Director Marc Forster (Machine Gun Preacher, Quantum of Solace) talks about handling the film version of Max Brooks’ bestselling novel World War Z in this interview video courtesy of Paramount Pictures. Forster chats about the story, Brad Pitt’s character, and telling the story from Pitt’s character’s perspective. He also discusses what he believes audiences can expect from this zombie-filled action/thriller released in theaters on June 21, 2013.
The Plot:
The story revolves around United Nations employee Gerry Lane (Pitt), who traverses the world in a race against time to stop a pandemic that is toppling armies and governments and threatening to decimate humanity itself.
Zac Posen, Heidi Klum, guest judge Michael Kors and Nina Garcia on season 11 of 'Project Runway' - Photo by David Russell/LifetimeLifetime’s promising this 12th season of Project Runway will offer more fan interaction than any previous season and will feature a “mystery contestant” from a past season. Judges Heidi Klum, Nina Garcia, Zac Posen, and Tim Gunn will be putting 16 designers through the wringer as they vie for a prize package worth half a million dollars.
Season 12’s champion will receive $150,000 from GoBank; “$50,000 of next generation technology from HP and Intel to help enable their creativity and launch their new business; a year’s supply of Resource Natural Spring Water and an all-expense paid, luxurious spa retreat for two to the exotic Maldives, courtesy of Resource Water; a chance to design and sell an exclusive collection at Belk; a complete sewing and crafting studio from Brother Sewing and Embroidery; a fashion spread in Marie Claire magazine; a 2014 Lexus IS 350; a $100,000 fabric allowance from Tide Pods to inspire fashions that truly pop; and a $50,000 styling contract with L’Oréal Paris.”
Project Runway season 12 will premiere on Thursday, July 18, 2013 at 9pm. Michael Kors will once again be back as a guest judge, plus Lifetime’s confirmed Kate Bosworth, Kelly Osbourne, Allison Williams, Sigourney Weaver, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Kaley Cuoco, and Stacy Keibler will show up this season as guest judges.
And as part of the plan to encourage fan interaction, Project Runway‘s announced these changes for the upcoming season:
– Runway Redemption (#RunwayRedemption) – a mystery contestant from a past season, chosen by fans on mylifetime.com, will be unveiled as the 16th designer for season 12.
– Project Runway Superfan Contest – via video submissions, seven super fans will be chosen to be featured in an upcoming episode this season for a fashion makeover.
– More Tim Gunn – fans have asked and Project Runway has delivered. This season, Gunn will join Klum and the judges to watch the runway show, answer questions the judges have about what transpired in the workroom and give them an opportunity to physically examine the workmanship of each design. Also, for the first time in Project Runway history, Gunn will be able to “rescue” one designer during course of the season he feels deserves a second chance.
The Project Runway Season 12 Designers:
Alexander Pope, 38 – Hometown: Los Angeles, CA; Resides in New York, NY
Alexandria von Bromssen, 38 – Hometown: Stockholm, Sweden; Resides in San Mateo, CA
Angela Bacskocky, 33 – Hometown: Richmond, VA; Resides in Richmond, VA
Bradon McDonald, 38 – Hometown: Lowville, NY; Resides in Los Angeles, CA
Dom Streater, 24 – Hometown: Philadelphia, PA; Resides in Philadelphia, PA
Helen Castillo, 25 – Hometown: Weehawken, NJ; Resides in Union City, NJ
Jeremy Brandrick, 41 – Hometown: Birmingham, England; Resides in New York, NY
Justin LeBlanc, 27 – Hometown: Tampa, FL; Resides in Raleigh, NC
Kahindo Mateene, 34 – Hometown: Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo; Resides in Chicago, IL
Karen Batts, 29 – Hometown: Boca Raton, FL; Resides in Queens, NY
Ken Laurence, 24 – Hometown: Birmingham, AL; Resides in Birmingham, AL
Miranda Kay Levy, 29 – Hometown: Wilton, WI; Resides in Milwaukee, WI
Sandro Masmanidi, 28 – Hometown: Krasnodar, Russia; Resides in New York, NY
Sue Waller, 45 – Hometown: Boston, MA; Resides in Brooklyn, NY
Timothy Westbrook, 24- Hometown: Wanakena, NY; Resides in Milwaukee, WI
Runway Redemption Contestant
Inspired by the life of Steve Jobs, Jobs follows the career of the Apple creator who changed the world we live in. Open Road has just revealed this new trailer for the dramatic film directed by Joshua Michael Stern, written by Matthew Whiteley, and starring Ashton Kutcher as Steve Jobs. The trailer shows off bits and pieces of Jobs’ journey from college drop-out to the period in which he was booted from the company he created to his return to Apple.
