The Screengrab : role models

DVD Digest for March 10, 2008

Paul Clark — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 14:00:00 GMT

This week, a handful of the most acclaimed films of 2008, and an animated classic gets released from the Disney vaults again.

This week’s selection of recent releases coming to DVD includes some of 2008’s best-reviewed films, including Sean Penn giving an Oscar-winning performance in Gus Van Sant’s Milk (Universal, also Blu-Ray), Anne Hathaway in Jonathan Demme’s Rachel Getting Married (Sony, also Blu-Ray), Charlie Kaufman’s Synecdoche, New York (Sony, also Blu-Ray) [the best film of the year, says I], Mike Leigh’s Happy-Go-Lucky (Disney), and the Swedish vampire chiller Let the Right One In (Magnolia). Also this week, Jason Statham in Transporter 3 (Lionsgate, also Blu-Ray), the real-life blues story Cadillac Records (Sony, also Blu-Ray), Paul Rudd and Seann William Scott in Role Models (Universal, also Blu-Ray), Charlize Theron in the WTO-centric ensemble piece Battle in Seattle (Universal, also Blu-Ray), and finally, one of the worst-received films of 2008, Mark Herman’s Holocaust-themed family movie The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (Disney).

The big news in classic releases this week is the 70th Anniversary “Platinum Edition” of one of Disney’s greatest animated classics, Pinocchio. Also coming to Blu-Ray, the new DVD includes new commentary from Leonard Maltin and others, some newly-unearthed deleted scenes and storyboards, and a bunch of new features for kids and animation buffs alike. Also this week: Richard Gere and Edward Norton in Primal Fear Special Edition (Paramount, also Blu-Ray), and perhaps the least likely “classic” I’ve spotlighted to date, Howard the Duck Special Edition (Universal).

In TV on DVD news, this week brings South Park Season 12 (Paramount, also Blu-Ray) and The Starter Wife Season 1 (Universal).

Finally, the biggest Blu-Ray only release this week is Batman: The Motion Picture Anthology 1989-1997 (Warner), which is great news if you don’t mind paying for two DVDs you’ll probably never watch just so you get DVDs of the Burton Batman movies. Also, where’s Mask of the Phantasm?

Morning Deal Report: You’ve Got to Be Focking With Me

Scott Von Doviak — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 16:15:00 GMT

Someone might describe the third installment in the Fockers series as “long-awaited,” but that someone would not be me. Nevertheless, Reuters is reporting that Little Fockers is on the fast track at Universal, with Ben Stiller, Robert De Niro and Owen Wilson all set to reprise their roles. “Jay Roach, who directed the first two films, will produce Fockers but not helm the picture. He's concentrating on the comic romp Dinner for Schmucks for DreamWorks.” Of course he is. Contenders for the director’s chair include Paul Weitz (About a Boy) and David Wain (Role Models).

Katherine Heigl and Ashton Kutcher are running from Five Killers. “Film reteams Heigl with helmer Robert Luketic, who most recently directed the thesp in upcoming romantic comedy The Ugly Truth. Story kicks off when a woman meets the man of her dreams while on vacation. Married bliss is turned upside down when they discover that their neighbors may be assassins hired to kill them,” Variety reports.

The Michael Lewis baseball book Moneyball is already slated for the big screen, and now his football book The Blind Side is scheduled for adaptation with Sandra Bullock aboard. It “tells the true story of football player Michael Oher, who is projected to be one of the first players selected in this year's NFL draft,” per The Hollywood Reporter. “Oher was a homeless black teen from a broken home who was taken in by a well-to-do white family that saw extraordinary promise in him. Oher, however, faced a new set of obstacles once in his new environment. Bullock will play Leigh Anne Touhy, the affluent matriarch of the conservative suburban household that takes in Oher.”

