Thanks for checking out our Forgotten Fridays feature. This is something we want to try out to review some older films that maybe you have forgotten about or maybe never got around to seeing that we just want to share.
I know this is NOT a very old film, but not one that I find most people know about. If you have, then this is your reminder to make other people watch it.
Today’s review is St Trinians
THE GENERAL IDEA
St Trinians proudly continues to represent the unacceptable face of British education. When the new Minister of Education announces he will personally sort the place out he doesn’t realise either the enormity of the task or that the headmistress is an old flame. The school is anyway threatened with closure by their bank; with the staff clearly a waste of space the girls realise the responsibility to save the day falls on them. Perhaps a stealing and fencing off a very valuable painting would be the way out?
THE GOOD
The movie has all the charm of highschool cliques exaggerated to the most fun extremes. The misguided youth that self govern the school are all heaps of fun. Once the dotey new comer, the neice of the Headmistress (played wonderfully by the cross dressed Rupert Everett) finds acceptance, they try to figure out which clique she belongs with. The “makeover” scene is the most fun montage I have ever seen. Silly fun.
The movie features amazing performances by the students and the supporting cast. Russell Brand is a lot like his normal self but different enough to enjoy him. This was the film that introduced me to sex on a cracker known as Gemma Arterton, and she just oozes sex appeal that made her deserving of a Bond Girl (though I like her more in this)
Overall, there is nothing too shocking about this schoolgirl movie crossed with a comical heist film. Its just plain fun and riding stereotypes.
Small roles played by Lena Headey (From Sarah Connor Chronicles) and the quizmaster (Stephen Fry) as well as a blonde Mischa Barton as the former Head Girl.
THE BAD
This movie will not appeal to everyone. It grabbed me with the racy schoolgirl fantasy and kept me with its charming play and a fun romp of a movie. It really appeals to the Brit humour at times, and the occassional rolling of eyes. But its a lot of fun. Maybe just not going to appeal to everyone.
OVERALL
If you tend to find my Forgotten Friday Picks in line with your own tastes, I suggest you take a shot at this quirky comedy.
Also as a side note, the cast of this film is re-uniting for a sequel which will star the Former Doctor David Tenant and return Gemma Arterton to her slinky hot schoolgirl role in St Trinian’s: The Legend of Fritton’s Gold
Typically this is where we would write a “Out of 10″ rating, but since all of these Forgotten Friday reviews are going to be what I would already give a high rating to, I have made my own rating system.
TV - Make a point of watching it if you see it listed on TV. Rent - Good enough to go out of your way to see it, but not enough to buy it. Buy - So good. You will watch it again and again. Buy it!
Yesterday there was a screening for the new Sci-Fi flick “District 9″ held at Comic Con (one of the only reasons I almost went this year). The film is directed by Neill Blomkamp who was originally supposed to helm the “Halo” movie project until the plug got pulled.
I’ve now talked to, emailed or texted with 6 friends who were at that screening… and they all seem to have the exact same opinion: It’s great.
A couple of them caution that a SMALL part of it is the normal hysteria people have about a movie they see at a “special exclusive” screening like this and it is NOT the next Sci-Fi masterpiece… BUT… even they said there is no denying it is a truly great film.
Soul Video (who as you know is my regular guest on the podcast) was there and told me it is the best film of the year so far… better than Star Trek and better than UP.
I was already curious to see this film… now I’m flat out dying to see it.
If it really is as good as my friends are saying it is…. get ready for Halo…. unless the film flops financially.
A wonderfully whimsical and equally creepy Alice in Wonderland trailer surfaced on the Tubes of You thanks to some ComicCon fans who like to run with scissors but they were immediately cut down.
Fortunately for us, Trailer Addict has the official release for us so we don’t have to wonder any more.
I think it looks absolutely amazing and some of the characters are just enough to give you chills. The giant head on the Queen of Hearts played by the hauntingly beautiful Helena Bonham Carter looks so real and unreal at the same time. That’s going to give me nightmares.
Pleasant surprise was to find that among all these crazy loopy acid trip characters, the white rabbit looks most like a real rabbit.
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels is simply one of the greatest comedies I’ve ever seen in my life. I think one of the top 3 Steve Martin movies he’s ever done… and how much does Michael Caine rule in that movie????
Martin (As Ruprict): “May I go to the bathroom”
Caine: Yes of course
Martin (making a face of relief): Thank you.
GENIUS!!!
Ok, so I was looking up some info on that “Hot Tub Time Machine” that Rodney just did a post for and I went to the IMDB page for the director, Steve Pink, to see what else he’s done, and I came across this:
WHAT THE HOLLY HELL!!?!?!
Now a couple of things to keep in mind:
1) IMDB is not the most reliable when it comes to “upcoming” information whatsoever, so this could be totally wrong.
2) I still believe that remakes (even the most horrible ones) do NOTHING to the originals whatsoever.
