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"The Grey" and "The A-Team" director Joe Carnahan has been hired to write and direct a reboot of the vigilante action franchise "Death Wish" at MGM, Paramount and Scott Free says The Los Angeles Times.

The original 1974 Charles Bronson-led thriller follows an architect whose wife is raped and murdered and his daughter savagely beaten by three hoods.

Said architect becomes a one-man assassin killing criminals on the New York streets. Jeff Goldblum, Denzel Washington and "Warehouse 13" star Saul Rubinek all have small roles as crims, while filmmaker Christopher Guest plays a cop.

Sylvester Stallone previously tried to reboot the property five years ago but it didn't get into production. Jules Daly will produce.

Pogledao sam A DANGEROUS METHOD Davida Cronenberga, ekranizaciju drame Christophera Hamptona, bazirane na knjizi o odnosu Freuda, Junga i jedne pacijentkinje koja je igrala značajnu ulogu u njihovoj životnoj priči a kasnije postala jedan od vodećih sovjetskih analitičara. Cronenberg je poznat po tome što su njegovi kanonski filmovi pozivali na analizu tako da ovo može da bude protumačeno kao njegov odgovor analizi - njegov film o analizi posle svih analiza o njegovim filmovima/njegovih filmova/inspirisanih njegovim filmovima.

Nažalost, A DANGEROUS METHOD ni u jednom trenutku ne nagoveštava da Cronenberg na bilo koji način zaključuje taj krug, da se ovim filmom bilo šta rešava izuzev jedne stvari. U ovom filmu se možda i više nego u HISTORY OF VIOLENCE potvrdilo da je Cronenberg reditelj koji nema šta da pruži izvan svog tematskog kruga i imaginarija kojim vlada. Naravno, izbor teme i scenarija  jeste deo režije i potpuno je prirodno da ne postoji neki "univerzalni rediteljski dar" osim u retkim slučajevima velemajstora kao što je Martin Scorsese. Ipak, u slučaju A DANGEROUS METHOD Cronenberg ne samo da ne dostiže scorseseovsku ravan vladanja filmom nego je ispod nivoa tipova koji snimaju televizijske biografske filmove za BBC.

Kao što je trejler u šali nagoveštavao, Cronenberg ne samo da zalazi u šotrijansku epohu nego se bavi i šotrijanskim pristupom velikim umovima 19. i 20. veka, svodeći njihove odnose na istovremeno banalnu i potpuno artificijelnu melodramu. Ako je Cronenberg i želeo da ih demistifikuje kao dvojicu opskuranata koji su kroz postavljanje osnova psihoanalize lečili svoje komplekse, onda je to morao da učuini na način koji bi predvazišao njihov "nivo", i on to nije uradio.

Pored rediteljske nedoraslosti temi i elementarnom vođenju priče gde štošta u ovom kamernom komadu ostaje nejasno - Cronenberg se ne snalazi ni sa glumcima. Vincent Cassel donosi nešto malo virilnosti kao ekscentrični Otto Gross dok su Fassbender i Mortensen potpuno bledi i umrtvljeni kao Jung i Freud.

Centralna rola Keire Knightley međutim ne samo da donosi nekontrlisane promene akcenta već pokazuje das Cronenberg ne može da izađe na kraj sa jednom imitatorskom, egzibicionističkom rokolm koja ne samo da je prenaglašena već je i konstantnom disbalansu sa ostatkom podele.

Za razliku od Scorsesea za koga je sve teže utvrditi u kom se miljeu bolje snalazi, kod Cronenberga to postaje bolno očigledno i nagriza ugled koji je izgradio.

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Pogledao sam LE MOINE, novi film koji potpisuje Dominik Moll, reditelj čiji nijedan rad naročito ne cenim ali ga smatram zanimljivim. Reč je o adaptaciji romana Matthew Lewisa koji je u više navrata ekranizovan. Nisam uspeo da proniknem u "drugi" sloj iza osnovne melodrame o sitoetu koje prvo postaje neprikosnoveni a zatim bludni monah. Ukoliko je Moll planirao da se film svede samo na tu "osnovnu" priču i da ne krije ništa iza toga, onda je LE MOINE dostojan podsmeha. Moll pomalo koketira sa žanrom, premda pretpostavljam manje nego paco Lara, i svakako manje nego što inače radi, a ja odbijam da poverujem kako ga je ova priča sama po sebi, denotativno, zaintrigirala.

E sad, ako tu ima nečeg "dubljeg", Moll mi nije omogućio da do toga doprem. Možda će u tome uspeti neko drugi.

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Pogledao sam HAYWIRE Stevena Soderbergha i vrlo sam zadovoljan što je uspeo da ispuni prilično velika očekivanja. Znajući Soderbergha i njegovu sklonost da isfušeri, plašio sam se da će HAYWIRE biti samo parcijalno izveden film u kome će se tačno osećati šta zanima reditelja a šta ne. Međutim, rezultat je potpuno obrnut. Naime, Soderbergh je snimio film koji možda nije povratak potpunoj zaokruženosti i komunikativnosti radova kao što je OUT OF SIGHT ali definitivno jeste njegov najozbiljnije postavljen film još od THE LIMEY na kome je takođe sarađivao sa scenaristom Lem Dobbsom.

Soderbergh je pokušavao da se izrazi u raznim žanrovima u međuvremenu ali su njegove parafraze tih mitema bile uglavnom dosta oneobičene površnom realizacijom i neozbiljnim pristupom u kome je veličina njegovog autorskog ega smetala studioznosti pristupa. U saradnji sa JJ Perryjem ovog puta, Soderbergh uspeva da napravi film koji je zaokružen i studiozno realizovan u svim aspektima.

Gina Carano u glavnoj ulozi ponavlja ono što je sasha Grey pružila na polju glume u GIRLFRIEND EXPERIENCE, međutim za razliku od Sashe koja nije radila ono što radi u pornićima, Gina Carano je radila ono što radi u ringu  i pružila je izuzetnu rolu kad je reč o akcji koju je JJ Perry izvanredno koreografisao sa dorim osećajem za ranjivost ljudi, lomljivost scenografije i silu gravitacije a Soderbergh je sve to vrlo realistično zabeležio, sa ponešto elegantnih pokreta kamere ali i sa posebnim akcentom na telesnost.

Pored Gine Carano koja je ključna u svim akcionim scenama, Channing Tatum, Ewan McGregor i naročito Michael Fassbender takođe imaju priliku da se muški pobiju sa njom i njihove scene su izvaredne, dinamične, sjajno koreografisane i brutalne.

HAYWIRE je ipak u svom DNK art-house film i on je u suštini prilično hladan u emotivnom smislu, nema tu velikog crowd-pleasinga, međutim, od kada je Greengrass pomerio standarde sa Bourneom, ovakav pristup više nije neobičan i sve su češći dosta "hladni" akcioni filmovi. Zanimljiv je trend da MMA privlači ne samo DTV autore već i autore art house filmova kao što je David Maet sa RED BELTom, zatim Gavin O'Connor sa WARRIORom i evo sada Soderbergh. Ipak, moramo imati na umu da je pre svih njih svoj film ROĐEN KAO RATNIK snimio Gidra, pionir Ultimate Fighta kod nas.

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Jeste, da je Gidra živ, danas bi mogao da zadovoljno klima glavom što je bio prvi u još jednoj stvari na svetu...

A ovo zvuči dovoljno dobro da mu se posveti pažnja.

Mehmete, film ima ispisano tvoje ime svuda po sebi.

Evo i duži trejler za Mela, na engleskom!

http://dobanevinosti.blogspot.com/2012/01/get-gringo.html

Duhovita anticipacija Harryjeve kritike za GET THE GRINGO

"Hi gang, Harry here - trying to catch up on my writing duties after being wheelchaired back from an undisclosed locations where men wearing black hoods from Fox sat me down and allowed me to watch the new Mel Gibson flick GET THE GRINGO - and let me tell you right now ... after having cold gun metal in my mouth for almost three hours while signing a stack of non-disclosure agreements was an experience not even a crate of Ho-Hos washed down with mayonnaise could stop me from shaking after.

Lets just get this out of the way right up front - watching GET THE GRINGO will make you feel like you just got fist-fucked by the Feral Kid from ROAD WARRIOR while wearing a giant vagina costume and sucking on chemotherapy drugs through a Krazy Straw - yes, its that intense - but - it also has moments that will make you wish Gibson had laid off the sauce long enough to - let's just say, this ain't your momma's BEAVER - giggle.

But first lets backtrack a bit. Back when I was growing up in Austin - Fathergeek would take me on many magical adventures - we went to L.A. and I was awestruck because I had never seen palm trees before outside of The Beverly Hillbillies. I still have the first dead mummified rat that fell on me from one - at the time, I thought it was raining mummies - when your a child, you see the world through a child's eyes and even a dead rat can be a magical mummy.

