The Screengrab : john constantine

Transported: The Jason Statham Think Piece

John Constantine — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 04:00:00 GMT

I had traveled half-way across the country to spend some quality time with my father. We were drinking Tomintoul scotch whiskey in his Colorado cabin. It was snowing outside and we were quiet, watching a movie, entranced. I turned to my dad and shared with him the undeniable truth I had gleaned from the film: "Transporting is the greatest job on earth." He sipped his drink, reflected on his years of wisdom, and nodded: "Yes. Yes it is."

If you're unfamiliar with Luc Besson's Transporter series — or wonder why a father and son would spend a portion of their few, precious hours together watching a movie about a guy and his car — its appeal can be summed up in two words: Jason Statham. The titular star doesn't make transporting look easy, of course. Adhering to a strict moral code while transporting goods for less-than-reputable businessmen is taxing. The guy has to make BMWs perform stunts that would confound a physicist. Cars just don't move like that, and if you're carting around a petite young woman in the trunk, as a transporter often does, you've got to factor in her continued survival as a goal. Plus, the job keeps you so busy — maintaining your pristine black suit and kicking the crap out of nameless thugs — that you don't get much of a chance to enjoy your secret seaside villa. (Incidentally, The Transporter has five named thugs in its credit list — Thugs 1 through 3, Little Thug, and Giant Thug — but Statham seems to brutalize quite a few poor, uncredited thugs, as well.) And getting your work finished in a timely manner is complicated by your nagging sense of honor. Human trafficking? Crap, you can't transport when you know that's going down. A wan model, wearing nothing but an unbuttoned nursing uniform and two uzis, kidnaps the rich toddler you're driving to school? Shit, doesn't look like you're punching out early today. And with all that going on, when does Statham find the time to sculpt his guns?

This is what you think about when you experience Jason Statham movies. You ask the big questions. The biggest of which is: why the hell can't I stop watching him?

Take 2006's Crank and its sequel, Crank: High Voltage, which opens this Friday. That a sequel to Crank even exists is a testament to Statham's rising star power: the original Crank ended with Statham's character falling umpteen-hundred feet from a helicopter, landing on a car, then bouncing onto the ground and dying. (Poster tagline for new film: "He was dead, but he got better.")

Crank is one of the worst movies I've ever seen in my life, a brutishly stupid set-piece pileup that finds Statham getting maimed by an army of racial stereotypes. Statham's character, hit-man Chev Chelios, has been injected with the poisonous "Beijing Cocktail" and therefore needs to maintain a constant stream of adrenaline running through his system or he'll die. The plot, in Statham's own words, is: "Run, run, fucking run. I do not stop." It features a sex scene between Statham's and Amy Smart's characters that's (I think) supposed to be funny: when Chelios feels himself flagging at a bus stop, his only choice is to have street-sex with Smart, on a mailbox in front of a gaggle of picture-taking Japanese tourists. It's about as titillating as a porta-john. I couldn't look at mailboxes for a week, I was that embarrassed for them. But now, when I see trailers for Crank: High Voltage, which actually manages to look stupider in two minutes than Crank does in eighty, I think, "Hmm. Yes. I cannot wait to see it. I needed plans for Friday night and thankfully they have presented themselves. Thank you, Mr. Statham."

Perhaps it helps that Statham appears to feel much like I would, if forced to stimulate sex with Amy Smart in front of a large group of strangers: slightly disgusted, but willing to get the job done. Speaking about a public-sex scene in the Crank sequel (we can only imagine), Statham said, "Trying to do an aggressive sex scene is quite difficult, especially in a public place with a crowd of screaming extras with their little camera phones going click-click, taking pictures of your pasty white ass." Statham is the action-star who isn't afraid to tell it like it is, or insult his own ass cheeks.

But where the hell did this sort of self-denigrating hero come from? The twenty-first century rebirthed the marquee action star, but today's dominant, male-fantasy models are a far cry from their Reagan-era forebears. The big-muscle, low-vocabulary Schwarzeneggers and Stallones have given way to the sad, silent, and speedy Matt Damons and Daniel Craigs, intelligent action peddlers who — off-screen — deplore the violence they peddle. Statham doesn't play in their league, though; he's a C-lister. In some ways, he's closer to the Clinton-era, thick-skulled, martial-artist-as-actor tradition of Seagal and Van Damme, but that lineage doesn't quite fit him either; though Statham's acting has never won an Oscar, and his American accent has been derided, he looks like Orson Welles next to the Muscles from Brussels.