The Plot:
Jobs details the major moments and defining characters that influenced Steve Jobs on a daily basis from 1971 through 2000. Jobs plunges into the depths of his character, creating an intense dialogue-driven story that is as much a sweeping epic as it is an immensely personal portrait of Steve Jobs’ life. The filmmakers were granted unprecedented access during shooting to the historic garage in Palo Alto, that served as the birthplace to Apple Inc.
Matt Smith is saying good-bye to Doctor Who and saying thank you to all of the Doctor Who fans who’ve supported him during his tenure as the Time Lord. While on a break from working in Detroit on How to Catch a Monster (for director Ryan Gosling), Smith taped a sweet, touching message – a la Love Actually.
Paul Wesley as Stefan, Nina Dobrev as Elena, Ian Somerhalder as Damon in THE VAMPIRE DIARIES on The CW.
Warner Bros Television Group is bringing 17 series…yes, 17!…to the 2013 San Diego Comic-Con. WB always has a big presence at the event, and over the July 17-21 Comic-Con run, they’ll be dropping into San Diego with stars including The Following’s Kevin Bacon; Arrow’s Stephen Amell; The Vampire Diaries’ Paul Wesley, Nina Dobrev and Ian Somerhalder; Supernatural’s Jared Padalecki, Jensen Ackles and Misha Collins; Almost Human’s Karl Urban and Michael Ealy; The 100’s Henry Ian Cusick; Childrens Hospital’s Rob Corddry; and Nikita’s Maggie Q.
WB will also be showing off pilot episodes of Almost Human, The Tomorrow People, and The 100 during the 2013 SD Comic-Con.
SPECIAL SNEAK PEEK PILOT SCREENINGS – WEDNESDAY, JULY 17 • BALLROOM 20
Almost Human: In the near future, technology and crime will increase so quickly that law enforcement will not be able to keep up. To maintain order and keep the public safe, all police officers must partner with highly evolved human-like-androids known as synthetics. From J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot Production and Fringe executive producer J.H. Wyman, Almost Human is the story of Detective John Kennex (Karl Urban), and his life-like android partner Dorian (Michael Ealy).
The Originals: From executive producer Julie Plec comes The Originals, a spinoff of The CW’s #1 series among Adults 18–34 and Comic-Con fan-favorite The Vampire Diaries. The sexy new drama centers on the Original Family, as Klaus (Joseph Morgan) returns to the supernatural melting pot that is the French Quarter of New Orleans.
The Tomorrow People: From executive producers Greg Berlanti (Arrow), Julie Plec (The Vampire Diaries), Phil Klemmer (Chuck) and Danny Cannon (Nikita), The Tomorrow People is a story of several young people from around the world who represent the next stage in human evolution, possessing special powers, including the ability to teleport and communicate with each other telepathically.
The 100: 97 years ago, Earth was devastated by a nuclear apocalypse, and mankind was nearly destroyed. The only survivors were the inhabitants of 12 international space stations that were in orbit at the time. The stations came together to form the Ark, but with resources dwindling and population growth soaring, the decision is made to send The 100, a group of juvenile delinquents, to the surface to test whether Earth is once again habitable.
