Inside Look At Stallone On Expendables Set

This vid isn't much, but I found a cool look at Stallone directing his upcoming 80's throwback actioner movie, The Expendables, and himself, on set somewhere. I've always sort of wondered to how it really works, when you direct and star also.
Anyway, just a little taste. Sex!



Munki Out.

Update: Dicaprio To Join Eastwood's Hoover Biopic?

Just last night, I reported about Clint Eastwood gearing up a biopic about J. Edgar Hoover (actually, it's right below this post). Now it looks as if Leo The Great Master of Disguise would be taking on this role and providing us a view into the man's mind who secretly controlled the whole country.

 Milk writer Dustin Lawrence Black penned the script for Brian Grazer (who produced The Changeling for Clint and now, they're good buddies) and it was originally set up to be a Universal picture. But they tossed it aside, in fear of it's dated... uh, date. So Brian called up Clint and got him the script and then Eastwood reportedly got real excited about it. That's fuckin' Hollywood pull son, calling Clint Eastwood and telling the other studio to screw off.  Plus, years back, Clint directed a real nice little film, The Eiger Sanction, which initially got panned by critics, Eastwood blamed Universal Studios for the films poor promotion and turned his back on them, forming a long-lasting agreement with Warner Bros. through Frank Wells that would transcend over 35 years of cinema and remain intact to this day. Which is where the biopic is right now.  They now have it set up at Warner Bros., who reportedly give Clint enough money to do whatever the hell he wants and leave him be; then he turns a nice profit and nicer award wins for them and everybody goes home happy.

Like I previously said, I'm all about and behind this project. Clint is one of my favorites and most respected directors and actors especially. And Leonardo is proving that he is a very nice choice for giving way to himself, in search of a whole other person entirely. And this man, Hoover, was rich with a person to bring out and show people. Because there's just too much out there that we don't really know, that we always wanted to about the most secretive man in the country.

Much more substantiated is the fact that Hoover would wield elements of the FBI and other federal energy to control and subvert the civil rights of those he considered enemies and dangers to democracy. He would compile information about the sexual preferences of some subjects, and reportedly used it to discredit them. Regardless of the truth behind the gay/cross-dressing rumor (an image that may have bloomed simply as a way to use Hoover’s own smear campaigns against him) there’s a lot of material in Hoover’s story that would make it of interest to Dustin Lance Black. I love the idea of him drafting this script.

I'll keep you posted on any new details, but it looks like this film is locked down and ready to go. 

Munki Out.

Eastwood Directing J. Edgar Hoover Film?

Let;s give it up to CineFOOLS for giving me the scoop, albeit, a very limited one. And yes, I stole their juxtaposed pic too.

The skinny is, that Clint (such a cool name huh? So fitting) is gearing up to direct a biopic about the legendary man who ushered in the F.B.I. and rose to ghost-run the entire country some say, with files and documents on everyone and anyone so he could always get his way on whatever he needed. This man, birthed intelligence and started a whole new ear in the country's security. In office and runnin' shit for 50 years playa! Then he died. This guy was serious. Hoover is credited with building the FBI into a large and efficient crime-fighting agency, and with instituting a number of modern innovations to police technology, such as a centralized fingerprint file and forensic laboratories.

Anyway, if anyone can put together a film that bleeds honesty, terrific fiction, and detail piling suspense, Eastwood can. I'm all about this project and everything he does with it.

The only question is now? Who's gonna win some awards for playing the gangster chasing, crime-stopper? Any thoughts?

Munki Out.

A Few Cards From Someecards.com

Here's a few cards I found on the site, Someecards.com. 


 




Its an absolutely hilarious place to go to. The whole idea is to email these things to people, like greeting cards via snail mail. If you have a Facebook account, and I don't anymore because I'm not a 12 year old girl, then you might recognize some of these things as bumper stickers.

OH MY GOD!! OH MY GOD!! GODZILLA'S COMING BACK TO AMERICAN CELLULIOD?!?!?!?!

I was first introduced to this monster, and the VHS, at 3 years old, and haven't stopped loving him since. Collecting his tapes and his toys, and even pretending to be him a few times, I have a big place in my heart for the most Tyrant Lizard I know.

So it gives me great pleasure to say that Godzilla is coming back to us, and this time, he's in very good hands.

