The Screengrab : ryan reynolds

Morning Deal Report: Rachel Weisz Blows the Whistle

Scott Von Doviak — Wed, 06 May 2009 14:00:00 GMT

Rachel Weisz signs on to The Whistleblower, an indie political drama about…well, I think it’s about a whistleblower, but let me check to make sure. “Based on a true story, Whistleblower chronicles the trials of a female cop from Nebraska who serves as a peacekeeper in post-war Bosnia and exposes a United Nations cover-up of a sex trafficking scandal,” Variety reports. See, I knew it!

If Wolverine is an X-Men spinoff, then what does that make Deadpool, a proposed Wolvervine spinoff starring Ryan Reynolds as the “wise-cracking mercenary played in the film by Ryan Reynolds”? An X-Men spinoff-in-law? “Deadpool is known as ‘the merc with a mouth,’ a character that under Reynolds lived up to his billing in Wolverine until the end, when the movie deviated from the comic book persona, imbuing him with several superpowers and sewing his mouth shut,” per The Hollywood Reporter. Hmm, that sounds like a spoiler to me.

Will Ferrell is ready to join the Neighborhood Watch. “Story chronicles an urbanite's journey as he moves to a suburban community, joins the neighborhood watch and uncovers a large conspiracy.”

Screengrab Review: “Adventureland”

Scott Von Doviak — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 16:30:00 GMT

It’s the summer of 1987, which means I’m cleaning rooms at a motel in Ellsworth, Maine between my sophomore and junior years of college. It’s not my dream summer job by any means; I’d much rather be manning the midway at the Blue Hill Fair, urging passersby to shoot squirtguns at the clown’s nose for the chance to win themselves a decorative and functional Def Leppard mirror. The screams from the Zipper ride, the smell of fried dough in the air, the sounds of AC/DC wafting from the Tilt-a-Whirl, the camaraderie of the carnies…what could be better?

The summer that could have been comes to life in Greg Mottola’s Adventureland, although not quite as vividly as I’d hoped. Jesse Eisenberg (The Squid and the Whale) stars as recent college grad James Brennan, a soft-spoken, sensitive virgin whose plans of spending the summer in Europe are derailed when his father is demoted. Still hoping to attend graduate school at Columbia in the fall, James is forced to take a summer job at the local amusement park, where he meets cute-but-brooding Em (Twilight's Kristen Stewart). They bond over weed and a love of alternative rock, but little does James know Em is sleeping with married maintenance man Connell (Ryan Reynolds).

Mottola the screenwriter undermines Mottola the director as the relationship issues between James and Em are put through some very familiar paces, particular once James, unsure whether he and Em are an exclusive item, goes on a date with the hottie of the park, Lisa P (Margarita Levieva). The plot mechanics are a drag because Adventureland is at its best when it’s in laid-back, hanging out mode. The park is populated by an appealing cast, including former Freaks and Geeks-er Martin Starr as intellectual Joel and the underused Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig as managers Rich and Paulette. Mottola nails the seedy attraction of the park and its surroundings (including a dead-on townie bar featuring the obligatory dreadful cover band), but much of the comedic potential of Adventureland itself remains untapped. There’s a little too much puking for comic effect, although Superbad fans should be warned that gross bodily function humor isn’t a priority here.

It’s not really fair to review the movie I wanted to see rather than the one Mottola made, but I would have preferred a more freewheeling, ensemble-friendly approach – a 1987 Dazed and Confused set in an amusement park rather than the creaky rom-com that emerges. The overreliance on Eisenberg and Stewart to carry the film is misguided because their personalities aren’t up to the task; Eisenberg is fine but we already have a Michael Cera, and Stewart is a bit out of her depth in Em’s darker moments. Their ride is too familiar, and I really wanted to hear those screams from the Zipper.

Scarlett Johansson Blows. Her Nose! Blows Her Nose!