Anyway, Fathergeek took me to this backlot in what I now know was Warner Bros. - they were also shooting a little independent movie there at the time called "BATMAN" - and that's where I met Mel Gibson for the first time - he was just coming out of a studio screening of LETHAL WEAPON 2. Man my eyes grew huge! Imagine being a teenager who got to hang out with Forrest J. Ackerman, Stan Lee and Dolemite - and then - here you are with the fucking ROAD WARRIOR NEXT TO A PALM TREE AND SOMEBODYS THROWING MUMMIES DOWN AT YOU! I think I may have peed my pants a little.

While I was busy making lemonade in my pantaloons (giggle!) - Mel Gibson walked over to me - I think I was shaking as I extended my hand to shake - and without even glancing my way - he said "Out of the way, peck!" Then he grinned - and I knew it was okay - and then we high-fived because it turned out we were both WILLOW fans.

Years later, that story would come back to haunt me as I hunkered down in my wheelchair and prepared myself - I didn't even have any popcorn - and watched GET THE GRINGO on a big screen. This wasn't WILLOW. This wasn't even mother-fucking LETHAL WEAPON 2. No this was Mel Gibson as we've never seen him before - shooting guns - I think he even cried in one scene - and people were chasing him. Imagine being chased by people and being scared - and then, you have a gun - well, that's what happened here. Things explode real good, too - and when Mel Gibson is chasing you with a gun - well, friendo - you better have a bulletproof vest!

I'll be back next week with more Blu-Ray reviews and some news they posted on Empire a week ago!"

Maja Miloš je dala intervju za Screen International

http://www.dobanevinosti.blogspot.com/2012/02/maja-milos-vs-screen.html

Pogledao sam dosta staromodan WW2 film CODE NAME: EMERALD koji bi više imao smsila kao televizijski film, mada ni u tom slučaju ne bi bio neko naročito značajno ostvarenje. Ronald Bass je u ovom filmu adaptrirao vlastiti roman i po ovom filmu se svakako ne bi reklo da će Bass kasnije postati jedan od najplaćenijih holivudskih scenarista a onda ubrzo biti i zaboravljen. Film je režirao Jonathan Sanger iz poznate producentske porodice i uprkos saradnji sa čuvenim DPjem i rediteljem Freddie Francisom nije pokazao ništa više od rutinske egzekucije.

Glumačka podela je interesantna, Ed Harris igra dvostrukog agenta poslatog da ne dozvoli zarobljenog Overlordu da oda Nemcima lokaciju iskrcavanja u Normandiji, a to radi tako što se pravi da za Nemce izvlači informacije od zarobljenog oficira. Bassov scenario je međutim prejednostavan i previše ravan da bi tu priču isterao na odgovarajući nivo.

Naročito je šteta jer Horst Buchholtz i Helmut Berger igraju SSovce a Max Von Sydow igra vojnog obaveštajca i njihovi likovi su mogli biti znatno slojevitiji od ovoga kakvi su napravljeni.

Na ovu temu, postoji mnogo bolji film 36 HOURS sa James Garnerom o kome smo naširoko pisali prošle godine.

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Sofisticirana arty komedija je jedan od žanrova koji su u sedamdesetim imali dosta slavnih predstavnika a da se ti naslovi potom nisu održali kao klasici. Deo Lesterovih radova, kao i mnogi naslovi Hillera i Mazurskog danas naprosto ne zauzimaju ono mesto koje su imali svojevremeno i postoji ogromno razilaženje između napisa o tim filmovima i onoga što ti filmovi danas postižu kao utisak. Otud teze da je KING QUEEN KNAVE Jerzyja Skolimowskog, čuvenog poljskog kinematografskog apatrida najnabokovljevskija od svih ekranizacija Vladimira Nabokova danas deluje potpuno apsurdno. I to ne samo u svetlu ekranizacije LOLITE koju je uradio Stanley Kubrick.

Naprosto KING QUEEN KNAVE deluje kao prilično plitka sex farsa koju Skolimowski obogaćuje raznim zanimljivim vizuelnim i rediteljskim rešenjima na nivou detalja ali gotovo da ne uspeva išta da reši na nivou celine. Štaviše, prenaglašenost pojedinih slapstick momenata i agresija u glumi glavnog junaka mnogo pre ostavljaju utisak vrhunski realizovanog Čalića nego Salvatorea Samperija ili narečenog Richarda Lestera.

Štaviše, rekao bih da su upravo naslovi kao KING QUEEN KNAVE nešto što je možda u glavi samog Čalića legitimisalo njegov rediteljski opus s tim što naravno on nikada nije posedovao rediteljsku veštinu ili produkcione uslove koji su bili dostupni Skolimowskom.

Isto tako, međutim, nesumnjivo je da u pojedinim scenama prepoznajemo da je Skolimowski reditelj razvijenog rukopisa i da je njegova klasa nešto što se oseća u ovom filmu i što može da impresionira kritičare iz zapadnih zemalja koje su ga importovale sa istoka. Ako tome dodamo činjenicu da je pre dve godine sa ESSENTIAL KILLINGom pokazao da je retko vitalan među rediteljima svoje generacije, Skolimowski nesumnjivo jeste jedna od najzanimljvijih figura svog vremena.

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Maja Miloš osvojila Roterdam!

http://dobanevinosti.blogspot.com/2012/02/maja-pokorila-roterdam.html

Quentin Tarantino's official Top Eleven of 2011

Red State1. Midnight In Paris
2. Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes
3. Moneyball
4. The Skin I Live In
5. X-Men: First Class
6. Young Adult
7. Attack The Block
8. Red State
9. Warrior
10. The Artist / Our Idiot Brother (tie)
11. The Three Musketeers

Others he liked (no particular order)

50/50
Beginners
Hugo
The Iron Lady
Carnage
Green Hornet
Green Lantern
Captain America
The Descendants
My Week With Marilyn
Fast Five
Tree Of Life
The Hangover Part II
Mission Impossible 4
The Beaver
Contagion
The Sitter
War Horse

Nice Try Award

Drive
Hannah
Drive Angry
Real Steel

Best Director

Pedro Almodovar
Bennett Miller
Woody Allen
Jason Reitman
Michel Hazanavicius

Best Original Screenplay

Midnight In Paris
Young Adult
Red State
Attack The Block
Our Idiot Brother
Beginners

Best Adapted Screenplay

Moneyball
The Skin I live In
Carnage
Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes
Hugo
X-Men: First Class

Pogledao sam DEEP END Jerzy Skolimowskog, film sniman u Nemačkoj, a smešten u London, sa kojim je Paramount u jednom trenutku čak želeo da zameni Polanskog na američkom tržištu kada su počele nevolje u njegovom životu. Film je snimljen 1970. a u eksploataciji je bio 1971. i na kraju je u Americi skončao kao B-film. Teško je reći da li je Skolimowski kao reditelj bio neko ko može da odmeni Polanskog, iako su oni stasavali i radili zajedno u Poljskoj, ali s druge strane, Skolimowski nije ni dobio priliku da radi u pravoj holivudskoj produkciji tako da nije dobio ni priliku za tu vrstu globalnog iskoraka, a ni u Evropi nikada do kraja nije uspeo da radi isključivo autorske projekte. U svakom slučaju, kad je o stilu reč Skolimowski je znatno razlikuje od Polanskog. U DEEP ENDu on kombinuje sklonost ka vizuelnim rešenjima kakvu srećemo kod Anrtonionija, naročito kad je reč o upotrebi boja; englesku nervozu i realističnu glumu kakvu su tada forisrali reditelji poput Lindsay Andersona; i dosta istočnoevropskog cinizma.

DEEP END je izvanredno dinamičan, Skolimowski je majstor vibrantnog prikaza situacija a osnovna lokacija u DEEP ENDu - javno kupatilo i bazen mu nude odličan osnov za izvanredan mizanscen i nezgodne situacije na koje se dosta oslanja.

John Moulder-Brown koji igra glavnu ulogu i u KING, QUEEN, KNAVE je u ovom filmu znatno bolji kao zaljubljeni mladi čovek koji pokušava da se dopadne nešto starijoj nadzornici u javnom kupatilu. Skolimowski u osnovi koristi niz konvencionalnih postavki, od one o low-tech iskrenosti (on vozi bicikl, nju udvarači voze kolima) do paralelnih svetova u kojima ona egzistira a on tek ulazi u njih (noćni klubovi, adult bioskopi) ali u svemu tome nalazi neku ekscentričnost.

Jane Asher koju pored glume, znamo i kao muzu Paul McCartneya od 1963. do 1968. godine, igra nadzornicu, a naročito je simpatično videti je u ovoj mladalačkoj ulozi posle uloge GILFa u seriji THE OLD GUYS.

DEEP END je u rediteljevom maniru izuzetno intenzivan, i naravno ne može se smatrati perfektnim ostvarenjem u nekom čisto akademskom smislu. Međutim, baš za razliku od KING QUEEN KNAVE uspeo je da izdrži zub vremena.