But yeah, I’d be shocked if this is true. The comedy is just so damn perfect and it really isn’t all that old at all. I mean, go nuts if they really want to do it… but I just don’t think it’s time yet.
Would you be up for seeing a Dirty Rotten Scoundrels remake?
We have all been anxiously awaiting a followup to the Pirates of the Caribbean, if at least to renew hope in the franchise after the sequel got bigger and only offered to let us down easy. We expected too much after the first one was so great, and they gave us a BIG movie with less heart, and the excitement waned.
But it looks like they will be starting filming as early as next spring? Is there even a script?
Dark Horizons quotes Disney’s Head of Production Oren Aviv
“We’re going to shoot ‘Pirates 4′ in April and May of next year. We are going to release it hopefully in 2011 is the plan” said Aviv who adds that though this is only one movie, if successful it will “hopefully be the first of another trilogy”
He also expects the tone to be much smaller next time around - “We can’t get bigger… I want to kind of reboot the whole thing and bring it down to its core, its essence, just characters.”
I have to admit it was the first film that made me love Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, but I found the sequels focused more on the bigger picture and the mythos.
Sure, the first one had its supernatural elements, but it didn’t dwell on them. The curse was just atmosphere. It was the character interaction and wonderful portrayals that made the movie.
I did notice however that despite setting a timeline, Aviv doesn’t spill WHO will be in Pirates 4. Will and Elizabeth’s story is over and done with, so no need to go there. Jack had a new adventure in his lap in the closing moments of part 3, so I would love to see more of Jack and Barbosa trading barbs.
But he refers to it as a “kind of reboot” which almost implies to me that they will be introducing a whole new set of characters and adventures to take place on the high seas.
Comic Con has introduced us to the ONE film that we have been waiting for… to stop being made.
I have never been a big fan of the Saw series but I have watched them. I thought the first one was original and thought provoking in a “what would you do?” kind of way, but as they go on they just seem to be clinging to flimsy plot just to showcase some more torture porn.
When I start hearing rave reviews about Saw XXII, I might once again watch it, but after the first 5 hoping to have any of them offer me something other than a wincing squirm in my seat, I have officially given up.
Barely any reason to call it RedBand, it is worth mentioning that there are some colourful words in the teaser trailer for Hot Tub Time Machine, all of which I was desensitized to when I was 4.
There is only ONE thing that has me giving any of this any hope. John fucking Cusack! I have NEVER seen anything with him in it that was bad, but this makes me wonder how he got there as the three other characters did nothing for me.
“I almost passed out, your such a dork”?? That doesn’t make any sense. Though I do like the kid claiming he could figure out why it is scientifically possible because he writes Stargate Fanfic. That was at least a little funny.
But John Cusack. Seriously. It has to be somewhat funny right?
This is the single greatest Twilight picture ever. A couple of TMB readers sent this to me today… glorious! Check it out after the jump. (by the way… if anyone knows who made this please let me know asap)
Movie production is not an easy process for anyone involved. Before the cameras even start rolling there are a million details and delicate deals that have to be made. The process can be nothing short of a nightmare sometimes. A good case in point is the upcoming project by director Tony Scott titled “Unstoppable“.
“Unstoppable” revolves around a high speed runaway train filled with toxic chemicals speeding out of control and an engineer who is trying to stop it before disaster strikes.
The film was all set to shoot, and then Fox stopped in and halted production due to budget concerns. They approached Denzel Washington (the star of the movie) to request he take a pay cut and in response Washington walked off the project.
However, it appears that Washington has reached a deal with Fox, has rejoined the film and production of the movie is set to move forward again. I told you it can get complicated.
No official word yet on when the movie will begin production yet at this point. Stay tuned. (Source: Screenlog)
Oh good… here comes another video game movie. Actually it’s a video game movie that has been trying to get off the ground for years now and it appears it’s finally moving forward (is that a good thing or a bad thing? I’ll leave that up to you to decide).
The man behind the first couple of “Saw” movies and in recent days flicks like “Death Sentence” and “Dead Silence”, James Wan, has just signed on to co-write and direct the feature film adaptation of the video game “Castlevania“.
The good folks over at Bloody Disgusting give us this:
James Wan, the co-mastermind behind the Saw franchise, and director of Dead Silence and Death Sentence, will be co-writing and directing Castlevania for producer Paul W.S. Anderson. Inside you’ll find a tid-bit from Wan about his forthcoming adaptation. Sylvain White was originally slated to direct. Castlevania is an adaptation of the popular NES game from the 80’s that has since become a massive video game franchise.
“I’m very fresh on this project, so its early stages and I’m still trying to work things out, but the producers love my vision for it,” James Wan tells Bloody-Disgusting in an exclusive chat. “I’ll be working on the script with a writer to give it a new spin, different to the previous versions. This will have my stamp on it which Konami is very excited about.
I’m not sure how to feel about this.
First of all… it’s a video game movie… and we all know that they ALL suck. No exceptions.