Scott Von Doviak — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 17:00:00 GMT

Does it seem like we’re picking on Scarlett Johansson lately? Well, better to pick on her than to pick her nose! Or maybe not. “NBC announced Wednesday that the tissue The Spirit star used to blow her nose during her latest appearance on the Tonight Show—relief from the cold she caught from costar Samuel L. Jackson, she says—will be put up for auction tomorrow on eBay, with all proceeds going to the food-gathering charity USA Harvest,” according to E! Online.

This raises several questions. First: she caught a cold from Samuel L. Jackson? Exactly how did that happen? Does Ryan Reynolds know about this? Secondly, if she’s really serious about helping out this food-gathering charity, can’t she do a little better than her used snotrag? It seems to me that used panties might be a more lucrative auction item. I mean, not that I’d bid on them. Heavens no. But one of you weirdoes might.

Here’s the Tonight Show clip featuring the dainty Miss Scarlett honking up a loogie.

Related:
Scarlett Johansson, Yellow Journalism
And Now, Scarlett Johansson Making Out with Penelope Cruz

Scarlett Johansson, Yellow Journalism

Phil Nugent — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 16:30:00 GMT

The January 2009 issue of U.K. Cosmopolitan includes an interview with Scarlett Johansson in which the blushing bride talks about her marriage to Ryan Reynolds and explains just what it is that the star of National Lampoon's Van Wilder has that you ain't got, chum. The British Cosmo reported that Johansson told them that "Ryan has a very romantic side. We both enjoy remembering little things that make us happy." And: "This is a very beautiful time for me. Getting married is a huge moment in anyone's life, and the few months leading up to it were a little crazy." Giggling girlishly, she also confided that she "has at no point granted U.K. Cosmopolitan an interview", and she has never discussed her personal relationships with the publication." Oops, no, that was Johansson's spokesman Marcel Pariseau, issuing a statement that the quotes were "wholly fabicated" and constituted an "obvious attempt...to gain monetarily by misinforming their readers." The eagle-eyed Perez Hilton, who gets on-line gossip brownie points for having described it as "unusual" that "the usually very private Scarlet Johansson is speaking out about her marriage" before the scandal broke, reports that the magazine is distancing itself from the writer responsible for the "interview" by issuing a statement that "We ran these quotes in good faith with the understanding that the interview was carried out with the approval of Ms. Johansson and her publicist. UK Cosmopolitan is taking the complaints by Ms. Johansson's publicist seriously and is investigating the matter further."

This is a very sad affair, but make no mistake: the saddest part of it is what it says about the sorry, uninspired state of irresponsible celebrity journalism. It's especially pitiful given that the British are supposed to lead the league in this kind of thing. Johansson's camp complains that ""Ms. Johansson, who goes to great lengths to preserve an authentic representation of herself with respect to her fans and the media, is disappointed to see a seemingly reputable publication inexplicably publish a work of fiction at her expense." I am disappointed to see a work of fiction about Scarlett Johansson that could give her nothing more startling to say than, "My head is screwed on pretty good. I live a very private and modest lifestyle and I have great friends—who are not actors—and a great family." She was also made to insist that she was relieved that she was able to reel Reynolds in because she was no stranger to "situations... where a guy hasn't been into me." Many will single that out as the closest the "interview" gets to science fiction.) In an age where fanciful journalism has helped to derail presidential campaigns and get wars launched, it's a sorry thing that someone who decided to create her own news about something as unimportant as Scarlett Johansson's speech patterns couldn't come up with something more entertaining than this. (Johansson's publicists have also tried to highlight the absurdity of the post-marital interview by reminding everyone that Johansson did give the British Cosmo an interview--a real one--last summer, and at that time she said, "I hate feeling like I have to share my personal life with anybody. So I'll take the normal celebrity route and just say I'm going to keep my personal life private." So it's not as if the fabulist responsible for the new, fictional interview made her sound any duller than she actually is. But that just points up the fact that concocting a bogus interview with Scarlett Johansson that's dull enough to seem plausible is a pointless, self-defeating act, along the lines of an actor doing a perfectly convincing impersonation of Ben Stein. The next time I read a wholly made-up interview with a movie star in a British publication, I want to see some good stuff about her secret hot affair with Ed Asner and a tearful confession about how she separated herself from her conjoined twin with her own teeth.