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before he died steve jobs was developing a software that would allow chinese babies to make apple products

Bong Joon Ho snima novi film!

http://dobanevinosti.blogspot.com/2012/02/bong-snima-novi-film.html

"The Incredibles" and "Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol" director Brad Bird is reportedly meeting with Legendary Pictures about hopping onboard the history-meets-Lovecraftian monsters mashup project "Here There Be Monsters" reports Vulture.

The story follows Revolutionary War naval hero John Paul Jones, but throws in tentacled monsters of the deep to the mix - meaning the tone looks to be akin to the upcoming "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter".

Brian Helgeland penned the script in which Jones is wrongly stripped of his British naval commission and is hired by a shipping magnate to investigate the disappearance of merchant ships in the North Atlantic. Jones and his crew suspect that it's the handiwork of a sea monster and have to fight to survive it.

Thomas Tull, Jon Jashni, Todd Lieberman and David Hoberman are producing.

Sa namernim zakašnjenjem pogledam sam GREEN LANTERN Martina Campbella. Još mi je ovaj DC strip spadao među manje interesantne iz njihovog univerzuma, tako da u spoju sa trejlerom koji je bio zbilja grozan ovaj film se lako kvalifikovao da ga sačekam na nekom kućnom formatu. Sve izvan toga, od glumačke podele preko Campbella kao reditelja mi je delovalo vrlo zanimljivo i u principu bilo mi je krivo da se toliki talenat potroši na nešto što u korenu nije mnogo potentno a na kraju je i delovalo potpuno besmisleno. I zbolja, ako uzmemo u obzir da je Campbell već u odmakloj starosti, rekao bih da je GREEN LANTERN kraj njegove high profile holivudske karijere. Gotovo sigurno mu neće biti prepušten film od 200 miliona dolara.

S druge strane, Campbell nije kao Hodges uspeo da snimi promašaj dimenzija FLASH GORDONa koji će decenijama kasnije biti upamćen kao potpuni kemp. GREEN LANTERN u sebi ima sve predispozicije za takav status ali čini se da je studio ipak radio na tome da se materijal "uozbilji" i da ne bude tako upadljivo bizaran.

Otud GREEN LANTERN sačinjava nekoliko embriona za scene ali nije dna prava razvijena situacija, ni dramska ni akciona, dobri glumci koji sporadično urade nešto zanimljivo ali pokazuju da ovde nema filma u kome bi išta mogli da pruže.

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Bećari uzvraćaju udarac!

http://www.thewrap.com/movies/article/joe-eszterhas-mel-gibson-he-wants-do-braveheart-jewish-history-35111

Producent i povremeni scenarista Richard Fell uradio je adaptaciju poznate SF serije A FOR ANDROMEDA iz šezdesetih u formi jednoipočasovnog TV filma za BBC iz 2006. godione. Sa odličnom glumačkom podelom koju predvode Tom Hardy, Kelly Reilly i Jane Asher, on nudi dosta smirenu parafrazu THE THINGa, sa prvim kontaktom tokom koga pronciljivi kompjuteraš shvata da vanzemaljci šalju poruke kroz koje postepeno sprovode u delo svoj plan o pokoravanju Zemlje a vlasti žele da prenebregnu potencijalne negativne namere vanzemaljaca i da njihovu tehnologiju iskoriste za svoje mutne namere.

John Strickland, jedan od ljudi od poverenja na britanskim televizijama, vrlo sigurno režira ovu priču i u principu iako smo navikli da ovakve postavke rezultiraju spektakularnom akcijom, nasiljem i krvoprolićem, uspeva da učini da nam oni ne nedostaju i da se priča s punim pravom razreši među karakterima.

Ono što ipak nedostaje to je moćnije razrešenje na idejnom planu jer promena odnosa među likovima radi posao ali nije dovoljna pošto premisa polazi sa pretenzijama koje su ipak veće od puke psihološke igre.

When it was announced that Mel Gibson was teaming with writer Joe Eszterhas for a biblical epic about Jewish historical figure Judah Maccabee, we more or less assumed that it would mean the death of his long-gestating Viking epic, which was originally supposed to team Gibson with William Monahan, Graham King and Leonardo DiCaprio. Monahan even confirmed late last year that he never wrote a word for the project and that, as far as he knew, it never went past the announcement. Well, it looks like throughout all his recent struggles, Gibson never gave up on his Viking dreams.

At a recent American Cinematheque Q&A [via L.A. Times] after a screening of "Mad Max," Gibson revealed that he's "got a couple of things on the boil, a couple of projects that I'm writing. I just got a second draft of something I'm really excited about today." Questioned whether it was his Judah Maccabee project, Gibson surprisingly replied -- to the delight of the crowd -- that "it's actually a Viking thing. Vikings, as you know, are very unsympathetic characters and these guys will be bad. I sort of hooked up again with Randall Wallace, who did the script on 'Braveheart.' Yeah, it's pretty good. It's called 'Berserker.'"

Questioned whether the Vikings will have horns on their hats as is the typical stereotype, Gibson said "they did not have horns. No, I don't think they had horns. They're going to look real." He continued, "They're not going to be running around like the '50s," referencing Richard Fleischer's 1958 pic 'The Vikings' starring Kirk Douglas and Tony Curtis. "I want to make something real and visceral."

Gibson also later confirmed that the team on board the earlier iteration of the project (King, DiCaprio, Monahan) was pretty much gone, adding that "things begin and people wander off and do their thing and I do my thing. I just took my stuff and wrote it with Randall. Where it goes from here is anyone's guess." No word on if the plan to film the whole project in the defunct Old Norse and Anglo-Saxon languages is still going ahead but, either way, we've definitely got fingers crossed that Gibson can make it all happen.

The Q&A also touched on George Miller's latest 'Mad Max' film, which Gibson more or less confirmed as the same feature film he was going to star in with Miller in the early '00's -- as we previously reported. He did, however, interestingly add that he had met his replacement, Tom Hardy, some time ago. "I like that kid [George's] got, Tom Hardy. He's a very interesting actor. He reminds me of one my sons a bit but I had lunch with him, he's a firecracker. It'll be good. He was already cast [at the time], he just wanted to check in. I don't know, maybe it was like 'Is it okay?' I was like 'Sure, it's fine. Have a ball, knock yourself out. I got better things to do.'"

As for his Judah Maccabee project? "I'm working with Joe Eszterhas on that. That's from the last two books of the Old Testament, which is like; [turns to audience] just read it some time. Maccabee 1 and 2. Just read it, it's like a Western. It's an amazing story. It's heroic beyond belief. The entire might of the Seleucid Empire, which was Persia, their whole objective at the time was to wipe Judea off the map and they almost did it except for this little hold out that miraculously grew and wanted it all back again."

All in all, it certainly sounds like Gibson has plenty on his plate with the two histrorical epics and, if the reception from the crowd at the Q&A are any indication, it seems like his troubled times are behind him. Forgive and forget, Leo?

SAFE HOUSE clips

http://www.nextmovie.com/blog/safe-house-clips/

Philip Seymour Hoffman is in final negotiations to join "The American" director Anton Corbijn's new thriller "A Most Wanted Man" for Potboiler Productions, Ink Factory, Amusement Park Film and Film 4 says Risky Biz Blog.

Based on John le Carré's 2008 novel and set in present-day Hamburg, the story begins when a mysterious, near-dead half-Chechen, half-Russian fugitive arrives in the city's Islamic community desperate for help and looking to recover his late Russian father's ill-gotten fortune.

Hoffman will play chief of a covert German spy unit who works to solve the mystery of the man's identity. Andrew Bovell adapted the screenplay.

Gail Egan, Andrea Calderwood, Malte Grunert, and Stephen and Simon Cornwell will produce. Shooting begins in Hamburg in September.

Two characters who don't get along are forced into an uneasy alliance by a common enemy. It's a familiar thriller plot, and in many ways, the star-laden Safe House is as generic a thriller as they come.

In this instance, it's Ryan Reynolds' low-ranking CIA operative and Denzel Washington's rogue veteran agent who are thrown together after a violent shoot-out. Denzel plays Tobin Frost, whose theft of sensitive government data has made him the target of an army of anonymous, heavily-armed villains, and when Frost's brief detention at a CIA safe house run by rookie agent Matt Weston (Reynolds) is gate crashed by the bad guys on his trail, the pair barely escape with their lives.

At first determined to return Frost to the CIA for interrogation, Weston gradually begins to wonder who the villains on his trail are working for, and whether his own bosses can really be trusted.

While it's true that Safe House's plot is formulaic, there are two things which make the movie worth a second look: first, the acting abilities of Washington and Reynolds, and second, Swedish filmmaker Daniel Espinosa's eye-catching, exhilarating direction.