Warner Bros Television Group Panels:
THURSDAY, JULY 18
(Panel times and locations to be announced later)
MAD (Mondays 8:30/7:30c Cartoon Network): Get a glimpse behind the MADness with MAD television producers Kevin Shinick and Mark Marek.
FRIDAY, JULY 19
Almost Human (Late Fall, Mondays 8/7c FOX): Step into the future with series stars Karl Urban, Michael Ealy, and executive producer J.H. Wyman.
The Big Bang Theory (Thursdays 8/7c CBS): In a panel sure to be filled with debate and discussion — and more than a few surprises — executive producers Steven Molaro and Bill Prady and the writers of The Big Bang Theory take fans behind the scenes of TV’s #1 comedy.
Childrens Hospital (Returning This Summer, Adult Swim): Creator/star Rob Corddry and executive producers David Wain and Jonathan Stern join cast members Lake Bell, Erinn Hayes, Ken Marino and Rob Huebel for a sneak peek of the show’s upcoming fifth season.
The Following (Midseason, Mondays 9/8c FOX): Become a follower with stars Kevin Bacon, Shawn Ashmore, and Valorie Curry joining executive producers Kevin Williamson and Marcos Siega.
Nikita (Midseason The CW): Nikita makes its Comic-Con farewell with stars Maggie Q, Shane West, Lyndsy Fonseca, Aaron Stanford, Melinda Clarke, Devon Sawa, and Noah Bean joining executive producer Craig Silverstein.
The 100 (Midseason The CW): Series stars Eliza Taylor, Thomas McDonell, Marie Avgeropoulos, and Henry Ian Cusick join executive producers Matthew Miller and Jason Rothenberg.
The Paranormal and Extraterrestrial Squad (Coming Soon, CWTV.com) Join producers Milo Ventimiglia (Heroes) & Russ Cundiff and creators/stars John Dale & Michael Hobert as they introduce a new digital series about the misadventures of a ragtag group of ex-community college students searching for paranormal and extraterrestrial (PET) activity.
SATURDAY, JULY 20
Arrow (Wednesdays 8/7c The CW): Chills turn to thrills in this session with stars Stephen Amell, Katie Cassidy, David Ramsey, Emily Bett Rickards, and Colton Haynes joining executive producers Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim and Andrew Kreisberg.
The Originals (Tuesdays 8/7c The CW): Series stars Joseph Morgan, Claire Holt, Phoebe Tonkin and Charles Michael Davis join executive producer Julie Plec.
Person of Interest (Tuesdays 10/9c CBS): Executive producers Jonathan Nolan and Greg Plageman join members of the cast for their third visit to Comic-Con. (You’re being watched.)
Revolution (Wednesdays 8/7c NBC): Series stars and creator/executive producer Eric Kripke power up this panel.
The Tomorrow People (Wednesdays 9/8c The CW): Practice your teleportation skills and get to this session featuring series stars Robbie Amell, Mark Pellegrino and Peyton List with executive producers Greg Berlanti, Phil Klemmer, and Danny Cannon.
The Vampire Diaries (Thursdays 8/7c The CW): Comic-Con veterans Nina Dobrev, Paul Wesley, Ian Somerhalder, Kat Graham, and Candice Accola join executive producers Julie Plec and Caroline Dries.
SUNDAY, JULY 21
Supernatural (Tuesdays 9/8c The CW): Returning to Hall H are cast members Jared Padalecki, Jensen Ackles, Misha Collins and Mark A. Sheppard with executive producers Jeremy Carver and Robert Singer.
Beware the Batman (Saturdays 10 a.m. ET/PT Cartoon Network, premiering July 13): The Dark Knight makes his return to television in this new action-packed CG animated series. Producers Glen Murakami and Mitch Watson will give fans a peek behind the cape.
Teen Titans Go! (Tuesdays 7:30/6:30c Cartoon Network): Producer Aaron Horvath joins members of the voice cast, including Greg Cipes and Scott Menville, for this screening and Q&A. Go!