DVD Digest for June 24, 2008

Paul Clark — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 14:00:00 GMT

This week brings the release of several new Criterions, the latest DVD from a blogosphere favorite, and a box-set tribute to a late, great British director.

For many DVD fans, this is the week that Criterion releases Anthony Mann’s The Furies and Milcho Manchevski’s Before the Rain in stories. But while both of these titles are certainly worthy, the new DVD that most interests me this week is actually Zeitgeist’s Derek Jarman Glitterbox, containing four of the maverick filmmaker’s works. The best-known title in the box is his 1986 film Caravaggio, which features early performances from Sean Bean and Jarman friend/frequent collaborator Tilda Swinton. But also justifying the price are 1993’s Wittgenstein and 1985’s The Angelic Conversation, the latter of which is only available in the box set. Finally, there’s the strange case of Blue, Jarman’s final film, also included here. While watching a film that consists entirely of a blue background accompanied by various voiceovers and sound effects, it’s nonetheless a must for Jarman fans, or even those who are curious about his life. Made as he was losing his eyesight due to AIDS-related illness, Blue is almost certainly the closest Jarman came to making a cinematic confession. You may not watch it again and again, but it demands to be seen at least once, and thanks to DVD, now everyone has that opportunity. Of course, if you’re looking for a more upbeat gay-friendly DVD, there’s always Xanadu: Magical Music Edition (Universal).

This week’s most noteworthy new release comes to us from our friends at Benten Films, Matthias Gleisner’s The Free Will. A prizewinner at the 2007 Berlinale, The Free Will tells the story of a convicted sex offender who finds himself struggling with life following his release from prison. The first foreign-language release from Benten, the DVD also includes a commentary by Gleisner and star/co-writer Jürgen Vogel, along with the film’s original theatrical trailer and a new essay on the film by critic David Fear. As always, it’s good to see what the Benten boys (Andrew Grant and Aaron Hillis) have in store for us, and The Free Will should be no exception.

Other notable recent releases coming to DVD this week include Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis (Sony, also Blu-Ray), which features both French- and English-dubbed versions; Martin McDonagh’s agreeably salty In Bruges (Universal); Ryan Reynolds romancing a trio of hotties in Definitely, Maybe (Universal); Roland Emmerich’s latest assault on storytelling coherence and subtlety 10,000 B.C. (Warner, also Blu-Ray); The Spiderwick Chronicles (Paramount, also Blu-Ray), Hollywood’s latest failed attempt to create a new Potter-like franchise; John Sayles’ barely-released Honeydripper (Universal); and the strident Ferris Bueller wannabe Charlie Bartlett (MGM).

Finally… like surfing? Own a Blu-Ray player? Then we’ve got good news for you, as Step Into Liquid (Lionsgate) receives a Blu-Ray only release this week. Otherwise, if you’re looking for non-recent releases on Blu-Ray this week, I’m afraid you’re rather stuck.

The Screengrab Highlight Reel: May 3-9, 2008

Scott Von Doviak — Fri, 09 May 2008 21:30:00 GMT

This was the week that was at the Screengrab:

We offered free career advice to the 21st century Steve McQueen and Ali MacGraw, Scarlett Johansson and Ryan Reynolds.

We watched Nicolas Cage, Michael J. Fox and Bruce Willis debase themselves in the Five Most Embarrassing Celebrity Commercials.

We compared two versions of The Thomas Crown Affair, two versions of Lolita, and the two faces of Aaron Eckhart.

We climbed The Towering Inferno and floated down the Apocalypse Now river.

We saw a naked Bo Derek drenched in honey and milk in Bolero, the latest entry in the Unwatchable series of 100 worst movies ever.

We expressed concern for Christina Ricci, hailed Jonathan Pryce and looked forward to seeing Bardot’s ass in high definition.

We told you about the 12 Greatest Movies Based on TV Shows and you told us we forgot about Serenity. Sorry about that.