As is often the case in action thrillers, the race to keep the plot moving along means that Safe House's characters are thinly drawn at best. Washington and Reynolds, are required, therefore, to bring all the depth to their roles they can, while at the same time trading punches, dodging bullets, and crashing cars. And as Training Day and American Gangster proved, Washington's excellent at playing dark characters, even though his acting career is filled overwhelmingly with more wholesome, heroic protagonists.

Washington lends some much-needed dramatic heft to Tobin Frost, while Reynolds brings some of the vulnerability and charm he displayed in Buried to his initially wet-behind-the-ears agent (Buried was proof that nobody in Hollywood can play bruised and exhausted better than Reynolds).

The pair's contribution to Safe House can't be underestimated – without their charisma and chemistry, we'd probably be left with another low-energy thriller like the disappointing Man On A Ledge earlier this year.

It's director Daniel Espinosa who's the real revelation here, though. He brings real weight and friction to Safe House's numerous car chases and fights, which are gritty and, on occasion, downright nasty. Sure, the wobbling cameras and urgent editing is from the post-Bourne school of filmmaking, but Espinosa has a way of framing his sequences and dragging his camera around that is uniquely his.

Unlike some action movies, it's possible to tell who's hitting or shooting who in these scenes, and as frantic as the action gets, it's always clear where one character is in relation to another – an apparently simple talent that even Hollywood's most well-paid directors sometimes appear to lack.

Ably supported by some excellent sound design and sterling work from cinematographer Oliver Wood, Espinosa brings real style and verve to Safe House's moments of violence. One slow-motion crash through a window – something we've all seen more times than we'd care to count – is framed and presented in a manner that borders on the breath-taking.

Safe House's South African locations also provide some memorable texture and colour, and it's refreshing to see an action thriller that uses its setting as a natural backdrop rather than as an exotic cultural cliché. For an example of a movie that does the opposite, look again at Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, which felt the need to play communist marching music whenever the action cut to Russia, accordions when it cut to Paris, or bagpipes when it cut to Scotland. (I made the last two up, but I think you get the point I'm trying to make.)

Vera Farmiga, Brendan Gleeson, Sam Shepard and Liam Cunningham are among a supporting cast of somewhat flimsy government agent archetypes, who you'll recognise in an instant. There's a furtive one who talks gruffly in the corner of crowded pubs, an older one who spends most of the film staring at graphics on a computer screen, and an even older one who threatens people from behind a mahogany desk while an American flag looms up in the background. Everyone owns an expensive mobile phone, and drives around in a jet-black four-wheel-drive Mercedes.

Ultimately, the familiarity of Safe House's plot is what detains it from brilliance, or at least four-star very-goodness. Everyone, from the supporting players (including Robert Patrick, who's barely recognisable from his T2 days, bless him) up to the simmering Denzel Washington himself, puts in lots of effort and some great work, and writer David Guggenheim pens one or two piquant lines of dialogue for them. But the lack of any genuine surprises, rug-pull moments or "Blimey, I didn't see that one coming" turns of fortune ultimately hold Safe House back.

For director Daniel Espinosa, though, Safe House is a more than promising Hollywood debut. From the most familiar of cloth, he's tailored a thriller that is far more stylish, good-looking and hard-hitting than it had any right to be, and on that basis alone, I'm anxious to see what he makes next.

Posle odugovlačenja i gledanja Marka Zarora u UNDISPUTED 3, konačno sam odlučio da se upoznam sa radom Ernesta Diaz Espinoze, čileanskog reditelja žanrovskih filmova koji već godinama igra značajnu ulogu na žanrovskim festivalima. Espinoza definitivno nije reditelj koji na bilo kom nivou donosi tehničke inovacije i bravure. Njegov osnovni adfut je apsolutna naivnost pristupa obogaćena invencijom i razumevanjem okolnosti u kojima radi u sasvim dovoljnoj meri da ti filmovi udu sjajno ogledalo jedne jasno definisane socijalne grupa koja ih pravi i za koju se prave.

Prvi Espinozin film koji sam pogledao je MIRAGEMAN, priča o marginalcu kog igra Marko Zaror i njegovoj odluci da postane maskirani heroj kako bi čistio ulice od šljama i terapeutski uticao na svog brata koga je u detinjstvu silovala grupa bandita kojom prilikom su im ubijeni i roditelji. Pojava maskiranog heroja počinje pozitivno da deluje na brata koji je inače u duševnoj bolnici a ubrzo na sve reaguju i mediji koji istovremeno popularišu i ismevaju novog heroja.

Marko Zaror je temelj ovog filma. Ovaj nekadašnji duble Dwaynea Johnsona stvarno ima potencijala za akcionu zvezdu i pravo je čudo kako do sada nije više prigrljen od Avi Lernera i ostatka ekipe.  UNDISPUTED 3 je bio dobar showcase za njega a on ima potencijala da bude i EXPENDABLE. Akcione scene u kojima učestvuje po vlastitoj koreografiji nisu radikalne ili inovativne kao ono što rade Prachya Pinkaew i Panna Rittikrai, ali su vrlo energične i vidi se da tu ima pravog udaranja i padanja.

Upravo u tom potpunom odsustvu estetizacije i inovacija leži ta snaga i autentičnost Espinozinog rada. Naime, u trenutku kada je borilački film prevazišao svojhe Grindhouse okvire, postao posle MATRIXa okosnica najskupljeg mainstreama, a posle CROUCHING TIGERa i raznih KIneza Pete generacije čak i art house stvar, došao je trenutak da se cela priča vrati na ulice svojim najiskrenijim naivnim korenima.

Ono gde Espinoza pravi ključni uspeh kao reditelj je to da njegov film nije idejno znatno ispred Gidrinog ROĐEN KAO RATNIK ali u suštini jeste bolje režiran, bez odlaska u estetizaciju i inovaciju ali sa sasvim dovoljno kompetencije da gledalac sa savremenom medijskom inteligencijom u tome može da uživa.

Otud nizak budžet, naivnost i apsolutno oslanjanje na Zarora nisu mana već znak pravog povratka korenima. E sad, naravno, ja sam u principu uvek skloniji nadgradnji, međutim povratak onome kako je sve počelo ponekad nije loš, naročito ako je tako šarmantno sproveden kao kod Espinoze i Zarora.

Zaror je naravno veliki kapital ovog filma i cela stvar ne bi imala smisla da nije njega kao akcionog heroja. On je već svojom pojavom film za sebe, slično kao The Rock, pa ne čudi da mu je bio dubler u Bergovom WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE. Rekoh već, zbunjujuće je da Zaror još uvek nije uspeo da se nametne u "američkim" akcijašima barem kao negativac, naročito ako imamo u vidu da je rok trajanja akcionih heroja kao što je on prilično ograničen.

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Svi ljubitelji filma su već verovatno čuli da nas je napustio veliki montažer i filmadžija prve klase Marko Glušac.

Evo komemorativnog teksta o njemu...

http://dobanevinosti.blogspot.com/2012/02/marko-glusac-in-memoriam.html

New U.S. Release
Safe House
By Justin Chang
A Universal release presented in association with Relativity Media of a Bluegrass Films production. Produced by Scott Stuber. Executive producers, Denzel Washington, Scott Aversano, Adam Merims, Alexa Faigen, Trevor Macy, Marc D. Evans. Directed by Daniel Espinosa. Screenplay, David Guggenheim.
Tobin Frost - Denzel Washington Matt Weston - Ryan Reynolds Catherine Linklater - Vera Farmiga David Barlow - Brendan Gleeson Harlan Whitford - Sam Shepard Carlos Villar - Ruben Blades Ana Moreau - Nora Arnezeder Daniel Kiefer - Robert Patrick
Hardly the first movie to envision the CIA as a hotbed of corruption, secrecy and deadly internecine warfare, "Safe House" is a viciously energetic South Africa-set actioner that makes up in sweaty atmosphere and brute force what it lacks in surprise. Swift but overlong, this mechanically effective Hollywood debut from Swedish-born helmer Daniel Espinosa ("Easy Money") doesn't have an original bone in its body -- or, by the end, an unbroken bone between its two leads. Cat-and-mouse pairing of Denzel Washington and Ryan Reynolds should land punchy if not pulverizing B.O. blows at home and overseas.

The first-produced screenplay by David Guggenheim superficially recalls the template of 2001's "Training Day" in that it casts Washington as a ruthless, not-to-be-trusted avatar of violence playing malevolent mentor to a white-male rookie. But there are also shades of the "Bourne" movies present in the pic's slamming edits and herky-jerky handheld camerawork, its de rigueur cynicism toward dirty agency politics, and its restless toggling between the men in the field and the CIA suits trying to hunt them down.

At the heart of the matter lies a particularly hoary MacGuffin: a classified list of operatives and agency secrets that must be protected at any cost. That means capturing Tobin Frost (Washington), a murderous rogue spy who has eluded the CIA for years, but has now surfaced in Cape Town with the incriminating file in his possession. A man with many enemies, as well as a name perhaps calculated to evoke serial killers and Santa Claus, Frost is ambushed by thugs barely five minutes in and winds up surrendering at the CIA's nearest safe house.