Legendary Pictures has struck a licensing deal with Toho Company, owners of the Godzilla franchise.

One of many statements were made. Mostly sucking off such a rich and terrific movie history, but one sticks out,

Burbank, CA – March 29, 2010 – Legendary Pictures announced today that they will develop and produce a new film based on Toho Company’s famed GODZILLA character.  Through the terms of the agreement, Legendary Pictures has acquired the rights to produce a movie inspired by Toho’s Godzilla, a franchise the Japanese company created and has nurtured for over fifty years.

 That might not sound like much, but read it again. Legendary Pictures, son. The studio who has a 7-year, 40-picture agreement to co-produce and co-finance with Warner Bros., starting in 2005. Legendary Pictures' first full-length feature with Warner Bros. was the comic book movie, Batman Begins and they kept it coming with 300, The Dark Knight, Watchmen, The Hangover and Where The Wild Things Are, just to name a few.

So ma hats off to this and everything that happens with it. 2012 is shaping up to not only be big for Legendary, but me as well. With the Batman sequel set to bow that summer, along with this supposedly dropping that year as well, and maybe Iron Man 3/"The Planned Avengers Movie". So, I'm stoked, pumped, excited, and watching my pants for poop in anticipation.

Munki Out.

P.S. I'm not really watching my pants for poop... Because I wear diapers!

Rachel Weisz To Play 23rd Bond Villain?/ Quantum Of Solace Review

The last peice of news I heard about this film, was that one of my all-time favorites, who also happens to be one of the best, most visionary, is coming into the Bond franchise, Sam Mendes (husband to Kate Winslet actually and Director of American Beauty and Jarhead).

And now it seems that another piece of star power to hit the Bond series is none other than the beautful, the skilled, the precise, the lovely Rachel Weisz (pronounced "Wice"by the way).

Too Much Banana Juice = Drunk & Still Hurts Like Shit

He drinks his 'nana juice, but it never makes him better
The sadness he wears, might as well be a sweater

He never asked for this, servitude to torture
The love he gave her, could grow a whole orchard

The banana juice, get's him nowhere
His "off-the-market" hopes, he does not have a prayer

So this monkey drinks, his monkey 'nana juice
As the alcohol abuse, lets him fuckin' loose

Swinging on the vines, or climbing up a tree
No matter how how high he gets, she'll never see



That this is one monkey, that needed her so
And her shinning face, has left him long ago

'Nanas and 'nanas can never quite quench
His hunger and thirst
That he had for that monkey
When he saw her first

Hoppity and brown, this animal remains
Holding labor-pains of love, down inside his veins

Poop is the color of his skin
And shit happens... only to him

A Sad Lonely Bitch Of A Penguin

In an igloo full of penguins or a club inhabited 

This is the way it works

This penguin is alone 

No matter where he lurks

His tears are dried to icicles, before they hit the snow

Staying on his beak, with no where else to go

Like the time they left each other 

and they both watched as the tears 

Came streaming down their faces 

Showcasing their inner fears 

He watches as the reflection, shows him his penguin face

And it how registers in him, how he is a disgrace

She left first for silly reasons, and then just for good

Now he sits on his ice block, just feeling misunderstood

She does not care the pain she causes, or the strife that she ensues
For why bother with the old penguin, when she can go anew?

So for now, and maybe always, this penguin will sit jaded
Feeling the ultimate loss, lonely and downgraded...

Summit Entertainment Reaches To The A's For Twilight Film

Summit Entertainment is the studio responsible for not only breaking the Twilight Saga wide open and raking in just stupid amounts of money with, but winning 6/9 Oscars it was nominated for with the indie hit, The Hurt Locker. 

And now it looks they're trying to elevate the game with their new found acclaim by reaching out to some high profile directors. Gus Van Sant (Good Will Hunting, Milk), Bill Condon (Dreamgirls), Sofia Coppola (Lost In Translation) and Stephen Daldry (The Reader) have all been supposedly tapped to helm the fourth installment. Now yes, they have made a boat load of cash and good press and zeitgeist silliness of this generation with Twilight. Then they got the prestige they needed to secure themselves as a legit (meaning dope) studio. But I mean... these directors? Are they too big for they're britches here? Maybe not. 