Jason Statham's early life seems as oddball and awesome as some of his roles. The son of a lounge singer and a dancer, he was on Britain's National Diving squad for twelve years, which led work modeling for the French Connection. To bankroll his scuba-diving hobby, he hustled perfume and jewelry on London street corners. This, plus his modeling and his martial-arts training, led him to his acting debut in Guy Ritchie's hipster-faves Lock, Stock, & Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch at the turn of the century. He played one-named roles, guys called Bacon and Turkish, swarthy Cockney con men who spent their onscreen time doing everything to avoid violence, not dole it out. But how did he go from skinny, balding Brit spouting witticisms to becoming the Transporter? And why do I like him so much as the Transporter?

Let's be honest. Statham's never as cool as Craig, but no one can be. No man has that many smooth things to say and, even if they did, no random woman on a beach is going to respond when you say them. He's never as collected as Damon, but Jason Bourne is a government-made super-spy. Chev Chelios doesn't jump off a bridge because it's the strategic maneuver he's been trained to take. He jumps off a bridge because, well, that's about the only choice he has. He's hassled and busy, annoyed by the demands of survival, but will do whatever it takes to survive.

Maybe it's that hint of everyman exasperation that makes Statham so irresistible, that, counterintuitively, makes his most outsized exploits (flipping luxury sedans onto moving trains, etc.) seem plausible. When Statham's interrupted while transporting, or he's given a drug that's going to make his heart explode, he responds with a begrudging sigh. A rolling of the eyes. God, why did it have to be today? I have things to do! That hint of reality establishes that for all his toughness, Jason Statham is One Of Us. If I gave up carbs and worked out eighteen hours a day, he suggests, I, too, could live his golden life. And if I did, I would feel about life the way his characters feel. (There are differences, I suppose. I, for one, would gently caress Ms. Smart in the comfort and safety of the mail truck.)

I was wrong. Transporting isn't the greatest job on earth. Being Jason Statham is.

The Screengrab Review: Son of Rambow

John Constantine — Fri, 02 May 2008 19:26:00 GMT

It's difficult for me to be objective about Hammer and Tongs' second major motion picture, Son of Rambow. At one time, I was its protagonists, a kid whose imagination was set on fire by the bombast of media in the 1980s. Like Garth Jennings, Nick Goldsmith and their pre-pubescent proxies, the political subtext of Reagan-era action was completely lost on me at that age, eclipsed by the catharsis of violent fantasy and superheroics. It's impossible for me to watch Son of Rambow away from my intimacy with its subjects, so certain parts of it that I know aren't necessarily good filmmaking still strike me as wonderful.

Will Poulter, a ceaselessly creative child whose widowed mother is a member of the Plymouth Brethren, does not watch television and has never seen a movie because of religious restrictions. The Plymouth Brethren have also kept Will from making any friends, even though he attends a school full of "outsiders." Lee Carter, another fatherless boy who's something of a Calvin without a Hobbes, sees a patsy when he first meets Will, a willing stunt double for his homemade film. It's through Lee that Will sees First Blood, and Sly Stallone's one-man-war changes the boy for good, inspiring him to make Lee's movie into something grand. What follows is a story about finding your first true friend, colored, literally and tonally, by the warmth that is fast becoming a trademark for Hammer & Tongs. Son of Rambow is strongest when it stays with Lee and Will and is paced well thanks to its hilarious subplot surrounding French exchange student Didier Revol. Where it falters is in its portrayal of Will's family life. Will's mother, though played well by Jessica Hynes, remains underdeveloped given the time that's spent with her character. Her budding relationship with a would-be suitor ends up a distraction from Will's growth instead of a counterpoint.