The housekeeper on duty there is Matt Weston (Reynolds), an agency greenhorn in love with his unsuspecting French g.f. (Nora Arnezeder), bored with his far-flung outpost and ready for an exciting career in international espionage. Frost's arrival turns out to be his make-or-break career opportunity: When the aforementioned thugs launch a ferocious attack on the safe house, Weston must go on the run with Frost, ensuring that he doesn't let him get away -- and isn't killed by either the attackers or Frost himself.

Frost, of course, is not about to make this easy for him. When he's not turning the tables on Weston in the middle of a crowded stadium or grabbing the wheel from him in one of the film's many extended vehicular smash-'em-ups, this most skilled of assassins attempts to wage a subtler form of psychological warfare. Yet the cruel put-downs feel second-rate, the anti-CIA sentiments could have been lifted from a blotter, and the old-pro/young-gun dynamic never rises above routine. Washington, as cool and formidable a presence as ever, is none too energized by his material, which requires him to drop thinly veiled taunts about Weston's sexual preferences and mutter tough-guy cliches about how impossible it is for a spy to sustain a meaningful relationship. You don't say.

Reynolds comes off as much more alert and engaged by comparison, in part because both he and his character have more to prove. Appearing opposite a heavyweight co-star in an action-heavy vehicle that requires far more in terms of bodily endurance than f/x-laden extravaganzas like "Green Lantern," the thesp rolls up his sleeves, benefiting from his ability to project intelligence as well as insecurity, often simultaneously. Supporting cast includes Vera Farmiga, Brendan Gleeson and Sam Shepard as three CIA execs whose various hidden allegiances will come as no surprise to anyone paying attention, as well as Ruben Blades as a world-weary old ally of Frost's who gets closest to supplying the film with a cold, bruised heart.

Perhaps aware that his characters will compel interest only to the extent that they're in danger at all times, Espinosa puts Frost and Weston through the physical wringer, dispensing bullet holes and stab wounds like party favors while giving stunt coordinators Greg Powell and Grant Hulley, fight coordinator Oliver Schneider and second unit director/d.p. Alexander Witt ample room to cut loose. Lenser Oliver Wood keeps the cameras on the move, and editor Richard Pearson adds another layer of disorientation by slicing and dicing every other scene into a barely coherent frenzy. In contrast with the fragmented kineticism of Paul Greengrass' "Bourne" movies, there's no existential dimension to the shattered-glass aesthetic here; it's just raw, chaotic action, inelegantly shot and staged but no less unnerving for it.

Pic extracts considerable production value from its Cape Town shoot, most impressively during a chase scene set in the township of Langa, which finds Frost evading capture by leaping across slum rooftops. The ensuing destruction of homes provides an apt image of U.S. powers reducing Third World civilization to rubble, while putting a cruel spin on the pic's title, though no one involved seems aware or particularly sympathetic.
Camera (color, widescreen), Oliver Wood; editor, Richard Pearson; music, Ramin Djawadi; production designer, Brigitte Broch; supervising art director, Nigel Churcher; art directors, Pablo Maestre, Shira Hockman, Jonathan Hely-Hutchinson; set decorators, Melinda Launspauch, Andrew McCarthy, Tom Olive; sound, Nico Louw; sound designers, Peter Staubli, Dino R. Dimuro, Christopher Assells; supervising sound editor, Per Hallberg; re-recording mixers, Chris Jenkins, Frank A. Montano; special effects coordinator, Clive Beard; special effects supervisors, Cordell McQueen, Terry Flowers, Sam Conway; visual effects supervisor, Simon Hughes; visual effects, Image Engine; stunt coordinators, Greg Powell, Grant Hulley; fight coordinator, Olivier Schneider; assistant director, John Wildermuth; casting, Sarah Halley Finn. Reviewed at AMC Century City 15, Feb. 1, 2012. MPAA Rating: R. Running time: 114 MIN.

JASON STATHAM TO RETEAM WITH SIERRA / AFFINITY AND STAR IN HEAT

Film To Be Directed By Brian De Palma From A Screenplay By Oscar®-Winning Screenwriter William Goldman


LOS ANGELES, CA  February 8, 2012 – Sierra / Affinity announced today that they will commence sales efforts in Berlin on the remake of the 1987 feature film HEAT with Jason Statham set to star and Brian De Palma directing the action film from a script adapted by two-time Oscar® winner William Goldman.  Goldman also wrote the original screenplay of the 1987 version of the film which starred Burt Reynolds.  Both the modern take as well as the film from the 80's are based on Goldman's novel of the same title.  Steven Chasman will produce alongside Statham.  HEAT will commence principal photography in France in late 2012 or early 2013.

This tightly-wound, fun action-thriller, tells the story of a tough recovering gambling addict (Statham) who makes his living providing protection in the rough edges of the gambling world.   Statham's character refuses to resort to gunplay, strictly using hand and edged weapon combat.  When a dear friend is brutally beaten by a high-rolling mobster, he helps her get her revenge and he ends up in more trouble than he ever imagined.

Sierra's Nick Meyer says "We are pleased to once again be working with Jason and Steve on another project which in this case is based on great source material from a rare combination of an acclaimed novelist who is also at the top of his game as a screenwriter.  We look forward to bringing this elevated action-thriller from Brian De Palma to distributors around the world. We feel this project has it all—a first rate piece of material, a legendary director and a global action star."

Later this year Statham will be seen in Sierra / Affinity and Incentive Filmed Entertainment's highly anticipated release of PARKER which comes to theatres on October 12, 2012. Statham's other film credits include THE TRANSPORTER series, THE EXPENDABLES, CRANK, THE MECHANIC, and THE BANK JOB.

De Palma's directing credits include the seminal films MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE, THE UNTOUCHABLES, CARLITO'S WAY and SCARFACE.

Chasman's credits include PARKER, THE BANK JOB, and THE TRANSPORTER 1, 2 & 3.

Goldman has written numerous films including those that won the Academy Award® for best screenplay, ALL THE PRESIDENTS MEN and BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID, as well as other screenplays for the films MARATHON MAN, DREAMCATCHER and ABSOLUTE POWER among others.

Ti ćeš, kao fetišista VHS-a sigurno potpisati sve ovo:

http://techzwn.com/2012/02/interview-filmmakers-tell-of-the-home-video-revolution/

Pogledao sam vrlo zanimljivu literarnu adaptaciju LE COUPERET Costa Gavrasa, nastalu po romanu Donald Westlakea. Iako ekranizacije amerričkih krimi pisaca nisu strane francuskim rediteljima, čak naprotiv, neke od kultnih filmova su snimili po toj literaturi, Costa Gavras ipak nije taj tip reditelja, njegovi politički filmovi, i kad su bazirani na istinitim pričama i kada su fikcija daleko su od žanrovskog filma po svojoj postavci i žanrovskim obrascima se koriste samo u formi narativne kičme. Otud se za Gavrasa može reći da je zapravo kroz svoju karijeru konstantno imao posla sa žanrovskim konvencijama a da mu one nikada nisu bile u prvom planu niti činile okosnicu filmskog izraza.

U slučaju Westlakea, međutim, činjenica jeste da iako ga znamo po holivudskim ekranizacijama u žanru krimića, i naslovima poput POINT BLANK, HOT ROCK i PAYBACK uz potcenjeni i meni izuzetno značajni THE SPLIT, on je jako puno sniman po Evropi, naročito u Francuskoj gde je uglavnom prisutan kroz krimi komedije.

I LE COUPERET je u osnovi krimi komedija. Costa Gavras otud zaista pokušava da se kreće tom žanrovskom putanjom, bolje se snalazi u krimiću nego u komediji na nivou gega, međutim u osnovi n prošušta da izvuče sav humor koji proističe iz situacije. Političko opterećenje koje donosi Gavras javlja se u formi socijalne kritike.

LE COUPERET je priča o otpuštenom inženjeru koji odlučuje da na osnovu CVjeva ubije sve potencijalne konkurente za radno mesto, i Costa Gavras bezmalo godarovski prikazuje nezadovoljstvo nezaposlenih u Francuskoj, naravno uvek se drži elementarne uverljivosti filmskog prizora. Costa Gavras u tom smislu jasno artikuliše problem svog junaka - on shvata da je pbuna kapitalista uzaludna i da su nezaposleni prisiljeni da se pobiju među sobom ne bi li došli do posla. Gavras čak ne propušta priliku da u jednoj sceni tu opservaciju i najdirektnije iznese iako je ona jasna iz same priče.

Međutim, Gavras je očigledno osetio strah pošto je film uspeo da žanrovski profunkcioniše i da se sa dosta uživanja prati kao priča o junacima, bez dovoljno hladnoće korz koju bi se nametnula politika. U tom smislu, ne smeta što se na takav način manifestuje rediteljev strah.

