Saturday, March 19, 2011

Joseph Gordon-Levitt hops aboard the Batman bandwagon

Now, Saturday evenings are not the usual time to be hunched over a laptop blogging away. Yet here I am, on a Saturday evening hunched over a laptop and blah blah blah. But until 20th July 2012 comes around, the rumour mill will rigorously be in motion over Christopher Nolan’s third and final Batman movie in the trilogy. You can now cross off Joseph Gordon-Levitt from the rumour list. There have been confirmed reports that Joseph Gordon-Levitt has officially signed on for The Dark Knight Rises.

This has come as no surprise as the actor has been hotly tipped for a role in next year’s blockbuster ever since Chris Nolan put pen to paper on the third movie of his Bat saga. The Brit filmmaker does make a habit of casting actors who he has worked before such as Cillian Murphy and of course Christian Bale. Levitt, who worked with Nolan in last year’s mega-hit Inception has been rumoured to be playing nearly every role in the world of Gotham City from the Riddler to Robin. Yet there is no word which role he will be responsible for. Boy does Chris Nolan love to keep things hush hush or what!




After smashing his Inception role as Arthur out of the park, the prospect of the young actor starring alongside the likes of the Caped Crusader himself Christian Bale, his former co-star Tom Hardy, Anne Hathaway, Sir Michael Caine and Gary Oldman is tantalising. Speculation will now be fierce among the Internet of whom he will be playing. Personally I can see the 500 Days of Summer star stepping into the bright green suit of the Riddler. Among rumours this has been the most popular choice and I can imagine him now in the role of the fiendishly brilliant Dr. Edward Nygma aka the Riddler once played by Jim Carrey in the 1995 OTT Batman Forever.

On the other hand if Christopher Nolan were to go down that avenue, he would have three potential villains all sharing the screen (Tom Hardy‘s Bane and Selina Kyle aka Catwoman played by Anne Hathaway). Now cast your minds back a few years ago when Sam Raimi brought us the hugely disappointing Spiderman 3. Disappointing on many levels (yes including Goth Peter Parker) but mainly because there was too much going on with the brace of villains that were on screen and it destroyed the film. It’s a minor if at all concern but on reflection of Christopher Nolan’s back catalogue particularly the previous two Batman films to suggest that if anyone’s going to do it, he’s your man.


The film’s expectations are as follows: Filming is expected to commence in May - The bog standard Chris Nolan method of viral marketing will begin this Summer - Everything will be kept on a “Need to know basis.” The guy is rumoured to not even own a mobile phone because he wants to keep it all secret and tightly wrapped up. Is that need to know enough for ya?!

Does the new casting addition make TDKR even more a mouthwatering prospect? Or too many cooks spoil the broth?

Written By Michael Cunneen

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Liam Neeson confirmed for Taken 2

“If you let my daughter go now, that'll be the end of it. I will not look for you, I will not pursue you. But if you don't, I will look for you, I will find you, and I will kill you.” BANG, KICK, SMASH. “Jean Claude, I'll tear down the Eiffel Tower if I have to!” WHALLOP, BOOM, THUD. “I push one button and 38 agents are here before you have time to scratch your worthless balls.” To some, this might come across as random scribbling or typing for that matter. But to many, these are just some of the memorable moments from the 2008 actioner, Taken starring Liam Neeson. Last week had it’s umpteenth terrestrial viewing of the crowd-pleasing mega-hit that brought in over $200m at the box office from a $25m budget and transformed Neeson into a modern day Charles Bronson. Now fans have had a big treat this morning, myself being one of them, that Liam Neeson has signed on for a Taken 2. I could almost imagine other film bloggers and forums uploading their pre-written Taken 2 announcement as it was inevitable that this was going to happen. It wouldn’t of surprised me if the 58-year-old actor hasn’t already been hitting the gym in prep.

The idea of a sequel has been in the works ever since the original became a surprise hit. It has been tossed and turned in that ruddy rumour mill with the Belfast-born actor supposedly stepping down as Bryan Mills and making way for a replacement. A whole host of aging actors were thrown in the mix such as Mickey Rourke, Ralph Fiennes and Sean Bean, all of whom are very watchable but it was Liam Neeson that really carried the film. He fearlessly stepped onto French soil to battle against an army of Albanian traffickers and rescue his kidnapped daughter. Initial details have only been published, that filming looks to be set for late 2011 early 2012.