In my opinion (and what do we say about that? It's practically fact folks) , this is all tween-queen bubblegum crap. BUT! They are entertaining movies, not films, and they are fun to watch if you just embrace the ridiculousness of it all. And the approach to a long told classical teen romance, injecting vampires and werewolves and some serious mythology into it? My hat's off to Stephenie Meyer for all of that.

I'd be doing the same thing if I had the credentials Summit now has. Elevate your shit son, class it up, add some grade A to the perspective why don't you? If you can, do it? I'd watch 'em not to just review them for the sake of being a film buff. But because I'm a fan of these directors. I'm all for this idea, let's see who they pin down for it. 

I'll keep you posted on what happens next. 

Munki Out.

MI 4 Update: Brad Bid In The Running For The Captain's Chair?

Brad Bird is a two-timer Oscar winner suckas. Responsible for one of my fav's The Iron Giant. As well as The Incredibles and Ratatouille (the latter two got him best animated feature statues). And now, he's gearing up for his first live actioner with 1906, based on the acclaimed novel of the same name. Although I did hear that Disney/Pixar is nervous about giving him 200 milly to shoot the thing, and now it's at a stand still. 

So maybe this is good new for him. Because it seems he might be in the running for M.I. 4? What son...?

Let's give it up to Heat Vision breaking the news open on this story. A while back I reported about Cruise looking to gear up M.I. 4 minus JJ in the big chair. Finding a director has been a top priority for star Tom Cruise, who reprises his role as secret agent Ethan Hunt and is producing with J.J. Abrams. Paramount set a May 27, 2011, release date for the movie and is eyeing a summer start. A tentpole of this magnitude needs a lot of prep time to iron out things such as massive set pieces and worldwide locations. 


Now I've seen Incredibles, and I thought the whole execution was a fantastic idea, the throw back to the quaint Beever Cleever lifestyle juxtaposed against the classical silver/golden aged super hero cartoons and comics strip story lines? Terrif. Plus, the action was accomplished with a precision that few animated guys can really do that well. Heat Vision had this to say about him.

On the surface, Bird may seem a peculiar choice. The writer-director wrote and directed 1999's "The Iron Giant" and 2004's "The Incredibles" as well as 2007's "Ratatouille" (the latter two earned Oscars for best animated picture), but he has never helmed a live-action feature. On the other hand, nabbing Bird would be inspired. He is praised for his storytelling skills and is known for his strengths in staging thrilling and intricate action set-pieces as well as fusing the action with large dollops of heart and emotion.

Well, they're right about the action element. You can say what you want, but M.I. 3 was one fuckin' hell of a thriller/suspense/actioner, and that was all thanks to JJ. So topping him is the next thing to do, not exactly going bigger maybe, but better, crisper, fresher, more unique.

Well, my hats off to this, choice, you don't win two Oscars without having a few brains to go around to know what you doing. Plus, I'm a big fan of this guys approaches and style. Let's see what happens. 

Munki Out.

A Review: The Ghost Writer, Hereyee Hereyee Polanski

Roman Polanski's new political drama about a ghost writer brought in to finish a memoir by an ex-prime minister starts off soft, taking it's time to massage you up, but eventually you find yourself utterly engaged without ever realizing it, and then the movie ends. 

Bravo Roman.

A Review: The Twilight Saga: New Moon (Yeah... That's Right)

Oh, my, oh, my... The Twilight Saga. What a tangled web we weave Stephenie. Yeah, whatev. The DVD is out, I saw the first one in theaters last November and now this one is floppin' around. I am an amateur film analyst right? Plus, these movies, like or not, are a big part of the American Zeitgeist right now. I owe it to myself to review things, all things, when I find the time. As long as it's on film (even though I have a feeling they skipped on 35mm film stock and used bubblegum straight outa the pockets of 12 year girls) it's open to be reviewed. 

So let's get started shall we?

Chris Evans Is Captain America, 2 Super Roles Down

Yes folks, the man that is known as Chris, and also known as Johnny Storm a.k.a. The Human Torch from the Fatastic Four films (so he should feel lucky he wasn't out of the running cuz of that shit either), has accepted the role as Steve Rogers a.k.a. Captain America.

For the past few weeks now, we've hearing the rumblings of casting news, as the studio wanted to finally settled down with a performer who could fit the bill. At one point it was reported that John Krasinski (Jim on The Office) was a top contender. As great as he is on that show, I'm not trying to see him playing around with that outfit on. Keep the tie, stay away from the indestructible shield.