Uprkos tome što je mogao biti nekih dvadesetak minuta kraći i što ima par potencijalno intrigantnih pravaca kojima je sam Westlake mogao i gotovo pa morao proći a nije, LE COUPERET je vrlo efektan film iskusnog veterana koji je u veme kada ga je napravio već imao 72 godine. LE COUPERET deluje kao film znatno mlađeg i vitalnijeg čoveka.

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Quote from: Meho Krljic on 09-02-2012, 13:01:51
Ti ćeš, kao fetišista VHS-a sigurno potpisati sve ovo:

http://techzwn.com/2012/02/interview-filmmakers-tell-of-the-home-video-revolution/

Apsolutno. Držanje stvari realnim!

Pogledao sam Cronenbergov srednjemetražni film STEREO iz 1969. godine. Duže vreme sam se pripremao da overim ove embrionalne Cronenbergove radove, ali sam onda obično birao da repriziram njegove u potpunosti razvijene klasike. Ipak, sada kad je došao već u fazu truljenja sa A DANGEROUS METHOD, možda je pravi trenutak za terapiju matičnim ćelijama.

I zbilja, STEREO jeste embrion onoga što će Cronenberg kasnije razviti u potpunosti u svojim kanonskim filmovima i što je još važnije taj embrion u sebi sadrži svu onu vitalnost koju sada u fazi truljenja više nema.

STEREO se može posmatrati kao embrion u tom smislu što u sebi praktično sadrži DNK svega onoga u šta će se Cronenberg razviti u svojim klasicima s tim što ga ne nudi u formi potpuno razvijenog zaokruženog filma već, sasvim sigurno zbog produkcionih ograničenja, u jednoj specifičnoj, raslojenoj formi. U svojim potpuno formiranim filmovima Cronenberg prepliće klasicistički pristup inscenaciji i kadriranju sa hladnom, kliničkom atmosferom, brutalističkim ambijentima i maštovitim organskim manifestacijama strahova i ideja, ovde su prisutni samo klasicizam i brutalistička arhitektura kao ambijent dok su ideje date iz off-prostora kroz voiceover.  Međutim, sama koncepcija filma sa voiceoverom u priči o ljudima koji su telepate i ne moraju da komuniciraju deluje kao klasicistički postupak prvog reda i samo se na prvi pogled čini se da je reč o pretencioznom arty zahvatu.

Naravno da je STEREO svoju eksploataciju najpre morao da ima u arty okolnostima jer je ta publika spremnija na ovakve sadržaju, ali to je druga stvar.

Najvažnije je to da se u tragovima već u filmu STEREO prepoznaju ključne tačke Cronenbergove poetike. Ovaj film stoga može da bude dobar primer mladim autorima kako da svoje ideje prilagode no budget uslovima, snime film koji u tim okolnostima izgleda dobro i kasnije dođu do uslova u kojima će moći da ih ostvare u potpunosti.

Trejler za film O BUBICAMA I HEROJIMA. Deluje prilično nesvakidašnje za naše uslove!

http://dobanevinosti.blogspot.com/2012/02/o-bubicama-i-herojima-prvi-trejler.html

EXCLUSIVE: Renny Harlin will direct an as-yet-untitled thriller set in Russia's Ural Mountains.

The fact-based film is about a mysterious incident in 1959, when nine experienced hikers were found dead. The film will be able contemporary students on a trek to investigate the mystery.

Producers will be Alexander Rodnyansky, Kia Jam, Harlin and Sergei Bespalov.

Aldamisa International will handle international sales.

The project will start shooting on location in Russia in March.

Harlin, who previously directed The Long Kiss Goodnight, Cliffhanger and Die Hard 2, said: "I was fascinated by this story, which remains one of the great unsolved mysteries of modern paranormal lore.  The facts, the script and the very dramatic setting convinced me that there is a thrilling movie there, just waiting to rivet audiences."

Rodnyansky, who is also a producer of Berlin Competitor Jayne Mansfield's Car by Billy Bob Thornton, said: "We are really excited to be working with Renny Harlin on this film; he is the ideal filmmaker to bring this eerie and suspenseful story to life. I look forward to producing this project with him and with Kia Jam, and we are enthusiastic about introducing it to buyers at EFM."

Christopher Plummer and Frank Langella have signed on for Stephen Frears' upcoming HBO TV movie M"uhammad Ali's Greatest Fight" about Ali's 1967 arrest for draft evasion and the legal battle that took him all the way to the Supreme Court.

Plummer will play Supreme Court Associate Justice John Marshall Harlan II, Langella will take on the role of Chief Justice Warren Berger. Shawn Slovo ("Captain Corelli's Mandolin") penned the script.

Pogledao sam 99 AND 44/100% DEAD Johna Frankenheimera. Ovo je produkcija Joe Wizana, po scenariju Roberta Dillona, a to je tandem koji je stajao iza remek-dela Michael Ritchieja PRIME CUT. Otud ne treba da čudi pokušaj da se u Frankenheimerovoj režiji napravi kopija PRIME CUTa, samo sa Richard Harrisom umesto Lee Marvina i u velikom gradu umesto u varošici. Nažalost, FRankenheimer previše često kliza u grotesku kad je reč o stilizaciji i postavci situacija, a reklo bi se i da je Dillonov predložak za PRIME CUT bio čistiji i jednostavniji, i samim tim efektniji, iako se dosta istog DNK može naći i u ovom filmu.

Ono što filmu 99 AND 44/100% DEAD pre svega nedostaje jeste Ritchiejev element socijalne kritike i suštinskog konflikta sela i grada na kome on gradi svoju priču. Ritchie se bavi Amerikom, a Frankenheimer se svodi na pokušaj da gangsterske miteme učini neško grotesknijim i da ih po svaku cenu oneobiči, i na kraju u svemu tome ostaje bez dramskog sukoba, osim "mafijaškog rata" koji je osnov cele priče ali u sebi ne sadrži dramski sukob per se, ali i bez glavnog junaka koji egzistira isključivo na bazi Harrisove harizme.

To međutim ne znači da film ne funkcioniše na nivou same mehanike. Ni u tom pogledu, ni u tehničkom pogledu nikada ne doseže PRIME CUT, ali može da se pogleda. Drugo, to ne osporava da u filmu postoji dosta invencije i nekoliko jako simpatičnih detalja i scena po kojima se definitivno izdvaja iz mase krimića iz svog vremena i oni koje ovaj žanr zanima svakako da moraju da ga pogledaju.

U filmu ima nekoliko detalja koji su me podsetili na FRENCH CONNECTION 2, pre svega fobija od toga da se čovek navuče na heroin ako ga uzme jednom, i ne čudi da su Dillon i Frankenhermer kasnije upravo sarađivali na tom filmu.

U domenu produkcionog dizajna, ovde ima dosta lutanja, i reklo bi se da svet u kome se ovaj film dešava tek povremeno zaživi, između oistalog i zato što su ulice kojima se kreću junaci upadljivo puste, upravo suprotno dokumentarisičkom odnosu prema ambijentima i statistima koji gaji Ritchie.

Poređenja sa PRIME CUTom su očigledno iz niza razloga neumitna. I sva ona su nepovoljna po Frankenheimera. No, ipak, čak i kao zabluda, ovaj film zaslužuje da ga pogledaju ljubitelji ovog pogleda na kinematografiju.

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Pogledao sam THE BEYOND Josepha Rusnaka, novi DTV triler sa Jon Voightom u glavnoj ulozi. Neobično je videti Voighta, uglednog glumca, nekadašnju zvezdu, u DTV filmu jer on je do sada ipak snimao filmove i ozbiljnije TV serije. Ipak, ovde je leading man u trileru sa supernatural premisom o detektivu koji je specijalizovan za pronalaženje otete dece. Rusnak je svakako jedan od najozbiljnijih reditelja u DTV miljeu i njegovi filmovi uvek deluju za klasu bolje od proseka. Tako i THE BEYOND sporadično deluje kao sasvim solidan televizijski rad, međutim, sam zaplet je toliko besmislen i scenario je toliko isprazan da ovo odlazi ispod nivoa savremene televizije. Nema sumnje da scenario ovog filma uspeva da održi neku servisnu funkciju, da održi neki tonus priče na elementarnom nivou. Međutim, iz današnje vizure stvarno je besmisleno gubiti vreme na snimanje i gledanje ovakvih stvari osim u popodnevnim terminima nekih siromašnih televizija.

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A new unit was formed in mid-January to deal with the amount of 'illegal' media circulating in North Korea.

"Unit 114 has been formed following a January 14th order handed down by General Kim calling for a concentrated crackdown on suspicious songs, recorded materials and impure published media," a source from Yangkang Province told Daily NK on the 12th.