Secondly… James Wan. The first Saw was pretty good. I didn’t mind the second one at all. But wow… Dead Silence was all kinds of terrible, and despite how cool Death Sentence looked, it ended up disappointing most people… including me.
Every movie production has some drama to go through even before the cameras start rolling. The Green Hornet project is no exception. They’ve already lost one director and one star… but still they soldier on and are set to shoot now.
They’re even at Comic Con showing off some stuff to generate some publicity (including the new Green Hornet Car that will be used in the film). Seth Rogen took a minute to talk about how the film was coming together and a little about the action the film is going to have:
Ok kiddies, calm down. Yes yes yes… I know what you’ve all been waiting for is some video from the various press junkets and panels of Twilight from Comic Con that were held today (and are actually still going on).
Frankly there’s nothing exciting (nor is there ever at these things… they all give the same scripted answers every single time no matter what movie you’re talking about). But still… here you go:
I really like Danny DeVito both as an actor and as a director (I still can’t believe more people don’t see “Death To Smootchy” as the brilliant piece of comic genius that it is).
Not many people know that DeVito is also a major horror fan. As a matter of fact, he’s just launched his new site called “The Blood Factory“. The site is home to a bunch of original short horror films that he calls “Splatter Cuts” (nice name).
Right now there are about 5 horror shorts there you can go see. For now, here’s a funny little promo video Danny did for Comic Con
The world is converged right now in San Diego at the annual Comic Con and one of the reveals has been Iron Man 2’s new armor. Vic from Screenrant was walking the floor and came across this display booth set up by Marvel showcasing the 3 versions of the Iron Man armor used in the first movie, and a brand new 4th outfit (clearly going to be used for Iron Man 2)
The cool thing about the display case is that the Mark III still has all the battle damage on it Tony suffered when fighting Iron Monger at the end of Iron Man 1.
I have a sneaking suspicion that Iron Man 2 just isn’t going to satisfy like Iron Man 1 did… but keep in mind I did originally think that the first Iron Man movie would be all that good and I was dead wrong about that.
Last night I put up a video blog about the over-crowding at Comic Con and how the line ups for things are just far too insane to even consider going to panels for (especially when I can just find out everything that gets revealed at the panels online 5 minutes after they’re done). My buddy Kris over at In Contention put up this picture of the line up today for the Twilight panel. See what I’m talking about? The line was probably already half that size last night. Uggg… no thanks.
The annual Comic Con festivities are set to kick into high gear down in San Diego. The event has gone from a comic book convention to the single biggest movie PR event of the year… and this year… you really might as well call it Twilight-Con as fans are getting in line more than 24 hours in advance to see the Twilight panel.
I however, am not going to Comic Con this year as I’ve decided to take a pass after attending the last two years. Today on my video blog I just talk about Twilight mania at the Con and why I decided not to go this year.
We already had our first look at Freddy earlier today from the upcoming new Nightmare on Elm Street movie. Now we get a glimpse at the first Nightmare banner that’s being hung over at Comic Con in San Diego.
Like the earlier Freddy picture, it’s pretty clear that they’re going for the classic look and style of the original film. It’ll be interesting to see what direction it goes in from here.
There was a lot of complaining when it was announced that the great Robert Englund would not be returning as Freddy Krueger for the new Nightmare on Elm Street relaunch. To me it made sense. It’s a new beginning for the franchise, so you NEED to change actors. I love Englund… but you need a new Freddy for a new start.
Replacing him wasn’t going to be easy, but they ended up making the PERFECT choice when they cast Jackie Earle Haley (Rorschach from The Watchmen).
Anyway, the good folks over at Coming Soon are giving us our first peek at what Freddy is looking like. He’s still in the shadows here, but they are CLEARLY not moving far away from the classic look of the character. What do you think?
My jaw is on the floor. There is this new clip out for the upcoming G.I. Joe movie, and I’m completely in awe of how terrible the visual effects look. No seriously… they look like half assed video game cut scenes.
Just look at how bad and animated the characters look. And right at the beginning of the clip watch the character’s “face” when he says “I don’t have them. Where are they”? It looks SOOOOO fake. It’s so animated you might as well slap Roger Rabbit in the scene. Check it out:
The real shame is that the scene looks like it might have been a half decent action sequence, but the effects are so bad I can’t get around it. Anyone have any hope left? I still have a little… not much… next to none… but a small glimmer.
Bruce Lee has been protrayed in many different films before (my personal favorite was 1993’s “Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story” which I thought was a very human movie.
However, the real life siblings of Bruce Lee are saying that while some of those projects are good… many of them make up far too much stuff that isn’t true to the life of Lee, and they want that set straight. So they’re commissioning another movie to be made about him that will be much more true to his real life.
In their words: “There will be kung fu … But more importantly, we want to portray the real Bruce Lee. What is the real Bruce Lee like? He was very humorous. He was very obedient to his parents. He was very kind to his family”
The producer of the new project says it will probably be a trilogy with the first part focusing on the teenage years of Bruce Lee.