The Schindler’s List star seems to be bagging more roles these days than Charlie Sheen has been bedding more women in the last week. He has had a jam packed last few years starring in Clash of the Titans, Chloe, The A-Team and most recently Unknown. I ventured to my local Cineplex a few days ago to watch Unknown and found it to be an outstanding thriller and another accomplishment in the so far highly successful 35 year career of Liam Neeson. The obvious comparisons to Taken were expected but this is on a different and some would argue far superior level to the 2008 film. As Dr Martin Harris (Liam Neeson) is involved in a car accident on a business trip in Berlin which leaves him in a four-day coma, it leaves him with memory loss and without an identity. His own missus doesn’t recognize him and he is on the run from mysterious hoodlums out to off him. He is after answers and by God does he mean business. This packs on hell of a serious punch, and thanks to great acting across the board and an intriguing plot which results in a devilish twist, people will leave feeling very satisfied and begging Liam Neeson for more.

Hold the phone. Liam Neeson does have a small role in the upcoming Summer movie, The Hangover Part II … Bet you guys didn’t see that one coming. Yes, director Todd Phillips has thrown a curveball and hired Neeson for a cameo role as “Tattoo Man” in the highly anticipated sequel. I can picture audiences now going berserk upon the release and with the Irish actor hopefully sharing screen time with Alan, Stu and the rest of the boys, what’s not to be excited about.


Post-Hangover sequel he has a string of other films set for release in the next year or so including Battleship (yes based on the popular game), and Clash of the Titans sequel, minus Clash and insert Wrath. He’s still a busy and popular fellow and to some, a man for the taking!

Written By Michael Cunneen

Monday, March 7, 2011

Fly me to the Moon

Now that the dust has settled with the awards season, attention now turns to what the coming months has in store for cinemagoers. The inspiration behind this new post is down to a gentleman with the Twitter name of @ManMadeMoon aka Duncan Jones aka the son of iconic rock star David Bowie aka the man behind 2009's Moon. One film that has certainly struck my attention for some time is Duncan Jones’s Source Code. Before 2009, Duncan Jones was an independent director, writer, producer and all round Sci-Fi film boffin.

 


But then July 2009 saw the release of a small-time Sci-Fi film called Moon starring Sam Rockwell about a lone astronaut coming towards the end of a three-year spell on the Moon. It was immediately hailed as a triumph by critics and audiences alike and for the Brit filmmaker, he was propped on the keep-your-eye-on-this-guy list. He deservedly received a Bafta for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer in 2010 amongst other accolades and before you can say, "In space, no one can hear you scream," he is hot property.

So the question is what road would he go down next? Remain to conquer Britain or show the rest of the world what he’s all about? 1st April will surely reveal the answer in the form of his next release, Sci-Fi actioner Source Code starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Michelle Monaghan. The story focuses on Captain Colter Stevens, a solider who unknowingly wakes up in the body of a man and soon realises he’s part of a hi tech team investigating a terrorist bombing on a train. To find out who has committed the bombing, Stevens must go back in time and relive the experience during the last eight minutes.




There have been inevitable comparisons to the likes of Groundhog Day, Strangers On A Train and Déjà Vu. But to me, this very much sets itself out to be a truly original and standalone piece of filmmaking of which I cannot wait to witness. It has a strong supporting cast that includes Vera Farmiga and Jeffrey Wright who can both certainly hold their own on screen. The anticipation has accelerated further with the marketing stepping up a notch now, with two trailers, a selection of TV spots and three inventive posters. The 39-year-old director currently appears to have the world at his feet and it will be very interesting to see how Hollywood treats his follow-up feature. There is no question he knows his Sci-Fi but it will be interesting to see how he fares from a small, low budget Indie gem to a mind bending mainstream thriller with an A-list cast to boot.



So what's next for the rookie filmmaker. There has been a lot of activity on the rumour mill of a supposed follow-up to Moon which will serve as an epilogue. Jones has been quoted as wanting to continue the Moon series with two more films. According to various internet forums, he is currently in pre-production of Mute - another science fiction film set in Berlin that is a love letter to Blade Runner. But in terms of the here, the now and the present, i'm sure Duncan Jones will be savouring every moment and keeping his feet firmly on the ground. I agree with the outlook from the Guardian, his career will result in one of two ways; he'll either do a Christopher Nolan and conquer the Independent filmworld and then become a master in big budget smash-hits. Or he'll start off strong then slowly decline film by film just like the careers of Richard Kelly and M Night Shyamalan panned out. I highly doubt the outcome will result in the latter. On the other hand, you never know it might be written in the stars.

Source Code is released on 1st April

Written by Michael Cunneen