“Let’s go to Paris’, I wanna rob,” says Nicki (Emma Watson) to her friend Rebecca (Katie Chang) who’s been breaking into Paris Hilton’s and other celebrity houses going on an illegal shopping spree in the dramatic film The Bling Ring.
When newcomer Marc (Israel Broussard) goes to high school in Los Angeles, he’s feeling alone and desperate to connect and make some friends. It seems almost too good to be true when Rebecca takes a liking to Marc and starts inviting him to do things with her. After a party one night Rebecca takes Marc car-hopping, a favorite pastime of Rebecca’s where she checks to see if any cars on the street are unlocked and grabs whatever cash/valuables are inside for the taking. It’s not long before Rebecca and Marc are checking out houses owned by celebrities for a way in to see what they can find. Tracking celebrity whereabouts on the internet, Rebecca and Marc sneak into Paris’ house while she’s at a party and steal a few things after taking a tour of her mansion.
After bragging and showing off her new souvenirs to her friends Nicki, Chloe (Claire Julien), and Sam (Taissa Farmiga), they all want to join in the fun and soon Rebecca, Marc, Nicki, and the rest of the gang are tracking the whereabouts of celebrities including Paris Hilton, Orlando Bloom, and Rachel Bilson, and breaking into and stealing from them while they’re away.
Based on a true story and directed by Sofia Coppola, The Bling Ring is an excruciatingly tedious and bore of a film with one-dimensional performances and an incredibly shallow script. More than half of the film is a montage of scenes of the girls and boy dancing in slow motion, going from houses to their cars in slow motion, trying on outfits…IN SLOW MOTION and so on.
Katie Chang is not very dynamic nor is she charismatic as Rebecca the leader of the young thieves. She has zero on-screen ‘friendship’ chemistry with Israel Broussard, her new BFF who she leans on and depends on to help her get into the celebrity homes. Emma Watson is the best thing about the film, giving a solid performance as Nicki, the fame-obsessed wannabe teen model who may never actually become a famous glamour girl but can at least get a feel for the lifestyle by stealing Paris Hilton’s shoes and outfits. Watson’s portrayal of Nicki in the movie as she is arrested and later interviewed by the press captures effectively the amoral and unethical person she’s playing.
Ultimately, The Bling Ring is nothing more than a monotonous, frivolous, and painful waste of time and money for any moviegoer who makes the awful mistake of paying for and sitting through the film.
GRADE: D
The Bling Ring is rated R for teen drug and alcohol use, and for language including some brief sexual references.
“How do we know they’re coming?” asks Karin Lane (Mireille Enos). “They’re coming,” replies her husband Gerry (Brad Pitt) in a whisper as they and their two daughters wait for a helicopter to meet them up on the roof of a partially deserted Philadelphia apartment building crawling with zombies in the action/thriller World War Z.
After barely surviving an attack during gridlock traffic taking his daughters to school, Gerry contacts his former boss Thierry (Fana Mokoena) at the United Nations to find out exactly what is going on and how bad the epidemic is. Realizing he needs Gerry back, Thierry tells him to find a place to hide out and stay safe for a few hours, and he’ll send an extraction team to bring his entire family to headquarters. Avoiding looters and zombies – and with the help of a few decent strangers – Gerry and his family find refuge in an apartment.
Finally, when it’s almost time to meet the helicopters on the roof, Gerry and his family slowly and carefully begin going through the dimly lighted hallways making their way to what they hope will be sanctuary. Unfortunately, they come across a few of the zombies – or, if you prefer, “infected” – and have to make a run for it.
Upon arriving at headquarters, which turns out to be on an aircraft carrier, Gerry is approached by Thierry and the military commander in charge and asked to accompany their chief scientist and a small squad of Navy SEALs on an expedition Korea which might be where the zombie virus originated. Not wanting to leave his family but knowing that if he doesn’t take the job, Karin and his two daughters will most certainly be transported off the carrier, Gerry agrees and promises his wife that he will come back.