The source went on, "The unit has been organized by the Propaganda Department of the central Party, but the interesting thing is that it also contains people from the National Security Agency." Interesting, the source noted, because such units, also a very regular feature of the Kim Jong Il era, are commonly made up of people dispatched by the central Party. Indeed, there is already Unit 109 similarly charged with dealing with inflows of outside media.

In addition, the format of the unit's activities is in marked contrast to some of the past, the source said. "These inspections have not been announced in people's unit meetings and, since the inspectors are circulating undercover in the jangmadang, people are much more frightened," she explained. "Someone who was caught selling CDs in the area in front of the jangmadang here told me that the investigation was done by an NSA agent and someone from the central Party Propaganda Department."

According to the source, the trader in question was selling copies of a recently released North Korean film, 'Brotherly Love', when he came under suspicion. Even though it is a North Korean film which portrays Chinese troops in the Korean War and the lives of North Koreans at the time, the trader nevertheless got in trouble because the film was copied rather than being an original.

"The trader made and signed a written statement saying 'I will not sell copied films again' and so was let go, but as he was leaving he was asked by an NSA agent to report people possessing or selling South Chosun films and songs or American films. He got really shocked by the experience, and is now at home resting up," the source said.

"A lot of traders who used to make a living selling CDs are now in hiding. The investigation is harsh, so people with experience selling South Korean CDs in the past are hiding to avoid getting caught."

Stari Kadar za Dan zaljubljenih nudi ono što najviše volimo - tekst o tajnim službama i kinematografiji!

http://www.politika.rs/rubrike/Pogledi-sa-strane/Nepodnosljiva-lakoca-zavere.sr.html

BBC je ušao u gotovo dekadentnu fazu sa svojim lucidnim izborom istinitih priča o kojima pravi jako zanimljive tlevizijske filmove. WE'LL TAKE MANHATTAN John McKaya je tako recimo priča o čuvenom modnom fotografu David Baileyu i njegovom čuvenom sešnu sa Jean Shrimpton u Njujorku koji je promenio istoriju modne fotografije. Širina sa kojom BBC sagledava i prihvata istorijske događaje kao relevantne je stvarno sjajna, i slučaj Bailey - Shrimpton svakako ima veliki uticaj na savremenu kulturu.

Bilo bi zanimljivo videti nastavak, odnosno da je li je Bailey u nekom trenutku svoje potonje pedesetogodišnje karijere bio konzervativan i nespreman da prihvati neku inovaciju.

Kada se na sve to doda vešta egzekucija reditelja i scenariste John McKaya i Karen Gillan (Amy Pond) u ulozi Jean Shrimpton, WE''LL TAKE MANHATTAN je pun pogodak.

The North Korean authorities have advised traders, exchange students and other workers based in China to return to the North for Kim Jong Il's birthday.

One such North Korean based in Shenyang revealed the news to Daily NK today, saying, "Orders have come saying all persons in China should return home if feasible for the General's birthday."

"Some people including exchange students have already returned to the fatherland," the source added, "and those who really cannot go are preparing gifts or flower bouquets to send back."

According to the source, the reason why the North Korean authorities are urging people to return this time is because far fewer than expected voluntarily returned to mourn Kim Jong Il's death.

While recommending that people return home, the authorities have also apparently declared that there will be no punishment for those who failed to return in December, and that none of the items that are brought back from China will be confiscated.

The source said, however, that it is unclear where the order has come from. "When the General passed away there were instructions 'not to get agitated and stay in position'," he pointed out. "It could be that Pyongyang cadres are calling in foreign currency workers and students to fill their own pockets."

The comment stems from the practice among North Koreans returning from China of giving gifts in the form of cash, computer, electronics etc to 'gatekeepers', i.e. the cadres who helped them secure their coveted overseas positions. This has the beneficial effect of helping them ensure safe passage back out of North Korea.

In the meantime, there is news coming from Shinuiju that the North Korean authorities are collecting money from people for Kim Jong Il's birthday. A source from the city told Daily NK on the 14th, "My people's unit head told people to pay per household to prepare for the late General's birthday. Those with no money have to give items instead."

The source continued, "Since it is possible for good things to happen later the more you give now, some people are giving big money, up to a million won."

Pogledao sam SIMYA-UI FM Sang Man Kima. Zanimalo me je da vidim šta je režirao ovaj "Stranac u raju" i kakog KOrejanca ćemo to ugostiti. SIMYA-UI FM u principu nije loš u domenu minornih korejskih serial killer filmova. Reč je o vrlo svedenom cat-and-mouse trileru o psihopati koji progoni popularnu radio voditeljku tokom emitovanja njene poslednje emisije pred selidbu u SAD.

Nažalost, SIMYA-UI FM propušta priliku da bude istinski napet i ostaje u domenu samo prijatnog za gledanje. Jedan od razloga je svakako i to što je serijski ubica istovremeno šizofrenik, genije za tehniku i uopšte master criminal pa je u tom smislu poprilično i neuverljiv i derivativan. Srećom, Sang Man Kim je efikasan i svestan je kapaciteta i dometa svoje priče, pa gotovo da nema praznog hoda.

No, Sang Man Kim radi sve uprkos derivativnosti sa punim ubeđenjem, Po ovom filmu, jasno je da nije (bar za sada) reč o velikom reditelju, ali svakako je dokazao kako se dobro snalazi u uslovima visokoorganizovane korejske kinematografije.

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Pogledao sam APARELHO VOADOR A BAIXA ALTITUDE Solveig Nordlung, adaptaciju kratke priče JG Ballarda LOW FLYING AIRCRAFT. Solveig Nordlund je rediteljka švedskog porekla koja radi u Portugaliji. Portugalci baš nemaju neku prvoklasnu kinematografiju i to se u ovom filmu itekako oseća.

Nordlund u principu snima film koji je po atmosferi i lokacijama jako blizak kanonskom Ballardu, međutim, s jedne strane, ni sa glumačkom podelom ni sa rediteljskim rešenjima ne uspeva da učini da film oživi, a s druge odlazi u pravcu neke hispano-groteske po kojoj je portugalski film poznat a to u ovom slučaju svakako nije pravi put.

Spoj neveštine i tih stvari koje portugalski film nosi po sebi dovodi do toga da ova Ballardova priča nije dovoljno estetizovana, ali istovremeno, na neki čudan način Nordlund kao da je razumela njegovu poetiku iz ove faze. Nažalost, njena sposobnost da je pretoči u film nije dovoljno velika da stvori samostalno i relevantno delo.

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If director Daniel Espinosa had his way, Hollywood's studio culture would embrace a kinder, gentler approach to filmmaking.

Universal's "Safe House," the Swedish helmer's first American feature, which took in $40 million domestically over the weekend, had its share of bumps and snags during production, but Espinosa resisted pressure to address the problems by getting rid of people.

"I saw that a lot of Americans' first knee-jerk reaction to conflict is to fire somebody," he said. "I don't do that. I don't fire people, and I don't allow people to get fired on my sets."

Espinosa comes from the European school, where most pics burn through far less coin than the reported $80 million spent on "Safe House," with its roster of name actors, led by Denzel Washington.

"In Sweden, if we fired somebody we wouldn't have the money to hire anybody else," says the Chilean-born director. "When you work on smaller budgets, you have to get along. I try to create more of a family structure (on the set). Firing people causes a very anxious workplace, which isn't good for creativity."

By protecting his crew, Espinosa said he was able to build the kind of loyalty that saw "Safe House" through some pretty rough patches.

"It's nice when you're shooting and the producer says we need to shut down now because we don't have any more money for this day, and your d.p. and your crew say, 'We'll do it for free.' Then you know you've won them over."

"Safe House" underwent drastic changes before shooting. The film, in which the capture of a rogue agent (Washington) sets off a chain of internecine destruction within the CIA, is set and was shot in Cape Town -- but was originally scripted for Rio de Janeiro.

"Four months before we were going to start shooting in Rio, they had uprisings and riots in the favelas," said Espinosa. It was the fall of 2010 and "we didn't know how much security we'd need so we couldn't go there." The helmer and his team scouted several other locations, including Hong Kong and Australia. They needed a place "with the same socioeconomic structure as Rio, with very poor communities living next door to the middle and upper classes, a city that can be a character in the movie."

Shooting on a soundstage or using greenscreen was not an option, Espinosa said. "I told them if we can't find (shantytowns like the) favelas, I don't want to shoot there. I wanted the city to affect my characters, and that can't happen if you're in a studio."

Cape Town, with its teeming townships, proved the ideal location. They used 35mm film for the 75-day shoot.

Espinosa hopes to make more U.S. studio pictures, but he also intends to continue protecting his crews from the whims of producers. "I'll get fired before anybody else," he said. "I do this because I love the work and the people I work with. Worst-case scenario: I'll go back to Sweden and hang out with my buddies."

Malo da se zagrejemo pred CHRONICLE - Max Landis je u kući...