And finally, we got sweet, sweet revenge.

What a week, no?

Scarlett Johansson and Ryan Reynolds: 2 B 2-Together 4-Ever!

Phil Nugent — Tue, 06 May 2008 15:00:00 GMT

Scarlett Johansson and Ryan Reynolds are getting hitched, and we here at the Screengrab haven't been this proud and excited since our guppies mated! These are two of our favorite people: Reynolds, because he's a likable fellow who's shown himself to be a reliable, capable actor whether he's flexing his chops in bad comedies (Van Wilder), bad action movies (Smokin' Aces), bad horror movies (The Amityville Horror), or bad unintentionally comic action horror movies (Blade : Trinity); Johansson, because she was once in a good movie (Ghost World) without doing it much harm, because Tom Waits isn't too proud to cash the royalty checks, and because every time we run a picture of her, such as this computer-generated simulation of what she'll look like in her wedding outfit, our page numbers go up for some reason. (Also, her name is Scarlett, but she's a blonde! How trippy is that!?) Interestingly, though both of them keep very busy, the 23-year-old Johansson and the 31-year-old cradle-robbing bastard Reynolds have never worked together before. (IMDB lists their only shared credit as 101 Sexiest Celebrity Bodies on TV, which we haven't seen--we're waiting for the opera---but we have a hunch it would stretch the definition of "working together.") But if this marriage is going to work, and I think we can all agree that the thought of it failing is just too morbid to contemplate, then they're going to want to explore the possibility of co-starring vehicles to increase their volume of quality time together. (It worked for Julia and Kiefer, right?) Because the kids must have their hands full with wedding plans--registering at Sears, negotiating to rent out a bowling alley for the bachelor party, trying to get Survivor's Boston Robb on the phone to ask if he'd still lobby for the surf and turf buffet--they might not have a lot of time to flip through scripts, so we've taken the liberty of offering a few suggestions:

THE GETAWAY: Scarlett and Ryan have to co-star in a remake of the married-bank-robbers-on-the-lam thriller The Getaway, based on the Jim Thompson novel. This isn't our favorite choice for them, but after the Steve McQueen-Ali McGraw and Alec Baldwin-Kim Basinger versions, we're pretty sure that federal law demands it, so they might as well get it over with quick, like ripping off a band-aid or meeting the in-laws. (Personal to Ryan: just ignore Mr. Johnansson when he demands that you pull his finger.) After watching Ryan's steely gunplay in Smokin' Aces, we suspect that he'll actually be a solid, impressive Doc McCoy, and as for Scarlett, well, we're sure that she'll look shiny and immaculate even while camping out in a rat-infested dumpster. Since the movie will almost certainly blow, the newlyweds can't be judged too harshly for it, which means that the real suspense will be in seeing who gets to play the slimy killer nutjob chasing them and the lovable old goober who gives them a lift at the very end. We propose that the casting director go wide and unexpected with Steve Zahn as the psycho and pluck the viewers' nostalgic heartstrings by hiring Bob Newhart to play the sweet, gabby old thing. Or, if Newhart is unavailable, Robert De Niro.

WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF?: After the scathing reviews The Getaway is sure to earn, Scarlett in particular will be eager to jump in the deep end and show off her acting chops. That's a problem for her, because she can't act, but she can probably hollar, and that's really all you need to do to impress most critics with your range after they've sat through twenty pictures where you pretty much just stood there reflecting light. Playing Martha, the rampaging gorgon at the center of Edward Albee's marital slugfest, gave Elizabeth Taylor the chance to pick up an Academy Award for Best Hollaring by a One-Time Candidate for Most Beautiful Person in the World, so there's a ready-made tradition for Scarlett to tap into here. The husband, George, is supposed to be a prototypical middle-aged American wimp, but since most people's memories of the play are based on the movie starring Taylor and Richard Burton, they think George is English, which means that Reynolds too will have the chance to stretch by breaking out his best Monty Python accent to go with his prop eyeglasses. Throw in Elijah Wood and Bijou Phillipa as the goggle-eyed witnesses to this house of horrors and I think we've got a winner. Don't talk about the boy, Scarlett!

