Venice Film Festival delivers the goods

Well, the Venice Film Festival just came to an end with some seriously huge talent vying for the top prize; the Golden Lion. Some of the films that ran in competition included Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan (trailer down the page), Sofia Coppola’s Somewhere, Richard Lewis’ film Barney’s Version, actor Vincent Gallo’s Promises Written in Water and Takashi Miike’s 13 Assassins.

With Quentin Tarantino as the VFF’s Jury Head, the choice for a winner was surely going to be an excellent one. Prior to Venice he chose Oldboy as the Grand Jury Prize winner at the Cannes Film Festival in 2004, and it was thoroughly deserved I might add. This year it went to the highly anticipated follow up from Sofia Coppola. Her film Somewhere comes straight off the back of a seriously mixed and uneven Marie Antoinette biopic entitled…Marie Antoinette. Based on the trailer, Somewhere follows a similar path as one of her previous films, Lost In Translation. It stars Stephen Dorff and Elle Fanning (Dakota Fanning’s younger sister) as a father and daughter team that have recently been brought together his success as a film actor and celebrity. You can view the trailer below:

                             

Lost in Translation is one of my personal favourites, so it was great to see Sofia’s newest film get great buzz, especially after stumbling a little with Marie Antoinette. I’ll definitely be curious to see Black Swan and 13 Assassins from two directors that really like to push the envelope. I was wondering what you guys thought of the Venice showings, and possibly the upcoming Toronto Film Festival. Was there anything that really caught your eye?

Exciting news for Stephen King fans

For those of you out there who have never read Stephen King’s epic fantasy series ‘The Dark Tower’, I highly recommend that you pick it up.

The saga (and this a very, very loose synopsis) follows the journey of Roland Deschain, the last living member of a knight-esque group (they are supposedly descendants of King Arthur) known as gunslingers. Roland is attempting to make his way to “The Dark Tower” supposedly the center point of time itself. His reasons (and his past) are gradually revealed throughout the saga.

There has long been speculation about the future of the series as a film, or as a possible TV show, now it seems, we may get both.

Akiva Goldsman, Brian Grazer and Ron Howard are the latest to take over the reigns of the saga, and whilst they may not seem like the perfect fit for the series, the plan they have unveiled will no doubt leave many a fan salivating.

The trio intend to turn the saga into a three feature films, with two television seasons linking them together. Howard is at this stage set to direct the first film, which will be followed by a television season, which will then lead into the second film, which will again be followed by a television season which will finally lead into the final chapter of the tale.

As far as I am aware, there is no precedent for a production of this scale, so the mere fact that they have managed to convince Universal commit to such a massive project is incredible.

I am very eager to see where this goes, it is a project that I intend to keep a very close watch on.

What do you think of the idea? Who would you like to see step in to the boots of Roland Deschain?

Black Swan trailer debut

After a long wait, the first teaser for Darren Arronofskys’ highly anticipated Black Swan has debuted online.

I’m not a massive fan of dance movies, but the tone of this psychological thriller gave me goosebumps, and I can’t wait to see it. Here is the official synopsis.

BLACK SWAN follows the story of Nina (Portman), a ballerina in a New York City ballet company whose life, like all those in her profession, is completely consumed with dance. She lives with her retired ballerina mother Erica (Barbara Hershey) who zealously supports her daughter’s professional ambition. When artistic director Thomas Leroy (Vincent Cassel) decides to replace prima ballerina Beth MacIntyre (Winona Ryder) for the opening production of their new season, Swan Lake, Nina is his first choice. But Nina has competition: a new dancer, Lily (Kunis), who impresses Leroy as well. Swan Lake requires a dancer who can play both the White Swan with innocence and grace, and the Black Swan, who represents guile and sensuality. Nina fits the White Swan role perfectly but Lily is the personification of the Black Swan. As the two young dancers expand their rivalry into a twisted friendship, Nina begins to get more in touch with her dark side with a recklessness that threatens to destroy her.

