘Scream’ Star Willa Fitzgerald Joins John Cusack in Indie Drama ‘Misfortune’
19 August 2016 4:41 PM, PDT
Willa Fitzgerald, who stars in the MTV series “Scream,” is set to join John Cusack in the indie drama “Misfortune.”
Edward Lucky McKee is set to direct. Lee Nelson and David Buelow are producing this independent feature. Production starts September 19th in Savannah, Georgia.
The story follows a business man who becomes separated from his embezzled money in the remote wilderness. Three college students discover the money while canoeing and their friendships are tested by the lure of keeping the cash.
Fitzgerald will play one of the boys’ girlfriend.
Fitzgerald’s past credits include Amazon’s “Alpha House” and “Blue Bloods.” She is currently filming the indie “Freak Show.”
She is repped by Paradigm and Principato-Young Entertainment.
»
- Justin Kroll
Seth Rogen, Zach Galifianakis Comedy Loses May 2017 Release Date
19 August 2016 4:25 PM, PDT
Universal has taken its untitled sci-fi comedy, starring Zach Galifianakis, Bill Hader and Seth Rogen, off its May 26, 2017 release date.
The movie would have been going up against Disney’s “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales.” “Dead Men Tell No Tales,” the fifth movie in the “Pirates” franchise, and Sony’s science-fiction thriller “Life,” starring Rebecca Ferguson, Jake Gyllenhaal and Ryan Reynolds, which takes place abroad the International Space Station.
Universal announced the untitled project, also known as “The Something,” in February as the directorial debut of “22 Jump Street” writer-producer Rodney Rothman, then dated it a month later. The story centers on astronauts who happen upon a mysterious craft and find that they are not equipped to represent humankind in a battle of intelligent life.
Universal did not disclose Friday why it had removed the movie from the schedule but sources have indicated that the studio had concerns about the budget. »
- Dave McNary
The Guardians of the Galaxy Will Be in ‘Avengers: Infinity War,’ Vin Diesel Confirms
19 August 2016 3:25 PM, PDT
What Groot lacks in vocabulary, Vin Diesel made up for by spilling some Marvel news.
In a Facebook live video that aired on the actor’s personal page on Friday, Diesel confirmed that the Guardians of the Galaxy will appear in the upcoming Avengers movie “Infinity War.”
“Now, the Guardians will be included in ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ and that’s incredibly exciting,” he said addressing the live audience, “You were told before everybody.”
The real purpose of the video was not for Diesel to break news about the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but to show off an award he received from Facebook for having over 100 million fans. Diesel spends most of the almost 30-minute-long video telling his audience how much he appreciates their support for his career, including joining the “Guardians” franchise.
“That whole concept started from you all saying, ‘When are you going to be in a Marvel movie?'” he said. »
- Seth Kelley
Keanu Reeves, Alice Eve’s Sci-Fi Thriller ‘Replicas’ Gets Financing
19 August 2016 2:39 PM, PDT
Riverstone Pictures and Remstar Studios have come on board to finance the science-fiction thriller “Replicas,” starring Keanu Reeves and Alice Eve.
“Replicas” has started principal photography in Puerto Rico with Jeffrey Nachmanoff directing. Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Stephen Hamel share producing duties with Keanu Reeves, Mark Gao and Luis Riefkohl.
Lotus Entertainment is handling worldwide sales and will be selling “Replicas” at next month’s Toronto International Film Festival. Lotus sold multiple markets at Berlin last year.
The film is financed by Riverstone, a Reliance Entertainment company backed by Ingenious Media. Remstar Studios is co-financing, and Blue Rider in Puerto Rico is facilitating the financing locally.
Riverstone co-founders Nik Bower and Deepak Nayar will executive produce, alongside Bill Johnson and Jim Seibel for Lotus, Remstar’s Maxime Remillard and Clark Peterson, and Walter Josten of Blue Rider, Erik Howsam of Di Bonaventura Pictures and James Dodson.
The story, written by Chad St. John, »
- Dave McNary
Box Office: ‘Ben-Hur’ Trailing Rivals With Dismal $12 Million U.S. Weekend
19 August 2016 1:27 PM, PDT
Paramount-mgm’s costly remake of “Ben-Hur” is headed for a dismal fourth place domestic launch at about $12 million at 3,084 locations, early estimates showed Friday.
Warner Bros. third weekend of “Suicide Squad” will probably win a tight race for the top spot with as much as $20 million, followed by Warner Bros. launch of dark comedy “War Dogs” at $18 million and Sony’s second weekend of “Sausage Party” at $16 million.
“Ben-Hur” is battling Focus’ launch of Laika’s animated adventure “Kubo and the Two Strings” for fourth.
“Suicide Squad” is declining by about 59% and will wind up the weekend with about $260 million at the domestic box office. Warner Bros. announced earlier in the week that the supervillain tentpole had crossed the $500 million mark in worldwide box office.