Suspenseful and thrilling, director Marc Forster’s World War is the Must Not Miss summer blockbuster of the year. This is a zombie invasion on a huge global scale with a great script and a very impressive performance by Brad Pitt. He’s completely believable as the loving and protective father and husband who wants to do one thing and one thing only: get his family somewhere safe and keep them there. The scene where Gerry has to calm down one of his daughters who’s having an asthma attack and doesn’t have her inhaler, having just escaped an attack from some zombies, comes across as authentic.
Pitt has solid chemistry with Mireille Enos as his wife and shows Gerry’s softer side with the cell phone calls between the two of them while he’s traveling the world trying to discover the secret of the virus. It’s his best performance in years.
The action scenes in the film are riveting and are sure to have the audience on the edge of their seats. And especially impressive and thrilling is the attack and fight scene onboard the plane headed to Russia. The CGI zombies are terrifying, as are the actors who portray the undead and are sure to have the audience jumping and squirming in their seats. Not to mention the tension and fear during the haunted house-type scenes with Gerry and a few new friends making their way through a medical facility infested with zombies. Be careful and quiet around that corner!!!
The only problem with World War Z is the first attack scene in Philadelphia. The quick, jumbled camera work and editing make it almost impossible to follow what’s happening and to really see anything clearly. But that minor problem aside…compelling and terrifying, World War Z has everything a moviegoer could want from a big-budget summer blockbuster and is the best zombie film since 28 Days Later.
GRADE: B+
World War Z opens in theaters on June 21, 2013 and is rated PG-13 for intense, frightening zombie sequences, violence, and disturbing images.
Contrary to the norm, I’m going to start on the positive side of things. The short film attached to Monsters University is called The Blue Umbrella. It’s about … well … a blue umbrella. He sees an apparently female red umbrella he fancies (apparently gender is color derived in umbrellas). On a crowded, rain-soaked street, our eager blue umbrella strives to catch up to the beguiling red one. Adorableness ensues. The story itself is sweet though rather slight, but what’s really impressive is the photorealism captured in the animation.
Okay, moving on to less positive things, let’s get to the feature. Expectations for Pixar films used to be high. They had a ridiculous streak of exceptional animated films, some of which transcended the kiddie genre and ended up on many critics’ Top 10 lists, despite their intended demographic.
Then came Cars 2, which might as well have been subtitled The Search for More Money though I think if they went that way, Mel Brooks could have a good argument to sue. And then there was Brave, which presented a more positive female role model for little girls and it was beautifully animated but was missing an extra layer of depth to really stand amongst the rest of Pixar’s canon.
Now, with Monsters University, the folks in Emeryville, California have solidified a new streak for the company: Three misses in a row. Simply put, had this come out first, there’s no reason anyone could have expected the chronologically second film, Monsters, Inc., to be anywhere near as good as it is.
Just how bad is Monsters University? Well, keep in mind it’s a prequel and tells the story of how Mike Wazowski (Billy Crystal) and James P. ‘Sulley’ Sullivan (John Goodman) met in college. As such, I can rightfully equate the terribleness to what George Lucas did to the Star Wars franchise with his prequels.
Yes. It’s THAT bad.
The plot centers on our two protagonists leading a group of social outcasts to compete in a series of challenges with other Greek societies on campus. If that sounds familiar, that’s because this is essentially Revenge of the Nerds, but director Dan Scanlon and his co-writers Daniel Gerson and Robert L. Baird have failed to even follow that road map – veering off the track with a tacked on second ending that takes about twenty minutes and exhausted what little patience I had left. The voice work is also disappointing as a story this uninteresting is a waste of time for so many talented actors and that’s all I have to say about that (all of a sudden, I want a box of chocolates but I digress).