It'd be easy to focus on these stray missteps throughout Rambow were I not so close to its story and characters; I could find fault in its sentimentality and easy solutions to complex emotional situations. It would also be easy to just be taken up by its nostalgic swells and portrayal of innocence. But the film is made with too much care and good humor to fall to either extreme. Messrs Hammer and Tongs have made a movie that may speak directly to me, but its foundation will speak to anyone. We were all children, and we all dreamed big.

Trailer Review: The Incredible Hulk Trailer 2

John Constantine — Thu, 01 May 2008 21:25:00 GMT

The Hulk is an easy sell on screen. It has a foundation ready made for spectacle but is also based around a character built for pathos. While our first look at Marvel’s franchise reboot didn’t exactly promise any sort of delivery on these inherent themes, this fresh trailer is very, very promising. The all-Ed Norton action is particularly compelling with the introduction of a Brazilian favela as a setting and an absolutely fantastic Tim Roth showdown. Roth has a reputation for portraying some truly intimidating aggression (just look at Rob Roy) and it looks The Incredible Hulk has the man playing to his strengths. While the CG effects don’t shine quite like those in a certain Robert Downey Jr. picture, it looks like the human element in the Hulk will be super in its own right, bomb or not.

Dark City Director’s Cut Sees the Light, Will No Doubt Rule

John Constantine — Thu, 01 May 2008 19:55:00 GMT

While my respect for the man knows no bounds, I cannot say that I have much love for Roger Ebert. My bitterness was born out of the one and a half star rating he had bestowed on The 13th Warrior. This guy gave Anaconda three and a half stars! Even Ice Cube punching a snake in the face and calling it bitch doesn’t warrant two full stars over solid John McTiernan action. I’ve continued to take issue with many, many things the man has said since but Rog and I will always agree on one thing. Dark City is awesome. Alex Proyas’ sci-fi fever dream was Mr. Ebert’s film of the year in 1998 and remains one of my own all-time favorites. More accessible than City of Lost Children yet more cerebral and surreal than The Matrix – its closest cousins in subject matter - Dark City’s story of physically/spiritually manipulated humanity is as good today as it was ten years ago. Come July 29th, it might get even better. The flick will be getting a long rumored director’s cut release on both DVD and Bluray, a version that will feature updated special effects, a new score, and fifteen minutes of reintegrated footage according to co-writer David Goyer. Get psyched!

A big hug for our friends at Cinematical for bringing us this most glorious news.

Chuck Rose is Chuck Rose as Chuck Rose

John Constantine — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 22:12:00 GMT

I have something of a man crush on good ol’ Charlie Rose. The commanding hunch of the shoulders, the patient but challenging inquiries he poses to the powerful and intelligent, the flagrant and often hilarious womanizing. Chuck’s got it all. Here, he appears in a delightful nugget of post-modernity that proves one thing: You can never have too much Charlie Rose.

Microsoft? Yahoo.

Trailer Review: Star Wars: The Clone Wars: The Leaked Trailer Episode 1

John Constantine — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 21:56:00 GMT

Before we get to the inherent silliness of kidnapped, space-slug mobster brats or the fact that Uncle George has gone ahead and Lucased-up one of the last good things about Star Wars, I need someone out there to answer a question for me.

Why in the hell is Obi-Wan Kenobi’s beard made of wood? I understand these are hyper-stylized versions Genndy Tartakovsky’s designs from the original Clone Wars cartoon but that is supposed to be hair. Hair is not trimmed with an axe.

Anyways, the trailer. This looks about as promising as the 1987 kindergarten crayon drawings its plot is based around but with none of the gritty charm. Sticking with the trend established in the prequel trilogy, every goddamn established character from Episodes IV through VI needs to know each other. So Jabba the Hutt is introduced to the war plot. Somebody kidnapped his son and Obi-Wan has to go find him. Makes sense. Of course a group of warrior monks spend their time placating criminal monsters. There’s some stuff blowing up, some spaceships being loud, and some lightsabers. The usual.

I officially have no idea why this needs to exist.

Late as we are to discovering this link at their most hallowed blog, The Screengrab thanks Gizmodo for enriching our days with this type of flotsam. Please head on over there to indulge in the trailer.