The film is set to debut at the Venice International Film Festival, which takes place next month.

What did you think of the teaser?

Welcome back to the show

Good morning readers.

First things first, yes, I have been absent from your computer screens for quite some time, but it with great jubilation that I announce not only my triumphant (I can hear the trumpets) return, but also the addition of a new member to the family. Without further ado, I present to you, Michael Kiossev.

Hello fellow Movie Hub readers! I’m afraid this is not Chris speaking, but a bright young stud on his way to becoming film criticism royalty. Of course, that’s a total lie, but I am a consumer of movies the likes of which few have seen. Did someone say introduction? No? Oh well, I’m giving one anyway.
The name I generally go by is Michael Kiossev. I’ve been good friends with Chris since high school and I’m now in my third year of studying Journalism at Curtin University. I would say the earliest age I remember getting into movies was 10 or 11. I didn’t know much at the time about movies or the making of movies, but I always pretended to. I just wanted to know more than the regular chump. The first movie I can recall being enamoured with was Enemy at the Gates. By no means a masterpiece, but to an 11 year old, it was pure cinematic bliss. It had violence, it had tension, it had nudity and it had a sniper duel. The damn thing ticked all the right boxes. It was like the best videogame I could never play. A state of immersion I had never experienced or thought possible in watching a movie.
From that it was a cascade of information that I needed to have. I needed to inform everyone I knew that this was the best movie I’d ever seen, and that they should seek it out immediately. I needed to watch the special features over and over to get a sense of how they made certain scenes. I needed to get onto the internet, namely IMDB.COM, and check out the trivia page for all the useless little tidbits that the film had (Did you know that it was the most expensive British film made up to that point? Yeah! I don’t care that much either!).
I don’t actually consider Enemy at the Gates to be one of my favourite movies anymore. Hell, I haven’t watch it in years and don’t really plan on revisiting it. It was however, a powerful indication of what I wanted to do, and what I really wanted to see. I was intoxicated by Cinema of all kinds, of all countries. I had to surround myself in as many movies as humanly possible. It’s disappointing to see in this day and age that few movie-goers are willing to experiment, or see something that really challenges them. With Chris giving me the chance to write for The Movie Hub, I hope to get those people that are curious about movies well and truly obsessed.

Cheers and Happy Reading!
Michael Kiossev

Michael will now be a regular blogger on this site.

So what have I missed?

Apologies for the lack of post’s readers, I have been away on holidays.

So in to make up for the lack of posts, enjoy this jumbo sized catch up session.

So what have we seen this past week?

There is a new trailer for The Social Network, and after just finishing the novel it is based on, I am pretty excited.

We have yet another new poster for Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, and it just as cool as those that came prior. This is another film I simply can’t wait to see.

The first reviews for the Christopher Nolan mystery-thriller Inception have started appearing, and it is looking like it will more than exceed expectations.

In other review news, I recently checked out Toy Story 3 and Twilight: Eclipse, and will be posting reviews soon. I don’t think it takes a genius to figure out which was the better film (I may have left the latter early due to an emergency situation/boredom).

I will also be releasing a new edition of The Countdown, this team I offer my choices for the 10 coolest characters to ever hit the big screen.

So that’s all for now readers, but stay tuned for more regular updates and reviews.

Happy viewing.

Marvel mini’s for the big screen?

It seems that busiest studio of them all of the past few months has definitely been Marvel.

The latest from Marvel is that some of their lesser known characters will now be given the chance to show their big screen worth.

Characters like Black Panther, Dr. Strange and Iron Fist may star in their own short films that will possibly be shown online or before some of the feature length films.

These short films will give the studio a chance to see what works and what doesn’t before investing the big dollars into a full length feature.

Pixar have been doing something very similar for a long time now, with great success, so there is a high chance that in the not too distant future we could be seeing some exciting new characters on the big screen.