Anyway, last week (I think) it was reported that Hugo Weaving (Mr. Smith from The Matrix Trilogy, V For Vendetta) would be playing Cap's ultimate nemesis, Red Skull.

Red Skull has been Captain America's enemy since 1941. Red Skull took part in espionage and sabotage working as Hitler's right-hand man. In his last battle with Captain American, "he was buried under the rubble of a bombed building but - as would occur later with Captain America - fell into a state of suspended animation."

Now this script is being taken very seriously by Marvel, as the 1990 film they released wasn't so good. Hugo Weaving can give exactly what the role really needs, instead of what makes for good box office as most actors get caught up in. I've never been disappointed by him. Plus, he just got off The Wolfman with Johnston this Feb, so he's worked with him before and they have a good relationship behind the camera. Which always makes for better stuff in front of it. Always. Chris Evans can buckle down and give you something worthy when his flashy smiling and silly humor doesn't get in the way. And both of these actors are no stranger to action either. Each having a slew of films in their repertoire with action as a genre, it proves wise to go with experience as well as chops in this case.

Joe Johnston (Jurassic Park 3, The Wolfman) will be directing this project.
Which is the only draw back as far as I'm concerned.

The guy had so much in his hands with The Wolfman this February. It could have so much better than what it failed to be. He loves placing music in inappropriate situations and canceling any real resonance of substance with silly editing and mindless action and close-ups. So in that respect, I'm sure Cap Ameri will be ballin' with summer blockbuster fun, but not much of anything else really.

But here's hoping he cleans up his act and learns from his February failure.

Munki Out.

Update On Pirates 4 News, Mermaids?

Is that, what was... a damn mermaid?

That's one thing that never occurred to me, the entire franchise has gone mermaidless. Shit son. That's like having sex with a condom, I mean, without a condom. Uh... I mean, never mind....

Reports will have it that the latest piece of casting news from On Stranger Tides is looking more intresting the usual, as far as the particulars of the females requirements...

Beautiful Female Fit Models. Must be 5′7-5′8, Size 4 or 6 – NO BIGGER OR SMALLER. Age 18-25. Must have a lean dancer body. MUST have real breasts. Do not submit if you have implants. This is a show and tell of costumes with the director and the producers. Plan on an entire day of trying on clothes and being photographed.
Professional Dancers who are Swimmers. Females ONLY. Age 18-30. All ethnicities. YOU MUST have an extensive dance/swimming resume. We will be shooting in Hawaii.

So does that say mermaids to you? Or extremely fit and water trained random hot bitches?
Here's to some fish-tail-chicks on Imax 3D!

On a related note, I couldn't help but think of Zoolander. Let's revisit shall we?



Munki Out.

Update On Pirates 4 News

As I reported earlier, Penelope Cruz is set to join the new pirates installment along with Ian McShane. now it also appears the Geoffrey Rush is set to come back as the awesome and fantastic Captain Barbossa.

A Review: Quantum Of Solace

Much like a hot, freshly brewed cup of coffee, this film started out the same way: fresh, hot, and having me excited. 

The opening with the chase sequence and then straight into Mr. White's interrogation and M's attempted murder was terrific, superb and brilliant even. But after that... the temperature went (slowly) south. 

The only other redeeming qualities this film had, was the wonderful Gemma Arterton as Strawberry Fields, Jeffrey Wright as Felix and of course, Judi Dench as M-om. I watch French film, so Mathieu Almaric was a real nice touch as the villain.

And much like a hot, freshly brewed cup of coffee, it also got cold before I was done. Colder and colder, until your left with nothing more than iced coffee. Not even fresh brewed, but farted out from a cheap machine at McDonald's. And everyone knows that substitutes, in essence, are never, ever, as good. 

If the title suggests anything--Quantum of Solace--this movie is confusing as all fuck. But serves up some "Quantum" action and whip cracking dialogue tossed around. 