JCVD Universal Once Again

John Constantine — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 22:52:00 GMT

This rumor’s now a couple of days old, but we here at The Screengrab won’t let a little thing like internet mustiness get in the way of bringing you the hardest hitting hearsay around. This one has something of a personal significance to me though. Just about a year ago, I had something of a spiritual experience with the films of Jean Claude Van Damme, one of which being the science fiction classic Universal Soldier. Universal Soldier is a profound work of speculative fiction with strong messages about life, love, and Jerry Orbach produced zombie soldiers. This is why it’s so exciting to hear that there is even the vaguest possibility that good ol’ JCVD will resume his duties pursuing zombie justice in a brand new Universal Soldier picture. Not only that but Dolph Lundgren might be back on board too! I hope he still has his ear necklace. That shit was art.

Our thanks go out to those happy goblins over at AICN for bringing us this news and make sure you check out the source article over at CinemaBlend.

Trailer Review: Hancock

John Constantine — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 22:41:00 GMT

Superhero movies. Now that is novel! I kid, I kid. In light of the fact that filmed superhero fiction has more cultural currency today than it ever has (in both film and television), it’s interesting to observe the diversification of the genre over the past five years across movies like Sky High, parody trash like Epic Movie, and now Will Smith’s summer vehicle Hancock. In superheroes’ native soil of comics, the down and out, irascible hero who undergoes a change of heart on the road to destiny is old hat. But it’s a treat to see it get the big budget treatment. Watching Will Smith drunkenly bumble across the California skyline is entertaining even in this small dose so Hancock is looking promising as a two hour investment. It’s also nice to see Jason Bateman getting back to making people laugh after his skeevy turn in Juno. You guys remember that movie?

Trailer Review: Hamlet 2

John Constantine — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 18:23:00 GMT

It’s never good when you ask yourself if something is funny or not. Hilarity, under ideal circumstances, is self-evident. Make no mistake, I laughed watching this trailer for Hamlet 2. But I stopped laughing when I realized the lead was not Meet Joe Black’s Jake Webber. It’s not my fault Steve Coogan looks like everyone’s favorite budget-Tim Roth! Stripped of this context, Hamlet 2 was questionable in its guffaw-evoking ability. The fake Herpes commercial, the over-fictionalized Waiting For Guffman premise, the Shakespeare desecration are all things that make me chuckle. But I don’t necessarily see myself quoting them at parties to elicit shared joy with others. Then again, “Rock me Sexy Jesus” is catchy.

Indiana Jones 5: Marauders of the Bronze Hip Replacement

John Constantine — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 18:43:00 GMT

Can you smell it, Screengrabbers? The summer blockbuster season approaches and it is filled with heretofore unknown riches! Respected actors playing gaudy superheroes, neon fantasias about cars that spit on the physical laws of nature, and George Lucas humping the leg of nostalgia one final time. Maybe not though! USA Today has a hot new interview with that spry upstart star of hits like Witness, Harrison Ford, and Calista Flockhart’s boytoy says he’s down for more whip cracking.

Actually, there’s not even a full quote from Ford about it. Just this sentence in the article: “He also might consider a fifth installment of Indiana Jones, though he hopes it wouldn't take twenty years to pull together.” Not nearly as interesting as you might hope, I know. The rest of the interview is pretty average slice of life stuff. Sorry about that. Here, let me make it up to you! Here are some pictures of wacky Japanese Indiana Jones toys coming out with the flick!

That mini-Sean Connery is ADORABLE!

Austin Powers 4. Seriously.

John Constantine — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 15:58:00 GMT

Dear Mr. Myers:

There is no blood in that stone. Please cease squeezing the stone.

Sincerely yours,

The Screengrab

It’s clear that Mike Myers, the one-time Gen X comedy staple come animated franchise emperor, needs to stop going back to the well as the well is full of nothing but annoying silly voices and midget jokes. As we pointed out just a few weeks back, The Love Guru is evidence of this truth. However, it looks like Myers is going for the gusto in returning to character comedy. A story over at Boston.com that comes to us via AICN says that there is a finished script for Austin Powers 4. Myers and director Jay Roach are apparently chatting with Gisele Bundhcen about her playing this entry’s femme fatale.