Along the way, Monsters University manages to elicit a laugh or two (and I’m not kidding when I say the funniest bit has nothing to do with the main characters but is instead about a snail rushing to get to class). What’s worse, however, than boring the ever-loving brains out of the adults in the audience … and worse still than disappointing those of us who truly loved Monsters, Inc. and don’t enjoy seeing its reputation “sulleyed” (sorry one cheap shot of a movie deserves a cheap shot of a joke) … is that if you though this would keep your kid silent and still in their seat, you are DEAD WRONG.
At the screening I attended, children were talking throughout (and not about the movie) and/or they were roaming the theater in complete disregard for the film itself. If it weren’t for the fact that I find the merchandising cash-grab that is the Cars franchise more disingenuous, I’d have ranked this below that sequel (though they share the same grade), but I haven’t seen so many children up and wandering around in an animated movie, well … EVER. A fellow critic found time to catch some zzz’s, which I was rather jealous of, but I managed to keep my peepers open and soaked in all the mediocrity and just kept myself busy shifting in my seat until it was all over.
Oh, and P.S. The 3D is as flat as the storytelling, so avoid that if you’re still being forced into the theater on this one. Pixar has yet to make one that worked in the third dimension, and this is no exception.
Really, if anyone needs to go to school, it’s Pixar themselves. They should sit their employees down in a dark room and show them the movies that came before Cars 2. Then they should ban sequels to all but perhaps The Incredibles franchise (the only story that naturally lends itself to the idea of sequels). Perhaps a course about the meaning of the phrase “Absolute power corrupts absolutely” would be a good idea, as the free reign with which the studio was granted due to its string of quality films needs to be drawn in.
As much as some of the key founders of the company should be allowed to continue working on projects outside the Pixar framework, it’d be nice if some of them were brought back to mentor the newer set of filmmakers in the company (except John Lasseter who has had his name on these last few mistakes as executive producer and would likely only bring about a third Cars movie).
Looking ahead (because I’m pretty much done looking at Monsters University), thankfully the next two Pixar films will be originals and have more experienced hands at the wheel. 2014 will see The Good Dinosaur come to screens, directed by Bob Peterson who co-directed Up and co-wrote both Up and Finding Nemo. Then in 2015, audiences will take a trip into the human mind with Inside Out, from director Pete Docter (co-director of Up and Monsters, Inc.; co-writer on Up, WALL·E & the first two Toy Story films). 2016 sees another sequel, this time to Finding Nemo and entitled Finding Dory, but it will be directed by Andrew Stanton who did the first one so I’ll reserve cynicism until after seeing it.
I’m hoping the bad times are behind us (though the talk of a possible fourth Toy Story feature has me worried as the trilogy seemed nicely resolved). And sadly, I’m sure Monsters University will make plenty of money, as parents are given few options when it comes to child-friendly films. However, maybe I can offer some advice I picked up from the movie WarGames: “The only winning move is not to play.” Or more constructively, how about you just sit your kid down in the living room and put the trailer for this stink bomb on repeat. It’s cheaper, and maybe your kid won’t notice.
GRADE: D+
Monsters University opens in theaters on June 21, 2013 and is rated G.
Amy Acker and Jillian Morgese in 'Much Ado About Nothing' directed by Joss Whedon - Photo Credit: Elsa Guillet-Chapuis
Adapting Shakespeare for modern audiences while retaining the text is no small feat. Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet found a devoted audience but I’m hard-pressed to remember any truly shining examples within my lifetime (I liked R & J’s soundtrack and production design more than the film itself). Ralph Fiennes’ Coriolanus dragged on and on, and acclaim for the actors seemed to be based on their intensity rather than effectiveness. I missed 2010’s The Tempest which I heard generally positive things about so maybe that’s another one in the win column.
Of course, there’s the gaggle of Kenneth Branagh-led productions and those are able to convey the Bard’s works well enough, but none have grabbed my attention or particular affection. Moving away from keeping the language of Shakespeare intact, 10 Things I Hate About You, Warm Bodies, and Scotland, P.A. are about the most interesting adaptations I’ve seen, and the first two efforts are the only ones I’ve re-watched multiple times.