Personally I would love to these Marvel shorts, there are some fantastic characters in the Marvel universe, many of which would make for a fantastic feature film fodder.

Would you like to see some of the lesser known characters in their own short films? Who would you like to see get the big screen treatment?

To the airwaves and beyond

So as you can probably tell, I am more than a little excited to see the upcoming Toy Story 3.

To try and alleviate some of the tension the massive wait has caused, I have this for your listening pleasure.

It is a remix made entirely using Toy Story soundbites by Australian video remix artist, Pogo.

Last year Pogo released another Pixar inspired creation, Upular.

So sit back, relax, and enjoy the musical mastery of Buzz, Woody and the gang.

For more work by Pogo, check out his site here.

What did you think of the Toy Story remix’s? Are you excited for Toy Story 3?

Marvel-arama

After hearing more rumours concerning Marvel Studios this week than Lindsay Lohan could stir up in a month, I have decided to post something concrete concerning the comic book giant.

That’s right, its an X-Men/Futurama mash up.

I have always preferred Futurama to The Simpsons, I’m not too sure why, it may have something to do with the obsession I had for Married… With Children when I was a kid.

Anyway, enjoy the awesomeness (courtesy of That Girl’s Site).

Are you a fan of Futurama? What are you looking forward to from Marvel?

Smack!Thock!Whud!

So I thought I would end a rather slow week with something fantastic for you all to feast your eyes on.

That’s right, posters of the seven evil ex’s from what is one of my most anticipated films of 2010, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World.

I am really looking forward to seeing Chris Evans‘ take on Lucas Lee, and even more excited to see Jason Schwartzman step into Gideon Graves mysterious shoes.

Will you go and see Scott Pilgrim vs. The World? Do you like the look of the ex’s?

Further details on Mortal Kombat feature

The other day I posted a short Mortal Kombat feature that made the internet rounds (here).

The 7 minute clip, titled Mortal Kombat: Rebirth, had many a MK fan salivating at the thought of full length film, and now further details have been revealed concerning the clip.

The flick is the work of Fame director Kevin Tancharoen, and cost just $7, 500, with many of the crew donating their time. The script was written by Oren Uziel who is listed by imdb as the writer for the apparent WB 2013 feature film.

Tancharoen directed the piece with the hopes that it would secure him the director role for the official feature, and released the below statement concerning his work (Courtesy of Slashfilm).

It’s one of those passion projects that lived in my head. The technology is so accessible now. There’s was no reason why I shouldn’t do it, so I did it. I’m very, very happy that people are responding well to it. …My heart has always been deeply immersed in fanboy culture. As a kid, all I wanted to do was be a Ninja Turtle who morphed to a Power Ranger. As long as I was in the suit, I was going to be happy, because I just wanted to be in the suit. I think, of course, for the people that know me, this is not really a shock. Because they know that this is my love. And I do understand that it’s crazy to see such a shift in genre. But this is what I want to do, and this is what I’ve always wanted to do, and am very passionate about. And I knew that because I’ve always been in the performance world, if I ever wanted to make a genre picture, I had to do it myself first. So that was another reason why I felt like I should do this. And I went for it. … this is my take on what I would want to do with Mortal Kombat. I would love it if Warner Bros. wanted to do it this way. … the short so far is really designed like a prologue to the movie. Now, in a movie version, I am going to have that mysticism there, but it has to be done in a very tasteful way. I wouldn’t like it too campy or too cheesy. I know this is a weird analogy, but it’s the best one I can think of right now. It’s kind of like when in Harry Potter, there’s two universes that coexist with each other. There’s the real world, and then you get on the train and then you go to Hogwart’s, and that’s where all the magic is. It was actually kind of similar in the first Mortal Kombat, too. They had to get on the ship and go to the island, and that’s where all the crazy stuff happened.

What did you think of Tancharoen’s clip? Would you pay to see a Mortal Kombat feature film?