Police Academy taught us all important lessons about how long a comedy franchise is viable, Mike. Yes, I’m comparing you to Gutenberg.

All That Could Have Been: Hayao Miyazaki’s Little Nemo

John Constantine — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 16:53:00 GMT

Good old Dr. Knowles posted up a brilliant piece of history today in the form of a 1984 test film for what eventually became Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland. What makes this test special is that it was made by Hayao Miyazaki, the world’s most recognized and celebrated Japanese animator. This test definitely points the way to the film that was ultimately made by Masami Hata in 1992 but Miyazaki’s distinct character design and fetish for flight are emphasized greatly in the test. It’s a shame that version never got made as Miyazaki and Windsor Mckay is a literal match made in heaven. Mckay’s early 20th century comic strip and it’s hallucinatory take on childhood flights of fancy is a clear influence on much of Miyazaki’s work, from Laputa to Spirited Away.

Check out the source over at AICN and continue down the internet rabbit hole to Cartoon Brew for a full history on the test film.

Scary Internet: Humbert Humbert Says You're "Wonderful Tonight"

John Constantine — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 16:17:00 GMT

That’s right, the internet is back and it’s more horribly terrifying than ever before! No, the internet never really went away but sometimes it’s less scary. Not so on April 10th, 2008. I mentioned just a couple of days ago that it’s occasionally difficult to separate actors from personae they’ve inhabited on screen. Much like Willem Dafoe, Jeremy Irons is stuck in a few different visages, all of which are disturbing as all hell outside of their proper context. Humbert Humbert, Franz Kafka, twin drug-addicted gynocologists, shitty-Alan Rickman in Die Hard (“Hook, lihne, and sinkah, McClane.”) While this video isn’t from one of Irons’ past or future films, it is him singing Eric Clapton’s “Wonderful Tonight” in gentle, menacing dulcet tones.

The internet will scare your dad.

Michael Bay Tells Us to Ignore Him, He Just Wants Attention

John Constantine — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 15:04:00 GMT

My hero, Michael Bay? He don’t take no guff. You might think that when someone crosses into the Bay from international waters that they’d get exploded by an army of helicopters or giant robots with guns that shoot helicopters. But the Bay is all class. After being called a “fucking retard” by Uwe Boll on Youtube, one of the Bay’s acolytes went to the official Michael Bay message board and asked how he felt about it. The man’s response? “I find people who rant like that - calling shit about both me, and George Clooney - comes from someone screaming because he is not being heard. He is obviously a sad being. When you ask ‘do I care’? Not in the slightest. –M”

Sticks and stones do not break Michael Bay’s bones, Screengrabbers. Nothing breaks Michael Bay’s bones!

Kotaku? We love them for bringing us this news.

Uwe Boll: I Am the Only F**king Genius in the Whole Business

John Constantine — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 18:20:00 GMT

Uwe, Uwe, Uwe. You need to know that the delusion goggles you wear do nothing. As we mentioned this past Monday, Uwe Boll sent an inadvertent challenge to his haters when he said he’d cease making movies if one million people signed a petition in the interests of making him stop. After nearly 150,000 individuals with moderate to good taste signed said petition, Uwe released the following statement on Youtube. NO ONE CALLS MICHAEL BAY A FUCKING RETARD IN MY TOWN! You, sir, are damn lucky that you’re not still inviting critics to box you. I’m a biter and you better believe I would have pieces of you.

Our thanks, once again, to Cinematical for the continuing Boll coverage.

Trailer Review: Anamorph

John Constantine — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 22:43:00 GMT

Sometimes certain movies can ruin actors for you. They can be the finest performer in the world, but they end up bound to a very specific performance in your mind. My brain refuses to see Willem Dafoe as anything but FBI Agent Paul Smecker from Boondock Saints, which has proven problematic in enjoying his films. Anamorph, as you can see from this trailer, seems like a decent, stylish piece of Fincher-esque crime fiction with a good serial killer hook. But all I see is Dafoe showing up at a mobster’s mansion in drag while a morbidly obese Italian man refers to him as “primo box”. You can see how this would ruin the tension. I plan on soldiering through my disturbing fixations when this comes out on April 18th though. Writer/director Henry Miller might just have something special here.