Please let me be clear about something right quick son: this is a Bond film, so in that context, it's an amazing piece of work and Marc Forster should be proud. I thoroughly enjoyed my experience watching this fantastic film with Craig and Dench and and Arterton's brief but stand-out performance. Arterton as Fields was where the film started hitting high notes again. Forster is Forster for a reason, and this film has moments where that is reflected. But damn... This guy sold out to the sequel sickness, I.E. going bigger. Comparing this one to Casino is a must, and in that context, this film is most certainly inferior. The Rog, (Ebert) says, 

"Please understand: James Bond is not an action hero! He is too good for that. He is an attitude. Violence for him is an annoyance. He exists for the foreplay and the cigarette."

If Marc and team would have remembered that was the approach in Casino Royale and other stand outs of the long standing franchise, they would have had a real good film. But yeah, the third act is all an action dump on the audience. Damn. Remove two or three suspenseful scenes of mayhem and you woulda had something entirely different. Craig is reinventing Bond for the new age, and in the context, Bond is cooler, but more of a hands-on kinda guy. So I can respect the choice to give him some anti-up in the action department, but yeah, some of the script has poor excuses for the stuff.  

Speaking of useless action, I liked this one he had too:

"Let's all think together. When has an action hero ever, even once, been killed by machinegun fire, no matter how many hundreds of rounds? The hit men should simply reject them and say, "No can do, Boss. They never work in this kind of movie."

My thoughts exactly.

Munki Out.

A Review: The Green Zone (That's It, No Pun In The Title This Time)

Paul Greengrass is back again, importing his visuals and edits from the his take on the Bourne series, and using it very, if not more effectively here in The Green Zone, starring Matt Damon, Greg Kinnear, Amy Ryan and Brendan Gleeson. 

 

While this film has unintentionally (or maybe not) pissed a hell of a lot of people off, it also accomplishes the feat of showing off something about a spot in our history, that is, unarguably, fact. We lied and made claims about WMD's (an abbreviation heard appr. 6,000 times in this film) in Iraq so we could go over there and pound the shit out them worse than some shady motel experiences I've had in the past. And after that, we fired their army, who had no real love of Saddam in the first place, and left them high dry, pissed, alienated and broke. Way to go America. And that's just the A-B of the film...

A Review: The Crazies, Maybe Not So Crazie Afterall

Or, maybe it would depend on how you look at it, because like Roger said, the zombie genre is a very exhausted one. In fact, running strong and revitalized since the boom with '02 Danny Boyle flick, 28 Days Later, I'm sorta waiting until it blows out it's knee and retires itself for a hot minute. 

So it's kinda hard to get excited about this stuff, unless you're die hard, or the director is bringing a unique approach to the thing. While not entirely fresh, director Breck Eisner skipped out on plenty (but not all) of the hackneyed and commonplace tricks of this sort of trade, and went for the straight-forward, "let's-not-try-too-hard-and-just-do-this-dirty" approach. And it worked.

A Review: Brooklyn's Finest Try Their Best, But How Shiny Is The Badge?

Night time; desolate dirty road and scarce streetlights. A parked car sits under the blanket of the dark night.

It's not a matter of right and wrong, it's a matter of righter and wronger.

...Are some of the first words we hear in the opening scene of the film, from a memorable and nicely added cameo by Vincent D'Onofrio. They also set the whole tone of the rest of the film as well. As we see Fuqua and team give you the gritty streets of the notoriously rough Brownsville section of Brooklyn.

Antoine's talent behind the camera and the recruitment of the likes of Gere, Hawke, Cheadle and even Snipes as well (coming through as good as I've always said he could), prove that a trite message that overbears in a so-so script can sometimes be overshadowed by elevating performances and very on-point directing. Period. Film saved. And in lesser hands, I shudder to think how much of an impact this would have had on the Sundance audience and potential distributors, most likely, none.

RDJ Set To Float In Gravity

A little while back, I posted a, uh... post (lol?) about Mrs. Jolie-Pitt passing on Alfonso Cuaron's upcoming project, Gravity.

Now it seems they found an answer to her departure, in none other than Robert Downey himself. With a script by Alfonso's son, Jonas (fill in your own J-bros connection jokes here____) and his father the story is set and ijn place. The details of the project are pretty much as I can see it this: Downey will play an expedition team leader at a remote space station. While he and a female colleague are traveling outside the station, an exploding satellite decimates his team inside. Angelina Jolie was once cast as Downey Jr.'s female co-star, but she has since bailed on the project. There is no word on who will replace her yet, but the script was originally developed with her in mind as most of the film revolves around her character's plight to get back to earth and reunite with her daughter.

