The Screening Log - blogging film

Here's your daily news dose for Feb. 23, 2009:

• Naomi Watts is the latest to join Woody Allen's latest film, which is currently untitled. Also on board are Josh Brolin and Anthony Hopkins. Plot details, as usual, are kept under wraps for now. Watts can currently be seen onscreen in "The International." (Variety)

• The folks at IESB sat down and talked to Zack Snyder about his upcoming flick "Sucker Punch," which is about to head into pre-production. According to Snyder, he's in talks with Amanda Seyfried to join the cast. By the way, the tagline over at IMDb describes the film as "'Alice in Wonderland' with machine guns." Whoa!

• John Cusack, Rob Corddry and Craig Robinson have apparently joined the cast of Sean Anders and John Morris' upcoming comedy "Hot Tub Time Machine," about a group of adults who visit a hot tub they once used and realize it can transport them back in time, to their younger selves. (Joblo)

• Alexandre Aja's "Piranha 3-D" will come, for sure, but you may have to wait for it a little longer. Filming on the remake Joe Dante's 1978 film has been delayed, and Aja recently told MTV News why: “We pushed production back to spring for weather reasons and location reasons.” Yeah, the weather's a sucker indeed!

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Sunday

18Jan2009

Ready for some 'Piranha' action in 3D?

Sunday, January 18, 2009 at 10:11PM | By

Alexandre Aja is currently working on his next film "Piranha 3-D," a remake of Joe Dante's 1978 film of the same title (but without the 3D).

The writer/director recently talked to the folks at ShockTillYouDrop, and here's what he had to say about the development of the flick:

"I'm finishing storyboards now and using the time to improve the script to get the best action and story gags as possible."

Referring to the concept you can see above, he went on: "That's one of the concepts. There are many because, visually, they'll be different. Like 'Gremlins' not all of the piranha will be the same."

Aja also confirmed he'll start shooting "Piranha 3-D" this year, although a release date has not yet been set.

I can only hope the film will look as awesome as "My Bloody Valentine 3-D." Having different piranha jump at you sounds like fun.

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Sunday

17Aug2008

Box Office: 'Tropic Thunder' beats 'Dark Knight'

Sunday, August 17, 2008 at 1:11PM | By

By Franck Tabouring

Weekend of August 15 – 17, 2008

Ben Stiller’s action comedy “Tropic Thunder” kicked “The Dark Knight" off its throne at the North American box office this weekend with $26 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Since its release Wednesday, “Thunder” has lifted its domestic total to $37 million. Starring Stiller, Jack Black and Robert Downey Jr., the movie follows a group of actors who are pursued by ruthless criminals after their director drops them off in the middle of the jungle.

Slipping to No. 2, Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight” took home $16,7 million this weekend, bringing its total gross to $471.4 million after five impressive weeks in release.

Debuting in third place with $15.5 million was Warner’s computer-animated action adventure “Star Wars: The Clone Wars,” which serves as an introduction to the upcoming television series of the same title.

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Saturday

16Aug2008

'Mirrors' web reviews

Saturday, August 16, 2008 at 1:38PM | By

Kiefer Sutherland returns to the big screen in Alexandre Aja's horror remake "Mirrors," which wasn't received all that well by the nation's top critics. But what about the people on the Web? What do they have to say about Jack Bauer's effort as a security guard becoming obsessed with evil mirrors? Let's find out below. The flick also stars Paula Patton and Amy Smart.

• William Goss at Cinematical: "I remain confident that Aja is a capable and competent horror filmmaker in an age when they seem so far and few between, but the man can only do so much with so little."

• CinemaBlend's Mack Rawden: "It’s just pointless, lacking in originality, and prone to shooting itself in the glass. There’s a plethora of good through-the-mirror camera shots, but they get overused and weak by the end."

• Brian Orndorf at Collider: "With Aja slathering on the cheap boo scares, overseeing rancid performances, barely investing in his screenplay, and showing questionable gorehound taste in violent imagery, 'Mirrors' eventually reflects absolute tedium, not appealing supernatural fury."

And that's about it already. Doesn't sound too convincing does it? Click right here to check out my review.

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Saturday

16Aug2008

Review: "Mirrors"

Saturday, August 16, 2008 at 10:10AM | By

Seen on: August 15, 2008

The players: Director: Alexandre Aja, Writers: Alexandre Aja, Gregory Levasseur, Cast: Kiefer Sutherland, Paula Patton, Amy Smart, Ezra Buzzington, Erica Gluck, Cameron Boyce

Facts of interest: Based on the South Korean flick "Geoul sokeuro."

The plot: A security guard becomes obsessed with mirrors in an old building after they start playing scary tricks on him.

Our quick thoughts: In Alexandre Aja’s Hollywood horror remake “Mirrors,” Kiefer Sutherland stars as Ben Carson, a former NYPD detective who’s having a hard time battling his alcohol problem and communicating with his wife Amy (Paula Patton).

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Saturday

09Aug2008

Check out this bloody 'Mirrors' opening scene

Saturday, August 9, 2008 at 8:52PM | By

Although I haven't seen the film yet, I'm still not sold on Kiefer Sutherland's latest big-screen venture "Mirrors," which opens in theaters this Friday. Maybe it's because most recent Hollywood horror remakes pretty much failed to captivate me. Or maybe it's because the film is directed by Alexandre Aja, who hasn't done anything worth mentioning since his great shocker "Haute Tension." Or maybe it's because of Kiefer Sutherland, who rocks on television but hasn't convinced me on the big screen quite yet.

Anyway, IGN today premiered the film's bloody opening scene, which you can check out just above. No, you won't see Kiefer Sutherland trying to protect his family from the evil hiding in the mirrors, but you will see some mirrors doing some nasty stuff. Next time, beware when you look at yourself in the mirror. You may be shocked by what you'll see. Enjoy.

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Wednesday

06Aug2008

New international ‘Mirrors’ poster online

Wednesday, August 6, 2008 at 8:13AM | By

Empire Online premiered a new U.K. poster for Alexandre Aja’s upcoming horror remake “Mirrors,” about an ex-cop who struggles with evil mirrors. Kiefer Sutherland and Paula Patton star. The film opens Aug. 15, 2008.

Although the domestic one-sheet is not impressive either, I really don’t like this international poster. In fact, I don’t like much about this horror pic at this stage. I mean, in the end it looks just like every other recent Hollywood horror remake: disappointing and hardly original.

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