Well, Joss Whedon apparently had wanted to adapt Much Ado About Nothing for some time, abridging the text but keeping the Shakespearean language and syntax intact. So whilst on a break from post-production on The Avengers, he gathered a large assortment of longtime acting collaborators, brought them to his house, and shot the entire production in just twelve days. TWELVE DAYS. Now that’s impressive to be sure but while I give kudos for the effort and ambition, slapping a shoot together in such a short time is bound to show, and it does so here.
(I’m going to assume you are attending or have graduated high school and are thus familiar with the basic story so insert your own more detailed plot synopsis here.)
Much of the camerawork and shot selection is lackluster. The choice to go black and white was a good one, but as it was shot digitally in color and converted into b&w afterward, it’s just not the same. There’s a muddiness to the look of it and while The Artist also shot in color and then converted the image to black and white, it’s clear the polish just wasn’t possible in this production. Some of the lighting is too harsh, and some of the shadows are too murky. Frankly, it’s all over the place.
Then there’s the manner in which the soliloquies are handled … well, rather poorly actually. Presenting a character talking to themselves is never easy (ask writer/director Richard Curtis who has a habit of doing so in many of his films; Four Weddings and a Funeral, Love Actually, etc.). Playing Benedick is Alexis Denisof, and as much fun as it was to watch him and Amy Acker (playing Beatrice) fall in love again so many years after Angel has left the airwaves, watching Denisof deliver a soliloquy is anything but natural.
Continuing to harp on the casting, for people like myself who have enjoyed Whedon’s television work for the most part (Dollhouse was abysmal), the great fun in watching this adaptation is seeing all the familiar faces. It’s clearly evident they enjoyed getting back together, but it takes quite a bit of time for the production itself to pick up any steam. Not until the plot to bring Benedick and Beatrice together is hatched does the energy of the production swing into full gear.
Sean Maher’s portrayal of Don John lacks almost any emotion and comes off as very one note. Denisof’s strength has been in dry wit rather than the playful kind required of Benedick. Clark Gregg stepped in as Leonato when Anthony Stewart Head couldn’t make the shoot, but it came off much more like Agent Coulson from the Marvel movies than anything else. Nathan Fillion and Tom Lenk fill the shoes of Dogberry and Verges, respectively and inject some much-needed levity into the back half of the feature but it would have been nice to have some more of that energy earlier in the film and the manner in which it was shot and acted simply didn’t oblige.
Hmm, I seem to be bad-mouthing the production heavily. Oddly enough, despite all of my reservations, I enjoyed the overall experience. Amy Acker’s portrayal of Beatrice is the most engaging (though why she looks like a Hollywood movie star from days of yore and everyone else seems cut from present day doesn’t make any sense). She is able to give the character the balance of wit and heartbreak lacking in many of the other main players.
I suppose the caveat I’d place on the film is that I spent a good deal of the time enjoying things BECAUSE of the actors Whedon had assembled to undertake production. I often saw them through the lens of their past roles and let nostalgia lift my spirits; very few managed to disappear into their characters well enough to make me confident this will work for the average audience member.
Being able to enjoy Whedon’s take on Much Ado About Nothing depends on some wildly divergent criteria. You may need to love the actors from their previous work as much as I do in order to forgive so many stale performances. You may need to recognize none of them and perhaps the characters will come through more clearly. You may need to be just that big of a Shakespeare fan. Failing to meet at least one of those criteria may seriously hamper your enjoyment. I’m happy to have seen this film, but I think by now you get a clear picture of why I would be an ideal candidate for the task. You, however, may want to give it a quick ponder before heading out to a theater.
GRADE: C
Much Ado About Nothing is rated PG-13 for some sexuality and brief drug use.