The film will commence shooting in London this summer, just in time for him to get down to Sherlock Holmes 2 this fall, also lensing in London. As soon as I know something about who they grab to fill the shoes of the female lead, I'll let you know.

Munki Out.

True Grit Remake Getting Lensed Next Month, Cones Are Gonna Grab Some Gold Again Son

What's that you say? Bridges, Damon, Brolin, and the Coen bros? All in the same film? It's a remake of the acclaimed western film and John Wayne's Oscar winning performance? Like whoa son...

True Grit, the 1969 original film, is being remade by the Cones (No Country For Old Men, Fargo, A Serious Man) and shooting some time this month in New Mexico. 

It seems that the remake I've heard rumblings about for a little while now has taken shape and really taken off.

Up In The Sky! Is That A... Phoenix?!

Yes everybody, the one and only has returned to the profession we all missed  him from (albeit shortly) so much.

Last we saw of him, he was more akin to the stand in for Zack Galifianakis...






But now, clean shaven and relaxed, he's ready to get back out there.

I can't say that I'm very surprised, why would you really just retire like that out of nowhere? The only people in The Wood (my cool way of saying Hollywood) who hang they're hats up are the ones who are older than anything else in existance, and sometimes they don't even quit! I wasn't convinced in the slightest that we wouldn't ever see him again, it's not like he sucked and people were sorta wishing he would just go away. Everyone was like, whoa son?! Don't go! And then he left us with one of the best things he's done, Two Lovers. Pinpointing his stand out performances isn't the easiest task considering work he gives you too.

Oscar winning sound engineer Resul Pookutty, (Slumdog Millionaire) let it slip recently that the Joaquin is gonna be top-lining Resul's next film, an Edgar Allen Poe film no less! That's such a raw move to pull too. Let the haters talk their talk, and then I'll come back and poop on all the faces worse than the dirtiest German shaise film and slay this Edgar Allen Poe shit son!

Turns out, The Beautiful Cigar Girl is based on an eerie real-life experience the author had just months before his death. The script is based on a true story that follows Poe's investigation in solving the mystery behind the brutal death of a beautiful society girl. The person behind the screenplay has not been revealed at this time, and there is no word on who will be directing the project.

I heard word that Stallone wanted to pen a Poe script a while back, and he hasn't said it wasn't happening either. I was excited about it too, because if 2006's Rocky Balboa was any indication of his improved ablitites to handle things that aren't getting punched in the face or exploding, than he was on the right track. I highly doubt he's attached to this project in anyway though.

I'll be keeping you posted on the news with this thing as it breaks.
Munki Out.

A Week Is A Long Time...

When you make posts on here like every damn day. Ma bad (He said to his to my imaginary readers).
I mean, we're not even talking like, a business week here, or a school week (same difference).

I've been on vacation. Seeing family, partying, laughing, and looking into business opportunities for maself (damn those lazy Verizon GM's).

Anywhooooooooooooooooooooo... More coming soon, don't fret.

Enjoy the Mini Pink Lion picture!

He'll eat your soul, probably... But mostly just get you chicks if you walk him in the right places.

Like I said, more coming soon, don't worry suckas.

And Woman Say They're Not Indecisive...

They must have 3rd degree burns on their legs from the lies their pants suffer.  

Welp, if you can't call shot's in Hollywood, what's the point of getting top billing and your name thrown all over the place right? What's the point of the high profile agent, manager, publicist, elite actor husband and all the other hooplah, right? At least that's Jolie's thinking.

First she was attached to Wanted 2, and considering that she was mostly responsible for the box office the move generated, it was pretty rest assured the studio came to the conclusion that she needed to be brought back for the second. When you take 75 milli budget and make 341,433,252 worldwide out of it, why not? 'Course, Timur Bekmambetov and James McAvory had a little something to do with it as well, but they don't have Jolie's pull. Period. And after all the prep work since LAST SUMMER, and all the script re-writes Jolie and Universal made them do for the damn thing, with only, a few weeks set before filming, she yanks herself out? Bro... Weak... And honestly, I was little excited about seeing the project come together. Sure the movie was a little shaky and had its draw backs, and the ending was a little weak, but, hell man, it was a summer popcorn flick and I was happy with what it delivered.