GREEN ARROW AND BLACK CANARY: Tradition and awards are all well and good, but for full mutual career satisfaction, our little Lunt and Fontaine are also going to need to bring home that box-office gold. The ideal thing would be to sign them up for a franchise as crime-fighting superheroes. It isn't until you start trying to come up with possibilities that you realize just how few great man-and-woman superhero combos there have been, especially since Reed Richards and Sue Storm have already been spoken for. But we think that these two will make for a fine fit. Swear to God, we think there's always been something about Ryan Reynolds that's whispered, "Goatee! Robin Hood costume! Bow and arrows!" As for Scarlett, she's sure to rock the black leather slinkywear. The only problem is that there have been rumors of a Green Arrow movie in the works going back to when Kevin Smith was regarded as promising, and the property may be tied up. If it can't be pried free, then we propose going old-school and reviving Nick and Nora, the wisecracking alcoholic marrieds of the Thin Man series, "rebooting" the franchise to give it commercial potential for these sophisticated modern times. As Nick and Nora, Ryan and Scarlett will make wisecracks--or, to better keep with the nature of their talents, Ryan will make them while Scarlett stares at him blankly--chug martinis, and solve crimes. While wearing jet packs!

RYAN & SCARLETT'S XXX HONEYMOON SEX TAPE: A surefire career booster! With an IMAX 3-D sequence to be directed by Martin Scorsese and featuring Christopher Walken and Zac Efron in the musical numbers. To be released in conjunction with the premiere of their new reality series. "It's just called 'Chicken of the Sea' because people like chicken, Scarlett!"

Trailer Roundup: Cloverfield, Definitely Maybe, The Other Boleyn Girl

Peter Smith — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 18:00:00 GMT

Cloverfield

While the 1.18.08 teaser that played before Transformers this past summer appeared to simply be a brilliant piece of viral marketing, it now appears that the project, now titled Cloverfield, will actually be shot largely by characters wielding personal camcorders and camera phones, instead of in a conventional style. Frankly, I'm not sure how I feel about this. On the one hand, I think it's a good idea in theory to make a kind of Godzilla for the YouTube generation. But a movie like this is tricky to pull off. The Blair Witch Project worked because you always got a sense that there were really three people lost in the forest and beset by forces they couldn't explain, but it'll be much harder to get that same vibe with a project this large-scale and effects-intensive. I'm not sure the director of the 1996 David Schwimmer vehicle The Pallbearer is the man for the job. Regardless, I'm curious to find out.

Definitely, Maybe

About the best thing I can say about this trailer is that Ryan Reynolds doesn't look to be as insufferable as he usually is. Plus his three romantic partners — Elizabeth Banks, Rachel Weisz, and Isla Fisher — are all pretty smokin'. But otherwise, gag me. Much of the blame can be placed on little Abigail Breslin, who has taken over the mantle of Hollywood's go-to moppet from Dakota Fanning. Or maybe it's just that the character feels less like a precocious kid than a screenwriter's conception of same, a little girl who gives voice to all the clever, self-aware ideas on the scribe's oh-so-clever mind. How else to explain lines like "what's the male word for slut?" This is the kind of crappy Valentine's Day release that makes me glad to be single. And who signed off on that title?

The Other Boleyn Girl

Okay, who cast this thing? When your least problematic lead is Aussie Eric Bana (Henry the Eighth he ain't, he ain't), you know there's trouble. I'm not sure who's more ill-fitting in this story, emo pixie Natalie Portman as the defiant Anne Boleyn, or princess of pout Scarlett Johansson as her sister Mary. Based on her ignominious work in previous period films, I'm inclined to lean toward Johansson here, but it's a tough call. Either way, couldn't they find two English actresses who (a) suited their roles, and (b) were more convincing as sisters? With Elizabeth: The Golden Age and now this, Hollywood might want to consider laying off the British history for a while, lest our friends across the pond think we've got it in for them.

— Paul Clark