I think Sofia Coppola may be the smartest person in the world. She’s managed to do something no one else on Earth seems to have figured out. Not Da Vinci. Not Curie. Not Einstein. Not Edison. Not even that Dyson guy and he managed to put a cyclone in a household vacuum! Nope, Ms. Coppola has put all those geniuses to shame and managed to manipulate time itself.
How so you ask? Well, let’s take a look at the four films she made prior to the now widely released The Bling Ring: Somewhere, Marie Antoinette, Lost in Translation, and The Virgin Suicides. I want you to guess the running times for each.
Take your time. This isn’t being scored. Got it? Okay, now here are the actual runtimes:
97 Minutes – Somewhere
123 Minutes – Marie Antoinette
101 Minutes – Lost in Translation
97 Minutes – The Virgin Suicides
If you were within 30 minutes of those times, pat yourself on the back. I actually liked Lost in Translation and The Virgin Suicides but would have told anyone who asked they were each over two hours. And don’t get me started on her last two films, they each felt like an eternity and should be used to treat insomnia.
Well, her latest stab at filmmaking, based on the 2010 Vanity Fair article about real-life teens who burglarized a number of Hollywood stars’ homes, clocks in at a brisk 90 minutes. That should zip by like a turbo-charged Ferarri on sleepy mountain roads. But using her impressive grasp of the flow of time, Coppola has managed to make it feel a good half-hour longer and even managed to put me to sleep for a brief moment (at least I think it was brief though I have no fear I missed anything).
Now, anyone who didn’t read the magazine article may also recognize this tale if you enjoy the programming of the Lifetime network, as this was made into a TV movie there in 2011. For whatever reason (media format, channel interference, rights restrictions), that film failed to include much talk of the teens’ drug use, names had been altered, and events were flat-out changed – at least if one takes the Vanity Fair article at face value (which I have no reason not to and make no claim as to doing any more research than seeing the TV movie and reading the article in question).
Still, despite all that, I’d rather re-watch the Lifetime movie ten times before even watching the trailer for Coppola’s take on events. I repeat, I’d rather watch the LIFETIME movie! At least in that, there was a reason to care for the characters; their motivations were examined to some degree. Here, as always, she’s more interested in providing some reason why spoiled brats might feel empty inside than in doing anything else.
Usually, filmmakers use their first or second film to cathartically work out their demons, but Sofia’s relentless. What could have been an interesting examination of the effect reality television has had on society gets lost amidst a seemingly never-ending loop of watching these kids rob a house while acting vapidly, party while being vapid, and then be vapid while boasting of their feats. There’s not even any rinsing in this cycle, it’s simply repeat, repeat, repeat … vapidly.
There are a couple of good performances, most notably Leslie Mann as the vapid mother of Emma Watson, who does a nice job of being a vapid member of the vapid Bling Ring (though her accent slips all over the place). And Katie Chung, as the ringleader of the group, appropriately acts vapidly at all times. Watching the others line up behind her like lemmings would make sense if we got any real sense of those kids prior to being a part of her inner circle but that’s not presented so vapidity simply abounds. P.S. Vapid.
About the only fun thing The Bling Ring can offer is a parade of expensive and fancy possessions for people to gawk at. This is materialism beneath the guise of cinema. It’s cheaper and far more entertaining to watch the E! Network, which you can do in the comfort of your own home.
I don’t know how many more times Coppola can try to make regular people feel sorry for the wealthy and over-privileged but she doesn’t seem to know how to attempt any other theme so I’ll regrettably look forward to another demonstration of time being slowed to a crawl in her next effort. Thankfully, she seems to take a few years in between each of her films so anyone worried she’ll figure out a way to create a singularity in the center of the Chateau Marmont can breathe easy … for now.
However, since I’m sure most people find me largely cynical and negative, I’ll try to end on a positive note. If Coppola keeps climbing up my grading curve at this rate, she’ll make another movie I’d recommend sometime around 2020 (okay, so it’s passive-aggressive positivity but it’s something).
GRADE: D
The Bling Ring is rated R for teen drug and alcohol use and for language, including some brief sexual references.