Just Think of It As a Trust Fall

John Constantine — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 21:09:00 GMT

Yes, we are a film blog. However, our coverage of this glorious medium has wonderful crossovers with other forms of expression. While it would seem that this clip is videogame based, you’d be wrong. The medium here is Buseydom. While the creative landscape of Buseydom is relegated to but a single voice, it is no less potent for it as recent times have shown. Watch, revel, and delight in the fact that the future holds even more shorts with Busey talking about horrific digitized acts of violence.

Our thanks go to GameILife, Wired’s very own gaming blog. To editor Chris Kohler: the Screengrab will wreck you at Smash Bros. Bring it.

Transformers 2 Leakage Begins

John Constantine — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 19:32:00 GMT

You know, I’ve been sad these past few weeks. Ever since the format wars between HD-DVD and Bluray ended, I haven’t had quite so many opportunities to talk about my hero here on the ‘Grab. I’m talking, of course, about Michael Bay. Michael Bay, he with the flowingest of golden locks! Michael Bay, lover of helicopters, maker of explosions, promoter of Martin Lawrence! I have missed the tender caress of his booming, patriotic films. Thankfully, I won’t have to deal with separation anxiety any longer because the slow trickle of information leading up to the inevitable release of Transformers 2 has begun. IESB has some juicy deets on what meets more than eyes in Bay’s sequel starting with the appearance of Devastator. For those born before 1980, Devastator is a really, really big robot made out of big robots who turn into construction vehicles. He is, in short, Michael Bay’s wet dream of a special effect. Less interesting are the casting calls for human characters, of which there are many. Lord Bay himself was working on the script for this one during the dark days of the strike so I’m hoping he had the revelation that the human characters were abysmal, shallow distractions in the first movie. In all fairness though, that picture was pretty abysmal and shallow on its own.

Here's to AICN for their hawk's eyes.

Trailer Review: Bangkok Dangerous

John Constantine — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 22:59:00 GMT

First of all, Bangkok Dangerous is a hilarious name. The sixth grader who lives in my brain starts giggling every single time I look at it. It sounds like a caveman warning you to be cautious while traveling. Second of all, am I insane or is Nic Cage starting to look like the Crypt Keeper wearing a Gene Simmons wig? Casting directors, I am telling you, the man is aging. Stop trying to make him look like he’s 30. He isn’t.

With that out of the way, let’s talk about the trailer. Looks like Bangkok’s dangerous! There are assassins and slave trading and coups and gangsters and all kinds of stuff. At first, this comes off as being in the same tonal vein as the underrated Lord of War, a serious look into the life of a hired killer giving Mr. Cage ample opportunity to look sad. It shifts gears after the first minute into a big popcorn flick. While watching, I started to question whether or not Cage is a draw for this sort of thing. After all, The Rock came out twelve freaking years ago. Then I remembered that the National Treasure movies made twelve mumbillion dollars. On the whole Bangkok Dangerous looks like it might be alright. If you’ve got one a gift certificate lying around come summer, and you’ve already seen Indiana Jones, Iron Man, The Dark Knight, Speed Racer, The Hulk, and every other flighty action movie in theaters, this might be a good choice.

Madonna Ruins Casablanca

John Constantine — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 22:44:00 GMT

It’s just a rumor right now but, according to the Daily Mail, Madonna is trying to get together a remake of Casablanca. A remake of Casablanca set in Iraq in which she plays Ilsa Lund. Go ahead, find something disposable to vomit in. You back? Now think of all her scenes in Dick Tracy. Bet you don’t remember eating those carrots. Now think of Guy Ritchie’s Swept Away remake. Alright, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you cry.

Thankfully, there’s no script or anything remotely tangible to confirm this horror yet but if anyone can get funding to make something terrible, it’s Madonna.

I apologize for earlier. Click on this. It’ll make you feel better.

Props to Buzz Sugar for warning us.

Awesome Casting Announcement of the Week: Mos Def Plays Chuck Berry

John Constantine — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 22:04:00 GMT

Hey, Mos, it’s your cousin! Your cousin, Marvin Def. You know that new part you’ve been looking for? Well dig this!