It’s a decent start for “War Dogs,” starring Miles Teller and Jonah Hill as a pair of unlikely arms dealers in a project with a $45 million budget. »
- Dave McNary
10 Worst Movie Remakes of All Time
19 August 2016 12:00 PM, PDT
Is the new remake of “Ben-Hur” a disaster? Let’s call it a big mistake, and it’s one that illustrates the key principal of bad movie remakes: To really earn a place on the scroll of shame, a remake almost has to risk tarnishing the reputation of a movie we love. (Bad remakes of mixed-bag films, like “The Hitcher” or “Total Recall” or “Rollerball,” don’t matter as much.) With that in mind, here’s my list of the 10 worst movie remakes.
10 Worst Movie Remakes of All Time »
- Owen Gleiberman
Twitter Imagines Donald Trump as a Film Critic With #TrumpExplainsMoviePlots
19 August 2016 11:47 AM, PDT
The Twitter-verse got very creative overnight with the trending hashtag #TrumpExplainsMoviePlots, where users wittily conjured up the way Donald Trump would describe a movie plot.
One tweet, takes a direct hit to Trump’s comments about Fox News commentator Megyn Kelly during a CNN interview, where he said:
“She gets out and she starts asking me all sorts of ridiculous questions,” said Trump. “You could see there was blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her wherever. In my opinion, she was off base.” He later claimed that “wherever” meant Kelly’s nose.
The tweet poked fun at this line of reasoning: “A 10 gets killed in motel by loser. Blood coming of her whatever. Not a Trump hotel, folks.”
A 10 gets killed in motel by loser. Blood coming of her whatever. Not a Trump hotel, folks. #TrumpExplainsMoviePlots pic.twitter.com/WcAPkDx2IJ
— Jorge I. Castillo (@jicastillo) August »
- Maria Cavassuto
10 Worst Movie Remakes of All Time
19 August 2016 11:33 AM, PDT
Is the new remake of “Ben-Hur” a disaster? Let’s call it a big mistake, and it’s one that illustrates the key principal of bad movie remakes: To really earn a place on the scroll of shame, a remake almost has to risk tarnishing the reputation of a movie we love. (Bad remakes of mixed-bag films, like “The Hitcher” or “Total Recall,” don’t matter as much.) With that in mind, here’s a list of the 10 worst movie remakes.
»
- Owen Gleiberman
Michael Pena to Star in Sony Thriller ‘The Bringing’ Set in Cecil Hotel
19 August 2016 11:18 AM, PDT
Michael Pena is set to star in the Sony horror thriller “The Bringing.”
Jeremy Lovering is on board to direct the film, which is set in the Cecil Hotel in Downtown Los Angeles.
Plot details are vague, but the hotel has a horrific past. Pena investigates a mysterious death that happened on the grounds.
Brandon and Phillip Murphy worked on the script, which made the 2014 Blacklist, with the most recent draft written by Kevin Kolsch and Dennis Widmyer.
Matt Tolmach is producing along with Daniela Cristina Cretu and David Manpearl is also producing. Matt Milam is overseeing for the studio.
Pena is coming off a strong 2015 where he appeared the box office hits “Ant-Man” and “The Martian” and can be seen next in “Collateral Beauty” opposite Will Smith.
He’ll star in the Warner Bros. remake of the 1970s TV series “CHiPs” as well as John Michael McDonagh’s “War On Everyone” with Alexander Skarsgard. »
- Justin Kroll
Paul Hanneman Leaving as Fox Marketing-Distribution President
19 August 2016 11:07 AM, PDT
Paul Hanneman, 20th Century Fox Film’s worldwide president of marketing and distribution, is leaving the studio in October when his current contract expires.
Hanneman’s departure comes in the wake of Stacey Snider taking over the studio from outgoing 20th Century Fox Film chairman-ceo Jim Gianopulos.
Gianopulos had named Hanneman and Tomas Jegeus to serve as co-chiefs of distribution and marketing early last year. Jegeus was named to a new post as president of Fox international productions last August.
Marc Weinstock is Fox’s president of domestic marketing. The domestic distribution side is headed by Chris Aronson.
»
- Dave McNary
Ben Affleck Directing, Starring in ‘Witness for the Prosecution’ Remake
19 August 2016 10:41 AM, PDT
Ben Affleck is in talks with Fox to direct and star in a remake of courthouse drama “Witness for the Prosecution.”
Christopher Keyser will write the script, and Affleck will produce with Matt Damon, Jennifer Todd and the Agatha Christie estate.
The 1957 adaptation of the Agatha Christie short story, directed by Billy Wilder, starred Tyrone Power, Marlene Dietrich, Elsa Lanchester and Charles Laughton. It was nominated for six Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor for Laughton and Best Supporting Actress for Lanchester.
Set in the Old Bailey in London, Laughton plays a lawyer who represents a man (Power) accused of murdering a rich widow who had become enamored with him and made him the main beneficiary of her will.
Affleck directed Oscar best picture winner “Argo” and is in post-production on “Live by Night” for Warner Bros. He’s also directing the standalone Batman movie for Warner Bros. »
- Dave McNary
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