Archive for the 'ChrisUllrich' Category

Filed under: Action & Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Images

As someone who love fantasy films like The Lord of the Rings Trilogy and English gangster films like Layer Cake, I can’t help but be very interested in writer/director Mathew Vaughn’s upcoming film Stardust. Not only does Vaughn bring his terrific character sensibilities and talented direction to a film, this time around he’s got some fantastic source material to draw from: the original, classic novel by the uber-talented Neil Gaiman.

When we first told you about Stardust, there was some “kick-ass” casting news. Then, a trailer for the film appeared on the net. Finally, the film’s website went live. Now, thanks to Movies Online, we’ve got a bunch of pics from the film to share with you and hopefully spark your interest. Over at the site they’ve posted 45 pictures depicting various characters, scenes and other fantastic bits and pieces for your viewing pleasure. Among the photos there are several shots of stars Sienna Miller, Charlie Cox and Claire Danes doing what they do best — earnestly acting while looking good — and a few of the still super-hot Michelle Pfeiffer at her sexy evil witch best.

Call me a gushing fanboy but I won’t lie to you friends, this film looks great to me. The director, the source material, cast, the recent trailer and now these pics all seem to suggest this film has all the elements necessary to knock it out of the park. With all that then, why do I still feel a bit uneasy? It’s probably because I really hope the film does phenomenal business and we end up seeing more films like this. If its a huge success then we can count on more giant, ambitious films like Stardust. If it doesn’t perform then, well, I guess I always have my extend director’s cut DVDs of The Lord of the Rings. Hit or miss, Stardust arrives in theaters in August.

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Filed under: Family Films, Newsstand, Movie Marketing, Images

Not having kids myself, I don’t usually veer into kid’s movie territory or take much notice of these kinds of flicks. Although, in this case I can make an exception as I’m assured by the daughters of a couple of my friends that The Bratz “rule!” So, here we are. Previously, I did verge a little bit into dolls-made-into-a-feature-film territory when I told you that veteran actor John Voight had somewhat inexplicably joined the cast of The Bratz movie. Then, my esteemed colleague Scott Weinberg clued you in on a trailer for the film that recently appeared online.

Now, thanks to the site Movies Online, we have a pic from the movie to help your kids get excited for its release. But wait, its not just any old picture of something unimportant. Instead, its a pic of the actual Bratz themselves: Yasmin (Nathalia Ramos), Jade (Janel Parrish), Sasha (Logan Browning) and Cloe (Skyler Shaye) walking the pre-teen gauntlet at Cary Nation High. Smiling as they go, they prove once and for all that style, personality, talent and fashion sense can make any situation work out for the best. In the pic, they look like nice girls but I don’t really understand what all the fuss is about. Maybe the whole Bratz phenomenon is lost on me?

I thought the most popular dolls these days were from the giant gorilla in the room known as the American Girl store. Still, a movie that supposedly teaches girls to be self-reliant, stand up for what they believe in and celebrate diversity can’t be all bad, can it? Even if the film’s title teaches bad spelling, as my college Mr. Weinberg rightfully points out, a film that helps kids feel ok about being different might be able to overcome that one fault and end up a positive experience. That is, if it only has one fault — which, given Hollywood’s track record, is doubtful. I guess we’ll find out when the film opens August 10th.

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Filed under: Drama, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Deals, Newsstand, Remakes and Sequels

According to an article just up at Variety, indie-minded “rebel without a crew” Robert Rodriguez is now attached to direct the big-screen remake of the 70s cult Sci-Fi flick Barbarella for producers Dino and Martha De Laurentis. Fresh from his latest release, the Grind House pic Planet Terror, Rodriguez, according to the article, is now working with Casino Royale writers Neal Purvis and Robert Wade on a script for the film to begin shooting later this year.

Said Rodriguez about his latest film and its sexy heroine: “I love this iconic character and all that she represents, and I’m truly excited by the challenge of inviting a new audience into her universe.” Producer De Laurentis was equally as gushing about this latest incarnation of Barbarella. “In our vision, the future is female, and I can’t wait to introduce ‘Barbarella’ to a new generation of moviegoers,” he said. Sounds interesting. In case you’re not familiar, the original Barbarella, released in 1968, starred a very young Jane Fonda as the super-sexy 41st century astronaut Barbarella.

As the story progresses, our heroine must battle the forces of evil led by deranged scientist Duran Duran (yes, that’s where the band took its name from), all the while finding herself in one situation or another where she manages to lose articles of clothing, engage in various erotic acts and eventually finds herself “tortured” by the aptly-named Orgasmatron. Rodriguez seems like a natural fit for the campy, erotic Barbarella story. As a fan of the original I can’t wait to see what he does with it. Should make for a very interesting film indeed. No word yet on who will play Barbarella in this new film, although as our own Monika pointed out recently, there’s been rampant speculation. Now that the movie has a director and seems poised to start, who would you like to see take on the title role?