While you might expect Marvin to point his fav relative Mos Def in the direction of Michael J Fox doing something appreciably sweet and rad, that’s not the case here. However, Mos Def will indeed be playing the role of legendary rocker Chuck Berry in Cadillac. About the rocking lives of Leonard Chess and the many culture-changing artists he released through Cadillac Records in the 1950s, Cadillac has got great casting across the board. Jeffrey Wright as Muddy Waters and Beyonce Knowles as Etta James are as inspired as Chuck Berry Mos Def. The flick is written and directed by Darnell Martin, a regular TV director but almost unknown on the big screen.

Thanks to AICN for the spot!

Popular Mechanics Makes List of Most Prescient Sci-Fi Flicks, Screengrab Impressed

John Constantine — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 21:35:00 GMT

Continuing with the suitably meta trend of the past couple of days, here’s another “Top” list posted on a website that loves doing “Top” lists itself. While part one of Entertainment Weekly’s Top 50 Most Vile Villains list was a little hit or miss, Popular Mechanics’ list is an incredibly entertaining read top to bottom thanks to its novel premise. The list also happens to be absolutely terrifying. The majority of these films depict bleak, forbidding, soulless futures for mankind and writer Erik Sofge deftly points out how it’s all coming true. Except for Soylent Green. Soylent Green is still not people.

Check out the list here.

Thanks to Cinematical for the spot and thanks to Erik Sofge for writing about Short Circuit. You can never have enough writing about Gutenberg flicks.

Trailer Review: X-Files 2 Leaked Trailer Re-dux

John Constantine — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 17:01:00 GMT

For what is ostensibly a tent pole for Fox in the summer blockbuster season, there hasn’t been a whole lot of mainstream hype for the yet-to-be-officially-titled X-Files sequel. The film drops on July 25th and it’s only today that an official poster has been released (and it’s quite fetching, as you can see). Then again, there seems to be a method to the marketing madness behind Mulder and Scully’s resurrection. It works like this:

Step 1) Make brief trailer comprised purely of quick cuts, include one shot of beloved characters. Bring trailer to comics convention, allow nerds to spread good news.

Step 2) Make second trailer, include pensive dialogue between beloved characters, more quick cut action, add theme song and classic vague text alluding to “the truth” and it being somewhere. Bring to comic convention, allow nerds to spread good news.

Step 3) Profit without paying for televised marketing until summer.

That Chris Carter’s one smart cookie. Metaphorically speaking. Unless the truth that is out there is that Chris Carter is indeed a delicious, circular confection possibly containing chips of chocolate.

Comic to Screen (In Reverse): Hugh Jackman

John Constantine — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 21:29:00 GMT

Typically, we here at Das Screengrab bring you all the latest news about all two billion ninety-three comics being adapted for the silver screen. Today, however, we’re mixing things up! Hugh Jackman, the Aussie thespian who became an inexorable part of 21st century pop culture after his portrayal of Wolverine in Fox’s X-Men flicks, announced that he’ll be creating his very own funny book, Nowhere Man. Co-authored by screen and comics writer Marc Guggenheim and published by Virgin Comics, Nowhere Man is a “Sci Fi odyssey set in a groundbreaking vision of the future in which mankind has traded privacy for safety.” Well. Sounds, um, groundbreaking. Sheesh…

You can check out a press release for the new book over at Newsarama.

Jason Statham Mixes Things Up in Crank 2

John Constantine — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 21:13:00 GMT

Nah, I’m just razzing you. Looks like Jason Statham is set to continue his nearly decade-long streak of playing the exact same dude punching other dudes in Crank 2. Spoiler TV has got details on the plot (as it were) and some of the roles yet to be cast. If you’re, and I quote, a "tough fowl mouthed British kid with a cockney accent" you could play the child version of Statham’s character Chev! Who, I guess, has chickens in his mouth. Or something. There are also open roles for one-hundred-year-old Chinese men (Hu Dong) and ladies in their twenties who MUST BE OKAY WITH NUDITY.

For those not in the know, the original Crank is about a tough who needs to keep his adrenaline high or his heart will explode. It features the least sexy public coitus ever filmed.