The Death and Return of Superman

Reprizirao sam CRIMES OF THE FUTURE Davida Cronenberga i iz ove vizure čini mi se da je STEREO bolji i čistiji film. U CRIMES OF THE FUTURE, ideje koje Cronenberg bazira iz voiceovera ipak prevazilaze ono što se vidi na ekranu a mnoge situacije ulaze o domen prilične teatralnosti. Ideje izrečene u voiceoveru su intrigantnije nego u filmu STEREO ali je isto tako vizuelni aspekt manje precizan, uvođenje kolora, dodatnog broja protagonista, nedovoljno precizne stilizacije - sve to čini da CRIMES bude ne toliko znak da je Cronenberg manje zreliji nego kad je radio STEREO već više da se ova forma što se njega tiče potrošila i da mora da počne s nečim drugim.

As his latest film, Keyhole, a disjointed version of The Odyssey, gets set to screen in Berlin, Canadian cult director Guy Maddin talked to The Hollywood Reporter about The Artist stealing his thunder as a silent film director, about avoiding color on-screen, and his 2000 opening night triumph at the Toronto International Film Festival.



THR: Michel Hazanavicius's The Artist is impressing film fans and critics. But you've been making black-and-white silent films on and off again for a few decades. How do you feel about this upstart picture that could find Oscar as it foregoes color and dialogue?

Maddin: I haven't seen The Artist yet. I'm really curious about it. A certain part of me wants to hate it, because I feel it doubles back to a use of film vocabulary that no one was interested in. And I sort of had it all to myself for a while. Another part of me fears I'll love it.

THR: You're a big fan of silent films. Why?

Maddin: To me, it doesn't matter if someone, or everyone makes movies silently.There's so many ways to tell a story, to develop an atmosphere, to make people laugh or freak them out. And whether the actors talk or not is really such a small part of the whole thing. It (silent film) does get mentioned a lot in connection with what I've done. But it¹s nice to see the movie (The Artist) is such a hit, and that people can still uniquely understand silent films just the way the masses did from the start. It's nice to know it's just like riding a bicycle.

THR: You often use narration in your films, and live performance, singers and foley artists at festival screenings. And you do talking films. So why do fans of your films feel their silence is golden?

Maddin:I actually didn't make a fully silent film until I'd been making movies for over ten years. But there's something in my films that reminded people of that era. I think it's because I decided not to limit myself to any current year in which I was working. It just seemed like making movies was like being a painter or a songwriter: you should be able to use any kind of words you wanted, or none at all, or any size brush stroke, or make your music with any instrument you wanted.

THR: What about rarely using color in your films. Was that something you did early to save on production costs, and when did it become a creative choice?

Maddin: You're right, It was cheaper at first, as I scrambled to get props or locations which I could get for free. And I never had the luxury to color code things, or take a borrowed item and paint it. So I could never afford to make a distinct palette for a film. And then there's nothing like making movies to learn way more about how they're made. So I never gave color much thought until I started avoiding it. Then I sort of realized how much careful planning goes into color, and how much psychological weight certain colors take on in a colorful movie. And the more I thought about color, the more color phobic I became.

THR: When people talk about your black-and-white, silent film aesthetic, they often cite your six-minute ode to Soviet-era propaganda films, The Heart of the World, which played on opening night at the Toronto International FilmFestival in 2000. Can you recall that night, and what it meant to your career?

Maddin:That's the only time - and my chances improved because it was a short film - where a movie turned out exactly as I intended it to. I got really lucky. Maybe I'd been resistant about making a pure silent film for so long.I feel like I spoke the language fluently, having watched so many silent films from different countries. And the film's images fused perfectly with the music I got from the Soviet Union, and had the dynamism of Soviet Agitprop. I always find propaganda kind of ridiculous anyways.

THR: Your latest film, Keyhole, which you¹ll be screening in Berlin, is black and white. Why that choice?

Maddin: That fits the themes of what is gangster and ghost hybrid movie. Both those genres scream out for the black and white and the silvery and the luminous and frightfulness of the dark, and the good guys and the bad guys always trading places. And since the movie is saturated in nostalgia. That all demands that I pick up my black and white equipment one last time, at least.

THR: How do you feel about returning to Berlin to screen Keyhole, afterToronto?

Maddin: I've had a great relationship with the Berlinale over the years. The Forum has given my previous films My Winnipeg and Brand Upon The Brain! two incredible slots and massive programming positions. I owe so much to festival directors Stefanie Schulte Strathaus and Christoph Terhechte. Then last year I was on the jury. It was the absolute zenith of my career to personally present Bela Tarr his Silver Bear for the Turin Horse. Wow! That film will still be ascendant long after we're all dead. I also got to hang out with my super-cool fellow jurors, Sandy Powell, Isabella Rossellini andAamir Khan. And now I'm back again, with Keyhole. What an honor. It wasn't too long ago I was sneaking into screenings there, now I'm a guest again. I'm thrilled.

Kim Jong Il has been elevated to the rank of Democratic People's Republic of Chosun Grand Marshal, North Korea's highest military rank and the one he alone shares with father Kim Il Sung.

The decision was revealed today, the 15th, pursuant to a decision taken yesterday by the combined Party Central Committee and Central Military Committee, National Defense Commission and Supreme People's Assembly.

It was twenty years ago in 1992 that Kim Jong Il received the previous rank of Marshal, while Kim Il Sung was made Grand Marshal two days before his 80th birthday in April, 1992.

The news had been predicted; in January, Daily NK reported that an order had been handed down by the Ministry of the People's Armed Forces calling for each unit to submit by the start of February a written "suggestion" that Kim Jong Il be made Grand Marshal to celebrate the 70th anniversary of his birthday, which is tomorrow.

23 other military officers were simultaneously promoted, according to Rodong Shinmun. These include Kim Jeong Gak, the head of the General Political Bureau of the Chosun People's Army, who has become a vice marshal, Kim Young Cheol, the head of the General Bureau of Reconnaissance, and Party secretary Park Do Chun, both of whom have become generals.

▲ The new statue of Kim Jong Il erected at Mansudae Art Studio in Pyongyang (© Rodong Shinmun)


Yesterday also saw the unveiling of a new statue at Mansudae Art Studio in Pyongyang of Kim Jong Il riding a horse. It joins an existing statue of Kim Il Sung, also mounted on a horse.

The ceremony to mark the unveiling of the statue was attended by Pyongyang residents, military officers and key regime figures including Supreme People's Assembly Standing Committee Chairman Kim Young Nam, Cabinet Prime Minister Choi Young Rim and Army Chief of Staff Lee Young Ho. Kim Young Nam gave a speech at the event, which was later broadcast by Chosun Central News Agency.

Kim Jong Eun was not present at the event, although he did send the most prominent of a collection of commemorative bouquets (see picture, centre)

Michael Mann is in talks to direct the hard-edged cop thriller "The Big Stone Grid" at Sony Pictures says Deadline.

S. Craig Zahler penned the spec script which follows two decorated detectives who uncover a terrifying extortion ring that operates within the secret underbelly of New York City.

Mann will do another pass on the script with the scribe which could see the location shift to Los Angeles. Michael De Luca is producing.

Mann will likely next direct Fox's "Go Like Hell" about the duel between Ford vs. Ferrari for sports car supremacy in the 60's.

Mehmete, Johne, veliki dan za sve velike Srbe!

Sean Stone, the son of Oscar-winning director Oliver Stone son and a defender of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, converted to Islam on Tuesday while filming a documentary in Iran, he told Agence France Presse.

"The conversion to Islam is not abandoning Christianity or Judaism, which I was born with. It means I have accepted Mohammad and other prophets," Stone, whose famous father is Jewish and mother is Christian, told AFP. He underwent the ceremony in the city of Isfahan.

Also read: Sean Stone Says Iran Has the Right to Nuclear Weapons

The 27-year-old did not say why he converted. Iran's Fars news agency said he had become a Shiite and taken the Muslim first name Ali.

In an interview with TheWrap at the Toronto Film Festival in September, he supported Iran's right to a nuclear program as a defense against threats from Israel. He said criticizing the Iranian government is "like someone coming to your house and saying the father shouldn't hit the kids," he said. "Who are we to tell them how to rule their country?"

"Iran is ruled by law," said Stone (pictured with coproducer Melissa Carter in Tehran). "People don't like Ahmadinejad, but that doesn't warrant a war or an uprising."

Stone, who studied history at Princeton, has launched a co-production company to make movies based on Iranian history and culture. He said in September that he wants to make films in Iran, "because they're the biggest filmmakers in the Middle East, I'm very international-minded."

His father has also happily taken political positions often seen as outside the American mainstream, by defending Cuban leader Fidel Castro and anti-American Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez.

Besides directing, Stone has acted in several films, including his father's. His small roles in Oliver Stone films included a fraternity pledge in "W" and the young Jim Morrison in "The Doors."