Related:
Soderbergh Plays Moneyball
Robert De Niro in "The Return of Rupert Pupkin"

2008 in Review: Paul Clark's Favorite Movie Moments

Paul Clark — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 20:00:00 GMT

Starting tomorrow, the writers of Screengrab will be unveiling their lists of the top 10 films of 2008. But before that begins, I’d like to post a different sort of list of highlights from the past year. For those of you who’ve only started reading recently, I used to write a bi-weekly column called “The Movie Moment,” in which I’d explore in depth some of my favorite scenes from movies both old and new. This past spring, I had to put the column on indefinite hiatus for various reasons, but I wanted to bring it back for this week only so I could celebrate some of my favorite Movie Moments of 2008. However, I had such a devil of time trying to narrow down my list that I’ve decided to simply list all of the moments that made me laugh out loud, cry like a baby, bite my nails uncontrollably, or which otherwise rocked my world this past year. This list is by no means meant to be taken as comprehensive, but merely were the moments which readily sprang to mind while I was writing the piece. So without further ado, I give you…

2008: The Year in Movie Moments:

(in no particular order)

The little boy’s confession notes- In Bruges

“No-no-no. I kill the bus driver.” - The Dark Knight

The security guard makes his rounds - Man on Wire

Sidney’s musical vows - Rachel Getting Married

The kiss that launched a thousand lens flares - Silent Light (only one of several transcendent moments in the film- the swimming-hole scene or the epic rainstorm might just as easily have qualified)

Mike’s late-night visit (or really, anytime Merle Haggard’s “Mama Tried” is played) - The Strangers

Peekaboo nudity - The Romance of Astrea and Celadon

Harry unveils the machine - Burn After Reading (honestly, who could possibly enjoy THAT?)

Madame Gaudens’ confession - A Girl Cut in Two

Incident at the race track - My Winnipeg

Most hilarious random line of the year: “When it comes to women, you’re Michael Jordan. I’m… Bill Laimbeer.” - Baghead

The new army suits up for battle - Role Models

Alex takes a shower - Paranoid Park

Brandi forgets her cell phone - Stuck

Black Kold Medina puts on a show - Trouble the Water

Runaway penguin - Encounters at the End of the World

Jung-rae Kim diagrams his neuroses - Woman on the Beach

Alex’s sex surprise, both inevitable and strangely erotic - XXY

The director’s big exit - Tropic Thunder

Most unlikely tearjerking moment of the year: Fred Knittle sings “Fix You”, Young@Heart

Three-way fist fight: Seth Rogen vs. James Franco vs. Danny McBride - Pineapple Express

The Richard McGuire segment - Fear(s) of the Dark

Ninjas! - In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale (yes, really)

And finally, my five favorite openings and finales of the year:

Perfect openings: “Put on Your Sunday Clothes”, WALL*E; Sunrise, Silent Light; The piano, The Silence Before Bach; The Jean-Claude Van Damme Stunt Spectacular, JCVD; The Legend of Po, Kung Fu Panda

Great final scenes (no spoilers): Synecdoche, New York, The Duchess of Langeais, Shine a Light, The Visitor, Burn After Reading

I would invite all of you to share some of your favorites in the comments section. After all, I’m surely missing at least a couple of really good ones.

Trailer Review: I Love You, Man

Paul Clark — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 17:00:00 GMT

As a long-standing Paul Rudd fan, I’m more or less predisposed to see this one, especially since he’s playing the lead. Yet after the surprisingly hilarious Role Models, the material here feels relatively uninspired. Like a number of Apatow and faux-Apatow productions, I Love You, Man is a platonic love story about an awkward guy connecting with the other men in his life, and the presence of a number of the usual Apatow suspects doesn’t alleviate the feeling of déjà vu. Yet I continue to be taken aback by how versatile Rudd is turning out to be, not to mention the way his dude’s-dude good looks don’t hinder his ability to convincingly play a character who doesn’t make friends with other guys. So if nothing else, I’ll be able to enjoy this as the latest chapter in the ongoing adventures of Paul Rudd, and if manages to be as awesome as Role Models turned out to be, all the better.

Morning Deal Report: A Double Shot of McQuarrie

Scott Von Doviak — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 15:00:00 GMT

Thanks primarily to last week’s publicity boost from the Screengrab, Quantum of Solace opened at the top spot on the box office charts. (That’s our theory, anyway.) Raking in $70.4 million over the weekend, Quantum crushed the previous Bond best of $47.1 million held by 2002’s Die Another Day and proved that American audiences can live with a weird title as long as there are plenty of chase scenes. Madascar: Escape 2 Africa slipped to second place with a $36.1 million haul, followed by Role Models with $11.7 million.