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Filed under: Action & Adventure, Drama, New Releases, Newsstand, Movie Marketing, Remakes and Sequels

The original Die Hard, released in 1988, is one of those movies that grabs you form the first moment. When we first meet Bruce Willis as reluctant hero John McClane, we find out he’s a bit skittish about flying. It turns out, as he battles a gang of ruthless euro-thieves led by Alan Rickman’s Hans Gruber and proceeds to kill them all with a mixture of automatic weapons fire, explosives and his trusty Beretta pistol, flying is pretty much the only thing he’s skittish about. Die Hard was a milestone in action filmmaking and marked a new definition of heroic action star after several years of larger-than-life heroes personified by the likes of Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Die Hard spawned two sequels, each, although good movies in their own right, still somewhat of a pale imitation of the original.

And now, Brice Willis is back again as McClane for a fourth go-around: Live Free or Die Hard. Over the months, as we’ve brought you details about the film, there’s been a bunch of stuff including trailers and news about the film’s dreaded PG-13 rating. Now, thanks to Rope of Silicon, we’ve got four new TV spots for the film to take a look at. These spots, depicting, among other things, the new bad guy in McClane’s life (played by Timothy Olyphant), McClane being shot at by a fighter jet, flying through the air while shooting and crashing a police car into a low-flying helicopter, demonstrating without question that the filmmakers have upped the ante with this latest Die Hard incarnation. Yes, some of the sequences do seem a bit over-the-top but its good to see Willis at his wisecracking, butt-kicking best as McClane. The movie looks great and although I’m still somewhat unsure about Justin Long’s appearance, it won’t keep me out of the theater when Live Free or Die Hard lands on June 27th.

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Filed under: Tech Stuff, Cinematical Seven

Like most of you who read Cinematical, I love movies. Thinking about them, reading about them and dreaming about them. But mostly, I just love watching them. Movies can take us to new worlds, introduce us to new characters and situations we’ve never encountered before, teach us, inspire us and entertain us - all while glued to the edge of our seat in a darkened room. But if you’re also like me in another way, leaving the house to go see a film at the local multiplex is often a frustrating and unrewarding experience with ticket prices, parking, people on cell phones and crying children to contend with. So, what’s a movie lover with some cash burning a hole in his pocket supposed to do?

Well, instead of braving the highways, fighting for parking, being abused by the price of tickets and popcorn and then having to watch your movie while some idiot breaks up with his girlfrieid via cell phone during the climactic chase sequence, you do what many people are doing these days: you put together your own screening room at home to watch movies. Last year, just in time for the holidays, I gave you some tips about essential home theater gifts for the film buff on your list. At that time, I made an effort to keep costs at a certain level or below so as not to put too much of a strain on people’s already taxed holiday finances. This time, however, we’re going to throw things like cost right out the window and flush with all that tax return dough, we’re going to put together the “ultimate” home screening room without much thought to cost. So, with that in mind, let’s get to it and spend some money!

Determine Your Budget & Make a List – Obviously, you could spend almost as much money as you make in a year on high-end components and the rest of the things that would go into the ultimate home screening room. And even though we’re not giving much thought to money this time, you should still consider where to allocate your funds and what general budget you want to hit — just so you have a guideline. So, the first thing you should do is think about how much money you want to spend and what you want to spend it on. When putting together your screening room, there are a few essentials that every screening room needs to have in order to function at the level we want it to. As this list goes on, we’ll get to them.

Continue reading Cinematical Seven: Seven Steps to the Ultimate Home Screening Room

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Filed under: Action & Adventure, Drama, Newsstand, Remakes and Sequels, Games and Game Movies

If you’re one of the people who thought the Tomb Raider movies were terrific examples of quality cinema then you’re in luck because, according to the UK’s The Mirror, you might be getting a third installment of the franchise. I know, try to contain yourselves but according to the article, designer of the original Tomb Raider game Ian Livingstone recently let slip that he and Paramount were indeed talking about another go around — even thought the second film performed far worse than the first.

Said Livingstone: “At this moment in time it’s still not green-lit, but the signs are there.” But wait, there’s more! Livingstone also told the paper “They’re willing to put a scriptwriter on board. Angelina Jolie has an option to do a third movie.” So, Paramount is willing to commit to a script and Lara Croft herself may be back. Good news for fans of the first two films, right? Sure, I guess. I, for one, can’t really get all that excited about another Tomb Raider film. As my colleague Scott Weinberg so eloquently put it, the producers sought to create a female version of Indiana Jones but instead, fell flat on their collective asses making two of the worst films he (or I) have ever seen.

Although, when he refers to them as “poop” I think he’s been far too kind. Sure, Angelina Jolie has many fine qualities and really knows how to handle her, um, guns, but those are not the only things you need to make a good movie. You also need a good story and a director who has some level of competence. Two things the first films lacked in a major way. If they do decide to another Tomb Raider film for whatever reason, let’s hope they keep Simon West and Jan de Bont far, far away from it. Instead, maybe they should let Quentin Tarantino take a crack at it? Now that would be a Tomb Raider movie worth seeing.

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