Indiana Jones 4: LaBeouf Apparently Doesn’t Mind Being Called Junior

John Constantine — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 20:53:00 GMT

Alright, I admit, that’s cheating. Indiana Jones doesn’t call Shia LaBeouf "Junior" anywhere in this new featurette on the official Kingdom of the Crystal Skull website. You, however, will delight in this reference to a fondly remembered film starring related characters! Ill-suited allusions aside, I found LaBeouf pretty endearing here and it’s helped get me more excited to see just what the movie’s going to be like. Given, I’m already pretty endeared towards people who get arrested at Walgreens. Nothing brings people together like shared experience.

What’s up with this picture though? Why are the Jones boys on Nickelodeon’s Legends of the Hidden Temple?

You can check out the featurette here. Thanks to Cinematical for the spot!

Separated at Birth

John Constantine — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 18:12:00 GMT

Hey, film buffs! What does this picture of Madonna remind you of?

Hit the jump for a hint!

Screengrab says:

Thanks to the awesome Photoshop Disasters blog for this taste of horror.

Sweaty-Palmed Follow-Up: $40K Scarlett

John Constantine — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 18:04:00 GMT

Remember a couple weeks back when the internet scared the crap out of me? No, not the Birdo pictures. It was the eBay auction selling an opportunity to “meet ‘n’ greet” Scarlett Johansson at the He’s Just Not That Into You Premiere. Yeah, that auction ended. User bossnour, who is either the biggest believer in Oxfam’s cause or the world’s heaviest breather with deep pockets, dropped $40,100 to be the winner. What does this tell us about the internet? Scary place.

Thanks to big sister blog Scanner for keeping on top of this one.

George Miller: The Furious Multimedia Road

John Constantine — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 21:54:00 GMT

Saying that 2008 is an interesting time for visual media is an understatement. As an art form, filmmaking has never been more accessible. Making a movie is cheap and distribution is only a Youtube account away. It’s interesting then to watch the growing trend of successful theatrical filmmakers looking to other mediums, specifically video games, as a new avenue of not just business but expression. Peter Jackson’s working on multiple projects within Microsoft’s omnipresent Halo franchise, Steven Spielberg’s developing three separate games for Electronic Arts (the first of which, Boom Blox for the Wii, you can check out here), and Dan Ackroyd and Harold Ramis have beaten the ravages of aging by turning to games for a third Ghostbusters. Now George Miller, of Mad Max and Babe fame, is getting in on the action. In a series of exclusive interviews with N’Gai Croal (arguably the most important voice in games journalism and who also happens to be a filmmaker himself), Miller announced that he’s collaborating with game developer Cory Barlog on a number of new projects, the first of which being a Mad Max game that will be created alongside the long in development Mad Max: Fury Road. Barlog is most famous for his work on the God of War series that, while different in subject, has quite a bit in common thematically with Mad Max. Miller and Barlog will be working together on both film and game, utilizing the same cast for both.

What’s fascinating about this partnership is not just Miller’s interest in games as a narrative medium offering opportunities beyond film’s natural constraints but that he’s sought out a singular auteur to work with. Modern game development, as Croal discusses with both Barlog and Miller, is not unlike Hollywood sixty years ago: directors are traditionally studio employees and not independent artists for hire. This collaboration is an exciting moment for film and game alike. Plus new Mad Max! GIBSONLESS MAD MAX!

Trailer Review: Red Cliff (Japanese Trailer)

John Constantine — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 23:27:00 GMT

Those crazy cats over at Twitch have posted a Japanese trailer for John Woo’s return to the both the big screen and Hong Kong cinema, Red Cliff. We got some eyes on time with Red Cliff back at the beginning of February but this is a whole lot crisper than the earlier leak. There’s a bunch of new footage in these thirty-eight seconds, almost all of it large scale action and mood shots. If nothing else, it reinforces the fact that Woo is returning to his roots, even beyond the subject matter. There’s more vivid color in these scenes than anything the man’s done in twenty years. Still no word on a North American release. This is troublesome since, from the two Asian trailers that have come out so far, this is a flick that would be ill-served by a direct to DVD release.

You can check out the trailer here.