Not long ago we were wondering whatever happened to Usual Suspects screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie. Now he’s inescapable. McQuarrie is signed to write and produce two projects for UA, per The Hollywood Reporter. The Champions “is derived from a late-'60s British television series about a group of government agents who encounter a hidden civilization that grants them superhuman talents.” The Monster of Florence “tells the strange-but-true tale of popular author Douglas Preston and Italian journalist Mario Spezi, who began investigating a series of unsolved murders in Italy and wound up implicated in the case.”

Guillermo del Toro and the Jim Henson Co. are teaming up for a “darker” take on Pinocchio. (Let me guess: “It’s not just his nose that grows.”) The stop-motion feature is on the back-burner while del Toro makes two Hobbit movies. But that’s not all! Per Variety, “He also has a three-year first-look deal with Universal, where he’s setting up remakes of Frankenstein, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Slaughterhouse-Five, an adaptation of Dan Simmons novel Drood and several other projects.” I’d say del Toro is spreading himself too thin, but I’ve seen pictures of him.

Related:
Vanishing Act: Christopher McQuarrie
Del Toro on the Hobbit Trail

Morning Deal Report: The Anti-James Bond

Scott Von Doviak — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 15:30:00 GMT

To the surprise of no one in particular, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa debuted at the top of the box office charts with a whopping weekend take of $63.5 million, dashing the hopes of those who dared to dream talking animal movies might be on the way out. Role Models made a surprisingly big splash at number two, taking in $19.3 million. Few turned out to bid a fond farewell to Bernie Mac, as Soul Men garnered a meager $5.6 million.

A sequel to Madagascar is one thing, but did anyone ask for a sequel to Road to Perdition? The misbegotten Tom Hanks mob movie was based on a graphic novel by Max Allen Collins, who will adapt his own follow-up, Road to Purgatory, for the big screen. “Purgatory will follow the character of Michael Sullivan Jr. -- the son in Perdition -- as he returns home from WWII and vows to avenge the murder of his father. He is ultimately led to Frank Nitti, whom he is urged to kill on the orders of Al Capone,” Variety reports.

Che co-star Edgar Ramirez will play “the anti-James Bond,” Ilich Ramirez Sanchez, “a Venezuelan-born leftist revolutionary nicknamed Carlos and later Jackal who famously raided the OPEC headquarters in Vienna, Austria, in 1975,” per The Hollywood Reporter. Olivier Assayas (Demonlover) will direct.

Related:
James Bond and the Five Stages of Grief
21 Stars We Hate

John Waters Smokes Crack

Scott Von Doviak — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 15:30:00 GMT

OK, so it was an accident. In a revealing new interview with New York magazine, the 61-year-old director of Pink Flamingos and Hairspray makes it clear he’s not ready for a life of early bird specials and Matlock reruns. He’s ready to start shooting his 17th film Fruitcake, and Cry-Baby is about to follow Hairspray to the Broadway stage. He’s working on a book called Role Models, “a self-portrait where I write profiles of other people and how much I love them and how much they changed my life and influenced me—famous people, criminals, people you’ve never heard of.” But as Ariel Levy writes, “his interests have remained intact: art, sex, drugs, class, and transgression.”

Levy gets a tour of Waters’ home in Baltimore: “One of the first things you see upon entering is the electric chair Divine died in in Female Trouble…A framed pair of Patty Hearst’s glasses (‘She was wearing those when she got arrested!’) hangs on the wall in the bathroom downstairs, next to some photographs of couch cushions that somehow look a lot like a vagina. On top of the toilet there’s a bowl of fake brownies and cookies. In fact, there is fake food in every room. Fake sushi in the dining room, a leg of lamb in Waters’s office, rubber blueberry pie in his bedroom. In the guest room that doesn’t lead to the bomber’s room, there is a bookshelf on which Waters has organized the books by category, one subject per shelf: extreme weather, psychological disorders, Nazis, Catholicism, high society.”

Then there are some of the director’s favorite haunts, like a feminist sex store owned by one of his assistant directors. (Waters: “Well, let me see the vibrating cock rings.” Sales clerk: “I think we’re out.”) And that crack-smoking incident? “He was having a party at his house in Baltimore and someone passed him a pipe that he assumed was packed with pot, so he took a puff. ‘I thought, Am I addicted? Am I gonna rob my parents now? I had a horrible hangover, but I’d been drinking anyway. I was glad, actually, in a way. I would never now purposely try a new drug, I don’t think, but I’m secretly glad I know what it feels like.’”

All that and much more here.